INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- United States manager Mauricio Pochettino was visibly frustrated after his side's shocking 1-0 defeat to Panama in the semifinals of the Concacaf Nations League, bluntly telling his players it was not enough to simply show up in the national team shirt and expect to win.

"We are USA. You cannot win with your shirt, or you cannot win if you play here, there or I don't know," Pochettino said after the game at SoFi Stadium on Thursday. "You need to show, and you need to come here and be better and suffer and win the duels and work hard.

"If not, it's not going to be enough."

The U.S. dominated possession 66% to 34% but didn't create much in the way of chances, registering an xG of 0.68. Panama created an even lower xG -- 0.10 -- but made its chances count. Substitute Cecilio Waterman scored in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time to claim the win.

The loss ended the USMNT's chance to remain the only team to have won the Nations League.

The win marked the third consecutive time that the Canaleros have beaten the U.S. in official competition, including a victory over the Americans in the 2024 Copa America that led to their elimination from the tournament and the firing of then-coach Gregg Berhalter.

Pochettino was especially upset with how the U.S. started, being a little too content to play possession without being incisive.

"The way that we approach the game and start the game wasn't in the right way," he said. "That is why I feel so disappointed, and we all feel disappointed. I think in the first half, we played too slow, so comfortable on the pitch. We didn't show aggression with the ball."

The U.S. perked up after halftime, with Timothy Weah making inroads down the left wing. Substitute Patrick Agyemang had a glorious chance to put the U.S. ahead in the 82nd minute, only for Panama keeper Orlando Mosquera to deny him with a superb save low to his left.

With creativity in short supply, Pochettino was asked why he didn't opt to put creative players like Giovanni Reyna or Diego Luna into the match. He indicated he was waiting for extra time to possibly introduce them.

"We never expect to concede in this moment," Pochettino said. "That is the truth, but [I] agree. We were thinking to give option to play Gio and Diego, but for sure they're going to have the opportunity [next match]."

The U.S. will face Canada, which lost to Mexico in Thursday's other semifinal, in the third-place consolation game Sunday.

Regardless of the opponent, Pochettino wants to see more scrappiness.

"If you don't have aggression, it's impossible because the opponent, [they] know that we are going to play into the feet," he said. "You are going to play safe. You are not going to take risk.

"If you want to play football, you need to take risks, you need to go forward, you need to win duels, sometime 50-50. That is my goal."

The Portland Trail Blazers' Robert Williams III will be sidelined for four to six weeks after undergoing an arthroscopic procedure Thursday to address inflammation in his left knee.

Injuries have been an issue for Williams throughout his seven-year NBA career, and that problem has only been exacerbated over his two seasons in Portland. Since being acquired from the Boston Celtics in October 2023, he has suited up for a total of 26 games for the Trail Blazers.

Nevertheless, the 2022 All-Defensive center remains impactful on the court. In 20 games this season, he averaged 5.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in only 17.6 minutes per game. That puts him on track to average 11.9 points, 12.1 rebounds and 3.4 blocks per 36 minutes.

Williams also leads the Blazers (minimum 20 games played) in PER (19.0), box plus/minus (3.0) and win shares per 48 minutes (.174).

Portland currently sits in 12th place in the Western Conference, within just two games of the play-in seeding. The Blazers' final regular-season contest is slated for April 13. As such, should the Blazers fall short of the postseason, it's likely that Williams will be done for the year.

The Blazers have a logjam at center with Deandre Ayton, Donovan Clingan and Williams on the roster. With one year left on his contract, Williams could be floated as a trade candidate this summer.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The New York Knicks remain hopeful that Jalen Brunson can play in a few games before the postseason, coach Tom Thibodeau said Thursday.

Thibodeau said Brunson will be checked again Friday, about two weeks after he sprained his right ankle in a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. Sources told ESPN's Shams Charania on Saturday that Brunson is expected to remain sidelined through late March or early April.

"He's doing light shooting and he's out of the boot," Thibodeau said before the Knicks' game at the Charlotte Hornets. "So there's steady progress and we'll see where it goes from there."

Thibodeau said he expected Brunson to play before the regular-season finale April 13.

"Whenever he's ready, he's ready," Thibodeau said. "He's putting a lot into his rehab. That's what he can control right now. So that's where we want his focus to be. Hopefully, he'll get some games where he can work himself back into it."

Brunson suffered the injury against the Lakers on March 6, rolling his right ankle with 1:24 remaining in overtime after landing on the foot of Lakers guard Austin Reaves after being fouled on a drive to the basket.

He is seventh in the league in scoring (26.3 points per game) and eighth in assists (7.4 per game).

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Brooklyn Nets guard/forward Trendon Watford was ejected after scuffling with Indiana Pacers players in the fourth quarter of a 105-99 overtime loss Thursday night.

With 4:48 remaining in regulation, the Pacers scored a basket, then Watford ran toward Indiana's Andrew Nembhard and shoved him. Indiana's Myles Turner ran over and made contact with Watford, and Watford shoved him. Players, team personnel and officials entered the fray, but the incident did not escalate.

Two sets of double technicals were issued -- to Watford and Nembhard, and to Watford and Turner.

