It's Decision Day in MLS and you can follow all the action starting at 4 p.m. ET with our whiparound show on ESPN+, or watch 11 of the day's 12 matches live on ESPN+ and the pivotal Portland-San Jose game at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN.

The final weekend of the Major League Soccer season arrives with plenty at stake, including the last two playoff spots in the Western Conference, plus seedings and two players seeking to become a history-making Golden Boot winner.

Twelve teams have clinched one of the 14 postseason berths. Zero spots remain to be clinched in the Eastern Conference. Eight clubs have been eliminated. So, who's in? Who's out? And who has it all to play for?

Those questions, and many more below, will be answered once Decision Day arrives on Sunday, with 12 matches all kicking off simultaneously at 4 p.m. ET.

- Decision Day: What's left to fight for in MLS playoffs?
- Fantasy MLS: Playoff scenarios, personal awards

Four teams, two places in the West

With all seven tickets in the Eastern Conference playoffs punched, all eyes turn to the West, where four teams will be aiming for the last two spots.

Much of the attention will be focused on Portland, where the Timbers are hosting the San Jose Earthquakes (4 p.m. ET, watch live on ESPN) in a "win and you're in" affair. Neither side is arriving into Decision Day in good shape. The Quakes have dropped their past five, and Portland is winless in its past four, with two defeats and two draws.

The red card to striker Brian Fernandez last Sunday vs. Sporting Kansas City and the uncertainty regarding Diego Valeri's future won't help the hosts, and San Jose's oh-for September has been marred by a lack of goals -- only four in the whole month.

Hanging on to to seventh place is FC Dallas, which got dumped by Colorado last weekend 3-0. Nevertheless, a win at home against Sporting Kansas City (4 p.m. ET, stream live on ESPN+) and Luchi Gonzalez's young pups would reach the postseason.

Yet in the zany world that is MLS, the most unlikely of scenarios could become reality. In that case it would be the Colorado Rapids qualifying for the playoffs. The Rapids need to win at LAFC (4 p.m. ET, stream live on ESPN+) and hope for a Dallas loss, plus a loss or a draw from San Jose. Considering they started the season 0W-2D-9L, the fact that the Rapids even have playoff hopes, albeit slim, heading into the final week is a story itself.

There's no place like home

The new single-elimination playoff format in MLS makes home-field advantage all the more important, so there will be plenty of jockeying for teams second through seventh in the table to try to land as many home playoff matches as possible in the coming weeks.

Atlanta United and the Philadelphia Union are locks to host in Round 1 but still will need to hash out who will be the second and third seeds in the East against New England and New York City FC, respectively. The real intrigue comes in the fourth through sixth spots, with D.C. United (49), the New York Red Bulls (48) and Toronto FC (47) separated by only two points and all three with a chance of hosting in the first round.

D.C. should fancy its chances at home against FC Cincinnati (4 p.m. ET, stream live on ESPN+), which just set a record for most goals conceded by a team in a single season (75), while the Red Bulls travel to the Montreal Impact (4 p.m. ET, stream live on ESPN+) and Toronto hosts the Columbus Crew (4 p.m. ET, stream live on ESPN+).

The West is just as jumbled, beginning with the Seattle Sounders hosting Minnesota United in a meeting to decide who gets the No. 2 seed (4 p.m. ET, stream live on ESPN+). Further down, it's all there for the LA Galaxy to lock down a home game in the first round. All Zlatan Ibrahimovic & Co. need to do is secure a win against the Houston Dynamo (4 p.m. ET, stream live on ESPN+). Does that sound familiar? It should; the Texans were the ones who foiled the Galaxy's playoff hopes one year ago by coming back from a 2-0 deficit to stun the Galaxy 4-2 on Decision Day.

Though the Galaxy have already sealed their postseason spot, they'll still want to exorcise those Dynamo ghosts. The Real Salt Lake staff will be following that closely in Vancouver as it takes on a Whitecaps team that beat the Galaxy last Sunday. Another thing to keep in mind is if the Galaxy end up as the four or five seed, it would put them in the same side of the bracket as LAFC, making for a potential El Trafico in the second round.

