DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Davey Allison was perhaps the original “can’t miss” kid. The drivers he competed against in NASCAR’s premier series liked him so much they would give him advice even as he was beating them. His father, Bobby Allison, and uncle Donnie had been long considered stock car royalty and not only did he obviously inherit their immense driving ability, he also raced against them so well that he upped everyone’s game....

The Cavaliers fired their head coach and replaced him with his top assistant. In the aftermath, reports surfaced that this move was what his star player had wanted all along. Everyone blamed Star 2’s poor play and Star 3’s injury for making this move possible at all. And yet. MORE: NBA midseason awards | LeBron’s adversity and Curry’s lack of it “I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to serve as the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers," Blatt said in a statement released by his agency, Priority Sports....

The gathering featured talks between Gallop, Sydney FC coach Graham Arnold and Fox Sports personality Robbie Slater and was also mentioned by Daily Telegraph journalist Phil Rothfield in his What’s The Buzz column on June 17. Further to The Covert Agent’s article on Wednesday, Goal understands Arnold was asked by Gallop in the meeting about his interest in the national team job - either before the current qualifying campaign ends or after the tournament in Russia....

Playing in his 20th and final season, Ortiz has been clobbering home runs like he were 10 years younger, and he added another with a solo shot to deep left center field in the fourth inning to get Boston on the board. The home run, Ortiz’s 534th, was measured at 413 feet. It was also Ortiz’s 21st home run on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. Alex Rodriguez, with 22, is the only player ahead of him on that list....

City welcomes Barca to the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night, almost two weeks after Lionel Messi scored a hat trick as Luis Enrique’s men eventually ran out comfortable winners. But Silva insists his side was playing well up until Claudio Bravo was sent off for handballing outside the box, and points out that Messi’s opening goal only came about thanks to an untimely slip by Fernandinho in the penalty area....

After a silver medal-winning run with Malaysia U22 in the recent SEA Games, Pahang defender and captain Matthew Davies is excited to return to the Malaysia senior team. The Australian-born right back, along with five of his Young Tigers teammates, has recently been called up by Malaysia head coach Nelo Vingada for the first time, for their October 10 Asian Cup qualification group match against Hong Kong. Although Davies has featured regularly for the Malaysia senior team last year under former boss Datuk Ong Kim Swee, he missed the last few call-ups due to injury and his duty with Malaysia U22....

Getting anything out of those players would only sweeten the deal for what will forever be remembered as one of the most lopsided trades in NBA history. The odds of it being Lorbek are slim — the 32-year-old hasn’t played competitively since 2014 and recently failed a physical for French team Limoges Cercle Saint-Pierre — but Bertans has shown promise as a stretch four with the Spurs this season....

Youngsters can go to the Google machine and learn the “African Queen” is a classic movie with Humphrey Bogart as a ship captain reluctantly ferrying Katharine Hepburn through a jungle. Our Colin Swatton, with no boat, was only searching for a foothold on the creek’s far bank. There he hoped to find Jason Day’s golf ball and save the lad’s chance at history. What happened next goes down here as a hero’s thrilling escape....

MORE: Which coaches are on the move? | Ranking the best tournament coaches “Our relationship with Archie continues to recognize the exceptional achievement of our men’s basketball program under his leadership and strongly affirms our mutual commitment to long-term success,” said athletic director Neil Sullivan. “We share a common vision of graduating student-athletes, consistently competing for conference championships and advancing in the NCAA Tournament. I look forward to pursuing those goals together....

Belgium’s six-game winning streak that saw them finish top of their World Cup qualifying group with a nine-point lead came to an end in the friendly with El Tri. Belgium 8/1 to beat Japan 3-0 With the likes of Manchester City star De Bruyne, Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku, Dries Mertens, Jan Vertonghen and Thibaut Courtois in the side, a lot is expected of Martinez’s team in Russia next summer....

