Ander Herrera has said he did not want to leave Manchester United last summer but revealed his decision was fuelled by "disagreements" with the board.

Herrera left Old Trafford after five years to sign for Paris Saint-Germain as a free agent after contract talks with United broke down.

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The midfielder insists he is happy in the French capital but admits he would have liked to stay in Manchester longer.

"When I look back a year ago, my intention was not to leave Manchester United," Herrera told ESPN.

"I had some different opinions with the board but I respect them. I respect them a lot. They do things for Manchester United and I disagree with the people who say they don't. They really suffer when things don't go well and they really fight to bring Manchester United back.

"I disagreed with some of the decisions they made but this happens in football. In happens in every company.

"Apart from that, I respect them. I had a great relationship with Ed Woodward and with the owners when they came so I have nothing to complain about with them."

PSG have been crowned champions of Ligue 1 in Herrera's first year at the club after the French government suspended all sporting events in the country until September because of the coronavirus pandemic.

It is the first league title of Herrera's career after spells at Real Zaragoza, Athletic Bilbao and United but the 30-year-old, who has made 18 appearances in all competitions this season, said he has not celebrated the triumph as he would have done normally.

"To be honest, I didn't celebrate it," Herrera said. "I love football but I love to play football and win trophies on the pitch.

"Of course, it's good to have one more title but it's not the same. I wanted to celebrate with our fans and my teammates.

"I haven't won a league title since I was a professional because in Manchester we had the possibility to win some trophies but not the Premier League, so I was looking forward to it but we couldn't do it on the pitch.

"I think it's well deserved because we were 12 points ahead of Marseille but it is what it is.

"I hope we can fight for the cup titles that we still have to play on the pitch with fans in the stadium and let's see if we can also fight for the Champions League. To be honest, it's quite sad to win my first league title like this."

Multan Sultans co-owner Ali Khan Tareen and Kolkata Knight Riders CEO Venky Mysore have registered their interest in investing in teams in the Hundred, the ECB's 100-ball competition which is due to start next summer after its recent postponement.

The ECB initially rejected the involvement of private investment when devising its new city-based tournament, but the financial fallout of the Covid-19 crisis - which could cost the English game as much as £380 million (US$470m) - could prompt a softening of that stance. Chief executive Tom Harrison said last week that the pandemic could force the ECB into "a place where we have to look at some of those opportunities".

Tareen - whose father Jehangir is a long-time close advisor to prime minister Imran Khan - told ESPNcricinfo that he believes potential investors should have at least some links to the team they want a stake in. Having owned a house in Hampshire for the best part of a decade, Tareen wants to invest in the Southern Brave, if such an opportunity becomes possible.

ALSO READ: Explainer: Will the Hundred make a profit?

"I'm a Hampshire boy who loves Hampshire cricket," he said. "I see it as a way to benefit the counties, so they get more money. If someone with no connections owns a side, they wouldn't give a hoot about counties. Why would they? Someone like me, who's an actual Hampshire fan, sees the real attraction of external investment as my opportunity to help Hampshire.

"There shouldn't be a case where the teams are sold fully to a random owner. I've heard of problems occurring at the CPL when owners haven't been vetted, as well as the Global T20 in Canada. The ECB cannot afford to have issues like these happen to their league.

"What I suggest is they find people not to own and run teams, but to contribute financially to them because they care about a team or have connections to that area. Even right now, one person doesn't run the team, a board runs the team. Maybe that one person then gets to sit on the board for a year. They can then help grow the profile of their side and by extension the league in different countries, and leverage local connections. I get that most owners would want to control a side, but this isn't about that."

Tareen, whose Sultans side finished top of the PSL's group stages thanks to a data-driven strategy before Covid-19 curtailed the season, said that his ties with coaches and backroom staff could help Southern Brave succeed. "The likes of Andy Flower, Nathan Leamon, Azhar Mahmood, who've been involved internationally, perhaps I'd be able to convince them to join up more? That would benefit both the team and the county. As a Hampshire fan, to be a 10% owner, have a board seat, travel with the team, give your own input, is a massive attraction."

Each county will receive an annual sum of £1.3m (US$1.6m) from the competition, and Tareen said that any private investors should keep in mind that the rationale behind the Hundred was in part to ensure the financial viability of the county game. "The counties are the main stakeholders from this and they need to benefit from the Hundred. With more money, they could benefit cricket in their region. The spirit of the investors needs to be that of benefactors, not profiteers."

