Tim Tebow's minor league season has ended early for the second straight year, according to multiple reports.

While playing for the New York Mets' Triple-A affiliate in Syracuse, the 2007 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback suffered a cut hand while fielding a ball in the outfield on July 21 and was placed on the injured list.

Newsday first reported that the injury would not heal in time for Tebow to return this season.

At the time of the injury, Syracuse manager Tony DeFrancesco said the cut was in a bad spot and required several stitches.

Tebow finishes 2019 hitting .163 with 4 home runs, 19 RBIs, 98 strikeouts and 20 walks in 239 at-bats over 77 games.

Tebow, who also works as an SEC Network analyst, is in his third year of professional baseball and first at Triple-A after a three-year stint at quarterback in the NFL.

In 2018, he hit .273 at Double-A Binghamton with 6 homers and 36 RBIs in 271 at-bats over 84 games before breaking a bone in his right hand, an injury that ended his season.

KNOXVILLE, Iowa — Shane Stewart finished third in Friday night’s Hard Knox feature and as a result will start his 19th consecutive NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals feature on Saturday night.

It’s a big deal for Stewart considering his CJB Motorsports team has struggled all season, and the fact that he wrecked the Barry Jackson-prepared No. 5 while leading his heat race on Thursday night.

Still, Stewart nearly ran out of fuel on the final lap Friday night.

“We were completely out of fuel. We were lucky to finish that race,” Stewart said. “This is a huge relief. When you come here your goal is to sit on the front row for the A-main. People like myself and a few others had a mishap on their qualifying night. Hats off to Barry and Tyler for working their butts off yesterday and last night. I am really happy I can make this A main for the team.”

Stewart and his team have struggled this season, but Knoxville Raceway is a place the Oklahoma driver has excelled during his career. He has seven top-five finishes in the Knoxville Nationals and he’s won the 360 Nationals five times.

“I have a lot of emotions. The 5 car hasn’t had the best season,” Stewart said. “There were big expectations going into this race. I have had a lot of success here and Barry has over the last several years, too, with different drivers. The plan is always to try to shoot for the front row. We felt like we jumped over the first hurdle of having quick time.”

But that’s when things got ugly and Stewart wrecked on the first lap of his heat race Thursday night.

“My wreck, honestly, it happened so quickly. There was a little greasy moisture before you got to the cushion,” he explained. “I thought the cushion was going to hold me and it didn’t. So I thought, ‘OK, if I get on the brakes I’m going to wreck no matter what, so maybe I can power through it and get back out of the cushion.’

“It is a lot of high emotions for this race,” Stewart added. “The amount of effort that goes into it is hard to explain. Fortunate and happy to be in this situation. My guys worked hard to get another car put together for today. We were completely out of gas coming under the checkered flag. We were very fortunate and happy that the CJB car is in the show.”

Stewart hopes Friday night was the turning point for his team.

“I hope it turns it around for us. This team deserves to run better than we have all year,” he said. “Some things happened this year that you start second guessing everything. We have all the key ingredients to make a good cookie, but we haven’t been making a good cookie. That’s been the frustrating part.

“Everything is there. It is up to Barry and I to keep working,” Stewart continued. “He has struggled getting me comfortable in the race car. It is pretty obvious that car has been fast the last few years and we had high expectations going into the year. We started the year strong and we kind of hit a wall and haven’t been able to get out of it.”

The CJB Motorsports team brought in Tanner Thorson to drive a second car this week and Stewart acknowledged he’s been lacking confidence.

“A lot of it is confidence. Sometimes like last night, you set quick time and you are nervous about the heat because I haven’t felt that great here since we unloaded on Sunday, and you are trying hard,” he said. “Every driver is on the edge. The start of my heat race wasn’t very good and then when you crash, none of it makes any sense. I don’t think I ever crashed at the Knoxville Nationals.

“You start second guessing things and a lot of it is getting your confidence back and knowing you can do your job the right way. Hopefully, this is a turning time for our team because they deserve it.”

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LEXINGTON, Ohio – The FirstEnergy Mid-Ohio 100, featuring the Trans-Am Series presented by Pirelli’s Trans-Am, SuperGT and GT classes, saw a dogfight at the front of the field for the entire 43-lap race Saturday at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

In the end Ernie Francis Jr. managed to keep Chris Dyson in his rear-view mirror to capture his second victory of the season. In the SGT class, Mark Boden took the green flag from pole and never looked back, opening a lead of more than 23 seconds over second place Ken Thwaits before the race-ending yellow came out.

