HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Denny Hamlin will lead the field to green Sunday when the NASCAR Cup Series hits the track for the Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Hamlin received the Busch Pole Award courtesy of the highest metric score among the 38 cars entered to compete.

Lap speed is weighted at 15 percent, previous race finish at 25 percent for the driver and owner results and owner points position at 35 percent to calculate the final metric score.

Hamlin earned the pole with a metric score of 2.15, factoring in his third-place finish at the Daytona Road Course, the second-fastest lap from the event and his top seeding in the point standings after two of 36 races this season.

Daytona Road Course runner-up Joey Logano will join Hamlin on the front row Sunday, followed by Christopher Bell, whose win this past Sunday was his first in the Cup Series.

Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch start fourth and fifth, respectively, followed by Daytona 500 winner Michael McDowell, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Preece, Martin Truex Jr. and Cole Custer.

Defending Cup Series champion Chase Elliott starts 11th, while Kyle Busch – a two-time winner at Homestead – rolls off from the outside of row 12 in 24th place.

To view the full starting lineup and metric performance breakdown, click here.

Sunday’s Dixie Vodka 400 goes green at 3:30 p.m. ET, live on FOX, the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

CONCORD, N.C. — Diamond Creek High Alkaline Water will serve as the primary sponsor of Spire Motorsports’ No. 77 Chevrolet, driven by Justin Haley, in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Dixie Vodka 400 at Florida’s Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Diamond Creek formulates and bottles ionized 9.5pH high alkaline natural spring water, sourced from the highest quality, award-winning springs in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. Spire Holdings LLC, the parent company of Spire Motorsports, is also a key stakeholder in Good Hemp, Inc. Good Hemp has entered into a letter of intent to acquire Diamond Creek.

Haley made his first Cup Series start of the season in last weekend’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 on the 3.61-mile road course at Daytona International Speedway. Despite battling handling issues for much of the 70-lap event, the Indiana native finished 24th.

While this weekend will mark Haley’s first Cup Series start at Homestead, the 21-year-old has three NASCAR Xfinity Series races at the 1.5-mile south Florida oval. Haley started inside the top 10 in each of those starts with his best finish being sixth.

In two Homestead NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts, including a trip to the series’ 2018 Championship 4, he finished in the top 10 on both occasions.

Bayern Munich teenager Jamal Musiala has decided to play for the Germany national team instead of England after a talk with head coach Joachim Low, he said on Wednesday.

The 17-year-old attacking midfielder became the youngest English scorer in the Champions League when he netted for Bayern in Tuesday's 4-1 win over Lazio in Rome. Hours later he announced his decision to play for Germany.

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"I have a heart for Germany and a heart for England," Musiala told Germany's ARD Television. "I thought about it a lot but at the end I listened to the feeling that it is the right decision to play for Germany."

The Stuttgart-born Musiala played almost his entire youth career at Chelsea from 2011 before joining Bayern in 2019 and thus was eligible to also play for England.

He has also represented both Germany and England at national youth level but said a chat with coach Low helped swing the decision in Germany's favour.

"I had a very good an honest discussion with Joachim Low. We met in Munich and he showed me clearly my way to the national team," Musiala said.

He said Germany team director Oliver Bierhoff had also been present.

"I was impressed by how well informed they both were. Mr. Low analysed very well my style and my weaknesses. He sees me in the future in my strongest position, that in the attacking midfield," Musiala added.

Germany have advanced to this year's European Championship and Low said Musiala would be called up next month for their three World Cup 2022 qualifying matches.

"I see huge potential in him," Low said. "Obviously we had him in our sights for some time.

"No one can give a guarantee at this stage, that would not be serious. But I think that we will call him up in March especially as the squad will be bigger due to the three international matches."

Germany host Iceland on March 25 before travelling to Romania for another World Cup qualifier three days later.

They also play North Macedonia on March 31.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has said he is still in touch with Erling Haaland and refused to rule out the possibility of bringing the striker to Manchester United in the future.

