I can't stand Devonta Freeman.

Granted, I've never met Devonta Freeman or had a conversation with Devonta Freeman or generally know anything about Devonta Freeman other than that he's a running back for the Atlanta Falcons. But I have an intense, irrational dislike for another human being because he doesn't perform up to the standards that I, an unathletic person staring at a browser tab, have established for him.

Such is the fantasy sports experience.

It's the second year I've had Freeman on my NFL fantasy team, the unfortunate result of participating in a legacy auto-draft league, the kind where we all can't make time to organize a proper draft, but clear our calendars to parade a trophy around a local pub at the end of the season. He was injured last season. He was one of the worst running backs in Week 1 of this season. He makes my team lose. I shall be placing him on my "do not draft" list in future years. That'll show him.

Every season, we have to make these kinds of calls in fantasy hockey, too. Players that underperformed for your team in the past. Players that you project will underperform this season. Players you simply can't trust to perform to their draft expectations. And also Tom Wilson.

We published our top 300 players in fantasy hockey this week, which means it's time to get into the proper mindset for the 2019-20 draft and the players that I will select to populate my team, the Elias Sports Bureau this season. (Pronounced "ELL-EE-AHSH.")

As we all do, I have certain players whom I will studiously avoid in the draft like the plague and/or Devonta Freeman. The justifications for these biases are logical in some cases and completely bonkers in others.

Such is the fantasy sports experience.

Here are the 10 (or so) NHL players I will not select in my fantasy draft, even if they were one of the last two players available and the other guy left on the board was that Blackhawks emergency goalie:

Also in this week's Wysh List: Jersey Foul | Puck headlines
Latest on Marner | Ovi's cereal

Sergei Bobrovsky, G, Florida Panthers

Too many variables for what's otherwise been one of the NHL's steadiest and busiest -- only Frederik Andersen has started more games in the last three seasons -- goaltenders. Does carrying the weight of an $11.5 million dollar salary in the first season of a seven-year deal affect his lateral movement? Does a downgrade in overall team defense mean a downgrade in stats; or does Joel Quenneville come in, sprinkle some 'Q' dust on the roster and fix the problems that helped contribute to the Panthers' woeful .906 save percentage at even strength? This might be my PTSD kicking in after lauding the Panthers last preseason only to watch them fail to locate the playoffs like an apathetic cat ignoring a laser pointer. Perhaps they'll be fine. But I'm opting for other goalies this draft.

Charlie McAvoy, D, Boston Bruins

His even-strength numbers aren't bad, but he gets minimal power-play time and doesn't shoot the puck enough. The disparity between his actual ranking (221 in ours) and where he's usually drafted is truly baffling: He's being taken at No. 108 overall on average via Yahoo's fantasy game, which puts him ahead of Jacob Trouba, Shea Theodore, Zach Werenski and Cale Makar, who gets to inherit Tyson Barrie's power-play time on one of the best offensive teams in hockey. Which proves three things: Not enough people know about Cale Makar, everyone has heard of Charlie McAvoy, and there's a lot of people from New England who play fantasy hockey, kid.

Literally anyone on the Ottawa Senators

While Thomas Chabot and Brady Thachuk are obviously appealing players, plus/minus unfortunately remains a standard scoring category in most of your general population fantasy leagues. The Senators had one guy who was on the plus side last season with a minimum of 40 games played: The miracle that was Mark Stone, who is now enjoying Cirque du Soleil comp tickets in the desert. The Senators are going to be much worse this season. I'm not saying we're going to see a minus-52 like Gord Dineen had in 1993-94 with Ottawa ... OK, I might be saying that. Much like the a congressional recess, I will be senator-free.

Nicklas Backstrom, C, Washington Capitals

This is your classic "really good player in reality who doesn't really do you much good in fantasy" guy. He's at No. 56 in our ranking and usually gobbled up before the eighth round. His power-play numbers -- despite playing with Alex Ovechkin, one of the most prolific scorers on the man advantage in NHL history -- have dipped in consecutive seasons. As a center, he doesn't get you many shots; and he's only a plus-seven in the last two seasons. Love the guy, and it's a contract year for extra intrigue, but I feel like there are better-rounded fantasy centers available where Backstrom would typically go.

Semyon Varlamov, G, New York Islanders

As you know, I'm #TeamLehner in his falling out with the Islanders, so that's already one strike against Varlamov. Strike two is the continuing existence of start-syphoning backup goalie Thomas Greiss for at least the next season. Strike three is Varlamov's own injury history. We have him at No. 67 -- way too high in my opinion, as he's ahead of Marc-Andre Fleury, John Gibson and Frederik Andersen -- and he's yours if you want him, I guess.

Jaden Schwartz, LW, St. Louis Blues

The champs have their share of fantasy hockey question marks, like what Alex Pietrangelo's power-play time is going to look like and whether Jordan Binnington is Ken Dryden or Antti Niemi. One question I've asked annually is whether to draft Jaden Schwartz, and I've decided the answer is "no." From durability issues to consistency issues to a lack of special teams production to his shot volume ... he's a guy I've drafted on my than one occasion and then have been left wanting more. All of this, plus the ever-present danger of a Cup hangover, and the Schwartz will not be with me. My hockey version of Devonta Freeman.

Alex Galchenyuk, F, Pittsburgh Penguins

I just don't want the fuming fantasy sports rage when he posts the same scoring rate he had with Clayton Keller while skating with Evgeni Malkin after drafting him on spec in, like, Round 15.

Dustin Byfuglien, D, Winnipeg Jets

Oh, those halcyon days when Buff and Brent Burns were both forward-eligible defensemen! What a glorious age that was. Speaking of age: Byfuglien turns 35 next March and has played 69 and 42 games respectively in the last two seasons. There's a lot to love when he plays -- 10^th in shots per game and 14^th in power-play ice time among defensemen -- but the operative phrase here is "when he plays," and that's a risk I can't gamble a draft pick on. Plus, the Jets are trending down in a really tough division.

