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Barça get salary cap boost as financial woes ease
Barcelona's financial situation continues to improve after LaLiga confirmed their annual spending cap is now over 463 million ($483.7m), an increase of nearly 40m from the beginning of the season.
At this same time last year, Barça's limit had been slashed to 204m.
The boost to the club's economic situation comes after the sale of 475 VIP seats at Spotify Camp Nou, which is still being redeveloped, for a maximum of 30 years to two different investors from the Middle East. Sources told ESPN the two deals in total are worth around 100m.
Barça's cap remains the second highest in LaLiga, a long way behind Real Madrid, whose limit is 755m, as it was at the start of the season.
Atlético Madrid (314m), Real Sociedad (160m) and Villarreal (135m) complete the top five, while Sevilla's financial problems have led to their cap being cut from an already low 2.5m to a measly 684,000, the lowest in the league.
The limit is roughly determined by the difference between a team's revenue minus non-sporting outgoings and debt repayments.
The final figure accounts for the maximum amount clubs should spend on wages, bonuses and amortisation payments on transfers across a season, not how much they are necessarily spending.
Clubs that are in excess of their spending limit, as Sevilla are, are subject to severe financial restrictions in the transfer market which only allow them to spend a fraction of anything they save or raise.
Barça, meanwhile, as LaLiga confirmed in January, are now within their limit and are able to spend 100% of anything they save or raise, known as the 1:1 rule.
However, there is still an element of uncertainty over the registrations of Dani Olmo and Pau Víctor.
LaLiga and the Spanish Football Federation [RFEF] say Barça missed a Dec. 31 deadline to prove they were compliant with their spending cap, claiming the VIP seat deal was only completed afterwards.
As a result, Olmo and Victor were unregistered, with RFEF regulations not allowing players to be registered for a second time in the same season, even if the club can afford to financially.
Barça won an injunction against LaLiga and the RFEF's ruling from Spain's sports ministry, the Consejo Superior de Deportes (CSD), who agreed to investigate their appeal, which could take up to three months.
LaLiga subsequently counter-appealed the CSD's decision, but Olmo and Víctor remain available for selection as it stands.
Jude Bellingham swore that joining Real Madrid over Man City was best move. He was right
A great deal of the past few days in LaLiga has been taken up with the subject of Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham and how to interpret, and punish, his profanity that resulted in a red card in Saturday's 1-1 draw at Osasuna.
But not a lot of consideration has been given to how loud and long Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola must have sworn about the brilliant Englishman over the past couple of years. Turning the air sky blue, you might say.
City and Madrid meet up again on Wednesday in an all-or-nothing Champions League knockout match, with Madrid taking a 3-2 first-leg lead back with them to the Bernabéu. Guardiola is no doubt still cursing that Bellingham, who scored Madrid's late winner at the Etihad last week, will be dressed in white rather than City colors, as was his explicit intention.
In January 2023, I was in a meeting in London with somebody who is unimpeachably close to City's legendary, record-breaking coach. I was informed with 100% authority that City had only two major transfer targets that summer: one being RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol; the other was Borussia Dortmund midfielder Bellingham.
The Croatia defender joined and, across the three times City have played Madrid since, he has shone with a goal and an assist. But Bellingham turned down the reigning English and European champions, opted against the chance to work for one of the all-time great football coaches in Guardiola (a chance he'll now never have again) and chose a notoriously demanding, political club where both the language and culture were wholly new to this ferociously talented and ambitious prodigy.
The nearest Bellingham has come to confirming City made him a tantalizing offer came when he said: "Guided by my family I spoke to a lot of clubs in my last season at Dortmund ... but when Madrid called I didn't have to think twice."
Although there is still scope for City and their slightly beleaguered guru to strike back and even the balance on Wednesday, it's been a pretty good choice for Bellingham when you compare his fortunes to those of Guardiola & Co. Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, and his English No. 5, are simultaneously reigning Spanish and European champions for only the third time since 1958, while City have not only seen their Champions League status decline this season but their English dominance too.
The moment when Bellingham chose Madrid over City became a significant tilt in the balance of power. But not just on the pitch either.
I'm guided by the same unimpeachable source on Manchester City that their work in trying to convince the very best footballers, particularly if they are already in their peak, to come and live in the city of Manchester with its punishing climate and how far it is from the other European capitals, is extremely tough going. They're exceptional in what they offer, how they offer it, and in terms of promising superb treatment. But the No. 1 "extra" element, beyond salary, was Guardiola himself.
The attraction of working under him and successfully mastering the brand of football with which he's become associated in the Premier League has proven tremendously alluring over and over again. But not to Bellingham.
There was a clue to his rationale after he scored his first Champions League goal for Los Blancos, in added time, in a 1-0 victory over Union Berlin at the beginning of last season. That night I asked him about the significance of the moment and he told me that he had been lucky enough to have a television in his bedroom from the age of about 12 or 13 and that he'd "watched Madrid come back to win in unbelievable circumstances over and over again." It had been for moments like that that the youngster had turned his back on England's champions and opted for legend, history, tradition and the lure of a different kind of glory instead.
