NEW YORK -- The run has been historic, though with an under-the-radar feel to it. Perhaps it's because he has given up a few home runs in between the pinpoint command. Either way, the performance Chicago Cubs righty Yu Darvish is putting on right now should vault him near the top for the National League's Comeback Player of the Year Award. He has been that good.

And now Darvish will be called upon to be the team's stopper as the Cubs hit New York after a stunning home sweep at the hands of the Washington Nationals.

Consider this: Darvish is the first pitcher since at least 1893 to strike out eight or more batters, without issuing a walk, in five consecutive starts. And if he gets through the first inning without giving up a free pass to the Mets on Tuesday night, he'll own the longest MLB walkless streak of the season.

"He just has incredible command over a variety of pitches," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said when asked what's responsible for the streak. "I don't know if I've ever witnessed -- we saw Jake Arrieta -- I'm talking about just purely commanding a baseball and being inventive.

"He was throwing a knuckle curve [Wednesday] night. He felt it in the bullpen and broke it out in the game. And it was great. He's able to manipulate his hand and his arm in ways most guys cannot. He's just a different level of talent. That's why."

It's high praise around Chicago to invoke Arrieta's name in comparison to anyone, considering the former Cubs hurler's success. But when you go 31⅓ innings pitched without walking anyone, while striking out 46, you deserve the kind of praise Darvish is garnering.

Even more intriguing is the dramatic difference in his results within this season.

On May 9, after eight starts, Darvish led the league in walks with 33, as his fastball was nonexistent. It got hit or couldn't find the strike zone. But a confidence boost came a couple of months into the season, when Darvish's mind freed up.

The pain in his elbow, which ended last season prematurely for him, had been gone since offseason surgery. But the doubt in his mind about that pain lingered; as soon as he realized it wasn't returning, his fastball took off -- and so did his game. The Cubs paint a picture of a pitcher so locked into his craft, it's almost scary.

"His routine has gone to the next level," Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy said. "His four-day prep, from what he eats, to when he works out, how he works out, what he does in the bullpen, the visualization stuff the day before he starts, going over the lineup, it's all come together. The routine has been huge, plus the confidence he's showing."

The results, particularly with his fastball, have been night and day. Hottovy points to early June when things began to change. In his first 13 starts, Darvish was in the strike zone with his fastball 49% of the time. In his past 13, it's up to 57%. His strike percentage went from 56% to 70%.

Perhaps most compelling is Darvish's chase rate. That also saw a huge jump, from 21% in his first 13 starts to 32% in his past 13. The more strikes he has thrown with his fastball, the more opposing hitters have been willing to chase his array of off-speed pitches, which now features a devastating split-finger.

"We all know he can spin the baseball and do what he wants to do with it, but the fastball, early in the season, wasn't quite there," Hottovy opined. "He was searching for that command."

Darvish has found that command -- and then some. All it took was some confidence. Confidence the pain wouldn't return while using the correct mechanics, as well as confidence just to throw the fastball. In fact, some believe he isn't throwing it enough.

Darvish is feeling so good right now, he is not shy in defending himself. A recent Twitter exchange with a Chicago media member about his pitch selection after his most recent start -- Darvish gave up four home runs -- would never have happened in the past.

Not including tonight's game.
Against lefty after two strilke.
Off speed pitch .137AVG .205OBP .222SLG .427OPS
4 seam .350AVG .435OBP .650SLG .1085OPS

Which one is better choice? https://t.co/gJQRZiMbJD

— ダルビッシュ有(Yu Darvish) (@faridyu) August 22, 2019

Unlike many social media interactions, this one wasn't full of insults and accusations. Darvish simply stated the facts as he sees them. He didn't get defensive; that's a sign of someone comfortable in his own skin, according to his pitching coach.

"He's intelligent and knows how to find data on his own," Hottovy said of the twitter exchange. "He knows what he wants to do and knows how to read the reports on his own. He comes to the meetings as prepared as anyone. He's just locked in."

It has all paid off with a strike percentage that has jumped to an eye-popping 72% over his past five starts, while hitters are chasing at 38%. The ability to get hitters out inside and outside of the zone has finally become elite for Darvish as a Cub. The team desperately needs him to continue on the same path -- while reducing some home run totals -- if it wants to make the postseason. The Cubs need him that much.

