MECHANICSBURG, Pa. — Donny Schatz slapped the Champion Racing Oil National Open title belt around his waist as cameras clicked away in victory lane Saturday at Williams Grove Speedway.

During a year where things haven’t been up to par, Schatz regained some normalcy Saturday night, winning the 58th annual National Open at Williams Grove for a record-extending sixth time. The 10-time World of Outlaws champion wore this one, a .579-second victory over Kyle Larson, with a little extra pride.

This latest crown jewel not only adds to his unprecedented mark, but it paid $75,000-to-win, the biggest of the season.

“It feels great,” Schatz said. “It feels good to get all that money. … It’s been a trying year. I don’t know if there is a person in this place that can’t say this is probably one of the worst years I can remember in my lifetime. Feels good to win that race.”

Schatz started his night ninth-fastest in the second flight of time trials. The real gains began in his heat race, where a bit of luck ignited his path to victory. Schatz quickly found himself in a dash spot after second-running Ian Madsen went off the pace.

Shortly after, leader Shane Stewart slowed to bring out the caution and, suddenly, Schatz inherited control. Schatz received some more good fortune by drawing second and finishing second in the dash.

From there, his vintage self slowly came to life. Logan Schuchart led the opening 12 laps before pole-sitter David Gravel raced to the lead on lap 13. But while Gravel drove by Schuchart for the top spot off turn two, Schatz stayed even with Gravel, following him to second before pouncing shortly after.

“We couldn’t make a pass on the start but once we got going, we were decent,” Schatz said.

Schatz committed to the bottom and squeezed by Gravel for the lead just four laps shy of the planned fuel stop on lap 25.

Once things got going again, Schatz stayed strong and maintained a 1.7-second advantage on Kyle Larson, who had moved from fourth to second two laps after the fuel stop. Schatz caught traffic with eight laps to go and, slowly, his lead dwindled.

In six laps, his near two-second gap shrunk to just eight tenths. On the final lap, Larson gunned it in turn three with a hail-mary attempt, but Schatz stayed true to the bottom and rolled to the biggest prize of the season.

“[Restarting] on the bottom, really the whole race, hurt us a little bit,” Larson said. “We were able to inch our way forward and come a little short. It was just frustrating. Hard to pass. We did what we could. We came up a little short. Donny is just so good when it gets slick. He did a good job in traffic. He was definitely not being patient when it got to traffic and I thought that would benefit me. But just wasn’t close enough.”

As for Schuchart, he salvaged a third-place finish for his best career National Open finish. He led the first 12 laps and raced back to finish on the podium after slipping to fourth in the late going.

“We were right there,” Schuchart said. “We just had some bad restarts. It was a good run. … David just made a good run in [turns] one and two to get by me on the backstretch and get a run in three and four. Then, let Donny get by. It was a good run. I’m happy to learn something. We’ve been so bad here in the past.”

Gravel faded to fourth and Sheldon Haudenschild, who also won overall fast time, finished fifth.

To see full results, turn to the next page.

Former Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney has urged the club to sign Tottenham striker Harry Kane rather than Borussia Dortmund's Jadon Sancho this summer.

Sancho has been United's top priority and although they have been frustrated with Dortmund's negotiations, sources have told ESPN they have not given up on signing him before the transfer window closes on Monday.

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However, Rooney believes Sancho would struggle to fit into the squad because he is too similar to Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial.

"Jadon Sancho is a top player, but I find it odd that he has been Manchester United's transfer priority," he wrote in his Sunday Times column.

"Why consider paying close to £100 million for someone similar to talent you've got already? United have Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial and where would Sancho's arrival leave Mason Greenwood, who plays in the same position and is of similar age?

"I'd rather put that £100m towards trying to get Harry Kane. Yes, getting Kane out of Tottenham would be difficult, maybe impossible, but United are a club who should always make an effort to sign the very best players and Kane is exactly what Ole Gunnar Solskjaer needs, as is Erling Haaland, who United missed out on last year -- a genuine No. 9.

"There are not many who fit that profile and are of elite standard in football right now -- yet the chances of United developing into a title-challenging team would be greater if they had such a player.

"A Kane or Haaland or someone like Robert Lewandowski would give Rashford and Martial someone to play off and freedom to roam into different areas, pick the ball up and try to beat men -- without the burden of always having to score."

Sources have told ESPN that United are close to signing a striker in Edinson Cavani. The 33-year-old has been a free agent this summer and is set to move to Old Trafford on a two-year deal.

Cavani is set to become the club's second arrival after midfielder Donny van de Beek.

Napoli will not travel to Turin for their Serie A clash with Juventus on Sunday after two of their players tested positive for COVID-19, sources have told ESPN.

