NAPA, Calif. – Gather ‘round, one and all, for the season premiere of the Phil Mickelson Experience.

Mickelson was center stage Wednesday at the Safeway Open, shaking off some rust by teaming with NBA superstar Stephen Curry in the pro-am. He strode to the first tee like the mayor of Napa, shaking hands and posing for pictures and introducing himself to nearly everyone within reach.

Dressed in a black shirt and white shorts, Lefty now officially qualifies as svelte. The weight-loss program he started at The Open in July has him nearly 30 pounds trimmer, back to the top end of his weight range when he was in college at Arizona State in the early ‘90s. The physique overhaul has injected a youthful vibrancy, as a man who is fast approaching his 50^th birthday tries everything he can to turn back the clock.

The laid-back antics continued throughout the round, with Curry and Mickelson chatting their way around the North Course. Mickelson offered advice on the greens for the two-time NBA MVP, and both made a detour on the third hole to try their hand at a long-distance champagne cork shot contest. The two even shared in Curry’s signature shimmy dance move after Mickelson rolled in a 15-foot birdie on the final hole.

There were plenty of laughs, smiles and thumbs-up for the NorCal fans who came out to witness a cross-sport intersection. It also happened to put the actual golf on the back burner for the five-time major champ.

Mickelson has been something of a revelation in recent months, turning over a new leaf that few thought he had in him even after standing at the forefront of the sport for more than two decades. His Twitter account has taken social media by storm, featuring video chats with other players and advice on how to build the best calves in equal measure. It’s a light-hearted window into the dry humor and savage one-liners that have previously been reserved for the inside of Tour locker rooms.

“It made me laugh because at the beginning of it, my buddies are like, ‘It’s not him.’ I’m like, ‘Trust me, it’s him.’ If you read the stuff he says back and watch everything, it’s nobody but Phil,” said Justin Thomas. “We’re living in a day and age where social media kind of takes over the world and it is bizarre, but I think he’s enjoying it a lot more than he thought he was going to. I know I am.”

The explosion of Mickelson’s off-course makeover, replete with exercise tips and candid beach snapshots, has coincided with a dramatic drop-off of his on-course form. A victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach in February that signaled a possible breakthrough instead led to an improbable slide, one that again left him short of the Tour Championship and featured just a single top-35 finish in 16 subsequent starts.

While the terms "Mickelson" and "consistent" have never exactly been intertwined, this year was uncharted territory. At multiple points he spoke with candor about his active search for a spark or turnaround coming up empty.

“Probably the worst six months of my career,” Mickelson said Wednesday. “I’m determined to fix it.”

Barring a sudden turnaround, Mickelson is about to miss playing in his first U.S. team event since the 1993 Ryder Cup. His world ranking, which has dropped from 17^th to 43^rd since his Pebble victory, must stay inside the top 60 by next spring or Mickelson might not automatically qualify for the U.S. Open.

More so than any of his peers, Mickelson has found effective tools with which to keep Father Time at bay. But no one can hold out forever.

“I wasn’t mentally sharp or focused the last five or six months, and it led to some very poor play,” Mickelson said. “I’m taking a little bit of a different route this time. I’m not going to put as many hours in and I’m going to try to be more focused on the time I do put in and enjoy it a little more and see if I can get it turned around.”

So as the fan-friendly sideshow reached wine country with Mickelson set to begin his 29^th season as a pro, it perhaps sheds light on what the next chapter might hold for the crowd favorite. Few expect him to bolt for PGA Tour Champions once he celebrates a milestone birthday in June, and it’s unlikely that he’ll parse away any additional practice time for side projects like course design.

Instead Mickelson has carved out yet another niche, one where he explores the whimsical side of the game and gives fans a peek behind the curtain. It’s talk of flexing calves and dropping bombs, and it’s a medium that plays to all his greatest strengths. It’s also one that doesn’t require on-course success to resonate with those attending tournaments or following on Twitter.