Pekka Rinne, G, Nashville Predators

Pekka Rinne is an elite level goalie. I'm not just saying this because I know there's a decent change I could take a paddle to the face the next time I see him if I claimed he wasn't. I'm saying this because, demonstrably, he is: 10^th in the NHL in goals above replacement (27.1) and wins above replacement (4.7), and ninth (.945) in expected save percentage. So what's the issue? Well, I can't shake the fact that the season he won the Vezina Trophy was the same one P.K. Subban should have won the Norris Trophy, and now the latter is a Devil. I also can't shake the fact that Pekka's number of starts have declined in two straight seasons and his decision to return to the Predators has to have some caveat about slowly passing the goalie stick to Juuse Saros as the primary starter over the next two seasons.

Taylor Hall, LW, New Jersey Devils

This has everything to do with the psychoses of being a hockey fan than logic. We have him ranked at No. 41, and his average draft position is around 46. You could reasonably argue that as a fantasy play, only Alex Ovechkin and Brad Marchand are better on left wing. The addition of Subban and Jack Hughes should turn a middling power play (17.7 percent) into a good one. So why the fear? Because as a pessimistic Devils fan, nothing would be a more emphatic kick to the stomach than Hall not playing to expectations -- or not playing a full season, as he's only broken 80 games once in nine campaigns. Again, logic says he's going to have a monster season if healthy, ahead of UFA status. So I'll also freely admit we're entering into reverse-jinx territory here. Again, the psychoses and the unending paranoia of a hockey fan are on full display.

Such is the fantasy sports experience.

Jersey Foul

As we wait for a new batch to start rolling in from NHL games, a classic from two seasons ago:

A #JerseyFoul classic from the archives.

Keep in mind we still do these in The Wysh List every Thursday, so if you see one this season hit me here. pic.twitter.com/rTwGZkQ6Dq

— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) September 11, 2019

Thanks to Tyler S. for this trip down memory lane, when Jordan Eberle was salary-dumped to the Islanders. Whatever happened to the guy that made that trade and the Adam Larsson-for-Taylor Hall trade and the Griffin Reinhart trade and signed Milan Lucic?

Oh, right: He was just hired as a front office consultant by the Stanley Cup champions. What a world.

Guileless Marner

The best news for Toronto Maple Leafs fans, although it might not seem that way, is that the Mitch Marner negotiations are starting to become public domain.

Darren Dreger of TSN reported that the Leafs have pushed both eight- and seven-year extensions, and made an offer of $11 million in average annual value for a three-year term in June.

Dreger's stablemate Bob McKenzie reported that Toronto "has made seven- and eight-year offers in the $11 million AAV universe, but because it's a lower AAV and longer term than Auston Matthews, it hasn't been palatable to Marner. The logical solution would be a three-year bridge, but because Marner wants an AAV in the $9 million to $10 million universe and the third year would be substantially higher, Toronto has no incentive to do the bridge at those numbers."

That final year of a bridge deal could be upwards of $12 million, which would set the rate for his qualifying offer after that contract ends, and he'd be waltzing into unrestricted free agency after that fourth year.

The Leafs know three things at this point. First is that they have very few pressure points to apply heading into camp. Getting as much financial information out there as possible about the talks to stoke public resentment against Marner -- something they've been careful not to do, to this point -- is one of the few.

Second is that they know they've already conceded enough to Marner's need to make as much money as Matthews that his camp is going to continue to press for more.

They also know that the William Nylander stalemate last season lit the path for Marner to take this thing all the way up to Dec. 1. And that Marner means much more to this team than did Nylander, both this season and beyond. Because why else entertain a negotiation whose core financial tenets appear to be "no fair, I want what he has" and then stomping around the room until they get it?

Marner can read a roster. He has access to Cap Friendly. He understands what this asking price means for the Leafs, going forward. Yet it would be hypocritical, as a pro-player guy, for me to demonize Marner here. He doesn't have to be Steven Stamkos or Sidney Crosby and take a less than what the market would pay for the betterment of the cap. The Leafs made their decisions -- like spending $11 million annually through 2025 on his center John Tavares and giving Matthew what he wanted -- and now Marner is allowed to make his.

What I've been thinking about lately is what Brian Burke would have done if he were still general manager of the Leafs and this was happening. Not that he'd have it figured out, or would ultimately play it better than whatever endgame Kyle Dubas reaches. Just that I feel like the rhetoric, optics and atmosphere would be dramatically different than they currently are, for better or worse.

Listen To ESPN ON ICE

The full season archive of our podcast can be found on iTunes. Myself and Emily Kaplan will return very shortly, and already have some stellar NHL guests lined up.

Alex Ovechkin, clean up in aisle No. 8

In case you haven't heard, Alex Ovechkin has his own brand of cereal called "Ovi O's" that are available in the Washington, D.C. area. I recently opened a box, and the prize inside was actually one of Andrei Svechnikov's teeth.

Ovechkin spent a day at a local Giant supermarket to publicize the brand, which included him stocking the shelves with it:

Stocking the shelves in aisle 8. He accidentally knocked a few other boxes off the shelf pic.twitter.com/xC2Ez3jArh

— JJ Regan (@JJReganNBCS) September 10, 2019

Later, he played cash register clerk, paying for wife Anastasia's groceries in a precedent-setting move for the profession:

#Capitals Alex Ovechkin (@ovi8)

"see you at home"

After he rings up AND PAYS for his wife's groceries at @GiantFood!!! @wusa9 @WUSA9sports @Capitals ???? pic.twitter.com/UkDWsqXsIT

— Darren M. Haynes (@DarrenMHaynes) September 10, 2019

As you may have noticed, Ovechkin looks a bit banged up, having fallen off his bike in Virginia. (The bike has an in-person hearing scheduled with the Department of Player Safety.) As he told a class of kids during his cereal tour: "Wear a helmet, it saved my life."

Blake Wheeler gets raw

Winnipeg Jets star Blake Wheeler has often been a candid guy, and this was some raw nerve stuff with TSN's Sara Orlesky.

