Fast bowler Anrich Nortje is out of quarantine after testing negative for Covid-19 and has been declared fit for selection for the Delhi Capitals' next match, on April 18 against Punjab Kings. The man who bowled the fastest ball of IPL history will have his first nets on Friday during the Captials' optional training session.

Nortje, who landed on April 6 in Mumbai, where the Capitals are playing their initial set of matches, had to spend an extended time in quarantine after a false positive test. He had flown business class in a commercial flight to India from South Africa immediately after the second ODI of the home series against Pakistan, and his quarantine period was meant to end on April 13, but the positive result meant he had to stay in isolation. As per IPL guidelines, Nortje had to clear three further tests before joining the Capitals squad. In a media statement on Friday, the Capitals said Nortje had cleared the required tests.

His compatriot Kagiso Rabada joined the team on Thursday following his negative test result and played the match against the Rajasthan Royals, a close encounter which the Capitals lost by three wickets.

Nortje was the Capitals' second-best bowler and the fourth-best in the tournament last year, with 22 wickets in 16 matches. He also made headlines when he clocked 156kph during the match against the Royals last season, the fastest ball recorded in IPL history.

The lack of training time is unlikely to bother Nortje considering he reached India on the back of a strong bowling performance, picking up seven wickets in the two ODIs in the series against Pakistan in early April.

Ben Stokes looks set to miss England's Test series against New Zealand in June after the ECB said that he would require surgery on his broken finger, putting him out for up to 12 weeks.

The England allrounder underwent an X-ray and CT scan on Thursday and will fly home from the IPL on Saturday after fracturing his left index finger in Rajasthan Royals' opening game. The first Test of the summer, against New Zealand at Lord's starting on June 2, is just over six weeks away.

Stokes had initially indicated he wanted to stay with the Royals to provide "valued support and inputs off the field", but he will now return to the UK for an operation in Leeds on Monday. He had already been ruled out of the IPL by the injury, which he sustained while diving to take a catch against Punjab Kings.

England had been facing the possibility of missing Stokes, the Test vice-captain, for the Lord's game, should the Royals remain involved for the IPL's knockout stages. They will also play New Zealand at Edgbaston the following week, before limited-overs series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

A 12-week rehabilitation process would mean Stokes returning to fitness in time for the start of the Hundred in mid-July, which is followed by a five-Test series against India.

England could be also be without the likes of Jos Buttler, Chris Woakes and Sam Curran for the first New Zealand Test, due to IPL clashes, and have injury concerns over Jofra Archer, who recently required surgery on his hand and has been managing an elbow problem - although he is hoping to still be involved in the IPL after returning to bowling earlier this week.

There was better news in the latest on opener Dom Sibley, who also suffered a finger injury in the field during Warwickshire's Championship game against Notts. X-rays confirmed a small fracture but he could still bat in the game at Trent Bridge, and is not expected to be a doubt for the New Zealand series.

Toss Pakistan chose to bowl vs South Africa

With Pakistan looking to add the T20I series trophy to the one they won for the ODIs on this tour of South Africa, Babar Azam won the toss asked South Africa to set a target in the finale at Centurion on what both captains believe is another good pitch for batting. Heinrich Klaasen acknowledged that he would have preferred his attack to get first use of the surface to take advantage of any early assistance, but would have to hope his batsmen put the pressure on early instead.

South Africa made two changes to the XI that lost at the same venue two days ago. Left-arm seamer Beuran Hendricks was omitted in favour of an extra spinner in Bjorn Fortuin, while the batting line-up has been shortened with Pite van Biljon missing out and an allrounder, Wiaan Mulder, getting his maiden T20I cap. Mulder and Andile Phehlukwayo add a third and fourth option to South Africa's pace pack, while George Linde, who will bat at No. 5, makes up a three-pronged spin attack.

Pakistan, who took an unassailable 2-1 lead in the four-match series by pulling off a steep chase of 204 with some comfort in the previous match, were unchanged.

