It looks as though Gareth Bale and Zinedine Zidane's "Cold War" has reached its breaking point.

"We hope he leaves soon. It would be best for everyone, "declared the Real Madrid coach after his team's 3-1 loss to Bayern Munich in Houston on Saturday. These comments seemed to suggest that a transfer is close.

Bale's agent, Jonathan Barnett, then responded by calling Zidane "a disgrace." So one would assume there is just no way back from here.

Those of us covering the Houston game for ESPN were given a big clue that something was amiss about 45 minutes before kickoff. At that point, word filtered down that Bale, originally in the squad as a possible substitute, would not be involved, and given the troubled nature of his relationship with Zidane, it seemed unlikely that an injury had caused his exclusion.

Clearly Zidane's patience has run out with a player he sees playing no part in Real's revival. A Bale move to Paris Saint-Germain in a deal that would see Neymar arrive at the Bernabeu is being mooted. It doesn't quite add up, though, as Real have just splashed €100 million to sign Eden Hazard from Chelsea for the exact left-sided attacking role that is Neymar's specialty.

It also flies in the face of the reports that Paul Pogba is Real 's top target at £200m. That said, Madrid president Florentino Perez has always loved doing anything to annoy Barcelona, and signing their former star Neymar would certainly do the trick.

Some kind of swap plus cash deal with Manchester United would make sense, provided that Bale fancies the Europa League and becoming the torch-bearer for a club battling through troubled times. It is just as likely he does not.

But the timing of all this is intriguing. Is it a coincidence that this sudden twist in the saga happened to be when Real and Bayern Munich executives were in the same town for their ICC match? Remembering Bayern's frustration in trying to sign Leroy Sane from Manchester City, a move for Bale to play out wide would make sense from a football point of view.

The Germans, now without Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery, might see Bale, 30, as the kind of marquee name to put them back among the Champions League favourites. Whether a man who has never mastered Spanish would relish a move to Germany is another matter altogether, though.

-- Sources: Madrid would let Bale go to China for free

-- Zidane: 'We hope he [Bale] leaves soon'

What about Tottenham? A return to Spurs might hold some appeal and would keep the Welshman in the Champions League. But even that ship may have sailed at this stage.

Who else could afford the wages? Outside of the European elite, there is China, with Beijing Guoan and Jiangsu Suning reportedly interested. But is a boatload of money enough for Bale to consider a huge step down in competition on the field and a massive culture shock off of it?

In other words, the list of suitors for the Welshman is small.

In any event, Zidane is surely right in saying it's time for a change for a player who has lost his way at Real. At 30, and after a long list of injuries, it is relevant to wonder whether Bale has quite the same hunger and desire as he once did.

Can he recover the deadly form that devastated defenders in his pomp? That's the question potential suitors will be asking themselves.

If Zidane is right, we might know more very soon.

Middlesex 209 for 3 (Malan 117) beat Surrey 172 for 9 (Pope 47, Roland-Jones 4-35) by 37 runs

The World Cup is over but the summer party has just begun, judging by the enthusiastic capacity crowd at The Oval, who watched Dawid Malan as the life and soul of Middlesex's 37-run win over Surrey in their Vitality Blast match.

It was one of those evenings to remind you that when England actually does summer it feels like there's no better place on earth - unless, of course, you've been stuck underground on the Northern Line with no air-conditioning waiting for a platform to clear at Kennington tube station.

Above ground, the beer flowed, the stands were brimming and the batting action from Middlesex - Malan in particular - was hot.

Unlike England's World Cup triumph on home soil, proceedings didn't exactly follow the script when man of the moment AB de Villiers was out for just 3 to what soon proved to be a poor lbw decision when replays showed his attempted reverse sweep off Imran Tahir made clear contact, according to Ultra Edge.

However, to focus too heavily on de Villiers - who had a wonderful night out in Middlesex's opening match last week, when he plundered an unbeaten 88 off 43 balls in a seven-wicket win over Essex - would detract from a brilliant performance by Malan.

An unused member of England's touring party for their T20I series in the Caribbean earlier this year, Middlesex captain Malan smashed 117 off 57 balls with 11 fours and seven sixes to play a big part in setting Surrey 210 for victory.

After Middlesex won the toss and elected to bat, Stevie Eskinazi and Malan set off at a blistering pace. Malan initially took a back seat to Eskinazi but immediately after the Powerplay, by which time the pair had put on 55 runs, Malan surged ahead, slamming a six and a four off the last two balls of Gareth Batty's first over.

Malan moved in sight of his half-century first too. His thumping six off Tahir sailed well back into the first tier of the Bedser Stand to bring him within touching distance of the milestone, which he brought up three balls later with a four. He didn't stop there, meting out similar treatment to Liam Plunkett in the next over and hitting Batty for consecutive sixes in the next.

The TV camera kept panning to de Villiers in anticipation and he finally made his entrance to the pumping beat of Darude's Sandstorm - and a huge roar from the crowd - when Tom Curran bowled Eskinazi round the legs for 42 off 31 balls to put Middlesex at 131 for 1.

They cheered as de Villiers fended off a Curran bouncer backward of point for a single, but his innings bit the dust in disappointing fashion a short time later and for the first time all evening the stands fell into a lull, even before replays showed how unlucky he had been in his dismissal.

It did not take long for the spectators to liven up again, though, as they enjoyed Malan's knock. He reached his century off 49 balls with a single off Jade Dernbach, who later went for 23 in the penultimate over with Malan and George Scott indulging in a six and a four each.

Malan finally fell with three balls remaining in the innings, edging Curran to Ollie Pope, who took an excellent overhead catch behind the stumps.

With the temperature still hovering around 30 degrees at 8pm, the home crowd remained upbeat despite the considerable task facing their side.

Pope gave good chase after the early loss of openers Will Jacks and Aaron Finch, reaching 47 off 31 deliveries. But once he skied Toby Roland-Jones to Nathan Sowter to seal his exit, it felt like there was too much left to do for Surrey. Jordan Clark offered a neat cameo of 21 off 11 balls but, with Curran and Dernbach at the crease and three wickets in hand, the hosts needed 53 off the last three overs.

