PORT COLBORNE, Ontario – Adam Leslie headlined the list of feature winners as Shadow Auto Sales presented Tops Off and Belly Flops Night at New Humberstone Speedway on Sunday.

For Leslie, it was his first win of the season in the Cosco Haulage DIRTcar Sportsman.

Rob Pietz won the feature event for the Pro Fabrication RUSH Late Models. Jeffery May scored the feature win in the Mod Lites. Dave Bailey scored the JC Auto Thunderstocks win and Alex Riley was victorious in the Glo & Go Tanning Mini Stocks.

Finally, Dylan Llord won the feature event for the Airhardt Deliveries Pro 4 Trucks.

Jordan Cosco and Leslie would bring the Cosco Haulage DIRTcar Sportsman to the green flag for their main event, with Cosco showing the way.

Leslie would take the lead on lap three, but Rouse went back to the lead on lap 10. Rouse and Leslie would see-saw back and forth for the lead, with Leslie regaining the lead on lap 11, and Rouse regaining the lead on lap 15 while working lap traffic.

On an attempted lap 20 restart, the field got bunched together, resulting in contact and having several cars get tangled together in turn four.

That would put Leslie back on the point, and he would hold off a hard-charging Greg Panunte to get his first win of the season.

Sam Pennacchio would use the outside line to take the lead off the start in the topless main event for the Pro Fabrication RUSH Late Models. Pennacchio would be challenged by Pietz off an early-race restart, with Chad Homan racing in third.

Pietz would be able to take the lead away on lap four from Pennacchio. With Pietz out front, Homan would be able to pass Pennacchio at the halfway mark for second as David Pangrazio raced from fourth place.

Homan would reel in Pietz and would challenge for the lead, but Pietz hung on to score the feature win.

The annual appearance by the Mod Lites saw May take the lead off the drop of the green flag. Tyler Winger moved into second with Brent Begolo racing in third. Winger would take the lead prior to the halfway mark, but May regained the lead with five laps remaining.

May would pull away after that and went on to score the feature win.

Jason Fontaine would take the lead off the start of the JC Auto Thunderstock main event while being pressured by Billy Bleich Jr., Bailey, and Jim Lampman. Bailey took the lead away on lap six and started to pull away from the field.

A late-race caution bunched the field up, but it was Bailey who pulled away to score the win.

Cole Hardy and Sam Iftody led the Glo & Go Tanning Mini Stocks to the green flag, with Hardy showing the way. Leroy Buscumb would take the lead away on lap three, with Jay Moulton and Evan Curtis moving into the top three.

The top three, along with Alex Riley, slowly pulled away from the rest of the field. Moulton and Curtis brought out the caution on lap 13, allowing Riley to move into second place.

The restart would see Buscumb and Riley battle for the win. Riley used a last-lap pass on Buscumb to get the checkered flag.

Brian Aube had the lead at the start of the 15-lap feature for the Airhardt Deliveries Pro 4 Trucks. Mitch Dumont would take the lead away at the end of lap one, with Llord moving into second place.

Dumont and Llord pulled away from the field and would battle for the lead. Llord would take the lead on lap six and went on to score the win, his fifth of the season.

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TOP STORY: City to spend big if Sane goes to Bayern

Manchester City will move to trigger Real Sociedad forward Mikel Oyarzabal's €75m release clause, if they sell Leroy Sane to Bayern Munich, according to AS.

Oyarzabal, 22, scored a cracker for Spain's senior side in a 3-0 Euro 2020 qualifier win against Sweden June, then shone as La Roja's U21s won this summer's European Championship in Italy.

City manager Pep Guardiola has chosen the direct and powerful Basque player as the best replacement for Sane should the Germany international leave, and the Premier League side could offer a big salary rise.

However it remains possible that La Real will themselves look to keep him by improving significantly a current contract which was agreed last summer when Athletic Bilbao tried to tempt the Eibar born player to San Mames.

Bayern boss Niko Kovac told German broadcaster ZDF at the weekend that the Bundesliga champions are optimistic over sealing a deal for Sane.

"We want to sign a top player," the 47-year-old said. "Leroy is a great footballer who has proved that in England and with the national team. We want him.

"Our club management is very committed behind it. You can see that it's not easy otherwise the deal would have been done by now. But I am confident and would like to think that we can get him."

LIVE BLOG

08.29 BST: Valencia are about to part company with director general Mateu Alemany, according to multiple reports in Spain, due to serious differences of opinion with owner Peter Lim over transfers.

