HONOLULU – Brendan Steele knows he can play well at the Sony Open whether it's windy or calm, in sunshine or rain. Now he gets another chance to see if he can win.

One year after Steele lost a late lead at Waialae and lost in a playoff, he delivered the lowest score of his career Saturday in ideal conditions with a 9-under 61 that gave him a two-shot lead going into the final round.

''You hope that you come back and you play well and erase whatever negative memories there are,'' Steele said. ''But all the memories are pretty positive. Playing great here last year was good, and I'm excited for the challenge tomorrow. I know it's going to be really tough. Guys are coming after me. But I'll just do my best and hopefully it will be enough.''

If Saturday was any indication, it will be plenty tough.

Joaquin Niemann, a runner-up last week at Kapalua, was outside the top 10 when he birdied the par-3 17th and then roasted a 7-wood that tumbled onto the green to 10 feet for eagle and a 63. Just like that, he was two shots behind.

Kevin Na started the day five shots out of the lead and matched his career-low with a 61 to join Niemann at two back.

Overnight rain at Waialae Country Club, coupled with the tropical wind not even strong enough to make palm trees sway, left the course as vulnerable as it has ever been.

There were 10 scores of 64 or better Saturday. The average score was 66.7, a record for the Sony Open.

Niemann was 4 under for his round and far from satisfied.

''I thought I could put myself in a better position, and then finishing that way and making eagle on 18 made me really happy and gave me a bit of motivation for tomorrow,'' said Niemann, the 22-year-old from Chile.

Na had it going so well he thought about a 59 when he stood over a 10-foot birdie putt on the 17th, knowing that would leave him an eagle away from golf's magic number. He had to settle for a 61, and know he might need another score like it.

''The golf course is so gettable that somebody can go shoot 8 or 9 under,'' Na said. ''Yeah, I am in a good position but it's what you shoot Sunday. I'm still going to need a low one tomorrow.''

Steele was at 18-under 192.

Stewart Cink birdied his final hole for a 65 and was three shots behind, along with Charley Hoffman (64), Peter Malnati (64), Chris Kirk (65) and Russell Henley (65).

Starting times have been moved up by two hours Sunday with hopes of finishing ahead of heavy rain in the forecast.

Steele had a two-shot lead with two holes to play a year ago when he missed a 6-foot par putt on the 17th hole, hit a wild hook on his approach to the easy par-5 18th and had to settle for par, and then missed the 10th green with an 80-yard shot in the playoff against Cameron Smith. It was a final hour when everything went wrong.

When he arrived in Hawaii to start the week, he played the back nine at Waialae for a practice round and was reminded of what he let slip away.

''I was remembering some shots, some good and some bad, kind of kicking myself a little bit,'' he said.

Steele said he typically plays well coming off a break – five weeks, in this case – and the fact he has the 54-hole lead for the second straight year only tells him he can play this course in any weather. The ferocious wind last year finally gave way to rain. This year, there has been plenty of sunshine and only moderate wind.

Keith Mitchell, who had a 62 on Friday, took the lead at one point in the third round and was 8 under through 15 holes on his round when his tee shot landed near a cement wall of a house and cost him a penalty drop. A mediocre finish gave Mitchell a 63, which felt even higher being in the same group as Na.

Nick Taylor, who took a two-shot lead into the third round, was keeping pace until a pair of bogeys on the back nine. He shot a 68 and was still only four shots back.

Such is the nature of this tournament in this kind of weather. It was wide open on Saturday, and it's not likely to be any different in the final round.

New Zealand allrounder James Neesham has undergone surgery for a compound dislocation on his left ring finger. Cricket Wellington said on Twitter that Neesham has a splint on, and that he will be reviewed by a hand specialist in a week. Neesham is expected to return to action for the back end of the ongoing Super Smash tournament, where Wellington are currently leading the table.

