KLADNO, Czechia -- Ice hockey great Jaromir Jagr is selling a majority stake in his hometown team the Kladno Knights in the Czech league.

Jagr said on Thursday he's selling an 80% stake to businessman Tomas Drastil while holding on to the remaining minority stake. Financial details were not given.

"Something is coming to an end," Jagr said. "But a new era, and I hope a more successful one, is about to start."

Jagr and Drastil said a key reason for the move was to boost the club financially.

Jagr acquired full ownership in 2017 when he got 30% from the town. He had had 70% since 2011.

The 52-year-old Jagr has played for Kladno since the Calgary Flames released the NHL's second-highest scorer in 2018. Kladno was his first professional team as a teenager.

This is his 37th professional season. Jagr said on Thursday he would be happy to complete this season by leading Kladno to the playoffs for the first time, and he will deal with his future only after that.

The men's college hockey season is hitting high gear, with conference races heating up and the selection of the NCAA tournament field less than two months away. While there's some separation at the top, with Boston College and Michigan State posting key wins of late, the grouping is tight after that as teams battle to secure their spots in the 16-team tournament for a chance to reach the Frozen Four in St. Louis.

The NCAA field includes the winners of the six conference tournaments -- Atlantic, Big Ten, CCHA, ECAC, Hockey East and NCHC -- and 10 at-large teams based on the PairWise rankings. As things stand, Hockey East and the Big Ten are gobbling up the at-large spots, with both leagues looking strong and deep. In the current projection, six Hockey East teams make the cut (with two more on the bubble) and four Big Ten teams are in.

Conference tournament championship games are scheduled for March 22, with the NCAA tournament selections to be announced March 23. Regionals will be held March 27-30, with the Frozen Four on April 10 and 12.

Here's a look at where the NCAA field stands, broken into tiers based on how secure each team's spot is, with teams listed in order of the PairWise rankings as of Jan. 30. Each team's résumé includes an outlook by ESPN college hockey analyst Andrew Raycroft.

Dozens of men's and women's college hockey games, including games from Hockey East and the ECAC plus full coverage of the NCAA tournaments, are available to stream on . Subscribe here.

Frozen Four or bust

Boston College

Record: 18-4-1, 11-3-1 Hockey East

Key games: Feb. 3 vs. Northeastern (Beanpot semis); Feb. 10 vs. BU/Harvard (Beanpot consolation/championship)

Numbers to know: Ryan Leonard leads the country in goals per game (0.83), with 19 in 23 games. ... BC has not given up an even-strength goal in its last six games.

Raycroft's take: Coming off a sweep of crosstown rival BU, the Eagles have solidified themselves at the top of the polls and PairWise rankings. Led by first-round NHL draft picks Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perreault, BC has a deep, talented forward group. Goalie Jacob Fowler will be a Mike Richter finalist, and along with an experienced D core, the Eagles are No. 2 in the nation in goals against (1.74 per game).

Michigan State

Record: 20-3-3, 11-2-3 Big Ten

Key games: Feb. 7-8 home-and-home vs. Michigan

Numbers to know: Michigan State has posted wins over Boston College, Western Michigan and Minnesota, with a 4-1-2 combined record against those teams, which are all in the PairWise top 6.

Raycroft's take: Adam Nightingale continues to lead the Spartans' resurgence as one of the premier programs in the country. The Big Ten leaders have just three losses on the season, all to top-16 teams. World Junior legend Trey Augustine is the backbone for this group in the crease and Isaac Howard, a first-round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning, leads the nation in scoring (1.50 points per game).

Safe and sound

Minnesota

Record: 19-6-3, 10-4-2 Big Ten

Key games: Feb. 14-15 at Michigan; Feb. 21-22 vs. Ohio State

Numbers to know: Jimmy Snuggerud has a goal in five straight games and 11 goals in his last 12 games. ... Brody Lamb is tied for second in the nation with eight power-play goals.

Raycroft's take: The Gophers are the highest scoring team in the country at 4.0 goals per game, led by third-year captain Jimmy Snuggerud. Bob Motzko is in his seventh season at Minnesota, and along with his four first-round draft picks, the Gophers are tournament tough. Even with three straight losses (two in OT), the Gophers are still in position for a No. 1 seed.

