Ospreys have given a first senior contract to centre Kieran Williams.

The 22-year-old has made four senior appearances for the region, including one in the Pro14 at Zebre towards the end of the 2017-18 season.

Williams said: "It's been a tough last two years but with this contract I can look to the future and really push for a starting spot.

"This pre-season I want to hit the ground running so I can really do something with these next two years."

Williams played alongside Wales centre Owen Watkin at age-grade level for Ospreys.

Head coach Allen Clarke said: "A number of injuries have hindered his progress, but with a bit of good fortune he'll put a run of games together and we'll see his undoubted potential come to the fore."

For the latest Welsh rugby news follow @BBCScrumV on Twitter.

SPARTA, Ky. – NASCAR confiscated the primary No. 52 Halmar Friesen Racing Chevrolet Silverado of Stewart Friesen on Thursday morning at Kentucky Speedway.

The truck was confiscated after NASCAR officials inspected the truck and deemed it “unacceptable” Thursday morning. Officials indicated there was a problem with the rear firewall placement in relation to the rear clip of the truck.

NASCAR officials allowed the team to remove the tires and the driver safety and comfort equipment from the truck.

The truck is now parked alongside the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series hauler, where it will remain until NASCAR’s research and development center in Concord, N.C.

Any additional penalties will be announced next week. Halmar Friesen Racing has prepared a backup truck for Friesen, but he will be forced to start at the rear of the field regardless of where he qualifies.

This isn’t the first time NASCAR has confiscated a race vehicle from a team. NASCAR confiscated the Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet of Tony Stewart in 2003 at Texas Motor Speedway when it failed to fit the template during inspection.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — New owners, new excitement, same great racing.

Lancaster Dragway at New York International Raceway Park, the former Lancaster National Speedway and Dragway, can continue to be a facility that’s beloved by locals. Veteran drag racers Mike Swinarski and Vito Antonicelli and his wife, Sylvia, recently purchased the upstate New York track, located just 15 miles outside Buffalo, earlier this year.

One of the first orders of business was signing a new sanctioning agreement with the International Hot Rod Ass’n. With a full schedule of events, the facility features an eighth-mile drag strip and a five-eighths-mile paved oval, which was originally a half-mile dirt track.

The track hosts some of the top racing events in Western New York. The oval features the 31st annual U.S. Open in September with a variety from Late Models to TQ Midgets on the program. The Buffalo Street Outlaws are held at the drag strip in addition to the IHRA Summit SuperSeries, the largest and most prestigious bracket racing program in drag racing.

Sharon Hughes serves as drag race director and has spent more than 25 years at the facility. She raced in the Super Pro class for a decade. She’s also an EMT instructor and bookkeeper. She even teaches ballroom dancing, although the quick footwork on the track is often measured in reaction times.

Racing is in her family’s blood with four generations including her two granddaughters who compete in Junior Dragsters.

Lancaster Dragway has a rich history with the IHRA Summit SuperSeries and the 2018 champions were: Jan Winkowski (Top), Dale Eckert (Mod) and Ethan Pilote (Junior Dragster). Eckert is one of the most accomplished racers in the Northeast winning over a dozen track championships. He also captured the IHRA Summit Team Finals Division 3 (North Stars) Mod championship in 2017.

“The IHRA Summit SuperSeries fits our track well,” Hughes said. “Last year, we had a lot of drivers join the program who weren’t a part of it before. They liked the opportunity to go to Memphis and race in the World Finals at the end of the year. It’s a great program for us.”

The track points championship extends later in the season and 2018 track champions were: Eckert (Top), Jeff Kerl (Mod), Mason Fix (Street), Mike Peters (Bikes/Sleds), Victoria Young (Junior Dragster).

Lancaster has been the home base for world champion drivers like Mike Janis, Fred Hahn and Jim Oddy. It’s a tightly-knit group of racers with so many of the drivers competing there for years and even decades.

“A lot of people have been racing at the track upward of 20 years,” Hughes said. “They get to know each other so well and that’s great to see. We also have the young kids coming up through the ranks out of the Junior Dragster program. We’ve had it for 26 years and it’s nice to see them still competing in the bracket racing program.”

BARRE, Vt. – Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl officials have announced the postponement of Thursday’s Passumpsic Bank Night due to an inclement weather forecast.

The event has been rescheduled for Friday, July 12 at 7 p.m. where the evening forecast calls for clear skies.

