TOLEDO, Ohio – In 1981, 40-year-old Joe Gibbs started his professional football head coaching career with five straight losses, enduring a tough start before his Washington Redskins team recovered to win eight of their final 11 games.

Now, nearly four decades later, Gibbs’ grandson is trying to rebound from his own series of near-misses to capture his first major-league stock car victory.

Ty Gibbs, still just 16 years of age, made his ARCA Menards Series debut at Five Flags Speedway in March. He stayed in the fight all night long and made a pass for second in the final corner of the final lap.

In his second start, four weeks ago at Salem Speedway, the young Gibbs recovered from a spin to finish sixth. He crossed the line second in the most recent ARCA Menards Series race at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville.

While all of those results are nice, they aren’t what Ty Gibbs wants. He wants to win.

Not yet old enough to be eligible to race for the overall series championship, the teenager will compete for the Sioux Chief Short Track Challenge championship. The series within the series takes place on all tracks, paved and dirt, one mile in length and under.

The Sioux Chief PowerPEX 200 at Toledo Speedway will be the fourth start of Gibbs’ brief ARCA career, as well as the next race he is eligible to run at his young age.

Gibbs has tested a couple of times at the Glass City half mile last year in an effort to familiarize himself with the cars raced in the ARCA series. He will test again on Monday to work on race day setups and to continue to acclimate himself with crew chief Mark McFarland.

“Last year we came to Toledo Speedway to get some seat time in the ARCA car and some laps on the track knowing that we were going to be racing here during the 2019 season,” said Gibbs. “I was really surprised at how fast the track was but feel like I was able to learn some things that will help me when we get to the race weekend.

“I know Mark (McFarland, crew chief) and the No. 18 team will have a fast Monster Energy Camry and we’ll be ready to battle for the win at Toledo.”

Unlike his grandfather, who lost those first five games handily, Gibbs has come out of the box strong. In addition to his strong performances in the ARCA Menards Series, he also won a late model event at Myrtle Beach Speedway to start the season off on the right foot.

“The 2019 season has started out awesome, with a late-model win in Myrtle Beach and second at New Smyrna for the K&N East race and at Five Flags and Nashville for my first ARCA races,” noted Ty Gibbs. “I feel I did a lot of preparation during the off season to make sure my fitness and driving skill set stayed sharp and I was ready to get in the car and contend for wins each week. I had a rough time a few weeks ago at Salem and didn’t finish where we wanted to, but I’m ready to rebound at Toledo.”

With a limited number of opportunities to win in 2019, Gibbs is forced to maximize every chance he has behind the wheel. That’s not to say he feels extra pressure to perform. He places a lot of pressure on himself, just as every driver in his position would.

One person that doesn’t put any added pressure on him is his grandfather.

“Coach has always supported me in racing and anything I have been involved with,” continued Gibbs. “I feel like there isn’t too much pressure on me this year, but in the years to come they will be expecting results, just as they do from all of the JGR drivers.”

ROSSBURG, Ohio – Kevin Swindell has unfinished business in the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series.

A spinal injury from a crash at the 2015 Knoxville Nationals ended his driving career — leaving him with one World of Outlaws victory as a driver — but it hasn’t stopped him from chasing wins.

For the past three years Swindell has been entering his No. 39 sprint car in various races, such as this weekend’s World of Outlaws doubleheader at Eldora Speedway.

However, the top wing no longer has “Swindell” stickered across the front of it. Instead it’s been names like Bayston and Bell that have adorned that space.

Accented by a teal strip and letters, Swindell’s name has found a new home on the side of the car as Swindell SpeedLab — the name of his team and other avenues, including apparel — signifying his transition to the role of car owner.

“I think any of the guys out there (in the sprint car community) would say they’ve thought about it (owning a team),” Swindell said. “Done right, I think owner-driver is the most profitable way to do it. But someone else driving for me never was a thought.”

It never was after his accident, either. Owning a team grew out of trying to help a young driver enter the top sprint car ranks.

In 2015, Swindell found himself acting as a driver coach and crew chief for Spencer Bayston, who at the time was running Parker Price-Miller’s spare car in select races. The two clicked. When Bayston was looking to do more sprint xar races the year after and rides fell through, Swindell said they linked up.

With that, the inaugural Swindell SpeedLab team was born.

“We really built it for him (Bayston) with no real future plan in mind for it then,” Swindell said.