"The biggest moment for me this year, it came in early July; he just started to understand what we meant by the way we were talking regarding certain pitches in certain situations," Hottovy explained. "He's understanding swing paths and what guys want to do with him. He can counteract that.

"I don't know if he trusted the process enough and his ability enough to do what we asked before. Now he does."

Organisers mark milestone by unveiling the design of the world championships medals, which pay homage to the Qatari capital

The medals for which thousands of athletes will compete have been revealed with exactly one month to go until the IAAF World Championships in Doha.

Paying homage to the Qatari capital, the gold, silver and bronze medals were designed by an all-female team and showcase the Doha skyline, which will be the backdrop of the marathon and race walk events. There are also illustrations of the iconic Khalifa International Stadium, which will host the championships as the event heads to the Middle East for the first time, with 13 different elements of athletics disciplines also weaved into the design.

More than 2000 of the world’s top athletes will be competing for the 192 medals on offer across 49 finals during the 10-day competition, which gets under way on Friday September 27.

“A medal is the symbol of excellence in our sport,” said IAAF president Sebastian Coe.

“It represents all the years of sweat, striving and persistence required to succeed in athletics at the highest level, so the design of the medals must be as special as the achievement in winning them.

“Our local organising committee in Doha has done a brilliant job in creating medals that our athletes will be proud to receive as a permanent keepsake of their moment of glory. I’d like to have one myself, so I may have to come out of retirement.”

Speaking on the final preparations and medals for the championships, Sheikha Asma Al Thani, director of marketing and communications for the local organising committee, said: “Having designs on the medals which showcase Qatar is a special occasion for the country, as so many people throughout Doha have played a vital role in delivering the competition.

“A gold medal will naturally take pride of place in an athlete’s collection and they will be reminded of the competition being held in the Middle East forever.

“The whole of Qatar is excited to welcome the world’s best athletes and we look forward to celebrating the successes of all those competing and those iconic moments at the finish lines and on the podiums.”

The first medals will be won just hours after the championships begin on day one, with the midnight marathon taking place along Doha’s Corniche.

The marathon and race walk events are free to attend, while tickets to track and field action at the Khalifa International Stadium are available at iaafworldathleticschamps.com/doha2019

Tickets will also give spectators access to the World Athletics Village outside the stadium where a whole host of international cuisines will be available to celebrate the global event, along with live entertainment and competitions.

Athletics Integrity Unit announces that the 2015 world 800m champion has tested positive for a prohibited substance

Belarusian middle-distance runner Marina Arzamasova has been provisionally suspended after testing positive for a banned substance, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has announced.

Arzamasova won the world 800m title in Beijing in 2015 and European gold the year before (pictured), finishing ahead of Britain’s Lynsey Sharp in Zurich.

The AIU states that one of Arzamasova’s samples showed the presence of ‘LGD-4033’, which, according to ScienceScape, is “mostly known for its muscle mass increasing properties that actually don’t come with the common steroidal side effects”.

The AIU confirms a Provisional Suspension against Belarusian middle-distance runner Marina Arzamasova for a violation of the @iaaforg Anti-Doping Rules.
Find out more ➡ https://t.co/opInfkVlnV#CleanSport #AIUNews pic.twitter.com/rAa56D1tDX

— Athletics Integrity Unit (@aiu_athletics) August 27, 2019

The status of the case is that notice of the allegation has been issued.

“The AIU confirms a Provisional Suspension against Belarusian middle-distance runner Marina Arzamasova for a violation of the IAAF Anti-Doping Rules,” reads a tweet from the Athletics Integrity Unit.

Arzamasova has an 800m PB of 1:57.54 set in Beijing four years ago, while her best in 2019 is 2:02.51 from July.

VINTON, Iowa – Veteran Matt Ryan and newcomer Cory Dumpert will reign as national champi­ons in the IMCA Late Model division.

Both finished the 2019 IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing point season with 594 points and 10 40-point feature wins.

“This was an extraordinary season in terms of growth of our Late Model division, both in the num­ber of licensed drivers and the number of sanctioned race tracks,” IMCA President Brett Root said. “It is only fitting that the national title chase ends shared by drivers from areas with established tracks and with newly-sanctioned tracks.”

