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
Courage transfer M Manaka Matsukubo to Chelsea
May 8, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; North Carolina Courage midfielder Manaka Matsukubo (34) controls the ball against the Orlando Pride in the second half at Inter&Co Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images The North Carolina Courage transferred 2025 NWSL Midfielder of the Year Manaka Matsukubo to Chelsea FC on Friday.
The 21-year-old Japan international signed a five-year contract with the English club, which competes in the Women’s Super League.
“I’m so excited to be joining Chelsea, a club with a lot of history,” Matsukubo said in a Chelsea press release. “As a small child, I followed Chelsea because it is a club everyone in the world knows about.
“The club has a strong history of winning trophies and has done so well at the top of the game, so I couldn’t pass up this opportunity, and I want to help continue this club’s tradition of winning trophies for years to come.”
Matsukubo joined the Courage on loan in 2023. She tallied 19 goals and 10 assists in 58 matches with North Carolina, including 11 goals last season and five goals through nine matches in 2026.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Yankees place Carlos Rodon on IL, reinstate Trent Grisham, Ryan McMahon
Jun 23, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone (17) takes the ball to relieve pitcher Carlos Rodon (55) in the sixth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images The New York Yankees returned center fielder Trent Grisham and third baseman Ryan McMahon to their active roster prior to Friday’s home game against the Minnesota Twins.
To make room for them on the 26-man roster, left-handed starting pitcher Carlos Rodon was placed on the 15-day injured list with left elbow inflammation and utility man Oswaldo Cabrera was sent to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Grisham, 29, has not played since June 12 due to a hamstring strain and was on the 10-day IL. The Yankees’ frequent leadoff hitter has posted a .232/.341/.406 slash line with eight home runs, 35 RBIs and six stolen bases in 66 games this season.
McMahon, 31, has not been in the Yankees’ lineup since June 21 due to ear and throat issues and was on the 10-day IL. An All-Star in 2024 with the Colorado Rockies, McMahon has delivered a .210 batting average, eight homers and 23 RBIs in 69 games this year.
Rodon, a three-time All-Star including in 2025, hits the injured list after one of his best starts of the year. The 33-year-old surrendered one hit and no earned runs over five innings on Sunday at Boston. In nine starts this season, Rodon has fashioned a 4-2 record and 3.30 ERA with 52 strikeouts and 26 walks over 46 1/3 innings. He began the season on the IL following offseason elbow surgery and later injured his hamstring in March before making his season debut on May 10.
He was slated to start Saturday against the Twins.
Cabrera, 27, appeared in three games while McMahon was sidelined. He went 0-for-9 with two sacrifice bunts in his 11 plate appearances.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Williams sisters to play doubles Saturday at Wimbledon
Jul 6, 2015; London, United Kingdom; Serena Williams (USA) and Venus Williams (USA) hug at the net after their match on day seven of The Championships Wimbledon at the AELTC. Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-Imagn Images Serena and Venus Williams will play their Wimbledon first-round doubles match on Saturday after organizers gave Serena time to recover from a knee injury.
The sisters, who won the grass-court Grand Slam doubles title six times (most recently in 2016), take on Argentina’s Solana Sierra and Colombia’s Camila Osorio at the All England Club.
Playing her first singles match in nearly four years on Tuesday, the 44-year-old Serena tweaked her knee in the first set of a 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3 loss to Australia’s Maya Joint.
Tournament director Jamie Baker told the Associated Press the first-round doubles match was pushed back to give Serena “as much time” as possible to recover. All other first-round matches in the Ladies’ Doubles draw were contested Thursday and Friday.
“We want her to play if she … possibly can,” Baker said Friday.
Venus, 46, and Serena last played doubles at the 2022 U.S. Open, losing in the first round to Linda Noskova and Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic.
The winner of Saturday’s match will face ninth-seeded Ellen Perez of Australia and Demi Schuurs of the Netherlands in the second round.
–Field Level Media
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Courage transfer M Manaka Matsukubo to Chelsea
