DETROIT -- Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire was ejected in the sixth inning of Saturday's game against Cleveland.

Detroit was trailing 3-0 when Gardenhire was tossed for the fifth time this season. It wasn't clear what brought on the ejection, but immediately beforehand, Tigers pitcher Nick Ramirez appeared to stop his delivery as if time had been called.

Gardenhire was ejected, then came out and argued with plate umpire Manny Gonzalez. He then gave the ground around home plate a sweeping kick before leaving the field.

The Chicago Cubs have considered opening a sportsbook at Wrigley Field and at locations just outside of the Friendly Confines, multiple sources familiar with the team's thinking told ESPN.

Betting windows, automated kiosks and even a full-blown sportsbook venue inside the stadium are among the options that have been considered by the Cubs and other Chicago professional franchises, as Illinois' new sports betting law prepares to take effect.

The Cubs declined to comment, and there are no official plans, only preliminary discussions at this point. Who would run the sportsbook and which parties would receive a cut of the action is unknown.

"Pen hasn't hit paper yet," a source familiar with the team's thinking told ESPN.

MLB currently prohibits sportsbooks, including betting kiosks or windows, inside a club's stadium. The NBA has similar rules in place prohibiting retail sportsbooks from offering in-person betting inside arenas. The leagues are reviewing the Illinois legislation.

"We will work with our clubs to explore the opportunities presented by the rapidly evolving sports betting landscape in a socially responsible manner," a spokesperson for MLB told ESPN in a statement.

On June 2, the Illinois legislature passed SB 690, authorizing regulated sports betting. The bill is awaiting the signature of Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who was supportive of the legislation that will bring a casino to Chicago and potentially sportsbooks to the state's professional stadiums.

Under the legislation, which was supported by MLB, the NBA and multiple team owners, sports facilities with seating capacity greater than 17,000 could apply for a license to offer sports betting inside or within a five-block radius of the venues. Soldier Field, home of the Bears; United Center, where the Bulls and Blackhawks play; and Guaranteed Rate Park, the White Sox's stadium, are among the venues that can apply for a masters sports wagering license, which costs $10 million.

Securing rights for stadiums to operate sportsbooks has also been pushed by MLB and the NBA in New York and Washington, D.C. Ted Leonsis, the owner of the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards, has talked openly about opening a sportsbook at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.

Soldier Field, United Center and Guaranteed Rate Field are said to also be examining any sports betting opportunities afforded by the legislation. The Bears, Bulls and White Sox each declined comment. The NFL also did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

"We are following the discussions about sports betting at sports venues," said Denny Hartwig, director of communications for the Chicago Speedway, one of the sports venues that could apply for a betting license. "We have not made any decisions and have no definitive plans for sports betting at the speedway."

Sportsbooks at stadiums were discussed at MLB's winter meetings in December in Las Vegas, seven months after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, the federal statute that had restricted state-sponsored sports betting to primarily Nevada.

Since the ruling, legal, full-scale sportsbooks have begun operating in Delaware, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and West Virginia. New York's upstate casinos are preparing to offer in-person sports betting in the coming months, and the New York state legislature is considering a bill that would allow mobile sports betting and sportsbooks at stadiums. The bill faces tough odds, with the legislative session in New York slated to end this week.

Indiana, Iowa, Montana and Tennessee have passed sports betting legislation this year, and bills in Illinois and New Hampshire are awaiting governors' signatures.

As sports betting has expanded around the U.S., professional leagues and franchises have struck partnerships with bookmakers and casinos. In late November, MLB announced MGM Resorts as an official betting partner. No team has opened a sportsbook inside a stadium, though. Sports venues in the United Kingdom, including Wembley Stadium, have sports betting windows and kiosks.

In Illinois, the Cubs appear to be the furthest along in getting involved in sports betting, although representatives of the White Sox, including Hall of Famer Frank Thomas, also were involved in lobbying for the bill.

The NBA and MLB's lobbying requests in Illinois appeared in early versions of the legislation and included a royalty fee paid by bookmakers to sports governing bodies based on the amount wagered, data rights and the sports venue language. There was strong opposition to the royalty and data rights, but there wasn't immediate or forceful pushback about the sports venues, said Illinois state Rep. Mike Zalewski, one of the bill's initial sponsors.

The royalty did not make it into the final bill, but sportsbook operators will be required to use official league data to grade some wagers, and the sports venues do have the option to offer betting.

"It didn't surprise me that the [stadiums] concept was raised," Zalewski told ESPN in a social media message. "My sense was the leagues and the teams, and the Cubs specifically, were looking for unorthodox ways to capitalize the ballparks in an age where fans are glued to their phones."

In February, Cubs owner Tom Ricketts invested in sports betting media outlet The Action Network, and in March, Cubs president of business operations Crane Kenney said on an appearance on Chicago radio station 670 The Score that the team is considering a secondary broadcast infused with sports betting analysis.

"Look, Wrigley Field draws people year round," Vic Salerno, founder of sportsbook operator US Bookmaking and a member of UNLV's Gaming Hall of Fame, told ESPN. "It's going to be a great location for them."

Asked if he thought it would be feasible for the Cubs to open a sportsbook by next baseball season, Salerno said, "Oh, yeah. For sure."

SARVER, Pa. – The spoiler on the rear of Michael Norris’ No. 72 car reads “CRUSHER” in bold, block letters, with his Rocket XR1 Chassis still donning a now-iconic black, red and yellow color scheme.

The young gun from Sarver, Pa. had always dreamed of standing atop a race car in Lernerville Speedway’s victory lane since he was a child.

Once upon a time, that dream got fulfilled.

June 22, 2018 is a date that still holds a strong place in the mind of the two-time and defending Lernerville Speedway late model champion.

