In a bid to avoid the first work stoppage in league history, the MLS Players Association submitted to MLS its latest proposal for a revised Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

The MLSPA offer attempts to find a compromise with what MLS has proposed. In the MLSPA proposal, the terms of the CBA would be extended by one year. The union is asking for players 23 years of age and higher and with at least four years of service to qualify for free agency in 2025 and 2026. The previous free agency threshold was 24 years of age and 5 years of service.

The MLSPA is also offering reductions in the salary cap in every year from 2022-25, while also reducing the amount of revenue sharing in the next media rights deal to 12.5 percent for 2024. All told, the MLSPA said the total amount of concessions would be around $53 million.

MLS had previously asked for a two-year extension to the CBA and a freeze in the salary budget from 2021 to 2022 in exchange for no cuts to salary or bonuses in 2021. MLS said their initial offer would amount to between $100-110m in concessions.

"Players and staff have clearly borne substantial risk to their physical health because of the pandemic," the MLSPA said in a statement. "With these concessions, players have also unquestionably borne a substantial portion of the league's Covid-related financial losses. To the extent that those losses continue beyond current expectations, the CBA allows teams to further reduce expenses by adjusting their discretionary spend. Most importantly, this offer creates a revised CBA framework to ensure the continued growth and stability of MLS in the years to come. In exchange for and in recognition of these concessions, the proposal includes modest non-economic changes for the 2025 and 2026 seasons, changes that would benefit players by reducing the age for free agency eligibility by one year and decreasing some of the restrictions on free agent earnings.

"While concessions are always difficult to make, players have seen first hand the severe impact the pandemic has had on MLS. They recognize and appreciate the collective sacrifice that was required from league staff, club staff, matchday employees, ownership groups and fans to complete the 2020 season, and they recognize that this impact will continue to be felt by all as the 2021 season gets under way. Today's proposal will allow players, fans and the entire MLS community to get back to the crucial business of building this league for the years and decades ahead. A work stoppage at this time and in this environment would be catastrophic for the standing of MLS, both domestically and internationally. It is our sincere hope that it can be avoided. Players are ready to play."

The two sides have been engaged in CBA negotiations ever since MLS invoked a force majeure clause on Dec. 29. This was done in response to the continued adverse economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The slow rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine has led to concerns by MLS that they are looking at another season with few or no fans in the stands. Given the league's dependence on gameday revenues, MLS felt it was facing another year of steep losses. MLS has claimed that in 2020, the league lost nearly $1 billion, with $725 million directly tied to the pandemic.

The invoking of the clause reopened negotiations for 30 days, after which either side could nullify the CBA, or negotiations could continue.

MLS has insisted that the end of the 30-day window, set to occur at midnight on Thursday, was a hard deadline. In a memo sent out on Wednesday, MLS president and deputy commissioner instructed the league's teams and staff to prepare for a work stoppage in case an agreement on a CBA couldn't be reached by Thursday night.

The union has countered that MLS invoked the force majeure out of financial opportunism instead of financial necessity, especially after making $150 million in concessions in the most recent CBA which was negotiated last June.

The reopening of negotiations marks the third time in the last year that the two sides have been involved in CBA talks. The two sides reached an agreement in principle last February, but neither side formally ratified the deal. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, MLS reopened negotiations, with the two sides agreeing on a revised deal last June.

Earlier this week, MLS announced that training camps ahead of the 2021 regular season would commence on Feb. 22. The regular season is set to begin on April 3.

TAMPA, Fla. -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady spoke glowingly of coach Bruce Arians on Thursday as the Bucs prepare to take on the Kansas City Chiefs in next week's Super Bowl, saying "I think everyone wants to win for him."

At 68, Arians will be the second-oldest head coach in a Super Bowl. He won two as an assistant with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"He's a great man. A great leader. A great person. A great friend," Brady said of Arians, whom he got to know when Arians retired briefly and worked in broadcasting in 2018. "He's very loyal. He's just got a great way about communicating effectively with everybody around here."