South Africa: 1 Aiden Markram, 2 Janneman Malan, 3 Rassie van der Dussen, 4 Heinrich Klaasen (capt, wk), 5 George Linde, 6 Andile Phehlukwayo, 7 Wiaan Mulder, 8 Sisanda Magala, 9 Bjorn Fortuin, 10 Lizaad Williams, 11 Tabraiz Shamsi

Pakistan: 1 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 2 Babar Azam (capt), 3 Fakhar Zaman, 4 Mohammad Hafeez, 5 Haider Ali, 6 Asif Ali, 7 Mohammad Nawaz, 8 Faheem Ashraf, 9 Hasan Ali, 10 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 11 Haris Rauf

Jose Mourinho treated players like they "didn't exist" during his time in charge of Manchester United, according to Paul Pogba.

Pogba was one of Mourinho's first signings after taking over at Old Trafford in 2016, but by the end of his reign, their relationship had soured, with the pair involved in a training ground bust-up and the player later stripped of the vice-captaincy.

"What I have now with [current manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer] is different, he wouldn't go against the players," Pogba told Sky Sports. "He wouldn't go against the players.

"Maybe Ole wouldn't pick them, but it's not like he puts them on the side like they don't exist anymore.

"That's the difference between Mourinho and Ole.

"Once I had a great relationship with Mourinho, everybody saw that, and the next day you don't know what happened. That's the strange thing I had with Mourinho, and I cannot explain to you because even I don't know. So, yeah."

Pogba got one over on his former boss after helping United to a 3-1 win against Mourinho's Tottenham on Sunday.

Afterward, Mourinho hit back at Solskjaer's claim that Son Heung-Min had conned the referee to get Edinson Cavani's first-half goal ruled out and insisted Pogba should have been sent off for an elbow on Serge Aurier.

Pogba, however, said Mourinho was simply trying to deflect attention from his team's performance and a result that leaves Spurs struggling to qualify for next season's Champions League.

"I don't know what happened, I'm sure Mourinho said something that would make people speak, that's what he does," Pogba said.

"We got the result we wanted, Ole knows it and we enjoyed that moment because we know Mourinho and we know what he likes. We don't need this [war of words]; we just focus on us.

"We won the game, he lost the game and he doesn't want to speak about the game, he wants to speak about the dad of someone, that's what he does. Everybody knows him, it's very Mourinho."

Ahead of the NFL's first 17-game regular season, the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers have opened with the highest win totals at Caesars Sportsbook by William Hill.

Oddsmakers for William Hill opened the Chiefs at 12 and the Super Bowl champion Buccaneers at 11.5. Kansas City won 14 games last season, while the Buccaneers won 11.

The Baltimore Ravens and Green Bay Packers each opened with win totals of 11, followed by the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Rams at 10.5.

Ten teams opened with double-digit win totals, including three teams in the NFC West. The Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers each opened at 10.

Sportsbooks post the win totals and offer bettors prices on betting over or under the number. The price to bet over 12 wins on the Chiefs, for example, is -130, meaning a bettor would have to risk $130 to win $100.

This year's win totals are out before the regular-season schedule has been announced and before the draft. The 17 regular-season opponents are known for each team, although dates of the games have not been released.

Adam Pullen, assistant director of trading for William Hill, told ESPN that the increase to 17 games did not affect his oddsmaking process and that he didn't expect the NFL draft to cause significant changes to the opening win totals.

The NFL draft begins April 29.

Pullen said it's usually most difficult to get a feel for the win totals for teams making quarterback changes. He pointed to the New Orleans Saints, who are attempting to replace Drew Brees with Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill. The Saints opened at 9.5.

"Anytime a team loses a big-time quarterback, it's always a little challenging," Pullen said.

The Indianapolis Colts also are making a change at quarterback. The Colts traded for former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz to replace the retiring Philip Rivers.

"It's a wash," Pullen said of the change from Rivers to Wentz.

The Colts open at 10, and the Eagles at 7.

The Houston Texans and Detroit Lions opened with the lowest win totals at 5. The Jacksonville Jaguars, who own the No. 1 pick and are led by new coach Urban Meyer, opened at 6, along with the New York Jets.

AT SUNRISE, 6:57 a.m. to be exact, on Jan. 12, 2021, Ellen Potts' phone chimed. Still groggy, the executive director of the Tuscaloosa, Alabama, chapter of Habitat for Humanity checked the notification to see a familiar name: Terry Saban.

Potts was surprised to hear from the wife of Alabama head football coach Nick Saban so soon. Only a few hours earlier, the Crimson Tide had beaten Ohio State to win the school's 18th national championship. The team bus hadn't left Hard Rock Stadium in South Florida until well after midnight, which meant Terry was either running on very little sleep or none at all.

