The Miami Dolphins have acquired cornerback Aqib Talib and a draft pick from the Los Angeles Rams for a future draft pick.

A source told ESPN's Adam Schefter that the pick the Dolphins are getting is a fifth-round selection. The Rams expect their pick to be a late-round selection, a source told ESPN.

For the Dolphins, this move for Talib is essentially buying a draft pick, as Talib is currently on injured reserve. The Rams were looking to dump Talib's salary, and there is approximately $4.2 million left on that deal. Talib will be an unrestricted free agent after this season. Dolphins general manager Chris Grier alluded to a willingness to make this sort of move on Sunday. One of the biggest priorities of the Dolphins' rebuild is collecting draft picks to add talent in the 2020 and 2021 drafts.

"We're getting calls like every team and then there's teams calling us too trying to unload players as well," Grier said Sunday. "We might be [a buyer], yeah. There's some things that might tempt us. We've had some conversations with teams."

With this trade, the Dolphins are set to have 14 picks in the 2020 draft, including three first-round picks, two second-round picks and two projected compensatory picks.

The Rams put Talib on IR earlier this month, citing a rib injury suffered in Week 5 against the Seattle Seahawks. Talib could return by Week 15, however it remains uncertain whether he will play again this season.

Talib is the second cornerback the Rams have traded in the past two weeks, after sending Marcus Peters to the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for linebacker Kenny Young and a fifth-round pick. The Rams then immediately completed a blockbuster trade for Jalen Ramsey, sending first-round picks in 2020 and 2021 and a fourth-round pick in 2021 to the Jacksonville Jaguars to acquire the star corner.

By trading Talib, the Rams clear up salary-cap space to possibly sign Ramsey to a long-term contract extension, something Rams general manager Les Snead said they had "put a timeline a little bit in place" for when they acquired Ramsey.

In five games, Talib had two pass deflections and seven tackles, playing in a secondary that had underwhelming results before the team engaged in a series of trades following Week 6.

If Talib does end up playing for Miami in Week 15 or later, it will be a good opportunity for coach Brian Flores to see if the veteran cornerback would be worth re-signing after the season. The Dolphins play a heavy man-to-man scheme, which is Talib's biggest strength, and he could be an asset for star cornerback Xavien Howard, who has a similar style. Like Talib, Howard is now going on IR as the Dolphins put him there with a knee injury Tuesday, a source confirmed to ESPN.

But the main priority here for Miami is the draft pick. The Dolphins made a similar move over the summer, trading Ryan Tannehill and a sixth-round pick to Tennessee for a fourth-round pick while paying a portion of Tannehill's contract -- essentially buying a pick.

Talib, 33, is a five-time Pro Bowl selection with 35 interceptions (returning 10 for touchdowns) since being selected in the first round (20th overall) of the 2008 draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He's tied for first among active NFL players in interceptions and fourth all time in pick-sixes. He also has played for the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos, with whom he won a Super Bowl ring after the 2015 season.

The Rams acquired Talib in a trade with the Broncos before the 2018 season, sending a fifth-round pick to Denver in exchange for him.

Dolphins coach Brian Flores has familiarity with Talib from when both were with the Patriots.

"Obviously I have some history with Aqib. I think he's a really good player," Flores said Tuesday. "We had an opportunity to acquire him and some draft capital so we felt like that was the best move for us."

BEHIND A HEAVILY fortified fence, menacing security dogs and multiple metal detectors, a trio of players blissfully trained together, ate together, played cards, puffed cigars and swapped dreams.

The luxury liner Silver Cloud, a 514-foot cruise ship, was docked at Pier Maua in Rio de Janeiro. In it resided Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan, members of the U.S. 2016 Olympic basketball team.

It was a union that was years in the making.

Durant and Jordan had struck up a relationship when Durant tried, in vain, to recruit the big man to Texas in 2007. "You know," Jordan grins, "when he lied to me and told me he was going to stick around." Jordan chose Texas A&M, but he and Durant remained close.

Jordan's confidant throughout the summer of 2015 was Durant -- the summer in which Jordan had verbally agreed to play for the Mavericks, but then backed out when the LA Clippers literally kept him cloistered in his Houston home until he re-upped. A year later, as KD agonized over leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder for the Golden State Warriors, Jordan returned the favor. "From that point on," Jordan says, "our bond could not be broken."