Brady developed a fondness for Arians after watching his "A Football Life" documentary. It highlighted Arians' climb to become a first-time head coach at the age of 60 with the Arizona Cardinals, his hard coaching style, his disdain for playing politics and his desire to keep things real.

"Everybody has a great affection for him, for the person he is," Brady said of Arians. "There's nobody that would ever say anything bad about BA. He's just so endearing to everybody. And I think everyone wants to win for him."

Some had questioned how Brady was handling Arians' style, with a vastly different demeanor from Bill Belichick that includes, at times, calling players out publicly. Brett Favre and Rob Ninkovich, close friends of Brady's, even criticized Arians publicly for it, with Ninkovich calling for his job.

But Arians has always said, "It's just honesty," and Brady has said that he can handle hard coaching.

"He puts a lot into it, expects a lot out of it," Brady said. "He has high expectations for us every day at practice. Just really excited for him to be recognized the way that he is. I know he's two-time [AP] Coach of the Year, but he's really done an amazing job this year with the team in really adverse situations. I just love playing for him."

The feeling is mutual.

Said Arians of Brady during the Halas Trophy presentation after the Bucs won the NFC title: "The belief he gave everybody in the organization that this could be done -- it only took one man."

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid expressed disappointment that offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy was passed over for an NFL head coach opening for the third straight year.

"I'm glad I have him [for at least another season], but I'm not so glad I have him,'' Reid said Thursday after the Chiefs began practice for Super Bowl LV against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. "I was really hoping he would have an opportunity to take one of these jobs. You guys know what I think of him. I think he's great. I think he would be great for any number of teams that opened up and help them win football games and also develop men into men. I just think he's a great person."

Bieniemy, in his third season as the Chiefs' coordinator, interviewed for six head coach openings this year. He also interviewed for multiple openings in each of the previous two years.

One of Reid's former assistants, David Culley, did land a head-coaching job with the Houston Texans. Culley coached for Reid for 18 seasons, including from 2013 through 2016 with the Chiefs as wide receivers coach.

"David will do a good job,'' Reid said. "He's a people person. He'll bring energy to the building. One of the most loyal guys I've ever been around. He's a great person. We were together 18 years. We had a few cheeseburgers together.''

PITTSBURGH -- Ben Roethlisberger wants to return to the Pittsburgh Steelers for the 2021 season, and he's willing to do "everything" he can to help the team despite his massive salary-cap hit for 2021.

With the salary cap decreasing because of a drop in revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Roethlisberger's $41.2 million cap hit for next season is untenable, a matter Roethlisberger and team president and CEO Art Rooney II seem to agree on.

"I want to do everything I can and made that very clear to them from the very beginning that it was my idea to basically help the team however I can this year," Roethlisberger told The Athletic.

"Ben wants to come back," Rooney said on Thursday during his season wrap-up Zoom call. "We've left that door open.

"I think we've been up front with Ben in letting him know that we couldn't have him back under the current contract. I think he understands we have some work to do there. We'll have more conversations internally, and we'll have more conversations with Ben, and we'll have to know what the cap number is to finalize some of those decisions."

Roethlisberger added that he doesn't "care bout my pay at all this year!"

After the wild-card loss to the Cleveland Browns, Roethlisberger, 38, said he would talk with his family before making a concrete decision to return for 2021 but said he hoped the Steelers would want him back if that's what he decided to do. But will Rooney and the team give him the opportunity to write his own end to a storied career?

"With Ben, we owe it to him to have a conversation about how he wants to end his career, and we intend to do that."

To achieve cap relief and give Roethlisberger at least one more season to end on his own terms, the Steelers could ask the quarterback to take a pay cut in the final year of his contract. The Steelers have already prorated $22,250,000 of his contract, leaving just $19 million -- $4 million in base salary and a $15 million roster bonus -- to work with in a pay cut or restructure. The likelier option is an extension and restructure that spreads some of the cap hit into the 2022 season.

"I think that those are discussions we'll have with Ben and his representative," Rooney said of possibilities to massage Roethlisberger's contract. "It takes two to figure that out, and whether we can agree with what he wants, we'll just have to see."

