New York Mets president Sandy Alderson says that he is emphasizing offense over defense but that Kevin Pillar and Albert Almora Jr. were brought in to help with their gloves.

"While some of our players aren't defensive geniuses, we think that the overall blend that we have is pretty good," Alderson said during an interview on the ESPN telecast of Thursday's 8-4 win over Washington in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

The Nationals stole three bases off new Mets catcher Brian McCann, two of those by Víctor Robles. Brandon Nimmo was picked off by Jackson Rutledge.

New York's tally of 32 errors was 10th best among the 30 teams last year.

"I totally agree with Sandy," Mets manager Luis Rojas said. "That's one of the things that we're working on in this camp. We talk about baserunning. We failed today in baserunning. We got picked off at first base on a 3-2 count. That should never happen. We gave up, I think it was, three stolen bases, even though McCann threw the ball well. So defensively we can hurt ourselves. And we've seen it happen in the past. It happened last year."

Infield coach Gary DiSarcina is working toward improvement, Rojas said, so pitchers "can trust their defense behind them to pitch to contact and be effective and be totally more economical with their pitch count. So, yes, we need it. We need it in the outfield. We need it in the infield. We need it in the catcher to control the running game. So it's one of our main focuses in camp, for sure."

NEW YORK -- New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he's feeling better after getting a pacemaker and said he hopes to return to the team Saturday or Sunday.

Boone said he would have been back with the Yankees on Friday if not for coronavirus protocols.

"I think I'm ready to be back in the dugout," he said during a news conference Friday.

He had the pacemaker inserted Wednesday and was discharged from St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa, Florida, on Thursday.

Boone said he felt light-headed at times during the offseason and reached out to his cardiologist for testing. He said monitoring determined he had a low heart rate.

"Energy level, not myself. I felt like I had to reach for it every day in a way," he said of his feelings before the procedure.

Boone said he has noticed marked improvement.

"You have your morning coffee, today's morning coffee really worked," he said. "Me and my new buddy are doing quite well."

Boone is entering his fourth season as Yankees manager. He had open-heart surgery in 2009.

FORT WORTH, Texas – SVS Vision has teamed with NASCAR driver Gray Gaulding for a multi-race sponsorship agreement in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

Gaulding will debut the No. 52 Jimmy Means Racing SVS Vision Chevrolet in the Alsco Uniforms 300 this Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“I cannot be more pumped about partnering with a high-quality optics provider like SVS Vision and showcasing their products and services to the NASCAR community,” Gaulding said. “The Stanns and Farrells are incredible owners that have built a very successful business based on integrity and care for their customers. Their story is one that inspires me to keep chasing my dream and to be the very best at what I do…race cars.

“Ever since I saw the movie Top Gun, I always dreamed of flying jets or racing cars and having a sponsor partner that would enable me to wear a pair of Ray-Ban Aviators. That day has finally arrived, and I could not be more excited to represent SVS Vision throughout the 2021 Xfinity season.”

“Sometimes in life opportunities and relationships are developed in the most unusual circumstances. This was one of them,” said Ken Stann, president of SVS Vision. “Lisa and I knew Gray had the it factor the moment we met him. Now that we are here, honestly, I am so fired up to watch Gray race in the SVS Vision car this season. I’m even more excited to broaden our relationship with such a great young man. His personality, love for life, and integrity make this partnership a natural.”

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – If you want an early indication on the odds of Paul Miller Racing enjoying a successful IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship season, look no further than the Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Last year, Bryan Sellers, Madison Snow, Corey Lewis and Andrea Caldarelli drove PMR’s No. 48 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 into victory lane in the Rolex 24. Ultimately, Sellers, Snow and Lewis captured the GT Daytona (GTD) crown in the 2020 IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup that awards points at each of the four long-distance events.