Vela, Ibra take aim at Golden Boot

All season long Carlos Vela has managed to stay in front of Ibrahimovic in the Golden Boot race, and the Mexican forward now finds himself only one goal away from breaking Josef Martinez's single-season record of 31 from a year ago. Vela and LAFC take on Colorado, and curiously enough, the Rapids are one of the few teams that have not conceded to Vela in 2019.

Another goose egg from Vela against the Rapids might open the door for Ibrahimovic, who could win the Golden Boot and be the one to make history with a hat trick in Houston. Considering the Dynamo have coughed up 57 goals this season, there just might be the chance for the Swede to overtake his great rival from the other side of Los Angeles.

Guyana Amazon Warriors 156 for 6 (Malik 73, Rutherford 45, Derval Green 2-23) beat Jamaica Tallawahs 79 (Phillips 21, Liton 21, Tahir 3-12) by 77 runs

Guyana Amazon Warriors. Table toppers, unbeaten, full of confidence. What could go wrong? Not much, right? Well, eight balls into the game, they lost four wickets to Derval Green and Oshane Thomas, both on a hat-trick at the same time. With their backs to the wall, Shoaib Malik, the only overseas captain in CPL 2019, resurrected the innings with a 82-run stand with Sherfane Rutherford. He finished unbeaten on 73 to help post 156. This was 77 too many for Jamaica Tallawahs, who looked defeated at the halfway mark itself. Amazon Warriors, meanwhile, are unbeaten in CPL 2019 with one league game remaining.

The four-in-four magic

This was by all means a bat-first pitch. Tallawahs knew it'll get slower and stop on the batsmen as the game progresses, which is why they couldn't have bargained for a better start. Off the very first over, Oshane had Brandon King bowled as he backed away to slap a length ball over cover and Shimron Hetmyer caught behind, albeit in controversial circumstances with replays suggestion no conclusive evidence.

Off the first two balls of the next over, Derval Green beat Chandrapaul Hemraj for pace by pushing him back and flattening the leg stump before suckerpunching Nicholas Pooran lbw with a full inswinger that tailed in late to crash into the pad. Eight balls, eight runs, four wickets. Tallawahs were on fire.

The revival

Malik and Rutherford walked in to a crisis and walked out of one very quickly. From overs 3-8, Rutherford counter-attacked to ensure they had at least one boundary every over. Off Green's second, Rutherford carved out three boundaries to put the pressure right back. Malik quickly slipped into the role of a second fiddle and allowed Rutherford to do all the scoring, the pair raising their half-century stand off just 38 balls; Rutherford's contribution being 33.

Tallawahs were slightly taken aback by the counter and continued to slip, not even Rutherford's wicket to break an 82-run stand coming as a respite. They let Malik off the hook on 20 when Zahir Khan misjudged and eventually put down a sitter at short fine leg in the 12th over off Dwayne Smith.

This merely proved to be the trigger for Malik to go on a calculative attack as he brought up a half-century off just 35 deliveries.Then he took apart Thomas at the death as he erred consistently in lengths to concede 26 off the penultimate over. Malik finished 73 not out and the Amazon Warriors had momentum by their side.

Tallawahs stifled in Powerplay

Chris Green continues to quietly continues to make heads turn. The Australian selectors may well have an excellent Powerplay spin option to consider for next year's T20 World Cup, because he's accurate, economical, gets the ball to skid, bounce and varies his angles well. All this helped get rid of Chris Gayle first ball when he went around the stumps and got one to fizz straight on beat him on the inside edge. Malik cleverly went with spin at the other end too, with Imran Tahir and he had Chadwick Walton hole out to long-on in the third over.

Glen Phillips, one of the finds for the Tallawahs, and Liton Das limped to 26 for 2 in the Powerplays. Phillips looked to up the ante as he hit Qais Ahmed, the Afghanistan leggie, for successive boundaries in the seventh to signal a change in intent, but with the asking rate spiraling, he holed out to long-on. It was the start of another collapse, the second of the night.