"ARE YOU READY?!" Terry Saban's message read. "Can't wait to start planning House #18 ... it will be a house built with love."

Potts smiled. This was the enthusiasm she'd come to expect.

Ten years ago this month, on April 27, 2011, the largest tornado in state history tore through Tuscaloosa. Mayor Walt Maddox detailed the toll in raw statistics: 12.5% of the city destroyed, 53 residents killed and 1,200 injured in just seven minutes. It was as if, Maddox said, the hand of God had slammed down on Tuscaloosa and left it unrecognizable.

The disaster deeply affected the Sabans, and those close to the legendary coach believe it caused him to reconsider his impact on people and the community.

"To see so many people who lost everything -- they lost their house, they lost everything," Nick Saban recalled in a recent phone interview with ESPN, "it was shocking."

A coaching nomad of three decades, he and his wife began putting down roots by building homes with Habitat and becoming the face of the recovery. Their initial goal was to fund the construction of 13 houses -- one for each national championship the school had won to that point -- but in the 10 years since, Alabama has kept winning, so they have kept building.

"There was the expectation that Saban would win and then maybe there would be an offer that him and his family would have to take. But something about 2011 changed the dynamic," said Maddox, who became mayor in 2005 and still holds the office. "You could feel it. You could see it. We all became forged in this tragedy."

Along the way, Barrett Jones, then an offensive lineman, began to see a different side of his coach -- more understanding and compassionate.

"Not that he wasn't still intense; of course he was," Jones said. "But that cemented to him just how important his position and role was not only on the football team but in the community.

"That changed his perspective forever."

THE MORNING AFTER THE TORNADO, associate A.D.s Jeff Purinton and Thad Turnipseed wandered into Saban's eerily quiet office and could sense the coach's anxiety.

The power was out and Saban's cellphone wasn't working. He wanted to help. "But there was no plan," Turnipseed later recalled. "That's what was driving him crazy."

They headed for a relief effort at the Ferguson Student Center only to find more than 100 people looking at one another, lost. There was a leadership vacuum. Saban felt a familiar tug. "People need direction," he recalled a decade later.

Saban climbed on top of a bench and began speaking. When something bad happens, he told the crowd, it's an opportunity "for all of us to pitch in and help and do everything we can."

He issued a challenge: "Be ready when you're called."

Purinton remembers Saban's presence as he spoke, as if he was trying to get across, "We're going to get through this and I'm here with you."

Turnipseed gets chill bumps when he thinks about it years later. He calls it simply, "The Speech."

Saban pushed back leaving for the NFL draft, choosing instead to hand out water bottles to first responders and visit a shelter for victims.

When he met with his team that afternoon, he ordered his players to forget about football. Instead, he said, think about what you can do to help.

Players volunteered between practice and classes. Jones, the offensive lineman, took a chainsaw around town to help clear debris; tight end Preston Dial loaded up 18-wheelers with supplies; and linebacker Courtney Upshaw raised roughly $20,000 toward relief.

Saban said he didn't have to use the storm in pregame speeches the following season because his team never forgot.

After all, one of their own, long-snapper Carson Tinker, had suffered a tragic loss.

Tinker was holding his girlfriend, Ashley Harrison, when it hit. He was thrown 50 yards and woke up in the hospital with a concussion and injuries to his wrist and ankles. He then learned Harrison had not survived.

BEFORE SABAN KNEW IT, his wife was working the phones.

Immediately after the tornado, Terry Saban ordered dinner for shelters, purchased gift cards for families and invited a group of children to a sporting goods store where they could pick out some much-needed clothing and supplies. And those were just the things happening behind the scenes. Every time the Sabans appeared in public, they shined a light on the damage in Alabama.

Donations poured into the Sabans' foundation, Nick's Kids. Turnipseed, an officer in the organization, said some of the individual contributions were astronomical by its standards -- upward of six figures.

The foundation wasn't set up for something as large as tornado recovery, but that's exactly what the Sabans decided to do.

It was personal. Their son, Nicholas, lived only a block away from the path of the tornado. He was fortunate; all his doors and windows were blown out and his roof was nearly ripped off, but he was unharmed. Their daughter, Kristen, had stopped by art supply store Hobby Lobby on her way home so she could craft while the storm passed. By the time Terry heard Kristen pull into the driveway a few minutes later, Hobby Lobby was gone.

