EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Wide receiver Golden Tate has been released by the New York Giants in a cost-cutting move, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Wednesday.

The move creates $6 million in cap space for the Giants, $10 million if he is designated a post-June 1 cut. Tate was to make $8.5 million and count $11 million against the cap in 2021.

The Giants also cut veteran linebacker David Mayo on Wednesday, a source told ESPN. Mayo suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee last August and was placed on injured reserve for the entire 2020 season.

Tate, 32, caught 35 passes for 388 yards and two touchdowns last season. It was the least productive season since his rookie year, in part because he missed four games and started just four, serving as the Giants' third receiver behind Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton.

The lack of playing time and opportunities led to some frustration following a prime-time loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Nov. 2. Tate was caught on camera yelling "throw me the ball!" after his spectacular leaping touchdown grab late in the fourth quarter to put the Giants in position to tie the score.

His wife, Elise, ranted that night on Instagram about Tate's lack of opportunities, and Tate later liked a tweet that suggested he should be cut and given an opportunity to sign elsewhere.

Tate did not travel with the team to the following week's game against the Washington Football Team, but Giants coach Joe Judge was extremely complementary of Tate's team-first approach the remainder of the season.

Tate also got into a fistfight on the field with Los Angeles Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey following an early-season matchup.

The Giants signed Tate to a four-year deal worth $36.3 million with $22.95 million guaranteed after trading Odell Beckham Jr. in 2019.

Tate has played 11 years with the Seattle Seahawks, Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles and Giants, making a Pro Bowl and winning a Super Bowl as one of the league's most productive receivers.

The former Notre Dame star has 695 career catches for 8,278 yards and 46 receiving touchdowns. He's also tied for first in yards after the catch (4,248) with Antonio Brown since entering the league in 2010.

BRISTOL, Tenn. – NASCAR officials surprised fans across the country Wednesday afternoon with the revelation that the upcoming dirt-track weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway will utilize passing points as well as heat race finishes to set the starting lineups.

The news came as part of the announcement of the remaining format and procedural details for both the NASCAR Cup Series Food City Dirt Race and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Pinty’s Dirt Truck Race.

Practice for both the Cup Series and Truck Series will take place Friday, followed by four 15-lap heat races on Saturday to set the field for both divisions’ feature events. Only green-flag laps will count in each heat race.

The lineup for those heats will be determined by a random pill draw, with the draw going in order of current car owner points, while the starting lineup for each feature will be set by a formula that accounts for finishing position and positions gained during each heat.

Drivers winning their respective heats earn 10 points, dropping by one point per position back to one point for 10th place. Drivers earn one additional passing point for each position gained in their heat, with no points deductions or “negative points” for those losing spots in their heats.

The heat race points earned will only be used to calculate the starting lineup and have no effect on the championship standings. Ties in combined point totals will be broken by the owner point standings.

It was announced previously that heat races would be featured during Bristol’s dirt weekend, similar to prior Truck Series events at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway, but the addition of passing points is a fresh wrinkle that pays homage to years of dirt-track tradition at grassroots facilities across the country.

“When we started figuring out how we were going to do the preliminary races, we obviously took a look at what we had historically done in Eldora with the Truck Series race there, kind of took some elements of that, things that worked. But really what we wanted to do for this event was kind of get back to the roots of dirt track racing, and incorporate some of those elements that are kind of have been ingrained in dirt track racing for a while,” NASCAR senior vice president of competition Scott Miller told reporters on a media conference call.

“One of the biggest things is whittling the field down to the main event and setting the starting lineup via heat races, then with the element of passing points that has been a part of dirt track racing for a while, actually creates a lot of excitement and mixes things up,” he added. “We just wanted to add some elements and setting the lineup for the feature that were from the roots of dirt track racing. That’s where we landed.”

Tire changes, vehicle work and fueling can only be conducted during the stage breaks. Exceptions will be made for vehicles involved in incidents during the event.

Pit stops will be held under a controlled pit format, with drivers not losing positions based on how they come off pit road and instead lining up in the order that they finished the preceding stage in. Drivers electing not to pit line up ahead of those who choose to pit.

“We toyed with the idea of whether we could have pit stops like we normally see every week,” admitted Miller. “Honestly, with dirt cars on a dirty concrete pit road, having pit crews trying to run out there and do all of the work, I just don’t think that would have been in our best interest, especially the first time around. We can look at how the facility looks and what pit road looks like after we do it once, but we decided that there was really no way that we could have live pit stops as we know them.

