Sports
With Orlando in town, Miami seeks first win in new stadium
Apr 25, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Inter Miami CF forward Lionel Messi (10) dribbles the ball against the New England Revolution during the second half at Nu Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Lionel Messi and Inter Miami make a fourth attempt at earning their first win in their new stadium on Saturday night when they welcome an Orlando City squad managing an unusually busy recent schedule.
The Herons (5-1-4, 19 points) earned consecutive away wins in their first two matches following the resignation of manager Javier Mascherano in early April and the takeover of Guillermo Hoyos on an interim basis.
But they settled for a 1-1 home draw to New England on Saturday, which marked the third time in as many matches at the freshly unveiled Nu Stadium that honors have finished even.
Versatile defensive midfielder Facundo Mura thinks there have been noticeable, positive changes under Hoyos, who previously was serving as the club’s sporting director.
“Even though we couldn’t win in the last round, we’ve taken seven of the last nine points, and we feel we’ve improved, especially mentally,” Mura said. “So I think we’ll arrive in good shape for the next game.”
Messi has not added to his team-best total of seven goals in Miami’s last two league matches. But he and his teammates have enjoyed a full week to train under Hoyos after navigating a stretch of three games in eight days following the managerial switch.
Messi scored two goals when Inter Miami won 4-2 at Orlando City on March 1. He has eight goals in five meetings against the Lions across all competitions.
Meanwhile, Orlando (2-7-1, 7 points) will play for a second time in about 72 hours and a seventh time in 21 days while managing a run to the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals.
Learning how to balance his players’ workloads has been on-the-job learning for interim manager Martin Perelman, who took over for Oscar Pareja following a three-match losing streak to start the season.
Complicating the equation is a lengthy injury list that includes key attackers Duncan McGuire and Marco Pasalic, who missed last weekend’s 3-2 league loss at D.C. United and Wednesday’s 4-3 Cup triumph over the New England Revolution.
“It’s not an easy task, especially because now we are recovering some of our guys,” Perelman said. “But we’ve had a lot of injuries, so that makes more difficult the task of (monitoring) loads. But the players are responding. They are doing a huge effort, an amazing effort.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Hanwha Life sweeps opener in Mid-Season Invitational bracket stage
Gen.G advanced in the League of Legends competition at the Esports World Cup on July 19, 2025 Hanwha Life and G2 Esports earned wins on Friday as action in the League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational bracket stage got underway in Daejeon, South Korea.
Hanwha Life swept Secret Whales in a Round 1 upper-bracket match, winning in 26, 28 and 30 minutes. Geon-woo “Zeka” Kim of South Korea paced the victors with a 20-2-13 kills-deaths-assists ratio.
G2 Esports had to rally for a 3-2 win against Top Esports, who took a 2-0 lead with wins in 34 and 32 minutes. G2 answered with wins in 27, 41 and 36 minutes, led by Rasmus Borregard “Caps” Winther of Denmark with a 34-19-33 KDA ratio.
All matches are best-of-five in the $2 million tournament, which concludes on July 12 with a top prize of $500,000. The winner of the grand final also qualifies for this fall’s 2026 World Championship.
Play continues in the double-elimination bracket stage Saturday with two more Round 1 matches: LYON vs. FURIA and Bilibili Gaming vs. T1.
2026 Mid-Season Invitational prize pool:
1. $500,000
2. $300,000
3. $240,000
4. $200,000
5-6. $160,000
7-8. $110,000
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: Hornets acquire Dorian Finney-Smith, 3 picks from Rockets
Jan 31, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets forward Dorian Finney-Smith (2) warms up before the game against the Dallas Mavericks at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images The Charlotte Hornets are acquiring forward Dorian Finney-Smith and three second-round picks from the Houston Rockets, ESPN reported on Friday.
The Hornets are receiving the Memphis Grizzlies’ 2027 second-rounder as well as the Rockets’ 2028 and 2033 second-round selections.
The move gives Houston some roster flexibility and creates a $13 million trade exception, while Charlotte now has stockpiled 20 second-round picks over the next seven years, per ESPN.
Signed in June 2025 to a four-year, $53 million deal, Finney-Smith was largely ineffective during his lone season with the Rockets. He averaged 3.3 points and 2.5 rebounds in 37 games (one start) in 2025-26.
Finney-Smith, 33, has averaged 8.0 points and 4.4 rebounds in 628 career games (445 starts) for the Dallas Mavericks, Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Lakers and Rockets.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: Wizards acquire C Deandre Ayton from Lakers
Oct 26, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers center Deandre Ayton (5) reacts to a call during the fourth quarter of the game against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images The Los Angeles Lakers are trading center Deandre Ayton to the Washington Wizards in exchange for guard Jaden Hardy and two second-round draft picks, ESPN reported Friday.
The picks are in 2031 and 2032, per the report.
Ayton, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, averaged 12.5 points and 8.0 rebounds in 72 games (all starts) in his lone season with the Lakers in 2025-26.
Ayton, who turns 28 on July 23, has averaged 15.8 points and 10.1 rebounds in 470 career games (463 starts) with the Phoenix Suns (2018-23), Portland Trail Blazers (2023-25) and Lakers.
Hardy, who turns 24 on Sunday, split the 2025-26 season with the Dallas Mavericks and Wizards and averaged 9.2 points in 57 games (four starts).
A second-round pick in 2022, Hardy has averaged 8.4 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 235 games (19 starts) with the Mavericks (2022-26) and Wizards. He has canned 38.6% of his career 3-point attempts (324 of 839).
–Field Level Media
Hanwha Life sweeps opener in Mid-Season Invitational bracket stage
Report: Hornets acquire Dorian Finney-Smith, 3 picks from Rockets
