CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Charlotte Hornets players say Michael Jordan spoke to them recently about what it takes to be a champion, emphasizing the need for accountability -- even if it means making teammates comfortable.

Those are some of the same qualities that were on display during the 10-part documentary "The Last Dance," which focused on Jordan's sixth and final NBA championship run with the Bulls.

In the hourlong video conference call that came after the conclusion of "The Last Dance," Jordan told players they can't be uncomfortable "calling out teammates" in practice when things aren't going as planned or mistakes become repetitive, according to Charlotte point guard Devonte' Graham.

"That's going to make you guys even better," Graham said, reiterating Jordan's remarks. "You'll bond better. Your team is stronger. There is more of a respect level, instead of not saying anything and letting guys mess up over and over and over again, and you're losing and losing."

Since taking over majority control of the Hornets 10 years ago, Jordan hasn't come close to matching the success he enjoyed as a player with the Chicago Bulls. Charlotte has never made it out of the first round of the playoffs and has won only three postseason games in the Jordan era.

In an effort to stop that cycle of mediocrity, Jordan hired Mitch Kupchak as the team's general manager in 2018 and the Hornets have since embarked on a rebuilding process that included parting ways with three-time All-Star Kemba Walker last offseason in an effort to focus on developing young players.

Jordan took questions from players and spoke directly about the difference between what it takes to win in the regular season and the playoffs.

Hornets center Cody Zeller said that was an important message for a young team to hear.

"A lot of guys on our team haven't played in the playoffs and don't understand the attention to detail you have to play with in the playoffs," Zeller said. "That was what I enjoyed hearing from MJ, especially as a younger team."

Jordan's tenacity and desire to win at all costs were exhibited during "The Last Dance." That meant at times emotions boiled over at Bulls practices resulting in altercations between teammates, including one notable exchange of blows between Jordan and Steve Kerr.

Hornets guard Terry Rozier joked after watching "The Last Dance" that he probably would have gotten into a few fistfights with Jordan, too.

"I would have taken the Steve Kerr route," Rozier said with a laugh. "I'm super competitive."

But Rozier is not sure Jordan's aggressive approach would work with some of this generation's players.

"I feel like you have to pick your poison," Rozier said. "One thing with being teammates with guys in this league is you have to learn who they are first. Some people don't like to be confronted in front of others; some people you have to pull aside. So I feel like it is a mixture of learning your teammates and knowing when to call them out ... so that people don't have a bad taste in their mouth about one another."

Zeller said Jordan admitted as much in the meeting. He said the 57-year-old Jordan talked about his post-Bulls tenure with the Washington Wizards, when his feedback and criticism wasn't as well received.

"He said he wishes that he would have done that a little bit differently" in Washington, Zeller said. "The next generation of players that had come in didn't really want to hear the same feedback and the harshness that he used during his days in Chicago. He wishes that he would have taken Jerry Stackhouse under his wing and taught him how to be a better leader as opposed to trying to do it all himself."

After an unexpected hiatus that lasted three months, the PGA Tour is officially back. Here's how things look after the opening round of the Charles Schwab Challenge, where a former champ shares the lead with a player looking for his first PGA Tour win:

Leaderboard: Justin Rose (-7), Harold Varner III (-7), Justin Thomas (-6), Jhonattan Vegas (-6), Collin Morikawa (-6), Abraham Ancer (-6), Jordan Spieth (-5)

What it means: Rose won here two years ago with four straight rounds of 66 or better, and he once again tamed Hogan's Alley as the low man of the early wave. He was equaled late in the day by Varner, but with calm winds and soft conditions it was an ideal situation for players to ease their way back into competition with plenty of birdie chances available.

Round of the day: Rose made headlines during the Tour's coronavirus break by officially splitting from Honma, but his bag of mixed equipment got the job done Thursday as he went bogey-free at Colonial. The former world No. 1 hasn't finished inside the top 50 in four PGA Tour starts this year, but after seven birdies he has a new career low on a course where he knows what it takes to slip into the plaid jacket.