As it stands now, the Steelers have three quarterbacks on the roster for the 2021 season: Roethlisberger, Mason Rudolph and newly signed Dwayne Haskins. But Rooney acknowledged that they need to add another signal-caller, potentially putting them in the sweepstakes for one of the available big-name quarterbacks if they can configure the cap to be accommodating.

"I think when you look at our room, we'll have to add somebody to the room this offseason," Rooney said. "We'll look at all the opportunities we have to do that."

Determining Roethlisberger's future is just the first step of many difficult decisions and discussions for the Steelers this offseason.

General manager Kevin Colbert's year-to-year contract will be up after the draft, and while Rooney said the two have had many discussions about Colbert's future, nothing is official.

"I feel like Kevin is going to come back, but who knows," Rooney said.

Coach Mike Tomlin's contract runs through at least the 2021 season with an option for the 2022 season, and in evaluating his head coach, Rooney said he believes Tomlin will lead the team in the future.

"We'll address Mike's contract with him as time goes on this offseason," he said. "I'll just say I feel comfortable in saying he'll be our coach into the future. ... In terms of the job he did, we didn't finish the way we'd like. The playoff game, it's hard to analyze ... just turning the ball over that way, you're not going to win many games. I don't see how you attribute that to coaching preparation. I think the team went into that game prepared."

Rooney also said that if it were all up to him, he would go into the 2021 season with the same roster the team had in 2020.

"If I had my druthers, I'd say if I could have the same roster back over in the next year, I'd do it," he said. "Obviously, that's not the case."

With the team's salary-cap situation -- the Steelers are estimated to be over by nearly $30 million with 48 players signed, according to ESPN's Roster Management System -- re-signing free agents such as Bud Dupree and JuJu Smith-Schuster will be difficult, if not nearly impossible.

"It's fair to say this will be the most difficult salary-cap challenge that we've had in a long time, maybe ever," Rooney said.

But the first step to figuring out the rest of the roster is to determine Roethlisberger's future.

Asked bluntly whether he wants Roethlisberger to return, Rooney paused, then said he wanted him back but offered no guarantees about the quarterback's future.

"I think we'd like to see Ben back for another year if that can work," he said. "But as we said, there's a lot of work to be done if that can happen; there may need to be decisions on both ends for that to happen."

THE CLEVELAND BROWNS were in the middle of their best season in decades, and Malcolm Pridgeon was sitting alone in his Dodge Durango outside the Berkshire Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in West Babylon, New York, thinking about better times.

When there was no pandemic, and the doors to the nursing home were open, Pridgeon would visit his mom during his breaks from football. He'd bring plain buttered bagels and chocolate milk for breakfast, and she always knew he was coming before he even walked into the room, possibly because 6-foot-6, 330-pound offensive linemen do not walk softly. Her face would light up when she saw him, and she would almost always say the same thing. "Look, my football player's home!"

Pridgeon didn't play football this season. According to the NFL Players Association, he was one of 69 NFL athletes to opt out because of COVID-19 concerns. He never thought he'd do something like this, voluntarily sit out a football season. He believed that this was going to be his year. Maybe all players on the NFL margins think this way, that they're one break away from making the 53-man roster. Throughout the spring and summer, Pridgeon was intent on playing. If he kept his mind occupied, he could block just about everything else out and forget how much he missed her.

Peggy Jean White died of COVID-19 on March 31 at the age of 60. She had a hard life. Her last conversation with her four children took place over the phone, except no one knew it would be the last time they would talk. Pridgeon and his siblings repeated, "We love you, Ma," but they weren't sure whether Peggy, who had tubes snaking out of her, had even heard what they'd said. She was laid to rest in front of a handful of mourners after a scramble to find a funeral home that would take her because the East Coast was being overrun by the coronavirus.

For most of his life, Pridgeon played football for his mother. He wanted to memorize the new playbook, and be the most improved lineman on the team, because he figured that's what his mom would've wanted him to do. He worked with two trainers on Long Island who said he was down to about 25% body fat by midsummer. He participated in the Browns' virtual offseason workouts and trained with a purpose. "I wanted to play so bad," Pridgeon said.

