Florida State professor Bruce Thyer was in the Virgin Islands this spring, looking to do a little scuba diving. At the dive center, a TV flickered with highlights of Clemson's national championship behind the reservation desk. The friendly woman taking his information smiled.

"I'm a Clemson fan," she said.

Intrigued, Thyer asked whether she'd seen the Florida State game. She had.

"Remember the guy reading the book in the stands?" he asked.

Of course she did, she said. The only memorable part of Clemson's 59-10 blowout was the shirtless man caught on camera, sitting high in an otherwise empty section of seats, reading a mystery novel while the Seminoles' defense unraveled below. No image better represented the brutal performance or the doomed FSU season than that.

"Well," Thyer said, "that was me."

Suddenly a screech erupted from the back room.

"It's FSU Book Guy!"

It was the scuba center's manager. She was a Clemson fan, too, and she wasn't going to miss her chance to meet an internet celebrity. She rushed from her office, hugged Thyer and had her employee snap a photo.

"They actually gave me a discount for my excursion," Thyer said.

There's never a bad time for a book. pic.twitter.com/7OOJIv99Gw

— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) October 27, 2018

Those are the perks of being a part of the growing menagerie of suddenly famous college football fans, plucked from obscurity by television producers, then launched into the world in meme form through myriad social media platforms. It's the modern twist on Andy Warhol's "15 minutes of fame" theory, only these 15 minutes are portioned out in three-second GIFs over years and years.

Thyer, who is 65, is a renowned professor of social work, has a doctorate from Michigan and has written numerous books. But ask any college football fan from Tallahassee to Tucson and he's not Dr. Thyer, respected educator. He's FSU Book Guy.

At a recent family reunion in Chicago, Thyer's cousins had T-shirts printed up with his meme emblazoned on the front, and they all posed for photos wearing them. All except Thyer. He was in the middle of the scene, seated, shirtless and reading a book.

You become a meme ... and can't hide

John Hurley is a Florida State fan, too. He works for the state, and he's lived most of his life in Tallahassee. He's got the gentle good humor and quiet dignity befitting a true Southern gentleman. And, of course, he's got a great mustache. That's what really captured America's hearts during the Seminoles' season opener in 2016.

Dalvin Cook fumbled what should've been an easy touchdown late in the first half, and as the broadcast went to commercial break, the camera trained on the mustachioed Hurley, staring into the middle distance, perfectly conveying a visceral melancholy that captured both the immediacy of the Seminoles' struggles and an existential malaise born from a cold, uncaring universe. He was instantly famous.

Blurring the lines between fan and celebrity is not new. Long before social media, cameras spied Spike Lee or Jack Nicholson courtside at NBA games. Fans like Green Man, Fan Man and Morgana the Kissing Bandit forced their way into popular culture by interrupting sporting events. Unsuspecting fans like Jeffrey Maier or Steve Bartman found themselves at the center of a media circus when fate suddenly thrust them into the action.

What's different now is technology. High-definition television makes it easy to spot the background characters -- Marlins Man has turned it into a career -- and cellphones allow anyone to snap a screenshot and post it to social media, where the image is shared with millions of people around the world instantaneously.

"At this point, it's become a pastime," said Brad Kim, editor of Know Your Meme, the world's foremost library for meme culture. "It's a side activity for sports viewers. We're spectating the spectators."

This notion is not lost on the folks charged with putting together the TV coverage of a game. Finding fans who can convey the emotion in the stadium to a wider audience is actually a critical part of the producer's job.

"We have an eye on people through the game," said ESPN producer Derek Mobley. "I might not take the shot in the second quarter, but we know when we have a fan that's really reacting, when a big moment happens, we see if we can get back to him and it'll be a great picture."

That's what happened to Kaileigh Thomas, better known to the college football world as "LSU Stare Girl." A cameraman had watched her section of Tiger Stadium for most of a game against Alabama last fall, but by the fourth quarter, with her team getting steamrollered, she was in no mood for the attention.

"I was just so upset and so mad, and the camera would just not go away," Thomas said. "I had no idea it was live. I thought he was just being annoying."

