United States manager Gregg Berhalter said he encouraged dual-national Efrain Alvarez to pursue a call-up with Mexico in hopes the LA Galaxy forward will make the most informed decision possible when ultimately choosing which country he'd like to represent.

On Tuesday, Alvarez said he was "grateful to God" after receiving his first senior team call-up with Mexico for March friendlies against Wales and Costa Rica -- a move that has added to the intrigue surrounding the player's eventual commitment.

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The decision to have Alvarez continue to play for Mexico is seen as a boon for manager Gerardo Martino. But speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, Berhalter told reporters he'd recommended that the 18-year-old pursue the call-up.

"I have spoken to [Alvarez] about it and advocated for him to go out with the Mexican team. And the reason being is that he's been in our environment, and I think the only way for him to make an informed decision is to go into their environment," Berhalter said.

Alvarez was was named to both the U.S. and Mexico's preliminary lists for the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament last monthm but failed to make the cut for either. He will still be eligible to switch to the United States under current FIFA eligibility rules, even if he plays in both March friendlies for Mexico.

Berhalter added that he wanted dual national players to "leave emotion out" of their selection and compare the environment of both national teams before making a decision.

"Some players are going to choose for us and some players aren't going to choose for us," Berhalter continued.

In an interview with Estadio W in Mexico on Tuesday, Martino reiterated his confidence in Alvarez staying the course with Mexico.

"I have a good relationship with Efraín Alvarez and we have good conversations. He is very committed to our project," Martino said. "He is a very talented player and I am very happy to have him in the roster for the FIFA international break later this month."

ESPN's Jeff Carlisle and Eric Gomez contributed to this report.

LONDON -- Thomas Tuchel last week described a squad Frank Lampard often lamented for being too big as of "perfect size," and here Chelsea proved why his opinion carries more weight. The Blues are through to their first Champions League quarterfinal since 2014 with a 2-0 win (3-0 on aggregate) over Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, the product of a second leg that matched the first for blending expert man-management with tactical nous.

Tuchel will ultimately be judged on the silverware he delivers at Stamford Bridge and so it is too early to declare his appointment an unmitigated success, but dispatching a European heavyweight with such conviction so early in his reign is arguably more than they could have hoped for. There is admittedly a debate to be had about the strength of La Liga these days, but Atletico Madrid are the best team in Spain at present, led by a manager in Diego Simeone who is adept at moulding a team greater than the sum of its parts. But he was outmanoeuvred in both legs, with Tuchel reaping the rewards of the buy-in he has seemingly engendered from the entire first-team group.

Olivier Giroud was used in the first game to try to disrupt Atletico's notoriously rigid defence, scoring a brilliant away goal that forced Atletico into a more offensive approach here to try to rescue the tie. Tuchel consequently opted to start Timo Werner through the middle with Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech in close support, aiming to exploit Atletico on the break in anticipation of this change in style. The plan worked perfectly.

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Werner's travails in front of goal are well documented but his application under Tuchel cannot be questioned. He has responded to Tuchel's regular public defences of his goal record -- two in his past 27 games now -- by showing great diligence to press from the front in relentless fashion, chasing back to deflect Kieran Trippier's 34th-minute cross and win possession for the opening goal.

N'Golo Kante headed the looping ball to Kai Havertz who released Werner, now sprinting the other way. He timed his cross superbly for Ziyech to score his first goal in 19 games, low past Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak.

It felt significant that this was the first time Havertz, Werner and Ziyech started a game under Tuchel. The situation in the tie may have dictated their selections to some extent, but Giroud, Christian Pulisic and Callum Hudson-Odoi were all available and it will earn Tuchel considerable credit with the Chelsea hierarchy to find a home for all three of the club's attacking signings from last summer's £220 million spending spree.

Mason Mount and Jorginho were both suspended but Kante proved why he deserves to be in any starting lineup with a quietly devastating display, tirelessly chasing to turn the midfield battle in the home side's favour.

At the back, Andreas Christensen failed to recover from illness in time but Kurt Zouma stepped in with a commanding display alongside Antonio Rudiger and Cesar Azpilicueta. It is a testament to the defensive resilience Tuchel has introduced -- another notable contrast from Lampard's regime -- that their solidity seems to endure regardless of personnel: chalk up a staggering 11th clean sheet from his 13 unbeaten games in charge.