Steven Finn took a strong catch, running round and diving at long-on to remove Curran off Roland-Jones and that all but signalled closing time. When Roland-Jones had Dernbach caught by Sowter four balls later to finish with 4 for 35 off his four overs, some revellers took the hint and made their exit, although the majority stayed to applaud the visitors' victory.

Malan admitted his knock ignited memories of his match-saving innings against Lancashire at the same ground to win their 2008 Twenty20 Cup quarter-final. Coming in with his side 21 for 4, Malan scored 103 off 54 balls to help Middlesex to a 12-run victory en route to eventually winning the title.

"A little bit. Stuey Law, the coach, was actually playing against us, he was the captain for Lancs that day, so I might have a chat with him afterwards and see what he would have done differently," Malan said with a smile. "But it's fantastic. To score Twenty20 hundreds is tough so I've enjoyed that so much. It is early but the signs are good."

Yorkshire 255 for 2 (Kohler-Cadmore 96) beat Leicestershire 201 by 54 runs

Yorkshire Vikings finished just five runs short of matching their highest team total in Twenty20 matches as they defeated Leicestershire by 54 runs in the Vitality Blast North Group match at the Fischer County Ground.

Led by an unbeaten 96 from opener Tom Kohler-Cadmore, they plundered an impressive 255 for two from their 20 overs - and that after Leicestershire had won the toss and opted to bowl first.

The innings contained 19 sixes - one short of the English domestic record of 20 set by Essex against Surrey at Chelmsford only last week - and easily surpassed the 223 they made against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge in 2017 as their highest away from home.

One more six and it would have beaten the 260 for four they amassed at Headingley, also in 2017, as their biggest total on any ground.

With Leicestershire's batsmen clearing the ropes 12 times in their 201 for four, the match equalled the domestic record of 31 sixes also set in that Essex versus Surrey encounter.

Kohler-Cadmore crashed eight sixes as he went close to a second century in the format, having faced just 54 deliveries.

He was backed up by half-centuries from Adam Lyth and West Indian Nicholas Pooran, the latter hitting six maximums.

Lyth and Kohler-Cadmore had given their side an exceptional start, crashing 76 off the opening six overs, which included a 50 off 21 balls from left-hander Lyth.

Lyth had some good fortune at the start, almost out without scoring as an uppercut off left-armer Dieter Klein just cleared Callum Parkinson on the third-man boundary, the fielder stretching to get his hands on the ball but unable to make the catch or prevent a six.

Thereafter, he tucked into a mixed bag of Leicestershire bowling to pick up two more sixes and six fours to pass 50 for the 13th time in this format. Kohler-Cadmore got in on the act too, launching Colin Ackermann's off-spin for a huge six over mid-wicket in one of two overs in the Powerplay that cost 20 runs, the other bowled by seamer Ben Mike.

Lyth fell slog-sweeping left-arm spinner Parkinson but Kohler-Cadmore continued the big-hitting onslaught. Having walloped Parkinson's opening delivery over the mid-wicket boundary, he plundered more maximums off Aaron Lilley and Parkinson again to complete a 31-ball half-century.

The rate of scoring slowed a tad in the middle overs but it was a short-lived respite, as West Indian big hitter Nicholas Pooran picked up the mood. The wicket-keeper batsman was only one delivery behind Lyth in reaching 50 from 22 balls, with four fours and five sixes.

Pooran cleared the rope three times off Parkinson in the most expensive over of the night - one which cost 27 runs - including one hooked off a shoulder-high full toss and another pulled over long-on from the subsequent free hit, before he was caught at wide third man for 67 off Dieter Klein.

Yorkshire were lacking bowlers Matthew Fisher and Josh Poysden through injury, while Steve Patterson and England's Adil Rashid are currently being rested, and Leicestershire's 55 for one after the Powerplay overs was respectable enough but they needed to score in total 27 runs more than their highest score in T20.

South African seamer Duanne Olivier conceded 41 from his first three overs, lofted twice over the leg side boundary by compatriot Neil Dexter before taking a measure of revenge by bowling the batsman behind his legs.

But when Ackerman and Aussie blaster Mark Cosgrove departed in quick succession, any real hope of Leicestershire coming close to Yorkshire's total had effectively gone, despite a lively partnership of 61 in six overs between Aaron Lilley and Lewis Hill for the fourth wicket, each contributing four to the sixes tally.

Hick XII 96 for 7 (Cummins 3-15, Siddle 3-20) trail Haddin XII 105 (Labuschagne 41, Neser 4-18, Bird 3-25) by nine runs

In their quest to avoid a repeat of the batting humiliations in Birmingham and Nottingham four years ago that led to the loss of the Ashes, it cannot have been in Australia's warm-up plans to stage such a faithful re-enactment.

Requesting a seaming, bouncing surface as part of a training camp deal brokered directly between Cricket Australia and the Hampshire chairman Rod Bransgrove always left open the possibility of a rush of wickets when the Dukes ball did as expected. Not only was the pitch well grassed on top it was dry underneath, meaning there was variable bounce on offer as well as seam.

But to see the "Haddin XII" shot out for 105, by an attack featuring only James Pattinson among the pace bowlers expected to form the front rank of Australia's attack for the Ashes, was cause for at least slightly furrowed brows for the head coach Justin Langer and his support staff. By stumps the "Hick XII" had fared little better, limping to 96 for 7, for a combined tally of 201 for 17 across a most eventful day.

Compounding the diversion from likely plans was the fact that the only member of the Haddin XII top seven to reach double figures was Marnus Labuschagne, who demonstrated typical grit and thought in scrounging his way to 41 with the help of the good fortune required to survive on a pitch this lively. Labuschagne is, at best, vying for one of the last couple of spots in the squad, whereas David Warner (four), Marcus Harris (six), Travis Head (one), Kurtis Patterson (two) and Alex Carey (six) are all more probable to figure.

