Wednesday’s matchup between the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers marked Dončić’s first game in Dallas since being traded away on Feb. 2 in a blockbuster deal that landed Anthony Davis in Dallas. Ahead of the matchup, the Mavericks honored Dončić with a video tribute that brought the five-time All-Star to tears.

Dončić’s eyes grew glossy as he tried to keep his composure during the tribute. He repeatedly wiped his eyes with a towel and had to look away from the jumbotron at one point as he was overcome by emotion.

The ESPN broadcast showed Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki applauding in the crowd. Following the video, Dončić shared an embrace with Markieff Morris, who was also traded from Dallas to Los Angeles. Dončić hugged the rest of his Lakers teammates, including LeBron James, before the Lakers huddled together ahead of tipoff.

Dončić predicted his return would be emotional for him.

“Of course it’s going to be a lot of emotion for me. I really don’t know what to expect,’ Dončić told reporters Tuesday night following the Lakers’ 126-99 loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder. ‘I don’t know what I’m going to feel, honestly. I’m looking forward to being back in Dallas, obviously, with the fans, seeing my teammates — ex-teammates. It’s going to be very emotional for me, for sure.’

When the game tipped off, Dallas fans showcased their enduring love for Dončić and cheered every time he touched the ball. On the other side of the spectrum, the Mavericks fanbase also chanted ‘Fire Nico,’ referring to Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison, who brokered the blockbuster trade. Harrison was spotted watching the beginning of the game from the tunnel instead of a seat.

Earlier Wednesday, a protest mural that features a navy Mavericks hat with a piece of duct tape over the logo that reads, ‘FIRE NICO,’ popped up in downtown Dallas ahead of Dončić’s return.

This story was updated with new information.

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AUGUSTA, Ga. – Every year since the world could see the place on television, this little town near the border of Georgia and South Carolina has been the epicenter of our retreat out of a long winter and into spring.

That’s always been the secret sauce of the Masters. Not the exclusivity of the club, nor the difficulty of the course, nor really the fact that it’s the only major championship in golf anchored to one place every year.

Mostly, it’s the visuals, the colors, perfectly green fairways framed by the towering pines and flowers that pop off the television screen like an invitation to once again start going outside. As always, every inch of this place is spectacular.

“A colder-than-normal January has been conducive to a near-perfect early spring bloom of Azaleas and other flowering ornamentals,” Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley said Wednesday. “One of our guests last week referred to the course as a beautiful painting, and I could not agree more.”

But the biggest golf tournament in the world has only grown in prestige over the past four years – not that it needed any help. The still unresolved fight between the PGA Tour and LIV, still simmering for a third straight Masters, has only made this tournament more powerful and elevated its place atop the sport’s food chain.

The sad reality is that it’s been nine months since Xander Schauffele won the Open Championship at Royal Troon. That’s nine months since all the best players in the world were in the same tournament. Nine months since we saw Rory McIlroy go against Brooks Koepka in a significant event, nine months since Scottie Scheffler has had a chance to close out a tournament with Bryson DeChambeau breathing down his neck.

Nearly two years since the so-called framework agreement that was supposed to bring the two sides into some type of merger agreement and almost three months since president Donald Trump’s inauguration – an event that inspired hope of reconciliation given his ties to the game and extensive business with the Saudi government – everyone is still waiting.

“I think at some point if the players get all together, I think we could figure it out,” DeChambeau said. “But it’s a lot more complicated, obviously, than we all think.”

At this point, it’s almost boring to talk about. LIV does its thing, paying huge sums to Jon Rahm, Phil Mickelson and a handful of others to play unserious golf while drawing pathetic television audiences. (Even on the main FOX network last week, LIV Miami drew less than one-third of the 1.746 million viewers watching the final round of the Valero Texas Open.)

But LIV’s intrusion into the sport has undeniably made the PGA Tour a significantly lesser product, too, and not just on the margins. The Tour’s so-called “Signature Event” structure, in which eight tournaments are elevated above the others, means the top players have even less incentive to play a full schedule and so there are rarely fields packed with stars – a split within a split. Aside from The Players, has there even been a single must-see tournament yet this year?

