SEBRING, Fla. – Under the banner of the previously announced joint venture between Team Hardpoint and Earl Bamber Motorsport, Team Hardpoint will return to principal Rob Ferriol’s roots for the new IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT Daytona season.

In addition to its recently unveiled Carrera Cup North America program, Team Hardpoint EBM will enter a Porsche 911 GT3 R in a full-season effort for 2021, with Ferriol and current Porsche factory driver Earl Bamber taking driving duties.

Bamber’s record behind the wheel of a Porsche is impeccable. The New Zealand-native and Team Hardpoint EBM co-principal is the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech GT Le Mans class champion, a two-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship point champion.

Bamber became available when the Porsche GT Team reached the conclusion of its successful IMSA run following the 2020 season.

“It’s really exciting to see the partnership between Team Hardpoint and Earl Bamber Motorsport expand into GTD,” Earl Bamber said. “As a team owner, I’m very proud to see all of our hard work come to fruition. As a driver, I’m thrilled to stay in IMSA next year. I love the tracks, I love the competition and I love the fans. I’m going to do my best to get Rob and Team Hardpoint EBM some wins in 2021.”

Ferriol began his racing career as a member of the Porsche Club of America, participating in club racing and track day events around the U.S., then moved to IMSA’s Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA just a short two seasons ago.

The lessons learned in those two seasons helped lay a foundation for the move to the GTD class, and, after a rookie season behind the wheel of an Audi R8 LMS GT3, will see him return to those Porsche roots in 2021.

“This is an exciting chapter not just for Team Hardpoint EBM, but also for me personally,” Ferriol said. “I’ve loved Porsches since long before I could afford one. When my business started to see some success a few years ago, the first gift I bought myself was a used Porsche 911. The first time I was on a racetrack, and the first time I went racing – both Porsches. So to have this opportunity to not only expand the Team Hardpoint EBM partnership into the WeatherTech series, but also share driving duties in the Porsche 911 GT3 R is a dream come true.

“When Porsche announced that the IMSA GTLM program was coming to a close, I was among the many Porsche enthusiasts who were losing their rooting interest. Hopefully, Earl and I can give those very passionate fans another Porsche to root for next year.”

Team Hardpoint EBM had previously announced a joint venture for a multi-car customer program in the recently unveiled Porsche Carrera Cup North America single make series.

With the team’s move to the Porsche 911 GT3 R, Team Hardpoint EBM will now offer an incentive program for Team Hardpoint EBM drivers in the single-make Porsche championship.

Any Team Hardpoint EBM Carrera Cup driver who finishes the season in the top three of the point championship in the Pro or Pro-Am category will earn a free test day in the Team Hardpoint Porsche 911 GT3 R.

For the ultimate prize, a Team Hardpoint EBM driver who wins the 2021 Pro category championship in Carrera Cup North America will also earn a paid seat with Team Hardpoint EBM in the 2022 Rolex 24 At Daytona.

“There’s nothing better than throwing it all out there and backing your own product,” Team Hardpoint EBM team manager and co-principal Will Bamber said. “Porsche has done that and we’re right behind them. With our joint venture Team Hardpoint EBM, it’s exciting to have that whole pyramid contained with our team. Porsche allows us to do that. We believe that we should be reinvesting back into the sport and in our own customers, to give them an opportunity forward beyond the trophy at the end of the year. Earl and I coming up, as young guys, both got opportunities. We had to push for it, but it was done by reward and merit and you just need that chance sometimes.

“Through the team car in GTD, we can do that. It’s something we’ve been trying to do globally and it should be an exciting program for all young drivers who are trying to make it as a professional.”

The 2021 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opens with the Rolex 24 at Daytona, Jan. 28-31.

The provisional schedule for the 2021 Porsche Carrera Cup North America marks its opener at Sebring Int’l Raceway, March 17-20.

CAVLE, Croatia – Vittorio Ghirelli won the maiden NASCAR race at Automotodrom Grobnik on the Croatian Riviera Saturday.

The Italian started from the pole position, led all 14 laps of an exciting EuroNASCAR 2 round five and consolidated his points lead.

Constantly under pressure, the Hendriks Motorsport managed to build a safe margin on his teammate Tobias Dauenhauer, who ended up second crossing the finish line, 1.854 seconds behind the Rome native.

It was Ghirelli’s second Euro Series 2 win, after he was previously in victory lane at Raceway Venray in 2019, but his first victory with Dutch powerhouse Hendriks Motorsport.

“We have a good pace this weekend and we were up front in all sessions so far,” said the 26 year old. “I thank my team Hendriks Motorsport, all my sponsors and my family. I hope we can keep it up for tomorrow. It was a good battle with my teammate Tobias, but I kept the rhythm and was able to be first under the checkered flag.”

Dauenhauer won the race in the Junior Trophy standings and scored his third podium finish in the EuroNASCAR 2 Championship.

The battle for third was a true nailbiter involving five cars: CAAL Racing’s Dylan Derdaele was holding onto the lowest step of the podium in a duel with Solaris Motorsport’s Nicholas Risitano, but the Belgian made a small mistake that forced him off the track and let Risitano past.

In the end, the Italian finished third ahead of Zolder double winner Martin Doubek, who also got past Derdaele.

