WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- Winnipeg Jets forward Bryan Little remained hospitalized Wednesday, a day after being struck near the ear by a puck.

Little was skating behind the net midway through the third period in a 2-1 home loss to New Jersey when teammate Nikolaj Ehlers fired a rising slap shot from the point. The puck hit Little on his left side and he fell to the ice, putting his head in his hands as blood dripped.

The Jets said Wednesday that Little was taken to St. Boniface Hospital and needed 25-30 stitches to close a cut, then was transferred to the Health Sciences Centre's neurological unit for further observation.

The team said the 31-year-old center was alert at all times and in good spirits Wednesday morning. Little has two goals and three assists in seven games after sitting out the first nine of the season because of a concussion.

Real Madrid's teenage forward Rodrygo scored a blistering hat-trick as his side pummelled Galatasaray 6-0 at home on Wednesday to take a giant step towards qualifying for the Champions League knockout stages.

The 18-year-old Brazilian put the 13-times European champions ahead in the fourth minute by turning two defenders in the area and firing into the bottom corner to score for the first time in Europe's elite competition.

Rodrygo struck again in the seventh by nodding home a cross from compatriot Marcelo, completing the fastest double in Champions League history.

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Real did not ease off after their rampant start and extended their lead in the 13th minute with a typically cheeky 'Panenka' penalty from captain Sergio Ramos.

Karim Benzema netted their fourth on the stroke of halftime, knocking the ball into the net after another thrilling piece of play from Rodrygo.

Benzema struck again from close range in the second half to move on to 50 Champions League goals for his club, moving ahead of Real great Alfredo Di Stefano as the Spanish side's third top scorer in Europe's top competition.

But the night belonged to Rodrygo, who rounded off a dream home European debut at the Santiago Bernabeu by completing his treble in added time, racing towards goal and exchanging passes with Benzema before tapping into the net.

The Brazilian, who became the second-youngest player to score a hat-trick in the Champions League after Real great Raul, was serenaded by the home crowd.

"Hearing the Bernabeu singing my name is a dream come true," Rodrygo said. "I'm so happy, it has been a joyous night but I must try and stay calm."

Benzema, a veteran of great European nights at Real's home, was delighted for his strike partner.

"Rodrygo is only 18 years old but he is fearless. I love to see a young footballer play this way," the Frenchman said.

"We scored six goals and didn't concede any so we are in a party mood tonight."

Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane also praised the youngster's performance.

"When he has the chance to play, he plays well and he's done it again," Zidane said. "It doesn't surprise me, we all know the quality he has. He came here to do what he's doing. This is just the beginning. Let's hope he carries on like this. We need to stay calm with him."

Real, who picked up only one point from their first two games in the competition, are second in Group A with seven points from four matches.

Their next opponents Paris Saint-Germain are top with 12, with Club Brugge third on two and Galatasaray bottom on one.

Victory over PSG, who have reached the last 16, would send Real into the knockout stage with a game to spare.

MILAN -- Manchester City produced a chaotic second-half display in a famous old stadium on Wednesday. They cannot afford another on Sunday.

A trip to the San Siro is usually the highlight of any European campaign, but beforehand, this one was reduced to a glorified warmup with Anfield and Liverpool to come in four days' time. That, though, was before Atalanta jolted City during a cavalier second 45 minutes, Gabriel Jesus missed a VAR-awarded penalty, Ederson was substituted at half-time, Claudio Bravo was sent off and Kyle Walker ended the night in goal.

The bare facts are that the game ended 1-1 and City will have to wait to qualify for the knockout rounds. Pep Guardiola, though, had said the best way to get ready for Liverpool was with a polished display here and, in the second half at least, it was far from it.

The sight of Kevin De Bruyne arrowing the ball out of play with Joao Cancelo in acres of space summed up a second-half performance that lacked the usual swagger and spark.

"In the second half we suffered a lot," Guardiola admitted afterwards.

Despite starting the night with a five-point lead at the top of Champions League Group C, he stuck to his word and picked a strong team. Ederson, Fernandinho, Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva, Raheem Sterling and De Bruyne were all asked to start against a team who were demolished 5-1 at the Etihad Stadium just two weeks ago.

