One of Inter Miami’s fans holds a copy of Lionel Messi’s Argentine national team uniform during a training session Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024, in Chiba, near Tokyo. Inter Miami is facing Vissel Kobe in a friendly soccer match Wednesday. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Look for Lionel Messi to play on Wednesday in Tokyo where Inter Miami meets Japanese club Vissel Kobe in a friendly.
And don’t look for another public relations disaster as happened on Sunday when Argentina’s World Cup-winning captain sat on the bench for an entire match against a selection of players from the Hong Kong league, angering thousands of fans who demanded refunds.
Teammate Luis Suarez — another big name at Miami — also remained on the bench.
Messi showed up at a five-star Tokyo hotel on Tuesday for his second news conference since joining Miami last June 7, and his first since Aug. 17. He sat alone on a stool on stage, wore a pink warm-up jacket, and showed a bit of humility.
He was surely under pressure from local Japanese sponsors, including Vissel Kobe where his former Barcelona teammate Andres Iniesta became a Japanese crowd favorite before leaving last year.
“The truth is that I feel very good compared to a few days ago,” Messi said in Spanish. “And depending on how that (training) goes. And if I’m honest, I still don’t know if I will be able to or not. But I feel much better and I really want to be able to do it.”
Messi trained later Tuesday in suburban Tokyo and looked fit, running drills and moving with ease at a practice facility run by the Japan Football Association. He did not speak afterward with reporters.
Messi tried to explain to Hong Kong fans that it was impossible for him to play with a groin injury. Some suggested he could have simply trotted around for a few minutes, which might have satisfied fans in a game that was largely meaningless except for its promotional value.
“The truth is that it was bad luck that I couldn’t (play) on the day of the Hong Kong match,” Messi said, adding the “discomfort continued and it was very difficult for me to play.”
“Unfortunately, in football, things can happen in any game, that we may have an injury. It’s a shame because I always want to participate, I want to be there, and even more so when it comes to these games when we travel so far and people are so excited to see our matches.”
Inter Miami’s global tour has been disappointing as the club tries to build a brand using its veteran stars Messi and Suarez. In five games from El Salvador, to Dallas, to Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong, Inter Miami has won only once and been outscored 12-7.
The Asian tour wraps up on Wednesday in Tokyo’s National Stadium.
Mark Conrad, who teaches law, ethics and sports business at Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business, reminded fans that a ticket is for a game and does not guarantee a player’s participation.
“While it may be true that many fans purchased tickets with the hope of seeing Messi, the ticket is to watch the match, not a specific player — unless there is a condition that says otherwise,” Conrad told The Associated Press.
“While it is likely true that the pricing and the interest was in large part due to Messi’s participation, his failure to play does not generally constitute a breach of contract.”
Messi said he hoped to visit Hong Kong again and play next time.
“I hope we can return and we can play another game and I can be present,” he said. “As I do whenever I can. But the truth is that it is a shame that I was not able to participate.”
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings made another investment this week in a young standout, signing Moritz Seider to a seven-year contract worth nearly $60 million.
The Red Wings announced the move with the 23-year-old German defenseman on Thursday, three days after keeping 22-year-old forward Lucas Raymond with a $64.6 million, eight-year deal.
Detroit drafted Seider with the No. 6 pick overall eight years ago and he has proven to be a great pick. He has 134 career points, the most by a defenseman drafted in 2019.
He was the NHL’s only player to have at least 200 hits and block 200-plus shots last season, when he scored a career-high nine goals and had 42 points for the second straight year.
Seider won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 2022 after he had a career-high 50 points.
Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is banking on Seider, whose contract will count $8.55 million annually against the cap, and Raymond to turn a rebuilding team into a winner.
Detroit has failed to make the playoffs in eight straight seasons, the longest postseason drought in franchise history.
The Red Wings, who won four Stanley Cups from 1997 to 2008, have been reeling since their run of 25 straight postseasons ended in 2016.
Detroit was 41-32-9 last season and finished with a winning record for the first time since its last playoff appearance.
Yzerman re-signed Patrick Kane last summer and signed some free agents, including Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract worth $9.5 million after he helped the Florida Panthers hoist the Cup.
PENTICTON, B.C. – Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he’s been working his way back from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in last season’s playoffs.
The 28-year-old all star says the rehabilitation process has been frustrating, but he has made good progress in recent weeks and is confident he’ll be able to return to playing.
He says he and his medical team have spent the last few months talking to specialists around the world, and have not found a single other hockey player who has dealt with the same injury.
Demko missed several weeks of the last season with a knee ailment and played just one game in Vancouver’s playoff run last spring before going down with the current injury.
He was not on the ice with his teammates as the Canucks started training camp in Penticton, B.C., on Thursday, but skated on his own before the sessions began.
Demko posted a 35-14-2 record with a .918 percentage, a 2.45 goals-against average and five shutouts for Vancouver last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — No. 1 Texas will start Arch Manning at quarterback Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe while regular starter Quinn Ewers continues to recover from a strained muscle in his abdomen, coach Steve Sarkisian said Thursday.
It will be the first career start for Manning, a second year freshman. He relieved Ewers in the second quarter last week against UTSA, and passed for four touchdowns and ran for another in a 56-7 Texas victory.
Manning is the son of Cooper Manning, the grandson of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning, and the nephew of Super Bowl-winning QBs Peyton and Eli Manning.
Ewers missed several games over the previous two seasons with shoulder and sternum injuries.
The Longhorns are No. 1 for the first time since 2008 and Saturday’s matchup with the Warhawks is Texas’ last game before the program starts its first SEC schedule against Mississippi State on Sept. 28.
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