In a matter of days, Terry had begun conversations with Habitat for Humanity about building homes for families that weren't as lucky.

Rather than use precious finances on equipment, she called in a favor to Mike Thompson, the CEO of 29 Caterpillar franchises in Alabama: "I need bulldozers."

When Nick Saban visited one of the initial builds, he was surprised by what he saw.

"She has players on a damn bulldozer," he recalled.

Saban laughed, acknowledging that Terry is the "driving force" behind the family's philanthropic efforts. It's something repeated often by those who have worked with the couple, who will have been married 50 years this December.

"She goes to the damn juvenile delinquent center and the next thing I know we're building a school there," Saban said. "She goes to the nearest board meeting and the next thing I know we're contributing to a children's learning center."

He added: "I'm the financial planner. I have to come up with the funds."

Bob Johnson, who took over the local Habitat chapter following the tornado and preceded Potts, remembers going to the Sabans' home to finalize the details of their partnership. It was about a month after the storm, and the Alabama graduate didn't know what to expect from the intimidating coach and his wife. Saban was reserved, sitting back and peppering in a few questions and comments. But Terry was a "force of nature," Johnson said.

Initially, the plan was to build around five or six homes. Then someone threw out the idea of building 13.

It was ambitious -- Saban wanted two homes built in time for the season opener, which was only three months away -- but Johnson wouldn't dare say no.

"You see that Coach Saban wants to do it, and Terry's going to get it done," Johnson said.

The first Habitat house was revealed the day before the home game against Kent State in August. As other homes were completed, Habitat hosted a block party on a street where several had been built, and a volunteer from out of state approached Johnson.

"Well," the volunteer asked, "what are you going to do when the 13 are up?"

Johnson had known the Sabans long enough to have the answer.

"Win 14," he responded.

So long as the football team keeps winning, Terry told ESPN, "We certainly can keep building."

In 2019, Nick Saban went out to the site of home No. 17, where his wife had again enlisted roughly 30 players to build.

"She got Tua [Tagovailoa] over there on the damn scaffolding," Saban said of his then-star quarterback. "I said, 'Give him a job where he can stand on the ground.'"

THE NIGHT OF JAN. 9, 2012, Saban flashed a smile during the celebration of another title -- the first since the devastation in Tuscaloosa.

He had just been doused, but this wasn't like the Gatorade bath he had received in California two years earlier after his first national championship at Alabama. Back then, he grimaced during the ice-cold rite of passage, already thinking about what came next.

This time, he slicked his hair back and breathed a sigh of relief. During a postgame interview, he spoke of those back in Tuscaloosa who had gone through so much since the tornado and how he hoped that winning a championship had brought them joy.

"We're going to continue to work to move forward and try to help people restore their lives in our community," he said during the on-field interview with ESPN.

The past eight months had been hectic. Purinton recalls witnessing team meetings in the aftermath of the storm and how Saban reminded players of the support fans gave them every day. Saban told them this was their chance to return the favor.

"That whole season we felt like we were playing for something more," Jones said. "It was an incredibly unifying time."

Jones felt a change in himself, his teammates and their head coach.

"When something like that happens," he said, "it can really remind you of the things that are important and the relationships that are important and the things that will last long beyond football."

Turnipseed saw less and less of the no-nonsense coach who had once fought so hard to break the fan base's sense of entitlement. Saban had become closer and more connected to the community. He was a "little softer human being," Turnipseed said.

After almost yearly speculation that Saban would leave for another opportunity, there was a sense for the first time that he wasn't searching for an exit anymore.

Turnipseed said there was "no question" the tornado had prompted the change in Saban's perspective.

Maddox witnessed Saban step off the pedestal reserved for a head football coach and begin engaging with the community. He called it "striking" to see Saban handing out much-needed supplies and speaking to families on a personal level.

The result, Maddox said, was an "unbreakable bond."

AFTER EVERY BUILD, Terry Saban gathers the football coaches' wives to put the finishing touches on the landscape. The last piece: a "welcome" wreath on the front door.

"What better way to recall the tragedy of 2011 than by helping families have a safe home?" Terry said.

Not that she needs help remembering that day.

"April 27," Terry said, "will forever be branded in our family's memories."

