Nemanja Matić has blasted André Onana's claim that Manchester United are "way better" than Lyon by branding the Cameroon international as "one of the worst goalkeepers in United's history."

Onana responded later on Wednesday by throwing shade at Matić, saying "not everyone" can say they have lifted a trophy at United -- Matić played in a series of finals during his five years at Old Trafford but left without winning any silverware.

Onana had been bullish about United's chances in their Europa League quarterfinal first leg in France on Thursday, saying ahead of the game that "I think we are way better than them."

Matić, who is now playing for Lyon, was asked about the comments at a pre-match news conference on Wednesday.

The Serbian midfielder hit back by savaging the form Onana has shown since joining United.

"You need to have cover to say something like that," said Matić, who made 189 appearances for United between 2017 and 2022.

"I respect everyone but to say that then you need to get an answer.

"If you are one of the worst goalkeepers in Man United's history, you need to take care about what you are talking about."

Andre Onana has responded to Nemanja Matic calling him 'one of the worst goalkeepers in Manchester United history' pic.twitter.com/Up13ticuTZ

ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) April 9, 2025

Onana replaced David De Gea -- a former teammate of Matić -- as United's No.1 when he joined from Inter Milan in a deal worth more than 40 million ($51m).

The 29-year-old has been heavily criticised after making a series of mistakes since arriving in 2023.

United travel to Lyon on Wednesday sitting 13th in the Premier League and on the back of a run of just four wins from their last 12 games in all competitions.

Meanwhile, Lyon are fifth in Ligue 1 and have six of their last seven games.

"If David De Gea, Peter Schmeichel or [Edwin] van der Sar said that, then I would question myself," Matić said.

"But if you are statistically one of the worst goalkeepers in Man United's modern history, he needs to show that before he says. We will see."

In response, Onana posted a picture on X of himself lifting last season's FA Cup and wrote: "I would never be disrespectful to another club. We know that tomorrow will be a difficult game against a strong opponent.

"We focus on preparing a performance to make our fans proud. At least I've lifted trophies with the greatest club in the world. Some can't say the same."

Man United manager Ruben Amorim said that Matić has misconstrued Onana's comments.

"Tomorrow it will not matter," he told a news conference later on Wednesday. "If you see the full quote of Andre Onana it's quite different. The first sentence is that we know it's a very, very good team. Sometimes the players or coaches don't listen to the full quote and sometimes it's a misunderstanding. I know Matic, he's a great guy.

"It's really hard to deal with that [for Onana], that is for sure. If you go through all the quotes, you cannot see any disrespect there. Just respect but trying to give confidence and show confidence in his team. Especially this year.

"Everybody can talk bad things about Manchester United. Sometimes our group -- players, coaches, staff -- has to show some confidence in our team. I think that's all. I think he [Matic] hears some things by half. Not the whole story. For me that's clear in this situation."

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah is edging closer to signing a new deal at Anfield, a source confirmed.

Salah, alongside teammates Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold, is out of contract at the end of the season. While a source has told ESPN Real Madrid are "very optimistic" of landing Alexander-Arnold on a free transfer, there has been optimism on Merseyside that Van Dijk and Salah will extend their stays at Anfield.

Van Dijk confirmed Sunday that "progress" has been made in his own negotiations, and a source told ESPN that Liverpool are growing increasingly confident that Salah will also sign a new deal.

Salah has won eight major trophies during his eight years at Liverpool, playing a key part in the team's Champions League triumph under Jürgen Klopp in 2018-19 and their runaway Premier League success in 2019-20.

As well as being level with Sergio Agüero in fifth place on the Premier League's all-time top scorers list, the Egypt international has also won a host of individual honors, including three Golden Boots (2017-18, 2018-19, 2021-22) and two African Footballer of the Year awards (2017, 2018).

He is currently enjoying a fine individual season, registering 32 goals and 22 assists in all competitions this term to help Liverpool build up an 11-point lead at the top of the Premier League table.

Salah's 44 goal contributions in the Premier League this season are tied for the most in a 38-game campaign. He is four away from surpassing the Premier League record of 47, which is jointly held by Alan Shearer (Blackburn Rovers, 1994-5) and Andrew Cole (Newcastle United, 1993-94).

Salah, 32, is understood to be very happy on Merseyside and has repeatedly voiced his love for the club.