In early July, Pridgeon drove to Cleveland to get a jump on training camp. But something didn't feel right. His blood pressure soared, and his mind wandered to worst-case scenarios involving his family and his health.

Pridgeon wasn't the only one grappling with the risks of playing football during a pandemic. Three of the Browns' offensive linemen opted out by Aug. 5, and two of them were guards like Pridgeon. Those developments, along with the possibility of in-season outbreaks and quarantines, increased the chances of Pridgeon possibly suiting up for a game. But on Aug. 6, the last day to opt out, Pridgeon decided he couldn't do it. He informed Kevin Stefanski of his decision, and the first-year coach walked outside the facility to talk to him. Stefanski acknowledged that it had been a difficult year for him, and said he understood. He told Pridgeon to stay safe.

Pridgeon drove back to Central Islip, New York, where he lives with his older sister and his 10-year-old niece -- isolated from his team and watching games on a living room couch.

"Of course I wish I was out there," he said. "I can't look back on it. That causes stress that I don't need.

"I feel like if someone was in my shoes, they would've made the same decision I made."

ON JULY 24, with training camp looming and the United States' COVID-19 death toll surpassing 144,000, the NFL and NFLPA agreed to an opt-out amendment for the 2020 season. Players at high risk of COVID-19 complications such as those with diabetes, cancer or heart issues could sit out the year and receive $350,000 and accrue a season toward free agency, and players not deemed high risk could obtain a $150,000 stipend toward their 2021 salary (with no accrued season). All of their contracts would push forward to the 2021 season, when the pandemic would presumably be under control.

Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, a starting guard on the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl championship team, was the first one to opt out. Duvernay-Tardif spent months as an orderly in a long-term care facility in Canada during the early throes of the pandemic, and it gave him a different perspective of how COVID-19 stresses not only the infected but also the people and the health care system around them. "I cannot allow myself to potentially transmit the virus in our communities to simply play the sport I love," he said in an announcement. "If I am to take risks, I will do it caring for patients."

His teammate Damien Williams, who ran for 104 yards in the Super Bowl, opted out a few days later. Williams' mom is battling stage 4 cancer, and he didn't want to put her at risk. Thirty-six of the players who opted out started at least one game in 2019, according to ESPN Stats & Information data. Others were like Pridgeon -- young, undrafted and unknown. No quarterbacks, punters or kickers opted out. More than half of the list consisted of linemen, players who don't substitute much and are constantly grabbing, touching and breathing on one another. Linemen are also larger beings who often weigh more than 300 pounds, which in some cases could be considered a co-morbidity.

But Dr. Bert Mandelbaum, a sports medicine specialist and co-chair of medical affairs at Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Santa Monica, California, said it's impossible to assume anything about health-risk concerns or motivations. In an unprecedented year, with a pernicious virus that has claimed more than 425,000 American lives, everyone has to make choices, and there's a different story behind each one of those choices.

To address players' concerns, the NFLPA held a series of Zoom calls over the summer. Carl Francis, the NFLPA's director of communications, said roughly 2,000 people were on the calls, which usually stretched past two hours. Some of the most-asked questions revolved around what happens if a player carries the virus home to his family, and the long-term impact of COVID-19 on an athlete's body. Six months later, neither question can be fully answered. Yet the season prevailed through 16 regular-season games and the playoffs, all the way to next week's Super Bowl.

"I really didn't think they'd make it this far," said Indianapolis Colts safety Rolan Milligan, who opted out to protect his young, high-risk family. "I knew they'd probably make it halfway, maybe a little past halfway through the season. Everybody did a good job of handling their business for the most part and being able to let the season play all the way through."

The New England Patriots had eight players who opted out; the Pittsburgh Steelers, Atlanta Falcons and Los Angeles Chargers had none. Francis said he did not hear any stories of teams that tried to discourage their players from sitting out or threats that the decision would be held against them. Patriots receiver Marqise Lee, who opted out because of concerns over his baby daughter, said coach Bill Belichick wasn't angry when he told him the news. He said Belichick called it a "grown man's decision."

