It was one of the more direct questions of Patrick Reed’s post-win press conference Sunday at the Farmers Insurance Open: What does your golf reveal about your character?

Reed, whose five-shot victory at Torrey Pines was convincing on paper but far from it in the eyes of many after his controversial drop a day earlier, didn’t take long to respond.

“The biggest thing is how resilient and passionate I am for the game of golf and also how passionate I am for my country,” Reed said. “There's no other reason why I'm wearing red, white and blue today.”

He could be wearing those colors on more than just Sunday come September. The embattled Reed’s ninth Tour win, at the Farmers, moved him to sixth in the latest U.S. Ryder Cup standings.

The top six players after the BMW Championship will earn automatic spots on captain Steve Stricker’s U.S. squad for the Sept. 24-26 matches at Whistling Straits, which is important for Reed considering many believe his chances of making a fourth straight Ryder Cup would be in question if he was relying on a captain’s pick. Despite his “Captain America” moniker and still perfect 3-0 singles record, Reed has transformed into more of a team cancer than leader, evidenced by him throwing Jordan Spieth and Jim Furyk under the bus after a 2018 loss in Paris and bringing his post-Hero World Challenge bunker drama with him to Australia for the 2019 Presidents Cup, which the U.S. won.

Reed’s rise into the top six bumps a struggling Brooks Koepka to seventh, just ahead of Webb Simpson and Tony Finau, who was runner-up Sunday at Torrey.

Here is a look at the current U.S. Ryder Cup picture:

• 1. Dustin Johnson
• 2. Bryson DeChambeau
• 3. Justin Thomas
• 4. Xander Schauffele
• 5. Collin Morikawa
• 6. Patrick Reed
• 7. Brooks Koepka
• 8. Webb Simpson
• 9. Tony Finau
• 10. Harris English
• 11. Patrick Cantlay
• 12. Daniel Berger
• 13. Matthew Wolff
• 14. Kevin Kisner
• 15. Gary Woodland
• Other notables: 20. Tiger Woods, 22. Scottie Scheffler, 32. Rickie Fowler, 37. Jorrdan Spieth, 40. Phil Mickelson, 44. Cameron Champ, 51. Will Zalatoris

The top six players after the BMW Championship will make the U.S. team. Six captain’s picks will be made after the Tour Championship.

Meanwhile, England's Paul Casey rocketed up both Team Europe standings after his win in Dubai. The 43-year-old Casey, who in 2018 played his fourth Ryder Cup after a 10-year absence, moved up 20 spots to sixth in World points, where he is now second of five projected automatic qualifiers from that category. He is also 14th in European points, an improvement of 37 spots.

Here is a look at the current European Ryder Cup picture:

EUROPEAN POINTS

• 1. Tommy Fleetwood
• 2. Tyrrell Hatton
• 3. Jon Rahm
• 4. Rory McIlroy
• 5. Victor Perez
• 6. Bernd Wiesberger
• 7. Matt Fitzpatrick
• 8. Danny Willett
• 9. Lee Westwood
• 10. Bob MacIntyre
• 11. Matthias Schwab
• 12. Rafa Cabrera Bello
• 13. Marcus Kinhult
• 14. Paul Casey
• 15. Benjamin Hebert

WORLD POINTS

• 1. Jon Rahm
• 2. Tyrrell Hatton
• 3. Rory McIlroy
• 4. Tommy Fleetwood
• 5. Victor Perez
• 6. Paul Casey
• 7. Danny Willett
• 8. Matt Fitzpatrick
• 9. Bernd Wiesberger
• 10. Lee Westwood
• 11. Bob MacIntyre
• 12. Rafa Cabrera Bello
• 13. Viktor Hovland
• 14. Graeme McDowell
• 15. Matthias Schwab

The top four players in European Points and the top five players in World Points not already qualified via European Points after the BMW PGA on Sept. 12 earn automatic spots on the European team. Three captain’s picks will be made on Sept. 13.

USMNT defender DeAndre Yedlin has joined Turkish giants Galatasaray from Premier League side Newcastle United.

Yedlin's contract was up in June and his original preference was to stay at Newcastle, but he has taken up a three-and-a-half-year deal with Galatasaray.

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The two clubs were locked in negotiations for much of last week. Galatasaray tabled the contract offer to Yedlin on Tuesday, leaving it up to the two clubs to agree a deal. Newcastle approved Galatasaray's latest approach on Saturday and gave Yedlin permission to travel to Istanbul.

