McNeill and Hend each shot 7-under-par 65 at Wakonda Club and will take a one-shot lead over four players into the weekend. Vaughn Taylor, Tag Ridings, Australian John Senden and defending champion Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain sit at 6-under 66.

McNeill turned 50 last fall and is playing his first season on the PGA Tour Champions. He's made the cut in all eight starts and has two runner-up finishes, including at last week's team event, the American Family Insurance Championship, where he played with Kenny Perry.

"Honestly, I'm just trying to play like I have been. I feel like I played fairly well all year," said McNeill, who made an eagle at the par-5 13th to go with six birdies and one bogey.

"... But again, all these courses are brand new to me so there's a lot of stuff that I'm looking at it and reading putts and greens. These guys who have been here year after year after year, it helps. So I'm just trying to play like I have been, get out of my own way."

Hend racked up nine birdies Friday, including four over the final six holes. He broke through for his first PGA Tour Champions win last month at the Trophy Hassan II in Morocco.

Hend said it takes "more than a couple days" to get used to an unfamiliar course, though that didn't stop him from going low in his first visit to Wakonda.

"I didn't play the last four holes, so I didn't know what the last four holes were like," Hend said. "So got on the 18th tee, I said to my caddie, ‘Where's the green?' He's like, ‘I think it's over there.' He walked up trying to get the proper line. I'm just trying to learn the golf course and hopefully by Sunday afternoon I'll know what to do."

Tied for seventh at 5-under 67 are Doug Barron, Matt Gogel, Brett Quigley, Spaniard Jose Maria Olazabal, Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke and Aussies Richard Green and David Brandson.

Jordan will bat eighth and play third base for the Cardinals.

A 2020 third-round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox, Jordan was dealt to St. Louis in last year's trade that sent left-hander Steven Matz to Boston. In 57 games at Triple-A this year, the 23-year-old was batting .313 with 11 home runs and 35 RBIs.

His selection was one of five roster moves the Cardinals made on Friday.

They also recalled right-hander Chris Roycroft from Memphis, optioned infielder Nolan Gorman and right-hander Hunter Dobbins to Triple-A and moved infielder Ramon Urias (elbows) from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day IL.

Roycroft, 28, made five appearances out of the bullpen for St. Louis earlier this year (3 2/3 innings) and amassed a 12.27 ERA. He has a 5.98 career ERA in 52 games for St. Louis (2024-26).

Gorman, 26, has slumped to a career-low .194 batting average with one hit in his last 26 at-bats. He has seven homers and 26 RBIs over 62 games in his fifth major league season, all with the Cardinals.

Dobbins, 26, got into four games and made two starts for the Cardinals this season, going 1-0 with a 3.63 ERA. He arrived in a separate trade with Boston after making his major league debut there last year.

Kirk has been sidelined since fracturing his left thumb against the Chicago White Sox on April 3.

Kirk will be behind the plate and bat fourth against the Yankees.

Kirk, 27, was 3-for-20 (.150) in five games prior to going on the IL. He had one homer and two RBIs.

The two-time All-Star is a .267 career hitter with 52 homers and 265 RBIs in 569 games since reaching the majors with Toronto in 2020.

Toronto also placed outfielder Daulton Varsho (left wrist inflammation) on the 10-day list, retroactive to Wednesday; designated catcher Tyler Heineman for assignment; and recalled outfielder Davis Schneider from Triple-A Buffalo.

Varsho was batting .256 with five homers and 17 RBIs in 64 games this season. He is in his fourth season with the Blue Jays after spending his first three campaigns with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Heineman batted .154 with one homer and six RBIs in 31 games this season. Schneider hit .127 with one homer and eight RBIs in 38 games with Toronto earlier this season.

Ohtani, who homered and reached four times in four plate appearances in Thursday's 8-6 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, was removed in the seventh inning after he experienced pain in his left knee/hamstring area on a stolen base attempt that was negated by a foul ball.