Equally, the new-ball spell of Pattinson turned plenty of heads but went wicketless, while Michael Neser and Jackson Bird struck frequently with a combination of swing, seam, bounce and pace from unerring lines. They were helped, too, by some inattentive shots - Warner was too early into his drive and Head too rash in throwing the bat at an angled ball, tendencies both will want to avoid during the Ashes proper.

When the Hick XII took their turn to bat, the heavy roller and 31C temperatures had served to calm the surface somewhat, allowing Joe Burns and Cameron Bancroft to gain a foothold.

Their dismissals to Peter Siddle and Pat Cummins cleared the way for Steven Smith to get briefly re-acquainted with red-ball combat, before Matthew Wade was given caught behind and made clear he was far from happy with the decision. Pete Handscomb and Tim Paine also stayed only momentarily, before Mitchell Marsh departed in the day's final over. Cummins and Siddle had plenty of reason to be pleased with their work.

Quirks abounded in this fixture, not taking first-class status but also constituting far more strenuous preparation than the equivalent county games at Canterbury and Chelmsford in 2015. Twelve players a side, with 10 wickets completing an innings, 96 overs to be bowled in the day and the pitch located to the eastern edge of the square. Upon winning the toss, Paine was more than happy to bowl first, consigning Head's team to the sorts of conditions that have undone Australians in England so many times before.

Pattinson wasted little time making his mark, striking Warner in the chest with a rising first delivery, and moving the ball at pace while also extracting steepling bounce. It was Neser, however, who coaxed Warner into the drive, pinned Harris lbw with a ball straightening down the line of the stumps, and later returned to defeat Mitchell Starc and Cummins, the latter's off stump plucked out by late movement away.

Bird also fared well, tempting out Head and winning lbw verdicts against Patterson and Carey. Through it all Labuschagne offered a deferential defensive blade, salting away his runs with furtive deflections and the occasional boundary in a stay that, at 81 balls, lasted longer than the collective stays of the rest of the top five combined. He has done his Ashes chances no harm whatsoever.

Another question confronting Langer and the selection chairman Trevor Hohns is whether Starc's speed will be as dangerous in the Ashes as it was for most of the World Cup. He took the new ball for Head, and was certainly fast, at one point stinging Burns on the gloves. But the more dangerous trajectories looked clearly to be those of Siddle, who ended a 38-run opening stand between Burns and Bancroft, and Cummins, who found a scorcher for Bancroft and then beat Wade numerous times.

Smith offered up a pair of delectable boundaries through midwicket and cover, but dragged a full ball from Cummins onto the stumps when trying to repeat the dose. Wade's exit was no more graceful, seeming to suggest that a ball from Hazlewood had struck arm rather than bat or glove. Less doubt surrounded Handscomb's lbw, stuck on the crease to Cummins, or Paine's glance down the leg side into the gloves of his back-up Carey.

A late pressure release arrived via some loose stuff from Starc, only for Marsh to be bowled by Siddle in the day's final over. Given all that had gone before, this was only fitting.

If Joe Root required any evidence about the dangers of burn-out, he will not need to have looked far for an example.

The presence of Jonathan Trott, a member of the England coaching team ahead of this Test against Ireland, should have provided a timely reminder. For Trott, you may recall, had something of a breakdown towards the end of 2013. And, while there were many factors involved - not least his own upbringing, which put a disproportionate value on cricketing success - a key factor, he felt, was England's unrelenting schedule.

England had two Ashes series to play that year. And, while it is not as big a tournament as the World Cup, that England squad had long viewed the Champions Trophy - played just ahead of that first Ashes series - as a huge opportunity to win a maiden, global List A trophy. Losing in the final, particularly from a situation where they should probably have won (they required 20 from 16 balls with six wickets in hand), was later described by Trott (in his book, Unguarded) as "an overwhelming disappointment… probably the biggest of my career."

Perhaps more pertinently, Trott and co. went almost straight from the Champions Trophy into their preparation for the Ashes series. With no time to let the scars - be they physical or psychological - heal, the squad was required to assemble in Chelmsford for an Ashes warm-up match against Essex. As Trott put it in his book: "Maybe, if we had been given some time to reflect and get over the defeat, I would have been OK. But by the time we reported back ahead of the Essex game - we reported the night before two days of training ahead of the match - we had been given just three complete days off. We hadn't debriefed or discussed it. I hadn't had time to come to terms with it. I hadn't moved on. There was no time. There was never any time. If I had to pick the moment it all went wrong, that would be it."

You don't have to be a genius to work out the similarities with the current squad. Little more than a week since England finally won that maiden global List A trophy - and in dramatic, draining circumstances - several of the team are back at Lord's on the verge of a run of games that will see them play six Tests in little more than seven weeks. And, between the World Cup final and now, they have attended numerous functions and events - not least a reception at Downing Street - with a residential Ashes training camp over the weekend. If anything, Root and co. had even less time than Trott's "three complete days off".

Success, no doubt, is less draining than failure. So it may prove that England's World Cup winning squad require less time to come to terms with recent events than their predecessors. And, as Root pointed out ahead of the Ireland Test, "we've learned" from the way the team of 2013 fell apart and "how intense things got".

For a start, England have rested key players. The likes of Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler, who are clearly key to the side in all formats, have been given an extra week off, though both attended the training camp. Equally, there seems little chance Jofra Archer will make his Test debut before the second Ashes Test at Lord's as he recovers from various aches and pains - not least a side strain - while Mark Wood's side strain may sideline him for the whole Ashes series. A return before the fourth Test, at least, seems unlikely.

Perhaps more importantly, the environment around the England squad these days is far less intense. So while the fitness and work ethic of the current team is every bit as good as their predecessors, there is more awareness of the need to relax, laugh and take time away from the game, too. Crucially, players are now encouraged to express their anxieties rather than feeling they had to conceal them. It would be disingenuous to pretend the situation hasn't improved markedly.