The pair won multiple races together in the All Star Circuit of Champions ranks, and Bayston’s success propelled him to a current full-time ride in that series.

As for Swindell and his team, the vision into the future is a little blurry. Swindell said he’s not sure what the ultimate goal for the team is.

“We’ve been lucky so far just kinda letting it evolve on its own,” he said. “So, we’ll just keep seeing where it takes us.”

At the moment, he hopes to be able to continue helping young drivers. He plans to have Missouri-native Hunter Schuerenberg drive the car in a couple of races this year.

Going full-time with the World of Outlaws isn’t on the radar at the moment, but he’s still eyeing several victories against the Outlaws.

“It’s the premier dirt series in the world, in my opinion,” said Swindell, son of three-time World of Outlaws champion Sammy Swindell. “And it’s been such a big part of my family for so long that winning those races is huge to me. I think in a way there were things I left unfinished in the seat that now I’m chasing from this side with it.”

Swindell won his lone World of Outlaws race at The Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2006. He was 17 years old when he won, which at the time made him the youngest ever winner in the series, a record that was broken by 16-year-old Giovanni Scelzi last year.

After that, Swindell won several other sprint car and midget races — including four Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals triumphs in-a-row — and had a short stint in NASCAR before his 2015 accident.

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In St. Louis, there are two words that have come to indicate whether the Blues were victorious this season: "Play 'Gloria.'"

As in Laura Branigan's 1982 disco classic "Gloria," a certified platinum smash hit that has unexpectedly become the team's victory song.

The Blues won Game 7 against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night, advancing to the Western Conference finals on winger Pat Maroon's double-overtime goal. "Gloria" played in the arena.

Radio station 98.1 FM KYKY in St. Louis also played "Gloria" to celebrate the win, at around 12:15 a.m. local time.

Then it played it again. And again. And again.

For 24 hours, the adult contemporary station put aside Maroon 5 and Taylor Swift for a tune that hit the top of the charts before any of the current Blues players were born. It was a vow made by morning show "Courtney and Company" that if the Blues won this round, the station would go "Gloria" for a full day.

"I feel like we were the push they needed," host Courtney Landrum joked Wednesday morning.

Blues fans immediately responded to the stunt. The station has been getting notes from fans who said they turned on the "24 hours of 'Gloria'" after the victory and haven't turned it off. Parents are sending in videos of their young Blues fans singing the chorus. Commuters who listen to the morning show have been writing in to say it took them "four and a half 'Glorias'" to get to the office.

"It captures this amazing moment in time where everyone in St. Louis is talking about hockey," said co-host Jen Myers.

The song has become synonymous with the Blues' turnaround this season, having gone from the basement of the conference to the conference championship round in five months.

"Whenever we come back in the dressing room [after a win], we're yelling, 'Play Gloria! Play Gloria!'" defenseman Joel Edmundson told the Blues' website earlier this season. "It makes us smile and have a good time."

It started when a few players were in a bar in Philadelphia, watching the NFC wild-card game between the Eagles and Bears, and the DJ kept spinning "Gloria" during the ad breaks.

"Everyone would get up and start singing and dancing," Edmundson told the team's website. "We just sat back and watched it happen. Right there we decided we should play the song after our wins. We won the next game, we got a shutout, so we just kept on playing it."

The tradition has continued throughout the season.

Branigan died in August 2004 due to an undiagnosed ventricular brain aneurysm. Her manager has thanked the Blues through the singer's Twitter feed and supported the team.

On behalf of Laura Branigan's legacy & "Gloria"???...GO BLUES!!!??? #LGB #PlayGloria #LauraBranigan #Gloria ~ Kathy Golik, Other Half Entertainment pic.twitter.com/dyNMmF9v06

— Laura Branigan (@laurabranigan) May 7, 2019

We got you, Joel.
We won't be playing anything else for 24 hours. #LGB #PLAYGLORIA https://t.co/P8mkrKzxUZ

— Y98 (@Y98) May 8, 2019

Landrum said "Gloria" is one of the most "fun and ridiculous" songs ever played.

"It just made us happy every single time," Myers said. "Especially when you get to the chorus. You just want to belt it out, even if you can't sing."

The Blues will next face the winner of Game 7 between the San Jose Sharks and Colorado Avalanche. Landrum said if the Blues make the Stanley Cup Final, Y98 will not only play "Gloria" again for 24 hours, but her show might remain on the air for that entire stretch.