Durant didn't know Irving nearly as well, but loved how he attacked the game. That summer in Rio, Irving had just led the Cleveland Cavaliers to their first NBA championship, over the Warriors.

"Kyrie and I didn't have the smoothest start,"' Durant says. "He was coming off a championship, a long season, and he was a little in and out of it in Rio.

"He was tired, not quite committed like the rest of us early on. I felt that, and I pushed back on him, not in a personal way but as teammates do. And that was the start of our little relationship.

"For him to allow me to do that, for him to take it in the right spirit, and for us to be able to talk through it, that only solidified our respect."

The cruise ship was the ideal incubator away from the bustle of the Olympic Village. The players had everything they needed on board, from beds specially designed to accommodate 7-foot frames, to gourmet food, a sauna, an open-air pool and private lounges for confidential conversations.

"We didn't just get to know each other, we got to know each other's friends," Irving says. "We had daily activities with one another. We started seeking each other out. Talking about everything. Being locked on a boat for a month brings out different parts in a lot of people."

There were endless conversations about basketball, including how LeBron James had orchestrated his own "friend group" in Miami with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh that yielded two titles. One of the final nights on the Silver Cloud, as Ky, KD and DJ clinked glasses, Jordan recalls Irving saying, "Hey, this would be cool to do for real."

"I asked him, 'What you mean by that?'" Jordan says, "and Ky said, 'Let's all get on the same team and play together.'"

The Olympics ended with gold medals and fortified friendships. Durant and Jordan vacationed in Greece, then the three went their separate ways. Durant won two championships with the Warriors, Irving was traded to Boston, and Jordan finally joined the Mavericks for a brief and disastrous stint. The trio texted regularly through their individual turbulent journeys, fondly recalling their conversations on the Silver Cloud.

"The brotherhood was real," Irving says, "but circumstances kept us apart."

"There were times when you had to wonder, 'Is this ever going to really happen?"' Jordan says.

In the summer of 2019, with all three players set to be free agents, they connected again.

"We all agreed," Jordan says, "'We gotta do this.'"

BROOKLYN NETS HEAD coach Kenny Atkinson and general manager Sean Marks shared an analytics-based vision with an emphasis on pace, supported by an elite training staff, rooted in a player-first camaraderie that would be impervious to the toxic forces that historically pollute championship-caliber rosters.

But the losses mounted -- 116 in Atkinson's first two seasons.

"Some nights," Atkinson says, "I'd be sitting there with my wife, having a glass of wine, and saying to her, 'I don't know if we're going to get this done.' I had some big-time doubts."

Both Atkinson and Marks resisted turning to veterans with checkered pasts who would have bolstered the W's but detracted from the tenor of the mission. That left them with a revolving door of young players with a lengthy runway to accommodate their mistakes.

"We were the laughingstock of the NBA," Caris LeVert says. "Teams couldn't wait to play us. We were an automatic win."

But by 2019, something remarkable was unfolding in Brooklyn. Joe Harris and Spencer Dinwiddie were flourishing under Brooklyn's regimented program. Marks had drafted Jarrett Allen, a great find at No. 22, in the 2017 draft. LeVert was suddenly receiving Twitter love from LeBron James, Chris Paul and Paul George regarding Brooklyn's progress.

The Nets had stunned everyone by winning 42 games and making the playoffs.

"I'd go out to L.A. to play in the summer," Dinwiddie says, "and guys would say to me, 'Y'all are playing hard. Good for you.' Like I was a little brother they could pat on the head or something. The message was, 'Y'all don't really matter.'

"But suddenly, we did."

Potential free agents took new notice of the rooftop lounge with a breathtaking view of the New York skyline. Atkinson's reputation as a players' coach blossomed. Word was he wouldn't just ask his players to take a charge, he'd actually demonstrate it in practice, absorbing contact from a 6-foot-10, 280-pound big man to prove his point.

Durant spent hours researching Marks, both as a player and a front-office apprentice in San Antonio and Miami. He was blown away by the attention to detail and the commitment to player-first directives. Jordan queried vets like Jared Dudley about their experiences in Brooklyn.

"Jared told me, 'They'll keep you in the gym all day, but you'll love what they're all about,'" Jordan says. "'They do things the right way.'"