With two tournament wins in the last 18 months, Mickelson isn’t turning his back on competition anytime soon. The disappointment is evident in his tone whenever he references his summer swoon, and he remains resolute in his stated plans to get the ship righted.

“It’s just frustrating when you know you can perform a certain way and you don’t,” Mickelson said. “I’ll get it figured out. I always have in the past. I’ve gone through ups and downs in the past, and I’ll figure it out. Hopefully I already have.”

But all the leg exercises and juice cleanses in the world can’t stave off inevitable decline forever. There’s still a chance that Mickelson’s game will continue to vex him into 2020 and beyond, that the drives will wobble and the putts will slide by.

But should Mickelson’s drought linger, it’s unlikely he’s going anywhere. Instead he might simply have more time and energy to devote to becoming the Tour’s latest social media star, as one of the two most popular players of a generation has discovered a way to relate to fans and maintain popularity even in the face of over-par scores. If nothing else, it would be the latest iteration of a career that left a broken mold in its wake years ago.

NAPA, Calif. – Phil Mickelson may be one of the main tournament draws this week at the Safeway Open, but he had to share the stage during Wednesday’s pro-am.

That’s because Mickelson played alongside NBA superstar and local fan favorite Stephen Curry, whose golf game is almost as good as his 3-point shot. Curry has played in two Korn Ferry Tour events as an amateur and boasts a scratch handicap that was on full display during their round together at Silverado Resort & Spa.

“You saw him dropping all kinds of bombs off the tee. Just hellacious bombs, deep and very accurate, certainly straighter than what I have,” Mickelson said. “So he was in the fairway most of the day and played exceptional. That’s why he’s such a good golfer and can compete at a very high level.”

The pro-am antics were not limited to golf swings between the two stars, as Curry wowed fans when he made a long-distance shot to a makeshift hoop next to the 17^th green. Mickelson attempted to follow from closer range, even turning his hat backwards to channel some additional mojo, but there’s a reason he makes his mark on the course instead of on the court.

The two also shared in Curry’s trademark celebration move, shimmying together on the 18^th green after Mickelson rolled in a 15-foot birdie putt to cap the round.

“Good ham-and-egg situation over here,” Curry said. “His overall game, I was just in awe of every shot but I tried to hold my own, too.”

“We’d be good alternate-shot partners,” added Mickelson. “We’d let him drive it off the tee, just hit those hellacious seeds, and I would end up hitting some iron shots close, and then his touch around the greens would be awesome.”

When asked for a highlight, Curry quickly pointed to his towering drive on No. 9, a shot that left him just a sand-wedge approach into the par-5 green. While the Shotlink computers used for the tournament weren’t tracking that particular shot from Curry, Mickelson estimated that the drive went “over 370 yards.”

“He’s been out here plenty of years, so he knows how far it is,” Curry quickly added. “So 370 is the word.”

Michy Batshuayi scored twice as Chelsea made short work of Grimsby Town in a 7-1 demolition of their League Two opponents in the Carabao Cup third round at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night.

Ross Barkley scored in the fourth minute, Batshuayi struck his first in the seventh and Pedro added a penalty kick to give Chelsea a 3-1 lead at the break.

- Carabao Cup: Chelsea get Man United, Liverpool face Arsenal

Goals from Reece James, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Kurt Zouma and Batshuayi's second took the hosts to the final 7-1 scoreline on an easy night for Frank Lampard's side.

"We got some players who haven't been playing so many minutes, players that are younger, starting the game," Lampard, who also also brought on two debutants in the second half, said.

"A nice comfortable win having not won here yet so on those levels, of course I am happy."

The result sets up a juicy fourth-round match for Chelsea against Manchester United, the first such meeting between the two clubs since they met in the fourth round in 2012-13.

Liverpool will host Arsenal in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup while Manchester United will visit Chelsea.

Defending champions Manchester City will host Southampton, while Colchester -- who shocked Tottenham Hotspur on penalties -- will travel to fellow League Two side Crawley Town.

Other all-Premier League side matchups among the final 16 squads include Aston Villa hosting Wolverhampton and Watford heading to Everton.