Best of the rest: Varner has yet to lift a trophy on Tour, coming close last year at The Northern Trust and earlier this season at Riviera. But he put on a clinical display in the opening round, hitting all 18 greens in regulation while rolling in seven birdies. Varner spent time early in the week discussing issues of race, but Thursday his game did the talking as he grabbed a share of the lead with an 11-foot birdie on No. 18.

Biggest disappointment: While there were plenty of low scores, some big names were slow out of the gates. Among them were Rickie Fowler, who bogeyed four of his last five holes to stumble in with a 3-over 73. That was the same opening score as Webb Simpson, who has two top-5 finishes in five prior Colonial appearances but failed to make a single birdie in the opening round.

Main storyline heading into Friday: One round in and there's almost too many stories to count. Rose likely isn't going anywhere given his affinity for this week's layout, while a strong performance by Varner would be more than noteworthy given the current racial and political climate. But keep an eye on Thomas, who shot a smooth 64 in his first-ever round at Colonial, and former champion Jordan Spieth. Spieth started slowly but closed with a back-nine 30, and at 5 under he's just two shots off the early lead. Oh, and he's joined there by 61-year-old Tom Lehman.

Shot of the day: There weren't fans around to enjoy it, but Sung Kang scored the first post-coronavirus ace when he holed his shot from 162 yards away on the par-3 16th. The hole-in-one was one of the few highlights on a day when Kang signed for a 2-over 72.

Quote of the day: "It didn't matter if I shot 80 today. I love playing golf, but you don't realize it until it's taken away." - Varner

Sevilla's Argentine winger Lucas Ocampos produced a classy display to lead his side to a 2-0 home win over city rivals Real Betis on Thursday in the first La Liga game since the season was halted three months ago by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ocampos struck the post in the first half before giving Sevilla a deserved lead from the penalty spot in the 56th minute and he produced an outrageous backheel assist for midfielder Fernando to head home six minutes later.

The win consolidated Sevilla's push for a Champions League place, tightening their hold on third place in the standings with 50 points after 28 games. Betis were left in 12th on 33.

Sevilla dominated the derby in an empty and eerily quiet Sanchez Pizjuan which would usually be teeming with colour and noise for the occasion, but the red seats were left bare as fans were barred from attending for safety reasons.

Television broadcasts sought to re-create the experience of a normal match with fans by using simulated crowd noise and images, while Ocampos still saluted the stand behind the goal after breaking the deadlock from the penalty spot.

"I had never played a derby here before and even though the fans are not here I still wanted to honour them and make it feel like they were and show that we are working hard for them," the Argentine said.

Sevilla had been outplaying their neighbours before Betis defender Marc Bartra was penalised for fouling Luuk de Jong in a challenge which led to the spot-kick.

"The penalty was incredible, I was in a position to out-jump De Jong and he jumped into my arms, the Sevilla players weren't even expecting a penalty," Bartra said.

"If football is a contact sport you cannot give a penalty for that."

NEW YORK -- As protests and social justice movements have taken place across the country in the wake of George Floyd's death, NBA players have discussed what role returning to play has in furthering or distracting from the cause.

The Nets' Garrett Temple, a vice president for the National Basketball Players Association, told ESPN that he believes playing games and earning a paycheck is actually one of the best ways players can combat the systemic oppression of black people.

"The difference in the economic gap between white America and black America is astronomical," Temple said. "I can't in good conscience tell my brethren to throw away millions of dollars in order to create change that I don't see the direct impact of -- if there was a direct impact of laws changing, that would be a different story."

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Wednesday that players who elect not to play in Orlando would not be paid for missed games.

The average NBA player salary in 2019-20 is $9.56 million, according to ESPN's Bobby Marks. According to a 2017 review of Federal data by the Washington Post, 15 percent of white families reported being millionaires. The number of black households worth more than $1 million has hovered around 2 percent since 1992, the same data shows.

Temple, who has participated in phone calls with players over the last several days, pointed to a Ted Talk that cited that for every dollar a white family in America has from generational wealth, black families will only have six cents. Working to close that economic gap, Temple says, is one way to strive toward racial equality in the United States.

