BOSTON -- It didn't take long for Mike Yastrzemski to feel the history as he walked into Fenway Park on Tuesday, as his San Francisco Giants visit the Red Sox for a three-game series. The memories all came rolling back. As a kid who grew up in the Boston area rooting for the home team, absent of the fact that his grandfather Carl Yastrzemski was a city icon, the younger Yaz thought back to all of the games he attended at Fenway growing up -- from the 1999 Home Run Derby to the World Series runs in 2004 and 2007.

He thought about all the times he'd spent with his family at Fenway Park, where the Red Sox retired his grandfather's No. 8 back in 1989.

"Playing here is cool and I see it as part of my job and something I've always wanted to do. That doesn't really overwhelm me," the younger Yastrzemski told the media before Tuesday's game. "To do it in a setting where I have so many fond memories with friends and family and have them be able to be here, it's special."

The Yastrzemski family doesn't usually gather in the season, but the series in Boston will be the exception. The elder Yastrzemski, who rarely appears at Fenway Park save for a first pitch before a World Series game, met with his grandson on the field before Tuesday's game, giving Mike tips on playing the Green Monster. He told the Boston Globe on Monday that he planned to do a television interview with his grandson prior to Tuesday's game but would leave afterwards to watch on TV.

"We've got everything planned for Wednesday," Carl said about the family's plans for Fenway. "We thought about going in on Tuesday, but decided against it. He's going to have enough people bothering him and it might be a little easier on him if I'm not there watching him.''

Yaz & Yaz pic.twitter.com/ZU3NBxpdSI

— Red Sox (@RedSox) September 17, 2019

Giants manager Bruce Bochy, a 14-year veteran manager, decided to play into the moment, putting Mike in the leadoff spot manning the same left field as his grandfather.

"To be honest, sure, I wanted him to play left field tonight. He gets the nod there. It'll be a cool moment," Bochy said. "I'm sure for a lot of people here, it'll be a great reminder of all the great things his grandfather did, bringing special memories into their minds. I look forward to it. I had a chance to meet Carl today and he came into the clubhouse and we sat and talked for a while and so this is cool for everybody. The fans here in Boston, but us too."

"It will be the first time since 1983 that the name 'Yastrzemski' will be announced,'' Carl, now 80, said. "It's definitely going to be emotional. To see him come into Fenway Park where I played for 23 years, to have his name announced, that will be a great thrill for me.''

The younger Yastrzemski grew up a huge Red Sox fan, citing Trot Nixon, Pedro Martinez, Nomar Garciaparra and Manny Ramirez among his favorite players growing up. Mike admitted that it wasn't until high school, turning 15 years old, when he began to realize everything his grandfather accomplished in his hometown.

"When I turned 23, that was the big shocking moment, was that for my entire life he has showed up to Fenway Park every day," Yastrzemski said. "That blew my mind. I can't picture 23 years worth of Major League Baseball experience. That's when that really set in."

Yastrzemski will have over 150 family and friends attending the series, including friends from his high school alma mater, St. John's Prep in Danvers, MA. While Tuesday represents a dream come true, it's been a long path for Mike, who spent spent six years in the Baltimore Orioles minor league system before getting his opportunity in San Francisco this year, where he's hitting .265/.324/.509 with 19 homers. His slow climb to the majors has helped him appreciate this moment a little bit more.

"Through the long path it took me to get here, I started to understand which things are important and which aren't so I could stay focused on the things that have really grown to matter and the story that needs to unfold here," Yastrzemski said. "It's special for my family and my grandfather as opposed to keeping it on me."

When that moment comes, when Mike Yastrzemski hears his name for the first time over the Fenway PA more than 58 years after his grandfather played his first game in Boston, he hopes to take a moment to appreciate everything it took to get to this moment.

