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Messi Looks To Lead Argentina To Record 16th Copa America Title In Duel With Colombia

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Miami Gardens, Florida  Lionel Messi is one win away from leading Argentina to a record 16th Copa America triumph. Colombia will do everything it can to prevent that in a decisive matchup between the juggernaut and the ascending force.

It will take place on Sunday night at Hard Rock Stadium, hosting two group-stage matches and seven games during the 2026 World Cup.

Ahead of the match, both teams cited safety concerns when Uruguay’s Darwin Núñez and a few teammates climbed into the stands amid a physical confrontation between fans at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, following Uruguay’s semifinal victory over Colombia.

Messi Looks To Lead Argentina To Record 16th Copa America Title In Duel With Colombia

Uruguay captain José Giménez stated that players walked into the crowd to defend their families, while coach Marcelo Bielsa strongly criticized tournament management for not doing enough to protect players’ families in the stands behind the Uruguay bench.

“I’m concerned about what could happen tomorrow,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni told reporters through an interpreter. Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez said it “would be great if we could reinforce security.”

CONMEBOL stated in a press release that “any action that tarnishes a global football celebration will not be tolerated.”

Argentina, who won the Copa America in 2021 and the World Cup in 2022, can join Spain from 2008 to 2012 as the only country to win three consecutive major titles. The Albiceleste advanced to Sunday’s final despite the 37-year-old Messi’s lack of dominance due to a leg ailment.

The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner sped past defenders and set up scoring opportunities for his teammates, but he did not score until redirecting Enzo Fernández’s shot past Canada goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau to help Argentina win 2-0 in the semifinals.

Ahead of the final, Messi stated that he has experienced difficulty throughout the tournament but that it will not slow him down on Sunday.

“In the final, I’m going to feel better,” he stated in an interview with DSports.

Colombia will compete in its first Copa America championship in 23 years, extending its unbeaten streak to a team record of 28 games, one more than in 1992-94 and the longest current stretch in men’s international soccer.

James Rodríguez has been perhaps the finest player in the competition. He leads the tournament with six assists, the most in a single Copa America since data collection began in 2011, surpassing Messi’s five in 2021.

“James has had a great Copa America,” Colombia coach Néstor Lorenzo stated through an interpreter. “We are fortunate to have him at a very high level. He has received encouragement from his teammates. I can only hope that he performs well tomorrow.”

Lorenzo complimented his team’s collective effort in reaching this point, which includes an emotional triumph over 15-time champion Uruguay, and thanked Colombian supporters for their support—Colombia’s matches, like Argentina’s, have been among the most attended.

Messi Looks To Lead Argentina To Record 16th Copa America Title In Duel With Colombia

But Lorenzo emphasized that this should be the norm for the resurgent club, which won its sole Copa America title at home in 2001.

“We’d love it if it wouldn’t be such a surprise to get to a final, so unexpected,” he told me. “We want to be always on top. It is not easy. Let’s hope this lasts. Let’s hope we can keep going.

Argentina won the 2021 semifinal 3-2 on penalty kicks following a 1-1 tie. Colombia last defeated Argentina in the Copa América group stage in 2019.

“We’re going to play our game,” Scaloni declared. “You always have a plan, but the final is always a stressful game, and the one who is under the least stress will win.”

SOURCE | AP

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The Utah Hockey Club’s Net Scores The Opening Goal.

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(VOR News) – The Utah Hockey Club did not begin the season in the manner that they had planned to, despite the fact that they were playing their first game of the preseason on the ice.

The first goal that they scored at the beginning of the season was not the way that they had anticipated the season to begin.

Des Moines, Iowa, which is located in the state of Iowa, was the location of the first game played by the organisation that was once known as the Arizona Coyotes.

Specifically, the game will take place in the state of Iowa. Specifically, the game was developed in the state of Iowa, which was also the location where it was manufactured. The St. Louis Blues, who were the team that was competing for the championship.

