After months of deliberating a handful of offers, New Orleans Pelicans rookie and No. 1 overall NBA draft pick Zion Williamson has signed a multiyear shoe deal with Jordan Brand.

"I feel incredibly blessed to be a part of the Jordan Brand family," Williamson said. "Since I was a kid, I dreamed of making it to the league and having the type of impact on the game Michael Jordan had and continues to have today. He was one of those special athletes I looked up to, and I really can't express how happy and excited I am for this journey."

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, though multiple competitor brands had offered the rookie sensation more than $10 million annually in their negotiations, according to industry sources.

Williamson announced the signing on Instagram on Tuesday.

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Jordan Brand called a special all-employees meeting Tuesday morning, just after Williamson's post on Instagram, to announce the signing internally. The brand has short-term plans to launch digital billboards featuring Williamson that are slated to go live in key markets later in the day.

"Zion's incredible determination, character and play are inspiring," Jordan said. "He's an essential part of the new talent that will help lead the brand into the future. He told us he would 'shock the world,' and asked us to believe him. We do."

Williamson and his family were hosted at Nike's sprawling Beaverton, Oregon, campus before the NBA draft on June 10, where they received an extensive tour of the company's headquarters and saw future product mock-ups and apparel designs.

With more than 67% of NBA players currently wearing Nike basketball sneakers, the company has been looking to inject more energy and youthfulness into its Jordan Brand subsidiary roster of athletes -- around 7% of the league.

Jordan Brand currently features signature sneakers for both Russell Westbrook and Chris Paul, with Williamson expected to be the future face of the brand.

"Over the last 34 years we've built an incredible roster of talent with the same determination and greatness as MJ," said Howard White, Jordan vice president of brand affairs. "There is something special about Zion that reminds me of MJ when he was younger."

After hearing concerns from owners and fielding inquiries from top agents over the past several weeks, the NBA has opened an investigation into how free agency operated this summer, multiple league sources told ESPN.

The scope of the investigation is still being determined, but sources say it will likely focus on some of the earliest reported deals on June 30 -- the first day teams and representatives for free agents are technically allowed to speak. League officials are expected to begin scheduling interviews in the coming days as they seek to gather information, sources said. There is no timetable for its completion.

The urgency for this step grew out of the board of governors meeting earlier this month in Las Vegas, sources said. During the meeting, owners raised concerns about the flurry of deals that were completed within hours of the official start of free agency on June 30, with the belief that tampering rules may have been violated, sources said.

More than a billion dollars in contracts were agreed to in the first 24 hours of the new league year, making it likely that negotiations had begun and in numerous cases were finalized well before the official opening of free agency.

The league has the right to punish teams for breaking league rules during free agency with fines and -- although rare -- the loss of draft picks or even the voiding of contracts.

It is technically against league rules for players to tamper with each other and work together on transactions before the opening of free agency. However, the NBA has set a precedent that it wouldn't punish players because it is too difficult to police player-to-player communication.

This summer, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George appeared to work in tandem on a free agency-trade scenario that got them both to the Los Angeles Clippers. This looked to league observers like a high-profile case of players and their agents creating a transaction involving third-party teams.

The NBA's investigation may not lead to any formal punishments, but the information gathered could trigger rule changes to the free-agency system in the future.

LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Dodgers have announced plans for a $100 million renovation project that will modernize their ballpark and give legendary pitcher Sandy Koufax a statue in time for next season.

The project, revealed during a Tuesday news conference that also unveiled the official logo for next year's All-Star Game, will feature a new, 2-acre center-field plaza that will include new food establishments, two sports bars, a children's play area and a space for live pre- and post-game music.

Dodger Stadium, the third-oldest ballpark in baseball, will also be adding new elevators and bridges to connect the outfield pavilions with the rest of the stadium. Fans will be able to watch the game from above a batter's eye in straightaway center field as well as new standing positions that ring the seating areas.

The left-field and right-field pavilions will feature new restrooms, enclosed bars with views into the bullpens, and enhanced seating for those with disabilities. New elevators, escalators and bridges will give fans the ability to walk the entire park's perimeter from any level for the first time.