Widely respected figure Alemany was credited by many with bringing stability behind the scenes at Mestalla as the team have qualified for the Champions League in the last two years and beat Barcelona in last season's Copa del Rey final.

But AS says that his relationship with Lim has broken down due to regular intervention by the Singapore billionaire in the buying and selling of players, and the Balearic Islander could resign during a meeting on Monday with the club president Anil Murthy.

Valencia had been close to signing Barcelona midfielder Rafinha, however that deal has not yet been completed. Alemany's departure would place doubt over the long term future of coach Marcelino Garcia Toral, given the close bond between the two.

08.00 BST: Mathias Pogba has denied that he has joined Spanish fourth tier side Manchego Ciudad Real as his brother Paul Pogba is about to sign for Real Madrid from Manchester United.

The signing of former Celta Vigo youth-team player Mathias, 28, was announced by Ciudad Real on Sunday, prompting speculation that he was returning to Spain so as to be nearby when his World Cup 2018-winning brother Paul completes a big money move from Old Trafford to the Bernabeu. Ciudad Real is about two hours by car from the Bernabeu.

However the striker told AS on arrival at Madrid's Barajas airport that this was not necessarily the case.

"We can do nothing about rumours," Pogba said. "I am here because I am here, not because my brother could be coming. Mathias Pogba wants to be here."

PAPER TALK (by Steve Wright): Napoli open door for Arsenal to sign Tierney

If Kieran Tierney does leave Celtic this summer, it won't be for Napoli, as Carlo Ancelotti has ruled out a move for the left-back, BBC Scotland reports.

"Honestly, I'm not interested in signing him," Ancelotti said. "We have two good left-backs, so good luck to Tierney."

That might be music to the ears of Unai Emery, as Arsenal have targeted Tierney for weeks. However, the Gunners' most recent bid of £25 million was deemed too low by the Scottish club.

PSG beckons for Gueye

Idrissa Gueye is on the verge of becoming a Paris Saint-Germain player, as the French club prepare for his medical, according to Sky Sports.

The Ligue 1 champions have had a long-standing interest in the Everton midfielder, stretching back to January, and are now ready to offer £28 million for his services.

Gueye made no secret of his intentions to leave Goodison Park when he handed in a transfer request in the winter window. The Toffees rejected PSG's bid of £21.5 million but have since signed Fabian Delph from Manchester City, clearing a path for the Parisian club to finally get their man.

The medical is expected to take place in the next couple of days.

Everton told Zaha not for sale

Everton's interest in Wilfried Zaha is set to be tested, after Crystal Palace told Marco Silva's side that the forward won't be sold at any price, the Sun writes.

The Toffees submitted a bid of £55 million for the Ivory Coast international but had it rejected.

Following Aaron Wan-Bissaka's £50 million departure to Manchester United, Roy Hodgson's side aren't exactly desperate for money this window and are happy to keep Zaha's price tag at £80 million.

Arsenal also had a £40 million bid turned down, but Zaha made no secret of his desire to play for the Gunners, his boyhood club.

Arsenal finalising Pepe deal

Unai Emery has told the media that Arsenal are working hard to bring in the best players for their squad, with a deal for Lille's Nicolas Pepe nearing completion, the Evening Standard reports.

Pepe will cost the club £72 million, but Emery is keen to spend money on other areas of the pitch too.

Outlining his plans, the Arsenal boss said: "It's one centre-back, one midfielder and one winger, and we are going to [try] to do that. I want a team that is better than last year, so the players can achieve a lot being with us this season."

Tap-ins

-- Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic's rumoured move to Manchester United is gathering pace, as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side have reached a verbal agreement with the player, according to Corriere dello Sport. The 24-year-old carries a hefty price tag of around £81 million, and United might be able to bring him in only if Paul Pogba leaves Old Trafford.

-- A potential transfer of Marseille winger Florian Thauvin to Arsenal will hinge on whether the North London club sign Pepe from Lille, La Provence reports. The Gunners aren't blessed with time to make the decision because Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and Atletico Madrid are all reportedly interested in Thauvin as well.

Josh Hazlewood has declared that Aaron Finch's recent struggles to convert an aggressive ODI game into Test match runs should raise questions about how well Jason Roy might be able to adapt to a similar role change at the top of the order for England during the Ashes series starting this week in Birmingham.