In 2018, Sellers, Snow and Caldarelli (along with Bryce Miller) finished third driving the No. 48 in the season-opening Rolex 24. Sellers, Snow and Lewis followed that by winning the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts. It propelled Sellers and Snow to the overall GTD drivers’ championship, along with the team and manufacturer class titles.

On the other hand, a 15th-place finish in the 2019 Rolex 24 presaged an uneven campaign that produced a 10th-place finish in the season-long GTD standings, albeit with a victory at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

So the fact that PMR’s No. 1 Lamborghini finished third in GTD this year at the Rolex 24 figures to be a good omen for the team’s chances this season.

“Daytona has been a good place for us the last couple of years, for sure,” says Sellers. “One of the things about the Rolex 24 Hours is that because it’s such a difficult event, it’s hard when you have a bad race to dig yourself out of that hole for the rest of the season. That’s the reality: You get a lot of cars there that don’t compete for the full-season points and they can take points away that you might otherwise get if you have a tough race. You can finish on the podium in that race and your next closest competitor for the season championship can be sixth or seventh, so that’s a big points swing.

“A solid finish at Daytona is super important to start the campaign off in the right way, and we’ve been fortunate to have a couple of years that are strong like that. Now as to what it actually means for the rest of the season, it’s nothing, because Daytona is so extremely different from anywhere else we go.”

Be the races 2 hours and 40 minutes or six, 10, 12 or 24 hours long, one relative constant at PMR has been the driver lineup. It’s featured Sellers and Snow for the entire season, added Lewis in the endurance events and Caldarelli for the 24 hours at Daytona for most of the past few seasons. It’s no coincidence that the lineup has enjoyed considerable success.

“It’s been the three of us for quite some time with the addition of Andrea at Daytona,” says Snow. “Some of the GTLM cars have that same stability, but a lot of the GTD cars don’t have that stability that we have, so that makes it easier for us working on the car for those endurance races, to get along well and feed off each other.”

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TULSA, Okla. – Rainy weather has forced officials to move Friday’s AmeriFlex Oil Capital Racing Series season opener at Red Dirt Raceway to Saturday.

The two-day show will now run on Saturday and conclude on Sunday afternoon.

On Saturday, gates will open at 3 p.m., with hot laps rolling off at 5:10 and racing starting at 6. Sunday, the gates open at 11 a.m., with hot laps at 1:10 p.m. and racing at 2.

Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook announced Friday that his NHL career is over after 15 seasons.

"After several surgeries, countless hours of rehab and training to get back on the ice at the level of my expectations, it will not be possible for me to continue playing hockey," Seabrook said in a statement Friday. "This is what is best for me and my family."

Seabrook, 35, has not played in an NHL game since November 2019. Over a three-month period from December 2019 to February 2020 he had surgery on his right shoulder as well as on both hips. The defenseman "tweaked" his back in a pre-training-camp session this January. Blackhawks team doctor Michael Terry said it was an issue with the right hip that prevents Seabrook from playing. Terry said the team has "tried all available conservative treatments, and nothing has worked well enough for him to live his life as an athlete."

Chicago placed Seabrook on long-term injured reserve. He was signed through the 2023-24 season, with a $6.875 million cap hit and full no-move clause.

Seabrook, a first-round pick of the Blackhawks in 2003, finished his career having played in 1,114 games and scored 103 goals and 361 assists. Most important to Blackhawks fans, he played in 123 playoff games (20 goals, 39 assists) and helped the team to three Stanley Cups.

"Without Brent Seabrook, the Chicago Blackhawks would not have three Stanley Cups," Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman said in a statement. "He concludes his career as not only one of the best defensemen in franchise history, but one [of] the greatest Chicago Blackhawks of all time. We cannot thank Brent enough for what he did for the Blackhawks organization, the city of Chicago and this fan base. He will always be a part of the Blackhawks family and we wish him well in his life after hockey."