Yedlin moves to Galatasaray on a free transfer, but Newcastle will receive performance-related bonuses and a percentage of any potential future fee, sources have told ESPN.

A source close to the deal told ESPN that Newcastle gave the U.S. right-back assurances he would feature in the reminder of the season but with no new contract offer on the table, the club allowed Yedlin to pursue a permanent deal elsewhere.

He is hugely experienced, with 62 caps for the U.S., and will leave the Premier League having played for both Tottenham and then Newcastle.

He joined Newcastle in 2016, and made 125 appearances for the club. He broke into Steve Bruce's starting lineup in December but his progress was then hampered by visa issues that have since been solved.

Former Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has denied being involved in leaking Lionel Messi's contract to Spanish newspaper El Mundo.

Messi's four-year deal, which was signed in 2017, was released in full on Sunday and revealed the Barca forward stood to make a maximum of €555 million over the course of the contract, making him the highest-paid athlete of all time.

Sources have confirmed to ESPN that Messi plans to pursue legal action against the newspaper and anyone from the Catalan club found to have been involved in leaking the terms.

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Bartomeu resigned from the club last October and his relationship with Messi ended on a bad note, with Messi branding him a liar in several recent interviews.

"It's completely false [that I was involved in the leak]," Bartomeu told TV3. "This is a very serious issue because it's completely illegal to leak any professional contract to the media.

"It's easy to make accusations, but this is not a joke and it's going to end up in court. Messi deserves everything he earns, be that for professional or commercial reasons. Without the pandemic, Barcelona would be more than capable of paying those numbers."

Bartomeu has not yet been replaced as Barca president, with an election to be held on March 7 for club members to decide who will preside over the club for the next six years.

The two leading candidates, Joan Laporta and Victor Font, have both come out in support of Messi since El Mundo's report was published, in which the newspaper accused Messi of "ruining" Barca financially.

"Messi has not ruined the club," Laporta told Rac1. "That was the previous board, who have lost all reasoning since 2016.

"These types of stories show a complete lack of respect to Barca. But given the lack of governance at the club with no president, it's easier for these things to happen."

Given Barca's gross debt has risen to €1.2 billion, there are now genuine concerns over whether they can afford to keep Messi, who is free to leave in the summer if he doesn't renew his deal.

Font, like Laporta, insists getting Messi to commit to new terms remains a priority for whoever the incoming president is, although he did say "it's not the end of the world" if the Argentina international does leave.

"We have to do everything possible to retain Messi," Font told Onda Cero. "That was true in 2017 and it's still true now. Messi generates that much and more for the club. To suggest the club is ruined because of him is a completely erroneous conclusion."

According to El Mundo, Messi would receive a maximum of €555,237,619 ($673,919,105) over four seasons if a series of conditions were met.

Including image rights, the report said that Messi was paid a €115m renewal bonus and a €77m loyalty bonus split into two payments -- as revealed by ESPN in November.

Messi is also said to earn about €72m annually in addition to add-ons for playing more than 60% of games throughout the course of a season, Champions League progression, winning La Liga or the Copa del Rey and winning FIFA's The Best.

Barca coach Ronald Koeman has said the contract was leaked with "malicious intent to do damage to the club and to Messi" and added that if someone at the club was behind it, "they should no longer have a future at Barcelona."

USWNT star Alex Morgan has reported to Orlando Pride's National Women's Soccer League preseason camp after she missed the national side's January training camp due to contracting COVID-19.

On Monday she was also named in Vlatko Andonovski's USWNT squad for the SheBelieves Cup.

Morgan, 31, hasn't trained with the Pride since August 2020 when she returned to them after giving birth to her daughter Charlie ahead of the Challenge Cup.

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However, the Pride were unable to compete in the Cup due to COVID-19 cases in the squad and Morgan secured a move to Tottenham in September for the first half of the 2020-21 Women's Super League season.

"Mentality going into 1st day of pre season... and every day after that!," Morgan wrote on Instagram, accompanied by a picture of her in the Pride dressing room wearing a jumper with the letters: LFG [Let's F------ Go].

Morgan had the option of extending her contract with Spurs until the end of the season but instead opted to return to the United States for the NWSL season.

Her return to the pitch in 2020 was slightly delayed after she suffered an injury in training but she made her first appearance since giving birth on Nov. 7 in the WSL against Reading.

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She went on to score her first goal on Dec. 6 when the north London side faced Brighton.

The forward returned to the national team in November when the USWNT travelled to Netherlands for a rematch of the 2019 World Cup final.