Having dominated as an opener in England's World Cup winning campaign, Roy was parachuted into Joe Root's Test squad for the Ashes, and made 72 in the second innings on debut against Ireland at Lord's. England selector Ed Smith has remarked that Roy is now a more complete player than ever. But Hazlewood had little hesitation wondering aloud whether Roy, who is a middle order batsman for Surrey when he turns out for his county side, was capable of doing the job in Tests.

"We'll see how Roy goes in Test cricket. He's has only played one Test match and it's a lot different opening the batting in a Test than a one-day game, that's for sure," Hazlewood said. "In England, opening is probably the toughest place to bat which probably made Alastair Cook's record all the better. To play attacking cricket in those conditions is tough.

"Aaron Finch found it tough last summer against a quality India attack on wickets that didn't do too much to be honest. I think he found it a big step up to be honest. He found the ball swung and seamed around and the wickets were a lot different to a one-day wicket. He'd played a lot of his four-day cricket at five or six and I think Roy is the same at Surrey. It's hard to bat five at a level below and then open in Test cricket. We'll see."

Finch's experience, after a promising start against Pakistan in the UAE, was to be worn down by the diligence and skill of Jasprit Bumrah. Hazlewood was conscious too that the Australians had the opportunity to make early inroads at Edgbaston to build mental hurdles for the hosts that only compound over five matches, much as Moeen Ali was cornered by Nathan Lyon across the 2017-18 series down under.

"Absolutely, we've had some [experience] I guess, with Nathan Lyon with Moeen in Australia," Hazlewood said. "If you can really build the pressure on one guy and get him early in the first Test especially, you can sort of create that doubt in that mind and get the upper hand and just keep driving that in as the series goes on. This is the only team we play in a five-Test series so it's a little bit different than others, but definitely that's key.

"Their top order is under a little bit of pressure probably, with just the fact they haven't played that much Test cricket. The more we can put them under pressure early and get stuck into that middle order when the ball is nice and hard and new, that's great."

David Saker, the former bowling coach of both Australia and England, noted this week that while he loved working with Hazlewood, it was true that the New South Welshman can tend to pitch too short. The Australians have been thinking for some months, dating back to the time before Saker resigned in late January, that a balance between hitting the stumps and not floating up the swinging ball too gently would be critical to an Ashes win.

"I've spoken a lot to Sakes over the last few years about bowling in England," Hazlewood said. "I think the main thing is I think English batsmen play swing bowling really well, they're used to it. They play it all the time. So he really focused on more the seam aspect and bowling a scrambled seam or whatever it is, how you're going to get the ball to move off the wicket.

"The length is key with that. I think I tended to bowl a bit full last time. Seeing it swing you get quite greedy and might go a touch full and get driven. We've spoken a lot about it on the Australia A tour, James Pattinson especially. Just hitting that right length. He said the same thing, he thinks seam is the way to go. It's great if you can do both and I feel pretty comfortable with where I am at now."

As for how Hazlewood sees his own role, he admitted that a series in which he played three or four Tests would be reasonable, in acknowledgement that a deep and adaptable Australian bowling group could be quite effectively rotated over the course of five tightly packed matches. "I think it would be a very good effort to play all five, especially with my last two years, I've missed a few Tests with injury," he said. "I'd be really happy with four, three or four even. It's such a tight schedule.

"Five would be great if we got away with a couple of cheap innings, bowling 30 (overs) for the Test or something like that, it'd be great. We'll play it by ear and see how we go. I guess, just with how tight the scheduling is, it's probably the tightest we've seen the five-Test series and a couple of tour games thrown in there as well ... I think the guys are happy to play it by ear a little bit, obviously depending on how much we bowl per Test.

"You can't look too far ahead I think. You can map certain things out if things happen but you've got to play it by ear I think with Test cricket. You might get away with a Test with 30 overs under your belt which is fine. It's when it goes up to 45 to 50 that you start to reassess things and look at different options. There's six quicks here, which is great, so more than happy to rotate or conditions based picking those bowlers, we'll see how we go."

Since 2015, a major part of Bangladesh's success in ODI cricket was because of their ability to take wickets with the new ball. However, since the start of 2019, their main quicks have managed only seven wickets in the first Powerplay, at a strike-rate of 113.14 and a bowling average of 103. This is the first problem their new bowling coach Charl Langeveldt will have to try to fix.

