Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James and Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant were named the captains for next month's NBA All-Star Game on Thursday night.

James and Durant will pick their respective teams from the remaining 22 All-Stars on March 4 after getting the most votes of any player in either conference. The All-Star Game -- which the NBA earlier Thursday officially announced would take place this season -- will be played March 7 in Atlanta.

The players joining them in the frontcourt from both conferences went as expected, with Durant being joined by Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid in the starting pool for the East, while James was joined by LA Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic in the West.

The backcourts, however, were more contentious.

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry was one starter in the West, while Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic tied Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard. Doncic finished second in fan voting but was third -- behind Lillard -- in both media and player voting. That said, Doncic wound up being the pick to start because fan voting -- which made up 50% of the voting, with the players and media getting 25% each -- was the tiebreaker.

In the East, Washington Wizards star Bradley Beal, the NBA's leading scorer at 32.8 points per game, got one starting spot after being controversially left off the team last year. It was his first starting nod. The other starting spot went to Nets star Kyrie Irving, as he joined his teammate Durant.

Lakers forward Anthony Davis and Clippers forward Paul George finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the West frontcourt voting, while Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell finished fourth among West guards.

In the East, Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum and Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler finished fourth and fifth in frontcourt voting, respectively, while Durant and Irving's teammate James Harden was third, Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine finished fourth and Celtics guard Jaylen Brown -- who finished second in media voting -- landed fifth.

The remaining 14 All-Star spots will be determined by the coaches from both conferences. They will vote for seven each from the East and West over the next few days, with the results to be announced on TNT on Tuesday night.

James' team in the All-Star Game will be helmed by Jazz coach Quin Snyder, who clinched the honor with a win Monday over the 76ers. Meanwhile, 76ers coach Doc Rivers will clinch coaching the other team if either the Sixers win one of their next two games or the Bucks and Nets lose again this week.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are causing oddsmakers to post numbers that the betting market hasn't seen since the New York Yankees' dynasty of the late 1990s.

Caesars Sportsbook by William Hill on Thursday opened the Dodgers' 2021 season-win total at 104.5. That's tied with the 1999 Yankees for the highest win total at sportsbooks in the past 32 seasons, according to odds archive SportsOddsHistory.com.

In addition to the reigning World Series champion Dodgers, four other teams also opened with win totals of 90 or higher -- the Yankees (97), Atlanta Braves (92), San Diego Padres (92) and Chicago White Sox (90.5).

The Pittsburgh Pirates are on the other end of the spectrum and opened with a win total of 58, tied with the 1993 expansion Florida Marlins for the lowest win total in the past 32 seasons. The Colorado Rockies have the next-lowest opening win total this season at 62.5.

Other notable totals at Caesars Sportsbook by William Hill include the New York Mets (89), defending American League champion Tampa Bay Rays (88.5), Houston Astros (88), St. Louis Cardinals (88), Philadelphia Phillies (81.5), Chicago Cubs (79.5) and Boston Red Sox (77).

As pitchers and catchers begin reporting for spring training, the Dodgers are the clear-cut, consensus favorites to win the World Series, with odds around +350 at most sportsbooks. At William Hill sportsbooks in Nevada, the Dodgers are even shorter, at +200. The 1999 Yankees also began the season at +200 to win the World Series.

"It's very rare for a baseball team to be that low before the season," Nick Bogdanovich, director of trading for William Hill U.S., said in a company release.

Last year, the Dodgers posted a .717 winning percentage in the abbreviated 60-game regular season, which translates to 116 wins in a full 162-game slate. Only two teams -- the 1906 Cubs and the 2001 Seattle Mariners -- have won 116 games in a season.

After beating the Rays in last year's World Series, the Dodgers re-signed star players Corey Seager, Cody Bellinger and pitcher Walker Buehler and bolstered their pitching staff by acquiring National League Cy Young Award winner Trevor Bauer.

The Dodgers were the betting favorite in every game last season, including in the playoffs, a streak that's likely to continue in 2021.

"This Dodgers team, on paper, looks like an All-Star team in a lot of ways," Randy Blum, an oddsmaker for the SuperBook at Westgate Las Vegas, told ESPN. "If you look at their pitching staff, you could take any of their top guys, whether it's [Clayton] Kershaw, Bauer or Buehler, and throw them at home against the Pirates, and those numbers are going to be absurd."

ESPN's Vince Masi contributed to this report.

Mike Soroka isn't considering a cautious approach to his comeback from a torn Achilles tendon after throwing on the opening day of the Atlanta Braves' spring training.