UConn

Record: 14-8-2, 7-6-2 Hockey East

Key games: Jan. 31 at Providence; Feb. 21 vs. Maine

Numbers to know: The Huskies are unbeaten in their last seven games, including a win and tie at Maine, where the Black Bears are 9-2-2 on the season. ... UConn also has wins over BC, UMass-Lowell, Quinnipiac and Sacred Heart, all of whom are currently projected in the NCAA tournament field.

Raycroft's take: Coach Mike Cavanaugh is on the verge of leading his Huskies to their first-ever NCAA tournament appearance. UConn is unbeaten in January, thanks in large part to the play of the goalie tandem of Tyler Muszelik and Callum Tung. Offensively, sophomore Joey Muldowney is scoring at a rate of just over a point per game in the very tough Hockey East.

Maine

Record: 15-5-3, 7-3-3 Hockey East

Key games: Feb. 7-8 at Providence; Feb. 21 at UConn

Numbers to know: Maine is third in the country in scoring defense (1.78 GAA) and scoring margin (1.61 per game).

Raycroft's take: Despite losing last season's top scorer Bradly Nadeau, Ben Barr and the Black Bears find themselves in the top 10 of PairWise for the second straight season. Four of their five losses have come against teams in the top 7 of PairWise as they've played one of the toughest schedules in the country. Sophomore goaltender Albin Boija is in the top five nationally in wins and GAA, and should be a stalwart down the stretch.

Western Michigan

Record: 17-4-1, 10-1-1 NCHC

Key games: Feb. 14-15 vs. Omaha; Feb. 21-22 at Arizona State

Numbers to know: Western Michigan is the only team in the country in the top five in both scoring offense (3.55) and scoring defense (1.82). ... The Broncos have allowed only four power-play goals all season.

Raycroft's take: The Broncos have the best penalty kill in the nation at 92.7% and fifth-year senior goalie Cameron Rowe is 12-1 with a .926 save percentage. They have won six in a row since the calendar turned and are 10-1-1 in NCHC play. Their balanced scoring attack, 10 WMU players have double-digit point totals, should bode well come regionals.

Denver

Record: 18-6-0, 7-5-0 NCHC

Key games: Jan. 31-Feb. 1 vs. Omaha; Feb. 7-8 at Arizona State

Numbers to know: Denver ranks in the top 10 nationally in scoring margin (first, 1.79), goals per game (second, 3.75), goals allowed per game (sixth, 1.96), power-play percentage (first, .318), penalty kill percentage (ninth, .851) and faceoff win percentage (third, .550).

Raycroft's take: The defending champion Pioneers started the season 12-0 but have since wavered a little. However, a David Carle-led team cannot be overlooked and will certainly be a force in March. Leaders Jack Devine (1.38 points per game) and Zeev Buium (1.14) continue to dominate, and don't forget goaltender Matt Davis and his heroics from last season.

On solid footing

Providence

Record: 15-6-3, 5-5-3 Hockey East

Key games: Feb. 7-8 vs. Maine; Feb. 14-15 home-and-home vs. BU

Numbers to know: Providence went 10-1 in nonconference play, with a pair of wins over both Arizona State and Colorado College, plus wins over Clarkson and Dartmouth of the ECAC.

Raycroft's take: The Friars have lost four in a row but still land in the top 10 of PairWise because of the strength of Hockey East. Another team with a very balanced attack (13 players with at least nine points), Providence will be battle tested and rely on its heavy identity come regionals.

UMass-Lowell

Record: 13-7-3, 6-5-2 Hockey East

Key games: Jan. 31 at BC; Feb. 8 at UConn; Feb. 22 at Providence

Numbers to know: UMass-Lowell has excelled away from home, going 9-1-1 in road games or on neutral ice. Its best home performance came in early December with a shootout win over BC.

Raycroft's take: The largest turnaround in college hockey belongs to the River Hawks. Last season's 8-24-4 record is in the rearview mirror, especially after sweeping fellow Hockey East opponent Providence on the road this past weekend. UMass-Lowell is an experienced team with a strong forecheck that could present problems in the one-and-done scenario of tournament play.

