South Africa's Rugby World Cup triumph in 2019 eclipses the side's success in 1995, according to former Springbok captain Francois Pienaar.

Pienaar was presented with the William Webb Ellis Cup by president Nelson Mandela in an iconic moment in the nation's post-apartheid history.

"This is bigger," said Pienaar.

"It is a transformed team with 58 million people watching in South Africa, all races wearing green, which wouldn't have happened in my time."

In the apartheid era, during which black South Africans were barred from opportunities and public facilities by a political system of racial segregation, rugby was seen by many as the sport of the country's minority white community.

The Springboks' opportunities were limited by an international boycott of the country, with their opponents often supported by the black majority population in the few fixtures they did play.

However, their victory over England on Saturday, led by captain Siya Kolisi who grew up in poverty in a Port Elizabeth township, was greeted by scenes of jubilation across South African society.

"We had an incredible moment with Mr Mandela but just the support from the nation for this and team and captain," added Pienaar.

"In South Africa we are tender. We have had bad leadership and our country needs to rebuild.

"They play together and it makes them a successful team and that is a beautiful story for life and for a country.

"As a country, to be world champion, you all need to work together."

Kolisi praise well deserved - Habana

Former Springboks wing Bryan Habana, who helped South Africa achieve World Cup glory in 2007, paid tribute to Kolisi.

"I told people the whole week of Siya growing up," he said. "He had some support, but he didn't have great role models. He was sometimes worried about where his next meal was coming from.

"He just wanted to get through some nights knowing that he could go to school and get a jam sandwich that would see him through the day.

"Knowing Siya a little bit more personally than the average person and being part of his journey, it has been absolutely fantastic. He deserves everything that comes his way."

Nationwide victory tour planned

The World Cup-winning squad and coaches are due to arrive back in South Africa on a number of flights on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Captain Kolisi, vice-captain Handre Pollard and head coach Rassie Erasmus will be among the first batch of squad members to arrive in Johannesburg on Tuesday.

There are plans for a nationwide victory tour from Thursday to Sunday taking in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Soweto, Durban, East London, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town.

England's World Cup final defeat against South Africa was desperately disappointing.

The way England have played at this World Cup and the depth of players they have as a group, this was absolutely the right squad to challenge for the trophy.

England fans will all be feeling totally dejected but nowhere near as upset as the players and management will be.

They were so far off winning that game. There is a weird part of me that, even though I feel totally dejected, does not feel quite as bad as if South Africa had nicked it at the death with a last-minute penalty or drop-goal. England just simply were not good enough.

I never felt for one minute that England were in a position to score points then run away with it. It was going to be a battle to the death and unfortunately the Springboks seemed to be more capable of winning a World Cup final.

England have learned a big lesson. Those players are going to remember that for the rest of their lives and hopefully store it up to say they are never going to feel like that again, never going to make those mistakes under that sort of pressure again and they will come back as better players.

'England needed to change it up'

England head coach Eddie Jones has had a blinding tournament and, tactically, has been great throughout.

But on this occasion South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus was awesome. Wherever England attacked, the Springboks had defence.

They were very disciplined. They were tactically spot on. They played in the right areas. They had the balance of their kicking game opposed to when it was on to run - they chose the right time and made good decisions.

We have been praising Jones and waxing lyrical about how perfect England's build-up and preparation has been.

But ironically they lost because they looked like they did not have the ability to adapt on the field when South Africa were not playing the way that England expected.

It is very difficult to change on the field, but it has been a fairly common trait of England sides over the past 10 years of not being able to adapt under that type of pressure.

South Africa were fantastic in the set-piece, scrums and line-outs, and the breakdown. Faf de Klerk was running the show from scrum-half.

England very early on were chasing shadows rather than having a broader view that South Africa were playing in a different way so they needed to change it up.

Unfortunately they tried to play the same way against a team that were just lapping up the contact.

The senior England players should have stood up and realised what they were doing what was not working.

There were some key individuals who needed to stand up in a leadership role under that extreme pressure. In those environments, it really stands out what a difference it makes to have a captain in the forward pack.

Owen Farrell has been a great leader for England but it needed a vice-captain to step in up front, like Kieran Read or Sam Warburton would have done.

'The Springboks will be heralded as heroes'

There are millions of dejected England fans all over the world. Ordinarily, there would be no reason to reflect positively on that type of result.