"Really, on the mound I am ready to compete," Soroka said, adding, "I feel amazing."

Soroka was the Braves' 2020 Opening Day starter but then tore his right Achilles tendon in his third start of the season. The right-hander needed surgery before beginning his recovery with the goal of being ready to open the 2021 season.

Braves pitchers and catchers had their first workout on Thursday in North Port, Florida. Manager Brian Snitker said Soroka "looked really good" while throwing.

Soroka said his arm feels as strong as normal for the start of spring.

The question, of course, is the health of Soroka's right leg. He said the Achilles tendon is strong, but he acknowledged he still has to build up the strength in his calf, knee and hip.

Even so, Soroka had a quick response when asked if it would be smart to avoid trying to be ready by Atlanta's opener at Philadelphia on April 1.

"Obviously my response to that is I'll tell you I could be ready to compete right now," Soroka said.

Soroka was an All-Star in 2019, when he was 13-4 with a 2.68 ERA and finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year voting. Soroka, 23, leads a young foundation for the rotation that also includes Max Fried, Ian Anderson and Kyle Wright.

The Braves signed veterans Charlie Morton and Drew Smyly to one-year deals in the offseason, adding depth and experience to the rotation.

Snitker has other options, including Bryse Wilson, Sean Newcomb and Huascar Ynoa, so a careful approach to Soroka's 2021 debut would not be a surprise.

Soroka said it is important to understand the Achilles "is as strong as it's going to be" only five months after surgery. His surgery was in August, so he is six months into his rehabilitation.

There are more tests to pass. Soroka will run on Friday. He must show he can push off the mound to cover a bunt. He also must swing a bat and run out of the batter's box.

Despite his optimism, Soroka acknowledged that he can only "run a little bit."

"It's not where exactly I need to be," he said. "I need to get a little strength so I can come out of the gate hot."

Snitker avoided making a prediction on the date of Soroka's first start of 2021. Snitker said he will know more about Soroka's timetable in about three weeks.

"I don't think it'd be fair to him or us to say he's not going to make the starting rotation, he's going to be delayed, he's going to do this or is going to do that," Snitker said.

"We're just going to do what we can and see what transpires. ... Would you like to have him from the get-go? Absolutely. But I don't know that I can give you that answer right now."

Soroka has talked with two players who have made full recoveries from the surgery, Cardinals and former Braves right-hander Adam Wainwright and Phillies outfielder Roman Quinn.

"Talking to those guys and understanding what I was going to go through, it didn't mean I was going to feel 100 percent at six months," he said.

Based on the advice from Wainwright and Quinn, Soroka expects to make big gains in the next two months. He began throwing on the flat ground in November before progressing to the mound.

Motivation comes from his memories of watching on TV as his teammates advanced to the NL Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers and finished one win away from the World Series.

"One of the cooler and harder things I've ever had to do," he said. "... Not to be there was pretty hard, when you're sitting on a couch at home, not throwing on your feet yet. It's a tough moment, and it's not something I'm going to forget any time soon."

TAMPA, Fla. -- New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he had a conversation with Domingo German about his cryptic Instagram post on the day he returned to the team following a domestic violence suspension.

"Everything is over," German wrote in Spanish on Wednesday.

German deleted his posts, then wrote: "I'm ready" in Spanish.

"Certainly, we're paying attention to that stuff," Boone said Thursday. "When I first heard about it last night and saw it and it was brought to my attention, I was taken aback a little bit and immediately concerned, but do feel like maybe a little bit out of context, a little bit overblown.

"And I am comfortable that he's doing fine and doing well and ready to compete. But it is something that we'll continue to watch and as best we can try and make sure that he's in a good place. But I had the conversation about trying to be as smart and choosy as we can being about some of the things we're expressing publicly."

German was 18-4 with a 4.03 ERA in 2019 when he was put on administrative leave that Sept. 19 while Major League Baseball investigated an alleged domestic violence incident involving his girlfriend, with whom he has at least one child. He missed the final nine games of the 2019 regular season and all nine of New York's postseason games.

He was suspended for 81 games on Jan. 2 last year, a ban that had 63 games left. He missed the entire 2020 season and playoffs.

Yankees reliever Zack Britton would not say whether German needed to speak with teammates about what happened.

"That's a tough question. I don't think he owes anything to me," Britton said. "I think it's off-the-field stuff that he needs to take care of. I think sometimes you don't get to control who your teammates are. I mean, that's the situation. I don't agree with what he did. I don't think it has any place in the game or off the field, at all. ... I think that's something that he's going to have to deal with on his own and make better choices going forward."

