Sports

Messi, Inter Miami to open playoffs at home on Oct. 25. And it’ll be shown live in Times Square

Published

1 month ago

October 3, 2024

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Lionel Messi’s first MLS Cup playoff match with Inter Miami will be on Oct. 25. And it’ll be aired live on a massive screen spanning an entire block of New York’s Times Square.

Major League Soccer announced Thursday that Inter Miami’s opener will be the lone playoff match played on that Friday night, with an 8:30 p.m. Eastern start time. It’s a slight adjustment to the MLS Cup schedule; original plans called for the playoffs to begin on Oct. 26.

Inter Miami clinched the MLS Supporters Shield — given to the league’s best regular season team — on Wednesday night with a 3-2 win at Columbus. With the No. 1 overall seed, Inter Miami also has home-field advantage throughout the playoffs and would play host to the MLS Cup final on Dec. 7 if it makes it.

“We have a significant advantage since we’ll be playing all our matches at home, which is what we were aiming for,” Messi said. “I think we are very strong at home. … I believe that being at home gives us a great advantage, and now we just have to prove it.”

The Supporters Shield was Messi’s 46th trophy won for his various clubs or while playing for Argentina, extending his record. Inter Miami won the Leagues Cup last season in Messi’s first year with the club, but did not qualify for the MLS playoffs.

MLS also announced there will be some different broadcast elements for Inter Miami’s playoff opener. Apple TV will make the match available to its customers, regardless of whether they have an MLS Season Pass subscription or not. And the match will be shown live on a 25,000-square-foot digital television display screen on Broadway between 45th and 46th streets in New York’s Times Square.

Inter Miami will open the playoffs in a best-of-three series against the winner of the Eastern Conference’s wild-card match, which will be played on Oct. 22. The full MLS Cup playoff bracket won’t be set until Oct. 19, the final day of the league’s regular season.

Playing the match on Friday night in Fort Lauderdale also avoids the potential for conflict with other significant sporting events in South Florida that weekend.

Miami and Florida State renew their annual college football rivalry on Oct. 26. Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa — currently sidelined while dealing with the aftereffects of a concussion — will be eligible to return from injured reserve for his team’s game against Arizona on Oct. 27. And NASCAR has a playoff race at Homestead-Miami Speedway that weekend as well.

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Sports betting roundup: NFL and college football were all about the favourites

Published

18 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Anne Joseph

The past weekend of football was all about the favourites.

The favoured teams went 13-1 straight up and 10-4 against the spread in the NFL. In college football, the three most teams bet at the BetMGM Sportsbook in terms of number of bets and money all won and covered. All three were favourites.

Trends of the Week

The three most bet college teams that won and covered on Saturday were Ohio State (-3.5) vs. Penn State, Indiana (-7.5) at Michigan State and Oregon (-14.5) at Michigan. Penn State has now lost seven straight home games as underdogs. The Nittany Lions were up 10-0 in the first quarter and were 3.5-point favourites at the time. The Buckeyes won 17-10.

In the NFL, the three most bet teams in terms of number of bets and money were the Washington Commanders (-4) at the New York Giants, the Detroit Lions (-2.5) at the Green Bay Packers and the Buffalo Bills (-6) vs. the Miami Dolphins. All three teams won, but only two of the three covered the spread as Buffalo beat Miami 30-27.

When it came to the players with the most bets to score a touchdown on Sunday, only two of the five reached the end zone — Chase Brown (-125) and Taysom Hill (+185). David Montgomery (-140), Brian Robinson Jr. (+110) and AJ Barner (+500) did not score.

Upsets of the Week

The biggest upset in the NFL was the Carolina Panthers coming from behind to beat the New Orleans Saints 23-22. New Orleans closed as a 7-point favourite and took in 76% of the bets and 79% of the money in against-the-spread betting. The Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen following the loss. They have now lost seven straight games after starting the year 2-0.

Arguably the biggest upset in college football was South Carolina beating No. 10 Texas A&M 44-20 at home. Texas A&M closed as a 2.5-point favourite and took in 59% of the bets and 58% of the money.

Coming up

Right after the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the New York Yankees to win the World Series, odds for the 2025 World Series were released.

The Dodgers have the best odds at +400, while the Atlanta Braves and Yankees are next at +800.

The Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies round out the top five, both at +1100.

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This column was provided to The Associated Press by BetMGM online sportsbook.

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Sports

Longtime rivals Ovechkin, Crosby join Necas as NHL’s three stars of the week

Published

18 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Anne Joseph

NEW YORK – Washington Capitals left-wing Alex Ovechkin, Carolina Hurricanes centre Martin Necas and Pittsburgh Penguins centre Sidney Crosby have been named the NHL’s three stars of the week.

Ovechkin had a league-leading five goals and nine points in four games.

The 39-year-old Capitals captain has 14 points in 11 games this season, and his 860 career goals are just 34 shy of Wayne Gretzky’s record.

Necas shared the league lead with nine points (three goals, six assists) in three games.

Crosby factored on seven of the Penguins’ eight total goals scoring four goals and adding three assists in three appearances. The 37-year-old Penguins captain leads his team with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 13 games this season.

Crosby and Ovechkin, longtime rivals since entering the league together in 2005-06, will meet for the 70th time in the regular season and 95th time overall when Pittsburgh visits Washington on Friday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.

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Oliveira, Mitchell named as finalists for CFL outstanding player award

Published

5 days ago

October 31, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Running back Brady Oliveira of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell are the finalists for the CFL’s outstanding player award.

Oliveira led the CFL in rushing this season with 1,353 yards while Mitchell was the league leader in passing yards (5,451) and touchdowns (32).

Oliveira is also the West Division finalist for the CFL’s top Canadian award, the second straight year he’s been nominated for both.

Oliveira was the CFL’s outstanding Canadian in 2023 and the runner-up to Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for outstanding player.

Defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund of the Montreal Alouettes is the East Division’s top Canadian nominee.

Voting for the awards is conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada and the nine CFL head coaches.

The other award finalists include: defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr. of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Montreal linebacker Tyrice Beverette (outstanding defensive player); Saskatchewan’s Logan Ferland and Toronto’s Ryan Hunter (outstanding lineman); B.C. Lions kicker Sean Whyte and Toronto returner Janarion Grant (special teams); and Edmonton Elks linebacker Nick Anderson and Hamilton receiver Shemar Bridges (outstanding rookie).

The coach of the year finalists are Saskatchewan’s Corey Mace and Montreal’s Jason Maas.

The CFL will honour its top individual performers Nov. 14 in Vancouver.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31.

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