Under the Hundred's existing model, all eight teams are owned by the ECB with no private investors. Last week, a report by the advisory firm Oakwell Sports recommended that the ECB should consider selling equity in the teams to reduce the financial hit of Covid-19, and to help "unlock the south Asian, UK-based fanbase". The report's authors included Mike Fordham, who helped launch the IPL in 2008 and supported a private ownership model while working as head of the Hundred for two-and-a-half years at the ECB.

Mysore, the CEO of Kolkata Knight Riders' parent company Red Chillies Entertainment, which is owned by Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, said that he had met with two ECB representatives "three or four years ago" while the possibility of private investment was being floated, and had engaged in "some interesting conversations" with Harrison in 2015 when the pair were in Barbados. Red Chillies purchased the Trinidad and Tobago franchise in the CPL in 2015, renaming the team Trinbago Knight Riders a year later.

Unlike Tareen, Mysore suggested that the group's interest in the competition would likely demand a controlling stake in a team. "A passive investment doesn't make sense for us," he told ESPNcricinfo. "If I go there I want to build a business. We probably do it better than anyone else: we know how to manage from a distance and how to leverage all aspects of running a cricket franchise.

"If you go to Trinidad and Tobago - TKR is a household name, during the season if you walk into a restaurant everyone is wearing a TKR jersey. That's the value that we bring. It has to be a meaningful partnership for us, and it has to be something where the league can also leverage our expertise, otherwise it doesn't make a lot of sense.

"We'd be very open to evaluating it and would be very keen on it if it came about, but we don't know all the details right now. As and when [the ECB] are ready, and if they ask us to evaluate it and send us a proposal, we'd look at it very positively and we'd be very keen."

Mysore said that if the company did invest, the ECB could "rest assured" that the Knight Riders brand would help to engage South Asian fans, both in the UK and overseas. "One market that TKR have been able to tap into is the diaspora in the US," he said. "There's a huge market there, and there's a large number of people that fly into our games from Miami or New York. We can help unlock that market in the UK and bring in new viewerships from the diaspora from round the world.

"[The ECB] have to figure out their situation - I know all the counties are involved, and how you balance all these things is important. I honestly don't know whether the model can be tweaked sufficiently to bring in brands and other investors because of all the other stakeholders who are involved there. That's going to be their challenge. [Private investment] would make the tournament much bigger."

Any shift towards involving private investors in the Hundred would require counties' approval, and there is likely to be a review into the competition's viability when the ECB's incoming chairman Ian Watmore begins his tenure in August. The ECB decided against such a model in order to maintain control of the new teams but there would likely be no shortage of willing overseas investors. Kings XI Punjab's owners purchased the St Lucia Zouks in February, while the companies behind PSL teams Peshawar Zalmi and Lahore Qalandars have previously expressed interest in global expansion.

Women's cricket risks being sidelined amid the clamour to schedule matches at the small number of bio-secure venues in England and Wales, should the sport get underway this summer in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Clare Connor, the ECB's managing director of women's cricket, made the frank admission on Wednesday that while representatives of the women's game were involved in discussions about staging international cricket behind closed doors if lockdown restrictions are eased, they had to be "realistic" about the prospect of making way for men's fixtures as the ECB looks to reduce a projected £380 million loss.

"We have to be completely realistic as the weeks tick away and the lead-in time to getting international men's and women's cricketers ready to play ticks away," Connor said. "If the international women's schedule can't be fulfilled in full but a large amount of the international men's programme can this summer, which is going to reduce that £380 million hole, we have to be realistic about that.

"We've got these long-term ambitions for the game that extend beyond this summer and trying to protect as much investment as possible over the next five years, that is largely going to come down to how much international men's cricket can be staged this summer.

"That's not to say we won't be fighting hard to play our international schedule against India and South Africa as best we can. But we're only going to have a few venues, if any, in operation and if that ends up being two bio-secure environments or three, there's only a certain number of days to try to cram everything into."

ALSO READ: Harrison denies Hundred 'gamble' as ECB faces £380m loss

Tom Harrison, the ECB's chief exceutive, told the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) inquiry into the impact of Covid-19 on sport in the UK on Tuesday that English cricket's losses this summer could reach £380 million if the entire season is wiped out.

The ECB is investigating the possibility of staging matches involving only players, officials, essential staff and broadcasters at venues with on-site hotels - like Southampton's Ageas Bowl and Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester - or with hotels nearby to reduce the risk of transmitting coronavirus and keep costs down.

It is hoped such a plan would allow England's men to play their three-Test series against West Indies, which was originally due to start on June 4, and three Tests against Pakistan, which had been planned for August, but it is dependent on the UK government easing the lockdown to the point that cricket can be staged at all after July 1, which was the earliest date the ECB has set for a return of matches.