But the fact remains, five of the World Cup-winning squad will be in the England side that takes the field in this Test. And all five of them - Root, Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Chris Woakes and Moeen Ali - have a strong chance of remaining involved throughout the Ashes series despite Roy having recently struggled with his hamstrings, Bairstow having struggled with his shoulder and Woakes having not played first-class cricket - and therefore having not been required to put his long-suffering knee through consecutive days of bowling - since September. We continue to ask a great deal of them. Quite possibly too much. And while English cricket has learned a great deal in recent years, it's never been quite enough to convince the ECB to risk compromising their income by cutting the schedule.

Root knows all this, of course. He came into that England side just as it started to disintegrate (he made his debut at the end of 2012) and spent Tuesday afternoon watching the recently released film The Edge, which chronicles that team's life-cycle. And as he says, it was his decision to play in this match. "I wanted to play this game," he said on Tuesday. "I wanted to get some red-ball cricket: the two days before this game, in particular, to make sure I felt in a good place."

But Trott and co. were given the opportunity to rest, too. Instead, he opted to play in the ODI series against Australia - his last ODI series, as it happened - at the end of the summer of 2013, before forcing himself through a series of brutal training sessions where he basically set the bowling machine to its maximum speed and took blow after blow to the head and body. Alastair Cook later described (again, in Trott's book) his failure to intervene in one "horrible" session where Trott was hit 20 times as something he would "regret horribly for the rest of my life". Such is the work ethic of international sportspeople, they sometimes need to be told to rest for their own good. Liam Plunkett's comments, made earlier this week, which suggested he was suffering from something akin to post-traumatic shock should sound a warning. These players need time to rest, reflect and recalibrate. They need time off.

Wait there, some of you will be saying. Don't we all have stresses and strains in our jobs? And without the compensations and lifestyles of our cricketers? People trying to survive on benefits and the minimum wage may struggle to find much sympathy for England's cricketers. And that's understandable.

But we don't all see our every move analysed and interpreted on TV. We don't all live under the scrutiny of social media. We don't all experience the emotional highs and lows and rushes of adrenalin. And the fact is that by asking England's top players to return to action so soon, we are risking their long-term prospects. While some may have seen the decision to field a second-string against Ireland as disrespectful to both the format and the opponent, most would have understood the enormity of the demands and the requirement to make concessions. All international cricket is important, but nobody can really think this Test is more important, from an England perspective, than the Ashes or the World Cup.

So, just as if seems odd that a pathway system with age-group sides, county matches and a Lions side would expect someone - Roy - to make their Test debut in a position (opener) in which they've never batted before in first-class cricket, so it seems odd that players who are now so well protected and rewarded are required to return to action before they have had time to digest and recover from what may well prove to have been the defining chapter in their careers.

Batsman and bowlers alike were left puzzled by a Southampton surface that seamed like a green top but dried out rapidly over day one of Australia's lone Ashes warm-up while also providing variable bounce.

A ledger of 201 for 17 across the day hardly depicted a batting paradise, but nor was it exactly the sort of slow, seaming surface that the tourists can be expected to face against England over five Tests at Edgbaston, Lord's, Headingley, Old Trafford and The Oval over the next two months. Marnus Labuschagne, the only batsman to pass 30 all day, and Jackson Bird, one of four pacemen to take three wickets or more, were united in their puzzlement.

"We were umming and ahhing this morning about what to do if we were going to bowl or bat," Labuschagne said after making 41 out of 105 for his side. "I actually called Sam Northeast up in the change room and he was saying that on this wicket they tend to bat first because of the deterioration during the game. It's really hard to tell - the conditions with the ball as well, there was plenty of swing and seam for pretty much the whole day, so I don't really think it made too much of a difference batting first or second.

"The heavy roller probably did, over here it flattens it out a little bit for probably 30-40 minutes but towards the back end it was still pretty lively and going. It was just the dryness of the wicket, with the bowlers we had who did bowl a heavier ball into the wicket I think they got considerably more up and down out of the wicket than you would potentially in a championship game with the bowlers bowling a bit slower and a bit more sideways movement. But everyone you'll see will adapt and hopefully get some runs in the second innings."

Bird, who has played county cricket for Hampshire and Nottinghamshire in the past, said it was not like any pitch he had seen before in these parts. "It was a funny sort of wicket, you don't really see this sort of wicket in England," Bird said. "There was lots of live grass on it but the surface was really dry, so there was a bit of inconsistent bounce from the top end, and it nipped around a little bit as well with that inconsistent bounce, which made it hard. The wicket got a little bit better as the day went on, but the bowling all day was reasonably good."

Where this all leaves Australia's Ashes preparations is anyone's guess, but suffice to say there were more than a few batsmen who would have preferred greater time in the middle, particularly given its dual status as a preparatory fixture and also a selection trial.

"This game is a very serious game and it's one where we're all looking to perform," Labuschagne said. "As a whole squad everyone wants to score runs, take wickets and I think we're getting the best out of each other by playing this hard cricket and its the best preparation for the upcoming tour.

"Facing the majority of the people out there bowling 130-140kph plus, facing the extra pace on a wicket that is going a little bit up and down, you need to make sure your ducks are in a row and your plans are in order. You wish as a batter it counted as 141 but no, 41 is still 41. In a low-scoring game those scores do help the team but from a personal view, it's frustrating when someone does get in and doesn't go on with it."

As Labuschagne's opponents, Bird complimented the Queensland No. 3 on his diligent planning for the surface. "He had a plan especially facing up to me, he came down the wicket and across to off stump and tried to take away getting bowled and lbw," Bird said. "The wicket could nip and stay a little bit low so he took that mode of dismissal out and it seemed to work for him. Although he nicked one in the end but that happens sometimes. It was good to see him have a plan, he's had a really strong start to the county championship season this year."

Regarding the selection trial, with the final Ashes squad to be named at the end of the match, Bird admitted to more than a few unusual emotions. "It's a weird situation that we haven't been in before," Bird said, "but everyone's really embraced it the last week and it's been really good to get in both teams in separate groups and I guess try to get the team camaraderie as much as you can in a weird situation.

"Our batters are world class as well, so anytime you get to come up against those guys it's good for your confidence and good for honing your skills I guess. It was a poor day out for the batters but the bowlers took a lot out of it. I'm expecting the batting group to bounce back in the next three days."