The Pegula family, which owns the Buffalo Bills and Sabres, severed its relationship with the National Women's Hockey League.

Pegula Sports and Entertainment bought the Buffalo Beauts last season, and they were the only independently owned team in the five-member league.

The NWHL issued a statement saying it still plans to have a team in Buffalo, and that the league will operate it -- just as it did for the other franchises last season.

"The NWHL is pleased to regain operating control of the 2017 Isobel Cup champions and four-time Cup Finalist Buffalo Beauts," the statement said. "The fans of Western New York are among the most dedicated in the world, and we have had four exceptional seasons of winning hockey and large crowds in Buffalo. We will look to continue our relationship with the Harborcenter and its incredible staff, and in the Beauts' fifth season and beyond, we will build on their tradition of success."

The news comes on the heels of upheaval in professional women's hockey. More than 200 players -- including stars like Team USA's Hilary Knight and Kendall Coyne Schofield and Canada's Marie-Philip Poulin -- said they will not play in any professional league next season.

"We cannot make a sustainable living playing in the current state of the professional game," read a statement released by individual players on social media. "Having no health insurance and making as low as two thousand dollars a season means players can't adequately train and prepare to play at the highest level."

Many players have gone on record saying they want the NHL to support a women's league with financial and infrastructural resources, and sources told ESPN that the players hope the joint announcement could apply pressure on the NHL to act. It is notable that the Pegulas have a relationship with the NHL, as they own the Sabres.

The NWHL is the only remaining professional women's hockey league in North America after the Canadian-based CWHL made the stunning decision to fold after the 2018-19 season.

The NHL has said it will further explore the situation regarding professional women's hockey privately before determining any next steps.

The Beauts were widely considered the gold standard for professional women's hockey because of their relationship with the Pegulas. Beauts players received access to Sabres facilities as well as access to skills ice (which other teams do not have). Opposing players told ESPN that the Beauts had much nicer and newer gear than other teams. Buffalo players also got catered meals before games, and some Beauts players were helped with housing.

Beauts goalie Shannon Szabados -- who has said she will not play in a professional league next season -- was the only senior national Team Canada player in the NWHL last season. She told the ESPN on Ice podcast in March that Buffalo is "one of the best, if not probably the best-run professional woman's hockey team in the entire world."

"We have ice every single day, sometimes twice a day," Szabados said. "It's always open and available. Same with the gym and access to facilities, and it really is just top-notch. A lot of our staff crosses over, so our PR staff, you see a lot of videos of the Sabres guys wearing Beauts stuff. They posted a video the other day before our playoff game of Carter Hutton and some of the Sabres and other players wishing us good luck. It's a really unique relationship."

The NWHL still plans to function this season. When the CWHL folded, the NWHL said it would expand to two Canadian cities -- Montreal and Toronto. The league has not released any details on that expansion and sources told ESPN those plans are in doubt. After the 200 players announced their intention to sit out, the NWHL released a statement noting that it planned for increased salaries in 2019-20 and that a 50-50 split from league-level sponsorships and media rights deals have been offered.

"Of everyone working in women's hockey, we are among the players' biggest fans," the league wrote. "In 2015, there wasn't a professional women's hockey league in the United States. Prior to our launch just four years ago, there was never a movement for others to take over women's hockey, or for any wide-scale league in North America. In a challenging climate for women's sports, our leadership has been proud to invest a great deal of time and resources in women's hockey and these athletes. We believe in them."

Ajax Amsterdam's teenaged captain Matthijs de Ligt described their semifinal exit from the Champions League as a "nightmare" after the Dutch side were undone by Lucas Moura's 96th minute strike for Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday.

"It's a nightmare, like a dream that went bad," the 19-year-old told Dutch television shortly after the 3-2 home loss saw Tottenham Hotspur through to the final against Liverpool in Madrid on June 1. Spurs won on the away goals rule.

Ajax let slip a 2-0 half-time lead, and 3-0 aggregate advantage, as Spurs came storming back in the second half.

"We played well in the first half, we had it all our way," he added.

"We didn't keep up the same pressure in the second half.

"We gave silly goals away. We were so close to the final ... and then the ball goes in. Unbelievable."

Moura squeezed in a shot six minutes into stoppage time to complete his hat trick and a stunning comeback for the Premier League side.