“Both drivers,” he added, “deserve all the recognition they receive.”

Ryan, from Davenport, Iowa, and Dumpert, from York, Neb., will both receive $5,000 shares of the national divisional point fund.

Ryan has been runner-up in the national points race in three of the past four years. Now a three-time E3 Spark Plugs Illinois State champion, he has 57 wins over the course of his career, 16th on the all-time list for the division.

The national rookie of the year, Dumpert also has a championship from his home state to show for his first IMCA season.

Defending national champion Jeremiah Hurst, 1987 national champion Jeff Aikey and four-time king Justin Kay followed Ryan and Dumpert in the points race.

Barcelona representatives travelled to Paris on Tuesday to make a third offer for Neymar after seeing their first two rejected by Paris Saint-Germain, sources have told ESPN FC.

Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu met with his board on Monday to work on a new formula which they hope PSG will accept.

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Directors Javier Bordas and Andre Cury and Neymar's friend Alvaro Costa have flown to France to table that offer to the Ligue 1 club. Barca thought about including Ousmane Dembele as a makeweight in the transfer but sources have told ESPN FC the club are now unlikely to include any players in the deal.

The Spanish champions will instead make a renewed offer to bring Neymar back to Camp Nou on loan with an option to make the move permanent next summer. The deal, in total, would be worth around €170m to PSG, who signed the Brazilian for €222m from Barca in 2017.

PSG rejected a first offer which included Philippe Coutinho, Ivan Rakitic and €80m and then dismissed their first request to take him on loan this season ahead of a permanent move next summer.

Coutinho, a player who PSG would have been open to receiving in exchange, has since joined Bayern Munich. The French club are keen for the saga to come to an end as soon as possible, despite the fact the transfer window remains open until Sept. 2.

With Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani both facing around a month on the sidelines, they need to know if they will be able to count on Neymar this season -- or whether they will have to turn the transfer market to replace him and strengthen their attack.

There is also interest in Neymar from Real Madrid and Juventus, although neither club has yet made an official bid. Neymar has told PSG that he wants to leave this summer and the Ligue 1 side want to recoup a majority of the fee they paid two years ago.

Sources have told ESPN FC they believe the French club are in a strong position to negotiate because it was never their intention to sell a player who is under contract until the summer of 2022.

If no satisfactory offer arrives, they will look to reintegrate Neymar into the first team. He has not played since injuring his ankle in Brazil's Copa America warm up against Qatar at the start of June.

Ben Stokes's incredible unbeaten 135 and match haul of four wickets at Headingley have pitched him up 13 places to No. 13 in the rankings for batsmen and No. 2 for allrounders, while Jasprit Bumrah's remarkable 5 for 7 in North Sound have put him in the bowlers' top ten.

Both are career-best numbers for Stokes, though, technically, he was at No. 12 among batsmen on the day the Headingley Test ended, but slipped down one spot when the rankings were updated following the end of the P Sara Oval Test between Sri Lanka and New Zealand, when Tom Latham moved up eight spots to eighth place as a result of his 154 in his team's only innings.

Virat Kohli continued to top the batsmen's chart, but the gap between him and Steven Smith, who missed the third Test because of concussion-related issues, stood at just six points.

Of the other batsmen in action in the three Tests, Kane Williamson (No. 3), Cheteshwar Pujara (No. 4) and Henry Nicholls (No. 5) held on to their spots, while Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne (up to No. 6), Joe Root (up to No. 7) and Ajinkya Rahane (up to No. 11) moved up within the top 15.

In the allrounders' list, Jason Holder remained at the top, with Stokes now 22 points behind him in second place, having pushed down Shakib Al Hasan, Ravindra Jadeja and Pat Cummins on his way up.

Cummins, however, was still the top bowler, while along with Bumrah, who climbed nine spots, Trent Boult, Kemar Roach, Josh Hazlewood and Ishant Sharma also moved up, while Jofra Archer continued his astounding rise, his six wickets at Headingley giving him a 40-place jump to 43rd after just two Test appearances.

Bumrah's seventh position came with a career-high rating of 774 points, while Roach moved up three spots to eighth position, Hazlewood three spots to No. 12 and Ishant, with a career-high 671 points, to 21st.

