With the second set of Champions League group stage games finished, we look at who stood out from this week's performances.

GK: Andre Onana (Ajax)

Among all the deserved plaudits that Ajax's players received in their run to the semifinals last season, it felt like goalkeeper Andre Onana got lost in the shuffle. But he'll get some more attention if he keeps playing like he did against Valencia this week: Onana got lucky when Dani Parejo hoofed a penalty over the bar, but his sensational save alone from a deflected Ferran Torres shot was enough to get him in this team.

RB: Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)

When a team scores seven goals away from home, it would be pretty easy to just copy their whole XI into a team like this, but in the interests of variation we haven't done that. Kimmich gets the nod though, not only because he scored one of those seven goals but also because of his all-round performance, which was as strong as we've all come to expect from a defender shaping up to be an all-time Bayern great.

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CB: Fikayo Tomori (Chelsea)

Even though his hand has been forced to a point by their transfer ban, Frank Lampard isn't picking these Chelsea youngsters to make some sort of idealised point about youth development. He's picking them because they're good, and in the long run Tomori might turn out to be the best of them all: he was superb once again in their win over Lille, both in his usual defensive duties and with a fantastic long pass to set up Tammy Abraham for Chelsea's opener.

CB: Marcelo (Lyon)

These are uncertain times at Lyon, with new manager Sylvinho under some pressure after a tricky start to the domestic season. Perhaps the Champions League will turn out to be a form of respite, and their impressive win over RB Leipzig on Wednesday might spark a few things they can use as the season goes on. At the heart of that win was a fine defensive display by Marcelo in the middle of their backline, repelling numerous attacks by Julian Nagelsmann's often rampant forwards.

LB: Andy Robertson (Liverpool)

An easy trap to fall into when picking defenders for these composite teams is just to select ones who have scored a goal and not pay much attention to their defensive performance. But when the goal is as good as the one Robertson scored against FC Salzburg, you can make an exception. Finishing off a sensational team move that also involved his fellow full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, is there a better left-back in the world right now than Robertson?

CM: Marco Verratti (Paris Saint-Germain)

PSG's 1-0 win over Galatasaray on Tuesday will not go down as one of the Champions League's classic encounters. It was a solid job well done by the Parisians, and at the heart of it was their Italian string-puller Verratti, who held the team together in Istanbul and also should have registered a magnificent assist, with a fantastic pass down the left that set Angel Di Maria free, only for the Argentine to fluff the finish.

CM: Thomas Partey (Atletico Madrid)

There's something very reassuring about Partey: when he's on the ball, you get the feeling that everything is probably going to be OK. And it was for Atletico Madrid in Moscow on Tuesday, a game against Lokomotiv that they won 2-0 and was broadly controlled by the Ghana midfielder, who scored the second and spent the rest of the game holding things together for Diego Simeone's side.

LW: Sadio Mane (Liverpool)

Mohamed Salah might have scored twice and got the winner, but it was another Liverpool forward who gave a better all-round showing in their 4-3 win over FC Salzburg. Mane could be the form forward in Europe at the moment; he displayed that at Anfield with a tremendous all-round performance and a glorious goal with the help of Roberto Firmino.

RW: Serge Gnabry (Bayern Munich)

If any Tottenham fans want a bright side from their calamitous, crushing 7-2 defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich on Tuesday, it's that their crusher-in-chief was sold for a mere £8 million by Arsenal a few years ago. The most impressive part of Gnabry's performance was its ruthlessness: he detected that the fight had gone out of the Spurs defence in the closing stages, and took advantage of that without mercy for his four goals.

ST: Luis Suarez (Barcelona)

Every time you think Suarez is done, he comes back, like the villain at the end of a horror movie. His performances might have been on the wane for a couple of seasons and he hasn't really been able to inspire Barcelona much domestically, but he saved their bacon against Inter on Wednesday night with a brace to secure a key victory for Ernesto Valverde's side. He was helped along significantly by Lionel Messi, but Suarez was the man with the finishes to earn that 2-1 win.

ST: Emmanuel Dennis (Club Brugge)

Club Brugge striker Dennis made a promise before their game against Real Madrid this week: that if he scored, he would get a tattoo to commemorate the feat. As it turns out he might need a couple of tattoos after he scored twice in the Bernabeu -- a pair of goals might have been enough to win the tie in most circumstances, but it was cancelled out by a late Sergio Ramos and Casemiro-inspired comeback.