"Me next! Me next!"

Hayden Parker could hardly believe it. On his screen was an Instagram direct message from one of his favorite Major League Baseball players, Chicago White Sox ace Lucas Giolito.

Giolito had seen Parker's work -- a series of hilarious, creatively Photoshopped images posted on Instagram called MLB Minis, which in just a little over a month have generated nearly 2.5 million impressions, gained more than 15,000 followers and even led to a freelancing gig for the Major League Baseball Players Association. And Giolito was asking to be a part of it.

"I was like a kid in a candy store, [Giolito] messaging me, some 21-year-old nobody, basically," said Parker, a Division III pitcher for Nebraska Wesleyan University. "I'm just so excited that something I offered was super cool. My teammates have been super supportive and always asking about who's messaging me, like, 'Oh my god, that's so crazy. Tell him I say hi.'"

Baseball fans and big leaguers have been drawn to Parker's Instagram account, which takes action scenes from MLB games and hits the key players with a shrink ray, resulting in surreal and eye-catching results.

"I just saw them all around Instagram, like other players posting them," Giolito said. "I just think it's cool Photoshop work and wanted to have one of my own."

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Parker started working on graphic design early in college but threw himself headfirst into the hobby while recovering from open-heart surgery heading into his junior year. Unable to leave his bed or throw a baseball, he spent day after day working in Photoshop on his MacBook, honing his skills. He started by making designs for his school, including game-day graphics for the athletic departments.

"It helped me get through the hard time, just putting my mind on something and not really having to think about it all," Parker said. "I couldn't get out of bed without my parents' help. Just putting my mind to that really helped me get through."

After noticing a few Photoshops of miniaturized athletes on Instagram, Parker decided last month to start his own dedicated account, combining his passion for baseball and graphic design by shrinking some of his favorite baseball players, a process that takes 20-30 minutes per image.

"I started out doing a lot of just high school or college dudes, just making minis for them to get my name out there," Parker said. "I was like, 'I'll make you one if you just repost it to your story so people can see my work.' It just grew from there."

Parker is originally from Arizona, and his first Photoshop featured Ketel Marte, one of his favorite players on the Diamondbacks. The second featured Hunter Pence, one of the most active MLB stars on social media, someone Parker figured might stumble upon his work. But his first big break came via a repost by Cleveland Indians pitcher Triston McKenzie. Soon, the DMs began pouring in.

Former New York Yankees lefty CC Sabathia slid into Parker's DMs asking for a picture of him pointing and yelling at a dugout to get the MLB Minis treatment.

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Among Parker's more memorable interactions was with retired outfielder Carlos Gomez, who asked Parker to "find whatever you want." Parker selected a photo of Gomez arriving at home plate to yelling catcher Brian McCann. Initially, Gomez felt hesitant to post the photo because he didn't want to be misinterpreted as starting online beef, but after seeing the popularity of the image on the MLB Minis account, Gomez reposted it on his personal page.

"I think it's dope, man. When I saw myself like that, I cracked up," Gomez said. "Every time I see the picture, I'm laughing."

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The interaction between designers like Parker, athletes like Sabathia and Giolito and baseball fans on social media could help generate more interest in the sport and its players, so it's no surprise the MLBPA's social media team reached out to Parker to showcase his skills on its Instagram feed.

"I think it can impact the game in a positive way for MLB because that creativity motivates the new generations and kids, 12, 13, 10 years old, to watch us," Gomez said. "It's a great idea. It's going to impact the future of all of this."

With a semester left of college, Parker isn't sure if graphic design is what he wants to pursue after he graduates. For now, he's taking things one Photoshop at a time.

"That's just kind of how the world is now," Parker said. "Things just pop up so quickly. I would obviously like to do it in the future if there is an opportunity for that, but I'm not limiting my options."

The world record-holder gets ready to race back in the city where his marathon journey began

Marathon great Eliud Kipchoge has been announced for the NN Mission Marathon in Hamburg on April 11.

The one-off event, organised jointly by Global Sports Communication, the NN Running Team and the Hamburg Marathon, will be the world marathon record-holder’s final outing over the classic 26.2-mile distance before the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics, where he will seek to become the third man in history to claim back-to-back Olympic titles.

His racing return will be highly anticipated following his below-par eighth-place finish in the elite-only London Marathon in October, when he clocked 2:06:49.

Kipchoge’s official world record mark stands at 2:01:39, which he ran in Berlin in 2018, while the Kenyan became the first athlete in history to break two hours for the marathon when he clocked 1:59:41 at the INEOS 1:59 Challenge in Vienna in 2019.