"So, when people bring up not playing -- we are a few black men that can make a little bit of money," Temple said. "It is not a lot of money when (you) think about it in the grand scheme of America. But we can start having a little bit of money, create a little bit of generational wealth."

"But the fact that us not playing will hurt our pockets, I don't think that is the right way to go about it."

Several players have voiced concern over the bubble site games, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Players have cited social justice issues, as well as the restrictions of the Orlando bubble and being separated from their families for weeks or months.

Temple says that it will ultimately be an individual decision that players need to make.

Trail Blazers forward Carmelo Anthony told Turner Sports' Ernie Johnson that he is "still up in the air a little bit" about playing in Orlando because he is waiting on more information from the league. He did not specifically cite racial issues as a factor in whether or not he will play

The NBA has built a reputation of empowering players and coaches to speak out on political and racial topics, without fear of retaliation. Commissioner Adam Silver has vocally supported players protesting and raising awareness for social change. After Eric Gardner's death in 2014, NBA players wore shirts that read, "I can't breathe" -- Gardner's last words before he died as a white officer held him in a lethal chokehold.

Since Floyd's death, players like Jaylen Brown, Malcolm Brogdon, Kyrie Irving and others have attended Black Lives Matter protests. Temple said that he is "a big proponent of protests" and would be out protesting if his wife was not pregnant.

Temple sees going to Orlando as a chance to further conversations about actions players and the league can take to create change.

"One reason for us to go to Orlando is while we're there, we can talk amongst each other and maybe come up with a plan, maybe come up with some type of action," Temple said. "We need to come together and come up with something. The attention is going to be on us when we're in that bubble. I know we can think of something that does not hurt the pockets of our young black men."

"At the end of the day, money isn't everything, but it helps. And we need it in our community now more than ever. The economic gap is too wide."

As the NBA firms up its 22-team Orlando restart schedule, 14 of the teams will be eliminated within 53 days of arriving -- and only four teams will remain after 67 days, sources said.

The NBA has been working to make clear to players that the actual commitment of time for most teams in Orlando may be less daunting than originally perceived, especially once seen in the context of the timetables constructed into the league's revised schedule.

The NBA is planning to begin camps July 9-11, and teams will briefly quarantine before beginning formal training camps prior to regular-season games resuming July 30, sources said.

The six teams eliminated after eight regular-season games and a possible play-in tournament for the No. 8 seed would leave Orlando within 35 to 40 days, sources said.

The NBA expects the conference finals will end within a maximum of 82 days, leaving the two NBA finalists, sources said. The league expects the NBA Finals could start by Sept. 30.

Several roster rules that the NBA and NBPA have agreed upon are expected to govern the league's resumption at the at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, according to sources.

Free-agent players such as DeMarcus Cousins and Isaiah Thomas -- who played in the NBA this season -- and those who weren't on NBA rosters this season -- JR Smith and Jamal Crawford, for example -- are eligible to sign into open roster spots.

Teams won't be allowed to sign international players, such as Nikola Mirotic, who weren't on NBA rosters this season.

Teams are allowed to bring as many as 17 players to Orlando, including 14 or 15 players on a standard NBA contract and additional two-way spots. For instance, Brooklyn can designate two-way players Chris Chiozza and Jeremiah Martin as roster spots 14 and 15 to replace injured stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. However, the Nets wouldn't be allowed to sign two replacements for Durant and Irving.

Playoff rosters will consist of 15 players, including 13 active and two inactive. Once the playoffs start, teams can replace any player who tests positive for the coronavirus with a substitute player. This new player would be subject to a minimum seven-day quarantine period.

There will be a one-week transaction window in late June that will allow teams to waive or sign a player. During this period, a team can convert two-way players such as Luguentz Dort of the Oklahoma City Thunder to a standard contract. For example, if Dort is converted to a standard contract, Oklahoma City would be allowed to sign a two-way player to replace him.

Eight teams -- Denver, the LA Clippers, Memphis, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento and San Antonio -- have an open roster spot and can sign a player who played in the NBA or the G-League this season.

