CHICAGO -- As Ryan Day prepares for his first season as coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes, he's following advice from another young coach who entered a similar situation in 2017: Oklahoma's Lincoln Riley.

Day called Riley "a great resource" during his preparation to succeed Urban Meyer with the Buckeyes, and the two talked at the NFL draft in April.

Riley followed in the footsteps of Bob Stoops, who won a national championship and 10 Big 12 titles with Oklahoma before retiring in 2017. Meyer led Ohio State to three Big Ten titles and a national championship in 2014 -- his third as a head coach -- before retiring in December.

"He's one of the few guys who I thought could probably relate to the situation," Day told ESPN of Riley at Big Ten media days. "The best advice he gave me was: 'Don't worry about anything in terms of changing, anything like that. Just make sure you do what's right.'

"I thought that was a great point because a lot of people ask, 'What are you changing? What's this? What's that?' If something works, you've got to make sure you do what's right. That's what I've done."

In his two seasons as head coach, Riley has gone 24-4 with two Big 12 titles and two playoff appearances. He's had two Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback who have gone No. 1 in the NFL draft -- Kyler Murray and Baker Mayfield. In 2017, Riley won his first road game against Ohio State, a team coached by Meyer with Day serving as co-offensive coordinator.

Riley said Monday at Big 12 media days that Oklahoma and Ohio State have similar expectations and pressure to win. But he said Day is equipped to handle his new job with the Buckeyes.

"He's done a tremendous job everywhere he's been, so I fully expect he's going to go do well," Riley said. "But the easy answer is, you better have success. It's the same thing with me when I took over [for] Bob. A place like Oklahoma or Ohio State, those places, it's not the easiest thing to do, but it's a pretty simple answer. And do it the right way, which he will.

"He seems like a great guy. He really seems unfazed by it. I didn't get a sense at all that he wasn't ready for it. He seemed completely ready, confident in it. That says a lot."

Day also talked with Riley about calling offensive plays as the head coach, which he plans to do at Ohio State, as well as time-management challenges. But maintaining continuity was a theme, as both men follow Hall of Fame-caliber coaches and take over championship-level teams.

"Don't just change something to change something, just to say it's yours," Day said.

Added Riley: "I don't think they would have hired a guy who's going to come in and just revamp everywhere. It's the same way at Oklahoma. If things are going well, they're not going to try to just go hire the compete opposite of that person. So be yourself. You have to. They believed in you, and you better believe in yourself."

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland -- After playing just two rounds in the past month, Tiger Woods said he needs a break and will head back to Florida to rest up for the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup playoffs.

An admirable 1-under-par 70 that included bogeys on the final two holes at Royal Portrush on Friday meant a disappointing end to The Open and the major season for Woods, who after the jubilation of winning the Masters in April has played just four tournaments with little success.

The back problems that led to four surgeries in the past five years resurfaced, seemingly worse than at any time in the past two years that saw a resurgence to No. 5 in the world and two victories, including his 15th major championship.

"I just want some time off just to get away from it," Woods said after finishing at 148, 6 over par, well off the 36-hole cut number. "I had a long trip to Thailand [for a family vacation after the U.S. Open], and then trying to get ready for this event, to play this event, it's been a lot of travel, a lot of time in the air, a lot of moving around and different hotels and everything. I just want to go home."

Woods said he didn't feel much better than he did Thursday, when he made a single birdie and shot his highest first round in The Open (78) and his worst overall since an 81 at the 2002 Open. But he played far better, hitting 14 greens in regulation and several excellent longer shots.

What seemed to plague him, again, were the shorter shots, which require more bending and appear to put more pressure on the lower back area. Woods has often said the stance for those swings gave him the most trouble.

Over two days, Woods played the six par-5s in 2 over, failing to birdie any of them. He took 32 putts in each round.

"I kind of grinded my way around the golf course today," he said. "I had a chance to get it back to even par for the tournament. I didn't handle the par-5s well. I was in perfect position on all three of them. If I handled those par-5s well, I would be right there."

Well, he would have been in the mix to make the 36-hole cut, which he failed to do in a major for the second time this year and 10th time in his career. Woods has now missed 20 cuts in his career on the PGA Tour (21 worldwide), three of those coming in the past two years.

Skipping next week's WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational is only a surprise when you consider how hard he pushed to make the tournament a year ago, when it was played at Firestone Country Club. Woods is now exempt for all of the World Golf Championship events -- he's won 18 of them -- and next week's tournament in Memphis would get him some warm weather and automatic world ranking and FedEx Cup points.

But it always seemed unlikely that Woods, 43, would compete in five of six weeks.

Instead, he will head home to Florida, with hopes of getting ready for a three-week stretch of FedEx playoff events that begins with the Northern Trust at Liberty National in New Jersey on Aug. 8.