The sense that Tuchel had managed his squad expertly had the perfect coda. The Blues head coach has regularly cited the impact Pulisic can have off the bench and in stoppage time, and the United States international raced forward on the break before executing a perfectly timed pass to fellow substitute Emerson Palmieri, who scored only his second goal for the club and his first since September 2018.

Mount, Thiago Silva and Jorginho did their best to replicate the reaction of absent fans by celebrating in the stands with a three-way embrace, further exemplifying the unity Tuchel has engendered.

"The amount of effort, intensity and teamwork in both legs was absolutely incredible, outstanding," Tuchel said after the match. "We missed four or five key players today and everybody else stepped up with huge support from the bench, huge support from the stands, the guys who were injured. This is what I feel. The guys are totally reliable. The effort and intensity is incredible. It is hard, hard teamwork.

"From the very first moment, I felt like part of a family and a well-, well-structured club."

Chelsea had luck on their side, it must be said. Azpilicueta appeared to pull at Yannick Carrasco's shirt after under-hitting a back-pass to goalkeeper Edouard Mendy with the score at 0-0 on the night. Carrasco was looking for the foul but Azpilicueta took an unnecessary risk and was fortunate that VAR appeared in an unforgiving mood.

It remains to be seen how far Tuchel can take Chelsea; the high turnover of managers at this club makes it difficult to suspend cynicism for too long. But for now he appears to be getting the best out of the squad at his disposal, one that he had no say in its composition.

And nobody could ask for more than that.

Former Chicago Bears Pro Bowl guard Kyle Long, who came out of retirement this offseason, is signing a one-year deal worth up to $5 million with the Kansas City Chiefs, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Long had visited the Las Vegas Raiders on Tuesday.

Long is the latest addition to the Chiefs' offensive line as Kansas City is attempting to overhaul a unit that could have five new starters in 2021 from last year's season opener. The Chiefs recently agreed to contract terms with former New England Patriots guard Joe Thuney.

The Chiefs recently released both of last season's starting tackles, Mitchell Schwartz and Eric Fisher. Two other players who opened last season as starters, center Austin Reiter and guard Kelechi Osemele, are unrestricted free agents.

They're also expecting the return of two players who opted out of last season, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and Lucas Niang.

Long unretired with the hopes of playing again in 2021 after announcing his retirement in January of 2020 following seven seasons with the Bears.

Drafted 20th overall by the Bears in 2013, Long missed just one game over his first three seasons but appeared in just 30 regular-season contests over his last four years. He was selected to three consecutive Pro Bowls in his first three NFL seasons.

Long, who is 32, suffered a gruesome ankle injury in 2016 that cost him the final eight games that year and the first two games of the 2017 season. Long ended up missing six games in 2017 with a variety of ailments, undergoing neck, shoulder and elbow surgeries in the offseason. He returned in time to start the Bears' first seven games in 2018 before Chicago once again shut him down before his return in Week 17 from a foot injury.

Long opened the 2019 regular season in good shape but suffered a hip injury during practice leading up to the game against the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 29. He was inactive for that game but returned to the starting lineup against the Raiders in London on Oct. 6.

After the loss to the Raiders -- a game in which Long played all 56 possible snaps on offense -- the Bears decided they would be better off on offense without Long and promptly placed the veteran on injured reserve yet again.

Long spent the 2020 season doing studio television work for CBS.

ESPN's Adam Teicher and Jeff Dickerson contributed to this report.

Former Carolina Panthers wide receiver Curtis Samuel is signing a three-year, $34.5 million deal with the Washington Football Team, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

A second-round draft pick by the Panthers out of Ohio State in 2017, Samuel finally met expectations this past season under offensive coordinator Joe Brady, who took advantage of the speedster's ability to play receiver and running back as he did in college.

Samuel had a career-best 77 catches for 851 yards and 41 rushes for 200 yards as Brady used the 24-year-old (Aug. 11) the way he planned to use running back Christian McCaffrey, who missed 13 games with injuries.

Samuel's most impressive stat this past season was his catch rate (79.4%) that led all NFL receivers and was well ahead of his 56.3% rate the previous three seasons. He also became one of the league leaders on third-down catches for first downs.

In 53 career games he has 185 receptions for 2,087 yards and 14 touchdown receptions and 478 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns. Although injuries limited him to just 22 games his first two seasons, he has appeared in 31 of 32 games the past two seasons.

ESPN's David Newton contributed to this report.

Golden State Warriors big men James Wiseman and Eric Paschall (health and safety protocols) will not play against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.

