Yasiel Puig's short stay in Cincinnati ended with a bang Tuesday.

Just as the Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds agreed to a deal involving Puig, the fiery outfielder prolonged a massive, benches-clearing brawl in Cincinnati's 11-4 loss to the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates at Great American Ball Park.

Puig was still in the game as reports of the three-team trade -- part of which sent Indians right-hander Trevor Bauer to the Reds -- surfaced.

His summary of the inning when asked about it after the game: "That's crazy.''

The brawl started in the top of the ninth, but tensions were sparked innings earlier when Pittsburgh's Keone Kela threw up and in to Derek Dietrich in the seventh. In April, Dietrich admired one of his homers at PNC Park, and it led to a benches-clearing clash in that game.

"I just wanted to show them that we didn't agree with the way things went down, and you have to pitch in,'' Kela said. "I was just doing my part.''

After the inning, Reds first baseman Joey Votto walked toward the Pirates' dugout and exchanged words with Kela, but plate umpire Larry Vanover got in front of Votto.

The ejections started in the eighth when Reds manager David Bell was tossed for arguing a strike call with Puig at bat. Reds reliever Jared Hughes was ejected in the ninth for hitting Starling Marte with his first pitch.

"The ball just slipped, and it was real unfortunate, and a lot of bad things happened afterward,'' Hughes said.

Amir Garrett came on to pitch for the Reds, exchanged words with the Pirates, sprinted toward the dugout and threw a couple of punches to spark the brawl. The 6-foot-5 Garrett was dragged to the ground by roughly half the Pirates team before backup arrived.

Bell was among the first Reds to join the fray and had to be separated from Pirates manager Clint Hurdle, who was celebrating his 62nd birthday. Bell later helped restrain Puig, who reignited the melee with more shouting and shoving.

Bell pointed blame at the Pirates and their manager.

"It didn't surprise us because that's kinda been going on all year," he said. "I say it didn't surprise us, but I can't tell you how disappointing it is that it's still going on and nothing's been done about it. But we've talked about it enough, but it's a shame that this is allowed. They're able to get away with it, they celebrate it, they support it, they clearly allow it. I don't know if they teach it, but they allow it. It's dangerous. I mean, you can go on and on about so many things wrong about it, and at some point it's bigger than the game of baseball, and it's just too bad that nothing's done about it."

Puig -- acquired by the Reds in an offseason trade with the Dodgers -- and Garrett were among the multiple players and coaches ejected.

Bell faces a suspension after running onto the field to join the fracas after being ejected an inning earlier. He was put in a headlock by Pirates hitting coach Rick Eckstein, got himself out and shouted at Hurdle.

In all, five Reds were ejected: Bell, Garrett, Puig, Hughes and bench coach Freddie Benavides.

Three Pirates got the hook: pitchers Chris Archer and Kyle Crick and catcher Francisco Cervelli, who is on the injured list.

After the game, Garrett said he was upset about Kela's up-and-in pitch to Dietrich.

"I definitely do think they teach that in that organization,'' Garrett said. "I don't think it's right to throw at somebody. That's not something you should do. If you have a problem, handle it like a man.''

Puig and Garrett were among five ejected after the Dietrich home run led to a brawl when the teams played in early April at PNC Park. That one started when Archer threw a 93 mph fastball behind Dietrich's back.

Puig again was at the center, reigniting the brawl after it appeared to calm down when he charged toward Pirates pitcher Trevor Williams at home plate, then grabbed Pittsburgh bench coach Tom Prince and tried to put him in a headlock.

Overall, Puig has been ejected three times this season, the most in the majors.

The three-game series resumes Wednesday in Cincinnati. Asked what he'd tell his teammates ahead of the quick turnaround, Hughes said, "Shower well, rinse it off, come back tomorrow ready to win."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

With exactly a year to go until Olympic Games action returns to Tokyo, former AW editor Mel Watman looks back 55 years and shares his memories

It is going to be a hard act to follow. The Tokyo Olympics are just a year away and the British team will surely be a strong one … but it is unlikely to obtain the level of success enjoyed at the last Tokyo Games in 1964.

Team GB’s showing at the London Olympics of 2012 was widely hailed as the best ever with four gold medals thanks to Mo Farah (two), Greg Rutherford and Jessica Ennis, plus a silver for Christine Ohuruogu, a bronze (or an upgraded silver?) for Robbie Grabarz and three fourth place finishes. But that hardly bears comparison with the 1964 haul of four golds (two with world record-breaking performances), seven silvers, a bronze and five fourth places.

