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Messi leads Miami to win in frigid first leg of CCC
Inter Miami CF kicked off its 2025 campaign with a 1-0 victory over Sporting Kansas City in the first leg of the first round of the Concacaf Champions Cup at Children's Mercy Park.
Though Concacaf postponed the game by 24 hours to Wednesday night because of the winter storm that brought heavy snow to Kansas City, players continued to face frigid conditions -- with temperatures hitting 3 degrees Fahrenheit with a "real feel" of minus 8 by halftime.
Still, Lionel Messi found a way to stun the opposing defense and provide fans with a moment of excitement in the second half. Longtime teammate Sergio Busquets provided a ball into the box for Messi to bring down before beating his defender and sending his shot into the opposite corner.
The rest of the match saw a back-and-forth game between the two sides, amounting to a total of 16 shots (seven from Sporting KC and nine by Miami).
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Miami entered the match without Jordi Alba, who was serving a suspension for receiving a red card in the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinal clash against CF Monterrey. First-choice goalkeeper Drake Callender was also sidelined with an injury.
Despite the absences, the team picked up a crucial victory from the first leg and marked an important away goal that could prove to be the difference in the series.
Concacaf rules state that if aggregate goals are equal, the away goals rule is applied and counts as the first tiebreaker.
Kansas City would now need to score at least two goals at Chase Stadium in order to advance to the next round in regulation time when the teams meet in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for the second leg on Feb. 25.
Rybakina saves six match points to beat Badosa
Elena Rybakina saved six match points before closing out a dramatic victory against Paula Badosa to reach the quarter-finals of the Dubai Tennis Championships, while world number one Aryna Sabalenka fell to a surprise defeat.
Kazakhstan's Rybakina fought back from 6-3 down in a second-set tie-break, while Badosa also spurned two match points on Rybakina's serve at 6-5 in the decider.
The world number seven held firm before securing a 4-6 7-6 (10-8) 7-6 (7-2) win with her first match point after a gruelling two hours and 49 minutes.
The six match points saved is the most by a player en route to a WTA Tour win since Tatjana Maria's win over Emiliana Arango at Nottingham in June.
The 2022 Wimbledon champion will face Sophia Kenin after the American ended Jasmine Paolini's title defence with a 6-4 6-0 victory.
Italy's Paolini, a runner-up at the French Open and Wimbledon last year, struggled in the second set after rolling her ankle and later withdrew from the doubles.
Venus Williams, 44, given wildcard for Indian Wells
Their father, Richard, later accused fans of racial abuse. Serena returned to the tournament in 2015, while Venus played the following year.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, 34, has also been handed a wildcard after her announcement earlier this month that she would return to tennis following the birth of her first child in July.
On the men's side, Brazil's 18-year-old rising star Joao Fonseca, who won his first ATP Tour title at the Argentina Open on Sunday, was granted a wildcard along with American 19-year-old Learner Tien, who reached the fourth round of January's Australian Open.
British number one Jack Draper stormed into the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open with a dominant victory over Christopher O'Connell.
Draper did not face a single break point and needed just 59 minutes to wrap up a 6-2 6-1 win against the Australian.
The world number 16 is playing his first tournament since retiring injured from his fourth-round meeting with Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz at January's Australian Open.
He broke serve in the first game of the match and again at 4-2 before serving out the opener, while O'Connell won just one game in the second.
The 23-year-old will face Matteo Berrettini, who backed up Tuesday's straight-set win over Novak Djokovic with a 7-6 (7-4) 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 victory against Tallon Griekspoor.
Draper remains on course for a semi-final encounter with Alcaraz, who beat Italy's Luca Nardi 6-1 4-6 6-3 later on Wednesday.
Four-time major winner Alcaraz is now on a 12-match winning streak at ATP 500 events and will play Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic in the last eight.
Elsewhere in Doha, Alex de Minaur claimed his 200th tour-level hard-court win with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Botic van de Zandschulp to set up a quarter-final against fifth seed Andrey Rublev, who beat Nuno Borges 6-3 6-4.