"I'm going to take a couple of weeks off and get ready for the playoffs," Woods said. "We've got the playoffs coming up, and anything can happen. Last year I almost stole the whole FedEx Cup at the very end. If it wasn't for [Justin Rose's] little break there at the bunker, it could have been interesting. So get ready for those events. And after that then have a break."

Woods finished second in the FedEx Cup to Rose last year after winning the Tour Championship at East Lake, where he entered the event 20th in the standings. He presently is 23rd and will have some work to do at the first two playoff events at Liberty National and Medinah to assure a spot in the final event.

Once there, he will play under a different format that will not have a regular tournament winner but only an overall FedEx Cup champ based on a stroke-based seeding system.

Following the Tour Championship late next month, Woods' only scheduled events at this point are a PGA Tour event in Japan in October, the Hero World Challenge in early December and the Presidents Cup.

"I just have to continue doing what I'm doing," he said. "I've gotten so much stronger over the past year working with my physios and trying to get my body organized so that I can play at a high level. It panned out; I won a major championship this year.

"It's just a matter of being consistent. That's one of the hardest things to accept as an older athlete is that you're not going to be as consistent as you were at 23. Things are different. And I'm going to have my hot weeks. I'm going to be there in contention with a chance to win, and I will win tournaments.

"But there are times when I'm just not going to be there. And that wasn't the case 20-some-odd years ago. I had a different body, and I was able to be a little bit more consistent."

Editor's note: Alex Rodriguez has a unique relationship with the four players voted into the 2019 Baseball Hall of Fame class. He was teammates with three of them (Mariano Rivera, Edgar Martinez and Mike Mussina) and played against Roy Halladay throughout their careers. In the days leading up to their enshrinement in Cooperstown, New York, A-Rod shares the stories of those stars -- as teammates, competitors and friends -- in his own words.

• A-Rod on: Mariano Rivera | Edgar Martinez

Mike Mussina didn't call me Alex. Maybe that was too formal for him. He didn't call me A-Rod. Maybe because he wasn't comfortable using the nickname that was often used by broadcasters and writers.

He called me Al and he was the only one who did that all the time (Derek Jeter sometimes called me Al, and Phil Hughes did, too -- though Phil called me a lot of things), as Mike and I developed a great odd-couple friendship. I was a 305 kid, from Miami, and he grew up in Montoursville, Pennsylvania, a few miles east of Williamsport. My father had left our family when I was young, and at the time I knew Mike, his parents had lived in the same house Mike's entire life. I had passed up college to sign with the Mariners right out of high school, and Mike became an All-American at Stanford, earning his degree in economics.

We shared the same clubhouse, but Mike's space was and always will be distinctly his own. I might be in a back room at Yankee Stadium and, like a lot of my teammates, avoiding too much time in front of reporters. Mike, on the other hand, would sit at his locker doing a crossword puzzle, very different in his interests and perspective.

But he extended himself to me, in a very Moose kind of way, after we became teammates.

Before that, he drove me crazy because of how he thought and executed his pitches. I had limited success against him, a .250 average in 64 at-bats, with five homers and 17 strikeouts, often failing to pick up the ball in his delivery. He threw right over the top, with his self-taught mechanics, and then would jump at you as he released a pitch, and his combination of pitches was lethal. A fastball in the low-to-mid 90s. A knuckle-curve he learned as a kid, in the 78-to-81 mph range. A changeup that seemed to have a parachute attached. He constantly scrambled his pitch sequences, and as I tried to guess along with him, it felt like I was always wrong. He was like a poker player who could always read me and my hand, and I had no idea what he was thinking.

After I was traded to the Yankees, I had trouble in New York early one season, and struggled to find a solution -- and it was Moose who pointed me in the right direction. Like Mariano Rivera, Mussina would chase down fly balls in BP as part of his cardio work, and typically, he'd be in right-center or center field for that. But one day, as I went through my own regimen of ground balls at third base, I noticed Moose move from the outfield to the screen they have set up near second base, and then, suddenly, he was standing behind me, his arms folded across his chest, silent. Initially, I thought he might be positioning himself for a conversation with somebody he knew on the other team.

But he remained there. Silent.

I turned and gave him a nod of greeting. "Hey, Moose."

He said hi, and remained in place. Silent.

"Did you want to talk to me?" I asked.

"Yeah, yeah, when you're done," he replied.

With the benefit of 20-20 hindsight, and knowing Mike, I understand why the conversation went this way. Moose is a private person, from a town of 4,000 people, who lives in a place in the woods at the end of a long driveway that he plows himself in the winter. He wants his space and will always respectfully give space to others, and he was not going to simply lecture me about what was running through his mind. Rather, he waited for me to open the door to the conversation, and I had done that by asking if he needed something. I knew that if Moose made the effort to come to talk with me, he believed in what he was going to say.