But, looking at the larger picture that South Africa winning that game paints, I do not think any other final has a bigger political story to tell than this one.

You would have to not have any emotion in your body to look at the picture of Siya Kolisi - South Africa's first black captain - lifting the trophy and not understand the power of what he and his team have done; what he has done as an individual to effectively change the view of millions of people within sport.

Very few leaders in the world get that opportunity and he has just done it by being him and playing rugby. So there are huge positives to the outcome.

The game of rugby means so much to a lot of people, but on reflection the game has much more of a profound effect on a nation like South Africa than it does anywhere else in the world.

Rugby has done an amazing job and that South Africa team will be quite rightly heralded as heroes for more reasons than just winning a rugby game.

It started when the Springboks won in 1995, shortly after apartheid ended, when Nelson Mandela presented Francois Pienaar with the trophy.

But now, 24 years after that breakthrough, we are still talking about the inequalities that South Africans are trying to fix.

Back in 1995 you might have thought maybe within eight or 12 years, could there be a black captain of South Africa challenging for the trophy? It has taken 24 years.

Let's hope in another 24 years we are not in a similar predicament. Let's hope that this game has significantly moved the dial for the country, the politics and all the people that those guys represented today.

What next for Eddie Jones and his team?

People are going to be after Jones now but you cannot get away from the fact that he has done a magnificent job with that England team.

He has taken them to the brink of world domination. They have had a bad day at the office.

But one bad day compared to the many weeks of success he has brought to this England side means he should be congratulated and praised for what he has done.

Since he became coach in 2015, Jones has turned England from a team that could not get out of their pool at a home World Cup to a team that were in the final four years later.

So the time is right to give Jones a pat on the back and let him enjoy a few beers.

A lot of those players are going to be around in four years' time. Hopefully, Jones will stick around and help in some way so England can progress even further.

It is going to be a strange feeling for the players getting back home and understanding the euphoria that was going on back in the UK.

You have to get back into your club jersey and it is not quite as intense and a very different environment.

The players are going to make sure that they focus on all the positives collectively and that they keep themselves fit.

There is a danger that they get frustrated and go straight into the club season and pick up injuries.

Then if the Six Nations does not go well, it spirals instead of giving them rest and looking after them because they have been maxed out.

Whatever happens, it is going to be a while until the England players can pick themselves back up after this.

Matt Dawson was speaking to BBC Sport's Becky Grey.

STOCKTON, Calif. — Rico Abreu won the Tribute to Gary Patterson event that concluded the Sprint Car Challenge Tour season at Stockton Dirt Track on Saturday night.

Abreu started on the pole and held off a fast closing Shane Golobic to pick up his second Series win of the season.

World of Outlaw invader Carson Macedo drove the Tarlton Motorsports No. 21x to round out the podium.

With Abreu and Willie Croft bringing down the 24-car field to the green, it was Abreu’s blue No. 24 who would take the lead.

The race would go five laps when the red lights would come on for a Justin Sanders’ flip in the second turn. His Larry Antaya Motorsports No. 16a looked destroyed after trying an inside pass of Cory Eliason.

With a double-file restart, Abreu would lead Ryan Robinson and Colby Copeland. The yellow flag would be thrown for Luca Romanazzi who cut through the infield in the first turn and came to a stop close to the racing surface.

Golobic had moved into the third position after starting in ninth.

Another yellow flag would come out one lap later resulting in Jake Hagopian going to the work area, where repairs were made and he was sent back out.

On the restart, there was a three-car spin in the fourth turn resulting in Jason Solwold and Tony Gualda being towed off and D.J. Netto being refired.

Fans had their eyes on Kyle Hirst and Sean Becker who were in a points battle for the SCCT championship.  Hirst entered the feature 15 points ahead of his rival. Both cars started deep in the field and Hirst was able to maintain a safe margin ahead of Becker the entire race.

He would finish eighth while Becker ended up 13th. Hirst claimed his second straight SCCT championship in the two-year history of the Series.

With the laps winding down, Golobic was able to make up considerable ground by choosing the low groove while Abreu decided to run high. Once Golobic caught Abreu, the leader then decided to run the bottom of the track, but it made for an exciting finish.