Neesham had featured in five of his team's six matches thus far, scoring 65 runs and taking eight wickets - the joint-most - at an average of 16.25. He played Saturday's Super Smash match against Canterbury, top-scoring with 49 to lead Wellington to 154 for 7. However, he was unable to close out the match with the ball, conceding 30 runs from 3.4 overs as Wellington suffered their first loss of the season. He underwent surgery later on Saturday night.

Neesham, who has mostly been restricted to T20 cricket in recent months, had struggled for form during the IPL in the UAE, managing just 19 runs and two wickets from five matches for Kings XI Punjab, who finished sixth on the table and missed out on the playoffs for the sixth straight year.

Despite that lean run, Neesham was included in the T20I squad for the home series against West Indies and Pakistan. He made a decisive contribution in the first T20I against West Indies at Eden Park, stroking an unbeaten 24-ball 48 - his highest T20I score - to take New Zealand to victory in a rain-affected chase.

Tamim Iqbal hit a run-a-ball 80 in Bangladesh's second intra-squad practice match at the BKSP in Savar on Saturday as his team, Tamim Iqbal XI, raced to an eight-wicket win over Mahmudullah XI. Tamim's team had lost by five wickets in the first practice match last Thursday.

Iqbal struck five fours and three sixes in his knock, having shared a 77-run opening stand with Liton Das, who made 48 off 53 balls with nine fours. Iqbal then added 119 runs for the second wicket with Najmul Hossain Shanto, who struck seven fours and two sixes in his 51-ball 61.

Iqbal retired on 80, after which Mohammad Mithun and Soumya Sarkar were given a hit for about 20 minutes, during which time they completed the 224-run chase in 35.2 overs. Shakib Al Hasan went wicketless in his 3.2 overs.

Taskin Ahmed and Hasan Mahmud took one wicket each for Mahmudullah XI, who had earlier reached 223 for 7 in 45 overs. Shakib top-scored with 52 while Mohammad Naim also reached fifty. Shakib struck a four and six in his 82-ball knock while Naim hammered four fours and two sixes in his 68-ball stay at the crease.

Offspinner Mahedi Hasan took 2 for 31 while Mohammad Saifuddin was slightly expensive with 2 for 62. Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain and Nasum Ahmed took one each.

Bangladesh's selectors announced the 18-man ODI team for the upcoming series against West Indies shortly after the end of this match. West Indies will now play their sole warm-up match at the same venue tomorrow, before the two sides play the first ODI on January 20.

Baylor women's basketball coach Kim Mulkey, who returned to the sideline Saturday for the first time since Dec. 19, said she is feeling OK physically after having experienced COVID-19. But when asked if she is concerned about the season being completed amid a pandemic, she didn't mince words.

"The answer is this: The season will continue on. It's called the almighty dollar," Mulkey said after the Lady Bears lost 75-71 to Iowa State in Waco, Texas, ending the longest current home-court winning streak in Division I women's basketball at 61 games. "The NCAA has to have the almighty dollar from the men's tournament. The almighty dollar is more important than the health and welfare of me, the players or anybody else.

"One conference does this, one conference does that. The CDC says this. Everybody is confused. I'm confused. I'm uncomfortable coaching. I understand, COVID is real. I've had it -- come talk to me sometime. But I don't know ... all the calls and procedures, that's gonna go on and make it unusual, uncomfortable for every program. We're no different at Baylor."

Mulkey contracted COVID-19 on Christmas Day after contact with a family member who tested positive. She missed No. 6 Baylor's most recent game, Jan. 2 at TCU, then rejoined the team for practice Jan. 4 after multiple negative tests.

But after a positive test from that day's testing, the entire Baylor program went on pause Jan. 5, canceling the Lady Bears' nonconference showdown with UConn on Jan. 7 and postponing Big 12 games against Kansas State (Jan. 10) and Kansas (Jan. 13). Baylor, 8-2, was without guard DiJonai Carrington and forward Caitlin Bickle on Saturday, as those players are still in quarantine.

The rest of the Baylor players came off the pause on Friday and had their first workout in two weeks with Mulkey on game day. She gave the Cyclones full credit for ending the Lady Bears' streak, saying Baylor could probably beat some opponents with that little preparation, but not Iowa State.