The eight teams left out of the Orlando resumption are allowed to waive or sign players during the transaction window. They cannot sign a player to a two-way contract.

COLUMBUS, Ind. – Outlaw kart and big-block modified standout Max McLaughlin, a current regular in ARCA competition with Hattori Racing Enterprises, will undergo a trial by fire when he makes his midget debut next week with Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports.

McLaughlin will compete in the first two rounds of Indiana Midget Week, racing against the stars of the NOS Energy Drink USAC National Midget Series at Paragon Speedway on June 16 and Gas City I-69 Speedway on June 17.

He fills the void at KKM left by the injured Presley Truedson, who planned to race all six nights of Indiana Midget Week but has been sidelined by concussion symptoms following an incident during the POWRi-sanctioned Turnpike Challenge weekend last month.

“It’s not the situation you hope for as a driver, but we definitely want to make the best of it,” said McLaughlin.

The second-generation driver from Mooresville, N.C., had planned to appear with KKM earlier in the season, but various schedule changes due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic pushed those plans back.

Now, McLaughlin will tackle the challenge of finding his footing in a type of car he’s never raced before against one of the toughest fields in all of outdoor midget racing.

“It’s definitely going to be a challenge, but if you look back at my career, that’s kind of been my MO,” McLaughlin noted. “I’ve been thrown to the wolves my whole life. The World Finals, my first race ever in a big block (modified), was arguably the biggest race in the country for those cars. But I love challenges. This is definitely going to be one of the tougher ones to be in, just because it’s so much different from anything I’ve ever done, and there’s a stacked field. I feel ready for it though and I can’t thank Toyota, TRD, Keith (Kunz) and Pete (Willoughby) enough for giving me this opportunity.”

Among the drivers McLaughlin will be looking to beat during his two Indiana Midget Week starts is former NASCAR star Kyle Larson, who has won three All Star Circuit of Champions and one World of Outlaws sprint car race since returning to dirt on a regular basis in May.

McLaughlin and Larson traded slide jobs in outlaw karts at Millbridge Speedway in Salisbury, N.C., during McLaughlin’s formative years in racing. Now the duo will look to do the same in midgets.

“Kyle, in my opinion, is one of the hottest racers in the world right now,” McLaughlin pointed out. “He’s winning everything in the sprint car scene. Between him, (defending USAC champion) Tyler Courtney and Tanner Thorson having dominant seasons, and the (regular) KKM drivers running really good right now, it’s going to be a tall task running against them. But it’s exciting at the same time. It’s the best of the best.

“Everybody wants to win during Indiana Midget Week, so it’s going to be a show, for sure.”

Compounding the challenge for McLaughlin is the fact that, while he’s been fitted in the seat of a KKM midget, he’s never even fired the engine of one before – let alone raced a midget in competition.

That means he’s relying on video of past midget races and past Indiana Midget Week shows to mentally prepare himself for the task ahead.

“We’re going to go up (to the KKM shop) early in the week and make sure everything fits well again, but I’ve never even started a midget before, so I don’t know what to expect,” admitted McLaughlin. “It’s going to be a definite learning curve, but I’m ready to get started.

“I’ve watched a few of the midget week shows from Gas City and seen the different lines that they run from car to car, and then I’ve watched a sprint car race from last year at Paragon to kind of do the same thing, or at least to guess where we’re going to be able to run with the midget,” McLaughlin added. “So watching a lot of film – as much as there is on the internet – has been how I’ve been trying to best prepare myself.”

As far as goals are concerned, McLaughlin’s bar is yet to be determined. After all, he has nothing to compare what he’s about to experience to, so expectations will be formed as he goes along.

“I can’t really go into it with expectations, because I’ve never done it before,” McLaughlin noted. “I’m just going to do the best I can, go in there and be as prepared as possible with the situation that’s being thrown at me. Hopefully we’re fast and we can enjoy it for a couple of days.”

