LIVERPOOL -- As Jürgen Klopp and his players took in the ovation from the Liverpool fans after the Premier League's final day last season, one man appeared more emotional than most. Trent Alexander-Arnold was moved to tears as supporters paid tribute to their outgoing manager, and the right-back's reaction was interpreted in some quarters as a sign that he too was headed for the exit door.

Of course, no move materialised last summer, and the 26-year-old has been an integral part of Liverpool's success under new head coach Arne Slot. But, on that balmy May afternoon, perhaps Alexander-Arnold could already sense it was the beginning of the end of his own Anfield story.

Now, with three months left on his contract and Real Madrid closing in on a deal to sign him on a free transfer at the end of the season, it now seems highly likely that, for the first time in his career, he will soon be playing his football away from Merseyside.

A Liverpool source has told ESPN that no deal has yet been finalised, but a source from Spain added that discussions with the player's camp have continued since January and that there is a growing optimism from Madrid that an agreement is now close. The prospect of the European champions landing their top defensive target -- just months after their January advances were rebuffed -- feels inescapable.

Madrid have made no secret of their long-term interest in Alexander-Arnold and, for many of a Liverpool persuasion, his departure has felt inevitable for some time. Still, that will do little to soften the blow as this painful and protracted saga looks to be nearing its end.

Even in today's ultra-commercialised landscape, football remains a game for the romantics; the notion of a player walking away from his boyhood club in search of adulation elsewhere will, for many, be a bitter pill to swallow.

In the coming days and weeks, there will no doubt be plenty of debate over who to blame and, for those seeking culpability, there are numerous targets at which to point the finger.

Liverpool will be rightly criticised for their handling of the situation, with Alexander-Arnold one of three key players -- alongside captain Virgil van Dijk and goal-scoring talisman Mohamed Salah -- whose contracts will expire in June. That a club of Liverpool's standing find themselves in such a predicament constitutes a damning oversight from owners Fenway Sports Group and their footballing hierarchy, though there are some clear mitigating factors.

Typically, the club would look to secure a player to a new contract when there are around two years left on their existing deal. However, when Alexander-Arnold, Salah and Van Dijk were in that position in the summer of 2023, Liverpool were in the midst of a seismic shake-up behind the scenes. Sporting director Julian Ward had just left the club after only one year in the role and, while former Wolfsburg sporting director Jörg Schmadtke had been drafted in as an interim, the internal infrastructure remained in disarray. The scope for long-term planning was then further scuppered when Klopp announced in January 2024 that the season would be his final one at Anfield.

For incoming sporting director Richard Hughes, the priority was ensuring Klopp's successor had the credentials to excel on Merseyside and -- with Liverpool now 12 points clear at the top of the Premier League table -- the hiring of Slot from Feyenoord Rotterdam appears to have been a masterstroke.

But the subsequent lack of headway made in negotiations with Liverpool's out-of-contract trio has left the club vulnerable to advances from elsewhere, with all three players having been free to speak to overseas clubs since Jan. 1.

Of course, there are few cities in Europe more gloriously tribal about their football than Liverpool. Whether you are Liverpool red or Everton blue, the chance to represent the region on the pitch is the ultimate dream for so many.

It is for that reason many supporters will struggle to reconcile with Alexander-Arnold's decision, if he does depart this summer. At Liverpool, the defender is revered, having joined the academy at the age of six and evolved into a linchpin of the first team, making 349 senior appearances and winning seven major trophies.

While some players -- including Luis Suárez, Philippe Coutinho and, perhaps more pertinently, homegrown winger Steven McManaman (who joined Real Madrid on a free transfer in 1999) -- have had to leave Anfield in order to pursue silverware, Alexander-Arnold is part of a Liverpool team that looks poised to compete at the top level for years to come.

When asked in an interview with British GQ back in 2020 whether he could envisage spending the entirety of his career at Liverpool, the right-back said: "I can, yeah. It is not something I have ever really thought about. I have always loved Liverpool; I have always supported them. I have always played for them, so I have never had that reason to think about it. Still, now I wouldn't sit there in my room and daydream about playing somewhere else. Right now, I am a Liverpool player, I love the club more than anything."

Rightly or wrongly, those words will be used as a weapon against him in the coming weeks as supporters try to wrestle with the idea that, somewhere along the way, his mindset has shifted.

Critics will also argue the defender could have been more transparent about his intentions to leave this summer. Alexander-Arnold has spoken publicly only once about his contract situation this term, after Liverpool's 3-0 victory over Bournemouth in September.

"Look, I have been at the club 20 years now, I have signed four or five contract extensions and none of those have been played out in public," he said. "And this one won't be either. I want to be a Liverpool player this season [as a minimum] is what I will say."

At the time, it was viewed as an admirable stance. However, that vacuum of silence has since been filled with noise from Madrid, threatening, at times, to destabilise Liverpool's season at crucial moments. Some will contend that, as vice-captain, Alexander-Arnold should have fronted up to the issue more, or that his camp should have encouraged his suitors to maintain a dignified silence while negotiations continued.

Still, in instances such as this, there is no silver bullet. No matter which approach Alexander-Arnold chose to adopt, there would still be those unable or unwilling to make peace with his decision. And that, ultimately, is the crux of the matter: However unpopular, this is Alexander-Arnold's decision to make. Perhaps, as galling as the situation might be for some supporters, no one is truly to blame here. Perhaps it is simply the case that a talented footballer -- having won all of the biggest honours available to him at Anfield -- craves a new challenge.

