Skill. Age. Versatility. A proven track record. What's the criteria to be a top-level NBA player? What's the most important quality if you were going to build a team around a superstar?

The Hoop Collective crew debated the topic and re-drafted the league's best players from 1 to 21. If they could select any player on a four-year max contract, elite-level skill and the length of the star's prime window were high on the list.

Here is the discussion from Brian Windhorst, Tim MacMahon and Royce Young. You can watch the full re-draft on ESPN's YouTube page.

This transcript has been edited for clarity and length.

Windhorst: This is re-draft the NBA. And not for tomorrow's game. Like, if you're starting a franchise, then that's the guy that I want.

MacMahon: And we're doing this like fantasy? As a snake draft?

Windhorst: Right. Royce, you can go first.

Young: Well, I called dibs. I think it's a pretty easy pick. I think it's Giannis Antetokounmpo, right?

Windhorst: I don't think anybody's going to argue with that.

MacMahon: No, I mean when you're talking about age, talent --

Young: And upside, too. I mean, he's only going to get better. He's an MVP and he's going to get better.

MacMahon: Second pick. I would take Luka Doncic.

Young: Second?

Windhorst: Talk about living in Dallas.

MacMahon: Well look, obviously I'm looking for a guy who I think has about a 15-year window as an All Star, superstar and I believe in short order will be -- two or three years from now -- I think we're talking about an MVP candidate.

Windhorst: I agree with that. And in fact, the list that I have, I have nobody under the age of 20. So I'm pretty much knocking out a lot of the rookies. And I have nobody over 30.

Young: You have nobody over the age of 30?

Windhorst: Nobody over 30. If you're 29 today, you could be on my team. If you're 30, I don't want you. That's the way I'm going.

MacMahon: Yeah, I'm definitely erring on the side of youth and upside.

Windhorst: All right, so I'm going with Kawhi Leonard.

Young: He's about to turn 30.

Windhorst: Is he 30 right now?

Young: OK. Fits your criteria.

Windhorst: Next pick, I'll take James Harden.

MacMahon: So you were pushing up against your age limit on both these. And just to be clear, we're just kind of ranking the players in terms of who you'd want to build around.

Windhorst: Harden and Kawhi are kind of perfect because they're in their prime right now and then they've got some more time.

Young: Also players that should age well too, I would think. Especially Harden. I think he'll age well in the NBA.

MacMahon: I would go Anthony Davis. This is the guy where obviously the talent speaks for itself. And although he's been in the league for awhile, you look at the age, he is just starting his prime. So I would get the entire prime of a perennial All-NBA player.

Windhorst: You're going to sign him to a long-term contract? You're going to lock him down?

MacMahon: I'm like the Lakers: That would definitely be the preference.

Young: For my pick, he may not be popular with current players and popular with the rookie class, but he's popular with me because I'm taking Steph Curry. I know this violates the 30-year-old philosophy --

MacMahon: How much prime is left there?

Young: I think he's a player that will age very well. What do we always say ages well in the NBA? Shooting. And has he ever been a supreme athlete? He's somebody that you may have to hide a little bit more on the defensive end, but I actually had him No. 2 on my list.

Young: And for my next pick, another good guard that I think will age well: Damian Lillard. Shooting again. I've got a bias for shooting.

MacMahon: Yeah. You like the guys who pull up from 30.

Young: And a bias for Dame because he's one of my favorite players.

Windhorst: You were there when he waved away the Thunder.

Young: I saw it firsthand. I think he was actually waving at me and saying, 'I'll see you personally next round, Royce.'

MacMahon: And the rest of y'all go home.

MacMahon: I'm taking Nikola Jokic with Pick 8. A legitimate MVP candidate. Hasn't even hit his prime yet. I think there's still upside there.

Windhorst: You don't think he'll break down at all?

MacMahon: I'm gonna hire a good strength and conditioning director and we're going to get him in the best shape of his life. Which shouldn't be too difficult.

Windhorst: I'm taking Paul George at nine. In his prime, plays both ends of the court.

Young: Some injury concerns there.