Just last month -- only weeks before the 10-year anniversary -- the state was once again on edge as the National Weather Service issued a severe weather warning. A long-track tornado eventually touched down south of Tuscaloosa and traveled more than 100 miles across the state, destroying a neighborhood on the outskirts of Birmingham and killing five people near the town of Ohatchee.

Hours earlier, Saban was in his office keeping an eye on the weather when a reporter called. He said that if his time here has taught him anything, it's to pay attention on days like this and listen for sirens.

"Maybe I didn't have enough respect for them before we had April 27," he said. "But I respect them now when the siren goes off, that's for sure."

Saban grew up in West Virginia and spent much of his coaching career in the North. So while he's experienced his fair share of rough snowstorms, he said he had never been through anything like the tornado of 2011.

"It made me a lot more compassionate," he said. "You realize you can do a lot to impact other people in a positive way and make their life better.

"And we probably carried that on to a larger degree after that happened than we did before."

Ten years later, Saban said he doesn't hear much about the homes they built or the gift cards handed out.

The comment he gets the most, he said, is simply, "You were there."

In one corner, you have the reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, the unanimous top team in baseball so far this season. In the other, you have the San Diego Padres, a 2020 playoff team loaded with exciting young talent.

Step aside, Red Sox-Yankees. MLB's next great rivalry is brewing out West.

Starting Friday night at San Diego's Petco Park, the Dodgers and Padres will meet in the most anticipated series of the young 2021 MLB season -- with fans in the stadium.

What will happen when the two Southern California neighbors square off for the first time since their 2020 division series clash? How will Fernando Tatis Jr. fare in his return from the injured list -- if he is activated for this series at all? Which of this weekend's three games features the one pitching matchup we are all circling? And will this series showcase not only baseball's new best rivalry, but baseball's two best teams?

We asked ESPN MLB experts Bradford Doolittle, Alden Gonzalez and David Schoenfield to answer these questions and all things Dodgers-Padres to get you ready for the fun.

Is Padres-Dodgers the best rivalry in baseball right now?

Doolittle: No. Well, I mean this is a really subjective question and highly contextualized by geography. Trying to think of it systematically, though, the Padres need to keep winning at the level they've been at the past couple of seasons and there need to be more high-stakes clashes between them. Right now, I don't see why we'd rate this as a right-now rivalry any more heated than the Brewers vs. Cubs, Rays vs. Yankees, or Astros vs. anyone. There are a lot of great players on these teams and some quite famous ones as well. Both teams should be powerhouses for the foreseeable future. So I think at the moment, when we try to hang a "best rivalry" label on Dodgers vs. Padres, we're projecting what we hope it will become, more so than what it's been. I mean, the Padres kind of stunk before last season, right? Let's give this some time to take root.

Gonzalez: If we're specifying "right now," I don't think there's any question. Just look at the National League Division Series between them last year. The Dodgers swept in three games, but there was high drama (Cody Bellinger robbing that homer off Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado jawing at Brusdar Graterol). And look at what happened over the ensuing offseason, with the Padres adding Blake Snell, Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove to their rotation, and the Dodgers blowing past the luxury-tax threshold to counter with Trevor Bauer. The Padres recognize the Dodgers as a powerhouse, but they are decidedly unafraid. And the fact that we're back to the traditional playoff system -- which makes winning a division title the difference between a traditional postseason series and, at most, one extra game -- makes this all the more compelling.

Schoenfield: It certainly has the potential to be, especially if we get more bad blood between the teams, such as last September when Trent Grisham pimped that home run he hit off Clayton Kershaw. I don't know if ANY rivalry can get to the level we saw between the Red Sox and Yankees back in the 2000s, but if the Padres and Dodgers go at each other for the next half decade it has a chance.

We've been waiting to see these two teams play each other again since October. What are you most excited to see when they meet?

Doolittle: The late innings of the games. The Padres' bullpen has been probably the best in baseball so far. The Dodgers have gotten some electric performances from Corey Knebel, which has led to Dave Roberts not relying on Kenley Jansen as his sole closing option, though Jansen has generated some old-Kenley vibes in recent games. I don't know that by season's end we'll regard the Padres' bullpen as superior, but I do know that if there is one area in which San Diego could forge a clear advantage over the Dodgers, that's probably it. If we get close games this weekend in which the Padres win late off the L.A. bullpen while their own firemen keep the ridiculous Dodgers offense at bay, this would set a nice tone for the rest of the campaign.