When asked by Sky Sports in October whether he would rather win another Champions League title, captain Liverpool, win an international trophy, or win the Ballon d'Or, Alexander-Arnold surprisingly opted for the latter.

"I believe I can," he said. "I want to be the first full-back to ever do it."

Even the most ardent Liverpool supporter would struggle to argue that Madrid is not an easier route to success, both collectively and individually. A move to the Bernabéu would pave the way for the greater stardom which Alexander-Arnold clearly covets, though he must acknowledge that will likely come at the expense of tainting his legacy back on Merseyside.

For Liverpool, the biggest concern now is that Salah and Van Dijk, as things stand, will also leave this summer. Replacing Alexander-Arnold would be a challenging proposition in itself (offset somewhat by the emergence of teenager Conor Bradley), but replacing three players of such pedigree in the same window -- while also performing much-needed surgery on other parts of the squad -- would be a daunting task indeed.

On the pitch, Liverpool are in pole position to win what would be only the club's second league title in 35 years. Should they get over the line in the final months of the season, it would be doing Slot and his team a disservice to let their efforts be overshadowed by acrimony toward a player who has contributed so much during his time at Anfield.

Clarity is needed so that all parties can prepare themselves for what lies ahead. This should be a time of celebration for Liverpool; it would be a shame to let the noise off the pitch spoil the party.

Sportsbooks are taking extreme steps to try to balance out the heavy betting action coming in on the Los Angeles Dodgers, but nothing has worked so far.

The Dodgers are +275 to win the World Series at ESPN BET as of Thursday morning, making them the biggest Opening Day favorite since the 2002 New York Yankees (+200), according to ESPN Research. The Dodgers' win total of 105.5 is 12 wins higher than any other team this year (Atlanta Braves, 93.5).

The Braves at +800 have the second-shortest World Series odds, followed by the Yankees (+850). The New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies are each 10-1 at ESPN BET.

Despite the historic odds, the betting public can't get enough of the star-studded Dodgers. At some sportsbooks, more bets have been placed on the Dodgers to win the World Series than every other team combined. At the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas, the Dodgers have attracted approximately four times as much money as any other team, and BetMGM reported that 35 out of the 50 largest bets on the sportsbook's World Series odds were on the Dodgers ahead of Opening Day.

"If there's a market that includes the Dodgers, bettors have taken interest," BetMGM trading manager Halvor Egeland said.

It's not hard to figure out why. After winning the 2024 World Series, the Dodgers bolstered their pitching staff with the addition of top prospect Roki Sasaki, two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell and relievers Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates. Additionally, reigning National League MVP Shohei Ohtani is expected to return to the mound at some point after being strictly a hitter last season while recovering from elbow surgery.

"On paper, they're a superteam," said Randy Blum, who oversees baseball odds for the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas. "But baseball can be really random."

Blum said the SuperBook expects to make the Dodgers 2.5-run favorites regularly in games this season, up from the 1.5-run line typically offered by sportsbooks. He added that when the Dodgers face the bottom teams in the league, the odds on games could reach "-600 or -700," which would be some of the shortest in recent memory.

The Dodgers, with Snell on the mound, are around -185 favorites over the Detroit Tigers on Thursday.

IN THE BACKYARD of his 11,540-square-foot Beverly Hills mansion, next to the saltwater pool with an underwater sound system, Steve Cohen was talking about building things. Trying to construct something great nearly broke him once. The hedge fund Cohen founded made him one of the richest men in the world, and insider trading from two employees led to a $1.8 billion fine and the dissolution of the business. Cohen was being transparent, more than someone in his position might otherwise, because he wanted the man sitting next to him to understand that work ethic and drive and sacrifice and the pursuit of excellence are building blocks for something bigger, something that lasts -- something that can change lives. As he locked eyes with Juan Soto, who stared back at him, rapt, Cohen posed a question.

"What are your aspirations?"

Soto paused to think. He had made a career out of careful consideration. No baseball player in his generation, and scant few before him, wielded such immaculate control over his own decision-making skills. From the time he debuted at 19 years old, Soto had launched himself on a trajectory toward the Hall of Fame in large part because of his mastery of the strike zone. He has the ability to process information so fast that to him the half-second between the time a pitcher releases the ball and when it pops into the catcher's mitt feels like an eternity. It carried Soto out of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and all the way here, to California's 90210 ZIP code, where Cohen, the wealthiest owner in baseball, was trying to convince him to sign with the New York Mets.

The answer was multipronged. Soto wanted to win championships, plural, and he wanted to win a Gold Glove in the outfield, and he wanted to do a million other things, because he wasn't in the business of restricting himself. What he said next aligned with that.

"I want to be the best hitter of all time," Soto said.

More than 17,500 players have stepped into a major league batter's box. Soto's suggestion that he wanted to stand atop that list took hubris, but Cohen gleaned something else from Soto's words. He saw a kindred spirit, a perfect embodiment of what he wanted his Mets to be. The franchise had spent most of its 64-year existence bumbling along, while the New York Yankees, for whom Soto played in 2024, won championship after championship. Now, Cohen believes the Mets have finally replaced decades of amateur-hour mismanagement with a functional group of leaders -- and created a franchise that any free agent would choose over the 29 other clubs. Particularly a 26-year-old in search of his forever home.

