Fiji Sevens forward Mesulame Kunavula has been hailed as a player with "world class" attributes and a "bit of an x-factor" as he signed for Edinburgh.

The 23-year-old has agreed a "long-term" contract with the Pro14 club.

Head coach Richard Cockerill said: "Mesu really stood out during his time representing Fiji on the Sevens circuit.

"His ability to beat a man, as well as offload in the tackle, are really world class."

Kunavula, who can play at both flanker and lock, helped Fiji finish the last World Rugby Sevens Series in first place, winning five out of 10 tournaments.

"We have been looking at adding players who offer something different - that bit of x-factor - and I certainly think Mesu brings that dynamic to an already talented squad," Cockerill said.

The Edinburgh head coach is confident he can adapt to the full game in a similar way to compatriot and fellow forward Viliame Mata, who joined Edinburgh in 2016.

"Like Bill before him, we're really looking forward to seeing how he can develop in a 15's environment and we're really hopeful that he can be a big player for us," he said.

Kunavula joined the police force while representing Fiji Under-20 in the early stages of his career before making his Sevens Series debut in 2016 and was named in the Fiji Sevens squad that finished with a silver medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia's Gold Coast.

The back-row, who was born in Tailevu, the same village in which Mata was raised, said: "Viliame is a good friend of mine and he has told me so much about the club and life in Scotland.

"I've really enjoyed my time on the sevens circuit, but I felt it was the right time to move abroad and develop my own game further. The facilities in Edinburgh are world class and I'm only going to improve as a player."

Wasps have signed scrum-half Sam Wolstenholme from Yorkshire Carnegie, but have cancelled a deal for prop Mike Daniels after he failed a medical.

Wolstenholme, 20, joins after making 23 appearances for the Leeds-based Championship side.

The signing of Daniels, 26, from Championship side Nottingham was initially announced in February.

The club has also announced that fly-half Jacob Umaga has been promoted to the first team from their academy.

The 20-year-old is the nephew of former All Blacks captain Tana Umaga and has scored four tries in seven first-team appearances.

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — Overnight rain, continuing into the morning and early afternoon, has left Clarksville Speedway too saturated for Monday’s DIRTcar Summer Nationals and Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals event.

The event will not be rescheduled.

The Hell Tour continues Tuesday at Tri-City Speedway, in Pontoon Beach, Ill., with a $7,500-to-win make up event for the rained out event from June 21.

SPEED SPORT has been reporting on and covering motorsports happenings from all over the world for 85 years, so we thought it would be fun to take a look back in the archives to see what happened 10, 25 and 50 years ago each week.

So check out what SPEED SPORT was covering 10, 25 and 50 years ago this week in Looking Back!

10 Years Ago (June 24, 2009): Kasey Kahne survived multiple restarts to post a victory in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition at Infineon Raceway. Kahne, who’d never finished higher than 23rd at the track before, led the final 34 laps of the 113-lap event and held off road course aces Tony Stewart and Marcos Ambrose to post the first victory for the revamped Richard Petty Motorsports program.

Other Happenings: Chevrolet, facing a chapter 11 bankruptcy, confirmed to Chevrolet NASCAR teams that funding was going to be slashed; Dario Franchitti won the Indy Racing League event at Iowa Speedway; Sebastian Vettel was the class of the field during the British Grand Prix at the Silverstone Circuit.

25 Years Ago (June 22, 1994): Rusty Wallace survived a shootout with Dale Earnhardt and Mark Martin to win the Miller Genuine Draft 400 in front of the largest crowd ever to witness a race at Michigan Int’l Speedway. Wallace’s third-straight NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory pushed his career NASCAR earnings above the $10 million mark.

Other Happenings: USAC lowered the turbocharger boost pressure for purpose-built two-valve pushrod engines in a move that adversely affected the Mercedes-Benz Ilmor engine that won the 1994 Indianapolis 500; Paul Grosso and Dave Inness were killed in separate racing accidents in California and New Jersey; Dale Blaney and Ed Lynch Jr. earned two All Star Circuit of Champions victories each during Western Pennsylvania All Star Sprint Speedweek while Frankie Kerr won the week-long title.