Gonzalez: Every game seemingly mattering so much. Justin Turner predicted during spring training that Padres-Dodgers would feel like "19 World Series games," and if last year was any indication, he'll be right. It's rare for April games to take on this level of importance, but every single one of these matchups will be critical as the Padres and Dodgers beat up on the rest of an otherwise mediocre division. Think of all the intriguing storylines contained within this rivalry, such as: Bauer against Machado, a guy he admittedly can't figure out; Snell against the Dodgers, the team he dominated before his abrupt exit in the World Series finale; Machado and Darvish against their former team; Grisham in a rematch against Kershaw; Dave Roberts, the Dodgers' manager, against the team he played for and coached on; Peter Seidler, the Padres' chairman, against the team his grandfather, Walter O'Malley, famously owned. And all that separates them is 120 miles.

Schoenfield: It apparently looks like Fernando Tatis Jr. will be activated for this series, so he's clearly the player to watch. One thing to keep an eye on: He had made five errors in the five games he played -- three on throws, two fielding the ball -- so was going through some defensive yips.

Which of this weekend's pitching matchups is most intriguing to you?

(Friday: Walker Buehler vs. Ryan Weathers. Saturday: Clayton Kershaw vs. Yu Darvish. Sunday: Trevor Bauer vs. Blake Snell.)

Doolittle: I'm never going to not look forward to watching Clayton Kershaw pitch, so it's hard to go against the Saturday game. It helps that Yu Darvish is fun to watch as well and has that legacy as the guy who lost Game 7 for the Dodgers in 2017.

Gonzalez: They're saving the best for last. Bauer once posted an 18-minute YouTube video explaining how Machado "has my number" (the slash line is .588/.667/.1.412 in 21 plate appearances, so, yeah). Snell recently penned a 2,300-word article for The Players' Tribune riffing on the shock of being pulled shortly after dominating the Dodgers through five innings in Game 6 of the World Series. This matchup can't come soon enough.

Schoenfield: I'm going with Saturday's game. Kershaw got hit a little bit on Opening Day at Coors Field, but he otherwise looks locked in for a big season and allowed one run over his next two starts with a 14-0 SO/BB ratio. It's fascinating to see how he continues to adapt without the blazing fastball he had a few years ago -- through three starts he has thrown his fastball 36.2% of the time; in 2016, he threw it 49.9%. As for Darvish, let's see how does in this showdown matchup. The question about him has always been his performance in big games. It's just an April game, but this is his first big test in a Padres uniform.

How big is the gap between the Dodgers and Padres on the field -- and what do the Padres need to do to close it this season?

Doolittle: It's substantial. Think of it like this: At which position are the Padres clearly better than the Dodgers? Even at shortstop, while I think in a vacuum most people would take Tatis over Corey Seager, they are close enough that it's entirely possible that Seager could win the NL MVP award this season and leave Tatis in the dust. The difference is marginal. You go up and down the organizational rosters and rank the players -- the Padres just don't win many of the comparisons. None of this is to slam a terrific Padres team capable of winning it all this season. But I don't think they can close the gap this season and probably not any season soon. They just need to do their thing, get into October, and steel themselves for a postseason meeting, where upsets aren't really a thing.

Gonzalez: The Padres might be the second-best team in baseball; they simply have the misfortune of sharing a division with the best team in baseball, by a fairly wide margin. The Padres are very deep and talented, but the Dodgers are unfathomably deep and talented. Obviously, the Padres will have to stay relatively healthy to give themselves a chance in this division. But I'll add this caveat: If Eric Hosmer and Wil Myers keep hitting the way they have (they had combined for a .333/.426/.621 slash line heading into Thursday), this gets interesting. The Padres' pitching staff is good enough to go toe-to-toe with that of the Dodgers. The question is whether their offense can keep up.

Schoenfield: Given the way the Dodgers have fired out of the gate, it's a sizable gap. I wouldn't be surprised if the Dodgers win the division by 10 games and -- I know it's early -- but if they end up pushing for the single-season wins record of 116, they could end up blowing away the Padres by mid-August. That said, the Padres need three things: (1) a healthy and MVP-caliber Tatis; (2) Snell to stay healthy and have fewer 38-pitch starts and more Cy Young-level starts, and Chris Paddack to find his 2019 form; (3) their bullpen to dominate all season while Kenley Jansen and the Dodgers' bullpen fall apart.

