Billy Vunipola says he is determined not to disrupt England's World Cup preparations and regrets the impact on his Saracens team-mates after defending Israel Folau's anti-gay comments.

In April, Vunipola, 26, was warned by the Rugby Football Union for his support of Australian Folau's post which said "hell awaits" gay people.

But Vunipola - also a devout Christian - added "everyone knows where I stand".

"The regret I would have is bringing my team-mates into disrepute," he said.

"That was something I didn't really think about, which was probably a bit selfish from my point of view," the Saracens number eight added to BBC Sport.

"That is something I don't want to happen here [with England]. I don't want them to be affected by one person's opinion."

After liking Folau's post, Vunipola added on Instagram: "There just comes a point when you insult what I grew up believing in that you just say enough is enough.... He's [Folau] saying how we live our lives needs to be closer to how God intended them to be. Man was made for woman to procreate, that was the goal no?"

Folau's contract was terminated by Rugby Australia in May after he was found guilty of a "high level breach" of RA's player code of conduct.

Vunipola said: "We dealt with it as a group at Sarries and put it out in the open. I addressed the group myself.

"Everyone knows where I stood - or where I stand - but the point we had coming out of [the meeting] was that it is unfair to bring everyone else into it.

"Whatever I say will be scrutinised and will affect the team so, for me, it is better to say nothing about it.

"If I was a boxer I would happily sit here and talk to you about how I feel, how I think, how I stand. But it would be very unfair for me to do that right now, as it wouldn't be fair [on the rest of the England squad]."

Joe Marler and James Haskell were among current and former team-mates to voice their opposition to Vunipola's views, but the number eight is confident there will be no divisions in camp.

While Haskell has retired, Marler is among the 40 players currently training in Bristol before the tournament in Japan, which starts in September.

"Hask came to my wedding," Vunipola added. "All these things are there to be talked about.

"Marler and I have yet to talk about it but we are going to sit down. We are going to talk and see where it gets us."

Vunipola was booed by supporters during the latter stages of Saracens' victorious Champions Cup campaign last season, and accepts he could receive similar treatment in the future.

"I brought this on myself and I am not going to hide away from the fact I did," he said.

"But it is something that also means a lot to me and I know it means a lot to other people."

CORONA, Calif. – Lucas Oil Products Inc. has named Matt Conrad as the new general manager of Lucas Oil.

In an announcement made by founder, CEO and President Forrest Lucas, Conrad will oversee the day-to-day operations of the Lucas Oil Production Facilities in Corona, Calif., and Corydon, Ind.

“As our company has grown and matured, so has our staff. Looking to the future we believe it is time we promoted someone to the position of General Manager,” stated Lucas. “Matt Conrad has been the obvious choice for a long time. Matt is very unselfish and is always looking out for the company and staff. We are pleased to name him General Manager of Lucas Oil.”

An Indiana native, Conrad brings 15 years worth of Lucas Oil knowledge and experience into his new role, having joined the company in 2004 as a production line worker. Throughout his tenure at Lucas Oil, Conrad has worked within an array of additional departments, such as truck dispatch, shipping, human resources, payroll, I.T., new production line design and startup, and inventory management. He also served as a plant manager and was the General Manager of Lucas Oil Golf Course in English, Indiana.

“I am very excited about this new opportunity to help Lucas Oil move forward into the future and to take over more of the marketplace. I love being part of a great team that appreciates the company they work for and their team members,” explained Conrad. “One of my main goals will be to ensure we continue producing and shipping the best products as efficiently as possible, while also making our customers happy. I look forward to working closer with everyone in order to achieve these goals. Together we can accomplish more. Whenever everyone works together, ‘It Works!’”

ATTICA, Ohio – Heavy rain showers, a high-water table and saturated grounds at Attica Raceway Park combined to force the cancellation of Tuesday night’s Brad Doty Classic.

Cars had just rolled out for motor heat when severe thunderstorms moved into the area, thoroughly drenching the third-mile dirt track and bringing the night to a premature end.

Forty-nine cars were in attendance for the crown-jewel event, including NASCAR stars Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell, popular dirt open-wheel racer Rico Abreu and current All Star Circuit of champions point leader Aaron Reutzel, as well as the World of Outlaws regulars.