Piotr Zielinski and Eljif Elmas returned positive results following routine coronavirus tests and the entire Napoli squad is in isolation.

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- Insider Notebook: Utd's frantic chase: Sancho, Dembele, Ocampos

The Campania region has seen a recent spike in coronavirus cases and local authorities have not allowed the team to travel, according to ESPN sources.

Sources said the plane was on the runway and ready to take off for Turin, as they awaited a response to their request to travel as there can be exceptions made to the rule.

The game has not been called off by Serie A and Juve are preparing to take to the field despite the absence of their opponents, sources said. This would result in a 3-0 victory for Andrea Pirlo's side.

Sources also said that Napoli hope the league will postpone the match and have it replayed at a later date.

Napoli's previous opponents Genoa had 10 players test positive following their clash on Sunday, which resulted in the postponement of this weekend's clash with Torino.

However, all of Napoli's players tested negative in the immediate aftermath, before Zielinski and later Elmas returned positive results.

Scott Steel has signed for Leicestershire on a three-year deal after turning down an extension at Durham.

Steel enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2019 when he impressed opening the batting alongside D'Arcy Short in the T20 Blast, making 369 runs at a strike rate of 136.66 in the competition. He had a poor 2020, making only 40 runs in six Blast innings, but his decision to turn down a deal comes as a blow to Durham.

"It is extremely disappointing that Scott Steel has decided to move on from Durham," said Marcus North, the club's director of cricket. "Following our offer to extend Scott's contract at Durham, we could not offer the guarantees he was ultimately looking for and this has resulted in him accepting a three-year contract with another county. We wish Scott all the best for his future career."

After the disappointment of losing Tom Taylor to Northamptonshire, Leicestershire will be bolstered by Steel's arrival. Paul Horton is expected to leave the club after being furloughed throughout the 2020 season, and Steel looks set to open the batting in both white-ball formats in his place.

"We're delighted to have Scott join us at Leicestershire," head coach Paul Nixon said. "Scott will add power to our current squad: he is a dangerous batsman who has match-winning credentials."

Five more players will leave Durham at the end of the season at the expiration of their contracts: Josh Coughlin, Sol Bell, Ben Whitehead, James Weighell, and T20 captain Nathan Rimmington.

But the core of the first-team squad have all re-signed, with Chris Rushworth, Brydon Carse, Alex Lees and Matty Potts among 10 players to agree new contracts, while Scott Borthwick's move from Surrey was confirmed this week.

Click here for drip-by-drip updates from day two of the Vitality Blast Finals Weekend

Saturday's cricket was finally knocked on the head around six o'clock. The phrase was a colleague's but a metaphor linked to putting a nearly dead fish out of its misery seemed perfectly appropriate. However, the ECB had a surprise for us all. If no cricket whatever is possible today we will not go straight to three bowl-outs but will foregather for another of these delightful Eisteddfods on Wednesday. For the avoidance of doubt, that is Wednesday, October 7.

"Groundhog Day" said the chap from the ECB. It seemed a reasonable assessment, albeit somewhat lacking in originality. Those of us who envisioned a succession of Vitality Blast Finals Days being scheduled deep into the autumn and were already of a sadly irreverent bent were reminded of the Book of Hebrews, Chapter 13 Verse 8: "Jesus Christ, the same, yesterday, today and for evermore".

Yesterday I arrived at Edgbaston for the last day of the season, presented my credentials, had my temperature checked and was admitted to the ground. Today, ditto. Wednesday? These exceptional days make people doubt themselves. One remembers the 1945 portmanteau horror film Dead of Night which begins and ends with an architect played by Mervyn Johns arriving at a house and discovering he has met all the guests in a dream. That Ealing Studios movie is rightly regarded a classic and features a blood-freezing portrayal of a schizophrenic ventriloquist by Michael Redgrave. "The merging of dreaming and reality is what becomes truly terrifying," wrote Philip French in The Guardian. (Connoisseurs of great writing and another classic may note that the Redgrave portrayal is, I think, referenced by Russell Lewis in "Neverland", the last episode of season two of Endeavour.)

ALSO READ: Musings on an under-dressed statue on a Birmingham city-centre roundabout

Enough of this, you might observe, and you are probably right. But you can surely imagine my relief as I watch the Edgbaston groundstaff shifting the covers that surround the square and beginning the preparations for some sort of Finals Day. No one has a clue what sort of event will be possible. The umpire Mike Burns has said they won't start unless they can get three games in. Fair enough, of course, but the length of such games has yet to be negotiated. One would have thought that two eight-over semi-finals and a 20-over final would be an exceptional outcome given that Birmingham has been visited by one of the plagues of Egypt this weekend.

