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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Joe Buck will call a Major League Baseball national telecast for the first time since 2021 when he provides play-by-play of the Opening Day game between the Milwaukee Brewers and New York Yankees on ESPN.

Buck's last national broadcast was with Fox Sports in 2021, when he covered his 24th World Series for the network. He joined Chip Caray last year on the local broadcast of a St. Louis Cardinals game.

ESPN will air the Brewers-Yankees game in New York on March 27 at 3 p.m. ET.

Buck, 55, left Fox Sports in 2022 for ESPN, where he calls "Monday Night Football." He referred to the Opening Day assignment as a "one-off opportunity" and not a permanent return to the baseball booth.

Joining Buck in the booth will be former Yankees manager Joe Girardi and Bill Schroeder, the lead color analyst for the Brewers.

"Opening Day has always been a signature day on the sports calendar and, personally, it remains special," Buck said in a statement. "ESPN approached me with this one-off opportunity to help launch the season and it was a quick 'yes.' Joe and Bill are both great friends and better baseball minds and I know they will carry the telecast, while I just plan to be along for the ride."

Burke Magnus, president of content for ESPN, added that Buck "is synonymous with Major League Baseball and his presence in the booth will be an incredible addition to our Opening Day coverage."

The game between the Brewers and reigning American League champion Yankees will be the opener of an Opening Day doubleheader on ESPN, which also will air the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers hosting the Detroit Tigers at 7 p.m. ET.

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- New York Mets owner Steve Cohen said he had a payroll budget in mind when the offseason began, but he had "blown through" that number by the time players reported for spring training.

"Because I want a winning team," Cohen said Tuesday at Clover Park, the Mets' spring training home. "And I want to get the best team I can on the field."

The Mets' current projected payroll is approximately $325 million -- second in baseball to the Los Angeles Dodgers -- after an offseason that included giving star Juan Soto the richest contract in professional sports history. That is well over the highest competitive balance tax threshold of $301 million, which comes with a 60% surcharge on every dollar spent over that mark widely referred to as "The Cohen Tax" in honor of the Mets' owner.

"I would like to get below 'The Cohen Tax,'" Cohen said. "We sure it's about me? There's a lot of Cohens out there."

Cohen estimated the Mets' payroll will likely increase to around $340 million over the season with other expenditures, including in-season player acquisitions. The hedge fund billionaire -- Forbes estimates he's worth more than $21 billion -- can afford the investment. He just doesn't believe having payrolls that large will lead to sustained success.

"I can finance it," said Cohen, who joked that his spending is nothing compared to the Dodgers. "But is that the most optimal way to run a team? Probably not."

Instead, Cohen said he wants to create a farm system to churn out young, cheap and controllable talent under president of baseball operations David Stearns and avoid dabbling in free agency to upgrade the roster as often.

"I've always wanted to be more measured in payroll growth," Cohen said. "I never get there. It's never quite there. I have the ability to spend if I have to. And I want to win and I want to put the best team I can on the field. But free agency's expensive. It's just the way it is, and it's always more expensive than you can imagine."

No player has ever been more expensive than Soto, who signed a 15-year, $765 million deal in early December and will count $51 million against the Mets' CBT payroll. New York bookended the addition by re-signing first baseman Pete Alonso to a two-year, $54 million deal earlier this month after prolonged negotiations.

The deal, which pays Alonso $30 million this season, includes an opt-out after 2025 that Alonso could exercise to test free agency again next winter and leave a hole at first base for the Mets. One option could be All-Star Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who is expected to reach free agency next offseason after not agreeing to a contract extension with the Toronto Blue Jays by his self-imposed deadline Monday.

Cohen called Guerrero a "great ballplayer." He also signaled that competing for Guerrero's services may not be in the Mets' best interests.

"I mean, you really can't have too many long-term contracts, because then you lose your roster flexibility, so you gotta be really careful," Cohen said. "But I'll let my baseball people make that decision."