As a function of playing at home a lot, most of the Bangladesh fast bowlers know how to exploit pitches that are slow and partial to spin. The cutter, for example, is Mustafizur Rahman's go-to delivery, and he was able to put it to good use even in England where all 20 of his wickets in the World Cup came after the 30th over. However, for Bangladesh to be a successful bowling unit in all conditions, Langeveldt, who has previously been part of the support staff at South Africa and Afghanistan, said they had to work on their consistency and fitness.

"In all formats you need to be consistent with the new ball," he told ESPNcricinfo. "You need to be able to hit your length consistently, and bowl at least four or five balls in the right area from where you will be able to ask questions. Most of the time at home they will play one or two seamers but when you go to South Africa, New Zealand and Australia, you might have to go with three seamers. I have to identify three fit guys who will bowl consistently in good areas and be aggressive in that length.

"If you want to be the best, you need to be able to be consistent with the new ball. You have to be consistent with the length. [Mustafizur Rahman] is good with change of pace but it is hard with the new ball. The wicket is not gripping at times. For me it is to get the seam position nice and straight. He uses a lot of offcutters into the wicket but for me the key would be able to swing the ball back in to the right-handers, and take it away from the left-handers."

Langeveldt was the South Africa bowling coach in 2017 when they beat Bangladesh 2-0 with the visiting pacers picking up just nine wickets in the entire Test series.

"This is a good challenge for me," he said. "I was coaching the South Africa bowlers couple of years ago when we played against them, and we saw them struggle in foreign conditions. They were struggling with consistency in line and length. It is a thing that can be fixed, and I have to see if it is a technical problem. It will be my challenge."

Langeveldt pointed to the fast bowling revolution taking place in India as proof that teams from the subcontinent can do well abroad. "When you want to play well away from home, you need to have good seamers. India have improved because they play well all over the world. They have good spinners but they also have great seamers. I would like to ensure a few [Bangladesh] seamers come through the system and be able to compete in international cricket."

Langeveldt said that he is the type of bowling coach who likes to be up front with the players, so that he can quickly identify their strengths and weaknesses. "I will go to the bowler first, discuss things with him. What does he think? Then I would try to implement my coaching philosophy on him, and tell him if you want to be the No 1 bowler in the world, this is what you need to do.

"How can I help you? If this is a technical thing, I will definitely help him. But first it is a discussion between me and player, what his shortcomings are, and then we will take it forward from then."

Mushfiqur Rahim said that while defeat against Sri Lanka in Bangladesh's ongoing ODI series was disappointing, it didn't mean that the progress Bangladesh had made in the past few years amounted to nothing. Bangladesh lost the second ODI, giving Sri Lanka an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

The loss comes on the back of a World Cup campaign that fizzled out after promising much at the start, with Bangladesh eventually finishing eighth on the table.

Against Sri Lanka on Monday, the visiting team were in deep strife at 117 for 6, but Mushfiqur's unbeaten 98 steered them to a competitive 238 for 8. Mushfiqur was a study in patience as he held back his shots for a long time, ensuring there was no collapse.

"It is always disappointing to lose, no matter how many runs I score individually," Mushfiqur said. "After our World Cup campaign, this series was an opportunity to prove that we are on the right path. Maybe we haven't been able to do in the last two matches but that doesn't mean our progress from the last five to seven years will vanish suddenly. We are certainly going through a struggling period, so the challenge is to turn it around quickly. We are all trying our best to make it happen. We have another opportunity in the next match."

Mushfiqur didn't regret missing out on a century, though if his final-over plan of farming the strike and going big had worked, he might well have done so.

"I was trying to get the team to the 250-mark, which wouldn't have been easy to chase," he said. "I was trying to keep strike in the last over so that I can retain strike with twos, fours or sixes. Ultimately it is not a problem [to not get to a hundred]. Our focus is to win the next game, because it is a matter of pride."

Mushfiqur agreed that the senior duo of Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah being out of form - their struggles have coincided with Bangladesh losing their last four ODIs - meant greater pressure on the other players. "Tamim and Riyad bhai have been performing for years but when they are not clicking, the pressure is a little more on the other players. Big players can soak up the pressure in big games, and counter-attack," he said. "I think we are a little behind in that regard, but they are trying heart and soul. The quicker they can come back, it will be better for the team."

One moment, Kaleigh Gilchrist was celebrating an unprecedented third straight world championship for the U.S. women's water polo team.