That’s golf now: Weaker, less interesting, rarely relevant to the average sports fan outside of the four majors. Round and round we go, with little to suggest a solution is coming that would reunite the best players and give fans – not to mention the companies paying huge sums to sponsor most of these tournaments – a reason to keep spending their cash on professional golf.

“When I think about reunification,” Ridley said, “I think about the having more players – all of the great players of the game – playing against each other more than just a few times a year. I’m not really in a position to say what form that should take as far as how the two organizations should come together, what legal structure that may be or what the financial aspects of that may be. But sometimes if you start kind of at eye level, and that is to encourage cooperation and trying to figure out a way to get something done, regardless of what the structure of it is, to where everyone can play together again.”

For the broader good of the game, Ridley is of course correct.

But as long as the split endures, the Masters benefits more than anyone.

Why? Well, most golf fans could probably tell you that McIlroy comes into the Masters with as good of a chance as he’s ever had, having won twice already this year including The Players. They could probably tell you how Scheffler, the defending champion here and No. 1 player in the world, has been struggling by his standards but flashed a hot putter last weekend that makes him extra dangerous this week. And they could probably tell you that Schauffele, who won two majors last year, has been way off form to start this season and is yet to record a top-10 finish.

And the LIV guys? When the final major championship ends in July, they simply disappear into the ether. Yes, they are playing tournaments. Some of those tournaments even draw good crowds, particularly in an Australian market that deserves more world class golf than it gets. But if you know a single thing about how Patrick Reed, Rahm, Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Cam Smith and the rest have been faring lately on the LIV tour, you are in the minority of the minority of golf fans.

Now in its fourth season, there’s enough of a sample size to make the following statement: Whatever you think about the concept of LIV or who’s paying its bills, the results over there simply do not matter to very many people. Nothing has broken through. Nobody’s really watching

 In fact, in four years, you can argue the only player-related LIV storyline that has been elevated to any relevance is a highly online argument between real people and social media trolls over whether four-time LIV winner Joaquin Niemann is one of the top-10 players in the world. (Given that he’s never finished better than 16th at any major, I think we all know the answer to that one.)

Point being, for all the significant players who took the LIV payday, the Masters is when they come out of the mothballs. Has Koepka or Rahm played well lately? Who knows. Who cares. When Masters week begins, it’s like reuniting with a friend who spent the last year in western Mongolia without Internet or cell phone service. We’re just happy to see them again.

“When you look back at whenever LIV started and this whole debacle started, no one really complained,” Collin Morikawa said. “You just…we enjoyed it. But then this all happened, and you take things for granted. You look back and you’re like, man, we had it pretty good. These weeks are special now. You don’t take them lightly.”

Make no mistake, the Masters is a colossus whether LIV exists or not. To golfers and hardcore fans, it’s special because it’s a major. To the common sports viewer who watches this tournament and maybe a few others, it’s the visual effects – the sparkling white sand, the vividly pink flowers, the perfectly mowed grass − that inspire imagination and awe.

But the PGA Tour-LIV split has made this week something different, even a level above what the Masters was before. Golf fans just don’t get many tournaments like this anymore. That’s a sad commentary on the state of the game but another layer of mystique for a 365-acre tract of Georgia land that was already the biggest thing in the sport.

WASHINGTON – A few hours before the Los Angeles Dodgers concluded their three-game series at Nationals Park Wednesday, a stadium TV tuned to Major League Baseball’s official network displayed two hosts running through a series of burning questions.

Between discussions of torpedo bats and sustainable starts came a question that might have startled the casual viewer.

“Are the Dodgers not a superteam?”

The hot topic seemed to affirm that the most expensive team in baseball history exists not as one of 30 big league franchises but rather as a vessel created to produce discourse, which will then be met with further discourse. That a superteam could exist in a sport that required the Dodgers to use 60 players to win the 2024 World Series – yet perhaps it actually isn’t the 2025 Dodgers since they’d lost four out of five games, dropping their record to 9-4.

