Lionel Messi’s status remains a concern for Inter Miami as the Herons prepare to face the Eastern Conference leaders, Philadelphia Union.

Messi started Inter Miami’s 2025 campaign in prime form. The 37-year-old bagged two goals and two assists in his first three matches across all competitions, becoming the fastest player in MLS history to record 40 goal contributions in the league. Then, he missed the Herons’ next three matches.

The club never confirmed Messi was nursing an injury, but his time on the sidelines became a distant memory when he returned just before the international break. Following a brief cameo against Cavalier, Messi played a full 90 minutes against Atlanta United and found the back of the net in Inter Miami’s 1–2 victory.

Days later, Messi pulled out of Argentina’s squad due to a minor muscle injury. While Argentina qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Messi remained in Miami, where he now finally returned to training.

With a huge clash coming up against Philadelphia Union, the question on everyone’s minds is: Will Lionel Messi play?

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It is still uncertain whether Messi will play against Philadelphia Union on Saturday, Mar. 29. Despite his return to training, Messi’s fitness is a huge worry for the Herons, especially with the first leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinals swiftly approaching.

Even if Messi is given the green light to play on Saturday, he will likely only feature off the bench as Inter Miami continue to monitor his minutes. Throwing the 37-year-old into the starting lineup against Philadelphia when the Herons face LAFC just four days later is rather unlikely.

The conditions of the game will also play a role in whether the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner makes an appearance if he is deemed fit enough. Should Inter Miami go down to 10 men like they have three times in MLS this season, then expect Messi to stay on the bench.

As the match against Philadelphia draws closer, expect Javier Mascherano to give fans a proper update on the fitness of his best player.

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Folks, Opening Day is tomorrow.

To. Morr. Ow.

As such, we’re starting to get predictions flooding in from everybody who’s bold enough to try to call how arguably the most unpredictable sport in North America is going to shake out from now all the way until October. The staff here at Battery Power will share our predictions with y’all later on and if you haven’t voted in our survey asking where you think the Braves will finish in the NL East this season, you’ve still got a chance for the time being.

Everybody’s dropping their two cents in the can and that includes Keith Law of The Athletic. His season preview is a massively comprehensive piece and I highly suggest that y’all subscribe and go check it out, since he’s been doing great work for a long time now and he’s continuing to do so with articles like this. As such, Law is feeling very bullish about the Atlanta Braves’ chances of winning the World Series for the first time since 2021 — to the point where he’s predicting that they’ll be the ones lifting the “piece of metal” once the season comes to its conclusion in October.

Here are his thoughts on the Braves heading into 2025:

Atlanta didn’t make any huge moves this winter, but they’ll get Spencer Strider and Ronald Acuña Jr., back early this season, and that may be all they needed to do. Sean Murphy’s injury opens the door for their top prospect Drake Baldwin to get some big-league time, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he acquits himself well enough to make demoting him a tough decision. Jurickson Profar probably won’t repeat his huge 2024 season, but he could give half of that value back and still be an upgrade for them in left.

He goes on to predict later on in the article that the Braves will end up toppling the Red Sox in the World Series. Needless to say, that’s a result that would make everybody in Braves Country and this corner of the internet in particular very happy. Of course, it’s much easier said than done — especially in a sport such as baseball where the long marathon to the Postseason often can turn into a face plant during the sprint to the World Series.

Still, there’s plenty of reason to feel optimistic about the Braves as they head into the 2025 season. Everybody’s 0-0 to start the season but it’s clear that the Braves have very good reason to feel like this could be their year once again. As usual, we’ll see what happens!

An international clothing retailer is opening its first Georgia store in Augusta.

Primark Ltd., headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, has signed a lease agreement for space in Augusta Mall, the company announced Tuesday.

Primark U.S. President Kevin Tulip delivered the news in Las Vegas at Shoptalk 2025, an annual trade event for retail businesses. Primark also plans store openings in Greenville, S.C., and Arlington, Texas.

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“These expansions reflect our commitment to bringing Primark’s unique combination of style, quality and affordability to even more shoppers in the U.S,” Tulip said.

The retail chain emphasizes fashionable clothes at competitively discounted prices, as well as home furnishings and beauty care products.

Primark operates 450 stores in 17 countries. Its first store in Dublin in 1969 opened under the name Penneys, and the 38 stores in Ireland today still carry that name. Elsewhere in the world, where JCPenney still holds the rights to the Penneys name, the stores are Primarks.