George Hill took a moment to regather himself.

While discussing the current status of black people in America on Friday morning during a video conference panel presented by Amp Harris Productions, the Milwaukee Bucks guard grew emotional.

He shared his personal experience with racism while growing up in Indiana and offered his thoughts about the NBA's scheduled return next month in Orlando, Florida, in the wake of George Floyd's death and the coronavirus pandemic.

"If I didn't have that talent, I possibly would've been that George Floyd. I possibly would've been all my family members that got gunned down in the streets in Indianapolis So, yes, this for me, it impacts me even more because I've seen the killing going on and I've seen the police brutality," Hill said before getting choked up. "I've seen that my cousin is laying in the street for an hour and a half before another police officer gets there. I've seen that. So, I get emotional because it really hurts. I've got interracial kids and I'm scared just for my whole life."

Hill was joined by Myles Turner of the Indiana Pacers, WNBA legend Tamika Catchings, Butler men's basketball coach LaVall Jordan and Indianapolis Colts linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. during the meeting titled "The State of Black America: A Discussion with Representatives from Sports & Entertainment."

Local Indiana promoter and community activist Amp Harris moderated the event, conducted to try to make change during challenging times. Harris is also orchestrating a march Sunday in Indiana to voice requested legislative changes and register participants to vote.

With the topics of systematic racism, social injustice and racial inequity in the national spotlight, both Turner and Hill admitted it's tough to think about basketball.

"I've been working every day since this all started with my body, my game and things like that, but as a whole, I can care less about basketball right now," Hill said. "That's like my last worry. That's just the game I'm blessed to play. When the ball goes up in the air, I'm ready to play, I love the competitive side of it, but that's not who I am. So, that's my last thought on my mind is basketball. I can care less what's going on. I think there's bigger issues and bigger things to tackle in life right now than a basketball game, but that's just my personal opinion."

Turner also says he's in great physical shape, but mentally, he's "still got a little more work to do" before he can fully focus on a return to basketball this season with all that's going on.

"I don't know how it's going to affect me on the basketball court," Turner said. "I know that I, physically, have been working my ass off this entire time I've been off. I haven't taken one day off since this whole hiatus has came into effect. I really have been busting my ass down here. I'm in great physical shape, but mentally, I've still got a little more work to do.

"I'm paid millions of dollars to go out there and perform at a high level so part of it's like, 'Man, you've got to suck it up and go out there and do what you're paid to do,' but the other part of it is like, 'Listen man this basketball s---, I love it, it's part of what makes me, me, but it's not all of what makes me, me, either' and I have a responsibility as a young black professional athlete to advocate for this change."

Both players are actively pushing for change.

"Now, when you see all of this, you're like, 'I have to protect myself. I can't wait on them to protect me.' I see what they're doing. They don't give two f---- about us," Hill said. "If you're able to put your knee on someone's neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, you have no heart. You have no pulse. If you can smile and put your hands in your pocket and the ones that are around you that didn't do anything, are not human either.

"So, for me, yes, I had frustration. Did I want to grab every gun that I own? Yes, I did. That's all I knew. But is it going to help? No. We've been doing this for 400 years. It's been the same. So, for me, it just means more because you're supposed to look at those people as protectors and you don't have that. You're supposed to look at all these situations as learning lessons, but you're like, 'When is learning enough? Like when is it enough? Like when are we going to be tired of this? How do we change the narrative?' So, for me, it's just tough.

"That's a hard question when everyone just says, 'Shut up and dribble,'" he continued, referring to an admonishment that Fox News personality Laura Ingraham made when LeBron James criticized President Trump. "No, I'm not going to shut up and dribble. I don't care if you take my contract, I don't care if you say that I'm this or that, I'm human. I have a heart. I have a pulse. I have emotions. I'm a man. I have kids. I'm a father. I have a wife. I have friends. I have loved ones. It means (something) to me. I'm not going to just shut up and dribble."

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – Josh Williams will bring one of his longest-running sponsors back to the race track as the NASCAR Xfinity Series returns to Homestead-Miami Speedway for twin 250-mile races.