The finish:

Rico Abreu, Shane Golobic, Carson Macedo, Ryan Robinson, Willie Croft, Tim Kaeding, Colby Copeland, Kyle Hirst, Kalib Henry, Jesse Love, Andy Forsberg, D.J. Netto, Sean Becker, Jake Hagopian, Kyle Offill, Zane Blanchard, Jason Solwold, Tony Gualda, Blake Carrick, Luca Romanazzi, Cory Eliason, Justin Sanders, Justyn Cox, Michael Faccinto

STOCKTON, Calif. — Shane Golobic won the Fujitsu NARC-King of the West season finale at the Stockton Dirt Track Saturday night, while D.J. Netto was crowed the overall champion.

Golobic drove his familiar Matt Woods Racing NOS Energy Drink No. 17w from the pole position, leading all 30 laps around the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds oval.

In a race which saw a minimal amount of caution periods, Golobic faced few threats for the top spot.  He scored his first win of the season and became the 10th different driver to score a win this year, holding off Willie Allen and Netto.

Netto went into the season finale needing to finish ahead of contenders Bud Kaeding and Dominic Scelzi in order to pick up his first series championship. His Netto Ag-sponsored No. 88n would run as high as second after starting from the third position.

In the race within a race, Croft got around Netto but he was still well ahead of Scelzi, who was running sixth, and Kaeding, who was seventh. Netto was briefly challenged by Mitchell Faccinto, but the youth held his ground.

Neither Croft nor Netto were anywhere close to Golobic when he took the checkered flag.

The race’s first yellow flag came out on lap 12 when Rico Abreu slowed on the track in turns three and four. There was another quick yellow on the restart when Sean Watts spun around in turn four.  He would go to the work area, where his car was repaired and he returned.

The race’s final caution came out on lap 17 when Mark Barroso jumped the first turn cushion and spun off the banking.

The remainder of the race was all green flag laps with Golobic’s only challenge being getting through slower traffic.

The finish:

Shane Golobic, Willie Croft, D.J. Netto, Mitchell Faccinto, Dominic Scelzi, Carson Macedo, Chase Johnson, Rico Abreu, Bud Kaeding, Geoff Ensign, Jason Statler, Sean Watts, Craig Stidham, Nathan Rolfe, Mark Barroso, Pat Harvey, Andy Gregg, Kenny Allen.

SEPANG, Malaysia — Maverick Vinales rode to his second MotoGP victory of the season in Sunday’s Shell Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix at Sepang Int’l Circuit.

A huge crowd of 103,850 filled the impressive grandstands watched Vinales ride second through the first few corners before taking the lead from Pramac Racing rider Jack Miller before the end of the first lap.

From there, Vinales was in control the rest of the way, bringing his Monster Energy Yamaha to the finish 3.059 seconds ahead of world champion Marc Marquez on a Honda.

“It was an incredible race. We prepared for the race really well all weekend,” Vinales said. “I felt I had a big potential after the first lap. I took the lead after the first two splits and I kept pushing, pushing, and pushing.

“Honestly, I’m so happy. We did a good job. What a shame in Australia, because that was a race where I felt I had a lot of potential too, but being in first place here is amazing. I would like to dedicate this race to Munandar, the kid that passed away yesterday. He was my favourite in the Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup. I offer my condolences to all the family.”

Marquez started 11th and romped home second, ending his five-race winning streak.

“It was an incredible race, a great first lap,” Marquez said. “Maybe the best of my career, alongside Mugello 2015 – I watched this lap last night to see what I did! It was a very nice first lap but unfortunately the tire dropped a lot in those first three laps and I lost a little time with Miller.

“Viñales was faster than us today and the target was the podium. I tried to do like in Phillip Island and stay right behind him, but the gap was too big at 1.1 seconds and I made a mistake and dropped back.”

Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso came home third with Vinales’ Yamaha teammate, Valentino Rossi, fourth. Alex Rins came home fifth for Team Suzuki Ecstar.

FORT WORTH, Texas – If Christopher Bell is to tie Kevin Swindell with his fourth-straight Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals victory in January, he’ll have to do so with new scenery and a new race car.

Bell confirmed Saturday night following his NASCAR Xfinity Series win at Texas Motor Speedway that he’ll chase his fourth Golden Driller in the last four years with Tucker-Boat Motorsports.

