Mexico head coach Gerardo Martino is not surprised that Carlos Vela has hit some scintillating form with LAFC this season and admits that a decision is still pending on the 30-year-old's inclusion for El Tri at the Gold Cup.

Vela has netted 11 goals in 10 MLS games so far this season as LAFC has soared to lead the Western Conference, but Martino says he knew all about the Cancun native well before he took the Mexico job.

"Of course [Vela is under consideration], it's not for what he's doing now, but for what he's being doing for a long time," said Martino in a news conference in Atlanta.

- Guardado: Mexico's golden generation fell short

The Argentine went on to explain that he'd faced Vela's Real Sociedad as Barcelona coach and knew all about his quality, although Vela was left out of the March friendly wins by Martino.

"He's evidently having an extraordinary start to the season and we'll have to make a decision in the short term [on his Gold Cup inclusion]," added Martino.

The former Argentina manager also said that Jesus "Tecatito" Corona would be considered, following a fall out in March with Porto about the player's availability, while Hirving Lozano should be recovered following an injury scare.

"Lozano [has] got a knee injury," said Martino. "It wasn't as bad as it seemed ... I'm getting ahead of myself because the doctors are meeting, [but] I believe that [Lozano] shouldn't have any problem to play at the Gold Cup."

West Ham striker Javier Hernandez's inclusion depends on a pending conversation with Martino, with the player's wife expected to give birth around the time of the tournament.

Martino returned to Atlanta to promote El Tri's game on June 4 against Venezuela and the former Newell's Old Boys player said he only had good memories about his time at Atlanta United, where he won the 2018 MLS Cup.

"I always say that if Atlanta had taken me 10 years earlier, I'd have never left here," said Martino. "Saying that is saying that I liked everything that I experienced during two years in this city."

Martino also gave his backing to current Atlanta United manager Frank de Boer, who has started his spell in charge with just two wins from the team's first seven games of the season.

The president of the Tulsa Roughnecks cited the USL's "zero-tolerance policy" against hate speech as the reason for terminating the contract of midfielder Fabian Bastidas on Sunday, and added he wanted to send a message to the city and beyond that such behavior would not be tolerated.

The decision came in the wake of statements by Oklahoma City Energy FC defender/midfielder Atiba Harris that a Tulsa player, later identified as Bastidas, had racially abused him in Saturday's match between the two teams.

Harris later took to Twitter to report what he had experienced in the match. The Roughnecks conducted an investigation, and after Bastidas admitted to using a racial slur, the decision was made by president and part-owner Barry Williams, general manager Wayne Farmer, and head coach Michael Nsien to terminate the player's contract.

Williams, speaking exclusively to ESPN FC, added that the organization wanted to make a statement to the city of Tulsa and beyond, especially with the 100-year anniversary of the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot -- one of the worst incidents of racial violence in American history -- approaching. The Roughnecks have also aimed to build a diverse coaching staff and roster. Nsien is one of the few minority managers in the second-tier USL Championship, and the roster is comprised of players from 13 different countries.

"We still have a fairly segregated city," Williams said about Tulsa. "And with the way that the news has attached itself to this story, and to the sensitivity to the sport and our core values, our core beliefs, not only for me as part-owner and president of the organization, but within our team, we feel zero tolerance is zero tolerance."

Bastidas later posted his version of events on Instagram and Facebook, insisting that his use of the term was meant as a term of endearment.

"Nothing malicious or racist was or will ever be intended by it," Bastidas wrote.

For that reason, it has been suggested on social media and elsewhere that the Roughnecks could have used the incident as a teachable moment, but Williams said the club opted not to take that approach.

"The educational moment can come with some other team, but with this club, we wanted to make sure it was well known in this city that racial comments, racial slurs, and racism in any form is not welcomed, appreciated, or accepted," Williams said.

Williams confirmed that an 11th-minute encounter between Bastidas and Harris was the catalyst for what took place during Saturday's match. Video of the incident shows OKC Energy goalkeeper Cody Laurendi claiming a through ball near the top of the box, with Bastidas running around Harris and making light contact with Laurendi. Harris is then seen pulling away Bastidas, who responds by pushing back. Harris is then later seen pointing his finger in Bastidas' direction.