“There will be a set time, much like Eldora, when the cars get in their pit boxes to do their work. They will be allowed to do all of the normal things at kind of a leisurely pace, then when that time expires and we get everybody rolling again, we will resume the lineup that was frozen at the end of the stage,” Miller added. “If any cars elected not to pit, they will still be on the race track and will start ahead of the cars that did elect to pit.”

Stages one and two of the Cup Series 250-lapper will end at laps 75 and 150, respectively, while the stage breaks for the 150-lap Truck Series race will be on laps 40 and 90.

The choose rule, used at most oval tracks on the NASCAR schedule, will not be in effect for the Bristol Dirt Weekend. The overtime rules, free pass and wave around procedures will be in effect for both the Truck Series and the Cup Series, with no overtime in the heat races.

Set for Sunday, March 28, the Food City Dirt Race will be the first race on a dirt surface for NASCAR’s premier series since 1970.

The Truck Series added dirt racing to its repertoire in 2013 with a race at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway, racing there for seven consecutive years, but this will be the division’s debut on Bristol’s .533-mile concrete layout with dirt overlaid on the track.

If things go well, could Bristol’s dirt weekend become an annual event?

“If we have an event that is as fantastic as we all are hoping that it will be, which we all believe that it will be, then we will figure out a way to make it continue on,” tipped Miller. “If we have problems, we would certainly have to look at it for what the future of it is.

“But I do think it’s pretty safe to say that if we have an overwhelmingly successful event, we will figure out a way to carry on with it (in the future).”

KNOXVILLE, Iowa – The Priority Aviation $20,000 Knoxville Nationals Sponsorship Program, benefiting the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum, returns this year with a twist.

Drivers planning on competing at Knoxville Raceway in Iowa in either the 360 or the 410 Knoxville Nationals are eligible.

The drivers or teams who raise the most funds for the non-profit museum through memberships or donations will again be rewarded with cash bonuses.

In addition to the $20,000 first place prize from Richard and Jennifer Marshall of Priority Aviation for the driver and team raising the most funds for the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum, the second place earner will be awarded $10,000 and the third place earner will receive $5,000.

National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductee Lance Dewease of Fayetteville, Pa., was the recipient of the $20,000 sponsorship during the program’s inaugural season in 2019.

The program brought in over $60,000 that year for the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum.

“It really meant a lot for us getting to Knoxville,” said Dewease. “We worked really hard at trying to win that deal. The fans did a wonderful job raising the money (for the museum). What Priority Aviation did was just great, and what they continue to do with the support of our sport that we all love so much is unbelievable. My hat’s off to them.”

The contest was halted in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but any donations made will carry over to this season. Robbie Kendall of Catonsville, Md., leads in those donations that are being carried over.

“The inaugural sponsorship contest delivered everything Jennifer and I hoped for and more: from the phenomenal driver-fan engagement to the creative and suspenseful competition,” said Richard Marshall. “At the end, we got to award a winner who may not have otherwise got to go to the Nationals and saw a successful fundraiser for the Hall of Fame and Museum. The decision to do it again was a no-brainer. With the addition of second and third-place awards, we hope to encourage all to keep up the effort to the last day. We are super excited to see this year’s contest begin.”

“We can’t thank Richard and Jennifer Marshall enough for thinking of us again with their Priority Aviation $20,000 Sponsorship,” added Bob Baker, executive director of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum. “Their generosity to the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum and the sport in general has been and continues to be extremely important in its growth. Adding a second and third place prize only adds to the excitement of their program. It will be good to see not only one team, but three rewarded for their contributions to the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum.”

All that sprint car teams and fans need to do is have their prospective members or donors visit www.SprintCarStuff.com and order a membership there, or contact the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum.

If ordering online, specify a driver or race team in the “Notes” section on the final page.

The driver or team with the highest amount in donations returned to the museum before July 31 at 6 p.m. CT will receive the $20,000 sponsorship funding.

Memberships start at only $25 per year, but any donation amount will be accepted.

Among the headliners for this week's Arnold Palmer Invitational are Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau, Tommy Fleetwood, Viktor Hovland and Jordan Spieth.

None of those players, though, can claim the title of top-ranked player in the field. That would be world No. 6 Tyrell Hatton, who is also the defending champion at Bay Hill.

Asked on Wednesday how that all feels, Hatton replied:

"Standing at 5'8, I wish I could walk onto the range a little taller (laughing), but sadly that's out of my control."

Hatton, who boasts six worldwide top-5s (including two wins) since last year's API triumph, the continued.

