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Miami, FL
Nashville SC vs. Lionel Messi and Inter Miami: Score prediction, scouting report
Despite a number of close calls, Nashville SC hasn’t gotten the better of Lionel Messi yet.
On Saturday, Nashville (1-2-4, seven points) will get another opportunity when it faces Inter Miami (4-2-3, 15 points) at Fort Lauderdale’s Chase Stadium (6:30 p.m. CT, Apple TV).
Since Messi signed with Inter Miami last summer, the Herons are unbeaten in four matches against Nashville. The first three — including an epic Leagues Cup final that Miami won on penalties — all ended tied after 90 minutes, but the most recent meeting did not. Messi and legendary Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez both scored in Miami’s 3-1 win on March 13, which knocked Nashville out of the CONCACAF Champions Cup in the round of 16.
Here’s our score prediction and scouting report for Saturday:
Nashville returns from off week in better health
Nashville’s most recent win was 2-1 over Charlotte FC on March 16. Since then, it has gone 0-2-1 and fallen to 14th in the Eastern Conference. Injuries have been a huge part of that struggle: Walker Zimmerman, Shaq Moore, Tyler Boyd and Randall Leal, all starters or close to it when healthy, missed Nashville’s 2-1 loss to the Philadelphia Union on April 6.
An open week gave Nashville time to get healthy. Coach Gary Smith said Thursday that he expects Boyd and Leal to be “part of the equation” against Inter Miami. Zimmerman and Moore have been active in training and “aren’t a million miles off,” but Smith thinks Saturday “might be a push” for the United States internationals.
MORE: How a packed, unforgiving schedule has led to Nashville SC’s worst MLS start since 2020
In addition to two likely reinforcements in attack, Nashville — for the first time this season — heads into a game as the more rested team. Inter Miami has played two games since Nashville’s most recent: a loss to Monterrey, which eliminated Inter Miami from the CCC quarterfinals on April 10, and a win over Sporting Kansas City on April 13.
It’s not a situation Nashville encounters often, but it has boded well in the past. In September, Nashville thrashed Kansas City 3-0 on the road after an 18-day break, during which SKC played twice.
Lionel Messi back from injury
Messi left his previous game against Nashville with a hamstring injury, which ultimately caused him to miss four matches. He made his return in a 1-1 draw with the Colorado Rapids on April 6, scoring his team’s lone goal, and found the net again against Kansas City.
The Herons are 4-1-3 when Messi plays and just 1-3-1 when the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner sits.
“When he’s in the group, there’s a very different feel, look and inspiration about the team,” Smith said. ” . . . When (Miami) is at full strength, they’re going to be a mightily difficult team to suffocate and to really get anything out of.”
Hany Mukhtar off to solid start
On Thursday, Hany Mukhtar appeared surprised when a reporter told him that by one measure, he’s off to his second-best start to a season with Nashville.
Mukhtar is averaging 0.76 combined goals and assists per 90 minutes through seven MLS games. That ranks behind only his 0.87 average from 2022, a season in which he scored 23 goals, assisted on 11 more and was named the league’s MVP.
Mukhtar is optimistic he can build on that start. For one, he said he’s “feeling much better” after a hamstring injury kept him out of three games at the start of the season. He also thinks that the return of Boyd and Leal will allow him to play higher up the field, where he’s more comfortable.
“I think now with Randall coming slowly back and Tyler Boyd coming back to the team, that we find our way,” Mukhtar said. “Me and Sam (Surridge) can stay a little bit higher, be more effective, getting balls from our midfielders in that attacking third.”
Nashville SC vs. Inter Miami score prediction
Nashville 2, Inter Miami 2: Defensive woes continue without Zimmerman and Moore, but Boyd and Leal provide a jolt to the attack and Nashville rides two weeks of rest to earn a point on the road.
MORE: Inside Taylor Washington’s journey from USL to Nashville SC mainstay in MLS
Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@gannett.com and on Twitter @Jacob_Shames.