Thomas -- in reality, a bubbly sophomore with a sharp sense of humor -- stared daggers at the camera, a look, she said, her mother knows well. The camera stared back, slowly zooming in. It was a standoff that, amid a blowout football game, captured the country's attention.

when you're face is all you see when you open social media pic.twitter.com/EugIfVPIcE

— kaileighthomas (@kaileighthomas_) November 5, 2018

Thomas' death stare was soon shared not just as a commentary on LSU's struggles against the Crimson Tide but as a joke about everything from college tuition to politics to a wayward storyline on someone's favorite TV show. Her look captured how we've all felt at some point.

This is, perhaps, the real value of modern college football memes. They become shorthand for an emotion that can be hard to put into words but is so perfectly conveyed by one LSU sophomore's cold, menacing stare or one Florida State fan frustrated by a fumble.

"What's great is what people are doing is slowly building a code of visual, living emojicons that serve various purposes," Kim said. "They're not limited to the direct context they came from. It's really what the face is saying that has a lasting value."

'You have to give the people what they want'

Jake Robinson's belly is a wonderful conversation starter. His friends have proved this repeatedly.

If the name doesn't ring a bell, simply google "NC State" and "GIF" and he'll be there, at the top of the screen, hanging from a pole and waving his shirt, his stomach resplendent under the Carter-Finley Stadium lights, celebrating the Wolfpack's upset of Florida State in 2012.

That was seven years ago. Both coaches from that game are gone. The ADs of both teams have changed. The losing QB became a first-round NFL draft pick, played and has retired. The winning QB is on his fourth NFL team. Robinson's celebration remains.

"As long as GIFs are around, I'll have my fame to some degree," said Robinson, who now works in hospitality in Asheville, North Carolina. "It's fun to see people's reactions -- 'Oh, you're that guy!'"

These days, he usually keeps his shirt on for photo requests, but at parties, the crowd gets excited, and he has a few drinks and then ...

"There was a whole summer where I ripped shirts Ric Flair style," Robinson said. "You have to give the people what they want."

You don't end up hanging from a pole, waving your shirt in front of TV cameras without being the outgoing type, but what has caught Robinson by surprise is that, seven years later, we're still celebrating with him.

Robinson's lasting legacy as "Shirtless NC State Fan" is an interesting case study on the life cycle of fan memes. Some flash across the screen, spend a few minutes worming their way through Twitter's expanses, then disappear as quickly as they arrived, forgotten forever, while others, like Robinson's belly, become part of college football history.

The internet can be a fickle beast, and the line between what sticks (Grumpy Cat, Crying Michael Jordan) and what doesn't (we miss you, Harambe) often makes little sense, though Joe Veix, a writer and artist based in Oakland, California, has tried to figure out the answers. He researched the typical life span of memes (spoiler alert: about four months) and said the key to a lasting impact is likely the emotional connection a meme creates with viewers.

"If it draws on a broad emotion that can be applied to many different situations, then it will likely last longer and be shared more frequently," Veix said.

Robinson has seen it firsthand.

He'll be scrolling through Twitter or browsing Reddit, and every month or two, there it is. His belly. The pole. The shirt spinning wildly. If there's something to be celebrated online, Robinson's GIF is likely celebrating, too.

The downside of celebrity meme status

F. Scott Fitzgerald posited that there are no second acts in American lives, but in the meme universe, Mike Bunting offers hope.

Today, Bunting works for a tech company in Austin, Texas, but in 2015, he was front row in the student section to watch his beloved Virginia Cavaliers endure a gut-wrenching defeat. Notre Dame's backup quarterback tossed a game-winning TD on the final play, and in exasperation, Bunting collapsed over the wall in front of him, dejected and lifeless, as the TV cameras captured the scene and displayed the score beneath him. He is Sad UVa Fan.

Every Virginia fan right now ... pic.twitter.com/LAzCTmAA2m

— ESPN (@espn) September 12, 2015

When he got home, a friend told him the photo was all over social media, so he clicked onto the now-defunct Yik Yak app on his phone -- and there it was, his exasperated husk, draped over the wall -- again and again and again.

"I was trending," Bunting said. "I checked the Blacksburg Yik Yak page and there were 50 posts about it, and they weren't even involved in the game."

That's the downside to celebrity meme status. While Bunting's image has been deployed by everyone from SportsCenter anchors to Jimmy Fallon, and his mother even made a Christmas ornament out of it, it's those rival Virginia Tech fans who seem to enjoy it the most. And after UVa's basketball team became the first No. 1 seed to fall to a 16-seed in the NCAA tournament in 2018, Bunting was famous all over again.

