Scottish Rugby will look "very, very closely" at any proposals for promotion and relegation in the Six Nations.

World Rugby will meet in Dublin on Wednesday to discuss the revolutionary Nations Championship concept.

It would involve a top division of 12 teams from both hemispheres playing each other once in a calendar year.

"We have an outstanding tournament and we wouldn't want to do anything to jeopardise it," said Scottish rugby director Dominic McKay.

"It's going from strength to strength and anything we could do to enhance that [Six Nations] we would look at."

A final decision on the plan to designed to globalise the calendar and increase competitiveness will likely to be set for June.

A major sticking point is the concept - and the timing - of promotion and relegation, with certain unions keen on a period of ring-fencing in order to establish a sustainable second tier.

Murrayfield 'open for business'

McKay also confirmed that Murrayfield is still "open" for the Scottish FA to use it for major matches in the future.

Scottish Rugby made a case last autumn to become the new home of Scottish football, but the Scottish FA instead opted to remain at Hampden Park.

"We are very open-minded at working with anybody," McKay said. "We've got an outstanding stadium - the biggest in Scotland.

"The Scottish FA board have made a very clear decision and they're working through their plans with respect to Hampden. We're open for business whether that's football or rugby or whatever."

Leicester Tigers head coach Geordan Murphy has been accused of two counts of verbally abusing match officials.

The incidents occurred as his side lost 32-31 to Bath on Saturday.

He faces one charge of verbally abusing a match official with an alternative charge of failing to respect the authority of a match official.

The Irishman faces another charge of failing to respect the authority of match officials in relation to separate comments he is said to have made.

Murphy will appear before a disciplinary panel in London on Wednesday, 29 May.

If found guilty, a low-end offence of verbal abuse has a starting point of a six-week ban, with a maximum suspension of one year for the most serious verbal abuse.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – International Speedway Corp. announced Wednesday that it has entered into a merger agreement with NASCAR Holdings Inc., where NASCAR will acquire ISC.

The transaction is valued at approximately $2.0 billion.

The consideration to be paid to ISC’s shareholders, other than certain controlling shareholders of ISC and certain related entities, will be $45.00 in cash for each share of ISC Class A Common Stock and ISC Class B Common Stock.

The merger agreement was unanimously recommended and approved by a special committee comprised solely of independent directors of the Board of Directors of ISC and was unanimously approved by the full board.

In addition, the participating shareholders have signed a letter agreement to cause their respective shares of ISC Class A Common Stock and ISC Class B Common Stock to be transferred to NASCAR prior to the effective time of the merger.

Under the terms of the merger agreement, ISC shareholders other than the participating shareholders will be entitled to receive $45.00 in cash, without interest, for each share of ISC Class A Common Stock and ISC Class B Common Stock held immediately prior to the effective time of the merger.

The transaction, which is expected to close before the end of the year, is conditioned on the approval of a majority of the aggregate voting power represented by the shares of ISC Class A Common Stock and ISC Class B Common Stock not owned by the controlling shareholders of ISC, voting together as a single class.

The transaction is also conditioned on other customary closing conditions.

“We are pleased with the progress that the negotiation and execution of the merger agreement between NASCAR and ISC represents,” said NASCAR officials in a prepared statement. “While important regulatory and shareholder approval processes remain, we look forward to the successful final resolution of this matter and continuing our work to grow this sport and deliver great racing experiences for our fans everywhere.

“With a strong vision for the future, the France family’s commitment to NASCAR and the larger motorsports industry has never been greater.”

In connection with the transaction negotiations, counsel for the plaintiff in The Firemen’s Retirement System of St. Louis v. James C. France, et al., Case No. 2018-CA-032105-CICI in the Seventh Judicial Circuit of Volusia County, Fla., the previously-disclosed class action lawsuit on behalf of ISC shareholders challenging the transaction met with representatives of the special committee and will not challenge the fairness of the transaction price.

Dean Bradley Osborne Partners LLC is serving as financial advisor to the ISC Special Committee, and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is acting as legal counsel to the ISC special committee.

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC is serving as financial advisor to NASCAR, and Baker Botts L.L.P. is acting as legal counsel for NASCAR. BDT & Company is serving as financial advisor to the France family. Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP is acting as legal counsel to ISC.