Less than 15 months ago, Danushka Gunathilaka found himself banned from all forms of cricket, further action pending following the results of a Sri Lankan police inquiry. He had been suspended for breaching curfew during the middle of a Test, but far more gravely, the offence was linked to an incident of alleged sexual assault by an individual known to the batsman. While he was cleared of any criminal wrongdoing, the incident saw him earn a harsh reprimand from his then-captain Angelo Mathews, who declared no indiscipline would be tolerated.

It was only the latest disciplinary scrape Gunathilaka got into, and he was banned for half a dozen games. It wasn't yet clear how much longer he would stay out of contention for the national team; occurrences like these can have career-altering implications. He was, to put it mildly, emphatically not in control.

Those were matters off the field, and to get a sense of why Sri Lanka Cricket has arguably treated him with kid gloves for so long, you really need to watch him on it. Back into the team for a tour that saw his entry eased by the withdrawal of several first-choice players, Gunathilaka put on a show that emphasised control above all else.

Dealing with the triple-left arm threat of Pakistan's pacemen, he wouldn't let himself be intimidated; he was never more ruthless than in dealing with the short ball. His control percentage for short deliveries bounced at him from Mohammad Amir, Usman Shinwari and Wahab Riaz was a spotless 100%. He began with a flick to fine leg off the first ball from Shinwari, a second boundary would be had courtesy a back-foot punch through the covers. Amir bowled just one short ball to him all innings, only to see the batsman swivel across and help it behind fine leg. He wouldn't try that length to Gunathilaka all innings again.

The other quicks found the short stuff just as ineffective against him. Nine balls around that length produced 13 runs with two boundaries, with the spinners finding it just as hard to work him out. Pakistan's two lead spinners, Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz, conceded a combined 44 runs in 39 balls against him. He was in control for all but three of those balls - 92.3%. Across the 134 balls he faced for his 133, his control percentage registered at 88.7.

"I think it was a good century for me, and I take a lot of positives from that knock," Gunathilaka said. "I'm sure this'll help me in the future. It comes right after my injury, which has kept me from playing any international game for the past five months. This was a good opportunity for me and I think I did really well. I was happy I was able to showcase my skills, and hopefully I can do this consistently now."

However, it isn't numbers that have seen Gunathilaka work his way back into the team after breaking curfew in the middle of a Test match and risking opening himself up to a police inquiry. It isn't his control percentage that won him back a place on the team after turning up to training without his gear.

It was the manner in which he began that presumably has had SLC continue to invest in him. He asserted his authority on the game with those two boundaries in the first over, and finding four further exquisite ones before the field would spread out. Not that that mattered, though, as a reverse sweep in the 15th over indicated the boundaries would keep coming despite Pakistan's best-laid plans. There was no telling where they'd go - his wagon wheel would reveal no cranny of the ground had gone unexplored - and the elegance of the shot-making would be the only predictable point of a relentless onslaught.

When Nawaz dropped it short, Gunathilaka rocked back and slashed a beautifully timed square cut to the boundary. When he went full, he saw him charge and dispatch him back over his head. Even the slog was so brimful of easy power it looked sexy. When Wahab - who had the sort of day confirmation bias tends to set aside while he's out of the team - went full and fast, Gunathilaka would clear his front leg, and, moments later, wide long-on with devastating efficiency. Wahab would try again. This time he went wider while keeping the same full length, as if Gunathilaka hadn't spent all afternoon gloriously driving through the covers right in front of the Majid Khan enclosure. Parallels don't come much sweeter than that.

The flamboyance was shelved as he approached the hundred, a pragmatic single to the on side bringing up just his second ODI century, another indicator of unfulfilled potential. This tour, after all, has been all about getting the job done, and for a change, the tables had been turned. Repeatedly spurned by Sri Lanka for one reason or another, this was a tour the board needed its players to sign up to, and Gunathilaka, having played no international cricket since January, saw yet another opportunity to return.