While the Belgian closed the top five and finished second in the Rookie Trophy, Alessandro Brigatti ended up sixth. At the wheel of the No. 11 PK Carsport Chevrolet Camaro, Lady Trophy winner Julia Landauer followed in seventh ahead of Simon Pilate, who completed the podium of newcomers in the official European NASCAR Series.

Francesco Garisto was ninth and Giovanni Trione rounded out the top 10. Mirco Schultis topped the standings in the Legend Trophy classification in 11th.

Evgeny Sokolovsky was 12th ahead of Euro Series debutant Frank Riedel and Igor Romanov. Vladimiros Tziortzis was right in the battle for the last spot on the podium, but also went off track during the race.

The Cypriot had to retire and was therefore only ranked 15th in the first ever EuroNASCAR 2 race at Grobnik.

Olympic legend Usain Bolt has said that Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo is "definitely" faster than him at the moment.

Eight-time Olympic gold medalist Bolt retired from athletics in 2017 and holds the world record for the 100 and 200 metres.

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However, Bolt believes that Ronaldo is the fastest of the two sporting icons.

"For sure Cristiano [is faster than me]," Bolt told Marca Sport Weekend. "For me he works out every day, he is a super athlete.

"He's always on top of his game, he works hard and he is focused. Right now I definitely think he would be faster than me."

At the age of 35, Ronaldo continues to break records after he became the second male player to score 100 international goals in September.

The Portugal captain also scored in his side's 7-0 victory over Andorra on Wednesday and only needs seven more goals to equal Ali Daei's all-time international scoring record.

Ronaldo won his first international trophy with Portugal when they defeated France 1-0 in the Euro 2016 final, and also helped them to lift the inaugural UEFA Nations League title in 2019.

He is set to feature in the Nations League clash against France on Saturday.

On Thursday, the United States men's national team played its first match since February and gave fans a solid look at the Yanks' future. Head coach Gregg Berhalter gave debuts to six players -- including a pair of 17-year-olds, Yunus Musah and Giovanni Reyna (who turned 18 on Friday) -- hinting at a talented group of young players that could make waves at the 2022 World Cup.

So, after having caught a glimpse of what's to come in an entertaining 0-0 draw with Wales, we created a 23-man roster (plus seven alternates) that we'd send to Qatar if we were in Berhalter's shoes and the World Cup started tomorrow.

Editor's note: Players' ages are listed as at the time of the start of the World Cup, on Nov. 21, 2022.

1. Christian Pulisic | 24 | Forward | Chelsea

While the U.S. player pool has grown deeper and more promising since our last update in March, Pulisic remains the Americans' brightest talent. The 22-year-old was arguably the most dangerous attacker in England in the tail end of the 2019-20 season, registering five goals and two assists in 11 Premier League and FA Cup appearances.

The biggest question hanging over the Pennsylvania native is fitness; he has missed 22 of 68 games in his first season-plus in West London. Chelsea might be able to get by without him, but the U.S. won't.

2. Sergino Dest | 22 | Defender | Barcelona

It has been a meteoric rise since Dest decided to commit to the U.S. over his native Netherlands in September 2019. After firmly establishing himself as the first-choice right back for Ajax Amsterdam as a teenager, he excelled in the Eredivisie, sparking an eventual bidding war between Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Barcelona over the summer. In the six weeks he has spent at Camp Nou, Dest has impressed the Barca hierarchy with how quickly he has adapted to life in La Liga.

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3. Giovanni Reyna | 20 | Midfielder | Borussia Dortmund

The kid has rocketed up the pecking order at Dortmund and become central to Lucien Favre's attack, starting in nine of the club's 12 matches in 2020-21. Sources at the Westfalenstadion told ESPN that they see much of captain Marco Reus in Reyna, and the New York City FC academy product has developed a tremendous rapport with budding superstar Erling Haaland, who has taken to calling his teammate "the American Dream."

4. Tyler Adams | 23 | Midfielder | RB Leipzig

Adams has started four of Leipzig's 11 games this season, going the full 90 on each occasion, with another 54 minutes coming in three substitute appearances. Despite the stop-start nature of his time in the Bundesliga, during which he has struggled with nagging injuries, the 21-year-old has looked influential whenever he features for Die Roten Bullen. And under Julian Nagelsmann, Adams is receiving an education from one of the brightest young managers in football.

5. Yunus Musah | 19 | Midfielder | Valencia

New to U.S. fans' collective consciousness is Musah, a 17-year-old New York-born midfielder whose style of play is reminiscent of Paul Pogba. A prestigious academy career at Arsenal saw Musah represent England at youth level, and after his first season at Valencia largely passed by with him outside the first-team picture, he has started seven of Los Che's nine La Liga games this term. He has yet to select which country he'll represent at the international level: While he's enjoying a first call-up from the U.S., he's not yet locked in with the Stars and Stripes. Musah could still choose to represent England or Ghana without filing a one-time switch with FIFA.