Chris Baldwin knows that sting all too well. When Michigan State pulled off one of the most unlikely last-second wins in college football history against Baldwin's beloved Michigan, it was his stunned face, arms raised, hands behind his head, that became the lasting image from the game. He wasn't the first Surrender Cobra, but he's the most famous.

Today, he's a software developer in Michigan. And while the emotion of the loss wore off long ago, his viral moment lives on. His Surrender Cobra was one of the most iconic images of the 2015 season, included in every highlight reel. Michigan State and Ohio State fans quickly made T-shirts with his face emblazoned across the front, and sell them before every game against the Wolverines. Baldwin gets no royalties. And pictures? Yeah, he's taken a few, reenacting the scene with strangers at airports and hotels and restaurants.

"Hundreds for sure," Baldwin said. "A thousand seems like a huge number, but I wouldn't be shocked."

Baldwin is the eternal symbol of Michigan's failure, but he hopes one day that might change, as it did for Sad UVa Fan.

Bunting was in the stands at John Paul Jones Arena this spring for the watch party for the NCAA men's basketball tournament championship game between his Cavaliers and Texas Tech. When the game ended with a dramatic Virginia win in overtime, Bunting charged onto the court with thousands of other Virginia fans to celebrate, just as he'd planned to do at Scott Stadium four years earlier before having his heart broken on the final play. A TV reporter caught up with him and put him on camera.

"I'm no longer Sad UVa Fan," he screamed. "I'm National Champion UVa Fan."

What is the future of sports memes?

What's important to understand about each of these memes, Thyer said, is that they're organic. LSU Girl, Michigan Surrender Cobra, Shirtless NC State fan -- they all represent some raw emotion, felt in the moment, captured for posterity by the internet.

But as the memes go mainstream, there's an obvious question: Is there a tipping point in which the whole thing feels too contrived to enjoy?

Veix suggests that, outside of sports, we've entered a "post-meme" epoch, where authenticity isn't expected and many of the most popular memes are appreciated out of irony or surrealism. Sports, and college football in particular, might be the last bastion of earnest enthusiasm on the internet.

"Maybe this is because the games themselves are kind of old-fashioned and timeless and incorporate their own long-held traditions, and this form of meme-ing is now just a wholesome new ritual," Veix said. "Plus, being a sports fan requires a certain kind of extreme earnestness -- you really have to care about your team -- so maybe the memes reflect that mentality."

So maybe we've already seen the best college football memes the universe has to offer. Or maybe these moments don't need to be organic to be adored at all. Perhaps college football fans eventually blossom into their own version of the Instagram influencer, posed and prepared and manufactured for mass consumption.

If that day comes, Thyer said he'll be ready. The next time a camera finds him in the stands, he wants to be reading one of his own textbooks, he said. It's free publicity, after all. He also bought a new shirt. It's flesh colored, with a design of bulging pectorals and well-defined abdominal muscles. He wants to look good for his next 15 minutes of fame.

Katerina Stefanidi, Stefano Sottile and Shaunae Miller-Uibo among the winners across the world as a number of national championships take place

While USA Championships action, which included a world 400m hurdles record by Dalilah Muhammad, took place in Iowa, a number of other national championships were also happening across the world.

READ MORE: Dalilah Muhammad breaks world 400m hurdles record

Catch up on some of the highlights below and see the August 1 edition of AW magazine to read more.

Click here for an online round-up of UK Inter-Counties and England Athletics Senior Championships performances in Manchester, with a report on 5000m action, incorporated into the MK5000 PB Special at Milton Keynes, available here.

Greek Championships, Patras

Olympic and world champion Katerina Stefanidi cleared a season’s best of 4.83m to win the women’s pole vault before an unsuccessful attempt at would-be national record height of 4.92m, while Konstantínos Filippídis beat Emmanouíl Karalís to win his 12th title in the men’s event, clearing 5.71m to Karalís’ 5.60m.

Greek Nationals. Got 2 SB, a meeting record of 4.83m and very much love ❤️ (can’t see it in the video but we had one of the biggest turnouts of recent years with close to 5 thousand people in the stadium) #nike #stoiximan #nbg #toyota #elpe #tempur #seventeen #lorvenn pic.twitter.com/G0Cvbbomw0

— Katerina Stefanidi (@KatStefanidi) July 29, 2019

European champion Miltiadis Tentoglou won his fourth national long jump title with a leap of 8.22m.