"That team has 3-pointers that expose us -- that team has great coaching," she said. "It was the perfect timing for what you saw happen to happen."

Saturday was just the second time the Cyclones have won in Waco; the first was in 1997, in the inaugural season of the Big 12. Mulkey praised Cyclones star Ashley Joens (27 points, 12 rebounds) and coach Bill Fennelly, who also beat Baylor 57-56 last March in Ames, Iowa. In that game, Joens hit the winning free throw and ended the Lady Bears' 58-game Big 12 regular-season winning streak.

Baylor's loss Saturday meant the two longest active home-court winning streaks in women's basketball ended the same week. Iowa's women, who were second behind Baylor at 42 wins in a row, lost in overtime to Ohio State on Wednesday.

It was a huge victory for Iowa State (9-4) against the team that has won or shared the past 10 Big 12 regular-season titles and has three NCAA championships. Joens, a junior guard/forward, is the Big 12's leading scorer at 24.6 points per game. That 1997 Cyclone victory in Waco came before she was born.

"It feels really good when you can get a win like this," Joens said. "Everyone did their jobs, everyone executed. Knowing that we can compete at the highest level with these types of teams, it kind of gives us that confidence going into the rest of the season."

Sparked by cornerback Taron Johnson's record-tying, 101-yard interception return for a touchdown in the third quarter, the Buffalo Bills defeated the visiting Baltimore Ravens 17-3 on Saturday night to advance to the AFC Championship Game for the first time since the 1993 season.

The second-seeded Bills will face the winner of Sunday's game between the Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs (CBS, 3:05 p.m. ET).

If the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs win, the Bills will travel to Arrowhead Stadium for the game next Sunday at 6:40 p.m. ET.

If the Browns win, the AFC Championship Game will be played in Orchard Park, New York, next Sunday at 6:40 p.m. ET.

The last time the Bills played in the AFC Championship Game was Jan. 23. 1994. They beat the visiting Chiefs that year to earn their fourth straight trip to the Super Bowl (a game they would lose for the fourth straight year).

The Bills' return to prominence under fourth-year head coach Sean McDermott has had Western New York buzzing, with Saturday night's game played at Bills Stadium before approximately 6,700 fans who sounded more like 67,000 on NBC's television broadcast. The stadium had been closed throughout the regular season due to COVID-19, but state and local officials put together a plan for the postseason that allowed attendees who registered a negative COVID-19 test to attend.

"What a great environment. I know all of our fans couldn't be in the building, but it was loud again. Great atmosphere," McDermott said. "We came here with a vision, and seeing it move forward in the right direction, feels good."

Johnson's 101-yard interception return of Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, which tied the NFL's postseason record set by Green Bay's George Teague in 1993, helped break things open in windy conditions that McDermott called "a typical Western New York night."

Just as it appeared the Ravens were driving for a potential tying touchdown on a march that lasted more than eight minutes, Jackson didn't seem to see Johnson cut underneath on third-and-goal from the 9-yard line.

"Coach made a good call, a Cover-2 call, and I'm just reading the eyes of the quarterback. I have the seam in that coverage, and he took me to the back side and all I did was cheat. He didn't see me, and the ball came to me," Johnson said, adding that his first thought was to take a knee for a touchback.

"I kind of looked down, but then I looked up, and I saw a whole bunch of green grass to the right side. So I figured if I could race over there -- I know Lamar is fast, but if I have lead blockers, I feel like I could take it."

Johnson, a third-year cornerback from Weber State, raced untouched 101 yards, with NFL Next Gen Stats clocking him with a max speed of 20.39 mph on the play. He credited cornerback Tre'Davious White with paving the way, as not even the speedy Jackson, who was clocked with a max speed of 20.66 mph, could catch him.

On the Ravens' next drive, Jackson was knocked out of the game after taking a hit and having his head bang against the turf. The Ravens announced he was in the concussion protocol, and the Bills closed things out against backup Tyler Huntley.