Windhorst: There's a lot of guys who have injury concerns. Anthony Davis has injury concerns. I like guys who can play at both ends. That's why I took Kawhi. Maybe not so much with Harden.

Young: This is a case where everybody's got a different philosophy. You can look at it as 'am I trying to build a 10-year team, a 15-year team?' You can look at it as a three- or four- or five-year team. But this is why I'm not scared of 30-year-olds. Because in today's NBA, you're not going to have a guy for 10 years.

Windhorst: I know, but you might have a guy for five.

Young: Right. So if you get a guy from 30 to 35?

Windhorst: All right. My next pick is Klay Thompson. Again, I want guys who can play both ends of the court. I actually thought Klay was playing the best basketball of his career when he got hurt. And I expect him to have a full recovery. So I'm not taking old guys. I'm not taking rookies who I don't know yet. I don't think we've taken any rookies so far.

MacMahon: Oh, actually I'm going to take one now. I'm taking Zion Williamson.

Young: He's the one rookie you can justify, right?

MacMahon: I think what Zion has the potential to be is a hyper-athletic version of Draymond Green. I really see a guy who plays a lot of power forward, but some of his best minutes are going to be as a small-ball center. I mean, he is a dude who looks like a defensive end and is one of the most explosive athletes that we've ever seen.

Young: Breaking news: "Tim MacMahon says Zion Williamson has NBA potential."

MacMahon: And NFL potential. He looked like a left tackle at summer league.

Young: So I had this guy in front of Zion and I hesitated about it, but I've got Kevin Durant next. I understand the injury issue. Achilles is a scary thing.

Windhorst: It's awfully early in this draft to take a guy with a torn Achilles.

MacMahon: You just took a guy with a torn ACL!

Windhorst: Well, it's not the same thing, is it?

Young: I think there's an exception to the rule when it comes to Kevin Durant. He already battled against one career-threatening injury -- the Jones fracture that he experienced. That threatened his career. He came back better than he's ever been. Look, the Nets are clearly willing to take this gamble.

Windhorst: I understand why they're taking it. I wouldn't take it because he's over 30.

Young: If Kevin Durant can give me three years at his peak, I would be willing to risk it.

MacMahon: Well even if he's not at peak, 80% of Kevin Durant is still an All-NBA player.

Young: I hate who's next on my list. I've got LeBron James next. Again, I think that you're going to get three good years of LeBron left. And maybe I'm taking the wrong perspective in this draft, but if you give me three great years of LeBron ... is LeBron even on your lists?

Windhorst: No, he's over 30.

MacMahon: LeBron was on my list of the others getting consideration.

Windhorst: OK, that was the 13th pick. This'll be the 14th pick. So it's kind of the end of "the lottery." MacMahon?

MacMahon: Trust the process, baby.

Windhorst: Damn, I was going to take Joel Embiid. I'm a little bit surprised he goes in the lottery because of his injury history.

MacMahon: Again: young, already dominant, hasn't even hit his prime yet. Can he stay healthy during his prime? We'll see.

Windhorst: All right, so in that first 14, we only had one rookie in Zion.

Young: Aside from Luka, were there any second-year guys?

MacMahon: No, I'm surprised you didn't go Boomer Sooner. Trae Young. You guys went old.

Windhorst: Everyone I took was under 30!

MacMahon: You took guys who've been in the league a decade.

Windhorst: Yeah, well you win with men in this league, says Phil Jackson, and I agree with that.

MacMahon: Yeah? Well I'm trying to win for a decade and a half.

Windhorst: I'm trying to win today. I'm trying to win for the next four or five years and I went with men.

Young: Probably all those players you just drafted are going to demand a trade in two seasons and want to leave, so you aren't going to have them anyway.

Windhorst: All right, so 15th pick, I'm going Kyrie Irving.

Young: That feels a little high to me.

MacMahon: That feels ridiculously high to me based on talent, age and building a franchise around Kyrie. There's some risks there.