What do you expect from Fernando Tatis Jr. when he returns from the injured list -- possibly in this series?

Doolittle: If he's deemed ready to roll, I think we'll see the same dynamic Tatis to which we have so quickly become accustomed. The "ready" qualifier is the key there. Is he going to be truly "ready" or is it "as ready as he's going to be"? He's a fearless player, so I don't see him coming back and playing with hesitance, though, according to MLB.com, the Padres want him to be more careful about sliding headfirst. Also, they apparently want Tatis to maintain more of a two-hand approach with the follow-through on his violent swing. It doesn't seem like the kind of mechanical tweak that can be quickly incorporated, but I'll be interested to see if there is a difference. And if he is mindfully trying to change that aspect of his game, whether it has a temporary effect on his production.

Gonzalez: Scouts who watched him during the Padres' opening series against the Arizona Diamondbacks came away thinking he was compensating for that vulnerable left shoulder, which also gave him problems during spring training. They found him to be tentative with both his swinging and his throwing (yes, it's his non-throwing shoulder, but not being confident in it can cause errant throws when one really has to let one go). There's also skepticism that 10 days isn't enough time to build adequate strength in the muscles that would help stabilize that shoulder. But the Padres, who know his medicals better than anyone else, are confident that this is the best approach. We can only hope they're right.

Schoenfield: I don't think we know. If he's healthy, there's no reason he won't be great (assuming he fixes his fielding woes). But you can't help but worry that this shoulder issue will affect him all season.

Who is one player in this rivalry fans should know more about before sitting down to watch this series?

Doolittle: Wil Myers. He kind of gets lost in the shuffle on a team with so many big names, which is ironic because for a few years, he was San Diego's best hope for a star hitter. Then he became known for being injured a lot, underachieving and for signing a big contract that he didn't live up to. It's been a long road for Myers in San Diego. But since the beginning of last season, he has hit .296/.367/.613. He has created 56 runs during that time, tied with Nelson Cruz and Mookie Betts for the 10th most in the majors. In other words, Myers has become the player the Padres hoped he would become. But nationally, I don't feel like that many people have noticed.

Gonzalez: It's still a small sample size, but Corey Knebel seems to have recaptured some of the form from his spectacular 2017 season, allowing one baserunner and striking out seven batters in his first 5 1/3 innings. The key, Knebel said, has been a tweak to the grip on his curveball. If he stays on track, Knebel could be an option to close games if Kenley Jansen falters.

Schoenfield: Grisham has a chance to be a really good player. He missed the start of the season with a hamstring issue but has been hot with three home runs in his first five games. He won a Gold Glove in center field last season, draws walks and has some power.

Prediction time: Who is winning this weekend's first series between the two?

Doolittle: Los Angeles will win two of three, which will lower its winning percentage for the season and thus will be classified as the Dodgers' version of a slump.

Gonzalez: The Dodgers probably won't have Cody Bellinger (calf), but the Padres will be traveling from the East Coast and Tatis -- if activated -- will be working his way back from what looked like a traumatic shoulder injury. The Dodgers already seem to be clicking, their three best starters will be on the mound, and they'll take this opening series on the road.

Schoenfield: The Dodgers' starters are on a roll, the bullpen has been good, Mookie is back and Max Muncy is raking. The Dodgers send a huge message by going into San Diego and sweeping the series.

American sprinter has suspension reduced by six months on appeal but will not be at Tokyo Games

Christian Coleman, the world 100m champion, has seen his anti-doping ban reduced from two years to 18 months but he will still miss the Olympics in Tokyo because he will not be able to compete until November.

The 25-year-old was originally given a two-year suspension for missing three drugs tests but after appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) he has had six months knocked off that ban.

He was first provisionally suspended in June 2020 after missing a third test in December 2019.

The Athletics Integrity Unit’s investigation into his rule violations said there was no suggestion he had ever taken a banned substance.

But Coleman’s attitude towards his anti-doping duties were described as “entirely careless, perhaps even reckless” by the AIU last year.

CAS found “the athlete’s degree of negligence to be lower than that established in the challenged decision,” because Coleman did not receive a phone call when an anti-doping officer arrived at the address where the sprinter was supposed to be for one of his missed tests.