Solskjaer, who worked with Haaland at Molde, missed out on the Norway international when he chose to sign for Borussia Dortmund from FC Salzburg in January 2020.

However, Dortmund are facing a battle to qualify for next season's Champions League after slipping off the pace in the Bundesliga, raising the possibility Haaland could be allowed to leave as early as this summer.

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"When you have had kids and players through as a coach, you follow them and I keep in touch with Erling," Solskjaer said at a news conference on Wednesday.

"It's great to see him become the player he has become and [how] he works to improve all the time. He's a Dortmund player -- we just wish him well there and let's see what life will bring later on."

Haaland, who has scored 43 goals in 43 games for Dortmund, has a release clause in his contract that can be activated from June 2022.

The 20-year-old has a host of admirers and, even though he could not be convinced to move to Old Trafford a year ago, Solskjaer has left the door open.

"You know I can't speak about Erling, he's with Borussia Dortmund and it's disrespectful to talk about it apart from I know him and speak to him," Solskjaer added.

"Who wasn't interested in him a year ago? Everybody would say you take the best players in the world."

Solskjaer is preparing his team for the second leg of their Europa League round-of-32 tie against Real Sociedad on Thursday.

Paul Pogba, Edinson Cavani, Donny van de Beek and Scott McTominay are still sidelined with injury but Amad Diallo and Shola Shoretire are set to feature as United attempt to finish the job after winning the first game 4-0.

"I have to say it could be almost impossible to go through but I believe that my team can compete," Real Sociedad manager Imanol Alguacil said at a news conference on Wednesday.

"I think we can clean our image, win the game and learn from what happened in Turin.

"We really have to be down to earth and know who we are facing.

"It's the best Manchester United in the last 10 years. They're battling with Manchester City for the Premiership. They're really world class physically and quality-wise they're really good.

"We know how difficult it is to cause nerves in Man United even if we score that first goal. But we want to be competitive."

Back in 2005, DaMarcus Beasley didn't think of himself as a trailblazer. He wasn't thinking about being the first American to play in the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League, or how doing so might eventually pave the way for future U.S. players. He was just a 22-year-old midfielder trying to make his way through his first season in Europe with PSV Eindhoven.

"I didn't know the significance of it until now," he told ESPN by telephone. "I was just trying to win, trying to play well in Europe at a big club. There was no media really around my run, so it was pretty easy to kind of not get caught up in the hype."

Jump to: A few minutes with Richards | Stock watch: Weah, Dest, Holmes, Gioacchini | Scouting report: Dike

Sixteen years on, Beasley marvels at how far just about everything surrounding the game has come. The players are faster, the attention greater, social media is pervasive. And American players are making even deeper inroads into Europe.

It's a bit mind-blowing to think that the 2004-05 campaign was a high-water mark for American players at the time, with six getting minutes in that year's Champions League. But closer inspection revealed that those roots hadn't yet taken hold. Only Beasley, and then-Rosenborg defender Robbie Russell, could be considered full-time starters with their teams.

Jermaine Jones spent the bulk of that campaign with Bayer Leverkusen's reserves, and was still five years away from making his U.S. international debut. Landon Donovan played just seven games for Leverkusen before returning to Major League Soccer. Tim Howard wasn't a full-time starter that season, nor was his Manchester United teammate, Jonathan Spector. In fact, including the nine who have played a minute in the competition this season, only 28 Americans, starting with Jovan Kirovski in 1996, have ever appeared in a UCL game.

There's almost no comparison to what is taking place now. Not only have nine Americans played in the Champions League this season, but the likes of Juventus' Weston McKennie, RB Leipzig's Tyler Adams, and Barcelona's Sergino Dest are key contributors. And while Christian Pulisic is going through a difficult spell with Chelsea at the moment, he certainly has the talent to make a significant contribution.