Nor is it, by any means, the first time Madrid have stripped the city of Manchester of a talent that they massively desired. The best other example, given that Cristiano Ronaldo had already starred at Old Trafford before he made his then-world record move to the Bernabéu, came in the shape of Gareth Bale.
Unlike Bellingham, still a youthful prodigy when he signed for Ancelotti's team, the Wales winger was an established star and desired by the majority of the world's top clubs when he was leaving Tottenham Hotspur. Manchester United still had Ryan Giggs on their coaching staff at the time and he made a personal phone call to his international teammate, promising that United would pay Spurs the same transfer fee and would even hand Bale higher wages than Madrid were offering -- but the answer was still no.
Bale and Bellingham actively chose Madrid -- something which Ronaldo did during his final year when, despite United and Madrid having agreed a fee, Sir Alex Ferguson demanded that the Portugal captain stay for one more season.
That was when the then-Barcelona vice-president Ferran Soriano, now long-established as a behemoth executive at City, went directly to Ronaldo and his agent to offer them a better salary if they would dump Madrid and come to Barcelona at the end of the season instead. Just like Bale and Bellingham, Ronaldo turned him down, as his irrevocable choice was to play for Real Madrid.
Nobody can really pretend it's specifically because Madrid have won so many LaLiga or Copa del Rey titles that, if salary concerns are equal, so many of the world's elite stars will choose Real Madrid over just about anywhere else. It's because of the glamour and irresistible glory attached to winning over and again on floodlight Tuesday and Wednesday nights until Europe kneels and another glorious Champions League final beckons.
Anyone young enough to be playing professional football has never seen Madrid lose a European final. In fact there are a multitude of fans and journalists who have never seen that either -- the last time was 42 years ago. Now Bellingham has the chance to further underline, to himself and to anybody else who's interested, that he chose well in selecting his current employer rather than Manchester City for the next stage of his career.
There are only two sides he's played against more regularly than Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Union Berlin, and it was not until last week that he truly knew what the taste of victory was against Manchester's Sky Blues. He played and scored against them aged 17 as he tried six times to get the better of them but failed, along with his Borussia Dortmund colleagues. Last season, while his converted penalty in the shootout helped put Los Blancos into the Champions League semifinals, it was technically yet another draw (after 90 and then 120 minutes) to go with his previous three defeats and two draws.
This Wednesday he comes up against Guardiola's side with his last-minute goal the difference in the tie, with the row over that controversial red card rumbling on and with the entire Bernabéu just aching to sing "Hey Jude" once again. Time for Bellingham to deliver again. I swear it is.
Rizwan says Rauf is 'fully fit' for Champions Trophy opener
"Haris bowled 6-8 overs a couple of days ago, and bowled a fair bit yesterday too," Rizwan said at the captain's press conference on the eve of the tournament. "He's bowling with full rhythm today, too. He's also putting work in the gym and isn't complaining of any pains. We think he's fully fit."
Rauf sustained a muscular sprain in his chest while bowling in the opening game of the tri-series against New Zealand on February 8, and was in a race against time to be fit for the start of the tournament. He did not play the remainder of the series, though ESPNcricinfo understands that was more out of an abundance of caution than an indicator of the injury's severity.
After the press conference, Rauf was seen bowling in the nets during Pakistan's final practice session before the tournament at the National Stadium. It clears Pakistan up to play what they view as their first-choice bowling lineup, one that features Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Rauf. The three played together in an attack that ultimately ended up on the wrong side of a result against New Zealand in the opener of the tri-series. They play the same side tomorrow in the Champions Trophy curtain-raiser as Pakistan prepare to host their first ICC tournament since 1996.
"We suffered for 10 years when no side came here," Rizwan said. "But Pakistan still produced solid results. So we have no doubts about our ability."
However, it is hard to escape the idea that Pakistan go into their first game as relative underdogs. New Zealand beat them twice in the tri-series, going unbeaten across the tournament to lift the title. They went on to demonstrate their all-round ability, defending a total against Pakistan in one game before easing to two chases in games against South Africa and Pakistan. At the same time, they brushed aside injuries to fast bowlers Lockie Ferguson and Ben Sears, retaining their fast-bowling threat, while reigning Pakistan in through the middle overs with a varied array of spinners.
"There are ups and downs and certain deficiencies in our side," Rizwan said. "We are aware we need to bring about certain improvements in our professionalism and consistency.
"We tried to learn from the tri-series, which is why we batted first in the final to work out where our weaknesses lie. We used that series as a training experience. We hope we've learned enough to cover for those weaknesses tomorrow."
But along with the usual cheery optimism, Rizwan's statements were laced with a kind of naked hunger he has rarely let slip in the past. Wearing his religion on his sleeve, he tends to resign himself to "the will of Allah" as he often says. It can take the pressure off, a valuable skill for a Pakistan captain, but today, Rizwan seemed to teeter on the edge of fantasising how much he wanted to win an ICC event, and how good it would be to win this one at home.
"We've come so close a few times," he said. "We need to work out how to get that extra one per cent to win those big matches. No one can guarantee that success, and we're still in search of that final step where we lose big games or tournaments.
"Every player is desperate for this title. And we're doing everything we can to work out how to win. I don't think any country works as hard as we do."