Speaking back in December, Salah said: "You know now I have been in the club for many years. There is no club like this. ... I love the fans. The fans love me."

Information from ESPN's Global Sports Research contributed to this report.

"I am not here to win the Champions League. I am here to build a team."

These were the words of Luis Enrique, eight months ago at the start of the 2024-25 season. It was the beginning of Year 1 of his Paris Saint-Germain project: a post-Kylian Mbappé era, a policy of no big egos and no big stars, and a new journey with a young, talented and malleable squad.

His words sounded like revolution for a club created by superstars, made for superstars and run by superstars. It felt like one, too, and heading into Wednesday's Champions League quarterfinal against Aston Villa, it's fair to say that the evolution of the revolution is much ahead of schedule.

In private last summer, the 54-year-old Spaniard was honest and transparent about the amount of time he felt such a revamp would take, predicting two years of work before reaching the level he wanted and seeing a team on which everyone would play hard, fight and work for each other. On Saturday, as PSG celebrated the 13th French title in their history, coming during a season in which they're still unbeaten with six games to go, Alexandre Dujeux, the beaten Angers manager, didn't hold back in his praise.

"I think they make a very beautiful champion. Everyone attacks; everyone defends. I enjoy when I see this. I find it fantastic," he admitted after his team's 1-0 defeat at the Parc des Princes that confirmed the Parisians' coronation.

In only his second season at the club, Luis Enrique has already in a sense lived through three different eras with PSG. Last season, with Mbappé and the constraints that his status represented, the team was built around the France captain. Despite Luis Enrique doing his best to try to make the striker change, work harder and be more of a team player, the coach didn't like the team, which was not his and not built like he wanted.

Then from August 2024 to the start of 2025, it was about planting the seeds of this new team and moving ahead with his plans. The priorities for Luis Enrique: Finding the right No. 9, teaching the movement with and without the ball, passing on instruction for their team press and counter-press, improving players individually (namely Vitinha, Bradley Barcola, Désiré Doué and Willian Pacho) and instilling a fighting, collective mentality.

It was not easy, in particular the intense criticism he and the team faced after their league phase stutters in the Champions League -- it took them until Matchday 7 to actually confirm their place in the knockout stages -- and a few surprising draws (including back-to-back ones against Auxerre and Nantes) in Ligue 1. Yet while the former Barcelona boss kept changing his line ups in search of the right formula, he never deviated from his idea of constructing a team.

"If I fail, it will be with my ideas. I will continue to follow them. I am getting there," he said in November.

Again, in private, Luis Enrique was letting team officials know that he could feel the squad getting better and starting to really understand what he wanted. The players could feel it, too: Training was demanding -- in addition to working on precise tactical plans, the team spent hours on video analysis -- but it was paying off. Ousmane Dembélé had been moved to center-forward in December, and all the pieces were starting to fit around him.

On Dec. 15, the 2018 World Cup winner started as the No. 9 against Lyon in Paris. He had only scored once in the 11 matches prior, but it clicked for PSG that night. A goal for Dembélé, and a good win followed three days later at AS Monaco with two more goals for the Frenchman. The Parisians never looked back after that and kept playing better and better.

The third phase of Luis Enrique's tenure at PSG has come since the turn of the year, as 2025 has been exceptional. With Dembélé up front and the team molded around collective effort, the results include the demolitions of Manchester City (4-2) and VfB Stuttgart (4-1) in the Champions League league phase, the 10-0 aggregate win over Brest in the last 32, and huge wins in Ligue 1 over Brest (5-2), Monaco (4-1) and Lille (4-1).

It's a PSG team built in Luis Enrique's image, one that works hard together, with great cohesion, and in which every player is committed. The individual talent has done the rest.

Pacho has made the defence more solid. The first-choice midfield had question marks around it in terms of physicality and size, but Vitinha, João Neves and Fabián Ruiz (unbeaten in his last 50 league games with PSG) have shown that intelligence, movement and quality on the ball are more than adequate compensation. In attack, the arrival of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia from Napoli in January has been a legitimate spark, with Dembélé (32 goals and 7 assists in all competitions), Barcola (18 and 15), Doué (11 and 11), Gonçalo Ramos (14 and 5), Kang-In Lee (6 and 5) and Kvara himself (3 and 4) all finding the net with regularity.