In the next moment, she was headed to a hospital in South Korea.

Gilchrist was partying with teammate Paige Hauschild and other competitors from the world swimming championships when a balcony at a nightclub near the athletes' village collapsed early Saturday morning, killing two people and creating a chaotic scene in the southern city of Gwangju.

"We were having the best night ever celebrating our win, and somehow, a freak accident happened," Gilchrist told The Associated Press in a phone interview.

Gilchrist, a 27-year-old attacker from Newport Beach, California, who also was part of the United States' gold medal-winning team at the 2016 Olympics, sustained some deep lacerations on her left leg and needed stitches for cuts on her left thigh. But she said she had no broken bones or nerve damage.

Gilchrist had surgery later Saturday morning. She remained in the hospital Monday while doctors monitored her recovery, but she hoped to return to the U.S. on Tuesday.

She was counting her blessings, too.

"We are the lucky ones and our thoughts and prayers go out to the families who have lost loved ones," she said.

Gilchrist, who also has traveled the world as an accomplished surfer, remembers only parts of the harrowing night.

Hours after the Americans' 11-6 victory over Spain in the final, Gilchrist was on the balcony with Hauschild, U.S. men's water polo player Johnny Hooper and other athletes when it collapsed.

"It was all pretty quick, I think," Gilchrist said. "But I remember falling and I talked to Johnny and we kind of thought the same thing: It's like, we felt like (we were) falling for 10 seconds, which it probably ended up being one or two seconds. But everything kind of slowed down."

Gilchrist said the railing of the balcony was lined with glued-down beer bottles that shattered when it collapsed. She thinks she was helped up before she made her way out of the nightclub with Hauschild.

When Gilchrist got outside, she realized the extent of her injuries and laid down on the sidewalk. She then received help from players of several water polo teams, and Christopher Bates, a trainer for the U.S. men's team, joined the group.

"Chris was kind of just the biggest blessing," Gilchrist said. "He came, he's a trainer, he put his belt around my leg as a tourniquet and he came in the ambulance with me."

Through FaceTime, Gilchrist was in touch with her parents, Jenny and Sandy, and sister, Ali, shortly after she was injured. Bates and her U.S. teammates also provided updates. Larnie Boquiren, a trainer for the women's team, and team doctor Seth Schmoll also helped care for Gilchrist.

"My mom wanted to fly out, but I said, 'Don't worry. I'm here with our trainer, Larnie, and Dr. Seth,'" Gilchrist said. "They've been so great to me, so I told my mom don't worry and I'll be home in no time.

"She still wanted to come, but it's all good."

Hauschild, Hooper and U.S. center Ben Hallock also were hurt. Hauschild received stitches on her right arm and Hooper needed stitches for cuts on his left hand. Hallock had some minor scrapes on his legs.

Gilchrist said she should know more about her recovery after she returns to the U.S., but she is hoping to be back in the pool with the team in a few months. The U.S. became the first team to win three straight world water polo titles with the victory in South Korea, and it is a big favorite to win a third consecutive gold at the Olympics next year.

"It's awesome to be a part of history and I think there's something special about our team," Gilchrist told the AP. "It's just a bummer that an incident like this has to bring headlines to our team and not just the way we play the game and the way we work and grind. I think there's something to be said of the success and I think a lot of people could learn from us."

Imagine being Marcus Stroman right now. He had to be 100 percent certain that he was headed to the Yankees or Astros as the missing piece for a World Series favorite.

Surprise, Marcus! Welcome to the New York Mets, a team that is decidedly not a World Series favorite, with a 50-55 record and odds of making the playoffs at 9.6%, according to FanGraphs. The Mets' chances of winning the World Series? A microscopic 0.3%.

Toronto, I love you...forever! ??

— Marcus Stroman (@MStrooo6) July 28, 2019

While the deal left most (including our Keith Law) scratching their heads, this trade, more than anything else, throws another kink into a completely unpredictable trade deadline that just got even more confusing -- and keep in mind that the one and only deadline this year is July 31. There is no backdoor route to deals in August like the Justin Verlander-to-Houston blockbuster of 2017.

Consider the immediate fallout of Stroman going to the Mets for pitching prospects Anthony Kay and Simeon Woods-Richardson:

-- Stroman is not going to the Yankees or Astros, the favorites to land the right-hander with a 2.96 ERA. Stroman is under team control for another season, so the trade would be similar in philosophy to when the Astros acquired Verlander, who was signed through 2018 at the time.