Williams has renewed his association with Star brite Inc., a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based manufacturer of vehicle care and appearance products, as the primary sponsor of his No. 92 DGM Racing Chevrolet Camaro for both the Hooters 250 and the Contender Boats 250.

Star brite Inc. specializes in applications for the marine industry and first came on board with Williams in the Xfinity Series as a co-primary sponsor at Daytona Int’l Speedway in 2017.

They were a major part of Williams’ 20-race Xfinity Series deal in 2018 and also served as the primary sponsor for Williams’ career-best eighth-place run at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in April of 2019.

The upcoming weekend marks the company’s second time as a full primary partner of Williams in the Xfinity Series, and comes on the heels of Star brite’s ramped-up production of Performacide, an EPA-registered disinfectant that is approved for use in the fight against COVID-19.

“We’re really excited to be supporting Josh and all of NASCAR as the country starts up again,” noted Gregor Dornau, Executive Vice President for Star brite. “At Star brite, as manufacturers of maintenance and appearance products for almost everything outdoors, our motto is to clean and protect, and never have we taken it so seriously. At a time when cleaning, protection and disinfection have hit record levels of awareness, we’re glad that we’ve been able to make the products that have supported our country during one of its greatest challenges.

“To celebrate the return of NASCAR to Homestead this weekend, we’re excited to be running back-to-back races with our newly-skinned Star Tron and Star brite car, along with the addition of Performacide, our pharmaceutical-grade chlorine dioxide-based disinfectant. With Josh behind the wheel, the veterans in the stands, and Americans finally able to enjoy sports again, it makes us proud that Star brite can be a part of NASCAR’s and the nation’s ‘restart.’”

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, which shut down all NASCAR action for two months between March 8 and mid-May, Williams has started off 2020 with the strongest stretch of his Xfinity Series career.

In eight races, he’s earned a pair of top-10 finishes – 10th at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., and ninth at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway – and ranks a career-high 14th in the Xfinity Series standings.

Williams is just 34 points behind the cut line for the playoffs through eight races and believes that he and his team are starting to hit their stride and find consistency, despite a late spin at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway that left him with a disappointing 28th-place finish.

“Atlanta wasn’t what we hoped for, but we’re not getting down or hanging our heads. Before that spin, we had the speed to run where we’ve been running for most of the season, so we’re optimistic and excited to get to Homestead for two races this weekend, instead of just one. Particularly to do this weekend with Star brite – who has been there with me since I started racing in NASCAR’s national series – is a big deal and we’re really glad to have them on board at their home track.

“It’s going to be a little different this weekend racing twice, but from our standpoint, it’s something we feel can really benefit us,” added Williams in regards to racing on both Saturday and Sunday in the Xfinity Series. “With no practice or qualifying, having that second race allows us an opportunity to build on what we learn from Saturday’s race and really apply some of those lessons to hopefully better our finish and keep getting closer to that top 12 for the playoffs. It’s right in front of us; we just have to go out, be consistent and put ourselves in position to capitalize each and every week.”

The Hooters 250 takes the green flag at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday, while the Contender Boats 250 rolls off at noon ET on Sunday.

EDMONTON, Alberta -- Edmonton Oilers prospect Cooper Marody has written a song in memory of teammate Colby Cave to raise money for a memorial fund.

Cave, from Battleford, Saskatchewan, died April 11 in a Toronto hospital after suffering a brain bleed. He was 25.

Marody's song "Agape" will be released Friday on Apple Music and Spotify. Marody, from Brighton, Michigan, and Cave were teammates last season on the American Hockey League's Bakersfield Condors.

Proceeds go to the Colby Cave Memorial Fund established by the Oilers. The money will be directed toward mental health programs and providing access to sport for underprivileged children.

"I am so proud to be part of this project and to release this song," Marody said Thursday in a statement from the Oilers. "This is, without a doubt, the most important song I have ever written.

"I hope you all enjoy the song and it can bring you some kind of peace."