World number six Daniil Medvedev defeated Zizou Bergs 6-2 6-1 and will face Felix Auger-Aliassime, after the Canadian was handed a walkover as Serbia's Hamad Medjedovic withdrew because of injury.
Wales against Ireland in the Six Nations has traditionally been a battle between red and green.
But on Saturday, Ireland will swap green for white as they look to secure the Triple Crown in Cardiff.
It comes after World Rugby introduced a directive to assist supporters who are affected by colour vision deficiency (CVD) by limiting the amount of kit clashes in the sport.
It can be difficult for those who have CVD, also known as colour blindness, to differentiate between colours, including red and green.
One in 12 men and one in 200 women worldwide are colour blind.
The last time Ireland wore a white jersey was against Tonga, who played in their home red shirt, at the 2023 World Cup in France.
Ireland have defeated England and Scotland in their opening two matches and can win the Triple Crown against Wales, who are winless in 14 matches and will be led by Matt Sherratt after Warren Gatland left his role as head coach.
Gatland 'weighed down' by criticism before Wales exit
Several members of Gatland's Grand Slam-winning squads are now pundits, and he says he felt disappointed by the criticism from some ex-players.
"You give that facade in terms of not showing everything or too much emotion," he said.
"I've felt a huge amount of negativity in the Welsh press and that just kept weighing down on me. I just kept thinking, 'where is someone in my corner or someone fighting a little bit for me?'.
"It's been tough. They (former players) are trying to find their feet in the game and sometimes you have to be seen to be objective. And by being objective, be critical. I look and can say that there's a number of them that wouldn't be in the media if they hadn't played for Wales, or hadn't played for the [British and Irish] Lions, or hadn't been successful."
Gatland said current players were also affected by the criticism, but believes his Wales exit will create "breathing space" to allow the squad and coaches a chance to rebuild.
Gatland added that he was surprised former assistant Rob Howley has not been retained by interim head coach Sherratt, while warning his permanent successor will need "thick skin".
He added: "There's a lot of people who want you to succeed, but there's also a lot of people who want you to fail as well. And I've experienced that."
Feyi-Waboso to miss Six Nations after shoulder surgery
England's Immanuel Feyi-Waboso will miss the Six Nations after having shoulder surgery.
The wing initially opted not to have surgery on a dislocated shoulder sustained before Christmas after discussions between England and Exeter Chiefs.
England head coach Steve Borthwick said earlier this month there was a "possibility" Feyi-Waboso could be back before the end of the Six Nations.
On Wednesday, the Exeter wing posted a photo of himself in hospital following the surgery on Instagram, with the caption "minor setbacks, we go again".
It is understood the 22-year-old's shoulder did not respond to rehabilitation as he hoped, so he opted to have surgery.
Feyi-Waboso was shortlisted for World Rugby's breakthrough player of 2024 after scoring five tries in his first eight England appearances.
Editors Note: In a nod to our 90 years of history, each week SPEED SPORT will look back at the top stories from 15, 30 and 60 years ago as told in the pages of National Speed Sport News.
15 Years Ago 2010
News: Tragedy struck during the NHRA Arizona Nationals Sunday afternoon at Firebird Intl Raceway as a spectator was killed when a tire and wheel came off of Antron Browns Top Fuel dragster in a first-round crash, jumped the fence and struck her.
Still unidentified Monday morning, the woman was pronounced dead at Good Samaritan Hospital.
Brown was uninjured in the crash that saw his dragster contact the retaining wall and come to rest half in the lane and half outside it between the wall and the catch fence.
An NHRA statement issued Sunday night merely confirmed the incident had happened:
NHRA is investigating the incident, the statement said. The entire NHRA community is deeply saddened by todays incident and sends its thoughts and prayers to the womans family and friends.
Browns team owner, Don Schumacher, issued a statement Monday morning.