Twenty-one entries took the green flag in the TA/SGT/GT event, held in conjunction with the NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Mid-Ohio. The first race on the Saturday card, the teams dealt with dramatically different weather circumstances than they had earlier in the weekend, with cloudy and cool conditions for the early-morning event. The field included a late entry – sports car legend Boris Said, making his season debut in the No. 2 SRI Performance Dodge Challenger that had arrived at Mid-Ohio late Friday.

Pole sitter Francis started his No. 98 Frameless Shower Doors Ford Mustang in the TA and overall pole position, looking to repeat his Mid-Ohio win of 2018. But Chris Dyson, winner of two straight TA class races and driving the retro-liveried No. 20 Thetford/Norcold Ford Mustang, would not allow Francis a moment of comfort on the tight, twisty and technical 13-turn, 2.258-mile Mid-Ohio circuit.

The duo fought hard throughout the race, with Francis able to post a three-second lead early, but Dyson came back mid-race with a succession of quick race laps as the pair separated from the rest of the field. Doug Peterson – pulling double duty this weekend in both TA and his regular TA2 drive – tried valiantly to stay in the fight but headed for pit lane on Lap 10 with a mechanical issue, handing third position to Adam Andretti.

On Lap 39, the GT class entry of Larry Funk went wide out of turn nine and hard into the barrier in turn 10, leaving a significant debris field that could not be cleaned before the race end, with the checkered flag waving at the 65-minute mark. Ohio natives Amy Ruman and David Pintaric finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Said seemed poised for a charge through the field, climbing as high as fourth before mechanical issues placed him back in the field with a 13th place finish.

“I was pretty excited to see if we would get back to green flag racing,” said Francis. “It would have been an awesome shoot out to the end. (Chris) Dyson and I were very close in our lap times. The lapped traffic held us up at the end. We had a really great race and our Ford Mustang was awesome. I can’t thank everyone at Breathless enough, we were fasted in just about every session. The car was flawless all weekend, I’m happy about this win and it’s good for us in the points. I can’t wait to take it to Road America.”

“We had a bit of too much understeer, so I was a little too conservative, “said Dyson. “I thought I was going to give Ernie a good run there to the end since we were back and forth all weekend. We were so close and I think that is how this championship is shaping up. We will be neck and neck the entire time. We had a great car and we were quick all weekend. We can’t wait to get to Road America now.”

Meanwhile, the SGT race was a tale of dominance by Mark Boden in the No. 46 Beverage Flavors International Porsche 991 GT3 Cup, who held a sizable lead over Ken Thwaits. Neither Thwaits nor Tim Kezman could post a charge at Boden, who captured his second win of the season.

“The car was absolutely on rails today,” said Boden. “The conditions to start the race were perfect. There are a few tricks to this place when the track is right. You have to focus on what you are doing and not what is going on behind. I love racing here – it’s one of my favorite tracks. The car was perfect to push as hard as I could to come home with championship points.”

LIVE from the Knoxville Nationals
Presented by Mobil 1 Truck & SUV Oil
Race Day Report

Today is the day. Later this evening there will be a champion crowned during the 59th Knoxville Nationals. With four starting spots in the main event still up for grabs, Tony Bokhoven sets the stage for today’s action at historic Knoxville Raceway.

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KNOXVILLE, Iowa — The feature field for tonight’s 59th annual NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals at Knoxville Raceway includes the defending winner, champions and proven winners.

Twenty of the 24 spots are set, with the final four starters to be determined through tonight’s 22-lap B main.

The field includes eight World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series regulars, two drivers who chase the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions calendar, six drivers who pick and choose where and when they race, two Knoxville Raceway regulars and one Central Pennsylvania racer.

Reigning All Star champion Aaron Reutzel and WoO regular David Gravel will share the front row for the 50-lap event, $150,000-to-win main event.

Take a closer look at each Knoxville Nationals A-Main starter by clicking below.

Tottenham Hotspur scored three times late in the game to come from behind and beat Aston Villa 3-1 in their Premier League opener.

Aston Villa took a shock lead in ninth minute when Davinson Sanchez let a long ball from Tyrone Mings bounce through, but it fell to John McGinn who turned inside, leaving Danny Rose on the deck, and coolly slotted past Hugo Lloris.

Tottenham probed at the Villa defence in search of an equaliser without really looking threatening until Christian Eriksen was introduced from the bench, and the goal came indirectly from his involvement.

Eriksen's cross from the right was beautifully delivered into the danger area, only for Davinson Sanchez to see his attempt saved by Tom Heaton. The ball fall to Lucas Moura, who laid the ball off for debutant Tanguy Ndombele to calmly side-foot home from the edge of the area.