GB AT TOKYO 1964

Lynn Davies – Long jump gold
Ken Matthews – 20km race walk gold
Ann Packer – 800m gold
Mary Rand – Long jump gold
John Cooper – 400m hurdles silver
Basil Heatley – Marathon silver
Maurice Herriott – 3000m steeplechase silver
Adrian Metcalfe, Robbie Brightwell, John Cooper and Tim Graham – 4x400m silver
Paul Nihill – 50km race walk silver
Ann Packer – 400m silver
Mary Rand – Pentathlon silver
Janet Simpson, Daphne Arden, Dorothy Hyman and Mary Rand – 4x100m bronze

Remember too that in Tokyo there were only 36 events on the programme, whereas at London 2012 there were 47 as a result of 11 additional women’s disciplines.

I was lucky enough to be in Tokyo 55 years ago to report on the Games for AW. They were my second Olympics – and I went on to attend seven more – but the 1964 edition remains my favourite.

It wasn’t just because of the British triumphs, although being of roughly the same age as most of the team and forming friendships with many of them helped me identify with their aspirations. No, those Games were special because I was privileged also to watch some fantastic sprinting, a monumental 800m/1500m double, a sensational 10,000m, an amazing marathon, a dramatic discus contest and so much more.

WORLD RECORDS WERE SET IN 11 EVENTS

Men’s 100m: Bob Hayes USA 10.0 (electronic 10.06)
Marathon: Abebe Bikila ETH 2:12:12
50km walk: Abdon Pamich ITA 4:11:13
4x100m & 4x400m: USA 39.0 (39.06) & 3:00.7 Women’s
100m: Wyomia Tyus USA 11.2 (11.23)
800m: Ann Packer GBR 2:01.1
Long jump: Mary Rand GBR 6.76m
Javelin: Yelena Gorchakova URS 62.40m
Pentathlon: Irina Press URS 5246
4x100m: Poland 43.6 (43.69) (later removed in favour of USA 43.9 (43.92)
National point scores on a 7-5-4-3-2-1 basis: 1, USA 171; 2, USSR 125; 3, UK 84.

The August 1 edition of AW magazine includes Watman’s full day-by-day reflection. Here are some highlights:

October 14

Shortly before the Games I interviewed Mary Rand and asked her what would mean more to her: an Olympic gold medal or a world record. She replied: “I would much rather have a world record than an Olympic medal really. To be best in the world, even if it was only for a day, would be absolutely marvellous. Of course the greatest thing of all would be to do a world record at the Olympics. Needless to say, that’s what I would like to do in Tokyo!”

And she did!

Her UK long jump record of 6.59m was just the start of an astonishing series as she reeled off 6.56m, 6.57m, another Olympic and UK record of 6.63m, a fifth round world record of 6.76m into a 1.6m/sec wind and 6.61m.

Remember this was from a rain-soaked cinder runway and it’s not fanciful to suggest that with the wind in her favour on an all-weather run-up she might have jumped seven metres.

October 15

A second gold medal for Britain came courtesy of the late Ken Matthews in the 20km walk. He judged his race to perfection. By halfway he was 24 seconds clear, a lead he extended to 1min 40sec by the finish.

That walkers were still unfairly regarded as second class citizens in the world of athletics became apparent when Britain’s other three Tokyo gold medallists very quickly featured in the Queen’s Honours List but it wasn’t until 13 years later that, following a campaign organised by the Race Walking Association, Matthews at last received his richly deserved MBE.

To this day he remains Britain’s most successful walker.

October 18

The day of Lynn Davies’ long jump gold. After four rounds the situation was that defending champion Ralph Boston (USA), the world record-holder at 8.34m, led with 7.88m ahead of the USSR’s former world record holder Igor Ter-Ovanesyan (7.80m) and the young upstart Davies (7.78m).

As I reported in AW at the time: “The fifth round opened quietly with fouls by the Spaniard Luis Areta and Boston. Next up was Davies, who while not exactly revelling in the conditions was less disconcerted by them than was the case with most of his rivals. The measuring seemed to take an eternity but the delay was justified when the figures 8.07m flashed up on the indicator board. Davies was way out in the lead with the best jump of his life. Ter-Ovanesyan had his jump to come; it was a fine leap but at 7.99 it sufficed only for second place. And so to the last round.