The others to suit up in Europe's premier competition: Borussia Dortmund midfielder Gio Reyna, Man City goalkeeper Zack Steffen, Club Brugge 'keeper Ethan Horvath, Barcelona winger Konrad de la Fuente, and Bayern Munich defender Chris Richards, who has since been loaned out to Hoffenheim. How much has changed since 2004-05? In all, Americans have combined to play 3,032 Champions League minutes -- nearly 34 full games -- over the past two seasons.

"As you already see, the success of a lot of the current national team players is leading to more clubs wanting to explore the crop of young Americans that we have and the talent that we have," Adams told Bundesliga.com last week. "I think they're just starting to trust and have confidence in the ability of American soccer players and with that, you're going to see more and more players given opportunities at big clubs."

Beasley can still recall how earning that trust of teammates, as well as coaches, was the most difficult part of his initial foray in Europe. He can easily pick out the early games where he struggled, but Champions League goals against Red Star Belgrade in the second leg of the third qualifying round, and later in a 1-0 group stage win over Rosenborg won his teammates over, and he went on to make 44 appearances in all competitions that season.

Considering the talented players in that PSV side, it was no small feat. There were the likes of Mark van Bommel and Philip Cocu. Competition on the wings came from Jefferson Farfan and Park Ji-sung. The task of turning those individuals into a cohesive unit was left to legendary manager Guus Hiddink, and the American learned early on just how big the Champions League nights were. The buzz in and around Eindhoven on those days was off the charts. If you were injured, there was a mad dash to get back to fitness; what happened the previous weekend didn't matter.

"Everyone worried about Tuesday or Wednesday, Champions League nights," said Beasley. "Everyone knows what those types of games mean, just the heightened awareness throughout the city."

Beasley recalls how in the Champions League that season PSV benefited from being perpetually underestimated. After getting past Red Star Belgrade in the third qualifying round, PSV finished second behind Arsenal in a group that also included Panathinaikos and Rosenborg.

"We were a big-small team, if that makes sense," he said. "Obviously, the Netherlands isn't one of the top five countries in European [club] football. No one really gave us a chance. I just remember going into those games, so confident. It's about us and blocking out all the noise."

PSV dispatched AS Monaco 3-0 over two legs, Beasley scoring in the second leg, and then got past Lyon on penalties to set up a semifinal showdown with mighty AC Milan. It ended in heartbreak. After falling 2-0 in the first leg at the San Siro, PSV came back in the return leg, leading 2-0 as the game headed into stoppage time, only for Milan's Massimo Ambrosini to strike. Cocu grabbed a goal back, but Milan advanced on away goals. Beasley was injured the weekend before the second leg and was forced to watch the dream end from the stands.

"After Cocu scored that goal in the 93rd minute, I thought we had a chance to get another, but it just didn't happen," he said.

It took 15 years for Adams to become the second American to reach the tournament's semifinals, having scored the decisive goal last season for RB Leipzig in the quarterfinals against Atletico Madrid. With seven American players still alive in this year's competition, that feat may yet be equaled, or even exceeded. Regardless, Beasley is excited about what's ahead.

"It's given fans and even the players hope and confidence that we can be a big football country," he of the inroads by American players. "We can play good football, we have good players, and we can show that on a bigger stage. But I'm ecstatic, and I'm really happy to see the growth of the game, and these players. It's really fun to watch." -- Jeff Carlisle

A few minutes with ... Chris Richards

USMNT defender Chris Richards recently joined Hoffenheim on loan from Bayern Munich.

ESPN's Tom Hamilton recently caught up with the 20-year-old to discuss his decision to go out on loan, his future at Bayern and the excitement around the future of the USMNT.

Stock watch: Assessing the ups and downs of Americans abroad

Tim Weah, Lille -- On the rise: The PSG academy product is getting back to his best after a disappointing and injury-plagued debut season with Lille. Weah, 21, has factored in six goals (five goals, one assist) in 26 appearances this campaign for the surprising Ligue 1 leaders, scoring in three of his last four starts, and four of six starts overall.

Last week, Weah scored Lille's lone goal in a 2-1 Europa League defeat to Ajax and due to his recent form, he's seemingly a lock to start the second leg on Thursday in Amsterdam. "He is improving quickly and has been really good for us. He is a good kid who works hard at training and in games and I play him in different positions, which is very valuable for us," Lille manager Christophe Galtier told ESPN.

