Luis Suárez and Lionel Messi have founded a new soccer club together that will compete in Uruguay, the Inter Miami duo announced on social media Tuesday. 

Suárez said he been working on the venture since 2018, and welcomed Messi into the fold in a video posted across the new club’s social media platforms. Suárez said the club has 80 working professionals and 3,000 members to ‘provide opportunities and tools for teenagers and children to help them grow.’

‘We hope that our club can start competing within the Uruguayan Football Association system. This is a very exciting goal for us, and it represents a huge step forward for me and my family,’ Suárez said. ‘We firmly believe in this project. We aim not only to provide sports facilities but also to serve teenagers from a humanistic perspective, giving them opportunities that we didn’t have when we were young. We will work hard with a calm mindset to turn this long, dreamed of project into a reality and participate in the competitive world.’

Messi, the Argentine World Cup champion, also shared a message in the club’s social media announcement. 

‘First of all, I’d like to thank Luis for giving me this opportunity to join this project,’ Messi said. ‘You’ve been working hard on this project for many years, and it has grown very significantly. It’s a great honor and joy for me to be a part of it with you now. Thank you for choosing me. I hope to do my best to contribute to the continued development of this project, and most importantly, to work side by side with you. Thank you very much.’

Together, Messi and Suárez won three Champions League titles among several others while shining together at FC Barcelona from 2014-2020. 

Messi, 37, joined Inter Miami in July 2023, followed by Suárez, 38, in 2024. Both are under contract with the MLS club through the 2025 season. It’s possible both could agree to contract extensions with Inter Miami later this year. 

Messi and Suárez will compete with Inter Miami during this summer’s FIFA Club World Cup hosted in the United States next month.

The Eastern Conference finals between the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks has been many things. Above all else, it has been a battle of road warriors.

Headed into Tuesday night’s Game 4 showdown with the Pacers up 2-1, the home team is yet to have won a game in this series, with the Pacers taking the first two at Madison Square Garden and New York stealing Game 3 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

In fact, the Pacers and Knicks are tied for most road wins (six) in the NBA playoffs this year.

In order to avoid a 3-1 series deficit, which would give them improbable odds to extend their postseason run, the Knicks will have to — once again — tap into intensity and efficiency on the road.

Knicks’ road playoff success

What makes New York’s road success in the playoffs remarkable is how it has fought back from deficits to pull out games on the road; the Knicks have trailed in the fourth quarters in five of their six postseason road victories.

In three of those, the Knicks have trailed by 20 points, making them the only team since at least the 1997 playoffs to win three road games in which they needed to rally from that many points down.

“I think we’re just resilient,” forward OG Anunoby said Monday. “We don’t want to be down 20, but sometimes it’s just how it happens. We know it’s a game of runs, so I guess we just lock in and go on a run of our own.”

Overall, the Knicks are 6-1 on the road this postseason, tying a franchise record for most road victories in a single postseason. Aside from having to erase deficits on the road, the Knicks have also had to close out tight games with crisp execution; in those six road wins, their average margin of victory has been just 2.7 points.

So how, exactly, have the Knicks done it?

Their defensive effort and intensity has undoubtedly sharpened in those moments, but, after Sunday night’s victory in Game 3, numerous players like Anunoby, Jalen Brunson and forward Mikal Bridges cited increased communication as another element sparking these runs.

“It’s competition,” Brunson said Monday. “It’s the playoffs. In order to go through and do something special, you have to go through a lot of adversity, a lot of questioning mentally and internally if we’re going to do this. It can make or break teams when you’re going through things like that.

“I think obviously what we did (Sunday) definitely helps us. We saw we were on the brink of it looking pretty dark for us. The way we responded I think it brings us closer together.”

The only flip side of all this success on the road for New York is that it juxtaposes the team’s struggles at home; the Knicks are 3-5 at the Garden.

Pacers’ road playoff success

Not to be outdone, Indiana is also 6-1 on the road this postseason, though the Pacers haven’t had to claw back from deficits quite like New York. Still, comebacks have very much been a part of Indiana’s success on the road.