“The pressure was really on Boston. The tension was unbearable, not least on Davies, who admitted that he covered his eyes … and peeked through his fingers. Boston hit the board smack on and rose high into the air. It was a good jump, but how good? Again one’s eyes were glued to the electrically operated indicator. “8” flashed up, followed by “0”, followed by – joy of joys – “3”. The great Ralph Boston had fallen short and Davies was champion.”

October 20

In my AW preview of the Games I predicted Ann Packer would win the 400m ahead of Betty Cuthbert, while at 800m my tip was another Australian, Dixie Willis, with Packer second. However, as Willis had to withdraw due to illness, Packer therefore became my favourite … even though the rest of the media considered her a complete outsider with no chance of winning.

It was a journey into the unknown, yet Packer raced with impeccable judgement. Sixth at the bell in 59.1, she was third at 600m in 90.7 and second to Maryvonne Dupureur around the final turn. The Frenchwoman was still five metres ahead entering the final straight but as she began to flag so Packer’s stride lengthened and her spirits soared.

As the crowd of nearly 70,000 roared with excitement and the British supporters went almost berserk, Packer rushed past her defenceless rival some 60m out and, with a beatific smile on her face, broke the tape five metres clear in a world record of 2:01.1 … becoming the first British woman to win an Olympic track title.

KNOXVILLE, Iowa – Teams competing in either the 360 or 410 Nationals at Knoxville Raceway have until Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. CT to cash in on the Priority Aviation $20,000 Sponsorship Challenge.

The contest, benefiting the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum, is still a very close race and no driver in the running is out of it.

Iowa’s Carson McCarl currently holds the lead in the race over Pennsylvania’s Lance Dewease and fellow Hawkeye State native McKenna Haase.

Currently, 20 drivers have taken advantage of the contest.

Behind McCarl, Dewease and Haase are Wisconsin’s Bill Balog, Indiana’s Tyler Courtney, Tennessee’s Sammy Swindell, Oregon’s Tanner Holmes, Ohio’s Jac Haudenschild, Connecticut’s David Gravel and Ohio’s Sheldon Haudenschild.

Wisconsin’s Scott Thiel is 11th, followed by Iowa’s Austin McCarl, Indiana’s Parker Price-Miller, Minnesota’s Craig Dollansky, South Dakota’s Clint Garner, California’s Mason Daniel, California’s Kyle Larson, Ohio’s Chad Kemenah, Iowa’s Joe Beaver and Oklahoma’s Shane Stewart.

All that sprint car teams and fans need to do is have their prospective members or donors visit www.SprintCarStuff.com and order a membership there, or contact the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum.

If ordering online, specify the driver or race team in the “Notes” section on the final page.

The driver or team with the highest amount of donations returned to the museum before July 31 will receive the $20,000 sponsorship funding. All funds collected will go towards paying off remaining construction costs on the Bryan Clauson Suite Tower.

Memberships start at just $25 per year, but any donation amount will be accepted.

INDIANAPOLIS – The Tony Elliott Foundation has announced a charity golf scramble will be held on Sept. 5 at the Brickyard Crossing Golf Course.

All proceeds will be used for the foundation’s mission of financially supporting worthy recipients in the racing community.  The cost to enter is $500 per foursome and will include the scramble and lunch. A beverage cart will be on the golf course.  Awards will be given for first, second and third place.  The event also includes a clubhouse cocktail reception and silent auction.

Please email Shane Hartle to register your foursome at [email protected].

If your company or organization is interested in sponsoring the event, corporate sponsorship is available at $500, $1,000, $2,000 and $3,000 levels.

The Tony Elliott Foundation is 501(c)3 nonprofit EIN #47-5240697 and 100 percent of all funds collected are disbursed back into the racing community.  The foundation operates with an all-volunteer staff.  A select committee reviews all applications submitted to the foundation. More than $56,000 has been awarded to worthy recipients in just four years.

Discounted rooms are available at Capital Courtyard and parking is free.

OSLO, Norway -- Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirmed that Eric Bailly is set to miss up to the next five months after undergoing knee surgery.

The defender damaged ligaments in his left knee during the 2-1 win over Tottenham in Shanghai and is now facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines after having an operation on Tuesday morning.

Sources have told ESPN FC that United are still in talks with Leicester over centre-back Harry Maguire but they are facing a race against time to get the deal over the line before the deadline on Aug. 8.