Irving, whose relationship with the Celtics had soured, said he told Danny Ainge in his exit interview that he was moving on. He had already decided where he was headed: back home to Brooklyn and all the possibilities it offered -- not to the Knicks, which felt stagnant and stale.

"Come with me," he implored Durant and Jordan.

If you build it, they will come.

Now they are here, and with them comes a new challenge: How do the Brooklyn Nets, who haven't won anything, convince All-Stars and future Hall of Famers who have won multiple championships, to do things their way? More to the point: How do you convince these All-Stars, who have created their fair share of dysfunction in past locker rooms, to buy in?

"Very good question," Atkinson says. "That's the crux of what lies ahead."

THE NETS WERE delighted when their new power trio organized summer workouts for the team at a Los Angeles middle school in July and August. The aim was to develop chemistry and learn each other's tendencies on the court. It was going swimmingly until Brooklyn dispatched its performance team to Santa Monica for an annual two-day minicamp with the players, which involved, among other things, gathering biometric data through wearables. Irving, who has spent the past nine years working with his own performance specialist, Robin Pound, balked.

When the Nets gently urged him to participate, he didn't mince words: "I'm not doing it." It created an awkward moment, team sources say, for incumbent players who had benefited from the performance staff and ingrained that input into their routine.

"Look," Atkinson says. "These guys have won championships. They come from darn good pedigrees, and we've thrown some things at them that they've said, 'Hell no!'"

All three initially raised an eyebrow upon learning of Brooklyn's daily routine -- a two-hour time commitment that begins before practice even starts. Players receive a text informing them when their "table time" is scheduled. That includes 30 minutes with a massage therapist, physical therapist, or both, depending on what ails them that day. From there, players spend 30 minutes in the weight room, then move to the court for individual training.

"Our whole setup can be a bit rigid," Atkinson says. "We're like a college program, in some ways. We have this car wash of very specific things with very specific people.

"But I can already see it morphing into something it was not before. When Joe Harris was trying to make it in the league, he was saying, 'I'll do whatever you want.' Now we're dealing with veterans who are saying, 'OK, this is how you do it. But this is how I've always done it, and this has worked for me.'

"The challenge is, can we meld the two? No one gave us an award for mastering the culture code. We're still learning."

The trick is to carve out the necessary space for Durant, Irving and Jordan without compromising the core values upon which the Nets brand was established. It requires compromise, something that has never been Irving's strong suit. Marks preaches patience.

"We can't stop the train, and say, 'Whoa, whoa. They don't want to do this, so let's put on the brakes,'" Marks says, of the team's performance data-mining efforts. "We're doing something that requires building their trust -- and that takes time.

"They need to know the things we're doing are coming from a good place. It will never be used against them. It's not malicious. It's not, 'Hey, you did this, it's going to affect your contract.'"

Durant says that for most NBA veterans, their training regimen is sacred. It's what reinforces their greatness, and their commitment.

"It's going to have to be a give and take," Durant says. "At this point of our careers, we have routines. At the same time, I want to learn what they're about. We have to be willing to meet halfway."

Marks insists Irving's pushback on player performance was neither unexpected nor disruptive. (He also points out that Irving did attend and observe the sessions.) He says both Dudley and former Net DeMarre Carroll had their own reservations when they joined the team.

Skeptics of the "Nets Way" should consider Harris -- who went from an unreliable reserve his first season in Brooklyn to leading the league in 3-point shooting percentage last season. Those results led to a two-year, $16 million deal in 2018. Atkinson points to Harris as an example of a player being transformed by the Nets' culture.

"I was only 23 years old when I got here, and I hadn't done anything," Harris says. "Our big free-agent class that year was me, Jeremy Lin, Justin Hamilton, Anthony Bennett and Trevor Booker. Three years later, I'm the only guy left in the league."

"Joe sucked when he got here," Atkinson says. "He couldn't stop turning the ball over. No one was screaming back then, 'Oh, we knew within a couple of weeks that Joe Harris was an NBA player, let's give him $10 million.' If anyone says that, they're full of s---."

IN RETROSPECT, ATKINSON admits now, he overtrained the players, overworked his staff, didn't delegate properly and forgot to sleep in his first two seasons. And, yet, Durant says it was that maniacal approach that caught his eye. He was searching for a new challenge in his career, and he found the idea of helping to take the Nets to the next level infinitely appealing.