"I think I have my priorities where they need to be. I was disappointed for the first time in myself after last year not because we didn't win the Stanley Cup. I lost touch with myself as a dad, as a husband, first and foremost, because I invested so much into trying to win. Everyone was talking about this is our year to win and I felt like we had a real opportunity to win and when I was home, that's where I was -- I was trying to win the Stanley Cup. And when I was in the building, sometimes I was spitting nails just because I wanted to win the Stanley Cup. I was so focused on that. When it was all done and I got home, it's like, 'Man, Mason's almost two. My daughter's growing up, my son's in kindergarten. None of this is that important.' It took me some time to get over that feeling of disappointment where I left some things at home.

"That's where I'm at. I'm going to be me here and I'm going to do everything I do here and give everything I have when I'm in this building, but being a husband and dad is No. 1 in my life."

It's a heck of an interview. It's rare you hear players talk about the rigorous balance between their professional and private lives -- until they retire, usually -- so this candor is welcome and appreciated.

Puck headlines

Loui Eriksson also got pretty honest about his status with the Vancouver Canucks after comments about coach Travis Green to Swedish media.

The great Alexandra Mandrycky, NHL Seattle's Director of Hockey Administration, speaks with the Sound of Hockey podcast.

The Kaapo Kakko era is upon us. "This feels weird to say, given all his hype and the natural uncertainty about how a teen will develop-Kakko doesn't feel like a question mark at all."

The director of "Red Army" is back with a doc called "Red Penguins," a "wild tale of hockey, strippers, and beer-drinking bears."

Citing concerns that building the New York Islanders' arena at Belmont Park will turn them into a "soft target for terrorism," The Village of Floral Park has filed a lawsuit to halt it.

Always happy to see love conquer the intense Canada vs. USA feud.

Fun piece by Craig Custance on having current players redraft the 2015 NHL draft. Jack Eichel did not go second! ($$$)

Finally, here's KHL goalie Pavel Khomchenko of Spartak Moscow winning a game in overtime for the opposition with an own-goal. Yikes.

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У всех нас бывают плохие дни. ? We all have bad days.

A post shared by КХЛ (@khl) on Sep 10, 2019 at 12:33pm PDT

Hockey tl;dr (too long; didn't read)

Rob Rossi's piece on Evgeni Malkin, including his fractured relationships with Phil Kessel and Mike Sullivan, was terrific. ($)

In case you missed this from your friends at ESPN

Loved this piece by Emily on women on-ice officials. "It's just been an issue of exposure ... Women didn't really think of officiating as an option. I didn't [when I was playing]. If you don't see women out there, you wouldn't really think about it."

Tiger Woods is teaming with musician/actor Justin Timberlake to support relief and rebuilding efforts in areas of the Bahamas that were impacted by Hurricane Dorian.

The One Bahamas fund has collectively pledged to donate $6 million to help the area recover from the Category 5 storm and will also match funds donated by the public with a minimum goal of $12 million.

“It’s horrifying to see the videos and hear the stories about the effects of Hurricane Dorian,” Woods said in a statement. “The need in The Bahamas is very real.”

Woods hosts the Hero World Challenge each December at Albany on New Providence and partnered with other members of that community along with the Royal Bank of Canada and Nexus, a real estate development and asset management company, to create the One Bahamas fund.

Albany was not severely impacted by Dorian and is set to host this year’s Hero World Challenge.

GLENEAGLES, Scotland – So what did the European players think hearing American Danielle Kang say the Solheim Cup was all about wanting to “take souls,” make opponents cry and “just crush” the other team because “that’s the fun of it.”

Suzann Pettersen smiled playfully when asked about it in Thursday’s news conference on the eve of the matches.

“We’re just going to step on their necks,” she said.

Her line was delivered in apparent good humor, though we’ll all find out Sunday with what level of sincerity it might also have been delivered.

Jodi Ewart Shadoff said Kang did get the Europeans talking.

“I think it’s just extra motivation for us, really,” Shadoff said. “I don’t think there will be any tears on our team, just of happiness.”

The Americans are trying to win their third consecutive Solheim Cup.

Kang was 3-1 as a rookie in the American rout in Iowa two years ago.

GLENEAGLES, Scotland – Suzann Pettersen’s back.

She has played so many roles in the Solheim Cup, from the heart and soul of the European team’s revival, to the villain the American team wanted to rebuke in its historic comeback in Germany four years ago.

Somehow, some way, Pettersen always seems to be a thorn in the Americans’ side. She always seems to a factor in how these matches turn out.

She’s back as the boldest and most controversial of Catriona Matthew’s four captain’s picks. At 38, she has played in just three stroke-play events in the last two years, taking time off around the birth of her first child. She missed the cut in two of those three starts, with all of them coming within in the last month or so.

Matthew said she liked the way Pettersen’s form was coming around so quickly, despite those missed cuts, and she likes the determination she brings to the lineup.

“I think Suzann’s record and her game and her attitude is just fantastic for Solheim Cup,” said Laura Davies, one of Matthew’s vice captains. “I've heard people say that, ‘Oh, she's a surprise pick.’ Not to us, because as soon as [qualifying] was over, she fancied she'd been practicing hard enough and let it be known that if she was in the chance for a pick, she'd love to play.”

Pettersen sounded like she might not be ready in her news conference Thursday, not based on her demeanor, but on her raspy, raw voice. She said she isn’t exactly sure what she picked up, but she feels just fine, overall.

“My golf game is in great shape,” Pettersen said. “Being here, it feels like I never left the game, which is kind of nice. I don't know if it's the atmosphere, the energy, or everything that Solheim is all about, that always kind of brings out the best of all of us.”

The Americans won three straight Solheim Cups (2005, ’07 and ’09), but Pettersen helped the Euros bounce back to win the next two.