It's uncommon to hear Rizwan speak with that kind of edge. Soon enough, he was back to his usual gregarious self, talking about how "all 15 players were captains" and the value of team performances over individual brilliance. But then again, perhaps that is the "extra one per cent" Pakistan, and Rizwan, are so desperately hunting for.
Danyal Rasool is ESPNcricinfo's Pakistan correspondent. @Danny61000
New Zealand cautious but Rachin Ravindra looks ready to go
Glenn Phillips and Michael Bracewell bowl spin to him, and Ravindra's signature flamboyance is on full display. He backs away and clears his front leg, carving a glorious lofted cover drive. When one is tossed up and overpitched, he unleashes an on drive; but for the nets, it was comfortably clearing the boundary.
When Ravindra was initially hit, there were fears of a much more damaging injury. His legs buckled from underneath him as he stared at the ground, dazed and bleeding profusely. He received lengthy treatment as he lay prone with a stretcher brought on, and warm empathic applause rippled as he was gingerly led off the outfield.
But every update that came from the New Zealand camp in the incident's wake was more optimistic than the last. He hadn't been concussed, he hadn't lost consciousness, there was no damage to his eyes, nose or teeth. A "chirpy character", Kane Williamson called him, his personality was largely back to normal by New Zealand's next game, but they weren't going to take any chances with him.
"Rachin will train tonight and we'll get a bit more of an indication of how he's going," Latham had said just moments earlier. "His recovery's going good, but just need to make sure since it was a pretty nasty injury. When it's a head injury you just need to make sure things are all right, so just going through the protocols he needs to go through and we'll wait and see."
In the fortnight since New Zealand have been in Pakistan, they have taken such setbacks in their stride. This is the side that, most famously, is greater than the sum of its parts. Devon Conway took Ravindra's place for the remainder of the tri-series; he scored 97 and 48 as they won the trophy. In this time, Lockie Ferguson and Ben Sears also became unavailable, but no bother; Nathan Smith and Jacob Duffy replaced them without any apparent hardship. Kyle Jamieson will not be available tomorrow but is on his way as Ferguson's Champions Trophy replacement, and New Zealand simply chug along.
"It's about adapting to conditions and surfaces as best we can," Latham said. "The surface we played on here against Pakistan looked slightly different to the one Pakistan played on against South Africa. We'll have a look at what the wicket's like today but it's about adapting as best we can. We've played three games here and a warm-up game, so guys are reasonably familiar with conditions and it's about playing our brand to the best of our ability."
New Zealand have not so much treated the last ten days as a dry run as a platform to showcase their repertoire. They won a game by consolidating with the top order and exploding at the death. In the game against South Africa, they demonstrated their quality in pursuit of 304, Williamson leading a cruise of a chase. In the final, the pace and spin attacks combined to asphyxiate Pakistan for a below-par total, the outcome never in doubt. They won three games in three different ways with just about everyone taking turns to shine.
"It's nice to be performing," Latham said. "Throughout the tri-series and the warm-up game, we're fortunate everyone within the squad has had some time with the ball or bat. Nice that we've been playing well through the tri-series. We were put under pressure in all three games and we've obviously managed to overcome that and come out on the right side. We've got the results but at the same time, it's nice we've been able to overcome that pressure which will hopefully hold us in good stead."
By now, the spinners have had their turn, and Jacob Duffy and Will O'Rourke are having a go. Ravindra stands back, well away from the stumps. He lingers by the corner, watching intently, perhaps acclimatising himself to the pace from that angle without putting himself in harm's way. A short while later, he emerges from the nets, thanking the net bowlers before having a long chat with Tim Southee, here in Pakistan as an ICC ambassador, before disappearing into the dressing room.
He emerges half an hour later, helmet gone and ball in hand, but only uses it for throwdowns rather than the usual left-arm orthodox. Conway, Williamson and bowling coach Shane Jurgensen huddle around him and another lengthy conversation follows. Evidently, if New Zealand are to play him, they want to make absolutely sure he's all right to take the field.
And if they don't, they've shown they can cope just fine, too.
Danyal Rasool is ESPNcricinfo's Pakistan correspondent. @Danny61000
Ben Curran's maiden ODI ton leads Zimbabwe to 2-1 series win
Zimbabwe 246 for 1 (Curran 118*, Ervine 69*, Bennett 48) beat Ireland 240 for 6 (Balbirnie 64, Tucker 61, Tector 51, Ngarava 2-42, Gwandu 2-44) by nine wickets
Curran played his shots fearlessly from ball one - his attempted flick off that ball flew away off the leading edge, but it didn't discourage him from cutting the next ball for four. Mark Adair, who bowled that first over, was on the receiving end again in the fifth as Curran and Bennett hit him for three fours.
There were middled pulls, edged slashes, and swipes down the ground as the openers hit Ireland's bowlers off their lengths. Curran's scooped four off Graham Hume in the eighth over was a highlight. From overs five to ten, Zimbabwe hit 12 fours while scoring 60 runs off 36 balls. They finished the first powerplay at 77 for 0 with Curran batting on 54.
The introduction of spin and a 30-minute rain interruption did not break the flow of the batters or affect the conditions. If anything, the pitch got even better for batting.