Cohen sat at the head of the outdoor table, flanked by Soto to his left and the Mets' new president of baseball operations, David Stearns, to his right. Soto's agent, Scott Boras, sat next to him and across from Alex Cohen, Steve's wife. Her father, 93-year-old Ralph Garcia, a Mets fan for decades, showed up to the meeting, as did Cohen's son, Josh. The attendees reinforced a point Cohen wanted to emphasize: The Mets might function around the principles embodied by Cohen's hedge funds, but at its heart, theirs is a family business. For hours they talked, enjoying Dominican food, making sure that this seemingly perfect match of team and player was as substantive in person as it was in the computer models that suggested Cohen spend more money to secure Soto's services than had ever been guaranteed to a professional athlete.

For the entirety of Cohen's adult life, he had assessed the value of financial products and leveraged them to inconceivable riches. This deal was value anthropomorphized, an opportunity for something bigger, lasting, life-changing -- delivering a moment decades in the making for Ralph and the other Mets diehards and all of Queens. And Cohen intended to finish the meeting with a flourish. He told the group to follow him to the theater room downstairs.

On the way, Cohen told a story. He is one of the world's great art collectors, and one piece in particular enraptured him: Picasso's Le Rêve. Las Vegas casino magnate Steve Wynn owned it, and Cohen had agreed to purchase it in 2006 for $139 million. Then Wynn accidentally elbowed a hole through it, scuttling the sale. One restoration and seven years later, Cohen bought the piece for $155 million.

The point, Cohen said, was that when he sees something he wants, nothing will stop him from getting it. With that, the lights in the theater dimmed, and a video started to play. Josh Cohen had devised it. Soto in a Mets uniform. Soto at Citi Field. And at the end, next to the statue of Tom Seaver that adorns the outside of Citi Field, a large, bronze version of Soto. He could stay with the Yankees or go to Los Angeles or Boston or Toronto, sure, but nowhere, Cohen said, would he change the arc of baseball history like he would with the Mets.

TWO MONTHS AFTER signing the largest contract in the history of professional sports, a tectonic 15-year, $765 million deal with no deferred money, Juan Soto was ready to report to New York Mets spring training. And he was nervous. His jitters were more the first-day-of-school variety than anything, but in the time between when he agreed to the deal and mid-February, Soto considered the gravity of what he soon would undertake. His career was his most valuable possession, and he was entrusting it in an organization that for its six-plus decades of existence earned a reputation for brokenness.

"I feel like I have everything in front of me," Soto said. "I just gotta put the work in and do what I have to do. It's going to take a lot, but I think when you put the bar that high and you put your goals in a big spot, it brings the best out of you, and that's what I want to bring every day."

What for most of baseball history would have seemed inconceivable was now a reality: a future Hall of Famer in the prime of his career fleeing the Bronx for Queens. For the better part of a century, Yankee Stadium had functioned as baseball mecca, the place where the best players found the best of themselves. From 1921 to 2009, they won the American League pennant nearly half the time and captured 27 World Series championships, more than twice as many as the next-best franchise. The baseball universe orbited around East 161^st Street and River Avenue.

The Mets weren't just little brother; they were the distant step-cousin. They didn't spend like the Yankees. They didn't develop like the Yankees. The Yankees' brand was greatness, the Mets' dysfunction. Even when they cobbled together a championship-caliber core in the 1980s, the Mets' reign stopped at one championship, in 1986, dreams of a dynasty dashed. Little changed until Cohen, who grew up in Great Neck, about 10 miles from Citi Field, arrived. He saw the Mets not only as an undervalued asset but a loom that could weave the social fabric of Queens and regions beyond. And for all the money he planned to spend to make that happen, the Mets needed an anchor, a face, a defining character for the franchise's defining era.

Though plenty of talented baseball players have plied their trade for the Mets, none has matched Soto's luminescence. He is coming off the best year of his career, hitting .288/.419/.569 with 41 home runs. His lifetime on-base percentage of .421 is 13^th among all players with at least 2,000 plate appearances in the modern era, sandwiched between Shoeless Joe Jackson and Mickey Mantle. And at 26, plenty of prime years remain for Soto to help reinvent the Mets in his image -- on-field alphas, shuffling in the batter's box, staring down pitchers -- saying they're the ones who own New York now without needing to open their mouths.

On that first day, all Soto wanted to do was fit in. His first seven years in the major leagues were unlike those of any player of his caliber in the game's history. Superstars rarely get traded before they reach free agency; none moves more than once. Soto had gone from Washington, which signed him as a gangly 16-year-old, to San Diego, which regarded him as the missing piece to winning its first championship, to the Bronx, where the Yankees paired him with Aaron Judge to fashion a fearsome duo in the image of Ruth and Gehrig, Mantle and Maris.

Soto pulled in to Port St. Lucie, Florida, with no specific plan to ingratiate himself. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza, who had been hired before their surprising National League Championship Series run last year after 15 years managing and coaching with the Yankees, encouraged Soto to ignore the fact that he'd now be viewed through a different lens than the previous half-decade. Though his talent had always set Soto apart, now he was the $765 million man, and even if the money would not change him, it would alter the perception of him.

"I just bring myself. This is who I am. I hope you guys like it," Soto said. "I'm going to try my best. If not, I'm going to make adjustments. That's what I did. I didn't have any strategy. 'Oh, I'm going to do this, I'm going to do that.' I don't want to change anything. This is who I am, and this is the guy you're going to see for the next 15 years.

"I don't want to try to do more. I don't want to try to be a superhero. I'm just going to be the same guy I've been."

