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USA Today
14 minutes ago
- USA Today
Lionel Messi MLS All-Star Game debacle is ugly own goal for everybody
Lionel Messi, Inter Miami and Major League Soccer experienced the worst week in their two years together, collectively mishandling his 2025 All-Star Game absence. Messi and Jordi Alba were disciplined by MLS commissioner Don Garber for skipping the All-Star Game, causing them to miss a marquee matchup against first-place FC Cincinnati on Saturday, July 26. Soccer fans won't see Messi, the 2024 MLS MVP, on a grand stage against Cincinnati's Evander, a rising Brazilian who captained the MLS All-Stars in Messi's place and is in the conversation with him for 2025 MVP. Instead, there will be numerous shots of Messi stewing in an on-field suite, likely sitting next to Inter Miami's newest signee, Argentina World Cup-winning teammate Rodrigo De Paul. The situation marks lowest point of the Messi era in this the league's 30th season – all while he's been in ongoing contract negotiations to continue his career with Inter Miami. 'He's very upset,' Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas said of Messi during a Zoom press conference. 'I'm hopeful it doesn't have an impact long term.' Messi, Inter Miami and MLS should have collectively agreed on him missing the All-Star Game. Garber could have granted Messi an excused absence. And Messi should be on the pitch Saturday doing what he does best. This matter should have been resolved before All-Star Week, offering the spotlight to the MLS players who played in the showcase instead of the shadow cast by Messi's whereabouts and whether he would be disciplined. 'I hope they respect the decision I made, and I understand they're going to be disappointed by that decision,' Garber told USA TODAY Sports. 'I hope that Leo's commitment to our league, and the journey he's been on and we've been on growing Major League Soccer is as important to him going forward as it has been in the past.' What went wrong? There was miscommunication from a series of phone calls exchanged between Inter Miami and MLS. There was no formal meeting on the matter, or a request from the club for Messi to miss the All-Star Game in Austin, Texas. Mas spoke to the league on July 21 and 22, while some around the league expected Messi and Alba to show the day of the All-Star Game on July 23. Mas believed Messi would be exempt from attending – and the one-game suspension – because of his workload. Messi played every minute in 22 of 23 matches since April 2, logging more than 2,000 minutes during the span. His last game off was April 27. He recently set an MLS record scoring two goals in five straight matches, and six of his last seven in the regular season. 'Load management is on Lionel Messi,' Mas said. 'When he steps on the pitch, he will step off when the final whistle blows.' The All-Star Game fell four days after Messi completed nine matches in 35 days, which included representing MLS on a global stage in the FIFA Club World Cup. Inter Miami didn't want Messi and Alba to travel to Texas, following road trips to face Cincinnati and the New York Red Bulls in New Jersey, with their second match with Cincinnati starting another stretch of 10 games in 34 days. 'He's played more games than any player this year, and their schedule has him wanting to take a break. It was based on his commitment to his club, and I understand and respect his decision,' Garber said. 'But we have a long-standing policy that is related to All-Star participation for all players. And unfortunately, I had to enforce the policy. It was a difficult decision to make.' The MLS All-Star policy was first initiated in 2015 after players used 'phantom injuries' to avoid the exhibition in previous years. Zlatan Ibrahimović was suspended when he played for the LA Galaxy for skipping the event in 2018, criticizing the rule at the time for being 'ridiculous.' Messi missing the All-Star Game, however, is a different story. 'From the league's perspective, this is really frustrating,' analyst and former U.S. men's national team star Landon Donovan said on social media. 