6. Zack Steffen | 27 | Goalkeeper | Manchester City

Steffen's performances on loan at Fortuna Dusseldorf last season sparked interest from rival German clubs hoping to take the American on loan for the 2020-21 season, but City were determined to retain the goalkeeper they signed from Columbus Crew SC in the summer of 2019 to provide competition and the occasional rest for Ederson. Steffen hasn't played for his club since September, when he started two Carabao Cup ties in the span of six days (conceding once in the process), and with the competition not scheduled to resume until Dec. 22, it could be some time before he gets more minutes.

7. Antonee Robinson | 25 | Defender | Fulham

The heartbreak of Robinson's failed medical at AC Milan last January has subsided now that he has secured a move to West London and established himself as the first-choice left-back at Fulham. Doing so was far from guaranteed, either, especially considering it was predecessor Joe Bryan who delivered the goals in the promotion playoff final that saw the Cottagers return to the Premier League. But after being left out of the side in the first two games of the league campaign, Robinson has gone the full 90 minutes in each of the past six.

8. Weston McKennie | 24 | Midfielder | Juventus

It had appeared clear for some time that McKennie wasn't pushing on at a dysfunctional Schalke 04, so his move away from the club over the summer came as little surprise. That he wound up at Juventus, however, did. New manager Andrea Pirlo identified the 22-year-old's relentless pressing as an ideal he wanted to instill in his midfield, but the competition for playing time has proved daunting. The presence of Arthur, Aaron Ramsey, Adrien Rabiot and Rodrigo Bentancur has seen McKennie feature intermittently this term, even before factoring in his two COVID-19-enforced absences.

9. Chris Richards | 22 | Defender | Bayern Munich

After a sensational season with Bayern Munich II, leading the team to a 3. Liga title, Richards had several suitors keen to take him on loan and give him a regular taste of the Bundesliga this season. He opted to remain in Bavaria, where he has split time between the big club and the reserves. If he's patient, first-team opportunities aren't far away: With center backs David Alaba, Jerome Boateng and Javi Martinez all potentially leaving Bayern this summer, the 20-year-old FC Dallas academy product could soon find himself alongside Canada international Alphonso Davies as a regular fixture of the German champions' back line.

10. Brenden Aaronson | 22 | Midfielder | Philadelphia Union

The 20-year-old creator has dazzled in the Union's fantastic 2020 season, in which they won their first trophy (the Supporters' Shield), and he earned himself a move to FC Salzburg in January, where he'll look to emulate the career progressions of Erling Haaland, Dayot Upamecano and Sadio Mane, all of whom graduated from the Austrian side.

There will be plenty of competition for attacking midfield places in Berhalter's team traveling to Qatar, but Aaronson has demonstrated that he's among the brightest young talents in the U.S. Soccer pipeline.

11. John Brooks | 29 | Defender | Wolfsburg

Brooks has gone the full 90 minutes in all seven of Wolfsburg's Bundesliga games this season, as the Wolves aspire to finish the year in the European places. It wasn't long ago that Brooks was the most expensive American player in history, sealing a €25 million move from Hertha Berlin in 2017, but since then he has missed 37 matches through injury. That will be a concern for Berhalter as he looks for experience and leadership in a young team.

12. Josh Sargent | 22 | Forward | Werder Bremen

The U.S. has quality and depth emerging at nearly every position on the pitch ... except for center forward. Sargent's high-profile move to Werder Bremen as an 18-year-old in 2018 was a sign of his potential. In his second full season with the senior team, he has registered only seven goals in 45 appearances and has been shifted to the right wing at times this term. If the goals don't come, the Missouri native could fall down the pecking order by the time Qatar rolls around.

13. Reggie Cannon | 24 | Defender | Boavista

It was only a matter of time before Cannon left FC Dallas for Europe, having proved himself as one of the most adept right-backs in MLS from the age of 20, and his transition to the Portuguese Liga has been seamless. The Chicago native went the full 90 minutes for Boavista 10 days after joining the club, and he has played every single minute since. It's a shame for Cannon that two of the Americans' most prized defenders (Dest and Robinson) are also full-backs, limiting his chances of firmly establishing himself in Berhalter's preferred XI.

14. Matt Miazga | 27 | Defender | Anderlecht (on loan from Chelsea)

Where does the time go? Miazga left the New York Red Bulls for Chelsea nearly five years ago, though his last appearance for the Blues came in April 2016. His loan spells at Vitesse Arnhem, Nantes and Reading yielded varying results, but he has been a fixture at Belgian giant Anderlecht since joining the club at the start of October.

For the 25-year-old, who was once seen as the U.S.'s next great center back, there's no better education than the one he is receiving from manager Vincent Kompany, one of the greatest defenders of the modern game.

15. Sebastian Lletget | 30 | Midfielder | LA Galaxy

With the hype trains of so many young attacking midfielders pulling into the USMNT station, it's easy to forget the class that Lletget has demonstrated since returning to the States from West Ham United in 2015. The 28-year-old is a silky midfielder capable of creating in the final third, circulating the ball in the middle of the park and intelligently providing cover for his defense. His steady, veteran presence will be required in a team full of promise.

16. Jozy Altidore | 33 | Forward | Toronto FC

The veteran striker missed 12 of Toronto's 24 games in this shortened 2020 season, but he remains the best senior-level goal scorer at Berhalter's disposal. Even though he has a difficult injury history and will be 33 by the time he'll arrive in Qatar, he might well be the manager's best bet to start at the No. 9 spot come November 2022. If Sargent fails to take the next step, Altidore will move up the Big Board considerably if he can remain healthy.