It was much tighter in the first half.

The Bills' pass-first plan -- when the teams went to halftime tied at 3 after normally reliable Ravens kicker Justin Tucker missed two field goals -- was an outside-the-box approach.

Buffalo didn't call a rushing play in the first quarter. According to research by Elias Sports Bureau, the Bills are the only team in the past 60 postseasons to have no rushing plays in the first quarter of a playoff game.

Buffalo ended the half with three total rushes -- one on a scramble by quarterback Josh Allen on a designed pass play, and another coming with Allen's kneel-down on the final play.

The three rushes tied for the fewest in the first half of a playoff game over the past 70 seasons, joining the Green Bay Packers (2016 NFC Championship Game), St. Louis Rams (1999 divisional round) and Houston Oilers (1990 wild-card round).

The Bills notably turned to the run on their opening drive of the second half, which produced the game's first touchdown -- a 4-yard catch-and-run by receiver Stefon Diggs, who became the first Bills player with a receiving touchdown in consecutive playoff games since Pro Football Hall of Famer Thurman Thomas (1995-96).

Allen, who finished 23-of-37 for 206 yards with the one touchdown, credited the Bills' defense in the win, starting with Johnson's 101-yard interception return.

"I can't say enough words for what that game was for our defense and how they played," he said. "Taron Johnson, that's a play people are going to remember for a long time in Buffalo."

When Ja Morant sprained his left ankle against the Brooklyn Nets back on Dec. 28, he nearly willed himself back onto the court -- despite suffering a grade 2 sprain that caused him to be ruled out for the next 3-to-5 weeks.

So it came as little surprise to Morant, or anyone else in Memphis, that the emerging star guard was able to come back Saturday night in less than that initial three-week timeline, as he scored 17 points and dished out six assists to lead the Grizzlies to a 106-104 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

"It was huge, in the fact that he wanted to come back so fast," said rookie forward Xavier Tillman, who had 15 points and 4 rebounds in 28 minutes. "For a guy who .. is a franchise kind-of-guy, they're usually able to take their time and make sure they are 110 percent before they come back. I'm not saying he wasn't 110 percent, but he was dying and itching to come back and help us win games.

"To see that from your head guy motivates everybody else, including me, being one of the rookies on the team. It's like, 'Hey man, forget nicks and bruises. The dude looked like he broke his ankle and he's itching to get back. If I have nicks and bruises, I can play, and I can give my heart.'"

That the Grizzlies came into Saturday night's game in Memphis with a three-game winning streak without their two best players -- Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr., who has missed the entire season so far while recovering from meniscus surgery -- was a credit to the team's mentality without him. But it was Morant, one of the league's most electrifying players already, who helped power Memphis to a win thanks to helping the Grizzlies get out and run repeatedly, leading to 20 fast break points.

It didn't look like Morant would be leading the break anytime soon when he suffered a nasty-looking sprain back in that Nets game. But, even on a night when he was ruled out for several weeks, Morant said he nearly was able to force his way back onto the court.

"I had to go through these tests, and I got to the last two, which was hopping just on that foot sideways, forward," Morant said. "And I couldn't. After that, I was frustrated, but you know, these are my guys, I'm very confident in them, and anything I can do to help, I'll do for them."

He got plenty of help from those same teammates who have lifted Memphis up without him; seven players finished in double figures.

And, while he was watching them play over the past several weeks, Morant said he learned how mentally strong he was.

"I feel like that was big [for me]," Morant said. He then said there was a quote that helped him get through the tough times, but that he didn't want to say it because "I might get emotional."

He did, however, wind up tweeting it out after his postgame interview was over.

here you go ?? https://t.co/QJgogG5po0 pic.twitter.com/NQ3KZAi1s7

— Ja Morant (@JaMorant) January 17, 2021

The Sixers, meanwhile, fell to 0-3 when Joel Embiid doesn't play -- compared to 9-2 when he does.

