The Johnson County District Attorney's office has reopened its criminal case into Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill, coach Andy Reid said at a news conference on Friday.

The decision to reopen the investigation into Hill and his fiancée, Crystal Espinal, follows an audio recording released on Thursday by KCTV in Kansas City in which Espinal accused Hill of abusing their 3-year-old son.

On Wednesday, Johnson County District Attorney Stephen M. Howe had said charges would not be filed after police were called to Hill's home twice last month and investigators determined the child had been injured. Howe said he believed a crime had occurred but that the evidence didn't clearly establish who committed it.

After the release of the audio on Thursday, the Chiefs announced that Hill had been barred indefinitely from all team activities.

"We were deeply disturbed by what we heard [on the recorded conversation]," general manager Brett Veach said Thursday. "We were deeply concerned. Now, obviously, we have great concern for Crystal. We are greatly concerned for Tyreek. But our main focus, our main concern, is with the young child."

In the 11-minute audio file, Espinal tells Hill that when asked about an injury to the child's arm, the boy replied: "Daddy did it.''

Hill denied any role in what happened to the child's arm, adding: "He says Daddy does a lot of things."

Espinal then says, "A 3-year-old is not going to lie about what happened to his arm.''

"Daddy did it," Espinal says, paraphrasing the boy. "He is terrified of you."

Hill responds, according to the recording: "You need to be terrified of me, too, b----."

Later in the recording, Espinal says, "He kept saying 'Daddy punches me,' which you do when he starts crying. What do you do? You make him open up his arms, and you punch him in the chest. Then if he gets in trouble, you get the belt out.''

At another point in the recording, Espinal brings up the investigations by the Overland Park (Kansas) Police Department and the Kansas Department for Children and Families.

"Now, somehow this investigation got brought back up, and you're about to lose your [deleted],'' she says.

"Now, I really want you [to] sit and think about it because I rode for you against that detective and the [DCF] people.''

Espinal then talks about what Hill does when their son starts crying.

The conversation was recorded as the couple walked through Dubai International Airport, according to KCTV. No date for the conversation was given.

ESPN was unable to independently confirm Thursday that it was Hill and Espinal on the recording.

Police were called to Hill's Kansas City home after the release of the audio. According to reports, Espinal was fine and officers were at the home for only a short time.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told ESPN's Sam Ponder on Thursday that the league was still investigating.

"When you get the facts, then you make a decision about how it fits into our personal conduct policy," Goodell said. "You don't make a decision without having those facts."

ESPN's Adam Teicher and The Associated Press contributed to this report

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Trail Blazers center Enes Kanter on Friday said he has a separated left shoulder and his status for the Western Conference semifinals remains uncertain.

Kanter said the injury happened during Portland's 118-115 series-clinching victory against Oklahoma City on Tuesday. The Blazers returned to practice Friday as they wait to learn their opponent.

Kanter was shooting during the workout, although at times he rubbed the shoulder.

"I think the Blazers are doing a very good job taking care of it. But, I mean obviously, I'm not going to lie, it hurts pretty bad," Kanter said. "I mean I'm having a hard time changing my shirt or eating food. So it's a process. We're just taking it day by day, see how it feels."

Despite the injury, Kanter had 13 points and 13 rebounds in Portland's victory over the Thunder.

The Blazers will play the winner of the first-round series between the Denver Nuggets and the San Antonio Spurs, which is tied at 3. Game 7 is Saturday night in Denver.

Blazers coach Terry Stotts said he was hopeful Kanter could play in Game 1, set for Monday regardless of the opponent. He said the extended break -- Portland was the first team in the West to advance to the next round -- will help.

"I know it's too early," Stotts said about the decision. "The good thing is we don't play until Monday, so we don't really have to make any decisions until then. So we're hopeful."

Kanter, 26, has had a somewhat turbulent season already. He was waived by the New York Knicks following the trade deadline. Once a starter, he fell out of the rotation altogether when New York -- which finished with the worst record in the league -- turned its focus to younger players.

He was signed by the Blazers just before the All-Star break as a backup to starter Jusuf Nurkic.

But Kanter became vitally important for Portland when Nurkic broke his leg in an overtime victory at home over the Brooklyn Nets on March 25. Nurkic was averaging 15.6 points and 10.4 rebounds a game this season.

Kanter averaged 13.1 points and 8.6 rebounds in 23 games down the stretch with the Blazers, including eight starts.

In the playoffs, he is averaging 13.2 points and 10.2 rebounds. In Game 1 against the Thunder, he had 20 points and 18 rebounds and was dubbed the game's MVP by teammate Damian Lillard.

