It is officially clinching season across MLB as baseball's best teams vie to lock up division titles, and wild-card hopefuls look to earn a place in October. As the race to the finish heats up and magic numbers shrink, we've got you covered on everything you need to know about which teams have already punched their postseason tickets, who could be popping the champagne next and which races could come down to the very end of the regular season.

For more, including current playoff odds, check out our MLB standings page and get ready for October with our MLB playoff schedule.

Commonwealth 100m champion has had a charge issued for ‘whereabouts failures’

Trinidadian sprinter Michelle-Lee Ahye has been provisionally suspended for ‘whereabouts failures’, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has announced.

World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules require athletes to submit their whereabouts for one hour every day, plus overnight accommodation and training information, in case they are needed for out-of-competition testing.

“The AIU confirms a Provisional Suspension against Trinidadian sprinter Michelle-Lee Ahye for a violation of the @iaaforg Anti-Doping Rules,” the Unit wrote on Twitter on Thursday, with the status of the case listed as ‘charge issued’.

Ahye won the Commonwealth 100m title on the Gold Coast in 2018 and also secured Pan American Games silver in Lima last month.

She formed part of Trinidad and Tobago’s bronze medal-winning 4x100m team at the 2015 IAAF World Championships in Beijing and is the national record-holder in the 100m and 200m with PBs of 10.82 and 22.25.

Ahye also placed sixth in the world 100m final in London two years ago.

The AIU confirms a Provisional Suspension against Trinidadian sprinter Michelle-Lee Ahye for a violation of the @iaaforg Anti-Doping Rules.
Find out more ⬇️ https://t.co/opInfkVlnV#CleanSport #AIUNews pic.twitter.com/sz2XXHzlIM

— Athletics Integrity Unit (@aiu_athletics) September 12, 2019

Kim Clijsters is to make her tennis comeback at the age of 36 with a return to the WTA Tour in 2020.

The Belgian former world number one initially retired in 2007 to start a family, two years after winning her first Grand Slam at the US Open.

She returned in 2009 and won two more US Open titles and the Australian Open before her second retirement in 2012.

"I don't really feel like I want to prove something. I think for me it's the challenge," Clijsters said.

Speaking to the WTA Insider Podcast, she added: "The love for the sport is obviously still there. But the question still is, am I capable of bringing it to a level where I would like it to be at and where I want it to be at before I want to play at a high level of one of the best women's sports in the world?

"I want to challenge myself and I want to be strong again. This is my marathon."

Clijsters is targeting a return in January, but says she will remain flexible in her scheduling.

As a former world number one, Clijsters is eligible for unlimited wildcards at WTA tournaments. She will need to play three tournaments or earn 10 ranking points to re-establish a ranking.

She said not having to play a set number of tournaments a year has "made the choice a little bit easier".

"Kim Clijsters ranks among the greats of the game and her return to the Tour is exciting news for the WTA family and tennis fans around the world," said WTA chairman Steve Simon.

Clijsters won 41 WTA titles and spent 20 weeks as world number one in her two previous spells.

Her daughter Jada was born in 2008, followed by sons Jack in 2013 and Blake in 2016.

Following her second retirement she ran her tennis academy and worked as a commentator, including for the BBC at Wimbledon.

She says she had been contemplating a comeback for two years.

"Even if I don't make it, this whole process has been so worth it for me to get back into a good routine," she said.

"Let's see if I can get my body in shape to play tennis at a level where I would like it to be at, that I have in mind of where I would like to get to, and see if it's possible. To see, first of all, if my body is capable of even doing that."

She added: "We can talk about the start of 2020 and see where can we get a wildcard, but if I feel in December that I'm not even near to where I want to be, then I'm not going to go just for the sake of going somewhere. I want to feel like I'm getting to where I want to be.

"I still have three and a half months before and so I still think I can have a lot of improvement to go through in these next few months and that I look forward to seeing where that will lead me."

BBC Sport has launched #ChangeTheGame this summer to showcase female athletes in a way they never have been before. Through more live women's sport available to watch across the BBC this summer, complemented by our journalism, we are aiming to turn up the volume on women's sport and alter perceptions. Find out more here.

Wales made their debut in the World Cup with a 13-6 win against Ireland in Wellington, New Zealand.

The team went on to finish third in the tournament by beating Australia in the bronze medal match.

But who were the 15 players who made history in that opening match?

You have four minutes... good luck.

SOUTHLAKE, Texas – Indy car champion Al Unser Jr. will compete in the Sportscar Vintage Racing Ass’n’s Vintage Race of Champions Charity Pro-Am presented by Chopard Watch at Virginia Int’l Raceway.