Leicester City will visit League One side Burton Albion, Oxford United and Sunderland -- both also in League One -- will face off.

Fixtures are scheduled to be played on the week starting on October 28.

Carabao Cup fourth matchups in full:

Everton vs. Watford

Aston Villa vs. Wolverhampton

Manchester City vs. Southampton

Burton Albion vs. Leicester City

Crawley Town vs. Colchester

Chelsea vs. Manchester United

Oxford United vs. Sunderland

Liverpool vs. Arsenal

MANCHESTER, England -- Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said his team we're better in shootouts than games after Manchester United needed penalties to avoid Carabao Cup embarrassment against Rochdale.

Dan James scored the winning kick after 16-year-old Luke Matheson cancelled out Mason Greenwood's opener to send the tie to a shootout following a 1-1 draw in regulation.

It masked another disappointing performance from United, who will play Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the fourth round.

"We handled it [the shoot out] really well," said Solskjaer. "Everyone wanted to take penalties as they did against AC Milan in Cardiff [during pre-season]. I'm very pleased with the confidence. You know we're better in penalty shootouts than in proper games."

- Carabao Cup: Chelsea host Man United, Liverpool face Arsenal
- Replay on ESPN+: United survive shootout scare (U.S. only)

Greenwood was one of only a few positives for Solskjaer after the 17-year-old recovered from tonsillitis to score for the second game in a row after becoming the club's youngster European goalscorer with the winner against FC Astana.

"He's got two great feet," said Solskjaer. "It must be a nightmare for defenders with him one-on-one in the box. He can go both ways which for me is fantastic.

"You can just see that he's got quality. He will get his share of games. He's young and we have to allow him to grow."

The 1-1 draw against Rochdale, 17th in League One, means United have failed to score two goals in a game since the opening day win over Chelsea.

Arsenal are the next visitors to Old Trafford on Monday and Solskjaer has admitted his team need to more clinical.

"We go 1-0 up in many games and today it's again go 1-0 up and you think 'go on then'," he said.

"It's the key now and it's a learning curve for these boys. We need to go for the second. At this club you don't just sit back and hope that's enough.

"If you settle for good enough that's not what we want."

Batter Lauren Down and pace bowler Rosemary Mair have been handed their first New Zealand central contracts while Rachel Priest, who last played in 2017, returns to the list alongside Anna Peterson.

Down, 24, has played nine ODIs and earlier this year scored a century against the Australia Governor-General's XI. Mair, 20, has so far appeared in three ODIs and three T20Is having made her debut against India in February.

"I want to bowl fast, so my training will be centred around that and working with bowling coach Jacob Oram to get the best out of my action," Mair said. "I'm excited for what's ahead and this contract gives me the resources and time to really commit and focus my energy on cricket."

Meanwhile, Priest has the chance to resume an international career in which she has made 154 appearances across ODIs and T20Is. Her last appearance came during the 2017 World Cup in England with former head coach Haidee Tiffen citing fitness issues for her omission. Earlier this year she enjoyed an impressive KSL campaign in England where she made 365 runs in 11 matches for Western Storm to finish as the fourth-leading run-scorer.

Allrounder Peterson also returns having missed out on last year's central contracts while Kate Ebrahim and Jess Watkin drop off.

The list of contracts is the first major announcement since Bob Carter was named the head coach with his focus now on building a squad for next year's T20 World Cup.

"It's a big few months ahead as we look forward to the South Africa series here in New Zealand, then the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia next year," he said. "Competition within a team is most certainly a positive for the environment. It's natural when you have professional athletes wanting to improve and play for their country."

New Zealand will be without captain Amy Satterthwaite this season following her announcement that she was expecting her first child. A new captain has yet to be confirmed ahead of a home summer that features the visit of South Africa before the T20 World Cup in February and March.