There's little point claiming this must be a turning point - how can one possibly know? - and if history is any indicator, the road to redemption is rarely without its bumps. But on a day when Pakistan recalled two of their own problem children back into their T20I side, here was a reminder of why these men are able to walk back into their jobs after slip-ups that would see them sent packing in just about any other profession. Karachi cricket fans don't have a reputation for applauding elegance as much as effectiveness, but for a few hours, he had them marvelling the art as much as the craft.

It was almost midnight when he left the post-match press conference. This was a curfew Sri Lanka were quite happy letting him breach.

CSA has sold the broadcast rights for the second edition of the Mzansi Super League (MSL) to the SABC, South Africa's insolvent free-to-air broadcaster. This is a change from last season when the SABC were gifted the rights without having to pay anything, after CSA failed to strike a deal with their regular broadcast partner, pay television operator SuperSport, despite repeated efforts.

While SuperSport continue to hold the rights for all South African international and other domestic cricket, a spokesperson confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that they did not put in a bid for the MSL.

Neither CSA nor the SABC were willing to divulge the amount the MSL rights were sold for but CSA called the agreement "more commercially viable" than last season, when CSA budgeted a loss of R40 million (US$2.6 million) for the inaugural edition of the MSL. Sources claim the actual figure was higher.

"We can confirm that the deal with SABC was different from the first edition of MSL in that this year, it is more commercially viable for us. As the lifeblood for CSA, broadcast revenue remains key for us, and we are pleased for the SABC's investment in our valued property and for the assistance in providing access to millions of cricket-loving South Africans who may otherwise not be able to enjoy the game," Kugandrie Govender, CSA's chief commercial officer, told ESPNcricinfo.

The SABC will broadcast all 32 matches live on both television and radio, in prime-time slots from November 8 for five weeks. Fixtures will be played on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings, starting at 5.30pm local time, Saturday afternoons will kick off at 12.30pm and there are double-headers every Sunday at 10am and 12pm local time. These timings are earlier than the usual 6pm starts and 2.30pm matches, with CSA explaining the changes are a result of market research.

Securing the MSL is a major coup for the cash-strapped SABC, who have requested a R3.2 billion (US$ 289 million) government bailout and have been unable to broadcast other high-profile sports events. They only showed South Africa's first two matches of the men's World Cup 2019 live, required the sports minister's intervention to strike a deal with SuperSport to put South Africa's Premier Soccer League on air and they are also not broadcasting any of the ongoing Rugby World Cup. Having the exclusive rights to some sport, albeit it is a local event, is unusual for the broadcaster.

Whether CSA can boast of the same benefit is unlikely. The organisation forecast losses of R654 million (US$42.8 million) for the four-year cycle 2018-2019 to 2022-2023, though the South African Cricketers' Association puts that figure closer to R1 billion (US$ 65.6 million). The sale of the most recent MSL rights will reduce that amount "drastically" according to Govender, but CSA were unable to provide any concrete numbers. Doubtless, CSA's financial situation will also depend on the outcome of their renegotiation of a rights package with SuperSport, whose six-year deal with CSA ends in April 2021.

Pelicans guard Lonzo Ball and his father, LaVar, have been countersued by their former business partner, Alan Foster, for fraudulent concealment and breach of contract.

According to legal documents obtained by The Blast, Foster alleges that LaVar Ball embezzled more than $2.6 million from Big Baller Brand and other companies associated with the Ball family, including Ball Sports Group, to fund his own extravagant lifestyle.

Foster states that his lawsuit "seeks to set the record straight, clear his name, expose LaVar's scheme to cover up his theft of over $2.6 million of BBB and BSG's money, and hold LaVar and Lonzo to their contractual obligations."

In April, Lonzo Ball filed suit against Foster for damages of more than $2 million, plus interest, alleging that Foster "conspired to embezzle millions of dollars and then divert those funds for his personal use, including to acquire assets in Ethiopia."

In court documents obtained by ESPN, Ball alleged that Foster, shortly after his release from prison, "embarked on his plan to target Ball and his family" and then "fleeced them of millions of dollars" by "creating a variety of corporate entities in which he gave himself ownership interests and managerial control."

ESPN reported on March 22 that Ball severed ties with Foster over concerns that the longtime family friend had a criminal past and also had not adequately accounted for the whereabouts of roughly $1.5 million from Ball's personal and business accounts.