Of course, one of the hallmarks of great ghost stories is their ability to suggest the return of calm only to inflict more terror on the reader. I say this only because there was a light shower a few minutes ago, although it was not sufficient to force the fat-chewing coaches from the outfield. But any suggestion of further dampness currently brings on the ab-dabs. The rain's stopped now. My guess is that we will get a Finals Day in today and that the affair will not be resolved by a bowl-out. Edgbaston is beginning to resemble a cricket ground once again. Then again, maybe I am just taking refuge in optimism. Anything to stop me thinking about Michael Redgrave and that bloody doll.

It's started raining again.

The NFL and the NFL Players Association are investigating whether the Tennessee Titans, who have had 18 members of their organization test positive for COVID-19 in the past week, violated the league's virus-related protocols, sources tell ESPN.

After the Titans' recent outbreak -- during which nine players and nine team personnel members have tested positive, one source observed to ESPN that "This isn't a failure of the protocols; it is a failure to follow the protocols."

Officials from both the NFL and NFLPA have been in Tennessee since Friday, seeking answers to an issue that some sources believe ultimately will wind up with league making an example of the Titans.

The NFL and NFLPA have asked the Titans to turn over multiple videotapes of team activities so they can get a better idea of the root of the outbreak, according to sources.

The Titans are convinced, however, that they have obeyed the rules and have gone out of their way to protect their organization, a team source told ESPN. The Titans believe they have done everything the league has asked, have told the players to wear their masks and have been compliant, according to the source. The Titans also think they've done a better job observing the protocols than other teams around the league, the source said.

The Titans had two more positive tests come back Sunday morning -- one player and one coach, sources told ESPN, increasing their total to 18 members of the organization.

Eight players this week, and 10 overall this season -- defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons, offensive tackle Isaiah Wilson, linebacker Kamalei Correa, cornerback Kristian Fulton, wide receiver Adam Humphries, defensive lineman DaQuan Jones, long snapper Beau Brinkley, wide receiver Cameron Batson, tight end Tommy Hudson and cornerback Greg Mabin -- have been placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list.

The investigation is focused on Titans outside linebackers coach Shane Bowen being the first in the organization to contract the virus, and a potential failure by at least some to report symptoms and wear masks. One source told ESPN that he suspects that this spread started with the Titans coaching staff.

Bowen was exposed to individuals who had been exposed to the virus, according to a source. NFL employees are required to report being around anyone who has contracted the virus or to not go into work if they are around those individuals.

If the NFL and NFLPA find that at least one member of the Titans didn't properly report being around someone or others with the virus, it would be a violation.

But there also is a sense from sources that the Titans were not diligent about wearing masks around their training facility, despite the protocols the league and the NFLPA have outlined in their memos. This could lead to the Titans facing discipline in the form of fines and or even a potential loss of a draft pick, according to sources.

The NFL announced Thursday that the Titans' game against the Pittsburgh Steelers would not be played during Week 4 because of the positive virus tests. The Titans are now scheduled to play the Steelers in Week 7 on Oct. 25.

The New Orleans Saints-Detroit Lions game will be played after coronavirus retesting showed negative results for a Saints player, sources confirmed to ESPN.

A Saints player had a positive COVID-19 test Saturday, but sources said a retest came back negative and that contact tracing found negative tests among those players as well.

The Saints are scheduled to play the Lions in Detroit at 1 p.m. ET.

The Athletic first reported the negative retest.

Two other games in Week 4 have been postponed due to positive tests. The Tennessee Titans' Week 4 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers has been rescheduled for Week 7 as eight players and eight team personnel have tested positive since the team's Week 3 game last Sunday.

The Patriots' game against the Kansas City Chiefs has been postponed after positive tests from both teams, with plans to play the game on Monday or Tuesday. League sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter and Field Yates on Saturday that New England Patriots quarterback Cam Newton tested positive for COVID-19.

This season, more than ever, strength of schedule could mean strength of conference -- though the 13 College Football Playoff selection committee members likely would never publicly admit it.

Over the past six seasons of the playoff, committee chairs have insisted that the group ranks teams, not conferences, but during a season in which there aren't any marquee nonconference matchups to help compare contenders, the only ranked teams to boost résumés are conference opponents.

Instead of comparing Oregon and Ohio State with a head-to-head matchup, for example, those two teams will have to impress the committee with wins against opponents from their own conference. That means fans should hope their league has multiple teams ranked by the committee come Selection Day on Dec. 20.

That part of the picture slowly began to take shape in Week 5, as Pitt's loss to unranked NC State on Saturday brings into question whether the Panthers are a top-25 team. Clemson hosts Pitt on Nov. 28. As of now, Alabama's schedule is extremely strong with six opponents ranked in the top 25, but will it stay that way through December? The Tide handled No. 13 Texas A&M with ease, Arkansas beat No. 16 Mississippi State, and Georgia outplayed No. 7 Auburn soundly.

