New York Mets left-handed pitcher Jason Vargas started -- and answered questions -- for the first time since being fined for an expletive-filled confrontation with a reporter, and said he doesn't believe that "all the information" is out there.

Vargas had to be restrained from going after a Newsday beat writer in the Mets' clubhouse following a loss on Sunday at Chicago's Wrigley Field. He called it "an unfortunate distraction'' on Monday.

On Wednesday, after the Mets' 5-4 loss in 10 innings to the host Philadelphia Phillies, the 36-year-old hurler was asked for an explanation of the incident.

"It was an unfortunate confrontation," said Vargas, who allowed two runs and struck out 10 in 6⅓ innings. "I don't think all the information is really out there. I don't think this is a time to get into that. But I think that anybody that knows me, anybody that has played with me, there's never been a situation like that. So to think it happened out of the blue, it's foolish.''

Vargas declined to explain what he meant.

"It's over,'' he said. "Our organization made a statement. We put an end to it. But I think it's pretty obvious all the info isn't out there.''

Mets manager Mickey Callaway also was fined for his involvement in the verbal confrontation. He apologized Monday.

Sunday's incident followed a tense postgame news conference, during which reporters asked Callaway repeatedly about his decision to stick with reliever Seth Lugo during the eighth inning instead of going to closer Edwin Diaz. Lugo allowed a go-ahead three-run homer to the Chicago Cubs' Javier Baez.

After the news conference, Callaway walked past the Newsday reporter, Tim Healey, and other reporters in the clubhouse. Healey said to Callaway, "See you tomorrow," and Callaway responded by calling Healey a "m-----f-----." Callaway walked away and then returned, cursing at Healey again and telling him to leave the clubhouse.

"I thought he was leaving for the day, so I said, 'See you tomorrow, Mickey,'" Healey said. "And then he said, 'Don't be a smart-ass.'"

"I tried to tell him I didn't mean anything by it," Healey added. "I was just saying, 'I'll see you tomorrow.' And then he said, 'Get this guy out of here,' and that got the attention of Jason Vargas."

Vargas stared down Healey and shouted at him, including saying, "I'll knock you the f--- out, bro," according to a Yahoo Sports account. Vargas eventually tried to move toward Healey but was held back by teammates, including Carlos Gomez and Noah Syndergaard.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Major League Soccer will become the first major American sports league to sell jersey sponsorship and stadium naming rights to companies in the sports betting and spirits industries.

While MLS had previously allowed such sponsorship for beer and wine companies, recent developments, including last year's U.S. Supreme Court decision that allowed states to legalize sports gambling, paved the way for the league to expand its rules regarding sponsorship.

In addition to allowing such sponsorships on the front of jerseys, MLS will begin selling sponsorships on the sleeves of its team's jerseys starting next season. Teams can also grant rights to sports betting companies to advertise within stadiums, during broadcasts, as well as have in-stadium betting, though such rights are subject to state law.

One league guideline indicates that all advertising for sports betting or spirits must be directed to an age-appropriate audience.

The aim of the changes, which were approved at the MLS Board of Governors meeting last month, is to increase fan engagement as well as revenue.

"The legalization of sports betting, and just the changing landscape of social mores and how the line between spirits, beer and wine is starting to dissolve, we felt that now was an appropriate time to make some adjustments," said Carter Ladd, the MLS VP of business development.

The move does come with some restrictions. Ladd added that MLS won't allow for sports betting companies to "access athletes," meaning there wouldn't be billboards with the athletes in conjunction with a sports betting sponsor, or run television ads featuring a player and a sports betting company.

"It would have to be more of an overarching integration with the club," he said.

Ladd added that spirits companies will only be allowed to use players over the age of 21 in their advertising.

The sight of sports betting companies on the front of jerseys has long been a staple of the sport in Europe. Ladd added that this connection overseas paved the way for MLS to adopt the change.

"Having sports betting companies on the front of jerseys is part of the fabric of the game internationally," said Ladd. "We want to be at the forefront of it here within North America and touch on the international relevancy of our sport."

Benfica says Atletico Madrid has made an offer of €126 million to sign teenage forward Joao Felix, touted in Portugal as a possible successor to Cristiano Ronaldo.

The transfer would be one of the most expensive ever in football, with a higher price tag than what Juventus paid Real Madrid for Ronaldo -- nearly €100m -- last year.

Benfica said on Wednesday that the club was evaluating the offer, which would give the club a net value of €120m, equivalent to the player's buyout clause.

- When does the transfer window close?