Boston University

Record: 13-9-1, 9-5-1 Hockey East

Key games: Feb. 3 vs. Harvard (Beanpot semis); Feb. 10 vs. BC/Northeastern (Beanpot consolation/championship)

Numbers to know: BU is third nationally in scoring (3.65 goals per game), with Cole Eiserman sitting eighth with 0.64 goals per game and fourth with seven power-play goals.

Raycroft's take: BU is heading into trophy season coming off back-to-back losses to rival BC. The Terriers are looking to make it to the Frozen Four for the third straight year under coach Jay Pandolfo. Offense is not a problem for this high-flying team led by freshmen Cole Hutson and Cole Eiserman, and the Terriers look to get a defensive bump from freshman goalie Mike Yegorov, who looked good in his collegiate debut this past weekend against BC.

Ohio State

Record: 15-7-2, 8-5-1 Big Ten

Key games: Feb. 21-22 at Minnesota; Feb. 27-28 vs. Michigan

Numbers to know: Four Ohio State players have at least 20 points on the season, including Aiden Hansen-Bukata, who is fifth nationally in assists per game (0.86).

Raycroft's take: The Buckeyes have lost four of five in Big Ten play but are still firmly within the at-large field. Coming off a down season after making the NCAA tournament in 2022-23, Ohio State is led by Northeastern transfer Gunnarwolfe Fontaine. (What a hockey name!) A tough Big Ten schedule lies ahead and will challenge Scott Rohlik's group.

In the field -- for now

Michigan

Record: 14-10-2, 8-7-1 Big Ten

Key games: Feb. 7-8 home-and-home vs. Michigan State; Feb. 14-15 vs. Minnesota

Numbers to know: Michigan's offense can be explosive, with 12 games scoring four or more goals, but the Wolverines also have been shut out four times.

Raycroft's take: The Wolverines are under .500 since the start of December but do have wins against ranked teams Michigan State, Arizona State and BU. TJ Hughes and freshman Michael Hage lead the way with better than a point per game. This is a talented group that has the ability to come together in the last month of the season.

Quinnipiac

Record: 15-8-2, 9-3-1 ECAC

Key games: Jan. 31 at Dartmouth; Feb. 8 vs. Clarkson; Feb. 28 at Clarkson

Numbers to know: Quinnipiac ranks fifth in the country in penalty kill percentage (.878) and 10th in scoring defense (2.32 GAA).

Raycroft's take: Just two years removed from winning the national championship, the Bobcats are 9-2-1 since the start of December. The ECAC leaders have a program with a strong identity, led by coach Rand Pecknold, and is built for the second half of the season. Four NHL draft picks on the back end anchor this team and freshman Dylan Silverstein (2.12 GAA) has been solid in net. While Quinnipiac is on the right side of the at-large bubble for now, any slip-up would likely make the ECAC a one-bid league.

Arizona State

Record: 14-9-1, 9-5-0 NCHC

Key games: Feb. 7-8 vs. Denver; Feb. 21-22 vs. Western Michigan

Numbers to know: Ryan Kirwin in tied for fourth in the country in goals per game, scoring a conference-high 16 in 24 games. ... Arizona State is 7-2 in its last nine games against ranked opponents, including back-to-back wins at Denver in late November.

Raycroft's take: The Sun Devils are thriving in their first season of NCHC hockey. Sitting in third place with a 9-1-1 record in its last 11 games, ASU is an older team built through the transfer portal that seems to be jelling at the right time.

One-bid league champs

Minnesota State

Record: 17-7-2, 12-4-2 CCHA (No. 17 in PairWise)

Key games: Feb. 7-8 vs. Augustana; Feb. 21-22 at Lake Superior State

Numbers to know: Minnesota State has allowed only 1.58 goals per game, the best mark in the country, and has allowed two goals or fewer in 15 of its last 16 games.

Raycroft's take: The CCHA figures to be too close to call until the final weekend. The Mavericks are currently leading the way under second-year coach Luke Strand. Minnesota State is leading the nation in goals allowed per game because of its workhorse goalie Alex Tracy and his .941 save percentage. Look for Michigan Tech and Bowling Green to also challenge for the CCHA bid by the end of the season.

