MIAMI — Lionel Messi completed his first full season with Inter Miami in Major League Soccer last month, and has spent the last year and a half as the sport’s greatest ambassador in the United States.

It’s been everything MLS commissioner Don Garber has envisioned and more – outside of Inter Miami’s first-round playoff exit last month.

Messi’s presence has helped elevate MLS on the world stage, and Inter Miami’s inclusion in the Club World Cup next summer will also help the league gain greater exposure it has already enjoyed since his arrival in July 2023.

“I never expected it would be as big as it is,” Garber said Thursday during the FIFA Club World Cup group-stage draw.

“We’re in the soccer, football business. When you’re here in the states, there are so many big stars. Unless you’re living in the world of football, it’s hard to imagine the overall appeal and the massive popularity and stardom that Leo Messi has. He is Michael Jackson, meeting Taylor Swift, and he’s playing in our league.

“It exceeded my expectations,” Garber added about Messi. “I love what it’s done for MLS, and I hope Leo stays healthy and will stay in the league for a long time.”

Just, how long?

Messi is under contract with Inter Miami at least through the 2025 MLS season. Inter Miami managing owner Jorge Mas is working steadfast on a contract extension for the World Cup champion and eight-time Ballon d’Or winner.

Mas hopes Messi is around when Inter Miami tentatively opens its new stadium, Miami Freedom Park, in 2026.

Messi’s legion of fans worldwide, including those in his native Argentina, also hope he commits to playing in World Cup 2026.

“I’ll be sitting with Leo at some point this offseason, and I’m optimistic as long as Leo Messi’s health holds up that we’ll be seeing him in pink,” Mas said of Messi.

Messi and Inter Miami will play the opening match of the Club World Cup against Egyptian powerhouse Al Alhy at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium on June 15, 2025.

The tournament is one of five trophies Messi and Inter Miami could win next year, after their exit in the MLS Cup playoffs to Atlanta United last month.

Garber downplayed Messi’s absence from the playoffs, which will end Saturday when the Los Angeles Galaxy host the New York Red Bulls in the MLS Cup final.

“I think you have to play the games, and you have to win. They were the Supporters’ Shield winner and had more points than any team in the history of the league. But in our format, playoffs are tough. They had two games at home to win, and Atlanta really came on strong,” Garber said.

“I think the playoffs have been great. We love the fact we can have upsets, and here we are with two great teams. I lean in and believe any team can win on any given day.”

It’s been a busy week for Garber, who attended the stadium groundbreaking for New York City FC on Wednesday, the Club World Cup draw, and then will be in Los Angeles for the MLS Cup final.

One thing Garber made sure to do during his time in South Florida was meet with Messi and his family.

And he came away with one major reaction afterwards.

“They seem very happy here – and that’s a good thing. … That’s what it’s all about,” Garber said of Messi and his family.

“Every now again, you take a step back. We have Leo Messi in our league, and I hope everybody really understands it because it is really special.”

This story was updated to correct a misspelling.

The Chicago Blackhawks fired coach Luke Richardson on Thursday with the team sitting at the bottom of the NHL standings.

Anders Sorensen, coach of the Blackhawks’ Rockford IceHogs team in the American Hockey League, was named interim head coach.

The move happened with generational player Connor Bedard going through a sophomore slump and unhappy with his production. He had a recently ended a 12-game goal drought and didn’t make the Canadian roster for this season’s 4 Nations Face-Off.

‘As we have begun to take steps forward in our rebuilding process, we felt that the results did not match our expectations for a higher level of execution this season and ultimately came to the decision that a change was necessary,’ general manager Kyle Davidson said in a statement about the coaching move.

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Richardson, 55, was hired before the start of the 2022-23 season. The Blackhawks finished 30th overall, moved up three spots in the draft lottery and chose Bedard, considered the NHL’s best prospect since Connor McDavid.

He was coach for Bedard’s first NHL season, when the center won rookie of the year despite missing 14 games with a broken jaw. But the Blackhawks finished with the league’s second worst record and a .317 points percentage.

It has been more of the same, even with Chicago adding veterans Tyler Bertuzzi and Teuvo Teravainen to complement Bedard. The Blackhawks’ record is 8-16-2 and they’re in a 2-7-1 slump.