Which is still a 112-win pace.

Such is life with roughly $390 million in salary commitments, a World Series title to defend and spring rumblings that this squad of Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts and nine or so viable starting pitchers would be the ones to break the major league record of 116 regular-season wins, perhaps threaten 120.

Yet this early season has already hatched a series of suboptimal events, from a freak aggravation of first baseman Freddie Freeman’s ankle injury, to $182 million lefty Blake Snell’s shoulder irritation sending him to the injured list, conjuring visions that come playoff time, this nearly half-billion dollar commitment to excellence will once again be trotting out bullpen games or fringe starters.

And after the squad dropped its first two games in D.C., with a trip to the White House followed by dismal performances in 45-degree temperatures, the great expectations breeded not panic but rather one of the mini-bursts of urgency that sustain great teams through long seasons.

So the Dodgers greeted their road trip finale with both urgency and pluck, snagging a four-run lead before the Washington Nationals could record an out, giving it right back as fill-in starter Landon Knack struggled, and finally cobbling together a two-run, go-ahead rally in the seventh inning for a 6-5 victory that salvaged the final game of the series.

The Dodgers are 10-4 now, technically tied for second in the National League West even as the standings are secondary this time of year. Yet even hiccups can look calamitous when near-perfection is the expectation.

“It comes with the character of the group,” says longtime utilityman Kiké Hernández, who finished his caretaking of first base while Freeman mends with a game-saving play in the ninth inning. “You have a lot of very seasoned people in this locker room. It’s realizing we have another 148 to go.

“And you know when you’re expected to win 162 games in a season, and you lose four in a week, then it could feel like the world is ending. But at the end of the day, we have 148 more. At some point, we were going to play (lousy) baseball, and it seemed like this was the week we did that.”

Wednesday, the temperature topped the 50-degree mark, practically balmy after 46- and 45-degree nights here, along with a rain-drenched slog in losing their final game at Philadelphia. And it only gets sunnier: The Dodgers are headed home, and Freeman – who tweaked his surgically-repaired ankle slipping in the shower – will be back in the lineup Friday against the Chicago Cubs.

Yet the club learned a lot about itself in this detour toward mediocrity.

Foot up on the gas

It’s been a quarter-century since the New York Yankees became the last club to repeat as World Series champions. The Dodgers seem about as primed as any club since to do so, what with Snell, Japanese pitching phenom Rōki Sasaki and All-Star relievers Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates refreshing the mix over the winter.

But personnel, despite the superteam expectations, only goes so far. And after the Dodgers began this trip unbeaten only to lose series to both the Phillies and Nationals while breaking down in every phase of the game, manager Dave Roberts was not having any complacency.

“We don’t want to get swept by these guys,” Roberts said before Wednesday’s series finale. “That wouldn’t be a good thing. I think our guys have a good look today. There’s a sense of pride, right? To not only win a series but potentially get swept by anyone isn’t a good feeling.

“I expect us to perform today.”

It’s almost like they heard him: Ohtani and Betts reached base ahead of Tommy Edman’s two-run triple, and Teoscar Hernández’s two-run homer created a 4-0 lead.

Knack gave it all back – plus one more – which forced the Dodgers to scrape together their winning rally, with Teoscar Hernández providing the winning margin with a soft single to right in the seventh.

Did they feel Roberts’ urgency?

“Not really,” says Teoscar Hernández.

Hey, no shade toward the manager. It’s just that the Dodgers know what they need.

“Those are the at-bats you want to win games,” he says. “It’s not always gonna be the big swings that are going to score runs. We’re going to score a lot of runs by the walks, by not getting into double plays, by getting the lucky hits I get in that situation.”

Run prevention doesn’t hurt, either. Kiké Hernández was one of the Dodgers’ original utility heroes and in Freeman’s absence, took his 5-foot-10 frame to first base, an odd sight on an ostensibly bulletproof team. Hernández is hitting just .103 on the young season, but saved Wednesday’s game with a diving stop in the bottom of the ninth and two runners on, turning a potential game-tying hit into a forceout, thanks largely to his veteran infield instincts.