Is the SEC West as deep as its five top-20 teams currently indicate?

Florida again looked like a top-four contender in its win against South Carolina, but if it beats Texas A&M on Saturday, how far will the Aggies drop? It becomes a Catch-22 when a win against a ranked opponent knocks that team out of the top 25. It has always been one of the most subjective aspects of the process, but how deep a conference is has always mattered.

Is the ACC Clemson -- and Notre Dame -- and everyone else? Or will No. 12 North Carolina and No. 8 Miami keep it interesting? Will Oregon play any regular-season games against ranked opponents?

If a Group of 5 conference is ever going to crack the code to the CFP, it is going to have to face multiple ranked opponents from its league because of the limited number of opportunities against Power 5 opponents. No. 25 Memphis losing hurt the American Athletic Conference, unless the Tigers can find a way to earn a top-25 spot by the committee when its rankings begin next month.

The committee's protocol for choosing the top four teams remains the same, but the résumés will look starkly different. Still, fans will likely hear committee chair Gary Barta, Iowa's athletic director, mention the usual justifications for ranking teams they have heard in the past: number of wins against CFP top-25 teams, number of wins against opponents with records above .500.

That looks like it's going to be a problem for the Big 12 ...

Is the Big 12 done?

We can stop talking about Oklahoma and the playoff. Yes, it's a wildly unpredictable year, but with the Sooners' second loss and Texas losing at home to TCU on Saturday, the Big 12 is already in the worst playoff position of the Power 5 conferences. (The Pac-12 and Big Ten haven't played yet, but they also haven't squandered anything yet, either.)

If Texas beats OU next week, how impressive would it really be?

OU lost to Iowa State, which lost its opener to Louisiana. Last week the Sooners lost to Kansas State, which lost to Arkansas State. And then there's Texas, which needed overtime to beat Texas Tech, and lost at home Saturday to TCU.

Even Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger knows not to talk about the "big picture" right now.

"We shouldn't even be thinking big picture right now with the amount of small mistakes that we made," he said. "We've got to come in tomorrow and get better. Obviously we've got a big one this week [against Oklahoma] and you've got to focus on the next one."

Yes, it's a terrific rivalry game, but that appears to be the extent of its implications right now.

Why isn't the CFP expanding right now?

Because just getting through this season in the midst of a pandemic is difficult enough. The CFP management committee met on Sept. 30 for what was its first meeting since all 10 FBS conferences announced plans to play football this fall.

Considering the uneven schedules the committee will have to evaluate, Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott asked his fellow FBS commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick to consider an eight-team playoff for this season that would include five Power 5 conference champions as automatic qualifiers.

"They decided that doing that now would be such a significant change, and come with so many challenges, especially given the timing with the season already underway, that they concluded that the best outcome would be to make no changes in the format," CFP executive director Bill Hancock told ESPN.

Scott still accomplished something important this week: He got his peers to at least consider an eight-team playoff. Although it didn't have enough support, sources said it did have some support, and it was an important conversation because it was the first time a Power 5 commissioner said publicly that he raised an eight-team format to the group.

This late in the season, though, that kind of drastic change to the playoff system would likely need overwhelming support -- if not unanimous -- and that wasn't the case this week.

How high can BYU climb?

BYU has imposed its will in three straight wins against overmatched opponents, but what if it keeps cruising? Would the selection committee give it serious consideration for a semifinal spot?

Ehhh.

According to the Allstate Playoff Predictor, if BYU runs the table, the Cougars have a 35% chance to make the playoff. That's encouraging, but as of now, BYU doesn't face a single ranked opponent. It does have two difficult road trips -- a Friday night at Houston on Oct. 16, and Nov. 7 at Boise State -- but that won't stack up against the likes of what a Power 5 conference champion had to overcome.

ESPN's Football Power Index gives BYU at least a 63% chance to win each of its remaining games. The Cougars have been impressive on both sides of the ball through their first three wins. BYU has allowed 24 points in its first three games, the fewest points allowed by the Cougars in the first three games since 1951. Friday's win against Louisiana Tech was BYU's third straight game with at least 500 yards of total offense.

The committee pays attention to all of those things -- but it also considers who those achievements came against. With no Power 5 opponents or conference championship game, the independent Cougars are still a long shot for the CFP.

Can the Pac-12 start hot?

With its Nov. 7 start, Pac-12 teams will have played a whopping three games before the selection committee reveals its first of five rankings on Nov. 24. Alabama, if it doesn't have any disruptions from the virus, will have played eight. Clemson nine.