Morgan was not included in Andonovski's January camp after she confirmed she had contracted COVID-19 over the Christmas holidays.

"Unfortunately, my family and I closed out 2020 learning that we had contracted COVID while in California over the holidays," Morgan, a native of Southern California, posted on social media.

"We are all in good spirits and recovering well. After our isolation is completed, I will follow US Soccer's return to play guidelines to ensure my body is fully recovered and I can join my teammates back on the field soon. Be safe and happy new year."

AS Roma have reached a deal to sign United States youth international Bryan Reynolds from Major League Soccer side FC Dallas, it was club confirmed on Monday.

The move is originally a loan agreement but includes an obligation to make the deal permanent in the summer for €6.75 million with €5m in potential add-ons according to ESPN sources.

Reynolds, 19, is the latest American player to sign for a European club after Roma beat competition from clubs across the continent to sign him.

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"I love this game so much and I'm excited for my future," Reynolds said. "I grew up with FC Dallas and wouldn't be where I am if I didn't have the opportunity with the club. I'm going to fight and give everything to Roma like I did here. I would like to thank the fans and FC Dallas for their support. I'm just super excited for my future and I'm going to learn Italian as fast as possible."

Sources told ESPN that Roma's Serie A rivals Juventus were confident of landing Reynolds earlier in the transfer window and planned to loan him to another Serie A side for six months as they had already signed their two permitted non-EU players this term.

? Welcome to #ASRoma, Bryan Reynolds! ??

As a club we are proud to continue supporting missing children charities around the world - working together to improve the chances that youngsters across the globe will be returned home safely. ♥️ pic.twitter.com/JaM9oK0Ea3

— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) February 1, 2021

Reynolds would have been the second American on Juve's books -- joining fellow FCD academy product Weston McKennie, himself on loan for the season from Bundesliga club Schalke 04. The Bianconeri have the option to make the McKennie's deal permanent at the end of the season.

But Roma came back in with an improved offer for the player, who also attracted attention from Belgian side Club Brugge, and he will join Paulo Fonseca's team sitting third in Serie A.

Reynolds is yet to make his USMNT debut but has regularly featured for the U.S. at youth levels. He was named to the U.S. Under-23s training squad earlier in January but withdrew for personal reasons.

England's treatment of Alex Hales has been described as "really unfair" by Shane Bond.

Hales has not played an international match for almost two years after being deemed to have shown a "complete disregard" (in the words of Eoin Morgan) for England's team values by failing tests for recreational drugs. Hales was also present on the night Ben Stokes was arrested in Bristol in September 2017 - Hales was not charged and Stokes was cleared in court of affray.

Bond, the former New Zealand fast bowler, believes Hales is "being punished way too much". As Hales' coach at Sydney Thunder, Bond said he had "matured" into a "really good man" and suggested it was time for the England team to move on from the past.

And Bond, who has formerly fulfilled a short-term stint as a bowling consultant with the England side, revealed no one from the ECB had been in touch to check on Hales' behaviour; a situation he described as a failure of "due diligence".

"I've read a lot from the England camp about how it's about trust issues," Bond told Australia's Daily Telegraph. "Well, if that's the case, I want to know how they signed off on that because I'm still waiting for the phone call about how he's going over here.

"If you're going to make it about trust then you need to do your due diligence and see what's actually happening but he's been here for two seasons and no one's rung us from the ECB to ask how he's fitted in and what he's been doing.

"I just think that's really unfair because he's being punished for something that happened nearly three years ago.

"Lots of young men make mistakes but he's learnt from it and grown up. He's matured and he's a really good man that is just being punished way too much."

Bond's words come after Hales finished an outstanding BBL campaign. He is, at present, the competition's highest run-scorer (he has 543; nobody else has reached 500), scorer of the highest individual score (110 made against Sydney Sixers), striker of the most sixes (30; the next highest is 25) and has the highest strike-rate (161.60) of anyone with 300 runs.

Despite that, however, Hales has revealed he has had no contact from the England management. That left Bond calling for someone from the ECB to "just have the courtesy" of letting Hales "know what he needs to do" to win a recall.

"How much longer will this go on, because it's been nearly three years now," Bond continued. "You've seen other incidents in the past where people have been forgiven and moved on so you've got to wonder if it's down to personality clashes rather than actually about trust or whatever it may be.

"What really disappoints me is that no-one from the ECB has given him any clarity about what he's meant to do and how he can rebuild that trust.