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Sergino Dest, Barcelona -- Trending down: After a brilliant start to life at Barcelona, Dest has endured some adversity as of late with the Blaugrana. First, there was the nagging thigh injury that caused him to miss some time; then there was his one-sided recent duel with PSG's Kylian Mbappe in the Champions League.

While Mbappe exposed some of Dest's defensive shortcomings in a 4-1 defeat for Barca -- as he has done for many a defender -- the club still believe in the defender long-term. Sources tell ESPN that Barca believe this was a bit of a "wake-up call,' and that Dest's hot start to the season might have made him a little too confident in certain aspects of his game. Still just 20, Barca want the ex-Ajax man to continue to work on not "switching off" and were impressed with how the youngster bounced back at the weekend in the 1-1 draw vs. Cadiz.

Duane Holmes, Huddersfield Town -- On the rise: The 26-year-old has made a significant impact since returning to boyhood club Huddersfield in January and is fresh off a two-goal outing -- including this golazo (U.S. only) -- in a 4-1 win over Swansea City at the weekend. Normally accustomed to pushing for promotion from his time at Derby, the Georgia-born midfielder's task this season is to help keep the Terriers up.

"For Holmes, it was important for him to have this performance today," Huddersfield manager Carlos Corberan told reporters over the weekend. "Because he shows he is adapting to the team. It takes a bit of time sometimes, especially for him to play so many games in a row because before he arrived here he didn't have enough minutes. Sometimes the player needs a little bit of time to adapt and perform like he did today."

Twice-capped by the United States, Holmes will hope his move to Huddersfield can help him play himself back into the national team fold.

Nicholas Gioacchini, Caen -- Trending down: Gioacchini's stock was at an all-time high after his brace against Panama in November, but boy, have things changed since. The centre-forward hasn't scored a league goal for his club side since Dec. 18 and was handed a suspension following a red-card tackle against Chambly at the end of January.

Despite the recent struggles Caen continue to play and rely on the Missouri-born forward. "He will get back on the score sheet soon. We have faith in him. He has a great future ahead of him. We fought hard to keep him at the club in the summer when clubs wanted him" a source tells ESPNFC.

With the USMNT's striker situation still unresolved, Gioacchini will be keen to find some form and earn another look during the side's European friendlies in March.

Scouting report: Daryl Dike

Having impressed during his debut season in MLS -- eight goals from 15 starts is an impressive tally for a rookie -- the 20-year-old was loaned out to Barnsley last month. Before settling in Yorkshire, Dike also found time to grab his first USMNT cap -- his brother and sister have both been capped by Nigeria -- with a second-half substitute appearance against Trinidad and Tobago on Jan. 31.

With two starts in the Championship to his name, Dike has yet to get on the score sheet for his new club -- he came close against Bristol City at the weekend, but his close-range effort was spectacularly scuffed wide -- but has made his mark with a powerful presence and readiness to "mix it" with Championship centre-backs. Indeed, Dike can be described as something of a '90s throwback centre-forward.

On the evidence of his debut season in MLS, he's also excellent at protecting the ball, holding off his marker, and flicking the ball on with layoffs. He also features a vicious strike on the ball with his right foot plus the ability to head the ball with power and direction.

While the Championship is not renowned for being kind to young new arrivals from abroad, the Oklahoma-born forward has already shown occasional impact and, regardless of where he plays his football next season, this experience will be priceless for his further development. -- Tor-Kristian Karlsen

The Montreal Canadiens fired coach Claude Julien on Wednesday.

Dominique Ducharme was named the interim coach, and the team added longtime NHL winger Alex Burrows to the coaching staff. The Canadiens also fired assistant coach Kirk Muller, who served as interim coach in the 2020 playoffs after Julien was hospitalized with chest pains and underwent a heart procedure.