For now, the Mets have a team that is expected to compete for the National League pennant after rebounding from a dreadful start to go on a remarkable run last summer before falling two wins short of the World Series.

"I don't know if I ever felt anything of that type of emotion that was almost on a daily basis," Cohen said. "So, when you get that feeling, you want more of that. So that's really what you're playing for, the opportunity to get in a World Series. ... I mean, [playoff baseball] just rises to another level. They're all playing hard during the year, but everyone takes it up a notch and that's a lot of fun."

Cohen expects momentum from last season's success and the addition of Soto to produce better attendance numbers at Citi Field after the Mets ranked 18th last season, which Cohen said he "didn't like."

"I can't speak for why that it is," Cohen said. "I think it has a lot to do with generally attendance lags performance. And I think there's always been a little skepticism with the Mets and believing that we're going to be sustainable winners and sustainably in the playoffs.

"... One of my goals is to break that negativity and have them believe we're going to be a sustainable winner year in and year out and they come to the ballpark and enjoy it."

The goal, he told Soto and echoed Tuesday, is to win two to four World Series titles over the next decade and end a championship drought that goes back to 1986.

"You always want to set high standards and high goals," Cohen said. "There's no guaranteeing anything. It's really hard to win a World Series, but the thought is we're putting together a team not just a team built for one year, but we want to create sustainable success.

"If we keep making the playoffs, why can't we get to the ultimate goal? So, why not set out a high goal and try and make it."

MESA, Ariz. -- The Chicago Cubs are in agreement with free agent corner infielder Justin Turner on a 1-year, $6 million contract, sources tell ESPN. The deal is pending a physical.

Turner, 40, split time between Toronto and Seattle last season compiling a .354 OBP in 139 games. He also hit 11 home runs while batting .259. Overall, Tuner has a .821 OPS in 16 big league seasons.

The Cubs have been searching for a backup for Michael Busch at first base as well as someone who can fill in at third. Turner checks those boxes but probably won't be asked to play third base very often as he made only six appearances there last season.

He does provide some insurance at the hot corner as the team plans on starting rookie Matt Shaw there. Shaw has been slowed early in camp by an oblique issue.

Turner is joining his seventh organization after many productive years with the Dodgers where he was a two-time All-Star and finished in the top-15 voting for the MVP award three times.

He has also played in 86 postseason games -- undoubtedly an attractive quality for the Cubs, who are hoping to make the playoffs for the first time since 2020.

Also Tuesday, the Cubs announced that they have signed right-handed pitcher Chris Flexen to a minor league deal. Flexen, 30, made 30 starts for the White Sox last season.

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- First baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Toronto Blue Jays failed to come to terms on a contract extension by his Monday night deadline, paving the way for the 25-year-old star to hit free agency in November.

"They have their numbers; I have my numbers," Guerrero said Tuesday.

Guerrero, a four-time All-Star and son of Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero, said he had set a deadline of 9 p.m. Monday, but the last call from the Blue Jays came at 10:30 p.m. When asked if the team was close to what he was asking, Guerrero simply said, "No."

General manager Ross Atkins, meanwhile, said the Blue Jays' offers were "very, very aggressive."

"I am confident that we exhausted the communication, the ideas, the thoughts and communicated every dollar," Atkins said Tuesday. "... The offers that we made for Vlad would've been record-setting and would've made him one of the highest-paid players in the game."

Without a deal in place, Guerrero said he plans to cut off talks and play out the season as an impending free agent, but he also said later that he "won't close the door" on a "realistic" offer from the Blue Jays.

"Listen, I want to be here. I want to be a Blue Jay for the rest of my career," Guerrero said. "But it's free agency. It's business. So I'm going to have to listen to 29 more teams and they're going to have to compete for that."

Atkins said the Blue Jays would be respectful of Guerrero's wishes and that "we'll never close any doors."