The team's Jackie Robinson statue will be relocated from the left-field plaza to the entrance of the new center-field plaza, which will also serve as a permanent home for the "Legends of Dodger Baseball" plaques. Koufax will join Robinson as the only Dodgers to get a statue at Dodger Stadium.

Only Wrigley Field in Chicago and Fenway Park in Boston are older than Dodger Stadium, which opened in 1962 and will host the All-Star Game for the second time next summer.

Former major league pitcher Dwight Gooden was charged with driving while intoxicated in Newark, New Jersey, on Monday, his second arrest in the past two months.

Gooden, 54, was stopped after driving the wrong way on a one-way street, according to Newark Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose. Gooden was taken to University Hospital for further evaluation.

He was arrested June 7 on suspicion of possession of cocaine and driving under the influence, among other charges, in Holmdel, New Jersey, after he was stopped for a traffic violation.

A court date in the Holmdel case had been set for Tuesday.

The 1985 National League Cy Young Award winner has struggled with drug and alcohol addiction over the years. He was suspended from baseball for part of the 1994 season and all of the 1995 season after testing positive for cocaine. He has been arrested several times and served jail time in 2006 for drug use.

MOOSIC, Pa. -- At the mere mention of his Baseball Hall of Fame hero's name, the 20-year-old melted.

Why do you like Pedro Martinez so much?

A wide, gleeful smile -- often a familiar sight on Deivi Garcia's clean-shaven baby face -- had formed as the starting pitcher, deemed by most baseball insiders to currently be the New York Yankees' most-prized prospect, answered his favorite question of a recent one-on-one interview session.

"When I was a kid, like 13, 14 years old, a lot of people back home called me, 'Hey, Little Pedro, Little Pedro,'" the Dominican Republic-born Garcia said to ESPN via a translator last week inside his new home ballpark. "It's because [like Martinez] I'm not that tall like every other pitcher. I also used to throw a lot of curve balls too, like Pedro did."

The comparisons don't stop there. The 5-foot-9, nearly 170-pound Garcia is credited with having a mound presence and pitching bullishness that belies his slight-in-stature frame and is reminiscent of what his countryman Martinez displayed even in the earliest days of his illustrious, eight-time All-Star, three-time Cy Young Award-winning career.

And to be clear, these are still very early days for Garcia. After a recent promotion, the right-hander -- signed by the Yankees barely a month after his 16th birthday and three weeks before Martinez's induction into Cooperstown four years ago -- is now two starts into his tenure with New York's Triple-A affiliate, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.

It might not be the only promotion he receives this season. The deeper into the second half we get and the more the injury-ravaged Yankees pull further away in the American League East standings, Garcia could be part of their late-season plans.

"I know the next level is the major leagues, but I'm still trying to work hard and don't get [over] confident, and still work and stick to my routines," Garcia said. "If I reach that level this year, I will still have a lot of the same stuff going on: I have to stick to my plan every time I go out and just do what I can to help the team win."

Although he didn't factor in the decision, Garcia allowed just one run in a four-walk, three-inning, 75-pitch outing on Saturday. The RailRiders ultimately got the win, just as they did in his Triple-A debut the week before. Garcia is slated to pitch again at the Louisville Bats on Friday.

"He'll miss some pitches every once in a while, he hasn't totally figured out command yet but his stuff is excellent," RailRiders manager Jay Bell said. "Whenever you see stuff in a guy, you think, 'Yeah, this guy's got a chance.'

"You watch him on the mound, and his mound presence is extraordinary for a 20-year-old. He handles himself extremely well. He doesn't let things affect him very much. He gave up a homer [in his RailRiders debut], and it did not faze him. He got the ball, went back on the mound and held himself very erect, and you knew he had command of that bump out there."

As Bell, who also briefly managed Garcia last year with the Double-A Trenton Thunder, added, "When you have a guy that has that ability, along with the stuff, now you put that together and it's pretty special. He's got a bright future ahead of him."

Although he has been with them for only two weeks, a few of Garcia's teammates at Triple-A are already calling him "the real deal."

With a whopping 124 strikeouts through a combined 76⅔ innings at High-A, Double-A and Triple-A, Garcia this season has made himself into the kind of strikeout machine that other teams are coveting as next week's trade deadline approaches.