50 Years Ago (June 25, 1969): Bobby Unser ended a 19-race winless drought in Indy car competition with a $50,000 victory at Langhorne Int’l Motor Speedway. The race originally began on June 15, but was postponed by rain until the following Sunday. Unser led 101 laps on the paved oval, finishing 10 seconds clear of Art Pollard to take home the victory.

Other Happenings: A.J. Foyt beat Don White to win the Indiana Classic 100-miler for stock cars  in Indianapolis; Richard Petty and Bobby Isaac split a pair of NASCAR Grand National events at Kingsport Speedway and Greenville-Pickens Speedway; Pete Hamilton won the Norris Friel 400 at Beltsville (Md.) Speedway after it was shortened to 300 laps; Jim Shampine ended a dry spell of more than a year with a victory at Oswego Speedway.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – CSJ Motorsports has been selected by Aston Martin Racing as the official North American distributor for sales and support of the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 and GT4 race cars.

Both the new Vantage GT3 and GT4 feature race-modified versions of the 4.0-liter V8 twin-turbocharged engine used in Aston Martin’s next generation sports car.

The selection of CSJ Motorsports represents a fresh start in North America for Aston Martin Racing. Under the direction of co-principals Cy Jary and Susan Jary, CSJ Motorsports brings a unique perspective to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and Michelin Pilot Challenge series and the SRO Blancpain GT World Challenge America and Pirelli GT4 America paddocks.

The Jarys, who have a combined 42 years of experience owning construction and project management companies, are experienced business and sales professionals coming to motorsports free and clear of any existing paddock relationships. The singular focus of CSJ Motorsports will be only on current and future Aston Martin customers.

“We’re honored and looking forward to working closely with Aston Martin Racing to build the Vantage GT3 and GT4 programs in the United States,” Susan Jary said. “We’ve been in business as long as we have because we put our clients and customers first and pride ourselves on customer relations. We’ll continue that by doing what’s best for the teams running the Aston Martin Vantage.”

Based in San Antonio, Texas, CSJ Motorsports will be on hand with a parts truck and support at every IMSA and SRO event with an Aston Martin on the entry list. In addition to parts at and away from the track, CSJ Motorsports will offer diagnostic and technical support to each North American team.

“We both started as motorsports fans and have been looking for the right opportunity to get more involved,” Cy Jary said. “Working with Aston Martin Racing, we’ve made the investments needed to run a first-class, competitive operation. Our season has gotten off to a great start with a Vantage GT4 campaigned by Automatic Racing, and we’re looking forward to increasing the number of competitive Aston Martin Vantage machines racing across the country.”

Though a new car for 2019, the Aston Martin Vantage has already had success in both GT3 and GT4 trims around the world. The car has posted a combined 22 top-five finishes in several international race series including Blancpain GT World Challenge Europe, the British GT Championship, International GT Open Championship, Creventic 24H Series and the Super Taikyu Series. The tally includes 11 podium finishes and a win for the GT4 machine at Suzuka in the Super Taikyu Series.

SUPERIOR, Wis. – AMSOIL Inc. has partnered with Team O’Neil Rally School as the school’s official lubricant partner.

The partnership complements the Official Oil status for the American Rally Ass’n and New England Forest Rally coming this July 19-20.

For more than 20 years, Team O’Neil Rally School, located in Dalton, N.H., has offered a variety of driving courses, including rally driving; winter-safe driving; drift driving; and off-road and security courses for individuals, private companies and government agencies. Courses offer educational and recreational experiences appropriate for all abilities, which takes a toll on the school’s fleet of rally vehicles.