LEXINGTON, N.C. – Ross Chastain has added the upcoming NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Kansas Speedway in October to his schedule with Kaulig Racing and Nutrien Ag Solutions.

The count now totals five races for Chastain and the No. 10 team this season.

“I couldn’t be prouder and more honored with my partnership with Nutrien Ag Solutions,” Chastain said of the world’s largest provider of crop inputs, services and solutions. “The support Brent (Dewars), Matt (Kaulig) and the team have given me is incredible. I’m so grateful and humbled to have the opportunity to drive the Nutrien Ag Solutions colors for a fifth race and have the chance at getting them to victory lane.”

Chastain and the No. 10 team have led the field for a combined total of 30 laps between his two starts this year at Daytona Int’l Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.

The partnership has also claimed one stage win (Daytona) and four top-five stage finishes in their two starts together so far this season.

On May 10, Chastain claimed his first-career NASCAR Truck Series victory at Kansas. To date this season, he has participated in all 29 races in the three NASCAR national series, the only driver to do so.

Chastain is also scheduled to drive for Kaulig Racing at Chicagoland Speedway (June 29) and Texas Motor Speedway (Nov. 2), wearing the Nutrien Ag Solutions colors in both races.

One could say an oak tree planted in the early 1900s on Wayside Drive in Winston-Salem, N.C., served as the foundation of Richard Childress Racing.

It was where engines were pulled from car frames almost a decade before the powerhouse championship organization was officially formed in 1969.

Now in its 50th season, drivers, crew members and company personnel have contributed to 228 victories and 13 championships in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series and ARCA Menards Series.

It all began with one particular 1947 Plymouth that Richard Childress raced at Winston-Salem’s Bowman Gray Stadium.

Childress worked at Adams Hosiery Mill where he met a co-worker who told him the car had once been a taxi cab. Childress paid $20 for the car, welded in rollbars, bought an airplane seat belt at the local Army-Navy store and raced it at the quarter-mile track.

He and friend Jerry Cooper borrowed money to buy an additional 1954 Plymouth to race at short tracks in North Carolina and Virginia. Cooper stepped away, but Childress continued with one goal in mind.

“Becoming a Cup Series driver in NASCAR was always my dream,” Childress said. “When I was working at Bowman Gray selling concessions, that was what I wanted to do. In 1969, when I ran a Grand American race and drove around the Talladega track, that’s when I was sure I wanted to become a full-time racer.”

The aforementioned Grand American event served as Childress’ big break. On Sept. 14, 1969, a boycott was staged by premier series drivers at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. Childress was given a spot in the field with his Grand American car, a companion series to the Cup Series machines.

The $1,175 he earned for finishing 23rd paid for his first race shop, which was about the size of RCR’s present reception area.

Even though he didn’t win as a Cup Series driver, Childress recorded six top-five finishes and 76 top-10 results in 285 starts, with a fifth-place finish in the 1975 point standings.

“For the amount of funding we had when I was a driver, I think we did pretty well,” Childress said. “I would have maybe two or three paid crew members and I would pick up guys to help us in the pits. I’ve wondered sometimes how well we could have done had I really had the money to race with in those days.”

H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler, a former Firestone Tire Co. representative and longtime president of Charlotte Motor Speedway, respected Childress for his perseverance.

“There’s no question in my mind had he had some good equipment, he would have won some races,” Wheeler told SPEED SPORT in 2014. “That last $100,000 wasn’t there. He would always show up at the track with no money because he just didn’t have it, but he was a smart guy who managed the money he did have very well. I always thought he would make a great car owner.”

After starting 20 Cup Series races in 1981, Childress stepped away from the driver’s seat.

“In the late 1970s, I could see the future coming with (team owners) Warner Hodgdon, Rod Osterlund, M.C. Anderson and Harry Ranier putting a great deal of money into it. I was used to top-10 finishes, but all of the sudden I found myself running 12th or 15th and it just wasn’t fun for me anymore,” Childress explained. “I knew if I wanted to stay in the sport I had to find a driver to continue doing it. So I got out of the car and put (Dale) Earnhardt in it for 10 races.”

Childress knew he wasn’t completely ready to provide Earnhardt with the top-flight equipment needed to meet his potential.

“We weren’t ready to give Dale what he needed to win championships,” Childress said. “We sat in the parking lot of the old Sheraton hotel at Darlington and I said to him, ‘I don’t have what it takes to run a championship-caliber driver like you right now. Someday, I hope I will.’