We represented Utah in this particular game.

The penalty call was delayed, which resulted in Utah being required to remove their custodian in order to make room for an additional attacker. This was done in order to provide space for the additional attacker.

It was necessary to do this step in order to clear space for the attacker to move about a bit. Because of this, St. Louis was able to take the lead in the game with a score of 1-0 at the beginning of the second quarter.

This allowed them to gain control of the game. As the puck made its way down the ice and into the empty net of the opposition, the winger for Utah, Dylan Guenther, was unable to gain hold of it at the point, and he was also unable to catch up to it in time while it was falling. The disaster took place at this particular instant in time, which was the ideal time for it to take place that it did.

A defenseman with the Blues named Anton Malmstrom was given official credit for scoring the goal, and St. Louis “congratulated” Utah on scoring its first goal in the history of the team.

Malmstrom was given credit for Utah Scoring the goal.

The individual who was identified as the player who scored the goal was Malmstrom. It has been determined that Malmstrom is the individual who was responsible for scoring the goal. At the conclusion of the official investigation, it was determined that Malmstrom was the individual who was responsible for scoring the goal.

On the flip side, it would appear that yet another case of trolling was directed at the Blues. After the actual opening goal for Utah, which was scored by Michael Carcone a little more than six minutes later, Kevin Connauton added another goal later in the quarter to bring the score to a draw.

This brought the score to a tie. As a consequence of this, the score stayed tied. As a consequence of this turn of events, the score ended up being something like 2-2.

Guenther also made atonement for his prior transgressions by scoring a power-play marker that put Utah in the lead by a score of 3-2. This was a significant accomplishment for Guenther. As a consequence for his earlier misdeeds, Guenther was given this sentence.

Due to the fact that this achievement was achieved, Utah is currently in the position of being in the lead. It was on Friday that a signing took place, which ultimately led to the extension of Guenther’s contract for an additional eight years into the future. We have completed this extension.

Carcone scored his second goal of the game into an empty net, this time into the Blues’ net, during the final minute of the game. This would be his second goal of the game. Ultimately, this goal was the deciding factor in Utah’s victory, which was officially recorded as a 5-3 score.

It was generally agreed that Carcone’s goal was the one that clinched the victory. The final goal of the contest was scored by Carcone, who scored the game’s decisive goal. Utah was able to win the game and take home the victory as a result of Carcone’s goal, which was the goal that ultimately decided the outcome of the game.

However, despite the fact that the situation had already beyond the point of no return, the social administrator for the Blues was still able to successfully extract the last laugh from it. His efforts were successful.

SOURCE: SN

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No Panic for Patrick Mahomes and The Chiefs After Another Quiet Travis Kelce game.

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No Panic for Patrick Mahomes and The Chiefs After Another Quiet Travis Kelce game.

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(VOR News) – Nine times in the passing game was Travis Kelce, a tight end with the Kansas City Chiefs, targeted when he debuted in the 2023 season.

He did, however, only finish with four receptions for 26 yards and a touchdown overall. He responded the next week with seven receptions for 69 yards, the Chiefs adding another score to his record and thus allaying some of the worries of some who were on the sidelines looking in.

Kelce’s third consecutive week of poor performance marked the end of his third game of the 2024–25 season.

Two days before the year ended, this Chiefs event occurred.

Although his four receptions and thirty yards are all season highs, if they had been attained concurrently they would have been among his worst efforts from the previous season.

Once more on Sunday’s triumph over the Atlanta Falcons, a sluggish effort from the offense was evident; Kelce was not an exception to this rule. While this is the case, quarterback for Chiefs Patrick Mahomes thinks the most important symbol of respect is Kelce’s receiving less than a month away from his 35th birthday.

“I mean it’s crazy since teams are still… the respect factor Travis has is just unreal,” Mahomes said to reporters. “It is well-deserved, but we are calling a lot of plays for Travis, and it seems like just two or three people are going to him,” the spokesman added. He understands this clearly.