Pettersen hasn’t played in a Solheim Cup since the loss in Germany in 2015, when she called out Alison Lee for picking up an 18-inch putt that wasn’t conceded in a fourballs match just before singles play. Europe won that match, but it launched a social media firestorm that Pettersen later said brought her to tears.

Pettersen has won 15 LPGA titles, more than any player in this event. Two of those titles are major championships. She is 16-11-6 in Solheim Cup play. Her 19 points are more than anyone in this week’s competition, trailing only Davies (25), Annika Sorenstam (24) and Matthew (22) in the European record book.

Still, there was some controversy in Europe over Pettersen being chosen as a captain’s pick a few weeks ago, because of her inactivity. Pettersen was asked how she felt about that.

“I'm not the captain, so I don't have to speak for that,” Pettersen said. “All I have to do is show up with my golf game.”

Davies had more to say.

“Catriona asked us all [the vice captains], and we all said yes,” Davies said. “Why wouldn't you want Suzann Pettersen on your team? She hasn't played a huge amount of tournaments, but match play is very different. Don't have to string together 72 holes. In the end, it might be hard for someone who hasn't played, but in 18-hole match play, I'd back Suzann every time.”

Davies said Americans would probably rather not have to play her.

“Suzann can be quite tricky out there,” Davies said. “It's great for us. It's great that she brings that reputation to our team, and I'd never doubt Suzann Pettersen.”

MILAN, Italy -- "This could be the team I need," Romelu Lukaku said. Sitting in a conference room in Porta Nuova, Milan's emerging business district, he was making the case that Football Club Internazionale Milano was the ideal setting for the resurrection of his career. "There's the love I have for this area," he said. "The love that I have for Inter. And it was the perfect moment for me to leave England. I didn't want to be there anymore."

It's not exactly coincidental that the club is counting on Lukaku, who spent the past two seasons struggling at Manchester United, to inspire its own revival. These are hard times for Inter, which won a Champions League trophy in 2010 to cap a five-year run of Serie A titles in 2010, but hasn't finished higher than fourth since then. Worse than that, despite a steadfast fan base that continues to nearly fill San Siro, one of Europe's largest stadiums, week after week, Inter has faded into international irrelevance. By winning each of the past eight scudetti and signing Cristiano Ronaldo, Juventus is the Italian team that matters at the moment.

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Steven Zhang, a dilettante banker with a Wharton degree, has vowed to change that. In 2016, his billionaire father bought Inter. Nine months ago, he handed it to Zhang, who at 28 is only two years older than Lukaku. Under Zhang, Inter has invested millions of euros in the club's rebranding as a hip, dynamic organization, and millions more in the actual team. Antonio Conte, who has won both Serie A and the Premier League, was hired as manager. The stalwart defender Diego Godin signed on as a free transfer from Atletico Madrid. A loan agreement for Alexis Sanchez, who scored plenty of goals at Barcelona and Arsenal and then a lot fewer of them at Manchester United, was secured at the end of the transfer window. But Lukaku, who seemed destined for superstardom when he left Everton two years ago, was the big catch. The 65 million transfer fee Inter paid broke the club record.

Lukaku's allure was never difficult to explain. You didn't even have to watch him play. Just seeing his cast-iron physique -- he stands 6-foot-3, broad-shouldered, rippling with definition -- was enough to conjure up images of him establishing a position at the edge of the box, holding off defenders to receive the ball, then wheeling toward goal. He also had surprising speed for his size; at Everton, it wasn't uncommon for him to beat a defender to a loose ball, then rumble down the periphery like a winger, or an NFL running back. "You can look a long time," says Sanchez, who played beside him at Manchester United, "and you won't find anyone else like him, anywhere in the world."

The problem is, Lukaku hadn't looked himself on the pitch for more than a year. Estimates vary, but he gained at least 15 pounds while in Manchester. His bloated body turns out to have been the result of a gastrointestinal problem, but at the time it seemed the perfect symbol of the club's dissolution. "Unforgivable," sniffed Gary Neville, the former Manchester United standout, who accused Lukaku of being unprofessional. "You can't be overweight."

What happens next for Lukaku will serve to define a career that so far has been more about his potential, and his eloquent responses to racial taunting, than any tangible achievement. Lukaku insists he's up for it. "This group of players we have here is a special group," he said. "And we have the right leader in front of us to take us to the right places. Inter is an ambitious club. It wants to get back where it needs to be."

Lukaku leaned forward in his chair. "I want to help them build something here," he said. "It's the right move for me."

The intensity that Conte brings to a club, both physical and philosophical, tends to have immediate effects. Bari was sinking fast in 2007 when he reversed its course and led it to promotion in 2009. In his first season at Siena, 2010-11, he returned the club to Serie A. The following year at Juventus, he won the first of his three scudetti there and added the Coppa Italia. His greatest bit of conjuring involved the jaded Chelsea squad he inherited from Guus Hiddink, who had inherited it from Jose Mourinho. Under Conte, Chelsea equaled a Premier League record by winning 13 games in succession, then won the 2016-17 title.

As at Chelsea, Conte has taken over a fractured Inter changing room and has brought it together with the force of his personality. "The guy can make a team," Lukaku said. "It's already like the guys have been there for many, many years together, even the ones who just arrived. It's the strangest thing." Conte does it, at least for a while, because he has a knack of convincing even the most hardened veterans to buy in. "When Conte speaks, his words assault you," Andrea Pirlo, who played for him at Juventus, wrote in his autobiography. Pirlo added, "I've lost track of the number of times I found myself saying, 'Hell, Conte said something really spot-on today. I was expecting him to be good, but not this good.'"

Conte had coveted Lukaku since 2014. He saw him as a unique brand of attacker --versatile, adaptable, a force of nature. Conte was at Juventus when he called Lukaku that summer. "Come play for me," Conte told him. Lukaku admits he was flattered, but he'd only just been transferred to Everton after playing there on one of Chelsea's endless loans, and he'd also just turned 21. He was turning heads playing for Belgium at the World Cup. "There was a side of me saying 'Just wait a little bit,'" he said. "In the end, I told him, 'I'm not coming to you now. But the next opportunity, I will be there.'" That turned out to be fortuitous. By the end of that summer, Conte had left Juventus and was coaching Italy.