In Game 1 last Wednesday, the Pacers rode a 20-point fourth quarter from Aaron Nesmith and a Tyrese Haliburton miracle bounce on a score-tying shot to force overtime. The Pacers, though, were down by nine points with 55 seconds left.

For the most part, Indiana has relied on its speed and pace in transition to either get out to early leads in road games, or make late surges in fourth quarters. Similar to the blueprint the Knicks have used, however, it’s all about execution down the stretch.

“You get in an environment like this where there’s so much noise and so much going on and so many distractions if you allow yourself to be distracted,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said Friday after Game 2. “We always talk about let the noise and all this other stuff be something to help trigger a narrowed focus — on your teammates, on your job within the team.”

The SEC faces a choice with its future football schedule: Opt for rivalry games like Alabama-Tennessee and Auburn-Georgia, or continue with cupcake games?
If SEC finally embraces a ninth conference game, it could come with a financial reward from media partner ESPN.
Rivalry games promote strength of SEC’s brand, but can conference’s membership resist the catnip of games against directional schools?

Picture the scene in “Shawshank Redemption” when Morgan Freeman’s character goes in front of the parole board, expecting to be rejected once again. He comments on the mockery of the proceeding and says bluntly, “You go on and stamp your forms, sonny, and stop wasting my time, because, to tell you the truth, I don’t give a (expletive).”

Yeah, that just about sums up my feelings on this upcoming SEC football scheduling debate.

Stay at eight conference games, or go to nine, I don’t much care anymore. Just put the schedule format to a vote in what will be a high-profile discussion item this week at the SEC spring meetings and make a decision.

As it stands, the SEC has approved no schedule format beyond the upcoming 2025 season.

The SEC carried on this scheduling charade for years since the announcement of Texas and Oklahoma joining the league. Some conference members previously pretended like they wanted an additional conference game, only to turtle up come voting time and preserve the eight-game conference schedule that’s supplemented with a feast of non-conference cupcake games.

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Before this came up for vote the last time in 2023, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey implied that money wouldn’t be a driver in the scheduling decision. Only an idiot would believe that, though. Money talks, and some conference members were reluctant two years ago to add another conference game unless ESPN, the league’s media partner, put more cash on the table. ESPN didn’t sweeten the pot.

Sankey proclaimed before the schedule vote in 2023 that the conference at the vanguard of college athletics “does not stand still.” Days later, the SEC’s membership unanimously voted to stand still with an eight-game conference schedule for the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Eighteen months later, the Big Ten, which plays nine conference games, led all conferences with four playoff qualifiers. The jokes write themselves.

Rivalries hang in balance of SEC football schedule debate

The SEC cared so much about secondary rivalries like Auburn-Georgia and Alabama-Tennessee in its divisional era that it built a schedule format around maintaining those games. This next vote on the schedule will test how much resolve still exists for protecting centuries-long rivalry games.

A nine-game conference schedule would allow for secondary rivalries like those two and others like Texas-Texas A&M to continue annually. Forging ahead with an eight-game format would put those secondary rivalries under threat of interruption unless the league abandons its stated goal of having all schools play each other twice during a four-year period.

Rivalry scenes like the “Prayer at Jordan-Hare” and cigar-puffing Tennessee fans tearing down the goal posts and baptizing them in the river after a long-awaited win on “The Third Saturday in October” help make the SEC brand what it is.

But, maybe SEC members will decide this week that it’s more important to leave room on the schedule for Tennessee to play Furman and Kennesaw State – both will come to Neyland Stadium in 2026! – instead of Alabama, and for Auburn to tussle with Jacksonville State instead of Georgia.

And after the Mississippi beats Wofford 92-0 in 2026, coach Lane Kiffin can chant “S-E-C! S-E-C!” and declare the strength of the SEC (half of which the Rebels didn’t play) so strong that the Rebels deserve a playoff bid with their 9-3 record.