“I just can’t think of many who make that play right there,” says Roberts. “I think we’d probably still be playing if he didn’t make that play.”

Still, the Dodgers are seeking a higher gear.

‘We have a lot of things to clean up’

It had been about 15 hours since the Dodgers struck out 15 times against a casting call of Washington relievers and Roberts was still annoyed.

Looking back on the club’s 8-0 start, he mused that they didn’t strike out that many times in games against the reigning Cy Young Award winners, fanning six times in a start against the Detroit Tigers’ Tarik Skubal and seven times against the Atlanta Braves and Chris Sale.

“I just don’t think 15 strikeouts with our ballclub should happen,” says Roberts, perhaps unaware that a pair of clubs had at least 18 strikeouts on Opening Day. “I don’t think we’ll see that again this year.”

Bad team at-bats, Roberts called them. The sentiment was not lost on the clubhouse.

“We have a lot of things to clean up,” says Kiké Hernández. “We’ve been having a lot of quick innings. I didn’t think we’ve really ran any starting pitchers out of the game early, which is something we pride ourselves in as a unit. We’ve gotten to some early, but we let them settle down and cruise through the rest of the game.

“There’s a lot of six-inning outings against us, and that’s got to change.”

Yeah, talk about high standards: They’re winning games but not kicking the opposing pitcher’s posterior quickly enough. Yet Hernández had a point: It was 4-0 before Nationals starter Jake Irvin could record an out. He somehow left with a 5-4 lead after six innings.

If style points are a concern, Freeman’s return should help significantly. The three starting pitchers on the IL – Snell, Tony Gonsolin and a fellow named Clayton Kershaw – will figure in at some point.

And despite all this, they’re still playing .714 ball – now on a 116-win pace. Hey, it’s not 162, but it’ll do.

And at the least, they survived the first cold spell of the season.

“Hopefully,” says Kiké Hernández, “L.A. is a little warmer than this.”

He’s not throwing in spring practice, and there’s no timetable for his return. 

And that’s about the only certainty this offseason for injured Florida quarterback DJ Lagway. 

This much we do know: if Florida signs a quarterback when the spring portal opens next week, there’s more to unfold from this developing story. 

Florida coach Billy Napier says Lagway has a shoulder injury, and a “lower body” injury. Two people close to the situation, speaking to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said Lagway’s shoulder injury could eventually need surgery, and his “lower body” injury is a core injury.

That leaves Lagway, one of the game’s rising stars, with two significant injuries heading into a critical offseason for the Gators. Lagway also had a hamstring injury in 2024 that sidelined him in the second half against Georgia and all of the following week’s game at Texas.

“He’s doing great,” Napier said last week when asked about Lagway during a spring practice media opportunity. “He has been modified in terms of his ability to throw the ball.”

Which is to say, he hasn’t thrown all spring.

SPRING POWER RANKINGS: Big Ten | SEC | ACC | Big 12

The two people close to the situation said the shoulder injury, more than likely, will need surgery at some point. The hope is offseason rest – as many as six months of non-throwing – will strengthen the shoulder, or at least allow Lagway to play the 2025 season. 

He could then have surgery after the season, and be ready for the start of the 2026 season. Lagway initially injured the shoulder in high school, and extended rest and rehabilitation was the course of treatment. 

The Lagway family, in consultation with the Florida staff and team and private physicians, has decided on rest and rehab this offseason instead of any potential surgery — which would now prevent Lagway from playing most or all of the 2025 season.

Napier, who has declined all offseason to explain specifics of the injury, said last week, “Obviously, you know, it’s really more of a holistic approach in terms of what we’re doing with him.”

This is a sticky situation on many levels. Florida has invested significant NIL funds on Lagway, and the Gators are a completely different team when he’s playing. 

He not only led the Gators on a late-season surge with wins over LSU and Mississippi, Florida was leading SEC champion Georgia 13-6 late in the second quarter when Lagway sustained the hamstring injury.