“Ricky Rudd won two for us in 1983, so I knew then we were ready to give Dale what he needed (in 1984). When Dale was on the track, he was an intimidating driver,” Childress continued. “You may question the car, the tires or the engine but when it came to Dale Earnhardt, you never questioned the driver.”

KOSICE, Slovakia -- Pierre-Luc Dubois scored early to back the shutout goaltending of Matt Murray, sending Canada past the United States 3-0 on Tuesday at the world hockey championship. Both teams already were assured quarterfinal berths and were competing for seeding.

Canada won Group A and will next play Switzerland. The Americans, who had five won straight, will face the high-scoring, undefeated Russians on Thursday. Finland will face Sweden, and the Czech Republic plays Germany in the round of eight.

Kyle Turris also scored in the first period for Canada, beating Cory Schneider. Turris assisted on Jared McCann's goal in the second period.

Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin scored for Russia, which closed out its dominant play in Group B with a 7-3 win over Sweden. Earlier Tuesday, Leon Draisaitl scored tiebreaking and go-ahead goals late in the third period to lift Germany to a 4-2 win over Finland in Group A.

The Czech Republic closed the preliminary round with a 5-4 win over Switzerland in Bratislava in Group B, getting one goal and two assists each from Jakub Voracek and Dominik Simon.

In matchups of teams that won't advance, Latvia beat Norway 4-1 in Group B and the host Slovaks outlasted Denmark 2-1 in a shootout decided by penalty shots.

BOSTON -- The Boston Bruins think they've found a way to stay sharp for the Stanley Cup Final while waiting a total of 10 days between games.

The Eastern Conference champions will hold a public intrasquad scrimmage on Thursday night, and coach Bruce Cassidy said he'll try to maintain a regular game-day schedule so that the players will get back in the routine before the opener of the championship series on Monday.

"We've got some ideas we bandied around. We came up with this one," Cassidy said on Tuesday, the Bruins' fifth day off since sweeping the Carolina Hurricanes in the East finals. "We've had good practices, but this will be a little bit different."

The Bruins needed seven games to dispatch the Toronto Maple Leafs in the opening round, then had one day off before starting the second round against Columbus. They finished off the Blue Jackets in six games, and had two days to rest before Game 1 against the Hurricanes.

But that series ended Thursday, and the Bruins didn't even find out their opponent for the final until Wednesday night, when the St. Louis Blues eliminated the San Jose Sharks in six games.

Cassidy said last week he would reach out to other teams to get pointers on how to handle long layoffs. Among them: the New England Patriots, who routinely have a first-round bye, in addition to a two-week break before the Super Bowl.

The Bruins coach said on Tuesday that he touched base with all of the teams in town, as well as some of the Boston players from the 2011 and 2013 teams that went to the Final and other NHL coaches who have had long breaks. But he declined to share their advice.

"We'll take what we thought was relevant to us and go from there," Cassidy said, acknowledging that a seven-game series is different from preparing for a Super Bowl. "In the first game, we want to be good. We want to be sharp. We want to be on time. We want to win. But we have a bit more luxury than say a one-and-done."

The scrimmage will be two 25-minute periods, with two officials on the ice. But some rules will be ignored in the interest of situational drills and keeping everyone healthy.

Cassidy said he may create a four-on-four situation as well as a six-on-five for a potential end-of-game, pulled-goalie scenario. The checking line will face off against the top line, and players might switch teams to get the matchups Cassidy wants to work on.

Individual players, including goalie Tuukka Rask, will decide how much they want to play.

The winning team will earn ... something.

"They will put something on the line," Cassidy said. "That's something I have to discuss with them. I think that's important. What it is it could be something very minimal, or whatever it is they want to decide."

Other than that, the coach said he will be happy if everyone comes out of the scrimmage healthy. He said it will be no different from practice, when players know not to check their teammates, but because of the increased stakes, he will talk to the team about it.

"This isn't a physicality contest out there. It's compete on pucks. It's play with some pace," he said. "I think we're smart enough. That will be the message I relay to some of the younger guys: We're doing this for a reason. But the reason is not to injure anybody."

Fans can attend Thursday's scrimmage for $20, and park for $10; popcorn will be free for children. Proceeds will go to the Boston Bruins Foundation.