None of the six opt-outs interviewed for this story said he regretted his decision. These men found purpose in their season without football. Lee has been there for daughter Alia's first word -- Papa -- first tooth and first steps. She turns 1 next month, born just before the onset of the pandemic in the United States. Buffalo Bills safety E.J. Gaines, who sat out because his fiancée survived cancer and his son has breathing problems, has been dabbling in the real estate business. He put a playground in the backyard and watches his children run around. New York Giants co-captain Nate Solder is working with Compassion International on an initiative called Fill The Stadium, which aims to provide food and medicine for 70,000 economically vulnerable children during the pandemic.

On a recent January morning, Solder was talking on the phone while his infant son let out a series of small screams, indicating that he was finished with his breakfast. Taking the season off seemed like a no-brainer for Solder, who has survived cancer and whose 5-year-old son, Hudson, has been battling cancer since he was a baby.

But when you're giving up something so fleeting, something you've worked so hard for, it's never easy to stop.

"In a lot of ways, I felt like I was letting my teammates down," Solder said. "I felt like I was letting the new coaching staff down. The fact is, as a 32-year-old NFL player, it just hurts my chances of having my career trajectory take off at this point. I just have to trust in God and see where he leads me.

"Trust me, it was an internal tension. But once it became clear, the priority of my family's lives, of our children and my in-laws and parents and all the connections in our community, man, I just value people more than I value my career in the NFL."

MALCOLM PRIDGEON WAS 8 years old when his father introduced him to football. James Pridgeon would meet his son at the bus stop after school, and they'd toss a football around in the backyard. Malcolm couldn't play youth football at first. He was told he was too big. James was a large man too, standing about 6-4, and he worked nights as a street sweeper. One day, when Malcolm was 11, James died of an aneurysm. He was 46 years old.

Malcolm's mom was inconsolable. They were high school sweethearts, and she always said a piece of her went with him that day. Two years later, Peggy suffered a heart attack and a stroke that left her paralyzed from the waist down. Malcolm's sister Kalisha Garrison, who is 15 years older than he is, assumed the role of family matriarch. She tried to work while caring for her brothers and her mother, but Peggy required around-the-clock care and her insurance paid for only six hours a day. It eventually became too much, and she had to move to the nursing home. She wasn't happy about it at first, but when her children promised to visit often, and bring food, she became comfortable.

When Malcolm was recruited by Ohio State in 2016 after two seasons at Nassau Community College, he was conflicted. He didn't want to leave, but he wanted to play for one of the best college football programs in the country and knew he had to go. So he left for Columbus, while his mother waited for him. Pridgeon started every game in 2018, his senior year, and graduated with a degree in human development and family science. When he signed a rookie free-agent contract with the Texans the next spring, Kalisha told Peggy that her baby was going to the pros. "It's not just my baby," Peggy told Kalisha. "It's our baby."

The Texans waived him in August 2019, and Pridgeon came back home, took two days off to decompress, and started working out at Xceleration Sports Training with John Furia and Steve Wilk, trainers who had become his friends over the years. Pridgeon's agent, Eugene Lee, called a few weeks later and said that the Browns were interested in bringing him in for a workout. In September 2019, he was signed to the Cleveland practice squad. He was happy to be back in Ohio. His then-girlfriend, Emma Hnat, lived there, and Pridgeon was just an eight-hour drive from his mom. And after years of futility, the Browns were on the verge of finally contending.

"It was good times," he said. "They treated me with respect. I just miss that, playing football and learning from the older dudes."

PRIDGEON WAS CONSIDERED at higher risk because he suffers from hypertension, a condition that was so worrisome that it temporarily halted his football career in junior high. He had to sit out a season because he couldn't get his blood pressure under control.