Per a report by ESPN's Jeff Passan, it remains possible for the Yankees to deal Garcia away in a trade for a controllable starting pitcher to shore up their rotation. That is to say, the only way New York would part with Garcia in the next eight days is if they received in return a veteran pitcher who was not scheduled to hit free agency next offseason.

But trade chatter aside, Garcia remains a highly regarded part of the Yankees' farm system. His rapid ascent this year alone portends a promising future in pinstripes.

"He's one of those guys that's been on the radar the last couple of years," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "Last year, having a really good year, and then obviously this year, taking it to another level and getting the attention of not only us, but all of the baseball world knowing about him now."

Following a 2018 season in which he compiled a 2.55 ERA with 105 strikeouts in 74 innings at varying levels of Class A ball and with Double-A Trenton, Garcia rolled through the first half this season, continuing to keep his ERA low and strikeouts high. Earlier this month, while still pitching for the Thunder, he started the Futures Game during MLB's All-Star Week in Cleveland.

Channeling his idol, Garcia had a clean inning of work in MLB's premium prospect showcase, striking out the side. Martinez famously struck out the side 1-2-3 in the opening frame of the 1999 All-Star Game at Fenway Park during his second season with the Boston Red Sox.

"I kind of had an idea that something big was coming after that," Garcia said of his brief, K-filled outing.

By the fifth inning, it came.

Contacted in the middle of the inning by his Double-A manager, Pat Osborn, Garcia ended up getting asked his most memorable question of the year.

"You know you're going to Triple-A after this game?" Osborn said during the phone call.

He did then.

While Garcia has been pleased with the strides he has made this year, he still doesn't seem surprised by what has led to his rise thus far: an ability to get a lot of strikeouts. He has had it since becoming a professional player.

"In '15, I figured out that I can strike out people -- and that I love to really make the hitter confused," Garcia said. "I know that's a big part of my pitching game. So, I just try to compete against everybody and strike out everybody I can."

Strikeouts were a key part of Martinez's game too. He had 3,154 across his 18-year career. He twice put up 300-strikeout seasons, and he led the American League in K's three times.

"Pedro was a guy with three elite pitches and with 80 command with each of them," said Boone, referring to the highest number a player can receive on the scouting grade scale. "You're talking about rare, nasty stuff. He can throw them all and dot them all. That's the ultimate weapon, when you've got command plus pitches. That's what he was so good at."

Boone definitely would know. He faced Martinez seven times in his big league career. Boone collected two hits, including a double, while squaring off with Martinez. He also struck out once.

"I kind of enjoyed facing him, just in the sense that, it's kind of fun facing the best," Boone said. "You kind of know you got to be on it, and he could command it, although you know he also wasn't afraid to let it rip inside too. So it was a challenge, but it was a fun one."

At-bats like those Boone toughed through show up all over a YouTube video that Garcia credits with energizing him before he makes any start.

So here's how deep Garcia's admiration for Martinez goes: Minutes before he leaves to loosen up for a game he is pitching in, the righty plops down at his locker, grabs his phone, pops on a pair of headphones and pulls up YouTube, scrolling to a video that is four years old.

Titled "Video musical 'Hall of Fame': Homenaje a Pedro Martinez," it is a 3-minute, 14-second montage of Martinez clips set to the song "Hall of Fame," performed by the group The Script. Created to help celebrate Martinez's 2015 Hall of Fame induction, the video has more than 87,000 views. Garcia, who still has yet to meet his hero, has a large chunk of them.

"It's like a ritual," Garcia said. "It gets me pumped up."

There are moments in the video when fans wave the Dominican Republic's flag as Martinez pitches. Combine them with the song's varying crescendos and beat changes and there's plenty in the highlights to engender pride in Garcia.

Of course, parts of the video wouldn't excite most Yankees fans: There are two scenes in which Martinez strikes out Derek Jeter; another in which he gets Alex Rodriguez looking; one more when he threw up near Karim Garcia's head in the 2003 American League Championship Series; and yet another in which the lyrics "You can walk straight through hell with a smile" are sung as an aerial shot of a packed Yankee Stadium is shown before transitioning to a grinning Martinez.