“Yes,” said Bell after a long hesitation when asked outright about his plans and whether he would pilot a TBM entry in Tulsa during the post-race media conference.

The Norman, Okla., native and soon-to-be NASCAR Cup Series driver has spent virtually all of his midget career, since hitting the national stage in 2013, with Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports. During that time, he’s collected a myriad of crown jewel wins and three straight Chili Bowl crowns.

Now, however, he’s both ready for a new challenge and to get back to “having fun” racing midgets.

“I love Pete (Willoughby, co-owner) and Keith (Kunz); they’re like family to me,” Bell said. “Just … for me, I’ve been there, done that and won so many races for Pete and Keith that I just feel like I was set up for failure going to the race track with them, because we’ve been so successful in the past. I hated that feeling. For me, going midget racing is about enjoying it and having fun.

“I want to go there and do both of those things. Chad (Boat) and I have become really good friends over the last year or so, and now whenever I go to the race tracks with Chad, it’s about enjoying it and having fun. Results are secondary,” Bell added. “With Keith Kunz Motorsports, results are primary and I really feel like I was set up for failure whenever I was going to the track with them.

“I really enjoy racing with Chad because it’s just me and my buddy headed out to the dirt track.”

Bell and Boat have already won together in national midget competition this year, triumphing during a POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League event at Lincoln (Ill.) Speedway back on June 30.

Bell’s move to the Chad Boat and Corey Tucker-led team means that the top two finishers from last year’s Chili Bowl will be with different organizations, as Kyle Larson confirmed to Sprint Car & Midget during the recent Martinsville Speedway NASCAR weekend that he’ll drive his own No. 1k in Tulsa.

“It’s going to be a very unique Chili Bowl, for sure,” Bell noted. “A change of pace, definitely.”

AUBURN, Mich. – Effective immediately, the ownership of Tri-City Motor Speedway has been sold to Merritt Speedway owner Michael Blackmer.

Tri-City Motor Speedway originally opened in 1947 and operated until the early 2000s. In 2010, Steve Puvalowski and family purchased the track and completed extensive renovations on the property, reopening to racing in 2011 after it had been closed for many years.

Since that time, the track has grown to be a favorite of racing fans and drivers from across the Midwest and Canada, highlighting racing to be an inclusive family experience.

“Having grown up around racing, when the opportunity arose to purchase this property, I was excited to become a racing promoter,” said Steve Puvalowski. “I have learned so much over these past ten years and made many friends, it will be bittersweet to not see everyone every Friday night, but the time was right for me and my family to pursue other opportunities.”

Blackmer has been around the racing industry for years and has plans to expand Tri-City Motor Speedway and continue its successful trend.

“I’m excited to now be a part of the best Friday night track in the state and look forward to continuing the high-level of racing excitement and to get to know the TCMS racing family,” said Blackmer.

Tri-City Motor Speedway will continue to operate on Friday nights.

On the night before he was scheduled to meet his new best friend, Jack Callahan built him a bed.

Sitting on the twin mattress within his family's suite on the second floor of the Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House, Jack laid a pillow on the bedside table.

On top of the pillowcase dotted with orange and black bats, Jack placed the stuffed animal replica of his buddy, tucking him in with a t-shirt blanket. Jack -- his head bald from months of chemotherapy, his skin pale after a spring and summer spent inside hospital rooms -- rested his hand on his chin and smiled at the stuffed animal, an imaginary conversation playing out in his head.

Jack hadn't been allowed to see his friends or be around any other children, save for a handful of fellow pediatric cancer patients, in five months. His family had uprooted from their home in Charlottesville, Va., to Philadelphia for his treatment. So when he learned that he would get to meet his new friend at his birthday party, Jack wanted his likeness next to him.

When his parents asked what he thought his new furry friend might say upon meeting him, Jack said three words: "Oh. My. Gosh."

Tomorrow, Jack would be four years old, and in his mind, he was already good friends with Gritty, the Philadelphia Flyers' furry, orange mascot. He believed that, like him, Gritty liked to dance and make up songs. He figured that when the big orange guy went to the bathroom, well, it probably came out orange. And he knew that Gritty loved hockey.

But to get to know his new friend even better, Jack brainstormed a list of questions, which his parents wrote on a piece of paper to bring to the party.

Are you going trick-or-treating?

Do you like LEGOs?

Have you gone to Paris?