Washington Redskins running back Adrian Peterson was "trusting the wrong people," his attorney said, and is deeply in debt after making nearly $100 million in his career.

Peterson is being sued for failing to pay back a $5.2 million loan, The Athletic reported.

According to The Athletic, Peterson owes, after interest and legal fees, $6.6 million to DeAngelo Vehicle Sales, who claimed he had defaulted on his loan in the lawsuit that was filed in New York. Peterson had borrowed money from the lending company to pay off other creditors. He also must pay a combined $3 million to two other creditors.

"The truth behind Adrian Peterson's current financial situation is more than is being reported at this time," Peterson's attorney Chase Carlson said Tuesday in a statement. "Because of ongoing legal matters, I am unable to go into detail, but I will say this is yet another situation of an athlete trusting the wrong people and being taken advantage of by those he trusted. Adrian and his family look forward to sharing further details when appropriate."

Carlson declined further comment.

According to the Athletic, Peterson had defaulted on other loans, leading him to secure the $5.2 million loan from DVS on Oct. 26, 2016, while playing for the Minnesota Vikings. That money was to help pay $3.2 million to Thrivest Specialty Funding and $1.34 million to Crown Bank.

Peterson still owes $600,000 to Crown, and a Maryland judge last week said he must pay $2.4 million to Democracy Capital Corp., The Athletic reported.

Because the lawyers for DVS represented Peterson in another lawsuit, Peterson's attorney said there was a conflict of interest. That led to a judge cancelling Peterson's deposition Monday. Peterson's side said his confidential information was not properly obtained.

"As I have stated to Mr. Peterson's counsel, my firm has never held Mr. Peterson out as a client to third-parties," DVS attorney Darren Heitner said Tuesday via email. "Heitner Legal was never communicating with Mr. Peterson. There was and is no actual or perceived conflict of interest. No confidential information was obtained by Heitner Legal from Mr. Peterson. I view Mr. Peterson's tactics as nothing more than the latest attempt to stall the taking of his deposition."

Added Heitner: "I have no knowledge as to Mr. Peterson's personal assets. Based on experience, creditors with judgments in hand may be able to garnish some of his future wages."

The Redskins report to training camp Wednesday. Peterson will enter camp competing with Derrius Guice for the starting running back position. Peterson, who rushed for 1,042 yards last season, signed a two-year deal worth up to $5 million and includes annual incentives of $1.5 million.

Clemson's receivers have shirts they wear to workouts with "WRU" emblazoned across the front, a little nod to the pedigree of their position. At present, Tee Higgins and Justyn Ross make for worthy representatives of what they happily claim is Wide Receiver U, the best incubator for pass-catching talent in America. As evidence, they can point to Sammy Watkins, Nuk Hopkins and Mike Williams -- and on and on down the line of greats who built their reputations on the field at Death Valley, then went on to success in the NFL.

Of course, there are a few other schools that might take exception to that WRU moniker. From Julio Jones to Jerry Jeudy, Alabama has been churning out All-Americans like clockwork. And how about Oklahoma State's run from Dez Bryant to Tylan Wallace?

Which school is the real WRU -- or, for that matter, QBU or DBU or O-line U? It's a debate that deserves real answers, so we did the math.

ESPN Stats & Information dug deep into the numbers, culled details on all-conference performers, All-Americans, NFL draft picks and stars from the pro ranks, and came up with a formula to determine the official rankings for the schools best at producing quarterbacks, receivers, tight ends, running backs, linemen, linebackers and defensive backs.

We limited the debate to the BCS and CFP era, including all players who appeared in games from 1998 through last season.

We weighted an All-America nod higher than an All-SEC selection. We had to come up with a metric to determine a player's performance at the next level that would function for all position groups, so we used average Approximate Value over the first four seasons (or fewer, if applicable) in the NFL. We needed a way to account for Notre Dame's lack of conference affiliation, and we used Brian Burke's NFL draft pick values chart to figure out how much more to value a first-round draft pick than a seventh-rounder.

And in the end, these programs are the best of the best at recruiting and developing elite talent and then shipping it off to stardom in the NFL.

Jump to a position:

Quarterback | Running Back | Wide Receiver | Tight End
Offensive Line | Defensive Back | Defensive Line | Linebacker

Quarterback U

It's only fitting that the most high-profile position is arguably the most interesting in our rankings.

USC narrowly edged Oklahoma as the official QBU, but it's far from clear-cut. USC has reloaded at the position unlike any other program, going from Carson Palmer to Matt Leinart to John David Booty to Mark Sanchez to Matt Barkley to Cody Kessler to Sam Darnold -- all of whom were drafted and four of whom were taken in the first round.

Oklahoma, on the other hand, boasts an incomparable run of truly elite guys, with four Heisman winners (Jason White, Sam Bradford, Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray) in the past 15 years, and three of those guys went first overall in the NFL draft. It's a slight edge for USC in consistency, but advantage Sooners when it comes to producing the most elite talent.

Perhaps as interesting as the teams at the top, however, is the team at No. 33. That'd be Alabama, checking in just after Syracuse and only a few spots ahead of Delaware. No team has dominated on the field during the BCS/College Football Playoff era quite like the Crimson Tide, but they've done it without elite QBs ... until last season, anyway.