Central contracts Suzie Bates, Bernadine Bezuidenhout, Sophie Devine, Lauren Down, Maddy Green, Holly Huddleston, Hayley Jensen, Leigh Kasperek, Amelia Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Katey Martin, Katie Perkins, Anna Peterson, Rachel Priest, Hannah Rowe, Amy Satterthwaite, Lea Tahuhu

Guyana Amazon Warriors 162 for 2 (King 81*, Hemraj 33) beat St Lucia Zouks 161 for 7 (de Grandhomme 65, Laughlin 3-12, Tahir 2-23) by eight wickets

Guyana Amazon Warriors continued their incredible unbeaten run in CPL 2019, reeling off their seventh straight win with an impressive chase of St Lucia Zouks' 161 for 7, with eight wickets and ten balls in hand. Darren Sammy's men could not back up his unusual decision to bat first after winning the toss, especially not after a stuttering start that was epitomised by an embarrassing run-out of Rahkeem Cornwall who failed to ground his bat attempting to complete an easy single off the bat of Colin Ingram to backward point in the sixth over.

Brandon King piloted the chase with his third consecutive half-century for Warriors, who have shown no signs of slowing down having entered the night already with their spot in the playoffs secured. Zouks, meanwhile, missed an opportunity to create some breathing room between them, Jamaica Tallawahs and Barbados Tridents. Instead, they are clinging onto the fourth place by one point with just two more matches to play in the league stage.

A Grand reprieve

After Cornwall's sloppy run-out, things could have been even worse for Zouks had Warriors not been just as sloppy in the field. Colin de Grandhomme was on 12 when he flicked Shoaib Malik loosely in the air to deep midwicket. But Sherfane Rutherford clumsily spilled him over the boundary line for six.

De Grandhomme teed off against Romario Shepherd in the 13th over for two sixes and a four, eventually bringing up a 27-ball half-century. Shepherd finally got his revenge in the 17th over when de Grandhomme skied a drive to Odean Smith on the cover boundary. Still, Zouks looked a chance to post a competitive target when Shepherd continued to leak runs in the 19th over, giving up a trio of sixes to Chris Barnwell to start the frame as Shepherd finished with expensive figures of 1 for 51 from his four overs.

Guyana gets the last Laugh(lin)

Ben Laughlin had come into the XI in place of Keemo Paul and had already struck once in the 14th over to dismiss Jahmar Hamilton. But he did even more damage at the death to put the brakes on Zouks' late charge.

With Sammy on strike to start the 20th over and Barnwell having rocked Shepherd in the previous over, Laughlin's three-run over to claim both was a backbreaker to the hosts' chances on the night. After two singles off the first three balls, Sammy top-edged a back of a length ball to short fine leg. Barnwell swung through a length delivery next ball as Laughlin rattled the stumps to set up a hat-trick ball. Jeavor Royal was able to nudge it down the ground for a single but the damage had already been done.

Barnstorming King

The Warriors opener reversed the damage did by Barnwell, and how. The right-hand batsman got his side off to another excellent start as he and Chandrapaul Hemraj added 52 for the first wicket. However, King should have been easily stumped for 10 at the start of the sixth over, but Hamilton - and Zouks - paid dearly for fluffing simple take after King was defeated by a googly charging Fawad Ahmed's first ball of the night.

Barnwell then compounded that error with a drop at deep square leg in the seventh over with King on 23, spilling a sliding effort that he got to in plenty of time off Royal's bowling. Even though Shimron Hetmyer fell later in the over to briefly halt Warriors' momentum, King made sure not to let Barnwell forget about it in the 12th over, belting Barnwell's first two balls for back-to-back sixes to bring up a 36-ball half-century. A trio of fours by Shoaib Malik off Barnwell and Hardus Viljoen in 13th brought the equation under a run a ball and the rest of the chase was a cinch from there.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has been limited in three of the past four practices, and cited his age as part of the reason why.

"Football is a contact sport. I wouldn't say I'm a spring chicken anymore," the 42-year-old Brady said with a smile Wednesday. "I'm trying to just feel as great as I can and we'll see how it goes tomorrow. But I feel pretty good."