What odds are Juventus to win Serie A? The Italy international defender has penned a five-year deal with Juve and will not be part of the Rossoneri’s revolution under Vincenzo Montella. The right-back will be expected to replace Dani Alves, after the Brazilian left for Paris Saint-Germain following a solitary season in Turin. De Sciglio’s capture comes a day after Juve signed Wojciech Szczesny from Arsenal and adds to the arrivals of Rodrigo Bentancur and Douglas Costa....

The Italy international defender has entered the final year of his Milan deal, and will not be part of the Rossoneri’s revolution under Vincenzo Montella. What odds are Juventus to win Serie A? The right-back will be expected to replace Dani Alves, after the Brazilian left for Paris Saint-Germain, with terms between Juventus and De Sciglio to be agreed after undergoing a medical. De Sciglio’s arrival in Turin comes a day after Wojciech Szczesny landed to complete a reported £10million switch from Arsenal....

The drugs were found in six duffel bags along I-70 in Putnam County, just west of Indianapolis, Indiana, reported WDRB. Speaking to CBS 4, DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Mike Gannon said they received a call from a driver who said he spotted the bags by the side of the road and called authorities in Putnam County. Gannon said the bags contained 225 pounds of meth, with a street value of more than $10 million....

Hong Kong Free Press reported on Friday that the photo—which shows six silver body bags left on stretchers next to three living COVID patients on a hospital ward—was taken at the Accident & Emergency ward of Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Jordan, Hong Kong. The article cited an anonymous hospital source. The source told the website that the photo had been taken in early March, and the situation is now under control as workers speed up transfers of the bodies to mortuaries....

U.S. prosecutors were after Ruiz Massieu too. He was to fly to Houston last week to be arraigned on charges that he had laundered $9 million in drug money. But two days before the court appearance, in what investigators, his wife, Maria, and his lawyers are calling a suicide, he died from an overdose of antidepressants, derailing a trial that was likely to touch the highest echelons of power in Mexico and further tangle U....

Despite being one of the top players on the market, the Suns center remains unsigned nearly two weeks after the free agency period began. The 23-year-old restricted free agent, who has averaged 16.3 points and 10.5 rebounds per game across four seasons in Phoenix, got caught up in the Kevin Durant vortex, but he could soon be on his way to a new team. MORE: The best players still available in free agency...

Our correspondence had started when I was a sixth grader at San Beda College, a Roman Catholic boys’ school in Manila. My friend Benjie had a pen-pal business with a children’s organization, and I paid him a few centavos to register my name. I requested a female pen pal in Finland, a country that appealed to me because it was cold (in contrast with the tropical Philippine weather) and distant, and, therefore, different....

“IHME’s analysis, based on observed death rates, estimates that over the next four months in the US, approximately 81,000 people will die from the virus,” the forecast report reads. “Estimates range from 38,000 to 162,000 U.S. deaths.” According to the report, the forecasted numbers are based on a number of different data sources including local and national governments, the World Health Organization, the American Hospital Association, and age-specific death rate data from other countries like Italy, China and South Korea....

Obviously not. But is mountaineering on Mount McKinley a sport, or has it become a kind of athletic Russian roulette? The death of Mugs Stump over Memorial Day weekend was the seventh in seven hellish days on McKinley. Hundred-mile-an-hour winds swept three Korean climbers off a ridge. Two Italians died in another fall, and a Swiss perished from respiratory failure. The death toll could easily have doubled but for intrepid rescues by National Park rangers, who plucked two climbers from crevasses and evacuated half a dozen others....

Did Leonardo include Mary Magdalene in his “Last Supper”? Most art scholars say no. The figure reputed to be Mary Magdalene is actually the beloved disciple John, who is usually depicted young and clean-shaven. Were Jesus and Mary M. married? Although there is no way to prove or disprove this, most experts consider it highly unlikely. Their main argument: there is no mention of it in canonical writings. Was Mary M....