FC Cincinnati has relieved Alan Koch of his managerial duties just 11 games into the team's expansion season in MLS, the team announced on Tuesday.

Assistant coach Yoann Damet will take over on an interim basis.

"After a series of recent issues and a team culture that had deteriorated, we determined that it's time to make a change to return a club-centered focus to the team," said FCC president Jeff Berding.

"This decision is not driven by recent game results themselves, but rather the underpinnings that have led to those results. We have not come close to maximizing the talent we have in the dressing room this year, nor have we seen a foundation being built that will set us up for success this year and into next year.

"Our whole locker room is committed to our club goal of earning an MLS postseason bid, and we need to put them in the best position to do so," Berding added.

The move comes a week after Koch publicly questioned the talent at his disposal.

That didn't go over well with the players, with forward Fanendo Adi lamenting the team's lack of identity following last weekend's 1-0 defeat to the San Jose Earthquakes, a match in which FCC played a man up for the final 39 minutes.

With the team currently mired in a seven-game winless streak, Berding felt compelled to make the move.

Questions still remain regarding the construction of the roster. Heading into the season, Cincinnati was widely viewed as being short of attacking options, even after the acquisition of on-loan U.S. international midfielder Kenny Saief. That has proven to be the case, with FCC currently suffering through a 521-minute goalless run.

Koch didn't help himself either, making some curious personnel decisions, including the playing of usual center midfielder Fatai Alashe in a wide midfield role for 45 minutes during the match against San Jose.

Koch was in his third season with the club. With the team playing in the second-tier USL, he was hired just prior to the start of the 2017 campaign after the team dismissed John Harkes. He led FCC on a memorable run to the semifinals of the U.S. Open Cup that season, dispatching MLS sides the Columbus Crew and the Chicago Fire. The following year, he led Cincinnati to the USL regular season championship.

He departs with an MLS record of 2-7-2. His record at USL level was 35-13-8.

The lion's roar was quieter last weekend.

One week after LA Galaxy forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic made news for alleged verbal threats against Real Salt Lake defender Nedum Onuoha, the Swede let his play get the attention, tallying a goal and an assist in the Galaxy's 3-2 loss to the New York Red Bulls. The verbal fusillades were nowhere to be found.

"He didn't really say anything to us today," said Red Bulls defender Tim Parker about Ibrahimovic.

"[Zlatan] didn't talk trash to me," added defender Aaron Long.

Granted, just about everything that Zlatan does -- no matter how innocuous -- gets noticed. But the incident with Onuoha went up a level. It started in the 60th minute when Ibrahimovic horse-collared Onuoha to the ground, earning a booking in the process. Onuoha alleged that after that incident, Ibrahimovic threatened to injure him. Ibrahimovic got the final word on the field, netting a 78th-minute winner, and proceeded to let Onuoha know all about it.

But Ibrahimovic also felt compelled to go to the RSL locker room afterward in an attempt to continue the conversation. Onuoha was having none of it, however, calling Ibrahimovic "a complete thug" and implying that the Galaxy forward crossed a line and should be punished.

"It's one thing to be competitive but it's another thing to be threatening harm against another professional," Onuoha told Love Sport Radio.

Whether Ibrahimovic crossed a line with his threats is open to interpretation. Every player has his own standard for what constitutes a violation of the unwritten players' code. For every Diego Valeri at one end of the spectrum, there's a Carlos Ruiz at the other. That goes for trash talk, too, and there isn't much that can be done about it, regardless of who is engaging in it.

"It's funny because you look at some other sports now and they've done a good job of curbing that [trash talk]," said D.C. United manager Ben Olsen. "I think in the NBA you probably don't get away with that. But it's a different sport. You can't call a technical [on Ibrahimovic]. You can't put him in a penalty box. What do you do? Give him a yellow? Does the league suspend him? I've got too much on my brain to worry about that. I saw it, I don't know. I think overall, he's been refreshing for the league."

There's also a general sense that such verbal sparring isn't as rare as Onuoha made it out to be. D.C. United defender Steve Birnbaum is of the view that the kind of verbal jousting that took place between Zlatan and Onuoha didn't cross the line.

"[I've] been threatened before," he said, noting that it happened with enough frequency that he couldn't remember who was the offender. "I think it crosses the line if a player deliberately acts on it and tries to seriously injure someone."

Brian Dunseth, who provides color commentary on RSL's local television broadcasts and spent nine of his 10 years as a professional player in MLS, added, "With trash-talking, the threat of physical violence, that's always been there. It's the psyche of two players trying to unsettle each other, whether that's with words or a physical confrontation. I think you'd have a harder time finding someone who hadn't been threatened on the field at any point, as opposed to finding people that have."