“With four distinct seasons and driving conditions that push our fleet of vehicles to the edge, Team O’Neil requires the highest quality oils and lubricants,” said Chris Cyr, Team O’Neil Rally School CEO/Owner. “Our mechanics and technicians, who boast more than 20 years of experience in rally driving, made it clear that AMSOIL was a partner we needed to pursue to ensure we deliver for our customers.”

The Team O’Neil Rally School facility sits on 585 acres of rolling terrain with more than six miles of stage-rally roads, and miles of OHRV and four-wheel-drive trails. Students include automotive enthusiasts and racers, members of every branch of the military and celebrities. Past students include action-sports stars Ken Block and Travis Pastrana.

“Not only are we maintaining more than 70 rally training vehicles, we have a fleet of service trucks and tractors that will benefit from AMSOIL synthetic lubricants, ensuring we deliver quality training,” said Cyr. “Our business has grown thanks to our reputation; we are very careful to partner only with manufacturers that lead their respective industries.”

As official oil, AMSOIL will provide synthetic lubricants for Team O’Neil Rally School’s fleet of rally vehicles and support vehicles.

“AMSOIL has a long history of proven performance for sports car racing and is working to reinforce its positive reputation in rally-driving circles,” said AMSOIL Racing and Events Manager Kevin Kastner. “AMSOIL synthetic lubricants stand up to the toughest conditions of extreme temperatures and rough conditions alike, delivering wear protection and superior performance drivers can count on.”

Center William Karlsson is expected to sign an eight-year, $47.2 million contract to remain with the Vegas Golden Knights, a source confirmed to ESPN.

The new deal is expected to be completed by Tuesday, according to The Athletic, which first reported the deal.

The Golden Knights took Karlsson, who had been a third-line grinder with the Columbus Blue Jackets for parts of three seasons, in the expansion draft before the 2017-18 season. He went on to turn into a star for the Golden Knights, scoring 43 goals after previously never scoring more than nine, and helped lead Vegas to the Stanley Cup Final.

Golden Knights general manager George McPhee wasn't sure what he had in Karlsson come contract time, so Vegas kicked the problem down the road last season with a one-year, $5.25 million contract that narrowly avoided arbitration.

Karlsson followed up his breakout season with another solid campaign in 2018-19. He didn't equal his previous numbers but still posted 24 goals and 32 assists. Part of the decline had to do with the fact that he led the NHL with a 23.4 shooting percentage in 2017-18 and settled back to 14.2 last season. Also, after leading the league in plus-minus at plus-49 in 2017-18 he dropped to just plus-1.

Karlsson goal numbers didn't jump up, but he showed he is a top-line, two-way forward on a good team. Even with a team-friendly average annual value of $5.9 million, the deal puts the cap-strapped Golden Knights in a tight spot.

With the NHL setting the salary cap at $81.5 million, instead of the anticipated $83 million, Vegas will likely have to make some trades to get under the number.

The Philadelphia Flyers have re-signed restricted free agent Travis Sanheim to a two-year, $6.5 million deal.

In his first full season in the NHL, the 23-year-old emerged as a top pairing defenseman -- along with fellow restricted free agent Ivan Povorov.

"We are very pleased with the progress Travis has made in his young career," Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher said in a statement. "He is a skilled, two-way defenseman with excellent size and mobility. He is a big part of our present and our future."

Sanheim had nine goals and 26 assists, to go along with a minus-4 and 49.5 Corsi percentage. He blocked 133 shots last season.

The Flyers already took a step to bolster their blue line with a trade for veteran Justin Braun from the Sharks.

"I'm obviously really excited. It's a big step in my career," Sanheim said in a statement. "I'm looking forward to another two years with the Flyers. I'm really excited with the way the team's moving forward and the moves we've made this summer."

The 2019 Hockey Hall of Fame class, which will be revealed Tuesday, is one of those tricky transition-year groups, sandwiched in between the mortal locks of 2018 (Martin Brodeur, Martin St. Louis) and 2020 (Jarome Iginla).

At least that's true of the male players, because there's one icon of women's hockey who is going to the head of the class this year.