'You have your best player. Your partners want him there. The owners want him there. The sponsors want him there. The fans want him there. The other guys on the MLS All-Star team want the chance to play with Messi. That's a dream for them. So, this becomes a really challenging situation.' Lionel Messi is 'different' for MLS Messi isn't entirely blameless in this, either. He could have jumped on a plane for the day, signed autographs and posed for photos with fellow players, waved at the fans, and even played a half so MLS could have a moment to celebrate having him in the league. But Messi has done everything asked of him since he joined MLS in July 2023 – outside of playing in this All-Star Game, of course. 'Obviously, Lionel Messi is Lionel Messi. He is different. He has completely changed the economics of this league for every single club, every team, every sponsor, the league, media, etc.,' Mas said. 'He's important … But at the end of the day, league corporate sponsors are already taking advantage of Lionel Messi's presence in the league.' Messi has the best-selling jersey around the world and brought international attention to MLS. He's provided awe-inspiring highlight plays and historic moments that make you wonder "how is this guy still doing this at 38 years old?" Mas said Inter Miami's Club World Cup loss to UEFA Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain was viewed globally by more than 30 million people. 'I know Leo Messi loves this league. I don't think there's been a player, or frankly just about anyone, who has done for MLS than Leo Messi has,' Garber said. 'His games are special moments. Every one of them is a must-see match, and it's that commitment what he does on the field that makes this decision so complicated.' Messi stayed in Miami this week while his wife and three sons went to Italy on vacation. He practiced Friday, thinking he would be able to play against Cincinnati. After practice, Messi reunited with De Paul on Inter Miami's training fields. Then, he signed hundreds of autographs and posed for photos with kids attending Inter Miami's summer camp before he received Garber's decision. 'This whole Messi MLS All-Star game mess was avoidable,' analyst and former U.S. men's national team standout Alexi Lalas said on social media. 'Now, he can have a rest.'
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Where does Sixers legend Moses Malone land on top 100 players list?
Philadelphia 76ers legend Moses Malone is one of the best players to ever play the game of basketball. A rebounding machine, Malone averaged 20.3 points and 12.3 rebounds--5.1 offensive rebounds--per game across his 12 years in the league. He played five seasons with the Sixers--across two separate stints--and averaged 21.0 points and 12.0 rebounds with Philadelphia. He was a key member of the franchise's last title team in 1983 when he was named finals MVP as the Sixers knocked off the Los Angeles Lakers in a rematch of the 1982 finals. Malone averaged 25.8 points and 18.0 rebounds in the sweep of the Lakers. Bleacher Report ranked the top 100 players in the history of the NBA and Malone comes in ranked No. 21: The all-time leader in offensive rebounds (both total and per game), Malone dominated the glass throughout his career. Though not particularly skilled as a finisher or passer, all those boards produced plenty of second-chance opportunities and free throws, and Malone led the league in attempts from the foul line five times. His first two MVP awards came with the Houston Rockets in 1978-79 and 1981-82, and he followed that up with a third for the Philadelphia 76ers in 1982-83, earning the distinction of being the only player in NBA history to win back-to-back MVPs for two different teams. In addition to those wins, Malone boarded his way to seven other top-10 finishes. His 'fo', fo', fo'' prediction in 1983 didn't quite come to fruition, as the Sixers swept just two of their three playoff series en route to a 12-1 postseason record that culminated in a championship. Malone's No. 2 jersey hangs from the rafters of the Wells Fargo Center as he is one of the best players in the franchise's history. He teamed up with Julius "Dr. J" Erving to give the Sixers a formidable duo on a nightly basis. Philadelphia leaned on him heavily to get the job done in a tough Eastern Conference.
New York Times
3 hours ago
- New York Times
Jerry Jones' latest doomed standoff, plus MLB's best stat line ever?