Team hat-trick, again

Qais impressed with his variety and his back-flip celebrations, too. He had Dwayne Smith with a ripping legbreak and Imran Khan with a top-spinner off the last two balls off the 14th over. Off the first ball of the next, Keemo Paul, the only fast bowler employed by Warriors, had Liton Das mistime a pull straight to midwicket. Steven Jacobs averted four-in-four, by a hair's breadth as a strong lbw appeal was turned down, with replays proving he may have been struck a tad too high. Two balls later, he too was gone and Tallawahs were 70 for 8. It summed up a sorry tale of a season where whatever could go wrong went wrong.

Lawyers for the condo owner suing Antonio Brown for damages have asked that the free-agent NFL star be required to come back for another deposition, claiming he was "belligerent," "pugnacious" and "non-compliant" in last week's attempt.

In documents filed in the 11th Circuit Court on Wednesday, the attorneys asked that Brown be fined for his "tumultuous tirades, defiant rants, use of profane language and refusal to comport himself in a civilized and grown-up manner." They also asked that a special master be appointed to oversee the next deposition.

Brown is accused by the owner of The Mansions at Acqualina, a luxury complex in South Florida, of damaging the condominium. They are seeking more than $15,000 and say the actual property damage was much higher.

According to a police report filed in April 2018, Brown became agitated after an alleged theft of $80,000 and a gun at the condo and started throwing things off the balcony of the 14th-floor unit.

Brown has filed a countersuit, alleging the owners failed to provide adequate security at the complex, resulting in the theft.

According to the attorneys for Acqualina, Brown arrived almost 30 minutes late for the deposition on Sept. 24, at offices just outside of Miami. He refused to answer routine questions, repeated that they should only address his counterclaim, texted on his phone during the deposition and was otherwise "obstructive."

Lawyers for Brown have not yet responded to a request for comment.

A well-known bookmaker and the owner of three Washington D.C. professional sports teams plan to open the nation's first on-premises sports betting facility inside an arena.

In a partnership announced Thursday, betting company William Hill and Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which owns pro basketball and hockey teams in the nation's capital, said they would open a sports book inside Capital One Arena as soon as necessary approvals are obtained.

No estimated opening date was given, but signs at the arena indicate a 2020 opening is contemplated.

William Hill also will become the exclusive sports betting partner of the NBA's Washington Wizards, the NHL's Washington Capitals, and the WNBA's Washington Mystics.

Fans will be able to place bets at the sports book inside the arena, and also use a mobile app to bet inside the arena.

In a news conference Thursday, Joe Asher, president of William Hill US, said the sports book should engage fans more directly in the game, citing a hockey match from the night before when the Capitals were down early in the game.

"There would have been a lot of people betting on them to come back and win," he said. "And you get good odds when you're betting on the team that's behind to come back and win the game. So that just sort of drives further engagement. It gives people reason to watch more, to watch till the very end." (The Capitals won 3-2 in overtime).

The sports book will span multiple floors of the arena, and will be accessible to ticket holders and those without tickets. It will be open to accept bets on days when there are no events at the arena as well.

The companies envision broadcasting major out-of-area sports events on screens at the 20,000-seat arena, where fans could bet on them.

Several sports and lawmakers in numerous states have considered in-stadium wagering, but have not yet approved it. One version of a proposed sports betting bill New York legislators have been struggling with would allow betting in stadiums including Yankee Stadium and Citi Field.

HONOLULU -- LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer made it clear he will not back down from a fight with Madison Square Garden and New York Knicks owner James Dolan and that MSG should be prepared for a long battle over litigation trying to block the building of Ballmer's proposed new arena in Inglewood, California.

"We're on a path where we think we can build the arena, whatever happens in the litigation," Ballmer said when asked for an update on the arena, which is proposed to be built for 2024 when the team's lease with Staples Center ends. "We're moving along. ... The other side is just trying to slow us down a little bit. But it's another thing where we're grinders. We're long-term players, and we're grinders.