Passumpsic Bank Night features the second round of the Myers Container Service Triple Crown Series for the Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tigers.

The Maplewood/Irving Oil Late Models and Allen Lumber Street Stocks also have a full card of action. The pits for the rescheduled program open at 3:30 p.m. and the front gates open at 5:15 p.m.. Admission is $12 for adults, $3 for kids ages 6-12, and $25 for a family of four (2 adults, 2 kids).

Chad Reed, 37, continues to amaze fans and fellow racers with his incredible desire to race in the sport of Supercross.

What drives a man who already owns the world record for the most Supercross starts, who’s won multiple AMA Supercross and motocross championships, been named AMA Pro Athlete of the Year, has owned his own race team and has even been honored by being named a member of the Order of Australia?

What could possibly motivate this legend of the sport to continue racing in the grueling world of Supercross at an age when most riders have been retired for nearly a decade?

That’s a question Reed gets a lot. Naturally, he has a quick retort in the form of his own question, “Why wouldn’t I want to keep racing?” he says. “I still enjoy the challenge of competition, pitting myself against the best in the sport and feeling the support from the fans every weekend.”

To hear Reed tell it, it’s a no-brainer. When most riders speak of burnout because of the long and rugged slog of the season, Reed seems to relish the constant travel and training, but he admits there were times when he hit a wall and wondered why he put himself through the seemingly never-ending rigors of what it takes to be a top-level rider.

“I think I put it down to the sheer passion I have for the sport,” Reed said. “That burns really deep and strong. I wasn’t exempt from it either. I went through a phase where a part of me almost lost interest. I got to the point where I was thinking, ‘Man, it would be nice to jump in a NASCAR car,’ or ‘Man, it would be nice to jump into a rally car.’ But for me, timing was everything.

“I got the opportunity to run my own team. So right when I felt like I was getting exhausted with the political BS that goes on within a factory race team, I was able to create my own destiny and do my own thing, be my own boss and work with my own people,” Reed continued. “I think my passion for racing has just gotten stronger from that point on. I got a new perspective, looking at things from a different angle of the sport and I think that helped give me a deeper understanding of how things work. It’s like the saying, ‘If I knew then what I know now.’ With age and experience you begin to understand better how things work and maybe why things happen within a team like they do.”

Reed was a last-minute signee for Joe Gibbs Racing Yoshimura Suzuki prior to the Supercross season. Fourth on the all-time AMA Supercross win list with 44 victories, Reed is one of the most popular riders in the paddock.

“Chad Reed is a consummate professional and I see that he has that hunger to win,” said Jeremy Albrecht, JGRMX team manager.

While certainly impressive and inspirational, Reed is no longer unique in sports for his longevity and ability to remain competitive at the highest level of competition. There’s Roger Federer in tennis, Tom Brady in the NFL and MotoGP rider Valentino Rossi.

Reed is quick to point out with a grin that Rossi and Brady are “a little bit older than I am.”

As he continues with a smile in his voice, Reed quips he was born under the Chinese zodiac Year of the Dog.

“I think maybe that makes me a little more stubborn,” Reed said. “Maybe the generation before us had one way of doing things and we said, ‘No, we’re going to do it this way.’

“Valentino is a close friend and he also has such a passion for what he does,” Reed added. “I don’t know Brady and Federer, but I can relate to a lot of the things I read about them, the things that they say and do and the unwillingness to give up.

“We also came along at a time when training went to that next level. The way you train, the way you rest and eat. I think we’ve benefited from that knowledge and undoubtedly that’s helped extend careers.”

One of the things Reed and every serious competitor in Supercross and motocross have to learn to deal with is injury.

ROSEVILLE, Calif. – The Calistoga Hall of Fame announced Thursday that Brent Kaeding has been named Grand Marshal of the 12th annual Louie Vermeil Classic at Calistoga Speedway.

The 12th annual Louie Vermeil Classic continues to be held during the Labor Day weekend. The first of two nights of racing takes place Aug. 31 and concludes on Sept. 1. This year the King of the West-NARC Fujitsu Series will join the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series cars for a double header night of racing.

On Aug. 30, the Calistoga Speedway Hall of Fame dinner will take place inside the Tubbs building at the Napa County Fairgrounds.