"I felt they kind of ground it out from the bottom, and I liked that," Durant says.

And so at 6:02 p.m. ET on June 30, Kevin Durant announced via Instagram that he'd be joining the Nets. And within minutes of that, Brooklyn's metrics shifted. Ticket revenue increased 72%, the team doubled its Instagram followers and its online merchandise site enjoyed a whopping sales increase of 953%. It was a welcome trend for a team that finished last in attendance last season.

Still, while excitement continues to build around the Nets, the fan base seemingly remains in a holding pattern. On opening night, with Durant in street clothes and likely to miss this season due to the Achilles injury he suffered during the 2019 NBA Finals, there was nowhere near a full house to greet Irving and Jordan.

Irving put on an electric show, pouring in 50 points on 34 shots, but the Nets lost. Last season D'Angelo Russell, Irving's predecessor in Brooklyn, averaged 18.7 shots a game, while Dinwiddie (12.2), LeVert (12.1) and Harris (9.8) divvied up the rest. Such high-volume offense for one player will be an adjustment.

But Brooklyn's players speak glowingly of Irving's leadership and temperament. Dinwiddie spent a week with him and his family in Hawaii in July. LeVert says Irving drops a little basketball gem in his lap nearly every day, whether it's how to cross over to shake off defenders, or the concentration and repetition required to finish in traffic.

Yet Irving's infamous mood swings, confirmed by his ex-teammates, which followed him from Cleveland to Boston to Brooklyn, are the unspoken concern that makes Nets officials queasy. When Irving lapses into these funks, he often shuts down, unwilling to communicate with the coaching staff, front office and, sometimes, even his teammates. Nets team sources say one such episode occurred during Brooklyn's trip to China, leaving everyone scratching their heads as to what precipitated it. There's hope that Durant will be able to coax his friend into a better frame of mind. But when presented with that scenario, KD says he will be hands off.

"I look at Kyrie as somebody who is an artist," Durant says. "You have to leave him alone. You know what he'll bring to the table every night because he cares so much about the game.

"Now, it might not be how other people want him to care about it. He has his way of doing things. I respect who he is and what he does. He has all the intangibles you want in a teammate and a great player. So, how he gets to the point to be ready for 7:30 every night, I'm supporting him 100 percent."

Irving, for his part, sees this move as a new chapter, a chance to build on the foundation he and his friends established back in Rio. He yearns to play alongside people he knows he can trust.

"We have the ultimate confidence in our ability to develop our relationship off the floor, to be able to protect each other as brothers and engage in family time and other things that we missed out during years we were other places," Irving says.

Marks says he will continue the dialogue with Irving, who has already shown up for table time and the weight-training sessions, as the season progresses. "I want him to know we're coming from a good place," Marks says. "If players get the feeling that we're using them or have an ulterior motive, it's going to fail. ... We're taking the stance of 'How can we help you?'"

There has already been leeway to allow Irving to march to his own drum. The Nets are willing to look past moments like the photo shoot at the Pearl TV Tower in China, when Irving refused to remove his hat and instructed them to photoshop it out. They will focus more on the bigger issue of sharing the ball and maintaining good team chemistry.

"I don't think any of us plan on telling these guys how things are done," Harris says. "You won't find a ton of egos around here. Our thing is to play unselfish and play together.

"I'm sure Kyrie will have some 'days' and so will we. As long as the accountability is in place, we'll all ride with it."

While Brooklyn expects to compete for a playoff spot again this season, the long view is squarely fixated on Durant and his ability to elevate the Nets to championship contender. The prevailing opinion among Nets staffers is that he will be the strongest and most persuasive voice, one that is in lockstep with their vision for the team.

Presumably, there will be no empty seats when KD makes his debut. He's been at the facility nearly every day, rehabbing and chirping with teammates, offering input, letting his presence be felt. The Nets have not required his attendance; Durant made that determination all on his own.

"He goes out and takes a couple of set shots -- not jumpers -- and the whole gym stops," Marks says. "You can hear a pin drop. That's great for our guys, because they sense this guy is waiting in the wings. We're not waiting for him, but man, it's kind of a cool feeling to know he's coming."