Do you have any brothers or sisters?

Before he'd spent 94 nights of the third year of his life in hospitals, before he'd endured six major surgeries and 31 days of chemotherapy infusions, Jack loved to watch sports. While his mom, Emily, and his dad, Mike -- both former Division I athletes at North Carolina -- followed the game play closely, Jack focused on another aspect: mascots.

Mike remembered taking Jack, then two-and-a-half -- his white-blond hair curled into ringlets, his blue eyes specked with green and his smile wide -- to a University of Virginia men's basketball game. While Mike focused on the visiting Tar Heels' play against the Cavaliers, Jack's eyes followed every move of Virginia's mascot, Cav Man.

During the second half, Mike turned to Jack, and asked, "Where's Cav Man?" A second later, Jack responded, "He's there," pointing to a lower-level suite, where a sliver of Cav Man's hat and costume were visible. Jack had been watching him the whole time.

"He's just drawn to mascots," Mike said. "They do goofy, funny things, and for whatever reason, he likes them."

In November, Jack had started complaining about pain in his backside and legs, which his parents assumed were growing pains. Jack would awaken seven or eight times a night, covered in sweat and crying from pain. But doctors didn't find anything out of the ordinary.

On February 2, after Jack refused to walk because his pain was so acute, Emily and Mike took him to the University of Virginia Hospital. An MRI revealed a tumor in his pelvis. It was malignant. It had metastasized to his lungs. Jack was officially diagnosed with an extragonadal yolk-sac germ cell tumor, which is rare in children and even more rare in his specific location. He began chemotherapy the next day.

Over the course of his four-month treatment at UVA, Jack was visited by friends, family and Cavalier student-athletes. In early March, several members of the UVA football and swimming and diving teams stopped by, along with Cav Man. Jack had his questions ready: He wanted to know if Cav Man had ridden his horse to the hospital and why Cav Man had hit Rameses, the North Carolina Mascot, during the UVA-UNC basketball game.

This past June, following four rounds of treatment, Emily and Mike learned that the chemotherapy hadn't worked. Jack's cancer had never been in remission; rather, it was refractory, or resistant to treatment. The next week, the family drove five hours north for an appointment with Dr. Vandana Batra, a renowned pediatric hematologist-oncologist at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

They remained in Philadelphia for the summer as Jack began several rounds of high-dose chemotherapy and stem-cell treatments. When Jack's immune system was healthy enough, his parents scheduled outings around their new city. While attending a Phillies game one summer afternoon, Jack became enamored with the Phillie Fanatic.

So his parents weren't surprised when -- after the oncology floor at the Ronald McDonald House adopted "grit" and, specifically, Gritty as its theme during "summer camp" week in August -- Jack fell in love with the big orange monster. He began asking to watch Gritty videos on YouTube, laughing hysterically at the mascot's antics.

The Flyers had introduced Gritty to the world the previous September. He became a sensation thanks to his unconventional, entertaining persona; his official Instagram account has more than 240K followers and many of his YouTube clips have more than 120K views.

"To Jack, Gritty is the ultimate mascot," Mike said. "He's big and crazy-looking: the silliness, the funny antics, the googly, funny eyes -- he is the pinnacle."

One post-treatment day in late September, Jack was in excruciating pain. Chemotherapy had caused the lining to shred off of his esophagus and stomach, where painful sores had grown. He threw up throughout the day, sometimes vomiting blood, his small body doubled over. Despite the best efforts of his nurses, doctors and family members, and the morphine drip, his pain was constant. "Help, help ... my belly," he cried. "This is awful. Why isn't anyone helping me?"

Sometimes, movies or toys could distract him. But that day, Jack didn't want to watch The Secret Life of Pets 2 or build LEGOs. Emily asked if he wanted to color; Jack nodded. When she asked what he wanted to color, he said, "Gritty. I just love Gritty."

"What if we color a picture and write a letter to Gritty?" she asked him.

Jack nodded again. As Emily wrote in black pen, Jack dictated a note:

"Dear Gritty,

I love you, Gritty. My name is Jack Patrick Callahan. I am three years old. I am from Charlottesville, Virginia. I am in the hospital in Philadelphia. I want to be you for Halloween. I want a Gritty cake for my birthday, too. My birthday is October 30th. I love you. Where are you from? What food do you like to eat? I am your biggest fan in the world, and I love you."