Cave's wife Emily said "agape" was a word she and her late husband said to each other often.

"Agape is the highest form of love," she said. "Selfless, sacrificial and unconditional love; it persists no matter the circumstance. I'm so grateful I got to experience this love with my best friend."

Cave played 67 career NHL games for the Boston Bruins and the Edmonton Oilers. The center was called up for 11 games by the Oilers last season.

He was in a medically induced coma after surgery to remove a colloid cyst that was causing pressure on his brain.

The COVID-19 virus kept Emily from her husband's bedside.

"Colb and I started three hand squeezes very early in our relationship," she said in the statement. "He would squeeze my hand in car, I would squeeze his in the grocery store, we would do it anywhere and everywhere. We did this for years.

"The four days Colb was in the hospital, I wasn't allowed to be with him. I got to FaceTime him twice for a few moments. I would beg him to wake up and tell him how much I loved him. I would then ask the nurse to squeeze his hands three times so he felt I was there.

"I wasn't physically there when Colb went to heaven, but I pray through the nurse squeezing his hand like we had always done, he felt me right there beside him."

Rex Hoggard is covering this week's Charles Schwab Challenge on the PGA Tour. Ryan Lavner is covering the Korn Ferry Challenge at TPC Sawgrass on the KFT. The GolfChannel.com senior writers discuss what it's like reporting from events, where no fans can attend and lot of rules apply.

Listen below:

FORT WORTH, Texas – It was a perfectly awful start for Harold Varner III – a tee shot that sailed wildly right of the 10^th fairway; a penalty drop; an approach that ended up in a bunker.

It seemed like before Varner’s day had even started everything had ended, with a triple-bogey 7 at his first hole to drop him out of the lead at the Charles Schwab Challenge. The only good news for Varner was that he had plenty of time to make up for his miscues.

“After making the triple I was just fighting for my life,” said the Round 1 leader. “[But] even after a triple, you just can't live in the past. It's not a great place to be and it's hard to learn from there.”

Varner’s future included birdies at Nos. 12, 13 and 16 to move back into a share of the lead, and he closed his round with five birdies over his last six holes for a second-round 66 and an early second-round advantage.

He could also take some solace in not letting his early mistakes derail his entire day and the 29-year-old admitted it’s all part of being a more complete golfer.

“I've grown up a lot off the course, so it makes it easy to make good decisions that prepare you a little bit better for on-the-course stuff,” he said. “I'm a lot better golfer. I don't really get rattled as much.”

The ECB says it is committed to delivering "meaningful and long-term change" to the way that cricket is run in England and Wales, after acknowledging that the sport is not immune to the "systemic racism" that "spans institutions and sectors across the country".

In a reflective statement, issued in response to the global wave of support for the Black Lives Matter movement, the ECB acknowledged that "barriers to [cricket's] enjoyment exist for many communities", and recognised the depth of feeling that has been expressed by the sport's BAME community, not least the former England opener Michael Carberry, who stated this week that "black people are not important to the structure of English cricket".

"We have listened carefully to those who have spoken out in recent weeks about their experiences of being black in cricket, sport and society," said the ECB. "We admire them for being vocal on this crucial topic. We know that systemic racism spans institutions and sectors across the country and we know that our sport is not immune."

On Thursday, James Anderson leant his voice to the cause, stating that the current levels of inclusion from players of Afro-Caribbean heritage in English cricket are "just not okay". Anderson was commenting in response to a tweet from one journalist, who had established that there was a solitary UK-born, state-school-educated black cricketer playing regular first-team county cricket in 2019.

"We truly believe that cricket is a game for everyone but understand that sadly, barriers to its enjoyment exist for many communities," the statement continued. "We have made progress in bringing cricket to more and more people around the country and it is our resolve to break down barriers and reform our structures everywhere across the game."

"In recent weeks we have reflected, and acknowledge that black players and fans, who have contributed so much to the history of our game, now feel disenfranchised. They do not feel as if cricket is a game for them. This must change.