A second-best time in qualifying, a win in his heat race and a pole-position redraw effort set him up for a chance at the biggest win of his career – a preliminary feature as part of the 12th annual Firecracker 100, the biggest stage in Pennsylvania dirt late model racing.

Norris grabbed the lead on the first lap and, when the checkered fell over him on lap 50, had given the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series regulars quite a tour of his home track – a place he had won at four times already that season.

He crossed the scales and met his overjoyed pit crew in victory lane, a first-time winner with the World of Outlaws.

In the record books, he became the 82nd driver all-time to win with the tour.

Almost immediately overcome with emotion, Norris stood tall in victory lane with series announcer Rick Eshelman holding a microphone up to him, and let out a gasping, “You’re gonna have to give me a second.”

No, it wasn’t the big 100-lap, $30,000-to-win Firecracker finale that Saturday night always boasts. But the gratitude he felt toward his team, his huge fanbase on hand to watch him dominate and prestige he earned that night was all worth far more than the check he received for the qualifying feature win.

It was never about the money and it was about his place in Lernerville Speedway history.

A third-generation driver, now in his 10th full season behind the wheel of a Super Late Model, 27-year-old Michael Norris is the son of Mike Norris, a well-known Late Model veteran around the western Pennsylvania area himself.

Michael made his first appearances at the track as an infant, watching his father race on a weekly basis. A handful of years into Michael’s childhood, Mike took some time off from the sport to focus on family, but Michael still remained around the race track.

“I would still go to the track with my grandma every Friday and watch,” he said.

A few seasons spent in the bleachers soon turned into a few seasons spent in the pit area, wrenching on dad’s race car, as Mike returned to racing once again when Michael entered his teenage years. Mike won the final super late model track championship at the now-reopened Latrobe Speedway in Latrobe, Pa., before offering the ride up to his son in 2009.

“I had a really close group of four friends from high school that wanted to help,” Michael said. “From my sophomore year on, that was pretty much what consumed our lives.”

In 2010, Norris got his first dirt super late model win at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway behind the wheel of a newer Rocket Chassis, after starting with his father’s Rayburn equipment. Ever since, he’s been a Lernerville regular.

Alongside his weekly racing efforts came the need to uphold the family business. Norris works a job in his grandfather and uncle’s scrapyard, Millerstown Pic-A-Part, and its sister branch D&D Auto Salvage — both sponsors on the side of his car. Part of that job requires the use of a car crusher, which spawned his nickname, “The Crusher Kid.”

Norris won his very first track championship at Lernerville in 2017, collecting an impressive five wins in 10 races that year.

That success set him up for what would be the most decorated season of his career — a nine-win tear through 2018, eight of which came in weekly competition.

In that time, Norris finished in the top two in every weekly race that year except for one.

But the most memorable night of that season goes to the eve of his triumph over the Outlaws. A very popular win among the Lernerville fans, Norris recalls that warm, summer night as if it happened last weekend.

“When I was driving, it felt like another Friday night,” he said. “I tried not to think about who was behind me. But standing in victory lane, with all the hype about it, it really hit me like a tidal wave.”

To continue reading, advance to the next page.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Kings have bought out the final two years of defenseman Dion Phaneuf's contract.

The Kings made the move Saturday.

The 34-year-old veteran spent 93 games with the Kings, who acquired him in February 2018. Phaneuf scored 16 points and racked up 68 penalty minutes, but the former Maple Leafs captain occasionally sat as a healthy scratch last season for the first time in his career.

Phaneuf had two years left on a seven-year, $49 million contract through the 2020-21 season. He agreed to the deal in Toronto but has been traded twice since.

The Kings are rebuilding after finishing eighth in the Pacific Division last season with their worst point total since 2008.

South Africa 131 for 1 (de Kock 68, Amla 40*) beat Afghanistan 125 all out (Rashid 35, Tahir 4-29, Morris 3-13) by nine wickets

South Africa have finally won one. So far have the Proteas' stocks fallen in this tournament after three defeats and an unconvincing outing against West Indies, that an Afghan victory in this match was not unthinkable.

But this was a make-or-break encounter for both teams, and it was Afghanistan who blinked - and broke - first, collapsing in a heap after they were unnerved by repeated rain breaks in the afternoon. Having been 39 for 0, Afghanistan's disintegration began in earnest after the second - and longer - of two rain intervals as they lost four wickets in two overs to Imran Tahir's guile and Andile Phehlukwayo's wiles, slipping to 77 for 7.

But for Rashid Khan's boshing, they might have folded for under 100. He cracked a rapid 35 from No. 9 to save some of Afghanistan's blushes before they were bowled out for 125. All told, they had lost 10 for 86, with Tahir collecting 4 for 29 and Chris Morris 3 for 13. Phehlukwayo chimed in with two wickets of his own, and he also performed a crucial holding role, stringing together 36 dot balls as Afghanistan's hit or miss (and today, it was usually miss) tactics backfired.

As has been the case throughout their campaign so far, Afghanistan's batsmen just didn't score enough runs to give their busy, bustling bowling attack enough to work with. Had they managed to scrounge together even 250, there might have been a game on - Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla were kept to just 35 runs in the Powerplay, and endured some uncomfortable moments early on - but without a total to defend, any intensity remaining in the competition quickly dissipated.

Faced with a chase that even they couldn't muck up, South Africa rode on de Kock's 72-ball 68 to secure a nine-wicket victory - and a vital two points - with slightly more than 21 overs to spare. But while de Kock and Amla's 104-run opening stand settled the result, the match really turned on Tahir's remarkable spin with the ball.

More to follow...

June 13 - 16, 2019