Of course, PSG's masterclass of the season so far were the two games against Liverpool in the Champions League last 16, in which they dismantled the best team in Europe thus far -- 4.41 Expected Goals (xG) vs. 1.86 in two games, with a 48-21 edge in shots on goal -- over both legs. Collectively, the two performances are among the best of the season all teams and competitions combined.

PSG reached new heights then, and have set the bar high for the rest of the season. With the French league title already secured, they will have to do it again against Villa this week. Luis Enrique has no doubt that his team will get it done.

Five-star guard Brayden Burries, the second-highest-ranked prospect available in the senior class, committed to Arizona on Wednesday.

Burries, who announced his decision on "SportsCenter," is Arizona's second top-15 addition in recent weeks after Koa Peat picked the Wildcats in late March.

"Arizona was the best fit for me and my family," Burries told ESPN. "Coach [Tommy] Lloyd is a great guy. They have been recruiting me for a while. He allows his players to play both up and down, but they also execute within a structured framework. Everyone is held accountable. Their style of play is smart and aggressive."

Burries chose the Wildcats over USC, although his final group also included Tennessee, Oregon and Alabama.

"I love the fan base," Burries said. "I've been to a few of their games. There is great energy in the McKale Center. It's a basketball school."

A 6-foot-4 combo guard from Eleanor Roosevelt High School (California), Burries was a McDonald's All-American and is ranked No. 11 in the ESPN 100 for the 2025 class.

Burries was one of the most consistently productive players on the Nike EYBL circuit last spring and summer, averaging 20.9 points and 5.9 rebounds in 15 games in April and May -- including three games of 34 or more points. He was even better at the Nike Peach Jam in July, putting up 22.2 points and 10.0 rebounds in six games, shooting 41.7% from 3-point range.

He also led Roosevelt to the California state championship, scoring 44 points in the Open Division title game win over Archbishop Riordan.

Burries is considered one of the most gifted scoring guards in the class of 2025. He boasts an impressive shooting percentage thanks to his keen understanding of shot quality. Recently, he has made significant strides in his playmaking abilities and has combined his vision with an improved ability to read defenses. He has proven to be a strong natural scorer who excels from midrange, is capable from the 3-point line, and finishes well at the rim due to his size and sturdy frame. His mature game should translate well as a freshman.

Arizona now has two top-15 prospects in the fold for next season, with Burries and Peat both projected to slot straight into the starting lineup. They're joined in the Wildcats' 2025 class by top-50 prospect Dwayne Aristode and four-star wing Bryce James, son of LeBron James.

Lloyd loses star guard Caleb Love (17.2 PPG) and three other rotation players, but will bring back starters Jaden Bradley (12.1 PPG), Anthony Dell'Orso (7.2 PPG) and Tobe Awaka (8.0 PPG) and awaits the decision of potential first-round pick Carter Bryant (6.5 PPG).

Texas Tech star forward JT Toppin, the Big 12 Player of the Year, announced Wednesday he will return to the Red Raiders for his junior season.

Toppin's return likely vaults Texas Tech back into the top 10 nationally and cements his position on the preseason All-American team.

He was one of the best players in the country over the final several weeks of the season, earning second-team All-American honors in addition to his Big 12 awards. Toppin was terrific down the stretch of the season, averaging 19.3 points and 11.0 rebounds in four NCAA tournament games, posting double-doubles in all four.

He had some of the best individual single-game performances of anyone in the sport in February, going for 41 points and 15 rebounds against Arizona State and then finishing with 32 points and 12 rebounds three days later against Oklahoma State. He also went for 30 points and 14 boards against Colorado toward the end of the regular season.

Overall, Toppin averaged 18.2 points and 9.4 rebounds on the season, helping lead Grand McCasland's team to a 28-9 record and an Elite Eight appearance.

It was Toppin's first season in Lubbock after spending his freshman campaign at New Mexico, where he averaged 12.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.9 blocks.

He was No. 45 in ESPN's latest NBA draft rankings, projecting him in the second round.

LUKA DONCIC PULLED his blue '68 Camaro into the American Airlines Center parking garage and reached into the passenger seat to grab his brand-new cowboy hat. It was Dec. 25, 2022.

Doncic put on the black hat as he emerged from his classic hot rod, the finishing touch on an outfit that served as a proverbial tip of the cap to his adopted home state. He sported a black, western cut button-down shirt with a bolo tie, some Wrangler jeans and even a pair of Lucchese boots. He looked like a true Texan from head to toe.