With Lagway, the Gators had the Georgia defense stunned and scrambling to adjust. Without Lagway, the Gators – with walk-on replacement – eventually wore down with a one-dimensional offense in a 34-20 loss. 

Lagway started six games in 2024, and threw for 1,915 yards and 12 touchdowns with nine interceptions. He also averaged 10 yards per attempt, and the Florida offense was drastically different with him under center. 

The Gators officially ended the College Football Playoff hopes of LSU and Ole Miss in back-to-back weeks behind Lagway’s big-play ability, and a rapidly improving defense. The late-season surge became a referendum on Napier and Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin’s call for patience with a young and developing team. 

Now Florida is a sleeper pick for the College Football Playoff.

The problem moving forward: Lagway’s backups are walk-on Aidan Warner, who struggled last season against Georgia and Texas – the SEC’s two best defenses – and one-time blue chip recruit Harrison Bailey, who will be playing for his fourth team this fall (Tennessee, UNLV, Louisville).

Neither of those two would seem to be the answer against one of the nation’s most difficult schedules. The Gators have road games in 2025 against Miami (Fla.), Texas A&M, LSU, Ole Miss in addition a neutral-site game against Georgia and home games against Texas and Tennessee.

The idea of Warner and/or Bailey winning any of those games seems far-fetched, even though Bailey threw for 227 yards and three touchdowns in his only start at Louisville — a bowl win over Washington. 

Warner has played the best of the two in spring drills, and both will get a majority of the repetitions in Saturday’s spring game. Maybe one of the two separates in that game, and the staff doesn’t feel the need to add from the portal. 

And at this point, any addition from the spring portal – which officially opens April 16 for 10 days – who is good enough to start Day 1 would have to accept the reality that it may not happen in 2025. 

For now, the focus is on Lagway and his injured shoulder. It’s the difference between a playoff sleeper, or the great unknown. 

That might be the only certainty this offseason at Florida.  

Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Lionel Messi is still full of epic and magical moments on the soccer pitch, even at this stage of his legendary career.

Messi scored two goals — including a penalty kick in the 84th minute — to help Inter Miami overcome a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2 on aggregate score against Los Angeles FC in the second leg of their Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinal on Wednesday night at Chase Stadium.

As the match went final, Inter Miami owner Jorge Mas hugged first-year coach Javier Mascherano on the pitch. Co-owner David Beckham also began celebrating on the sidelines.

And the celebration continued into Inter Miami’s locker rooms as players banged on their lockers while listening to loud music, all while Mascherano tried his best to give his postgame press conference in the adjacent room.

Mascherano said he told Mas you must have a little bit of luck to win these types of matches.

It also helps when you have one of the greatest ever leading the way.

“(Messi) is the soul of this team,” Mascherano said after his former Barcelona and Argentina teammate led Inter Miami to victory.

“Sometimes I feel uncomfortable talking about him because I’ve been his teammate for 20 years and now it’s my turn to help him in this stage of his career as a coach. He’s a guy who has already done it all in football. He’s the greatest in history, and he’s still setting an example of how to compete. He’s still leading the way and guiding the new generations.

“Beyond having won everything, until the last day he plays on a pitch, he will want to win and will do the impossible to win. … Football is not just about wanting to win, you also have to be able to win. And he has that ability, because he is the greatest of all.”

Messi’s first score of the match – and Inter Miami’s first score in the two-game quarterfinal series, which started in Los Angeles last Wednesday – came in the 35th minute.

It was a much-needed response after Aaron Long scored in the 10th minute to double LAFC’s lead. Nathan Ordaz scored in the first leg last week, but no other LAFC player was able to find the net again.

“It’s the same story against this team. If you do not vary your chances, they will hang around and hang around, and punish you,” LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo said after the loss. “If there’s anything to criticize us for, it’s not burying them when we had them.”

Messi willed Inter Miami in this match, even overcoming two highlight moments that were ultimately voided after referees held video reviews, until the final breakthrough.