Unser, who has always run at the front in previous VROC Charity Pro-Am races, joins a stellar field of legendary drivers reminiscent of the original IROC series. Many in the VROC field competed in IROC, including Unser and Bobby Labonte, both of whom became champions of that iconic series. The Sept. 21 VROC Charity Pro-Am at VIR is the final event in the series and will decide the VROC B Production (BP) and A Production (AP) championships.

“I am delighted to race once again in the VROC. It’s great competition and I have nothing but respect the SVRA drivers,” Unser said. “I want to thank Mike Harding and George Steinbrenner for giving me the time off from their Indy car team to do what they know I love best – race cars. The VIR course is particularly challenging and I look forward to having another crack at it because I never got completely comfortable last year.”

“I consider Al a great friend to SVRA,” said SVRA CEO Tony Parella. “Since he won our first Pro-Am at Indy in 2014, he has been a big factor in building our VROC brand.”

Unser is a two-time Indy car champion (1990 and ’94) and the winner of 34 Indy car races, including the 1992 and ’94 Indianapolis 500s. His 1992 Indianapolis 500 victory remains the closest finish in history with a margin of just 43 ten-thousandths of a second over runner-up Scott Goodyear.

A versatile driver, he was a winner in World of Outlaws sprint car racing, 1982 Can-Am champion, and IROC champion in 1986 and again in 1988. He’s also a two-time overall winner of the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 1986 and ’87. Like his father Al Unser Sr. and Uncle Bobby Unser, he enjoyed tremendous success as a star driver for Roger Penske’s team, which provided his winning entry for the 1994 Indianapolis 500.

Unser is currently a strategist for the Harding-Steinbrenner Indy car team, which is competing at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca the same weekend.

TULARE, Calif. – Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions point leader Aaron Reutzel has confirmed his entry for the 26th annual Trophy Cup, set for Oct. 17-19 at Thunderbowl Raceway.

With a dozen wins in the series, Reutzel will join third-place points man Cory Eliason and Paul McMahan, who sits fourth in the All Star standings, in the $200,000 event for winged 360 sprint cars.

As part of the 110 entries, the trio of All Star drivers will be racing the most challenging format in sprint car racing, while also seeking the $26,000 prize for the event champion.

Half of Reutzel’s All Star wins have been in the last month, making the Clute, Texas driver one of the hottest in the country. Two additional wins this season pushes his total to 14 victories in all, with 31 top five finishes to his credit as well.

A micro sprint graduate, Reutzel is no stranger to 360 sprints. His first title came in the ASCS Gulf Coast Region ten years ago, and two years later, he was the rookie of the year on the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour.

The 26th annual Abreu Vineyards Trophy Cup presented by Rudeen Racing benefits the Make-A-Wish Foundation and will reach the $2 million mark in donations this year.

All entry fees, raffle proceeds, and many supporting fundraising activities have been donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation for more than 20 years.

COSTA MESA, Calif. – MotoAmerica officials have announced that the series will return to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a standalone round in 2020.

The event will take place on Aug. 21-23.

MotoAmerica last raced at Indianapolis in August of 2015 as a support race of the MotoGP World Championship, with that event marking the last time that motorcycles have raced at the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Big Machine Vodka 400.

For 2020, MotoAmerica will bring motorcycle racing back to Indianapolis, with all five MotoAmerica classes being showcased in the Championship of Indy.

“The very first motor race at IMS was a motorcycle event in 1909, and we’re proud to welcome the return of two-wheeled racing at the Speedway with MotoAmerica in 2020,” IMS President J. Douglas Boles said. “Wayne Rainey and everyone at MotoAmerica have done a great job reinvigorating motorcycle road racing in the United States, and we can’t wait to see the best American and international riders produce some of the best competition anywhere next August at the Racing Capital of the World. This will be a great weekend of racing and entertainment for all of our loyal fans.”

Cameron Beaubier, who has since earned three MotoAmerica Superbike titles, won both of the Superbike races at the Speedway in 2015, besting Roger Hayden by .040 of a second in race one and just .015 of a second in race two. Beaubier’s current Yamaha Superbike teammate Garrett Gerloff won the Supersport class by .036 of a second over Bobby Fong.

“We are thrilled to be headed back to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a MotoAmerica round next year,” said MotoAmerica President Wayne Rainey. “Being there along with MotoGP in 2015 was a great experience and our races were extremely close and exciting. Now we get the chance to go back with all of our classes in a standalone event and that’s a real privilege. It also shows just how far our series has come since our first year. Our riders who didn’t get the opportunity to race at Indy back in 2015 will be pumped to get the chance to race there. We also know that our fans will be just as excited to visit an iconic racetrack in a truly motorsports-driven city. Not too many know this, but our final deal to secure the rights to the series was finalized at the Brickyard – right there in the Pagoda, at the home of U.S. motorsports. So, it’s gratifying to be returning there to race again.”

