The Maine Celtics begin their 2021-22 NBA G League season at 7 p.m. Friday in Georgia against the College Park Skyhawks.

Maine’s roster features a new head coach in Jarell Christian and eight players with NBA experience. The franchise has not played a game since the G League shut down in March 2020 at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Originally known as the Red Claws, the team was rebranded in May as the Maine Celtics.

Maine will play another game at College Park on Sunday before its home opener at the Portland Expo on Nov. 12 against Delaware.

COLLEGES

FOOTBALL: The administrators in charge of the College Football Playoff plan to meet again on Dec. 1 to continue expansion talks, which need to reach a consensus by the end of the year if a new postseason format is to be implemented for the 2024 season.

Executive Director Bill Hancock released a statement after two days of meetings in Dallas with the CFP management committee that he called “productive.”

A 12-team format was unveiled in June and there was hope it would be approved in September for implementation before the end of the current 12-year contract with ESPN that runs through the 2025 season.

Instead, the process has bogged down since it was revealed in July the Southeastern Conference planned to add Big 12 flagship schools Texas and Oklahoma by 2025.

BASEBALL

MLB: Cincinnati Reds star outfielder Nick Castellanos exercised the opt-out clause in his contract and is a free agent, the team said.

The Reds right fielder opted out of the final two years and $34 million remaining on his deal after having the best season of his nine-year career. Castellanos, 29, was a first-time All-Star and hit .309 with 34 home runs and 100 RBI.

TENNIS

PARIS MASTERS: Novak Djokovic advanced to the quarterfinals when Gael Monfils withdrew because of an injury.

Monfils, who is 0-17 against the top-ranked Djokovic, said he has an adductor injury.

Fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev advanced to the last eight by defeating No. 16 Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 (4), 6-7 (3), 6-3 in an intense contest lasting 2 hours, 45 minutes.

GOLF

PGA: Matthew Wolff shot a 10-under 61 to match his career low on the PGA Tour and take a two-shot lead among early starters in the World Wide Technology Championship at Playa del Carmen, Mexico.
Aaron Wise reached 8 under through 10 holes but was even par the rest of the way. Chris Kirk opened with a hole-in-one on the 10th and shot a 64.

SOCCER

WORLD CUP QUALIFYING: Christian Pulisic is back with the U.S. national team but not fully fit, Sergino Dest is out and Joe Scally was called up for a possible debut.

Gio Reyna remains sidelined, while John Brooks and Tim Ream were bypassed.

As World Cup qualifying nears the halfway point, the U.S. will have a close to a full-strength roster available against Mexico on Nov. 12 at Cincinnati and at Jamaica four days later.

The U.S. has 11 points, three behind Mexico, after six of 14 games. The top three of eight teams qualifies from North and Central America and the Caribbean, and No. 4 advances to a playoff.

• Manchester City’s American goalkeeper, Zack Steffen, has signed a contract extension tying him to the club until the summer of 2025.

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