The ECB is in talks with the BCCI about rescheduling the India women's tour, which was due to start on June 25 but postponed once the July 1 date was set, and Connor hoped that England could host South Africa for two T20Is and four ODIs in September as planned.

"It's impossibly difficult to imagine all that international cricket being able to take place but we'll have to make the best of what we can put on," she said.

"I would be devastated if there was no international women's cricket this summer. No one would be more disappointed, but I do believe that we've got this period to get through and we've all got to come out of it in as healthy a way as possible.

"If we have to play less international women's cricket this summer to safeguard the longer-term future and investment and building the infrastructure for a more stable and sustainable women's game then that is probably a hit we might have to take."

Despite previous suggestions to the contrary, Connor accepted Harrison's assertion that £20 million pledged last October to women's and girls cricket over the next two years, was not ring-fenced.

"If you're facing a potential deficit of £380 million, I don't think any sport or non-sport organisation could guarantee financial certainty given the uncertain environment in which that business is operating," Connor said. "There is no part of the ECB that has been afforded ring-fenced funding.

"The £20 million that has so far been signed off by the board was for 2020 and 2021 and that is still the budget we are working to, albeit we are going to have lower areas of spend for obvious reasons in 2020. What's really important is that we can't give that guarantee of ring-fencing but what we can give is a guarantee or a promise that that vision for the game remains unchanged.

"If this pandemic has shown us anything, it's shown us about the need for a more equal society and so the commitment to making the game better for women and girls is very steadfast."

Part of that investment was intended to go towards 40 professional contracts for players in addition to those on ECB central contracts and to stage a 50-over domestic women's competition between eight regional teams in September. Connor said while that competition had not been removed from this year's schedule, "we have to plan for it not to happen as much as we have to plan for it to happen".

With the postponement of the Hundred, there is an entire tier of women facing the prospect of not playing any cricket this season. In recognition of the financial impact on those players, Connor expects to still award those 40 contracts later this year but in the meantime place many recipients on a retainer, albeit at a reduced pay rate. In turn, the players would commit to strength-and-conditioning programmes, embark on off-field education such as anti-corruption and anti-doping modules, and work with mentors from the senior squad.

"What we are doing is we are looking at, in the interim, how we can show those players that we care," Connor said. "We want to keep them motivated and we don't want to lose them to other career opportunities that might presented themselves to them."

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa was the NFL's Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2019 and has even bigger goals for himself as he enters his second season.

For Bosa, meeting those expectations figures to be more difficult after the offseason trade in which the Niners sent defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to the Indianapolis Colts for the No. 13 pick in last month's NFL draft.

Speaking to Bay Area media for the first time since just after the Super Bowl LIV loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, Bosa covered a wide variety of topics over the course of about 16 minutes and made it clear that replacing Buckner's production and leadership will be no easy task, even for a defensive line as deep as San Francisco's.

"Buck was definitely one of my best friends on the team and seeing him go is obviously bittersweet," Bosa said. "He got a pretty good contract and he deserves it but just losing him as a leader, we're going to have to really figure out how to step up and fill that void because he was the third down D-line play caller, he was the hype speech guy, he was everything. And I think he played with the best effort on the D-line, which really shows on tape when you see somebody that big sprinting to the ball every play and making those tackles downfield and obviously his pass rush ability, we're gonna have to step it up for him."

Buckner had been a key piece of the 49ers' rebuild from the moment they picked him No. 7 in the 2016 NFL draft. In four seasons with the Niners, he missed just one game, played the third-most snaps in the league and posted 28.5 regular season sacks. He was also a two-time team captain and won the team's Bill Walsh Award in February, which is given to the Niners player who "best represented the standard of professional excellence."

With Buckner now in Indianapolis, Bosa said the onus will fall on him and the rest of his linemates, including players such as Dee Ford, Arik Armstead, Solomon Thomas, D.J. Jones and Ronald Blair III, to keep the defensive line at an elite level.

The Niners also drafted South Carolina defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw with the No. 14 pick after trading down one spot from the selection they initially acquired for Buckner. Kinlaw is expected to step right into Buckner's spot as the three-technique defensive tackle.

Bosa hasn't seen a lot of Kinlaw but has been impressed with what little he's watched.

"He just embodies what we do as a D-line," Bosa said. "Just the way he plays the run, he's just a beast. He plays the run like we play it. He gets off the ball really fast and he's just a giant human, perfect to replace Buckner and I'm really excited. He seems like a good dude and I've been talking to him a little bit so I can't wait."

As for Bosa's own offseason endeavors, he admitted to taking some time to get over the Super Bowl loss before he was able to move on and realize that he will have more chances to win it in the future.