Emily and Mike sent a photo of the letter to family and friends, including Mike's brother, Ryan. Ryan, a Philadelphia resident, posted the letter on Instagram on September 28, with the caption, "We kind of sort of really need a Gritty appearance at the oncology floor at CHOP between now and Halloween."

Ryan's 818 followers began reposting it immediately, including @grittyphilly (fan page, 22.5K followers) and @whippedbakeshop (31.2K followers). Within 24 hours, the Callahans had been interviewed by local FOX, CBS TV stations and radio stations. Gritty was in Europe, where the Flyers were playing the Blackhawks, but the team noticed the numerous tags and reposts.

Three weeks later, after coordination between the Flyers and the Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House, the Callahans received a phone call: Gritty would love to attend Jack's fourth birthday party.

On October 30, just before 2:30 p.m., Jack walked into a large room adjacent to the cafeteria of the Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House. More than 30 people had shown up for his party -- Flyers executives and staff, Ronald McDonald House staff and residents, plus Jack's family members and friends.

Though he hadn't arrived yet, Gritty was everywhere: in photos hanging from orange streamers, on the double-barrel cake that Whipped Bakeshop had created for the occasion, in the orange tissue pom poms with googly eyes taped around the room. Even the chairs were orange.

Dressed in his "Gritty" Flyers jersey, orange sweatpants and a Gritty headpiece knitted from yarn, Jack sat in a chair at the center of the room. His shoes were his only non-orange attire: UNC Tar Heel slip-ons, a nod to his first mascot love: Rameses.

The crowd stirred as Gritty arrived, strutting into the room in his oversized black shoes with his Gritty guard -- a.k.a. his secret-service-like detail -- following closely behind. Jack wasn't allowed to hug Gritty because of his weakened immune system. Fist bumps, however, were okay. As Jack sat in the chair, intently watching his friend, a few tears slid down his right cheek. He wiped them away quickly as he smiled at Gritty.

Several other families from the Ronald McDonald House walked in -- the invitation was open to all residents who wanted to meet Gritty - and watched as the mascot unpacked a box of gifts for Jack: Gritty bobbleheads, a Gritty blanket, a Gritty hockey puck, Flyers' jerseys, signed t-shirts, a Gritty hat, a Gritty backpack and a Flyers jersey with "Callahan" printed on the back.

"I didn't know they made so many Gritty things," Mike said, laughing. Gritty took the box of the remaining items from his guard and dumped them on his head. More laughter.

"Jack, do you have any questions for Gritty?" Mike asked. Gritty pulled up a chair, sitting next to Jack and facing him, interview style. Mike placed a protective mask over Jack's mouth, which he kept on for the remainder of the party. Jack shyly whispered in Mike's ear. "Gritty, Jack wants to know, do you have any favorite dance moves?" Mike asked.

Gritty stood, gyrating his large stomach around in a circle like a hula hoop dancer. He motioned for Jack to follow and Jack stood, moving his hips around as the crowd cheered.

As Gritty's guard handed him two cans of silly string, Gritty removed the lids, handing one to Jack and motioning for him to follow. Gritty aimed toward one his cameraman and sprayed. Jack followed suit, spraying his grandpa's face and chest -- and grinning from ear to ear.

A short while later, Jack and Gritty sat together on a bench. Gritty, arms spread wide, crossed one leg over the other and glanced over at Jack. Jack mirrored his movements, crossing one leg over the other and holding his Gritty-squeaky hands wide.

Before the group sang "Happy Birthday," Mike and Emily each thanked the crowd. "Last year, we thought we gave Jack an epic third birthday party with a fire truck," Emily said. "But I think we've topped that. This has been a tough year, but also a memorable one. And we can't thank you all enough."

CHOP's third-floor oncology unit has 50 dedicated beds, including a 15-bed stem cell transplant unit. Several of the young friends and fellow cancer patients that the Callahans have met in Charlottesville and Philadelphia during Jack's treatments have since died from their illnesses.

"There's a part that's a little overwhelming," Emily said. "We also feel -- guilt isn't the right word -- but a part of us feels badly about drawing attention to Jack when there are so many other kids. At the same time, with all that he has gone through, if we can do something to make him smile, we're going to do it."

