LAS VEGAS – NASCAR Xfinity Series playoff contender and Las Vegas native Noah Gragson will return home again to take on a talented field in The Open Comp during Saturday night’s Fall Classic at Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s Bullring.

Gragson – a 14-time winner at The Bullring – will be among a hungry group of super late models drivers looking to claim the $10,000 winner’s check in the 150-lap race.

Regional racing stars Jeremy Doss and Derek Thorn won the last two Open Comps, respectively, but will not be back this year to contend for the title, opening the door for the likes of Gragson and Bullring track champions Scott Gafforini and Jimmy Parker Jr.

The 150-lap Open Comp and 100-lap features for the late model and 602 Modified divisions highlight a full slate of races at the three-eighths-mile paved oval.

The Open Comp will feature a break at the midway point, where car crews can add fuel for the race’s second half.

In addition, the Super Stock division will have a 50-lap race, and there also will be a 20-lap combined Bandoleros feature. Gates open at 3 p.m. PT, with racing starting at 5.

Past Bullring track champions Chris Bosley, Kyle Keller and Jadan Walbridge will run in the late model feature, while champions Doug Hamm, Jason Kiser and Vinny Raucci Jr. are competing in the 602 Modified race.

Three-time track champion Sam Jacks is running in the Super Stock feature.

A Houston Open champion will be crowned on the Golf Club of Houston's 18th hole for the final time Sunday, a sendoff that wouldn't have been possible a month ago.

Tropical Storm Imelda dropped about 18 inches of rain on the property over the course of a few days in mid-September, flooding most of the first and 18th holes on the tournament course. The damage wasn't nearly to the extent of Hurricane Harvey, which hit the area in August 2017, but it was enough to keep the holes flooded for nearly three days, according to Brian Buckner, director of agronomy at Golf Club of Houston.

Buckner posted several images of the flooding, adding that the bayou that runs through the course had only flooded twice, for Harvey and Imelda.

But thanks to hard work from Buckner, whose own house was flooded during Imelda, and his team, Nos. 1 and 18 are ready for Golf Club of Houston's final PGA Tour event.

It will be a different course than in years past as the tournament has transitioned from its week-before-the-Masters date to its current fall slot. Gone is the ryegrass. Gone are the shaved runoffs around the greens. In is Bermuda grass and more rough.

HUMBLE, Texas – Henrik Stenson recently said goodbye to an old friend.

Since 2011, Stenson had played a Callaway Diablo Octane Tour 3-wood, a club that helped him rocket from near-obscurity all the way up to No. 2 in the world with eight wins, including the Open Championship in 2016 and a FedExCup-winning Tour Championship in 2013. But after the face of his third replacement caved in before last month’s BMW PGA Championship, Stenson knew it was time to move on.

This week at the Houston Open, Stenson’s bag includes a shiny new Callaway Epic Flash Sub Zero 3-wood.

“When a club gives out that you’ve had for a long time, it’s going to take a little bit of time to get used to,” said Stenson, who first replaced his trusty Diablo in February 2017. His last version of the club was only about “75 percent as good” as the original, he estimated.

“It was time to get something new,” Stenson added. “Technology has moved on.”

It will be a week full of adjustments. Stenson also had to replace the 3-wood’s 15-plus-year-old Grafalloy Blue shaft with a Project X HZRDUS Yellow prototype – painted blue, of course. This will be the first time that he’s seen the Golf Club of Houston in the fall, as the tournament moved this year from its usual pre-Masters April slot and brought with it a change from ryegrass to Bermuda.

And Stenson, at age 43, is trying to rediscover some of that form that brought him so much success for much of the past decade. Still playing the percentages, Stenson guessed Tuesday that he was “50 percent, maybe” the player he was when he lifted the claret jug just three years ago.

“I don’t feel like I’m going to go out there and shoot 63 in the final round at the moment,” Stenson said.

Stenson took an extended break after the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational in July, skipping the FedExCup Playoffs, and returned to finish T-3 at the European Tour’s Scandinavian Invitation. He then took three more weeks off prior to tying for 17^th at Wentworth last month.

“I was just playing golf to play golf in Memphis and that’s not what you want to feel when you’re at one of the biggest tournaments of the year. You don’t want to feel like you’re just going through the motions,” Stenson said. “I guess at 43, even though it was a very hard decision not to come back and play the FedExCup Playoffs, I just felt like I had not much left to give.”