His desire to win at the end of the day is, in my view, the most admirable trait about him; he is not simply interested in having an impact on the game. I shall give it top attention in the future to keep giving him the ball whenever he is there and on the pitch.

At the conclusion of Week 3, Kelce ranked second only to Rashee Rice in terms of targets, receptions, and yards by the pass among all Chiefs pass catchers. This shows Kelce has made notable advancements on the right path. The other man merely had 12 receptions and 14 targets; Rice had 14 targets and 12 receptions for 110 yards.

Their differences were quite considerable. As of right now this season, three games have been played; Kelce has not yet found the end zone. He had two outstanding catches in the second half.

One was a third-quarter 17-yard gain that put the Chiefs in red zone.

The head coach and Mahomes both expressed hope that Kelce would finally reach his big-time goals after the weekend’s victory. Although this is the new normal for one of the league’s best tight ends, nobody seemed to be worried about it.

This is still the case after a week; yet, the longer Chiefs games pass without a vintage Kelce effort – or anything that even loosely resembles one – the more attention will be paid to his specific stats.

Though he has lost a lot of agility compared to his prime, Kelce is still able to get open. Besides, his head is still clear, hence he is obviously capable of writing correctly.

For a different set of factors, he is not getting targets or catches inside the rhythm of the offensive, though. Maybe we could have opened that window if our sample size had been larger.

Mahomes believes that everything else will take care of itself if other guys start (or, in Rice’s case, keep going) and Kelce keeps on going.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes stated, “The more plays Rashee makes, the more effectively we can run the football, which allows us to involve (Xavier) Worthy, thereby increasing Travis’s opportunities to be open.” “Individuals are genuinely concerned about attempting to remove him, which is facilitating opportunities for other players.”

SOUREC: SI

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A Trio Of NASCAR Stars In Danger Of Playoff Elimination At Bristol Cutoff Race

McLaren And Lando Norris Seek To Pressure Red Bull In F1’S Singapore Grand Prix

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A Trio Of NASCAR Stars In Danger Of Playoff Elimination At Bristol Cutoff Race

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Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, the first elimination race of NASCAR’s playoffs will pit a three-time Daytona 500 winner against two past Cup Series champions.

The trio is also among NASCAR’s greatest stars in a 16-driver playoff field that includes popular racers Kyle Busch, Ross Chastain, and Bubba Wallace who did not qualify.

So this year’s field is rather depleted, but Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., and Harrison Burton are all below the cutline heading into the first elimination race of the playoffs. The bottom four drivers from Saturday night’s race will be removed.

So, what is the plan?

Hamlin, a four-time champion at Bristol, has a simple ambition.

“I’m coming here to win,” Hamlin declared Friday. “That plan will remain unchanged unless the scenario in the race changes. I’m going to go on offense straight away, and I’ll be fine regardless of the outcome.

“I just know, that over 500 laps here, things will work themselves out.”

NASCAR

A Trio Of NASCAR Stars In Danger Of Playoff Elimination At Bristol Cutoff Race

Joey Logano is the only driver who has already qualified for the second round after winning the playoff opener in Atlanta. This leaves the remaining 11 positions available, with the bottom four in the most jeopardy.

The Atlanta race and the road circuit at Watkins Glen last week were new sites on the 10-race playoff schedule, which is how Hamlin, a three-time Daytona 500 winner, 2012 champion Keselowski, and 2017 champion Truex ended himself in this position.

Both circuits are unpredictable, and Keselowski finished 19th at Atlanta, the highest of the three drivers in both races. Truex, who finished 20th at Watkins Glen, was furious after the race about the lack of respect among drivers in the field.

He’s retiring from full-time competition after the season, and he decided it’s probably too late to become a dirty driver. He stated that he was unsure whether he would be willing to compromise his ethical views to advance to the next round of the playoffs.