Bahamian Championships, Nassau

World leader and Olympic champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo won the 400m in 49.59 for an almost four-second victory.

Steven Gardiner won the men’s race in 44.90, while Anthonique Strachan won the women’s 100m and 200m titles in 11.45 and 23.23 respectively.

Italian Championships, Bressanone

Stefano Sottile cleared 2.33m to equal the world high jump lead, while Marcell Lamont Jacobs won the 100m in 10.10.

#atletica STEFANO SOTTILE 2,33 AGLI ASSOLUTI!!!!!
Capolavoro a Bressanone, è il capolista mondiale dell'anno nel salto in alto, migliore prestazione italiana U23 #Assoluti2019 ??????@Coninews @ItaliaTeam_it pic.twitter.com/Xm1NctGlb8

— Atletica Italiana (@atleticaitalia) July 28, 2019

Lithuanian Championships, Palanga

Edis Matusevicius broke the Lithuanian javelin record with 89.17m at his national championships. It places him third on the 2019 world rankings.

Dutch Championships, Den Haag

Defending world 200m champion Dafne Schippers won the 100m in 11.33 ahead of Jamile Samuel with 11.52 and European under-20 silver medallist N’Ketia Seedo with 11.61.

French Championships, Saint-Étienne

Renaud Lavillenie won the pole vault with a season’s best of 5.86m, while Wilhem Belocian took the 110m hurdles title in 13.14 (+3.0m/sec) ahead of Pascal Martinot-Lagarde (13.41).

Antoinette Nana Djimou won the heptathlon with 5944 points on her return after injury.

Irish Championships, Dublin

Leon Reid won the men’s 200m title in 20.62 and Phil Healy the women’s in 23.33, while Ciara Neville won the women’s 100m in a PB of 11.33.

Day 2 of the Irish Life National Senior Track and Field Championships ✔

Superb days competition with some very VERY closes finishes! Not to mention the official hand over if the Men’s 400m Hurdles title!

Full Gallery – https://t.co/517px1GO6P pic.twitter.com/Yf4YZ6D5Wc

— Sam Barnes (@SportsfileSam) July 28, 2019

Ugandan Championships, Kampala

Shida Leni broke both the long-standing 200m national record and her own 400m national record with respective times of 23.43 and 51.47.

Leverkusen, Germany, July 24

GB’s Ojie Edoburun ran a World Championships qualifying time of 10.08 to finish third in the men’s 100m.

Chris Baker cleared 2.25m to win the high jump.

Joensuu, Finland, July 24

Elizabeth Bird ran a World Championships qualifying time in the women’s 3000m steeplechase, clocking 9:36.84 for fourth.

5000m Track Challenge, Nottingham, July 27

Winners of the elite races were Mohamud Aadan in 13:56.37 and Naomi Taschimowitz in 16:06.06.

Ipswich Twilight 10k, July 26

Danny Rock and ultra runner Helen Davies claimed victory, clocking 32:17 and 33:51 respectively, with Davies finishing fifth overall.

Helena Tipping Wrexham 10k, Wales, July 28

GB international Charlie Hulson won at a wet and windy Wrexham 10k, breaking the course record with 29:59.

Claire Martin of Telford AC won the women’s race in a time of 36:57.

Warsaw, Poland, July 28

Michal Haratyk achieved the longest outdoor shot put mark by a European thrower since 1988 with 22.32m to improve his Polish record.

He also threw 20.55m, 21.23m, 22.12m, 21.22m and 21.60m as part of his series.

Exeter wing Jack Nowell is highly unlikely to feature in England's first World Cup warm-up match against Wales on 11 August.

Nowell returned home from England's training camp in Italy for a routine medical assessment as he continues to recover from ankle surgery.

He will continue rehabilitation at his club, with the first of England's two camps in Treviso ending on Friday.

The 26-year-old has won 33 caps since making his debut in 2014.

The World Cup takes place in Japan from 20 September to 2 November, with England coach Eddie Jones set to finalise his World Cup party the day after the game against Wales at Twickenham.

England will also play Wales in Cardiff and Ireland at Twickenham, before their final pre-World Cup game against Italy in Newcastle on 6 September.