Whatever Soto does or doesn't want to try to be, he's wise enough to recognize that to Mets fans he's Superman, Batman and Captain America amalgamated. Once he arrived at camp, fans started showing up in droves -- thousands on the backfields, plenty wearing Soto's No. 22, craving just a peek at the one prophesied to liberate them from the shackles of their history. Being a Mets fan is a lesson in second-class citizenry, and with Soto in the fold, it mattered not that their presumed Opening Day starter, Sean Manaea, would miss the beginning of the season, or that another free agent signing, right-hander Frankie Montas, would be out for two months with a lat strain. Soto's presence alone made the sun shine a little brighter, the bat crack a little louder, the loaded NL East -- with Atlanta and Philadelphia teams also harboring World Series aspirations -- a little less intimidating.

"At the beginning, I didn't know what to expect, especially with Soto," Mendoza said. "That was the biggest thing for me: the guy that's been around a lot of different teams, but he's making that transition to another New York team with a huge contract. So how is that going to go here? And I think it was Day 2 of position players [reporting]. I saw him joking around, smiling, laughing. I was like, 'OK, I think we're good here.'"

Soto made clear to Mendoza that the size of his contract would be no impediment to him fulfilling all of the goals he told Cohen. "He wants to be held accountable," Mendoza said, and if that meant getting on him about his defense or baserunning or being a good teammate or even his hitting, he expected the same treatment as someone making $765,000.

Earlier this spring, the Mets set up an optional bunting station that hitters could visit to work on their technique. Perhaps no one should have been surprised that Soto ambled over and spent 15 minutes there. He is an excellent bunter who stole four hits last year pushing the ball away from shifted fielders. But a number of people in the Mets organization were nevertheless pleasantly surprised: If the highest-paid player in sports history can work on rarely used fundamentals, what is anyone else's excuse to skip the bunting station?

Divas can poison cultures, and the shift in the Mets' since Cohen bought the team -- the hiring of Stearns, who made the playoffs in five of eight years as general manager for the payroll-challenged Milwaukee Brewers, and the immediate success of Mendoza, a first-time big league manager -- is fundamental to the Mets' reimagination. Without a solid foundation, a team filled with nine-figure players would be susceptible to wobble. Organizational sturdiness can help make the complicated seamless.

"We saw it last year with the Dodgers getting Shohei," said Manaea, who played with Soto in 2022 with San Diego and witnessed firsthand last year how adding one of the best players in baseball can take an already good team and turn it into something special. Los Angeles blitzed the Mets in the NLCS, with Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers' $700 million free agent signing, getting on base 17 times in six games and blasting a pair of home runs. What Ohtani is to the Dodgers, Soto can be for the Mets. And his desire for that -- for everything baseball has to offer -- helped guide him toward that ultimate decision.

JUST BEFORE THANKSGIVING, Soto wrapped up his in-person meetings with the five teams courting him and started to confer with his family, Boras and Boras' lieutenants. Quickly, he realized he had absolutely no idea where he wanted to spend the remainder of his career. He was most impressed by the Mets' meeting. The Blue Jays wowed him as well. The Red Sox's cadre of prospects foretold a bright future. The Dodgers were the industry standard. And he loved playing for the Yankees, whose fans had spent much of the season and October rhythmically chanting "Re-sign So-to," a clarion call for owner Hal Steinbrenner to channel the energy of his late father, George, and treat the team less as a business and more as a win-at-all-costs championship factory.

"It was a lot of meetings, a lot of back and forth looking at the teams," Soto said. "What is going to be the best? Who's going to be at the top for the next 15 years? Who's going to be willing to spend money after five, six, seven, 10 years?"

The pressure was understandable. Soto had been barreling toward this moment for years. He turned down three contract-extension offers from the Nationals -- the first for $100 million-plus, the second a near-facsimile of Fernando Tatis Jr.'s $340 million deal with San Diego and the final a 14-year, $440 million offer that would have made him at the time the highest-paid player in baseball history at 23 years old. He vowed to prioritize fit over money, not because he didn't care about the economics of the deal but because Boras assured him that eventually the bidding would reach levels never before seen in sports.

At the center of the fit was family -- literally, with his parents and siblings deeply involved in his decision, and colloquially, with the length of his expected deal tantamount to a marriage. Soto was raised in a household, said his younger brother, Elian, where they were taught to "be respectful and be nice to everyone -- to the game, to the coaches, to our teammates. And try to be as positive as we can on and off the field."

Cohen's bet on involving his family in the meeting proved spot-on. Soto saw Cohen not only as a billionaire who was willing to devote the necessary resources to building a team to compete with Los Angeles, but as a husband with the means to give his father-in-law the gift of winning. As much as Soto liked the Dodgers, they were the one team unwilling to match the others financially, with Ohtani's contract already on their books. As engaging as the Blue Jays were in their meeting -- with a video nearly as resonant as the Mets' and the presence of Edward Rogers, the team owner who never before had involved himself in these sorts of summits -- their farm system lagged far enough behind that he eliminated them. And though Boston expressed a willingness to go well beyond $765 million, the Red Sox never made a formal offer in that range, and Soto removed them from the proceedings, too. The biggest free agent contract in MLB history was officially a battle between the two New York teams.

Among the pros for the Mets: Soto believed he could create something bigger, something that lasts, something that would change lives and legacies. For the Yankees: He had grown weary of baseball nomadism, and the Yankees, for all of the consternation among a fan base aggrieved by the lack of championships since 2009, still have the most wins of any team this century and the third most in Major League Baseball over the past decade.