Williams confirmed that Harris then informed referee Eric Tattersall of what Bastidas had said, and while Tattersall can be seen speaking with Bastidas, no card was given. Williams also added that Harris informed Tulsa captain and former teammate Cyprian Hedrick of what had happened, and that Hedrick later told Bastidas to stop using such language.

Nsien said he received a phone call from OKC manager Steve Cooke after the match, informing him of what happened between Harris and Bastidas. He vowed to investigate, though Harris soon made the allegations public. Williams and Farmer soon were consulting with their counterparts at OKC, Bob Funk and Jason Hawkins. Nsien, Williams and Farmer confronted Bastidas the next day.

After consulting with the league, Tulsa made the decision to terminate Bastidas' contract and informed the player later on Sunday afternoon.

"[Bastidas] understood. I think he was disappointed," said Williams. "I think he was still not grasping the overall gravity of the situation outside of what happened in his individual game with that individual player. But he was certainly sincere in his apology and sincere in that he wished he had made some better decisions."

Nsien said he supported the Roughnecks' decision.

"I think what we're trying to build here [is] there's an ownership group here who has been supportive of me as one of the few African-American coaches in the sport, and the diversity of the players that we brought here are intentional about trying to build something that shows diversity," he said.

"In context or out of context, we think it's important that we set the precedent in the USL and maybe in the world of the actions that we think should be taken if these things continue. We felt like termination of the contract is something that we would support because we feel like that's what [the situation] deserves."

Jozy Altidore and Sloane Stephens announced some exciting news on social media on Monday after the Toronto FC striker proposed to his professional tennis player girlfriend.

Altidore posted a picture of him and Stephens with a message saying "forever starts now"; Stephens posted a message right around the same time saying "forever yes."

Forever starts now. pic.twitter.com/cI8uumEScq

— Jozy Altidore (@JozyAltidore) April 29, 2019

Forever yes ♥️ @JozyAltidore pic.twitter.com/VVvUlrohtY

— Sloane Stephens (@SloaneStephens) April 29, 2019

Altidore has been a bit of a fixture at Stephens' tennis matches in recent years, with the two Florida natives reportedly having dated since 2016. The U.S. international soccer star was in the stands to watch Stephens in the semifinal of the 2017 US Open, but couldn't be there for the final because he was playing a game himself.

Altidore's mother informed him that Stephens had indeed won the US Open at halftime of his game in which he scored twice in a 4-0 win against San Jose.

In addition to winning a Grand Slam title in 2017, Stephens was the 2018 French Open runner-up and a member of the 2017 champion U.S. Fed Cup team.

The 26-year-old American currently is ranked No. 8 in the world.

The 29-year-old Altidore has scored 41 goals in 110 international appearances since his U.S. national team debut in 2007. Altidore has been with Toronto FC in Major League Soccer since 2015.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this story.

Offspinner Will Somerville will have the chance to face former team-mates after being added to the New Zealand squad for the three one-day matches against Australia in Brisbane next week which act as World Cup preparation.

Somerville played for New South Wales between 2014 and 2018 before returning across the Tasman to resume his career in New Zealand having been offered the prospect of international cricket. The opportunity came his way last year when he made his debut against Pakistan, taking seven wickets in Abu Dhabi to help clinch a famous series victory.

That remains his only Test to date with home conditions not requiring two spinners, but he will have the opportunity to show his one-day skills - a format in which he has only played six matches - in the three games which do not have ODI status.

New Zealand have named a shadow squad for the matches in Brisbane with the majority of their World Cup 15 currently at the IPL and Ross Taylor playing county cricket for Middlesex. The squad is captained by Tom Latham and includes Tom Blundell, Matt Henry, Jimmy Neesham and Henry Nicholls from the World Cup group.

Pace bowler Seth Rance, who has played two ODIs and five T20Is, has also been added to the squad which has expanded to 15 players.

Australia will have all their World Cup players available with them being recalled from the IPL for the training camp.