STOCKTON, Calif. – When the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series returns to the Stockton Dirt Track on Sept. 13, there will be a new boost of energy behind the race.

NOS Energy Drink is partnering with the event, rewarding the feature winner with an additional $10,000, making it the $20,000-to-win NOS Energy Drink Showdown – now one of the highest paying races of the year.

NOS Energy Drink already has a strong presence in the World of Outlaws, being the series’ title sponsor and sponsoring the Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing team and driver Sheldon Haudenschild.

Logan Schuchart charged to the victory at the Stockton Dirt Track earlier this year, dueling with Shane Stewart and Brad Sweet in the closing laps.

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 (July 29, 2009): Despite a dominant run by Juan Pablo Montoya, Jimmie Johnson emerged victorious from the Allstate 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the second-straight year. Montoya dominated the race, but a late pit road speeding penalty derailed his dreams of becoming the first driver to win the Indianapolis 500 and the Allstate 400. Johnson led the final 34 laps to earn his third Brickyard 400 triumph.

Other Happenings: Antron Brown completed a sweep of the NHRA’s West Coast Swing with a victory at Infineon Raceway in the Top Fuel class; Will Power delivered a dominant victory for Roger Penske in the Rexall Edmonton Indy; Lewis Hamilton gave McLaren it’s first victory of the year during the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring; Felipe Massa was severely injured during the Hungarian Grand Prix when he was struck in the head by a steel spring during qualifying.

25 Years Ago (July 27, 1994): Jimmy Spencer won his second NASCAR Winston Cup Series race in three starts, leading his teammate Bill Elliott across the finish line at Talladega Superspeedway. After leading the first two laps, Spencer faded through the field and waited to make his move. He returned to the lead 19 laps from the finish, taking the top spot from Ernie Irvan and leading the remainder of the distance.

Other Happenings: Jac Haudneschild won the 11th running of the Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway, pocketing $50,000 for his efforts; Mike Bliss and Dan Drinan collected USAC victories; Steve Carlson and Butch Miller snared victories in ARTGO action; Race teams in Indiana got a sales tax break in the state of Indiana thanks to a group effort from Indianapolis Motor Speedway, USAC, and Indy Mayor Steve Goldsmith.

50 Years Ago (July 30, 1969): Peter Revson beat some of the best USAC stars in the country to win the Indy 200 road race at Indianapolis Raceway Park. He posted his win by finishing third behind Dan Gurney and Al Unser in the first heat, then winning the second 100-miler on the 15-turn, 2.5-mile circuit. He earned $37,850 for his efforts.

Other Happenings: Richard Petty earned the 98th and 99th victories of his NASCAR Grand National career, collecting trophies at Smoky Mountain Raceway and Nashville’s Fairgrounds Speedway; Roger McCluskey triumph in the 100-lap USAC Stock car race in Terre Haute, Ind.; Pete Hamilton spun but still won the Catawba 300 NASCAR Grand Touring event at Hickory Motor Speedway.

Real Madrid have told James Rodriguez he can stay at the Bernabeu next season, a source has confirmed to ESPN FC.

Coming back to Madrid this summer after a two-year loan, James -- who Real signed for €80 million in 2014 -- had been widely expected to move on immediately, given his previously rocky relationship with Los Blancos coach Zinedine Zidane.

Atletico Madrid had hoped to do a deal to bring in the 28-year-old Colombia international, while Napoli coach Carlo Ancelotti has also spoken regularly about how he would like to work again with a player he coached at both Madrid and Bayern.

- When does the transfer window close?
- All major completed transfer deals

However, the source says James was told, on his return to preseason training following his post-Copa America holidays, that a recent chain of events meant that Madrid were counting on him for 2019-20.

The source said that things could still change again, but that the Madrid hierarchy now considered James as an important squad member following last week's serious knee injury suffered by Los Blancos winger Marco Asensio.

Friday's embarrassing 7-3 International Champions Cup derbi defeat to Atletico in New Jersey also makes it politically harder for club president Florentino Perez to allow a third former Real player to join the local rivals this summer, following Marcos Llorente and Mario Hermoso.

James trained at Madrid's Valdebebas facility on Monday -- his first session under Zidane since being left out of the match squad completely for the 2017 Champions League final in Cardiff.