Meanwhile, though the top 10 is full of big names, the team at No. 11 is worth a mention, too: Fresno State. Recruiting the Carr brothers worked out pretty well for the Bulldogs. If we run the numbers for QBU again in 10 years, however, Clemson might be the team at the top. The Tigers currently rank 16th, but with Deshaun Watson, Trevor Lawrence and soon hotshot recruit D.J. Uiagalelei, the current run of superstar quarterbacks for Dabo Swinney is tough to match. -- David Hale

1. USC
Notable players: Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart, Mark Sanchez, Sam Darnold

2. Oklahoma
Notable players: Jason White, Sam Bradford, Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray

3. Oregon
Notable players: A.J. Feeley, Joey Harrington, Marcus Mariota, Justin Herbert

4. Texas
Notable players: Major Applewhite, Chris Simms, Vince Young, Colt McCoy

5. Florida State
Notable players: Chris Weinke, Christian Ponder, EJ Manuel, Jameis Winston

6. Louisville
Notable players: Chris Redman, Brian Brohm, Teddy Bridgewater, Lamar Jackson

7. Auburn
Notable players: Jason Campbell, Cam Newton, Nick Marshall, Jarrett Stidham

8. Florida
Notable players: Jesse Palmer, Rex Grossman, Chris Leak, Tim Tebow

9. Texas A&M
Notable players: Jerrod Johnson, Ryan Tannehill, Johnny Manziel, Kellen Mond

10. Ohio State
Notable players: Craig Krenzel, Troy Smith, Terrelle Pryor, J.T. Barrett, Dwayne Haskins

Running Back U

How deep, talented and productive has Alabama been at the running back position the past two decades?

Perhaps this is the best way to answer that question: Eddie Lacy was Alabama's starter for only one season (2012), but he piled up more than 2,400 rushing yards in his career. He's one of seven Alabama running backs to be selected in the first two rounds of the NFL draft, going back to 2000, and that includes a couple of Heisman Trophy winners in Derrick Henry in 2015 and Mark Ingram in 2009. While a handful of schools might stake claim to the Running Back U moniker since the start of the BCS in 1998, Alabama sits atop the throne.

Alabama is one of four SEC schools to make the top 10, and it edged Wisconsin, which has churned out the likes of Melvin Gordon, Ron Dayne, Montee Ball, Michael Bennett and James White in recent years. And talk about backfields loaded with talent. Miami's 2001 stable featured Frank Gore, Willis McGahee and Clinton Portis, and Arkansas in 2006 had Darren McFadden, Felix Jones and Peyton Hillis in the same backfield. The 2004 Auburn backfield was equally stout, with Ronnie Brown and Carnell "Cadillac" Williams, who went second overall and fifth overall, respectively, in the 2005 NFL draft.

One team surprisingly absent from the Running Back U top 10 is Georgia, which has had its share of talented runners over the years. In the past four years, the likes of Sony Michel, Nick Chubb and Todd Gurley have rumbled their way through Athens, but a lack of star power in the first half of the BCS era held the Dawgs back. -- Chris Low

1. Alabama
Notable players: Mark Ingram, Derrick Henry, Shaun Alexander

2. Wisconsin
Notable players: Ron Dayne, Melvin Gordon, Montee Ball

3. LSU
Notable players: Leonard Fournette, Kevin Faulk, Jacob Hester

4. Oklahoma
Notable players: Adrian Peterson, Samaje Perine, DeMarco Murray

5. Miami
Notable players: Frank Gore, Willis McGahee, Edgerrin James

6. Pittsburgh
Notable players: James Conner, LeSean McCoy, Dion Lewis

7. Texas
Notable players: Ricky Williams, Cedric Benson, Jamaal Charles

8. Oregon
Notable players: LaMichael James, Jonathan Stewart, LeGarrette Blount

9. Arkansas
Notable players: Darren McFadden, Felix Jones, Peyton Hillis

10. Auburn
Notable players: Cadillac Williams, Ronnie Brown, Tre Mason

Wide Receiver U

How did the Trojans get atop this list? Well, USC has eight seasons of all-conference wide receivers, which tied for fifth among Power 5 schools, and the Trojans have five All-American seasons from receivers, which tied for first nationally with Oklahoma State.

Those five All-Americans were huge factors in this ranking, and so were the 17 receivers drafted since the 1998 season, second only to Ohio State's 21. USC also had three receivers taken in the first round in that span.

In the past 15 seasons, USC has produced three 3,000-yard receivers: Marqise Lee, Dwayne Jarrett and JuJu Smith-Schuster. That's tied for first on this list with Oklahoma: Ryan Broyles, Sterling Shepard and Jalen Saunders.

The biggest surprise has to be LSU on this list. LSU has just five all-conference seasons from receivers and one All-American wideout: Josh Reed in 2001. Anemic offense and the lack of a 3,000-yard receiver over the past 15 years make you wonder how of all the Tigers in college football, these were the ones to make it in the top five.

Well, since 1998, 17 LSU receivers have been drafted. Do the names Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry mean anything to you? No one ever said LSU doesn't recruit studs, even if that potential wasn't always maximized in school. -- Edward Aschoff

1. USC
Notable players: JuJu Smith-Schuster, Mike Williams, Marqise Lee, Dwayne Jarrett

2. Ohio State
Notable players: Michael Thomas, Ted Ginn Jr., David Boston

3. Florida State
Notable players: Kelvin Benjamin, Rashad Greene, Peter Warrick

4. Oklahoma State
Notable players: James Washington, Justin Blackmon, Dez Bryant

5. LSU
Notable players: Odell Beckham Jr., Michael Clayton, Jarvis Landry

6. Oklahoma
Notable players: Marquise Brown, Ryan Broyles, Jalen Saunders, Sterling Shepard

7. Florida
Notable players: Percy Harvin, Andre Caldwell, Antonio Callaway

8. Michigan
Notable players: Devin Funchess, Braylon Edwards, David Terrell

9. Alabama
Notable players: Amari Cooper, Calvin Ridley, Julio Jones, Jerry Jeudy

10. Notre Dame
Notable players: Golden Tate, Will Fuller, Michael Floyd

Tight End U

Miami can officially say it is Tight End U. As if the Hurricanes haven't already been making that proclamation, it's now undeniable. Miami has so many big names and impact players at the position, it's hard to deny the program the top spot.

Tight ends have evolved, and there is more value in the position now than ever. Names such as Jeremy Shockey and Greg Olsen helped make that transition.