Don Schumacher Racing is one of the leading advocates for safety in the NHRA, and we will continue to be at the forefront of safety, Schumacher said. Safety is and always has been our paramount concern. Therefore, we intend to do everything in our power to carefully investigate this matter as efficiently and thoroughly as possible. We ask for your patience, and assure you that we will have more to report as information becomes available to us. In the meantime, we extend our sympathies and ask everyone to keep the victim of yesterdays tragedy, as well as her family and friends, in your thoughts and prayers.
The accident came on a day full of delays, including rain, which saw the event called off prior to the conclusion, with the finals in Funny Car and Top Fuel scheduled to be completed Monday morning.
Meanwhile. the Pro Stock portion of the program was also full of problems and because of concerns about the track conditions. The quarterfinal, semifinal and final rounds of the event will be completed during the 41st annual Gatornationals at Gainesville (Fla.) Raceway March 11-14.
Winners: Levi Jones led only the final lap of Sundays rain-delayed USAC Silver Crown Series season opener at Tucson Raceway.
The event was the headliner of the Rosemont Copper on Dirt, which was held at the three-eighths-mile dirt track for the first time after moving from the now-defunct Manzanita Speedway.
Three-time and defending series champion Bud Kaeding paced the first 49 circuits, but Jones, who had been the fast qualifier in the No. 10 Bass Pro Shops Kistler-powered Maxim. shadowed Kaeding throughout and made his winning move on the final lap.
The victory gave Tony Stewart Racing a record-tying 23rd victory as a car owner in the series. Team 6R Racing also has 23 Silver Crown triumphs to its credit.
Jones had won the AMSOIL USAC National Sprint Car Series event earlier in the day.
Kaeding finished second, while Bobby East. Jerry Coons. Jr. and Tracy Hines filled the top five.
30 Years Ago 1995
News: In early times the term cold war would have come to mind. I match your move
with my move, continuing an ever-escalating stalemate.
Gary Nelson, Winston Cup Director, doesnt believe the effort by NASCAR to deter teams on the Winston Cup circuit from using digital data transmission can be considered a cold war but the
small blue box resting on the post-race Inspection bench in Rockingham sure got a few
serious long-distance looks from car owners, engine builders and crew chiefs.
NASCAR issued a verbal warning at Daytona to put the teams on notice that digital data transmission will not be tolerated.
To enhance its ability to detect and deter such transmissions and to send a consistent stern warning, NASCAR has added Steve Peterson, an electronics wizard and former Roush Racing employee, to its inspection staff.
What are they looking for? According to Nelson NASCAR is looking to prevent the usage
of electronic items similar to those used in IndyCar and F-1.
I believe they are looking for ignition boxes that serve as more than just Ignition boxes, said Larry McReynolds, crew chief on the Texaco Havoline Ford. Some boxes can retard
and advance timing and operate traction control. Traction control operates when wheels reach a
certain speed by cutting a cylinder out thereby preventing wheel spin. They have been used on Indy ears.
We looked at the timing but it makes no sense to use it since it is not legal, added McReynolds.
Petersons job is to deter usage of such electronic equipment. Nelson Is hopeful
that just Petersons presence will be enough to keep teams from trying to use any such device during competition.
Nelson would like nothing more than for Peterson to quietly do his job after every race and never find anything, hopefully because there will be nothing to find.
Theyve got their little box and now weve got our box, said Nelson.
Winners: It took a lot of horsepower, a tad bit of determination, a smidge of guts and yes, a little luck, but Fred Rahmer passed Lance Dewease with two laps remaining and held on to win the Eastern-sprint car opener Saturday afternoon at Lincoln Speedway.
With temperatures in the low 40s, a packed house looked on as the new season got under way.
Dewease, who won 31 sprint car races last season, drew the pole, while Rahmer drew sixth starting spot for the 25-lapper.
However, three consecutive aborted starts which saw outside front-row man Brian Paulus get upside down and also involved cars driven by Bob Howard, Bill Brian, Howie Locke, Bob Bennett, Dan Dietrich and Steve Siegel, saw the second and fourth starters eliminated. When the race finally got the green flag, Rahmer shared row one with Dewease.