Few SEC teams opt for 10 power conference games in current format

Credit Alabama, Florida and South Carolina for cueing up two Power Four non-conference opponents in 2025 to accompany the eight conference games. If Florida smashes Miami and Florida State en route to a 9-3 record against a rigorous schedule, well, we might see a 9-3 playoff team for the first time.

By comparison, the 13 other SEC teams will play only nine Power Four opponents. That’s one fewer Power Four opponent than teams like Arizona and Central Florida will play.

If Missouri can manage to fend off Central Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana-Lafayette, Massachusetts, Vanderbilt and one more SEC team, the Tigers would wrap up bowl eligibility.

That’s the beauty of the eight-game conference schedule: Bowl bids await for average teams that can beat bad teams in their out-of-league slate.

The beauty of the SEC adding a ninth conference game would be the creation of more matchups fans want to watch and media partners want to televise.

One fewer cupcake game also would bolster the SEC’s case when it comes time to stump for at-large bids for bubble teams.

Even better, ESPN might now be ready to fork over extra revenue in exchange for that ninth SEC game.

The SEC could even time its rollout of a ninth conference game with playoff expansion that’s probably coming in 2026. A bigger playoff would reduce the risk of an additional conference game thwarting a team’s opportunity for playoff access.

Alternatively, the SEC could stay at eight, turn up its nose at rivalries, rebuff the prospect of a bigger payday from ESPN, protect the cupcake games, and maintain the daintier conference schedule that offers minimal resistance to the league’s weaker members securing a Liberty Bowl bid.

At this point, there’s not much left to debate. So, go on ahead, sonny, and call it to a vote.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com. Follow him on X @btoppmeyer.

To slow Anthony Edwards, the Oklahoma City Thunder returned to their strategy from Games 1 and 2 of the Western Conference finals.

Edwards, the unquestioned top threat for the Timberwolves, finished Monday night’s Game 4 loss with 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting, as Minnesota fell into a 3-1 hole. Oklahoma City put multiple bodies in front of Edwards, mirroring its plan from early in the series. And if Minnesota’s postseason run does indeed end here, Oklahoma City’s defensive plan on Edwards can be seen as nothing but decisive.

“I thought the second half was more aggressive,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said after the game. “He got downhill, we got him off the ball a bit more. When he got to the paint, I thought he found some people, made the right plays. First half, I thought he lagged behind a little bit too much; he needed to get out in front so that we could stretch the floor and screen for him a bit. But the second half was much better.”

Finch is not wrong. Edwards did start the game deferring considerably, taking his first shot attempt — a driving layup through three Thunder defenders — when there were 35 seconds left in the first quarter. He took just one shot in the second quarter and had attempted his third after nearly two minutes had passed in the third quarter.

But even when Edwards did take actions to assert himself, the Thunder made life difficult. Oklahoma City took advantage of the game being officiated loosely, allowing for physicality along the perimeter.

Therefore, when the Timberwolves launched screen actions on pick-and-rolls, Thunder defenders like Luguentz Dort and Alex Caruso could hand check and body Edwards. And when Edwards was able to slip through the first line, the Thunder clogged the paint with more bodies, tempting Edwards to kick the ball out.

This has been the desired outcome for Oklahoma City throughout the series: pester Edwards enough with one or two bodies, forcing the ball out of his hands.

“I thought Dort early in the game on Edwards was really, really on it,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said after the game. “He set a great tone and established a level of energy and activity with him that was important. We really made him work for the ball. We really made him work for his shots.”

But even when Edwards sought a switch to Oklahoma City’s center, Chet Holmgren did an excellent job of facing up and using his length to contest deep 3s.

Shot attempt splits have certainly been a problem for Edwards this series — he put up just 13 shot attempts in losses in Games 1 and 4 — but the primary issue has been his inefficiency from deep. In Minnesota’s lone victory, in Game 3 on Saturday, Edwards flushed 5-of-8 shots (62.5%) from beyond the arc.