"That's the one thing I'm unsure of how it'll affect me. Everything else I've got a good grasp on. Hearing that will probably be emotional but that's probably the moment that I need to allow myself to enjoy and take my time and this special," Yastrzemski said. "This isn't just special for me. This is special for anyone who saw my grandfather play and saw the Red Sox play over history. They have some tie to him because of his historic value to the organization. While it is special for me, I need to let it be special for everybody else as well."

‘The whole week in Nantes was amazing’
Interview by JEROME ELHAIK – Squash Mad Correspondent

A few months after les Bleues clinched their first ever European Team Championship, French women’s squash had another major success last weekend: carried by an ecstatic crowd, Camille Serme won the open de France at the Château des Ducs de Bretagne in Nantes, after a magnificent final against Amanda Sobhy.

The world number 3 couldn’t have dreamed for a better start in 2019-2020, especially since she’s still chasing after her ultimate goals: the number 1 spot as well the World Championship title. She may now be in her thirties but Camille has never looked so strong.

Camille, is there any specific moment that comes into your mind when you look back at your victory at the open de France?

Not really because the whole week in Nantes was amazing, whether it was the unique and beautiful place where we had the chance to play, or the incredible atmosphere. We rarely have the opportunity to play in front of such a crowd on the tour. They definitely lifted us, and it’s great that Amanda enjoyed it as much as I did even if people were cheering for me!

Even though you may drop one place in the next rankings, the decision to go to Nantes rather than Shanghai (where a tournament with a bigger prize money and more ranking points took place the week before) was the good one wasn’t it?

To be honest, we had discussed it with my staff, but we did not hesitate very long before giving a positive answer to the organisers when they asked if I would come to Nantes. We don’t have many big events in France, and therefore I was happy to come and represent my country.

Where does this title rank among the best memories of your individual career, especially since it was your first one since February 2017?

I’d say it comes just after my three titles in major tournaments (British Open, US Open and Tournament of Champions). This time I didn’t cry after the match, but I couldn’t hold my tears when I saw my brother and his wife in the stands because I didn’t know they’d be here!

You are a relatively reserved person, is it difficult to be under the spotlights and have a packed room chanting your name?

Let’s be honest, being the centre of attention and having so much support is a nice thing! Besides, I’ve gotten used to it and I am more comfortable speaking in front of an audience now than I was before. I think I’ve handled the situation pretty well, because being the number 1 seed and having to defend that position is not easy.

You received countless congratulatory messages, especially on social media which you are very involved on.

I feel like the impact of this victory was at least as big as my three major titles, probably because it was in France. I always take the time to read those messages, it’s important for me because I think it’s a way to enjoy it.

After the final, your coach Philippe Signoret said Amanda Sobhy surprised him, especially on the backhand side which is usually not her strong one. Do you agree?

I do. I’d watched the videos of her previous rounds in Nantes, and she definitely was much more accurate in the final. The fact that she beat a higher ranked player in the semis (England’s Sarah-Jane Perry) probably took some pressure off her, and it’s in these situations that we can produce our best squash.

You didn’t looked too worried after losing the first game.

No, because I knew I could take the upper hand physically.

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Since you mention it, many people – including me – have been amazed how much you’ve improved in this department over the summer …

That’s true that I felt very good on court and I’d been moving well since my first match. We worked a lot during the summer and it’s nice to see that it’s already paying off.

This work was done with your new fitness coach, Frédéric Pfeferberg. Philippe Signoret mentioned it wasn’t easy to make the players accept this change.

I had been working with Frédéric Roualen for a long time (author’s note: also fitness coach of a very successful French women’s judo team, he couldn’t dedicate a lot of his time to squash), and we have a great relationship. Besides, when we first looked at Frédéric Pfeferberg’s sessions we were a bit surprised, because there was a lot of work in the gym and I was worried I’d gain too much muscle mass. But I decided to trust him and I do not regret it. On top of that, he’s a very nice person. Like Philippe he loves what he does, they complete each other very well! As far as the training goes, we’d been warned that it may not have an immediate impact, so it’s very encouraging that the results are already there.