17. Tim Weah | 22 | Forward | Lille

Long viewed as a winger, Weah has been used as a center forward by Christophe Galtier at Lille. Playing time has been elusive this season for the former Paris Saint-Germain player: He sits third in the forward pecking order as he returns to full fitness after missing nearly all of his debut campaign because of two torn hamstrings. He'll need to get his reps if he's to fulfill the promise of his teenage years, but with his talent and ability to play as a No. 9, he could prove a valuable asset for the U.S.

18. Jordan Morris | 28 | Midfielder | Seattle Sounders

Morris was the original USMNT golden child before Pulisic, Adams, McKennie and the recent influx of Europe-bound stars. Called up by Jurgen Klinsmann off the back of his performances with Stanford, the Seattle Sounders standout has matured as he has grown, providing the vision, work rate and awareness that make him an impact player at both ends of the pitch. Even if he's not generating the excitement of his younger cohorts these days, Morris stands to be someone Berhalter will rely on in Qatar.

19. Walker Zimmerman | 29 | Defender | Nashville SC

Eight of Zimmerman's 12 caps for the U.S. have come since Berhalter was appointed manager, suggesting that the 27-year-old has become a trusted lieutenant in the heart of defense. The FC Dallas academy product doesn't have the promise of Richards or the experience at the highest level like Brooks, but Zimmerman's no-nonsense defending and calmness with the ball at his feet will provide an insurance policy should injuries wreak havoc on the back line. (The New York Red Bulls' Aaron Long, 18 months Zimmerman's senior, will have his eye on such a role as well.)

20. Richard Ledezma | 22 | Midfielder | PSV Eindhoven

A talented playmaker, Ledezma has been lighting up the Dutch youth leagues with PSV and registered an assist in his 16-minute senior debut earlier this month. His creativity would be a welcome addition to a midfield that -- anchored by Adams and McKennie -- offers more function than form, but with so little senior experience so far, projecting whether the 20-year-old can provide that vision from the middle of the park is a challenge.

21. Michael Bradley | 35 | Midfielder | Toronto FC

With Adams and McKennie firmly embedded in the U.S. midfield, Berhalter won't necessarily need the defensive cover and steel that Bradley brings to the table. There's no doubting his leadership would be a boon to a very young squad even if he might not quite fit the high-speed direction of the national team.

22. Sean Johnson | 33 | Goalkeeper | New York City FC

Johnson has been in the form of his life this year, backstopping a shaky and inconsistent NYCFC to contender status in MLS' Eastern Conference. He would be a safe pair of hands should injury or a dramatic loss of form lead Berhalter to need alternatives beyond Steffen.

23. Ethan Horvath | 27 | Goalkeeper | Club Brugge

Playing time at Brugge has proved problematic for Horvath, who made only three appearances last season and has featured just twice so far this term. If that continues, there's every chance the 25-year-old could well miss out on the trip to Qatar, but for now the Colorado native possesses enough talent and potential to justify a place on this list.

Missing out on the flight to Qatar

24. Mark McKenzie | 23 | Defender | Philadelphia Union

The 21-year-old center back has firmly established himself as one of the brightest young defenders in MLS this season, justifying the interest shown in him by European clubs like Celtic, Anderlecht and Union Berlin. If any of the central defenders ahead of him on this list falter, there's every chance McKenzie could force his way into Berhalter's 23-man roster.

25. Cristian Roldan | 27 | Midfielder | Seattle Sounders

There might be no more versatile midfielder in the U.S. pool than Roldan, who has proved adept in a deep-lying role, as a No. 8, on the wing and as an advanced playmaker. The flip side to that is the 25-year-old hasn't truly made any of those roles his own, and while a jack-of-all-trades has value to the national team, there's less and less room for a master of none.

26. Paul Arriola | 27 | Midfielder | D.C. United

Arriola has demonstrated he's a reliable player on the wings, able to contribute offensively while offering shutdown work rate and defense. But with Morris providing similar attributes and a glut of talented young players in similar positions, the 25-year-old might end up the odd man out.

27. Paxton Pomykal | 22 | Midfielder | FC Dallas

The sky is the limit for Pomykal. After establishing himself as a regular in Luchi Gonzalez's first XI last season, the then-19-year-old attracted the attention of AC Milan and several of Europe's biggest clubs, positioning himself for a monster 2020, only for a groin injury to end his campaign after only five games. He has missed 33 games through injury in the past four seasons, and if he isn't able to stay healthy, Berhalter will have to look elsewhere for creativity in the midfield.

28. Konrad de la Fuente | 21 | Forward | Barcelona

De la Fuente possesses vast potential, with the technical ability and trickery to be a devastating attacking option. But as is the case with so many 19-year-olds, consistency has proved elusive. If that changes and he can impact games week in and week out, the Barcelona academy product could prove as impactful as any attacker on this list.