First impressions can be misleading, but, as Liverpool maintains a 100% record -- with Manchester City hot on their heels -- there may already be some heavy hints about how this season might develop. Interestingly, all three promoted clubs have already recorded a win, and it does not look as if there are any complete "no-hopers" this season, suggesting a mighty close battle to avoid the drop with possibly 10 teams involved. Here's my early club-by-club look at the Premier League.

Arsenal: Defeat at Anfield was a predictable reality check, but the Gunners have bought well during the summer transfer window and carry enough threat to make the top four despite a still-suspect defence.

Aston Villa: The win over Everton will give them real confidence. They've shown enough to believe they can hold their own after promotion to the Premier League.

Bournemouth: Form has been mixed, but the Cherries look to have enough quality players, including Callum Wilson and David Brooks, to stay clear of relegation again.

Brighton: Florin Andone's horrendous red-card challenge cost them a home defeat to Southampton, spoiling an encouraging start for new manager Graham Potter. I think it might still be a close call for them this season.

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Burnley: Spirit, determination, organisation and with the underrated threat of Ashley Barnes. Nobody's pushovers.

Chelsea: A much-needed first win for Frank Lampard at Norwich. Refreshing to see homegrown kids like Mason Mount starring, but they miss Eden Hazard and have not been that convincing yet, and they are especially vulnerable to counters.

Crystal Palace: Their win at Old Trafford is a reminder of how dangerous Roy Hodgson's team are away from home.

Everton: Poor, bland and wasteful in defeat at Aston Villa. Looks like scoring goals will be a big issue for Marco Silva's team. Only one so far.

Leicester City: Full of flair at times with James Maddison pulling the strings, but doubts over a defence missing Harry Maguire. That might scupper top-six chances.

Liverpool: Jurgen Klopp's "mentality monsters" keep winning without yet hitting top gear. They will take a fair bit of stopping.

Manchester City: No sign of the Rolls-Royce stalling. Winning with plenty to spare. The draw with Tottenham was a freak result. Pep Guardiola & Co. are worthy favourites to win the Premier League for a third straight time.

Manchester United: Look a bit better than last season with Harry Maguire calming the defence, but a home defeat to Crystal Palace suggests old frailties are still there. Finishing in the top four would be a success.

Newcastle United: After so much negativity, the shock win at Spurs was built on heroic defensive resolve. A sign that manager Steve Bruce might be starting to get a better tune from a previously off-key squad.

Norwich City: They've scored six goals in their first three games -- five of them from Teemu Pukki. That's grounds for quiet optimism despite a shaky defence.

Sheffield United: Will be happy enough with four points from their first three games. Hard-working and difficult to play against, but probably in a season-long relegation fight.

Southampton: Needed their first win of the season to calm nerves, but it was against a 10-man Brighton. Probable bottom-half toilers.

Tottenham Hotspur: Lost 13 times last season, so the shock home defeat to Newcastle was alarming. Had 80% possession, yet only two shots on target. Spurs are talented, but they slip up too often.

Watford: Bottom of the table, on a long losing streak and woefully out of form. Manager Javi Gracia is walking a tightrope.

West Ham: Recovering well from a 5-0 first-day drubbing from Manchester City. New striker Sebastien Haller from Eintracht Frankfurt could become a Hammers cult hero.

Wolves: Early-season focus has been on ensuring qualification for the Europa League group stages, and that might be affecting league form.

The last time an Australian Test tour took on the trajectory of the current Ashes series, starting with a victory before beginning to fall away, the response of a tiring and weakening team desperate for victory was to resort to the infamous, obvious cheating of Newlands.

With pressure compounding fatigue, a performance culture wearing away at weary minds and bodies, and anger at how circumstances and failings had conspired against them, that Australian team lost its way in the most awful and spectacular manner, while the rest of the world took the opportunity to raise a host of accumulated grievances.

Australia's current captain Tim Paine and vice-captain Pat Cummins were both part of that group, and in the deep anguish and frustration of Headingley, Ben Stokes' heroics and all, there was acknowledgement from that this time around, a different and better path must be taken. And that, for all of the difficulties of the past 18 months, there are now far more members of the team able to step away from events in the middle and remind everyone that this is, after all, a game.