Alabama and Clemson will be in true "November" form.

It will have been about 10 months since Oregon last played a game (Jan. 1) when the Ducks open at home against Stanford on Nov. 7. With only seven games, the Pac-12 has fewer opportunities to impress the selection committee and almost no flexibility to account for coronavirus disruptions, and the conference will be under pressure to shake off the rust quickly.

When No. 14 Oregon opens its season at home against Stanford, it's going to feel like a must-win situation for the Ducks, who are the league's only ranked team and top playoff hope right now.

Every game, though, will carry that weight.

Meanwhile, ASU and USC will open the season at 9 a.m. PT on Nov. 7 -- the earliest kickoff for a USC home game since the early 1950s, when complete records are available. If either of those teams hopes to enter the discussion -- or even the CFP Top 25 -- there's no time to sleepwalk through their opener.

EARLY IN THE first quarter of Game 1 of the NBA Finals, the heavily favored Los Angeles Lakers appeared lethargic, disjointed. Coach Frank Vogel called time, down 23-10, and made some substitutions.

One of them, 34-year-old Rajon Rondo, who shot 41.8% in the regular season, surveyed the floor, noted the Miami Heat's defenders sagging off him to double Anthony Davis and promptly pulled up for an open jumper that -- naturally -- dropped through.

The next time down, with his dribble alive, always alive, the ball a cunning appendage of his massive hand, Rondo whipped a pass to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for a corner 3. Swish. Timeout Miami. It was the start of a 75-30 Lakers run from which the Heat would not recover.

Playoff Rondo had struck again.

"I had heard about it, but in 2018, against Portland, that's when I knew he was different," says L.A. teammate Davis, who alongside Rondo with the New Orleans Pelicans eliminated the Trail Blazers from the playoffs that year. "He kind of reminds me of Bron [LeBron James]. Mentally, he locks in. He watches three to four previous games and breaks down their schemes: their offense, what this guy likes to do, what they like to run, when they like to run it, who they are running it for."

The origin of Playoff Rondo traces back to a young, unbridled, stubborn talent aiming to be a Celtics lifer. He was easy to overlook on the star-studded Boston roster -- until the postseason, when he unveiled a clutch shot, a key assist or a gutsy charge that would tip the scales. Former Celtics teammate Leon Powe says he remembers hearing "Playoff Rondo" for the first time in 2010, when Powe was playing with the Cleveland Cavaliers against Boston in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

"I'm pretty sure Perk started it," Powe says, "'cause when Rondo was destroying us, Perk kept shouting, 'Playoff Rondo!'"

"Might have been me," muses Kendrick Perkins, who remains one of Rondo's closest confidants. "I did call him that a lot, because he has a history of turning it on for the playoffs.

"His mindset reminds me of [former Lakers guard] Derek Fisher, who would go from scoring eight, nine points a night in the regular season, then all of a sudden pop off for 16 in a big playoff game."

Rondo has averaged 9.1 assists per game in the playoffs during his career. Among players to play 50 postseason games, only Magic Johnson (12.3) and John Stockton (10.1) have averaged more, per ESPN Stats & Information research. And according to Second Spectrum data, Rondo is shooting 46% on jumpers this postseason, up from 34% during the regular season. In fact, his numbers swell in every statistical category once the playoffs begin.

Rondo disdains his postseason alter ego because it discounts all the work he put in so he could perform in those critical moments -- the countless hours he watched film, created game plans for his coaching staff, shared his knowledge with any young player who responded to him on the team flight when he pulled out his iPad and offered to show them how to get better. Why does he hit big playoff shots? Because he scours the opponent for clues ahead of time, studying how they guarded players with skill sets like his.

The player who Alvin Gentry anoints the most intelligent he has ever coached is on the precipice of securing his second championship ring. Only Clyde Lovellette has won one with both the Lakers and the Celtics, the NBA's two most storied franchises.

"It's all about opportunity and belief from the coach," Rondo tells ESPN in a phone conversation conducted on the eve of Game 1 of the 2020 Finals. "If you give me minutes, let me manipulate the ball, let me be me, then my numbers will spike, and so will the team's.

"But the trust has to be there. And, obviously, that hasn't always been the case."

RONDO WAS ONCE an irritated Celtics rookie sharing time with Sebastian Telfair and angling for a trade. Coach Doc Rivers flatly refused, telling him, "You'll get where you want to go here."

By the time Rivers entrusted him with the ball, Rondo had memorized every play Boston had -- in addition to every play the opponent ran. Powe once asked him how he was able to remember them all. "I just need to glance at them two or three times," Rondo replied.