Windhorst: Well, I still think he's really valuable in the playoffs. I know that he didn't show that in last year's playoffs, but his resume in the playoffs is really good. Now, you're going to have to put a team around him to get him there. But, I mean, the list kind of gets a little tough from here. There's some hard calls from here going forward, especially if I'm sticking to guys in their 20s. I also think even though he's had injury issues, his prime years are ahead.

Windhorst: And then the next guy, Donovan Mitchell. Again, I'm focusing on going younger. He's going into his third year.

Young: This is a big year, though, for him because last year was a little down.

MacMahon: Right. And the foot injury lingered into the summer. He didn't get to work on his game all last summer.

Windhorst: He looks so much like Dwyane Wade to me. I know it's a cliche thing to say, but he's like Dwyane -- he's got a very big, strong lower body, so he moves side to side really, really well.

Young: He was so good in that playoff series against the Thunder (in 2018) and it was like we had anointed him the next star of the NBA. And so it was one of those things where he didn't really live up to it. He was good last season, but he didn't ascend into superstardom.

MacMahon: You know, honestly, he wouldn't be the first guy on the Jazz that I'd take. I'd take [Rudy] Gobert simply because you know you will be dominant on one end of the floor.

Windhorst: You've taken all centers.

Young: He has a bias for size.

MacMahon: We're not building a team here.

Windhorst: I know, but --

MacMahon: I'm taking centers in a league that's going away from centers, right?

Young: But they say that's a position that's dead in the NBA and here you're taking centers.

Windhorst: You took Embiid. You took Jokic -- I thought Jokic was a little high. And you just took Gobert.

MacMahon: And Zion's the small-ball center.

Windhorst: I don't know if he can play center.

MacMahon: I've got a love for big men.

Windhorst: Are we surprised we still haven't heard Russ' name?

Young: I've got him next on my list. I've got him in the 14, 15 range and that's where I'd go. But he's a complicated pick for a lot of different reasons. Obviously there's a health and injury issue and I talked about Steph Curry and Damian Lillard aging well in the NBA. Russell Westbrook is the flip side of this.

Windhorst: Like, to me, if you're asking me who I would rather take a guy to build a team for, I would rather take Kyrie even though Kyrie and Russell have both had a number of injuries. I think Kyrie's game will age better.

Young: What do you value if you're an NBA owner, or an executive? Russell Westbrook is going to field a competitive, exciting team. You're going to win 45 games with whomever you put around him. But can he be your best player on an NBA title team? I don't know about that. And honestly, we'll probably find that out this upcoming season.

MacMahon: But he won't be their best player.

Young: Right, exactly. Look, and if Russell Westbrook is your second-best player? We saw that with Kevin Durant and we saw it at points last year, too. When the Thunder were really good last year, Russell Westbrook was their second-best player.

Windhorst: All right, you're up again, Royce.

Young: I'm going to go Ben Simmons. He's a little bit of a complicated pick because of where the modern-day NBA sits. But this was a young player with upside.

Windhorst: This was what the Sixers had to be like, you know. They had to make a decision this year on an extension and they were like, 'Listen, we're going all-in on this guy.'

MacMahon: Well, another thing is Ben Simmons is also a potential trade asset. But despite the fact the guy can't shoot, there's not a whole lot of 6-10 guys with that physique, that athleticism and that vision. Like, zero.

Young: And to me, he has a significant flaw in his game that we all recognize. And he's still a dominant player. And so that speaks to how good he is at those other things. And yes, if he can round out the shooting, then we're talking about one of the top four or five players in the NBA, most likely.

Windhorst: All right, MacMahon.

MacMahon: Bradley Beal. For how good he is, I feel like he's an under-the-radar guy. To me, he's right there -- Beal, Donovan Mitchell, it's kind of neck and neck. Still young and a guy who is productive across the board. He's just on an irrelevant franchise right now. But, I mean, look at his numbers last year after John Wall went out. He was unbelievable.

Windhorst: All right, so I'm going to make the last pick. I've got a couple of different guys here.

Young: There's a lot of players on the board here still.

Windhorst: I'm not picking him, but we haven't heard Jimmy Butler's name. He just got a max contract.

Young: Blake Griffin, I assume you're not taking him?