New Zealand XI squad Tom Latham (capt), Todd Astle, Hamish Bennett, Tom Blundell (wk), Doug Bracewell, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Henry Nicholls, Seth Rance, Hamish Rutherford, Blair Tickner, George Worker, Will Young, Will Somerville

Australia's World Cup squad gets together for a pre-tournament camp in Brisbane this week while the Australia A tour also edges closer. An enormous number of Australians are playing in overseas competitions in the lead up to the World Cup, Australia A and Ashes tours of the UK. Here is the latest on how they are faring so far.

Who's in form and who's not

Another week brought another stack of runs for David Warner. He finished his IPL campaign with 81 from 56 balls against Kings XI last night. In 12 innings he made 692 runs at 69.20, striking at 143.86, with a century and eight fifties. He made half-centuries in six of his last seven innings including two in the last week. He is in red-hot form heading to the World Cup.

Marcus Stoinis has found some touch after getting to spend some time in the middle in the last two games for Royal Challengers Bangalore. He was part of an outstanding unbeaten 121-run stand with AB de Villiers in a win over Kings XI. Stoinis took 20 off the last four balls of the innings to make 46 not out from 34. He then bowled frugally taking 1 for 13 from two overs including the key wicket of Mayank Agarwal. He bowled well again in the loss to Delhi conceding just 24 from three overs. He made 32 not out from 24 balls having walked to the crease with 77 runs needed from 42 balls in the chase, but Kagiso Rabada's yorkers proved mightily difficult to get away.

Steve Smith made 2 and 22 in his last two innings for Rajasthan but the 22 was important in a victorious run chase against the Sunrisers, coming off just 16 balls with three boundaries. He also took a spectacular catch running back with the flight of the ball to remove the in-form Warner in a significant moment in the match. He plays his last IPL match against RCB and hopes to finish with a flourish.

Glenn Maxwell was starved of opportunity in his last two 50-over matches in England before heading home, mainly due to Lancashire's dominance. He bowled 10 overs for 60 against Northants before the chase was reduced to 164 due to rain. He made 20 not out at No. 3 following an opening stand of 130. Against Leicestershire, he bowled five overs and took 1 for 9 and didn't get a bat as Leicestershire were all out for 80. He is being replaced in Lancashire's 50-over team by South Australian Jake Lehmann.

Jason Behrendorff has not played for the last fortnight for Mumbai Indians. Cricket Australia's medical staff will be pleased that he got enough cricket in the IPL without putting a strain on his lower back and he should be fresh for the training camp and warm-up games against New Zealand.

Chris Lynn made a blistering 54 from 29 balls in a high-scoring win over Mumbai. He has not been at his absolute best in this IPL. He failed to score against the Royals in his previous game but has posted four half-centuries in his last seven innings.

#Asheswatch

The Royal London One-Day Cup continued in England this week as the County Championship remains on hold as World Cup preparations ramp up. Although 50-over white-ball form may not carry as much weight towards Ashes selection there were some noteworthy performances for the Australian selectors to ponder.

James Pattinson showed some great signs playing three games in five days for Nottinghamshire and contributing with bat and ball. He made 33 off 25 and then took 2 for 22 from sevwn overs against Warwickshire. He made 13 not out from seven balls including a four and a six against Leicestershire before taking 1 for 46 from eight over. He bagged 2 for 42 from 10 overs, with a maiden, in Notts' fifth straight win over Yorkshire.

Peter Siddle had a good week for Essex. He was the standout bowler in a heavy loss to Somerset. He took 4 for 60 in a lone hand as Somerset made 5 for 353 at Taunton. He was even better at Chelmsford on Sunday against an talent-laden Hampshire side, taking 2 for 18 from 10 overs as Essex won easily.

Cameron Bancroft's stunning form for Durham stalled with scores of 20 and 3 before making 45 from 65 balls in a successful run chase against Derbyshire. He is also keeping for Durham, on top of captaining the side, taking six catches in the last three games.