After my last ground ball, I stepped back next to him. "What's up?" I asked.

"How do you feel?"

"I feel like s---," I replied. "How does it look?"

With that, I gave him the chance to tell me what he saw, and his observations were detailed and user-friendly. "You're just over-swinging," he said.

He went on to explain that when he pitched to me in the past, he was always wary of power. Back when I was with the Mariners, he said, I could take a nice, steady swing and flip the ball into the right-field stands, and from the perspective of the pitcher, that's what was most dangerous.

"All you really have to do is get the ball on the barrel," he said, "and my job was to keep it off the barrel."

There's no need for you to take big swings, Moose explained in so many words -- just keep your swing under control, focus on making contact, and you will do damage. It was as helpful as any advice I got in my career, and because it came from someone I hadn't hit, it meant more than anything I'd hear from a hitting coach.

I used his thought when I took batting practice that night and felt different right away, and after that, he would give me a look and a gesture to remind me that, sometimes, 60 percent effort in a swing is better than 100 percent. What was so great about the advice is that it was evergreen, and I could go back to it.

We'd go to lunch or dinner, and I really enjoyed those -- he is so damn smart, with an acerbic wit, and it was always a fascinating conversation. About investing, about his time at Stanford, his collection of cars, or some dynamic going on with the team. He was thoughtful in those discussions, and had strong, strong opinions, but was always open for a great debate.

Moose was such a routine guy. I loved that he did those crossword puzzles every day. He was consistent in what he wore every day: jeans, a polo shirt, glasses and a hat. Once he put his uniform on, it was always the same way: black low-top Nikes, cut-off shirt.

He knew what worked for him, and understood the way he needed to get hitters out. Moose would say, "I shouldn't even bother to go to the pitchers' meeting today because I'm going to pitch to my strength." What difference does it make, Moose believed, what Kevin Brown was going to do, because his repertoire was very dissimilar, with a power sinker -- and Mussina's fastball didn't move the same way, so any scouting information that could work for Brown might not work for Moose. And he's not someone who's going to waste his time or his energy for stupidity, and he measures his words very carefully.

When I started with the Yankees, I was under the impression that he was somewhat distant with other players, but by the time he made his last start, in 2008, I can tell you that he was revered in our clubhouse. I'll never forget that last game he pitched, in Boston, to pick up his 20th win in a season for the first time in his career, and how happy everyone was for him.

Of course, he went out on his own terms: He had 280 wins and there may have been some players who would hang on to hit a big round number like 300. But Moose knows who he is and what he wants, and he wanted to return to Montoursville after that season, to coach and watch his kids grow up, the way his parents watched him. I guarantee that after he makes his induction speech this weekend, he'll climb into his car and head home, a place he loves and where he feels he belongs.

The still-unnamed Seattle franchise is still two years away from debuting in the NHL, but the league's 32nd team has its first GM. That's Ron Francis, the Hall of Fame player who spent four years as the Carolina Hurricanes GM, before being demoted then fired under new owner Tom Dundon in 2018.

Francis lands a coveted job in Seattle, and has about 27 months before the 2021-22 season opener. The biggest challenge for Francis and his new squad? Matching expectations that the Vegas Golden Knights set on (and off) the ice when they redefined success for an expansion franchise in 2017-18. In a candid conversation with ESPN, Francis discusses how he landed the job, his thoughts on watching the Canes' playoff run this spring, when he'll look to fill out his staff, what he's looking for in his players and coach, and whether he believes other GMs will alter their approach to the expansion draft this time around.

ESPN: When did the job first become a possibility for you?

Ron Francis: I got involved with Hockey Canada at the World Championships -- I was on the management team with Ron Hextall -- and we were in Slovakia pretty much for the month of May. I would be lying if I didn't say the passion and the fire to get back in the game started coming back; you're around NHL coaches and players and people. Not long after that [team president] Tod Leiweke gave me a call and asked if I would be interested in the Seattle position. Then we started talking. The more I heard about what their vision was and what they wanted to build, the more excited I became. I feel fortunate they were willing to give me this opportunity.

ESPN: Who did you talk to through the interview process?

Francis: My first dinner was with Tod and [team COO] Victor DeBonis. The next morning I had breakfast with Tod. They put a hard hat and goggles on me and wheeled me around the construction site. They showed me what they were building and what things would look like, and it was extremely impressive. Then -- and I thought this was pretty interesting -- I got to spend some time with the staff that Tod had assembled and to hear what everybody did and what their role was. It was impressive to me, not only at how talented a group they were, but the came across as a group that loved what they were doing and were having fun doing it.