Richardson leaves Chicago with a 57-118-15 record and won’t get a chance to coach in this season’s Winter Classic.

Richardson is the third NHL coach to be fired this season, following the Boston Bruins’ Jim Montgomery and the St. Louis Blues’ Drew Bannister.

Sorensen, 49, a native of Sweden, has been with the Blackhawks organization since 2013-14 and become Rockford head coach in 2021-22, making the playoffs in all three seasons.

Right-hander Luis Severino is the first major free agent to join the former Oakland Athletics in their new temporary home in Sacramento.

Severino and the A’s have agreed on a three-year, $67 million contract, a person with knowledge of the deal confirmed to USA TODAY Sports. The person spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because the deal had not yet been announced.

The $67 million guarantee will be the largest in franchise history, edging the six-year, $66 million extension that the Athletics gave to third baseman Eric Chávez in 2004.

After spending nine years with the New York Yankees, Severino pitched for the crosstown Mets this past season, going 11-7 with a 3.91 ERA and 161 strikeouts in 182 innings. Severino made three postseason starts for the Mets, winning the opening game of the NL wild card series against Milwaukee and pitching Game 2 of the NLDS vs. Philadelphia.

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His last start came in the NL Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, when he allowed a pair of unearned runs and was removed in the fifth inning of an eventual 8-0 loss.

Severino had declined the Mets’ $21.05 million qualifying offer in order to test the free agent market.

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Eric Bieniemy’s return to the college ranks is over after one season.

The highly regarded coach is out as the offensive coordinator at UCLA after one season with the Bruins, according to multiple reports. Yahoo Sports was first to report the move.

According to a statement that Bieniemy’s agent, Jason Fletcher, sent to the NFL Network, Bieniemy and UCLA mutually parted ways and he eyes a return to the NFL.

‘After interviewing for head coaching jobs last year, (Bieniemy) wanted to stay active and busy,’ the statement read. ‘So, he decided to go help out Deshaun Foster, who is like his little brother, at UCLA as opposed to sitting out a year. The plan was always to return to the NFL in 2025, and he’s looking forward to the opportunities ahead.’

Once a NFL head coach candidate, Bieniemy returned to the college ranks to a school he had been at during the beginnings of his coaching career. The hope was that the veteran play caller would help boost UCLA’s offense under first-year head coach Foster in the school’s first season in the Big Ten.

However, the Bruins offense struggled throughout the season. The unit averaged 18.4 points per game − 126th in Division I out of 133 teams and third worst in the Big Ten − and it only scored more than 20 points in a contest twice. While the passing game under senior quarterback Ethan Garbers was decent at 242.2 yards per game (46th), the running game struggled with 86.6 yards a game, fourth-worst in the country. In total, the offense ranked 117th in the country in total offense as the team finished 5-7 and 3-6 in the Big Ten.

Bieniemy rose to prominence when he was a member of the Kansas City Chiefs. After joining the staff in 2013, Bieniemy eventually became the offensive coordinator, orchestrating the start of the team’s dynasty with Patrick Mahomes emerging as a top player in the NFL. With Bieniemy calling plays, Kansas City won two Super Bowls and appeared in the title game three times in a four-year span.

Given Kansas City’s success, Bieniemy was widely believed to be a highly sought NFL head coach, but he never got the position despite interviews with multiple teams. After the Chiefs won Super Bowl 57, Bieniemy left the organization to become the Washington Commanders offensive coordinator for the 2023-24 season. The team finished 4-13 and restructured after the season, ending Bieniemy’s time with the team after one season.

It’s unclear if Bieniemy will attempt to return to the NFL as an offensive coordinator or as a head coach. There are currently head coach openings with the New York Jets, New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears.

The NBA handed down several fines to the Houston Rockets after head coach Ime Udoka went on an expletive rant toward officials and one player attempted to confront a fan in the crowd.

All of the monetary penalties were in relation to Houston’s game against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday, which the Rockets lost 120-111. Udoka and two of his players were fined for their actions.

Late in the fourth quarter of the game with the Rockets down by 12-points, Udoka was ejected after he confronted an official following a play that involved center Alperen Sengun. Udoka then followed the referee to continue arguing but was held back by other members of the coaching staff. Sengun was also tossed from the game.