Matt Renshaw didn't get the chance to bat last week as his only game for Kent was washed out. Marnus Labuschagne was 27 not out for Glamorgan when rain ended the match without a result. Labuschagne had been sent back to Glamorgan's 2nd XI prior to that innings to find some form, but he only made 8 against Somerset's 2nd XI. He missed out again over the weekend against Surrey, trapped lbw for 5 by Morne Morkel. But he did bowl 10 overs for just 51 as Glamorgan comfortably defended 323.

Did you see?

Steve Smith's spectacular catch to get rid of Warner in their IPL meeting proved how valuable his agility in the field is ahead of the World Cup. Warner sliced a ball over cover and Smith ran back from the circle and took the chance diving at full stretch.

Ashton Turner finally broke his string of ducks in T20 cricket against Sunrisers. Again he walked out in a tough scenario but managed to survive to make 3 not out to help team-mate Sanju Samson guide the side home.

Injury list

There were some concerns about Smith's injured elbow in the aftermath as he landed on it while completing the catch. But he was able to bat later that night without issue and there were no concerns post-match.

Performance of the week

Warner had claims to this title every week but his ninth 50-plus score of the IPL on Monday was another exceptional display. He destroyed the spin of Mujeeb Ur Rahman and R Ashwin in making his third 80-plus score of the tournament. He struck seven boundaries and a six but once again his supreme running between the wickets was a feature post the Powerplay onslaught, running 11 twos and a three.

Cricket Australia has apologised for any "unintended offence" caused by James Faulkner's Instagram post on Monday night which was widely interpreted as the allrounder revealing he was in a same-sex relationship.

The initial post of Faulkner having dinner on his 29th birthday alongside his mother and friend Rob Jubb, who Faulkner captioned as "boyfriend", was reported by many major media outlets as being confirmation of a relationship. The post was later edited to include "best friend" but by then the story had gone around the world.

In a subsequent post on Tuesday morning, Faulkner clarified there had been a "misunderstanding", while thanking the support he had received, and Cricket Australia emphasised their support for the LGBQTI community.

View this post on Instagram

There seems to be a misunderstanding about my post from last night, I am not gay, however it has been fantastic to see the support from and for the LBGT community. Let's never forget love is love, however @robjubbsta is just a great friend. Last night marked five years of being house mates! Good on everyone for being so supportive.

A post shared by James Faulkner (@jfaulkner44) on Apr 29, 2019 at 5:07pm PDT

"Cricket Australia does not consider the social commentary this morning from James Faulkner to be a joke, nor does James," a statement said.

"His comment was made as a genuine reflection of his relationship with his business partner, best friend and house mate of five years. He was not contacted for clarification before some outlets reported his Instagram post as an announcement of a homosexual relationship.

"James and CA are supportive of the LGBQTI community and recognises coming out can be an incredibly emotional time. The post was not in any way meant to make light of this and, though the support from the community was overwhelming and positive. Cricket Australia apologises for any unintended offence."

The second season of the Global T20 Canada is set to begin on July 25, with defending champions Vancouver Knights facing hosts Toronto Nationals. The tournament includes 22 matches, including three playoffs, and the final will take place on August 11.

ALSO READ: Five takeaways from the first season of Global T20 Canada

The league ends a week before the ICC Americas regional T20 qualifier-final, which will feature Canada players. The Global T20 league has been scheduled earlier this season - it had started in June last year - to avoid clashing with the Euro T20 slam, which will kick off at the end of August. Incidentally, Mercuri Group, owners of the GLT20 league, are also involved with the Euro T20 slam.

In the inaugural season, all games were played at at Maple Leaf cricket club in Toronto, and it is likely that all matches this season too will also be held at this venue.

The first season of the GL T20 Cananda included high-profile names like Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, David Warner, Steven Smith. The league also unearthed new stars like Rassie van der Dussen and Sherfane Rutherford, who have gone on to feature in various other T20 leagues.

Brian Lara, the brand ambassador of the league, welcomed the new season and said: "I was there to see the first edition of the league and was enormously impressed with the overall quality of cricket. Despite a few hiccups, Cricket Canada and GT20 team delivered an outstanding event.