Windhorst: Blake Griffin. Sorry, OU. If you had the last pick right now, who would you take?

Young: I think I have Karl Towns.

MacMahon: That's who I have, too, and I don't like it. I don't love him. Talent's obvious. But in terms of building a franchise around him ...

Young: It feels like at about 15, 17 -- once you get into that range -- the pool gets very muddy.

Windhorst: So, I like Pascal Siakam here. I know their team's not going to be as good, but I think he's going to blossom even more. I like De'Aaron Fox here a lot because I think De'Aaron Fox has the makeup of a guy who could be a star point guard in the league. I like Victor Oladipo here. Obviously, it's a major injury but again, two-way player in his prime. But I'm going to go with Jayson Tatum. I had been on Tatum after his rookie year and I was one of the people that got burned being a real big believer in him last year. And I potentially could be wrong about this. I think he just made a misstep last year. I think this guy is an absolute stud. I think his makeup is great.

Young: And judging a player after Year 2 is never a great idea.

MacMahon: And it's not like he fell off a cliff. You're just thinking that after that rookie year he's taking off and he just fell flat.

Young: And I don't know if you can really judge anybody based on last year's Celtics team.

MacMahon: Especially the young guys in such a chaotic situation.

Young: There's a lot of guys that you can look at their Year 2 and now we look at them differently. Victor Oladipo, for example.

Windhorst: All right. I'm done with this.

Watch the full re-draft on ESPN's YouTube page. Which players would you take to start an NBA franchise? Vote below.

Vote now: Rank the players you'd want to build a franchise around

CHICAGO -- The Minnesota Twins broke a major league record for most home runs on the road, getting back-to-back homers in the third inning Thursday for 140.

Jake Cave led off the third with a solo shot off Chicago White Sox right-hander Dylan Cease to give the AL Central leaders the record. That surpassed the 138 set by the San Francisco Giants in 2001.

C.J. Cron followed with a drive to center to give Minnesota 140 long balls on the road.

Cave homered again in the seventh inning with another solo blast to right field off of Hector Santiago.

The Twins have a major league-leading 261 home runs overall this season.

Sprinter’s representative seeks an expedited hearing ahead of Doha world championships and says Williams “bears no fault”

Jamaica’s double world under-20 sprint champion Briana Williams is facing a race against time to be considered for the IAAF World Championships in Doha after testing positive for the banned diuretic hydrochlorothiazide.

According to Jamaican newspaper The Gleaner, her representative Dr Emir Crowne “confirmed earlier Gleaner reports that the substance was contained, but not listed as an active ingredient, in an over-the-counter cold-and-flu medication that was given to her by a close relative and that she had declared on her doping control form while being tested by Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) officials”.

The 17-year-old Williams, who is coached by former world champion and multiple Olympic medallist Ato Boldon, reportedly tested positive at the Jamaican Championships in June, where she clocked a world under-18 best of 10.94 to finish third in the 100m to put her well in the running for a place on the team for Doha.

Crowne is ­hoping that any hearing on the case will be expedited, with the Jamaican world championships team set to be named on September 6.

“Our primary position will be that Ms Williams bears no fault in the circumstances and there should be no sanctions levied against her,” Crowne is reported to have told The Gleaner.

Norwegian goes to No.2 on world 400m hurdles all-time list as 16 Diamond League champions are crowned at Weltklasse meet

The world 400m hurdles all-time list was rewritten on Thursday evening in Zurich as a thrilling night of IAAF Diamond League finals action came to a close with an historic men’s 400m hurdles clash.

The head-to-head between Karsten Warholm and Rai Benjamin didn’t disappoint as in an incredible battle the pair pushed each other to second and third respectively on the global all-time rankings, both dipping inside 47 seconds – not surprisingly the first time that has ever happened in one race.

World champion Warholm threw his right arm out to help propel him over the line, clocking 46.92 to become the No.2 in history behind Kevin Young with 46.78 from 1992, while Benjamin’s 46.98 improves on his previous best of 47.02 as he remained equal third on the all-time list but with a lifetime best 0.04 quicker.