Before he straps in at Paragon, McLaughlin will tackle an ARCA Menards Series East event on Saturday at Toledo (Ohio) Speedway, resuming his pavement season three days before slinging some Indiana dirt.

“Right now the focus is our car this weekend at Toledo, but we’re really looking forward to these first races back since the virus and definitely going to be busy the next few weeks.”

OSWEGO, N.Y. – ISMA’s CarStar Collision and Glass Service 75 scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 15 at the Delaware (Ontario) Speedway has been cancelled due to complications involving COVID-19.

The Delaware event is the third ISMA race lost to the public health pandemic, joining the May 30 show scheduled for the Oswego Speedway and the 75-lapper scheduled for June 27 at Monadnock Speedway.

While Supermodifieds will not be returning to Monadnock or Delaware until 2021, officials are working with Oswego Speedway management on a potential makeup date for later in the current season.

For the time being, the July 11 event at Jukasa Motor Speedway in Ontario is on as scheduled, but due to fluid changes as well as the potential continuation of the border closure between the United States and Canada, teams are asked to check back frequently for updates.

Following the series’ return to Canada, ISMA will conclude the month of July at the Sandusky Speedway in Ohio for the two-day Hy-Miler Weekend featuring the ‘Fast 40’ on Friday, July 24 and the 43rd annual Hy-Miler Nationals 100 on Saturday, July 25.

As of June 11, all other events on ISMA’s 2020 schedule; Lee on Friday, Aug. 7, Seekonk on Wednesday, Aug. 12, Oxford on Saturday, Aug. 29, Star on Saturday, September 19, and Thompson on Sunday, Oct. 11 remain a go.

YORK HAVEN, Pa. – Steve Buckwalter knows he has the intangibles to run with the best in Central Pennsylvania.

Last season didn’t particularly prove that, though. In 46 winged 410 sprint car features, Buckwalter finished on the podium just twice and placed 26th in the Central PA point standings.

Over the offseason, he tasked his engine supplier, Buzz Wilson of A1 Engines, with a request that’s now paying dividends.

Since racing’s return in Central Pennsylvania on Memorial Day, Buckwalter has three podium efforts in five features, citing a reinvigorated motor program as the difference.

Buckwalter, who claims he’s “been running the same package for five years now,” has finishes of second of Lincoln on May 25, third at Selinsgrove on May 31, and most recently second to Lance Dewease on Sunday at BAPS Motor Speedway.

“I asked Buzz for more bottom end [in the engines] and he gave it to me,” said Buckwalter, who later explained it gives him “more of a punch off the corner” and makes the car more drivable.

“When my motors are hitting good, the car feels great,” Buckwalter added. I’ll start changing torsion bars and shocks, trying to get better. It just seems like when we get a fresh motor back and it’s hitting strong, we’re right back to our normal package.”

– While many race teams are trying to get up to speed off the heels of a two-and-a-half month shutdown due to COVID-19, Buckwalter, 42, is hitting full stride in a winged 410 sprint car for the first time in a while.

In his first race back on May 25 at Lincoln, Buckwalter timed second in his group, rolled to a win in his heat and finished second to the track’s reigning champion, Brian Montieth, in the feature.

At Selinsgrove on May 31, he timed fifth, cruised to a two-second heat win, and managed to come home third.

Most recently, at BAPS on Sunday, he collected a third heat win and, despite drawing sixth for the feature, finished second to the stalwart of the night, Lance Dewease.

“Buckwalter and them have been running real good this year, better than they have in a long time,” Dewease said after his win Sunday at BAPS.

The only other feature Buckwalter hasn’t finished on the podium since racing’s return to Central Pennsylvania is sixth-place effort May 30 at Lincoln Speedway.

“Everything seems to be clicking good,” Buckwalter said. “When the motors are right, the car comes into play.”

– Buckwalter’s runner-up to Dewease on Sunday is a good sign for things to come, he said, since BAPS isn’t a track he traditionally runs well at.

Before every race, Buckwalter unloads with a game plan to use a universal setup that overall suits him well. Before Sunday, that approach didn’t yield many results at the four-tenths-mile oval.