"That is why it's so important that we continue to listen to the voices of those who have spoken out, to educate ourselves and face uncomfortable truths in order to create action internally and throughout the game, to ensure long-term change.

''We will now work to engage community leaders and black influencers within cricket so that we can review and evolve our existing inclusion and diversity work and specifically address the issues raised by the black community.

''From there, it is our overall desire to create demonstrable action, in order to deliver meaningful and long-term change that permeates every layer of the game."

As Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa blasted their way through the record books in the summer of 1998, 17 pitchers allowed home runs to both sluggers. Five of them shared their memories for this story.

Rick Reed, a righty for the New York Mets, allowed McGwire's 13th and 51st homers in 1998. "He was just big. I was like, 'My god, can we just get this at-bat over with?'" Reed said. "Every time he came up, my thinking was, 'Please, God, just don't let him hit the ball back up the middle. Let him hit it anywhere he wants to but not back up the middle.' When I was in the minor leagues, Randy Velarde hit a ball back up the middle, and I kid you not, that hit the button on the top of my hat. If McGwire had hit one back up the middle, I could only imagine what it would've looked like -- or sounded like. Because I wouldn't have seen it."

Jim Parque was a rookie for the Chicago White Sox in 1998, and the first two home runs he allowed in his big league career were to Sosa on June 5, and McGwire on June 10. He laughed with empathy when he heard how Reed had feared a ball being hit up the middle by McGwire. "Oh, yeah. You've got a gorilla up there in McGwire. Those two guys, they were just epic -- muscle tone, power guys. The way their bats cut the plane, and how it got through the plane, it almost looked like every pitch was going to come back through the middle. ... With Sosa and McGwire, it was basically like they had a tee there and the barrel was there the whole time. As a pitcher, you're thinking, 'How the hell do I pitch around this?' That's what we do as pitchers -- pitch around the barrel."

Jason Bere allowed McGwire's 29th home run that season while with the White Sox and Sosa's 56th after being released and signed by the Cincinnati Reds. "It was almost like the whole game was about their at-bats," he said.

'They were masters': It was more than power

Generally, the scouting report on McGwire was to pitch him inside and elevate the ball, and on Sosa, it was to get him to chase breaking balls away. But in '98, both seemed to improve as hitters, the perceived holes in their swings getting smaller.

Parque believes McGwire and Sosa had the same skills that hitters of this era try to find through the use of analytics.

"I didn't appreciate back then what those guys were able to do. Those guys had it all," he said. "They might not have defined it in [modern] terminology, but they knew back then exactly what they were trying to accomplish. Plate coverage -- get the barrel in the zone as quickly as you can and keep it there as long as you can. They had really big flat spots in their swings, rather than coming down and trying to create backspin. They worked on meeting the ball squarely -- maybe not matching pitch plane, but the flatter the barrel is through the zone, the more opportunity you will meet the pitch plane. They were masters at it, and that's why they did so well."

Andy Benes, who played for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 1998 and surrendered McGwire's 31st and Sosa's 43rd, said of McGwire: "I don't think people realize that he was a really good hitter. ... He didn't swing at a lot of bad pitches, and when you made a mistake, he had a pretty good opportunity to put the barrel on it. So he wasn't just purely a power hitter. I remember him as being a better low-ball guy -- he'd drop the barrel on the ball, and that's not as common for right-handed hitters.

"He would never take practice swings when he was in the on-deck circle. He would visualize, and he knew what every pitcher could do. He took good, quality at-bats. He was a patient hitter, but when he got a pitch to swing at, he cut it loose."

Reed on McGwire: "He was just so strong. You could make him look like a fool with an off-speed pitch, so that he was out on his front foot, and he'd still hit the ball 450 feet. You just hoped he didn't come up to the plate with the bases loaded, or a couple of guys on."

Benes on Sosa: "He could really cover the plate. He could hit a lot of balls the opposite way. Tremendous power, bat speed. He was more of an up hitter. In those years, in the mid-to-late '90s, he was a really hard out. ... When he was dialed in, he was one of the best hitters in the game because he could take the ball the other way. ... Mike Piazza was like that. ... You had to work on keeping the ball down and make [Sosa] aware you might come inside."