"This is just modern life," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said prior to the game. "Everybody seems to be going through this at some level in sports. So you just have to adapt and adjust. For the young players involved it's just going to be a blip on the radar screen, ultimately. The good news is everybody is healthy and these guys have long careers ahead of them."

Kerr said it remains unclear when either player and several staff members will be able to return as they await word from the league as to when they will be cleared. At a minimum, Kerr said both players will remain in their Houston hotel room on Wednesday night.

For Wiseman, the absence is another setback in an up-and-down rookie season. The 19-year-old has had some bright moments, but he has also been inconsistent as he tries to learn the NBA game.

After missing almost a month because of a wrist injury earlier in the year, Wiseman was benched for the first half of the last Thursday's game against the LA Clippers after missing two days worth of COVID-19 tests during the All-Star break, which caused him to miss the first practice after the break -- a fact that irritated Kerr.

"It's a setback in his rookie season," Kerr said of Wiseman's latest misfortune. "But this is a guy who's got a 15-20 year career ahead of him. So in the grand scheme of things, it's not a huge deal."

The most recent imaging on Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant's right hamstring strain showed "improvement," but he is still a few weeks away from returning to game action, head coach Steve Nash said on Wednesday.

Nash estimated Durant still needs more time to recover and to steadily increase on-court activities.

"We're monitoring it and expect him to make a full recovery," Nash said. "And hopefully it won't be too long. But he's probably got a couple weeks of ramp-up left."

Nash said he was unsure when exactly Durant underwent his scan this week and added that he was hesitant to give a specific timeline on Durant's return.

Durant has been out since Feb. 13, when he suffered the hamstring injury against the Golden State Warriors. He now is able to do some one-on-one and 2-on-2 work, Nash said, but he still has hurdles to clear before he will be ready to play in a game.

Initially, the Nets said the strain was mild and ruled him out for just two games, but subsequent scans revealed more bleeding than the team initially could diagnose.

Durant traveled with the team to Indiana, where the Nets are slated to play the Pacers on Wednesday night, and has continued his rehab on the road.

"If he continues to improve," Nash said, "and closes the gap on the healing and also puts himself in a position to return safely to play, he'll be back out. So we'll see. That's kind of up to his body and however long that takes."

Durant is averaging 29 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists this season.

The Nets are also without Blake Griffin, who is doing some conditioning work after being sidelined for a month, and Kyrie Irving, who was a late scratch with a right groin soreness. Both Griffin and Irving made the trip to Indianapolis, Nash said. Griffin has been working out with Durant, and Nash said that Irving's absence is "precautionary."

The Milwaukee Bucks are acquiring Houston Rockets forward P.J. Tucker in a trade to fortify the franchise's playoff push in the Eastern Conference, sources told ESPN.

Bucks general manager Jon Horst had been persistent in his pursuit of Tucker in recent weeks, and a deal was struck with Rockets GM Rafael Stone late Wednesday afternoon, sources said.

The Bucks are sending guard D.J. Augustin and forward D.J. Wilson to the Rockets for Tucker and forward Rodions Kurucs, sources said. The key to completing the deal includes the redirecting of draft picks the two teams had previously traded in the offseason. Houston is pushing back to the unprotected 2023 draft the 2022 first-round pick that Milwaukee owes it, sources said. The Rockets get the right to swap their 2021 second-round pick for the Bucks' 2021 first-round pick--- unless it somehow falls 1-9 in the 2021 draft, sources said.

Essentially, the Bucks will be moving back a few slots from the end of the first-round -- where it will presumably be picking this season -- to the top of the second-round, where the Rockets -- who own the second-worst record in the league -- appear destined to land.

Milwaukee is trading forward Torrey Craig to the Phoenix Suns in a separate deal, too, sources said. The Suns aren't sending a player back to the Bucks in the deal for Craig, sources said. Craig was unable to find a rotational role in Milwaukee after leaving Denver to sign a free agent deal in the offseason, but arrives in Phoenix with defensive versatility and a playoff-tested pedigree.

Tucker, 35, is the key to the trade for the Bucks, who were determined to add his defensive grit and playoff experience to the Bucks' playoff push. Tucker and the Rockets recently decided that he would step away from the team until a trade could be found. The Rockets, beset with injuries and losers of 17 straight games, are moving into a rebuilding mode now. The Bucks are 25-14, 2.5 games behind first-place Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference. They've won nine of 10 games.