"No, I mean, I feel confident when I go to a tournament if I know that my swing's in a good place and I can kind of, if I manage my emotions well throughout the week then, sure, I'll give myself a chance," said Hatton, who is coming off of a T-22 at the WGC-Workday last week. "I felt last week that I was, I didn't feel like I was swinging it that good and I was getting a bit frustrated and my golf got a little bit better each day. I actually played really good on Sunday ... so I take confidence from that, that my swing kind of feels like it's getting into a good place again and I guess we'll see exactly tomorrow how it is."

Jose Mourinho has admitted "everything is in Real Madrid's hands" regarding Gareth Bale's future at Tottenham Hotspur.

Spurs re-signed the 31-year-old on a season-long loan in September as part of an agreement that was not thought to have included an option or obligation to buy this summer.

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Bale has endured a difficult time upon his return to north London - seven years after joining Real in a then world-record £85.3 million move -- but a recent upturn in form continuing with two goals and an assist in Sunday's 4-0 win over Burnley has fuelled speculation over the length of his stay.

"In relation to that, you should contact your colleagues in Madrid and they should ask [Real boss Zinedine] Zidane because he is a Real Madrid player.

"He is not a Tottenham player. So Real Madrid has everything in their hands. They have the player, they have a player with one year of contract. They have the power in their hands. You know, I just have a player on loan and I'm trying to take the best out of the player for Tottenham Hotspur with all the respect to Real Madrid.

It is the same with [Carlos] Vinicius [on loan from Benfica]. We try to take care of the players we have on loan, for us, but also for the respect we have for the club that loaned us the player. If you want to know anything about Gareth's future, I think you should ask your colleagues in Madrid to ask Zizou."

Spurs eased the pressure on Mourinho with that comfortable win over Burnley, only their second Premier League win in seven matches dating back to Jan. 17.

But ahead of Thursday's trip to Fulham, the 58-year-old said: "We won 4-0, one match that we played very, very well and certainly it looks like my methods are good again, Gareth Bale is a top player again and we play wonderfully.

"Come on. Don't kill us when the results are bad but also don't make it like we are in the top of the world [now]. Let us focus on our job. Of course we want to play well. Of course we want to score goals. Of course we don't want to concede goals. Of course we want to play attacking football and of course we always want the best but sometimes it is not possible."

Thomas Tuchel has said he is hopeful that Chelsea can challenge Manchester City for the Premier League title next season.

Pep Guardiola's side secured their 21st consecutive win in all competitions with a 4-1 victory over Wolves on Tuesday and are set to clinch their third title in four seasons.

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Chelsea have failed to win the league title since the 2016-17 campaign and have finished 30, 26 and 33 points behind the Premier League champions, with the club 19 points behind City so far this term.

These figures were put forward to Tuchel and when asked if it was realistic to think the team could overcome the deficit next season, he replied: "If you read these numbers out loud, it seems not [realistic] but we should also not limit ourselves, we should at least try and not prepare for excuses.

"It's a small line between arguments that I can see and realistic arguments that are simply there. The amount of points shows how big the gap was and still is.

"Sometimes, it's good to look at the reality and have the ambition to close [the gap] as fast as possible. The point is, will we close the gap to Man City this season? No we will not, this is impossible.

"But from next season, all of us start with zero points and City were in trouble this season and nobody took advantage of it. It's proven in sports that you can improve fast and grow with a certain momentum if you catch that momentum.

"We absolutely want to make it possible. It's a small line between looking at reality and admitting reality, admitting that it's a long way to go and still not allowing it to become an excuse.

"Now, we are challenging for the top four which was a big, big task when we stepped in and from next year, we will challenge for all titles and all competitions for sure."

Chelsea remain unbeaten in nine matches in all competitions ahead of their league clash at Liverpool on Thursday.

Tuchel has helped Chelsea challenge for a top-four place since he replaced Frank Lampard in January on an 18-month contract, but believes he needs to prove he deserves time to build title-winning teams in the same way Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp achieved in recent years.

When asked whether it was more difficult to achieve a bond with the players on a short-term deal, the German said: "We've already become a union and that we can do it together. I speak as a solid part of this development right now and of this club. I have to earn it -- that I can have the same time as Jurgen and Pep.

"This was no gift to them. I think everybody in the clubs saw what they are doing and the impact they can have for their teams and this is what I have to prove. This is my target.

"It is my job, every day and every week, to make my impact here and to show that I deserve the same amount of time to build teams. I have to earn it but I honestly don't have the feeling right now that it's an obstacle that holds me back from building."

Barcelona advanced to the Copa del Rey final, 3-2 on aggregate, after a dramatic 3-0 extra-time victory over Sevilla in the second leg of their semifinal on Wednesday.