It isn't surprising to see Iowa so high on this list either, as the Hawkeyes regularly produce top tight ends year in and year out. In fact, Iowa became the first school to have two tight ends chosen in the first 20 picks of the NFL draft in April, when T.J. Hockenson and Noah Fant were both selected in the first round. Iowa is a team that could take over the No. 1 spot if Miami isn't careful. -- Tom VanHaaren

1. Miami
Notable players: Bubba Franks, Jeremy Shockey, Greg Olsen, Jimmy Graham, David Njoku, Chris Herndon

2. Iowa
Notable players: Dallas Clark, Scott Chandler, Tony Moeaki, C.J. Fiedorowicz, George Kittle, T.J. Hockenson, Noah Fant

3. Stanford
Notable players: Coby Fleener, Zach Ertz, Austin Hooper, Dalton Schultz

4. Missouri
Notable players: Martin Rucker, Chase Coffman, Michael Egnew, Dwayne Blakley

5. Wisconsin
Notable players: Owen Daniels, Travis Beckum, Lance Kendricks, Troy Fumagalli

6. Oklahoma
Notable players: Mark Andrews, Blake Bell, James Hanna, Jermaine Gresham, Stephen Alexander

7. UCLA
Notable players: Bryan Fletcher, Marcedes Lewis, Thomas Duarte, Caleb Wilson

8. Arizona State
Notable players: Todd Heap, Brian Jennings, Zach Miller

9. Virginia
Notable players: Heath Miller, Bill Baber, Chris Luzar, Patrick Estes, Tom Santi

10. BYU
Notable players: Gabe Reid, Daniel Coats, Dennis Pitta, Jonny Harline

Offensive Line U

It's no surprise that Alabama finds itself at the top of this list with Wisconsin a close second. In this research, Alabama had the most seasons with an all-conference player and has had an incredible amount of players drafted since 1998.

The Crimson Tide and Badgers led most of the categories analyzed, and though offensive linemen can be difficult to evaluate individually, when you look at the draft results for both teams, it's easy to see why these two top the list. It will be difficult to dethrone these two programs, but Oklahoma and Notre Dame have been making a big push as of late. The Irish in particular have had a run of top offensive linemen taken in the NFL draft and seemingly have more on the way. -- Tom VanHaaren

1. Alabama
Notable players: Andre Smith, James Carpenter, D.J. Fluker, Cam Robinson, Jonah Williams, Ross Pierschbacher

2. Wisconsin
Notable players: Joe Thomas, Gabe Carimi, Kevin Zeitler, Travis Frederick, Michael Deiter, David Edwards

3. Oklahoma
Notable players: Jammal Brown, Davin Joseph, Phil Loadholt, Trent Williams, Lane Johnson, Orlando Brown, Cody Ford

4. Michigan
Notable players: Jon Jansen, Steve Hutchinson, Jeff Backus, David Baas, Jake Long, Taylor Lewan

5. Ohio State
Notable players: LeCharles Bentley, Nick Mangold, Mike Adams, Jack Mewhort, Taylor Decker, Pat Elflein, Billy Price

6. USC
Notable players: Winston Justice, Ryan Kalil, Sam Baker, Tyron Smith, Matt Kalil, Marcus Martin, Chuma Edoga

7. Notre Dame
Notable players: Luke Petitgout, Jeff Faine, Zack Martin, Nick Martin, Ronnie Stanley, Mike McGlinchey, Quenton Nelson

8. Florida State
Notable players: Tra Thomas, Rodney Hudson, Menelik Watson, Bryan Stork, Cameron Erving, Tre' Jackson

9. Texas
Notable players: Jay Humphrey, Leonard Davis, Mike Williams, Derrick Dockery, Justin Blalock, Connor Williams

10. Florida
Notable players: Kenyatta Walker, Max Starks, Maurkice Pouncey, Marcus Gilbert, Mike Pouncey, D.J. Humphries, Jawaan Taylor

Defensive Back U

With just a few glances at Twitter during the season, you'll see that Florida and LSU players -- current and former -- and their official football team accounts are constantly bombarding the internet with claims of "DBU."

It actually might be college football's best rivalry over the past few years.

Unfortunately for both schools, they have to take a back seat to the real DBU: Ohio State.

Since 1998, Ohio State has 26 all-conference seasons by defensive backs (tops in the country) and six All-American seasons, which ranks second behind that of Alabama and LSU (eight). Since the 1998 season, 30 Buckeyes defensive backs have been drafted, among them 12 first-round picks, including three -- Marshon Lattimore, Malik Hooker and Gareon Conley -- in 2017.

After the Buckeyes, it was a run of SEC teams, with LSU, Alabama and Florida taking spots two through four. -- Edward Aschoff

1. Ohio State
Notable players: Marshon Lattimore, Denzel Ward, Eli Apple, Malcolm Jenkins

2. LSU
Notable players: Patrick Peterson, Tyrann Mathieu, Jamal Adams

3. Alabama
Notable players: Minkah Fitzpatrick, Mark Barron, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix

4. Florida
Notable players: Vernon Hargreaves III, Joe Haden, Reggie Nelson

5. Florida State
Notable players: Jalen Ramsey, Derwin James, Myron Rolle

6. Texas
Notable players: Kenny Vaccaro, Earl Thomas, Quentin Jammer

7. USC
Notable players: Adoree' Jackson, Taylor Mays, Troy Polamalu

8. Miami
Notable players: Kenny Phillips, Brandon Meriweather, Sean Taylor

9. Virginia Tech
Notable players: Kyle Fuller, Kam Chancellor, DeAngelo Hall

10. Oklahoma
Notable players: Roy Williams, Andre Woolfolk, Zack Sanchez

Defensive Line U

Ask any quarterback in the SEC, and you won't exactly be surprised by our DLU winner. Of course it's Alabama.

The Crimson Tide's defensive front has been tormenting opposing offenses for the better part of the past decade, and the litany of D-line superstars to emerge from Tuscaloosa -- from Jarret Johnson to Quinnen Williams -- includes 12 All-SEC seasons and five All-Americans. Of course, the Dabo Swinney era at Clemson gives the Tide a run for its money. Clemson has had 17 All-ACC seasons from D-linemen, with last season's group -- Christian Wilkins, Clelin Ferrell, Austin Bryant and Dexter Lawrence -- all drafted, including three in the first round. As much as the playoff battles between the Tide and Tigers have been a staple of college football the past few years, so too might be this battle for the official title of D-line U.