The inability to strike a deal is the latest blow for the Blue Jays, whose pursuit of franchise-caliber talent in recent years was a black mark for the franchise. Toronto's heavy recruitment of two-way star Shohei Ohtani and outfielder Juan Soto wound up in disappointment, as they signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets, respectively, and the potential departure of their best homegrown talent since Hall of Famer Roy Halladay is even more acute.

"Soto's deal had nothing to do with my decision at all," Guerrero said. "Even before that, I knew my value. I knew my number."

Guerrero said the Blue Jays had known about his deadline since last season, and he didn't want negotiations to carry into spring training and become a distraction.

"I don't want -- especially my teammates -- to go through any distractions," Guerrero said. "I'm here today, I'm ready and want to win a lot of games, and I want to make it to the playoffs. That's all."

Toronto could explore a trade for Guerrero, who would warrant one of the biggest returns in recent memory. The Blue Jays, sources said, are more inclined to start the season with Guerrero in their lineup and reassess the possibility of a trade as the July deadline approaches.

"We feel like we have a great team," Atkins said. "Vladdy is a very big part of it, and Vladdy will remain a very big part of it."

Guerrero, meanwhile, said there's no animosity toward the Jays' front office.

"I love the city. I love the fans," Guerrero said. "I mean, it's hard, but at the end of the day, like I say, it's business. I'll do everything that I have to stay here with the Blue Jays. I love it here. I want to be here."

Over his six seasons in Toronto, Guerrero has developed into one of the game's most fearsome hitters. Last season, he hit .323/.396/.544 with 30 home runs and 103 RBIs. And come November, big-market suitors are expected to lavish him with some of the largest contract offers in baseball history.

In the wake of the 15-year, $765 million contract the Mets this winter gave to Soto -- who, along with Guerrero and Fernando Tatis Jr., were part of the all-time-great international signing class in 2015 -- the potential free agent jackpot for Guerrero exceeds what the Blue Jays were willing to offer.

They had tried to lock Guerrero up long term for years to no avail. With the deadline looming, negotiations that had been sporadic over the winter picked up this week with hopes of striking a deal.

Without one in place, Guerrero will report to the Blue Jays' first full workout Tuesday with the specter of his free agency bound to loom over Toronto's season after a last-place finish in the American League East last year.

Since he debuted shortly after his 20th birthday in 2019 and homered 15 times as a rookie, Guerrero has been one of baseball's most recognized players. His breakout season came in 2021, when Guerrero finished second to Aaron Judge in American League MVP voting, hitting .311/.401/.601 with 48 home runs and 111 RBIs.

Guerrero followed with a pair of solid-but-below-expectations seasons in 2022 and 2023, and in mid-May of last season, he sported an OPS under .750 as the Blue Jays struggled en route to an eventual last-place finish. Over his last 116 games, the Guerrero of 2021 reemerged, as he hit .343/.407/.604 with 26 home runs and 84 RBIs.

Between Guerrero and shortstop Bo Bichette's free agency after the 2025 season, the Blue Jays faced a potential reckoning. While Bichette will play out the season and is widely expected not to re-sign with the Blue Jays, the team had hoped an extension for Guerrero would give them a franchise player around whom they could build.

With a payroll expected to exceed the luxury tax threshold of $241 million, the Blue Jays will field a team with playoff aspirations -- and one that just as easily could find itself toward the bottom of the standings, with the defending AL champion New York Yankees, much-improved Boston Red Sox, always-solid Tampa Bay Rays and young-and-talented Baltimore Orioles in the same division.

Already this winter, Toronto shook off the signings of Soto and first baseman Pete Alonso with the Mets, left-hander Max Fried with the Yankees and infielder Alex Bregman with the Red Sox to retool their roster. Toronto gave outfielder Anthony Santander a heavily deferred five-year, $92.5 million contract, brought in future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer on a one-year, $15.5 million deal, bolstered its bullpen with right-handers Jeff Hoffman and Yimi Garcia, and traded for Platinum Glove-winning second baseman Andres Gimenez.