Who joins her? Let's break down the field by devising our own set of odds.

Lock: Hayley Wickenheiser, center (first year of eligibility)

The lock of all locks. The Canadian icon has four Olympic gold medals, with 18 goals in 26 games, and seven golds in IIHF world championships action. A star in every sense of the word, to the point where she's synonymous with women's hockey in Canada. In a year when other candidates all have caveats and flaws, Wick is the only eligible player whose immortality can't be debated.

Near lock: Daniel Alfredsson, right wing (third year of eligibility)

The former Senators captain had 444 goals (No. 63 all time) and 1,157 points (No. 54 all time) during his 17-year run with Ottawa (and that other year in Detroit). He won the Calder Trophy, although no other individual hardware, and won Olympic gold and silver for Sweden.

Is he destined for the "great, but not a Hall of Famer" bin? Or will the selection committee succumb to the flood of fans in Ontario who would make the trek to the Hall for induction weekend to celebrate the Senators' franchise standard-bearer and one of the game's greatest ambassadors? We figure he'll be in ... although we felt that way last year, too.

3-1: Rod Brind'Amour, left wing (sixth year), Alexander Mogilny, right wing (10th year); Jeremy Roenick, center (seventh year)

There's a sense as the Hall of Fame selections draw closer that another forward will likely get the nod for enshrinement.

Mogilny had two of the best offensive seasons of the past 25 years, with 76 goals in 1992-93 and 55 goals in 1995-96. While those two seasons are by far his best, he finished with a stellar 1.04 points-per-game average (38th all time, in a career that included playing in the trap era) in 990 career games over 16 seasons. He's also a Triple Gold Club member, and there are only 28 of them in history. Just as important to anything he did on the ice, he was the first Soviet defection to the NHL, a landmark moment in hockey history. The selection committee has been much more open to Russian candidates in recent years, with three of the past four classes including former Soviet players. Will the trend continue with Mogilny?

The test for Roenick is how much emphasis the committee puts on the "fame" part, because at his peak, very few NHL players could rival his star power. His 513 career goals rank him 40th all time, although it's a number that doesn't guarantee enshrinement; just ask Pat Verbeek (522) and Pierre Turgeon (515) about that. His 0.892 points-per-game average puts him right with Hall of Famer Joe Nieuwendyk. No awards. No Stanley Cups. No gold medals internationally. But few players have had more cultural impact than Roenick in his prime.

Thanks to his stint as Carolina Hurricanes head coach, Brind'Amour's stock has skyrocketed recently. There's a case to be made for the former Hurricanes, Flyers and Blues center as one of the best 200-foot forwards of his era. He had 1,184 points (50th) in 1,482 career games, including 452 goals (58th). He won the Selke Trophy in consecutive years from 2005 to '07 in his mid-30s. He had 18 postseason points in the Hurricanes' 2006 Stanley Cup win. He had longevity, intangibles and a heck of a career. One to watch.

5-1: Defensemen Sergei Gonchar (second year), Kevin Lowe (18th year), Doug Wilson (23rd year), Sergei Zubov (seventh year)

Would the selection committee make it four straight seasons without a defenseman in the class? That's hard to believe, which means one assumes a player from this list gets in.

Gonchar played 1,301 games and amassed 811 points, which is 17th all time for defensemen. He won the Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh in 2009.

Lowe got a full endorsement from former teammate Wayne Gretzky at the 2018 Hall of Fame induction as the player he felt most deserved to be in the Hall who wasn't. He was the backbone of six Stanley Cup championship teams, including five with the dynastic Oilers who have already produced six Hall of Famers.

Wilson is the latest in a line of NHL greats whose wait time would seem to indicate he's not getting in but whose candidacy continues to be trumpeted by prominent voices. Wilson ranks seventh in NHL history among defensemen with 0.81 points per game (at a minimum of 1,000 games played). He won the Norris Trophy in 1983 and finished in the top four of the voting four times. Is the 23-year wait finally over, or will it never be?