Before the March 22 article, Foster initially offered to arrange an in-person meeting with ESPN alongside Ball's father at the Ball estate in Chino Hills, California. But repeated subsequent attempts via email, phone calls and text messages to reach Foster for his perspective were met with no response. On March 21, Foster suggested meeting in person at the Ball estate the following day, but then later that day, he instead suggested the middle of the following week because he was "super busy." Foster otherwise offered no comment.

The Los Angeles Times, citing two law enforcement sources, reported on April 24 that the FBI had opened an investigation into whether Foster defrauded the Ball family out of millions of dollars.

In the lawsuit Foster filed late Wednesday night, according to The Blast, Foster claims that he "loaned to LaVar, [his wife] Tina and Lonzo hundreds of thousands of dollars from his personal savings for various things, including over $130,000 on Lonzo's living expenses."

"During Lonzo's first semester at UCLA, he complained to LaVar and Alan that his dorm room had poor air conditioning and he hated UCLA's meal plan," the suit alleges.

"Lonzo and LaVar asked Alan if he would rent an apartment or condominium for Lonzo, pay for Lonzo's personal trainer ... including furnishings and laptops. Plus, pay for Lonzo's food bills."

Foster's suit also claims that he brokered an $80,000 sale of Lonzo's college uniforms and shoes, the proceeds of which went to the down payment on a Mercedes Benz G-Wagon for Ball.

In 2002, Foster was sentenced to more than seven years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of mail fraud and two counts of money laundering as part of a scheme that defrauded 70 investors of $4 million, according to federal court records obtained by ESPN. Foster also was ordered to pay $3.7 million in restitution to victims.

Lonzo Ball's lawsuit alleged that Foster never informed him or the Ball family of his criminal past. It also alleged that months before meeting the family, Foster had his parole revoked -- and was sentenced to an additional five months in prison -- because he could not show he was compliant with the conditions of his parole to "not engage in any business involving investment, asset management or protection, or any other business involving the protection of funds."

Ball also alleged that Foster arranged for at least eight loans with financing fees of nearly $950,000 to be taken out by Ball or another entity owned by Ball, Family Always Matters LLC, from "non-traditional lenders" that "included exorbitant financing charges that were paid in whole or in part to Foster without Ball's knowledge."

When Ball confronted Foster about these concerns over his conduct, the suit alleged that Foster responded by "threatening to publicly disseminate false and misleading information concerning Ball and his family."

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Yandy Diaz is known for two things: his outsize muscles and exceptional ability to hit. His combination of both in the American League wild-card game helped propel the Rays into the division series.

Playing in only his second game since July, Diaz led off the game with a home run and followed with another two innings later, pacing the Rays' homer-happy attack in a 5-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday. Tampa Bay will face the Houston Astros, the best team in baseball this season, starting Friday in the best-of-five division series.

In front of a wild-card record crowd of 54,005 at Oakland Coliseum, Diaz muted the cheers by hammering a fastball from starter Sean Manaea out to right-center field. Outfielder Avisail Garcia followed with a two-run home run in the second inning, and Diaz took Manaea out to right-center again in the third to stake the Rays a 4-0 lead.

"Yandy is just one of those guys -- he just wakes up out of bed and rakes," Rays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier said. "Everyone knows him for his muscles and what he can do in the weight room and stuff like that, but the guy finds the barrel so much throughout this whole season, and anytime we're able to have him available, we're happy."

Diaz's availability was uncertain until the past week. On July 22, Diaz fouled a pitch off his left foot with two outs and two strikes in the ninth inning of a blowout loss for the Rays. A hairline fracture kept him out until Sept. 29, when he returned and went hitless.

"We're excited to have him back," Rays outfielder Austin Meadows said. "He's been a force for us, especially early on in the season."

Diaz was a surprise starter for Tampa Bay, though the Rays have surprised all year on their way to a 96-66 record and their first postseason appearance since 2013. The last time they played in October, Joe Maddon was their manager, Evan Longoria their third baseman and David Price their ace. This is an entirely new team, though the principles that have buoyed the Rays -- seeking value and building from within -- have not changed.