Benjamin’s time matches Abderrahman Samba’s mark from Paris last year.

“It was crazy,” said Warholm, whose previous European record was 47.12.

“I knew that I would do a good time but this race and with this new PB, it’s just amazing and still the best will come.

“In a way, I’d like to say goodbye and see you next season but it’s the World Champs, the biggest thing this year.

“This race was so close, it could have gone both ways. I push him (Benjamin) and he pushes me. It’s amazing.”

More than a second and a half behind the top two, Kyron McMaster was third in 48.58, with Yasmani Copello fourth in 48.58.

THAT WAS ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE.

Karsten Warholm clocks the second-fastest time in HISTORY pic.twitter.com/uIVJ1VrAIF

— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) August 29, 2019

There was no such head-to-head battle in the women’s race as 20-year-old Sydney McLaughlin secured a big win, clocking 52.85 to lead a US top three. Behind her, Shamier Little was second in 53.86 and world record-holder Dalilah Muhammad third in 54.13.

McLaughlin’s time is the second-fastest this year behind Muhammad’s record 52.20.

There are reports that a request for an Olympic schedule change to allow for a women’s 200m and 400m double in Tokyo is under review and should it be accepted, Shaunae Miller-Uibo would be favourite to do the double.

Another superb run saw the Olympic 400m champion power down the home straight and clock 21.74 to take the 200m title ahead of Britain’s triple European champion Dina Asher-Smith, who got a strong start and finished second in a season’s best and UK lead of 22.08.

Double Olympic champion Elaine Thompson was third with 22.44 and world champion Dafne Schippers fourth with 22.46.

Noah Lyles also continued his winning ways, getting the 100m title in 9.98 after his 200m Paris win.

Xie Zhenye was second in 10.04 and Yohan Blake third, as Justin Gatlin was fourth and Brits Zharnel Hughes and Adam Gemili sixth and seventh, both clocking 10.15.

An exciting 800m saw another US victory as Donavan Brazier blazed down the home straight to overpower an unsurprisingly tiring Nijel Amos.

After the pacer went through 400m in 48.23, Amos went on to clock 1:14.43 through 600m – which is 1:39 pace – but as he battled to hang on, Brazier came from a way back, judging his race to perfection to surge off the bend and win in a PB of 1:42.70 for a mark just a tenth of a second off Johnny Gray’s American record, which has stood since 1985.

Amos was second in 1:42.98 and Brandon McBride third in 1:43.51.

World cross country champion Joshua Cheptegei solo ran his way to victory in the last Diamond League 5000m, running a PB of 12:57.41 and holding off Hagos Gebrhiwet with 12:58.15. British champion Andrew Butchart was 11th in 13:24.46.

World indoor champion Juan Miguel Echevarría leapt out to 8.65m in the very first round of the long jump and didn’t need to record anything else to take a big win ahead of Ruswahl Samaai and Tajay Gayle, both with 8.20m

Shanieka Ricketts won the triple jump trophy thanks to her PB of 14.93m to beat Yulimar Rojas with 14.74m, while Sam Kendricks cleared 5.93m to win the pole vault ahead of Mondo Duplantis with 5.83m.

There was a dominant victory by world silver medallist Salwa Eid Naser in the first Diamond League track event of the evening. She clocked 50.24 to win the 400m and retain her trophy, with Shakima Wimbley almost a second back in 51.21 for the runner-up spot. British champion Laviai Nielsen finished fifth in 51.70.

Beatrice Chepkoech also retained her title, winning the 3000m steeplechase in 9:01.71 and leading a Kenyan top four. Gesa-Felicitas Krause ran a German record of 9:07.51 in fifth, while world champion Emma Coburn was sixth in 9:10.01.

Another impressive run by Sifan Hassan saw her power away in the closing stages to clock 3:57.08 and win the 1500m as multiple global gold medallist Genzebe Dibaba faded to fourth.

Konstanze Klosterhalfen was second in 3:59.02, while Gabriela DeBues-Stafford – who is a training partner of British record-holder Laura Muir – placed third in a Canadian record of 3:59.59

Jemma Reekie, who also trains with Muir and DeBues-Stafford, was 11th in 4:05.34 and Eilish McColgan was 12th in 4:08.61 after her British 5000m win at the weekend.