“I honestly don’t know. “I believe it will just depend on the situation — what we find ourselves in and what is going on,” Truex stated. “But most likely not.” I’ll probably race the same way I always do, and maybe we’ll be good enough to finish the job that way.”

Hamlin clarified that the contract extension handed to Wallace earlier this week does not indicate that 23XI Racing is close to signing NASCAR’s charter agreement.

When NASCAR issued a deadline two weeks ago to accept its last offer, 23XI was one of only two holdouts. Wallace has agreed to a multi-year contract deal, according to the organization.

“Nothing has changed on our side on (charters),” said Hamlin, the team’s co-owner alongside Michael Jordan and Curtis Polk. “We’ve said for awhile that we plan on racing next year and we’re sticking to that.”

That was the message Hamlin delivered this week at a sponsor summit held by 23XI Racing for its partners.

“We were quite clear in our messaging that nothing was changing. “The battles we have off the track are over ownership,” Hamlin stated.

Driver exchange
Spire Motorsports and Rick Ware Racing announced Friday that they will swap drivers beginning with next week’s race at Kansas Speedway, marking a rare in-season team trade.

Corey LaJoie, who had already been informed that he would not be returning to Spire next season, will start racing for Rick Ware Racing next weekend. Justin Haley, who has previously driven for Spire, will return to his former squad to replace LaJoie.

Haley’s seat is secured until 2025, while LaJoie is virtually on trial with Rick Ware Racing for the next two months of the season.

LaJoie is regarded as the leading contender for the full-time driver position at RWR, but he needs establish himself in the next seven races of the season.

Haley has driven partial schedules for Spire throughout numerous seasons and earned the team’s only Cup Series victory in July 2019 at Daytona.

NASCAR transactions are unusual because sponsorship contracts are normally connected to a car or a certain driver.

NASCAR

A Trio Of NASCAR Stars In Danger Of Playoff Elimination At Bristol Cutoff Race

“It’s unique, it’s unconventional,” RWR president Robby Benton explained. “Driver swaps and player trades are very different from what we do (in NASCAR).” But I want you to know that everything is friendly.”

Kurt Busch switched to Furniture Row Racing for the final six races of 2012, while Jeff Burton joined Richard Childress Racing with 14 races remaining in 2004. The closest driver trade occurred in 2003, when Jeff Green and Steve Park switched rides.

Is Dale Jr. finally gone?
Dale Earnhardt Jr. thinks that Friday night’s Xfinity Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway would be his last until at least 2026.

JR Motorsports’ agreement with sponsor Hellmann’s Mayonnaise required the Hall of Fame driver to drive the vehicle at Bristol. That clause does not exist in 2025.

“I’m not planning on racing in the Xfinity Series next year,” Earnhardt added. “I’ll be foolish to say I’m never going to run again because I don’t know well enough to stay away from it, and I’ll probably miss it next year and be absolutely willing to sign up for anything that might be beneficial to JR Motorsports.”

Earnhardt, who turns 50 later this year, says he will miss racing in the series next year and “terribly regret that I didn’t race and probably in 2026 find me somewhere that I can go compete in the Xfinity Series again.”

“If a partner comes together with a package that helps one of the other cars fill out multiple races that we have some inventory, I’m absolutely on board to do a race for that reason alone,” according to him.

Earnhardt will drive the No. 88 Chevrolet at Bristol, which Connor Zilisch won in his Xfinity Series debut last weekend at Watkins Glen.

Earnhardt stated that JR Motorsports had not ended conversations on potentially fielding a Cup team.

“You just never know that when the phone rings what’s going to be on the other end of that call these days especially,” he told me. “There’s a lot of fresh interest coming into the sport, and with the new (charter) agreement, it’ll churn a bunch of potential partners who have been looking at the sport and waiting for that deal to happen to see where the monies end up.

“We may be able to capitalise on some of that momentum and those events. We may not. If it doesn’t happen, I’m not sure if I’ll have a huge regret.”

SOURCE | AP

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