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Even Onuoha admitted this wasn't the first time he had been threatened, so what was the big deal? The answer to that question is that it wasn't so much what happened on the field, but afterward. Ibrahimovic did cross a line by entering the Real Salt Lake locker room without asking beforehand if Onuoha really wanted to continue the conversation. There simply can't be situations where players can enter the opposing locker room uninvited, especially when emotions might still be running high in a match's immediate aftermath.

"The locker room, that's the sanctity of safety," Dunseth said. "When Zlatan went into the locker room without anybody's approval, that's when a whole other layer got added to this."

Multiple sources confirmed to ESPN FC that RSL complained to the league about the incident, asking in so many words how Ibrahimovic was allowed to be in the locker room of RSL, but a league spokesperson stated that no action was taken.

Which leads to the other aspect of the incident: whether there is a double standard that gets applied in favor of the league's best players, and in particular Ibrahimovic.

"There are certain instances where they get special treatment," Parker said about the high-profile players, "but I guess that's really all you can say."

In last weekend's match, Long was the victim of more than one wayward elbow that required medical attention, although he didn't seem to bear any ill will toward the Galaxy forward. In neither case was Ibrahimovic cautioned. Onuoha, of course, sees a clear disparity.

"I'm not the type of person to say that the better MLS players get preferential treatment, but from what I've seen so far, it's a lot easier to be Zlatan than it is to be the striker for Real Salt Lake," Onuoha said.

It's a topic that most players are somewhat reluctant to get into. It can look like a player on the losing end is making excuses. Birnbaum feels that the scales have begun to tip back in a league where VAR is used as well as retroactive discipline.

"I haven't noticed [a different standard] too much in the games that I've played," he said. "I think that Designated Players draw more attention because of who they are, but I don't think they get certain calls, especially now that they get VAR. I think that evens it out a lot."

There's also the reality that in the case of Ibrahimovic, you're talking about a player with an otherworldly amount of skill combined with his 6-foot-5 frame. That, more than anything, is why he's had so much success in his career. But Ibrahimovic also plays with well-honed edge, whether it's the taunting of opponents following a goal, or the "afters" when he challenges for a ball.

These are tradeoffs MLS is quite willing to accept. The league needs Zlatan's villainy as much as his virtuosity. He just needs to think twice about unsolicited visits to opposing locker rooms. Otherwise MLS may be forced into a choice it would rather not have to make.

Additional reporting by Chris Wondoloski.

Liam Dawson could yet replace Joe Denly in England's World Cup squad, according to coach Trevor Bayliss.

Dawson missed out on selection when England named a 17-man squad - including their provisional World Cup 15 - for the early international matches of the summer, but has continued to impress in county cricket. He made a List A century against Surrey last week and has conceded just 4.01 runs per over in claiming 17 wickets - only four men have more - in this year's Royal London Cup.

As a result, Bayliss says he could be called up to join the England squad before the end of the five-match Royal London ODI series against Pakistan, which begins at The Oval on Wednesday. Dawson has played just three ODIs.

That means Denly faces a couple of defining games over the next few days. With Moeen Ali injured - he has the "slightest of slight" cracks in a rib having been struck while batting at the IPL, according to Bayliss - England have a perfect opportunity to test their bench strength. Denly is not only all but certain to play at The Oval, he will be given an extended bowl with a view to seeing how he fares. He has so far been unable to cement his place in the squad, with the first two balls of his only over on Sunday thumped for sixes.

While Bayliss was keen to stress that Denly is not just seen as the reserve spinner - he can also bat and field in a variety of positions - much the same could be said about Dawson. And while previous games have seen Denly limited to supporting opportunities - he bowled only five overs in Dublin and one in Cardiff - it seems likely he will be given an extended opportunity at The Oval with a view to coming to a conclusion about his ability to perform at the top level.

"Denly's is probably the other position that I'm sure we - the selectors - will discuss," Bayliss said ahead of the opening match of the ODI series against Pakistan. "He is not the only bowler to run in and bowl a couple half-volleys to start a spell. But we're going to try to give the guys at least two or three games in this series so I wouldn't necessarily put it all down on one game.

"But it is getting to the business end. So the performances of everyone will count.

"Someone like Dawson will certainly be in discussions. He's done well this year and he's done well for us in the past when he's been given an opportunity at this level. I'm sure he'll be discussed as well. I don't think it would be out of place for me to say the final World Cup 15 will come down to the 17 we have in this squad and Dawson. It's probably down to that 18."