Bennett fell to Hume, against the run of play, in the 20th over. He missed the flick, got hit on the pad, and was given out lbw despite height seeming to be an issue on replay. DRS is not available for the series, so Bennett had to walk.
Ervine hit a four and a six within his first ten balls. The four was off a length ball from Hume that he directed through the slips with a tap on its head, and the six an effortless flick off Andy McBrine. The run flow was constant as Zimbabwe cruised to 151 for 1 in 25 overs.
McBrine tried to buy wickets by bowling slower and fuller but that didn't bring any reward as the game kept slipping away from Ireland, with Ervine chipping him over cover and flicking him over midwicket for successive fours in the 28th over. His flowing on-drive for six off Harry Tector in the 33rd was even better, and arguably the shot of the day. He brought up his fifty and Zimbabwe's 200 soon after with a single to long-on.
Meanwhile, Curran coasted towards his hundred. His 10th boundary came off his 40th ball, his 11th off his 65th - when he was on 66 - and his 12th off his 127th - with his score now 108*. He went from 80 to 100 via 18 singles and a two, and even played out a maiden on 99, before bringing up the maiden hundred off his 120th ball, much to his delight and that of his team-mates and the fans in attendance.
In the end, the hosts rushed to victory in the 39th over to complete their first series win of this home summer.
Sent in to bat, Ireland started cautiously in the hope of seeing off the new ball under cloudy skies. Blessing Muzarabani and Richard Ngarava bowled Test-match lengths and challenged the outside edge regularly. Getting beaten by Muzarabani twice in the sixth over didn't stop Paul Stirling from trying to take another chance off Ngarava in the seventh. He saw width and tried slashing the ball up and over but lobbed it straight to cover. Balbirnie, his partner, finished the first powerplay on 12 off 40 balls, with Ireland 26 for 1.
Gwandu, who came on in the 12th over, began by overstepping and conceded seven off two attempts at his first legal ball, but beat Curtis Campher on the outside edge two balls later. In the next over, he beat Campher on the cut with extra bounce before rushing him on the pull to have him caught at midwicket.
Tector joined Balbirnie in the 14th over with Ireland 42 for 2. They put on 86 for the third wicket, hitting four fours and two sixes along the way, but took 115 balls to do so. Balbirnie was dropped on 42 in the 29th over and reached fifty off 87 in the 31st. He brought up his first six with a slog-sweep off Wellington Masakadza, but fell next ball when he miscued the same shot to deep midwicket. It left Ireland 128 for 3 in the 33rd over with their run rate still under four.
Sikandar Raza bowled quick and varied his lines and lengths in a ten-over spell without a break. He kept Tector quiet after Balbirnie's dismissal as the batter looked for boundary options. Ngarava was the beneficiary of Tector's attempts as he miscued a pull to midwicket the ball after reaching an 83-ball fifty.
After Gwandu found extra bounce to nick off George Dockrell cheaply, Adair joined Tucker to put on 57 for the sixth wicket in 52 balls. Tucker's fifty, which came off 44 balls, was the quickest of the innings. However, none of the last ten overs went for more than ten runs or more than one boundary.
Ekanth is a sub-editor with ESPNcricinfo
Matthews, Sciver-Brunt extend Mumbai's winning run against Giants
Mumbai Indians 122 for 5 (Sciver-Brunt 57, Kerr 19, Gautam 2-15, Mishra 2-40 ) beat Gujarat Giants 120 (Deol 32, Gautam 20, Matthews 3-16, Kerr 2-22) by five wickets
There was an air of inevitability right from the time a beaming Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and elected to bowl in Mumbai Indians' second match of WPL 2025 against Gujarat Giants. Teams chasing had won every single game so far this season. Couple that with Mumbai's 4-0 record against Giants coming into this match and odds were stacked heavily in Mumbai's favour.
And the game panned out accordingly.
She finished with 57 off 39 balls as Mumbai chased down the target by five wickets and 23 balls to spare. The win not only helped Mumbai open their account in WPL 2025, but also extended their lead over Giants to 5-0. Giants are now the only side in the tournament to not have a single win against a particular team.
Giants' powerplay malfunction
Harmanpreet spoke at the toss about capitalising in the first few overs before the dew set in. She went pace from both ends up top and the move paid dividend with Sciver-Brunt accounting for Beth Mooney, who sliced a simple catch to Sanskriti Gupta at backward point in the second over.
Shabnim Ismail then got rid of Laura Woolvardt, whose lofted drive could only go as far as S Sajana stationed perfectly at deep cover. That reduced Giants to 14 for 2, which four balls later became 16 for 3 when Matthews sent back D Hemalatha whose across-the-line heave was caught wonderfully by Kerr sprinting to her left from deep midwicket.
Ashleigh Gardner, Giants' wrecker-in-chief in the first two matches, started fluently again striking a four and six but was undone by a Sciver-Brunt slower delivery which she mistimed to Sajana at deep midwicket.
At 28 for 4 after six overs, Giants couldn't have asked for a worse start. This was their third-lowest powerplay score in the WPL and comfortably the lowest for any team this season. What also hurt Giants were the sheer number of dot balls at the start. Twenty-six of the 36 balls in the powerplay were dots, the joint-most in WPL history.