Atletico is expected to receive that same amount for the sale of France forward Antoine Griezmann, who announced at the end of the season he was leaving the Spanish club.

The 19-year-old Felix made his debut with Portugal's national team at the inaugural UEFA Nations League earlier this month. He played with Ronaldo in the team's opener but was on the bench for the rest of the tournament that host Portugal eventually won.

Felix began drawing comparisons to the 34-year-old Ronaldo after making a rapid rise through the youth squads of Benfica. He debuted with the first team in August and quickly established himself as a regular starter for the Portuguese champions.

Extremely skillful and a gifted scorer, Félix was the youngest player to appear in Benfica's "B" team, at 16. He was also the youngest to score at the team's Stadium of Light, at 18, and the youngest to score a hat trick in the Europa League, at 19, after the competition was rebranded in 2009.

Jimmy Neesham likes to call it the "fastest 47" in ODI cricket, and he's not wrong. After having being in the funk for two years, almost having given up on cricket and then setting himself right, Neesham came back to smack 47 off 13 balls against Sri Lanka on his return. That innings, he says, was 18 months in the making, a reward of all the hard work he had put in when he was away. Yet it was just a score of 47 in a career whose highest score was 74.

The chance to play this World Cup, he admits, was sooner than he expected when he set on path to recovery. He was more philosophical about success and failure. He had now learnt to deal with personal failures much better by looking at his efforts through the team of the prism. He was happier nicking off first ball if New Zealand won than scoring a hundred in a defeat. Deep down, though, there must have been some desire to prove himself in more trying circumstances than walking in at 316 for 5 and smashing the ball around.

It is not ideal but this World Cup has provided him these challenges. There was the tense chase against Bangladesh where he ended up holing out to long-off. They lost two wickets in the first over against West Indies where he did better and added 41 for the fifth wicket Kane Williamson for the fifth wicket and himself ended up with 28 off 23 balls.

WATCH on Hotstar (India only) - Jimmy Neesham's unbeaten 97

At Edgbaston against Pakistan, though, Neesham found himself with a much bigger task. He walked in to join Williamson at 46 for 4, and would soon lose Williamson too. In difficult batting conditions, he battled through, especially when facing the red-hot Shaheen Shah Afridi, and ended up unbeaten on a career-best 97 to give New Zealand a competitive score of 237. This was the longest innings of Neesham's 55-match career. It must give New Zealand some confidence as they continue to struggle with their openers.

On a personal level, that has to feel satisfying. "I'm pretty tired now," was Neesham's immediate reaction after having bowled three overs to go with it. "That's sort of my emotions at the moment, I think. Yeah, obviously, I suppose there's external noise about whether you have the ability to guide an innings like that, and I sort of have the belief in my own ability that I have the ability to come out at 40 for 4 and guide our team to 200-plus and also the ability to come out at 310 for 3 with two overs to go. So it's just about putting it out there, I suppose, and having belief in your own processes.

READ MORE: Second spinner might have helped New Zealand, admits Santner

"Obviously, we had a large period of time where we had to soak up pressure. That was the nature of the wicket and the nature of the bowling attack. We certainly had a belief, if we could get through that hard period, we'd be able to score some runs at the back end, and obviously that's what ended up happening."

Neesham did soak up all the pressure, getting beaten multiple teams by Afridi, but then turning it on towards the end. He scored 26 off the first 58 balls he faced followed by 71 off the next 64. This was a near perfect rearguard in conditions ideal for both seam and spin, for which he was congratulated by Pakistan fielders even as he walked off in the innings break. He, in turn, sought out Afridi to congratulate for the spell he had bowled.

However, Neesham was not willing to draw too much pleasure out of the knock. "It [this innings] is something I'll probably reflect on after the tournament is finished," Neesham said. "I think, obviously, the whole point of trying to graft out our partnership like that is to try to get ourselves in a position to win the game. I feel like we potentially did that. We potentially had a score that was defendable. Obviously, in a game where you lose, you don't take a whole lot of pleasure out of stuff like that."

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. -- Seattle's new NHL franchise intends to have its American Hockey League affiliate in Palm Springs as part of a new arena proposed for the city.

The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and Oak View Group announced plans Wednesday to build a privately funded arena on tribal land in downtown Palm Springs with the intent of serving as the home ice for Seattle's affiliate. NHL Seattle and OVG have jointly submitted an application for an expansion AHL franchise, the 32nd for the league, which would begin play in the fall of 2021, at the same time Seattle's NHL franchise will begin play.

OVG is currently financing and leading the renovation of the arena at Seattle Center that will be home to the NHL franchise.

