SOCCER

Tom Brady greets locals in pub before match

NFL great Tom Brady got to know some of the locals ahead of his first home match as minority owner of English soccer team Birmingham City.

Brady made an appearance at The Roost, a pub near St. Andrew’s stadium, before Birmingham’s game against Leeds in the second-tier Championship. Brady earlier posted on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Any plans before kick off guys? See you at St. Andrew’s.”

He later went to the stadium where delivered a pep talk to the players before the game, which Birmingham won 1-0.

Messi scores, Miami will make Leagues Cup semis

Lionel Messi’s goalscoring streak lives on, as does Inter Miami’s winning streak.

Messi scored in the 86th minute, his eighth goal in five matches with his new club, and Inter Miami rolled past Charlotte 4-0 in a Leagues Cup quarterfinal game at home on Friday night.

Messi has scored in all five of his appearances with Miami.

The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner who led Argentina to the World Cup crown last year has yet to lose a match with Miami, walking off winners in all five matchups so far in the Leagues Cup, a 47-team event composed of clubs from MLS and Mexico’s top league that now is whittled down to the final four.

BASEBALL

Guardians’ Ramírez has MLB suspension reduced

Cleveland Guardians All-Star third baseman José Ramírez had his MLB suspension for fighting with Chicago’s Tim Anderson reduced from three games to two.

Ramírez, who knocked Anderson to the ground with a wild, well-placed punch, will serve the suspension this weekend during Cleveland’s series in Tampa Bay.

Anderson was suspended six games for fighting with Ramirez near second base and triggering a benches-clearing melee on Aug. 5 between the Guardians and White Sox that went on for several minutes and included several other flareups.

MOTOR SPORTS

Dixon holds off Rahal to win Indy Grand Prix

The Iceman became the Ironman of IndyCar. Capped it off with a win, too.

Scott Dixon overcame a first-lap spin and then held off hard-charging Graham Rahal over the final 10 laps to win Saturday’s Indianapolis Grand Prix by 0.4779 seconds. Dixon extended his record to 19 consecutive seasons with a win.

The victory on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was the first of the season for Dixon, who passed Tony Kanaan when he started the race for most consecutive starts. His 319 consecutive races streak began in 2004 and have all been done with team owner Chip Ganassi.