Two years later, Conte came after Lukaku again. Conte's urgings had brought Chelsea that magical season, but he saw a juggernaut emerging on the horizon in Manchester City. He needed a special player, and he knew the one he wanted. Lukaku had emerged as one of the Premier League's brightest young stars, and Everton clearly didn't have the resources to keep him. "I thought it was done," Lukaku said. It wasn't. "Circumstances," Lukaku explained with a shrug. "Not my fault, not his." When he landed at Manchester United in 2017 instead, it was the shock of England's summer.

Earlier this year, when he heard that Conte might be headed to Inter, Lukaku took it as a sign that the planets were finally starting to align. He remembered watching the club win the UEFA Cup in 1998 and deciding the black and blue stripes were for him. "The first final of any kind I can remember watching," he said. "You never lose that." As unlike everyone else off the field as he is on it, Lukaku prepared for a move in his own way.

He started learning Italian.

Lukaku collects languages like supporters collect scarves. He grew up in Belgium speaking French at home, and Flemish, a variation of Dutch, at school. He communicated with his Congolese relatives in Lingala. Along the way, he absorbed English and Portuguese, Spanish and a little German. "Sometimes I get a headache," he said.

Lukaku had been watching Italian television off the satellite because his younger brother, Jordan, plays for Lazio. But he began his immersion in earnest in April, as the Conte rumors solidified. By May, he could express a few thoughts. By June, his command of Italian was limited only by his vocabulary. By July, he could "have a conversation with anyone," he said. When he arrived at Inter in August, he urged teammates to address him in Italian, not English, as if he'd come to Milan from Frosinone or Sassuolo. He wanted to meet them on their terms, not his. "They embraced me and I embraced them," Lukaku said. "It's like I've been part of it for many months."

He insists that speaking the local vernacular helps him on the field. "It's important for me to express myself to my teammates," he said. "It's important for me as a player that they understand me perfectly. How I want the ball. Where I want the ball. In front of the defender, beside the defender, behind the defender. I have to know those exact words in Italian because the subtleties are different in every language. There's no substitute for that."

The words have worked, in one language or another, nearly everywhere he has gone, from Belgium's Anderlecht to West Bromwich Albion, where Chelsea loaned him first after acquiring him in 2011, to Everton, where he punched home 68 goals over four seasons. He had played, if sparingly, under Mourinho at Chelsea in 2011, and after Mourinho signed him at Manchester in the summer of 2017, the reunion seemed mutually beneficial. Lukaku scored 11 goals in his first 10 games. But like everything else at Old Trafford during Mourinho's unsettled final months, Lukaku's play deteriorated. By the time Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over last December, he was playing like a shadow of himself.

A shadow, too, in the sense of bigger, wider, all but formless. With the added weight, that ability to collect a ball and carry it into the attacking zone, which had served as a counterpoint to his strength as a target man, all but vanished. Instead he seemed plodding, a step behind. Solskjaer didn't start him in his first game after taking over, nor in the five that followed. "Solskjaer wants someone with a bit of energy, a bit of speed, someone who is going to work hard," former United standout Paul Scholes said of Lukaku, and he didn't mean it as praise.

As the team's designated star, Lukaku was being blamed for its failure by the time Mourinho was fired. "Scapegoated," Lukaku says now. "Meaning 'You. Are. The. Reason.'"

Under Solskjaer, who was committed to rebuilding, he never had a chance. "Lukaku and I trained very well," said Sanchez, who didn't score a Premier League goal under Solskjaer. "But we needed to play more in games to get to our best." In retrospect, Sanchez added, the situation wasn't suited for either of them. "It wasn't the right time for us to be at Manchester," he said. "Too many changes. When you change that much, it's tough."

Inter is working on a different kind of transition, one with the aim of winning now, or at least soon. Lukaku is only 26, but in Manchester he seemed part of the previous generation. Conte perceives him differently, as a talent who is still emerging. "I'm really pleased about the commitment that Romelu has made, the way he has behaved," Conte said. "He still has a lot of places to improve both technically and physically, and also tactically. But because he has the desire to improve, he could become one of the best strikers in the world."

As soon as Lukaku arrived in Milan, Conte sent him to a nutritionist for a consultation so detailed that it included a study of the decomposition of his body waste. Within hours, the determination was made that something was wrong. "Normally I have a fine digestive system," Lukaku said. "I digest everything very quickly. That's how it had been my entire life. But what the nutritionist said to me was, it had stopped working."

Limited to a highly specific regimen of mainly fish, sweet potatoes, shiitake pasta, and cooked and raw vegetables, Lukaku experienced a transformation. In 12 days, he lost nearly 10 pounds. When body fat was measured at the training facility in the first week of September, he was told that his ranked among the lowest on the team. "I'm good now," he said. "My body is in the zone."

But fitness is just the start of the process. Though Lukaku has mostly played as a single striker in various formations during his professional career, Conte wants to use him in his favored alignment, a fluid, pressurized 3-5-2. "Because of his physicality, he is well-suited to lead the line as a sole number 9," Roberto Martinez, who manages Lukaku with the Belgian national team and also managed him at Everton, noted in an e-mail to ESPN. Martinez did point out that Lukaku spent time playing right wing as a teenager in Belgium, and also partnered successfully, if briefly, with Arouna Kone at Everton. But that's not the same as sharing space in the box with a second striker week after week.

The other starting striker is Lautaro Martinez, who had nine goals across all competitions last season but managed to impress almost everyone who watched him play. At 5-foot-8 and not much more than 150 pounds, he is an entirely different kind of attacker, a burgeoning master of nuance and feel whose skills complement Lukaku's. "I can play one-touch to him and make another move," said Lukaku. "Go into certain spaces where I want to go, and he'll get me the ball."