"The hallmark of the event was a local boy Saad Bin Zafar winning the Man of the Match in the all-important finals in the presence of stars like Chris Gayle and Andre Russell. It proves that cricketers from these countries need these kinds of endeavours to prove their talent. I hope GT20 season two will take cricket to greater heights in the North America region."

Responding to the conflict-of-interest allegation against him, former India batsman VVS Laxman criticised the Committee of Administrators' handling of the Cricket Advisory Committee,and alleged complete lack of communication from the Vinod Rai-led panel.

Laxman said the COA has been using the CAC only for the selection of senior national coaches, despite having promised the CAC a broader role earlier.

Laxman, in his official response to the Ombudsman-cum-Ethics-Officer, Justice DK Jain, gave rebutted the allegations of 'Conflict of Interest', and stated that he is ready to "recuse" himself if he is found to be in a position of conflict.

"On December 7, 2018, we had written to the Committee of Administrators requesting them to clarify the scope of our role and responsibilities. To this date, there has been no reply. Since no tenure had been mentioned in the letter of intent issued in 2015, it was only reasonable to expect some communication on whether the CAC was still in existence. Unfortunately that hasn't been forthcoming," Laxman wrote in his affidavit filed through his lawyer.

Laxman, along with Tendulkar, replied to notices served by the Ombudsman, following a complaint by Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) life-member Sanjeev Gupta against their dual roles as mentors in IPL franchises (Sunrisers Hyderabad in Laxman's case) and CAC members.

"It will be worthwhile to note that the reason I agreed to be a member was because of the various inputs we were originally tasked with contributing towards the sustained growth of Indian cricket," he wrote in his reply.

"The opportunity to be involved meaningfully in India's climb towards becoming a cricketing superpower post retirement was privilege enough for me to turn down the offer of remuneration of being a part of CAC," Laxman said in his affidavit, point 3 (c).

"The allegation of the complainant are baseless as we are in no manner selectors of either players or coaches, and CAC is not a permanent body," he wrote.

The pertinent points of his affidavit were 3 (d) and (e), where he criticised the CoA, insisting that the body was never really forthcoming on the scope and role of the CAC.

Laxman said the roles of the CAC, as told to him in 2015, included focusing on improving performances of the national team overseas, creating a pathway to track a young cricketer's career from U-19 to India A to the international team, ODIs and Test cricket for the country's top players, managing workload for fast bowlers, means to improve the quality of Indian spinners, and education and life-skills for young cricketers.

He said no such input was ever sought by the BCCI.

"...none of the CAC members has (sic) been called on to give our opinion on any subjects except to be invited to be involved in the selection of national coaches and, once, the selection of junior national selectors. However, this is by no means a regular process and I am in no manner to be considered a selector."

Laxman also claimed that the COA did not even give the three-member committee - the third member being Sourav Ganguly - enough time to confirm availability to select the women's head coach.

"In December 2018, we were given a little over 24 hours to confirm our availability to be on the panel to select the India women's head coach. All three of us expressed our inability to participate in the process due to short notice and prior commitments," Laxman said.

An ad-hoc committee, comprising Kapil Dev, Shantha Rangaswamy and Anshuman Gaekwad, selected WV Raman as the head coach.

Laxman urged the Ombudsman to view the "Conflict of Interest clause from the perspective of whether in the performance of my duties as a CAC member, I am being influenced by external factors".

"It is my respectful submission that when I am barely required to discharge any duties as a member of the CAC, which I wasn't even sure existed due to the lack of communication until I received this notice, questions of any conflict of interest doesn't arise."

Alabama flipped ESPN 300 athlete Drew Sanders from Oklahoma on Monday.

Sanders, the No. 37-ranked recruit in the 2020 class, had been committed to Oklahoma since 2017, but he announced his decision to switch to Alabama. Sanders is a 6-foot-5, 220-pound recruit from Billy Ryan High School in Denton, Texas, and is ranked the No. 4 athlete in the class.

Sanders told ESPN that Alabama recruited him as a linebacker at the jack position.