The Canadiens were one of the hottest teams in the NHL to begin the season and looked like serious challengers for the North Division. However, the Habs have won only two of their past eight games and were demoralized by losing back-to-back games in the shootout to the bottom-dwelling Ottawa Senators.

Montreal is 9-5-4; although the Canadiens are eight points behind the division-leading Toronto Maple Leafs, they are still comfortably in the fourth spot, which would qualify for the playoffs.

Expectations were heightened this season after general manager Marc Bergevin was extremely active in the offseason. Bergevin upgraded at every position, bringing in veteran backup goalie Jake Allen, trading for defenseman Joel Edmundson, and bringing in several new forwards, including Tyler Toffoli (team-leading 12 goals) and Josh Anderson (fourth on the team with 12 points).

Julien, 60, was one of the highest-paid coaches in the NHL, earning $5 million per season. His contract ran through the 2021-22 season.

Julien led Boston to a Stanley Cup in 2011, and he ranks 13th in NHL history with 667 career wins.

"I would like to sincerely thank Claude and Kirk for their contributions to our team over the past five years during which we worked together," Bergevin said in a statement. "I have great respect for these two men whom I hold in high regard. In Dominique Ducharme, we see a very promising coach who will bring new life and new energy to our group. We feel that our team can achieve high standards and the time had come for a change. "

Ducharme, 47, has been an assistant coach with Montreal for two seasons.

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers want Ben Roethlisberger back, and he wants to return.

Team president Art Rooney II acknowledged the mutual desire between the Steelers and their longtime quarterback in a statement Wednesday morning.

"Ben Roethlisberger and I met yesterday morning and we had a productive meeting" Rooney said. "We were able to discuss a lot of things that relate to where we are and where we want to go. Ben assured me that he is committed to coming back to help us win, and I told Ben that we would like to have him back to help us win a championship. We both understand the next step is to work out Ben's contract situation."

Statement from #Steelers President Art Rooney II on QB Ben Roethlisberger: pic.twitter.com/mB0CwkmrCh

— Burt Lauten (@SteelersPRBurt) February 24, 2021

The final year of Roethlisberger's current deal comes with a $41.2 million cap hit, though a contract restructure and extension could lower that by a maximum of about $14 million.

Roethlisberger, who turns 39 next week, also could opt to take a pay cut to the veteran minimum, which would put his cap hit just over $23 million.

In a statement to NFL Network on Tuesday night, Roethlisberger's agent Ryan Tollner said "we are happy to creatively adjust his contract to help them build the best team possible."

Rooney's statement is the most committal the Steelers have been toward bringing the two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback back for at least one more season.

General manager Kevin Colbert was lukewarm last week in his assessment of Roethlisberger's status with the team, saying "hopefully, there is a way we could try and figure out and do what's best for the organization and do what's best for Ben."

Rooney echoed some of Colbert's sentiments in Wednesday's statement, saying that the sides still have to resolve Roethlisberger's contract situation -- something that has to be done by the open of the new league year on March 17.

Tiger Woods, a 15-time major champion and winner of a record-tying 82 PGA Tour tournaments, was seriously injured in a car wreck in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

Woods, 45, underwent several hours of emergency surgery to repair what doctors called "significant orthopaedic injuries" to his lower right leg and ankle.

Here's everything we know about the accident and Woods' condition as of Wednesday morning:

What is Tiger's condition after surgery?

In a statement posted to Tiger's Twitter account at 12:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Dr. Anish Mahajan, the chief medical officer and interim CEO of Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, said Woods suffered comminuted open fractures -- bones that were broken into more than two pieces and with breaks in the skin -- in the upper and lower portions of the tibia and fibula of his right leg.

pic.twitter.com/vZitnFV0YA

— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) February 24, 2021

Mahajan said surgeons there placed a rod into the tibia of Woods' right leg, and they used a combination of screws and pins to stabilize injuries to his foot and ankle. Mahajan said Woods also suffered trauma to the muscle and soft tissue of his right leg, which required surgeons to release "the covering of the muscles to relieve pressure due to swelling."