Reed: "Those guys just had a magical year that we will never see again. We may see one guy -- Pete Alonso, he may hit like 2,000 home runs -- but I don't think we'll see multiple guys hitting 60, 70 home runs. No way. I don't think so."

'I yelled for the grounds crew': How it felt when they went yard

Because of the history being made, the pitchers mostly carry indelible memories of the home runs they allowed to McGwire and Sosa.

Reed, on McGwire's 51st: "I'm into watching videos, and sometimes I'll bump into an old Mets game from '85 or '86, and sometimes they'll throw in games from '98 -- and guess what one of them is. First inning. It was like a moon shot. Four hundred feet straight up in the air, and about 500 feet out."

Benes allowed a grand slam to McGwire on June 12. "First at-bat, I threw him three pitches, three heaters, and he swung through. So I was like, 'OK, I got him, I know what I can do.' The next time, I tried to throw it by him. He hit it so high that I thought it might hit the roof, but it may have been his shortest home run; it was only three or four rows deep, but it was hammered straight up in the air."

Benes surrendered a two-run Sosa homer on Aug. 5. "He didn't care if the wind was blowing in or out. That guy could flat-out rake. I don't remember that one, but I'm sure he got it up in the air and it went a long way."

Parque allowed McGwire's 30th homer. "I left a changeup out over the plate, and I tell you what, when I released the ball, I yelled for the grounds crew to bring the [protective] L-screen out, because he was on it. Facing those guys, you were facing the greatest hitters in the world at that point.

"I remember that when I gave up that home run to Sammy [in June], feeling the awe of what he was accomplishing as a hitter. I know he hit a fastball -- I left it out over the plate. I released the pitch, and I heard the roar of the crowd. Usually you see where the ball goes, but his bat speed was so big, I didn't see where the ball went. I was just hoping that it stayed in the park. But then I saw him start jogging, and I was like, 'Welp, I'm another on the baseball card.'"

Bere, on Sosa's 56th: "It was one of those line-drive wind-cutters. I think it went in the basket." On McGwire's 29th, which was hit down the line in Chicago: "He just kind of muscled that one out of the park. It was one of those ones where when he hit it, you were thinking, 'Did he get it? I'm not sure.' And then, while it's still in flight, you're like, 'Well, it is McGwire.' Anybody else hits the ball like that and it's a popup to the third baseman."

'Is there a loudspeaker in your bat?' BP as a must-see

As Sosa and McGwire continued to pile up home runs, their pregame batting practice sessions became must-watch -- for fans but also for players.

Willie Blair, who gave up Sosa's 39th and McGwire's 50th, began the '98 season with Arizona. "I remember sitting in Bank One Ballpark, in the third-base dugout, watching Mark take batting practice -- and I watched him hit one completely out of that stadium. If you know the stadium, you've got those big panels that go around the outfield and open up like doors. When he hit that one, there were people standing out in left-center, and they were looking up. All of a sudden, it goes out through one of those panels. I saw that happen. It was one of the most amazing things I've seen. I just couldn't imagine a ball going that far, especially during batting practice. That was crazy. ... There was like electricity in the air when those guys came up for batting practice, big cheers from the fans whenever they would hit one out. They were as excited as we were. They were in awe to see them hit the ball so far."

Benes: "That was so much fun to watch. Just ridiculous. [McGwire] would amaze teammates who watched him every day, and we'd go out for batting practice just to watch him."

Reed: "I used to break my neck to get to the ballpark early, maybe if they were taking early batting practice. When we were home, we'd take batting practice first, but after we were done, I hung out a little bit, to see them crank 'em ... and to think, 'Thank god I'm not pitching tonight.'"

Parque: "With those guys, the ball just sounds different off their bats. Everybody else sounds like they're swinging wet newspapers, and these guys come up and you're like, 'Is there a loudspeaker in your bat? What's going on?'"