Messi scored on a free kick before his first goal, but the score was disallowed after he started the play before everyone else did. The referee did not blow his whistle, LAFC players argued. And the goal was taken off the board in the 30th minute.

Messi also nearly had an assist to Luis Suarez, who headed in a goal in the 67th minute. That should have been the game-winner before it was determined Suarez was offsides on his run into the box.

Six minutes earlier, Inter Miami defender Noah Allen kicked a chip shot into the goal that nearly grazed the head of midfielder Federico Redondo in the 61st minute, to tie the series.

Then, the stage was set for Messi’s penalty kick after LAFC’s Marlon Santos – who played at Barcelona from 2017-18 with Messi – was called for a handball inside the box in the 82nd minute.

Messi shined in the moment — just like his first goal with Inter Miami, when he scored a game-winning free kick on July 21, 2023.

Now, Inter Miami will play in the semifinals of the Champions Cup for the first time in the franchise’s brief history (starting play in 2020).

“That’s why football is so beautiful because in football, chance plays a more important role than in other sports. And well, this side of the coin fell on our side today,” Mascherano said.

Shortly after Messi’s second goal, he was leveled by Santos, starting a little bit of a brawl between both teams before the match concluded. The former Barcelona teammates later shook hands after Messi spent some time on the pitch in distress after referees were able to control the chaos.

Inter Miami goalie Oscar Ustari made three final, crucial saves, while Redondo also blocked an attempt in the final minutes to help Messi’s side prevail.

Inter Miami is three matches away from another trophy after playing without legendary midfielder Sergio Busquets, who served a one-match tournament suspension for two yellow cards incurred during earlier matches.

The club lost to Atlanta United in the first round of the 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs without an injured Busquets to spoil their pursuit of the league title, after winning the Supporters’ Shield.

Now, Inter Miami will face the Vancouver Whitecaps – a fellow MLS club that ousted LIGA MX side Pumas in Mexico City late Wednesday night. Tristian Blackmon’s goal in the 93rd minute helped Vancouver win 3-3 with two away goals to break the tie and reach the semifinal.

Cruz Azul and Tigres UANL will play in the other Champions Cup semifinal. The first leg of the semifinals will be April 22-24, and the second leg of the series will be April 29-May 1.

Before then, Inter Miami and LAFC both return to MLS regular-season play. LAFC hosts San Jose on Saturday night, while Inter Miami visits the Chicago Fire on Sunday.

“I am grateful to them for this unforgettable night that they gave us all,” Mascherano said.

Inter Miami vs. LAFC highlights

Inter Miami 3, LAFC 1: Messi scores penalty kick

Lionel Messi’s penalty kick goal turned out to be the winner for Inter Miami, which went up 3-2 on aggregate against LAFC.

Luis Suarez scores header on Messi assist, but goal disallowed: Inter Miami 2, LAFC 1 (Score tied 2-2)

Inter Miami nearly had a lead in this game, and this quarterfinal series on aggregate score. But referees ruled offsides after another exciting sequence. Luis Suarez scored a header on an assist from Lionel Messi in the 67th minute, but the goal was disallowed a lengthy VAR from referees.

It’s the second time this match Inter Miami had a goal taken off the board.

Noah Allen scores goal: Inter Miami 2, LAFC 1 (Series tied 2-2 on aggregate score)

Inter Miami midfielder Federico Redondo nearly grazed his head on a chip pass from defender Noah Allen, but Allen is the goal scorer to find the net in the 61st minute to tie this match. LAFC’s Ryan Hollingshead tried to deflect the score, but he only aided Inter Miami’s score.

So, the score is 2-1 in this game for Inter Miami. But this Champions Cup quarterfinal is tied 2-2 on aggregate score.

Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi tee off on goal: Inter Miami 1, LAFC 1 (LAFC 2-1)

Inter Miami’s Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi both teed off with shots toward the net in the 42nd minute before halftime, but both were unable to connect during the busy sequence defended by LAFC goalie Hugo Lloris.

Messi scores goal for Inter Miami: Inter Miami 1, LAFC 1 (LAFC 2-1)

All Lionel Messi needs is to turn a corner, and he’ll find a way to find the net.