The Pulse Newsletter 📣 | This is The Athletic's daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox. Good morning! We're holding out for a great weekend. Micah Parsons, the 26-year-old defensive dynamo with 52 1/2 sacks and two first-team All-Pro nods across his first four seasons, reported to Dallas Cowboys training camp this week. But he's still waiting for a contract extension that would make him the highest-paid edge rusher in football, and Jerry Jones is talking like an owner who won't make that deal. He has suggested he didn't even know Parsons' agent's name, and last week, he exaggerated Parsons' minimal injury history. Parsons' rookie contract runs out after this season. If any of this seems familiar, well… It turned out to be a familiar pattern. Fast forward a few decades, and Jones' form holds: Jones isn't always this hostile toward his stars. He didn't say anything so inflammatory about Dak Prescott as the sides negotiated their megadeal, for example. And these public standoffs between Jones and his most important players usually end up being pointlessly fleeting. Jones is a capitalist's capitalist and a showman, and one wonders if he somehow enjoys this. I asked someone who would know: Jon Machota, the longtime Cowboys beat writer covering the team for The Athletic: Does Jones have a real plan, or can he just not help himself? 💬 There's no question Jones loves the business side of football, and that includes negotiating contracts. He's probably won on most deals in his business life, from oil and gas to real estate to football. He certainly won on his gamble to buy the Cowboys for $140 million in 1989. But he hasn't been winning when it comes to the deals of his top players. After Prescott eventually became the highest-paid player at $60 million per season, most thought other QBs would top that, but it hasn't happened. Prescott, Elliott, Lamb, Martin and Dez Bryant have all eventually gotten what they wanted. There's no reason to think the same won't happen for Parsons. At some point, wouldn't Jones change his PR strategy? Well, perhaps not: 💬 While the holdouts cause angst for so many involved, it never seems to bother Jones. It's as if this is part of the fun for him: It keeps everyone talking about him, which he clearly enjoys. At 82, he is highly unlikely to change. Congrats in advance to Parsons. The greatest stat line ever? A's rookie Nick Kurtz became the 20th player to hit four home runs in a game last night. But it wasn't your ordinary four-homer game (if such a thing exists). Kurtz finished the night 6-for-6 with eight RBIs, six runs and 19 total bases — and was a few feet shy of the first five-homer game in MLB history. Oh, and the 22-year-old did it in just his 66th major-league game. It's an all-timer. Advertisement Messi suspended by MLS Lionel Messi and fellow Inter Miami star Jordi Alba were suspended one game for skipping Wednesday's MLS All-Star Game. MLS commissioner Don Garber told The Athletic the decision to suspend the players was a very difficult one, although the policy has been in place for a number of years. Inter Miami owner Jorge Mas called the rule 'draconian' while relaying that Messi was 'extremely upset' by the suspension. Read his full comments. More news: The Bengals and first-round pick Shemar Stewart finally reached agreement on his four-year, fully guaranteed contract. The standoff is over. More than 100 NFL players were fined for reselling Super Bowl 59 tickets above face value, a league source told The Athletic. Read more here. In college football news, Michigan and Western Michigan are set to open the 2026 season in Germany. It's a first. The Yankees made their first move of the trade deadline, acquiring Rockies third baseman Ryan McMahon. Reviews are mixed. 📺 WNBA: Sparks at Liberty 7 p.m. ET on NBA TV Though not nearly as dominant so far as they were in their title-winning season last year, the Liberty remain a front-line contender. The recent return of Jonquel Jones from injury, to join Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu, will only make them better. 📺 MLB: Dodgers at Red Sox 7:15 p.m. ET on Fox Has there ever been a more fun stylistic clash of left-handed starters than 37-year-old Clayton Kershaw and 26-year-old Garrett Crochet? Our MLB staff picked one player from each franchise who will be wearing a new uniform by Thursday. Click. Time's list of the 100 best podcasts ever, featuring 'The Tennis Podcast' — which joined The Athletic's network earlier this year — among six sports picks. Brendan Kuty's great read on how Aaron Judge helps make his teammates better. I just finished this affecting story in New York Magazine about how two high school football buddies ended up joining a coup in Congo. Haunting, but brilliantly done. — Chris Branch Branch recommended these straw cups for toddlers a while ago, and I regret how long we waited to get a couple. The most spill-proof we've tried, much to my little guy's frustration. — Torrey Hart Aaron Rodgers has a lot more to lose with the Steelers than he did with the Jets, as Ian O'Connor writes. Saw 'Mission Impossible' and 'Superman' last weekend. Pure popcorn cinema. Kept muttering 'Love going to da movies' to myself. 10/10. — Patrick Iversen Advertisement Ben Pickman had a helpful primer earlier this week on WNBA CBA negotiations, including the current sticking points. Was reminded this week it's been 10 years since Tame Impala's 'Currents' dropped. A top-drawer evolution. Even Pitchfork was like dang. — Chris Sprow Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: The Tour de France detour after a herd of cows was culled. Most-read on the website yesterday: 'An MLB pitcher walked away from $12 million. He tells us why he has no regrets.' Ticketing links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