Mahajan's statement did not include details about Woods' left leg. In an earlier statement on Tuesday, Woods' agent, Mark Steinberg, said he suffered "multiple leg injuries."

The statement said Woods was "awake, responsive and recovering" after several hours of surgery.

When and where did the accident happen?

Woods was involved in a single-car accident just after 10 a.m. ET on Tuesday near the border of Rolling Hills Estates and Rancho Palos Verdes, about 30 miles south of downtown Los Angeles. Woods was the sole occupant of a 2021 Genesis GV80 SUV at the time of the wreck.

During a news conference on Tuesday, L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Woods was traveling northbound on Hawthorne Boulevard at a "relatively greater speed than normal" while descending a steep hill in an area that has a "high frequency of accidents." He said there were no skid marks in the road and no signs that Woods attempted to brake.

According to Villanueva, Woods' vehicle hit the center divider, destroyed a wooden "Welcome to Rolling Hills Estates" sign and rolled over several times. After crossing the two southbound lanes, the SUV hit a curb and a tree before settling several hundred feet from the road. His vehicle narrowly missed hitting a utility pole.

Weather was not a factor, according to Villanueva, and authorities didn't immediately know how fast Woods was driving when he crashed. L.A. County sheriff's deputy Carlos Gonzalez said he sometimes stops people driving well over the speed limit in the 45 mph zone, where signs warn truck drivers to use lower gears because of the steep grade.

Villanueva said there was no immediate evidence that Woods was impaired at the scene.

What was Woods' condition when authorities found him?

Gonzalez initially arrived at the scene and found Woods struggling to get out of his SUV. He said Woods was wearing a seatbelt and was conscious and alert.

"I spoke to him. I asked him what his name was. He told me his name was Tiger, and at that moment, I immediately recognized him," Gonzalez said during the news conference.

Gonzalez said Woods was able to answer questions about what day it was and where he was.

"Tiger was able to speak to me lucidly," said Gonzalez, who added that Woods appeared "incredibly calm," probably because he was in shock.

Because of damage to the front end of the vehicle and the fact that the SUV was lying on its side, responders had to extricate Woods from the car through its windshield. L.A. County Fire Department chief Daryl Osby said responders used a pry bar and ax to remove the windshield and pull Woods to safety.

Villanueva noted that the airbags deployed and the cab of the SUV was still intact, which allowed Woods a "cushion to survive the crash."

"I will say that it's very fortunate that Mr. Woods was able to come out of this alive," Gonzalez said.

Gonzales said Woods was unable to stand under his own power, so responders removed him from the scene on a backboard. Woods was alert enough to ask responders to call his manager to retrieve his golf clubs and luggage.

Villanueva said it would take "days to several weeks" for officers to complete their investigation into the crash. They were retrieving video from traffic cameras to determine whether another car or animal caused Woods' car to leave the road. Data might also be extracted from the car's computer system to determine how fast Woods was driving at the time of the wreck.

Why was Woods in L.A.?

Woods made an appearance but did not play over the weekend at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades. His foundation helps organize and host the tournament.

Woods remained in the L.A. area to film outtakes and scenes for Discovery-owned GolfTV, a streaming entity in which he is involved. In a statement, GolfTV said Woods was filming on-course instruction for a series.

pic.twitter.com/FbfOBzlgtq

— GOLFTV (@GOLFTV) February 24, 2021

On Monday, he worked with actor David Spade, former NBA player Dwyane Wade and actress Jada Pinkett Smith at Rolling Hills Country Club. Woods was scheduled to work with Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert and New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees in another shoot on Tuesday. He was apparently headed to Rolling Hills Country Club from a nearby resort when he crashed.

Can Tiger recover from his injuries to return to the course?

It's too early to say, but he undoubtedly faces a long and arduous recovery from his injuries. He was already dealing with debilitating back injuries. On Dec. 23, he underwent his fifth back procedure to alleviate pain and discomfort.