Deol fights, no one else does
It might be a case of Giants worrying about the dew later on or just them not trusting their defence enough that despite the fall of wickets, the batters continued going for their shots. Deandra Dottin got going with a reverse sweep, but a wild mow across the line off Kerr brought about her downfall, with Yastika Bhatia executing a quick stumping.
Kashvee Gautam, like many of her team-mates, started strong smashing debutant Parul Sisodia for two fours and then lifted Ismail for a six over long-on, but like the others, flattered to deceive edging Matthews behind.
But the wickets continued to fall at the other end and when Deol departed with the score on 103 for 8 in the 17th over, the end was nigh. However, Sayali Satghare and Priya Mishra ensured that Giants played out their full quota of 20 overs.
For Mumbai, Matthews was miserly in her four-over spell going for just 16. She bowled 16 dot balls in her spell, as did Sciver-Brunt while 19 of the 24 balls that Ismail bowled were dots.
Sciver-Brunt's flawless fifty in MI's first win
Coming into the tournament, there were questions raised on Sciver-Brunt's form considering she had a relatively quiet Ashes. In a matter of two innings, she's brushed aside the doubters.
A 121-chase was never going to be daunting. Matthews started fluently, striking three fours but ended up smashing a rank long-hop from Tanuja Kanwar straight to Deol at square leg. If Giants were entertaining any thoughts of a collapse, Sciver-Brunt shut that down quickly.
She got going with a fierce pull first ball and it was one-way traffic thereon. Dottin was crashed through point before Priya Mishra was pulled through square leg twice in three balls. While Bhatia fell mistiming Mishra to long-on and Harmanpreet was trapped in front by Kashvee, Sciver-Brunt stood like an immovable force.
It was not just power but also precision and the ability to find gaps at will that kept Sciver-Brunt going. She added a 45-run stand with Kerr off 38 balls to take Mumbai closer. She took 34 balls to collect her fifty before falling just seven runs shy of the target. G Kamalini, on debut, struck her first ball for four while Sajana finished the game by depositing Dottin over mid-off to give Mumbai their first win of WPL 2025.
The win has taken Mumbai to second place on the points table while Giants' NRR has taken a hit, though they are in third place.
Ashish Pant is a sub-editor with ESPNcricinfo
Vince had captained Hampshire across all formats for almost a decade, and will be replaced by wicketkeeper batter Ben Brown taking the reins in the Championship. However, Vince's loss as one of the club's most prolific batters - top-scoring last season with 986 runs at an average of 49.30 - has put the onus on bringing reinforcements to the Utilita Bowl promptly with the start of the English domestic season just two months away.
Stoneman is a reliable opening batter who boasts 14,448 first-class runs at an average of 34.23, with 31 centuries. The left-hander came through the ranks at Durham, playing in three Championship-winning sides at Chester-le-Street, and captained their One-Day Cup success in 2014, before moving to the Kia Oval for the 2017 season. He subsequently played a key role in Surrey's 2018 title success - their first since 2002.
It was while at Surrey that Stoneman earned 11 Test caps for England, which included the 2017-18 Ashes, passing fifty five times without making it to three figures. A move to Middlesex arrived midway through 2021 (initially on loan) on a three-year deal, which the club eventually decided not to renew.
Team USA's McAvoy to miss 4 Nations title game
BOSTON -- United States defenseman Charlie McAvoy will miss the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game Thursday between the U.S. and Canada.
The Boston Bruins said in a statement Tuesday that McAvoy was admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital on Monday to undergo testing related to an upper-body injury. McAvoy sustained the injury during the 4 Nations Face-Off and is currently being evaluated by Bruins head team physician Dr. Peter Asnis.
Reigning Norris Trophy winner Quinn Hughes will join Team USA ahead of the championship game, Team USA and Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan announced. Per tournament rules, Hughes, who is the older brother of Team USA and New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes, would only be eligible to play if there is another injury on Team USA's defense.
Sullivan, who is McAvoy's father-in-law, said during his news conference that McAvoy's injury is a "tough" loss, but it would only increase the demand for others in the lineup to step up.
"He's played extremely well through this tournament," Sullivan said. "When you lose players of his caliber, they're not easy to replace. I know from a personal standpoint what this tournament's meant to him and how much he was looking forward to playing in this. Having said that, we have capable of people. We have a lot of depth at all positions and it's going to provide opportunities for others to step up."
Hughes, who has 14 goals and 59 points for the Vancouver Canucks, while averaging more than 25:18 in ice time this season, initially made Team USA's roster but had to back out because of an oblique injury.
Canada utilized the injury replacement player protocol earlier in the tournament when it called up Dallas Stars defenseman Thomas Harley. Harley was eligible to play for Canada after it lost Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore for the remainder of the tournament in addition to Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar missing the first game against the U.S. due to illness.
"It's probably good for the game. No doubt about that. Quinn Hughes is a special player," Canada coach Jon Cooper said. "It was unfortunate he was hurt to begin with."
Cooper confirmed that the only way an injury replacement player can join the lineup is if a team is at risk of playing short-handed, meaning that the Americans would need one of their six remaining defensemen to be unavailable against Canada for Hughes to play.