Sacred Heart

Record: 15-9-4, 12-6-2 Atlantic (No. 28 in PairWise)

Key games: Jan. 31-Feb. 1 at Niagara; Feb. 22 vs. Bentley

Numbers to know: Sacred Heart is 2-2-1 against ranked opponents, including a 1-0 loss to UConn on Jan. 25, when it held the Huskies to 17 shots on goal.

Raycroft's take: The Pioneers are leading a very competitive Atlantic conference by the slimmest of margins, with Niagara, Bentley and Holy Cross right on their heels. Freshman goalie Ajeet Gundarah has led the way between the pipes, giving up more than three goals just once all season, while junior forward Felix Trudeau is scoring more than a point per game. The Atlantic conference always seems to come down to the last weekend and this season will be no different.

On the bubble

New Hampshire

Record: 11-9-3, 3-8-2 Hockey East

Key games: Feb. 14-15 at Maine; Feb. 28-March 1 home-and-home vs. BC

Numbers to know: UNH has outshot its opponents by a 707-557 margin, but has outscored it foes by a much slimmer mark (69-61). ... The Wildcats also have given up four short-handed goals and seven unassisted goals on the season.

Raycroft's take: Coach Mike Souza has his team battling in the mix of an extremely tough Hockey East again this season. The Wildcats lost five conference games in a row in January and will need a strong finish to move up the standings.

Wisconsin

Record: 11-12-3, 6-9-1 Big Ten

Key games: Jan. 31-Feb. 1 at Minnesota; Feb. 14-15 at Ohio State

Numbers to know: Wisconsin has faced one of the toughest schedules in the country, dropping seven of eight against Denver, Michigan State and Minnesota, but the Badgers are 2-1-1 against Michigan and get another shot at the Gophers this weekend. ... Wisconsin is fourth in the country in faceoff win percentage (.549).

Raycroft's take: Mike Hastings' second season at Wisconsin sees the Badgers scrambling to make the NCAA field after a 2-5-3 start. Sophomore Quinn Finley is tied for fourth in the nation with 34 points, while Ryland Mosely and Gavin Morrissey find themselves in 15th with 28 points each. Tommy Scarfone is trying to fill the void left by last year's Mike Richter Award winner Kyle McClellan.

UMass

Record: 13-10-2, 4-7-2 Hockey East

Key games: Feb. 7 at UConn; Feb. 14-15 home-and-home vs. BC

Numbers to know: The Minutemen's final 10 games are against teams ahead of them in the PairWise rankings, so they will have an opportunity to move up. ... The UMass power play is second in the country with a .301 conversion rate.

Raycroft's take: The 2021 national champion Minutemen are the eighth Hockey East team in the top 18. The UMass offense is being carried by junior forward Cole O'Hara, who is third in NCAA scoring with 35 points, while sophomore goalie Michael Hrabal, a 6-foot-6, second-round draft pick who is property of the Utah HC, has a .924 save percentage.

Miguel Almirón has rejoined former side Atlanta United from Newcastle United on a permanent deal, the MLS side confirmed.

It brings an end to the forward's five-year spell at St. James' Park, where he made over 200 appearances and scored 30 goals.

The Paraguay international was Newcastle's club-record signing in 2019, when he arrived in a 20 million ($26m) deal from Atlanta. The 30-year-old's standout season for the club came in 2022-23, where he scored 11 goals and assisted a further four to help Newcastle secure Champions League qualification for the first time in 20 years.

Almirón was a beloved figure among the Newcastle fanbase, and his goal against Paris Saint-Germain in a famous 4-1 Champions League win only further heightened his cult status.

In his first stint at Atlanta, Almirón lifted the MLS Cup in 2018.

"I'm very happy to return to Atlanta United, a club and a city that has always held a special place in my heart," Almirón said.

"I'm grateful to Arthur M. Blank and the entire organisation for the opportunity and I'm looking forward to reuniting with the fans at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and creating more moments of joy together."

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe paid tribute to Almiron in a club statement.

"He has been the ultimate professional, and he has been a big part of some of our most memorable moments in recent seasons," he said.

"He is a great person and we'll miss him greatly, but this is the right move at the right time for him and his family and we wish them well."

Wisconsin cornerback Nyzier Fourqurean sued the NCAA on Wednesday, alleging his five-year eligibility clock shouldn't have been running during his two seasons at Division II Grand Valley State.