Don’t you think you could have made this change sooner?

Life is all about meeting people isn’t it? I do believe it was the right timing for this. Besides, I was very happy with the work done with Fred Roualen, and I had good results in the past. Everyone tells me I still have a lot of room of improvement. I hadn’t realized I was playing so bad before (she laughs)!

A few months ago, you talked about your ambition to be world number one and win the World Championship within the next three years, before starting a family. However, your coach thinks you could play for 10 more years…

He said that? It’s funny because the other day Coline Aumard (French number 2) asked me “if you reach your goals before the end of these three years, will you stop right away?” The only reason why we set this deadline is to give me a purpose, and let’s not forget we never know what can happen in life…

On the other hand, you haven’t ruled out the possibility of resuming your squash career after having a child. Last week, tennis player Kim Clijsters announced that she was going to make a second comeback, at 36 years old…

I didn’t know that, it’s amazing. A lot of people tell me it’s not a good idea, but I like challenges and it would be one! I am aware that a child cannot raise itself, but when the times comes we’ll discuss it with my husband (kayakist Quentin Urban, who got two medals including a gold one at the French championships last weekend) and make a decision.

What’s your schedule for the next few days?

I was supposed to train tomorrow (the interview was on Sunday), but we made a deal with my staff that if I won in Nantes I would get a day off… Then I’ll be back to training, and in a few days we leave for San Francisco.

After this tournament (24-30 September), there will be the US Open (5-12 October), and then the World Championship – which is the main goal of your season – at the end of October. The draw came out today, did you have time to look at it?

I did not, but Philippe sent me a message to tell me I could play Amanda Sobhy in the quarters.

Last question: as a top level athlete who always has things to work on or improve, is it easy to disconnect?

I think I can, but I also believe it’s more difficult for Philippe and Frédéric (she laughs). Even though I am supposed to have a day off tomorrow, I am sure they’ll ask me to come and do some video analysis with them!

Pictures courtesy of of Lauranne Rochais, Ladies Squash and Mikphotos

WELCOME, N.C. – Tyler Reddick and the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing will begin the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs with support from Gimme Radio and metal band Killswitch Engage.

Following the success of Megadeth’s paint scheme at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Killswitch Engage will now take center stage on the No. 2 Gimme Radio Chevrolet at Richmond Raceway to celebrate the release of their new album, Atonement.

The band, which has been together since 1999, previously earned two Grammy Award nominations in the category of Best Metal Performance in 2005 and 2014, as well as three consecutive top-10 debuts on the Billboard Top 200 with albums Killswitch Engage (2009), Disarm The Descent (2013), and Incarnate(2016).

“I know I speak for all the guys when I say how excited we are to work with Gimme Radio on a Killswitch Engage Day,” said Jesse Leach, lead vocalist of Killswitch Engage. “They have a ton of great programs and DJ’s that bring a whole new level of interaction, dedication, and discovery to the metal genre and we’re eager to show our support.”

“On top of that, our band will be represented on a stock car in NASCAR!” continued Leach. “Never thought I’d see that happen ever! Crazy stuff. This collaboration is unique for us and I truly feel it will expand our audience and further the reach of our music and message. Big thanks to Richard Childress Racing for the opportunity and to Tyler Reddick who will be behind the wheel for the big race.”

Gimme Radio, a music app designed provide metal fans with music they won’t hear anywhere else, offers listeners shows curated by celebrity DJs and artists including Grammy Award-winning artist Dave Mustaine of Megadeth, Lamb of God lead singer Randy Blythe, Ozzy Osbourne bassist Blasko, and star of Orange Is the New Black, Jessica Pimentel. Fans on the app also have a unique opportunity to engage with the DJs and other listeners around the world through the app’s chat room.