The new arena in Palm Springs will seat up to 10,000 fans and include an adjoining training facility. The groups hope to begin construction on the arena in February 2020.

Manchester City hope to complete the signing of Atletico Madrid midfielder Rodri Hernandez by next week, sources close to ESPN FC have confirmed.

Bayern Munich had been making a strong push for the Spanish international right down to the wire, but several sources have confirmed to ESPN FC that Rodri, 23, has finally opted to accept the offer from City.

Once the agreement is official, he will become the most costly signing in the history of the club, currently managed by Pep Guardiola.

City will have to pay £63 million (€70m) of his release clause due to the fact that Atleti were unwilling to negotiate a reduction. When the transfer is complete it will set a new club record, breaking City's current transfer record of £60m, which they paid last summer to move Riyad Mahrez from Leicester City.

In April, ESPN FC reported that Rodri was Guardiola's top target for the summer window because the Catalan coach was in search of a defensive midfielder who could take the place long-term of Fernandinho, who turned 34 last month.

Guardiola has the services of multifaceted Ilkay Gundogan for that spot, but he wanted a specialist like Rodri, who has been hailed as Spain's successor to Sergio Busquets at the base of midfield and who was a key player for Barcelona during their golden era. Rodri left Villarreal just one year ago and was signed by Atletico for €20m.

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone had tried to convince his prospect to continue at the Wanda Metropolitano by offering him a bigger role. Sources say Rodri seriously considered Simeone's proposal, but last week made his wishes known to the club front office that he wanted a new challenge outside of LaLiga.

Last week, Atletico Madrid reached an agreement with rival Real Madrid over the transfer of midfielder Marcos Llorente, to replace Rodri.

Bayern made a last-minute push to convince Rodri to follow Lucas Hernandez to Germany, but ultimately Guardiola won the appeal. Manchester City are expected to pay the €70m to La Liga by next week to seal the deal.

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies?

Scene on hai?

In other words, is it on? Is it happening? Is it really happening? You need not ask more. You need not say more. It has been a sort of secret greeting, the widest-known secret because the millions of Pakistan fans are in on it. Ever since Sri Lanka - Pakistan lite, as it has been proven time and again - beat England to slice open this World Cup and hand Pakistan, among others, a lifeline, this question has gained serious momentum.

This it is this awesome, all-consuming, enormous roll that Pakistan tend to get on when everything miraculously starts falling in place. Actually, let's just use a capital I to spell It, shall we? Just like Chris Jericho's "It", Pakistan's It has a life of its own, a meaning of its own. This It is a proper noun. This It is a one-word catchphrase.

And It is not just Pakistan's cricket. Unrelated events start conspiring to push them along. This is not even about the 1992 World Cup although it is a massive surprise there hasn't emerged a viral Twitter account called Banwey [Urdu/Punjabi/Hindi for 92]. The similarities are indeed eerie, but the Banwey thing started as a self-mocking parody because fans knew the team were a shambles coming into this World Cup.

WATCH on Hotstar (India only) - Full highlights of Pakistan's victory

While other serious contenders were preparing and planning for this World Cup at least two years in advance, Pakistan practically assembled a team two days before. Mohammad Amir, now the second-highest wicket-taker in this World Cup, was not even a part of the XV originally announced. Wahab Riaz was not even part of the provisional 30 names announced. He was not even at the training camps. In a gloriously Pakistani way, he was privately advised to not go a holiday that he wanted to go on. Because somebody in the camp didn't rule out this kind of a last-minute call-up happening. That is Pakistan.

Rationalists saw the desperate Pakistan team that was hoping for miracles rather than believing in themselves. They were hoping for wonders from Wahab, who should have been on a holiday, from Amir, who had hardly taken a wicket last year, from Shoaib Malik, who has a terrible record in England. Belief is an extremely important word in this story. That belief was not there at the start. They didn't even know what their combination should be. They were just hoping to turn up on the day and outdo meticulously planned teams.

And so the Banwey parody continued even as all hell broke loose with all familiar tropes. Customary TV-smashing has already happened. Small-time rabble rousers have gathered serious notoriety. Sarfaraz Ahmed has been harassed in a mall. Half-truths - if that - about players' unhealthy eating have been accepted as serious criticism by fans. A non-Pakistani Pakistan coach has rather insensitively spoken about feeling like committing suicide because of a loss at the World Cup. What else is left to do then? It.