Fourqurean also states in the lawsuit that the NCAA is denying him an opportunity to profit from his name, image and likeness by failing to award him additional eligibility with the Badgers.

The NCAA denied his request for a waiver for additional eligibility Wednesday, his attorneys told the court in the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Madison, Wisconsin.

In the lawsuit, Fourqurean's attorneys asked the court to grant a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction that would prevent the NCAA from enforcing its bylaws pertaining to its five-year rule for eligibility, three-year eligibility limits for transfers, and to rule that Fourqurean's first season at Grand Valley State be considered a missed opportunity under NCAA rules because of the death of his father in 2021.

Fourqurean's attorneys asked a judge for injunctive relief from the court because he has until Feb. 7 to declare for the NFL draft. Fourqurean participated in the Hula Bowl, an all-star game that showcases potential NFL draft picks, earlier this month.

The complaint alleges the NCAA violated the Sherman Antitrust Act and other federal laws.

"Said actions include, but are not limited to, preventing college student-athletes like plaintiff that attended Division II schools from competing in a third and fourth year of NCAA Division I football due to prior attendance at a Division II school, therefore limiting their economic opportunities to participate in the NIL marketplace available to Division I athletes, and otherwise unreasonably restrain competition in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act," the lawsuit said.

Fourqurean, a senior from Mentor, Ohio, signed with Grand Valley State out of high school. The 2020 season at the Division II school in Michigan was cancelled because of COVID-19 restrictions.

Fourqurean's father died during the summer of 2021, causing him to miss weeks of offseason training, according to the complaint.

"Combining the setback in summer training/conditioning, the death took a toll on plaintiff mentally as he prepared for his first season of collegiate-level football and his first significant return to football since his senior year of high school in 2019," the complaint said.

Fourqurean played in 155 snaps over 11 games at Grand Valley State in the 2021 season, the lawsuit said. He had four interceptions in 13 games in 2022 and was named a Division II All-American by the Associated Press before transferring to Wisconsin in May 2023.

Fourqurean started five games for the Badgers in 2023 and all 12 this past season, totaling 51 tackles with one interception.

On Dec. 23, the NCAA Division I Board of Directors approved a blanket waiver granting an additional year of eligibility to former junior college transfers, opening the door for a wave of college athletes across all sports to spend one more year in college athletics.

That waiver didn't apply to athletes, like Fourqurean, who transferred from Division II and Division III programs.

According to an NCAA memo, the waiver extends an extra year of eligibility in 2025-26 to athletes who previously "competed at a non-NCAA school for one or more years" and otherwise would have exhausted their NCAA eligibility following the 2024-25 season.

The NCAA's December decision came five days after a federal judge in Tennessee granted an injunction to Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, who had sued the NCAA over its eligibility standards, arguing that the organization's rule of counting a player's junior college years against his overall eligibility violates antitrust laws by restricting athletes' ability to profit from their name, image and likeness.

The NCAA has appealed the federal judge's ruling in the Pavia case.

ESPN's Eli Lederman contributed to this report.

ESPN has agreed to pick up its option to continue broadcasting ACC sports through 2036, sources told ESPN on Thursday.

The agreement is a critical step toward securing stability for the conference. With the television deal settled, the ACC is now working toward a settlement with Clemson and Florida State that could end those schools' ongoing lawsuits against the conference.

ESPN had until Feb. 1 to pick up the option on a 20-year contract signed in 2016 that helped launch the ACC Network. Had ESPN declined, the partnership would have ended after the 2027 season.

ESPN declined to comment on picking up the option.

After ESPN agreed to pick up the option, a decision the ACC board of directors voted to approve Wednesday, sources said the conference is working on additional "value adds," which could include creating more marquee matchups in football and men's basketball to maximize content on the networks that would help pave the way toward the new revenue distribution model and a settlement with Clemson and Florida State.

Multiple athletic directors told ESPN this could also involve using the ACC's relationship with Notre Dame to strategically create more games against the conference's top-tier teams. Earlier this month, Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua said he was open to playing more games against Clemson in the future. Notre Dame currently plays five to six regular-season football games against the ACC annually and is a member of the ACC in all other sports.