"He could do so many things on the mound," Boone said of Martinez. "He could pitch up with the fastball. He could really make the fastball move and sink and do different things. As good a breaking ball as there was in the league, and then the changeup is the famous pitch. Pedro's as good a right-handed pitcher as there's been, certainly in my lifetime."

While no one within the Yankees organization is willing to make a comparison between Garcia and Martinez, there is still a belief that the young hurler with a mid-90s fastball and sharp breaking pitches could fully blossom in the coming seasons.

Part of getting Garcia to that point includes expanding his repertoire. During spring training, he started tinkering with a slider, adding it to his arsenal of fastball-curveball-changeup. For the past two months, he has used the slider in games. He even used it as the out pitch on two of his six strikeouts in his first game at Triple-A.

"I love that pitch. I love to throw it," Garcia said. "The slider has been great, because now people got more pitches to think about. I've used it a couple of times, and the hitters don't know if it's the curve ball or the fastball, and then it could be a slider coming. So that really helps."

It appears the organization already is seeing favorable depth and break to Garcia's slider, as well.

"Not only is it an extra pitch, it's a quality extra pitch," Bell said. "It gives that nice little separation, short lead break; it's not just that overhand curve ball that's just going to go down, it's going to away from hitters, also."

For now, Garcia's goal is to be patient with his overall development. As quickly as he has progressed this year, he is well aware that his next promotion could take some time. Then again, it might not.

"When it happens, I'm just going to be like, 'Wow,'" Garcia said. "If I'm smiling all the time here now, just imagine when I get called up. I'll be all smiles."

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. – R.C. Enerson will join Carlin for the NTT IndyCar Series Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Sunday piloting the No. 31 Lucas Oil School Carlin Chevrolet.

“We’re excited to have R.C. Enerson and the Lucas Oil School of Racing on-board this weekend in the No. 31 entry at Mid-Ohio. R.C. really impressed us at Spring Training at COTA at the beginning of the season and we were very hopeful that something could come together at some point that would put him back in the car,” said Team Principal Trevor Carlin. “R.C. has spent a lot of time with our team this season and he has quite a bit of experience at Mid-Ohio, including an IndyCar start a few years back, so he should be able to jump right back in and make the transition a smooth one.”

Enerson began karting at the age of five and eventually made his professional debut in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Series, the entry level of the Road to Indy ladder series, in 2012. He spent three years there recording five wins and 11 podiums before he moved into the Indy Lights Series in 2015, where he spent the next two seasons of his career.

While in Indy Lights, Enerson recorded six podiums and one win in 2015 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Halfway through the 2016 Indy Lights Series season, Enerson left to pursue a seat in the NTT IndyCar Series and made his INDYCAR debut at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. He went on to compete in two more races of the 2016 NTT IndyCar Series season recording a top 10 with a ninth-place finish at Watkins Glen. Enerson participated in the NTT IndyCar Series Spring Training with Carlin in February.

“It’s really great to be back driving with Carlin after completing Spring Training earlier this season with the team. We’ve been working really hard to get something together to get me back in the seat at some point this season and I couldn’t be happier that it’s all come together for Mid-Ohio. Mid-Ohio has always been one of my favorite tracks on the schedule. I’ve just always loved the elevation changes and all of the high-speed flowing corners,” said Enerson. “I’m also excited to be able to carry the Lucas Oil School of Racing logo on the No. 31 this weekend. They are the official school of the Road to Indy Series and it’s been so rewarding to share my love of racing and to be able to instruct some of the future stars of IndyCar. I know we have some work to do this weekend, but I’m confident that with both my experience and the team’s at Mid-Ohio we can put together a solid result.”

BATESVILLE, Ark. – Scott and Marlene Mosley, in partnership with Jeff Taylor, took over the ownership and operation of Larry Shaw Racing on July 1.

With their acquisition they renamed the company, Shaw Race Cars.

“We’ve met many great people throughout the last 10 years of racing,” Scott Mosley noted. “When this incredible opportunity came along, allowing us to be more involved in the racing community, we couldn’t pass it up. We’re now just a few weeks into owning the company, but we are already loving every minute of it. Larry [Shaw] built an amazing repertoire of great racers and working hand-in-hand with them to help them reach their goals is a great feeling.”