When Bere pitched against the Cardinals in St. Louis, he made a point of not participating in batting practice, because he knew McGwire would take his swings just before Bere's group. "I didn't want to sit out there and watch him take batting practice, because that's just a bad mental image for me. I would just sit in the clubhouse, because I didn't want to watch him hit where every pitch thrown is a homer.

"On the days I didn't pitch, yeah, I'd watch it. When he did his little bat waggle, you could almost see his forearms rippling."

'YOU OWN ME!!' What they were like behind the scenes

Both players signed autographs voluminously not only for fans but also for teammates and opponents.

As Blair recalled: "I was with Arizona and I pitched against the Cardinals in June, and that was going to be the last time we faced each other for the rest of the year. I remember after the game walking over to the Cardinals' gym so I could work out. [McGwire] was talking with a bunch of reporters, and he stopped in the middle of his interview and said, 'Willie, I'm going to send you something in a few minutes.' I said, 'OK, perfect.'

McGwire did not hit a homer in the game that day. "I got done with my workout and went back to my locker, and there's a bat in one of those big sanitary socks. So I pulled it out, and it says, 'To Willie. YOU OWN ME!!' Signed, No. 25, Mark McGwire. ... I think he knew he was doing something very special that year, and I think he was just giving me a tip of the cap. It was his way of saying, 'You got me, and you got me in our careers.' I'm sure he thought he wasn't going to face me again. Sure enough, I got traded to the Mets, and they had a bunch of makeup games, and I ended up starting a game in a doubleheader against [the Cardinals]. First at-bat, I punched him out. Second at-bat, he hit a soft loopy line drive to third base. Next at-bat, he homered to left-center. He finally got me."

It was No. 50 for McGwire, which marked three consecutive seasons reaching that total, something that had never been done. "After the game, he called me in the clubhouse, and he said, 'Willie, I don't want to offend you, but I'm going to sign a ball a certain way for my teammates and coaches. But because tonight's a part of history, I'd like to send you one, too.' I was like, 'Heck, yeah, send it over.' So he sent me over a ball that said, 'Mark McGwire 50-50-50.'

"That's something I can tell my grandkids."

Though Benes pitched for Arizona in 1998, he was a teammate of McGwire's in St. Louis during two different stints and watched him cope with the burden of superstardom. "I just got done watching the Jordan documentary ['The Last Dance']." People don't realize that when they go on the road, those guys can't just go to the mall and walk around and kill time. They have to stay in their hotel room, and Mac was like that. There was just a lot more pressure.

"I remember asking him for an autograph one day [in 2001]. I can't remember who it was for, but I didn't have anything from him. He was like, 'Gosh, does it ever end?' I said, 'Mac, you sit there on getaway day and sign 200 items for the other team.' It was amazing. He would sit in the laundry and sign things for the other team, and he did it for every team, and at some point you get tired of it, right?

"I'm like, 'Forget it, I don't want it.' He was like, 'Bring it back.' I said, 'No, I don't want it.' I pitched the next day, he hit two home runs, and he broke his bat in his last at-bat -- it was a single. The next day, I walk in and there was a bat in my locker -- that bat that he broke -- and he wrote on it, 'Congrats, Andy -- great win,' with Nos. 558 and 559 on it." As a teammate, he was pretty quiet, he went about his business. He would help anybody, but it's hard for those [superstars], with the pressure."

'MLB back on the map': The record-breaker and its legacy

Players followed the progress of Sosa and McGwire as they closed in on Roger Maris' record of 61. McGwire broke the record on Sept. 8, in a game against the Cubs, and he and Sosa famously celebrated together -- unusual for the old-school culture of that time -- and McGwire shared the moment with the Maris family.