It was in in Hamburg in 2013 that his marathon career began and he has since gone on to win 11 of the 13 competitive races he has contested over 26.2 miles.

“In Hamburg, I am going back to the genesis of my marathon career,” said Kipchoge, who resumed gym work back in December and started full training from his camp in Kaptagat in January.

“I hope to inspire many people around the world by running a beautiful race in the streets of this beautiful city.”

The race, which has the tagline ‘The fastest way to Tokyo’, has been organised as an opportunity for athletes to run fast as they target Olympic Games qualification.

Around 100 invited elite athletes will run on the looped 10.5km city centre course.

They did not quite carry the kudos of his showdowns with Steve Ovett, but Seb Coe’s 3000m indoor head-to-heads with Dave Lewis in 1986 still packed a punch

Seb Coe enjoyed a number of tasty clashes with Steve Cram, Peter Elliott, Joaquim Cruz and of course Steve Ovett. But who remembers his races against cross-country specialist Dave Lewis at Cosford 35 years ago?

Lewis was an unlikely rival for Coe. But with Coe racing over-distance at 3000m during a period of heavy training, they proved a close match and their head-to-heads in the winter of 1986 ended in a one-all draw.

Their first clash came at the Pearl Assurance UK Championships at Cosford at the end of January. The event saw a Commonwealth 1500m record of 4:06.87 by a barefoot Zola Budd, while Ade Mafe stormed to a 200m championship best of 21.25 ahead of Todd Bennett and Linford Christie.

In the high jump the prodigious Geoff Parsons attacked the world record, whereas one of the surprises of the day came in the 3000m when Coe was beaten by not only Lewis but by Billy Dee too.

Rossendale Harrier Lewis was at the height of his powers. After winning the English National title the previous winter, he had established himself as Britain’s No.1 cross-country runner. A few weeks earlier he had dead-heated with Italian Alberto Cova on a gruelling course at Alexandra Palace in north London and also won the San Silvestre New Year’s Eve 10km in Spain.

His big goal of the winter was the World Cross Country Championships in Neuchatel but, when he found out he was facing Coe at Cosford, he swapped his usual hill sessions for track workouts – and the strategy paid off.

Steve Binns and Mark Roberts took the early pace and then Dee made his move with a 60.5-second lap from 2000-2400m, which dropped everyone bar Lewis. The next 400m was even faster – 59.98 – as Dee reached the bell from Lewis with Coe four seconds adrift.

“There was no stopping Lewis,” Mel Watman reported in AW, “as the defending champion struck hard along the back straight. Dee, game as they come, chased after him but Lewis was never in real danger as he stormed to victory in 7:49.61 with Dee showing 7:49.97.”

Coe ended up 40 metres behind in 7:55.58 – just outside his PB of 7:55.2 which was set when winning the national title in 1981.

Lewis and Dee broke Ian Stewart’s track record and championship best of 7:50.0 and Lewis told AW: “Indoor athletics is excellent preparation for cross country. It keeps that extra bit of speed in your legs and gives you confidence in knowing you’ll be able to outsprint nine out of ten opponents in the latter stages of a road or cross country race.”

Not surprisingly the rematch between Coe and Lewis was much anticipated. Six weeks later they met again at the Kodak Classic match between England and the United States in front of a record Cosford crowd of more than 5000.

Coe had just returned from a warm-weather training trip and led through 800m in 2:11. Steve Harris then took over, passing 1000m in 2:43 and halfway 4:03. Knowing he had to run the finish out of Coe’s legs, Lewis hit the front at 2000m (5:24.4) and injected pace with a series of 30-second laps to reach the bell in 7:26.08. But then Coe let rip with a 28-second final lap and sub-2:30 last kilometre to win in a PB of 7:54.32 as Lewis clocked 7:55.43 in second.

“I’m building a nice endurance base to tackle the Commonwealth and European races back to back,” said Coe.

In those championships, Coe suffered from illness at the Commonwealths in Edinburgh but bounced back to win the European 800m title in Stuttgart followed by 1500m silver behind Steve Cram.

Lewis, meanwhile, struggled with a stitch at the World Cross and finished 80th. He went on to win two more English National titles, competed in seven World Cross events in total and eventually moved to the marathon, running 2:13:49 in New York.

A guide to the action in Manchester, Loughborough and Lee Valley this weekend as athletes try to qualify for the European Indoor Champs in Poland

When the pandemic put paid to plans to stage the British Indoor Championships in Glasgow this month, three micro-meetings were created to act as selection trials for the European Indoor Championships in Torun, Poland, on March 4-7.