Sensing the endgame, Cohen requested, and was granted, a second meeting right before the beginning of the winter meetings in early December -- an opportunity only the Mets received. (The Red Sox had inquired about one but Soto did not take it.) At a lunch gathering at his home in Boca Raton, Florida, Cohen went into dealmaking mode, asking: What do we need to do to get this done? More power in the lineup, Soto said. More pitching, he added. Already Cohen had promised Soto a luxury suite for every home game -- a perk the Yankees declined to match -- and a security detail for him and his family. And the money kept rising -- to $750 million first and eventually to $765 million, $5 million more than the Yankees' final offer spread over 16 years.

Back at home in the Dominican Republic, Soto vacillated until Sunday afternoon, as much of baseball arrived in Dallas for the meetings. As tantalizing as it would be to go down in the annals of the sport as an all-time-great Yankee, the allure of Cohen's commitment to build something spoke to Soto. He was far from the highest-rated prospect in his international signing class. Soto, in fact, originally saw himself as a pitcher. But he added skills, iterated, grew, worked, pushed himself, sacrificed, pursued excellence. The kindred spirit Cohen saw was reciprocated.

Hours later, as the news emerged that Soto had chosen the Mets and the $765 million figure was reported, the long-established dichotomy of New York baseball was flipped. The eternal winners lost the sweepstakes; the perpetual losers won the lottery. This did not mean failure for the Yankees, just as it does not ensure success for the Mets, but paradigm shifts in baseball can happen in a hurry, and Soto's decision represented one. For all he has done -- the World Series win in Washington, the exceptional October with the Yankees and everything in between -- his career is still in its nascent stages. So much is yet to come. And when it does, it will be with the New York Mets.

THE BEST HITTER of all time is Babe Ruth. Or Barry Bonds. Or Ted Williams. Or Ty Cobb or Henry Aaron or Willie Mays or Rogers Hornsby or dozens of others whose accomplishments, to this point in his career, dwarf Juan Soto's.

And yet when asked the question of who warrants the title, Soto does not hesitate.

"Myself," Soto said. "Until you prove me wrong."

When pressed, Soto's answer offers a window into how he sees the sport.

"Freddie Freeman," Soto said. "I feel like he's one of the best hitters I've ever seen. There's a lot of guys that have (long) careers like (Albert) Pujols. Mike Trout has been having great years. But the guy I see every day since I've been in the big league has been Freddie Freeman."

Soto's answers, heavily skewed to active players, are not because he's some myopic Zoomer with no knowledge of the game's history. He knows it well. He values the greats. At the same time, it speaks to his reverence for the modern game. Hitting today is harder than it's ever been, and Freeman almost single-handedly beat the Yankees in the World Series. There might be no prettier swing in baseball than Freeman's when stroking an outside pitch to the opposite field. Soto deeply values being on the field, playing all 162 games in 2023 and 157 last year, and Freeman is the king of staying on the field, ailments be damned.

For Soto to enter the GOAT conversation among the general public, he'll need more years like 2024, when he spent the season hitting second for the Yankees, one spot ahead of Aaron Judge. The Mets lineup he's joining will be even more formidable than the Yankees', with Francisco Lindor in the leadoff spot and Pete Alonso behind him. Add Brandon Nimmo at cleanup, Mark Vientos in the 5-hole and a variety of other dangerous bats occupying the bottom half of the lineup, and the Mets will need to hit as they await the return of Manaea, Montas, catcher Francisco Alvarez and second baseman Jeff McNeil from the injured list.

How the Mets evolve beyond 2025 will depend on the growth of their farm system -- it's currently a middle-of-the-pack group -- and Cohen's continued willingness to complement Soto and Lindor, the Mets' two anchors. Replicating the Dodgers' formula will take years, but their success begins with Mookie Betts, Ohtani and Freeman -- all future Hall of Famers -- atop the lineup. The vibe that helped fuel the Mets last October, Lindor said, is back this spring, and Soto's addition to the lineup should only serve as accelerant.

"I'm happy he's here," Lindor said. "I think he's definitely going to help us win. Why would I be mad? He's putting our team in a much better spot. ... My ego doesn't get hurt when somebody big in this game walks in. It's just like, I love it."

He's not the only one. In the stands at a game last week, Mets fans lined up along the dugout as Soto spent an inning autographing balls and jerseys for anyone who asked. Inside the clubhouse a few days earlier, Mets players were thrilled that Soto's partnership with Call of Duty: Warzone allowed the team early access to a not-yet-released version of the Verdansk map. At the ownership level, they're hopeful that the excitement about the Mets will only help Cohen's attempts to win one of three casino licenses New York state plans to award this summer, paving the way for an $8 billion development next to Citi Field.

When Cohen bought the Mets for $2.4 billion, this was the idea: turn them into what they always should have been -- not New York's baseball bridesmaids but a team worthy of the city in which it resides. It took Juan Soto for that notion to feel real, and with Opening Day's arrival, never has it been more so. In French, the name of the Picasso that Cohen bought from Steve Wynn -- Le Rêve -- means "dream." The Mets are living theirs, and they don't intend to wake up any time soon.

Her Miami Open hopes may be over, but Danielle Collins leaves Florida this week with a friend for life.

Collins, the world number 15, was beaten by Aryna Sabalenka on Monday as the American's hopes of retaining her Miami Open title came to an end.

But the 31-year-old's mind may have been elsewhere after she found an injured dog two days earlier on her way out of the Hard Rock Stadium.

Collins found the dog curled up in the middle of the road after it had been hit by a car and took him to a nearby veterinary hospital.