29. Ulysses Llanez | 21 | Forward | Wolfsburg

Llanez has been a standout throughout his youth career, but he has yet to break through in senior football. The 19-year-old has yet to make an appearance for Wolfsburg, and after moving to the Eredivisie with Heerenveen in September, he has played only 38 minutes. If minutes and subsequently goals come, Llanez could be the answer to Berhalter's forward conundrum.

30. Sebastian Soto | 22 | Forward | Telstar (on loan from Norwich City)

Soto is another candidate to solve the USMNT's quandary up front, having shone at youth level and now making headlines in the Dutch second division, where he has scored five goals in seven appearances with Telstar.

DO NOT GET Skylar Mays wrong -- of course he wants to be picked in the first round of the 2020 NBA draft. It's just that going 44th overall would be special in its own way.

"Being picked at 44 would be pretty cool," the LSU guard said. "I wouldn't be mad at that, to be honest."

Wayde Sims wore jersey No. 44 with the Tigers. Actually, Sims had always worn 44 -- or at least since he and Mays were 12 or 13 years old, inseparable friends with a special connection on and off the basketball court. Just before the 2018-19 season, though, Sims was shot and killed -- and now, with the draft approaching, Mays is facing the biggest moment of his life without Sims.

"I can recall something with Wayde in pretty much every situation of my life, every day," Mays said. "Grieving is a weird thing."

Mays and Sims played two years together at LSU, where they were key rotation players, but neither was projected as an NBA prospect. But over the past two years, as Mays grappled with the death of his friend, he said he channeled his grief into heightened focus on the court, which led to a dramatic leap onto draft boards.

"Sky was always such a hard, diligent worker in everything that he did," LSU coach Will Wade said of Mays, who maintained a 4.01 GPA while majoring in kinesiology with a pre-med focus. "But I do think [Sims' death] gave him a little bit more sense of purpose, because he wasn't just doing it for himself; he's doing it for others, as well."

Mays is now a well-established, second-round prospect, projected to go 46th overall by ESPN's Jonathan Givony -- a far cry from where Mays was just two years ago. And as he prepares to take the leap into the NBA draft (Nov. 18 on ESPN), his play is an enduring tribute.

"That made me more locked in on my job," Mays said of losing Sims. "I just wanted to emulate his ways."

MAYS AND SIMS met, naturally, through basketball, in a league in their hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 2006.

"It was always Wayde and Skylar," said Sims' mother, Fay. "Like, you didn't see Skylar without Wayde or Wayde without Skylar. I know I felt like Skylar was one of my own, and I still do now."

They played AAU ball together then teamed up in sixth grade at University Laboratory School, a K-12 school on LSU's campus in Baton Rouge.

Mays can still remember Sims' first dunk.

They were 11 years old and playing at an AAU tournament in Lafayette, an hour west of Baton Rouge.

"It was a putback," Mays said. "That's probably the only time you can get one when you're 11."

A few years later, Mays caught up, getting his first in-game dunk during their freshman season in high school.

"He'd been dunking in games," Mays said of Sims, who was 6-foot-6 by the eighth grade. "So me, finally, me being able to do it and say I could do something that he could do, that was a cool moment for me."

They led University Lab School to a pair of state championships, before Mays left to play his senior season at Findlay Prep in Nevada.

Mays was a four-star recruit who had offers from around the country, including UNLV, whose campus sits just 10 miles from Findlay. Some recruiting analysts thought Mays' move was signaling a future with the Rebels, but Mays committed to LSU that August. He was reunited with Sims, who had selected LSU over other local Louisiana schools two months earlier.

"We were like yin and yang," Mays said. "Anybody who watched us play knows we were at the hip, how well we read each other, how we used to play off of each other."

The two experienced their first losing season together as freshmen at LSU, but they began to turn things around in their sophomore season under the new coach, Wade. Heading into the 2018-19 season, LSU was ranked in the preseason top 25 and expecting big things.

The day before the first practice of the season, Sims and some friends attended a fraternity party at nearby Southern University, while Mays stayed at his dorm to study and prepare for practice the next morning.

Shortly after midnight on Sept. 28, 2018, an argument broke out outside the party involving about eight people, including one of Sims' friends. Sims stepped between his friend and Dyteon Simpson, who allegedly responded by shooting Sims in the head. The encounter was captured on video by multiple bystanders, and the 20-year-old Simpson was arrested a day later. He remains incarcerated, awaiting trial.

Mays began getting a stream of text messages about the shooting around 2 a.m., most saying, "I'm sorry," before another LSU athlete finally called to tell him what had happened.

"I pretty much went blank after that," Mays said.

The rest of that Friday is hazy for Mays. He remembers having a team meeting but doesn't remember if they reflected on what happened. Eventually, Sims' parents came back to campus to pick up his dog, Buddha.

"I saw Ms. Fay and she hugged me and said, 'That's my only baby. That's my only child,'" Mays said. "That's when it really hit home really hard. I was still kind of in shock before, but when Ms. Fay hugged me ... it hit me."

Three days later, at an on-campus vigil held in front of the Pete Maravich Assembly Center where LSU plays its home games, Fay Sims asked Mays to speak.

Standing in front of hundreds, including former LSU football coach Les Miles and athletes from nearly every team on campus, with his coach by his side, Mays spoke for 11 minutes.