Team USA and Golden Knights defenseman Noah Hanifin has known McAvoy for years. They were part of the United States National Team Development Program at the same time as future Team USA teammates such as Jack Eichel, Dylan Larkin, Matthew Tkachuk and Zach Werenski.
"There's a lot of things [Team USA will miss]. His character, the way he is in the room, his leadership," Hanifin said. "He's just such a phenomenal teammate. The physicality he brings to the team and how hard he plays with each shift. That's contagious for any group he's a part of and we're going to miss that a lot on Thursday."
McAvoy was held out of the United States' 2-1 loss to Sweden on Monday at TD Garden in Boston. The U.S. had already qualified for the championship game having won in regulation against Finland to open the tournament before beating rival Canada in its second game.
The 27-year-old was one of a few players who missed what was essentially an inconsequential game against Sweden. It's a group that also included Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews and Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk, who missed the Sweden game out of injury precautionary.
The U.S. played New York Rangers forward Chris Kreider and Ottawa Senators defenseman Jake Sanderson in a game that also witnessed forward Brady Tkachuk get hurt in the first period with a lower-body injury. He returned for a 14-second shift in the first period but would later be ruled out.
Sullivan said he anticipates Matthews being available for the championship game. ESPN's Emily Kaplan is reporting that the Tkachuk brothers will also play Thursday.
ESPN's Greg Wyshynski contributed to this report.
Kyrie wants to play for Australia at LA Olympics
Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving said he wants to play for Team Australia and hopes to gain eligibility in time to represent the Boomers at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Irving, who was born in Melbourne, Australia, was asked during All-Star Weekend whether he would consider making a switch from Team USA.
"We're in the process of that right now," Irving told reporters Sunday. "Just trying to figure out what's going to be the best route for me to be eligible. There's a lot of paperwork in between that."
Irving, 32, represented the United States at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games and helped the Americans win the gold medal. But he did not make either of the past two Team USA Olympic rosters, including the gold-medal-winning squad at last year's Paris Games.
In order to become eligible, Irving would need to gain approval from USA Basketball, FIBA and Basketball Australia.
"Obviously, Team USA still has a decision to make," Irving said. "But for me, I'm just trying to do what's best. Honestly, if I can be an Aussie at one point in my career and play for the Australian team, that would be great."
Irving would be 36 for the Games in 2028, when he could potentially join a Team Australia roster that already features NBA players Dyson Daniels, Josh Giddey, Ben Simmons, Dante Exum and Josh Green.
The Australians won the bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games but finished sixth overall last summer in Paris after an overtime loss to Serbia in the quarterfinals.
From dunks to disqualification: Inside Victor Wembanyama's first weekend as an NBA All-Star
SAN FRANCISCO -- Surrounded on a court in the cavernous lower level of the Moscone Center, San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama stared into a crowd that kept swelling by the second.
He had just dropped hoops jewels for kids in attendance, advising them to "work on your weaknesses so they become your strengths." Wembanyama then described his first experience as an NBA All-Star as "intense," only to ratchet up that feeling later with a crowd-pleasing display of confidence Friday as he closed out an NBA Crossover event.
Asked to predict the MVP of Sunday's NBA All-Star Game, Wembanyama smiled.
"I'd have to bet on myself," he said.
Those words whipped the crowd into chants of "Wemby, Wemby, Wemby," as the 21-year-old from France scanned the sea of phones held high by fans looking to chronicle this moment.
But the sentiment was nothing new. Almost two weeks prior, Wembanyama promised the weekend in San Francisco would be business as usual.
"I don't have any interest in making friends or trying to do anything," Wembanyama said Feb. 3. "I'm here for work."
Ultimately, he didn't win MVP of Sunday's NBA All-Star Game. Stephen Curry earned that honor. But the first-time All-Star still had a successful work trip.
"I'll try to cool down and forget a little bit about basketball for 48 hours, that's it," he said Sunday night. "I'll put this on my résumé. It's done. I didn't make any friends. But I learned a lot. I asked a lot of questions, and I got a lot of very interesting answers. It was a pleasure to share the floor with these experienced players. "
WEMBANYAMA LOGGED 36 minutes in a 116-103 loss at Boston on Wednesday, scoring 17 points with 13 rebounds and 2 blocks in San Antonio's sixth consecutive road game, which marked the halfway point of the club's annual rodeo road trip.
Usually, at this juncture of San Antonio's monthlong trek, road weariness starts to set in for the Spurs.
Maybe it played a role in Wembanyama attempting just six shots and being held to seven points in the second half against the Celtics. But he flashed youthful enthusiasm in the aftermath of that loss when discussing goals for his first NBA All-Star Game.
"First, winning [is the goal]," Wembanyama said. "I hope it turns out to be like every other recent game, slow and just playing around. I hope I can bring that contrast with a single guy who goes crazy, dives on the ball, hustles on every play. I'm definitely going to try to bring that energy."
So, after a workout, postgame interviews and a treatment session, Wembanyama boarded a flight that night in Boston with teammate Stephon Castle bound for San Francisco, while the rest of the team headed home to rest up during All-Star break.