"Someone like Matt Wade, he's been out of the side for two years and one of the first things he said this morning [before the final day] was, 'if we win or if we lose, you turn up on the building site and no one knows'," Cummins said. "So I think it's a good reminder that it's not the be all and end all. One lesson we learnt from Lord's probably on that night where we were really close to ripping the game open, we got really emotional and almost just wanted it too much, so I was really proud how everyone stayed quite level this game.

"When we bowled them out for 67 or they got a partnership we were quite even. I think it's the sign of a pretty confident squad. Painey's been brilliant. He walked straight into the change room and said it's one-all, it's all good, two more matches to go. Bowlers, him as a captain, everyone makes decisions and you reflect after the game and think, what could I have done differently?

"When you look at it - a couple of catches, maybe a run out, but when a batsman comes out and scores a hundred like that, hitting sixes from an offspinner out of the rough so cleanly, you've just got to say well done. Someone's had a day out, we'll be right."

Marshalling the bowlers, Cummins agreed that there were a few moments to ponder. Not least some profligate bowling with the second new ball, having imposed enormous pressure on England for over after over leading up to it. "That was one thing we spoke about was with the new ball," he said. "Obviously you feel like you're more in the game with wickets but that wicket almost felt like a one-day wicket or an Indian wicket where with the new ball it's a double-edged sword.

"If you're not absolutely perfect you can go for runs and I think if we reflect on that half-an-hour, they might have got 30 or 40 runs pretty quickly. But other than that I thought we were brilliant. We'll have a look at that but the second new ball sometimes is a different ball game to the first new ball.

"I think the most pleasing thing for us, one, we bowled really well, but as you said I feel like we've got really good plans and processes to all of them. Ben Stokes obviously had a day out today and was probably playing more like one-day cricket towards the end there but we saw yesterday they batted for 70 overs and kept them to two runs an over and always felt like we were in the game. All three games we've been in a match-winning position so we know how to do 99 per cent of it. Hopefully we can get over the line in the next one."

The approach taken by Paine to spread the field for Stokes all the way through his match-winning 76-run stand with the last man Jack Leach (contribution: one run) has been a source of some consternation in the wake of defeat. Paine has admitted that he should at least have spoken more with the bowlers about maintaining attacking lines and lengths with that field, rather than taking it as a sign to effectively put the cue in the rack against Stokes and only try to dismiss Leach. Cummins admitted that such fields tended to put any bowler into white-ball mode.

"Unfortunately yeah it is [like one-day cricket]," he said. "When the wicket's like that and the ball's still hard, it didn't feel like it was going to swing or seam so as a bowler your options are you're hopefully going to still snick him off so you've got the slips out there but other than that just trying to limit the damage. He's faced almost 200 balls and when he started going he's at the top of his game so it's certainly hard work but we still had our chances. Obvious thing is the wicket got better and better the longer the game went on. I would have liked to score a few more runs myself."

Runs will more than likely be available from a welcome avenue at Old Trafford, via the return to fitness and selection of Steven Smith. Cummins said that Smith had remained very much involved in the game since he was ruled out through concussion, making his impending recall all the more welcome. "I know last week at Lord's he said he was screaming at the TV from his hotel room watching the final hour," Cummins said.

"This game we were right on top and we've got the world's best batter coming in for the next one so it's great. I think from all reports he's going to play the tour match next week. What has he got? 100-odd, 100-odd and 90-odd so it's going to be great to be back."

Cummins had one more crucial involvement, firing in the return to Nathan Lyon that, had he held it, would have seen Leach run out with Australia triumphant by a single run. Here, once again, was a reminder why the refreshed Australian approach, forged out of the infamy of Newlands, should serve the tourists well at the pointy end of this Ashes series. "I probably didn't help him out with the throw there, it could have been a bit better," Cummins said. "But yeah, like everyone, you just want to win so desperately and the emotion gets to everyone slightly differently.

"Gaz obviously wears his heart on his shoulder so we've got to get around him. But I think the next ball he bowled after that was three reds [for lbw] so on another day he's the match-winner. It's that fine line, if you lived and died by a win and a loss you'd be out of this business pretty quickly."