Bosa has spent his offseason at home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, training with his brother Joey, in a strict regimen that involves waking up at 6 a.m., getting to a field in a nearby park for about 90 minutes of running followed by breakfast and then a trip to the gym owned by their father for more workouts that last until about 2 p.m.

"Honestly, my body is feeling unbelievable at this point," Bosa said.

After the 49ers drafted Bosa second overall in 2019, he quickly became a key cog in their turnaround. Bosa finished the regular season with 47 tackles, nine sacks, 16 tackles for loss, two fumble recoveries, two passes defended, an interception and a forced fumble. His 60 quarterback pressures were second-most in the league and he added four sacks and two forced fumbles in the postseason.

Despite that production, Bosa said Wednesday that he's hoping to "see the field a little better" in his second season. Bosa felt like he made some "little technique" errors that were visible on film.

"My expectations are always high and I set my goals really high and I've been achieving them so I'm going to just keep setting them high and just keep working my butt off and I know the work I'm putting in now is going to show up," Bosa said. "And I think I'm going to be a much smarter player next year and I'm just gonna know how to approach my opponents much better and I'm not going to waste rushes and make silly mistakes that I made last year and hopefully enhance my game."

Former Wake Forest big man Olivier Sarr, arguably the top college basketball transfer this spring, will play for Kentucky, he announced Wednesday.

"I felt that was the best fit and the best opportunity for me, being able to play for that great program and showcase my winning drive on that stage," Sarr told ESPN, in reference to playing for John Calipari at Kentucky. "Coach Cal made me understand that I was needed over there."

After coach Danny Manning was fired, Sarr informed Wake Forest that he wanted to enter the transfer portal, which he did shortly after the Demon Deacons hired East Tennessee State's Steve Forbes as their new coach last week.

Sarr told ESPN that he heard from more than a dozen schools, including Duke, Baylor, Florida State and Gonzaga. He also met with Forbes and the new Wake Forest coaching staff over the weekend.

New beginnings @KentuckyMBB @UKCoachCalipari #LaFamilia ?⚪️ pic.twitter.com/CBRsXsGgsP

— Olivier Sarr (@sarr_olivier) May 6, 2020

The decision ultimately came down to transferring to Kentucky or returning to Wake Forest.

"I don't think people realize how hard it is for me," said Sarr, a 7-footer from France. "I hope they understand that I'm not transferring because I don't like the school, the team, the new coach. Just that I felt like this was the best opportunity and I had to take it.

"It's going to be tough, talking to my coaches and teammates, fans, professors, managers. It's a tough decision. I don't know how to explain it. I loved Wake. They welcomed me with open arms, when I was a skinny freshman who barely spoke English. I will always be a Deacon. I hope they always remember me as a Deacon."

Forbes spoke about the new staff's recruitment of Sarr during a radio interview with WSJS on Tuesday afternoon.

"I think the most important thing is, why would you go to Wake for three years, put all that time in to get this prestigious degree, and end up getting your degree at a place like Kentucky?" Forbes said.

Sarr became the top available transfer -- and arguably the top transfer all spring -- when he decided to leave Wake Forest. He earned third-team All-ACC honors last season after averaging 13.7 points and 9.0 rebounds for the Demon Deacons. He tallied 11 double-doubles, was adept at drawing fouls and was one of the best defensive rebounders in the conference.

He was dominant at times toward the end of the season, scoring 25 points in a win over Duke and following that up with 30 points and 17 rebounds against Notre Dame.

Kentucky was immediately considered a potential destination, as the Wildcats had pursued big men all spring and had a lack of options inside. Calipari had a Zoom meeting with Sarr's family, including his 15-year-old brother, Alexandre, who plays for Real Madrid's youth team and is considered one of the top European prospects in his age group.

"Cal told me that, as always, he has a young team," Sarr said. "They are really talented. Without me, they are the No. 1 recruiting class in the country. But they don't have the experience that I have from playing in the ACC. He wants me to be a leader, to show them and tell them how college basketball is. I will be a great example for them. It was clear from the talks that they needed me. They needed experience."

Kentucky lost six players early to the NBA draft this spring, and another player transferred to UCLA. Only one player who saw significant minutes last season -- forward Keion Brooks (4.5 PPG) -- is returning. Calipari does bring in the top-ranked 2020 recruiting class, led by five-star perimeter players B.J. Boston, Terrence Clarke and Devin Askew.

There is a clear starting spot available for Sarr, and Kentucky's track record for developing big men for the NBA was appealing.

"That's one of the reasons I chose Kentucky," Sarr said. "They have the resources and they do a great job of getting big men ready for the NBA. But it's not about what I say; it's about what I do on the court. I need to put the work in and show that I am one of these guys. They showed they can do it in the past at a high rate. Now it's my turn to do my job and become one of those well-known names."