Negotiations surrounding the option ran in conjunction with discussions between the ACC and Clemson and Florida State on a new revenue distribution model aimed at alleviating the schools' biggest concerns over financial disparities with peers in the Big Ten and SEC, both of which have more generous TV contracts signed over the past two years.

Under the proposed plan, a percentage of the ACC's television revenue would be included in a "brand" fund, and that money would then be distributed to schools that annually generate the most revenue for the conference in football and men's and women's basketball -- with Clemson, Florida State, Miami and North Carolina likely at the top of the pyramid, sources told ESPN.

Should that agreement be finalized -- something sources said is not imminent but was closely tied to the ESPN option -- Clemson and Florida State would be expected to drop their lawsuits.

Clemson had been cautious in its legal filings to note that its lawsuit was not a move to leave the ACC but rather to determine the costs of doing so. Though Florida State has been more vocal in its desire to test the waters, athletic director Michael Alford has maintained that the Seminoles never declared their intention to leave the ACC and only wanted to explore their options.

Whether either school would have had a landing spot in the aftermath of a departure remained a point of conjecture, but securing their media rights, which each member school signed over to the league in 2016, would have been a critical part of moving to any other conference.

ACC sources suggested a vote to support the new revenue distribution plan may not be unanimous, but one conference administrator said a cut in distribution would likely be worthwhile if it meant stability in the coming years as college athletics works its way through a volatile series of existential shifts in its amateurism model. Multiple administrators who spoke with ESPN noted the severe impact that the collapse of the Pac-12 had on Oregon State and Washington State, and the observably diminished values of those programs has helped spark interest in negotiating a settlement.

The new brand distribution fund would be in addition to the ACC's "success initiatives," which the league approved in 2023. That pool of money is funded via revenue from the expanded College Football Playoff and additional payouts from ESPN that derive from the conference adding new members Stanford, California and SMU in 2024. SMU agreed to forgo its TV revenue for its first nine years in the ACC in exchange for an invitation to the conference, while Cal and Stanford agreed to take a 30% share.

The ACC's success initiatives, which went into place this year, provide additional revenue to schools that play in the postseason. The brand initiatives would also be accessible to any ACC school, though the biggest names would have a clear leg up. Specific metrics have not been finalized.

Between the brand and success initiatives, it is expected that the ACC schools that maximize both revenue streams could close the gap with Big Ten and SEC schools to as little as a few million annually.

As far back as February 2023, Florida State's Alford started pushing for the ACC television money to be distributed to the teams that bring the most brand value and television ratings. Alford said then, based on a market valuation that he had commissioned, that Florida State contributed roughly 15% of the value in the ACC's media rights deal but received only 7% of the distributions. At the time, the conference had 14 full members.

The ACC has been in litigation with Florida State and Clemson for more than a year, with both schools filing lawsuits in their home states in hopes of extricating themselves from a grant of rights agreement that, according to Florida State's attorneys, could mean paying as much as $700 million to leave the conference. The ACC countersued both schools to preserve the grant of rights agreement through 2036.

Clemson and Florida State have both argued that the ACC television contract, which earns the conference about half of what the Big Ten receives from Fox, puts the schools at a significant financial disadvantage compared with rivals in the SEC and Big Ten, making it impossible to consistently compete for national championships.

As part of the settlement, Clemson and Florida State are asking the ACC to agree to reduce penalties for exiting the grant of rights after 2031, when TV contracts for the Big Ten, SEC and Big 12 are set to expire.

In New York four years ago, Raducanu won three matches in qualifying and seven in the main draw without dropping a set to become the first qualifier in history to win a Grand Slam title.

The stunning nature of that achievement led to many wildcard invitations into tournaments, but there have been times when her ranking was lower that entering qualifying seemed a strong option.

"I think playing qualies is not something that I am against," Raducanu told BBC Sport last August.

"If you get through those two rounds you feel you're adjusted to the court. If you're playing a seed, you have a better eye for the ball, a better feel - it's not that I am against it at all."

World number five Elena Rybakina, Australian Open semi-finalist Paula Badosa and British number one Katie Boulter are among players with main draw entry in Abu Dhabi.

Raducanu will first be in action on Saturday, when qualifying for the WTA 500 event begins.