"The main reason for me committing to Oklahoma in the first place, I was in the beginning of going into high school, and I had only played offense," Sanders said. "I was going to play tight end, and I thought Oklahoma was one of the best places for that. As I played defense more and more, I thought the SEC is kind of built on defense, and Alabama was a good fit for me."

My recruiting is 100% over. I will be playing football and attending the University of Alabama!! #RollTide pic.twitter.com/nRjED5iCuA

— Drew Sanders (@Drew_16Sanders) April 30, 2019

Despite being committed to Oklahoma, Sanders was visiting other programs and weighing his options throughout his recruitment. He took visits to Alabama, Texas A&M and LSU, among others.

"I spent the past weekend with Coach [Nick] Saban and all the other coaches," Sanders said. "They really enjoyed me and my family, and we enjoyed them. We felt that comfortable feeling with them that you're looking for."

LSU was also trying to flip Sanders, but Alabama won and flipped the Texas prospect.

With Sanders on board, Alabama has 13 ESPN 300 commitments, which is the most of any program in this recruiting class. He is the second commitment for the Crimson Tide ranked in the top 50, joining five-star defensive end Chris Braswell, who is the No. 5-ranked recruit.

"[When] we first sat down [with Saban], we didn't know how much interest he really had in me," Sanders said. "He told us he was interested and talked about how he thinks I would be able to get some playing time early on. It was all up to me and how I use my time wisely. We felt like that was the best fit and the best place for me."

RALEIGH, N.C. -- North Carolina has reached a deal with Princeton's Courtney Banghart to become the Tar Heels' next women's basketball coach, a person with knowledge of the situation said.

The person spoke Monday night to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the school hasn't commented publicly on its search. Terms weren't immediately available, and the deal must be approved by UNC's board of trustees to become official.

The board has scheduled an emergency meeting via teleconference for Tuesday morning, though it didn't specify the exact agenda.

Banghart will replace Sylvia Hatchell, a Hall of Fame coach who resigned April 18 after an outside program review reported she had made "racially insensitive" comments and pressured players to compete through medical issues. That review also cited a "breakdown of connectivity" between Hatchell and the players after 28 interviews of current players and program personnel.

WRAL TV in Raleigh first reported the hiring.

The 40-year-old Banghart has guided the Tigers to eight of the past 10 NCAA tournaments with seven Ivy League championships. Now she must move the UNC program in a new direction after Hatchell's 33-year tenure.

Banghart played at Dartmouth and worked as an assistant there before taking over at Princeton in 2007. She is 254-103 in 12 seasons, though more than a third of those losses came during her first two seasons. In the years since, she has won nearly 78 percent of her games, dating to the 2009-10 season, with three perfect runs through Ivy League play and the past two Ivy League tournament titles.

Her best season came in in 2014-15, when the Tigers went 31-1 and Banghart was named Naismith national women's coach of the year. Princeton won all but two games by double figures that year before suffering their only loss to No. 1 seed Maryland in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Princeton went 22-10 last season and won the league tournament before losing to Kentucky in the NCAA first round.

The challenge awaiting Banghart in Chapel Hill starts with making a big step up from the Ivy League to running and recruiting for a power-conference program in a league headlined by national powers Notre Dame and Louisville. There's also a need for a jolt of energy for a program that had limped through several bumpy seasons even prior to Hatchell's exit.

Hatchell is the winningest women's coach in Atlantic Coast Conference history, with 1,023 victories -- 751 of those coming during 33 seasons at UNC to go with eight ACC tournament titles, three Final Fours and the 1994 NCAA championship.

But there had been difficulties in recent years. She had missed the 2013-14 season while battling leukemia and undergoing chemotherapy. The program also spent several seasons under the shadow of the school's multiyear academic case dealing with irregular courses featuring significant athlete enrollments across numerous sports, a case that reached a no-penalty conclusion in October 2017.

Along the way, there had been significant roster turnover with numerous transfers and hits to recruiting that contributed to the Tar Heels' missing three straight NCAA tournaments before returning to the field this year for the first time since reaching the Sweet 16 in 2015.

With approval from UNC's trustees, it will be up to Banghart to make the Tar Heels a perennial NCAA tournament team and ACC contender again.