Sarr has too many credits remaining to graduate before transferring, but he's hoping to receive a waiver to play immediately. Although the NCAA's one-time transfer waiver looks unlikely to go into effect next season, Manning's late departure and Sarr acquiescing to Wake Forest's requests to delay his transfer could help him get one anyway. Otherwise, he would have to sit out per NCAA transfer regulations.

Sarr told ESPN last week that he had no interest in sitting out before playing his final season.

"I could go pro, play one year in the EuroLeague, somewhere to get ready for the NBA," he said. "There's no way I sit out."

The coronavirus pandemic has put on hold not only the 2020 major league season, but also contract extension talks between All-Star shortstop Javier Baez and the Chicago Cubs.

Baez, under team control through 2021, told ESPN that the Cubs and his representatives had what he characterized as multiple "really good" conversations about a long-term contract extension during the spring. Nonetheless, he and his representatives felt there was no pressure to get anything done by a particular date.

"Obviously, we want to reach an agreement, but right now everything is on hiatus. Just like it happened with baseball, we decided to leave it there. We haven't talked about it anymore," Baez said on a call with ESPN.

Baez spoke from the town of Toa Baja, Puerto Rico, where he was part of a fundraising effort alongside Twins pitcher Jose Berrios - who is also his brother-in-law - offering hot food to 500 needy families.

"I'm very happy in Chicago. I believe it's one of the best organizations in the major leagues," Baez added. "We had several conversations but never focused on a deadline. They were very amicable conversations where we communicated well with each other."

Baez, the ninth overall selection for the Cubs in the 2011 MLB draft, spoke of wanting to remain with the same franchise his entire career, but understands how increasingly rare that is.

"It's a blessing when a player can wear the same uniform their whole life - but it's a business. For me, it's about loyalty. This is the team that has seen me grow up," Baez said. "Of course, many great players have played for many different teams in their careers. My favorite player, Manny Ramirez, has been on a lot of teams. Even though everyone identifies him with Boston, when he left, Manny was always Manny. That's how it'll be for me. I'll always be myself."

Baez will enter his age-27 season as the centerpiece of the Cubs' offense and infield. He has accounted for 11.8 Wins Above Replacement the last two years, fourth-most by a National League hitter in that period, and is coming off a career-best 6.0 WAR in 2019.

The Puerto Rican-born infielder played shortstop full-time for the first time in 2019, with 128 of his 131 starts at the position, the first season he started 100 or more games at a single position in his career. His 26 Defensive Runs Saved at short were tied for most in the majors.

The flashy infielder has been training in his home in Puerto Rico, which has been on full shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, his workouts have been limited to the outdoor farmland area in his home, and working out with Berrios at a nearby park. Baez and Berrios are close friends, attended the same high school in Puerto Rico, and are married to sisters.

Baez admitted he's been struggling during this hiatus, especially when dealing with the unknown and the possibility of starting the season at an empty Wrigley Field. Still, spending time with his young son, born in June of last year, and training with Berrios and doing charity work in Puerto Rico has given him a sense of purpose.

"This is where I came from, and I put myself in the situation all these families (affected by the coronavirus) are in. When I was a kid, at six, seven years old, I would be one of those kids lining up here to get food. I see myself in these children. When they see us, they get so excited, and it makes me feel emotional," Baez said.

"But this whole situation is making me feel a bit desperate. I'm frustrated because I don't know what date I'm preparing for. It's hard to stay ready that way. And I think about how it will be really strange to play without the hustle and bustle of the fans. When I'm on deck, I always take a few seconds to look at the stands. It's a special feeling. It will be different. But if there's no other option, we'll play."

You love baseball. Tim Kurkjian loves baseball. So while we await its return, every day we'll provide you with a story or two tied to this date in baseball history.

ON THIS DATE IN 1931, "The Say Hey Kid" was born.

When Willie Mays debuted for the New York Giants in 1951, he quickly became the greatest combination of power, speed and defense that the game had ever seen. And nearly 60 years later, despite massive changes in today's athlete, Mays remains exactly that.

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Mays dominated with flair, with charisma, whether he was chasing down a deep fly ball, making a famed basket catch that has never been duplicated, hitting a ball 450 feet, stealing yet another base as his cap flew off, or playing stickball with kids in the streets of New York.

"With Willie, it was like Tiger Woods coming to your town -- you always expected him to win," said Hall of Famer Lon Simmons, who came to San Francisco as a broadcaster in 1957. "The fans expected a miracle from Willie every day. He just gave them a miracle every other day."