"He's been a great servant to England cricket and is too good a player not for someone to just have the courtesy of letting him know what he needs to do. What's been happening is really unfair."

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Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia, who hasn't played since 2019 because of a knee injury suffered two seasons earlier, announced his retirement Monday.

Pedroia, 37, a four-time All-Star who was named American Rookie of the Year in 2007 and AL MVP in 2008, played his entire 17-season professional career in the Red Sox organization. He won three World Series rings with the Red Sox and was a four-time Gold Glove winner.

He is the only player ever to earn Rookie of the Year, Gold Glove and MVP awards along with a World Series championship in his first two full seasons. Only nine other players have accomplished those feats in their entire career.

"Dustin is so much more than his American League Most Valuable Player award, his All-Star Game selections, and the Gold Gloves he amassed throughout his impressive 17-year career in our organization," Red Sox owner John Henry said in a statement.

"Dustin came to represent the kind of grit, passion, and competitive drive that resonates with baseball fans everywhere and especially with Red Sox fans. He played the game he loves in service to our club, its principles and in pursuit of championships. Most of all we are forever grateful to him for what he brought to our club and to our region as an important role model showing all of us how much one can accomplish with determination and hard work."

Pedroia's knee troubles began in April 2017, when then-Baltimore Orioles star Manny Machado took him out with a hard slide at second base. Since then, he has undergone multiple surgeries on his left knee, beginning with the initial procedure in October 2017. He played just nine games total between the 2018 and '19 seasons.

In 14 major league seasons, he hit .299/.365/.439 with 140 homers, 394 doubles and 725 RBIs.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

MOORESVILLE, N.C. – MoneyLion, a leading all-in-one digital financial platform, has renewed its sponsorship agreement with Team Penske for multiple races during the up coming NASCAR season, beginning with the NASCAR Cup Series Clash at Daytona.

MoneyLion will be featured as a primary partner at select NASCAR events on the cars driven by Brad Keselowski and Austin Cindric. The company will also be an associate sponsor throughout the season on the No. 22 Ford driven by Joey Logano. Keselowski will race the No. 2 MoneyLion Ford Mustang in the Clash at Daytona exhibition event on Tuesday evening, Feb. 9 at Daytona Int’l Speedway.

“At MoneyLion, we are passionate about providing hard working Americans access to the tools and personalized financial advice they need to get engaged in their finances and feel confident about their future,” said Dee Choubey, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of MoneyLion. “In much the same way, we’re thrilled to be continuing our partnership with Team Penske for a third consecutive year and joining with them to offer racing fans a fun and engaging way to get in on the excitement of the start of the NASCAR season.”

As part of the season-opening exhibition race, MoneyLion will continue its tradition of rewarding loyal NASCAR fans by launching its #ClashCash promotion, celebrating Keselowski’s participation in the unique event. Through the #ClashCash contest, MoneyLion will give MoneyLion Racing Twitter followers an opportunity to win cash prizes and Team Penske-autographed items to during each lap of the race. A final winner selected at random following the race will win $2,000 plus an autographed piece of sheet metal from one of MoneyLion’s Ford Mustangs.

“It’s great to have MoneyLion back on board for 2021 and to be a part of the 2 crew for the Clash,” said Keselowski. “On top of that, MoneyLion has always found unique and fun ways to engage with our fans and the Clash Cash program is no different. MoneyLion has created an extra incentive for fans to watch the race, be active on social media and feel like they are a real part of the Clash at Daytona. Everyone has a chance to win a nice cash prize, plus someone will own a piece of a MoneyLion Ford Mustang at the end of the night.”

MOORESVILLE, N.C. – Denny Hamlin Racing eSports has rebranded under the 23XI Racing banner ahead of the new eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series season.

23XI Racing will field two race cars in NASCAR’s top officially-sanctioned iRacing series, which kicks off its points season on Feb. 8 at Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway.

Keegan Leahy, a multi-time race winner last year, returns to drive the No. 32 Virtual Racing School Toyota Camry, joined by Mitchell deJong in the No. 23 DoorDash Toyota Camry.

Leahy is embarking on his fourth season in the eNASCAR iRacing ranks and has already established himself as one of the top contenders in the series week in and week out.

The 27-year-old Canadian is an eight-time Coca-Cola Series winner, including three victories last season. All told in 2020, Leahy took eight top-five and nine top-10 finishes in 20 starts, as well as a series-high four pole positions.