The Blackhawks are currently undergoing a rebuild, with Bowman telling ESPN this summer that his team has a "ways to go" before it can sustainably win again. There was a commitment to play more young players this season. The Blackhawks, however, have been one of 2021's pleasant surprises. At 12-7-5, Chicago is in fourth place in the Central Division, which would qualify for the playoffs.

"I sacrificed everything for this team in our quest to lift three Stanley Cups and gave it everything I had for you," Seabrook said in a statement. "I couldn't have asked for a better fan base to play for. You, more than anyone, kept me honest and always pushed me to be better -- while also cheering me as your All-Star and Champion. Lifting the Stanley Cup in 2015 in front of all the fans at the United Center will be a memory I'll never forget. You have truly made Chicago a second home. My family and I will be forever grateful for your love and support and I look forward to always having a special connection with you the fans. I will always be a Blackhawk."

Pep Guardiola has said Manchester City players who cannot immediately rejoin training after the international break will not be allowed to join their national teams.

The next international break is scheduled for the end of March but there are fears that COVID-19 protocols could see some players forced into quarantine if they travel.

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It could mean some players missing City's trip to Leicester on April 3 -- the first game back after the international fixtures -- but Guardiola insists anyone who might have to isolate on their return from national team duty will stay in Manchester.

"We will wait until after this game against United and I am pretty sure that next week we'll talk about that," Guardiola told a news conference on Friday.

"But I think it makes no sense if the players go to the national team and then have to isolate for 10 days when they come back. It makes no sense. We've worked incredibly tough for seven, eight or nine months and after the international break comes the real part of the season, and important players, maybe six, seven, eight, nine players cannot play for 10 days, it makes no sense. They are not going to fly. That's for sure.

"If they can fly, play with the national team and come straight back to training, they'll fly. We invest a lot of time and money for the important part of the season and if six seven eight players cannot play with us it makes no sense, honestly. No sense."

City face Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday looking to extend their lead over Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side to 17 points.

The two teams played out a drab 0-0 draw at Old Trafford in December but Guardiola has battled back against the suggestion his decision to pair defensive midfielders Rodri and Fernandinho in that game was a sign he was "scared" of United.

"I've got respect for them; sometimes it depends on the circumstances in the right moment, injuries, COVID, many reasons," Guardiola said when asked about his cautious team selection at Old Trafford.

"Of course I respect them but scared is not the right word. I have respect but always know I can win or lose and I prepare the games to beat the opponents.

"I was impressed by the way they played at Chelsea, the intensity and high pressing, how brave they were. We accept the challenge and want to do a good game to win it."

With the 2021 men's T20 World Cup inching ever closer, the ICC will use the fallout from the 2021 Pakistan Super League as a "learning" experience as it prepares to conduct a safe and secure tournament comprising 16 countries. The T20 World Cup, which was postponed last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, is scheduled to take place in India in October with the final on November 14.

On Thursday, the PCB was forced to postpone the 2021 PSL rather abruptly after a number of Covid-19 cases were reported among players and support staff. The tournament, which started on February 20, had been curtailed after just 14 league matches and just nine match days.

Even as the PCB navigates a way out of the crisis, Manu Sawhney, the ICC's chief executive, said the PSL debacle would definitely be used as one of the examples before finalising the "protocols" for the bio-secure environment in which the T20 World Cup would be conducted. Sawhney spoke on the subject on Friday while participating in a virtual symposium - Global Sports Summit-Scorecard 2021, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry. The topic was 'Getting Sports Back on Track'.

"It is extremely important for everybody to realise that in the case of risk mitigation, it is not a linear curve," Sawhney said, when asked about what the takeaways were for the ICC from the PSL episode. "For example, given a series which is a bilateral series, let's say between two teams, versus let's say a World Cup, which has 16 teams coming from 16 different countries into one country, the risks associated with that are exponentially larger and way different. And those are the complexities that all of us are right now are going through and understanding each day better than the day before as to what needs to be done.