The MotoAmerica event at Indianapolis also will take place on the same weekend as the popular Motorcycles on Meridian festival Saturday evening, Aug. 22, in downtown Indianapolis. The annual event is hosted and planned by Downtown Indy, Inc.

Richard M. “Dick” Jordan, a longtime United States Auto Club vice president, and the club’s longest serving and most loyal employee, died Aug. 9 at the age of 74 following a battle with pancreatic cancer.

He is survived by his wife Susie, son Jimmy, daughter Mandy and grandchildren Luke Jordan and Nicolas and Alivia Rader.

Jordan, known to his many friends as “D.J.,” was a lifelong fan of auto racing. In a dream come true, he was hired by USAC in 1968 and served in a wide-range of capacities. He started as a serial scorer and eventually became vice president of news and communications.

Following the tragic 1978 plane crash that killed eight USAC employees, Jordan was one of the key individuals who held the club together. Until his passing, Jordan held a private memorial every April 23 to honor those who were lost.

In a career that encompassed a half-century, no one saw more USAC events. For example, in the history of the USAC Silver Crown Series, which dates back to 1971, Jordan missed only six races. During his time, he wrote thousands of press releases and stories, and his meticulous record keeping set the standard.

A tireless worker, he entered racing at a time where the bulk of the publicity tasks were completed by pencil, paper, typewriter and telephone. He would remain up into the early morning hours waiting for results to come in from the West Coast.

Generations of fans waited anxiously for his reports on the USAC hotline, that always began, “Thank you for calling USAC,” and ended with the tagline, “This has been Dick Jordan reporting, thanking you once again for calling USAC.”

Jordan was one of the most decorated individuals in the media/public relations world. He is a member of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame, National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame, USAC Hall of Fame and the Hoosier Auto Racing Fans Hall of Fame.

In 2018, he was named the recipient of the Jim Chapman Award for excellence in motorsports public relations. Jordan was also named a winner of The Circle of Corydon Award by Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb, recognizing those who worked toward the betterment of the state’s citizens.

During the 2018 USAC Night of Champions banquet, it was announced the Dick Jordan Award would be bestowed on those who had made an extensive and lasting contribution to the organization.

In perhaps his most cherished moment, Jordan was saluted in April during a special ceremony at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum.  In front of family and friends, as well as a plethora of former and current USAC drivers, car owners and officials, the Indiana Racing Memorial Ass’n unveiled a historical marker that will be placed in the city of Speedway in his honor.

Few people truly reach the status of living legend, but Jordan was that and more. This status was conferred, in large measure, by the way he lived.

During his father’s Celebration of Life, Jordan’s son, Jimmy, admitted that as a young man he quickly figured out that his father was “a little different.”

Among his friends, it was the road trips that were the most memorable. In short, they became known as a “D.J. adventure.” Armed with his trusty Rand McNally road atlas, long after the arrival of modern GPS systems, Jordan was always in search of a short cut or side adventure.

Any trip to a distant race required visits to famous graves, crime scenes, unannounced visits to famous racing personalities and other sites he deemed worthy. The uninitiated quickly learned you were on his itinerary and your job was to watch the gas gauge. Jordan could traverse the busiest city street while balancing a clipboard and telephone, all the while steering with his knee.

He loved the music of the 1950s and traveled the country for doo-wop festivals. His XM radio dial never left the “50s on 5.”

On late night road trips, Jordan gravitated to the worst food imaginable and in his later years, to the amusement and amazement of all, he carried his own salt shaker. He could be quirky, bullheaded and maddening. His longtime friend and Indianapolis Motor Speedway historian Donald Davidson once remarked, “You can’t make him up.”

But more than anything, Jordan was beloved by his legions of friends.

His love of USAC was unconditional and he would defend the club against all slings and arrows, regardless of their nature. He developed deep bonds with racers of all generations and was instrumental in the career development of many of the top stars. He was an expert on the USAC rulebook, which he expected to be followed, and he had strong feelings about what it meant to be a true professional.

He was a central figure of USAC for so long that it is nearly unfathomable to think of the club without him. It is likely that many of the newer members of USAC, in all capacities, failed to grasp what a true giant he was until the tributes mounted, before and after his death.

If he could have observed the scores of people from all walks of life who came to pay their final respects, he undoubtedly would have summed it up with one of his most-used phrases: “Hell of a deal.” n