"Howdy, howdy," Doncic greeted folks with a grin while making his way into the arena.

It was a big day for the Dallas Mavericks, who were hosting LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in ABC's afternoon showcase. Doncic had arrived at the arena especially early so he could watch as the statue of his friend and former teammate, Dirk Nowitzki, was unveiled, standing a skip pass away from the street named after the German star who made Dallas his second home and led the Mavericks to the franchise's lone NBA championship.

"Loyalty never fades away," read the inscription on the base of the 23-foot statue depicting Nowitzki's signature one-legged shot. The 21 letters succinctly capture the essence of Nowitzki's record-setting 21-year run in a Mavericks uniform -- and the unbreakable bond between the icon and his lone franchise.

It was an inspiration for Doncic, who envisioned his career unfolding in similar fashion -- although not necessarily as long as Nowitzki's. The good vibes continued throughout the game, as Doncic had a performance that was typical by his lofty standards (32 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists) while leading the Mavs to a win over the Lakers, who were missing James' co-star Anthony Davis because of a foot injury.

Doncic changed his attire postgame -- putting on a pair of Jordan sweats displaying his personal logo -- but remained in character. He playfully claimed during his media availability that he had a "horny toad" as a pet.

"'Cause I'm Texan," Doncic quickly quipped. He smiled and shrugged.

On Feb. 1, 2025, some 25 months later, the Mavs' social media accounts showed a video of Doncic's western-wear walk into the arena a few Christmases ago to celebrate a little-known holiday. "Happy National Texas Day, y'all," the Instagram caption stated, punctuated with the cowboy-hat-sporting smiley face emoji.

Hours later, before the clock struck midnight in Dallas, Mavs general manager Nico Harrison and the team agreed to one of the most shocking trades in NBA history. Doncic was being sent to the Lakers, only months after leading the Mavs to the NBA Finals, in return for a package headlined by Davis.

It's a decision, team sources told ESPN, that probably will cost the franchise nine figures over the next several years, as the Mavs are projected to lose dozens of millions in revenue this season due to dwindling crowds, plummeting merchandise sales and sponsors severing ties with the franchise in the wake of the trade. So many fans canceled season tickets in the days after the trade that the Mavs attempted to generate some goodwill by offering limited refunds.

The franchise plans to play a tribute video for Doncic, sources said, providing fans in the arena a final opportunity to savor all of his accomplishments in a Mavs uniform -- and mourn not getting more. Team sources told ESPN that the Mavs had also lined up lucrative sponsorship deals for Wednesday's game, with multiple companies that Doncic endorses, but those deals fell apart after Doncic's camp declined to give its blessing, pointedly noting that he now plays for the Lakers.

Now, as a lot of lifelong Mavs fans are questioning their loyalty to the franchise, Doncic is returning to Dallas for the first time in a Lakers uniform (7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN). His initial appearance as a visitor at the American Airlines Center will be a surreal celebration of Doncic's spectacular 6 seasons in a Mavs uniform, marred by agony and bitterness that it didn't last any longer.

"At the end of the day, the trade has happened," Mavs forward P.J. Washington said after a March 16 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, one of multiple games in which Dallas had only the league-minimum eight available players. "We understand we have a new team now. All that 'Fire Nico' stuff, we're sick and tired of hearing it. We just want to go out there and play, and we need the fans to support us, no matter who's on the floor. That's just how I feel about it."

HARRISON MADE A point to keep the trade talks involving Doncic top secret for several reasons. One of those was because he didn't want fan backlash to factor into the franchise's decision-making.

Harrison ultimately convinced Mavs governor Patrick Dumont, the front man for the family that bought the majority share of the franchise from Mark Cuban last season, that signing Doncic to a five-year, $345 million supermax extension this summer would be a poor investment, primarily due to the belief that the superstar's body would break down because of his perceived lackadaisical approach to conditioning.

"If we lost any of our fans' trust, it was hard and I apologize," Dumont said during a Bank of Texas Speaker Series event in Dallas on Feb. 13. "But I hope over time we can regain that trust through hard work. And that's our plan. And hopefully people will believe in the long run that what we did was the right decision. Time will tell."

The Mavs gave up a generational talent still approaching what should be his prime years to create a three- to four-year window as a title contender. That was the timeframe that Harrison laid out to a small group of Dallas-based reporters when he joined the first half of coach Jason Kidd's pregame media session Feb. 2 in Cleveland. It's the only time the Mavs' GM has been made available to reporters since making the deal that sent shockwaves across the league.