“Things are running so well right now and everything feels good I was kind of curious to see what it would do over here [at BAPS],” said Buckwalter, who plans to run Indiana Midget Week before gearing up for Pennsylvania Speedweek at the end of June.

In an effort to preserve and, in a way, bottle-up his recent headway, Buckwalter will be using his second engine leading up to Pennsylvania Speedweek, a grueling nice-race, nine-day swing that starts June 26 at Williams Grove Speedway.

“We want to save it for when the [purses] are up,” Buckwalter said. “I’m just hoping the other one will run just as good.”

When asked what else needs refining, Buckwalter responded with hopes of finding “more stick on entry” but not having it get “too tight” on exit.

Until then, he trusts his inner self to continue this upward trend.

“I’ve been racing for 35 years, I feel like I know what to do, you know?” Buckwalter said. “I make mistakes just like everybody else. We have a good grip on the car.”

– Williams Grove Speedway and Port Royal Speedway announced their long-awaited returns this past week.

Williams Grove, the historic half-mile located in Mechanicsburg, Pa., is set to resume racing Friday, June 19, with a 410 and 358 sprint car show at 7:30 p.m.

Port Royal, meanwhile, returns this weekend in doubleheader fashion with a $5,000-to-win 410 sprint car show with super late models and limited late models on Saturday and another $5,000-to-win 410 sprint car show on Sunday.

Selinsgrove is also set to host another 410 sprint car feature on Friday, while Lincoln presses on with its season on Saturday.

It seemed in flux only a week ago, but now, the 2020 installment of Pennsylvania Speedweek is shaping up to feature one of the highest purses in series history.

The Pennsylvania Speedweek schedule will run as follows:

• June 26 – Williams Grove Speedway, $5,000-to-win
• June 27 –  Lincoln Speedway, $9,200-to-win (was $7,000)
• June 28 – Selinsgrove Speedway, $5,000-to-win
• June 29 – Lincoln Speedway, $7,000-to-win
• June 30 – Grandview Speedway, $10,000-to-win
• July 1 – Port Royal Speedway, $7,000-to-win
• July 2 – Hagerstown Speedway, $5,000-to-win
• July 3 – Williams Grove Speedway, $15,000-to-win (was $10,000)
• July 4 – Port Royal Speedway, $10,000-to-win ($7,000)

Sung Kang recorded the first hole-in-one of the PGA Tour's mid-pandemic restart with when he jarred this tee shot from 163 yards at the par-3 13th on Thursday at the Charles Schwab Challenge:

As you can see in the video, the reaction – aside from an audible yell when the ball crashed into the hole – was decidedly muted.

Without fans on the course and with players keeping their distance from one another – avoiding congratulatory high-fives, for example – the group of Kang, Tyler Duncan and Brendon Todd simply made their way off the tee box and towards the putting surface.

The hole-in-one was Kang's second on the PGA Tour, coming nine years after his first Tour ace at the 2011 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Liverpool cruised to a 6-0 victory over Blackburn Rovers in a friendly behind closed doors at Anfield on Thursday as Jurgen Klopp's side stepped up their preparations for the Premier League restart next week.

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First-team regulars Sadio Mane, Naby Keita and Joel Matip got their names on the scoresheet along with Takumi Minamino and youngsters Ki-Jana Hoever and Leighton Clarkson in a convincing win over the Championship side.

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah and left back Andy Robertson were left out of the squad as a precaution, but Klopp was satisfied with how his players responded.

"We didn't have enough first-team players," Klopp told the club's website. "So that's why we decided to let three players go for 60 minutes. That's OK. It looked really good, pretty much from the beginning.

"In the first game, we don't have to be football-wise on our highest level, but we need to show that we are ready for competition, that we are ready to defend, that we are ready to find solutions."

Liverpool, who are 25 points clear at the top of the standings and on the verge of clinching their first league title in 30 years, will restart their campaign against local rivals Everton at Goodison Park on June 21.

Klopp's side will have a shot at securing the title by beating Everton if second-placed Manchester City lose to Arsenal on Wednesday.