Before the game, Rivers said that Embiid's absence for the two-game road trip was precautionary, but that the team is going to make sure it is cautious with its superstar center if anything crops up early in what already is a compacted regular-season schedule.

Rivers wouldn't let his absence be an excuse, however, saying that mentality is "unacceptable" for this team.

TROY, N.Y. -- Left in the lurch by minor league contraction, the Tri-City ValleyCats have filed a lawsuit against Major League Baseball and the Houston Astros.

The suit, filed Thursday in New York State Supreme Court, seeks more than $15 million, ValleyCats chairman Doug Gladstone told the Albany Times-Union. The move comes in response to MLB's decision to drop 42 minor league affiliates.

The ValleyCats played in the now-defunct New York-Penn League, operating as a short-season affiliate of the Astros for 18 seasons.

Gladstone told the Times-Union the loss of the affiliation greatly affected the value of the franchise, which was moved from Pittsfield, Massachusetts, to Troy in 2002 by Gladstone's late father. It had previously been located in Little Falls, New York.

The ValleyCats won three New York-Penn League championships and drew more than 4,000 fans per game for 11 straight seasons, from 2008 to 2018.

In its most recent season, Tri-City had the third-highest attendance in the 14-team league, averaging more than 3,869. The only two teams that were higher, Brooklyn and Hudson Valley, survived with moves to a new league.

The team is joining the independent Frontier League and will continue to play its home games at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium.

Former Oakland Athletics pitcher Dave Stewart submitted a $115 million bid to buy the city of Oakland's share of the Coliseum with plans to develop the site, he told the San Francisco Chronicle.

With both the NBA's Warriors and NFL's Raiders leaving the site in recent years, the A's are the last pro team using the Coliseum. The team has undergone steps to build a new ballpark at Howard Terminal, about seven miles uptown.

The A's currently own the other half of the Coliseum.

In a Tweet on Saturday night, Stewart, who grew up in the area, said doing "right by our community" is the driving force behind the bid. He told the Chronicle he has ideas of developing the area and potentially building a new stadium there if plans for the Howard Terminal ballpark fall through.

Home has ALWAYS been where my heart is. Oakland is every bit of who and why I am... An opportunity to do right by our community, keep our community, to do BETTER by our community is the only driving force for me in this. #wishusluck #Godspeed https://t.co/zwy3ocDgsk

— Dave "Smoke" Stewart (@Dsmoke34) January 17, 2021

Stewart, 63, played parts of eight seasons in Oakland and helped the team win a World Series in 1989.

TULSA, Okla. – Justin Grant drove past top-seeded Cannon McIntosh and went on to earn the pole for the 35th Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals finale during Saturday’s #DoItForGrady Pole Shuffle presented by Pizza Express.

Grant, the No. 2 seed coming into the final four-lap dash, powered around McIntosh on the top side of Tulsa Expo Raceway and then survived a bump from behind by the Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports driver before pulling away.

The Ione, Calif., native and reigning USAC Silver Crown Series champion led all four laps and beat runner-up Kyle Larson – the defending Chili Bowl winner – to the finish line by .449 seconds in the No. 2j NOS Energy Drink Spike-Toyota for RMS Racing.

He’ll be in prime position to chase his first Chili Bowl title later Saturday night when the 55-lap grand finale hits the quarter-mile temporary dirt oval inside the River Spirit Expo Center.

Larson crossed second in the final scramble and will join Grant on the front row for the headliner.

Christopher Bell and McIntosh will share row two of the starting grid after finishing third and fourth, respectively, in the pole-deciding dash.

Rico Abreu and Tyler Courtney were eliminated in the penultimate round and roll off fifth and sixth for the main event. Meanwhile, the second round saw Alex Bright and Buddy Kofoid fall by the wayside, giving them fourth-row starting positions in seventh and eighth.

Thomas Meseraull and Kyle Cummins were the two drivers eliminated during the opening four-lap sprint, placing them ninth and 10th on the grid for the Super Bowl of Midget Racing.