"He was more composed than I was up there," Wade said. "I mean, there's 50-year-olds that couldn't do what he did. ... It was just very, very powerful and something that very few people could do."

Mays calls giving speeches his "biggest fear," but, he said, "It was easy to talk about Wayde."

"You find strength in yourself you didn't know you had," he said.

LSU DEDICATED THE 2018-19 season to Sims' memory. The school preserved Sims' locker -- two stalls down from Mays' -- behind plexiglass for what would have been Sims' final two seasons before graduating. The Tigers wore a memorial patch on their jerseys, and Mays began wearing a wristband bearing Sims' No. 44, as LSU made an unexpected run to the Sweet 16 in 2019.

"It just felt like everything was going our way and it was always something weird [happening] that some people [attribute to the] basketball gods," Mays said. "We all were saying Wayde was helping us out there."

Throughout that season, assistant coach Greg Heiar, who was assigned to work with Mays twice a day almost every day for three years, saw a player who was in pain but newly determined.

"It was a life-changing moment," said Heiar, now an assistant coach at East Tennessee State. "He was already focused before, but he was laser-focused after [Sims' death]."

Though Mays' outstanding GPA and potential in the medical field were frequent topics of discussion during LSU broadcasts, one day he sat down with Heiar and started talking about his future -- not as a doctor, but as a professional basketball player.

After averaging 9.8 points per game over his first two seasons, Mays boosted his scoring average to 13.4 as a junior, eventually earning second-team All-SEC honors. He bested that a year later, putting up 16.7 PPG and receiving All-SEC first team recognition while also being named the SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive season.

This offseason, Mays worked on his shooting with NBA guard Langston Galloway. After shooting 39.4% from 3-point range as a senior, Mays put up impressive shooting numbers at the NBA's virtual draft combine, finishing second in the spot-up 3-point shooting drill (76%) and tied for eighth (70%) in the endurance drill (five minutes of consecutive game-speed spot-up 3s).

Some footage of LSU's Skylar Mays in the NBA Combine spot-up shooting and endurance drills. Mays ranked as the second best spot-up shooter among the 40+ participants we've seen Combine data on thus far. pic.twitter.com/cDNM9jQeD0

— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) November 6, 2020

The combine performance was emblematic of his improvement over the years. Mays shot just 32.8% from 3-point range during an underwhelming freshman season, and when Wade took over as coach following that season, some privately asked him if he planned on keeping Mays around. He scoffed at that notion, having been impressed by Mays during an early-season game in the Bahamas, when he came off the bench to score 14 points against Wade's VCU squad.

"When he puts a task in front of himself, whether it's academic or otherwise, he's going to do everything he can to achieve whatever he set out to do," Wade said. "And this was what he set out to do basketball-wise."

SINCE LSU'S 2019-20 season prematurely ended in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, Mays has been preparing for the draft in Baton Rouge, where he is surrounded by reminders of his late friend.

"I just let it flow naturally," he said. "Some days are good. Some days are bad. But with Wayde always being so positive, I'd say most days are positive."

Mays often visits Sims' grave, sometimes meeting Fay Sims there, where they'll rearrange flowers or just sit and chat. Mays stays in close contact with the Sims family, whom he encouraged to continue attending LSU games after Wayde's death.

"It was Skylar that allowed me to say, 'OK, like, I have to sit here and watch this game,'" Fay Sims said. "That helped me to even be able to go to some of the games after Wayde's passing. I knew that I could go and support Skylar and love and hug on him at the end of the games."

When LSU clinched the SEC championship against Vanderbilt on March 9, 2019, Mays immediately found Fay in the stands and gave her a hug. Then he watched with joy as Fay and her husband, Wayne, who played at LSU from 1987 to 1991, climbed the ladder to cut down a piece of the net.

"It was just great that they got to be a part of something their son had such a big touch on," Mays said.

He also wants to make sure they're present for his big moment. He grew up with their son, sharing these basketball dreams, and he said "it'll mean everything" to have Fay and Wayne Sims at a draft celebration he plans to hold in the short window between the draft and the start of training camp on Dec. 1.

And while Wayde Sims won't be there, his memory will always be with Mays.

"Wayde knows I love him," Mays said.

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell has praised the comprehensive nature of his side's Autumn Nations Cup win over Wales in Dublin on Friday.

"Overall, I thought it was a dominant performance and the scoreline was a reflective one," said Farrell, whose side led 16-6 at half-time.

"First half, [we played] some really good dominant stuff that I thought was better than a 10-point lead at half-time."

Ireland turned over Wales' line-out four times and enjoyed considerable success at the scrum, with loose-head prop Andrew Porter in particular continuing his run of good form in the absence of Tadhg Furlong.

Farrell has won four - all at home - of his opening six matches in charge.

Ireland will expect to pick up another win in two weeks' time when Georgia come to Dublin, but before then Farrell's side travel to Twickenham to face England.

"You'd like to think that any Irish side at the Aviva is able to be dominant," said Farrell.

"How do you get to be dominant? Your set-piece has to be good.

"Our scrum was really abrasive and our defensive line-out was better as well and we took some ball off them.

"To be dominant you need a good defence and I thought our defence was physical; got off the line.