After the game, Roberts said the removal was precautionary and that his level of concern was "not high."

"We tried to be smart about it and get him out of the game," Roberts said after the game. "He told the trainer that he felt a little something behind his knee, and I just didn't see any sense in risking it."

Roberts also said Thursday that he felt good about the likelihood of Ohtani being in the lineup on Friday. But the Dodgers penciled in Santiago Espinal as their designated hitter for the Chicago opener.

Ohtani, 31, is hitting .305 with 13 homers and 40 RBIs this season, with a 6-2 record and a 1.06 ERA in 11 starts on the mound.

The four-time MVP (including each of the last three seasons) has a career .283 batting average with 293 homers and 709 RBIs across 1,081 games with the Los Angeles Angels (2018-23) and Dodgers (2024-26).

Oklahoma attorney general Gentner Drummond sent a letter to the Big 12 on Friday, strongly urging the conference to suspend Sorsby, who received a temporary injunction to be eligible for the 2026 season Monday after the NCAA originally ruled him ineligible.

The NCAA had reached that decision after court documents filed by Sorsby's legal team showed the quarterback placed at least 40 bets on the Indiana football team while a member of the program in 2022 and 2023. In all, he wagered about $90,000 over a four-year period. He entered an addiction treatment program on April 27.

"(Texas Tech's) actions in obtaining eligibility for Brendan Sorsby -- an athlete the NCAA declared permanently ineligible for extensive wagering on college sports, including games involving his own team -- have constituted a shameful chapter in the story of college football," Drummond wrote. "Texas Tech has acted in a manner adverse to the Big 12 and the integrity of college football as a whole.

"(Texas Tech) has shirked responsibility by running with a bogus claim to a friendly court. Its leadership has prioritized winning over sport, over honor and over integrity. If Texas Tech will not do the right thing, the Big 12 should. Texas Tech should be sanctioned."

The office of Texas AG Ken Paxton wrote a letter to the Big 12 on Thursday which warned legal action against the conference if it were to overrule the court's decision and deem Sorsby ineligible.

Drummond is advocating on behalf of Oklahoma State, which is set to host the Red Raiders on Nov. 14 in Stillwater, Okla. But he's not the only Big 12-affiliated person upset with the court decision.

The 15 Big 12 athletic directors excluding Texas Tech met Tuesday and unanimously expressed their opposition to Sorsby playing for the Red Raiders. The conference presidents met Thursday and a full board meeting is scheduled for Monday, with the Big 12 pondering how to proceed.

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said in a statement Thursday in the wake of Paxton's letter that "all options remain on the table" with regard to Sorsby's eligibility.

The NCAA went to the Court of Appeals for the Seventh District of Texas in Amarillo, Texas, earlier this week and asked for an "accelerated appeal" of the temporary injunction that restored Sorsby's eligibility. As of now, the court date is scheduled for next February, shortly after the national championship game will be held.

Sorsby threw for 5,613 yards, 45 touchdowns and 12 interceptions over the past two seasons at Cincinnati. He also ran for 1,027 yards and 18 touchdowns in 24 games.

In other moves, all involving outfielders, the Phillies recalled Gabriel Rincones Jr. from Triple-A Lehigh Valley, placed Steward Berroa on the paternity list and activated Derek Hill, who reported to team after being acquired from the Chicago White Sox on Thursday.

Garcia injured his right shoulder in the seventh inning of the team's 7-4 road win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday. After catching a fly ball in right field and rushing a throw home in an attempt to retire George Springer, who was tagging up from third base, Garcia bent over in pain, grabbing at his right shoulder area.

The 33-year-old left the game after being examined by Philadelphia's trainers, replaced by Berroa.

Garcia, who signed a one-year, $10 million contract with Philadelphia in the offseason, has struggled at the plate this season, hitting .195 with seven homers and 21 RBIs in 67 games.