He did a lot of research on COVID-19 health risks this past summer and talked to just about everyone close to him -- his girlfriend, his siblings, his trainers and his agent -- about what he should do. "He was really conflicted," Lee said, so he connected Pridgeon with Dr. Herb Martin, a psychologist who works with Lee's agency, Vanguard Sports.

Pridgeon eventually told his sister he had a gut feeling that opting out was what he was supposed to do. She asked him how he felt. "I feel hurt," he told her. "I don't know if I'll ever get picked to play on the team after I opt out."

Anthony Davis will sit out Thursday's game against the Detroit Pistons with a bruised right quad, the team announced.

Davis was asked about his right leg, which he seemed to be favoring in Wednesday's 107-106 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, and he downplayed any discomfort he was experiencing.

"I had a little brush burn on my knee from the court and it was like bothering me on my tights, just rubbing against it, so I just tried to pull them tights up off of it," he said. "But I feel physically fine. I feel fine and we have a long season to go."

The Lakers are off to a hot start, with their 14-5 record placing them No. 2 in the Western Conference.

Davis is averaging 21.9 points, his lowest scoring average since his second season, and 8.8 rebounds, his lowest rate since his rookie season. His 1.9 blocks per game is also his lowest rate since his rookie year.

It will be Davis' third missed game of the season, with all three as part of back-to-back situations. The Lakers won the two previous games without him.

LeBron James, who has played in every game for the Lakers this season, is listed as questionable because of a left ankle sprain he suffered earlier in the season.

BARBERVILLE, Fla. — The DIRTcar Nationals will celebrate its 50th anniversary on Feb. 2-13 as the top UMP modified, sprint car, late model and big-block modified stars converge on the half-mile clay oval.

The annual gathering of dirt racing’s best stars coincides with the running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona Int’l Speedway, which is located 22 miles west of Volusia Speedway Park.

The action begins on Feb. 2 with the DIRTcar UMP Modified class hitting the track for the first of seven nights of racing for the class. The Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions sprint cars hit the track on Feb. 3-4, with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series following on Feb. 5-7.

DIRTcar Late Models take center stage on Feb. 8-9, with the Super DIRTcar Series taking to the track from Feb. 9-13. The World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series returns to Volusia for the second time in the last month to help the Super DIRTcar Series close out the DIRTcar Nationals on Feb. 10-13.

As is tradition, race winners will receive small Gator trophies for their achievements during the 50th DIRTcar Nationals. Overall division champions will take home the coveted Big Gator trophy at the conclusion of the 12-day affair.

DIRTcar Nationals Racing Schedule

Feb. 2 – DIRTcar UMP Modifieds/Sprint Car Practice
Feb. 3 – All Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Cars/DIRTcar UMP Modifieds
Feb. 4 – All Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Cars/DIRTcar UMP Modifieds
Feb. 5 – World of Outlaws Sprint Cars/DIRTcar UMP Modified Quad 15s
Feb. 6 – World of Outlaws Sprint Cars/DIRTCar UMP Modified Gator Qualifying 1
Feb. 7 – World of Outlaws Sprint Cars/DIRTCar UMP Modified Gator Qualifying 2
Feb. 8 – DIRTcar Late Models/DIRTcar UMP Modified Gator Championship
Feb. 9 – DIRTcar Late Models/Super DIRTcar Series
Feb. 10 – World of Outlaws Late Models/Super DIRTcar Series
Feb. 11 – World of Outlaws Late Models/Super DIRTcar Series
Feb. 12 – World of Outlaws Late Models/Super DIRTcar Series
Feb. 13 – World of Outlaws Late Models/Super DIRTcar Series

DIRTcar Nationals Daily Schedule (Feb. 2-13)

10 a.m. — Pit gates open
11 a.m. — Transporter parking
1 p.m. — Pit Pass sales begin (noon Feb 2 & 8) & Will Call opens
3 p.m. — Pit area secured, credentials & Pit Passes required
4:40 p.m. — Grandstand & Midway secured
5 p.m. — Grandstand gates open, Fan Pit Pass booth opens in midway
5:15 p.m. — Hot Laps followed by Qualifying
6:50 p.m. — Opening Ceremonies
7 p.m. — Racing