After going just 1-of-7 Monday night, Edwards is 5-of-24 (20.8%) across the three Timberwolves series losses.

it’s difficult to see the Timberwolves becoming the 14th team in NBA playoff history to overcome a 3-1 deficit without Edwards drastically improving his 3-point efficiency.

Minnesota must also fix its turnovers issue, after committing 23 Monday night, five by Edwards.

“I don’t look at it like I struggled,” Edwards told reporters after the game. “They had a good game plan, making us get off the ball — especially for me, man, they was super in gaps. I made the right play all night. So I don’t look at it like I struggled. I didn’t get enough shots to say I struggled. That might be how you guys look at it, but, yeah, I didn’t struggle at all, I made the right play.”

The NCAA baseball tournament bracket is headlined by the SEC, which as a deserving reward for another dominant regular season was assigned half of this week’s regional host sites and awarded 13 bids in the tournament’s 64-team field.

This is totally unsurprising: SEC teams rank No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6 in the USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll entering the tournament while the league has 11 teams in the Top 25.

The league’s regional hosts include Texas, which will look to rebound from an early exit from the SEC tournament, and Tennessee, the defending national champions. The eight hosts tie the tournament record from one conference previously set by the SEC in 2023 and the 13 teams set a new record.

Three ACC teams will play host for the regionals in North Carolina, Florida State and Clemson. Big Ten newcomers Oregon and UCLA are hosts, as are Coastal Carolina and Southern Mississippi from the Sun Belt and Oregon State, an independent.

Regional play features four teams in a double-elimination format. Winners will advance into best-of-three super regional play next weekend.

Beginning with the SEC, here are the biggest winners and losers from the World Series bracket:

Winners

The SEC

The full list of hosts: No. 1 Vanderbilt, No. 2 Texas, No. 3 Arkansas, No. 4 Auburn, No. 6 LSU, No. 7 Georgia, No. 10 Mississippi and No. 14 Tennessee. Joining this group are Alabama, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, Florida and Kentucky. As you can tell, there is simply no conference that’s close to the SEC. As in the NCAA softball tournament, the SEC has so many teams in the field, and so many near the top of the bracket, that the league is the undeniable favorite to bring home the national championship. Of course, the SEC has won the past five crowns and six of the past seven.

North Carolina

After capturing the ACC tournament for the second time in four years, No. 5 UNC is the highest-ranked seed from outside the SEC. The Tar Heels will also draw what looks on paper like a friendly regional that includes Oklahoma, Big Ten tournament champion Nebraska and Patriot League winner Holy Cross. UNC will open against the Crusaders, who needed extra innings to win the clinching game against Army and capture their second conference title in program history.

Oregon State

Playing as an independent with the Pac-12 on hiatus, No. 8 Oregon State was able to corral a path toward hosting a super regional thanks in large part to a strong RPI ranking and a very challenging non-conference schedule that was mostly loaded with road games. This is a huge deal for the Beavers, who have gone 30-7 in regional games played at Goss Stadium. Coming out of the weekend against the group of TCU, Southern California and Saint Mary’s would put Oregon State on track to host its super regional. That the Beavers drew a top-eight seed has to be tough for rival Oregon to swallow after the Big Ten regular-season co-champions swept a four-game set in late April.

Losers

Texas A&M

After going all the way to the championship series against the Volunteers last season and beginning this year ranked No. 1, the Aggies were unable to find a groove and fell short of the tournament despite making a late run in the SEC tournament. In doing so, A&M became the first preseason No. 1 team to miss the bracket since 1991, painting the Aggies as one of the biggest letdowns in the recent history of college baseball. You can point to a brutal schedule loaded with ranked competition, injuries to a few key returning contributors and the drop in offensive production as the culprits behind this unexpected swoon. But there’s no sugarcoating just how disappointing this season was for A&M.