Eriksen then almost won the game with a free kick but for a sensational save from Heaton low to his right.

Spurs did get the second goal, and the three points, five minutes from time through England captain Harry Kane. Jack Grealish hesitated on the ball on the edge of the area, and he was robbed by Erik Lamela whose shot deflected off two defenders and fell to Kane, who dispatched past Heaton.

Kane made sure of the victory in the final minute with a fine arrowed finish from just inside the box, assisted by Moussa Sissoko.

Jos Buttler has insisted there is no need for England to panic after their defeat in the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston, and denied the loss would serve as a wake-up call.

Despite having Australia 122 for 8 in their first innings, England fell to a 251-run loss in Birmingham, with a final-innings capitulation that might have been expected to bring about wholesale changes.

But they are likely to make only two changes at Lord's, one of them injury-enforced, with Jofra Archer and Jack Leach primed to replaced James Anderson and Moeen Ali.

"We're one-nil down, but there's four matches to go in the series," said Buttler, speaking at a Kookaburra event at Lord's. "Test cricket is hard - you're playing against the best players in the world.

"If you're not good enough for long enough, then you're not going to win the game. But we've got a fantastic team … nothing really changes. We've lost that game, but we come here with a lot of excitement and belief that we're a good enough side to win this Test and make it one-all."

Despite the heavy margin of defeat, there were positives for England in their win, not least the first 45 overs of Australia's first innings, and Rory Burns' maiden hundred.

And Buttler emphasised that England had not been completely outplayed from first to last at Edgbaston.

"My view is we didn't play well enough for long enough, really," he said. "The first couple of days especially, we played a lot of really good cricket, and got in a really good position. Any time you lose James Anderson is a huge moment in the game, isn't it?

"Not being able to take those two wickets quicker [from 122 for 8] was obviously a huge part of the game. Steve Smith played an excellent innings. That's Test cricket - you're playing against great players.

"We know how Test cricket generally happens in England: there can be periods of the game that tend to meander along and then periods that happen very fast. If you look back to the India series [last summer], the big moments in those games we managed to get out on the right side and play well - that will be the same throughout this series."

Buttler struggled with the bat at Edgbaston, as he was dismissed twice by Pat Cummins for single-figure scores, but says he feels he is "not far" from his best form.

"I've felt in good form for 18 months or so. I feel like I'm the best version of myself that I've ever been, so I take a lot of faith from that. I'll prepare well, and give myself the best chance."

Several of England's World Cup winners have opened up about the emotional comedown after the drama of the final, with Ben Stokes and Liam Plunkett both revealing that they had struggled in the days immediately after.

And while Buttler hinted at having similar thoughts, he said it was important to "accept your emotions" to come to terms with the squad's achievement.

"A lot of people invested a lot into the World Cup, not just in the tournament but in the time before. Obviously people had never experienced that before [but] sport always moves on, doesn't it. Certainly for me it was nice to have a bit of time away to let what happened sink in and get energised for the next challenge."

Buttler knows the two men likely to come into the England team better than most - he has spent the last two IPL seasons in the same squad as Archer, and first played with Leach for Taunton Deane under 11s - and expects both of them to succeed.

"I'm excited for [Leach]," he said. "He's worked very hard to be in the position he's got himself into. He'll come in and he's a great person to bring into the team. He brings a lot of energy, a lot of skill with the ball, and he'll be excited for the challenge. I'm sure he'll be looking forward to batting at Lord's again."

Archer proved his match fitness by bowling 31 overs for Sussex's seconds this week, and after ending the World Cup as England's leading wicket-taker, it might be expected that there would be big expectations on his shoulders.

ALSO READ: Archer bowls long spells for Sussex seconds to prove Ashes fitness

But Buttler played those down, and suggested that Archer would be able to shut out any outside noise. "Certainly not from within, there's no big expectations on him," he said, "but he tends to cope with those things quite well.

"He's a pretty laid-back character who has an immense trust in his game, so if he gets his chance I expected him to perform really well."

Buttler also played down the decision to give the vice-captaincy back to Stokes. Buttler had taken on the role last summer ahead of the India series, but said it had always been the plan to relinquish it when Stokes was ready.

"I enjoyed it. They said to me in time they'd like Ben to do the role again when he can, so I was very aware that was the situation, and the natural thing to happen.

"It doesn't really change a lot for me: I'm always willing to offer advice and I'm there if Joe wants to talk to me as are a lot of other players in the team as well who aren't vice-captain. It doesn't change a lot."