“Killswitch Engage is one of the most intense, aggressive and heavy bands playing today,” said Gimme Radio CEO, Tyler Lenane.  “I can’t think of a better band to be paired with the intensity of Tyler’s driving.”

“Having Gimme Radio and Killswitch Engage on our No. 2 Chevrolet Camaro at Richmond this week is such a cool opportunity for me,” said Reddick. “Killswitch Engage is a band I listened to a lot while growing up and traveling the country racing dirt late models, so to be able to help them promote their new album with the Richmond race weekend is really special to me. I’m really looking forward to interacting with the band and fans on the app on Friday before we go out and give this paint scheme a great night in the opening race of the Playoffs.”

CONCORD, N.C. – Leavine Family Racing has announced that Jeremy Lange has been promoted to the role of president of the organization that fields the No. 95 Toyota Camry in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

Lange, who joined the team in 2013 as vice president of marketing and partnerships when the organization was running a limited schedule in the Cup series, most recently served as vice president and general manager of LFR.

Lange has been instrumental in the team’s growth during his tenure with the organization as he oversaw numerous developments over the years.  Among other accomplishments, Lange coordinated the team’s transition to a full-time competitor in the Cup Series, including LFR’s acquisition of a charter, and has successfully negotiated and closed transactions with several manufacturers and technical alliances within NASCAR.  Lange is also an active member of various NASCAR and Race Team Alliance committees on behalf of LFR.

“Jeremy has been instrumental in helping our team grow both in size and performance over his many years with LFR,” said LFR Founding Owner, Bob Leavine.  “In Jeremy’s new position as President he will utilize his talents and experience to focus on the overall direction and strategy for LFR’s future growth in this exciting time within our sport. It has been very satisfying to watch Jeremy grow into this new role.”

Lange came to Leavine Family Racing with over 15 years of experience in advertising, marketing and sales. He has worked in both an agency setting as well as the brand side of the industry, which provided him a vast background on the sponsorship landscape within the sport.   Lange worked with GMR Marketing and Best Buy from 2007 to 2013 after starting his career working at Grey Advertising.  Lange holds an MBA from the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University and is married with two children.

The promotion is effective immediately as the team gets ready to travel to Richmond Raceway for this weekend’s race.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – American Flat Track is on the verge of crowning a new AFT Twins presented by Vance & Hines champion as it arrives in Shakopee, Minn., for Saturday’s Indian Motorcycle Minnesota Mile presented by Law Tigers.

With a 35-point advantage and two races to go, AFT Twins title leader Briar Bauman has battled back and forth with multi-time defending champion Jared Mees all season long and moved himself within touching distance of his first premier class crown.

The two have combined to claim 11 out of possible 16 victories this season. And while Mees leads in wins with six of those 11, Bauman’s remarkable week-to-week consistently has him just 16 points away from securing the title.

That means a pair of 11th-place finishes would be good enough to do the trick, but Bauman will almost certainly be gunning to seal the title with his 15th podium finish in 17 races this season at Canterbury Park. Better yet, the 24-year-old California native could take the title with his sixth win of the season, earning a second career-long achievement in the process by scoring his maiden Mile win and completing the Grand Slam.

Mees, seemingly unstoppable on these Mile tracks, can be relied upon to do what he does – apply immense mental and on-track pressure through his outright pace – in search of another win. A win backed by the determined pursuit to extend his quest for a third-straight title.

Besides Mees there’s a stacked field of gifted pilots in the class who will do everything in their power to push Bauman’s celebrations back at least one more round.

Chief among them is rookie sensation Brandon Price, who has looked like one of the paddock’s top riders over the past two rounds. Price came up just 0.169 seconds short of victory at Springfield II and then gave Bauman all he could handle in a battle for the win last time out at Williams Grove. All that’s left on Price’s rookie checklist is a first-career AFT Twins Main Event triumph.

Meanwhile, Dalton Gauthier and Dan Bromley also bring their Roof Systems AFT Singles presented by Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys title fight into the Minnesota Mile.