Now, Stenson is back in Houston, feeling somewhat recharged at a place where he’s finished in the top 3 on three different occasions. Last year, he tied for sixth. This week, he is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 37 in the world.

Asked how surprised he was by that fact, Stenson quipped: “Maybe not highest-ranked, but if I’m the favorite you may have to reconsider.”

Especially without one of the most iconic fairway woods in golf history.

Thomas Muller has responded to speculation around his future at Bayern Munich by saying he is "too ambitious" for a role on the bench at the Bundesliga club.

Former Germany international Muller, 30, has featured in all seven Bundesliga matches for Bayern this term, however, he has yet to complete a full 90 minutes.

Having failed to start in five consecutive club matches for the first time in his career, the 2014 World Cup winner is finally beginning to resemble a substitute rather than a starter. Muller was brought on from the bench in four of the last five games and remained an unused substitute in Bayern's 7-2 win at Tottenham in the Champions League.

His demotion at the club comes just over six months after he lost his place in the Germany team.

Since the arrival of Philippe Coutinho from Barcelona in late August, Muller has dropped down the pecking order, with the Brazil international taking his place in the starting formation.

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"Sure. [The Coutinho loan] increased competition for my favourite position, but that's not the problem," Muller told kicker on Wednesday. "It's not about that."

Only last weekend, Bayern coach Niko Kovac addressed Muller's current situation at the club.

The Croat told Sky ahead of the 2-1 defeat to Hoffenheim: "Thomas Muller is very important, but other players are, too."

He added that Muller "will certainly get his minutes" when other players are not available.

Muller, a senior figure in the Bayern dressing room, did not take kindly to the statement, rushing past reporters on Saturday.

Under contract until 2021, Muller has been considered a one-club player. He had to fight for his place under former Bayern bosses Jupp Heynckes, Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti, but never once considered leaving the club, despite a tempting €100 million offer from Manchester United in 2015 and enquiries from Liverpool, Inter Milan and Arsenal in recent seasons.

However, things could now change, with Muller slowly losing his power at the club. He has yet to be backed by the leadership and earlier on Wednesday, Sport Bild reported that he has asked the club for a transfer this winter.

"The media have speculated wildly in the past few days," Muller told kicker. "I won't join in. It's about focusing on sporting things again to make the coming weeks with Bayern Munich successful.

"I will keep at it when it comes to competition for a place, and I'll continue to give it my all in training and during matches. There's nothing more to say from side."

Even before a ball was kicked, Manchester United bosses expected a hard season in 2019-20.

Everton more than matched the asking price to loan defender Marcos Rojo on deadline day, but the deal was canned at the last minute over fears that Marco Silva already had a stronger squad. Chris Smalling was told he could not move to Goodison Park but was allowed to join Roma.

Privately, Silva accused United of sabotaging Everton's season before it had started by leaving him with just two senior centre-backs, one of whom (Yerry Mina) only managed 10 league starts in 2018-19 because of injury. Executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward and the Glazers would ultimately be wrong about Everton -- they're 17th after eight games -- but they were right about United.

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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team are 12th in the table, two points above the relegation places, after Sunday's 1-0 defeat at Newcastle. Woodward has promised Solskjaer time to complete a rebuild that only began in the summer and not allow himself to be influenced by "short-term distractions" but after such a poor start, the question is simple. How much more can he take?

Squad depth is only partially Solskjaer's fault

There's an acceptance within the club that Solskjaer has been left with a squad seriously short in midfield and up front. He decided to jettison Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez for the good of the dressing room because both had made it clear they wanted to leave, becoming increasingly distant and withdrawn from the rest of the group. Money was available for a replacement for Lukaku, but Solskjaer decided against bringing in a short-term fix even as long-term targets were unavailable.

The current injury crisis is another mitigating factor. Of the team that beat Chelsea 4-0 on the opening weekend of the season, six were absent against Newcastle. Paul Pogba has missed five of the past seven games with an ankle injury. Anthony Martial, identified during preseason as the first-choice centre-forward, has been sidelined since August with a thigh problem.

Behind the scenes, Woodward has spoken of "fine margins" like penalty misses against Wolves and Crystal Palace, and penalties that weren't given against Arsenal and AZ Alkmaar. The fact remains, however, that in two weeks' time, United could find themselves in the bottom three.