"You want to hit us in the nose? OK! We'll keep moving. You can't knock us down! I'm not sure they understand what they've gotten themselves into, from my perspective in the sense that we'll just keep going. They did really participate in blocking that Jets [proposed] stadium in New York. They did. It was supposed to be there some place on the west side of town. We're going to keep patient. We have plenty of time. Keep patient, keep going."

Ballmer, who is in Honolulu where the Clippers open their preseason schedule Friday against the Rockets, later added in a talk with reporters, "We are going to open that arena one way or another."

Dolan is executive chairman and CEO of MSG, which has owned the Forum, located in Inglewood, since 2011. The venue is home to concerts and events, and MSG has two lawsuits pending, including one against the city of Inglewood and its mayor over building a new arena adjacent to the Forum and the site of the future home of the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers.

Ballmer acknowledges that the litigation has added to an awkward situation with a fellow NBA owner.

"My partner in the NBA! It's a weird form of partnership," Ballmer said when Dolan's name was mentioned.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver supports Ballmer's plan to build a new arena for the Clippers. Ballmer has said the "billion-dollar-plus" project will be privately financed.

"I have talked to Jim Dolan and Steve Ballmer about that lawsuit," Silver said at the NBA Finals in late May. "Obviously it's not something you like to see between partners in the NBA. I don't think there's a role for the league at the moment, but it's something that we're paying a lot of attention to."

Ballmer said it has been strange sharing an arena with another team, which the Lakers and Clippers do at Staples Center.

"It's so weird that it's in the same town," Ballmer said. "The fact that we play in the same building, we get the worst nights. It's Monday Night Football, who's going to play? The Clippers. That's true by lease. Our lease says we get the least favorable nights after the Kings and the Lakers."

Ballmer noticed how Clippers' star forward Kawhi Leonard was recently booed by Lakers fans when shown on the big screen at a Rams game.

"I'm not saying it's bad, but it certainly was an adjustment for me," Ballmer said of having two teams in the same city and not drawing support from all fans in Los Angeles. "I had to get my mind around ... like what do you mean you're not cheering for our team? I wasn't there, but I read that Kawhi was at a Rams game and he's getting booed?

"What the hell are you talking about? That's our freaking guy! That guy is awesome! What are you doing?" Ballmer said as he raised his voice in excitement and pounded the table defending his star player. "What's wrong with you? Anyway, that's my reaction."

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Coach Frank Vogel instructed the scoreboard operator to put two minutes on the clock and have the score read 99-96 in the reserves' favor. It was time for the Los Angeles Lakers to test out their crunch-time lineup with LeBron James at the point and Anthony Davis at center on Day 5 of training camp Thursday.

At times it looked sloppy: James had several turnovers, including one where he had his pocket picked in the backcourt by Danny Green.

At times it looked efficient: Davis was a ready recipient of touches at the high post that he converted into face-up jump shots.

At times it looked tried and true: James hit a deep pull-up 3 to tie things up with six seconds remaining.

All of it was a work in progress.

"I mean, we have so many different lineup packages that we can probably go to throughout the course of the season," James said Thursday. "So we're just trying out a few things now in practice -- going with smaller lineups, going with bigger lineups, going with quicker lineups, going with slower lineups. But that's the luxury of having our personnel -- we have the ability to do multiple things. So, that's what practice is all about, being able to work on those things."

Besides using James at the 1 and Davis at the 5, Vogel used a closing lineup of Alex Caruso, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Avery Bradley with the first unit.

The bench group of Green, Rajon Rondo, Dwight Howard, Troy Daniels and Devontae Cacok (with the team on an Exhibit 10 contract) edged out the starters thanks to Rondo getting fouled by James and earning the win from the free throw line with less than a second remaining.

While James might have been the one directing the offense, he didn't embrace being called a point guard.

"It doesn't matter to me," James said. "I do whatever it takes for us to win. So it doesn't matter. I'm a ballplayer. I'm not a point guard, I'm not a shooting guard, a small forward, power forward or a center. I'm just a ballplayer. You put me on the floor, and I can make things happen with whoever is on the floor. So, I'm just looking forward to getting out there with my teammates because it's exciting. It's fun."