During a TV interview with CBS announcer Jim Nantz during Sunday's final round of the Genesis Invitational, Woods said he was hoping to play in the Masters in April. He is a five-time winner of the event, most recently in 2019.

"God, I hope so. I've got to get there first," Woods said in the interview. "A lot of it is based on my surgeons and doctors and therapist and making sure I do it correctly. This is the only back I've got; I don't have much more wiggle room left."

Woods' last official start was at the Masters, which was played this past November after being postponed from its typical April date because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He tied for 38th. Woods is 50th in the world ranking after playing only nine times during the 2020 season. In December, in his last public golf event, the PNC Championship, Woods played with his 12-year-old son, Charlie, before undergoing his latest back surgery.

Although he lost the chance to celebrate winning the 2019 NBA championship because a law enforcement officer wrongly prevented him from stepping on the court, Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri said what he thinks about is the many other minorities who find themselves losing far more after encounters with police.

"As much as we say 'Yeah, this happened to me,' there's worse that's happened to other people, right?" Ujiri said during an interview with ABC's "Good Morning America" that aired Wednesday morning. "I lost a moment. People have lost their lives."

It was Ujiri's first television interview since the lawsuit against him by Alameda County Sheriff's deputy Alan Strickland was dropped earlier this month.

"I say it as humbly as I can: The privilege of the job I have is to fight for this," Ujiri said. "They are wrongly accused, there is no body cams, nobody sees what happens, and they are incarcerated or they are accused or they are charged. We have to fight for them."

As Ujiri was trying to take the court after Toronto beat the Golden State Warriors in Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals at Oakland's Oracle Arena, he was accosted by Strickland, only to eventually be pulled onto the court by Raptors star Kyle Lowry.

"We don't just go buy championships in Walmart or something," Ujiri said. "It's something you're trying so hard to do, and you're trying to figure out, 'How do I go and celebrate with my guys?' And now you get this confrontation, and it confuses you, you know? And, honestly, I was confused. I was taken aback, and I didn't know how to react."

Alameda County Sheriff Greg Ahern initially claimed Ujiri should be charged with battery of a police officer, but the department eventually declined to press charges.

Strickland then sued Ujiri last February, claiming that Ujiri hit him in the face and hands with both fists and that Strickland suffered "physical, mental, emotional, and economic injuries," including lost wages, lost opportunity for financial gain and future earning capacity.

Footage from Strickland's body cam was then released in August while Ujiri and the Raptors were in the NBA's bubble in Orlando, Florida. The footage did not show Ujiri punching Strickland -- instead, it showed Ujiri being shoved twice while trying to step onto the court. Ujiri then countersued, saying Strickland had fabricated his version of events.

Both suits were dropped earlier this month.

Despite knowing he did nothing wrong, Ujiri said that he couldn't sleep for three days in the wake of seeing the body cam footage for the first time. He also admitted that, over time, he began to question whether his version of events was the right one.

"I called my wife, I called my family, and I couldn't sleep for three or four days in the bubble," Ujiri said of his reaction upon seeing the body cam footage. "Because seeing that tape ... yes, you are vindicated, yes, this is the right story. [But] people said, 'You punched a police man, you hit his jaw, you broke his jaw.' There's all kinds of things [being said], and you begin to doubt yourself as time goes on. You begin to actually wonder what really happened."

Ujiri, who has helped countless children in Africa as part of his Giants of Africa program, said that, as he moves forward, he hopes that people begin to realize that they need to treat everyone they meet with the same level of respect.

"I want people to really think about humanity and who we are as human beings," Ujiri said. "It is really, really important we treat each other well."

SAN DIEGO -- San Diego Padres majority owner Peter Seidler couldn't make it any clearer.

He doesn't think San Diego is a small market, but rather views it for what it is: the eighth-largest city in the United States.

And he's certain the Padres can handle the three nine-figure contracts they've doled out in the past four years.

Outsiders have questioned how the Padres will be able to afford the $340 million, 14-year contract they gave electrifying shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. on Monday, the longest deal in baseball history. That deal comes on top of the $300 million, 10-year deal they handed slugger Manny Machado in 2019 and the $144 million, eight-year contract they gave first baseman Eric Hosmer in 2018.