The race went flag-to-flag with Dewease driving his Walt Dyer No. 461 to a full straightaway advantage over Rahmer during the mid-stages of the event.
But as Dewease struggled to find a way around the strong-running duo of Len Thompson and Kenny Adams, Rahmer closed the gap. Rahmer finally caught Dewease on lap 22 and as the pair powered off turn four to complete lap 23, Rabmer pinned Dewease behind a slow ear and took the lead.
Donnie Kreitz raced home third with Todd Gracey and Todd Shaffer completing the top five.
60 Years Ago 1965
News: Lee Roy Yarbroughs second attempt to break the existing world speed record on a competitive course in a 1965 Dodge will be made a few days before the 2,000-kilometer Daytona Continental is run at Daytona Intl Speedway on Sunday, Feb. 28, master mechanic Ray Fox has announced.
I clocked Lee Roy at 184.6 miles per hour on one lap of his preliminary runs last week, Fox said, and down the long backstretch he was going better than 220 miles per hour. Thats right-220.
Yarbrough and Fox are after the mark of 181.561 mph set by Art Malone in his Mad Dog IV, a hybrid, winged Indianapolis machine, in August of 1961.
The power plant for the Fox car Is a 196-t Dodge hemi-head with blowers and fuel injection. The body is a conventional 1965 two-door sedan.
Fox said that the car performed perfectly in the trial runs and that he had made only minor alterations in preparation for the assault this week.
Among the interested spectators when Yarbrough takes the track will be many of the worlds greatest sports, GT and prototype car drivers, including world champion John Surtees of England.
Theyll be here to compete in the Continental Americas longest track and road race.
Winners: Dick Atkins of Hayward, Calif., 1964 BCRA Midget racing champion, led a Northern California invasion at the CRA sprint car races on the five-eighths-mile Hanford Speedway, as he drove the Pestana and Lang Chevy to victory in the 50-lap feature race.
Atkins took the lead on the 16th lap, after coming from the third starting spit. Finishing a close second his teammate, Dee Hileman driving the second Pestana and Lang Chevy. Third went to Bob De Jong in the Pittman Chevy who nursed a blading tire in the final lap.
Fourth was the first Southern California car home, driven by 1964 CRA title holder Hal Minyard in the Surdam Chevy. Bob Hogle was given fifth after spinning out on the final lap in the Morales Bros. Offy.
Ray Douglas was sixth in Fisher Chevy with Jimmy Miller seventh in the Ansen Automotive Chevy, and Jack Brunner eighth in the Pratt and Williamson Buick.
The time for 50 laps was 19:51.53, a track record.
Gossel Begins Sophomore ASCS National Tour Season
CONCORD, N.C. As a former pavement racer, Austyn Gossel has adapted well to dirt. But his rookie season with the American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) National Tour last year left him with much to be desired, and hes coming back in search of fulfillment.
Gossel, 24, of Windsor, Co., is set to take on a second full-time ASCS season this year behind the wheel of the BG Automotive, Shark Racing Engines-powered Maxim Chassis No. 16G. After multiple seasons mixing regional asphalt Sprint Car racing in with laps on dirt, Gossel has focused more of his efforts on his dirt program over the past several years.
In 2024, he took the biggest step in his commitment to his dirt career, joining the ASCS National Tour full-time roster. Now, only three months removed from the completion of his first season on the road, Gossel has taken time to assess his performance and the hardships of being a rookie on a yearlong national tour.
I feel like I just left a lot on the table, Gossel said. Theres a lot of races that I knew I could have done better, but I just got put in bad situations, and not making a lot of shows.
In addition to the efforts spent trying to develop his skills in the seat, Gossel dealt with numerous equipment failures throughout the season, further hindering his results and progress as a driver. In 26 Feature starts, he compiled only six top-10 finishes, but did record a best finish of eighth place, twice June 11 at Texarkana Speedway and Aug. 17 at Lincoln County Speedway.
Our engine deal started out fine we were running OK but as the year went on, we just kept losing more and more engines, Gossel said. We had to make a decision on what to do, so we ended up with a Shark that we got from Danny Wood, and I could instantly tell the difference. It was night and day.