In addition to their involvement in racing, the Mosley family also have various business endeavors within their home state of Arkansas. The opportunity to invest in the racing community was a dream come true.

“We’ve made a lot of great memories with our son [Travis], our family, and friends at the racetrack over the last decade,” Scott Mosley continued. “What Larry Shaw and his staff have built with their company over the past 40 plus years is extraordinary. To carry on the storied tradition of this legendary company is truly an honor.”

The existing staff at Larry Shaw Race Cars, including Larry’s son Kevin Shaw, have retained their existing roles as the company continues its transition to Shaw Race Cars.

“Larry [Shaw] has put together a topnotch staff, and we are excited to continue building on what he has in place,” Scott Mosley said. “Adding the expertise of Jeff [Taylor] only adds to what is already an exceptional staff. Jeff is now leading our development program, while also providing tech support both at and away from the track.”

Scott’s wife, Marlene, went on to elaborate on Taylor’s role in the new endeavor.

“Jeff Taylor is an important part of this transition,” she shared. “His innovation, knowledge, and skills are vital in achieving our goal to offer the same quality service and cars Larry Shaw Racing is known for.”

For Taylor, he’s relishing in his new position.

“Scott and Marlene [Mosley] are some of the finest folks you’ll ever meet, and I think the world of them,” Taylor stated. “We’ve got some big things in plan that I think will allow our customers to be even more successful. I can’t wait to see what the future will hold.”

Over the past 40 years, Larry Shaw Race Cars has built over 5,000 racecars, including both Modifieds and Late Models. Shaw Race Cars will continue to provide tech support and part’s services for all chassis, including past, present and future.

For Larry Shaw, he knows that he will miss being in the office each day, but on the same token he’s excited to see what the future will hold under the direction of the Mosley family.

“I couldn’t imagine a finer group of folks than the Mosley family to carry on the tradition of Larry Shaw Race Cars,” Shaw said. “Selling this company is not something I was sure I’d ever do, but always said if the right people came along that I’d definitely consider it. Well, the Mosley family is indeed the right folks to carry on what my family and I have built over the past four decades.

“I just want to say thanks to everyone, who has ever supported this company. I look forward to seeing what Shaw customers continue to accomplish for many years to come.”

GLENDORA, Calif. – NHRA officials have announced the extension of its partnership with K&N Filters, a leader in filtration technology, as the official filter and air intake of the NHRA.

“K&N has been a wonderful partner of NHRA Championship Drag Racing for decades and we are so pleased that they are continuing their sponsorship,” said Brad Gerber, NHRA vice president and chief development officer. “Through this extension, K&N continues to demonstrate its commitment and support to the drag racing community.”

The multi-year sponsorship will television elements, on-site activations and social media content. Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, K&N has a solid presence in NHRA drag racing. In fact, K&N chief engineering officer, Steve Williams, is the current Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Super Comp World Champion.

“It was very important for K&N to continue our official partnership we have had with NHRA for many years,” said Williams. “Our heritage was born out of racing and we continue to support fans and racers through our sports marketing programs. K&N is celebrating 50 years in business by releasing our new K&N Washable Home Air Filter using breakthrough technology developed through racing.”

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – American Flat Track officials have finalized a contract that will return the series to Oklahoma’s Remington Park in 2020.

The OKC Mile, absent from the 2019 series schedule, will return to the schedule on June 20, 2020.

Consistently one of the highest-attended events of the season, the OKC Mile has always been a unique event producing heart-stopping racing for a sellout crowd of devoted flat track fans.

“We were sad that a scheduling conflict deprived our fans of an OKC Mile in 2019,” said Michael Lock, CEO of American Flat Track. ”Since that, we have been working hard with the facility and our man in O.K., Shawn Brassfield, to ensure that we could return to put on another exciting weekend of AFT racing in 2020.”

We’re back with a new edition of the SPEED SPORT Power Rankings! Was Brad Sweet’s victory in the Kings Royal enough to catapult him to the top of the Rankings? Click below to find out!