He has faced challenges beyond the court as well. A native of Turkey, Kanter missed a game in Toronto shortly after joining the Blazers because he thought his life might be in danger if he left the United States. As a result of his criticism of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Kanter had been labeled a terrorist by his native country. His passport was revoked and Turkey has reportedly issued a warrant for his arrest with Interpol.

For now, Kanter is working out lightly and doing some lifting. The concern isn't just whether he can play through the pain, but whether there's a chance for further damage, he said.

He said he will work with the team's trainers and see how the shoulder feels.

"They just said it's a separation, it's normally around a month to just heal it," he said. "But I mean, you don't have a month to take off, so I'm just going to push through it."

Will the Milwaukee Bucks coast through another series? Are the Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers destined to go seven games? Our experts make their picks for the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Note: Experts' picks for the Western Conference semifinals will be added following the Nuggets-Spurs and Warriors-Clippers series.

More: Schedules and results | Playoffs bracket | Tickets

TORONTO -- Vladimir Guerrero Jr. paid tribute to his Hall of Fame father before his major league debut for Toronto against Oakland, arriving at Rogers Centre dressed in a replica of his dad's Montreal Expos jersey.

The 20-year-old was set to bat fifth and play third base Friday.

"Since I was a kid I was running around with my dad in the clubhouse in Montreal," Guerrero Jr. said. "I just wanted to bring that back today."

Guerrero wore No. 27, the number retired in honor of his father by the Los Angeles Angels.

Guerrero's famous father was on hand to watch his son take batting practice, which was broadcast live on Sportsnet, the Canadian network operated by team owner Rogers Communications.

Toronto selected Guerrero's contract from Triple-A Buffalo and optioned infielder Richard Urena to the International League farm team.

Beyond the goings-on north of the border, we've got a playoff rematch from last season and a big AL East rematch from last weekend, among other intriguing series. Here's what we're excited about this weekend and how we think things will play out.

Two of the AL power teams meet as the Indians face the Astros, with the series finale on Sunday Night Baseball (ESPN, 7 p.m.). If you had to pick one pair, which team's left side of the infield would you take: Carlos Correa and Alex Bregman of Houston or Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez of Cleveland?

Sam Miller: Not Tatis/Machado? (No, not Tatis/Machado, not quite.) At this precise moment, with Lindor still catching up after an injured spring, and Ramirez still in a serious rut, I'd go with the Astros' pair. But give me any longer time frame than this precise moment, and I'll take Cleveland's. There are quite possibly three Hall of Famers in this group -- I couldn't for the life of me say who I'm predicting won't make it -- but Lindor could be an inner-circle inductee, one of the 30 or 40 greatest players of all time and maybe the one active player most likely to elevate to the Mookie & Mike tier.

David Schoenfield: Ramirez hit his second home run Wednesday, but that only underscores what Sam pointed out: He has been slumping for a long time now. Since last Aug. 18, he has played 61 games and hit .173/.290/.283. That's a long stretch of not just terrible production for a superstar, but terrible production for Hanley Ramirez, and the Indians just released Hanley. Until Jose starts hitting, the answer for 2019 is Correa and Bregman.

Eddie Matz: Injury or no injury, Lindor was my preseason pick to win the AL MVP. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it. On top of that, if we're talking about left sides of infields, how can we not factor in defense? Since the start of 2016, Bregman and Correa have combined for minus-three runs saved. Meanwhile, Lindor and Ramirez are at plus-40. Granted, most of that is Lindor (he's a defensive Paul Simon, and Ramirez is clearly Art Garfunkel), but duos are duos. And I'm taking Cleveland's here.

The Pirates-Dodgers series should be interesting. L.A. leads the NL in runs scored and OPS, and Pittsburgh's pitching has been outstanding (3.29 team ERA, MLB-best 2.7 WAR for SPs). How long can the Pirates' pitchers keep it up?

Miller: Jameson Taillon was the much-talked-up breakout ace candidate this offseason -- and he was easy to talk up, on account of his having already broken out in the second half last year -- but I also had at least one smart friend giddily high on each of Joe Musgrove, Jordan Lyles and Trevor Williams. That's to say that the latter trio's excellent pitching isn't totally out of nowhere. But it's also to note that those giddy forecasts were outlier opinions, and my friends aren't actually that smart. Some regression is due soon.

Schoenfield: Is the rotation going to have a 2.45 ERA all season? No. Does it have a chance to be one of the three best in the National League? Yes. Their dominance is a little unconventional for 2019-style baseball as the rotation ranks just 17th in the majors in strikeout rate, but they throw strikes and have induced weak contact thanks to the highest chase rate so far. Speaking of second-half breakouts, Trevor Williams now has a 1.67 ERA over his past 18 starts. He just might be really good, getting ground balls with that sinker.