With Aymeric Laporte, Leroy Sane, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Rodri injured and Phil Foden suspended, Guardiola could argue he had no one else, but there was still an element of risk given the size the game they face next. If Ederson, forced off at half-time, is not available at Anfield, the gamble will not have paid off: Bravo, sent off for bringing down Josip Ilicic nine minutes from time, has not started a league game since May 2018.

Walker, for his part, kept a clean sheet and was serenaded by the visiting fans at the end with chants of "England's No. 1." The right-back has occasionally taken part in goalkeeping sessions at the City Football Academy.

The result should never have been in doubt beyond the seventh minute.

Atalanta midfielder Remo Freuler joked in his pre-match news conference that City are so good they can thread passes "through your earhole," and while Bernardo's wasn't quite that accurate, it still carved open the home defence for Jesus to flick into Sterling's path. Sterling doesn't often miss these days, and the City fans high up behind Ederson's goal were already celebrating before the ball was casually ushered into the corner with a swing of the winger's right boot. That's 18 in 20 games for club and country this season and five already in the Champions League.

The Italians will be sick of the sight of him after his hat trick in Manchester.

Speaking before the game, Guardiola said he felt his teams have a duty to entertain. Sterling was at the heart of that here in the first half -- as he has been for much of the past 18 months -- but it will be interesting to see if Guardiola takes the same approach against Liverpool.

City have not won at Anfield for 16 years, and last season's meeting on Merseyside turned into a cautious 0-0 draw. Guardiola has already insisted City do not have to win on Sunday if they want to win a third straight title but he cannot afford to lose.

Liverpool have not lost a league match since they were beaten at the Etihad in January, and a nine-point lead for Jurgen Klopp's side would be a significant advantage, even if it is only November.

A City team sent out to attack on Sunday will create chances, but it is the other end of the pitch that will give Guardiola a headache. Fernandinho has barely put a foot wrong since being pressed into action at centre-back, but a front three of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah -- bursting with pace and full of energy -- presents a very specific challenge.

Fernandinho has the tactical intelligence to know, more often than not, where to be, but even that is little help when three red shirts are running at you full pelt. At 34 years old, the Brazilian is not the quickest, and he was forced to take a booking for barging Hans Hateboer when the Atalanta man threatened to race past. The space Alejandro Gomez found on the left to cross for Mario Pasalic to head in the equaliser on 49 minutes will not have gone unnoticed by Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson, either.

"We were not as neat and tidy in the second half," said Guardiola. "We began to tire but credit to Atalanta."

With two more chances to seal their place in the round of 16, City will not live to regret a disappointing, disjointed second half in the San Siro. The same again at Anfield on Sunday will have far greater consequences.

SAN FRANCISCO -- The San Francisco Giants have narrowed their search for a new manager to three finalists, according to multiple reports.

Former Phillies manager Gape Kapler, Astros bench coach Joe Espada and Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro are the final three vying to replace Bruce Bochy.

Giants President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi is taking his time making the hire. He has known since February that Bochy would retire.

Others who had been considered were Dodgers bench coach Bob Geren, Giants coaches Ron Wotus and Hensley Meulens, and Athletics coach Mark Kotsay.

The 44-year-old Kapler was fired Oct. 10 after two seasons in Philadelphia and a 161-163 record. With Bryce Harper their blockbuster acquisition, the Phillies finished 81-81 for their first non-losing season since 2012.

Last week, Espada's Astros lost Game 7 of the World Series to the Washington Nationals. Quatraro and the Rays beat Oakland in the AL wild-card game before losing in a five-game division series to Houston.

Bochy managed the Giants to World Series championships in 2010, '12 and '14. San Francisco went 77-85 in his final year. The club could look quite different heading into 2020 with lefty ace and 2014 World Series MVP Madison Bumgarner among baseball's top free agents.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

NEW YORK -- Two days into the free-agent market, the players' association already is angry at a club.

Union head Tony Clark issued a statement Wednesday in response to remarks attributed to Atlanta Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos during a conference call with media.

"Every day you get more information. And we've had time to connect with 27 of the clubs -- obviously the Astros and (Nationals) being in the World Series, they were tied up -- but we had a chance to get a sense of what the other clubs are going to look to do in free agency, who might be available in trades," Anthopoulos said, according to the union.

