Lionel Messi was not in the starting lineup for his first Major League Soccer game with Inter Miami, a match at the New York Red Bulls

California will take on Curacao in the Little League World Series championship on Sunday after both teams worked their way into the title game from the elimination bracket

Aaron Rodgers completed three of his five passes for 23 yards in his preseason debut with the New York Jets against the Giants

The San Francisco 49ers are headed into the season with questions at kicker after both third-round rookie Jake Moody and veteran Zane Gonzalez went down with injuries in the past week

Los Angeles Angels general manager Perry Minasian says Shohei Ohtani declined imaging after he left an Aug. 3 start against Seattle after four innings and 59 pitches because of cramping in his pitching hand and fingers

Oleksandr Usyk has successfully retained his heavyweight boxing titles by stopping British challenger Daniel Dubois in the ninth round in Wroclaw

Louis Lappe homered, drove in five runs and gave up just three hits as California beat Texas 6-1 on Saturday to advance to the Little League World Series championship

Sam Hartman threw for four touchdowns in his Notre Dame debut and the No. 13 Fighting Irish routed Navy 42-3 in a season-opening victory in Ireland’s capital

United States standout Christian Pulisic scored in his first match at San Siro to set the Rossoneri on their way to a 4-1 win over Torino in Serie A

Juanma Lillo has offered insight into Pep Guardiola’s insatiable appetite to keep improving himself and those around him. Lillo rejoined his fellow Spaniard’s backroom staff at treble winners Manchester City this summer after a year away. This weekend he will be filling in for the inspirational City manager as the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss takes time out to recuperate from back surgery. Guardiola is due to return to Manchester after the September international break and Lillo expects him to be as hungry as ever. “Pep is always very open, moment to moment, and he decides he always wants to improve and implement new things,” said Lillo, who will oversee the team at Sheffield United on Sunday and at home to Fulham next week. “That sense is very sharp. He’s very intelligent. He grasps not only what he’s going to do, but with whom he’s going to do it. “That helps to improve everyone that is around him. We all improve. “We all try and to pitch in for Pep to always be there, but he doesn’t need a lot of input because he’s constantly building and debating and generating ideas.” Lillo, 57, has had a long and varied coaching career with jobs in countries such as Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Japan and China as well as at home in Spain. He was actually Guardiola’s manager at Mexican side Dorados de Sinaloa almost two decades ago and knew even then his former charge would make a good coach. “We’ve been working hand in hand for many years,” said Lillo, who first joined Guardiola at City in 2020 before leaving for a job in Qatar two years later. “He was my player back in the day. We have a relationship that goes all the way back and we understand things in the same direction. “When he was a player it was the same. He already had a true vision. It’s very difficult to find someone such as him with such capacity and such willingness. “He was already a bit of a coach when he was a player.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Ben Pattison reveals life-saving heart surgery after stunning 800m performance Gregor Townsend expecting wing Darcy Graham to be fit for World Cup opener David Moyes delighted to end Brighton hoodoo as West Ham top table with win

All-Star reliever Félix Bautista has been placed on the 15-day injured list by the Baltimore Orioles, who can only hope his ailing elbow won’t keep him sidelined for the entire season

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has insisted he cannot yet be talked of in the same breath as celebrated predecessors Kevin Keegan and Sir Bobby Robson. Howe has hugely enhanced his reputation since being appointed to the hotseat at St James’ Park by the cub’s new Saudi-backed owners in November 2021 and overseeing a dramatic change in fortunes. Within 18 months, the 45-year-old had guided the Magpies to a first domestic cup final in 24 years and secured a top-four Premier League finish playing a thrilling brand of football, an achievement comparable to those of Keegan and Robson during their respective tenures. As a result, he has won a similar place in the affections of fans, although asked if he recognised the comparison, Howe said: “No. For me personally, I don’t see that. I’ve got so, so much to do to even be talked of in the same breath as those people. “When I watched Sir Bobby’s documentary, which I thought was an amazing thing to watch, it hits you, his career and what he did and how he acted, just everything about his character and the legacy that he’s left here. “It was a really powerful thing to watch, I thought, and I really, really enjoyed it, so no, I’ve got a lot to do. “The drive is to try to do as well as you can. I don’t judge it by what they achieved – they are different times. “They did their best for the football club when they were here and they achieved some unbelievable things, and I will try to do my best for the football club both short-term and long-term while I’m here. That’s all I can do. “The outcome will be the outcome. Obviously I hope it’s positive, I hope people will look back on it fondly. That’s all I wish.” Newcastle face Liverpool on Sunday in a fixture which always rekindles memories of the epic 4-3 defeat at Anfield in April 1996 which dented their title charge under Keegan. His so-called Entertainers set the benchmark for subsequent generations and just as Robson did, Howe is keen to reproduce a style of play which excites supporters. I want my players to be remembered forever, to become legends of the football club. Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe He said: “I said very early in my tenure here that to be compared to The Entertainers is a huge compliment because we want to entertain, not necessarily instead of winning because we are here to win, but to entertain as well. “We are desperate for our supporters to come to the stadium and then leave with that feeling that they cannot wait for next week, with that feeling of, ‘What is the team going to show today?’. “Those kind of emotions are really positive and we want to leave lasting memories. I want my players to be remembered forever, to become legends of the football club. That is something I want for them.”