Sources have told ESPN FC that James would prefer to keep living in Madrid. Rojiblanco CEO Miguel Angel Gil Marin said on ESPN Deportes last week that many at the Wanda Metropolitano would welcome that idea, however the final decision would be made by Real's Perez.

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis said earlier this month that "James wants to play for Napoli, but Madrid are asking for too much money."

James' situation is quite similar to that of Gareth Bale -- another big name player who Zidane would prefer leave from the club amid sweeping squad changes.

Bale did not take part in training with his teammates on Monday, as the Wales international's agent Jonathan Barnett told ESPN FC that Madrid had "changed their minds" over allowing his client to move to China on a free transfer.

Should both James and Bale stay at the club for the coming season, it will be difficult for Madrid to raise the funds required to sign Manchester United's Paul Pogba, who is Zidane's primary remaining transfer this summer.

Bale was left off the list by Zidane to play in the Audi Cup.

It is a measure of what a close Ashes series we have in prospect that even Glenn McGrath has chosen to "sit on the fence" instead of offering up his traditional "5-0 to Australia" prediction.

However, McGrath believes that the key to the series is held by James Anderson, the man who recently overhauled his all-time record for Test wickets by a fast bowler, as Australia bid to win the Ashes in England for the first time since 2001.

Anderson, like McGrath, continues to operate at the peak of his powers long after his contemporaries have begun to succumb to the ravages of time. Though he turns 37 on Tuesday, he is still the ICC's No.2-ranked fast bowler in Test cricket with 575 wickets to his name, and he is much the same age as McGrath himself was when he spearheaded Australia's 5-0 Ashes win in his farewell series in 2006-07.

"To be 37-plus, and to have played 148 Test matches, it's absolutely incredible," McGrath told ESPNcricinfo. "To think that he's put his body through that much pain and stress, and everything that goes into being a fast bowler, and he's still going out there and going the business.

"When that ball's swinging, in English conditions with the Dukes ball, there's no-one better. So yeah, if Australia can get on top of Jimmy, that's going to be a big decider in this Test series. But if Jimmy comes out, bowls well and knocks the Australians over, it's going to be another tough series for them."

Adapting to the Dukes ball will be a major factor in Australia's campaign, not only for the batsman facing Anderson and Co, but their own coterie of fast bowlers who look, on paper, as strong an outfit as has toured England in many a series. England know full well about Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, but James Pattinson's form is particularly noteworthy in the lead-up to Edgbaston, as shown by his success on a lively practice wicket at the Ageas Bowl last week.

"It's going to be an amazing series," said McGrath. "I think this Australian bowling attack is looking as good as it's been for a long time. To have James Pattinson back and what he offers … he's been bowling incredibly well, but it's just that attitude and 'white-line fever', I guess you'd call it. As soon as he crosses the line, he's very dangerous.

"To have that wealth of fast bowlers, that's tough for the selectors, and it's going to be interesting to see which way they go for that first Test match. But it's a good thing to have."

It's an especially tantalising proposition given the insecurities in England's batting order at present. In an extraordinary Test against Ireland at Lord's last week, England were bowled out for 85 in the first innings and lost 7 for 77 in the second, and McGrath admitted that the Australians would be itching to reopen a few wounds.

"They'll be keen to get a look at that top order as soon as possible," he said, "but they'll still have to bowl in the right areas. I think that's very important. If they bowl badly, and let those guys get settled and get a little bit of confidence, the series is over. But if they can bowl well at those guys, get on top of them, and get Joe Root in at 3 for 30 rather than 3 for 300, it makes a massive difference, and it's a massive match-up for the series."

When it comes to bowling the right length in England, no-one exemplifies it better than McGrath, who hoovered up 87 wickets at 19.34 in his three tours from 1997 to 2005, including a remarkable 33 at 11.50 at Lord's, the venue for the second Test. But even he had to learn the hard way, after a chastening first outing in England at Edgbaston in 1997.

"I remember that '97 series very well," he said. "It was my first tour of England, and in that first Test match, we probably bowled more of an Australian length. England dominated - they won that Test by nine wickets - and the day after, Geoff Marsh, the coach of the time, got us out for like two hours straight, off a long run in the middle of Edgbaston.

"It was all about bowling the right length, getting it up there a little bit fuller. And that had a massive impact. And when we came to Lord's, we adapted and adjusted our length, and the rest is history. So yeah, you need that time to adjust. The great players adjust and adapt a lot quicker, and that's the difference between a good and a great player."