"It was better than a 10-point lead at half-time and then, second half, [it was] a little bit disjointed at times - but I thought Wales did a good job on our speed of ball and breakdown. It just stopped a little bit of continuity."

Ireland hopeful key trio will face England

Farrell is still optimistic about being able to call on Johnny Sexton for next week's game, after the fly-half was forced off by injury in the first half.

The head coach also expects Iain Henderson (illness) and Jacob Stockdale (calf) to be available at Twickenham. The Ulster duo were late omissions from the Ireland side, having initially been named to start.

Sexton limped off with a hamstring problem after kicking his second penalty, while Henderson and Stockdale withdrew because of an unspecified medical issue and a calf injury respectively.

"It doesn't feel too serious, just very frustrating," said Sexton. "I thought initially I was going to be able to run it off but unfortunately not.

"I will probably get a scan and see if there is any little damage done, but I am still hopeful for next week."

Karachi Kings chose to bowl vs Multan Sultans

Karachi Kings won the toss and opted to bowl first against Multan Sultans. In the first playoff game of the 2020 edition at the National Stadium, Imad Wasim felt he was confident his batsmen had the ability to chase whatever was set. Victory here would give either side a spot in Tuesday's final, with the loser having to play an eliminator on Sunday. Mohammd Rizwan sat out, as did Umer Khan, with Chadwick Walton keeping his place, while Wayne Parnell, Alex Hales and Shane Rutherford were the other overseas players.

Multan Sultans, who topped the group stages, were harder hit by absences. They still had Rilee Rossouw, who started, as did Adam Lyth, Ravi Bopara and Imran Tahir. Aside from the four overseas player, in-form Khushdil Shah was part of the starting eleven, as was the veteran Shahid Afridi. The pitch appeared to be hard and dry, and Multan will be keenly aware of the importance of a big total to fend off Karachi's top order.

Multan Sultans: Zeeshan Ashraf (wk), Adam Lyth, Shan Masood (capt), Rilee Rossouw, Ravi Bopara, Khushdil Shah, Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Ilyas, Imran Tahir, Mohammad Irfan

Karachi Kings: Babar Azam, Sharjeel Khan, Alex Hales, Wayne Parnell, Chadwick Walton (wk), Imad Wasim (capt), Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Amir Shane Rutherford, Arshad Iqbal, Waqas Maqsood

The India players who are on tour in Australia have begun training after the entire contingent tested negative for Covid-19. On Saturday, two days after the arrival of India's touring party in Sydney, the BCCI tweeted photographs from the players' outdoor and gym sessions.

Two days off the plane and #TeamIndia had their first outdoor session today. A bit of to get the body moving! #AUSIND pic.twitter.com/GQkvCU6m15

— BCCI (@BCCI) November 14, 2020

Though India have begun training, they will remain in quarantine for the first two weeks of their stay in Australia. The tour will begin with the white-ball leg - three ODIs and three T20Is shared between Sydney and Canberra - before proceeding to a four-Test series that begins with a day-night game in Adelaide from December 17-21, followed by the Boxing Day and New Year's Tests in Melbourne and Sydney respectively, and the final Test in Brisbane from January 15 to 19.

First training day in #Sydney pic.twitter.com/SCtD372zmi

— Ravindrasinh jadeja (@imjadeja) November 14, 2020

The Indians will also play two warm-up games in Sydney before the Test series - the first, which clashes with the T20I series, from December 6 to 8, and the second from December 11 to 13.

Agents in football are nothing like Jerry Maguire. It's not that they don't develop heartfelt bonds with their representatives: Mino Raiola, who represents Paul Pogba, Erling Haaland and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, famously has no written contracts tying him to his clients but relies on handshakes instead. No, the difference is that in Maguire's world -- and in most U.S. sports -- agents are paid by players for representing them in contract negotiations, whether with sponsors or clubs. In football, they still represent players in contract negotiations with teams, but agents typically get paid by the teams, not the players they're representing.

Moreover, for many agents, a big chunk of the business comes during the transfer window when they act directly for clubs as intermediaries.

In most football leagues outside MLS, players under contract aren't traded and because they have guaranteed deals, they can't be released. So their contracts are bought and sold for cash, which means there's plenty of business to be had representing either a club looking to sell a player or a club looking to acquire a player. You can get paid for that, too.

If it's a player you represent, you get paid twice. And though this is rare, you can hit the trifecta and get paid by all parties involved: buyer, seller and the player.

Such a system is evidently rife with potential for conflicts of interest and malfeasance. But last week, FIFA unveiled a raft of new regulations aimed at limiting such practices while increasing transparency, mandating licensing and putting a cap on the commissions an agent can earn for an individual transfer. It appears certain they will be approved next spring and come into effect in September 2021.

Why did FIFA feel this was necessary?

Football agency is a loosely regulated system, and as often happens with unregulated markets, things are generally fine until two things happen: the money paid becomes huge, and a few operators come to dominate big sectors of the market. That's pretty much what has happened over the past decade in football.

According to FIFA, fees paid to agents more than doubled over four years, from 2015 to 2019, to more than $630m. At the same time, top football agencies have more power than ever before in terms of the talent they represent and, effectively, control. According to Transfermarkt, which issues market values for each player, the top two agencies control more than a billion pounds' ($1.3 billion) worth of players. That's more than any club: Liverpool's players have the highest market value, at £973m ($1.28 billion), just ahead of Manchester City (£971m/$1.27m).