Tickets for either the Hall of Fame dinner or Louie Vermeil Classic can be purchased by calling (916) 773-7223 Tuesday through Sunday.  Fans can also purchase general admission tickets by visiting hmc-promotions.ticketleap.com/2019-louie-vermeil-classic/.

Kaeding is a Hall of Fame member at Calistoga Speedway.  He is a 13-time champion of both the Northern Auto Racing Club and the Golden State Challenge Series.  Kaeding is the all-time leader in wins for both series. His 21 main event wins at Calistoga place him second all-time on the wins list.  He is listed with seven wins as a car owner at Calistoga.  Kaeding and Steve Kent are tied for the most Tribute to Gary Patterson wins at Calistoga.  Kaeding is one of the few drivers to win a non-wing and winged sprint car race at Calistoga Speedway.

“It’s a wonderful honor to be named Grand Marshall of the Louie Vermeil.  I have so many great memories of racing there with a wing and without,” Kaeding said. “The racing was always great but the things that stick out to me are all pre or post-race activities like the pancake breakfasts, racing during the fairs and drinking out in the pavilion until the sun came up.”

Kaeding was helped by legendary crew chief Billy Albini, leader of the hogs, who died on March 12.  This year the Calistoga Speedway has inducted Albini to join Kaeding in the Calistoga Hall of Fame.

“I knew of Billy in the ’70s but we actually partnered up in 1987.  We had a lot of success and won too many races to remember,”  Kaeding said. “We miss Billy tremendously and will be honored to be a part of his Hall of Fame induction to Calistoga Speedway.”

The NHL free-agent feeding frenzy has been reduced to a few nibbles. Team executives have absconded to their cottages. Hockey insiders are firing up their blenders for frozen beverages rather than Twitter for breaking news.

So, as hockey reaches its contemplative stretch of summer, what exactly have we learned from the last few weeks of the offseason? Here are 10 lessons, harsh or otherwise:

1. Offer sheets need both signatures

I shouted my defense of the Sebastian Aho offer sheet from the Montreal Canadiens until I was hoarse, and I will continue to do so. But I think we can all agree it was a relief to finally get a restricted free agent to sign one, after six years of mouth-foaming anticipation since the last one. But the harsh education on offer sheets this summer remains this salient point: The players have to sign them, too, as an indication that they want to leave their team -- which the vast majority of RFAs do not.

I can't really make this any clearer. Yes, it would make sense for Brayden Point to ink an offer sheet to get what he deserves as a premier young two-way forward. Or maybe he doesn't want to risk leaving Tampa Bay and doesn't want to break up one of the best (regular-season) teams in NHL history so he can compete to win the Stanley Cup. On top of the inherent problems with offer sheets -- from their winning percentage to the critical fallout befalling Marc Bergevin -- a major reason we don't see more of them is that players aren't interested in signing them. That's the NHL for you.

2. Stop contract shaming

If Aho is worth $8.454 million, Point might be worth even more. But he's going to probably end up signing a team-friendly deal because he wants to remain friendly with the team and potentially win a Stanley Cup with this group. And that's OK!

There are going to be many who criticize him, or any player who chooses not to maximize his earning potential for the sake of staying with a contender and/or remaining where their stuff is. But choosing this route is every bit as laudable as someone like Mitch Marner refusing to allow his team's other budgetary decisions to affect him. Which brings us to forward Kevin Labanc, who signed a one-year, $1 million contract to remain with the San Jose Sharks and was promptly labeled the dumbest player in hockey for doing so. "I think it was the best decision for myself and the team. The salary cap is tight, and sometimes you have to take a team discount. My biggest goal is to win a Stanley Cup this year. I had to take a bit of a discount, and I'm betting on myself to have an even bigger year," he told NHL Network Radio.

Hey, it's your career. You do you.

3. Doug Wilson is 'Lord Business'

On a related note: The Sharks' Doug Wilson somehow got Labanc back in on a $1 million contract. He convinced Erik Karlsson to sign on for eight years, although the $92 million obviously helps. And then he made yet another merciless decision with a beloved veteran player in letting Joe Pavelski walk away to the Dallas Stars, much as he did with Patrick Marleau two years ago.

Half of the GMs in this league would have rearranged life for Pavelski because his face is on the season tickets and because he literally bled for his team in the playoffs. But not Lord Business.