Toronto's long-term commitments will allow for significant financial flexibility going forward -- particularly if it re-allocates the hundreds of millions offered to Guerrero. In addition to Guerrero, Bichette and Scherzer, right-hander Chris Bassitt and relievers Chad Green and Erik Swanson are free agents following this season. Following 2026, the nine-figure deals of outfielder George Springer and right-hander Kevin Gausman come off the books as well.

Building around Guerrero would have been a good place to start. One of only a dozen players in MLB with at least two seasons of six or more Wins Above Replacement since 2021, Guerrero consistently finds himself near the top of MLB leaderboards in hardest-hit balls, a metric that typically translates to great success.

Like his father, who hit 449 home runs and batted .318 over a 16-year career, Guerrero has rare bat-to-ball skills, particularly for a player with top-of-the-scale power. In his six MLB seasons, Guerrero has hit .288/.363/.500 with 160 home runs, 507 RBIs and 551 strikeouts against 349 walks over 3,540 plate appearances.

"My dad played a lot of years, and he never won the World Series," Guerrero said. "And I always say my personal goal is to win a World Series and give the ring to my dad. So that's all I'm looking for."

Originally a third baseman, Guerrero shifted to first base during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Had the Blue Jays signed Alonso, they signaled the possibility of Guerrero returning full-time to third, where he played a dozen games last year.

Without an extension in place, the 6-foot-2, 245-pound Guerrero will have to wait to reset a market that previously had been topped by the eight-year, $248 million extension Miguel Cabrera signed just shy of his 31st birthday in 2014.

Teams without long-term first-base solutions beyond 2025 that could target Guerrero, who turns 26 in March, include the Yankees (Paul Goldschmidt is on a one-year deal) and Mets (Alonso can opt out of his two-year contract following the season).

Jannik Sinner's case was "a million miles away from doping", a senior figure at the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) has said.

The men's tennis world number one was handed an immediate three-month ban by Wada on Saturday after reaching a settlement over his two positive drug tests last year.

Sinner, 23, was cleared of any wrongdoing by an independent panel after testing positive for banned substance clostebol in March 2024.

Wada had been seeking a ban of up to two years after launching an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) following the initial decision by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) not to suspend Sinner.

However, a deal was reached when Wada accepted Sinner was inadvertently contaminated and "did not intend to cheat".

Sinner has stated that he was inadvertently contaminated by his physiotherapist, who was treating a cut on his hand with an over-the-counter spray, which was later found to contain the banned substance.

The case has divided the tennis world, with some questioning the timing and length of the ban, how the Italian was able to agree a deal and inconsistencies between recent doping cases.

It led to Switzerland's three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka posting on X: "I don't believe in a clean sport any more."

Novak Djokovic, the 24-time Slam winner, questioned the fairness of the process and said there is "favouritism" towards high-profile players.

"This was a case that was a million miles away from doping," Wada general counsel Ross Wenzel told BBC Sport.

"The scientific feedback that we received was that this could not be a case of intentional doping, including micro-dosing."

Wenzel rejected any suggestion of special treatment and said the terms of the ban - that some have claimed will have little effect on Sinner - were appropriate for the case and not taken with the tennis calendar in mind.

Sinner's suspension began on 9 February and runs until 4 May, making him eligible to play at the French Open - the next Grand Slam - which begins on 25 May.

He has not featured competitively since beating Alexander Zverev in the final of the Australian Open on 26 January and could still be ranked number one when he returns to action.

Wenzel said: "Wada has received messages from those that consider that the sanction was too high and, in some respects, if you have some saying this is unfair on the athlete, and others saying it's not enough, maybe it's an indication that although it's not going to be popular with everyone, maybe it's an indication that it was in the right place.

"When we look at these cases we try to look at them technically, operationally and we don't do it with fear of what the public and the politicians or anyone is going to say."