When Mays retired in 1973, he had the third-most homers (660) and the 29th-most stolen bases (338). He won 12 Gold Gloves, most by any center fielder, most by anyone in the 500-home run club. His catch against Vic Wertz in the 1954 World Series -- back to the plate, in the deepest part of the Polo Grounds -- might be the most famous defensive play in baseball history.

"Too much is made of it," Indians pitcher Bob Feller told me. "We all knew Willie would make that catch. It wasn't that hard. He's Willie Mays."

By virtually any measure, Mays is one of the five best players of all time. For some, he is the best ever; for others, only Babe Ruth was better. I once asked Rangers manager Doug Rader, who played against Mays, who was the greatest player he had ever seen. He said, "Willie Mays. Who else?"

Mays has to be the greatest living baseball player. And that incredible handshake, with those legendary vise grips for hands, is still strong as he nears age 90.

Mays made 24 All-Star teams. Perhaps the greatest tribute to his greatness came from Walter Alston, who managed the Dodgers, and occasionally, the All-Star team.

"When I was playing in the All-Star Game, Walter would tell me, 'OK, you know these guys better than I do, you make out the lineup,'" Mays said. "So I did. I hit leadoff to get something going. Then Roberto [Clemente] would get me over, Hank [Aaron] would get me in, and we were ahead."

Of course, Mays hit a homer to lead off the 1965 All-Star Game.

Other baseball notes for May

• In 1862, Toss Kelly was born. He was an umpire. Toss Kelly.

• In 1915, Babe Ruth hit his first home run. He would be the first to hit 30, 40, 50 and 60 in a season.

• In 1998, Kerry Wood, age 20, struck out 20 and walked none in a 2-0 Cubs victory over the Astros. He joined Bob Feller as the only pitchers ever to strike out as many batters in a game as they were years old.

• In 1941, Hank Greenberg hit two home runs for the Tigers. The next day, he reported for military service, making $21 a month as a private in the army. He was discharged Dec. 5, 1941, then reenlisted two days after Pearl Harbor.

• In 2012, the Orioles' Chris Davis got the victory and Red Sox outfielder Darnell McDonald got the loss in a 17-inning game at Fenway Park -- the first time in nearly 90 years that a position player for each team got a pitching decision in a game. Davis, Babe Ruth and Jim Tobin are the only players in history to have a pitching victory and a three-homer game in the same season. Tobin did both in the same game in 1942.

• In 2010, Robin Roberts died. He is a Hall of Famer. He won 286 games, mostly for the Phillies He was a wonderful and kind man. When I interviewed with ESPN in 1997, the driver of my car said, "I just dropped off one of my favorite people of all time, Robin Roberts." To which, I said, "Yes, he was great. One of the best pitchers ever. Won 286 games. One of the Whiz Kids." The driver looked back at me and asked, "Who are you talking about?" I explained again, the great pitcher, Robin Roberts. He said, "No. No. I'm talking about the Robin Roberts."

Torun in Poland is set to host the event next March

European Athletics has published the timetable for the Torun 2021 European Indoor Championships, set for March 5-7.

The action is actually planned to start a day earlier, with an abbreviated session of five qualifying events – including the men’s high jump, long jump and 1500m, plus the women’s shot put and 3000m – scheduled for the evening of Thursday March 4.

The first final is set to be the women’s shot put on the Friday evening.

The men’s 60m final is set for the Saturday evening and the women’s final in that event is due to take place on the Sunday evening.

The championships will close with the 4x400m finals, where Poland’s women’s team would be looking for a third successive European indoor title on home soil.

The full timetable can be viewed here.

The event is now scheduled to take place two weeks before the World Athletics Indoor Championships, with the global event in Nanjing, China, having been postponed from this year due to the coronavirus outbreak.

When postponement of the event to March 2021 was announced, European Athletics president Svein Arne Hansen said a minimum of two weeks between the European and world events had been agreed “so the athletes have the best chance to attend both”.

Last month it was announced that the outdoor European Championships, planned for August 25-30 in Paris, would be cancelled.

Also on Wednesday, Svein Arne Hansen’s 74th birthday, European Athletics released an update from the president’s son, Philip Hansen, following his father’s stroke in March.

“Unfortunately, my father is still in hospital and quite ill,” reads the statement from Philip Hansen in part.

“Many people have been asking about his health. Very simply, complications occurred about a month ago around the time we were initially expecting him to leave hospital and start his rehabilitation after the stroke. However, he is a fighter and working hard to get back to better health so he can finally leave the hospital and begin his rehabilitation.”

England assistant coach Matt Proudfoot says he will do whatever it takes to help the Rugby Football Union cope with the coronavirus pandemic.