Lee Valley in north London stages events this Saturday (Feb 20) with Loughborough hosting competitions on Sunday (Feb 21) and Manchester over both days (Feb 20-21). Here are some of the leading contenders at each meeting followed by a timeline of how the weekend is set to unfold.

Lee Valley – February 20

Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, the reigning British 100m champion, leads the entries for the men’s 60m and faces the last two national indoor 60m gold medallists – Andy Robertson, the champion 12 months ago, and Dom Ashwell, the winner in 2019 – plus the in-form Oliver Bromby.

Initially there was no women’s 60m but it has been put back into the schedule, although there is no Dina Asher-Smith or Asha Philip and instead entries include Alisha Rees and Cassie-Ann Pemberton.

David King, British champion in sprint hurdles indoors and out last year, is in the 60m hurdles line-up. Nathan Douglas, who is now 38 but was ranked No.1 again in the UK last year, heads the triple jump entries.

In the men’s long jump, Dan Bramble faces Reynold Banigo, Jacob Fincham-Dukes and Dominic Ogbechie, while the women’s event sees Jazmin Sawyers and Abi Irozuru striving for Euro selection.

Loughborough – February 21

Field events are the focus at the East Midlands venue with shot putters Sophie McKinna (pictured below), Amelia Strickler and Scott Lincoln among the throwers in action.

Morgan Lake and Nikki Manson lead the women’s high jump entries with Chris Baker, William Grimsey and Kelechi Aguocha in the men’s event.

The pole vault sees British under-20 record-holder Molly Caudery plus Sophie Ashurst and Tilly Hooper – the daughters of former pole vault stars Andy and Brian – whereas Charlie Myers is set to vault in the men’s event.

Manchester – February 20-21

This two-day meet at Sportcity features combined events with up-and-coming Holly Mills, Jade O’Dowda, Katie Stainton and Ellen Barber in the pentathlon.

Maybe the hottest event of the weekend is the men’s 800m with Elliot Giles fresh from his UK record-breaking exploits in Torun this week taking on Guy Learmonth, Kyle Langford and youngsters Ben Pattison and Alex Botterill.

Lee Thompson is part of a 400m line-up that looks set to require heats and a final. Similarly, Jessie Knight (pictured below), Zoey Clark and Jodie Williams are part of a good quality women’s two-lap event with heats on Saturday and finals on Sunday. Individual qualification aside, there is also the prospect of taking relay teams to the European Indoors.

Andy Butchart is entered for the 1500m and 3000m. In the former he faces in-form Neil Gourley, Piers Copeland and British outdoor champion George Mills, while the longer race includes Phil Sesemann, Zak Seddon, Jonny Davies and Ross Millington.

Verity Ockenden leads the women’s 3000m entries, whereas the women’s 1500m includes Holly Archer, Katie Snowden, Ellie Baker and Aimee Pratt.

For up-to-date entry lists for Manchester click here, Lee Valley click here and Loughborough click here.

How the weekend unfolds

Here are some highlights over the two days at the triumvirate of Euro trials micro meetings.

Saturday February 20

10.30am – men’s heptathlon kicks off in Manchester

12 noon – Lee Valley action begins with 90min of 60m hurdles and 60m races

1.30pm – triple jumps start at Lee Valley

2.30pm – men’s long jump at Lee Valley followed by women’s long jump

3pm – women’s 3000m followed by men’s 3000m in Manchester

Sunday February 21

10am – women’s pentathlon gets underway in Manchester

12.30pm – pole vault and shot put competitions start in Loughborough

2.20pm – women’s high jump begins in Loughborough

2.25pm – men’s 400m final followed by the heptathlon climax in the 1000m in Manchester

2.55pm – women’s 400m final in Manchester

3.15pm – both 1500m finals plus 800m finals during a 45min spell in Manchester where the spotlight falls on middle-distance runners

4.05pm – men’s high jump in Loughborough

4.15pm – pentathlon concludes with the 800m in Manchester

Coverage on the AW website this weekend will include reports and photographs. The events are unlikely to be streamed, but the organisers are releasing video clips on social media.

The finals of the Billie Jean Cup in April have been postponed for a second time because of coronavirus.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) and Hungarian National Sports Agency said it was "unfeasible" to host the event because of Covid protocols.

The "situation remains serious and restricting", said ITF president David Haggerty.

Great Britain are still scheduled to host their Billie Jean King Cup play-off tie against Mexico in April after previously being pushed back from February.

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