The 2019-20 campaign already marks their worst start to a season for 30 years. A return to the top four looks unlikely and a second successive season without Champions League football would see the annual payment from kit supplier, Adidas, reduce by 30 percent to around £20 million.

Solskjaer is aware he has gambled on the goodwill of Woodward and the Glazers. The story goes that while United fans were apoplectic at the club's transfer business in the summer of 2013, the manager, David Moyes, was far more relaxed. With the security of a six-year contract, his approach would be "evolution rather than revolution," but while he thought there would be plenty of time for change, he was sacked after just 10 months.

Solskjaer has improved the defence -- United have the fourth-best defensive record in the league through eight games -- but he will need at least one more summer window to fix everything else. However, even those around him accept a heavy defeat to Liverpool at Old Trafford after the international break could end his reign though a recent report suggested that the club had already written that match off as a loss and were more concerned with a positive result against Norwich.

If it does, Solskjaer will leave with more than a few frustrations. For example, his concerns in the summer that deals were taking too long to get over the line. Discussions for players were never done simultaneously, with chief negotiator Matt Judge instead telling targets they were "next on the list" once the latest deal had been completed. It meant they ran out of time when it came to signing a striker and despite Solskjaer making it clear he wanted five new players to improve the squad's quality and depth in the summer, he ended up with three (Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Daniel James and Harry Maguire).

Funds will be made available in January but there are doubts the right players can be brought in midway through the season.

The team needs sharper coaching

The Norwegian has remedied some problems he encountered when he took over for Jose Mourinho 10 months ago -- the team leaks that would anger Mourinho have stopped -- but other issues remain. There are unhelpful divisions in the dressing room and when a meal in Manchester was organised after the Carabao Cup tie with Rochdale, some players opted to attend despite another disappointing performance while others decided it was inappropriate to be seen out on the town after a 1-1 draw with team near the bottom of League One.

There are also concerns among some senior players that the youngsters thrown in by Solskjaer are not ready to play such a key role. The inexperience of Mason Greenwood, Tahith Chong and Angel Gomes is in contrast to Frank Lampard's core of young players at Chelsea (Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori) who have made 340 senior appearances between them. Meanwhile, the muscle injuries that decimated the squad in March have not been eradicated and Martial (thigh), Luke Shaw (hamstring) and Jesse Lingard (hamstring) all missed the defeat at St James' Park on Sunday.

Solskjaer has styled himself as a manager rather than a coach, and besides shouting "Let's see if you can get to 20" during the Rondo passing drills, much of the work on the training pitch is left to Kieran McKenna, who was looking after the Under-18s little more than a year ago. This lack of hands-on instruction has a trickle-down effect: Opposition coaches say United are so predictable going forward that the way to beat them is to sit back, soak up pressure and counter attack. Newcastle's goal on Sunday came from a United corner.

Woodward and the Glazers were prepared for a difficult season but no away win since March and five wins and just 18 goals scored in 21 games as permanent manager is pushing the limits of what is acceptable. Match-going fans will never turn on a man who played for the club with such distinction en masse but there are rumblings about a manager many in Norway felt did not deserve a new contract at Molde before United came calling.

For now, Solskjaer retains enough support within the corridors of power at Old Trafford but he is well aware that Woodward has shown an itchy trigger finger in the past. A defeat to Liverpool on Oct. 20 would further test that patience.

In what is likely to have a bearing on the BCCI elections, the Committee of Administrators (CoA) has disqualified three key state associations - Tamil Nadu, Haryana and Maharashtra - for failing to comply with the board's new constitution. These three states have been declared non-compliant and are barred from participating in the BCCI elections scheduled for October 23 in Mumbai.

In response, the TNCA has said they will ask the Supreme Court to intervene should the board's electoral officer N Gopalswami, who is likely to announce the final electoral roll on Thursday, rules against their representative attending the elections. This CoA directive has been sent to both Gopalswami and P Narasimha, the amicus curiae appointed by the Supreme Court.

Vinod Rai, the CoA chairman, confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that all three associations were informed of their non-compliance on Tuesday. "We found their explanations to be unsatisfactory," he said.

In an e-mail directive sent to all three states associations on Tuesday, the CoA said they were being "disqualified from participating in cricket administration and governance at the BCCI in any way whatsoever, including by participating and voting in the BCCI general body meeting."