However, his greatest accomplishment of the season came in October at Riverside International Speedways marquee World Short Track Challenge event. In a talent-filled field of 57 cars, Gossel raced his way into Saturdays main event via Smith Titanium Last Chance Showdown and finished 16th. Not only did it show his potential in big events, but it also highlighted his strong suit in the different tracks on the Tour schedule.
Making the World Short Track Challenge, I had the Shark (engine) in there, and it was a huge difference, Gossel said. I wasnt even expecting to make the show with (almost) 60 cars there, but I succeed more on a little bullring like that. It lets me be a little more aggressive. Thats kind of my driving style I like shorter tracks, I like bullrings.
Performances like those are part of what keeps Gossel driven to compete and improve his skills. But he knows as easy as his confidence rises after one great result, a few subpar results can just as easily knock it back down.
It definitely lifts up your confidence, and thats a big thing for me, Gossel said, reflecting on Riverside last year. When we started at Volusia at the beginning of the year, I just felt like I was lacking a lot with car handling and speed. Granted, that place is extremely fast, and dirty air is huge there. Just leaving there, my confidence was at the worst its been.
Gossel struggled in the season-opening races at Volusia Speedway Park three weeks ago, falling short of a transfer spot into each of the three main events. However, the following week, he installed a 410 engine in the car and stayed to compete with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and took away several positives from the experience.
The power difference from going so fast to coming back to a 360 kind of slows down a little bit, Gossel said. That kinda helps out with the driving a little bit, going so fast to backing it back down to going so slow. It really helps me out as a driver, I would say.
Another help for Gossel on the road is the experience and tutelage from his father, Bryan Gossel. A longtime racer of Sprint Cars on both asphalt and dirt, Bryan introduced Austyn to Sprint Cars early, giving him a spot on his pit crew in his teenage years, which helped spark his urge to get in the seat for himself.
Now, having raced together as father and son for several seasons, Austyn said he still enjoys having his dad as a competitor and cherishes the unique experience.
Its cool; weve done it for so long now that when were out there, hes just kind of another competitor, but hes one that I definitely have to look out for more than anyone else, he said. Racing with him is definitely way more stressful than racing with anybody else. That kinda puts lax on me a little bit because I cant be so aggressive racing with him.
Jackson Motorplex Announces Sponsors to Marquee Events
JACKSON, Minn. The racing schedule has been shaped at Jackson Motorplex with the creation of several new event titles and sponsor additions.
Bank Midwest is the title sponsor for the 47th annual Bank Midwest Jackson Nationals presented by Wyffels Hybrids, which runs Sept. 19-20 and showcases the Bumper to Bumper IRA Outlaw Sprint Series, the Buffalo Wild Wings Northern Outlaw Sprint Association and the Midwest Sprint Touring Series 410 Sprint Cars. The two-day event concludes with a $12,000-to-win finale. The Heser Auto & Detailing RaceSaver Sprint Cars division is part of the weekend program as well with a $2,500-to-win finale.
A trio of Midwest Sprint Touring Series 410 Sprint Cars shows have adapted. The season opener on May 23 is now the Rob Tvedte (Tweeter) Memorial presented by Joel Pingeon Trucking. The Merle Johnson Memorial on July 11 is titled the Hefty Seed Merle Johnson Memorial. The event on July 25 is the C & B Border Battle presented by New Fashion Pork featuring the Wieskus Memorial. The Heser Auto & Detailing RaceSaver Sprint Cars will also compete all three nights.
Additionally, FENDT will be a sponsor for both World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series races with June 4 being the FENDT Showdown and Aug. 16 the World of Outlaws presented by FENDT. The Jeremy DeWall Band is providing a pre-race concert for the event on Aug. 16.
Also of note, a race has been added to the schedule on July 29 when the Jeff Heser & Denny Froderman Memorial Race features the Heser Auto & Detailing RaceSaver Sprint Cars, USRA Mods, B Mods, Stock Cars and Hobby Stocks.
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