Vogel also eschewed the label, saying that point has "been his role throughout his entire career," even if he was in the lineup at small forward. He did, however, say he will look for times where James can be on the court without L.A.'s most accomplished point guard in Rondo.

"It's going to be important that we stagger Rajon and LeBron," Vogel said. "And let each of them have their turn running the show. Being the primary ball handler out there. And obviously, they're going to play a ton together as well. But staggering those guys is on my mind as well."

As James enters into his 17th season, Vogel is trusting his star to manage his role -- to some extent -- as he deems fit.

"He's going to have the green light to defer at any point throughout the game and throughout the season, as he's done again throughout his whole career, to be the primary playmaker," Vogel said. "If he's handled three or four straight times and is winded, he can defer and give it to somebody else to bring it up. The great thing is we have wings who can initiate offense, but we also play through Anthony Davis at the top, in terms of bringing it up and playing a five-out system. His skill set is so ridiculously versatile that we can play through him as well."

As for Davis, just like James declared on media day last week, the Lakers repeatedly targeted him on offense as they played out the late-game situation Thursday, looking to let the big man shine.

"I mean, he's Anthony Davis," James said. "You get him the rock in his sweet spot and let him do the work."

NEW YORK -- Aaron Judge keeps his postseason memories close, and the failures closer.

So much that ahead of his third trip to the playoffs with the Yankees, he has found himself rewatching video of the 2017 and 2018 postseasons.

"My biggest motivator and biggest lessons I've learned are always from failure," Judge said Thursday before the Yankees' workout was forced indoors by inclement weather. "I just think back to a lot of those games in '18; the little things. The little things we missed out on, the little details we missed that might not have affected a certain play but affected us later in the game or affected something later on. Failure is -- that's a tough pill to swallow, but it can always be one of your biggest motivators."

In 2017, the Yankees were eliminated in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series by the Houston Astros. A year later, their postseason didn't get that far, with the Yankees losing in four games to the Boston Red Sox in the division series.

Back in February, the wounds from both postseason disappointments were fresh, and they still are.

"Failure leaves a sour taste in your mouth," said Tyler Wade, likely one of the reserves on the Yankees' ALDS 25-man roster. "You go into the offseason ... and you see them celebrating ... and you think to yourself, 'Man, if a couple of things went our way. ... 'I think that motivates you. It has given us an extra edge. Since spring training we have had that motivation and that chip on our shoulder."

Center fielder Brett Gardner will be the only player on the ALDS roster who knows the elation of getting to and winning a World Series wearing pinstripes.

"What happened the last couple of years is still very fresh in our minds. Any time you get that close to something and fall a little short sometimes it hurts even worse than not getting close at all," said Gardner, one of two remaining members of the 2009 championship team alongside CC Sabathia, who is not active for the ALDS due to a sore shoulder.

"The last couple years, getting knocked out by the eventual World Series champion, more than anything we use those experiences to be motivated, not only by the failure, but also by learning from what we didn't do well enough. We know what we need to do to win and our plan is to go out and do that."

Outfielder Giancarlo Stanton experienced postseason play for the first time in 2018, with a less than stellar performance in the ALDS, going 4-for-18 with six strikeouts and no extra-base hits or RBI.

"You know that feeling of failure," said Stanton, who did hit a home run in the Yankees' wild-card victory over the Athletics. "You look back and think of the 'what ifs' and 'could'ves.' So you do see it as motivation, but at the same time you can't put more pressure on yourself because that gives you less of a chance to succeed. You understand the pressure, you have your time with it, and then you better get over it. Quick."

And for Judge, a 103-win season and capturing the franchise's first AL East title since 2012 mean nothing.

"Any year you're not the last man standing, the season is a fail," he said. "You can win every single game in the regular season, but if you lose in the postseason it doesn't matter. Each year, it left a bad taste in my mouth, especially Game 7 in Houston, Game 4 here at home, losing on our home turf to our AL East rivals; never a good taste going into the offseason. But [for] a lot of guys, that keeps us hungry."