He is a career .234 hitter with 148 home runs and 480 RBIs in 833 games with the St. Louis Cardinals (2018), Texas Rangers (2020-25) and Philadelphia.

Hill, 30, batted .213 (17-for-80) with four home runs and eight RBIs in 50 games this season for the White Sox, who sent him and $250,000 in international bonus pool money to Philadelphia for two minor leaguers, outfielder Dylan Campbell and infielder Jose Colmenares.

Rincones, 25, batted .239 in 12 games for Lehigh Valley and a combined .215 in 22 games for three minor league teams. He is the No. 6 prospect in the Phillies' farm system, according to MLB Pipeline.

Berroa, 27, is 1-for-7 in six games this season, his first with the Phillies.

The Columbus Blue Jackets' Zach Werenski, winner of the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenseman, also was named along with Ted Lindsay Award winner (most outstanding player) Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers, Norris finalist Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars forward Jason Robertson.

Kucherov, Makar and Werenski were first-team selections in 2024-25, and all six have received the honor in previous seasons.

McDavid leads active players with his sixth nods at center on the first team, tying him for second all-time with Jean Believeau, Phil Esposito and Stan Mikita. Wayne Gretzky was an eight-time first-team selection.

Kucherov, the Hart Memorial Trophy winner as most valuable player, is tops among active players with his fifth first-team selection at right wing, tied for fifth all-time. Gordie Howe has the most with 12.

Makar now has four first-team selections, second among active blueliners behind Erik Karlsson (five).

Vasilevskiy, the Vezina Trophy winner as top goaltender, tied Connor Hellebuyck among active goalies with his third selection to the first team.

Robertson also was the first-team pick at left wing in the 2022-23 season.

The NHL Second All-Star Team features four making their debut: left wing Cole Caufield of the Montreal Canadiens, defensemen Evan Bouchard of the Oilers and Rasmus Dahlin of the Buffalo Sabres, and goaltender Logan Thompson of the Washington Capitals.

The other selections are Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon and Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak. Both now have three appearances on the second team to go with two first-team picks.

The Professional Hockey Writers Association voted on the all-star teams as the end of the regular season.

Sunday's Great American Getaway 400 in Long Pond, Pa., will be the usual distance of 160 times around the odd, tri-cornered track design.

It also marks the fifth consecutive one-race season for the 2.5-mile speedway affectionately called the Tricky Triangle.

The 400-mile event will be the fourth one broadcast by Prime Video thus far, following the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte then Nashville and Michigan.

Prime has two more races on its schedule, Pocono and the inaugural road racing event at Naval Base Coronado in San Diego on June 21.

The second-year broadcast team featuring Adam Alexander, Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Steve Letarte has displayed its strength in its racing knowledge and in-depth racing analysis -- informative in the pre-race, race and post-race settings.

Last weekend's numbers in Michigan's Irish Hills were not as stunning as Denny Hamlin's 11.11-second victory over Michigan's Erik Jones. The No. 11 driver took control in the final 39 laps and zoomed away to the largest margin of victory since Davey Allison smoked the field by 11.72 seconds in 1991.

Prime's coverage did draw 2.07 million viewers, a 17% increase from last year's comparable figures and reinforcing the crew as the new gold standard in NASCAR broadcasting.

Hamlin, a 63-time winner, has seven victories at Pocono, one more than four-time series champ Jeff Gordon and the most all-time at the track. The Toyota driver's last win there was in 2023.

Chase Briscoe is the defending race winner, while Ryan Blaney won two years ago. Toyota has left the honeymoon and vacation haven with nine of the past 13 checkered flags.

In the standings, second-place Hamlin closed his deficit to leader Tyler Reddick and is minus-51 after the No. 45 driver -- Hamlin's 23XI Racing driver -- finished a season-worst 35th at Michigan and admitted the margin may soon shrink more.