Rondo devoured film and emerged with ideas. Lots of ideas. Sometimes, they would jibe with his coach; and sometimes, they didn't. It made for a volatile relationship with Rivers, who would alternately push to send Rondo packing or grant him a lucrative extension.

"Rondo wanted to call a play he thought would work, but Doc would want to call something else," Powe says. "We're running up and down the floor and the two of them are arguing. Doc's shouting, 'Run what I drew up!' and Rondo is shouting back, 'I'll run your play but it's not gonna work!'"

Powe pushed back on the Cavs' scouting report in 2010, which stated the player guarding Rondo should feel free to leave and double because Rondo wasn't a perimeter threat.

"I tried to tell them," Powe says.

"Next thing you know, he's torturing Mo Williams, knocking down jumpers, draining 3s. I said, 'This is Playoff Rondo. He's different than regular-season Rondo.'"

In a double-overtime loss to the Atlanta Hawks in January 2013, Rondo, who had already been picked for his fourth All-Star Game, unknowingly tore his ACL on a seemingly innocuous play. He played on it for another 12 minutes and didn't receive the devastating diagnosis until two days later, navigating the injury the way he handled most everything else -- silently, stoically, internally.

"Before I tore my ACL, I was a different player," Rondo admits. "Afterwards, I was hesitant. The play that I hurt myself on was a little jump pass that I'd done a thousand times, but then, just like that, I had to learn to walk again.

"It tore me up mentally. I really had to think whether I wanted to play again."

When he finally returned to Boston after 12 months of grueling rehab, the roster was unrecognizable. Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce were gone, replaced by Jared Sullinger, Brandon Bass and Kelly Olynyk. Rivers too had left for greener pastures with the LA Clippers, replaced by NBA newbie Brad Stevens.

Rivers had grown tired of Rondo believing he was the smartest guy in the room. And Rondo was weary of having his input questioned, even ignored. Their relationship has since come back around, and they both regularly engage in a group text with Garnett, Pierce, Perkins and Tony Allen.

"I only played for Brad for a while," Rondo says, "but I will never forget him spending the time getting to know me as a person, instead of coming in jaded because I was perceived as someone who wasn't coachable.

"You know why people say that? Because if you didn't know your s---, I'm going to call you on it."

IN DECEMBER 2014, the rebuilding Celtics dealt Rondo to Dallas, where superb tactician and no-nonsense coach Rick Carlisle awaited. The Mavericks were a team mostly devoid of shooters, a hole that Rondo could not fill. He challenged everyone, as he always did, but his ball-dominant style didn't mesh with the Dallas veterans. A dust-up with Carlisle over imploring Rondo to speed up play, while he pointedly walked the ball up, garnered headlines. Rondo was such a distraction that the Mavs took the extraordinary step of banishing him during their first-round playoff series, sending him away under the guise of a phantom back injury.

"It wasn't a good fit," Carlisle explains. "We were a far worse fit for him than he was for us. But I have great respect for Rondo. He's one of the best competitors of all time."

In 2015, Rondo moved on to Sacramento on a one-year, $9.25 million deal. The Kings were mired in a public power struggle between big man DeMarcus Cousins and coach George Karl, and Rondo vowed to be the buffer. Instead, the Kings lost 49 games, Karl was fired, Cousins was traded and Rondo was out of work again.

"After that, only one or two teams were calling, and I said, 'I've seen this story before,'" Rondo says. "Ever since Dallas, guys were trying to get me out of league. So many players get blackballed because of their supposed attitude. All of a sudden, nobody wanted to touch me."

BEFORE THE 2016-17 season, Rondo's longtime agent, Bill Duffy, was worried. "We had nothing," he admits. Duffy finally convinced Chicago Bulls general manager John Paxson to speak with famed Bulls international scout Ivica Dukan. Dukan's son, Duje, had played in Sacramento with Rondo the previous season, and Duje had raved about Rondo's impact on the young Kings players, so the Bulls gave Rondo a one-year audition.

For 21-year-old Bobby Portis, it was a career-changing moment. Rondo took him to dinner, patiently answered all of his questions and pored over game film with him. When Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade publicly torched the team's young players after a loss, Rondo charged to their defense, questioning Butler and Wade's leadership in an Instagram post.

"It was really cool for him take up for us," Portis says. "Every locker room needs someone who isn't scared of confrontation."

Portis says the Bulls would engage in shooting competitions after practice for money. Rondo, who might have had a poor shooting game the night before, would "suddenly hit 8-for-8, 9-for-9. He goes to a different level when there's something on the line that's meaningful."

When the Bulls drew Boston in the opening round of the 2017 playoffs, Rondo's relentless pursuit of the ball left a young Celtics team on its heels. Chicago won the first two games of the series on the road, but Rondo fractured his thumb and was done. Chicago folded in six games.