In the directive, the CoA also said all three state associations had lost the right to cast a vote at the BCCI elections "because it has not complied with the (court) judgment and it is necessary for the purpose of proper implementation as mandated by the Supreme Court."

ESPNcricinfo understands the three-member CoA was split on the decision to bar the three state associations. While Rai and Ravindra Thodge were in favour of disqualification, Diana Edulji, the former Indian woman's captain, objected. Rai and Thodge were of the opinion that the TNCA, HCA and MCA couldn't have been exempted from complying with the new orders if a majority of the associations, around 30, did so.

Edulji is believed to have said compliance was just one thing and presented examples of several state associations, including Delhi & Districts Cricket Association and Baroda Cricket Association, that had violated various eligibility criterion while electing their office bearers.

The CoA had earlier issued a show cause notice and sought an explanation for non-compliance from the TNCA, HCA and MCA, while also asking them to comply with the new regulations. In Maharashtra's case, it was pointed out that the MCA hadn't even registered its constitution, which is mandatory.

While notifying all state associations about the elections in September, Gopalswami made it clear no association could send a representative or vote at the election if the CoA felt they were non-compliant with the new BCCI constitution drawn up on the basis of the Lodha Committee recommendations.

Among the three associations, the TNCA has been most vocal about its opposition to CoA's stance on compliance. In their response to the show cause notice, the TNCA stated the CoA didn't have the authority to decide if a state association was compliant or not.

"The job of the CoA is only to file a status report with reference to the compliance undertaken by the state associations," RS Ramasamy, the newly elected TNCA secretary, wrote in an email to Gopalswami on September 30.

Ramasamy, who has also been chosen by the TNCA to attend the BCCI elections, also pointed out that only the Supreme Court had the right to suspend any state association from attending the BCCI election. In the email to Gopalswami, he said the TNCA "shall not be restrained" from attending the board elections on the "ground of having not being found to be compliant" by the CoA.

"Any such act on your part of restraining the TNCA from participating in the BCCI elections would amount to contempt of the 9th August Judgment and 20th September order."

Nine-time Grammy Award winner Rihanna says she turned down an offer to perform at the Super Bowl in 2019 to show solidarity with Colin Kaepernick.

Rihanna told Vogue in a story published Wednesday that she would have been an "enabler" if she had performed at Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta.

"I couldn't dare do that," Rihanna told the magazine in August. "For what? Who gains from that? Not my people.

"I just couldn't be a sellout. I couldn't be an enabler. There's things within that organization that I do not agree with at all, and I was not about to go and be of service to them in any way."

Maroon 5 was the halftime performer, with Big Boi and Travis Scott also taking part.

Rihanna wasn't the only celebrity to refuse a role at the Super Bowl over Kaepernick. Comedian Amy Schumer posted on Instagram in October 2018 that, as a show of support for the quarterback, she wouldn't appear in a Super Bowl commercial.

Kaepernick has not played in the NFL since 2016. His decision to kneel during the national anthem before games helped launch a social justice movement in the league that led to the Inspire Change initiative, through which NFL owners have agreed to contribute up to $89 million over six years toward causes players were supporting.

Jennifer Lopez and Shakira will be the co-headliners of the Super Bowl LIV halftime show in Miami this season. They will be the first artists to perform during the NFL's signature event since the league entered into a partnership with Roc Nation, the entertainment company founded by rapper, businessman and activist Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, to lead its endeavors in music and entertainment.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce said he regretted shoving offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy on the sideline during a moment of frustration in Sunday night's loss to the Indianapolis Colts.

"We're good,'' Kelce said Wednesday. "Me and Coach Bieniemy have a very close relationship. I love him. He's helped me out tremendously as a person, as a professional and I'm sure he'll keep doing that throughout the rest of my career. ... I love the guy. That will never change. I appreciate him being on my tail to get me going.

"As far as what happened on the sideline, sometimes in football you get a little heated with your brothers or your coaches.''

Kelce shoved Bieniemy on the sideline after he dropped a difficult but catchable pass early in the game. The two had to be pulled apart -- Kelce by guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif; Bieniemy by tackle Cam Erving.

Kelce soon returned to hug the offensive coordinator.