And, by the way, the two agencies at the top by aggregate market value of their clients aren't Mino Raiola or Jorge Mendes' Gestifute (Cristiano Ronaldo, Jose Mourinho, Ederson), they're the relatively lower profile Stellar, who was recently acquired by ICM (Gareth Bale, Ben Chilwell, Saul) and Wasserman (Fede Valverde, Houssem Aouar, Jamie Vardy).

So agents have a lot of clout and a lot of money, but that doesn't necessarily make them bad.

Of course not, though it does create potential conflicts of interest. For example, when an agency represents both a manager or coach and a player at the same club. Or when an agency has players at a club to the point where it gains leverage and can influence a club's decisions.

That's why the disclosure part of the new regulations is key. There's a lot of cash sloshing around, and when there's a lot of cash, you're tempted to put it to work for you to ensure you keep your share of the market, especially when there's very little regulation and such an extreme lack of transparency. That's also why there have been reports of bungs (essentially bribes paid to the decision-makers at clubs), money-laundering, exploitation of minors and so on.

I see FIFA are also going to cap the amounts that agents can earn.

Yes. If you represent a player or a buying club, it's 3% of his wages, which goes up to 6% if you're acting for both the player and the buying club. If you're helping sell a player, it's 10% of the transfer fee. Those are all maximums.

Shouldn't it be up to the club to pay whatever they deem appropriate?

That's a good point. If you have transparency -- which we'll get to in a moment -- it shouldn't matter. James Kitching, FIFA's director of football regulatory, says it's a matter of perception. In an ideal world, he says, you'd let the market decide; there would be an upfront disclosure from a service provider and the customer would determine if he wants to pay it.

"But that's not what happens now," Kitching says. "A lot of the commission payments are negotiated after the fact -- they're tacked on as part of a transfer deal. We want to get back to something that reflects the work provided. It's a matter of perception ... I'm not saying large numbers automatically lead to abusive practices, but an agent who acts on your behalf has a fiduciary duty to act in your best interests, and sometimes big numbers may cause an agent not to act in the best interests of the client."

I get his point. FIFA's regulations lay out many different ways an agent can be paid that do not involve commissions, like negotiating a fixed fee, or paying an hourly rate or retainer. These aren't capped. This feels a little bit like playing to the masses by simply cutting the amount somebody can earn, but if we have full disclosure, this shouldn't be necessary.

But we do have greater transparency in the regulations, don't we?

Yes, and I think this is the best part. FIFA say they will publish the details of every transfer, including the fees paid to the individual agents. Sunlight is the best disinfectant, as the saying goes. If a club decides to pay agent XYZ $2 million for helping them sell a $20m player, they can explain their actions and be held to account. Disclosure will also help where there are potential conflicts of interest.

Like what?

For example, the owners of Wolverhampton Wanderers, via subsidiary called Foyo, own a 15% share in the parent company of Gestifute, Jorge Mendes' agency. Article 12 of FIFA's new regulations would bar anyone with an interest in a football agency to also hold an interest, directly or indirectly, in a league or club. It seems like common sense, but it's the strongest stance yet taken by a regulatory body.

Oh, and by the way: the relationship between Wolves' owners and Gestifute at least was transparent and passed as fit by the Football Association. FIFA believe there are other relationships that are far murkier and undisclosed.

What about the licensing of agents?

They will need to pass an exam, acquire liability insurance, submit to a code of conduct, be governed by a FIFA dispute resolution body, pay an annual fee and take online tests to make sure they're up to date with regulations and practices. Otherwise, they're out.

Will it work?

FIFA say they consulted agents and the majority are in favour of it, although, you presume, some of the ones getting the mega-commissions are not. Much will depend on what happens at national level since technically, FIFA only have direct jurisdiction over international transfers. FIFA are confident member associations will support the changes.

There's also the threat of legal action, though again, FIFA are confident that, a bit like financial fair play, folks scream and shout about this violating EU competition law (which is meant to guarantee a free and fair market) and then get nowhere in court.

The single biggest positive, as I see it, are the disclosure requirements. Once everything is in the open, fans and media and players can judge for themselves and, if necessary, exert pressure or demand explanation from the decision-makers.

This isn't going to fix everything, and there is always the possibility that some of football's malfeasance just gets pushed further underground, with payments off the books or offshore. But it does raise barriers, and it does raise awareness. That's a huge step after years of FIFA effectively abdicating responsibility.

Argentina have beaten New Zealand for the first time in their history with a 25-15 win in the Rugby Championship.

The Pumas led 16-3 at the break and kept New Zealand at bay to secure a famous and shock win.

"This is a big day for Argentina rugby and also for our country and people," said Argentina captain, Pablo Matera.

"It very tough there at the moment and it was tough for us to come here and prepare ourselves for this tournament.

"We just want to show our people that if you work hard with a lot of determination you can get things done.

"We are really proud of this team and of our country."

Fly-half Nicolas Sanchez scored all of Argentina's points with a try, six penalties and a conversion.

More to follow.