Miami, FL
Pair arrested in connection with armed home invasion robbery in Miami, cops say
MIAMI — Two men have been arrested in connection with an armed home invasion robbery in Miami last month in which investigators say masked suspects entered a home, pointed a gun at a victim and repeatedly demanded money before searching the residence.
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Miami police identified the suspects as 25-year-old Earl Gerry Baldwin and 21-year-old Zakis Kawone James, both of Miami-Dade.
According to arrest reports, officers responded to the home on April 4 after the victim reported that two masked men had entered the residence and robbed him at gunpoint.
The report states that he victim told investigators he was in the kitchen when two men wearing ski masks entered through an unlocked front door.
Police said shortly after, one of the intruders allegedly pointed a handgun at the victim and demanded cash, repeatedly asking, “Where’s the money?” as the two men searched the home.
Investigators said the gunman took the victim’s iPhone 16 Pro Max while both suspects searched bedrooms for money. The victim told police the suspects also asked about his younger brother before continuing their search.
According to the reports, the gunman kept the victim at gunpoint while the other suspect ransacked rooms throughout the home. After failing to find any money, the men left the victim inside his mother’s bedroom, closed the door and fled, investigators said.
Authorities said the victim then ran to a neighbor’s home and called police.
Detectives said surveillance footage obtained from nearby locations showed a silver Chevrolet Trailblazer parked near the home before the robbery.
According to the reports, video showed two suspects exiting the SUV and walking toward the residence before entering the home. Minutes later, the pair were seen running from the property and getting back into the vehicle, which drove away.
Investigators said license plate reader data identified the SUV and showed it traveling through Miami shortly after the robbery. Historical reader data and GPS records linked the vehicle to a residence in the 700 block of Northwest 65th Street, according to the reports.
Detectives said additional surveillance footage later captured Baldwin inside the SUV while wearing clothing matching what was seen during the robbery.
Investigators said they also identified him during a separate contact on May 15 and later obtained cellphone records and location data that allegedly placed his phone in the area of the robbery and traveling with the SUV before and after the crime.
According to James’ arrest report, detectives identified him through surveillance footage, a resident database search and facial recognition software.
Investigators also obtained surveillance footage showing James making a purchase at a Walmart in Miami Gardens after the robbery using a debit card in his name, the report states.
Police said cellphone data associated with James’ phone also placed him at the robbery scene and traveling with the SUV throughout the day.
On Thursday, detectives executed a search warrant at the Northwest 65th Street residence and took both men into custody, according to the reports.
Baldwin was transported to the Miami Police Department’s robbery office, where he was advised of his Miranda rights and invoked them, according to his arrest report.
James waived his Miranda rights and provided a statement to detectives, according to his arrest report. Details of the statement were redacted from the publicly released report.
Jail records show both men are each facing one count of armed robbery with home invasion.
As of Friday, both were being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where their bonds were listed as “to be set.”
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Miami, FL
Ex-Miami Heat player Terry Rozier facing additional bribery charges in sports gambling sting
Federal prosecutors have indicted ex-Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier on additional charges in connection with a sports gambling sting, alleging he took a hefty bribe to exit a game early in March 2023.
Rozier, 32, was charged Thursday in a superseding indictment in Brooklyn federal court with bribery in sporting contests and honest services wire fraud conspiracy. Superseding indictments are used when prosecutors want to change or add new charges to an existing criminal case.
Rozier has denied participating in the gambling scheme, and has been fighting to have the case dismissed after pleading not guilty to wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy charges in December. His attorneys argue in part that the government’s theory of the case — that he prevented sportsbooks from making informed decisions about accepting certain bets — runs afoul of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that narrowed the federal wire fraud statute.
The new indictment “just confirms that our motion to dismiss was righteous — new charges, new theories, but all just an effort to make something stick,” Rozier’s attorney, Jim Trusty, wrote in an email to The Associated Press.
Rozier was arrested in October along with former NBA player Damon Jones, who pleaded guilty last month for his role in schemes to defraud major sportsbooks including DraftKings and FanDuel. Others charged in the case include sports bettor and influencer Marves Fairley, who pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiracy, bribery and other federal charges in connection with gambling schemes targeting basketball games in the U.S. and China.