And that three- to four-year window got shorter almost immediately.

Davis, who was recovering from an abdominal strain at the time of the trade and sat out his first two games after joining the Mavericks, dominated the first half of his Feb. 8 debut with the franchise, putting up 24 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks by the break. But he sustained a strained left adductor in the third quarter, an injury that sidelined him for the next six weeks.

Kyrie Irving, the co-star on last season's Finals team whose shot-creating skills became even more critical after Doncic's sudden departure, sustained a torn ACL in his left knee on March 3, an injury likely to sideline him into next season. The two All-Stars, players the former Nike executive Harrison has known since they were teens and targeted in his biggest blockbuster trades as Mavs GM, shared the court for only 25 minutes as Mavericks this season.

Davis and centers Daniel Gafford (sprained MCL in his right knee) and Dereck Lively II (stress fracture in his right ankle) all recently returned from extended injury absences. They continue to be on minutes restrictions as the Mavs fight for the Western Conference's ninth seed and the right to host a play-in game -- a far cry from contending status.

"We're missing Kai, so we'll never know how good we really can be," Davis said, acknowledging the painfully obvious.

Nevertheless, Davis insisted on playing down the stretch of the regular season, resisting advice from some within the organization to shut it down. He refuses to give up hope of making a playoff run, as much as the odds are stacked against the Mavs. No team has ever emerged from the 9/10 play-in game to win a playoff series.

"We can't play, what if?" Davis said. "You get nothing out of it. We play present basketball. Whatever's in front of us, whoever we got on the floor, whoever we got active to play, that's what we can count on and that's who we can roll with."

Meanwhile, Doncic has the Lakers looking like contenders again. L.A. was in fifth in the West, just three games ahead of the Mavericks when the trade was made. The Lakers will roll into Dallas third in the West, coming off a loss in Oklahoma City in which Doncic was ejected, as he continues to get comfortable after joining a new franchise following the longest injury layoff of his career.

"I know it's been two months or something, but still adapting a little bit," Doncic, who is averaging 27.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 7.8 assists for the Lakers, said recently. "It was a big change. But it's getting better."

NOWITZKI WAS SO stunned by the trade that he skipped a family lunch on his final day of vacation in Maldives, sitting in his hotel room for an hour "trying to figure out it was real," as he said in German recently on the Campus 41 podcast with his sister, Silke. Nowitzki flew to Los Angeles for Doncic's Lakers debut in a sign of strong public support for his former teammate.

"I will always be a Mavs fan, but this trade really hurt," Nowitzki said, according to a translation by the European website basketnews.com. "And it will take a while before everyone processes it and moves on."

Doncic said he was emotionally devastated in the immediate aftermath of the trade, which occurred as the Slovenian superstar was in the process of closing on what he anticipated would be his American forever home in Dallas' Preston Hollow neighborhood.

"Dallas was my home for seven years, almost seven years," Doncic said more than six weeks after the trade. "It really felt like home."

Mavs fans instantly developed an emotional attachment to Doncic after he arrived from Europe as a teenager just in time to take the torch from Nowitzki. Doncic's entertaining, gunslinger-style of play -- from the breathtaking highlights to barking at opponents -- further endeared him to the fan base.

"Every night he'd always give you one of those, 'Oh s---!' moments," said Jeremy Williams, a 47-year-old who works in the construction business and has had tickets in the top row of the upper deck since Nowitzki's first playoff appearance in 2001, moving with the franchise from Reunion Arena to the American Airlines Center. "You call your buddies and say, 'Did you see that?!' Or you'd call your son into the room and wind it back."

Nowitzki might be the most beloved athlete in football-wild Dallas' sports history. Doncic was on that type of trajectory. Despite his flaws, such as weight fluctuations and frequent ranting at referees, most of his fans are either fiercely protective or forgiving.

"It sounds ridiculous to think of it in these terms, but there's kind of the real hero's journey, the literary element of a guy figuring it out," said Kirk Henderson, the managing editor of Mavs Moneyball, a blog that covers the franchise from the perspective of the fans. "He's very clearly special, but [Mavs fans missed watching him] being able to put the pieces together and become something even more. That's the part that I think I'm most sad about over the long run."