Brooklyn led 84-79 when the incident occurred. Indiana outscored the Nets 12-7 the rest of regulation, then 14-8 in overtime as the Pacers won.

"We're preparing for the playoffs," Turner said. "You're going to have moments like that in the playoffs. So to be battle tested, let it not be a surprise and be able to control your emotions when everything's high -- that's an underrated thing in this league."

Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry was ruled out in the second half of Thursday's 117-114 win over the Toronto Raptors because of a pelvic contusion, the team said.

While driving in the paint with 3:32 left in the third quarter, Curry went up in the air and collided with two Raptors players while passing the ball to Jonathan Kuminga for a corner 3-point attempt. Curry fell hard to the court on his back.

He remained on the floor in pain while training staff looked after him. He gingerly walked off the court under his own power, sitting down on the Warriors' bench before eventually leaving for the locker room.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after the game that Curry was getting an MRI.

"He thought he might be able to come back" into the game, Kerr said. "We just decided not to risk anything. So, hopefully it's not bad."

Draymond Green said it was a "scary moment" when Curry went down.

"He hit that ground hard," Green told reporters after the Warriors' win. "You could hear it. It was crazy. Obviously a very scary moment for us, for him. Hopefully he's good."

Curry finished with 17 points in 25 minutes.

The Warriors don't play again until starting a six-game road trip in Atlanta on Saturday.

ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Atlanta Braves signed veteran outfielder Alex Verdugo to a one-year, $1.5 million contract Thursday and subsequently optioned him to Triple-A so he can get some at-bats, given that he has missed most of spring training.

Verdugo, still just 28 years old, received scant interest after struggling offensively with the New York Yankees last season, slashing .233/.291/.356 in 149 games. Once a promising hitter in the Los Angeles Dodgers' system, Verdugo's OPS dropped every year from 2020 to 2024, going from as high as .844 to as low as .647.

The Braves will bring him in despite a glut of outfielders. Michael Harris II is entrenched as the every-day center fielder and Jurickson Profar, signed to a three-year, $42 million deal in January, is the regular in left. The Braves are slated to open the season with a right-field platoon of Jarred Kelenic and Bryan De La Cruz, but Ronald Acuna Jr. -- the 2023 National League MVP coming off another ACL tear -- is expected to return in May.

At this point, given that Marcell Ozuna absorbs all the at-bats at designated hitter, Verdugo seems like protection in case Kelenic, a fellow left-handed hitter, struggles.

The Cincinnati Reds and catcher Jose Trevino have agreed on a three-year contract extension through the 2027 season, it was announced Thursday.

The deal, which includes a club option for 2028, is worth $15 million, sources confirmed to ESPN, and includes $11.5 million in newly guaranteed money.

He will begin the season as the Reds top catcher. Tyler Stephenson is sidelined by an oblique injury; he last played March 11, was scratched the following day and had an MRI on March 13.

Trevino, who was set to become a free agent at the end of the season, hit eight home runs with 28 RBIs in 73 games for the New York Yankees last season. He was acquired by the Reds in December for right-hander Fernando Cruz and catcher Alex Jackson.

In seven major league seasons, Trevino, 32, is a career .236 hitter with a .637 OPS, 32 home runs and 141 RBIs in 399 games with the Texas Rangers (2018-21) and Yankees.

An All-Star and a Gold Glove Award winner in 2022, he was 1-for-5 with a walk in four postseason games last fall.

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

Toronto Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro is optimistic the team will be able to keep star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. off the free-agent market when his current contract expires after this season.

"I think we're going to sign him. I think we're going to extend him," Shapiro told reporters on Thursday. "We have such a clear alignment on the desired outcome.

"Vlad wants to play his whole career as a Toronto Blue Jay. We want him to end his career in a Blue Jays uniform and be a true legacy player for the Toronto Blue Jays. That's a pretty good place to start."

Told about Shapiro's comments, Guerrero on Thursday echoed that he remains "optimistic" as well.

"I've always felt good about the whole thing," Guerrero told reporters. "I'm good with that. Just going to keep working very hard and be optimistic, too. Not going to shut the door on them.

"... I'm going to leave that to my agents to work with that. If there's something there, they're going to continue to work with that. I'm just going to be on the field, focusing on my teammates, on my team, on my game."

Guerrero told ESPN earlier this month that the last contract extension proposal his representatives presented to the team before his Feb. 17 deadline fell short of $600 million, and reports said the two sides were roughly $50 million apart.

Shapiro described the reports as "an oversimplification based upon only part of the information."

Guerrero, who turned 26 last Sunday, had a self-imposed deadline of Feb. 17 to reach a contract extension. The sides avoided arbitration earlier in the offseason when they came to terms on a one-year, $28.5 million deal.

Guerrero, who made $19.9 million in 2024, turned in a fourth straight All-Star season, captured his second Silver Slugger Award and finished sixth in American League MVP voting. He hit .323 with a .396 on-base percentage, a .544 slugging percentage, 30 homers and 103 RBIs in 159 games.

Through six major league seasons with the Blue Jays, Guerrero owns a .288/.363/.500 batting line with 160 homers and 507 RBIs in 819 games.