The other issue the selectors have to decide is whether to include Jofra Archer and, if they do, who he should replace. While it remains possible he could be included in place of Denly or Dawson, it is clear Bayliss believes that would leave a squad "over-stocked" with fast bowlers.

"It's not out of the question," Bayliss said. "But if we went that way, you might ask the question if we're over-stocked with fast bowlers. The answer, probably, would be yes.

"So that final fast bowling position is the big decision we have to make. If a fast bowler misses out - whoever it is - they are going to be bitterly disappointed. And it will be a difficult decision to make.

"Jofra looked fairly nervous in Ireland and I think that showed in his bowling. But he is very skilful, he has a bit of extra pace and he's fitted into the team in a short space of time very well. He can be a good player for England in the future, that's for sure. He's certainly in the mix."

There was a time before he became captain when it mattered where Sarfaraz Ahmed batted.

In the run-up to the last World Cup, it seemed like opening might be a good idea. As opener, he made 34, 65 and 32 in a three-game series against Australia not long before the tournament, but was then shunted down to seven and eight for five ODIs against New Zealand right after it.

Then at the World Cup, he didn't play Pakistan's initial games. When they did pick him, they made him open (against South Africa's attack by the way, on a great surface for all kinds of fast bowling). He made 49 and an unbeaten 101 in his first two goes as opener, but then four bats later he was moved down again.

Then, in the English summer of 2016, he became Pakistan's No. 5. He was a good one too: 55, 105, 38, 12 and 90 across five innings. More significantly, in a hopelessly non-vogueish batting line, he made those 300 runs at a strike rate of nearly 92.

"We will obviously be flexible so that when there are fewer overs left we might switch around if we need somebody as a hitter and look at sending Imad [Wasim] or Asif [Ali]" SARFARAZ ON THE STRIKE-RATE PROBLEM

Three further innings at five - 35, 60* and 24*, strike rate 101.8, thanks - and that was that. The 24* came on October 5, 2016. In the 24 times he has batted in an ODI since, he's ventured above six just three times.

That innings was also the last he played before taking on the captaincy, so it's not as if he's been forced by others to not bat five. But such, presumably, is the overwhelming nature of the role that his batting, and where he bats, has become, well, somehow less important.

So the fact that he has batted at five and four in Pakistan's two 50-over warm-up games on this tour so far is significant, if only because it brings his batting finally back into focus. And that is where he plans to stay.

"My aim is in England to bat four or five, throughout the World Cup," Sarfaraz said ahead of their first ODI against England at The Oval. "We've come to a World Cup, it's a long tournament so it's good to have a stable and set batting order in which everyone knows where they are batting.

"We will obviously be flexible so that when there are fewer overs left we might switch around if we need somebody as a hitter and look at sending Imad [Wasim] or Asif [Ali]."

Ordinarily, this would be a good thing. Sarfaraz is not a power-hitter but he is the right side of restless in the middle overs, one of the few who weaponises running, and is innovative enough (bring back that sweep off the fast bowler). Of all the positions he's batted in, five is, by some distance, his most productive: averaging over 50 and a strike rate of 92.

And not that it's been planned that way, but his sample sizes across the main positions he has played in - opening and then four to seven - are actually similar: ten innings as opener, nine at four, ten at five, 20 at six and 12 at seven. So his record at five really makes it a no-brainer.

The only problem now is the strike rates of Pakistan's batting above him. Fakhar Zaman is fine, but Imam-ul-Haq (80.23), Babar Azam (84.03 at three) and Haris Sohail (85.08 at four) means that Pakistan could really do with plenty more explosiveness before Sarfaraz arrives. Mohammad Hafeez and his very similar strike rate has also to be factored in once he returns from injury (which is soon).

The batting has, as Sarfaraz said, become more modern than it was in 2016, but not maybe by a whole lot. "One of the issues then was that our strike rotation was poor and we've worked on that," he said. "Our strike rate was low generally but if you look at Fakhar, he goes at 90-95. Babar plays long innings but when he finishes he is near 85-90. So things are better - it's been a few years since that series and we've been preparing this side for the last 18 months."

What they really, desperately, want is for Asif to bolt into their squad for the World Cup. He is about the only man in or around the squad with the kind of power to really propel the second half of an ODI innings - in theory. If it hasn't turned out that way in practice it is because opportunities have remained limited. Even then, Pakistan aren't the kind of side that can easily overlook a strike rate of 130 in eight ODI innings and a career List A one of 109.

