Sports
Cooking at home, No. 14 Missouri hosts South Carolina
Feb 12, 2025; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers guard Caleb Grill (31) reacts during the second half against the Oklahoma Sooners at Mizzou Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images Missouri has enjoyed the strongest home court advantage in major college basketball this season while going 17-1 at Mizzou Arena.
The No. 14 Tigers (20-7, 9-5 Southeastern Conference) will look to maintain that edge when they face South Carolina (11-16, 1-13) on Tuesday night in Columbia, Mo.
Missouri will look to clean up its game after turning the ball over 18 times and committing 26 fouls during a 92-85 loss at Arkansas on Saturday.
“Self-infliction, 30 points off turnovers and again, 37 free throws,” Missouri coach Dennis Gates said. “That’s what we gave up.
“Those are things that you can’t do on the road and expect to win. But our guys did a great job executing down the stretch trying to get that lead. We had the best shots available. They just didn’t go in, and sometimes the ball bounces that way.”
Missouri’s balanced scoring is led by forward Mark Mitchell (13.7 points per game) and guards Caleb Grill (13.4) and Tamar Bates (13.3).
Grill’s 3-point shooting has cooled off lately, making just 7 of 30 shots in his last three games, including 2 of 12 at Arkansas.
“I thought he did a good job taking the ones that was open,” Gates said. “… But in that second half, I thought the ball just didn’t fall for him, and they were open.”
Missouri hopes to have center Josh Gray back in action. Gray, who leads the Tigers with 5.1 rebounds per game, didn’t play at Arkansas due to illness.
The Gamecocks snapped their 13-game losing streak by defeating Texas 84-69 at home Saturday for their first SEC victory. Six of their league losses came by five points or fewer, including one in overtime.
“They’ve been yearning to do this so many times,” South Carolina coach Lamont Paris said. “They’ve been on the doorstep so many times.”
Collin Murray-Boyles scored 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting to lead the Gamecocks past the Longhorns. He averages 15.7 points per game to lead South Carolina, but he found another level against Texas.
His ability to take over games could make South Carolina more dangerous down the stretch.
“I thought he was being really aggressive,” Paris said. “That was generation of offense. That was us having our offense generated, by and large, by Collin Murray-Boyles. I said coming into the season that would be the biggest challenge. It wouldn’t be, ‘What did he average? Can he score 17 points?’ This guy is very talented. He can score 17 in any system.
“But, what does it look like to score 17 when you have to generate the offense. They sent three guys at him at times tonight. Then, what does that look like? This was a good example of him being able to do that. The floor was really spread. I thought in the first half especially, we got to some really spread situations. He opted in instead of opting out from scoring. He opted in and attacked really hard. His moves were really aggressive.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Lionel Messi (rest) officially ruled out of MLS All-Star Game
May 17, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Inter Miami CF forward Lionel Messi (10) reacts against the Portland Timbers during the second half at Nu Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi was one of four players officially ruled out of Wednesday’s MLS All-Star Game at Charlotte, N.C., as the Argentina star continues to recover from a run to the World Cup Final.
Also on Saturday, Hugo Cuypers, Rodrigo De Paul, Mbekezeli Mbokazi were ruled out of the All-Star Game, which will match the best of MLS against the top players from Mexico’s LIGA MX.
Cuypers earned his All-Star spot with his play for the Chicago Fire, but he was transferred to Mexico’s CF Monterrey on Thursday. De Paul, an Inter Miami midfielder, will follow Messi’s lead and bow out of Wednesday’s festivities after playing for Argentina in the World Cup.
Mbokazi, a defender from the Chicago Fire, was ruled out with a lower body injury. The South Africa native also appeared in this summer’s World Cup.
To replace the foursome, Inter Miami midfielder Yannick Bright, Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Andres Cubas, Houston Dynamo forward Guilherme and Fire forward Philip Zinckernagel all were named All-Stars on Saturday.
Bright has guided Inter Miami to a 9-2-1 record in his 12 starts this season, while Cubas has three assists in 12 matches for the Whitecaps. Guilherme has eight goals and five assists in his first season with the Dynamo, while Zinckernagel has five goals and seven assists for the Fire.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Marlins' Class A pitcher fails drug test, suspended 80 games
Sep 11, 2020; Miami, Florida, USA; A general view of a illuminated Miami Marlins logo in center field after the Miami Marlins and Philadelphia Phillies split a double header at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images Miami Marlins minor league pitcher Eiver Mosquera has received an 80-game suspension for testing positive for Boldenone, a performance-enhancing substance.
This season with Class-A Jupiter and the rookie-level Florida Complex League Marlins in 12 games (nine starts), the 19-year-old was 3-3 with a 4.50 ERA, 30 strikeouts and 16 walks in 38 innings.
Mosquera joined the organization in 2024 as a $150,000 international signing out of Venezuela.
–Field Level Media
Sports
NYCFC focusing on Fire, not player's demand, fan reaction
Sep 20, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York City FC midfielder a(7) brings the ball up the pitch against Charlotte FC during the second half at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images Their leading goal scorer wants out of town and their goalkeeper is public enemy No. 1 after a costly gaffe during the World Cup played a key role in the United States losing to Belgium in the round of 16.
But New York City FC is still relying on Nicolas Fernandez Mercau and Matt Freese for big contributions Saturday night when the Chicago Fire invade Yankee Stadium.
Fernandez Mercau scored his 11th goal on a penalty kick Wednesday night during a 2-1 win at Columbus that got NYCFC (6-6-4, 22 points) to .500. It came one day after reports that the club rejected an $18 million offer for his services, leading to his demand that the team transfer him.
“You see a player that is performing for and with his team with a lot of energy,” head coach Pascal Jansen said of Fernandez Mercau. “That’s what he’s supposed to do.”
Freese, whose whiffed clearing attempt led to a third goal for Belgium in a 4-1 win on July 6, was booed on every touch Wednesday. Despite the jeers, he made three saves in the team’s first fixture after the World Cup break.
Meanwhile, Chicago (8-5-2, 26 points) sits third in the East table despite a 3-2 loss Wednesday night at Inter Miami. The result snapped the Fire’s three-match winning streak.
Chicago opted not to stand pat during the summer transfer window, adding Robert Lewandowski from Barcelona on a two-year deal. The 37-year-old Lewandowski, the captain of Poland’s national team, started at Miami and played 63 minutes.
“After just two days with my new team, I didn’t expect everything to work perfectly in my first game,” Lewandowski said.
Lewandowski’s signing led to the departure of star striker Hugo Cuypers. The Fire sold him to LIGA MX’s Monterrey for a reported $7.5 million after he scored 40 goals in 75 league matches over the past 2 1/2 seasons. Cuypers scored 13 goals in 11 matches this season, tying Dallas’ Petar Musa for the league lead.
NYCFC is 3-0-2 in its last five matches against Chicago.
–Field Level Media
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