England colleagues Heather Knight and Fran Wilson staged a brilliant recovery as Western Storm beat Lancashire Thunder by six wickets to extend their 100 percent record in Kia Super League matches at Taunton.

Suné Luus top-scored with 62 from 48 balls to help Thunder, seeking their first success in five meetings with Storm, to post a competitive 141 for 6 after winning the toss and electing to bat on a drying pitch.

But her efforts were eclipsed by Knight and Wilson, who both scored half centuries and staged a restorative stand of 88 in 11.3 overs for the third wicket. Wilson posted 54 from 35 balls, while Knight finished unbeaten on 50 as Storm reached their target with three balls to spare.

Required to chase 142 at 7.1 runs an over, Storm were well and truly up against it after slumping to 18 for 2 inside four overs, star openers Smriti Mandhana and Rachel Priest both suffering rare failures.

The leading run-scorer in KSL a year ago, India star Mandhana gave Sophie Ecclestone's slow left arm the charge and was superbly caught by compatriot Harmanpreet Kaur at long-on for two. Big-hitting Priest followed two overs later, chipping Emma Lamb's off spin to cover point for 12.

Keeping their cool in trying circumstances, Wilson and Knight saw off the dangerous Ecclestone and proved adept at finding the gaps as they advanced the score to 58 for 2 at halfway.

Wilson brought up her 50 with her eighth four, only to then offer a return catch to Alex Hartley with 36 more runs needed from 27 balls.

Somerset's Sophie Luff calmed any nerves thereafter, scoring 22 from 13 balls to see her side to within sight of victory. Calm under pressure, skipper Knight hit the winning runs, driving Kate Cross to the boundary in the final over to raise 50 from 52 balls.

"We knew our partnership was key," Knight told Sky. "We lost those two early wickets, and knew the pitch was quite slow, and that it was going to be hard to score heavily at the back end. I was just trying to give Fran the strike at one point.

"She batted lovely - hit her areas really well, manipulated the field. I'm really pleased for her. She's worked really hard on her T20 game, so for her to play that innings and win the game for us today was outstanding."

"We were in the game for a long time," reflected Thunder captain Cross. "Heather and Fran needed [to score at] eights for most of the game, and we nearly got them up to nines at one point. There were a few loose balls under pressure. Hats off to Heather and Fran, the way they batted - they didn't really give us a chance."

Desperate to make amends following back-to-back defeats at the hands of Southern Vipers and Surrey Stars, the Thunder were rather more competitive on this occasion, thanks in large part to South African international Luus.

Intent upon establishing herself beneath lowering skies, the 25-year-old allrounder played a perfectly-paced innings, relying on clever placement and quick running between the wickets before accelerating during the middle overs.

She dominated a progressive second-wicket stand of 66 in 11 overs with Tahlia McGrath, raised her first KSL 50 from 42 balls and then went on the attack, accruing three fours and four sixes before dancing down the wicket to Nicholas and top-edging to short fine leg in the 15th over with the score 98 for 3.

A perfect foil for Luus, McGrath compiled 22 from 30 balls, helping to provide a platform for India World Cup star Kaur. Finishing the innings with a flourish, Kaur contributed a quickfire 30 from 18 balls, with a quartet of fours, to ensure the Thunder posted a meaningful total.

Electing to put their faith in spin on a used pitch, the Storm benefited from taking the pace off the ball, the naggingly accurate trio of Nicholas, Knight and Deepti Sharma returning combined figures of 3 for 68 from 12 overs.

So often an unsung hero, Welsh offspinner Nicholas claimed 2 for 25, including 16 dot balls, and weighed in with a catch, while India recruit Sharma kept things tight to finish with 22 for 1 from four overs.

St Lucia Stars have been axed from the Caribbean Premier League, and the team will not be participating in CPL 2019. On August 7, CPL Limited terminated the participation agreement between it and the Royal Sports Club, LLC, the entity that operated the St Lucia franchise.

While announcing the decision via a media release, the CPL didn't elaborate on the reasons behind the termination. The release did say that CPL were "in the process of establishing and operating a new franchise to be based in St Lucia that will participate in the 2019 Caribbean Premier League."

ESPNcricinfo understands the franchise had several outstanding payments, which was one of the reasons behind its axing.

The 2019 season is scheduled to begin on September 4.

The Stars had never won CPL, with their best finish coming in 2016, when they finished third on the table, but lost in the Eliminator to Trinbago Knight Riders.

They had several star players on their roster in 2018, with Darren Sammy, Kieron Pollard and Rahkeem Cornwall among the local stars, and David Warner, Niroshan Dickwella and Mitchell McClenaghan among their overseas players.