The 31st edition of the Doty will not be made up, due in part to the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series make-up event of Eldora Speedway’s #LetsRaceTwo finale, which is scheduled for the Brad Doty Classic’s traditional Wednesday night rain date.

Those who purchased a reserved ticket in advance to Tuesday’s event at Attica will receive a face value credit to their MyDirtTickets.com account to be used towards any World of Outlaws event available at WorldofOutlaws.com/tix.

If a credit to MyDirtTickets.com does not work, then fans have until Aug. 16 to request a face value refund. For more details call 844-DIRT-TIX Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., to speak with a customer service representative about the available options.

For fans who purchased a general admission ticket and a pit pass at Attica Raceway Park, call the raceway at (419) 680-5606.

The World of Outlaws field moves to Eldora Speedway for the remainder of the week, July 17-20, for four straight nights of racing that culminates with the $175,000-to-win Kings Royal on Saturday night. Donny Schatz is the three-time defending event champion.

The Anaheim Ducks have signed veteran defenseman Michael Del Zotto to a one-year contract, the team announced Tuesday.

Financial terms weren't announced.

Del Zotto spent part of the 2018-19 season with Anaheim before being traded to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Blues.

The 29-year-old is in a much different place than when he was a mainstay on the Rangers' blue line at age 19. After four-plus years there, he fell out of favor and has been on five teams in the past six years.

No season was more of a journey -- literally -- than this past one. He started with Vancouver but was traded in January to Anaheim.

At the trade deadline he was then dealt to St. Louis. The Blues were just starting to turn it around at the time, but Del Zotto didn't get to play much of a role. He played in seven regular-season games and didn't suit up in the playoffs.

Del Zotto is coming off a two-year, $6 million deal he signed with Vancouver. Between the three teams last season he had 10 points in 42 games.

His best season was as a 21-year-old in New York, when he had 10 goals and 31 assists in 77 games in 2011-12 and helped lead the Rangers to the conference finals.

Also Tuesday, Anaheim signed centers Chase De Leo and Justin Kloos and defenseman Chris Wideman to one-year, two-way contracts.

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Minnesota Wild have re-signed three restricted free agents: forwards Ryan Donato and Nico Sturm and defenseman Carson Soucy.

Donato, a natural center who mostly played left wing after arriving from Boston, received a two-year, $3.8 million contract.

He had four goals and 12 assists with 64 shots in 16 games for the Wild last season after the trade with the Bruins.

The 23-year-old has 15 goals and 19 assists in 68 NHL games.

Sturm and Soucy got one-year, two-way deals. Sturm made his Wild debut in April after signing as a college free agent from Clarkson. Soucy spent last season in the AHL.

The signings were announced Tuesday by the Wild, who have four remaining restricted free agents, including center Joel Eriksson Ek and left wing Kevin Fiala.

Seattle's new NHL franchise has its first general manager.

Hall of Famer Ron Francis will be named the expansion team's GM, a source told ESPN's Emily Kaplan, confirming a Seattle Times report.

Francis will receive a multiyear contract from the team, which is expected to make the hire official later this week, the source said.

The expansion Seattle franchise is set to begin play in the 2021-22 season as the NHL's 32nd team.

After longtime Detroit GM Ken Holland went to Edmonton, adviser Dave Tippett left Seattle Hockey Partners LLC to become the Oilers' coach, and Vegas' Kelly McCrimmon and Columbus' Bill Zito received promotions, there was a limited pool of experienced NHL executives to choose from for the Seattle job.

Francis, though, fits the bill.

The 56-year-old has been in hockey operations since shortly after the end of his Hall of Fame playing career. All of that time has come with the Carolina Hurricanes, including four seasons as GM.

Carolina didn't make the playoffs with Francis in charge of decision-making, though his moves put the foundation in place for the team that reached the Eastern Conference finals this past season.

As a player, Francis spent 23 seasons in the NHL, with stints in Hartford, Pittsburgh, Carolina and Toronto. A two-time Stanley Cup champion, the center had 549 goals and 1,249 assists in 1,731 games.

Toronto FC striker Jozy Altidore was fined an undisclosed amount by Major League Soccer after describing the league's referees as "some of the worst in the world" and "absolutely horrible."

The outspoken Toronto forward, who was at the Gold Cup with the U.S. national team when he posted the tweet, criticized MLS referees after his Toronto team had a late-game penalty call denied in their 1-1 draw against D.C United on June 29.