Gong Lijiao won the shot put with a world lead and meeting record throw of 20.31m.

Andriy Protsenko cleared 2.32m to win the high jump, with reigning world champion Mutaz Essa Barshim clearing a best of 2.20m as he continues his comeback after injury, while Lyu Huihui took the women’s javelin title with a throw of 66.88m and Magnus Kirt the men’s with 89.13m.

A non-Diamond League 110m hurdles was won by Pascal Martinot-Lagarde in 13.51 ahead of Brits David King (13.58) and Cameron Fillery (13.74).

Results can be found here.

DEARBORN, Mich. – Ford will honor the late Glenn Wood, Wood Brothers Racing’s patriarch and NASCAR Hall of Famer, with a special tribute paint scheme on the No. 21 Ford Mustang this week at Darlington Raceway.

The paint scheme will cap a weekend of Ford activities. A special Wood Brothers documentary will air on 6 p.m. ET Friday and 4 p.m. ET Sunday on NBCSN. On Sunday, Edsel B. Ford II, his sons Henry III and Albert, NASCAR Hall of Famer Leonard Wood, who has been with the team since its inception, and team co-owner Eddie Wood will make a parade lap in Ford vehicles before the green flag drops. Edsel Ford will drive the Ford Mustang GT500 pace car, while his sons and Leonard will drive four fan-chosen vintage Mustangs.

“The relationship that’s developed between the Wood Brothers and Ford through the years is so important to us,” said Jasmine Pendleton, Marketing Manager, FCSD. “We wanted to make sure we honored Glenn in an appropriate manner when the time was right, and with all the success he had at Darlington it just made sense for us to do this as part of the throwback weekend.”

Wood Brothers Racing, which originated in Stuart, Va. was founded by Glenn and aided by his brother Leonard, in 1950. Glenn’s sons, Eddie and Len, along with daughter Kim, have led the team since the 1980s. Together they have combined to produce 99 wins over seven decades. Paul Menard is the current driver of the No. 21 Ford Mustang – one of many great names who have been in the seat.

The inspiration for this tribute paint scheme is the 1957 Ford Sunliner Glenn raced – a car that was used by Ford Motor Company for endurance testing and destined to be scrapped. The success of the car set Wood Brothers Racing off on the path that now sees it as the longest active race team in NASCAR.

“It means a lot to me, obviously, because it’s honoring our Dad. I was five years old during the convertible days, when they raced that car, so it means a lot to see us race in the same colors now,” Eddie Wood said. “That car was special to our Dad and Leonard because they had a lot of success there and that’s what got them started where we are now.”

INDIANAPOLIS – The 500 Festival and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing will support Dillon Welch during the upcoming BC39 USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Series event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Sept. 4-5..

Through the partnership with the 500 Festival and DRR, the No. 81 Tucker-Boat Motorsports Toyota-powered midget car  will feature branding of the 500 Festival’s mini-mini kids’ run that will take place Oct. 5, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The mini-mini provides a unique opportunity for kids ages 5-12 to run or walk in one of four different race distances that take place at the world-famous Yard of Bricks.

The mini-mini event logo and a tag line, “Kids Run Here,” will be featured on Welch’s No. 81 Tucker-Boat Motorsports Toyota-powered midget car at the BC39 USAC event.  The mini-mini event logo and tag line was previously featured on both Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Indy cars for the 103rd running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, where Sage Karam and J.R. Hildebrand also served as spokespersons and ambassadors for the mini-mini. Additionally, DRR team owner, Dennis Reinbold, served as a 500 Festival board director from 2002-2008.

Welch currently lives in Charlotte, N.C., but was born and raised in Carmel, Ind. He graduated from Ball State University where he won two regional Emmy awards and worked numerous Ball State sporting events in the production truck as well as broadcasting. Welch began racing at age seven and still continues to combine his broadcasting career and racing. Welch is a member of the NBC Sports television announcer crew for the NTT IndyCar Series, the Motor Racing Network radio announcer crew and is co-host of the popular “Rip the Fence” motorsports podcast.