With that in mind, Australia ought to be as well acquainted with the conditions as possible. Not only have the majority of the squad been over in England competing at the World Cup, several others have been involved in the Australia A tour that has been running concurrently. Plus, several players with points to prove, including Pattinson and the returning Cameron Bancroft, have been honing their skills in county cricket.

However, McGrath isn't quite as bullish about his fellow countrymen's prospects as he might once have been.

"I'm always confident that the Aussies are going to do well, but I've probably made a rod for my own back with my predictions in the past," he said. "I'm going to sit on the fence for this one, and just see what happens in this first Test. If Australia can come in and dominate - or not so much dominate, but if they can win that first Test - then you'll be hearing 5-0 again. But I'm going to reserve my prediction until after the first game."

In the meantime, McGrath has got a trip back to a familiar ground to look forward to, where a familiar incident is bound to be replayed ad nauseum in the build-up to the Ashes opener - that moment, on the morning of the 2005 Edgbaston Test, when he trod on a stray cricket ball to turn the tide of the series.

"It's not my fondest memory," he said. "But every time I go back to Edgbaston, the groundsman and the locals remind me exactly which patch of grass it happened on, and they've always told me they going to put a little plaque there just to commemorate it.

"But that 2005 series was an incredible series, even that match at Edgbaston went right down to the wire. Hopefully we'll see another series that matches that one."

Glenn McGrath is working with online trading broker ThinkMarkets to encourage more young people to get into sport through the Think2020initiative. For more information please visit www.thinkmarkets.com.

A day before the window for the applications for India's coaching staff closes, captain Virat Kohli has endorsed Ravi Shastri for continuing as the head coach. Shastri and the rest of the coaching staff's tenure was originally until the World Cup, but the BCCI extended that till the end of India's tour of the West Indies, which is scheduled to finish on September 3.

"With Ravi bhai, all of us have a great camaraderie, everyone in the team shares mutual respect [with him]. And we have done really well together as a group," Kohli said at the pre-departure press conference for the tour of USA and West Indies. "Yeah, we will definitely be very happy if he is continuing as a coach, but as I said it is upon the CAC to seek my advice or opinion if they want. Right now, I haven't been contacted at all. And I don't know what is going to happen with the process."

Earlier this month, the BCCI put out an advertisement inviting applications for the entire coaching staff with July 30 as the deadline. It is understood that the next coach is likely to be announced by mid-August.

While posting the advertisement the BCCI said Shastri and the rest of the existing coaching staff comprising Sanjay Bangar (assistant coach), Bharat Arun (bowling coach) and R Sridhar (fielding coach) would get automatic entries during the recruitment process but will be interviewed if shortlisted.

The interviews would be carried out by a three-person Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) comprising former India captain Kapil Dev, former India batsman and coach Anshuman Gaekwad and former India women's captain Shanta Rangaswamy. This CAC replaced the previous panel comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, which had picked the previous two India coaches: Anil Kumble in 2016 and Shastri a year later after the former decided to resign.

According to Kohli, the new CAC had not yet contacted him, but he was open to give his opinion if sought. "The CAC hasn't contacted me yet," Kohli said. "If they tell me we want your opinion, yes, I'll definitely go and speak to them."

Incidentally, before Kumble stepped down controversially, Kohli had been contacted by the previous CAC, which had tried to sort the differences between the pair. It is understood Kohli did not want to budge, which eventually resulted in Kumble opting to walk away.

Shastri replaced him albeit after the CAC took some time to finalise its choice. Having conducted the interviews with Shastri and four other candidates, the CAC had then spoken to Kohli before the BCCI announced Shastri as the new coach.

This time the CAC will have about two weeks to shortlist the candidates and conduct interviews. Although the CAC has not been given a deadline, it is understood the panel is likely to make its choice around August 14.

Gaekwad, who was India's head coach between 1997 and 1999, said that the CAC would look for a couple of specific criteria in the shortlisted candidates. "You need to have good man-management skills," Gaekwad told ESPNcricinfo. "There is not much technically you can do [at this level], but surely you need to keep an eye on the players who can develop some kind of snag over a period of time which ought to be corrected immediately. So man-management and planning are the key elements."