Their one significant offseason expenditure paid dividends Wednesday, too. Starter Charlie Morton, whom they signed to a two-year, $30 million deal, worked out of early jams to hold the A's to one run through five innings -- an unearned run that scored due to a throwing error kicking around the large foul territory in Oakland.

The A's, winners of 97 games, couldn't muster any offense beyond that. Reliever Diego Castillo shut them down over two scoreless innings. Nick Anderson, a midseason pickup from Miami, gave up a first-batter single and struck out the next four hitters he faced. And Emilio Pagan, a former Oakland reliever and the Rays' unlikely closer, got the last two outs and sent the A's to their third wild-card loss in six years, following a brutal 9-8 extra-innings loss in Kansas City in 2014 and last year's 7-2 blowout defeat in New York.

Tampa Bay moves on to face an Astros buzzsaw that won 107 games and will start Cy Young co-favorites Justin Verlander in Game 1 and Gerrit Cole in Game 2. The Astros' offense outscored the Rays' by more than 150 runs -- and their pitching and defense allowed the fewest in the AL.

Still, the Rays, unlike the Washington Nationals in the National League wild-card game on Tuesday, did not need to burn their second starter. Reigning AL Cy Young winner Blake Snell and breakout right-hander Tyler Glasnow will be available to start Games 1 and 2, with Morton back for Game 3 on full rest.

OAKLAND -- Pressure? You think a 92 mph fastball on the outside corner with a huge and vocal crowd bearing down on you in a playoff game is pressure?

Try riding a raft to freedom from your native Cuba, after being caught once before, or playing winter league baseball in Venezuela, where firearms in the stands are the norm.

"In Cuba, they probably had knives and machetes," a champagne-soaked Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Yandy Diaz said in Spanish with a laugh. "In Venezuela, if you made an error, maybe you'd get shot."

In this case, it was Diaz who drove a stake through the heart of the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday, hitting a pair of opposite-field solo home runs in the Rays' 5-1 win at Rickey Henderson Field, stunning a wild-card-record crowd of 54,005 and sending Tampa Bay to a division series with the Houston Astros.

The A's, meanwhile, dropped their MLB-record ninth straight winner-take-all playoff game and fell to 1-15 since 2000 in postseason games in which they would advance with a win.

Indeed, neither the size nor the tenor of the raucous crowd got to Diaz, who came off the 60-day injured list on Sunday after suffering a hairline fracture in his left foot from a foul ball on July 22.

In fact, Diaz had not homered in a game since July 18 and was just two for his previous 24 before facing the A's. His inclusion in the Rays' lineup was something of a surprise.

"I don't know if we expected that kind of performance," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "He made us look a lot smarter than we are.

"The thing that stood out the most about Yandy was how hard he hit the baseball. In the air, on the ground, wherever. He hits the ball as hard as anybody in baseball, and he does it at a consistent clip. We have not said one thing to him about hitting the ball in the air, any of that. We took the approach of 'Let him be. Give him consistent reps ... and let the player figure it out a little bit.'"

Diaz figured A's starter Sean Manaea out five pitches into the game, driving a 92 mph offering on a 3-1 count into the seats in right-center.

In the third inning, with Tampa Bay holding a 3-0 lead, Diaz again went opposite field on the fifth pitch of the at-bat, hitting a 2-2, 91 mph pitch over the 362-foot sign to nearly the same spot as his first homer.

A hearty bat flip ensued, as did a look back into the Rays dugout as he circled the bases and chased Manaea from the game after two-plus innings.

"They kind of beat us with our game," A's manager Bob Melvin said.

Diaz later added a single and was 3-for-4 on the night. He entered the game batting .500 (8-for-16) with a double, two home runs and three walks when batting leadoff. It was the second multihomer game of his career, which began with the Cleveland Indians in 2017 before he was traded to Tampa Bay in December.

But about that pressure. Diaz said the crowds might have been smaller in Venezuela, but the intensity they brought for Caracas games against rival Magallanes was more than what he has felt in the big leagues.

"You can put pressure on yourself," Diaz said. "But you have to act like this is a normal game, just another game."