Lukaku scored in Inter's opener, a 4-0 victory over Lecce. Then Lautaro scored in open play at Cagliari, where Inter rallied after falling behind. But Lukaku often seemed frustrated, pointing across the field when his passes to where he thought Lautaro would be heading turned out to be giveaways because the Argentine stayed back.

"If you analyze Conte's teams, you see there's a lot involved on every play," Lukaku said. "When the ball is in a certain area, we make a certain type of movement. If I make a movement, Lautaro should make the opposite movement. And if he makes a movement, I should make the opposite. We should know perfectly well where we need to go."

It was during that Cagliari match, which Inter won 2-1, that Lukaku was racially abused, after which Inter's Curva Nord Ultras issued a statement claiming that monkey noises and gestures aren't racist but a way for fans to help their club. "Football is a game to be enjoyed by everyone and we shouldn't accept any form of discrimination that will put our game in shame," Lukaku posted on Instagram. "I hope the football federations all over the world react strongly on all cases of discrimination ... Ladies and gentlemen it's 2019. Instead of going forward, we're going backwards and I think as players we need to unify and make a statement on this matter to keep this game clean and enjoyable for everyone."

This October, Inter plays Juventus in Serie A and Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League. While making up the 21 points that fourth-place Inter finished last season behind Juventus isn't necessarily a mandate, there's a growing sense in both the changing room and the boardroom that, after eight years, the opportunity is there for an enterprising team to topple Juventus. "I don't think you say 'You have to win,' Lukaku said. "New coach, new team, new way of playing, so it's one game at a time. We're learning. But we have to move the right way. And we have to make it clear that that every time you face Inter, it's a battle."

"I can feel the will here to achieve," Sanchez added. "This is why I'm here. That's why Romelu is here. Will it work? We will have a lot more to say about that at the end of the season."

Inter's trouncing of Lecce led to jubilant postings from supporters all over social media, as though it proved that the scudetto was all but theirs. But they would be wise to consider club history, in which almost nothing turns out quite as it should. "Not For Everyone," the club's new slogan, is tacit admission that Internazionale is in no sense a normal football club. "Pazza Inter," it's called -- Crazy Inter. Crazy in how it too often snatches defeat from the jaws of victory. Crazy in the head-shaking transfer decisions that management seems to make, bringing in the wrong player at precisely the wrong time. Crazy for firing Luigi Simoni in 1998 on the day after he received the award as Manager of the Year, for example, or for employing four managers in 2016 alone. Or, alternatively, in the utterly unexpected way that Mourinho led a conventionally talented but not exceptional team to the Champions League title in 2010. Conte has taken pains to establish that, under his reign, Inter will mature. To emphasize that, he has decreed that "Pazza Inter Amala," or "Crazy Inter, I love it!" the traditional team song that begins, "You know, for a goal I would give my life," will no longer be played before home games. It's as if he is trying to have the same effect on the entire culture of the club that he does in the changing room.

When the team clicks on the field, as it did against the admittedly nominal opposition of Lecce, it looks unbeatable. Even when it doesn't, it can be impressive to behold. In the 84th minute at Cagliari, winger Matteo Politano took the ball down the right wing and somehow found an opening to cross the ball to Lukaku, who was charging through the box like the those years in Manchester had never happened. The connection was exemplary, the diagrams on Conte's chalkboard coming to life, except that Lukaku steered the ball just wide to the right.

He turned away and hung his head for a moment, but only a moment. New coach, new team, new way of playing, he seemed to be saying. Then he headed back up the field to try again.

Durham 147 (Handscomb 54, Finn 4-41) and 191 (Robson 64) beat Middlesex 143 (Raine 5-26) and 151 (Robson 65, Carse 6-26) by 44 runs

Brydon Carse produced a career-best six-wicket haul as Durham beat Middlesex by 44 runs at Lord's.

The South-African born seamer took 6 for 26 including a match-winning post-lunch burst of 5 for 9 as Durham bowled out the hosts for 151 on the third afternoon.

Victory keeps alive Durham chances of promotion, while defeat for Middlesex means they will spend a third successive season in Division 2 in 2020.

Middlesex began the day needing 175 more to win, but it didn't take long for their chase to hit a bend in the road.

Nick Gubbins hit two early fours, but his stay was an all-too brief one as he nicked the 16th ball of the day bowled by Carse into the hands of Alex Lees at slip.

Stephen Eskinazi lasted just three balls before becoming Chris Rushworth's 61st victim of the season, trapped LBW after only getting half forward.

And when the home side's skipper and batting talisman Dawid Malan followed shortly afterwards LBW to Ben Raine, they were 45 for 3.

In contrast to his playing partners, Sam Robson (65) played with increasing authority, producing trademark square cuts and some beautiful on-drives in reaching 50 off 87 balls with 10 fours, the fifth time he had passed the landmark in Championship cricket this summer.

Max Holden, despite struggling to find any touch, provided valuable support in a stand of 54 before Raine returned to pin him in front shortly before lunch.

And when Rushworth ended Robson's vigil with just the fourth ball after the resumption, the hosts were struggling again at 107-5.

Under clear skies, a sharp contrast to much of the rest of the match, batting should have been an easier proposition. But Carse struck twice in the space of three balls, first finding the edge of George Scott's bat to give Ned Eckersley another catch, before removing the normally obdurate James Harris second ball for nought.

Debutante Miguel Cummins had shown some batting promise in the first innings but he too came under Carse's spell, a Yorker ending his brief stay.

The five-for came when Simpson, Middlesex's last hope of unlikely salvation, also had his furniture disturbed.

And the wicket which sealed the career-best brought victory when last man Tim Murtagh missed with a big slog, sending his stumps awry.

Pakistan fast bowler Wahab Riaz has decided to take an indefinite break from red-ball cricket in order to focus on limited-overs formats. He has also withdrawn from the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, just two days before the start of the tournament, where he was set to represent his domestic side Central Punjab.