When speaking to reporters after the game, Udoka said he was upset with ‘blatant missed calls’ during the game while ‘ticky tack, moving screens and (expletive) like that’ were called. He also criticized one of the officials of the game.

(Sengun) got fouled a few times on that drive, and on the layup, and they don’t want to call it. I told him ‘Get some (expletive) glasses. Open your eyes,” Udoka said. ‘Take your sensitivity and emotions out of it and call the game the right way. It’s obvious right in front of you, and John Goble − or whoever it was − sees it, doesn’t call it, and I let him know about it.’

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In addition to Udoka’s actions, after the game, forward Tari Eason had a near altercation with a fan. According to The Athletic, Eason heard a heckler as he made his way back to the locker room. He reportedly threw a towel and yelled obscenities at the heckler, and then attempted to enter the stand to confront the person before security was able to hold him back. No altercation took place.

Fines given to Rockets by NBA

For their actions on the night, the following fines were handed out to members of the Houston Rockets by the NBA:

Ime Udoka: $50,000
Alperen Sengun: $15,000
Tari Eason: $35,000

Udoka was fined for ‘confronting and directing profane language toward a game official, failing to leave the court in a timely manner after being ejected’ as well as his criticism of the officiating in the press conference.

The league said Eason’s fine was for ‘throwing a towel and directing inappropriate language in the direction of a fans in the spectator stands.’ Sengun was fined for directing inappropriate language toward an official.

Great Britain equestrian athlete Charlotte Dujardin has been handed a one-year ban following an International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) investigation into a video of the three-time Olympic gold medalist in dressage that led to her suspension the week before the 2024 Paris Olympics started in July.

The video showed Dujardin whipping a horse excessively during a training session at a private stable. At the time, Dujardin said the actions were ‘completely out of character.’

British Equestrian also supports the suspension, which prevents Dujardin from competing in national events.

In a statement posted on Instagram, Dujardin said ‘this has undoubtedly been one of the darkest and most difficult periods of my life, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported me during this time.’ She said she accepted the FEI’s decision, and the FEI said the suspension includes the time she’s served since the body’s initial July 23 ruling.

‘As the federation has recognised, my actions in the video do not reflect who I am and I can only apologise again. I understand the responsibility that comes with my position in the sport, and I will forever aim to do better,’ Dujardin wrote.

In addition to her three golds, Dujardin has won an Olympic silver and two bronze medals. Her six total are tied for the most of any British female Olympian, alongside former track cyclist Dame Laura Kenny’s five golds and a silver.

Dujardin, 39, also announced Thursday that she is pregnant and that her child is due in February.

Call it a post-Thanksgiving lull, but Week 14 of the 2024 NFL schedule is a bit light – six teams taking their bye weeks, the final time any teams will be off … for the remainder of the regular season anyway.

Fresh off Turkey Day triumphs, the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers will be back on the field Thursday night in Motown, the Lions trying to move closer to a playoff berth – which they’ll clinch with a win or tie – and NFC North crown, which they cannot claim this weekend. However if the Pack notch the season split, they’ll not only pull closer in the divisional chase but would open the door for the Philadelphia Eagles to move into the No. 1 overall spot in the NFC.

The other 12 games seem less compelling – naturally, you never know when you’ll unexpectedly get a nationally televised shootout like the one Monday night in Denver – but there is intrigue to be found. For example, there’s Kirk Cousins’ return to Minneapolis as the Minnesota Vikings (who can claim their own playoff berth Sunday) host their former quarterback’s NFC South-leading – but faltering – Atlanta Falcons.

The Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals will meet for the second time in three weeks, the NFC West title still very much in doubt. The Los Angeles Rams are also part of that bout but must try to slow a Buffalo Bills team that remains on a tear. And, Sunday night, the Kansas City Chiefs will try to join the Bills as division champions in 2024 by vanquishing the Los Angeles Chargers.

Who ya got?

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Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions
New York Jets at Miami Dolphins
Atlanta Falcons at Minnesota Vikings
New Orleans Saints at New York Giants
Carolina Panthers at Philadelphia Eagles
Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers
Las Vegas Raiders at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Jacksonville Jaguars at Tennessee Titans
Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals
Buffalo Bills at Los Angeles Rams
Chicago Bears at San Francisco 49ers
Los Angeles Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs
Cincinnati Bengals at Dallas Cowboys

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