Leahy has never finished worse than seventh in points, with his career-best of second in the final standings coming during the 2019 season, where he came up just short to Zack Novak in a last-lap battle for the win and the championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

DeJong is set for his rookie season in the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series, part of a loaded class of 11 first-year drivers making their debuts at the top level of sim-racing.

The 23-year-old Temecula, Calif., driver was the inaugural iRacing Rallycross champion in 2018 and has honed his skills primarily on road courses in the past.

DeJong was a regular competitor in the iRacing World Championship Grand Prix Series from 2014-’18, and, for the past two years, in the Porsche eSports Super Cup Series that replaced the Grand Prix Series.

He raced his way into the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series by way of a third-place points finish in the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Series, earning a victory at his home track – Auto Club Speedway – as part of two top-five and three top-10 finishes in the six-race series.

The eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series schedule, released Sunday night, features 18 events. It will be capped off by a new venue for the championship race, which will be held at the virtual Texas Motor Speedway on Oct. 12.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Broadmoor Pikes Peak Int’l Hill Climb has invited more than 65 competitors to take part in the 99th Running of the Race to the Clouds on June 27, 2021.

Organizers will welcome drivers from nine countries and 18 states.

Two King of the Mountain award winners, Paul Dallenbach and Robin Shute, will be back on Pikes Peak in June to challenge the 12.42-mile course. Dallenbach holds three King of the Mountain trophies, has seven additional division wins and will run in the Open Wheel division.

England’s Shute, the 2019 King of the Mountain, is back in the No. 49 Wolf GB08 TSC as part of the Unlimited division. Unable to attend in 2020 due to the global pandemic, Shute is eager to be back on Pikes Peak where he will face 10 other Unlimited entries, including J.R. Hildebrand, a 10-year veteran of the NTT IndyCar Series.

Hildebrand, who finished second in the 2011 Indianapolis 500, is scheduled to tackle Pikes Peak in a 2021 Dallara DW12/IR18 Indy car according to the entry list provided by the Pikes Peak Int’l Hill Climb.

Diesel recordholder, Scott Birdsall returns with “Old Smokey,” an eye-catching 1949 Ford F1, to defend his 2020 diesel-powered record of 11:24.065. Other diesel-powered challengers include Gregiore Blachon in a 2021 VW Bug Proto TRI-TDI Diesel and newcomer Pat O’Keefe in a 2015 TA2 Camaro powered by a Twin-Charged 3.0L Ecodiesel engine running 100 percent renewable NexDiesel.

The Porsche Pikes Peak Trophy by Yokohama division will include the 2020 Rookie of the Year, Kathryn Mead, a retired astrophysics professor turned race car driver.

“I felt well prepared but you still have to execute, and race day at Pikes Peak is the only time that you get to drive the whole mountain,” said Mead. “When I crossed the line it was the most euphoric I’ve ever felt in my whole life. It was the hardest but coolest thing I’d ever done.”

Six other competitors in the one-make Porsche division, all sporting Yokohama tires, will round out the group.

Randy Pobst returns in a 2020 Tesla Model 3 in the Exhibition division. Pobst’s spectacular crash just past the Bottomless Pit wall on the second practice day in 2020 appeared to end his racing effort. However, after three round-the-clock work sessions his dedicated crew presented a race-ready car on Sunday and Pobst captured second place in his division.

Formula Drift Championship Series competitor, Dai Yoshihara capped off the 2020 competition. As the final competitor to challenge the mountain, Dai blasted to the summit in his 2013 Toyota 86 to win the Unlimited division. Yoshihara returns to America’s Mountain in June, this time in the Exhibition division behind the wheel of a 2018 Tesla Model 3.

Fumio Nutahara was forced to take a hiatus from Pikes Peak last year due to the pandemic, but he returns in 2021 with a novel electric-powered car, a 2022 GLM ZZ to run in the Unlimited division.

An internationally certified instructor at the BMW Performance Center in South Carolina, Laura Hayes will compete for the first time behind the wheel of a 2021 BMW M2CSR when she joins the Time Attack 1 division. No stranger to Pikes Peak, Hayes piloted the Parade of Champions BMW in 2020, leading the competitors from the Summit back to the Start Line, post-race.

Perhaps the most exciting rookie is three-time Pikes Peak motorcycle division winner Codie Vahsholtz, who will compete for the first time on four wheels. Vahsholtz will pilot the monstrous 2013 Ford Open driven by his father, Clint, last year. Clint Vahsholtz became King of the Mountain in this dominating Open Wheel machine with a time of 9:35.

Click here for the full Pikes Peak Int’l Hill Climb competitor list.