"He's like a father figure, in terms of being there for me on the field,'' Kelce said. "We're wired a little bit the same when it comes to our competitive edge. ... It's something immediately I regretted and I just wanted to make it good and let him know that, 'You know what? I'm ready to rock and roll for you.'"

Kelce was frustrated at other points during the 19-13 loss, shouting more than once at officials after an opponent wasn't penalized for pass interference.

He had problems controlling his temper during games earlier in his career. He was ejected from a 2016 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars for picking a penalty flag off the ground and throwing it at an official.

"I haven't felt like that in a while,'' Kelce said. "That's definitely something I've been thinking about a lot, just how to handle a lot of those situations. Looking back, seeing how I connected the dots after maybe a frustrating play and how to kind of [narrow] in and be able to attack on the next play with a clear mind.

"It's football. It's not always going to go your way, so I've just got to maintain the level of focus and the level of excitement that I have for the game.''

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes said he felt no need to calm Kelce during the game.

"He's played this game for a long time and he understands how to have success,'' Mahomes said. "Obviously, I'm going to try to pump him up and have him ready on every single play because he can get open on every single play.

"He knows how to handle this game. He knows how to have success. I'm going to let him go through what he needs to go through in order to do that.''

San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman said Wednesday that he will apologize to Baker Mayfield for wrongly saying the Cleveland Browns quarterback had refused to shake his hand before the coin toss on Monday Night Football.

Sherman told NFL.com that the snub had fueled him during San Francisco's 31-3 win over the Browns. Video obtained by ESPN on Tuesday, however, showed the two shaking hands at midfield.

Sherman backtracked Wednesday, saying he would be reaching out to Mayfield to apologize.

"It's definitely my bad," Sherman told the Pat McAfee Show. "I never want anybody to have to deal with some stuff that they didn't do. And so, you know, the questions that he's gonna get and the annoying, nonsense questions about some stuff that happened in a game that's already been done, you know, sure he'll get an apology for that. I'll probably reach out to him via text or social media to actually get a hold of him and talk to him ... on the phone.

"He definitely deserves an apology, and that's my bad on that."

So Richard Sherman claims Baker Mayfield refused to shake his hand at the coin toss. This video seems to indicate otherwise: pic.twitter.com/4CgOsLKLPL

— Jake Trotter (@Jake_Trotter) October 8, 2019

After Wednesday's practice, Mayfield said he hadn't yet checked his phone, but that "it was nice" of Sherman to say that he would apologize.

"I know what I did," Mayfield said. "That's the one time the camera and something recording me has gone in my favor."

Mayfield said he never attempted to show any disrespect toward Sherman.

"I respect him and who he is as a player," Mayfield said. "Has been for a while. In no way did I mean it like that."

Sherman said he may have remembered the moment differently or could've described it more accurately.

"Sometimes you remember things a little differently than it happened," Sherman said. "Obviously it still motivated me the same way."

The Philadelphia 76ers said two fans were removed from the stands at Tuesday's preseason game for "their continuing disruption of the fan experience," but the fans say they were kicked out for showing support for Hong Kong.

The team and the Wells Fargo Center both released statements Wednesday saying they received multiple complaints about the two fans prior to their ejection.

"At last evening's game, following multiple complaints from guests and verbal confrontations with others in attendance, two individuals were warned by Wells Fargo Center staff about their continuing disruption of the fan experience. Ultimately, the decision was made by Wells Fargo Center personnel to remove the guests from the premises, which was accomplished without incident," the 76ers said.

Sam Wachs and his wife held up signs that read "Free Hong Kong'' and "Free HK'' during the 76ers' game against a Chinese team, the Guangzhou Loong Lions.

Wachs told NBC10 in Philadelphia that security guards confiscated the signs before ejecting the couple in the second quarter after Wachs shouted, "Free Hong Kong!"

A source close to the situation told ESPN's Tim Bontemps that the Sixers were unaware of the incident until after the fans were ejected.

In its statement, the Wells Fargo Center said the fans were given three warnings prior to their removal.

Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey, with a since-deleted tweet, showed support last week for anti-government protesters in Hong Kong, straining the relationship between the NBA and China.

The protests in Hong Kong were sparked by a proposed extradition law that would have allowed suspects to be sent to China to face trial. Activists saw that as a threat to the legal rights that Hong Kong residents have under the current "one country, two systems" framework.

Guangzhou will face the Wizards in Washington on Wednesday night.