Shapiro would like Guerrero to be what he called a legacy player, spending his entire career with one team. However, Shapiro placed the importance of building a great team over keeping one star player.

"Let me be clear. There's only been one player in my time in Major League Baseball who had a marketing case that significantly and meaningfully offset the value of his contract. One player. Only one," Shapiro said, referring to Shohei Ohtani. "In every other case, I would say the only other thing that actually sells tickets in the hundreds of thousands is winning. There are players who have magnetic personalities, like Vlad, who amplify winning and can really help, but fans don't come to see great players on losing teams."

Field Level Media contributed to this report.

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes' 2024 Topps Chrome Update MLB debut patch autograph card sold for a stunning $1.11 million, including buyer's premium, on Thursday.

It's a record paid for a Skenes card -- whose 2025 base salary is $875,000 -- and the most expensive modern, non-Mike Trout baseball card. (A 1-of-1 Trout rookie card sold for $3.9 million in August 2020, then the most expensive sports card of all time.)

The buyer's identity is currently unknown. The card was sold via Fanatics Collect.

The 1-of-1 numbered card with an on-card autograph includes a patch Skenes wore on his Pirates uniform during his MLB debut, a conceit that MLB exclusive trading card licensee Topps developed and introduced for the 2023 season.

Pre-Skenes, the most paid for one was $150,000 in a private sale for Anthony Volpe's last summer. Jackson Holiday's MLB debut patch autograph card sold for $198,000, including buyer's premium, in Thursday's auction.

The Skenes factor -- the National League's All-Star Game starting pitcher, a Cy Young finalist and Rookie of the Year in 2024 -- spawned a chase rarely seen for a modern sports card, baseball or otherwise. Last Christmas, an 11-year-old Dodgers fan from Los Angeles (the family has chosen to remain anonymous) pulled the Skenes redemption card from his lone Christmas present.

The Pirates offered a bounty, including 30 years of season tickets, a meet-and-greet with Skenes, two signed jerseys and a number of private PNC Park and spring training tours and experiences in exchange for the card. Skenes' girlfriend and LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne offered to host whoever pulled the card for a Pirates game in her suite; Seth Meyers, host of "Late Night with Seth Meyers," also offered a VIP experience just to see the card.

But the family turned it down. They started talking with auction houses in early January and chose Fanatics Collect. Kevin Lenane, Fanatics' Marketplace vice president, flew to Texas to personally collect the Skenes card.

"This was complicated by the fact that the family was evacuated from where they were in Los Angeles multiple times," Lenane said. "I got the card from Topps in Texas and brought it to the family out there, then the following day, graded it for them [with card grader PSA] and brought it back to New York."

On the flight to California, the pilot found out about Lenane's heavily insured cargo, tucked away in a protective case.

"I discreetly shared it with him, [and] he wanted a picture," said Lenane, the former president of PSA, an authentication and grading service. "I honestly felt like Ed McMahon, bringing this check to an excited, modest Southern California family. A lot of times with larger items, you'll spent a bunch of money and make a bunch of money; in this case, the family bought one box of cards for a few hundred bucks, and this is the outcome. It was a pleasure to be able to bring it to them."

The card also caused a pileup at Fanatics' Super Bowl LIX party in February to look at the card, which was encased on a wall. Fanatics Collect CEO Nick Bell said the viewing scene "felt a little like the Mona Lisa" because of the line of people who wanted to take a peek at the rare collectible.

The 11-year-old who pulled the card is a fan of Shohei Ohtani but is still looking forward to talking with Skenes, a meeting Fanatics plans to facilitate down the road, Lenane said.

Bell said he can't recall a time since he joined the company that there has been such fervor over a card.

"I've had more calls and questions about the Skenes card than any other card we've sold on Fanatics," he said. "And that was true within five, 10 minutes of [the card going to auction] being announced. This is the most notable card ever in terms of our impression tracking on social media."

Fanatics Collectibles is based in Los Angeles, and Bell said all Fanatics Collect proceeds will go toward L.A. fire relief. Fanatics has also supported relief efforts with LA Strong merchandise.

The family told Fanatics the sale will send their 11-year-old and his brother to college.

"Whatever they have in mind for their college, they're going to split down the middle as a savings," Lenane said. "There's some small amount set aside for cards, but it's tiny compared to the college bill. The vast majority is going into college-type savings plans."

Securing a match win at the Masters tournament - the tier of ATP events below the four Grand Slams - is another landmark for Fearnley.

This time last year, the Scot was ranked outside of the world's top 500 and still studying at Texas Christian University in the United States.

After a meteoric rise since turning professional in June, Fearnley could break into the top 70 after Miami.

He could also become the British number two at the expense of former Wimbledon semi-finalist Cameron Norrie, who is now ranked 81st.

Fearnley's next challenge at the hard-court event is a second-round match against German top seed Alexander Zverev.

It is a rematch of their Australian Open fourth-round meeting, which three-time Grand Slam finalist Zverev won 6-3 6-4 6-4 on his way to the Melbourne final.

Norrie, 29, faces China's Bu Yunchaokete, who is ranked 69th.