Bailly suffered the injury -- which happened when he caught his studs in the turf at the Hongkou Stadium -- in just his third game back after damaging ligaments in his right knee at the end of last season.

"He's had an operation and he will miss the best part of four or five months I would think," Solskjaer said after the 1-0 win over Kristiansund in Oslo on Tuesday.

"Hopefully we'll get him back around Christmas. It was positive news from the surgeon. He had the operation and he was positive that it was all repaired, and he'll be fine. That's good news."

Bailly was left in Manchester as the squad travelled to Norway on Monday along with Romelu Lukaku and Matteo Darmian. Lukaku, wanted by both Inter Milan and Juventus, is yet to feature this summer because of an ankle problem but Solskjaer is hopeful the striker will be able to train ahead of their final friendly against AC Milan in Cardiff on Saturday.

Solskjaer's team kick off their Premier League campaign against Chelsea at Old Trafford on Aug. 11.

"It was best for him [Lukaku] to stay home," said Solskjaer. "He wouldn't have been able to play. Hopefully he might be able to train in the next couple of days. Let's see what happens.

"You never know what happens in football. He's not been able to train but he's not been that bad that we had to send him home, we still had hope he was going to be fit to play in Australia, Shanghai and Singapore. But for this short trip, there was no point bringing him."

Juan Mata's stoppage-time penalty handed Solskjaer's team a narrow victory over Kristiansund to make it five wins from five this summer.

David De Gea was named captain for the night and Solskjaer said he was hopeful of appointing a permanent skipper soon with De Gea, Mata, Ashley Young, Nemanja Matic and Paul Pogba all in the frame.

"We'll see," said Solskjaer when asked about who will be United's next captain after the departure of Antonio Valencia.

"We have different kinds of captain types. There are vocal leaders, there are players like David with his merits and what he's done. He'll play the majority of the games. We'll announce something soon."

ORLANDO, Fla. -- You can say this for the MLS All-Star Game: It has staying power.

Long after American peculiarities like the shootout and overtime were abandoned, the MLS' midsummer fiesta is still going strong. Its 24th edition is set to take place on Wednesday, when the All-Stars take on Atletico Madrid.

Throughout the years, the ASG has undergone something of a metamorphosis. It started out as an Eastern Conference vs. Western Conference affair, moved to a USA vs. The World format, then back to East vs. West and later MLS vs. the U.S. national team before finally settling on the MLS vs. European club model. Along the way, the game has served up some memorable moments, including a few that played up the league's reputation for oddity.

In the beginning

The inaugural match in 1996 was held at the old Giants Stadium, with the East vs. West format. The match served as a prelude to that day's main event in which Brazil's Olympic team -- augmented by the likes of Bebeto and Roberto Carlos -- went up against a FIFA World XI, with American John Harkes giving the FIFA team a bit of local flavor.

With 78,416 fans on hand, the prelude proved to be a more than adequate appetizer, with the East prevailing 3-2. And if you think Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the first MLS player to chafe against playing in the match, you only have to go to the first ASG to find a player whose mind was elsewhere.

"I had just gotten married," recalled then-San Jose Clash forward Eric Wynalda. "I had been in Cancun for like five days. I flew into New York and [LA Galaxy manager] Lothar Osiander was the coach of the West. I rolled into the lobby, and I'm wearing a white shirt and I'm super tan. He says, 'How long do you think you'll play?' I said, 'You've got a lot of guys to get in, but I'll give as much as I got.' Later he walked past me at halftime and said, 'Yes, you're done.'"

Tab Ramos went down in history as the first ASG goal scorer, chesting down a pass from Carlos Valderrama and firing a shot past Jorge Campos.

"Tab's goal is so underrated," said Wynalda. "It wasn't the best pass from Valderrama, but in front of that many people, he scored a brilliant goal. It was such a showcase for the league's potential."

Donovan unleashed

The 2001 edition was the Landon Donovan Show. The 6-6 draw witnessed four Donovan goals, including a hat trick in the first 19 minutes, as well as a stoppage-time equalizer, all in his home venue of Spartan Stadium.

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"I just remember being a kid in a candy store," he said. "I always viewed All-Star Games like, I want to do well. Guys probably hated me for it because I'm always putting an effort in. Most people are like, 'Chill out, dude.' But having all the eyeballs on the league in one place was cool."

There were also two goal celebrations featuring a jersey removal with a sports bra underneath -- one from Donovan and the other from Jim Rooney -- that made for an odd homage to U.S. women's national team icon Brandi Chastain.