Sri Lanka - the Pakistan of this tournament till we searched the real Pakistan - had no business beating tournament favourites England. But they did, thereby saving this tournament from 20-odd dead rubbers. Since then, especially in Birmingham with a big population of Pakistani origin, there has been this irrational belief among the fans. Belief that not only can Pakistan win their remaining four matches - including those against South Africa, the undefeated New Zealand and the rising Bangladesh - but also that through some cosmic power England can lose all their mojo.

Even within the team things started to fit in miraculously. Having refused to drop Malik all this while, they finally gave a chance to Haris Sohail almost as an afterthought in a defeated campaign. Haris drowned South Africa, a man Pakistan kept denying in matches when the tournament was wide open. This was a sign. Like Fakhar Zaman in the 2017 Champions Trophy replacing the suspended Sharjeel Khan, like Rumman Raees replacing the injured Wahab, like Faheem Ashraf being picked as a batting allrounder but giving them bonus wickets with the ball. Like Abdul Razzaq who replaced the injured Yasir Arafat in the World T20 of 2009 and removed Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill in his first spell.

It was a wild fantasy when Sri Lanka won on Friday, there was a little bit more conviction with this Sunday win. On Tuesday you couldn't sit in a Birmingham cab that didn't have radio commentary of the Lord's match on. As Australia piled on the runs, as their bowlers turned it on in the second innings, the question had found more urgency: "Kya lagta hai, scene on hai? [What do you think, is It on?]"

ALSO READ: Welcome to the age of Babar Azam

You could see it in bowling coach Azhar Mahmood's press conference where he just stopped short of calling New Zealand chokers. They are a team, he said, that has great record in league stages of every big tournament before losing in the semi-final or quarter-final before couching it under the law of averages. "Everybody has to have one bad day," he said with conviction that the bad day would be against them on Wednesday.

It can be difficult against a team that has such belief. Bazid Khan, former Pakistan cricketer and now a commentator, an astute observer of Pakistan and a known rationalist, explains it irrationally when you tell him every team goes with a belief they can win. "There's a difference between belief and yakeen," he says. Yakeen is basically a literal Urdu/Punjabi/Hindi translation of belief. But belief is belief, and yakeen is It.

When that yakeen of the team meets the yakeen of the loudest crowd you can encounter, and when you add bits of other accidents, it makes for a perfect storm that makes you actually want to sit up and ask, "Is It on?"

Pakistan are planning to bat first, but they lose the toss and get first use of the seaming ball. The best readers of pitches, New Zealand, have erred and have played only one spinner in arguably a match-losing error. Shaheen Shah Afridi finds the right length and the right amount of seam movement. Enough to miss the middle but not so much that he beats the edge. This is the biggest sign of It. This is a tournament where it has taken on average 14 false shots to draw one wicket in the first 10 overs. On Tuesday at Lord's, England drew 25 false shots in the first 10 overs for no Australian wicket. Here the first nine have brought four wickets.

One of those is a smashing diving, one-handed low catch from Sarfaraz, known so far only for yawning in this World Cup. There is not a soul yawning at Edgbaston. The atmosphere is wild. People are having the times of their lives. They are living every ball. They have forgiven all burgers and pizzas eaten or not eaten. When Azhar lightened the situation around the suicide comments of Arthur with part humour, part harsh truths, he told the fans and the media to give them also a reason to live. Afridi bowling full, the ball jagging just enough, taking the edges is reason enough to live.

Babar Azam - him taking a dipping catch from Alex Hales in the Champions Trophy 2017 was the first definite sign that It was on back then - is continuously sniffing during the press conference after scoring the century that has broken a mental block for him, a streak of pretty fifties not amounting to match-winning knocks, especially in chases. He has the flu, because of which he didn't train the day before. That, according to the batting coach Grant Flower, is the only thing he has done differently this time. And that has come by accident and not design. This is It. Many of these players - Babar and Afridi of course - were not even born in 1992, but they know 2017 and they know 2009.

Pakistan are definitely feeling It now. They now they have beaten the tournament favourites, and ended the unbeaten streak of New Zealand, which surely you have been reminded of many times. They know in all likelihood - Pakistan need to beat Afghanistan for that - that England will come to play India at Edgbaston, probably the slowest track of the tournament, one point behind Pakistan. They now know that even if England beat New Zealand, there is a chance they will end up level with New Zealand. In that case they will play the last game, knowing what to do to achieve the required net run rate. Belief if turning into yakeen fast.

There is probably a rational explanation for what is happening, but let's be rationalists for a day, shall we? Or a week. Let's just accept Pakistan. There's every chance this might not end the way other such rolls have ended, but right now it is not a question anymore. Scene on hai boss. It is on.