Gauthier grabbed the upper hand with his Williams Grove win and now leads the reigning class champ by 15 points. That margin is close enough that even a pair of podium finishes in the final two rounds wouldn’t necessarily be enough to guarantee him the crown, so there’s little room to ease up now.

While still mathematically alive in the championship chase, the odds are stacked heavily against Mikey Rush. That said, unlike Gauthier and Bromley, Rush has taken a victory on a Mile already this season and should be expected to be in contention for the top step on the podium again this weekend.

The ultimate spoiler, however, could be Shayna Texter. Texter boasts eight career Mile victories among her 17 AFT Singles wins. It’s very possible that she’ll have the speed to aid teammate Bromley’s cause – if he has the speed to keep her behind him.

Texter’s older brother, Cory Texter, continues to lead the AFT Production Twins championship standings, although his advantage has been whittled down since he opened the season with three consecutive victories.

Cory Texter now leads two-race winner Ryan Varnes by 16 points, while Kolby Carlile and Dalton Gauthier also remain in contention.

MONTEREY, Calif. – With four drivers among the 24 entries in Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey season finale vying for the NTT IndyCar Series championship, the number of permutations for finishing orders is endless.

There are more than 255,000 finishing orders for the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey and nearly 75 percent of those eliminate the three drivers – Alexander Rossi, Simon Pagenaud and Scott Dixon – pursuing current leader Josef Newgarden in the championship standings.

Heading in the season finale that awards double finishing-position points, Newgarden leads Rossi by 41 points, Pagenaud by 42 and Dixon by 85. With the double-points format, a win doubles to 100 points, second to 80, third to 70, fourth to 64, fifth to 60 and so on down the order.

Drivers also can accumulate bonus points in the race (which are not doubled), with one point being awarded for the pole position, one point for leading a lap and two points for leading the most laps.

Let’s take a look at the championship scenarios.

Newgarden not only controls his own destiny, but he’s the key to the chances of the other three contenders as well.

Quite simply, Newgarden clinches the championship if he finishes fourth or better regardless of how the others fare. He can get away with a fifth-place finish provided his two closest challengers don’t score additional bonus points for pole, leading a lap or leading the most laps.

For Rossi or Pagenaud to win the championship, Newgarden must finish sixth or worse if they win the race.

The good news for either is that they have won on a permanent road course this season (Rossi at Road America, Pagenaud at Indianapolis Motor Speedway) and Newgarden’s average finish on road courses this season is 7.2.

Rossi and Pagenaud could get away with Newgarden finishing fifth if they score two (Rossi) or three (Pagenaud) more bonus points than Newgarden while winning. Either of them winning the championship by finishing second or third is feasible.

Dixon’s path is much more complicated. He must win and have Newgarden finish 23rd or worse and have Rossi and Pagenaud finish sixth or worse. In addition, Dixon can’t lose any bonus points to any of them. Dixon will have a tiebreaker over both Rossi (more wins) and Pagenaud (same wins, more seconds) with the win, but not Newgarden (fewer wins), which may be needed in this scenario.

Rossi and Pagenaud have average permanent road course finishes of 7.5 and 8.5, respectively, so an average day for either likely helps Dixon.

The longshot in this scenario is Newgarden finishing 23rd or worse. He hasn’t finished worse than 19th this season and his last finish outside the top 20 was Texas in 2016.

Below is a more detailed look at all the potential NTT IndyCar Series championship scenarios for during the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey.

If Newgarden finishes…

… 4th place or better: Locks up the championship, putting him 105 (Rossi) and 106 (Pagenaud) points up, which is too much for either of them to overcome.

… 5th place: Without any bonus points, this puts Newgarden up 101 over Rossi and 102 over Pagenaud. Newgarden has the tiebreaker over both (more wins than Rossi and more seconds over Pagenaud), which means they must win and score +2 (Rossi) and +3 (Pagenaud) bonus points over the weekend to steal it.