-- The Mets are apparently going for it, which seemingly would take Noah Syndergaard, one of the best and most intriguing starting pitchers in the rumor mill, off the trade market. In the tight NL wild-card race, things can turn around in a hurry. Four days ago, the Mets were 46-55 with playoff odds of 3.9%. A four-game win streak has made their playoff chances a little more viable, though they're still six games behind the Cubs, Cardinals and Nationals, who are tied for the NL Central lead and the two wild cards.

-- With Stroman traded and Syndergaard apparently (maybe?) staying put, the starting pitching market is suddenly a lot thinner, especially with the increasing likelihood that the Giants will hold on to Madison Bumgarner. The Giants took two of three from the Padres this weekend to win their seventh series in a row and are just 2½ games back in the wild-card race. Are they a playoff team? Probably not -- 23 of their next 26 games are against teams currently .500 or better -- but I can't imagine the Giants trading their ace and giving up on Bruce Bochy's final season when they're so close to a playoff spot.

-- The big winner in the Stroman trade might be the Texas Rangers, as Mike Minor's trade value probably just got a little higher. There's no guarantee that the Rangers will trade Minor -- he's signed through 2020 and could be the Opening Day starter in their new park next season -- but he now might be the best available starter, sitting on an 8-6 record with a 3.00 ERA in a tough hitter's park.

Maybe all this leads to what could really make this a crazy trade deadline: What will the Yankees do now? They are arguably one starter away from being a dominant team.

Will anyone take New York's prospects at the deadline? Domingo German allowed three runs in 5⅓ innings on Sunday, snapping an unfathomably bad run of pitching for the Yankees. They have allowed five-plus runs in nine consecutive games -- an average of 9.3 per contest. Even including German's start, Yankees starters have a 13.50 ERA in their past nine games, allowing 67 hits, 60 runs and 20 home runs in 37⅓ innings.

Has this nightmare stretch increased Brian Cashman's blood pressure enough to make him more desperate to make a deal? Add that CC Sabathia landed on the IL with right knee inflammation, and factor in the rotation's month-by-month ERAs:

April: 3.50
May: 4.07
June: 5.75
July: 6.32

You don't need a doctorate in sabermetrics to know that's not a good trend. Of course, Cashman doesn't have to get a starting pitcher. Maybe Sabathia's IL stint is more precautionary than anything, and maybe Luis Severino makes it back, and maybe James Paxton gets straightened out. German and Masahiro Tanaka have been pretty solid for the most part. Cashman could decide to add more bullpen depth and simply rely on the relievers carrying a big workload in the postseason.

Or he could go after Robbie Ray of the Diamondbacks. Or maybe the Indians will be willing to part with Trevor Bauer if they can pry super prospect Deivi Garcia from the Yankees. Or maybe New York will settle for Tanner Roark from the Reds.

All eyes will be on Cashman, but the team that has the most on the line this week might be the Dodgers. After falling short in the World Series the past two seasons, they once again have the best team in the National League, though one with an obvious weakness in late-game bullpen consistency. The Dodgers are ninth in bullpen ERA, but that masks what has been a problem late in games: Their relievers are 25th in the majors in win probability added. It hasn't been a clutch bullpen, which sounds all too familiar to Dodgers fans.

The Dodgers absolutely should be willing to make a big move to add to their bullpen. If that means giving up a couple of top prospects to get Felipe Vazquez from the Pirates, do it. The Dodgers have acquired Yu Darvish and Brian Dozier the past two seasons at the deadline, but neither required giving up any of their best prospects. L.A. should be willing to do that this year for the right reliever. Vazquez might be the difference between ending a 31-year World Series drought and losing for a third straight year in the Fall Classic.

But it's not all about the Yankees and Dodgers -- they're just the two teams most likely to turn this into a really crazy deadline. Otherwise, it might be a lot of shuffling of relief pitchers and back-end rotation help. Of course, those small moves could make a difference -- the Indians, A's, Red Sox and Rays are separated by four games for two wild-card spots (and the Indians are just two games behind the Twins in the AL Central). In the NL Central, the Cubs and Cardinals are tied for first, the Brewers are just a game back, and every NL team is within 7½ games of a wild card except the Pirates and Marlins.

What will happen? The clock is ticking.

LEXINGTON, Ohio – Two race weekends ago, Hunter McElrea trailed early season pacesetter Braden Eves by 41 points in the quest for the Cooper Tires USF2000 championship.