Benes: "It may have been his shortest home run of the year -- there couldn't have been one shorter. When I think about Big Mac and that whole run, he loves baseball. He loved the history of the game. So he knew ... he knew it was an epic moment. He was so respectful of and cared about the Maris family, because he loved the game, and the past. It was super cool to see that. You don't see guys giving hugs running around the bases. Guys are competing and wanting to win, but it was beyond baseball at that point for both of those guys. For everybody in baseball, it was a super cool thing to watch. I'm sure there are 400,000 people who say they were at Busch Stadium that day."

Reed: "It was pretty cool. McGwire misses first base, and they have to push him back.'"

Bere: "The fraternizing during the game, that did not go on a lot [in that era], certainly not as much as it does now. I'm not saying it's right, wrong or otherwise, but it just didn't happen as much. ... You look now, people hit a home run and they have a whole skit put together that they've been working on for three days in the clubhouse. It's just a different way that people celebrate and enjoy the game. Who's to say that fans don't like that? I think fans do like that, for the most part."

A narrative developed that McGwire and Sosa saved baseball after the 1994-95 labor strife that included the cancellation of the '94 World Series.

Benes: "With those guys going back and forth every day with home runs, it was just different than anyone had ever seen. And they were both dynamic players. People really got into it, and even as an opposing player, playing on the West Coast, we would watch those guys hit. Sosa would be playing during the day [in Wrigley Field], and when you'd be getting to the ballpark, you'd watch those at-bats. Everybody was excited to see, 'OK, what are they going to do today?' In any pitch of any at-bat, they could've hit it out.

"There were a lot of things that helped baseball come back, but there was so much excitement with [McGwire/Sosa in '98]. It really [attracted] the next generation of fans. People like watching home runs. ... I think fans would rather see a game in which home runs are being hit than a 2-1 game."

Blair: "It seemed like [McGwire] respected people and handled everything the right way that year. He and Sosa, the way they handled that, really got MLB back on the map. They had fun with it, and I know it was fun to watch. It wasn't fun giving up the homers, but it was fun to watch."

Bere: "What happened [with Sosa and McGwire] was one of the moments for fans in general to gravitate back toward the game. ... Who doesn't like people chasing down records? I think that's what records are there for, you know?"

They're 'bona fide Hall of Famers': On PEDs and Cooperstown

After McGwire retired, he acknowledged using performance-enhancing drugs. Sosa has never admitted use, but there was always a broad assumption that he -- like many, many players of that era -- benefited from PEDs.

Reed: "I don't feel cheated one bit. As a matter of fact, I feel blessed that I got to face those guys.

"Bro, I was just lucky to be where I was. Now would I have done what other people accused them of doing [with PEDs]? No. If they did things that enhanced [their performance], they have to live with that -- I don't. I feel for them, but in another way, I don't. You made your bed, you have to lie in it."

Benes: "Some guys who did it flew under the radar. They aren't looked at as cheaters, while other guys paid the price. I just look at those guys [McGwire and Sosa] as they made mistakes."

Parque: "At the end of the day, those two guys -- they still had to hit the damn ball. They still had to do it early and often. No amount of banned or unbanned substance is really going to help you with that. It might speed up your bat, give you a little extra, but that doesn't really matter, because you still have to square up the ball, in a 2-inch-by-2-inch area, on a ball that potentially make you seasick because of how much the ball moves. Have you ever stepped into a box? You need Dramamine because the ball moves so much."

Bere: "When people were taking that, it turned a great player into [a] superhuman. It turned a marginal player into a very good player. ... It's safe to say if they didn't take that, things would be different. I don't know how different, I don't how the numbers would be different. I have no idea, none of us do. But I don't think it's my place to break down what that would be. I don't want to get involved in that. Do I think it was wrong? Yeah. But if someone chooses to do that, like corking a bat or anything illegal, they live with [the repercussions] moving forward.

"I don't know if any of us knew how widespread it was. But obviously it was, and it wasn't just hitters. A lot of pitchers, too."

Blair: "I've just kind of accepted it was part of the game. It doesn't mean they were bad people. I'm not a fan of it, but at the same time, I don't have any ill will toward anybody who did that. In my career, I probably talked about it more than I do now, as far as not being happy about that being in the game. I still don't think it was a good thing. I've gotten past it. As far as I'm concerned, it was just part of the way the game used to be."