I spent some time interviewing with [Amazon executive/team minority owner] Andy Jassy, at that point, the next time I came out I met with Tim Leiweke a little bit then had interviews with six, seven, eight of the different owners and met them. As we kept progressing forward, it became apparent to me that it was a special opportunity, and a great city that offers a great quality of life; it doesn't hurt that we'd be one of six teams that has no state income tax. So I think it will be a destination place that players, especially free agents, want to consider.

ESPN: In talking to Tod, I get the sense that he wants to do things a little differently with this team -- not necessarily follow every mold of the other 31 teams. Was there anything he mentioned to you that felt different or new?

Francis: I've always been a fan of analytics, maybe they want to up that area of what we're doing and be on the forefront there, and do some innovative things. Technology, especially in this market, is very important. So I think we'll be doing some cool things with technology. The biggest thing for me, that I took from all the meetings, is how they want to operate. All of their decisions come down to: do you want to do something right or do something less than right? They'll do things right. They're not cutting corners anywhere. They want to treat their staff, treat their players, their fans, the people of Seattle and the Pacific Northwest with the utmost respect and give them something special.

ESPN: How much has Las Vegas, and comparisons to Las Vegas, come up in conversations?

Francis: I got asked that question at the press conference, and I said, 'I used to joke before I took this position I'd like to be the second GM in Seattle, not the first one, because of what Vegas did.' But this is a different setup. I think if you go back and listen to the comments that Vegas had leading up to the expansion draft, their plan was to draft and develop well and be patient in the process. I think George [McPhee] and Kelly [McCrimmon] did a fantastic job, they had a unbelievable first season and the franchise is in good position ever since. So hopefully we can draft some good players in the expansion draft, and draft some good players in the amateur draft, and take the time to develop those guys.

ESPN: Vegas was very clear about their expectations before their inaugural season: they wanted to be competitive in three years and compete for a Stanley Cup in six. What are your expectations?

Francis: I think you're always hoping you can be competitive out of the gate. That's part of where our focus is at, and we're going to have to really work hard in the next 23 months to make sure we're prepared for the expansion draft. We'll study the free-agent market and be ready for that as well.

ESPN: What's your timeline for filling out a staff?

Francis: I think the bulk of it, especially in the scouting realm, will be a year from now. I'm not opposed to finding a handful of guys to scout the pro level, the American league level. I do think we'll be a bit more proactive on the analytical side just so we can start collecting data, and when we get the bodies on board next summer, we already have some of those things in place.

ESPN: So you might begin scouting players this coming season?

Francis: Yeah, I'm open to it. Obviously there is the potential of the lockout next year so I do think we want to get some coverage this year, especially in the NHL and American league level in case that happens. But the plan is to go full bore on the scouting staff as we go into next summer.

ESPN: In the NHL, GMs tend to hire people they know or people they've worked with in the past. How much will you lean on your Whalers connections for hires?

Francis: It might have been a possibility a few months ago, but they all got jobs again! Tippy [Dave Tippett] is in Edmonton, Joel [Quenneville] is in Florida, Kevin Dineen just got hired in San Diego. But there's certainly a lot of Whalers around. I think the beauty for me, having played 23 years in the league and then being involved in the management side for over 12 years, is you run across a lot of different people and make a lot of relationships, so we'll see what transpires moving forward in that regard.

ESPN: What are you most proud of in your time with the Hurricanes?

Francis: We set a plan to rebuild that organization, that was our focus. I think we were patient in doing it. I think we stuck to the plan as we moved forward. I think the guys that I had and worked with there did a real good job in rebuilding that organization, and they're set up to have success for many years moving forward. I'm excited for that. The fans in Raleigh, they certainly deserve it.

ESPN: How much of their playoff run did you watch?

Francis: I watched a little bit of the first part, but then I was in Slovakia and Austria from May 1 to May 28 so I missed a significant portion when I was overseas.

ESPN: What was it like watching them and seeing how far they made it?

Francis: It's kind of bittersweet. You're happy for them, but there's a lot of guys who put a lot of work in to that and should have been around. What happened there afforded me to take this position. So I've turned the page.

ESPN: You're uprooting your family and moving them across the country. Was that a difficult decision? Did you need to do any convincing?

Francis: Yeah, I mean it wasn't like we were moving down the street. We are pretty much going coast to coast, which is a big move. I'm very fortunate, my wife has been a part of this industry a while. We've been married for 31 years and dated for five before that. We had a saying in Hartford: "life on a hockey stick." She was willing to make the move.

My youngest has one more year at university and then he's free to choose where he wants to go. My middle one is working at a good job in North Carolina so I think he's content on being there at this point. My oldest currently lives in LA, so she's a short flight away.

ESPN: The Vegas expansion draft was the first one in a while, and featured new restrictions. It seemed like some GMs tried to get too cute and made side deals that might have backfired in the end. Do you think teams will be savvier this time around?