The Mavs' fan base was blindsided and heartbroken by Harrison's decision. The deal prompted protests in the shadow of Nowitzki's statue the next morning, and again before the next home game a week later.

"We've always had either Dirk or Luka to give us a tremendous amount of joy and excitement," Williams said. "I've been fighting through the ol' stages of grief. I went through the shock and the anger and the denial like everybody else. I guess I'm still in denial."

The Mavs' fan base, by and large, harbors no ill will toward Davis, a surefire future Hall of Famer who made the NBA's 75th anniversary team. It isn't the same as rooting for a homegrown franchise player who had become entrenched in the city's identity, and "Fire Nico" chants have randomly broken out at a variety of local events, from St. Patrick's Day parades to Texas Rangers games.

Variations of Doncic's No. 77 -- from his Dallas tenure, the Slovenian national team and now even the Lakers -- still outnumber all other jerseys combined in the Mavs' home crowds. Williams estimates that he has bought 15 to 20 Doncic jerseys over the years for his 12-year-old son, Ryan, and himself.

"It makes me sad to look in my closet and see them," Williams said.

Unlike many fans, Williams won't wear one of those jerseys to Wednesday's game. Nor will he wear the T-shirt he recently purchased that looks like Doncic's Lakers jersey but has "LUKARS" across the chest.

Instead, Williams plans to wear a green T-shirt with a blunt message -- "NICO SUCKS" -- expressed in blue letters on the front. He's well-aware that arena security has ejected fans for wearing similar T-shirts, classifying them as violations of the NBA's fan code of conduct.

"I think it'll be too overwhelming for them to kick people out, but if they decide to do it, that'll be my first time getting kicked out in [45] years of going to games," Williams said. "So I'll gladly wear that one with pride."

Williams draws the line at buying a Lakers No. 77 jersey. He doesn't begrudge longtime Mavs fans who are following Doncic and adopting the Lakers, but he just can't cross that line.

"Had he gone to Orlando or you name it, there may be a shred of a chance that I root for a different team," Williams said. "But given it's Lakers and my lifetime Mavs loyalty, I'm not going to go that far. I still ultimately root for the name on the front of the jersey, not the back, but that doesn't really help ease the pain.

"I just can't root for anybody on the Lakers."

ESPN's Dave McMenamin contributed to this report.

The Texas Rangers will be without leading slugger Wyatt Langford for a while after placing the outfielder on the 10-day injured list Wednesday due to a right oblique strain.

Langford exited Tuesday's 10-6 road loss to the Chicago Cubs after batting in the seventh inning. He finished 2-for-4 with a double and a homer.

The 23-year-old tops the team with four homers and shares the team lead with six RBIs. He is slashing .244/.333/.561 and had started all 12 contests this season.

Texas recalled outfielder Dustin Harris from Triple-A Round Rock, where he has batted .184 in nine games with four stolen bases. He played in two games for the Rangers in September, going 2-for-6 with a homer.

The Rangers also recalled utilityman Ezequiel Duran, who had been sent down to Round Rock on Tuesday after the activation of Josh Jung. Duran is 0-for-11 this season.

Infielder Jonathan Ornelas, who was 0-for-4 in three games, was sent to Triple-A.

DETROIT -- The Detroit Tigers are wrapping up their first homestand with a subtle change on the field at Comerica Park, putting grass over a strip of dirt that used to be between the pitcher's mound and batter's box.

AL Cy Young and Triple Crown winner Tarik Skubal said he's glad the team got rid of the keyhole, making the lefty's sightline the same as it is in every other ballpark in Major League Baseball.

"I might get some heat for this, but they asked what we thought of it, and I said I didn't really like it," Skubal said Wednesday morning before a series-ending game against the New York Yankees. "I wasn't a fan of it.

"Obviously, I understand from a fan perspective. It's unique and stuff, but just from a visual perspective, it's so much different."

Detroit was the last team in the majors to have the throwback feature -- which was common in the 1800s and early 1900s - in their ballpark that opened in 2000 after leaving Tiger Stadium. The Arizona Diamondbacks also had a keyhole at Chase Field before removing it in 2019 when they changed their playing surface from grass to synthetic turf.

The Tigers also made major renovations in the seating area behind home plate, removing a tunnel that was mostly used by umpires and installing state-of-the-art chairs that allow fans to heat or cool their seats.

"I'm a fan of having no tunnel," Skubal said. "I'm glad it's gone. It makes it feel pretty clean back there."