The former world number seven, who asked fans to pray for the dog, has now revealed that she has adopted him and named him Crash.

"Crash is recovering and finally out of the hospital after five days on oxygen support," Collins said on Instagram.

"His breathing is back to normal, his wounds are healing, and he's definitely enjoying all the love he's receiving. He's curious, affectionate and grateful for a second chance at life.

"It was so incredibly painful to witness a dog in so much pain after being hit by a car and left in the middle of the road with so many people driving by his curled up body.

"I'm just grateful I was able to be there and get him the care he needed.

"I've officially adopted him. Once he finishes recovering he'll be attending school."

Raducanu found form in Miami with a more relaxed approach, which allowed her to play with greater freedom.

Raducanu decided to abandon a trial partnership with Slovak coach Vladimir Platenik coming into the tournament, asking for guidance from some familiar faces instead.

Mark Petchey, a well-known figure in British tennis who coached Raducanu in her teenage years, joined her long-time confidante Jane O'Donoghue and fitness coach Yutaka Nakamura.

Raducanu said the set-up allowed her to be "authentic" and "express" herself on court - and it showed against Pegula with her clean ball-striking and sharp movement.

Pegula's solid groundstrokes offered few errors and a single break was enough for Raducanu to lose the opening set.

Raducanu was heartened by the quality of her play, though.

Adopting a more aggressive approach in the second set paid dividends as she dominated Pegula, quickly getting her reward with an early break as momentum shifted.

When Raducanu could not level with the double break, amid complaining of dizziness, it felt like she was there for the taking when she returned from the medical timeout.

But she showed remarkable mental toughness to hold serve for 6-5, managing to step up her level again in a superb tie-break, before Pegula outlasted her in the decider.

Ireland's Erin King believes she is playing alongside some of the best back rows in the world during the Women's Six Nations.

King, 21, started her side's 27-15 defeat by France to kick off their campaign last weekend alongside Aoife Wafer and Brittany Hogan.

Wafer scored twice in another superb display, while Hogan was instrumental in some stout defensive stands.

"I'm so lucky to be among some of the best back rowers in the world. I think they're dragging me along," said King, who was named women's breakthrough player of the year at the World Rugby awards in November.

"There's so much competition in our back row and our squad, I think we just keep pushing each other and helping each other improve.

"I'm learning so much off them and I'd say they're learning things off me."

Such has been the form of that trio, the squad's co-captain Edel McMahon was named on the bench for the France loss.

"She's helped me so much," said King of the flanker.

"I'm so lucky to be around such a great person on the pitch and off the pitch.

"She helps me with anything I need and it's great to have her in the camp."

Ireland will travel to Italy for round two of the Women's Six Nations on Sunday, a game that will be be live on BBC Two NI, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website from 14:45 BST.

King said Ireland need to be "a little bit more accurate" than they were against France.

"I think we'll go in with loads of confidence and see what we can do," she added.

"I think we can go out there and put in a performance, tweak the things that weren't as good as we know they can be, and just be a little bit more accurate around the park."

Winger Brad Marchand, who has yet to play for the Florida Panthers since being acquired in a trade on March 7 due to an upper-body injury, could make his debut for the team on Friday, coach Paul Maurice said.

Marchand, 36, who had spent his entire career with Boston before being acquired by the Panthers (43-25-3, 89 points) for a conditional second-round draft pick in 2027, last played on March 1.

"He has been on the ice for a little bit now," Maurice said. "That's probably the advantage to four days (off) in that we don't lose another game. We'll get him through a full practice (Thursday) and make an assessment. But we are shooting for Friday against Utah right now."

Marchand skated in Wednesday's practice at right wing with the second line, which Maurice said could be his assignment with Sam Bennett and Mackie Samoskevich. Forwards Sam Reinhart and Bennett were given the day off.

Florida also is without winger Matthew Tkachuk (lower-body injury), who usually is at right wing with Bennett at center.

"We're not jamming these guys back on their first available day," he said. "We're not bringing them in early. If (Marchand) says he wants a few more days, we're good with that."

Marchand has 21 goals, 26 assists, a minus-8 rating, 62 penalty minutes, 27 blocks and 66 hits in 61 games this season, which started as his 16th with Boston. He had said that he wanted to finish his career in Boston, but contract extension talks didn't go well. Marchand is set to be an unrestricted free agent following the season.

He has 422 career goals, 554 assists, a plus-284 rating that is best among the NHL's active players, 1,113 penalty minutes, 374 blocks and 1,1024 hits in 1,090 regular-season games -- all with Boston since the 2009-10 season.

Marchand was a member of the Stanley Cup champions in the 2010-11 season. He has 56 goals, 82 assists, a plus-30 rating, 159 penalty minutes, 75 blocks and 195 hits in 157 playoff games.

A two-time All-Star Game selection (2017, 2018), Marchand earned NHL All-Star Team honors after the seasons in 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2021.

Field Level Media contributed to this report.

As of Dec. 6, the Minnesota Wild were 18-4-4 and atop the NHL standings. Fast-forward to Thursday, and they have a tenuous hold on a wild-card position in the Western Conference.

Is the Wild's playoff future in peril?

Minnesota has 85 points and 32 regulation wins through 72 games, just ahead of the red-hot St. Louis Blues (83 and 28 through 73 games), with the Vancouver Canucks (80 and 26 through 72 games) and Calgary Flames (79 and 26 through 70 games) still in the mix.

The Wild host the league-leading Washington Capitals on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+/Hulu/Disney+), followed by a home-and-home series against the New Jersey Devils. Their road trip continues against the New York Rangers and New York Islanders, before a home date against the Dallas Stars.