Zubov's points-per-game rate was 0.72, putting him on par with the legendary Nicklas Lidstrom. He also has two Stanley Cup wins. The analytics community loves him as an overlooked immortal from the 1990s. Dallas Stars fans will basically fight you if you don't agree he should be in the Hall.

10-1: Curtis Joseph, goalie (seventh year)

A classic case of stats vs. impact. CuJo is fifth in career wins (454), sixth in games played (943), but he never won a Vezina Trophy (despite being in the top four five times) nor a Stanley Cup. To date, Ed Giacomin is the only Hall of Fame goalie not to have won a Cup. Goalies rarely get into the Hall of Fame -- Martin Brodeur last season was just the seventh since 1990 -- which also isn't working in his favor.

20-1: Theo Fleury, right wing (13th year); Steve Larmer, right wing (21th year), Boris Mikhailov, right wing (35th year); Chris Osgood, goalie (fifth year)

A quartet of worthy candidates, each of whom has a unique angle to his bid for immortality: Fleury's endearing offensive flourish, the Soviet top-line dominance of Mikhailov and the postseason heroics of Osgood. Larmer is the new addition to this tier, as there seems to be a renewed appreciation for his scoring prowess (64th in goals, with 441) and consistency. Plus, he has a Calder and a Stanley Cup. Alas, none of them seems like the total package for the Hall.

25-1: Dan Boyle, defenseman (first year), Patrik Elias, forward (first year), Vincent Lecavalier, center (first year)

The only freshman candidates worthy of consideration, and none of them look like first-ballot guys.

Elias has two Stanley Cups to his credit, and had 1,025 points in 1,240 games from 1995 to 2016 with the New Jersey Devils. That puts him 13th in points in the NHL during that span and 14th in points per game. Internationally, Elias had 33 points in 40 games. He's generally considered one of the NHL's most underrated talents in recent history, and there's certainly been a reconsideration of his impact after his retirement.

Lecavalier certainly has the most star power of the three. He played 1,212 games, primarily with the Lightning (1998-2013) before finishing up with the Philadelphia Flyers and Los Angeles Kings. He had 949 points, including 421 goals, putting him 16th in goals-per-game average during his career. He won the goal-scoring title in 2006-07 with 52 tallies, as well as the Stanley Cup in 2004. A star player, and a consistent one, but a first-ballot Hall of Famer he is not.

Of the three, Boyle might have the most compelling case, given his scoring prowess as a defenseman: 605 points in 1,093 games. From 1998 to 2018, only Nicklas Lidstrom, Gonchar and Zdeno Chara had more points than Boyle among defensemen. He has a Stanley Cup and an Olympic gold, but no individual titles. Let's not discount the storybook journey of Boyle to the NHL: an undrafted player ends up playing nearly 1,100 games in the NHL.

30-1: Keith Tkachuk, left wing (sixth year); Pierre Turgeon, center (ninth year)

Oh, they've got numbers: Tkachuk's 538 goals are the 32nd most in NHL history, and there's no Hall of Fame-eligible player with more points than Turgeon (1,327) who isn't already enshrined. The Hall doesn't always shy away from stat compilers -- we see you, Dino Ciccarelli -- but these two haven't had any buzz for their candidacies in quite a while.

40-1: The field

There are goal scorers (Peter Bondra, Pat Verbeek) and all-around performers (Dale Hunter) and a few other newbies who populate the field. Then there's former Boston Bruins goalie Tim Thomas, who absolutely dominated his position for a span of five years and won two Vezinas and a Conn Smythe before disappearing from the public eye.

There's also Brad Richards, in his first year of eligibility, with two Stanley Cups and a Conn Smythe to his credit. Finally, there's Canadian hockey icon Paul Henderson, still trying to prove that one goal in 1972 could earn one an even higher level of immortality than it already has.

Prediction

Hayley Wickenheiser, Daniel Alfredsson, Sergei Zubov, Alexander Mogilny, Jim Rutherford (builder).