"We were so close, we had so deserved it, but that last second...," Ajax manager Erik ten Hag said before trailing off.

"I told the players in the break that it wasn't over yet, you could tell by the attitude of the Tottenham players. They still believed in it.

"I can't blame anyone. We have had an incredible Champions League season and have grown a lot as a team. It is difficult to process."

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino praised his players as "heroes" after their dramatic 3-2 win at Ajax Amsterdam secured the London club's first ever Champions League final appearance.

"Still difficult to talk. The emotion is amazing, thank you to football," an emotional Pochettino told BT Sport following Wednesday's match. "My players are heroes -- in the last year I was telling everyone this group are heroes. The second half they were amazing. Thank you football -- this type of emotion without football is no possible. Thank you to everyone who has believed in us. To describe this in words is difficult."

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Lucas Moura struck a hat trick -- including a last-gasp goal in the 96th minute -- to stun Ajax, who had led the first leg 1-0 on aggregate and were knocked out on away goals.

"We were talking before the game that when you work and when you feel the love it's not stress it's passion of the team," Pochettino said. "We showed we love the sport and football. Today was amazing. It was a joy to watch this kind of game.

"It's difficult to compete at this level. I am so grateful to be a coach. To be in football and to live this type of football.

"They are all heroes but [Lucas Moura] was a superhero. From the first to last one -- the tough moment to live in the five years before."

Moura called the win the "best moment in my life -- in my career.

"Impossible to explain what I'm feeling,"the Brazilian told BT Sport. "I'm very happy and very proud of my teammates. Always believe in this moment. We gave everything on the pitch and deserved this moment -- we are family. Impossible to explain. Big gift from God I'd like to share with teammates, friends and family."

Spurs midfielder and former Ajax player Christian Eriksen called the win a "ridiculous game."

"We were really far down, we tried to fight back, we were just lucky," the Dane told BT Sport. "I feel sorry for Ajax, they played a very good game against us, today we mostly created more chance, football they played better, it is a relief, we have been fighting for this, it is a dream to be in the final.

"We felt like we weren't able to look ourselves in the mirror if we were to go down three or four nil. We had to fight, we scored early to get some momentum, put them under pressure. We are lucky the ball falls in the right direction, Luca had a wonderful game, we are relieved."

After Liverpool fought back from a 3-0 first-leg defeat to beat Barcelona 4-3 on aggregate on Tuesday, the final will be an all-English affair.

Spurs defender Danny Rose said that he had taken inspiration from the Merseysiders.

"We saw Liverpool last night. It goes to show it's not over until it's over. Disappointed with the first leg, how we started and we started like that tonight. But after the break we came out," Rose said.

"The gaffer mentioned Liverpool's display at the hotel before the match -- the gaffer doesn't mind us losing but we have to lose the right way."

There was one major tactical shift that did play a crucial role in the victory, however. At halftime Pochettino took out midfielder Victor Wanyama and replaced him with Spanish forward Fernando Llorente.

Llorente, whose main asset is his height and strength in the air, placed himself on Ajax defender Daley Blind and that upset the solidity of the Dutch defence.

The Spaniard's presence caused confusion and created instability which Moura was able to exploit to the full.

With a big man as a focal point for the attack, Tottenham were able to take a more direct approach -- with crosses from deep and in the latter stages, hopeful punts into the box.

Llorente would not have been on the field had Spurs' first choice striker Harry Kane been fit but the injured England captain was in the dressing room at the break and he said the focus was purely on effort.

"At half time we said it is 45 minutes to give everything... the lads dug deep, showed passion, showed character, showed heart and that is what it's all about," said Kane.

"Over the two legs we didn't play as well as we would have liked but we found a way to win," he added.

Information from Reuters was used in this report.

AMSTERDAM -- So Tottenham continue to be football's nearly men, all the way to the Champions League final in Madrid, after completing the competition's most dramatic fightback in 24 hours.

Liverpool one night, Tottenham the next. The Premier League is the gift that keeps giving in the Champions League, and debate will now rage as to which club mounted the most incredible comeback to reach next month's final in Madrid.

A 4-0 home win against Barcelona to win 4-3 on aggregate takes some beating, but Spurs certainly matched Liverpool's feat for drama by leaving Ajax's brave young team floored with three second-half goals in Amsterdam -- all three from Brazilian forward Lucas Moura -- with the last coming in the dying seconds of stoppage time to secure a 3-2 win on the night.