While Skubal said the front office asked for his input following the 2024 season and he gave his strong opinion, two other pitchers on the staff simply shrugged their shoulders when asked about the new-look view and an All-Star outfielder insisted he didn't even realize the keyhole was gone.

"They asked a couple guys, but it didn't bother me," right-handed reliever Will Vest said. "It just doesn't really move the needle too much for me."

When lefty Tyler Holton is on the mound, he said he's locked in on the catcher's target with or without a path of dirt in front of him.

"I think if you're noticing things like that, you're probably not focused on what you need to be focused on," Holton said.

Riley Greene, meanwhile, insisted he didn't know the keyhole was gone until a reporter asked him about it on Wednesday.

"I'm going to be honest, I didn't even notice it," Greene said. "Somebody told me that it was being taken out and I was like, `Oh, cool. I'm probably not even going to notice it.' And, I haven't even noticed it."

The Pittsburgh Pirates were on the back foot again this week, forced to explain the disappearance of fan-funded "Bucco Bricks" and the delay in their return to PNC Park.

The frustration was heightened after fans shared with KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh that some of the bricks, which had been located in front of the home plate entrance to the stadium, were found at a recycling plant in the area.

The team told multiple outlets Tuesday that the bricks were in the process of being returned for a "more permanent display." The bricks had been removed as part of renovations done outside the stadium, and the Pirates missed their goal of having the new display ready for their home opener on April 4.

The "Bucco Bricks" were introduced in 1999, with the team saying it sold about 10,000 of them. A number of the bricks include messages honoring family members, leading to some of the consternation among fans.

"Through the years, a host of environmental factors including weather and foot traffic have led to significant damage leading to multiple, full-scale replacements," Pirates senior vice president of communications and broadcasting Brian Warecki said in a statement. "This cycle of deterioration prompted our organization to look for a better way to preserve these cherished messages over the long term."

The Pirates noted to multiple outlets that the bricks have already been replaced twice since their introduction.

"We respect, appreciate and understand just how meaningful these messages are. We share in that feeling," Warecki said. "We have been actively planning to develop and unveil a more permanent display for these special messages to honor the enduring support that our fans shared then and continue to share in our future. We look forward to sharing those details soon in celebration of our 25th season [in PNC Park]."

The proceeds from the bricks went to the Roberto Clemente Foundation.

The treatment of the legacy of Clemente, one of the most-storied players in franchise history, drew scrutiny over the weekend. The Pirates announced Sunday that they would be adding the No. 21 logo back to the right-field wall at PNC Park to honor Clemente and issued an apology after his family expressed its unhappiness that the sign had been removed for an advertisement.

The Pirates, who haven't played in the postseason since 2015, are already in the cellar of the National League Central after a 4-8 start.

Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez said on social media that several of his family members were inside the nightclub that collapsed in the Dominican Republic early Tuesday.

"I still have family members that are still in the rubbles, and we don't know what happened to them," Martinez said in a video posted to Instagram on Tuesday night.

At least 124 people have been killed, with hundreds more injured from the collapse at the Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo that occurred around 1 a.m. Tuesday.

Former World Series champion Octavio Dotel and former MLB player Tony Blanco were among the dead, as was Nelsy Cruz, the governor of the Monte Cristi province in the country and sister of seven-time MLB All-Star Nelson Cruz.

Dotel reportedly was alive when rescue crews located him and at least seven others, but authorities said Tuesday night that Dotel was declared dead upon arrival at a local hospital after his condition worsened.

Martinez, a three-time Cy Young Award winner and eight-time All-Star, grew up in a suburb of Santo Domingo. He is a baseball analyst.

"It is with a heavy heart that it is my turn to actually send condolences to all our family members and the people here in the United States who have family over there," he said in the video. "We're all sad. We're all affected by the tragedy. ... Our hearts are with you. We all are affected."

Rescue crews are still searching for survivors more than 24 hours after the collapse. Officials said Wednesday that they have rescued 145 people from the wreckage of the nightclub.

"As long as they report that there is a missing person, we will be here," emergency operations director Juan Manuel Méndez said, adding that rescue workers expected to need another 24 to 36 hours to complete their search.

It wasn't immediately clear what caused the roof to collapse or when the Jet Set building was last inspected.

The Associated Press, Reuters and Field Level Media contributed to this report.