There is little doubt that Brady will play Sunday against the Buffalo Bills in a highly anticipated matchup of 3-0 teams. But his limited practice load seems to be part of the "roster management" head coach Bill Belichick referenced in regard to the team signing free-agent quarterback Cody Kessler on Wednesday.

With Brady limited at practice twice last week, the only other quarterback on the roster was rookie Jarrett Stidham. Having Stidham handle the regular offense, in addition to the scout team, was a heavy load.

Brady was one of 10 Patriots players who were limited in practice Wednesday, a group that included receiver Julian Edelman, who injured his ribs in Sunday's victory over the New York Jets. X-rays were negative, but Edelman appears to be managing notable pain after he was landed on by 300-pound defensive lineman Henry Anderson.

"He's as tough as they come," Brady said. "He'll do everything he can to get ready to go. When he's not out there, it's definitely noticeable for all of us. Hopefully he can make it. If he can't, the other guys have got to fill in and do the best job they can do. You've just got to prepare for both."

Sunday's game features the NFL's two stingiest teams, as the Patriots have allowed an average of 5.7 points per game in wins over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Miami Dolphins and Jets, who are a combined 0-9.

The Bills have allowed an average of 15.7 points per game in victories over the Jets, New York Giants and Cincinnati Bengals, who are a combined 1-8.

Brady is no stranger to New Era Field (formerly Ralph Wilson Stadium), having been the starter for 15 victories at the venue.

"It's a great environment for football," he said. "This will be the toughest game we've faced, and we're going to have to play a great game. To go on the road is tough, and certainly early in the game, after their pregame tailgate when they're a little fired up -- they're pretty loud. We've got to execute early. Starting fast, which we've actually done a good job with all year, is really important this week."

Running back Melvin Gordon contacted the Los Angeles Chargers and told them he plans to report on Thursday, ending his 64-day holdout, sources confirmed to ESPN.

Although he's now set to rejoin his teammates, Gordon expects 2019 will be his final season with the Chargers, a source told ESPN's Josina Anderson.

Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn said that if Gordon does report this week, he will not play in his team's Sunday road contest against the winless Miami Dolphins.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer was first to report that Gordon was ending his holdout.

The Chargers (1-2) will likely apply for a two-week roster exemption, giving the team time to evaluate when the workhorse running back is in shape and ready to play.

"I don't think you just walk in camp and just play right away without going through any practice," Lynn told reporters Wednesday. "You can run and do all the drills you want, but it's hard to simulate real football."

Gordon and his representation also have to resolve how they will handle the fines that have piled up during his absence.

According to the league's collective bargaining agreement, Gordon can be fined up to $30,000 per day and nearly $330,000 per game for preseason and regular-season games that he's missed -- a total that could reach $2.5 million.

According to a source, the Chargers will seek to collect that money.

Los Angeles is No. 13 in the NFL in rushing through the first three games without Gordon, averaging 112 yards a contest.

Starting in place of Gordon, Austin Ekeler has 160 rushing yards and four total touchdowns.

Gordon, 26, is scheduled to make $5.605 million in the final season of his rookie deal. Chargers general manager Tom Telesco announced just before the start of the regular season that the team postponed negotiations with Gordon until the end of the season, and said if Gordon chose to report, he would play under his current contract.

Gordon desires a contract extension that will put him among the top-paid running backs in the league such as Todd Gurley, David Johnson and Le'Veon Bell, who earn an average of $13 million to $14 million annually. The Chargers had offered Gordon a new contract that would've doubled his salary at roughly $10 million annually.

Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. has been shut down for the remainder of the regular season with a left groin strain, manager Brian Snitker said Wednesday.

Snitker said Acuna was also suffering from a sore hip, but that the All-Star will continue hitting and throwing and should be ready for the start of the National League Division Series. The Braves have four games remaining, including Wednesday's at Kansas City Royals.

Acuna left Tuesday's game against the Royals in the third inning as a precaution. He appeared to injure himself on a fly ball in the bottom of the second.

The 21-year-old has a .280 batting average with 41 home runs, 101 RBIs and 37 stolen bases for the NL East champion Braves.