DIRTcar Nationals Daily Schedule (Feb. 7)

7 a.m. — Pit gates open
7 a.m. — Transporter parking
10 a.m. — Pit Pass sales begin & Will Call opens
10:45 a.m. — Pit areas secured, credentials & Pit Passes required
1 p.m. — Grandstand gates open & Fan Pit Pass booth opens in Midway
2 p.m. — Hot Laps followed by Qualifying
3 p.m. — Opening Ceremonies, followed by Racing

BIXBY, Okla. — Cannon McIntosh will pilot the Daigh-Phillips Motorsports No. 71p sprint car on a limited basis this season, adding to an already-busy season for the Oklahoma teenager.

McIntosh, 18, is scheduled to debut for the Steve and Carla Phillips-led operation during the Kokomo Grand Prix doubleheader at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway on April 30 and May 1.

The event will feature both the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Series, where McIntosh will wheel his family-owned Dave Mac Motorsports midget, as well as a companion sprint car event.

Beyond Kokomo, the Daigh-Phillips team plans to compete in high-profile USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car Series events with McIntosh, including select Indiana Sprint Week shows and Sprint Car Smackdown at Kokomo.

McIntosh has only run one 410 sprint car race in his career, though, he does have limited experience driving a winged sprint cars with his family race team.

“It’s going to be a whole new experience for me, but I’m really looking forward to the opportunity,” said McIntosh. “They reached out to my racing page and Carla (Phillips) and I started talking about this year and it just grew into them wanting to have me in the car when I could be around my midget commitments. I told them I was interested and I felt like it would be a great opportunity for me to capitalize on.

“Everything just worked out to make this happen and I’m pretty excited for the opportunity, largely because I haven’t gotten to run many sprint car races to this point,” McIntosh added. “For me, I feel like it’s a positive step in my career. It’s definitely a good opportunity for me and I’m just thankful to have good people like that behind me.”

McIntosh is coming off a fourth-place finish in the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals and will kick off the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Series season at Florida’s Bubba Raceway Park on Feb. 5-6.

His sprint car experience is limited to a handful of starts from 2018-’20 across the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour, the Midwest Open Wheel Ass’n and the ASCS Mid-South and ASCS Sooner Regions.

McIntosh is eager to grow with the help of the Phillips, who have had veterans like Dave Darland and Jason McDougal behind the wheel of their sprint car in the past.

“I’ve run a few winged races, but only done one 410 race in my career. It’s definitely a whole different deal,” McIntosh noted. “Being in a non-winged sprint car, there’s nothing that handles quite like it. That’ll be new for me and pose some different challenges, but it’s just another thing to learn.

“There are many people who say if you can drive a midget, you can drive anything, so I’m going to take that for what it’s worth and try and prove it right,” he continued. “There are some big races on the schedule that Carla sent me that are a little nerve-wracking, but it’s a good opportunity and a way for me to showcase myself in something else other than a midget. I don’t think we’re going to be killer right off the bat — if we are, that’s even better — but we’ll learn a little bit in the beginning and I think we’ll just get better and better as we go along.

“It’ll be fun, I do know that much.”

As for what race he’s most looking forward to in the sprint car this year, McIntosh was quick to respond.

“I’ve never been to Eldora and there are plans for two Eldora races on the calendar we put together, so I’m hoping we can make those happen,” McIntosh noted. “It’s not a sure thing, but the possibility of doing those has me excited.”

Manchester United and West Ham have reached an agreement in principle to loan Jesse Lingard, sources have told ESPN.

West Ham have beaten competition from Newcastle, West Brom and Sheffield United to sign the 28-year-old England international until the end of the season.

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West Ham are set to pay United a loan fee of £1.5 million and cover Lingard's wages. Lingard has been desperate to seal a temporary move after only playing three games for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team this season.

His two starts have both come in the domestic cups and he has not featured in the Premier League since July.

West Ham manager David Moyes knows Lingard from his time in charge of United and took the midfielder on the preseason tour in the summer of 2013.