Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni on Friday named Inter Miami‘s Lionel Messi and Rodrigo De Paul to his 28-player squad for the friendlies this month against Venezuela and Puerto Rico in Miami and Chicago, respectively.

The participation of Messi and De Paul in the match against Venezuela on Oct. 10 remains in doubt as Inter Miami plays Atlanta United in a key MLS regular-season match at Chase Stadium one day later.

When asked if Messi and De Paul would participate in Argentina’s friendly on Oct. 10, Inter Miami head coach Javier Mascherano was vague.

“It’s something we’re talking through right now, you’ll find out,” Mascherano said on Friday.

Argentina host Puerto Rico at Soldier Field on Oct. 13.

Miami’s Telasco Segovia was also called up to represent Venezuela in the upcoming friendly.

Though Inter Miami has already clinched a spot in the 2025 MLS playoffs, the team continues to fight for a top slot on the Eastern Conference table to ensure home-field advantage during the postseason.

The club could also be fighting for the Supporters’ Shield during the match against Atlanta United on Oct. 11, dependent upon match results.

The Herons must win the three remaining league matches, while the Philadelphia Union lose the final two games.

Inter Miami currently sits in fourth place on the Eastern Conference table with 56 points in 31 games, recently coming off of a 5-3 loss against the Chicago Fire.

Top-35 senior Abdou Toure announced his commitment to Arkansas on Friday, giving coach John Calipari his second SC Next 100 recruit in the 2026 class.

Toure chose the Razorbacks over fellow finalists Providence and UConn. He took official visits to Arkansas and Providence and unofficial trips to the Huskies’ campus. Providence was perceived to be the favorite down the stretch, but Calipari and the Razorbacks were able to convince Toure.

“Coach Cal and his history was the main reason I chose Arkansas,” Toure told ESPN. “The way he treats his players and how he cares for all his players, along with his energy, was the difference. He is always there for his players. He is the type of coach I can have an open conversation with, and he prepares his players for the NBA. I watched the practices, and they were high intensity.”

Calipari’s track record with producing NBA draft picks and how highly ranked recruits develop under his tutelage was a factor for Toure.

“Coach Cal is a players’ coach. He really cares and loves his players,” he said. “He gave me real feedback on my shot. He said I need to have a higher release point on my 3-point shot.”

A 6-foot-6 wing from Notre Dame High School (Conn.), Toure is the highest-ranked player in the state. He is No. 31 overall in the SC Next 100.

One of the best athletes and finishers in the senior class, Toure plays with consistent intensity and impacts the game with his speed, quickness and ability to play above the rim. He fills the lane in transition with speed, and when he gets to the rim, his verticality kicks in. Toure is an effective straight-line driver with the ball in his hands, and he has a dependable midrange jumper. Toure is also a switchable defender who crashes the offensive glass.

Playing for BABC on the Adidas 3SSB circuit this year, Toure averaged 15.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, including a 28-point outing against Wildcat Select in July. He was named the Gatorade Boys Basketball Player of the Year in Connecticut after averaging 25.1 points per game as a junior.

Toure is Calipari’s second commitment in the 2026 class, after five-star small forward JaShawn Andrews picked the Razorbacks in May. Arkansas still has several high-end targets left on the board, including Jordan Smith, Caleb Holt, Brandon McCoy and Arafan Diane — the last of whom Toure played with for Guinea at the 2024 FIBA U17 World Cup and is someone he is trying to recruit to Fayetteville.

The Atlanta Braves won 76 games, falling well short of the playoffs.

Shortly after the Braves defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates in the regular-season finale, longtime manager Brian Snitker announced he would not return to the dugout next season.

The 69-year-old will move into a special advisory role. He spent nearly a half-century with the Braves organization in various capacities, many of them as a minor league player and coach. His decade-long run as Atlanta’s skipper was highlighted by the 2021 World Series title.

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Braves Chairman and CEO Terry McGuirk said Snitker would be inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame next year, according to 680 The Fan.

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Snitker oversaw six straight National League East titles and seven postseason berths. He ended his career as one of the franchise’s all-time winningest managers. Snitker’s 811 career wins trail only two former Braves managers: Frank Selee and Bobby Cox.

After Snitker confirmed he would step down, Atlanta sports radio host Mike Bell compared his career to Cox’s, “Brian Snitker did more with less. Bobby Cox did less with more,” Bell wrote on X Wednesday afternoon.

Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker (43) is on the field against the Chicago Cubs during the eighth inning at Truist Park in Cumberland, Georgia, on Sept. 10, 2025. (Dale Zanine/Imagn Images)

That comment drew criticism from Baseball Hall of Famer and Braves icon Chipper Jones.

“U are….without a doubt….a clown! Only an absolute, talentless, gasbag….would take this opportunity to celebrate a glorious retirement by crapping on the generational GM and manager that ignited the last 35 yrs of baseball relevance. U can’t be serious with this post,” Jones responded.

Jones, who spent most of his career with Snitker as his manager, also responded to a fan who suggested “the Braves underachieved during that Bobby Cox tenure.”

“[B]lowing a 2-0 lead against the Yankees in 98 was just one of the many times,” a social media user wrote. 

Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox (left) and Chipper Jones in the dugout against the Texas Rangers at the Rangers Ballpark on June 17, 2008, in Arlington, Texas. (Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports)

“Hmmm….i have 2 WS rings, 2 NL rings. How many u got Einstein? We were 2-0 in ‘96. If u gonna argue, at least seem knowledgeable. Padres/yankees were ‘98,” Jones rebutted.

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Cox was on the New York Yankees coaching staff during their 1977 World Series run. He managed the Braves for 25 seasons over two stints.

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