Barbados Tridents 135 for 3 (Charles 55, Hales 33, Deyal 1-17) beat Trinbago Knight Riders 134 for 8 (Simmons 60, Gurney 2-14, Shakib 2-25, Walsh Jr. 2-34) by seven wickets

After finding themselves in a do-or-die match against St. Lucia Zouks on Sunday, Barbados Tridents might wind up with a crack at advancing straight to the CPL Final for the first time since 2015 after completing a rare sweep of the Trinbago Knight Riders.

Back-to-back wins over the Zouks and Knight Riders - by seven wickets at Queen's Park Oval - have vaulted the Tridents from fifth into second place on 10 points, holding a net run rate edge over the Patriots.

Another superb night from the tournament's leading wicket-taker Hayden Walsh Jr. and Player of the Match Harry Gurney - who bowled brilliantly at the death - picked four wickets out of the hand and another via a run out to restrict the Knight Riders to 134 for 8 after they elected to bat. Then, Johnson Charles piloted a cool chase with 55 off 47 balls.

The defending CPL champs have gone ice cold after starting off with four straight wins. The Knight Riders now must beat the undefeated Guyana Amazon Warriors at Providence in the final match of the league phase or else they'll be forced into an elimination playoff match against the Patriots.

American success at Queen's Park Oval

A year after USA fast bowler Ali Khan sparked the Knight Riders run to a second straight CPL title, legspinner Walsh Jr left his mark. After ripping through the Knight Riders in the first match-up between the two sides at Kensington Oval with 5 for 19, Walsh Jr. was at it again.

Brought on in the seventh over, Walsh Jr. struck with his first ball in the ninth to break up a 52-run stand with a lovely flighted googly to dismiss Colin Munro for 23. The ball to dismiss Darren Bravo in the 11th was just as good. Set up the ball before with a flighted delivery that had him in two minds, he followed it up with a flatter one that skidded through to cramp him for room and crash into the stumps off an inside edge.

Walsh Jr.'s night wasn't done though. After missing a clear run-out chance off Lendl Simmons in the fourth over from backward point, he wouldn't blow another opportunity from the same position in the 18th, firing a direct hit at the non-striker's end after Javon Searles was slow responding to a call from Denesh Ramdin. This came on the back of Gurney dismissing Kieron Pollard.

The double-strike killed momentum at the end of the Knight Riders innings after Simmons had set them up with 60 off 45 balls. Gurney struck again on the penultimate ball of the innings, trapping Ramdin leg before as part of a marvelous five-run 20th that left the Knight Riders flummoxed.

Charles in charge

The opener scored his third fifty off the season with a show of restraint, not typical of him. He started briskly though, slapping Ali Khan twice through cover and then slashed one over the slips for three boundaries in the second over of the chase.

From then on he was content to let Alex Hales take charge in the Powerplay. The England star has struggled through most of CPL 2019 but produced his best score of the season, making 33 off 27 as part of a 54-run opening stand with Charles before driving Mark Deyal's offspin to Searles at extra cover.

Charles picked up his pace once Hales departed. After being given not out gloving a short ball off Neesham to the wicketkeeper on 38, he rubbed salt into the wound in the New Zealander's next over by clubbing six and four off the first two balls to go to 50 off 41 deliveries. He was finally yorked by Chris Jordan in the 16th, but by that stage he had put the Tridents on course for victory.

Good night, Nurse
TV commentators have frequently debated Ashley Nurse's spot for the Tridents, because he hasn't bowled much. Here, he had a job to do with the bat, and although he struggled, saw his team home. Coming in with 25 balls remaining, at No. 5, he failed to time the ball. But with seven needed off the final over, he struck Pollard for a crucial boundary over midwicket off the second ball of the 20th to bring the equation down to three off four balls. A single and a two by JP Duminy through wide long-off clinched victory.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee athletic director Phillip Fulmer, who led the Vols to a national championship in 1998 as head coach, said Wednesday he has no desire to return to the sideline and that the "coaching chapter of my life is closed."

Fulmer, 69, made an appearance on the syndicated Vol Calls radio program and also spoke with ESPN.

"We've got a good football coach, and I believe in Jeremy Pruitt totally," Fulmer said. "I have no interest in coaching again and would rather spend that time being a grandfather and doing whatever I can as athletic director in helping Jeremy get this program where we all want it to be. Any talk of me coaching again is just a bunch of rumors."