Dillon competed in the inaugural BC39 midget event at IMS in 2018 where he qualified for the 39-lap main event. Earlier this year at Tulsa, Okla., Welch finished seventh in the Chili Bowl Nationals, the largest midget car racing event in the world with more than 350 entries from 33 states.

“We are excited to be a part of this great dirt track event at IMS and to partner again with DRR to promote the mini-mini where kids can finish their own race at the legendary yard of bricks on Oct. 5,” said Bob Bryant, president and CEO of the 500 Festival. “We enjoyed a great month of May with the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing team in this year’s Indy 500 and we wish Dillon the best in his racing events at the BC39 races.”

“Dreyer & Reinbold Racing is invested in the Indianapolis community. We teamed with the 500 Festival in May to promote the mini-mini with our two DRR cars in the Indy 500,” said Dennis Reinbold, DRR team owner and Indianapolis businessman. “Now, we wanted to assist Dillon in his quest to compete in the popular BC39 midget races at IMS. The BC39 event gives us the opportunity to provide awareness for programs that meaningfully engage the youth throughout the state of Indiana.”

“I am so excited to represent the 500 Festival and their outstanding mini-mini kids run,” said Welch. “Growing up in the Indianapolis area, I know the importance of the 500 Festival and what it has meant to the city of Indy and the state of Indiana. They have been an important part of the community beyond the month of May in Indianapolis for decades. It is wonderful to be associated with a great organization such as Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. I want to thank everyone involved in the 500 Festival mini-mini at IMS on Oct. 5.”

Real Madrid will face Paris Saint-Germain while defending champions Liverpool have been paired with Napoli, Salzburg and Genk in the Champions League group stage this season.

Madrid eliminated the Parisians in the round of 16 in the 2017-18 edition of the competition and have been linked to PSG's biggest stars -- Neymar and Kylian Mbappe -- in recent years.

Madrid and PSG are joined in Group A by Club Brugge and Galatasaray. The previous two times Los Blancos were placed in the group -- in 2002 and 2016 -- they won the competition.

Liverpool, who were drawn in Group E, were matched with Napoli at the same stage last season, with the teams splitting 1-0 victories at home.

Group A: PSG, Real Madrid, Club Brugge, Galatasaray

Group B: Bayern Munich, Tottenham, Olympiakos, Red Star Belgrade

Group C: Manchester City, Shakhtar Donetsk, GNK Dinamo, Atalanta

Group D: Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Lokomotiv Moscow

Group E: Liverpool, Napoli, Salzburg, Genk

Group F: Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan, Slavia Prague

Group G: Zenit, Benfica, Lyon, RB Leipzig

Group H: Chelsea, Ajax, Valencia, Lille

Ever since his infamous "seagulls and trawler" speech, delivered in 1995 after he was banned from football for nine months, Eric Cantona has been known to be good for a quote.

So it was that, upon receiving the UEFA President's Award from Aleksander Ceferin at Thursday's Champions League group-stage draw, the former Manchester United forward delivered -- how can we best describe it? -- an "idiosyncratic" acceptance speech.

Wins the 2019 UEFA President's Award... Gives bizarre cryptic speech to confuse everyone in attendance.

Eric Cantona, ladies and gentlemen ? pic.twitter.com/qNgZB0cFoW

— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) August 29, 2019

"Soon the science will not only be able to slow down the ageing of the cells, soon the science will fix the cells to the state and so we will become eternal. Only accidents, crimes, wars will still kill us but unfortunately crimes and wars will multiply. I love football. Thank you."

We'll be honest and say we are not sure what exactly the great man meant, but the good news is that Cantona still loves the sport that he illuminated as a player!

Two months after announcing his retirement amid high drama, Ambati Rayudu had made a giant U-turn. According to the Hindu, the 33-year old batsman has sent an email to the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) saying his decision to retire was an "emotional one" and that he was "willing to play in all formats of the game" again.