On Tuesday, RFU boss Bill Sweeney outlined the financial damage being inflicted by the crisis.

And while the England coaches have already taken a pay cut, Proudfoot, 48, says he would be prepared to make further financial sacrifices if needed.

“We need to understand the world has changed,” he told BBC Sport.

“I want to be a part of the solution, to find a way through this, and whatever I need to do, I would be on board to do that.”

Sweeney told Tuesday's Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport hearing that the RFU is braced for revenue losses of more than £130m if the November internationals are cancelled, while no rugby for another year would be “catastrophic” for the game in England.

“We don’t know where the game is going to be [after this],” Proudfoot, who joined the England set-up in January, added.

“A lot of international organisations are struggling - Australia, USA, South Africa - every model is in trouble.

“But what has been good is to see the leaders taking control. We can be very confident in the leadership that we have.

“There will be a thorough, well-thought out plan, and there might be pay involved in that."

Proudfoot, who helped guide South Africa to Rugby World Cup glory in 2019 and is spending lockdown with his family in Cape Town, added: "I live in a country where people don't have food, so it is a serious problem.

"But we are in a very, very fortunate position to be involved in a very, very sound and strong organisation [the RFU], and when they came to us to look for solutions we were prepared to do that.

“And we [the coaches] would be prepared to do whatever we needed to do to make sure this game has some sort of function going forward.”

Building bonds during lockdown

While Proudfoot has been spending the lockdown period in South Africa, he is in constant contact with the England players over video link.

Having only joined the England set-up earlier this year, he says he is taking this opportunity to build bonds with the players on a personal level.

“I got to know the players in a rugby environment [during the Six Nations], but now I have the opportunity to meet them in their home environment and meet their kids at home,” he explained.

“So I have set an agenda to catch up with players at home every day and find out who they are as people.

“Where I would normally have a scheduled club visit where I would see them in their rugby environment, I have tried to do it in a social [environment].

“Yesterday it was Maro Itoje, Charlie Ewels, Joe Marler, Mako Vunipola and Ellis Genge.

“Gengey has just moved into a new home and is renovating the kitchen, so he was showing me his kitchen and what he was doing, while Kyle Sinckler has been telling me his dog has been sick and he has been nursing his dog.

“So you get to understand these people, and that is important to me, getting to understand and appreciate who they are.”

'Eddie challenges me to grow'

Proudfoot says he has also built up a network of coaches worldwide during the lockdown period, in order to share ideas and broaden his knowledge and understanding of the game.

“[Head coach] Eddie [Jones] challenges me on a personal level to grow as a coach, and has helped me facilitate a network to broaden my rugby footprint, speaking to other international coaches, and learn more about the game,” Proudfoot said.

“I have various projects going on. I am going through a lot of the Premiership [matches] I may not have seen, looking at different players and understanding how different clubs in the Premiership play, and looking extensively at other nations and trying to look at it through their perspectives.

“And we still meet as [England] coaches and spend a lot of time as our coaching team, talking to each other constantly and looking at how to improve our model.

"With [defence coach] John Mitchell who is in the UK, I would light a barbecue this side and he would light one that side and we spend time talking to each other.

“We have tried to be as productive as we can. Whenever World Rugby and the RFU finalise their process about how the game will continue, we will be able to hit the ground running.”

KNOXVILLE, Iowa – A list of 48 drivers boasting multiple World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series championships, Knoxville Raceway track titles and countless sprint car wins across the country will do battle on Friday night at the Marion County Fairgrounds.

Led by 10-time World of Outlaws sprint car champion Donny Schatz and three-time Knoxville Raceway 410ci track champion Brian Brown, the field assembled for the Outlaws’ #ReturnToRacing may be one of the best ever outside of the annual Knoxville Nationals.

“We’re so excited to return to racing, and especially at a place as welcoming and comfortable as Knoxville, in such unusual times,” said World of Outlaws Series Director Carlton Reimers. “The goal has never been to be the ‘first’ back to racing, but to work to be the ‘best.’ We hold ourselves and our teams to high standards. Everyone at Knoxville Raceway, Marion County and even at Governor Reynolds’ office, have been working so hard to make this event as safe as possible.

“With the best teams in the country loading up and the grader hitting the track, we can finally start to think about the racing.”

The World of Outlaws Invitational presented by McKay Group with Nationwide Insurance will mark the first race back for the World of Outlaws since the COVID-19 pandemic brought sports worldwide to a halt in mid-March.

With social distancing and phased reopening of states in effect, the field for the event was limited to 48 entries, selected by invitation and comprising much of the top 18 in both the World of Outlaws point standings and last year’s Knoxville Raceway 410 sprint car points.