Matz: Pitcher WAR? Are we really leaning on pitcher WAR here? Regardless of what stat you choose to measure the success of Pittsburgh's pitching, the honeymoon's about to end. Don't get me wrong -- the Pirates' rotation is definitely better than most people realize. But the schedule has been kind so far. Half of Pittsburgh's first 22 games came against teams that are severely challenged offensively (Reds, Tigers, Giants). In those games, Pirates pitchers gave up an average of 2.3 runs. In their other 11 games against legitimate lineups (Cardinals, Cubs, Nationals, Diamondbacks), they gave up 5.4 runs per contest. So what's up next for the Bucs? Seventeen straight against teams ranked in the top half of MLB in scoring. Fifteen of those 17 are against clubs ranked in the top seven (Dodgers, Rangers, Cardinals, Diamondbacks). Gulp.

You may have heard some big-swinging rookie is about to make his debut in Toronto. We've got a whole roundtable devoted to Vlad Guerrero Jr., but what do you think we'll see this weekend at Rogers Centre?

Miller: Probably a lot of camera cutaways to a familiar Hall of Famer in the crowd and, hopefully, a lot of swinging. I don't think there's any question Guerrero is going to be a very good ballplayer -- even within the realm of You Can't Predict Baseball, there are limits to what you can't predict -- but what I'm expecting are signs that Guerrero will be a unique, mold-breaking offensive force, a batter who does things nobody else does in a way nobody else does. I expect to see some really fun two-pitch at-bats: first-pitch fastball at the up-and-away edges of the strike zone, fouled away; second-pitch slider scraping the bottom of the zone, lined off the wall. Maybe right through the wall.

Or something like that. The truth is that most of us have only the caricatured vision of Guerrero, informed by incredulous scouting write-ups, a few absurd highlight videos and the Pavlovian response to hearing the name "Vladimir Guerrero" again. This weekend, we'll get to see him fill out the vision more completely and start to become his own ballplayer with his own name.

Schoenfield: Instead of sad Maple Leafs fans, we'll see happy Blue Jays fans! It's weird. That 2015-16 playoff run already feels like another generation ago (in a way, it was, since the Jays have turned over almost the entire roster). Vladdy Jr. will inject some life not just in the lineup, but in a fan base that -- as we saw in the 2015 playoffs -- will support this team with enthusiasm if there's a winning product to cheer. Guerrero won't turn the Jays into instant contenders, but he's going to hit and has a chance to become a transcendent force at the plate. It all starts this weekend in maybe the most-anticipated debut since Bryce Harper.

Matz: It should be a nice soft landing for Vladito (not that he needs one). The first two starters he'll face (Brett Anderson and Mike Fiers) both rank in the bottom 10 in the American League in strikeout-to-walk ratio, and Oakland's Sunday starter (Chris Bassitt) isn't a big bat-misser, either. Combine all that with VGJ's supernatural control of the strike zone, and good-ish things should happen: Guerrero goes 3-for-11 with a walk and a double. And an error.

Writer's choice: What's the one thing (other than Baby Vlad) you're most looking forward to seeing this weekend?

Miller: Cody Bellinger's .400 chase? I know that sounds absurd, since it's only late April. Bellinger isn't even a high-average type of hitter, and I haven't really cared about batting average in forever. But I love anything that creates day-to-day tension and, other than a long hitting streak, nothing in baseball is as tense, as easy to follow, and as unforgiving as a .400 chase. I'm going to enjoy it while I can, since these days .400 chases almost never make it very far into May.

Schoenfield: The Rays-Red Sox series at Fenway will be interesting as Boston pulled a sweep last weekend in Tampa, but I want to see how Jacob deGrom fares Friday against the Brewers. One day his elbow is "barking," then a few days later he's suddenly OK. He was brilliant in his first two starts (no runs, 24 strikeouts) and not brilliant for two starts before his IL stint (nine runs, five home runs, 12 strikeouts). Needless to say, the Mets need brilliant deGrom if they're going to win the NL East.

Matz: Kirby Yates flirting with history. It probably won't happen, but Yates has a chance to set the record for most saves in a single month. San Diego's closer -- who took over after the Padres traded Brad Hand last July -- is at 12 saves right now, most in the majors. If he saves all three games against Washington, he'll tie the record shared by Lee Smith, John Wetteland and Chad Cordero. If Yates gets four saves in San Diego's five remaining April games, he'll have the record all to himself. And if that happens, there's a good chance that the Padres (the Padres!!!) will have entered May atop the NL West.