The Big 12

Arizona State, Kansas State and Oklahoma State sneaked into the tournament as three of the last teams to be selected, joining TCU, Arizona, Kansas, Cincinnati and West Virginia to give the Big 12 eight teams in the bracket. That a good chunk of these teams just barely cracked the 64-team tournament helps show where the league stands in the national picture, however. None of the Big 12 teams will host a series this weekend. But keep an eye on Arizona in the regional hosted by Oregon; the Wildcats’ pitching heads into the tournament on fire, with starters allowing just one run in the past 22.1 innings.

Georgia

Another Big 12 team that could make some noise is Oklahoma State, the third seed in the regional hosted by No. 7 Georgia. The Bulldogs might have the toughest draw of any host, in fact, with the Cowboys joined by Duke and Binghamton. While Georgia has the talent, confidence and experience to advance to the second weekend, the Bulldogs will be tested by the Cowboys and Blue Devils, two opponents capable of pulling off an upset and reaching super regional play. Georgia has eight players with at least 10 home runs, led by Robbie Burnett’s 20 and all-league pick Slate Alford’s 17, but will need to get even more from pitcher Brian Curley, who has developed into the Bulldogs’ No. 1 arm.

The contenders during the 2025 NBA playoffs may be different than anticipated when the postseason began, but the team favored to win the championship more than a month ago continues to deliver whenever its perch has been challenged.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are now the overwhelmingly NBA Finals favorites after taking a 3-1 series lead over the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference finals. The Thunder were pegged to win the title by oddsmakers before the playoffs began, and their performance in big spots against the Denver Nuggets in the conference semifinals and again in Game 4 at Minnesota have strengthened that faith.

The Eastern Conference finals have also reached a pivotal juncture, with the Indiana Pacers holding a 2-1 series lead over the New York Knicks. The Pacers are favored to win the series after taking the first two games at Madison Square Garden, but the Knicks are coming off a resounding come-from-behind win at Indiana in Game 3. They play Game 4 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Tuesday.

Whatever team emerges from either conference will be in position to end a long championship drought or win the first title in franchise history. Here’s a look at the current NBA championship odds from BetMGM now that the league’s conference finals are in full swing:

NBA championship odds

BetMGM odds for NBA Finals winner as of Tuesday, May 27:

1. Oklahoma City Thunder (-375)
2. Indiana Pacers (+550)
3. New York Knicks (+1000)
4. Minnesota Timberwolves (+4000)

NBA conference finals bracket

Eastern Conference

No. 3 New York Knicks vs. No. 4 Indiana Pacers (Indiana leads series 2-1)

Western Conference

No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves (OKC leads series 3-1)

Watch the NBA playoffs with Fubo

NBA playoffs 2025: Conference finals schedule

All times Eastern.

Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Minnesota Timberwolves

Game 1: Thunder 114, Timberwolves 88
Game 2: Thunder 118, Timberwolves 103
Game 3: Timberwolves 143, Thunder 101
Game 4: Thunder 128, Timberwolves 126
Game 5, May 28: Timberwolves at Thunder | ESPN, Fubo | 8:30 p.m.
Game 6, May 30: Thunder at Timberwolves | ESPN, Fubo | 8:30 p.m.*
Game 7, June 1: Timberwolves at Thunder | ESPN, Fubo | 8 p.m.*

New York Knicks vs. Indiana Pacers

Game 1: Pacers 138, Knicks 135
Game 2: Pacers 114, Knicks 109
Game 3: Knicks 106, Pacers 100
Game 4, May 27: Knicks at Pacers | TNT, Sling TV | 8 p.m.
Game 5, May 29: Pacers at Knicks | TNT, Sling TV | 8 p.m.
Game 6, May 31: Knicks at Pacers | TNT, Sling TV | 8 p.m.*
Game 7, June 2: Pacers at Knicks | TNT, Sling TV | 8 p.m.*

*if necessary

Watch Knicks vs. Pacers with Sling TV

The Oklahoma City Thunder relied on all the attributes that led them to the NBA’s best record at 68-14 and the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.