Perhaps most notable on the remaining schedule are games at the Flames (April11) and Canucks (April 12), both of which are dreaded "four-point games," as a regulation win for one team will have an outsize impact. Stress levels in the State of Hockey will surely rise if the standings are close as that pair of games approaches.

Despite trouble lurking for the Wild, Stathletes still likes their chances, giving them a 91.4% chance to make the playoffs.

There is less than a month left until April 17, the final day of the regular season, and we'll help you track it all with the NHL playoff watch. As we traverse the final stretch, we'll provide details on all the playoff races, along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2025 NHL draft lottery.

Note: Playoff chances are via Stathletes.

Jump ahead:
Current playoff matchups
Today's schedule
Yesterday's scores
Expanded standings
Race for No. 1 pick

Current playoff matchups

Eastern Conference

A1 Toronto Maple Leafs vs. WC1 Ottawa Senators
A2 Florida Panthers vs. A3 Tampa Bay Lightning
M1 Washington Capitals vs. WC2 Montreal Canadiens
M2 Carolina Hurricanes vs. M3 New Jersey Devils

Western Conference

C1 Winnipeg Jets vs. WC2 St. Louis Blues
C2 Dallas Stars vs. C3 Colorado Avalanche
P1 Vegas Golden Knights vs. WC1 Minnesota Wild
P2 Los Angeles Kings vs. P3 Edmonton Oilers

Thursday's games

Note: All times ET. All games not on TNT or NHL Network are available to stream on ESPN+ (local blackout restrictions apply).

Pittsburgh Penguins at Buffalo Sabres, 7 p.m.
Ottawa Senators at Detroit Red Wings, 7 p.m.
Utah Hockey Club at Tampa Bay Lightning, 7 p.m.
Montreal Canadiens at Philadelphia Flyers, 7 p.m.
Washington Capitals at Minnesota Wild, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+/Hulu/Disney+)
St. Louis Blues at Nashville Predators, 8 p.m.
Dallas Stars at Calgary Flames, 9 p.m.
Los Angeles Kings at Colorado Avalanche, 10 p.m. (ESPN)
Edmonton Oilers at Seattle Kraken, 10 p.m.
Toronto Maple Leafs at San Jose Sharks, 10:30 p.m.

Wednesday's scoreboard

Vancouver Canucks 5, New York Islanders 2
New Jersey Devils 5, Chicago Blackhawks 3
Dallas Stars 4, Edmonton Oilers 3
Anaheim Ducks 6, Boston Bruins 2

Expanded standings

Atlantic Division

Toronto Maple Leafs

Points: 89
Regulation wins: 35
Playoff position: A1
Games left: 11
Points pace: 102.8
Next game: @ SJ (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Florida Panthers

Points: 89
Regulation wins: 35
Playoff position: A2
Games left: 11
Points pace: 102.8
Next game: vs. UTA (Friday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Tampa Bay Lightning

Points: 87
Regulation wins: 35
Playoff position: A3
Games left: 11
Points pace: 100.5
Next game: vs. UTA (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Ottawa Senators

Points: 79
Regulation wins: 28
Playoff position: WC1
Games left: 12
Points pace: 92.5
Next game: @ DET (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 98.1%
Tragic number: N/A

Montreal Canadiens

Points: 75
Regulation wins: 24
Playoff position: WC2
Games left: 12
Points pace: 87.9
Next game: @ PHI (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 47.7%
Tragic number: N/A

Detroit Red Wings

Points: 72
Regulation wins: 25
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 11
Points pace: 83.2
Next game: vs. OTT (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 5.2%
Tragic number: 20

Boston Bruins

Points: 69
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 9
Points pace: 77.5
Next game: @ DET (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Tragic number: 13

Buffalo Sabres

Points: 64
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 12
Points pace: 75.0
Next game: vs. MTL (Thursday)
Playoff chances: ~0%
Tragic number: 14

Metro Division

x - Washington Capitals

Points: 103
Regulation wins: 40
Playoff position: M1
Games left: 11
Points pace: 119.0
Next game: @ MIN (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A

Carolina Hurricanes

Points: 90
Regulation wins: 38
Playoff position: M2
Games left: 11
Points pace: 103.9
Next game: vs. MTL (Friday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A

New Jersey Devils

Points: 83
Regulation wins: 34
Playoff position: M3
Games left: 9
Points pace: 93.2
Next game: @ WPG (Friday)
Playoff chances: 94.6%
Tragic number: N/A

New York Islanders

Points: 74
Regulation wins: 25
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 11
Points pace: 85.5
Next game: @ TB (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 24.5%
Tragic number: 22

New York Rangers

Points: 74
Regulation wins: 31
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 10
Points pace: 84.3
Next game: @ ANA (Friday)
Playoff chances: 16.5%
Tragic number: 20

Columbus Blue Jackets

Points: 73
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 12
Points pace: 85.5
Next game: vs. VAN (Friday)
Playoff chances: 13.1%
Tragic number: 23

Pittsburgh Penguins

Points: 69
Regulation wins: 20
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 9
Points pace: 77.5
Next game: @ BUF (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Tragic number: 13

Philadelphia Flyers

Points: 65
Regulation wins: 17
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 9
Points pace: 73.0
Next game: vs. MTL (Thursday)
Playoff chances: ~0%
Tragic number: 9

Central Division

x - Winnipeg Jets

Points: 102
Regulation wins: 38
Playoff position: C1
Games left: 10
Points pace: 116.2
Next game: vs. NJ (Friday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A