"If Rondo doesn't break his thumb," says Portis, "we win that series."

RONDO SIGNED WITH New Orleans in 2017-18, his fifth team in four seasons. Veteran Jameer Nelson, who spent the first half of that year on the Pelicans, marveled at Rondo's preparation, growing accustomed to receiving texts at 2 or 3 a.m. with stream-of-consciousness basketball ideas.

"Rondo will challenge everyone -- coaches, teammates, the front office," Nelson says. "But never once was it, 'We need to do X, Y and Z to make me look better.' It was about getting the best out of the team."

That included a young Davis, who despite his abundance of talent had only been to the playoffs once. Rondo made it clear he needed to do more.

"He was a huge help coaxing AD into the next gear," Gentry says. "He'd say, 'Man, you're better than this. We need more. You have to play to a level where you help us win games.'"

It was Davis, Rondo and backcourt mate Jrue Holiday who gleefully orchestrated a first-round upset over the Trail Blazers in the 2018 playoffs, with Rondo averaging a career playoff-high 12.2 assists and shooting 42.1% from the 3-point line.

"It was literally crazy," Gentry says. "When the playoffs start, Rondo is a completely different person. I think it's because he's playing the same team four, five, six, seven different times, so adjustments are important and tendencies matter. There's where Rondo always has the advantage -- when the game is cerebral."

The Lakers cited Rondo's IQ when they signed him, then quickly learned his willingness to challenge the best was an unexpected bonus. Amid a frustrating 2018-19 season, Rondo noted James souring on the young players and immediately confronted him.

"When guys are making the same mistakes over and over and over, it's hard to bite your tongue," Rondo says, "but I tried to get [James] to focus on his body language.

"Those young guys were looking at everything he did. If they missed four shots in a row and LeBron was making a face, it was crushing to them. He was their Michael Jordan. They didn't want to let him down. But if LeBron said one thing positive to Brandon Ingram or Kyle Kuzma, they immediately were back to their old selves."

Rondo's 2019-20 regular season with L.A. was underwhelming. The only season he averaged fewer assists (5.0) was in his rookie year, and yet another fractured thumb forced him to leave the NBA bubble to undergo surgery. He returned in mid-August, and the Lakers put together a string of wins.

"I honestly believe his return to the bubble saved the Lakers' season," Perkins says. "They were struggling without him. He takes pressure off LeBron and AD, and he turns the key in the back of role players like Caldwell-Pope and Kuzma, because he'll put them in the best position to succeed."

The return of Rondo enabled Vogel to rest James, knowing there was still someone on the floor to help Davis hunt easy baskets. The Lakers' offense has not missed a beat when Rondo is on the floor without James this postseason, rating 120.2 in offensive efficiency.

Rondo, L.A.'s veteran leader, figures he can play four more seasons before looking for a coaching or front-office job, which means it's now Vogel and Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka who field his late-night texts.

"I'm grateful for the opportunity," Rondo says. "I want to be the best role player there is. I don't need acknowledgement from other people on whether they consider me a winner or a great teammate."

The proof, Powe says, is on the court: The higher the stakes, the better the results.

"When you back up and dare him to shoot, he takes that as a form of disrespect," Powe says. "But he'll only shoot it if it's the right decision. If he thinks it's better to dive behind, go to the basket and get a flash dunk, he'll do that. If he thinks it's better to pass it to you, he will.

"Whatever he does, it will be the correct play. Because that's who Playoff Rondo really is."

ESPN's Dave McMenamin contributed to this story.

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World record-holder storms to victory by three minutes as American Sara Hall and Brits Natasha Cockram and Naomi Mitchell enjoy inspired runs in wet conditions

Brigid Kosgei cemented her status as the current queen of the marathon as she blasted to an emphatic victory in the Virgin Money London Marathon.

There were no world records on a dismally damp morning in St James’s Park on Sunday (Oct 4), but Kosgei ran 2:18:58 to finish just over three minutes ahead of runner-up American Sara Hall, who ran an inspired race to overtake Ruth Chepngetich in the closing metres.

For much of the 26.2 miles the world record-holder ran in tandem with world champion and fellow Kenyan Chepngetich. Yet Kosgei made a decisive move at around 20 miles and coasted the final 10km on her own to take a decisive victory.

Kosgei, 26, suggested her build-up had been affected by Covid-19 lockdown and the uncertainty over whether the 40^th race would actually take place after being postponed from its original date in April. But there were few signs of race rustiness or lack of training from the woman who smashed Paula Radcliffe’s world record with 2:14:04 in Chicago 12 months ago.

On this occasion, racing in tougher conditions, Kosgei was nearly five minutes outside that time and she was also adrift of Mary Keitany’s women’s only world record of 2:17:01 as she took her second successive London Marathon title. Yet behind there were a number of PBs.