"I have no idea where it came from or where it came up," Donovan recalled. "That was such an iconic moment that even two years later that was on everyone's mind. We just thought it would be fun. I was the young, dumb one, so I said, 'I'll do it!'"

The festivities were also marked by the last incarnation -- until this year at least -- of the MLS Skills Challenge. The sight of Donovan in his then-trademark blonde dye job is worth putting this footage in the MLS time capsule.

"The Skills Challenge was fun, I loved it," said Donovan. "It would be really cool, and we'll see how [Tuesday night] goes, but I'd be curious to see what it would look like if guys took it serious. [David] Beckham taking shots from the 18 and hitting targets, that would have been pretty impressive to watch."

The format changes

After tinkering with the East vs. West and U.S. vs. The World formats, the powers that be in MLS decided to go with something different in 2003. The All-Stars would go up against club opposition in Chivas de Guadalajara. Given the fact that 13 of the 18 All-Stars to take the field that day were U.S. internationals at some point in their careers, as well as Chivas' policy of fielding only Mexican players, the game had more intensity than your usual All-Star game. With the match falling on a weekend, and thus a longer recovery period, the MLS players had a bit more to give as well.

"There was some piss and vinegar to that game," said then-New England Revolution forward and current ESPN television analyst Taylor Twellman. "For most of us in that room, there was an edge to it. Later on you had the big European club coming over, and those didn't have the same feel as that Chivas game."

The All-Stars prevailed 3-1 on goals by Ante Razov, Carlos Ruiz and DaMarcus Beasley. After one final spasm of East vs. West in 2004, the concept of lining up club opposition was here to stay.

The ringer

For Peter Nowak, there was no such thing as a friendly, regardless of whether he was playing or coaching. So when he took charge of the All-Stars for the game against the Jose Mourinho-led Chelsea in 2006, he tried to summon one of his trademark pregame speeches in order to get his charges suitably fired up. The problem was that one of his players committed the mortal sin of having his cell phone go off in the middle of his speech.

"It was the 'Miracle on Ice'-type speech," recalled then-D.C. United defender Bobby Boswell. "'They normally beat us, but today is our day.' Then the cell phone goes off, and it was when the ringtones had music, and it was like a Britney Spears song. It's clearly one of the goalie's lockers and Joe Cannon is sitting there with a straight face, just looking at Peter. Peter had to stop his speech and he doesn't know whether to blow a gasket or to laugh. He goes, 'Joe, is that your phone?' And Joe says, 'Uh, yeah, I think that might be my phone.' As if anyone else had Britney Spears as a ringtone. And then he turned it off and said 'Sorry about that.' Peter just couldn't get back the mindset. You just can't land the plane after something like that."

The incident had no ill effects on the All-Stars, who went out and defeated the Blues 1-0 on an absolute banger by the Houston Dynamo's Dwayne De Rosario.

"It's the story of MLS," said Boswell. "You've got the up-and-coming coach who wants to beat Chelsea and you've got the old-school clown goalie. It was perfect for our group because we were loose and we went out and got the win."

Donovan's sendoff and Pep's dark side

The 2014 edition of the MLS All-Star Game against Bayern Munich was straight out of the twilight zone. Many of the Bayern players were less than a month removed from having won the World Cup with Germany, and were clearly short of full fitness. The All-Stars prevailed 2-1 thanks to goals from Thierry Henry and Landon Donovan. But it was an industrial-strength tackle by Will Johnson on Bayern captain Bastian Schweinsteiger that set then Bayern manager Pep Guardiola over the edge.

"I wasn't happy because I had my ankle injury before," said Schweinsteiger ahead of Wednesday's All-Star Game against Atletico Madrid. "I played the ball and the guy really came like, literally very late. It was not like, you know, where it can happen; it was really late -- the ball was played already by far. That's why we were angry, our coaches were angry, I was injured for a little bit then. That was unnecessary."

At the final whistle, Guardiola wagged his finger at the All-Star bench and refused to shake the hand of manager Caleb Porter.

"I understand him, because he was angry because I was out," said Schweinsteiger about Guardiola. "From the World Cup 2014, I flew over to Portland and then I got an unnecessary kick. The guy could've easily stopped, you know. And then I was out for the next weeks so I was not ready for the first game, so that's why he was angry, and I understood him. Of course we don't want to see that [on Wednesday]."