He has, however, at best, two games to make a case. Shoaib Malik returns from his leave most likely in time for the second or third ODI and he is, for reasons that aren't always obvious, among the first names in any Pakistan XI.

Still, unlike any side other than England, Pakistan have this incredible opportunity to fine-tune their first-choice XI in precisely the conditions they will be playing the World Cup in.

"It is definitely a big advantage for us, playing five top-quality ODIs before the World Cup," Sarfaraz said. "We're all focusing on the World Cup. But our first target is this ODI series. If we can take some confidence from this series, it will definitely help us in this World Cup."

Trevor Bayliss hopes Alex Hales' punishment will "send a message" to every other player in England about the consequences of unprofessional behaviour.

Hales was dropped from England's World Cup plans last week after it emerged he had failed a second drugs test. While the drug concerned was recreational and the ECB insists Hales was not dropped directly because of that failure, Bayliss believes that other players witnessing the episode will have been left in no doubt as to the standards expected of them in the future.

But there is also a wider context. The sport is currently trying to reach out to a new, mass market, family audience yet has found itself hamstrung by unsavoury stories involving players in the media. After the Bristol incident which saw Ben Stokes tried, and cleared, on the charge of affray, the squad had, according to Bayliss, made efforts to improve the "culture" around the team. But news of Hales' drugs test failure put them back in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons and led Bayliss insisting "those days are over".

"It's not just a message to the players in this team: it's a message to the rest of the players in England and throughout county cricket," Bayliss said. "Those sort of decisions will not be tolerated.

"Hopefully county cricketers learn from it: there's not going to be any future for you if you go down that track. It is a message to everyone else out there that those days are over.

"You can still go out and have a few beers and enjoy yourselves, but it's about making the right decisions and choices. It's part of being a young sportsman these days, there is that extra exposure, and you have to be that bit more diligent that you do make those right decisions."

While Bayliss confirmed he was right behind the decision to drop Hales - and suggested the squad had quickly moved on without him - he insisted a recall was possible if the player could demonstrate he was capable of "making the right choices".

"Unfortunately, Alex made some wrong choices and the end result is that he's been deselected," Bayliss said. "I think it was the right decision. I never had the chance to get near a World Cup as a player and I can't imagine throwing it away.

"I spoke to Eoin Morgan before that meeting with the senior players [that recommended dropping Hales]. He said he would take that to the players and see what their response was. I think we were all on the same page. There were some mistakes made 18 months ago, but in the last 18 months this group of players have all worked extremely hard on their culture and unity.

"There hasn't been any talk about it at all amongst the group of players. Things have carried on as per normal. Everything has just moved on very smoothly. We've played two games and I haven't heard a whisper about it. Everyone has moved on and we've got James Vince in the team at the moment who I suppose is a similar type of player. Everyone has moved on.

"But Alex can certainly make a comeback. There's no roadblocks there. He's obviously been an important part of this team over the last half-a-dozen years or so, and there's no reason why he can't learn to make the right choices in future and make it back into this team. It's certainly been relayed to him that his career is not over, but it is up to him."

Mohammad Amir's last-ditch audition for a role in Pakistan's World Cup campaign could begin at the very ground where he was one of the architects of their memorable Champions Trophy triumph of 2017.

Amir was not picked in Pakistan's preliminary squad for the tournament but has been included in the 17-man squad for this England series, which begins tomorrow at The Oval. If he does start, it will be with the understanding that performances here could squeeze him into the final World Cup 15.

So far on this tour Amir has appeared in just one of the four games Pakistan have played - a warm-up 50-over game against Northamptonshire in which he picked up 1 for 45.

But it is understood that he will be part of Pakistan's match-day 12 and depending on what the weather and surface look like in the morning stands a good chance to start.

"As far as fast bowling goes, we will be flexible in this series, we will try and give Amir a full opportunity," captain Sarfaraz Ahmed said. "The good thing is we have this opportunity to try out what we need to try out before the World Cup. We have till May 2 so we'd like to give Amir a full opportunity to stake his claim in the side."

If he does make it into the squad, it will hold some extra personal significance for Amir, being his first World Cup. He missed the 2011 and 2015 tournaments because of his five-year ban for spot-fixing.

The word around Amir's non-inclusion is that it is the kick he has long needed to put things right in the 50-over game. But given how lean a drought he has endured since that Champions Trophy final, he will still need to show some solid wicket-taking form to get back in.