4. General managers are basically sports' climate change deniers

They are not here for your rising ocean temperatures and glacial retreat and destructive weather patterns. That's some future generation's problem. No, they're here for today. For the immediacy of Sergei Bobrovsky's $10 million AAV contract or Jeff Skinner's $9 million AAV deal, and not for what these contracts will look like in 2025, because there probably isn't a 2025 with the Florida Panthers or Buffalo Sabres for Dale Tallon on Jason Botterill, respectively, if these deals don't get done. Let the Sabres' next general manager (and by that we mean third or fourth in that span) figure out how to get Skinner's $9 million cap hit with a full no-move off the books if things get catastrophic.

5. A lot can change in two weeks

What if I told you that Kevin Hayes, a 27-year-old who has broken 20 goals and 50 points once in his career, has the fifth-highest cap hit ($7,142,857) of any unrestricted free-agent signee this summer, behind Artemi Panarin, Karlsson, Skinner and Matt Duchene? And that the contract runs seven years with full no-move protection for the first three seasons?

Luckily, the Philadelphia Flyers have never in their history overcompensated an unrestricted free agent whom they didn't regret in the first three seasons.

6. Artemi Panarin has disrespected the New York Islanders

According to the New York Post, Panarin said through an interpreter that he "dreamt of playing for the [New York] Rangers," adding, "my heart has been here. I'm really happy and lots of emotions. Just feeling a little overwhelmed the last two days, but I am really happy."

And yet there he was, talking with the Islanders, given them hope that Long Island would swipe a second free-agent prize away from James Dolan. But no, he was just stringing them along, always dreaming of being a Ranger. Look, we're not saying Islanders fans should go the Full Tavares the first time Panarin visits with the Rangers. But maybe warm up those "we don't need you" vocal cords.

7. In the end, that Matt Duchene trade was pretty messed up

In summary of the November 2017 three-team Duchene trade:

• Colorado ended up with defensemen Bowen Byram, Samuel Girard and Danila Zhuravlyov, center Matthew Stienburg, forwards Shane Bowers and Vladislav Kamenev, and goalie Justus Annunen.

• Ottawa ended up with forwards Vitaly Abramov and Jonathan Davidsson, and defenseman Lassi Thomson, after flipping Duchene to Columbus.

• Nashville ended up with Kyle Turris and ... Duchene.

As ever, Ottawa remains "a team."

8. The PTO market once again grows

The cap system has successfully squeezed a portion of the veteran unrestricted free-agent class, so the "professional tryout contract" route will once again get crowded this September. For a preview, here are the current UFAs who are 34 and older. (Hey there, Dan Girardi.)

As Don Fehr of the NHLPA told the Canadian Press: "If, indeed, you have a situation in which the current system disadvantages veteran players, then obviously that's something the players are going to want to look at to see if there are changes that could be made, which would either remedy that or make the effect less significant." He said that in 2017.

9. Owners write the blueprints

I feel for Paul Fenton. I found him to be an insightful, shrewd executive with the Nashville Predators. He finally gets his shot with the Minnesota Wild, and it's like he can do no right, from the Victor Rask trade (which was terrible) to the Mats Zuccarello signing (which was terrible within the context of the team). But in the end, he's serving at the pleasure of his owner.

Wild owner Craig Leipold said in March: "We plan to make some noise this summer. Just so we all understand, this is not a rebuild. Look at our team: We are ready to play right now. We are building on the fly, and that's kind of our mantra right now."

One wonders what Fenton, if left to craft his own path, would be doing this summer instead of handing out five-year deals with trade protection to 31-year-old forwards...

10. It's the patience, stupid

The Colorado Avalanche and New Jersey Devils both had solid summers so far, and in both cases, patience was their virtue. The Devils kept their cap space open for a few seasons despite needing several upgrades in their lineup to contend. They were the only team in the P.K. Subban derby that could afford the full freight of his contract when the Norris Trophy winner became available. And the Avalanche had fielded Tyson Barrie offers for years but never shipped out their puck-moving defenseman -- until this summer, when their young D-core was built out and Nazem Kadri became available to solve several of their problems.

The week in Gritty

It's the summer for mascots, too, as our orange nightmare-fuel friend traveled over state lines to the Jersey Shore.

Trying to get that vitamin sea ?‍♀️ pic.twitter.com/TtQMg9dEwR

— Gritty (@GrittyNHL) July 10, 2019

Notice we didn't say he crossed "enemy lines," as South Jersey is very much Flyers Country. Just don't tell that to, you know, the mascot up the Turnpike, who gleefully chimed in on Gritty's whereabouts.

