Sports
Messi scores twice, Miami clinches playoff berth
Lionel Messi led the charge for Inter Miami CF, scoring twice in the second half to extend his tally to five goals in the past nine days, securing a 4-0 victory over New York City FC on Wednesday night at Citi Field and a spot in the 2025 Major League Soccer playoffs.
Miami head coach Javier Mascherano emphasized that the team had accomplished an important goal, but it was only the first step for a club with aspirations to repeat as Supporters’ Shield champions.
“We are happy and with the tranquility of having achieved the first goal, which was to qualify for the playoffs. Now we’ll try to finish as high as possible in the standings, which would allow us to have home-field advantage,” Mascherano said.
Messi had the opportunity to record a hat trick when Inter Miami earned a penalty in the 83rd minute, but the Herons captain chose to give the chance to longtime teammate Luis Suárez instead.
“He has done that too many times in his career. Sometimes he looks at some teammates who haven’t scored and need a goal more than him,” Mascherano added.
“He tried to help in this way. For me, it’s great. He tried to show to everyone the team spirit, trying to involve all the players and players that maybe in this case Luis, needed to score. So it’s great.”
Messi has managed two or more goals in eight of the past 12 Inter Miami matches, becoming the fourth player in MLS history to record multiple goals in just eight games in a single season.
The team will now focus on the game against Toronto FC on Saturday night as Inter Miami looks to secure the 2025 Supporters’ Shield.
“We are happy because now we are officially qualified for the playoffs. That was very important for us. Now we have to continue moving forward,” Mascherano said.
“We know we have two games in hand, so we will try to rest and recover before going to Toronto. We know how difficult Saturday will be because we have less than 72 hours to play, but we’ll try to play our best and win the game and to qualify as high as possible. If we can win the five remaining games that we have, it will be great and we’ll have that chance to fight for the Supporters’ Shield.”
Miami sits in third place on the Eastern Conference table with 55 points in 29 games, two matches behind leaders Philadelphia Union.
Sports
Catrick Mahomes to Cee Dee Little Lamb: Trending sports-related pet names of 2025
It has been quite a year for Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen. He won his first MVP award in February and got married to actress and musician Hailee Steinfeld in May. Now, it’s time to add inspiration for trending sports-related cat names to his 2025 résumé.
“Josh Allen” was up 232% for sports-inspired cat names this year, according to a recent report by pet-sitting website Rover.
Allen is tied with “Jalen,” seemingly after Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, and “Manning,” presumably inspired by Texas quarterback Arch Manning — and Peyton and Eli perhaps — for the top spot.
“Luka,” after Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic, (up 51%) and “Marchy,” inspired by Florida Panthers star Brad Marchand, (up 32%) followed on the list.
Sports-related dog names followed a similar trend, with “Arch” (up 181%) leading the way followed by “Josh Allen” (also up 181%). Other athletes in the top five to inspire dog names are Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley at third (up 81%), Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg (up 31%) slotted in at four and golfer Scottie Scheffler (up 22%).
New dog names include Barkley Saquon, Cee Dee Little Lamb (Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb) and Nacua (Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua). For cats, new names featured are Catrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes), Travis Kelce, Ja’Marr (Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase) and Scottie Scheffler.
This year, Rover also highlighted city-by-city trends for sports-inspired pet names.
Even though the Mavericks traded Doncic in a blockbuster in February, he still remains popular for Dallas cat owners — “Luka” increased 139%.
Chicago showed love to Sky forward Angel Reese, with “Angel” leading the way in the Windy City for cat (up 243%) and dog (up 84%) names.
San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama saw massive gains as an inspiration for pet names last season. But the focus this year shifted toward the Spurs’ legendary big three of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.
“Tony” (up 629%) and “Manu” (up 229%) led the way for dog names, while Duncan (up 239%) dominated for cats.
Sports
USA Gymnastics looks to soccer executive as its next leader
Kyle Albrecht, MLS Next general manager, takes over the organization with the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics on the horizon.
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Sports
NCAA settles with unpaid coaches for $303M
The NCAA has agreed to pay $303 million to settle a class action antitrust lawsuit representing about 7,700 volunteer college coaches who alleged the organization engaged in illegal wage fixing under a rule that prohibited schools from paying them.