After a relatively bruising two decades in which ownership wasn't willing or able to spend on big deals, these Padres are committed to competing.

"We love this city," Seidler told The Associated Press hours after the Padres announced the deal for Tatis, who has become one of the faces of baseball. "We want to honor the support our extraordinary fans give us.

"In 1984 and 1998, this place went crazy. And those were real teams that went to the World Series. I know we have the city's trust and the city trusts us. We're going to put good teams out there. From a franchise standpoint, we're going to get support and we're going to back it up with our actions reflective of the eighth-largest city in America."

Seidler is a grandson of the late Walter O'Malley, who moved the Dodgers from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in 1958, and a nephew of Peter O'Malley, who owned the Dodgers until 1998.

He and civic leader Ron Fowler headed a group that bought the Padres in 2012 from John Moores, whose ownership had become tumultuous in the years after his stewardship resulted in San Diego reaching the 1998 World Series and then getting Petco Park built downtown.

In November, Fowler stepped down as executive chairman and Seidler was approved by fellow Major League Baseball owners to take over control of the team as chairman. Fowler will remain with the club in an advisory role and will continue to sit on MLB's labor policy committee.

Besides his involvement in baseball, Seidler is co-founder and managing partner of Seidler Equity Partners, whose net worth has been estimated to be $3 billion.

Seidler declined to delve deep into finances.

"We don't need to talk about it, but we'll let actions speak for themselves," he said. "We're very humble about what we're trying to do here because it's hard and we're not the only team chasing the trophy. But we're in the mix, we believe."

Baseball is coming off a pandemic-shortened season in which commissioner Rob Manfred said teams combined to lose $2.7 billion to $3 billion during the pandemic.

Seidler did say the Padres have set up the franchise "to be flexible so we have the opportunity to be opportunistic when it does make sense. We make decisions really with 10 years in mind, not year to year to year, although we are cognizant of the current year. I could not be happier with where we are in every way, business-wise, baseball-wise, and I'll speak for the people of San Diego. We're the eighth-largest city in America. There's nothing we can't do."

Led by Tatis and Machado, the Padres ended a 13-year playoff drought last year and beat the St. Louis Cardinals in the wild-card round before being swept out of the NL Division Series by the eventual World Series champion Dodgers.

Tatis is only 22.

"Significant to all of us, is what a difference it makes for our fans to know they can go to Petco anytime we're playing for 14 years and know they can see this remarkable talent and great person and a tough team for any other team in baseball to play," Seidler said.

The Padres recently gave six-year extensions to general manager A.J. Preller and CEO Erik Greupner.

"I generally believe in business, you do well when you have stability and excellence," Seidler said.

"I think this game is only going to get better and stronger year after year after year, and the pie's going to grow," Seidler said. "That's how we view things. We're going to continue to build this franchise. I see great upside for us. Yes, I'm well aware of the things immediately in front of us with the pandemic and other things. We're going to find ways to work through those and that's some of the thinking behind the decisions we make here."

The Padres have gone to the playoffs only six times in 52 seasons, reaching the World Series twice and losing it both times.

They believe they are built to go deep into October and know how formidable the Dodgers are.

"We're not hyperfocused on any one team," Seidler said. "We respect the heck out of what that franchise has accomplished, winning the World Series last year, winning our division for eight years in a row. Competition makes everybody better, and I expect it will make us better."

Although he was raised in a baseball dynasty, Seidler said he no longer bleeds Dodger Blue. He says he's not even sure what memorabilia he has from those days.

"I'm not a keeper and a saver, so I don't know, maybe somewhere in the dungeons of my basement there's a ball signed by Manny Mota that I would treasure, because I love that guy," Seidler said, referring to the famed pinch-hitter.

Seidler is focused on watching Tatis and his teammates.

"I think it's going to play out better than some of us optimists think. We really believe in this young man," he said.