I'd want to get out of Philly too https://t.co/uqEsXGDrPy

— NJ Devil (@NJDevil00) July 10, 2019

Settle this with a Skee-Ball battle, our plush friends.

Jersey fouls

From reader Michael Jugan:

@wyshynski Seen at the HHOF #jerseyfoul ? pic.twitter.com/Jm0YlNCugO

— Michael Jugan (@HocEman) June 12, 2019

I'm actually ... into this? There's always been something hipster about transforming other sports uniforms with hockey iconography, and especially gear that could be worn in the summer months when sweaters aren't exactly a paragon of functionality. Like, for example, NHL-centric soccer jerseys, which have been mocked up on several occasions through the years. So not a foul. Not something I'd wear. But not a foul.

Five hockey sitcom episodes that aren't Seinfeld's "The Face Painter"

Thirty years ago, Seinfeld (then The Seinfeld Chronicles) premiered, a landmark show about "nothing" that spawned several thousand catchphrases and countless other sitcoms centered around stand-up comics that were, well, not Seinfeld. (Mulaney, we hardly knew ye.)

Some time later -- May 11, 1995, to be exact -- Seinfeld gave us "The Face Painter," the episode in which Devils fan David Puddy painted his face (and chest) to support the team, while scaring the life out of a priest.

This might be the most famous hockey-centric sitcom episode of all time, but it's not the only one. Here are five other non-Puddy sitcom hockey episodes:

1. "Lisa on Ice"

Outside of "The Face Painter," it's perhaps the most famous hockey sitcom episode. The Simpsons writer Mike Scully, the only hockey fan in the writers' room, pitched the sport as an option after they had already parodied baseball and football. Initially, he wanted to include cameos by Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito, but the rewrite process tried to make the episode as non-"inside hockey" as possible.

2. "Mac's Big Break"

The knuckleheads from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia take on the joys of intermission shoot-the-puck contests, as Mac trains to win a prize at a Flyers game and instead wins a place on the SportsCenter blooper reel.

3. "The Platinum Rule"

Being the resident Canadian on How I Met Your Mother, Robin Scherbatsky invites hockey references. While dating a sportscaster named Curt "Ironman" Irons, she attends a Vancouver Canucks game against the Rangers and tells the gang she had the honor of meeting Mason Raymond. Cue Barney: "What's the opposite of name-dropping?"

4. "Stanley's Cup"

A sendup of "The Mighty Ducks," with the backdrop of the Avalanche/Red Wings feud. And then things get dark at the end, even by South Park standards.

5. "Never Love a Goalie" (Parts 1 and 2)

The debut of Boston Bruins' netminder Eddie Lebec on Cheers, and a glorious look into the idiosyncrasies of goaltenders and the people who love them.

Listen to ESPN ON ICE

Listen to every ESPN ON ICE podcast from the last season right here, including our finale, with free-agent grades and an Auston Matthews interview.

Puck headlines

• Montreal Canadiens jerseys, ranked worst to first. Man, no love for the barber poles. (Hockey by Design)

• RIP, Greg Johnson. (Grand Forks Herald)

• Ryan Lambert on the inherent conflicts for GMs: "In theory, and sometimes in practice, these two ideas are one and the same: You can't Compete for a Cup without first Competing for the Playoffs." (Yahoo! Sports)

• What Team North America would look like today. Yeah, there's zero chance Mathew Barzal doesn't make this team. (The Hockey News)

• Don Cherry says that despite reports to the contrary, he'll be back on "Coach's Corner." Here's why he should leave. (SB Nation)

• When is that Loui Eriksson trade coming again? (SportsNet)

• Finally, Ryan O'Reilly yanking out his own tooth at the ESPYS is the stuff Conn Smythe winners are made of.

Ryan O'Reilly removing his tooth on stage before giving a speech at the ESPYs is the greatest thing I've ever seen pic.twitter.com/kCunzYLoB5

— Josh Hyman ? (@joshhymanNHL) July 11, 2019

Hockey tl;dr (too long; didn't read)

• Dom Luszczyszyn looks at the 10 best contracts in the NHL. (The Athletic)

In case you missed this from your friends at ESPN

• Our offseason report card for all 31 teams.