PICK 'EM TIME

Vlad Guerrero Jr.'s debut in Toronto is generating a lot of buzz, but it is fighting for attention up north with the Raptors in the playoffs and the Maple Leafs' postmortems.

Attendance at Rogers Centre for the three-game series: Over or under 65,000?

Miller: Under. Guerrero's late debut merely reinforces the larger truth that Toronto's front office doesn't believe this season is worth caring about. He's certainly worth a bump, but the Blue Jays drew only 60K Friday-through-Sunday in their opening weekend of the season.

Schoenfield: I'll go over. I think they can get an extra 7,000 in walk-up sales over that first weekend.

Matz: Over. Toronto drew just under 60K in each of its first two weekend series at home. I have to think that Guerrero is worth at least an extra couple of thousand per game. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Jays draw 30,000 for his debut.

Two of the top-scoring offenses in the AL meet when the Mariners host the Rangers (Friday, 10:10 p.m., and Sunday, 4:10 p.m., on ESPN+). Who will have more total bases this weekend: Texas' Joey Gallo or Seattle's Mitch Haniger?

Miller: Or better, who will allow more total bases this weekend, the Rangers (5.60 team ERA) or the Mariners (4.33)? Gallo is certainly having a moment -- his exit velo is 5 mph higher than last year, and the highest in baseball -- but Haniger at home is the right bet here.

Schoenfield: Haniger is having a weird season. He's striking out more and walking less than last year, but his isolated power is way up, and he has 19 extra-base hits already. Gallo is crushing baseballs, however. Plus, Yusei Kikuchi will have an abbreviated outing Friday, and Marco Gonzales started Thursday, so Gallo should feast on some right-handed pitching. I'll go with Gallo.

Matz: Haniger has always crushed Texas pitching (1.016 career OPS). He also has great numbers against Saturday starter Mike Minor. Gallo will get his, but Haniger will get more.

Who do you like Sunday night -- Indians or Astros?

Miller: I like the Astros every day of the week, every time of the day, and against every team in baseball.

Schoenfield: Carlos Carrasco seems like a wild card since he left because of a leg injury after four innings in his previous start. Wade Miley has been pretty good, and with Ramirez struggling and Lindor just getting going, the Cleveland lineup remains weak. Astros.

Matz: Carrasco is banged up, and the Astros have lost exactly once at home this season. Plus, they're the Astros. I'll take Houston.

TWO TRUE OUTCOMES

Each week, we'll ask our panelists to choose one hitter they think will hit the most home runs and one pitcher they think will record the most strikeouts in the coming weekend. Panelists can pick a player only once for the season. We'll keep a running tally -- and invite you to play along at home.

Editor's note: One of our contestants has asked to have some information formally put on the record. The floor recognizes Mr. Schoenfield:

Schoenfield: I would like to point out that I did not receive credit for the two home runs Eddie Rosario hit last Thursday, AFTER I made him my selection. Granted, he still hit three for the weekend, but crediting him with him five home runs would further cement the genius of the pick. So. As for this week, what the heck: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Kenyan runner had been due to race the London Marathon on Sunday

Kenya’s world half-marathon record-holder Abraham Kiptum has been provisionally suspended from competition following an athlete biological passport (ABP) violation, the Athletics Integrity Unit‏ (AIU) has announced.

The AIU confirms a Provisional Suspension against Kenyan long-distance runner Abraham Kiptum for an Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) violation under the @iaaforg Anti-Doping Rules.
Find out more ➡ https://t.co/opInfkVlnV#CleanSport pic.twitter.com/cYfRgWoFkW

— Athletics Integrity Unit (@aiu_athletics) April 26, 2019

The 29-year-old had been due to race in Sunday’s Virgin Money London Marathon but following news of his suspension, event organisers confirmed that Kiptum had left the UK capital.

“We have a zero-tolerance policy on doping,” said London Marathon event director Hugh Brasher.

“London is part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors and we recently announced a groundbreaking extensive intelligence-driven testing programme.

“This shows the programme is working. Cheats will be caught and there is no place for them in marathon running.”

This explains why I saw Abraham Kiptum put in a car along with his suitcase outside the Tower Hotel (London Marathon HQ) at around 5.30pm today. https://t.co/bVbUND6Klb

— Malcolm Anderson (@malc_anderson) April 26, 2019

Kiptum clocked a time of 58:18 at the Medio Maratón de Valencia Trinidad Alfonso last October to break the world half-marathon record, which had been set by Eritrea’s Zersenay Tadese in 2010, by five seconds.

Kiptum’s mark improved on his PB of 59:09 which had been set just six weeks before in Copenhagen.