Donovan recalled, "For Caleb that week, there was definitely a different feeling than other All-Star coaches. He took it very seriously. He tried to temper it, but you could tell. Pep was his idol. You could tell the apprentice wanted to show the master. His emotions got the better of him, and Pep wasn't exactly a gentleman either. But it was fun. It added a little bit to the game."

The two managers shook hands later, but the next day a veritable thunderbolt took place when Donovan announced he was retiring from the sport. All-Star Games are usually forgettable, but this edition was one that will never be forgotten.

LOS ANGELES -- Bob Bradley does not give short answers. A response to a question about the quick success of his Los Angeles Football Club moves from the present, to his initial hiring in 2017, to a playoff loss last season before anchoring itself back in the present. His answer to whether he likes living in L.A. touches on family, being recognized by waitstaff in New Jersey, then traverses an ocean to Egypt where he coached the national team.

The answers are not long-winded; not exactly. They can meander, but they always return to a larger point. He's a man with a specific worldview, and he wants the person asking the questions to understand things from his perspective, through eyes that have seen a lot of football (rarely, if ever, "soccer") and a lot of life. If that requires 30 seconds or a minute or longer, fine. He's engaging enough and thoughtful enough to command attention.

In Bradley's world, things need to be explained and understood. Doing without knowing why is just as bad as not doing at all. Knowing why gives someone -- a person or a player -- the ability to react to situations or respond in a predictable way. Answers run long because getting to why takes time.

But every now and then, things are simple. Over the course of more than an hour chatting in the sun after a recent LAFC training session, one question elicited a quick response: Is coaching fun?

"Yes. I love it."

"Fun" is not an adjective the casual fan would associate with Bradley. During his five-year stint as United States men's national team coach, from 2006-11, he developed a reputation in the media and from fans as someone who managed a team that played conservatively, absorbing pressure and choosing to play on the counter-attack. The Americans found success -- a Gold Cup win in 2007, a second-place showing at the 2009 Confederations Cup, a round of 16 finish at the 2010 World Cup -- and criticism, too.

Bradley isn't one to relitigate the past or spend time arguing that the playing style of that red, white and blue outfit was more proactive than we remember, but in retrospect, the results he managed with the talent he had look better and better.

This pattern continued at future stops. Wherever he has gone, Bradley has won more than the on-paper ability of his players would suggest: with the Egypt national team, which he got to the last round of World Cup qualification; at Stabaek, where he reached the Europa League qualifying stage; at a Le Havre side that was a tiebreaker away from gaining promotion to Ligue 1.

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The one blemish, of course, was Swansea City. He was hired in October 2016, becoming the first American to coach a squad in the English Premier League. Up-and-down results saw Swansea get five points from six games. He refused to compromise his principles, feeling the only way forward for Swansea was to try to play, to create, to score.

Against Tottenham on Dec. 3, they played even for 39 minutes before Dele Alli earned, and Harry Kane converted, a soft penalty. Then Son Heung-min scored a laser in first-half stoppage time. Bradley had a choice.

"There's either the way of batten down the hatches and just try to keep the score at two, or you say, you know, 'Come on, men, let's try and get back in this game.' And I felt that for that group, if there was ever going to be a chance to get anywhere, I had to challenge them. So I said it."

At halftime, he brought on forward Fernando Llorente, who was recovering from injury. "We're going to try to step up, and we're going to really try to play for the next goal," Bradley said.

Tottenham caught Swansea on a counter: two goals became three, then four, then five. After the game, the chairman asked who decided to bring on Llorente. Bradley owned the decision, offended the chairman would consider the possibility that anyone else was making the calls. Less than a month later, Bradley was fired, but said he wouldn't change how he tried to challenge his players to respond.

(That's not to say that the acrimonious departure doesn't still sting a bit. Told I was from Swansea, Massachusetts, Bradley said, laughing, "There's a Swansea, Massachusetts? F---, I'm not going there. No f---ing way.")

And now, LAFC. Heading into Major League Soccer's All-Star break, the black and gold sit 10 points ahead in the Supporters' Shield race and 11 points clear on top of the Western Conference. They're the odds-on favorite to win MLS Cup in just their second year. Carlos Vela, a man Bradley challenged to "be as good as Messi," is the best player in the league by a wide margin. There's a page on the team site called Chasing History, which is exactly what the squad is doing.

LAFC is the purest form of "Bradley Ball" yet. There are other decision-makers, sure, but Bradley is the visionary. That's why he came, and what attracted him to the job: building something from scratch, starting with an idea and turning it into a reality.