Francis: People have gone through it once, so they know there are things they would do differently. I think some GMs take some criticism for that, but at the end of the day, if there's a player you're worried about losing that you know can play and know can help your lineup, then you have to give up a pick that may or may not turn into a player or a prospect that may or may not turn into a player. I don't think you can blame a GM for trying to keep the player that he knows can play or help his team be successful.

ESPN: What some are attributes you're looking for in guys that will be on your opening night roster?

Francis: Today's game is a fast-paced game so you've got to be able to skate. I want a team that's competitive, a lot of character. It's not always going to be smooth over an 82-game season so you're going to want the character that can help pull you through these tough times. Personally, I like skill and hockey sense. It doesn't hurt to have a little size and toughness in your lineup as you head into the playoffs.

ESPN: What are you looking for in a coach?

Francis: The one thing I'll be looking for is experience, especially at the NHL level. You're trying to pull all these different players who have played for different lineups and never really spent time together, so you want someone who has been there and has been through it. I think experience, for sure, is an important attribute for the first coach who is hired.

Soon after the end of an all-encompassing World Cup, Bangladesh are back in action. Having ended a three-day training camp in Dhaka today, the team will depart for Colombo tomorrow for a tour of Sri Lanka consisting of one practice match followed by three ODIs.

With so little time having elapsed since Bangladesh's eighth-place finish at the World Cup, the tour won't really feel like a fresh start. There aren't any fresh young faces in the squad, so building up to the next World Cup will have to wait. Still, this will be an important series, their captain Mashrafe Mortaza has said, emphasising the need to beat Sri Lanka to bring some positivity back into the dressing room.

"I don't think too much has changed between just before the World Cup and just after the World Cup," Mashrafe said. "If there was a good young player available, who performed exceptionally, we would have most likely taken him to the World Cup. I think we have to prepare at least some cricketers at the highest level, over the next two years. Give them enough opportunity, so that they can serve us well in the next World Cup.

"But this ODI series is important for Bangladesh cricket. Given our circumstances, we need to win this series, so we have to keep this in mind as well.

"There will be a big difference in intensity between a World Cup and a bilateral series. But we have to absorb it like a professional side. Our reality, given how we did at the World Cup, however doesn't allow us to have less intensity. This is an opportunity for us to take a positive turn, so I am sure everyone has the mindset to make a comeback."

Mashrafe, however, didn't ignore the need for long-term planning, pleading for more focus on the pipeline leading up to the senior team. He felt most of the current squad could still be part of the set-up in four years' time, but added that it would be crucial for Bangladesh to make the next rung of players ready for international cricket.

"Apart from me, the rest of the side is capable of playing in the next World Cup," he said. "But I think it is more important to focus on the Under-19s, HP (high performance) and A team, if we are to do well in the next four years. We must have players who become stable in international cricket during this time.

"Focusing on just one team of players makes life difficult at the highest level. We don't have Shakib [Al Hasan] for this tour so we have to look for two options. It is a great opportunity for those replacing him."

Although Sri Lanka hold an overwhelming 36-7 head-to-head record in matches between the two sides, recent history has been a lot closer, with Bangladesh winning three of the last six completed ODI meetings. There has been on-field friction too, exemplified by the 'Nagin' dance that both teams taunted each other with during last year's Nidahas Trophy. Mashrafe felt the upcoming series would continue the growth of the rivalry between the two teams.

"I think we will start on equal footing," he said. "They are playing at home where they always do well. They have been playing together for a while too. They are becoming a balanced side. They have some good memories from the World Cup, particularly beating England and pushing a few sides. There's been a bit of excitement between the two teams since the Nidahas Trophy and that will play a part too."

Mashrafe however said he was disappointed with his own performance at the World Cup, where he took just one wicket in eight matches. But he said that given his experience of playing at the highest level for two decades, he is equipped to deal with pressure and knows how to turn his form around.

"I have to take responsibility as a player and when I took over the captaincy four or five years ago, I had a similar feeling as well," he said. "I know it very well, having played for Bangladesh for 18 years, that our people raise questions quite quickly.

"I am personally disappointed with how I did at the World Cup and it will be a shame if I am not hurting. I am in a "nothing to lose" situation. But I also have the mentality to turn around, and coming towards the end of my career, there's no need to take pressure."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

Thanks to a wild summer featuring a slew of superstars switching teams, the NBA is a very different place than it was just one year ago. Just ask the Las Vegas sportsbooks.

Last season, the top of the futures board included an odds-on favorite in the Golden State Warriors, plus outside contenders in the Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets. But all of those teams have tumbled down the board, and the top of the list now includes the two teams from Los Angeles and the Milwaukee Bucks.

Not only are the teams at the top all different, but this is the first year since 2015-16 without an established odds-on favorite.

In other words, the Warriors have released their death grip on the NBA.