Offense, defense, star power and depth propelled the Thunder to a 128-126 victory in Game 4 of the conference finals Monday, making it a 3-1 series lead for the Thunder who can finish the series in Game 5 Wednesday (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN). Oklahoma City is trying to reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012.

NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a playoff career-high 40 points, and All-NBA forward Jalen Williams had a playoff career-high 34 points for the Thunder. Oklahoma City held Minnesota All-Star Anthony Edwards to an uneventful 16 points and Julius Randle to five points.

Here are the winners and losers from Game 4 between the Thunder and Timberwolves:

Thunder vs. Timberwolves Game 4 winners

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Gilgeous-Alexander, who was named MVP for the first time in his career last week, reached 40 points in a playoff game for the first time in his career, and it also was the first time he recorded 10 assists in a playoff game. He was one rebound shy of a triple-double and scored seven of his 11 fourth-quarter points on free throws – including five made three throws in the final 14.5 seconds.

He has scored at least 30 points in six of Oklahoma City’s past seven playoff games and is averaging 30.1 points in the four conference finals games.

Jalen Williams

Williams surpassed his previous playoff high (32 points against Denver in overtime earlier this month) with 34 points – 14 coming in the fourth quarter when the Thunder needed his offense to hold off a Minnesota rally. He was 13-for-24 from the field and 6-for-9 on 3-pointers, including a key 3 with 3:34 left in the fourth quarter that pushed OKC’s lead to 116-109 and another with 1:21 to play that gave the Thunder a 123-116 lead. He also had five assists, three rebounds and three steals.

Chet Holmgren

Holmgren scored 21 points on 9-for-14 shooting and added seven rebounds and three blocks. That two-way performance is what helped make the Thunder the No. 1 defensive team and No. 3 offensive team.

Minnesota’s bench

Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 23 points on 9-for-15 shooting, including 5-for-8 on 3s, and Donte DiVincenzo had 21 points on 7-for-11 shooting, including 5-for-8 on 3s for the Timberwolves, whose bench produced 64 points. Naz Reid had 11 points and Terrence Shannon Jr. had nine.

Thunder vs. Timberwolves Game 4 losers

Anthony Edwards’ scoring

Edwards had 16 points on 5-for-13 shooting and was just 1-for-7 on 3s. That’s not enough – the Timberwolves need more shooting and scoring from Edwards. It’s the second time Edwards, who averaged 27.6 points during the regular season, has scored fewer than 20 points in this series.

Oklahoma City executed another strong defensive gameplan, keeping Edwards from dominating.

Julius Randle’s production

Randle had just five points, was 1-for-7 from the field and missed all three of his 3-point attempts. He had just six points in Game 2, and it’s difficult for the Timberwolves to win conference finals when their second-best scorer has fewer than 10 points.

Timberwolves turnovers

Minnesota coach Chris Finch has bemoaned turnovers throughout the series, and Game 4 was another turnover-laden game for his squad. The Timberwolves committed 23 turnovers leading to 22 Thunder points. That facet of the game has turned into a major storyline of the series.

In Game 1 of the Western finals, the Timberwolves committed 19 turnovers leading to 34 Thunder points. In Game 2, Minnesota had 14 turnovers leading to 22 Oklahoma City points. The Timberwolves lost both games. In Game 3 at home, the Timberwolves turned the basketball over just 10 times for 15 Thunder points and won.

Late-game ‘intentional’ fouls

With the Thunder ahead 126-123 with less than 10 seconds to play, they played the foul game, preventing Minnesota from attempting a potential score-tying 3-pointer.

Oklahoma City fouled Minnesota’s Naz Reid with 7.8 seconds and 7.2 seconds left. The Thunder had a foul to give on the first foul and sent Reid to the free throw line on the second foul. After Reid made two free throws and Gilgeous-Alexander made two free throws, the Thunder fouled Edwards with 3.5 seconds left so he couldn’t try a 3. Edwards made the first and intentionally missed the second.

The Thunder made the sound strategic decision for certain, but it also sullied the finish of a great game.