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Messi won’t attend 2026 MLS All-Star Game, but doesn’t risk suspension this time

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A year after being suspended a game for skipping MLS’s All-Star Game, Lionel Messi is missing out again — but this time his absence is excused.

Messi is one of four players who MLS replaced on Saturday, with Golden Boot leader Hugo Cuypers (transferred to Monterrey), Rodrigo De Paul and Mbekezeli Mbokazi also no longer on MLS’s squad that will face a group of Liga MX All-Stars at Charlotte FC’s Bank of America Stadium on Wednesday night.

Inter Miami midfielder Yannick Bright, Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Andrés Cubas, Houston Dynamo forward Guilherme and Chicago Fire forward Philip Zinckernagel are their replacements.

It’s certainly possible a fifth replacement is needed with Vancouver’s Sebastian Berhalter — also coming off the World Cup — set for a transfer to Middlesbrough, as reported by The Athletic this week.

For foreign starpower, MLS will lean on Son Heung-min and Thomas Müller, while U.S. World Cup players Matt Freese, Tim Ream, Max Arfsten and — as of now — Berhalter are also on the squad. Croatian World Cup striker Petar Musa and rising U.S. talents Julian Hall and Zavier Gozo also headline the group, which will be without the league’s biggest draw.

Messi was central to an All-Star controversy last summer. Per MLS rules, any player who skips the All-Star Game without an injury is subject to a one-game suspension. Messi and Jordi Alba, who had been part of Miami’s whirlwind summer that included a run at the FIFA Club World Cup, did not attend the festivities in Austin and were promptly suspended in a decision that Miami owner Jorge Mas decried as “draconian.”

The World Cup has added a complicating factor this year, particularly for players who embarked on a run to the end of the tournament. That applies to Messi and De Paul, who reached the final with Argentina on July 19. Therefore, it’s little surprise that they’re due time to rest and recover before returning to action for their club. Both players missed Miami’s midweek win over the Chicago Fire and won’t feature Saturday night at CF Montréal either.

“Prior to the start of the 2026 season, Major League Soccer and the MLS Players Association agreed that upon a player’s exit from the World Cup competition, clubs would have individual conversations with each player to determine the appropriate rest and return to training and competition timeline. Consistent with that agreement, Rodrigo De Paul and Lionel Messi will be excused from participating in the 2026 MLS All-Star Game,” the league wrote in a statement.

MLS, for the fifth time in six years, will face a group of stars from Mexico’s top flight. Five of Liga MX’s stars featured for Mexico at the World Cup: Gilberto Mora, Erik Lira, Jesús Gallardo, Armando González and former U.S. international Brian Gutiérrez. Another former U.S. international who now represents Mexico, Richy Ledezma, will also play for Liga MX, along with Costa Rican goalkeeping great Keylor Navas.

MLS’s updated All-Star squad after Saturday’s changes is now:

GOALKEEPERS: Maxime Crépeau (Orlando City), Matt Freese (New York City FC), Brian Schwake (Nashville SC)

DEFENDERS: Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew), Lucas Herrington (Colorado Rapids), Richie Laryea (Toronto FC), Anthony Markanich (Minnesota United), Steven Moreira (Columbus Crew), Daniel Munie (San Jose Earthquakes), Andy Najar (Nashville SC), Jackson Ragen (Seattle Sounders), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC)

MIDFIELDERS: Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps), Pep Biel (Charlotte FC), Yannick Bright (Inter Miami), Andrés Cubas (Vancouver Whitecaps), Evander (FC Cincinnati), Carles Gil (New England Revolution), Zavier Gozo (Real Salt Lake), Hany Mukhtar (Nashville SC), Thomas Müller (Vancouver Whitecaps), Ashley Westwood (Charlotte FC)

FORWARDS: Anders Dreyer (San Diego FC), Guilherme (Houston Dynamo), Julian Hall (Red Bull New York), Son Heung-Min (LAFC), Petar Musa (FC Dallas), Sam Surridge (Nashville SC), Philip Zinckernagel (Chicago Fire)

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WNBA All-Star Game 2026 live updates: Caitlin Clark, Team Spoon vs. Paige Bueckers, Team Coop — rosters and latest

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Hello, basketball fans! Welcome to The Athletic’s live coverage of the 2026 WNBA All-Star Game at the United Center in Chicago.