After several group photos, a round of floor hockey as well as Pin the Googly Eyes on the Gritty, and a pinata take-down with plastic bats and hockey sticks, Gritty and his team gathered their gear. Jack blew several kisses at Gritty, who blew them right back. As the mascot waved good-bye, the group broke into chants of, "Grit-ty! Grit-ty!"

"Where did Gritty go?" Jack asked a few moments later, as he walked around the room, surveying his gifts and blowing on his party horn as the other attendees exited.

"Gritty had to go back to work, but he said that we can write him a letter and that he'll write us back," Emily told Jack. "You can be pen pals."

That evening, Gritty posted several photos from the party to his Instagram account, writing: "When pen pals become real pals -- Happy Birthday, Jack!"

So. Much. Joy. pic.twitter.com/IrTOg1V8Dz

— Gritty (@GrittyNHL) October 30, 2019

Back in their suite a couple hours later, Mike looked at Jack.

"Hey buddy, I have a question: why did you have a tear in your eye when Gritty came?"

Jack sat on the floor, playing with his new Teenage Ninja Turtle tank truck. "I already told you, Dad," he said, moving Donatello and Leonardo toward the Magna-Tile castle he'd just built.

This was Jack's 120th consecutive day in Philadelphia. In a couple of hours, he'd scream and cry in protest, the exhaustion of an emotional day setting in, as his parents directed him toward the shower and carefully covered the tubes protruding from his stomach and chest. He'd continue crying as he put on his pajamas, upset that he couldn't build more LEGOS or open more presents. After he'd calmed down, Jack would gather his new Gritty stuffed animals, Gritty blanket and Gritty bobbleheads, carefully placing them in a cocoon-like shape around his bed.

"When you're in the hospital, you're always on edge -- like, What will happen today?" Mike says. "Is he going to get a fever? Is he going to get sick? Is he going to get an infection? Because those things are all very risky for him right now. So, a day like today, where he's feeling good, he's pretty healthy, he's able to play with Gritty -- that's a very special day."

In two days, Jack will be admitted to CHOP again for his third round of high-dose chemotherapy and stem cell treatment. While the family had hoped to return home by Christmas, recent tests revealed that they will need to stay for daily radiation and anesthesia treatments through early March. And they still aren't sure of Jack's ultimate prognosis.

"So much of what Jack has gone through has required him to show more strength and bravery than I could even expect of myself," Emily said. "For him to have a few hours of pure joy, with no obstacles, no requirements to do anything other than have fun, was the very best gift any of us could have given him."

Back on the family room floor, surrounded by his birthday gifts, his Gritty paraphernalia, and his parents and grandparents, Jack was content, building LEGO characters with his grandpa.

"So, tell me: Why did you cry that tear?" Mike asked again.

A slow smile spread across Jack's face as he looked up at his parents.

"Because I was so happy."

Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele played 72 holes together this week in Shanghai and then needed one more to decide the WGC-HSBC Champions.

A closing birdie from Schauffele in regulation knotted the two at 19 under par and sent them back to the 18th tee.

"After starting 10 under through the first two days, I thought going bogey-free over the weekend would probably be enough to get the job done," McIlroy said. 

"But, you know, I've played 73 holes this week with Xander, and I have to give credit to him. He's battled the flu all week and he's played unbelievably well considering how he's been feeling."

After drawing the honor on the tee, McIlroy, who had just made par on 18 to close out a final-round 68, laced his drive down the middle of the fairway, setting him up to go at the par-5 green in two:

With Schauffele having already laid up from the left rough, McIlroy then hit this 4-iron approach from 223 yards to 25 feet:

"There's a sign just left of this little walkway off the back of the 18th and I picked that out and just said, 'Make a good swing,'" McIlroy explained minutes later on the green. "And if I made a good swing on it, hopefully the wind would catch it and bring it back a little bit to the right. It was a perfect number for a 4-iron, just back into the wind a little bit. 

"You've got to take everything out of the equation and just hit the golf shot."

After McIlroy's eagle try trickled by the hole, and Schauffele's 12-footer for birdie wouldn't drop, this was all McIlroy had left to close out his fourth win of 2019:

"This 18th [hole] has been good to me over the week," he acknowledged. "I had an eagle here on Friday, I made a great birdie yesterday, got lucky in regulation not to go in the water [off the tee], and then it was a relief to hit those two shots in in the playoff."