On average, a coach from Monday’s proposed settlement would receive about $39,200 before expenses and fees, based on the school, sport and years worked, according to the proposed settlement, which is awaiting approval by Judge William B. Shubb in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.
From 1992 to July 2023, the NCAA and its schools agreed to cap the number of paid coaches for Division I sports. Certain sports teams were allowed one “volunteer coach” who would not be paid and who was restricted from receiving other benefits. The NCAA punished schools that violated that rule.
The lawsuit claimed those actions were examples of wage-fixing and “unlawful agreements in restraint of the trade and commerce,” referring to the NCAA in the complaint as a “cartel.”
“This combination and conspiracy by the NCAA and its members schools (which possess a dominant position in the relevant market) has resulted in, and will until restrained continue to result in, anti-competitive effects,” including fixing compensation “at the artificially low level of zero” and eliminating or suppressing competition for skilled labor in the market, the lawsuit states.
The proposed settlement agreement noted that “many class members will receive a six-figure amount.” The class includes volunteer coaches who, at any point from March 17, 2019, to June 20, 2023, worked for an NCAA Division I athletic program other than baseball.
Baseball coaches filed a similar lawsuit in November 2022 and reached a settlement with the NCAA for $49.25 million, with $33 million going specifically to about 1,000 coaches. Judge Shubb, who is also overseeing the current lawsuit, signed off in September. In response to that case, the NCAA dropped the rule limiting the number of paid coaches across all sports in July 2023, and coaches who had previously been designated “volunteer” could now be paid.
The second lawsuit, filed in March 2023, initially represented five former volunteer coaches as named plaintiffs, who worked in sports such as swimming, track and field, volleyball, and softball. (Volunteer coaches were not allowed in football or basketball.) One of those was Katherine Sebbane, who coached softball at the University of Pittsburgh from 2019 until 2021.
Sebbane was paid about $25,000 to run the university’s youth camps, clinics and recruiting events. But she also worked about 40 hours a week as an assistant coach, for which she was not paid. As a volunteer coach, she was also not allowed to receive other benefits, including meals and even medical care from athletic trainers.
“There was an instance where the team was catered Chick-fil-A and [a] compliance [official] was down the hall… I was verbatim told, ‘Hey, don’t go out there to grab a sandwich. Compliance is down there.’ Like, you’re not supposed to be eating with the team,” she told ESPN. “And I’m like, I’m the one who can’t afford groceries.”
While Sebbane said she willingly took the job knowing she wouldn’t be paid, she said there was an understanding in coaching circles that doing so was almost a requirement to get to the next stage and climb the ladder to a paid position. The lawsuit stated that many other volunteer coaches felt similarly.
Sebbane said she finally had to give up the job and left coaching. “There’s a lot of people that have suffered financially, and, you know, two years of financial distress, that takes, like, 10 years to catch up. I believe all of us should be compensated for our time that we put in,” she said.
In July 2023, Judge Shubb denied the NCAA’s motion to dismiss, noting that “plaintiffs have alleged facts sufficient to show a violation” of the Sherman Antitrust Act. He wrote, “it is not implausible that plaintiffs would have been paid a salary above $0 but for the NCAA’s adoption of the bylaw.”
After the settlement agreement, plaintiffs’ attorneys Dennis Stewart, Michael Lieberman and Bob Gralewski said in an emailed statement, “We are incredibly proud of this settlement which, if approved, will provide significant and meaningful compensation to thousands of hard-working coaches…We look forward to the approval process and are committed to ensuring that these funds are distributed to coaches in a fair and efficient manner.”
This was the latest in a series of lawsuits alleging antitrust behavior by the NCAA, including the recent $2.8 billion settlement agreement to compensate athletes for lost opportunities to benefit from their name, image and likeness, and to allow schools to share revenue with athletes.
NCAA president Charlie Baker addressed the volunteer coaches settlement in a memo sent to members Monday, noting the dispute with the volunteer coaches “is one of the largest remaining lawsuits we face and resolving it provides certainty and clarity for the association and our members.”
He noted that the settlement will be funded by the Division I membership and the national office, and payments likely wouldn’t start until after next summer.
“While this settlement represents a substantial financial commitment, it closes the door on claims related to volunteer coach bylaws, which were effective until June 30, 2023. It also ensures that Division I conferences and member schools are released from any claims for unpaid wages, benefits, or related damages during the Class Period,” Baker wrote.
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