… 6th place: Without bonus points, it’s as simple as win the race, win the championship for Rossi/Pagenaud since Newgarden will only be 97/98 points ahead finishing here and 100 for the win will overcome him. However, that is close enough for Newgarden to secure the championship if he is +3 (Rossi) or +2 (Pagenaud) with bonus points. Again, Newgarden has the tiebreaker on both of them.

… 7th-9th place: Bonus points don’t matter. If either Rossi or Pagenaud win, they win the championship.

… 10th place: This is where Rossi/Pagenaud don’t have to win the race to win the championship. Tenth for Newgarden puts him ahead 81/82 points, respectively, so If Rossi/Pagenaud finish second and are +2/+3 on bonus points, Newgarden loses the championship.

… 11th place: Newgarden will be 79/80 points ahead, respectively, with tiebreakers. Rossi can break even on the bonus points and win with a second. Pagenaud will need to be +1 on the bonus points with at least a second-place finish.

… 12th-14th place: Bonus points don’t matter; second place will do it for Rossi or Pagenaud.

… 15th place: With +2/+3 bonus points, third place will win the championship for Rossi or Pagenaud.

… 16th place: Newgarden will be up 69/70 points, so Rossi wins with a third-place finish and a break-even on bonus points. Pagenaud wins with a third and +1 on bonus points.

… 17th-22nd place: Various similar scenarios where either Rossi or Pagenaud have a chance of winning the championship by one of them finishing fourth (Newgarden finishes 17th/18th), fifth (19th/20th), or even sixth (21st/22nd) depending on bonus points. Newgarden finishing one or two positions up or down in this range will be significant in this situation.

… 23rd/24th place: In an extreme scenario, Rossi could sweep the bonus points (+4 to Newgarden) and finish seventh, ahead of Pagenaud and without Dixon winning the race to capture the championship.

Lionel Messi made his season debut and Marc-Andre ter Stegen saved a penalty as Barcelona drew 0-0 at Borussia Dortmund in their Champions League Group F opener on Tuesday.

- Champions League group stage: All you need to know
- ESPN Champions League fantasy: Sign up now!

Messi had been a major doubt to participate in the match as he recovered from a calf injury but came on for teenage sensation Ansu Fati around the hour mark with the game scoreless.

Two minutes earlier, Germany international Ter Stegen palmed away Marco Reus' spot kick after Jadon Sancho was taken down in the box by a bad challenge from Barca right-back Nelson Semedo.

Ter Stegen has now saved four of the 10 penalty kicks he has faced in La Liga and the UCL with Barcelona. Only six goalkeepers from Spanish clubs have saved more penalties in La Liga and the UCL than Ter Stegen since he joined Barcelona in 2014-15.

The draw gives both sides one point from one match, with the Catalans set to host Inter Milan on Oct. 2 and the Germans visiting Slavia Prague that same day.

Christian Pulisic watched from the bench as Valencia gatecrashed Frank Lampard's managerial bow in the Champions League by earning a morale-boosting 1-0 win at Chelsea on Tuesday after Ross Barkley spurned a chance to equalise by missing the target from the penalty spot.

- Champions League group stage: All you need to know
- ESPN Champions League fantasy: Sign up now!

Spain forward Rodrigo Moreno gave the visitors the lead against the run of play in the 74th minute of the Group H game, getting the slightest of touches on a free kick from Dani Parejo to send the ball into the roof of the net.

Chelsea continued to threaten and were awarded a penalty after a VAR review spotted a handball by Valencia defender Daniel Wass, but Barkley sent the resulting spot kick on to the cross bar and over.

Valencia travelled to London reeling from a stinging 5-2 league loss at Barcelona in coach Albert Celades's first game in charge after the much-loved Marcelino was sacked to the bewilderment of players, who began a media blackout after the decision.

But they leave the English capital emboldened and with three points after producing a solid, professional display.