"All year long we've done a really good job of staying out of messes like this," Reddick said after wrecking out on Lap 83. "We were trying to open (the lead) up on the 11 after losing a little bit of ground. ... Pocono's not going to be great."

The biggest mover going up the grid was Reddick's teammate Bubba Wallace, whose third-place finish advanced him four spots to 11th.

Christopher Bell dropped three spots to 10th and also fractured his wrist in a violent wreck with Chase Elliott while fighting for the runner-up spot.

The accident was the hardest in the four-year history of the NextGen car and most vicious since the 2015 season, but the No. 20 is cleared for Sunday.

Josh Berry, driver of the No. 21 Ford, revealed Wednesday that he and iconic Wood Brothers Racing will part ways after two seasons. NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series champ Jesse Love, 21, may get that seat.

While the triangular track is known for gapped and lengthy green-flag runs, longstanding images of crazy clashes (see Dale Earnhardt vs. Jeremy Mayfield in 2000) and violent wrecks (Allison, Richard Petty, Steve Park and Jeff Gordon) are part of its history.

Memories are made in the Poconos.

The 6-foot-5, 205-pound senior sued the NCAA in January after it declined his waiver for a fifth season of eligibility.

Judge Jessica A. Salvini of South Carolina's 13th Judicial Circuit noted in her ruling that other former junior college players had been granted an additional year by the NCAA.

She pointed to wide receiver Malik Benson, who played two seasons of JUCO ball and received a fifth season for 2025 at Oregon.

"The only material distinction the Court can identify between Mr. Benson's case, and the instant matter is that Mr. Smith's final Division I season falls in 2025-26 rather than 2024-25," Salvini wrote.

The NCAA had granted former JUCO players in the 2024-25 class a blanket extra year of eligibility after Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia won a lawsuit against the NCAA.

"Big win for our client," Smith's attorney, Darren Heitner, posted on X after Friday's ruling. "... The NCAA's arbitrary application of its Five-Year Rule didn't hold up. Justice for Tristan!"

"The Marathon continues. I'm Back," Smith posted on Instagram.

Smith played two seasons at Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College in 2022 and 2023 and one season at FCS program Southeast Missouri State in 2024 before joining Clemson in 2025. He caught 24 passes for 239 yards and a touchdown in 13 games last season for the Tigers.

The deal with New York-based Otro Capital creates a new company called Crimson Brand Partners, which will manage the athletic department's commercial operations including events at stadiums and arenas, branding, licensing and sponsorships, ticketing and digital media.

"I think we're going to show everybody that this idea here ... is going to be something that people are going to follow and be really excited to see how it all works out," Utes athletic director Mark Harlan told Front Office Sports of the first-of-its-kind deal.

The university will continue to handle coaching, recruiting, scheduling, student-athlete support and private fundraising. Utes Productions, the live sports production and broadcast arm of the university, and the athletics facilities will remain under school ownership.

The Utah board of trustees authorized the partnership on Dec. 9. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Front Office Sports reported that the venture could ultimately generate nine-figure revenues.

"This new company puts the University of Utah at the forefront of developing creative and strategic solutions to the financial challenges facing college athletics programs across the country," Utah president Taylor Randall said. "Utah will continue to lead out with unique and entrepreneurial ideas for keeping our Utes sports programs financially sustainable and foundational to the student experience."

Harlan will serve as chairman of the board for Crimson Brand Partners, whose leadership team will include new CEO Matt Webb, who has worked in the front offices of the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans, the Cleveland Browns and the San Diego Padres.

"This isn't a sponsorship or a licensing deal; it's a real operating partnership," Webb said. "What Utah is standing up with Crimson Brand Partners will provide Utah Athletics with the resources to compete at the highest level and do it in a way that takes pressure off the rest of the university -- growing the brand, growing revenue, making gamedays better, and freeing up university dollars for scholarships, research and students."

Crimson Brand Partners will begin operations at the start of the fiscal year on July 1.