Durant says his goal is to share the experiences he's encountered in Oklahoma City and Golden State with the young players who want what he has: a ring. "Obviously leaving Golden State, I'm not expecting anything better than that," he says. "I see this situation as, 'All right, I'm coming to a young organization that has championship aspirations but doesn't quite know what that feels like.'"

The conviction that Durant, Irving and Jordan instilled in each other on a cruise ship in Rio has transformed them into the new core of the Brooklyn Nets. The challenge is incorporating that core into an existing culture -- one cemented when wins were scarce, but togetherness never was.

Great Britain's Kyle Edmund ended his eight-match losing run as he beat Lithuania's Ricardas Berankis 6-4 6-3 in round one of the Paris Masters.

Edmund, 24, had been 14th in the world and the British number one in January but a poor season has seen him drop to 75th, the third highest ranked Briton.

He had not won since an opening-round win against Australia's Nick Kyrgios in the Rogers Cup in Canada in August.

Edmund will now play 14th seed Diego Schwartzman of Argentina in round two.

The Briton edged the first set, but instantly broke 29-year-old qualifier Berankis in the Lithuanian's first service game of the second set on his way to holding a 5-0 lead.

Berankis, 70th in the world, gained one break back but Edmund got the game he needed to advance into the next phase.

If Edmund beats Schwartzman, then he could meet world number one Novak Djokovic in the last 16.

In the first of the round two matches, Russia's eighth seed Karen Khachanov suffered a surprise 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 7-5 loss to Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff.

The tournament in France features eight of the top 10 players in the rankings, although world number three Roger Federer withdrew from the event on Sunday.

MOORESVILLE, N.C. – Speedy Cash, an omni-channel financial services provider specializing in short-term loans, has teamed up with Front Row Motorsports for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway on Nov. 3.

John Hunter Nemechek will drive the No. 36 Speedy Cash Ford Mustang at Texas for Matt Tifft, who suffered a seizure at Martinsville Speedway and will not compete for the rest of the season.

Founded in Riverside, Calif., Speedy Cash offers a variety of convenient, easily accessible financial services, including installment loans, lines of credit, title loans and check cashing. The lender is also the exclusive provider of Opt+ prepaid debit cards.

For more than 20 years, Speedy Cash has provided the latest and most innovative lending methods to its customers with services available in branches, online, over the phone and via mobile app.

The partnership will include a public appearance at the Speedy Cash display at the track on Sunday morning at 11 a.m., along with unique Speedy Cash giveaways for fans.

“We are excited to partner with Front Row Motorsports for the Texas Motor Speedway race,” said Don Gayhardt, CEO of CURO Financial Technologies. “Of course, our thoughts are with Matt Tifft as he continues to recover, and we wish him well. We are excited for our teammates and customers to see the No. 36 Speedy Cash Ford Mustang race on Nov. 3. As an organization, we pride ourselves on being the best at delivering financial services fast, and we are confident that John Hunter Nemechek will deliver results in that same fashion.”

“I am looking forward to making my Cup series debut with Speedy Cash this weekend at Texas, but wish it had been under different circumstances,” added Nemechek. “Speedy Cash is really going ‘all-in’ with FRM on this partnership and it’s a testament to the team’s focus on creating successful programs for our sponsors. I look forward to making them proud on Sunday and giving Speedy Cash an awesome experience at the track.”

PALMETTO, Fla. – Andersen Promotions, which oversees and operates all three levels of the Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires, has announced a unique program to introduce companies in the construction industry to its motorsports platforms and associated entertainment and networking opportunities.

The Construction Contractors Club is an events and networking organization which will launch in conjunction with the 2020 season and will allow its members to entertain and network at Road to Indy events alongside the NTT IndyCar Series, courtesy of The Andersen Companies.

The Andersen Companies, founded in 1986 by Dan Andersen, consists of Andersen Interior Contracting, Corporate Woodworking – with a focus on high-end architectural woodworking – and a recently launched metal production facility.

Its client base includes the new Statue of Liberty museum, Newark’s Prudential Center Lofts, New York Life, Wyndham Worldwide Headquarters, Novo Nordisk and the Orlando City Stadium, among others.

The Andersen Companies will provide the CCC platform membership opportunity to its numerous contacts in the construction and contracting industry offering memorable experiences in a unique environment as well as business opportunities that deliver value.