He ran a fast marathon in Abu Dhabi in December but his 2:04:16 is not his official PB as the course was later deemed to be short. His best time for the full 26.2-mile event is 2:05:26, run in Amsterdam in 2017.

TALLADEGA, Ala. – Xtreme Concepts Racing has bolstered its executive team with the addition of Jennifer Yohe as president and chief business development officer.

Yohe will lead day-to-day business operations as well as brand strategy and partnership development for XCI Racing, which made its NASCAR debut in the March 30 Xfinity Series race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, finishing eighth with driver Jeffrey Earnhardt.

Yohe joins XCI Racing after 11 years at Comcast Cable, where she was senior vice president of procurement. In that role, Yohe managed the procurement team and its agreements and relationships. She also oversaw business-to-business development across Comcast and its partners, including NBC and Spectacor. It was this aspect of her work where Yohe became immersed in NASCAR as she managed Comcast’s relationships with industry partners and teams.

“Jennifer has been a key player in Xtreme Concepts’ entry into NASCAR and we’re proud to have her part of our leadership as we build a competitive NASCAR team,” said Landon Ash, owner, XCI Racing. “Jennifer’s relationships in the sport have made our alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing even stronger, allowing for more inroads with prospective partners. As a new organization, it’s important we make the right decisions at the right time. Jennifer’s experience in leadership and business development, along with her understanding of motorsports, gives XCI Racing the necessary depth to succeed in partnership development.”

Prior to her time at Comcast Cable, Yohe worked with Time Warner Cable, starting out as a business operations manager in 2001 and eventually becoming the organization’s vice president of business affairs in 2007. Recognized for her strong business leadership and procurement success, Yohe was named by CableFAX: The Magazine as one of the Most Powerful Women in Cable eight straight times between 2011-2018 and was the 2012 SCTE•ISBE Women in Technology award winner.

“I am thrilled to join XCI Racing as they grow their motorsports presence,” said Yohe, who throughout her time in the cable telecommunications industry served as a business advisor to several NASCAR teams. “XCI Racing has already taken the right steps in partnering with top organizations while simultaneously committing to develop the future of the sport through its relationships with drivers Jeffrey Earnhardt and Hailie Deegan. I look forward to broadening XCI Racing’s relationships within the sport and garnering new business opportunities that will prepare the team for long-term success.”

XCI Racing will make its Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series debut this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway with Earnhardt piloting the No. 81 Toyota Camry. The team will return to Talladega in October for its second NASCAR Cup Series race, but in between XCI Racing will compete in four Xfinity Series races with Earnhardt: June 29 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois, July 5 at Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway, Aug. 16 Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway and Aug. 31 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.

BAKU CITY, Azerbaijan – Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc fired the first shot of the weekend at the Bake City Circuit by pacing Friday’s practice sessions for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Leclerc led a Ferrari one-two during the second practice to put his name at the top of the overall practice charts with a top time of 1:42.872. His Ferrari teammate Sebastian Vettel was second fastest, .324 of a second off Leclerc’s best lap.

Championship leader Lewis Hamilton was third fastest overall, but was more than half a second off the pace set by Leclerc. Max Verstappen was fourth for Red Bull, followed by the second Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas.

The opening practice of the day was limited to just 13 minutes when George Russell ran over a loose drain cover, severely damaging his Williams entry and forcing a lengthy red flag period to address the loose drain cover.

The red flag’s continued in the second practice, with Racing Point’s Lance Stroll locking up his car going into turn two. He slid along the barriers and ripped the front-left corner off his car. His team repaired his car and got him back on track with a few minutes left in the practice.

The third and final red flag of the day waved for Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat, who crashed at the exit of turn seven and destroyed the front-left suspension on his car. Despite that, his best speed of the day left him sixth fastest overall.

San Jose Sharks captain Joe Pavelski has officially been ruled out of Friday's series opener against the Colorado Avalanche, according to coach Peter DeBoer.

Pavelski remains day-to-day from the controversial hit that knocked him out of Game 7 against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Right winder Joonas Donskoi also will not play Friday. He had previously missed the series clincher against the Golden Knights and has been participating in practice in a noncontact jersey.

On Thursday, DeBoer preached the "next man up" mantra as the Sharks deal with their injuries.

"That's playoff hockey. We've talked about it all year: If you're going on any kind of run, you're going to have to use everybody at some point or another. And we're confident of the guys we have here. Who's out there is going to get it done," he said.

The Sharks swept the three-game season series against the Avalanche. Playing in San Jose has been particularly difficult for Colorado, which has one win in its past 19 regular-season games at the Shark Tank.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.