Among those drivers in attendance will be all of the World of Outlaws’ full-time competitors, including defending series champion Brad Sweet, who won his first title last season over Donny Schatz in the closest points battle in the history of the tour.

“I never thought this would be how I’d be defending my 2019 World of Outlaws championship,” Sweet said. “Of course, after winning the 2018 Knoxville Nationals, I’m pretty excited to be returning to Knoxville to jump start the 2020 season.”

In addition to Sweet and Schatz, the other Outlaw mainstays entered for Friday night include Sheldon Haudenschild, Logan Schuchart, Daryn Pittman, Kraig Kinser, Carson Macedo, Jason Sides, David Gravel and Jacob Allen, along with Rookie of the Year contenders Mason Daniel and Wayne Johnson.

Defending home turf is a strong field of locals, including Brown, Terry and Austin McCarl, Justin Henderson, Lynton Jeffrey and Matt Juhl, while the Pennsylvania Posse will be represented by Danny Dietrich, Brent Marks, Brock Zearfoss, Lucas Wolfe and recent iRacing sensation Robbie Kendall.

The California sprint car hotbed has Rico Abreu, Gio and Dominic Scelzi, Cory Eliason and Shane Golobic in the lineup, with Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Stars Circuit of Champions titlist Aaron Reutzel and IRA Bumper to Bumper Outlaw Sprint Series champion Bill Balog flying the flags for their respective tours as well.

To add a little NASCAR flavor to the roster, both Kyle Larson and Kasey Kahne – driving for their eponymous teams – will also head to The Sprint Car Capital of the World on Friday.

The World of Outlaws Invitational at Knoxville can be viewed live on DIRTvision starting at 7 p.m. ET Friday night.

Knoxville Raceway World of Outlaws Invitational Entry List

Car No. – Driver – Hometown

1A – Jacob Allen – Hanover, Pa.
1S – Logan Schuchart – Hanover, Pa.
2 – Carson Macedo – Lemoore, Calif.
2C – Wayne Johnson – Tuttle, Okla.
2KS – Chad Boespflug – Hanford, Calif.
2M – Kerry Madsen – St. Mary’s, NSW, Australia
3P – Sawyer Phillips – Pleasantville, Iowa
3Z – Brock Zearfoss – Jonestown, Pa.
4 – Terry McCarl – Altoona, Iowa
5 – Brent Marks – Myerstown, Pa.
7 – Justin Henderson – Tea, S.D.
7S – Jason Sides – Bartlett, Tenn.
7TAZ – Tasker Phillips – Pleasantville, Iowa
09 – Matt Juhl – Tea, S.D.
9 – Kasey Kahne – Enumclaw, Wash.
9W – Ryan Giles – Grimes, Iowa
11K – Kraig Kinser – Bloomington, Ind.
13 – Paul McMahan – Nashville, Tenn.
14 – Parker Price-Miller – Kokomo, Ind.
15 – Donny Schatz – Fargo, N.D.
15H – Sam Hafertepe Jr. – Sunnyvale, Texas
15M – Bobby Mincer – Burlington, Iowa
17 – Sheldon Haudenschild – Wooster, Ohio
17A – Austin McCarl – Altoona, Iowa
17B – Bill Balog – North Pole, Alaska
17W – Shane Golobic – Fremont, Calif.
18 – Ian Madsen – St. Mary’s, NSW, Australia
21 – Brian Brown – Grain Valley, Mo.
24 – Rico Abreu – St. Helena, Calif.
24W – Lucas Wolfe – Mechanicsburg, Pa.
26 – Cory Eliason – Visalia, Calif.
33M – Mason Daniel – Springville, Calif.
41 – David Gravel – Watertown, Conn.
41S – Gio Scelzi – Fresno, Calif.
41X – Dominic Scelzi – Fresno, Calif.
44 – Chris Martin – Ankeny, Iowa
44S – Trey Starks – Puyallup, Wash.
48 – Danny Dietrich – Gettysburg, Pa.
49 – Brad Sweet – Grass Valley, Calif.
55 – Hunter Schuerenburg – Sikeston, Mo.
55K – Robbie Kendall – Catonsville, Md.
56N – Davey Heskin – St. Michael, Minn.
57 – Kyle Larson – Elk Grove, Calif.
64 – Brooke Tatnell – Sans Souci, NSW, Australia
71 – Shane Stewart – Bixby, Okla.
83 – Daryn Pittman – Owasso, Okla.
83R – Lynton Jeffrey – Sydney, NSW, Australia
87 – Aaron Reutzel – Clute, Texas