Atlanta United full-back Brek Shea is out for the season after suffering a serious right knee injury that will require surgery, coach Frank de Boer told reporters on Tuesday.

Shea was hurt early in Sunday's 2-1 loss at the Seattle Sounders. He tore the ACL and meniscus along with other damage in his knee, De Boer said.

"He has a really bad injury in his knee," De Boer said. "I feel really sorry for him. He was looking good, looking fresh, and he got this injury. Everything that almost can be destroyed in his knee is destroyed."

Shea, 29, joined Atlanta as a free agent in December on a one-year deal. He had one assist in 19 games (10 starts) this season.

He has 29 goals and 25 assists in 216 career games (156 starts) in MLS, along with four goals in 34 appearances for the U.S. national team from 2010-2015.

Meanwhile, The Athletic reported Monday that Atlanta agreed to trade for Chicago Fire midfielder Mo Adams, with compensation yet unreported.

De Boer did not confirm the move Tuesday, but said the team does have interest in Adams, a 22-year-old from England who would not fill an international slot.

Georgia Elwiss is determined to mark her international return by helping England make a "special" comeback of their own when they face Australia in this week's Test with the Women's Ashes on the line.

Elwiss, the 28-year-old allrounder who has played the past two WBBL seasons with Melbourne Stars, was named in England's 13-strong squad for the four-day match starting at Taunton on Thursday after being sidelined for more than four months with a back injury.

"Injuries are never nice and I think it's just made me really hungry to be able to contribute to hopefully us pulling off something special for the rest of this series and regaining the Ashes," Elwiss said.

England trail Australia six points to nil after losing all three of their ODIs and must win the Test, worth four points, to remain in the contest for the Ashes with three T20s worth two points each to follow.

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Elwiss admitted it had been difficult having to watch her team rather than taking part after she felt pain while playing England's one-day series in India in February and scans revealed a small stress fracture in her back, which then ruled her out of the tour of Sri Lanka, plus a home series against West Indies.

"Unfortunately I had to get shut down for a fair few months, so I'm on the comeback trail now and fit and raring to go," Elwiss said. "Hopefully I can contribute to the girls this week and bring some energy and bring something new to the dynamics of the team.

"It's been not very nice watching the girls out there playing while I'm stuck in the gym but I think that' s made me really hungry to do everything really well and properly and diligently and so I know that now I'm back I'll be back better than ever."

Elwiss has played two Tests, in the 2015 and 2017 Ashes, batting at No.4 in the latter where she made a second-innings 41 not out off 190 balls to help England hold out for a draw after Australia's Ellyse Perry had notched an unbeaten double century.

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Elwiss struck an unbeaten 44 batting at No.4 and 36 opening for England in a three-day tour match against Australia A, which finished on Sunday, and said while she enjoyed batting in the upper middle order, she was feeling good with bat and ball and was happy to do "whatever job is asked of me".

"I've got to break into the XI first and then see where we go from there," Elwiss said. "The ODI series was disappointing. We need to remember that we're not a bad team and we're not actually that far away from the Australians.

"They've played some good cricket, probably by their admission not the complete package in terms of their ODI game either. We've played some good cricket at times and I think we need to keep remembering that they're humans as well and they're going to make mistakes and we're ready to pounce."

Elwiss comes into the England squad alongside youngster Kirstie Gordon and Katherine Brunt, the 34-year-old fast bowler who is a veteran of 11 Test matches. Brunt, who is no stranger to back injuries with disc problems that require ongoing management, returns having missed the third ODI against Australia after hurting her ankle while leaping in the air to celebrate taking a wicket in the second match of the series.

"We call her the grandma of the group - she hates it," Elwiss said. "She's got all the experience but she's still got the heart and the drive and the fight of a 19-year-old coming in and that's testament to her.

"She's played a lot of Test matches and a lot of Ashes Test matches. She's been through a lot in her career and has got plenty of battle scars and things like that so she's a great person to have around the group. She's great for giving advice.

"She does waffle on a lot so you have to pick your moments to get advice from her because you could be sat there for half an hour listening to her answer, but she's great," Elwiss added with a laugh. "She's a great person to have around and she's great with the youngsters because she's always willing to offer that advice."