All CCC members will be treated to VIP trackside hospitality at race venues teamed with special experiences for clients and employees, such as pace car and two-seater rides, green flag opportunities, private dinners with Road to Indy competitors, race event entitlements, race car primary branding and more.

As importantly, networking opportunities with other CCC members will be available at each venue to create working relationships and build a broader customer base.

One of The Andersen Companies’ affiliates – Allied Building Products, a division of Beacon Roofing Supply – will be an integral part of the CCC.

A longtime partner of Andersen Promotions and the Road to Indy, Allied has entertained hundreds of employees, customers and guests over the years in addition to headlining race events for the three ladder series – Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, the Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires and the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship – and will further expand its efforts with the opportunities offered by CCC.

“Andersen Promotions has been one of the best marketing tools for our company since we got together in 2007,” said Clint Valleau, Vice President of Supply Chain, Allied Interiors. “Every detail is planned out with their exceptional team at each event from meeting celebrities and drivers in pit row to watching the races from the best vantage points. We’ve experienced everything from customers waving the starting flag to customers kissing the bricks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway start/finish line. During the great recession years when all season tickets and most travel and entertainment were all but eliminated, the IndyCar races were still a big part of our customer entertainment.”

Additional interest in becoming a member of the CCC has also come from within the racing paddock with several companies operating in or with ties to the construction industry including ABEL Construction, which also operates a race-winning Indy Pro 2000 team under the Abel Motorsports banner and is currently expanding to a new facility in Speedway, Ind., to house both its construction business and racing operations.

“The idea for the Construction Contractors Club really was bred from my relationship with Allied – which has used our racing programs as an entertainment vessel for many years – and from conversations with my associates in the construction industry,” said Dan Andersen. “It’s really a win-win situation in providing a unique entertainment platform alongside the business-to-business opportunities to network on site each race weekend with the common goal of expanding one another’s business. And it is not limited to construction companies. We are happy to extend this program to those who are looking to do business with the construction industry.

“From an Andersen Promotions standpoint, CCC will bring some new eyes to our sport and hopefully that will result in new fans and, who knows, maybe some future partnerships within the series and with our teams and drivers.”

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — After making an award-winning debut this year with a pair of exploratory outings in IMSA Prototype Challenge competition, Jr III Racing will attempt a full-season campaign in the all-LMP3 IMSA prototype class in 2020.

Having established a strong foundation supporting several client campaigns with its vintage racing program, Jr III Racing made the commitment to expand into the the professional ranks by launching an IMSA Prototype Challenge program in 2019.

Jr III Racing bought two brand-new Ligier JS P3 LMP3 machines to be campaigned out of the team’s 10,000-square foot base in Mooresville, N.C.

Jr III Racing made its IMSA debut at Virginia Int’l Raceway in August, taking one Ligier LMP3 directly into competition still carrying its bare carbon fiber livery.

But despite the all-new equipment, there was an experienced squad behind the effort.

Working with accomplished engineer Rick Cameron, Kris Wilson was tapped to man the controls for the one hour, 45 minute race.

It was Wilson’s first run with the Michelin-shod LMP3 platform, and the veteran delivered the performance and feedback that the team was looking for as the Colorado resident qualified 12th and came home on the lead lap in ninth to claim the Bronze Cup.

“The team was really methodical and had a heads-down approach at VIR and they learned a lot,” said Wilson. “It was pretty impressive for it being their first time out at an IMSA event, but these guys have a lot of experience in NASCAR and vintage racing so it wasn’t too surprising. They set the car up really well and could do anything I asked of them with the car.”

Having worked through the team’s first IMSA event weekend, Jr III Racing returned to competition at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta with an all-new look.

But it was a similar result after the team delivered quick pit work for Wilson, who qualified 9th and finished eighth to once again claim the Bronze Cup.

“That was a pretty cool deal to get the (Bronze) cup both times out,” said Wilson, who finished second in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge 2019 opener at Daytona. “The (Jr III Racing) guys did their homework and the car was turned out really well. They did a great job in the pits and I think that’s another area where they have some good guys in place, so it made my job a lot easier as the driver.”

The team is steered by William (Billy) Glavin, who cut his competitive teeth at Hendrick Motorsports after graduating with a degree in physics.

“We launched everything at VIR with Kris (Wilson), and it was really productive for us,” said Glavin. “We were lucky to have a guy like Kris join us. He’s a steady hand and knows pretty much everyone,  so that helped us get started because we knew we could focus on picking up as much as we could to prepare for next season.