Evaluating the new contender class

Consider this trio of facts:

• The Warriors entered the 2018-19 season as the runaway favorites at -200 and the lone squad with odds better than +500.

• This season, three teams check that box. Heading into last season, only six teams' championship odds were listed at +2,000 or better. This year there are 10 such teams.

• The last time the Warriors weren't the preseason favorites: 2015.

The Toronto Raptors entered 2018-19 at +1,400 but still walked away with the title. Heading into this season, seven contenders boast odds at least that strong. (Apologies to the Denver Nuggets, Portland Trail Blazers and teams that just missed the cut.)

Who are they and what are their big questions? Let's start at the top.

The top three

Los Angeles Lakers (+300)

There's no question the Lakers have the star power needed to win a title, but even if LeBron James and Anthony Davis have monster seasons, the real questions are about the supporting cast and the team's overall ability to play defense and make 3-point shots.

As the Raptors just demonstrated, championship rosters are filled with complementary pieces that thrive alongside the superstars. The good news is that the Lakers landed a great one in Danny Green, who not only provides the Lakers with great wing defense but also represents a huge addition to their shooting arsenal.

Green should be a near perfect fit next to James. Last season, Green made almost 46% of his 3s in Toronto and more than 91% of his 3s were assisted. Nobody has created more 3-point assists this decade than James, who is especially adept at creating clean looks in the corners, where Green is particularly nasty.

That said, it's still fair to question the rest of the Lakers supporting cast. Can DeMarcus Cousins regain some semblance of his athleticism? Can Avery Bradley rediscover his jumper? Will Kyle Kuzma's new shooting stroke work?

If the answers to those questions are yes, the Lakers will be ferocious. If not, AD and LeBron can only take this roster so far.

LA Clippers (+400)

No team in the league had a better offseason than the Clippers, adding two incredible two-way superstars to an already solid group. The case for the Clippers is easy: They have the reigning finals MVP in Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, a great coach and some decent role players. If it all clicks, they could replace the Warriors as the best two-way squad in the Western Conference.

The big concern is that it won't. The frontcourt looks particularly questionable. Can JaMychal Green, Ivica Zubac and Montrezl Harrell really be rotation bigs on a championship team? Bigs may be less important than ever in the NBA, but that doesn't mean they're irrelevant, and looking across the group of Western contenders, you don't see many other frontcourts this weak. You see Anthony Davis, Clint Capela, Draymond Green, Rudy Gobert and Nikola Jokic.

Milwaukee Bucks (+450)

The Bucks deserve to be the favorites in the East, and they arguably have the easiest path to the Finals of any team in the league. In Mike Budenholzer's first year, they quickly became the analytics darling of the NBA -- not only did they hoist up a ton of 3s, but they also led the NBA in net rating. Milwaukee was the only regular-season team that notched both a top-five offense and a top-five defense in the regular season. If there was a regular-season championship, they would've won it. But when it mattered most, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks sputtered against Kawhi Leonard and the Raptors.

Still, there's room for optimism. Leonard is out West now, the Celtics are weaker and Antetokounmpo is still only 24 years old. Losing Malcolm Brogdon hurts, but the acquisition of Wesley Matthews and Robin Lopez helps.

The key question in Milwaukee is how will this team match up against the new-look Sixers? The Raptors solved the Bucks in part because they figured out ways to keep Giannis away from the rim. Well, this Philly frontcourt featuring Al Horford and Joel Embiid seems tailor-made to do the same.

The middle

Houston Rockets (+800)

Despite all the drama surrounding the blockbuster Chris Paul trade, the Rockets still deserve to be slotted as a contender. After all, they now boast two of the last three MVP winners in their backcourt. Still, it's fair to question just how well the reunion of Russell Westbrook and James Harden will actually work. In some respects, Westbrook represents everything that Daryl Morey's Rockets hate: poor shot selection and poor scoring efficiency.

The skeptics are quick to point out that there's only one basketball, and Westbrook and Harden are two of the most ball-dominant players of our era. But if this refrain sounds familiar, it's because many of those same skeptics raised a similar concern when Houston acquired Chris Paul two years ago. Morey, Mike D'Antoni and Harden made that work, so why can't they repeat their success?

Paul and Westbrook are wildly different players. Paul is a great shooter, and Westbrook, well, just look at this:

Perhaps nobody in the NBA blends volume and inefficiency as much as Westbrook. Among the most fascinating subplots in this upcoming season will be watching Westbrook attempt to assimilate in an offensive environment built upon analytical correctness. Westbrook is a lot of things, but analytically correct has never been one of them.

But the Rockets deserve some benefit of the doubt. After all, this is the organization that turned Josh Smith into a respectable rotation piece in the 2015 playoffs. That's some Copperfield stuff.