Wembanyama and Castle landed in San Francisco at 4 a.m. Thursday and headed straight to the St. Regis hotel via a passenger van.
By noon, Wembanyama was leaving the hotel for a private fitting with Nike, his first commitment in a day chock full of them.
Thursday
2:30 p.m.: After the fitting with Nike, Wembanyama headed to an appearance with 2K Games, maker of the popular NBA 2K video games. He played games with various contest winners in attendance, in addition to filming content with multiple social media influencers. Last season, Wembanyama ranked as the highest-rated rookie (84) in the game's history.
5 p.m.: Wembanyama left his 2K Games appearance to hit the NBA's in-house media circuit. There, he participated in photoshoots for the league as well as content for some of its social media channels.
7:30 p.m.: Wembanyama attended a personal dinner in downtown San Francisco after a cocktail hour with his agency, Comsport. He returned to the St. Regis hotel by 9 p.m. and stayed in for the night, sources told ESPN.
OUTSIDE THE HILTON San Francisco Union Square, a cavalcade of honking horns floated on the cool winds gusting through downtown. Dozens of black vans and gigantic black SUVs filled both sides of the street and the valet area.
The league's annual NBA All-Star Technology Summit is an invitation-only event that involves A-listers from the NBA such as team owners, as well as leaders in other industries, and most of the discussions are off the record for media coverage.
Wembanyama arrived at noon and ditched the active wear he wore most of the trip for clothing more suitable for the occasion. With TNT's Ernie Johnson hosting, Wembanyama participated in a panel discussion about leadership in 2025 along with New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson; New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu; Fanatics founder and CEO Michael Rubin; record executive Steve Stoute; and USA Basketball chairperson Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
"It's been growing in intensity these last two days because before that, I really did not think about All-Star Weekend because of all the games, the season," Wembanyama said of his hectic All-Star schedule. "So, I don't fully realize that I'm going to play in the All-Star Game yet. But I'm seeing all the energy now. It's really different even from last year to Season 2. It feels like the whole city is vibing around the NBA right now. So, it feels like we really have an impact that I've rarely seen before."
Victor Wembanyama putting the kids through some drills at jr. NBA event. pic.twitter.com/wrh5GTUJ5H
Michael C. Wright (@mikecwright) February 14, 2025
Wembanyama's party departed the tech summit via passenger van and arrived 30 minutes later at the Moscone Center. He remained in the van for nearly 10 minutes eating lunch and changing into a Nike Nocta sweatsuit to attend a junior NBA event and NBA Crossover.
On the second level of the Moscone Center in the Esplanade ballroom, Brooklyn Nets forward Cameron Johnson strolled through unnoticed as the shrieks of kids excited to see Wembanyama flooded a room outfitted with three half-court setups and two full courts.
Dozens of children huddled around Wembanyama as he dapped up several of them. Wembanyama led a quick huddle breakdown before the kids scattered to form lines for basketball drills. Over the course of 39 minutes, Wembanyama moved from court to court playing defense against the children as they cycled through drills.
Just before 3 p.m., Wembanyama and his team -- which included NBA and Spurs personnel -- quietly slipped out the back of the room through a black floor-to-ceiling curtain.
Minutes later, he emerged on the lower level of the Moscone Center for the NBA Crossover event, which took place on a small replica court surrounded by chain-link fences that fans gripped with glee as they tried to catch a glimpse of a generational superstar.
"The NBA is in good hands with you continuing to improve as a player, as a human," the host of the event told Wembanyama. "So, ladies and gentlemen, let's all get one more big round of applause."
Wembanyama turned to his left after several seconds of applause. With his party in tow, the group slipped behind another black curtain headed for the van parked outside.
Friday
6 a.m.: Wembanyama woke up to find he would have the entire morning to himself. So, he ate breakfast at the St. Regis and hung out at the hotel until it was time to load into the van for the technology summit.
4 p.m.: After the events at the Moscone Center, Wembanyama headed to Oakland to watch the Nike EYBL Scholastic game. Led by Alabama commit Davion Hannah, Link Academy edged out Monteverde Academy 40-39. Hannah scored 15 points with 4 rebounds and 2 steals to win the MVP trophy, which was presented by Wembanyama.
7:30 p.m.: Wembanyama capped the night with a dinner downtown. He didn't attend the Rising Stars game, where Castle was named MVP, because he didn't want to take away from his teammate's moment, sources told ESPN.
Victor Wembanyama talks about being disqualified during the skills challenge.
AN NBA OFFICIAL in a black suit presented the rules sheet for the NBA Skills Challenge to Wembanyama and teammate Chris Paul while the Chase Center crowd booed. Team Spurs had just been disqualified from the competition, the official told them.
In the weeks leading up to NBA All-Star weekend, Wembanyama told everyone asking about his plans to win every event in San Francisco. Having perused the rules beforehand, Wembanyama thought he had found a foolproof way to save precious time in a bid to steal the Skills Challenge, and convinced Paul to execute the plan.
"I don't regret it," he said afterward. "I thought it was a good idea."
NBA officials disagreed.
Wembanyama and Paul were disqualified from the Skills Challenge because officials deemed their shot attempts invalid.
Still, Wembanyama devised what he thought was a clever scheme to skirt the rules.