These were led by Hall who, aged 37, took 15 seconds off her best to run 2:22:01. Hall had passed halfway more than two minutes behind Kosgei and Chepngetich but she overtook the world champion in a final, dramatic stretch on the The Mall leaving Chepngetich in third with 2:22:05. “It was very surreal and I felt amazing out there,” said Hall.

Ethiopian duo Ashete Bekere and Alemu Megertu finished fourth and fifth in 2:22:51 and 2:24:23 respectively as another American, Molly Seidel, enjoyed a great run with a PB of more than two minutes with 2:25:13 to back up her fine run at the US Olympic Trials in Atlanta earlier this year.

Gerda Steyn, the South African ultra-marathon specialist and Comrades Marathon record-holder, was seventh in 2:26:51 – a PB by a minute.

Sinead Diver, the Irish-born Australian, produced another great run aged 43 with 2:27:07 in eighth. Darya Mykhaylova of Ukraine (2:27:29) and Kenyans Valary Jemeli (2:28:18) and Edith Chelimo (2:29:03) followed as the top 11 broke 2:30 with Ellie Pashley of Australia completing the top 12 with 2:31:31.

Natasha Cockram won the battle of the Brits as she clocked 2:33:19 in 13^th after overtaking Naomi Mitchell in the closing stages – Mitchell clocking 2:33:23 to smash her PB of 2:37:51.

Cockram was outside her Welsh record of 2:30:49 from Dublin last year but will be delighted to finish leading domestic runner home on a day that saw Lily Partridge and Steph Twell drop out.

Coached by Tony Houchin and a member of the Micky Morris Racing Team, Cockram’s only race in the build-up was a 75:27 half-marathon in Llanelli in March but her talent has been known since her teenage days when she won multiple Welsh titles on the track and country before moving to study at Tulsa University for a spell.

“I couldn’t even run this time last week,” said Cockram. “I’ve spent the last couple of weeks on the cross-trainer and wasn’t sure if I’d make the start line. When Naomi (Mitchell) passed me, I didn’t have anything left and thought she was gone but I didn’t give up and kept focusing on her and chasing her down.”

Mitchell, meanwhile, was a revelation. As a youngster she placed outside the top 100 at the English Schools Cross Country Championships and as recently as 2015 was outside the top 100 at the British Universities’ Championships and 162^nd in the Inter-Counties on the country.

Three years ago she was even turning out for her club, Reading AC, in the triple jump at area league level and ran outside three hours in London in 2018 but under the coaching of Nick Anderson she has improved massively and for much of the closing stages on Sunday was the lead Briton.

Tracy Barlow was third Brit home in 2:34:42 in 15^th followed by Tish Jones with 2:36:25.

The race began at 7.15am in steady rain with athletes socially distanced on the startline. They soon settled into distinct groups, though, with the leaders splashing through the puddles at sub-2:20 pace. Meanwhile a group of largely British Olympic hopes were paced by Jenny Nesbitt at 2:29:30 pace – the standard to qualify for Tokyo.

After an opening mile of 5:19 and 5km of 16:26, the leaders passed 10km in 32:25 (the Brits went through in 35:24) with Kosgei, Chepngetich and Jemeli tucked in behind the pacemakers although former winner Vivian Cheruiyot never looked comfortable and was slightly adrift of the leaders from the beginning and later pulled out before 30km.

At 10 miles Jemeli was dropped and it turned into a two-horse race between Kosgei and Chepngetich. One year after winning the world title on a horrendously hot and humid night in Doha, the latter was facing rather different conditions in the British capital but looked comfortable.

Halfway was hit in 68:11 with Chepngetich looking strong and Kosgei seemingly going through a mild bad patch. The lead duo were also by this stage passing backmarkers on the 19-lap course. Behind, Nesbitt led the lead Brits through in 74:31 although Twell was now dropped and clearly struggling.

Just over 10 minutes later, Twell called it a day. The 31-year-old started the race with a black rain jacket on and still had it on as she slowed to a walk. Struggling with plantar fasciitis in the run-up to the race, she was not at her best and later said her body was starting to seize up in the conditions.

Partridge lasted half an hour longer before withdrawing just before the two-hour mark. The British champion began suffering with cramp at 16 miles and battled on for a while before sensibly deciding to drop out just before 20 miles.

It was at about 20 miles where Kosgei made her break and she immediately built up a big lead over Chepngetich. There was no crowd to greet her at the finish but it did not stop her enjoying the moment.

“The weather is not good, so we struggled,” said the winner. “We have not prepared well due to the pandemic and I struggled up to the moment I finished. I will be well prepared for good results next year.”