Messi scores in the 35th minute to help Inter Miami tie this match at 1, but they still trail 2-1 in aggregate score in the series against LAFC. He was assisted by Jordi Alba on the play.

Still, Inter Miami needs two more goals to advance to the Champions Cup quarterfinals.

Messi scores free kick goal, but referees disallow: LAFC 1, Inter Miami 0 (LAFC 2-0)

Lionel Messi scored a free kick before any LAFC player appeared ready for the play, and the goal nearly counted before a referee took the goal off the board.

Messi’s score won’t count because it did not appear a whistle was blown by the referee to continue play.

On Messi’s second attempt, his kick collided into a wall of LAFC defenders than his own teammate Maxi Falcon.

Timmy Tillman, Denis Bouanga nearly score: LAFC 1, Inter Miami 0 (LAFC 2-0)

LAFC’s Timmy Tillman and Denis Bouanga nearly scored with shots on goal, but Inter Miami goalie Oscar Ustari was able to defend well despite surrendering the early goal.

Messi fires shot toward goal, but misses: LAFC 1, Inter Miami 0 (LAFC 2-0)

Messi fired a shot toward goal in the 18th minute, but it was punched away by LAFC goalie Hugo Lloris.

Aaron Long goal: LAFC 1, Inter Miami 0 (LAFC leads 2-0 on aggregate score)

A crowded sequence in the goal area has Inter Miami down by two in this Champions Cup quarterfinal against LAFC.

LAFC’s Aaron Long was able to score in the 10th minute to take a 1-0 lead in this match, and 2-0 in aggregate score during the series.

Inter Miami’s climb to come back is even steeper, following the score.

Lionel Messi waves to fans during pregame warmups

How to watch Inter Miami vs. LAFC Champions Cup on TV, live stream?

The match will be available in English on FS1, and in Spanish via TUDN and ViX.

What time is Inter Miami vs. LAFC Champions Cup match?

The match begins at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT, 9 p.m. in Argentina).

Is Lionel Messi playing tonight?

Yes, Messi is in Inter Miami’s starting lineup against LAFC. Here are the lineups for both teams:

Inter Miami vs. LAFC betting odds 

Inter Miami has -135 odds to win at home, while a draw is +290 and a LAFC win on the road is +310. Messi is -110 odds to be an anytime goal scorer, according to BETMGM. 

Inter Miami vs. LAFC prediction 

Inter Miami 3, LAFC 1: Lionel Messi works his magic to score two goals and assist Luis Suarez for another to lead Inter Miami, while Denis Bouanga makes things interesting with a goal for LAFC. Inter Miami advances 3-2 on aggregate score in a thriller. — Safid Deen, USA TODAY Sports’ Lionel Messi reporter.

Inter Miami to play without Sergio Busquets 

One of Inter Miami’s core of former Barcelona stars will not play tonight vs. LAFC: Legendary midfielder Sergio Busquets is serving a tournament suspension after picking up his second yellow card in the first leg in Los Angeles last Wednesday. Inter Miami will rely on second-year midfielders Yannick Bright and Federico Redondo to replace their most reliable veteran. 

Inter Miami/LAFC winner could face MLS team in Champions Cup semifinal 

After the Inter Miami-LAFC match, the Vancouver Whitecaps will visit Pumas in Mexico City (10:30 p.m. ET on FS1). That series is tied, following a 1-1 draw in the first leg last week in Canada. 

One semifinal is already set between two LIGA MX clubs: Cruz Azul and Tigres UANL advanced after winning their quarterfinals on Tuesday night. Cruz Azul beat Club America, 2-1, while Tigres ousted the reigning MLS Cup champion LA Galaxy, 3-2. 

AUGUSTA, Ga. – As the Masters gets underway, here are sports columnist Dan Wolken’s five bold predictions for how this week will turn out.

