Messi keys rally in tourney quarters: Down 1-0 on the scoreboard, down 2-0 in total goals in the series and needing three goals to advance, Inter Miami needed a most unlikely rally. Lionel Messi made it happen. Inter Miami is headed to the CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinals for the first time, after Messi — the 37-year-old eight-time Ballon d’Or winner — led a dramatic three-goal comeback. He had two goals, including the clinching penalty kick in the 84th minute, to lift host Inter Miami past LAFC 3-1 on Wednesday and a 3-2 aggregate win in the two-leg series. or Messi, the series clincher was a bit reminiscent of how he led Argentina past France in the 2022 World Cup final. He scored two goals in that match, one on a penalty kick — then also converted in the penalty-shot shootout that decided the final. Those goals came against Hugo Lloris, who was also in net for LAFC on Wednesday. Inter Miami will face the Vancouver Whitecaps in the semifinals.

Watson casts doubt on merger deal: Hall of Famer and two-time Masters champion Tom Watson doesn’t believe the PGA Tour and LIV Golf will reunify men’s professional golf anytime soon. The 75-year-old Watson, who won his green jackets in 1977 and 1981, believes there are too many obstacles for the PGA Tour to reach a deal with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which finances the rival LIV Golf League since its inception in 2022. The PGA Tour, European tour and PIF agreed to form an alliance in June 2023, but the sides have been unable to work out a deal.

—News services