Wahab, who made his Test debut for Pakistan in 2010 and has played 27 Tests, also added he wanted to focus on regaining fitness levels required for the longer format. The 34-year old has made just four Test appearances since January 2017, his last one being the first Test in October 2018 against Australia in Dubai.

"After reviewing my past couple of years' performances in red-ball cricket and the upcoming limited-overs cricket, I have decided to take time off from first-class cricket," Wahab said.

After a lot of thinking and discussions with my family and board, I have decided to take a break from red-ball cricket and maintain my fitness and focus on the shorter format for my country. It was a tough decision and I appreciate my Board's support and guidance during this time

— Wahab Riaz (@WahabViki) September 12, 2019

"During this period, I will like to focus on 50-over and 20-over cricket, and continue to access my fitness for the longer version of the game. At a stage I feel I cannot only return but also perform with the red-ball, I would make myself available.

"The PCB had been trying to convince me to pursue my career with red-ball, but today I met them to convey my decision. I am grateful for their understanding and support."

Somerset 199 and 269 for 5 (Abell 62, Hildreth 58) beat Yorkshire 103 (van der Merwe 3-14, Davey 3-30) and 127 (Davey 5-21) by 298 runs

Somerset's hopes of a first ever County Championship title were given a massive boost by a crushing 298-run victory over Yorkshire inside three days at the Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton.

Set an unlikely 426 to win, the visitors were bowled out for just 127, with Will Fraine forced to bat at seven with a runner because of a knee problem and Ben Coad absent ill. Seamer Josh Davey claimed five for 21 from 11.2 overs.

Somerset had earlier built on their overnight second innings score of 269 for five before being dismissed for 329, George Bartlett making 47, Roelof van der Merwe 30 and Jamie Overton 18, including 2 two towering sixes.

Keshav Maharaj returned five for 122 for match figures of 10 for 176 to become Yorkshire's leading Championship wicket-taker this season with 38 in only five appearances.

Somerset took 19 points from the game to Yorkshire's three and, with Essex battling to save their Championship game against Warwickshire, the Cider county look set to enter the last two games in pole position to win the competition.

The day began with Somerset looking to add quick runs. They lost Lewis Gregory (39), Bartlett and Dom Bess early on, but van der Merwe and Overton produced some lusty blows to take the lead beyond 400.

There was a moment of humour when van der Merwe pulled a ball towards the boundary, ran while following the path of the ball, and crashed into bowler Tim Bresnan in mid-pitch. Both sturdily-built men went down, but with no injury resulting from an incident inevitably bound for Twitter.

When van der Merwe fell to Maharaj, it meant the left-arm spinner had taken 31 wickets in six innings against Somerset. But the home side were buoyant over what looked sure to be a winning lead and soon set about finishing the match.

Adam Lyth was well caught low down at third slip by Jamie Overton off Davey with only seven on the board and Gary Balance fell in the final over before lunch, caught behind off a snorter from Overton.

Jonathan Tattersall had replaced Fraine as Lyth's opening partner and he was unbeaten on 14 at the interval, with Yorkshire 47 for two.

That became 54 for three when Tattersall, on 20, was caught at first slip by James Hildreth looking to withdraw the bat from a delivery by Overton, who was working up good pace from the Somerset Pavilion End.

Harry Brook fell to a poor shot, bowled playing back to van der Merwe and it was 94 for five when Bresnan, who had pulled a defiant six off Gregory, was run out by a direct hit from Bess at backward point after a mix-up with Tom Kohler-Cadmore over a single.

Kohler-Cadmore edged another catch to Hildreth off the impressive Davey, who quickly followed up by pinning Maharaj leg-before for a duck and taking a return catch to remove the stricken Fraine.

Steve Patterson delayed the inevitable with a fighting 24 not out, but when Duanne Olivier was well caught by Bess over his shoulder at point off Davey the Yorkshire innings ended as Coad was unable to bat.

Davey, playing only his fourth Championship match of the season, returned match figures of eight for 51. It was Yorkshire's fifth heaviest first class defeat in terms of runs.

Somerset travel to the Ageas Bowl to face Hampshire next week before a potentially historic home game against Essex, starting on Monday September 23.

Kent 304 (Stevens 88) and 259 (Billings 100, Crawley 82, Ashwin 5-89) beat Nottinghamshire 124 (Stevens 5-39) and 212 (Stevens 5-53) by 227 runs

England's coach Trevor Bayliss made a rare incursion into the politics of England's professional game this week by suggesting the number of counties should be slimmed down to as few as ten. Inscrutable for so long behind those shades and floppy hat, it turns out he is just the latest employee in high office to adopt the clandestine corporate agenda. And there I was thinking that when he finally did speak out it would be something incredibly original.

For nearly half a century, somebody connected to a beaten England set-up has conveniently cast the blame upon county cricket. Bayliss' status and record means his opinion intrinsically has weight. But, oddly, nobody has ever heard Gareth Southgate suggest 92 professional football clubs competing in a democratic system (well, fairly democratic if you ignore the financial imbalance and the parachute payments) is bad for English football.

"Having fewer teams would help… surely the competition would be stiffer," Bayliss mused. But there is a divisional set-up in the Championship and that divisional set-up could be expanded across all competitions. Lots could still be done to condense the most talented players together. And by preserving 18 professional counties a game more widely available would produce more players.

Instead, only cricket - or at least only cricket people whose entire thoughts surround the England team - imagines that contracting the game would be a good long-term thing. Even Margaret Thatcher, 40 years ago, knew that by closing the mines because they were losing money the eventual outcome would be no more coal. Cut the counties and you'll get fewer players.

So anyway, the point is this: that's you gone then, Kent. You might just have thrashed Nottinghamshire by 227 runs by tea on the third day, you might be making an impressive fist of your return to Division One for the first time in nine years, you might be reviving memories of your great years, but you're so lost in your traditional way of thinking that you imagined winning and losing actually has anything to do with it. You poor deluded fools.

