Sports
Providence meets No. 21 Marquette in matchup of slumping teams
Feb 21, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Marquette Golden Eagles guard Chase Ross (2) controls the ball against the Villanova Wildcats in the first half at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images Marquette closed 2024 with a 78-50 road rout of Providence on Dec. 31 as part of its climb to a 6-0 start in the Big East.
The No. 21 Golden Eagles have split their past 10 conference games since that tear, however, and hope to regain their grit when Providence visits Milwaukee on Tuesday night.
An 81-66 road loss to Villanova on Friday sent the Golden Eagles to their fourth loss in six games while reinforcing that nothing is guaranteed.
Marquette (20-7, 11-5) handled the visiting Wildcats by 13 points just a month earlier.
“We need for everyone on our team to understand there’s only one way for us, and that’s to truly come together and multiply each other,” Golden Eagles coach Shaka Smart said. “Let go of ourselves enough that we’re focusing on uplifting the guys around us and connected with the guys around us to get one stop.”
Smart stresses that for Marquette “to play the way we want to play, it requires violence and focus.”
To keep pace with first-place St. John’s and second-place Creighton in the conference standings, the Golden Eagles must get accelerated production from their starting five. Chase Ross (11 points) and Kam Jones (10) led Marquette’s starters against Villanova on Friday, but the rest of the unit combined for just nine points.
Reserve Zaide Lowery swished each of his five 3-pointers en route to a team-best 25 points.
“We have a lot to figure out with our starting lineup in terms of coming into the game with a level of hunger and passion that we have to have,” Smart said.
Providence, meanwhile, has lost five of its past six games and is coming off what coach Kim English called “our most disappointing loss of the season” — Wednesday’s 93-72 defeat at Georgetown.
The Friars (12-15, 6-10) struggled with their effort and consistency, prompting English to acknowledge he was “embarrassed” after Providence couldn’t build off a 13-point home win against Villanova on Feb. 15.
Bensley Joseph started the game with a driving layup to jump-start a 25-point effort. Still, English bemoaned the Friars’ overall “flimsy” finishes of drives and overall play around the rim. It’s a trend he feels has plagued the team throughout the season.
“We haven’t posted the ball all year. … The game favors the hungry,” English said. “The game favors the prideful.”
Complementing Joseph — who added six rebounds, four assists, and three steals against Georgetown — will be key.
English said he wants players to be more urgent and aggressive. Season-ending knee injuries to Bryce Hopkins and Jabri Abdur-Rahim as well as Corey Floyd’s bout with whiplash suffered in a motor-vehicle accident earlier this month have created openings for players to seize more minutes as the Friars aim to transition.
“For us, our wing size is pretty much gone with no Corey, no Jabri, obviously no Bryce,” English said.
Marquette leads the all-time series against Providence 25-15 after snapping a five-game road losing streak vs. the Friars on Dec. 31.
The Golden Eagles took two of three games from the Friars last season, with their lone loss coming in Providence.
The Friars are winless in four games against Top 25 opponents this season.
–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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Lionel Messi (rest) officially ruled out of MLS All-Star Game