In the 14 ODIs since the final, he's taken just five wickets, going wicketless in an innings as many as nine times. It's been a strange run in which, though he's rarely looked like taking a wicket, he's also not looked awful. His economy rate in that period is 4.58, though if you take out games against Zimbabwe and Hong Kong that goes up to 5.28.

But Pakistan already have two left-arm pacemen in the World Cup squad; the emerging Shaheen Shah Afridi, against whose dazzling and swift rise Amir's own form has paled; and Junaid Khan, an exact contemporary of Amir's through their earliest years, who without ever attracting the same attention has picked up far more wickets since the Champions Trophy.

The arrival of Mohammad Hasnain has also made it harder for Amir. Hasnain has the one thing Pakistan's squad has missed: genuine pace. It is something that Mickey Arthur in particular is very excited about, enough to overlook his extreme rawness. Hasnain has only played four List A games in his career, of which three were ODIs.

If Amir were to perform in these ODIs, however, Hasnain or to a lesser degree Junaid might be most at risk of losing a spot.

Chennai Super Kings had a lot of things in their favour in Qualifier 1. They were at home. They won the toss. And they had a strong core of experienced players that has been there and done that in the backend of the IPL. But a problem that's followed them all through the 2019 season hit them once again - top-order frailty. MS Dhoni laid the blame for the defeat to Mumbai Indians squarely on his batsmen, who failed to utilise all the advantages at their disposal.

"It didn't really go our way," he said at the presentation. "Especially the batting. Especially when you know home conditions. You have to assess very quickly how the wicket is playing. That's the bonus of playing at home, you've already played six games or seven games, so you know how the wicket has played, whether it is a bit tacky, whether it is coming on or not coming on. What is a good score that we should put on the board. Those are the things I felt we didn't do well in this game because of which we were not able to put something that would have been good to defend. I think the batting needs to get slightly better.

"When you have experienced players in the side, that's what you bank upon them. You're not banking on them for extraordinary fielding. It's just that they have to use their experience slightly more" Dhoni expressing disappointment at CSK's shot selection

The pitch at Chepaulk was a turner and there was a high degree of risk in hitting against the spin. Yet two veterans - Suresh Raina and Shane Watson - tried to do just that and lost their wickets, leaving CSK 33 for 3 at the end of the Powerplay. Still, Dhoni continued to defend his misfiring batting line-up, but was disappointed with some of the shot selection on show.

Yes, they're the best that we've got. On and off, they've done well. If you look at [them] when they bat, they've done well, But on and off, in some game, they've pulled out a shot that's really not on in that particular game or in that situation or in that condition. So, those are things that you need to assess. Especially, when you have experienced players in the side, that's what you bank upon them. You're not banking on them for extraordinary fielding. It's just that they have to use their experience slightly more. Hopefully we'll crack the code."

CSK's defence of 131 began well, but they couldn't stem the runs well enough to put pressure on Mumbai's long batting-line up.

"I feel once you don't have enough runs on the board, every boundary, it actually hurts you. I feel we got off to a good start, Rohit [Sharma]'s wicket early was good, after that we kept giving boundaries, which you can't really afford to do. It was an off game for us and it's bad to have this kind of a game at this stage of the tournament but still the good thing is you're top two so you get another chance. So rather than going over the wicket now you have to round the wicket. The journey becomes slightly long."

There won't be a Triple Crown winner in 2019.

Bill Mott, the trainer of Kentucky Derby winner Country House, told the Daily Racing Form that the horse will not race in the Preakness Stakes because he has become ill.

"He developed a little bit of a cough this morning," Mott told the Daily Racing Form by telephone. "His appetite is good. He doesn't have a fever. But he's coughing. We drew blood. He's acting like he's going to get sick. He's off the training list, and if he's off the training list, he's off the Preakness list.

"It's probably a little viral thing. Hopefully it doesn't develop into anything serious. Usually when something like this happens, a horse misses a couple weeks of training. He's not seriously sick right now, but he's showing indications that something is going on."

The 1 3/16-mile Preakness is May 18 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. Although shorter than the Kentucky Derby, the race requires a quick turnaround.

Country House was declared the winner of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday after Maximum Security was disqualified for interference. The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission denied an appeal filed by attorney D. Barry Stilz on behalf of Maximum Security owners Gary and Mary West on Monday. After that ruling, Gary West told the Associated Press that he plans to "file suit in whatever the appropriate court is."

Racing stewards disqualified Maximum Security and elevated Country House to the winner's circle following objections filed by two jockeys. Stewards determined Maximum Security impeded the paths of several horses in the race.

Maximum Security is the first Derby winner disqualified for interference in the race's 145-year history.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.