Having lost the first leg at Sevilla, 2-0, Ronald Koeman's men knew they needed to score two goals without reply to force extra time at the Camp Nou, and instead did one better to win the tie on goals from Ousmane Dembele, Gerard Pique and Martin Braithwaite.

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Barcelona stated their intent after just 12 minutes through a spectacular Dembele strike from outside the box. The France international took advantage of Sevilla defenders standing off him and curled and unstoppable strike high and inside the near post.

The Blaugrana took the lead into half-time and nearly pulled even in the tie in the 67th minute when an outrageous jumping volley from Jordi Alba hit the crossbar with Sevilla keeper Tomas Vaclik well-beaten.

Despite persistent Barca pressure, Sevilla won a penalty five minutes later when Oscar Mingueza crashed into Lucas Ocampos to stop a counter-attack. But Ocampos flubbed his lines from the spot, his shot easily gobbled up by Marc-Andre ter Stegen who went down and to his right.

Sevilla midfielder Fernando was shown a second yellow card in added time for pulling down Francisco Trincao at the edge of the box. Lionel Messi's free kick was deflected by the wall for a corner kick and Pique dramatically headed home from the resulting set piece to send the match to extra time.

With a man advantage, Barcelona took control of the tie five minutes into the first extra period when substitute Braithwaite's diving header of an Alba cross squirted underneath Vaclik at the goal line.

Sevilla looked to have another penalty claim moments later when a lobbed through ball into the box appeared to touch the hand of Barca defender Clement Lenglet, but a VAR review ruled in Barca's favour.

The result means Barcelona will play the winner between Athletic Bilbao and Levante in the competition's final. The two challengers will kick off the second leg of their semi at Levante's Ciutat de Valencia on Thursday (Live on ESPN+ at 3 p.m. ET).

LONDON -- COVID-19 will bring perennial club-vs.-country arguments into sharper focus this month, but the footballing reasons are stacking up for Manchester United to engineer a break for Bruno Fernandes.

A third consecutive 0-0 draw across all competitions, this time against Crystal Palace, leaves Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side 14 points behind runaway leaders Manchester City with Sunday's derby at the Etihad Stadium to come. Solskjaer claimed on Feb. 6 when throwing away a 3-1 lead to draw 3-3 at home to Everton that United "should not even be considered as title chasers," and that statement has become a self-fulfilling prophecy during a run of turgid football that bears a strong resemblance to a lot of their football prior to Fernandes' arrival from Sporting Lisbon in January 2020.

A thick layer of fog gradually enveloped Selhurst Park as the weather did its best to prevent anyone seeing just how badly United were labouring, bereft of the spark Fernandes so often provides.

He had 40 goal involvements -- 23 goals and 17 assists -- from 40 Premier League matches prior to Wednesday, a measure of the staggering impact he has made, single-handedly dragging them into the top four last season and threatening, briefly, to reach even loftier aims this time around. But there have been palpable signs of fatigue of late and even in games where he has found the scoresheet, it has masked a decline in his general play, giving the ball away an alarming amount -- a willingness to take risk that has shifted from calculated and creative to almost a series of Hail Marys.

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United had 63% possession here and registered one shot on target. Fernandes conceded possession 10 times, a figure only beaten by Luke Shaw (22) as United were either too slow or wasteful to make their territorial domination count. Fernandes is so often relied upon to inject that dynamism but, deployed further forward as a more orthodox No. 10 here compared to Sunday's stalemate at Chelsea, he was lacklustre.

United's fixture list is unrelenting. After City, there are two Europa League last-16 legs against AC Milan with high-flying West Ham United in between and Leicester City to follow.

Then comes the international break.

Current quarantine rules mean anyone playing in one of 33 countries on a "red list" would have to self-isolate for 10 days upon their return to the United Kingdom. Portugal is on that list, and they are scheduled to play three World Cup qualifiers at the end of this month: Azerbaijan and Luxembourg at home, Serbia away.

Fernandes would potentially miss a league game against Brighton & Hove Albion and a Europa League quarterfinal first leg that would of course be a breather in itself, but FIFA have given clubs the power to withhold players from international duty in the circumstances and it seems highly likely United will look to use it.

"We've not sat down and made a proper call on that one but it doesn't make sense if you lose your player for 10 days isolation, of course it doesn't," Solskjaer said after the match. "We're the ones paying the players and from what I understand FIFA have given the rules that they don't have to be released. So I would think that's going to be a hard call to make to let them go and play in red-list countries, yeah.