"So, for us right now, learning from what is happening in the various [T20] leagues, learning from what India is doing currently - and BCCI has done a great job - and post this the IPL will be very key in terms of learnings before we look at what are the protocols we'll have to follow for the T20 [World Cup] later in the year."

Although India was confirmed to host the tournament, keeping in mind the shifting nature of the pandemic, the ICC has also enlisted the UAE as a back-up venue. India is second globally in terms of total number of active cases, however, its government approving more than one vaccine has injected a dose of confidence across the country. The ICC is monitoring the situation closely.

ESPNcricinfo understands that a successful hosting of the 2021 IPL would help the ICC understand and expedite plans for the T20 World Cup. The IPL has not yet announced dates or venues for the tournament due to several factors.

Venues have not yet been finalised for the T20 World Cup as well, although ICC teams have been conducting recces across India to ensure they comply with all the protocols necessary for a bio-secure environment.

Last November, BCCI secretary Jay Shah had said that the "health and safety" of all participants will be the priority and the Indian board will be constantly "innovating and adapting" to combat the challenges thrown due to the pandemic.

Sawhney today acknowledged it was an "enormous challenge", but the ICC wanted to build the confidence of all stakeholders so everyone was on the same page. "But getting 16 teams from different countries with their quarantine protocols, with their risk factors….getting them into the country, then making sure the tournament happens and making sure that the players can then get back to their respective countries is an enormous challenge and a challenge where everybody needs to come together and everybody needs to realise that there is a high probability that things may not go as per plan. And to have the faith that everybody is trying to do his best to make things happen given the uncertainty which still exists."

The NFL has hired Maia Chaka as a game official for the 2021 season, making her the first Black woman to join the league's on-field officiating staff.

Chaka will join Sarah Thomas as the only women to officiate an NFL game. Thomas was hired in 2015 and was part of the crew that worked Super Bowl LV last month. The NFL announced Chaka's hiring Friday morning during a segment on the "Today" show.

In a statement released by the league, Chaka said: "I am honored to be selected as an NFL official. But this moment is bigger than a personal accomplishment. It is an accomplishment for all women, my community, and my culture."

The NFL annually updates its roster of officials due to retirements, departures and position changes of its existing group. Replacements are typically chosen from the league's officiating development program, which is made up of officials from various levels who have been identified for potential promotion. Chaka joined the program in 2014.

"Maia's years of hard work, dedication and perseverance -- including as part of the NFL Officiating Development Program -- have earned her a position as an NFL official," said Troy Vincent, the NFL's executive vice president of football operations. "As we celebrate Women's History Month, Maia is a trailblazer as the first Black female official and inspires us toward normalizing women on the football field."

The full list of NFL officials for 2021 has not been finalized.

The NFL has worked to diversify its officiating and its coaching ranks. In 2020, the league celebrated its first game with an all-Black officiating crew. Also, six women were part of the 14 coaching staffs that made it to the playoffs last season.

The Houston Astros are without eight pitchers at their spring training camp after they were sent home due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols, manager Dusty Baker said Friday.

General manager James Click would not say whether any players had tested positive, but Baker said pitchers Bryan Abreu, Luis Garcia, Ronel Blanco, Cristian Javier, Pedro Baez, Enoli Paredes, Francis Martes and Hector Velazquez are absent from the team's camp in West Palm Beach, Florida.

"Part of the reason that so many players are away from camp for health and safety (protocols) is because we want to cast a wide net," Click told reporters. "And the protocols cast a wide net to make sure if there are delays between contagious stages and positive test results that those don't lead to an outbreak.

"We are following Major League Baseball's health and safety protocols, and this is what they call for. We and the league believe that, by following them, we will ensure the rest of the guys are not exposed and we can continue to get ready for the season."

The Astros continue to have a seven-inning game against the Marlins and a five-inning "B game" against the Cardinals scheduled for Friday.