Philadelphia 76ers (+800)

Speaking of shooting issues, Ben Simmons and the Sixers come into the season as the biggest threats to the Bucks in the East. If it all clicks in Philly, they're going to be an incredible defensive squad, with Simmons and Josh Richardson patrolling the perimeter while Embiid and Horford protect the paint.

The questions will be on the other side of the floor. Can the Sixers score? Of course. Can they score efficiently and can they shoot 3s? Those are the real questions.

Last season, Philly ranked 19th in the NBA by sinking just 10.8 3s per game. Even if Richardson can replace most of JJ Redick's perimeter production, it's very hard to see how this squad becomes even an average 3-point-shooting team. Without adequate floor spacing, Philly's opponents will be better able to pack the paint to slow down the interior scoring of Embiid, Simmons and Horford.

The 76ers will only go as far as their offensive efficiency and 3-point productivity take them.

The Dark Horses (AKA the next Raptors)

Golden State Warriors (+1,400)

Folks, the Warriors are a dark horse in the race for the 2020 NBA title. Does that mean their dynasty is over? Not so fast! At +1,400, they have the same odds of winning the 2020 title that the Raptors had entering 2018-19.

I'm not a betting man, but if I were, I'd be all over this bet. Why? Call me crazy, but if Klay Thompson returns to action by March or April, and the Warriors are in the playoffs, they're terrifying. They still feature the best backcourt in the league, contract-year Draymond Green and a pretty good head coach. In a league teeming with unproven contenders, I'll ride with these guys when it matters, assuming they're healthy.

The X factor in San Francisco will be the new guy, D'Angelo Russell, who provides the Warriors with yet another talented guard who can create shots for himself and others. He averaged 21 points and 7 assists per game last year in Brooklyn, but can he take another leap? Why not? Kerr has a knack for turning promising guards into superstars. When he first coached Curry and Thompson, those fellas were 26 and 24, respectively. Russell is still 23.

The limiting factors are depth and defense. Even with the loss of Durant, it's hard to imagine Golden State not logging solid offensive markers. Stephen Curry will be the centerpiece of their offense, and he's still one of the scariest offensive players in the league.

The challenge will be on the other side of the court. Can this team get stops without Durant, Iguodala and Thompson? Doubtful.

Utah Jazz (+1,400)

You know who's not going to have trouble getting stops? The 2019-20 Utah Jazz, that's who. Thanks to Rudy Gobert, their defense has become one of the most dependable groups in the league, and if Mike Conley can stay healthy, this is a team that now includes a phenomenal defensive point guard, too.

Utah's issues have always been on offense. Last year, they had the second-best defense in the league but just the 14th-best offense. Conley also helps with that. Oh, and so does the acquisition of Bojan Bogdanovic, who is simply one of the most reliable 3-point shooters in the NBA.

Folks, Bojan can shoot the lights out pic.twitter.com/rrFzzr1hhl

— Kirk Goldsberry (@kirkgoldsberry) June 30, 2019

Utah needs Donovan Mitchell to take another step forward in his development, and it needs to find ways to create clean looks for Bogdanovic. That will make this offense much better than last year's. While this roster may not include any huge superstars, it's chock full of two-way talents intent on crashing the top of the West.

Following an unprecedented torrent of player movement this summer, the NBA is entering a new world of parity. Just 12 months ago, the Warriors had won their second-straight title and looked poised to win for years to come. Man, that seems like light-years ago. Heading into next season, the Dubs are now just another contender in a very crowded field. The only safe bet is on chaos.

BARRE, Vt. — Brooks Clark took advantage of a late restart to grab the biggest win of his career at the 40th VP Racing Fuels Vermont Governor’s Cup late model race Thursday night at Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl.

Clark rode the outside around Barre’s Nick Sweet with just seven laps remaining in the 150-lap event to beat a stout field, which included NASCAR star Christopher Bell, for a career-defining victory.

While Clark started on the pole and led the first 43 laps, his road to victory lane was anything but clear sailing. Even while pulling away from most of the field early, the veteran had to hold off several early charges from outside polesitter Marcel J. Gravel. The fiercest came following the third caution of the event on lap 36 after Bell spun while dueling with Kyle Pembroke for the ninth spot.

Clark was able to hold the lead each time while Sweet got underneath Gravel for the second spot on lap 41. When Stephen Donahue pounded the frontstretch wall two laps later and collected Scott Dragon in the process, Sweet got the chance to work the outside on Clark. Sweet, who was a last-minute replacement for Eric Chase in the No. 40VT for the second straight week, made it work up high to move to the point.

Both Sweet and Clark pulled away from the field on a long green-flag run that followed with Sweet slightly faster. When the fifth caution flew on lap 96 after Jason Corliss cut a right-front tire, the lead duo embarked on a torrid duel that lasted more than 25 laps.