This year will produce the lowest (real) winning score since 2015

Putting aside Dustin Johnson’s 20-under par during the COVID Masters played in November 2020 when course conditions were completely different than in the spring, nobody has come close over the past decade to Jordan Spieth’s 18-under in 2015. The winner this year will need to be around that neighborhood because of the ideal scoring conditions in store this weekend. In recent years, Augusta National has been impacted by severe weather on at least one or two days including last year when ridiculous 30-40 mph winds swept through Thursday and Friday. But this year, there’s really no wind in the forecast and only a small chance of rain Friday, which would do nothing but soften the course a bit. Combined with the rain the course received Monday, it’s going to be about 70 degrees and sunny every day with calm conditions. It should be a birdie assault on Augusta.

The winner of the Masters will eagle No. 13 on Sunday

Lengthening the 13th hole to 545 yards with the new back tee box seems to have had a big impact on scoring. There were just 108 birdies for the entire tournament each of the past two years since the change and only 12 combined eagles on the hole known as “Azalea.” Compare that to, say, 2019 when there were 158 birdies and 17 eagles. Increasing the distance from 510 yards has brought the average score up fractionally, from around 4.6 strokes most years to around 4.7 and change the past two. Of course, weather plays a big factor so it’ll take several more years to see the true impact of making the hole 35 yards longer. But Fred Ridley, the tournament chairman, said Wednesday he believes more players are going for the green in two because drives that leak out to the right are not reaching the trees like they used to. “Our motivation was to create more excitement and have more players go for the green,” he said. With more players trying to eagle the hole but fewer actually doing it, it makes sense that someone is going to hit the right approach and create separation on the leaderboard at that key spot on the course. Why not this year?

Phil Mickelson will be in the mix Sunday

Lefty feels a little bit like a museum artifact these days, given that he’s 54 and hasn’t won an official tournament since the Charles Schwab Cup Championship on the senior tour in November 2021. But he does know his way around Augusta, as he proved two years ago by sneaking into a tie for second behind Jon Rahm with a final round 65. Interestingly, that was only Mickelson’s third top 10 since he last won the tournament in 2010. But what’s more important is that he seems to be in good form lately with a third and a sixth place in the past three LIV events. Winning the event is probably beyond his reach, but it’s not a shock to see an old guy on the leaderboard at the Masters simply due to knowing how to play the course. This feels like a good spot for the three-time champion to make one last big run at the title.

Rory McIlroy will lose the Masters in a playoff

At this point, the world’s No. 2-ranked player has lost majors in just about every heartbreaking way known to man, especially the past few years. Couldn’t make a birdie putt in the final round at St. Andrews. Couldn’t hold off Wyndham Clark at L.A. Country Club. Couldn’t close the deal against Bryson DeChambeau at Pinehurst. What’s the one thing he hasn’t done? Lose a major in a playoff. Before McIlroy wins his career Grand Slam at the Masters, he has to complete has Grand Slam of disappointments. You can say he already has his what-if moment at this course back in 2011 when he had the lead going into the back nine on Sunday before blowing up with a triple bogey on No. 10 and a four-putt on No. 12. But that was a long, long time ago and the current Rory cycle demands that he lose a major in a playoff before he starts winning them again. Those are the rules.

There will be a first-time Masters winner this year

Who beats McIlroy in the playoff? It will be someone crowned as a major champion for the first time. The highest-ranked player without a major is a fairly obvious pick: Ludvig Aberg, the 25-year-old Swede who finished second last year in his Masters debut. But Aberg hasn’t played that well lately, missing the cut in his two most recent events. Next on the list is Russell Henley. Russell who? He’s not a household name, but the native Georgian is playing the best golf of his life at 35 and ranked No. 10 in the world after winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational last month. After that comes Viktor Hovland, who would admit that his swing is a mess. Then Maverick McNealy, who has never played the Masters or finished better than 23rd in a major. Then it’s Tommy Fleetwood, who can’t seem to put it all together when it counts. Next comes Sepp Straka, who is too streaky to pick. Then we get to Patrick Cantlay, who is probably due to win a major and has played well this year. So that’s the pick. It’s Cantlay.