"Before I got hired I had good discussions with [general manager] John Thorrington and [co-owner] Tom Penn," he said. "And then, eventually with some of the other owners. I said, 'Look, here are my ideas, here are my experiences. A real club, a real connection between the first team and everything underneath. A connection with the supporters, with the city. And, here's the kind of football I think we want to play. If that works for you, fine. If it doesn't, fine."

"So, from the beginning, for every player. I said, 'Look, can you have an open mind? Can we get you to see the game in maybe little different ways than you have up till now? Can we make it better? Can we all be part of something that every day, this is what's going to happen?'"

He has built a monster and relatively efficiently, too.

Yes, Vela is making $4.5 million a year, but Diego Rossi makes just $1 million with Eduard Atuesta sitting at $475,000. Mark-Anthony Kaye is one of the best deals in the league at a very specific $166,248. Bradley turned Tyler Miller and Latif Blessing, two expansion draftees and players who were, by definition, cast-off parts on other teams, into key cogs in LAFC's mighty machine.

There were misses, such as Portuguese midfielder and designated player André Horta, who was shipped to SC Braga in June and should soon be replaced, but the goals far outweigh the flubbed chances. LAFC is a good MLS team on paper; they are a great one on the field. The difference is the coach and the culture he has created.

"I say to the players that in order to have a good team, you have to show up every day and you have to show who you are," Bradley said. "You have to bring your personality. To have a good team, to be a good player, you have to have personality. It's got to come out. That is key to everything. If people come and are afraid to let anybody know who they are, or they're still hiding behind something, then we have no chance.

"I think I'm pretty damn good at getting everybody to understand that's what's going to happen every day."

Of course, this mantra requires Bradley to show his personality, too. He has always had one -- you'd see it during occasional unscripted moments when he was coaching the U.S. team, though never in formal settings like news conferences or on camera -- but he has grown more comfortable showing it to the outside world. Part of this is experience, especially in Egypt where there was nowhere to hide and where two separate documentary projects tracked his movements. Part of it is not really caring what other people think: either they buy in or they don't. Part of it is a desire for a give and take about football and about life.

Although it's codified, Bradley's worldview isn't calcified. He's always searching for new information, using a secret Twitter feed to keep track of world events and "the idiot in the White House" while keeping tabs on developments in the soccer world.

"At the moment, what I really enjoy the most is finding situations where I can challenge the people around me with my ideas," he said. "And they'll challenge me, and we can try and turn it into something."

Bradley wants real dialogue. Back and forth. Ideas posited, dissected, experimented. He doesn't care about the minute-to-minute media cycles: the nicknames, the players who talk smack, the clickbait and other extraneous garbage that makes the internet go. This attitude can come across as being above it all or being a jerk. And maybe it is. He'd concede as much. But that's how the outside world sees him, and he's at peace with himself. On the inside, you see that they are merely unwanted distractions from the project, an intense, lifelong and, it must be said, quite successful endeavor to build systems that produce quality teams and that maximize talent.

Bradley's genius is the ability to care immensely and passionately or to not care at all, and to separate what goes where.

He has an office at LAFC's training facility, a beautiful space that overlooks the pitch. It sits unused, desk empty, nothing on the walls, the computer monitor unplugged. Bradley is never there, preferring the conference room where he and the staff meet in the morning. It's not just the coaching staff, either: it's the video guy, the analytics guy, some of the team executives.

"Because, for me in order to have everybody understanding what it is that we're trying to do, they've got to hear the kind of discussions, they've got to see the clips that we look at," he said. "They've got to hear me talk about defending the ball, or footwork, or passing inside.

"If I said that and they weren't in there, they'd never know what any of that means. All of that becomes important because we have to have as many people who understand that [as possible] when we try to scout players or create profiles of what kind of guys would fit into the way we play."

Near the end of practice, LAFC ran a full-field, 11-on-11 drill. When the ball goes out of bounds, Bradley, dressed in a black long-sleeve shirt and shorts on a hot day, motioned for one of his assistant coaches to restart play in a different area, a design meant to keep the players thinking and reacting.

"Whatever has just happened, doesn't matter," he said. "And now the next situation occurs, and then you have to immediately react to the ball, to that situation. It doesn't matter in that moment if you have four in the back or three in the back, if you're a center-back or a right-back. If you're the closest guy to the ball, then do you react and defend the ball in a way that others can join you? Can we take care of that situation?"