Except for one circuit, Clark was able to use the outside momentum to stay ahead, until Sweet finally got back in front on lap 121 and cleared Clark two laps later. The four-time Governor’s Cup champion again began to pull away and seemed primed for a record-setting fifth victory in the event.

But Corliss shut down again to bring out the sixth and final caution on lap 143, setting up a seven-lap dash for the Cup. Clark seized his opportunity, letting it ride on the outside groove and going back to the front. Sweet was unable to mount a counter-attack in the final circuits as Clark captured his fifth career victory at Thunder Road.

Sweet finished second for the second straight week. Trampas Demers held off Cody Blake for third, padding his points lead in the process thanks to the misfortune of Corliss and Dragon. Jimmy Hebert, Pembroke, Matt White, Phil Scott, Bell, and Josh Masterson completed the top 10.

Jason Pelkey also got the maximum from a late caution to score his second career Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tiger win. Pelkey was running a distant second to first-year Tiger racer Danny Doyle when Kevin Streeter blew a right-rear tire and spun in turn one to bring out the caution with three laps left in the 40-lap feature.

The restart put Pelkey alongside Doyle, and Pelkey had the nose in front as the field took the two-to-go. At almost the same time, Mike Martin and Brandon Lanphear got into the wall while fighting for the third spot, and they eventually came to a halt on the backstretch.

The lap was ruled completed, putting Pelkey on the inside for the green-white-checkered finish. Pelkey scooted away for the victory as Doyle got shuffled in the final corners and caused a scramble throughout the pack.
Brett Wood ended up a career-best second after running in the top-five all night. Joe Steffen snuck through the final-lap scrum to take third.

Cooper French became a first-time Thunder Road winner in the Allen Lumber Street Stock feature. The rookie went wire-to-wire in the 25-lap main event, holding off challenges from veteran Dean Switser Jr. and sophomore Kasey Beattie. The trio duked it out under a blanket following the second and final caution on lap 18, but French held strong to grab the breakthrough victory.

Beattie got underneath Switser on the final restart to take second with Switser finishing third.

GREENWOOD, Neb. — For the second consecutive year, Jonathan Davenport claimed a thrilling victory in the Malvern Bank Go 50 at I-80 Speedway.

The race saw five different drivers grab the lead at one point. Davenport became the last of the five, as he took the point on lap 34 from Brandon Sheppard and cruised on to his 10th Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win of the season.

Davenport and Sheppard were followed to the finish line by Devin Moran, Mason Zeigler and Shannon Babb.

Tyler Bruening led the first lap until Tyler Erb took over the top spot just one lap later. Erb held his lead until Zeigler; last year’s Lucas Oil Rookie-of-the-Year; grabbed the lead away from him. Zeigler held on to the point until Sheppard went by him on lap 21.

Sheppard and Davenport ran one-two using the top groove for several circuits, until Davenport caught Sheppard on lap 34 to gain the lead and held it to the finish line.

Davenport was able to pull away on the final lap to pick up the victory and extend his series points lead over Josh Richards and Tyler Erb.

“It was a little shaky at the end,” Davenport said. “But once we got passed traffic, we were good to go. I knew he [Sheppard] would probably be on the top. We had a little problem with the car after the heat, but Jason and the crew got it fixed. We took off pretty good and then started to pick up the pace around the halfway mark when we got in to second. Brandon and I rode that top groove for a long time until I was finally able to catch him and pass him. I am sure that was a heck of a race to watch.”

Sheppard, who has one LOLMDS win this season, led 13 laps and came home in second place. “We had a really good car,” Sheppard said. “I want to thank Mark Richards, Steve Baker and my whole crew. We were right there at the end. I thought maybe with two to go we had another shot at him. That one caution hurt us because we had a run up top on the restart and I think we might have cleared him [Davenport], but we will come back tomorrow night and hope for a good racetrack like they gave us tonight.”

Moran, who earned the Optima Batteries Hard Charger of the Race, came home third.

“We finally got it rolling after a while,” Moran said. “Tyler [Erb] and I had a great race for a long time, we were throwing sliders on each other. I think we touched maybe once but it was good hard racing. I didn’t need those last cautions because we were moving good on the bottom through the middle. Congrats to JD and Sheppy. This is our first-time here and it has quickly become one of my favorite tracks to race on.”

The finish:

Jonathan Davenport, Brandon Sheppard, Devin Moran, Mason Zeigler, Shannon Babb, Chase Junghans, Scott Bloomquist, Josh Richards, Dennis Erb Jr., Hudson O’Neal, Dale McDowell, Chris Madden, Tim McCreadie, Kyle Bronson, Tyler Erb, Tyler Bruening, Billy Moyer Jr., Stormy Scott, Earl Pearson Jr., Shanon Buckingham, Chris Simpson, Cody Laney, Terry Phillips, Jimmy Owens.