The Vols are 1-3 in Pruitt's second season as coach and are a heavy underdog to No. 3 Georgia at home on Saturday. Tennessee finished 5-7 in Pruitt's first season.

As the losses have mounted, the chatter that Fulmer might be poised to replace Pruitt has only increased. Fulmer told ESPN he just wanted to set the record straight and that his focus was solely on being the AD at his alma mater and not coaching again.

"I'm way past that point in my life," Fulmer said. "I love the job I have [as AD] and am committed to seeing this thing through."

Fulmer was fired as Tennessee's head coach at the end of the 2008 season following his second losing season in four years, but a year removed from leading the Vols to 10 wins and an SEC championship game appearance.

Since Fulmer's ouster, Tennessee has had four different head coaches. And if the Vols don't turn it around this season, they could be looking at their seventh losing season in the last 11 years.

Fulmer, inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2012, spearheaded the latter part of the coaching search that brought Pruitt to Tennessee in late 2017. Fulmer replaced John Currie as athletic director after Currie was fired following a coaching search that reached unparalleled levels of dysfunction.

Currie tried to hire Greg Schiano, triggering a fan revolt, and the university then backtracked. Numerous other candidates proceeded to turn down the job, and Currie -- now the Wake Forest AD -- was eventually replaced by Fulmer, who hired Pruitt.

Fulmer said nobody at Tennessee, including Pruitt, was pleased with the Vols' start this season, but reiterated his "total support" for Pruitt and that nobody expected it to be a quick fix when Pruitt arrived last year.

"Jeremy Pruitt is as bought in as anybody could possibly be bought in at the University of Tennessee," Fulmer said.

As he looks to expand his personal brand both on and off the court, Los Angeles Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma has signed a five-year footwear and apparel endorsement deal with Puma.

The deal is expected to pay him north of $20 million over the life of the contract, with additional incentives that could escalate the total value even further, according to industry sources.

Kuzma is now one of the highest-earning players with the brand and a featured partner with the company, who will also be featured in brand campaigns, key product feedback sessions and have creative control over future collections.

"The No. 1 thing I was trying to look for was a little bit more control, a little bit more freedom to do certain things. Not to be restricted from an idea standpoint," said Kuzma. "Having a brand fully commit to me and see that I have visions, too -- that could work out well for the brand and me as well. Puma was that."

To celebrate the signing, Kuzma met with local Lakers fans at a Puma-branded taco cart along Fairfax Avenue, a district home to Los Angeles' longtime streetwear scene and many of the leading sports culture brand boutiques.

Billboards and out-of-home murals around town merged his "Kuz" nickname icon with the last two typeface letters of the brand's logo, highlighted by the Puma cat affixed atop. The 24-year-old handed out T-shirts featuring the same "Kuzma" hybrid graphic and took photos with more than 250 fans.

"The addition of Kyle to our expanding Hoops roster is a huge step for our brand," said Adam Petrick, Puma global director of brand and marketing.

After signing a two-year shoe deal with Nike as an unheralded rookie out of Utah, the negotiation window of his sneaker free agency this fall was well timed. The original Nike deal paid him a base of just $25,000 per year, which he far outpaced almost instantly. He was named to the All-Rookie First Team and simultaneously listed on the CHARGE group's 25-under-25 most marketable athletes across 48 sports.

This year, Kuzma's rising profile in marketing deals also ran parallel to the Lakers' reluctance to include him in the heavily-covered Anthony Davis trade, all at a time when he shifted his representation. In hiring the massive and well-established Creative Artists Agency for both on- and off-court representation, his longtime business manager Vin Sparacio also took on an elevated role in the shoe deals talks.

His newly hired team at CAA eventually negotiated what is expected to be one of the highest-earning veteran sneaker deals this fall, among a deep free-agent class. The third-year forward is set to earn more from Puma than the Lakers this season, a distinction that only Derrick Rose and Laker teammate Rajon Rondo share throughout the league.

"It kind of just speaks to the day and age we are in," he said. "I have the best of both worlds. Pretty talented on the basketball court, but people can really relate to me off the court. From my journey, who I am, and so many different things and the passions that I have -- people can relate to it."