Baseball's labor contract prohibits clubs from acting in concert in free-agent negotiations. The union filed a collusion grievance following the 2017-18 offseason.

"The statements made by Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos call into question the integrity of the entire free-agent system," Clark said in a statement Wednesday. "The clear description of club coordination is egregious, and we have launched an immediate investigation looking into the matter."

CONCORD, N.C. — In an effort to deliver the best experience for race fans, the schedule for this weekend’s Can-Am World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte will be flexed to provide earlier start and finish times on all three nights of racing.

The unique annual event at the four-tenths-mile dirt track features the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Sprint Car Series, World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series and the Super DIRTcar Series big-block modifieds.

Spectator gates will open at 2:45 p.m. on Thursday with on-track action beginning at 3 p.m.

Friday’s and Saturday’s formats will also feature revised times. Gates will remain open at 3 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, with opening ceremonies moved up one hour to 3:45 p.m. followed by racing.

Fans should stay tuned to www.charlottemotorspeedway.com for further updates.

FINDLAY, Ohio — Mike Streicher, the 1991 USAC National Midget Series champion and a well-known fabricator, died suddenly Wednesday morning after an apparent heart attack.

Streicher was 62.

Born in Findlay, Ohio, Streicher’s claim to fame behind the wheel came 28 years ago, when he charged from behind in the final four races of the USAC midget season to defeat Stevie Reeves for the national championship by a scant 17 points.

During a grueling 33-race season, Streicher did the job in his own No. 8 Gaerte-powered Hawk Chassis, with only one feature victory — at Kentucky’s Richmond Raceway — but remarkable consistency.

Streicher collected 21 top-10 finishes and started all but one race during his underdog championship campaign.

A sixth-place finish on the final night of the season at El Centro, Calif., was enough for Streicher to overhaul Reeves, who crashed in practice, blew an engine in his heat race and then flipped on the third lap of the finale feature.

All told, Streicher won USAC National Midget Series championships as a driver, car owner, mechanic and car builder. In addition to his 1991 driving title, Streicher was the mechanic and car owner during Rich Vogler’s 1983 USAC National Midget Series championship run.

He was a six-time USAC National Midget Series feature winner, with his first win coming at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway in 1988.

Streicher was the head man behind the Hawk Chassis brand of midget and quarter midget cars, built with support from Bobby Seymour and Seymour Enterprises out of Massachusetts.

His chassis earned numerous feature wins with sanctions including USAC, NAMARS, ARCA, NEMA and ARDC.

Streicher also built several of the famed Munchkin midgets, best known for racing indoors at the Rumble in Fort Wayne, with assistance from Munchkin creator Mike Fedorcak.

Streicher’s recent years were spent as a professor at the University of Northwestern Ohio, teaching classes and serving as an assistant coach for the UNOH motorsports team, helping to educate the next generation of racers and mechanics.

However, he did assist with the build on a Seymour Motorsports Hawk/AutoCraft midget for the Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa, Okla., back in January, which was piloted by Davey Ray.

Funeral arrangements for Streicher are pending.

United States star Alex Morgan said she plans to play in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo despite the due date of her first child.

Morgan is expecting a baby girl in April, approximately three months before the start of the Olympics.

"I hope to get back on the field as soon as possible," Morgan told USA Today. "After having a healthy baby, I want to get back with the national team and look forward to playing in Tokyo."

Morgan, 30, announced her pregnancy two weeks ago on various social media accounts, along with husband Servando Carrasco.

Morgan said she has no doubt she still will be an elite athlete after having a child.

"There are so many women that have been able to come back to their respective sport after pregnancy and continue to have a successful family while playing their sport that they love at the highest level," Morgan said. "I plan to follow in those footsteps and be one of those women who have a family and carry my daughter around as I'm going to the next city to play. And I still want to continue to enjoy the sport that I've been playing for all my life."

Morgan excelled in the Women's World Cup earlier this year, scoring six goals to help the U.S. win the title.

Overall, Morgan has 107 international goals in 169 matches.

Carrasco is a midfielder for the Los Angeles Galaxy. He and Morgan met when both were college soccer players at Cal. They married in 2014.