It reduced Mauricio Pochettino to tears, with the Spurs manager struggling to describe the feeling of guiding the club to their first ever Champions League final.

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"It is difficult with words to describe my emotion," he said. "It is one of the most important nights in my life. Thank you to football. My players are heroes; in the last year I was telling everyone this group are heroes.

"To go to the Champions League final is nothing short of a miracle."

Erik ten Hag's Ajax players were also in tears, but they were devastated, throwing themselves to the floor after Moura netted the winner. Tears flowed on the pitch while beer was thrown in the stands by stunned supporters -- this report has been written on a laptop doused twice by flying Heineken -- who had been seconds away from booking their dream trip to the Spanish capital.

But Spurs have made a habit of nearly going out of the Champions League this season before pulling themselves back from the brink. Four times this term, Pochettino's team have nearly been knocked out of the Champions League. Against PSV Eindhoven, Inter Milan and Barcelona in the group stage, they were minutes from elimination until being saved by a late goal on each occasion. And against Manchester City in the quarterfinal second leg last month, Spurs were as good as out, with Pep Guardiola racing down the touchline to celebrate Raheem Sterling's stoppage-time winner, until VAR threw the Londoners an incredible, dramatic lifeline by cancelling it out to send them into the semifinals.

But trailing 2-0 on the night to this vibrant, fearless Ajax, and 3-0 on aggregate, Moura's second-half hat trick sealed a remarkable fightback that earned a victory on the away goals rule. Nearly out? You bet, but this team never knows when it is beaten, and the North London club are now on a collision course with Liverpool, another side who will believe their name is on the trophy, when they meet in Madrid's Wanda Metropolitano Stadium on June 1.

Spurs arrived in the Dutch capital with a challenge ahead of them, following last week's 1-0 first-leg defeat in London, but it was by no means insurmountable. Yet Pochettino and his players watched the drama unfold at Anfield and defender Danny Rose admitted after this game that Liverpool's win provide crucial inspiration.

"We saw Liverpool last night and it goes to show that it's not over until it's over," Rose said. "And [Pochettino] mentioned Liverpool's display at the hotel before the match."

But Pochettino's words seemed to barely register as Spurs started terribly, falling behind 2-0 inside 36 minutes following Matthijs de Ligt's fourth-minute header and Hakim Ziyech's left-footed strike.

Spurs now had to score three to turn the tie around and they could not turn to the talismanic qualities of leading goal scorer Harry Kane, who was nursing an ankle injury in the stands. Instead, Pochettino threw on striker Fernando Llorente in place of midfielder Victor Wanyama and the Spaniard turned the game, with his physical presence unsettling De Ligt and Daley Blind.

Spurs also had Dele Alli, who rose to the occasion after a disappointing season to drive Spurs on. The England midfielder's break forward was the key to Moura's first goal, on 55 minutes, which gave Tottenham hope. Four minutes later, hope became belief when Moura did it again, scoring after he displayed trickery and coolness amid chaos in the penalty area with a left-footed shot that was placed into the corner of the net.

Ajax, so impressive in beating Real Madrid and Juventus to reach this stage, now looked exactly what they are: a young team lacking nous and experience at the highest level. They took too many risks going forward and played too much football at the back. It was pure football, in the Ajax way, but this was a Champions League semifinal and it was not the time or place for novices.

Yet Spurs saw chances go begging and they struggled to take advantage. Thoughts turned to what Liverpool would do to this Ajax team, and it would not be pretty for the Dutch outfit -- they would be torn apart by a ruthless attacking machine.

Spurs are not quite that, and their record in semifinals under Pochettino -- three defeats in four prior to this tie -- highlighted their own shortcomings. And their inability to finish Ajax off almost led to their downfall, with Ziyech hitting the post on 79 minutes. When Jan Vertonghen was denied by the crossbar and a goal-line clearance on 87 minutes, it was surely a sign that Tottenham's game was up.

But they continued to push, and Ajax foolishly chased another goal rather than killing off the game, and it seemed inevitable that Pochettino's team would get one last chance. And so it proved, deep into stoppage time, when Moura punished a Blind slip and latched onto Alli's pass before scoring from 18 yards.

What a night, what a week. And when Spurs meet Liverpool in the final on June 1, more madness surely awaits.