"We tried something we thought could win to see if we had the best time," Paul said.
The NBA Skills Challenge consists of a series of bounce passes, chest passes, dribbling and various shots from different locations on the floor. The rules required that players either make one shot or attempt three, whichever came first.
The Spurs duo essentially skipped the shots except one (a Wembanyama dunk) in favor of concentrating on the passes. Wembanyama and Paul finished the opening round with a blazing time of 47.9 seconds before officials disqualified them.
"We had the best time," Wembanyama said. "The numbers speak for themselves."
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green, who competed in the event with teammate Moses Moody, mentioned that Wembanyama had inquired about the legality of the Spurs' approach beforehand with multiple people.
"Wemby walked around the court asking everybody because they say make one or [take] three attempts," Green said. "So, Wemby said, 'Oh, I can just get all three of them up there?' So, he asked. He may not have asked the right people. In Wemby's defense, he asked a lot of people. I heard him ask five or six people."
Wembanyama took the loss in stride, according to multiple sources, though he had prepared as if the Skills Challenge were a real NBA game.
The Spurs flew their massage therapist to San Francisco, along with the physical therapist and performance coach to run Wembanyama through his usual pregame routine, a source told ESPN, because "he takes it so seriously."
Wembanyama hadn't undergone treatment since the loss Wednesday in Boston. So, upon arrival at the arena, the Spurs' strength and performance team worked Wembanyama through an extensive stretching routine, massage, warmup and activation for a Skills Challenge that ultimately ended in disappointment.
"If the challenge lets us do that," Wembanyama said afterward, "there's a loophole. It means we're not the problem."
Saturday
9 a.m.: Wembanyama departed the St. Regis hotel for an NBA family hospitality event and brunch at Oakland Arena, where he would take pictures in his All-Star uniform with friends and family members.
11:08 a.m.: Wembanyama arrived at Oakland Arena for his first NBA All-Star media day ahead of practice. Wembanyama reiterated during his availability that he was "not here to make friends."
1 p.m.: Wembanyama headed back to his hotel in San Francisco before departing for Chase Center at 2:30 to begin Saturday's festivities.
3:59 p.m.: With several cameramen in tow, Wembanyama headed down a hallway at Chase Center to the locker room.
8:22 p.m.: One minute after Wembanyama and Paul complete the skills course in under 48 seconds, they're informed they're disqualified. They try to protest from their sideline seats to no avail. Later, TNT attempts to interview them during the broadcast, but an NBA official steps in and prevents the interview from proceeding.
10:30 p.m.: Despite the mini-controversy, Wembanyama changed into street clothes and stayed at Chase Center to watch Castle compete in a hotly-contested dunk contest against Mac McClung, who would defeat Castle in the final to claim his third consecutive crown. It's clear Wembanyama was around during Castle's preparation for the contest, judging how he mimicked the rookie's 360 behind the back left-handed dunk from the sideline.
Nikola Jokic lobs it up to Victor Wembanyama, who finishes with a powerful dunk.
AS A RESERVE on Team Chuck's Global Stars, Wembanyama subbed into his team's semifinal matchup -- the first game of the NBA All-Star mini tournament -- with his squad leading 17-12.
His first bucket came on a dunk with an assist from Atlanta's Trae Young. But the first true eye-popping moment of All-Star Weekend was when Wembanyama slammed home an alley-oop dunk off a lob from three-time MVP Nikola Jokic to give the Global Stars a 34-27 advantage.
Wembanyama finished that game with 6 points on 3-of-4 shooting with 4 rebounds and a block in a little more than 6 minutes on the floor as the Global Stars advanced to the tournament championship with a 41-32 win.
In the title game, Wembanyama scored a team-high 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor with 3 rebounds and 1 block, as the rest of the Global Stars shot 6-of-24 in a 41-25 loss to Shaq's OGs before a sellout crowd of 17,539.
Wembanyama stayed true to his word to compete hard.
"I thought he played like he plays in a game, seriously," Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard said. "When I saw him, I was like, 'He is not messing around.'"
Wembanyama finished the tournament with 17 points over two games with 7 rebounds, 3 blocks and a steal. Most importantly, he discovered he's got what it takes to seriously compete against the world's best hoopers on a grand stage.
"I'm in much better shape this year than I was last year," Wembanyama said after the game. "My body is much more adaptive to this rhythm. My biggest takeaway is it's possible to give 100% on that court, to play hard, to play your ass off. For me, it's the only way to play basketball."
Sunday
1:40 p.m.: Wembanyama left the St. Regis hotel on the way to Chase Center for the final day of All-Star Weekend.
2:37 p.m.: Wembanyama walked into Chase Center with Castle following close behind. Castle was wearing Wembanyama's red No. 1 All-Star jersey backward over a gray hoodie.
4:19 p.m.: Wembanyama posed for photos before his walkthrough for pregame introductions. He spent time signing NBA All-Star memorabilia before San Antonio's strength and conditioning crew gave him one last treatment.
5:10 p.m.: With Oakland native and three-time Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and record producer Raphael Saadiq performing in the background, Wembanyama walked across the stage as he was introduced as an All-Star for the first time in his career.
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