Now, it’s game on, as the duo vies for a scholarship to move up to the Indy Pro 2000 Championship presented by Cooper Tires, the next rung on the Road to Indy ladder.

After a second-place finish on Saturday and a hard-earned victory Sunday morning for Pabst Racing, New Zealander McElrea now trails Eves, whose Cape Motorsports team endured struggles all weekend, by just nine points heading into the final four races.

Saturday’s winner, Christian Rasmussen, maintained his excellent run of form by finishing second for Jay Howard Driver Development Colin Kaminsky rounded out the podium.

“It was a bit of redemption today. We really dominated this weekend, quickest in practice and double pole, but I had a bad first lap yesterday and Christian drove amazing,” noted McElrea. “Today was our day, though. It wasn’t easy – it’s never easy – but that was as close to a perfect race as I’ve come. I knew Christian would be quick early on because he had new tires, so I had to have a clean start and just keep hitting my marks. Once we had a good gap, it was just about maintaining that.

“I pushed a bit toward the end to get fast lap, because every point is important, but then we backed it off to bring it home,” he added. “It was an amazing weekend and we have momentum now. My focus is just to keep doing this, worrying about my own performance and getting as many points as I can. If I keep working hard, I’ll keep getting up here.”

McElrea started from the pole for the second day in a row, once again with Rasmussen for company on the front row of the grid.

Clearly having learned from his prior mistake, when he left a small opening for his rival, McElrea made an exemplary start to Sunday’s 20-lap race and maintained his advantage on the opening lap.

The pair exchanged fastest laps a few times in the early stages, but even though the gap between them never stretched to more than 1.2 seconds, McElrea remained in control before finally taking the checkered flag for his second win of the season by .5652 seconds.

Kaminsky chased gamely after the leading pair but was unable to offer a serious challenge. Instead, he came under increasing pressure from Zach Holden, who came up only a half-second shy of the podium.

Another tremendous start by Englishman Matt Round-Garrido saw his BN Racing Tatuus USF-17 vault from 10th on the grid to sixth on the opening lap. Unfortunately, this time he was unable to maintain that pace, and  slipped back outside the top 10 by the end.

Jak Crawford emerged in fifth place, marking a strong debut for the Cape Motorsports team by once again emerging as the Florida-based team’s best finisher, but Darren Keane posted the drive of the race after charging from 17th on the grid to sixth.

Series leader Eves ended his disappointing weekend with a lackluster seventh-place finish.

PORTLAND, Ore. – Veteran Greg Pickett delivered on his post-qualifying promise, reeling off a stunning series of fast laps early and romping to victory in Sunday’s Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli West Championship race at Portland Int’l Raceway.

What Pickett didn’t predict was a race-long challenge from Michelle Nagai, whose No. 72 Berkeley Jet Drive Inc. Chevrolet Corvette out-jumped second qualifier Simon Gregg’s similar machine at the start and stuck to the rear wing of Pickett’s white Mustang through the first six laps before ever-so-slowly slipping back.

Through two yellow-flag periods, Nagai kept Pickett honest, and she finished a strong second, 15 seconds back after a virtuoso performance in only her fourth Trans Am start.

“I did qualifying laps every lap trying to stay with him,” said an excited Nagai. “I learned so much from him, found such a smooth rhythm. And zero problems with the car for once! I looked at the back of him for longer than I ever expected.

“Second is second, but it’s not the first loser today.”

Pickett, celebrating his 22nd career Trans Am victory, was quick to offer praise.

“Michelle, would you be a little easier on an old guy? No, she will not!”

“I love coming to PIR — this is three wins in a row up here,” Pickett continued. “The fans are most gracious, the weather’s always beautiful — we appreciate the people of PIR. And of course, thanks to my wife Penny who’s allowed me to do this all these years. I’m deeply appreciative; those memories are precious to me. Thanks everybody — thanks to my competitors, and congratulations to that great TA2 race I came upon from time to time.”

Gregg had a low-key weekend, qualifying second but slowly slipping back into the clutches of a race-long TA2 powered by AEM class tussle, ultimately finishing third in TA following Michael Fine’s retirement in the No. 66 Architectural Glass Systems Chevrolet Camaro.

Third place, though, was enough to clinch the Trans Am West championship – the Floridian’s second career TA title after winning the 2012 national crown.