The remaining 14 open positions in the A-Main starting field will be determined through a pair of 20-lap B Mains. The top seven finishers in each of those contests will advance into the feature.

Saturday’s remaining alphabet soup action – two C Mains, two B Mains and the Chili Bowl A Main – begins at 8:30 p.m. CT, live on MAVTV.

For those who don’t have access to MAVTV through their television provider, the network is providing a free stream of Saturday night’s live telecast to the MAVTV Facebook page as part of Lucas Oil Racing TV’s transition to the new MAVTV Plus app.

SPEED SPORT’s LIVE From the Chili Bowl coverage is supported by MyRacePass, KICKER, Curb Records and Swann Communications! To find out more about each of our partners and to check out all of SPEED SPORT’s Chili Bowl coverage, visit our Chili Bowl Index Page! DON’T MISS SPEED SPORT’S LIVE From the Chili Bowl on Saturday, Jan. 16 at 6:30 p.m. ET on MAVTV and watch the Chili Bowl finale LIVE Saturday, Jan. 16 at 8:30 p.m. on MAVTV!

TULSA, Okla. – Leaving the River Spirit Expo Center on Friday night, the unasked question swirling around the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals pit area was if a coil-bound midget could win the event.

The debate between using a torsion bar setup versus a coil-bound setup in the rear suspension of a national midget was thrust into the limelight after Tanner Thorson went on a winning run with a coil car.

Thorson earned four victories with Hayward Motorsports on the USAC trail last year, utilizing the coil-bound setup that he’d found a strong level of comfort with to blaze a unique path.

When he left Brodie Hayward’s team mid-season and went over to Tom Malloy’s No. 25 to finish out the schedule, Thorson brought his coil knowledge with him, and the results were the same – if not better.

Over the final nine USAC races last year, the Thorson-Malloy pairing finished no worse than seventh and earned three feature victories. Though Thorson quickly departed and moved to Dave Mac Motorsports for this season, his desire to continue beating the coil drum remained strong.

Thorson and the Dave McIntosh-led team brought a coil-bound car to the Chili Bowl hoping that some of the things the Minden, Nev., driver learned from his previous teams would lead to Tulsa success.

Quickly on Friday, however, Thorson and company learned that wasn’t the case – at least for them.

Thorson flipped in his heat race and was relegated to a C Main as a result, with a battered No. 08 Spike-Toyota that required repairs in order to continue. As Thorson and his team repaired the car, he decided that it was time to go back to a proven modicum of Chili Bowl success.

He took the coils off his car and returned to the torsion bar setup that won him the Friday preliminary night feature last January, promptly driving through both the C and B Mains to make the 30-lap A Main.

Once he tagged the tail of the feature, Thorson powered through traffic to a fourth-place finish, an admirable effort that salvaged his week and slotted him into a B Main before Saturday night’s finale.

However, all that flair wasn’t with his tried-and-true coil package, something Thorson was quick to point out when he spoke to the media after Friday night’s racing wrapped up.

“After I flipped, we went back to bars in the rear, mostly due to just experience here,” Thorson said. “Having never run coils here, I felt like we were just behind the 8-ball a little bit. There’s just so much to coils and being successful running them, and race tracks and stuff pertain to a lot of that. It just comes down to driver preference, for the most part, as far as what feels comfortable and stable to run.

“We had a really fast car, but we were fast when we went back to my standard Chili Bowl plan of attack as well,” Thorson added. “As soon as I flipped, I knew I needed to get off the coils and get back to what I know works here. I think I showed that was the right move with how I came up through there.”

In digging deeper and explaining some of the nuances between a bar setup versus its coil counterpart, Thorson’s features lit up as his mechanical knowledge came to the forefront.

“Bars and coils react differently; you run coils up front in these cars, so when you’re running them it’s somewhat of a no-brainer to run coils in the back, just so you can keep the reaction of the car the same,” explained Thorson. “Some drivers like the different feel and others don’t, but part of it comes down to the race track you’re running the coils at as much as anything else in order to make speed.”

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