As the exercise continued, Bradley grew more effusive in his praise of his players, plenty of "yes-yes-yes" as the ball pinged around the pitch.

Afterward, I asked him if that praise was intentional, some sort of Jedi mind trick to leave LAFC feeling positive about the session. He seemed rather shocked by the premise of the question. There were no tricks, just good football. They had been doing what he wanted, what he asked.

"I think there's a good understanding of how we want to play," he said. "And, how training needs to get pushed in the right way, every day. Moments where there's coaching, and you're on top of little details. And, there are moments when you see it come together, and you see guys that are into it. Then you make sure they know."

There was Bradley in the middle of it all, learning, watching, coaching, winning. Happy. Having fun.

England must "hit the ground running" if they are to regain the Ashes, Ben Stokes believes.

England boast an outstanding record at Edgbaston, the venue for the first Test. They have won 11 international matches in succession at the ground and haven't been beaten by Australia in any format there since 2001.

So, Stokes believes, England must take the opportunity to put Australia's players - not least the three who have returned to the side following suspension for their involvement in the sandpaper scandal - under pressure and prevent them building any confidence.

"You can't feel your way into any Ashes series," Stokes says. "You have to hit the ground running. That first morning is when you want to stamp your authority on the series with bat and ball. Getting off to a good start can make it flow throughout the series, so you want to be the team on top and you want to win that first day. If you go 1-0 down in a series it can be hard to come back from.

"It's definitely important to put them under pressure if they bat first. Davey Warner is a player who can take games away from you. He is a phenomenal batsman and very dangerous opener so to tie him down and not let him establish his authority against us would be a really big plus for us for the rest of the series. The drive is going to be there for him to perform. And it will be the same for Cameron Bancroft and Steve Smith.

"We don't want to give anything away to any of their batsmen. We want to let them know we are here to be serious and everyone in the changing room is desperately trying to get that urn back because it's not good them having it.

"There's no time for easing into a spell or finding your way with the bat, you have to be switched on from ball one. Even if we bat first, and you're in the middle-order, you have to be switched on."

You wonder if there is something of a Freudian slip in that last sentence. It implies, perhaps, that England's top-order are so fragile, the middle-order have to be prepared to bat far more quickly than might normally be the case. And while Stokes would, of course, refute such an interpretation, it is clear he believes it will be a bowler-dominated series. A combination of the Dukes ball, the wretched weather and some seamer-friendly surfaces are likely to create short, low-scoring games.

"You saw Lord's: it was a bowler's paradise," he says. "So if two of our guys can step up and get three or four hundred runs in the series it will massively help our chances. It's going to be a batsman than wins the urn."

While Stokes admits he felt "sad" after the World Cup, he insists the decision to rest him from the Ireland side has left him refreshed and raring to go for what he refers to as "the biggest Test series in the world."

"It was two days after the World Cup," he says. "I was playing golf and everything had calmed down. I was sat in the buggy and said to Tom Curran that I was sad that it was over. You think about how much effort had gone into it over four years. The seven weeks to then lifting the World Cup was absolutely brilliant but it was a real come down because we cannot relive that feeling of walking around the outfield at Lord's.

"I did not play that Test match against Ireland. I felt I needed time away; time at home. I needed to be in my own house, in my own bed and be with the family to recharge my batteries. That helped me. It was probably a week later I could concentrate on the Ashes.

"The night before the series is the worst. Sleeping pills are the best way to describe it. You're anxious and there's excitement. And then you get out there for the warm-up and that's special. The first morning of an Ashes series is one of the greatest sporting environments you can be in. It's hard to explain. It is awesome."

He is unconvinced by Australia's new approach. And he suspects that, once the action begins, the smiles will be replaced by the more familiar snarls.

"It is weird Aussies trying to be nice to you," he says. "But once you get out in the middle the real competitive side of both teams will come out. It's the biggest Test series in the world. The scrutiny is greater; the criticism is greater; the praise is greater. Both teams are desperate to win; both sides of players are desperate to perform. There is always something that happens between the teams and I don't think this will be any different. I can assure you there will be some sort of theatre that goes on."

And he hopes to be at the centre of it.

"That is the great thing about being an allrounder," he says. "You can impose yourself on the game with bat and ball. Your day is never over so being able to influence a game by going out scoring runs or bowling a fiery spell to get a wicket is something I enjoy."

He is sure to have plenty to get his teeth into over the next six weeks.