Dallas Stars

Points: 96
Regulation wins: 37
Playoff position: C2
Games left: 11
Points pace: 110.9
Next game: @ CGY (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Colorado Avalanche

Points: 91
Regulation wins: 37
Playoff position: C3
Games left: 10
Points pace: 103.6
Next game: vs. LA (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Minnesota Wild

Points: 85
Regulation wins: 32
Playoff position: WC1
Games left: 10
Points pace: 96.8
Next game: vs. WSH (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 96.8%
Tragic number: N/A

St. Louis Blues

Points: 83
Regulation wins: 28
Playoff position: WC2
Games left: 9
Points pace: 93.2
Next game: @ NSH (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 77.6%
Tragic number: N/A

Utah Hockey Club

Points: 75
Regulation wins: 24
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 11
Points pace: 86.6
Next game: @ TB (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 6.2%
Tragic number: 15

Nashville Predators

Points: 62
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 11
Points pace: 71.6
Next game: vs. STL (Thursday)
Playoff chances: ~0%
Tragic number: 2

e - Chicago Blackhawks

Points: 51
Regulation wins: 18
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 10
Points pace: 58.1
Next game:
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E

Pacific Division

Vegas Golden Knights

Points: 94
Regulation wins: 40
Playoff position: P1
Games left: 11
Points pace: 108.6
Next game: @ CHI (Friday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Los Angeles Kings

Points: 89
Regulation wins: 35
Playoff position: P3
Games left: 12
Points pace: 104.3
Next game: @ COL (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Edmonton Oilers

Points: 87
Regulation wins: 30
Playoff position: P2
Games left: 11
Points pace: 100.5
Next game: @ SEA (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 99.5%
Tragic number: N/A

Vancouver Canucks

Points: 80
Regulation wins: 26
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 10
Points pace: 91.1
Next game: @ CBJ (Friday)
Playoff chances: 8.2%
Tragic number: 18

Calgary Flames

Points: 79
Regulation wins: 26
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 12
Points pace: 92.5
Next game: vs. DAL (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 11.8%
Tragic number: 21

Anaheim Ducks

Points: 70
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 11
Points pace: 80.9
Next game: vs. NYR (Friday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Tragic number: 10

Seattle Kraken

Points: 66
Regulation wins: 24
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 10
Points pace: 75.2
Next game: vs. EDM (Thursday)
Playoff chances: ~0%
Tragic number: 4

e - San Jose Sharks

Points: 47
Regulation wins: 14
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 12
Points pace: 55.1
Next game: vs. TOR (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E

Note: An "x" means that the team has clinched a playoff berth. An "e" means that the team has been eliminated from playoff contention.

Race for the No. 1 pick

The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process are here. Matthew Schaefer, a defenseman for the OHL's Erie Otters, is No. 1 on the draft board.

1. San Jose Sharks

Points: 47
Regulation wins: 14

2. Chicago Blackhawks

Points: 51
Regulation wins: 18

3. Nashville Predators

Points: 62
Regulation wins: 23

4. Buffalo Sabres

Points: 64
Regulation wins: 23

5. Philadelphia Flyers

Points: 65
Regulation wins: 17

6. Seattle Kraken

Points: 66
Regulation wins: 24

7. Pittsburgh Penguins

Points: 69
Regulation wins: 20

8. Boston Bruins

Points: 69
Regulation wins: 23

9. Anaheim Ducks

Points: 70
Regulation wins: 23

10. Detroit Red Wings

Points: 72
Regulation wins: 25

11. Columbus Blue Jackets

Points: 73
Regulation wins: 23

12. New York Rangers

Points: 74
Regulation wins: 31

13. New York Islanders

Points: 74
Regulation wins: 25

14. Utah Hockey Club

Points: 75
Regulation wins: 24

15. Calgary Flames

Points: 79
Regulation wins: 26

16. Vancouver Canucks

Points: 80
Regulation wins: 26

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- Argentina is proving it can win without Lionel Messi, just in case he opts not to play in the 2026 World Cup.

After Argentina secured a spot in next year's competition, the main question now is whether the 37-year-old star will play in his sixth tournament and try to win back-to-back championships.

"We will see what happens, there's plenty of time," Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. "We must go one game a time otherwise [we] will be speaking about the same thing the rest of the year and we need to leave him alone, we will see. He will decide it whenever he wants, let's not drive him crazy with this."

On Tuesday, hours after Argentina qualified for the next World Cup, it went out and handed Brazil its worst-ever loss in World Cup qualifying -- a 4-1 thrashing. That was days after Argentina's 1-0 victory at Uruguay.

Both victories came without Messi. The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner had been ruled out after sustaining a low-grade adductor muscle injury.

Messi, who captained Argentina to the 2022 World Cup title in Qatar, has been sidelined several times by Inter Miami this season because of injury concerns.

His Argentina teammates left no doubt about their hopes for Messi to return.

"With Messi we might have scored two or three more goals," said striker Julián Álvarez, who scored one goal against Brazil.

Bolívia's failure to beat Uruguay on Tuesday assured Argentina, which leads the South American qualifiers with 31 points, of one of the continent's six direct spots for the 48-team World Cup to be co-hosted next year by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

After Tuesday's big win at Monumental de Nunez Stadium, midfielder Rodrigo De Paul seemed to speak for the whole country.

"The best of our teams is always when the No. 10 is playing," De Paul said, "because he is the greatest of all time."