As for Darren Stevens, who took for 10 for 92 in the match, only the second 10-wicket haul of his career, not forgetting his 88 in Kent's first innings, you're 43 for heaven's sake. That's no good for England; your boundless commitment, great technical skill and shining example to anybody who feels middle age is upon them is not about to save you.

As for Nottinghamshire, they were pitiful. It's extraordinary how a coach as driven and organised and awash with team ethic as Peter Moores has found himself in charge of a side that in Championship cricket singularly fails to display those virtues. That's nine defeats and three draws in 12 matches, relegation is inevitable and there are now only two matches left to try to win one. Moores has yet to sign a new contract, but if he can't sort it out, it is hard to know who can.

But at least Notts have another T20 finals day. Their T20 nights are great occasions and they also have Trent Bridge, a ground fit for the modern age even if the Wetherspoons pub out the back is an intrusive reminder of the politics that is consuming us. Under the Bayliss theory, Notts would survive. They could lose until the end of time; they could survive entirely by pilfering players from Derbyshire and Leicestershire (not that they would actually exist anymore) and they would still be valued in the Bayliss shake-up.

At least Duncan Fletcher occasionally made unannounced visits to county cricket, although not as many as he liked people to think. He was the one occasionally seen glowering by the sightscreen, surrounding himself by a leave-me-alone force field to dissuade some old bloke from wandering up to ask him if he knew whether the tea room was open. Bayliss prefers to look at the data and watch an entire round of Championship matches on one of those nifty new apps that can reduce the essence of every game to about 35 seconds.

Come to think of it, 35 seconds would probably be enough to get the gist about Nottinghamshire's second-innings collapse. Their target was 440 and, believe it or not, a spectator in a Notts polo shirt and with a Corbyn-like grey beard, was heard to say as he entered the ground: "We're back in the match." Well, if you don't travel optimistically, it's best not to travel at all, but sifting the wisdom of greybeards is not always a useful exercise.

By lunch, Notts were 91 for 5 in 21.2 overs. Their state of mind was exemplified when a new opening pair strolled out. Instead of Jake Libby and Ben Slater, they presented Steven Mullaney, a captain in his first game back after a knee operation, and Ben Duckett.

The sight of Duckett playing those pootling defensive shots suggested that Notts might have decided to crash it. After a brief flurry, big inswingers from Stevens removed Mullaney (to a leave alone) and Chris Nash in the same over. Harry Podmore squeezed a good ball onto Duckett's stumps via his back forearm and he pootled off.

Libby, whose contract is up at the end of the season, and who still has not got his first-class average up to 30, came out at No. 4 with Slater at five. When Slater fell lbw to Stevens, he reached the landmark he had referenced the previous evening - 500 first-class wickets for Kent. Matt Milnes then bowled Libby with the final ball of the session.

When Tom Moores scythed a drive to point, Notts were six down for 108, but they finally rallied through Ravi Ashwin and Paul Coughlin which at least provided entertainment in the sunshine with a stand of 83 in 23 overs. The greybeard doubtless felt that victory was on again before they fell in successive overs, Coughlin to Stevens' outswinger, Ashwin essaying a curious two-footed leap in the crease before chipping a full ball to square leg. That Stevens should finish it all off with another outswerver (*I think that's what they called it when he started) was a perfect finale.

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold will be sidelined indefinitely after being diagnosed with mononucleosis, coach Adam Gase announced Thursday. Trevor Siemian will start Monday night against the Cleveland Browns.

The Jets, who lost starting wide receiver Quincy Enunwa to a season-ending neck injury this week, could be without Darnold for multiple weeks.

"Looks like it," Gase said. "Good thing we've got an early bye week."

The bye week falls in Week 4, following an away game against the New England Patriots. Darnold's earliest likely return is Week 5 at the Philadelphia Eagles.

Darnold isn't the only concern on offense.

Running back Le'Veon Bell will have an MRI on Thursday to evaluate shoulder soreness. Gase didn't sound alarmed, saying, "We don't think it's anything worse than that. We're just trying to be a little extra cautious."

Darnold received the diagnosis late Wednesday night, when Gase, offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains and a trainer showed up at his apartment near the Jets' facility.

"He knew something was up, when Dowell and myself showed up," Gase said of his second-year quarterback, who didn't practice Wednesday because of what the team called strep throat. "I wanted to make sure [the news] was delivered myself. I figured I could be the bearer of bad news on this one."

Weight loss and extreme fatigue are the most common symptoms with mononucleosis, which has been known to last multiple months in some cases.

Darnold expressed concern about recent weight loss. He dropped 5 pounds, according to Gase.

"That was something that was alarming to him, that he lost some weight already in the last couple of days," Gase said.

The Jets sent meals to Darnold's apartment because the team wants him to stay away from the facility due to the possibility of spreading the disease.

The team already has reached a pressure point in the season, coming off a crushing Week 1 loss to the Buffalo Bills in which the Jets blew a 16-point lead at home.

Darnold was lackluster in the opener, passing for only 175 yards, but he wasn't ill on Sunday, according to Gase.

Darnold's diagnosis, coupled with Enunwa's injury, will be costly for an offense that underachieved in the opener, managing only eight points.

Siemian, who signed as a free agent in the offseason, is 13-11 as a starter, but he hasn't played in a game since 2017 with the Denver Broncos. He spent last season with the Minnesota Vikings but didn't see any game action behind Kirk Cousins.

Luke Falk will be elevated from the practice squad to be the No. 2 quarterback.

Gase broke the news to the players in Thursday morning's team meeting.

"We talked about our next-man philosophy does not waver," the coach said. "It's about everybody doing their job. That's why Trevor is here. We signed Trevor specifically because of his 24 starts with a winning record. He has a lot of experience and has been on winning ballclubs. He has the respect of the locker room.

"The reaction I got, and the ways guys looked, was, 'Let's go.' There's confidence there."

The Caesars Sportsbook reopened with the Browns minus-4 and a total of 44.5. Before the Darnold news, the line had been Browns minus-2.5 with a total of 46. The line is as high as Browns minus-5.5 at other Vegas sportsbooks.