Coleman was shopping near his home and would have been able to return in time to give a sample had he been contacted, it was argued. “Although a telephone call during the 60-minute window was not required by the rules, it was nevertheless reasonable for the athlete to expect such a call, as a matter of standard practice among other doping control officers,” said CAS.

Brett Clothier, head of the Athletics Integrity Unit, said: “We welcome the decision in this case. No notice out of competition testing is a fundamental pillar of the World Anti-Doping Code and is only possible with strict enforcement of whereabouts requirements. The decision confirms that athletes must take their whereabouts responsibilities seriously and be present at their indicated location during their daily 60-minute testing slot.

“It is not sufficient for athletes to be near their indicated location and to rely on being called by the doping control officer. The whereabouts requirements apply to all elite athletes around the world in equal measure.”

Current favourites for the Olympic 100m title in Tokyo now include Noah Lyles of the United States and Andre De Grasse of Canada.

British venue will kick off 2021 Diamond League season instead of Rabat, as Rome and Oslo events also move

Diamond League organisers have confirmed Gateshead will open the season for World Athletics’ flagship grand prix series with the North East England venue holding the event on May 23.

As reported on Thursday (April 15) it replaces Rabat after the Moroccan city has pulled out of staging the meeting due to coronavirus.

In addition, the Diamond League confirmed Rome’s Pietro Mennea Golden Gala will relocate to the Stadio Luigi Ridolfi in Florence and will be moved from June 4 to June 10, while Oslo’s Bislett Games will be postponed until July 1 to comply with local coronavirus restrictions in Norway.

With an event in Stockholm on July 4 it means athletes can minimise travel as they potentially travel from one Scandinavian venue to another.

Seb Coe, the World Athletics president and Diamond League chair, said: “This is an incredibly important year for our athletes as they prepare for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and less than a year later the World Athletics Championships Oregon22. Competition and training are two very different things so the Wanda Diamond League and our other one-day meetings around the world will give athletes the opportunity to qualify for events, earn World Ranking points and prize money and benchmark their performances against the competition they will face in Tokyo and then Oregon in 2022.

“We are all working hard, in extraordinarily difficult and fast changing circumstances, to deliver events for the athletes rather than cancelling them. I would like to thank all our meeting organisers and the Diamond League board for everything they are doing to deliver what is promising to be a strong and much needed programme of competition from April through to the final event in Zurich in September. Their passion for the sport and flexible and collaborative approach to the challenges should be applauded.”

Gateshead council leader Martin Gannon said: “Hosting world-class athletics events will showcase Gateshead to an international audience helping realise our ambitious plans for growth and regeneration in the next few years.

“Gateshead has a proud history of staging major sporting events with athletics at its heart, so we welcome the opportunity to once again work with British Athletics.

“Events of this scale provide local people with inspiring opportunities to see top athletes perform up close, as well as being able to get involved in the event through volunteering.

“It will also bring a welcome boost to the local economy as well as encouraging participation in supporting activities aimed at improving the health and wellbeing of our local communities.”

On the likelihood of spectators, UK Athletics said: “Subject to the next roadmap milestone being achieved on May 17, it is hoped that there will be an opportunity for spectators to attend, details on the latest information will be released in due course.”

Wanda Diamond League calendar for 2021

Gateshead – May 23
Doha – May 28
Rome/Florence – June 10
Oslo – July 1
Stockholm – July 4
Monaco – July 9
London – July 13
Shanghai – August 14
Eugene – August 21
China – August 22
Lausanne – August 26
Paris – August 28
Brussels – September 3
Zurich – September 9

AW promotion: Nutritious and tasty snacks will suit athletes who enjoy eating products with 100% natural ingredients

Not only does TRIBE produce nutritional snacks that are ideal for athletes, but the company is on a unique social mission.

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During their epic ultra run, the three men noticed that lots of fellow runners who joined them for parts of their adventure were eating synthetic energy bars.

Following this they created a running supplement start-up called TRIBE.

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TRIBE has several ranges: from delicious oat-based infinity energy bars to vegan protein shakes and nut-filled protein balls – great for slow-release energy and optimal recovery post-workout.

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TRIBE Plant-Based Protein Shake

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• 1 TRIBE Cocoa + Sea Salt Protein Sachet
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• 1 Ripe banana (try adding a frozen banana for a thicker texture!)
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• 1 Tablespoon of oats
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