Neither McGwire nor Sosa has come close to election to the Baseball Hall of Fame, with McGwire never polling higher than 23.7% before dropping off the ballot in 2017 and Sosa receiving 13.9% of the vote this past election year, his eighth on the ballot.

Benes: "Those two guys are bona fide Hall of Famers. There are guys who have done PEDs who are in the Hall of Fame. ... I could go back in the last 20 years, in the era that I played in, and say, 'That guy did something, that guy, that guy,' and some of them actually got in trouble for it -- and they're still voted in.

"I think you just have to say: 'This is what the guy did [in production], these are the numbers he put up.' It's not a morality test. ... Those guys are Hall of Famers, some of the best to ever play the game."

Parque: "It's special to have played in the era that I played. ... It was special to be a part of history. I didn't want to be, and I don't want to be, but I'm fortunate. I feel blessed that I was able to face those guys, two of the greatest hitters of all time, but also a part of that home run chase. I got to be honest -- it's an honor to be a part of it. It's not an honor to give up the bombs, but it's an honor to be a part of it."

David Grevemberg hopes schedule changes, including a compressed five-day athletics programme, will attract athletes to the Birmingham event

Commonwealth Games bosses are working on further scheduling changes for the 2022 Games in Birmingham to make it more feasible for athletes to attempt a world, European and Commonwealth hat-trick that summer.

On Thursday the Commonwealth Games Federation announced new dates of July 28 to August 8 for the Birmingham event, meaning it will start and finish one day later than originally planned.

With the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games postponed by a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, the World Athletics Championships in Oregon has also been delayed and will now take place on July 15-24, 2022, while athletics at the European Championships in Munich is scheduled for August 15-21.

READ MORE: New dates for Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games

In such a packed summer some athletes will be forced to prioritise certain events over others but David Grevemberg, chief executive of the Commonwealth Games Federation, believes the 2022 treble provides the sport and its athletes with a “momentous opportunity”.

“We’ve had to look at how we consolidate the athletics programme to give adequate rest periods between the World Athletics Championships and the Commonwealth Games, but also respecting the European Championships as well,” says Grevemberg.

“We’ve had helpful support in maximising the schedule with World Athletics so we’re co-ordinating the schedules in that relatively short time frame to make sure we’re maximising attendance and participation from those athletes.

“It comes down to the scheduling of certain events compared to when they start and finish at the World Athletics Championships,” he adds. “The detailed schedule is being worked through and it’s far from complete.

“But the daily schedule will be more at the back end of the programme and be more compressed, going from seven days to five days. It makes it tighter but there are opportunities to make it more exciting and more impactful.”

Recognising that having all three events in one summer is likely to be a once-in-a-lifetime chance for athletes, Grevemberg says: “I think it’s a wonderful challenge – to do the unprecedented.

“You could almost create it as a grand slam. It’s a challenge and athletes like a challenge.

“This is a historical moment,” he adds. “It’s up to us as organisers to find solutions and that’s what we have tried to do in difficult circumstances. It’s trying to look through that adversity and create as much positive opportunity as you can while exercising our duty of care and focusing on that athlete-centred focus. I think we’ve got a good balance.

“We need to continue to listen through this process and I don’t think we’re out of the woods but we have a good plan right now and we’ve got partners that are really focused on making the best experience for the athletes.”

The English players' union says it is a "sad day in the history of rugby" as the civil war between players and Premiership clubs over pay escalates.

The Rugby Players' Association (RPA) has warned of potential legal action after clubs voted unanimously to cut the salary cap by £1.4m from 2021-22.

Most top-flight players took a 25% pay cut in March because of coronavirus.

In a statement released to The Times, the clubs accused the RPA of not giving its members "appropriate advice".

Now the union says the clubs have "personally attacked" players and their representatives, and says the suggestion there was an agreement to make pay cuts permanent is "pure fabrication".

The RPA has urged independent mediation to resolve the matter.