Sarni's Scrolls: Messi Mania, Season 2
Lionel Messi enters his first full season with Inter Miami when the Herons host Real Salt Lake on Wednesday at Chase Stadium (previously DRV PNK) in Fort Lauderdale.
Major League Soccer is kicking off its 29th season, the earliest in league history, with this stand-alone match. It will air at 8 p.m. ET exclusively on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
Opening week action continues with MLS clubs competing across a slate of 14 matches on Saturday and Sunday, highlighted by the LA Galaxy hosting Inter Miami on Sunday.
Messi and Miami flourished in their first few months together last season. The Argentine icon led the Herons to victory in the Leagues Cup. Inter Miami also reached the final of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
However, Messi couldn't help Miami dig itself out of a massive deficit in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
The Columbus Crew won the 2023 MLS Cup, defeating Los Angeles FC in the final.
Inter Miami enters the 2024 season as the betting favorites to hoist MLS Cup come Dec. 7.
BetMGM odds: Inter Miami +250. LAFC +800, Columbus +900, Cincinnati +1,200, Philadelphia +1,400.
■ In addition to Apple's MLS Season Pass, select games will air on the Fox (15) and FS1 (19). Spanish-language coverage is available on Fox Deportes.
***
Time has named Coco Gauff to its 2024 Women of the Year list... 12 "leaders building a more equal world."
"It's really cool," Gauff said in an on-court interview after defeating Karolina Pliskova 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the round of 16 at the Dubai Tennis Championships on Wednesday.
"I'm super grateful to Time for choosing me... at such a young age."
The U.S Open champion from Delray Beach, Fla., turns 20 in March.
“It’s crazy to think that I’m not going to be a teenager anymore,” she told Time.
“So much of my career, people have called me the teenaged this, teenaged that.”
Gauff knows she’s still early in her journey.
“At first, I was scared to grow up,” she said. “But now I’m embracing adulthood. There’s always going to be change needed in this world. I hope I can play a small part.”
***
The CONCACAF Gold Cup in men’s soccer has been played since 1991.
Now, the women finally have their version, the W Gold Cup.
The USWNT, which shook up its roster following its earliest-ever exit at the 2023 World Cup, is favored on home soil.
The Americans started strong with a convincing 5-0 victory over the Dominican Republic in their opening Group Stage match on Tuesday in Carson, Calif. Eighteen-year-old midfielder Olivia Moutrie scored twice in her first start.
Alex Morgan was a late addition to the roster (and scored on a penalty in stoppage time) after Mia Fishel went down with an ACL injury that will sideline her for the entire tournament.
The USWNT rounds out Group play with matches against Argentina (Friday) and Mexico (Feb. 26).
***
NBA commissioner Adam Silver was not happy with the absence of competitiveness, effort, and defense in this year’s All-Star Game in Indianapolis.
Fans, however, did not object. The game drew an average audience of 5.5 million, up 14% from record-low viewership a year ago.
Exposure was boosted by a Warner Bros. Discovery coverage plan that included alternate broadcasts on TruTV and B/R Sports on Max to supplement core coverage on TBS and TNT.
***
The NHL drew a crowd of 70,328 on Saturday for Devils-Flyers, the first of a two-day run of Stadium Series games at MetLife Stadium, The attendance was the largest in 13 Stadium Series games dating to ’14.
The record didn't last long as Sunday’s Rangers-Islanders game drew 79,690, the third-largest crowd in NHL history, as the league reopened a chunk of lower-bowl seats that was blocked off on Saturday for a pregame Jonas Brothers concert.
Only two prior Winter Classics—the 2014 game at Michigan Stadium and the ’20 event at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas—have featured bigger crowds for the NHL.
***
The College Football Playoff Board of Managers on Tuesday voted unanimously to revise the format of the 12-team event to include the five highest-ranked conference champions and seven at-large bids, finalizing an adjustment from the original “6+6” model.
No surprise after the dismantling of the Pac-12 in the latest round of conference realignment.
The Athletic reports its sources indicate that Wednesday’s meeting of the commissioners who make up the CFP Management Committee could be contentious, with Big Ten and SEC leaders expected to lay out what they want in the new CFP contract that begins in 2026.
One Athletic source said they expect the Big Ten and SEC to push for revenue shares larger than those given to the Big 12 and ACC, creating further separation between the two groups.
The other source thinks one or both of the leagues might demand multiple automatic qualifiers per year — even as many as three or four for one conference.
***
Many football fans want the Super Bowl played on Presidents' Day Weekend.