Rozier remains free on $3 million bond. The case has kept him off the court this season.
The new indictment alleges that Rozier not only defrauded sportsbooks, but also the NBA and the team he was playing for at the time, the Charlotte Hornets.
Rozier is accused of conspiring with gamblers to leave a game early, citing a lingering lower leg injury, so they could cash in on more than $250,000 in bets that his points, assists and other totals would be lower than what the sportsbooks had set as betting lines.
Not all of the bets were successful because Rozier collected four rebounds, which was more than the betting line, the superseding indictment said. As a result, after the game, Rozier and his co-conspirators negotiated a discount on his bribe, cutting it from $100,000 to about $70,000, the superseding indictment said.
The new indictment against Rozier was filed within hours of the guilty pleas by Fairley, who goes by the name “Vezino Locks” on Instagram. As part of his plea, Fairley admitted to prosecutors’ allegations that he used insider information to get an edge when betting on NBA, NCAA and Chinese Professional Basketball League games — including paying Rozier’s longtime friend $100,000 in exchange for a tip that Rozier was going to leave a game early.”
Fairley’s attorney Eric Siegle said his client “deeply regrets and is ashamed of his conduct.”
“By publicly acknowledging his guilt and conduct today, Marves is taking the first step toward atoning for his wrongful conduct and to starting his ‘second half’ on the right foot,” Siegle said. ____ Associated Press reporter Michael R. Sisak contributed from New York. Boone reported from Boise, Idaho.
Miami, FL
Miami’s Jai Lucas Tackles Year Two With A New Roster and New Goal
One good season can set the standard of what the Miami Hurricanes can be for the future under Jai Lucas.
Lucas nearly broke many single-season records as a first-year head coach, but that didn’t stop him from learning from mistakes that could have helped him improve the following season. However, he has three returning players, so it is a brand new team for the upstart head coach.
Yeah, for me it’s like coaching a whole new team,” Lucas said on an appearance on the “Hoops HQ” basketball podcast. “I think something that goes into the past is you have something that fits, and you just try to rinse and repeat. That’s kind of how a lot of programs are built. But now with this portal era, you don’t know what you’re going to get every year. My team looks completely different than before, so I had to build it differently.”
Lucas dove into some of his transfer targets and why they fit well with the Canes, starting with his new star point guard, Acaden Lewis.
“It started with being able to get a really good point guard,” Lucas said. “We had one last year in Tre Donaldson, and that’s where Acaden came into play. Having somebody you feel can run the team, but also has the ability to take over games. Watching his stuff in the portal and doing the analytics, he’s one of the best point guards in the country pound for pound with what he’s able to do and how he’s able to create.
“Like I talked about earlier, we had a prior relationship that went back to when I was at Duke and we recruited him there. So it was kind of an easy recruitment once the portal opened and I was able to talk to him.”
Lewis is complemented with the Canes new star defensive anchor Somto Cyril.
“Then I wanted a big, and that’s where Somto came in,” Lucas continued. “He played for a coach who is on staff now, Eric Pastrana, at Georgia, so that was kind of the relationship built there.
However, the biggest missing link from last season was shooting and depth. Lucas got that and loves how his team feels and looks heading into the summer.
“Once we got those two pieces along with Shelton and Dante, who we had coming back, the one thing I knew we missed last year and needed this year was shooting. That’s where Nick Dorn, Brent Bland, DeShawn Goode, and some of these other guys who will be high level complementary pieces came into play with our foundational pieces like Acaden, Shelton, Dante, Somto, those guys.
“Then we wanted to get more depth than we had last year where we played about six or seven. I wanted to be able to play eight plus, maybe nine this year. So we focused on that, focused on the shooting, but also wanted to have size. Nick’s size at 6 foot 7 and his ability to shoot, and what he did at Elon and then having it transfer over to what he was able to do in a Power Five conference, I felt was a fit for what we want to do here.”
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