DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – American Flat Track returns to action Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, for the Al Lamb’s Dallas Honda Texas Half-Mile presented by Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys.

The opening two rounds in the AFT Twins presented by Vance & Hines championship battle have proven both intense and unpredictable.

Reigning Grand National Champion Jared Mees scored an amazing 20 wins in 31 attempts during a historically dominant stretch that spanned much of the 2017 and 2018 seasons, resulting in two runaway titles. However, Mees is now winless in the last seven main events and ranks fifth in the 2019 standings.

Daytona TT winner Briar Bauman leads the series points, followed closely by Atlanta Short Track victor Brandon Robinson.

Mees was victorious at last year’s Texas Half-Mile and is no doubt eager for a return to his dominant ways. But if there’s any rider even more motivated to win this weekend than Mees, it has to be his long-time rival, Bryan Smith.

Smith broke his left fibula in a spectacular, multi-rider crash at Texas Motor Speedway a year ago. That incident effectively derailed any hopes he had to reclaim the No. 1 plate that Mees took off him the season prior. It also hindered him from rediscovering him winning form until late in the season. But once he did, he was nearly unstoppable, taking three wins in the final four races of 2018.

Smith reunited with the title-proven Crosley Brands/Howerton Motorsports Kawasaki effort for 2019, but he’s still looking to remind the field just how potent that pairing can be.

Meanwhile, in the Roof Systems AFT Singles presented by Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys class, Atlanta Short Track winner Dalton Gauthier, Daytona TT winner Jesse Janisch and reigning class champion Dan Bromley enter round three of the Roof Systems AFT Singles season ranked first through third, respectively.

Don’t sleep on American Honda-backed Mikey Rush. The former AFT Twins standout has made an admirably seamless transition to Roof Systems AFT Singles duty. He currently sits fourth in the standings and should only continue to gain speed as the season progresses.

Rush and his teammates, Cameron Smith and Cole Zabala, will be defending their sponsor’s home turf this weekend as they look to put Al Lamb’s Dallas Honda on the podium at its titular event.

Saturday’s Texas Half-Mile also marks the season opener for the 11-round AFT Production Twins championship. The series, which has been designed to help up-and-coming AFT Singles riders adapt to faster, more powerful twins machinery, boasts a stacked entry list this weekend.

Among the many notable riders competing is none other than Danny Eslick. A multi-time road racing national champion and Daytona 200 winner, Eslick is widely regarded as one of the sport’s most naturally gifted, exciting, and charismatic riders.

GAFFNEy, S.C. – Landon Cassill will return to JD Motorsports with Gary Keller to compete in the upcoming NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Talladega Superspeedway on April 27.

Cassill will take over driving duties of the No. 4 Flex Seal/Contec Chevrolet Camaro typically driven by Ross Chastain. Cassill previously spent 2013 to 2015 driving for JD Motorsports and also made three starts for the team last year.

“We are ecstatic to have Landon back in the seat for Talladega,” said team owner Johnny Davis. “He has always been considered one of the best drivers we had ever had in our cars in the time that he has spent driving for us, and I’m excited to see what we can accomplish with his wealth of experience on the Super Speedways.”

The Cedar Rapids, Iowa, driver has spent the bulk of his career racing for various teams in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, and has one top-five and one top-10 finish in his career, both coming at Talladega. In his Xfinity Series career he’s earned one top-five and 12 top-10 finishes.

Chastain, who will drive the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet Camaro at Talladega, is scheduled to return to JD Motorsports to drive the No. 4 Chevrolet Camaro on May 4 at Dover (Del.) Int’l Speedway.

For 16 teams, the Stanley Cup playoffs are in full swing. The other 15 look ahead to the 2019 NHL draft on June 21.

Since our first run through the first round, there has been plenty of movement. We still have the scouting combine, pre-draft team meetings and more ahead of us, so expect more shuffling as draft day in Vancouver approaches.

Let's see how the first round is shaping up with our second mock draft -- and the first post-lottery one -- of the year.

Note: This mock uses the draft lottery results for the opening and the reverse order of the NHL standings after that, alternating between the West and East for the final four picks. As you'll note, the Tampa Bay Lightning are still in the last spot, despite being on the brink of elimination. We'll have more mocks before draft time, but for now, we stick to regular-season point totals for the playoff team draft positions.

1. New Jersey Devils

Jack Hughes, C, U.S. National U18 Team (NTDP)

Adding Hughes could significantly change the dynamic of New Jersey's offensive attack. A one-two punch of Hughes and Nico Hischier would give the Devils a formidable duo for years to come. Landing the No. 1 pick should also be a nice enticement for Taylor Hall to hang around as he heads into the final year of his contract.

2. New York Rangers

Kaapo Kakko, RW, TPS (Liiga)

Kakko is a game-changer for the Rangers' rebuild. He'd be more of a cornerstone piece than any prospect currently in their deep system. He brings a scoring threat to the wing and can reach the NHL right away.

3. Chicago Blackhawks

Crystal Palace goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey "did not know" what a Nazi salute was, a Football Association panel has said.

The Wales international was charged after appearing to perform a Nazi gesture in a photograph posted on Instagram by German teammate Max Meyer. Hennessey denied the allegation, and suggested the gesture was "absolutely coincidental" -- and the charge was eventually dropped.

The written reasons for the decision, published on Tuesday, stated the 32-year-old was not punished because he proved he was unaware of the historical significance of the gesture.

"Mr. Hennessey categorically denied that he was giving a Nazi salute," the statement read. "Indeed, from the outset he said that he did not even know what one was.

"Improbable as that may seem to those of us of an older generation, we do not reject that assertion as untrue. In fact, when cross-examined about this, Mr. Hennessey displayed a very considerable -- one might even say lamentable -- degree of ignorance about anything to do with [Adolf] Hitler, fascism and the Nazi regime.

"Regrettable though it may be that anyone should be unaware of so important a part of our own and world history, we do not feel we should therefore find he was not telling the truth about this.

"All we would say [at the risk of sounding patronising] is that Mr. Hennessey would be well advised to familiarise himself with events which continue to have great significance to those who live in a free country."

PHILADELPHIA -- Baseball's 2026 All-Star Game will be played in Philadelphia to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

Commissioner Rob Manfred made the announcement Tuesday at Independence Hall with a cast of All-Stars past and present onstage behind him. Phillies Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt and six-time All-Star Bryce Harper were the last two speakers to address the crowd.

This will be the first All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park, which opened in 2004. The 1976 All-Star Game was played at Veterans Stadium to mark the 200th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, and the 1996 All-Star Game also was played at the Vet, which stood in the same sports complex in South Philadelphia. The 1943 and 1952 games were at Shibe Park.

This year's All-Star Game is July 9 in Cleveland. The 2020 game will be at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, site of the 1980 game. Sites for 2021-25 have not been announced.

The Tampa Bay Rays have placed ace Blake Snell on the 10-day injured list with a broken toe.

The Rays announced Tuesday that Snell, the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, has a fractured fourth toe on his right foot.

The move is retroactive to Sunday, and Snell is expected to miss only one start.

Snell, 26, is 2-1 with a 2.16 ERA in four starts this season. The left-hander has 36 strikeouts in 25 innings.

To fill the spot on the roster, the Rays called up Emilio Pagan from Triple-A Durham.