In 2027, they will get their wish. The Super Bowl will be on Valentine's Day (February 14) with Presidents' Day the next day (February 15).
Since adding a 17th game in 2021, the Super Bowl has been played on the second Sunday in February, and Presidents' Day is always the third Monday in February.
The 2027 Super Bowl falls on Presidents' Day Weekend only by chance, but it could ultimately become its permanent home if the NFL adds an 18th regular-season game.
***
ETC.
■ Baylor retired Brittney Griner's No. 42 in an emotional ceremony on Sunday. Griner led Baylor to an undefeated 40-0 season capped by the 2012 national championship.
■ UConn women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma passed former Duke men's coach Mike Krzyzewski as No. 2 in the all-time wins after the Huskies defeated Creighton 73-53 on Monday. Auriemma only trails Stanford's Tara VanDerveer, who passed Krzyzewski in January. As of Feb. 19, VanDerveer has 1,209 career wins and Auriemma just reached No. 1,203.
■ Scottie Scheffler. No. 1 on the PGA Tour, has not won a full-field event in 11 months. He's finished in the Top 10 nine times.
■ Jim Nantz's Masters pick is Jordan Speith.
■ By hitting a hole-in-one at the Genesis Invitational last weekend, Will Zalatoris won a car for both himself and his caddy Joel Stack.
■ J.J. Watt suggests reducing offensive holding penalties from 10 yards to five.
■ Aaron Boone will bat third in the Yankees lineup behind Juan Soto.
***
■ Caitlin Clark passed Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders to become Fanatics' top-selling NIL athlete.
■ Michigan QB Jack Tuttle was granted a seventh season of eligibility by the NCAA.
■ The Div. II Arkansas Tech softball team lists a dog, Mr. Wilson, as an emotional support coach.
■ The Lerner family is not selling the Washington Nationals after all.
■ The Pittsburgh Sports and Exhibition Authority is paying a feasibility study to measure local demand for an NBA or WNBA team. Pittsburgh is a great sports town. It had the ABA Condors at one time. Bring hoops back.
■ Amazon acquired the rights to a documentary on Roger Federer, focused on the 12 days surrounding his retirement and his biggest rivals.
■ Boston College (23-5-1) and Boston University (20-8-2) are 1-2 again in the men's college hockey poll.
■ Boston Globe sports columnist Dan Shaughnessy is resting at home after heart surgery. Get well. Dan.
***
■ The Producers Guild got a jump on its 2024 PGA Awards Tuesday in Manhattan, revealing winners in its Sports and Children’s categories. Season 1 of Netflix’s docuseries "Beckham" took the Outstanding Sports Program prize, and Season 53 of Max’s "Sesame Street" won for Outstanding Children’s Program.
■ Sora, an AI application that takes written prompts and turns them into original videos, is sending shock waves through both tech and media worlds.
■ A National Institute of Health study concludes that exercise is more beneficial for women than men.
■ A record number of Americans (4.1 million) will turn 65 this year. The "Silver Tsunami" trend will continue through 2027.
■ The Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum introduced three new bobblehead series to celebrate Presidents' Day -- First Ladies (15), Resolute Desk (11), White House Podium (7).
■ L.L.Cool J's Sam Hannah character from the canceled "NCIS: Los Angeles" is now a recurring guest star on "NCIS: Hawaii." Cool.
■ CBS reaped an additional $60 million in Super Bowl overtime commercials.
■ A Build-A-Bear poll found that 40% respondents of U.S. adults who owned or once owned a stuffed animal said they still slept with one.
***
THEY SAID IT
■ "UConn's stay at No. 1 overall in the projected NCAA Tournament bracket was short-lived. The Huskies' loss to Creighton (85-66 on Tuesday) will drop them back behind Purdue to the second spot on the No. 1 line. The Boilermakers are back on top as the No. 1 overall seed for the same reason the NCAA Tournament selection committee put them there to begin with - the depth and quality of their wins." -- CBS Bracketology expert Jerry Palm.
■ "The docuseries about the Patriots being rolled out on Apple TV+ is named “The Dynasty.” The producers should have considered a different title: “Kill Bill.” The docuseries does deliver behind-the-scenes footage and fresh perspectives on the Patriots dynasty of 2000-20. But there is an obvious villain, and it’s Bill Belichick." -- Ben Volin of the "Boston Globe."
■ "There's not a single player in sports in recent history that has done more with less pressure to win than Mike Trout. Nobody cares if he wins, he has successfully accomplished his goal of us not caring about him. Oddly respect him for that." -- "UnSportsmanLike's" Evan Cohen.