Real Madrid have told James Rodriguez he can stay at the Bernabeu next season, a source has confirmed to ESPN FC.

Coming back to Madrid this summer after a two-year loan, James -- who Real signed for €80 million in 2014 -- had been widely expected to move on immediately, given his previously rocky relationship with Los Blancos coach Zinedine Zidane.

Atletico Madrid had hoped to do a deal to bring in the 28-year-old Colombia international, while Napoli coach Carlo Ancelotti has also spoken regularly about how he would like to work again with a player he coached at both Madrid and Bayern.

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However, the source says James was told, on his return to preseason training following his post-Copa America holidays, that a recent chain of events meant that Madrid were counting on him for 2019-20.

The source said that things could still change again, but that the Madrid hierarchy now considered James as an important squad member following last week's serious knee injury suffered by Los Blancos winger Marco Asensio.

Friday's embarrassing 7-3 International Champions Cup derbi defeat to Atletico in New Jersey also makes it politically harder for club president Florentino Perez to allow a third former Real player to join the local rivals this summer, following Marcos Llorente and Mario Hermoso.

James trained at Madrid's Valdebebas facility on Monday -- his first session under Zidane since being left out of the match squad completely for the 2017 Champions League final in Cardiff.

Sources have told ESPN FC that James would prefer to keep living in Madrid. Rojiblanco CEO Miguel Angel Gil Marin said on ESPN Deportes last week that many at the Wanda Metropolitano would welcome that idea, however the final decision would be made by Real's Perez.

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis said earlier this month that "James wants to play for Napoli, but Madrid are asking for too much money."

James' situation is quite similar to that of Gareth Bale -- another big name player who Zidane would prefer leave from the club amid sweeping squad changes.

Bale did not take part in training with his teammates on Monday, as the Wales international's agent Jonathan Barnett told ESPN FC that Madrid had "changed their minds" over allowing his client to move to China on a free transfer.

Should both James and Bale stay at the club for the coming season, it will be difficult for Madrid to raise the funds required to sign Manchester United's Paul Pogba, who is Zidane's primary remaining transfer this summer.

Bale was left off the list by Zidane to play in the Audi Cup.

METAIRIE, La. -- The New Orleans Saints released wide receiver Cameron Meredith on Monday, just four days into his second training camp with the team, a source confirmed to ESPN.

The former Chicago Bears standout was hoping to finally return from a major 2017 knee injury, but the Saints apparently didn't see enough to believe that a comeback would be possible.

It's unclear if Meredith suffered an injury setback, but he was spotted jogging off the field early on Sunday and later posted on Instagram, "It's been fun."

His release was first reported by NOLA.com.

The Saints won't save much cash or salary-cap space by releasing Meredith, who had already agreed to a pay cut of $2.1 million to stay with the team in March. He was due to receive $1.3 million in base salary, with $500,000 fully guaranteed.

Meredith, 26, originally signed a two-year, $9.5 million deal with the Saints as a restricted free agent in 2018, and the Bears decided not to match their offer.

The Bears' decision raised eyebrows at the time, since Meredith had 66 catches for 888 yards and four touchdowns with Chicago in 2016. But Bears general manager Ryan Pace explained that the input from Chicago's medical and training staff led to the team's decision after Meredith tore his ACL and other ligaments during the 2017 preseason.

Unfortunately for both Meredith and the Saints, the Bears' outlook proved to be prescient.

Meredith wound up playing in just six games with the Saints last season, catching nine passes for 114 yards and one touchdown before he was placed on injured reserve because of nagging swelling and soreness in the knee.

Meredith also did not participate in OTAs and minicamp this summer, telling ESPN he was being cautious so he could be fully healthy for training camp and a full 16-game season.

The Saints' wide receiver depth is still unproven behind projected starters Michael Thomas and Ted Ginn Jr. They do have a number of intriguing candidates for the remaining roster spots, including Tre'Quan Smith, Keith Kirkwood, Simmie Cobbs Jr., Austin Carr, recently signed veteran Rishard Matthews and undrafted rookie Emmanuel Butler, who has been the breakout star in the first few days of training camp.

Butler, a 6-foot-4, 220-pounder from Northern Arizona, seems to make one or two standout catches every day in practice and has drawn consistent praise from coaches.

The Saints filled Meredith's roster spot by signing veteran offensive lineman Patrick Omameh.