In shoe deals, the incumbent brand will typically offer an initial extension contract in the spring or toward the end of July, with players allowed to begin taking pitches from competitor brands after Aug. 1. Most deals expire on Oct. 1, creating a 60-day window for ongoing negotiations to escalate.

With Kuzma participating in USA Basketball's training camp during the first week of August, the window made for a natural opportunity to meet with Nike executives during the early Swoosh-sponsored scrimmages and practices in Las Vegas.

Once a new agreement with Nike couldn't be met, Kuzma and his team headed to Boston for Puma's official presentation. They enjoyed the luxury of The Puma Jet, flying back-and-forth on the company's private ambassador plane from Los Angeles, in time for Kuzma to be back at USAB practices.

"I don't think any companies have that," he smiled.

Puma's key pitch messaging wasn't to simply sell him on what they could offer.

"That was the main thing -- the meeting was more about me," he said. "It was pretty much, 'What do you want to do?'"

The brand views him as a rising, expressive star on a star-laden roster expected to contend in the Western Conference, while also bringing market size and added visibility to its casual line through the growing attention paid to his arena entry fashion.

In moving on from Nike, the Laker forward will look to establish himself as a face of the brand, while giving up wearing any of his idol Kobe Bryant's longtime Swoosh signature sneakers.

"It was tough from the simple fact of how much I love Kobe. Everyone knows that I wear Kobe's shoes," he said. "It was tough, but at the end of the day, I have dreams and goals, and I imagine myself being at that type of level in this business."

Kuzma will be wearing Puma's new Clyde Hardwood sneaker in both retail and custom colorways to start the season, while working behind the scenes on a variety of future basketball and lifestyle sneakers and clothing.

The company has already partnered with emerging fashion and streetwear brands like Rhude and Chinatown Market for collaboration capsules, with Kuzma expected to be incorporated into the process and hands-on in creating future Puma fashion capsules with outside designers.

"What was huge for us was that Puma will allow Kuz to express his creativity on and off the court," said Sparacio.

One of the first themes Kuzma hopes to celebrate on his sneakers will be a tribute to late rap icon Nipsey Hussle, a Los Angeles native and Laker fan, also known for his small business empowerment and community efforts. Hussle had been a brand partner with Puma, with the company recently launching a co-branded collection with his Marathon Clothing store to benefit his ongoing foundation.

"Ever since that moment, trying to carry on that marathon and that type of symbolism, it kind of meant a lot to me," said Kuzma, who has a "TMC" flag tattoo on his arm. "I wanted to go to Puma, not only for everything that I've got going on, but to do some things within this community like Nip did."

Going forward, that creative input will be the hallmark element of Kuzma's new partnership with Puma.

"His performance on the court speaks for itself, but his personality and style off the court fits perfectly with our team," said Petrick. "He is tuned into the culture around the sport and we're excited to collaborate with him as we move into the upcoming NBA season."

HONOLULU -- Kawhi Leonard went through his first full-contact practice with the LA Clippers on Wednesday.

Head coach Doc Rivers said Leonard did full contact when he was on the floor for "probably half the live stuff."

"Kawhi practiced today," Rivers said at the University of Hawaii, where the Clippers are holding their training camp. "He was great."

Rivers even joked that Leonard looked so good he might start him in the Clippers' first preseason game Wednesday against the Houston Rockets. However, the team is playing things safe with him. Rivers had said at the start of camp that Leonard would probably be held out of the Clippers' two preseason games here in Hawaii against Houston and the Shanghai Sharks.

Leonard said earlier this week that his health and playing time will be managed differently this season compared with last season with the Toronto Raptors, who handled Leonard's load management and played him in 60 regular-season games last season. However, Leonard is keeping the big picture in mind with the Clippers.

"Taking it day by day, and just working things out, really," Leonard said. "Everything is going great right now. I just don't want to push it over the top or go on an uphill incline right now with this being my first three days."

Leonard said on the first day of camp that he feels much better than he did at this time last year entering camp with the Raptors, when he was coming off a quad injury. But the Clippers, who also are taking it slow with Paul George and his surgically repaired shoulders, are in no rush to push their star players.

"We all know what we're trying to do at the end of the year, what the expectations are for ourselves," Leonard said. "But right now like I said, just taking the training camp, trying to build for each other, just trying to jell as a team."