Clemson has a new group of emerging stars, including K.J. Henry and Xavier Thomas, and Alabama inked eight blue-chip D-linemen in the 2019 class, including five-star stud Antonio Alfano.

Perhaps the most surprising name in our rankings is North Carolina, which checks in at No. 12. It hasn't been a great run of late for the Tar Heels, but UNC dominated the early part of this era with names such as Ebenezer Ekuban, Ryan Sims, Julius Peppers, Kentwan Balmer, Robert Quinn, Quinton Coples and Sylvester Williams, all first-round picks.

Looking for the up-and-coming contender for DLU? Try Ohio State, which has had 11 defensive linemen drafted in the past decade and is likely to add another first-rounder in Chase Young next year. -- David Hale

1. Alabama
Notable players: Cornelius Griffin, Antwan Odom, Terrence Cody, Marcell Dareus, A'Shawn Robinson, Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne, Da'Shawn Hand, Quinnen Williams

2. Clemson
Notable players: Gaines Adams, Phillip Merling, Ricky Sapp, Da'Quan Bowers, Jarvis Jenkins, Andre Branch, Grady Jarrett, Vic Beasley, Shaq Lawson, Kevin Dodd, Dexter Lawrence, Christian Wilkins, Clelin Ferrell

3. Penn State
Notable players: Courtney Brown, Anthony Adams, Michael Haynes, Jimmy Kennedy, Tamba Hali, Aaron Maybin, Jared Odrick, Devon Still, Carl Nassib, Austin Johnson

4. LSU
Notable players: Booger McFarland, Marcus Spears, Kyle Williams, Glenn Dorsey, Tyson Jackson, Arden Key, Michael Brockers, Benny Logan

5. Florida State
Notable players: Corey Simon, Jamal Reynolds, Darnell Dockett, Travis Johnson, Brodrick Bunkley, Everette Brown, Tank Carradine, Timmy Jernigan, Bjoern Werner, Eddie Goldman, Mario Edwards Jr., DeMarcus Walker, Brian Burns

6. Ohio State
Notable players: Mike Vrabel, Ryan Pickett, Will Smith, Cam Heyward, Johnathan Hankins, Adolphus Washington, Joey Bosa, Sam Hubbard, Tyquan Lewis, Dre'Mont Jones, Nick Bosa, Chase Young

7. Texas
Notable players: Shaun Rogers, Casey Hampton, Cory Redding, Marcus Tubbs, Tim Crowder, Brian Orakpo, Lamar Houston, Malcolm Brown

8. Florida
Notable players: Jevon Kearse, Gerard Warren, Jarvis Moss, Derrick Harvey, Carlos Dunlap, Sharrif Floyd, Dominique Easley, Taven Bryan, Jachai Polite

9. USC
Notable players: Kenechi Udeze, Shaun Cody, Mike Patterson, Frostee Rucker, Lawrence Jackson, Sedrick Ellis, Everson Griffen, Leonard Williams

10. Tennessee
Notable players: Darwin Walker, Shaun Ellis, Albert Haynesworth, John Henderson, Justin Harrell, Dan Williams, Derek Barnett

Linebacker U

It's hard not to be mesmerized by all of the talent Georgia has produced at running back dating to Herschel Walker, arguably the greatest player to ever play in the SEC.

But when you glance across at the other side of the ball, the Bulldogs have been equally blessed at linebacker. In the past five years, they have produced seven NFL draft picks at either inside or outside linebacker. Go back seven years, and that number jumps to 10 linebackers taken in the NFL draft, including four first-rounders.

Historically, the Linebacker U tag might have been reserved for Penn State, and the Nittany Lions are still up there. But the Dawgs claim the top spot since the start of the BCS in 1998, thanks to their array of run-stuffing inside linebackers, pass-rushing specialists on the outside and do-it-all guys cut from the mold of Boss Bailey, who was the heartbeat of the 2002 Georgia defense that ranked fourth nationally in scoring.

Georgia finished just ahead of SEC counterpart Alabama, which has also produced great linebackers over the years. Good luck finding a more versatile linebacker in recent years than C.J. Mosley, one of nine Alabama linebackers to be picked in the NFL draft in the past six years. Speaking of Penn State, it's hard to find a more decorated trio at one school in the past 20 years than LaVar Arrington, Paul Posluszny and Dan Connor, though the folks at Ohio State would be quick to counter with such legendary names as Andy Katzenmoyer, James Laurinaitis and A.J. Hawk. -- Chris Low

1. Georgia
Notable players: Roquan Smith, Justin Houston, Alec Ogletree

2. Alabama
Notable players: C.J. Mosley, Rolando McClain, Dont'a Hightower

3. Ohio State
Notable players: A.J. Hawk, Andy Katzenmoyer, James Laurinaitis

4. USC
Notable players: Rey Maualuga, Clay Matthews, Chris Claiborne

5. Penn State
Notable players: LaVar Arrington, Paul Posluszny, Dan Connor

6. Oklahoma
Notable players: Curtis Lofton, Teddy Lehman, Rocky Calmus

7. UCLA
Notable players: Robert Thomas, Anthony Barr, Myles Jack

8. Florida State
Notable players: Ernie Sims, Lawrence Timmons, Tommy Polley

9. Michigan
Notable players: Devin Bush, LaMarr Woodley, Larry Foote

10. Florida
Notable players: Brandon Spikes, Jarrad Davis, Jevon Kearse

ESPN Stats & Information contributed to this story.

The San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday promoted longtime general manager R.C. Buford to CEO of Spurs Sports & Entertainment, moving assistant general manager Brian Wright to the GM position.

Buford, a two-time NBA Executive of the Year, had served as general manager since 2002 and was given the title of president of sports franchises in 2008. He has been with the Spurs since joining the front office in 1994.

Under Buford, the Spurs won four NBA titles (2003, 2005, 2007, 2014).

Wright had served as the Spurs' assistant GM since 2016. He previously worked for the Orlando Magic and Detroit Pistons.