On their part, the HCA want Rayudu to groom the next generation of Hyderabad batsmen, with chief selector Noel David going as far as saying "he has at least five years of cricket" left in him.

"I want to take this opportunity to thank Chennai Super Kings, VVS Laxman and Noel David, who have been very supportive during the tough time and are instrumental in making me realise that I have enough cricket left in me," Rayudu wrote in an email to Prof Ratnakar Shetty, a member of the Committee of Administrators currently overseeing affairs of the HCA.

"I am looking forward to a wonderful season ahead with a very talented Hyderabad team and help the team realise its full potential. I will be available from September 10 to join the Hyderabad team."

Rayudu sent out mixed signals last week when he stated his desire to play in the IPL. He is presently contracted to Chennai Super Kings. He has featured in a number of matches for Grand Slam CC in the TNCA League in Chennai.

"It is great news for us. I still believe he still has five years of cricket and groom youngsters which is more important for us. Last year without him, we struggled in Ranji Trophy," David said. "Rayudu's class and experience will prove to be very handy for Hyderabad and will surely have a major positive influence on the other players as he will be playing in all the formats.

"Hopefully he carries on the good work and leads from the front and I am confident of Rayudu getting support from all quarters."

Rayudu announced his retirement after he wasn't chosen as a replacement for the injured Shikhar Dhawan despite being named one of five stand-bys for the World Cup. He also courted controversy for a not-so-cryptic "3D" tweet aimed at chief selector MSK Prasad who had said that Vijay Shankar - the player ostensibly picked over Rayudu in the initial 15 - had three dimensions to his game, capable of contributing with bat, ball and in the field

Last year, Rayudu announced his retirement from first-class cricket to focus on his limited-overs career with the World Cup in mind. He played the last of his 97 first-class games in November 2017. Hyderabad finished seventh in Group B in the 2018-19 Ranji Trophy season.

WILLIAMSBURG, Ohio – Effective immediately, Moler Raceway Park is now operating under the direction of Robert and Joey Starett along with Blake and Mariah Naylor.

They have reached an agreement with Brad McCown and Kim Moler to take over operations at the southwest-Ohio, dirt oval.

“We just want to give the local drivers a facility, where they are proud to race on a weekly basis,” said Blake Naylor, who is the track’s new Director of Operations. “Our team likes to live our life based upon the concept of, ‘Do more than required when less will get the job done’. We are extremely grateful for this opportunity to be in a position to make our mark on the racing world.”

Naylor has a background in the racing world as a driver in divisions ranging from Go Karts to Chevettes and most recently super late models. As he moves into his new role at the facility, he will be putting his racing career on hold in an effort to place all of his focus on helping MRP succeed. His wife Mariah is also a key member of the new staff. She is heading the concession stand effort, while also providing additional help wherever needed.

Meanwhile, Robert Starett recently ventured into the super late model division. When not at the track he and his wife Joey own AirMax, a heating and air conditioning company. The husband-and-wife duo also enjoy spending time with their children and grandchildren as well as their horses.

Naylor, who lives just a few minutes from the facility, made his debut in his new role back on Aug. 16 during the Ike Moler Memorial. He also oversaw operations during last Sunday night’s “Back to School” program.

“Moler Raceway Park is a place that has thrived in the past, and our staff knows that with a lot of hard work that we can get it back to its full potential,” Naylor commented. “I want to thank Brad [McCown] and Kim Moler for all of their help in this transition. They’ve been great to work with. Last but not least, I want to thank all of the fans and racers, who believe in us and our vision for MRP. There’s some really great things in the works.”

The staff is currently in the process of adding more dates to the remainder of the 2019 schedule. On Sept. 13 a racing program has been added, which will include late models, sports mods, compacts and mini sprints. An additional date is being scheduled for Sept. 20. On this night late models, crate late models, modifieds and sport mods will share the spotlight.

“We’ve had to shuffle some dates to avoid scheduling conflicts with neighboring tracks, but we still plan to race at least a few more times this season,” Naylor revealed. “We have some major improvements planned for the facility in the offseason, and in the near future we’ll also be working with race teams, who would like to do private testing at the track.”