“It was cool that he got the Bronze Cup both times so we came out of those first two weekends with a lot of notes, and a little hardware to go with them.”

The move to grow a successful program of preparing and supporting a range of vintage-racing oriented machines to integrate a professional racing option on the IMSA LMP3 platform for Jr III clients was one that followed extensive research.

“I did a lot of homework to decide where to grow our team to race on the professional level, and IMSA Prototype Challenge made the most sense from a competition point of view,” said Glavin. “The cars are really high quality and straightforward to work on, it is a great rules package with the Pro-Am structure, and being in this (IMSA) paddock is something that can present opportunities down the road for the team if we are successful.”

The Jr III team is one that has a deep bench of experience, one that matches the range of cars that the organization supports in competition.

“We are a little bit different because all of the guys we have at the track are the same guys who work for us full time at the shop,” said Glavin. “Being here in the Charlotte area, it is ideal for us as a team just because there are so many resources just in a 20-mile radius. And there is a lot of talent here as well and thats been a big boost as we’ve grown. Once we started down the path of building this program, IMSA was really helpful and welcoming.

“We are the new guys here and it’s good to have people that are eager to help you find your way a bit during the weekends.”

After years as one of the NHL's best bargains, defenseman Roman Josi is getting a significant raise with the Nashville Predators.

On Tuesday, the team announced an eight-year contract extension for Josi, 29, that will average $9.059 million per season annually against the salary cap. The contract begins in the 2020-21 season, when Josi would be the third-highest-paid defenseman in the NHL on average behind Erik Karlsson of the San Jose Sharks ($11.5 million) and Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings ($11 million).

Hey there, Captain ?

(with a special appearance by @RyanJohansen19 ?)#Preds pic.twitter.com/Dyr0MvVboS

— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) October 29, 2019

"Roman Josi is one of the top defensemen in the National Hockey League and our team leader as captain," general manager David Poile said in a statement. "As he enters his prime, we look forward to Roman continuing to showcase his elite skills in Smashville and guiding our team in pursuit of the ultimate goal, the Stanley Cup."

In June 2013, Josi signed a seven-year deal worth just $4 million against the salary cap. His base salary of $4 million for the 2019-20 season ranked 85th among NHL defensemen.

This season, Josi has 13 points in 11 games for the Predators, averaging 24:32 minutes per game. Drafted by the Predators at 38th overall in 2008, the Switzerland native has played in 574 games over nine seasons with 98 goals and 263 assists. He was selected for two NHL All-Star Games.

The contract carries a full no-move clause, which is a novelty under Nashville general manager David Poile. Only one other player on the Predators, goalie Pekka Rinne, has a contract with trade protection.

Josi was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent next summer. Nashville's desire to re-sign him was one of the factors in their trade of defenseman P.K. Subban to the New Jersey Devils during the offseason, taking Subban's $9 million cap hit through 2022 off the books.

Nathan MacKinnon has now lost all his linemates. The Colorado Avalanche announced Tuesday that forward Gabriel Landeskog is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury.

The news comes after star winger Mikko Rantanen was ruled week-to-week with a lower-body injury last week.

It's not clear when Landeskog, the Avs' captain, was injured.

The 27-year-old Landeskog has three goals and four assists in 11 games.

The Avalanche lead the Central Division with 17 points. They are an early favorite to go deep into the playoffs, in large part based on what some consider the best top line in hockey.

The USGA and R&A announced Tuesday that a joint report on a multi-year distance insights project will be released by Feb. 4, 2020.

The two governing bodies first announced the creation of the project in May 2018, and the relevant data from discussions with industry leaders and golfers from all ranks was collected through the early portion of 2019. While the full report was initially expected to be released sometime this year, that deadline has now been revised.

"Reinforcing our commitment to ensure that the report is the most comprehensive review of distance to date, we are taking more time to complete our due diligence," the statement read. "We appreciate the contributions and support we have received and believe that the data and discussion will benefit the entire golf community."

The stated goal of the project is to examine the past, present and future impacts of distance on the global game. In January the two groups jointly released a distance report from the 2018 season, which examined data from seven major tours and found that driving distance increased 1.7 yards on top of the 3-yard gain that was documented in 2017.