"This is the regular season," Judge added. "They can say that 162 is the regular season, but that's spring training. This is when it counts. This is when it all counts. This is when it matters."

LOS ANGELES -- Stephen Strasburg will start Game 2 of the National League Division Series for the Washington Nationals on Friday.

Manager Davey Martinez made the announcement prior to the start of Game 1 against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday.

"He said he felt great, and he wanted to pitch," Martinez said of Strasburg, who worked three scoreless innings in relief of Max Scherzer and earned the win in Tuesday's wild-card game. "For me, it's like he threw a side [session] of 34 pitches with intensity. That's the way I looked at it the other day."

Strasburg admitted that his wild-card outing -- which was his first relief appearance since he was a college freshman in 2007 -- wasn't the same as a typical bullpen session between starts.

"It is something I haven't done in a really long time, and it is what it is," said the 31-year-old right-hander. "So just try to focus on what you can control and just disregard everything you can't. That's kind of the nature of the business. Sometimes you're going to have to deal with some things that you wouldn't expect, and bottom line is you still have to go out there and compete. It was definitely the most adrenaline I've ever had for a bullpen."

On Wednesday, after an off-day and a good night's sleep, Strasburg sought out his manager and told him that he was good to go for Game 2.

"He came in, without hesitation, he says, 'I want the ball. I'm ready to pitch. I feel great,'" Martinez said.

Strasburg, who's in the third year of a seven-year, $175 million contract, has been a workhorse for the Nationals this season. In 33 regular-season starts, he went 18-6 with a 3.32 ERA and led the NL with 209 innings pitched. It has been arguably the best season of his injury-riddled tenure in Washington.

A former top overall pick in 2009, Strasburg has dealt with injuries throughout his career. Toward the end of his rookie year in 2010, he underwent Tommy John surgery and missed most of the 2011 season. In 2012, when the Nationals made the playoffs for the first time since moving to Washington, the team shut down its prized pitcher in September, hoping to protect his valuable right arm. After starting Game 3 of the 2014 division series, Strasburg missed the 2016 playoffs due to a flexor mass strain. In the 2017 NLDS, he made two starts against the Cubs and didn't allow an earned run. Including his relief outing on Tuesday, Strasburg now has a 0.41 career ERA in the postseason.

By starting Game 2 on Friday, Strasburg then would be available to return to the mound on normal rest for a potential Game 5 next Wednesday. Martinez said that the schedule played a key role in his decision.

"I like the way that sets up, yeah. It had a lot to do with it," he said. "The biggest thing was I wanted him to come to me and I wanted him to own it. I wasn't going to pressure him into doing anything because he's done a lot for us already."

The Nationals, who send lefty Patrick Corbin to the mound in the series opener against Dodgers righty Walker Buehler, would be able to use Scherzer on regular rest for Game 3 in D.C. on Sunday.

"He's going to go through his daily routine," said Martinez of Scherzer, "and we'll make that announcement here in the next day or so."

If Scherzer doesn't start Game 3, Martinez likely would deploy veteran righty Anibal Sanchez, who went 11-8 with a 3.85 ERA during the regular season.

Atlanta Braves reliever Chris Martin, who left Thursday's National League Division Series opener with oblique tightness, told reporters he expects to miss the rest of this series.

Martin injured his left oblique while warming up before the top of the eighth inning and left the game before he had even thrown a pitch. He is scheduled for an MRI Friday.

The Braves are expected to add another pitcher to the roster Friday. Martin will then be ineligible for the NL Championship Series, should the Braves advance, as well as the NLDS.

Martin's replacement, Luke Jackson, immediately gave up a solo home run to Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, pullling the Cardinals within 3-2, and St. Louis went on to win the game 7-6.

"We had the whole thing set up right where we wanted it," Braves manager Brian Snitker said. "[Losing Martin] was a big blow."

Martin was acquired from the Texas Rangers in a trade deadline deal. In 20 appearances over 17 2/3 innings, he posted a 4.08 ERA.