The league’s best and brightest have converged on the Windy City for the league’s showcase weekend, and tonight is the main event as Team Coop faces Team Spoon, paying homage to the WNBA’s 30th anniversary.

Headlined by big names such as Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart, tonight’s intriguing contest should set the stage for a strong close to the WNBA regular season.

Stay tuned for the latest news, analysis, reaction, play-by-play and more from our team of reporters at The Athletic.

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First-round pick Ty Simpson, Los Angeles Rams agree on rookie contract

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LOS ANGELES — The final of this year’s first-round NFL Draft picks is under contract.

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Ty Simpson signed his rookie deal on the day players reported to training camp Saturday, a team source confirmed to The Athletic. The deal is for four years and $25.4 million, fully guaranteed. It includes a fifth-year option as well as a $14.9 million signing bonus as determined by his No. 13 draft slot.

The Rams selected Simpson out of Alabama this spring with the highest draft pick they’ve owned in a decade. In doing so, they locked in an heir to Matthew Stafford, who is entering his 18th NFL season after winning his first league MVP award.

Brock Purdy effect led to Los Angeles Rams drafting Ty Simpson?

Robert Mays

Rams coach Sean McVay and general manager Les Snead have made it clear that Stafford will control how much longer he has to play. Stafford began this offseason with one year left on his contract but added a second season for $55 million to keep him through the 2027 season, if he chooses to keep playing then.

The plan for Simpson is to sit and learn behind Stafford for as long as the reigning MVP continues to play. The Rams feel as if he could use that learning after starting just one season at Alabama, when he led the Crimson Tide to the second round of the College Football Playoff and finished with 28 touchdown passes and five interceptions.

Simpson was a surprising pick to some at the time, given the Rams’ stated goals to win a Super Bowl after a narrow loss in the NFC Championship Game. But that selection freed up their 2027 draft picks in trades, and they then traded that 2027 first-round pick along with Pro Bowl edge rusher Jared Verse, a 2028 second-round pick and a 2029 third-round pick to the Cleveland Browns for reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett.

Simpson will see some reps this summer as Stafford manages a degenerative back issue. The Rams have broken training camp into four-day blocks where Stafford will practice on the second and third days while resting on the first and fourth days. Stafford will not participate in the team’s first practice on Sunday.

Simpson will use this training camp, as well as three preseason games, to try to beat out Stetson Bennett for the No. 2 quarterback role. Jimmy Garoppolo had held that spot for the past two seasons but is a free agent considering retirement.

“The quarterback position is obviously an incredibly important position with the way that this game is played, and you’ll see that reflected,” McVay said. “As Matthew gets a chance to take some of those days off, I think that’s when you’ll really see (the other quarterbacks) get more reps than they would otherwise. We want to create as many competitive situations so we’re good-on-good basically every period.”

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Commonwealth Games 2025: Gymnast Gabriel Langton cleared of serious injury after horror fall

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There was a lengthy halt to proceedings after Langton’s fall before he was taken away on a stretcher.

When the competition resumed, his team-mates secured a silver medal behind Canada, though Langton is yet to receive his.

After the incident, team-mate Luke Whitehouse said: “When something like that happens, you’ve just got to forget about it and reset. I just had to focus on my routine one skill at a time.”

Canada’s Felix Dolci said: “It’s terrible but it goes to show that gymnastics is a very, very difficult and complicated sport. It’s dangerous you know sometimes.

“All our thoughts go to Gabriel and the team.”

Langton was a late call-up to Team England in the place of the injured six-time Olympic medallist Max Whitlock.

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