"I want Bruno, of course, ready against Brighton and hopefully that we are through in Europe and against Tottenham after that break, of course I do."

Fernandes was not alone in underperforming. Goalkeeper Dean Henderson, deputising for David De Gea after the Spaniard missed the game due to what Solskjaer described as a "private matter," could be heard shouting "quicker, quicker" as United struggled to move through the gears.

Marcus Rashford continues to look similarly jaded. The 23-year-old has just two league goals to his name in 2021 and never looked like adding to it, showing his frustration during a second-half exchange with Harry Maguire that featured the United captain telling him to "get f---ing back onside quicker" as the visitors tried to rouse themselves.

Edinson Cavani at least looked sharp early on with his movement helping United build from the back but he faded in influence, presumably as a lack of match fitness after missing four matches with a muscular problem, to join Mason Greenwood who occupied that status all evening.

Palace were typically well organised and could even have snatched it at the end, Henderson saving well from Patrick van Aanholt.

"It has been a week with no goals and sometimes three goals sounds like a lot without scoring," said Solskjaer. "A week in a season like this, sometimes you don't hit the form you've had for many, many months. It is a bit of a worry, of course it is, but I know the boys are giving everything. That's the thing. We play every three days and I know they are giving everything they've got. Attitude and approach I am very happy with. The quality, we need to get back to what we know we can do."

The ball ended at Fernandes' feet just inside the Palace half close to the dugouts as referee Andre Marriner blew the full-time whistle. He thought for a second before top-poking it at the advertising hoardings and trudging off in isolation, shaking his head rather than shaking hands with anyone. The cracks are showing.

Still, it's only City next.

Allrounder Annabel Sutherland has been ruled out of Australia's tour to New Zealand later this month after being diagnosed with a stress reaction in her femur.

Sutherland, who has so far played three ODIs and six T20Is, reported pain after the last round of the WNCL against Tasmania.

Molly Strano, the offspinner who was also a late addition to Australia's T20 World Cup squad last year after Tayla Vlaeminck was ruled out, has been called up as Sutherland's replacement for the trip which includes three ODIs and three T20s. Strano has played seven T20Is but has yet to make her ODI debut.

Sutherland had taken four wickets in four WNCL matches for Victoria alongside making scores of 13, 34 and 15.

"It's unfortunate that Annabel has been ruled out of the series, but our medical team were able to identify the issue early which allows her to go away and get herself right with a busy period coming up," national selector Shawn Flegler said.

"Molly comes into the squad off the back of strong performances for Victoria in the WNCL, where she's the current leading wicket-taker. We've got plenty of pace-bowling options in the squad, so Molly gives us another spin option should we need it."

Australia's squad includes two uncapped players, the pace bowlers Darcie Brown and Hannah Darlington, as the selectors start to have on eye on the future.

The squad will depart on March 13 and undergo two weeks managed isolation in Christchurch ahead of the first T20I on March 28

Squad Meg Lanning (capt), Rachael Haynes, Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Hannah Darlington, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy (wk), Jess Jonassen, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Molly Strano, Georgia Wareham, Belinda Vakarewa, Tayla Vlaeminck

Former Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Tyrell Williams reached agreement on a one-year deal worth up to $6.2 million with the Detroit Lions, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The Lions might have a revamped wide receiver corps in 2021, as Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones Jr. and Danny Amendola are set to become free agents later this month. Golladay could be a candidate for the team's franchise tag.

On Tuesday, Lions general manager Brad Holmes said he didn't believe it would take long to remake the team's receiver room. The Lions might also end up without returner/receiver Jamal Agnew and have just Quintez Cephus and Geronimo Allison, who opted out of the 2020 season, as receivers with significant NFL experience.

Williams, who missed the entire 2020 season because of a torn labrum in his shoulder that required surgery, was released by the Raiders last month.

He signed a four-year, $44.4 million contract that included $22 million guaranteed with the Raiders as a free agent in 2019. All the guaranteed money has been paid out in his contract, and the Raiders saved $11.6 million against their cap by releasing him.

Williams, who turned 29 in February, had 42 catches for 651 yards and six touchdowns for the Raiders in 2019. But plantar fasciitis in both feet slowed him and he missed two games.

He spent the first four seasons of his career with the Chargers and had 155 receptions for 2,530 yards and 17 touchdowns in 55 games. His best season came in 2016, when he had 69 receptions for 1,059 yards and seven touchdowns.

The move to Detroit reunites Williams with Lions offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn, who was the Chargers' head coach when Williams was on the roster in 2017 and 2018.

ESPN's Michael Rothstein contributed to this report.