Houston could have three first-round picks in the 2021 NBA draft: Milwaukee's, Portland's and either their own top-4 protected pick or Miami's from Oklahoma City's three-way swap rights.

Tucker, 35, has been an essential role player during his 3 ½-year tenure with the Rockets, contributing significantly more than his averages of 6.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game indicate. He often defended the opponent's top scorer -- playing center despite standing only 6-foot-5 during Houston's short-lived small-ball experiment last season -- and primarily served as a corner 3-point threat who spaced the floor offensively. Tucker is in the final season of a four-year, $32 million deal. The Rockets didn't guarantee the final year of the deal until February 2020.

Tucker, who played in 267 consecutive games until a bruised thigh sidelined him for two games in February, reported late to training camp this fall and acknowledged that he felt unappreciated after discussions about a contract extension broke down.

The Rockets thought they were close to signing Tucker to a two-year extension for $17 million with $10 million guaranteed, sources said, but the Houston front office balked after Tucker's camp countered with a proposal for a fully guaranteed two-year deal worth $24 million.

Tucker has struggled this season amid the Rockets' roster shuffling following the trades of Russell Westbrook and James Harden, posting career lows in points per game (4.4), field goal percentage (36.6%) and 3-point percentage (31.4%).

ESPN's Tim MacMahon contributed to this report.

A year after a bout with COVID-19 denied him a chance to be the Boston Red Sox's Opening Day starter, Eduardo Rodríguez is getting a do-over.

Manager Alex Cora made the announcement Wednesday following Boston's 9-1 spring training win over the Minnesota Twins. Rodríguez threw an efficient 55 pitches, striking out six and giving up two hits and one earned run over five innings.

"Indeed, it's going to be Eduardo. He's one of the best out there," Cora said of the left-hander. "He had a great season in '19. Last year, he wasn't able to pitch for obvious reasons. What he's shown now, he's healthy and he's ready to go. ... It was just a matter of time."

Boston opens its schedule April 1 against the Baltimore Orioles.

Rodríguez went 13-5 for the Boston team that won a franchise-record 108 games and the World Series in 2018. He went into the next year at the bottom of the rotation behind Chris Sale, David Price, Rick Porcello and Nathan Eovaldi.

But Rodríguez had the best season of the group, going 19-6 with a 3.81 ERA to finish sixth in American League Cy Young voting. He made his major-league-leading 34th start on the final day of the season with a chance at 20 wins but did not figure in the decision. Still, he finished with career bests in wins, ERA, starts, innings (203⅓) and strikeouts (213).

With Sale recovering from Tommy John surgery, Rodríguez was in line to start on Opening Day in 2020 before testing positive for the coronavirus and being diagnosed with inflammation in his heart muscles. He said he couldn't even complete a 25-pitch workout without feeling tired; on Aug. 1, just one week into the season, he was shut down for the year.

After putting the extended rest and recovery time to good use, he said he's ready to take advantage of a chance he has yet to have during his five major league seasons.

Speaking prior to Cora naming him the starter, Rodríguez told reporters he would be honored to get the ball in the opener.

"If given the opportunity, I'm going to be so happy to do it because that's something that everybody wants to do one time in their career," he said. "If I have the opportunity this year, I'm going to really appreciate it. I'm going to love it."

Wales' renaissance under Wayne Pivac in 2021 has surprised many. It has also coincided with Josh Navidi's return to fitness.

The 30-year-old only played one international in 2020, when Wales lost seven out of 10 matches.

A hamstring injury restricted him to that solitary appearance against England in the Six Nations 12 months ago before a head knock suffered in a Blues training session last August ruled him out of the autumn campaign.

Those four months on the sidelines also proved an important period in Navidi choosing to help highlight concussion issues, when he was among leading rugby figures last month calling for reform to protect players' wellbeing.

A group called Progressive Rugby want changes to tackle the issue of serious head and brain injury and say more should be done to inform parents about the risk of brain injury from repeated head knocks.

Navidi was the most high-profile current player to sign an open letter to World Rugby.

"It's all about player welfare and the ongoing research they're looking to achieve," he said.

"It's good to put my name to it and support them. The more research we can do the better to benefit the future generations of the game, which includes supporters and players. It's something which will be positive for the game."

Navidi added: "I've had concussion in the past. You know when you're ready to be out on the park.

"You go through a long-winded process of ticking boxes. It's nice to be back on the pitch.