Meanwhile, blue skies, a gentle wind and cooler temperatures were the unlikely backdrop for a heated, intense TA2-class battle that stretched through all 53 laps.

Local driver Brad McAllister led every lap from the pole, but that fact belies the fierce jockeying for position behind.

Second at the finish was teenage soon-to-be pre-med college student Matthew Butson, whose No. 19 Butson Racing Chevrolet Camaro dogged Anthony Honeywell for the first 10 laps until Honeywell’s team boss suggested he started saving tires and let Butson by.

On lap 16, a full-course yellow brought the pace car out, as TA2 runners Michele Abbate and David Smith tangled in the final corner, forcing Nicholas Rosseno off track as well.

Butson closed right in on McAllister on the restart, but Honeywell dropped back. His Camaro’s handling was suddenly off, with what was later discovered to be a broken A-arm.

McAllister’s hard pace took him right to the tail end of the TA field, but he pulled Butson along with him, the white Camaro finishing just two seconds behind the black Mustang.

“Winning on my home track is long overdue,” said a happy McAllister on the podium. “The last two years I’ve had mechanical issues. This year, I got stuck in traffic in the closing laps, and I had Matthew in my mirrors. Luckily the yellows worked out, the tires were great, brakes hung in there, but Matt was right there behind me the whole time.

“This is long overdue, but I’m glad it’s here!”

Honeywell finished a distant third, fortunate to make it to the end with a damaged suspension, while Tim Lynn was fourth and Mitch Marvosh fifth after almost a race-long duel.

With his win, pole and laps in the lead, McAllister moves to the top of the TA2 standings by two points over Honeywell, with just one race remaining to sort out this year’s title.

Beau Borders was the lone survivor in the GT class, after Roger Eagleton retired with a failed alternator on lap 42.

Before that, the pair had swapped the class lead back and forth five times at start-finish, perhaps more often on the back part of the course – a thoroughly entertaining scrap that sadly didn’t carry to the flag.

LEXINGTON, Ohio – Scott Dixon is still the king of Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

The five-time NTT IndyCar Series champion scored his sixth career victory at the 13-turn, 2.258-mile circuit during Sunday’s Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio.

It was Dixon’s 46th career Indy car win. He now pulls to within six of Mario Andretti’s total of 52, second on the all-time wins list.

Dixon defeated rookie teammate Felix Rosenqvist by .0934 seconds – the closest Indy car finish at Mid-Ohio and the third-closest Indy car finish on a road or street course.

Only races at Portland Int’l Raceway in 1997 and 1986 were closer than Sunday’s thriller.

“These days are huge,” Dixon said. “I think I understand and know what it takes to get something — I think the ones like this coming from eighth and being able to pass cars and make the strategy work and as a team effort and have a one-two finish for Chip (Ganassi, his team owner) I think is huge. It could have been a one-two either way there (on) the last lap with Felix Rosenqvist.

“But I’m just super proud of the team. It’s almost unheard of to have cars that were sixth and eighth on the grid come through and drive through the field like we did today to finish first and second.”

Dixon started eighth and raced his way to the lead on a set of Firestone red tires, that gave him the speed and advantage he needed.

He was involved in a brilliant side-by-side battle with Will Power that could be best described as a “man’s race” when the two champions fiercely fought for position in what would ultimately be the determining factor in getting Dixon to the lead.

That battle began on lap 32 after their first pit stops and Power was on black tires. The two drivers raced through the tight turns of the track, even bumping a time or two, before Dixon passed Power on lap 34.

At the time, it was a battle for ninth and 10th place, but with a mixed-up field of pit strategy, it ultimately allowed Dixon to drive to a huge lead once he took over first place on lap 46.

Dixon would ultimately build a 14.2908-second lead over his rookie teammate Rosenqvist.

“Honestly, from where I sat, he didn’t really give me any room, which I was kind of disappointed, especially on the approach,” Dixon said of Power. “When you’re coming in there at 185 miles an hour and he was giving me kind of a half a car width into turn four, I expected a little bit more from him on that. And then obviously when I got around him in five and then he just drove me off, obviously it’s good for a spectator, but for me it was not so good. I knew we were going to get him, it’s just – it added like another five- or six-second delay to what I had.

“But Will is going to drive tough. He’s racing for wins right now, and he’s a hell of a competitor, and as we’ve seen, the guy is super-fast. But I probably would have expected a little bit more (respect) from him in those situations.”