"I had a little bit of a headache, but that was coming from my neck which was a tight muscle.

"I could have possibly been back sooner, but these things add up and you don't know what's going on.

"It's a learning curve and nobody knows exactly what the right way is. Everyone's concussion is different.

"I was out for a while, but it was nice to be back and involved in this team."

For a few years, Navidi was ignored by Wales despite his rampant regional form. Now he has proved he is a test match animal by returning to the international stage after only one replacement appearance for his region.

After an impressive Wales replacement display against Ireland - before missing the Scotland game with a neck injury - Navidi excelled against England and picked up the man-of-the-match award against Italy.

He has also formed a well-balanced and formidable back-row trio alongside in-form British and Irish Lions duo Taulupe Faletau and Justin Tipuric.

"I enjoy it," said Navidi.

"Playing with Toby and Justin is great and we feed off each other. The workload is shared across the back-row and they're world-class players. Every time I get to play with them, I embrace it."

France stand in the way of Wales completing a second Grand Slam in three tournaments.

"They're big, strong men with a big and physical pack and a good driving line-out," said Navidi.

"That's been shown by this championship and the way they've been performing and it's exciting to go out there on Saturday with it all to play for."

WHEATLAND, Mo. — The familiar red No. 98 modified, which won countless features and four track championships, will again take to the Lucas Oil Speedway oval this season. There will just be a different face under the helmet when the season opens on April 3.

The car, which belongs to retired driver Jeff Cutshaw, will be driven by Robert “Hollywood” Heydenreich in the Cedar Creek Beef Jerky USRA Modified division.

“He hangs around the house all the time and is good friends with the family,” Cutshaw said of Heydenreich, a fellow Bolivar resident. “I just wanted to give the kid a chance and put him in some good stuff.

“He’s got some talent. We just have to fine-tune him a little bit and calm him down and get him to finishing races.”

For Heydenreich, 24, the chance to learn from a veteran with championship pedigree and a totally different driving style, is a dream scenario. The driver who got his nickname of “Hollywood” a few years ago after rolling his car and posing for cameras as he crawled out of the crumpled ride, can hardly believe the opportunity that awaits.

“I don’t know that I deserve it; there are probably better options for Jeff out there,” Heydenreich said. “But he said, ‘You’ve got a lot of potential, we just need to slow you down and get you focused a little bit more.’ That got me excited. I’ve never been taught by anybody.

“I didn’t start racing until I was old enough to pay for it myself. I’ve never had anybody like Jeff who’s a multi-time track champion with well over 100 feature wins offer to help me. He says, ‘Hey, you’re doing good, you just need some help.’ For him to stick his neck out for me, it’s saying something.”

The way Heydenreich found out about the opportunity to drive for Cutshaw made it more memorable. He had been doing some welding work for Cutshaw and was asked to stop by Cutshaw’s shop to take a look at a potential project. Little did he know what awaited him.

“I got over there and walked into the shop, and there’s this brand-new race car sitting on jack stands,” Heydenreich said. “I said, ‘You getting back into racing?’ He said, ‘No. That’s what I had you come over here for. We’ve got to have a talk.’ ”

Heydenreich is entering his sixth season of racing, spending time in a USRA B-Mod before switching over to his first full season in a USRA Mod in 2020. He finished sixth in Lucas Oil Speedway points, but did pick up a feature victory in exciting fashion last June, passing reigning track champion Robbie Reed on the outside in the final 100 yards.

Cutshaw joked that Heydenreich is notorious for aggressively riding the high side around the track while he won his championships by religiously sticking to the low groove. That makes the pairing of the duo more unique and already, the high vs. low path around the track has been a subject of conversation between student and teacher.

“We’ve already had discussions about that and I told him I was gonna pull him out of the car if I ever saw him on the high side,” Cutshaw said, with a laugh. “I told him I won way more races on the bottom than I ever did on the top.”

Heydenreich said learning a more-patient approach will help him in his goal of finishing at or near the top of the championship chase. Too often last season, Heydenreich failed to finish races.

“Jeff told me ‘wrong place, wrong time. It’s not always your fault, but you have to not put yourself in those situations.’ This week we’re reviewing a lot of race video footage from last year and he’s gonna point out some areas, things that will help me. To be able to finish high in points, you have to finish races. Just be smooth and consistent.”

Cutshaw, who won consecutive track championships at Lucas Oil Speedway from 2014-17, retired from driving after a runner-up finish in the 2018 standings.