After leaving fans disappointed in Hong Kong, Lionel Messi put in a 30-minute appearance in Tokyo on Wednesday in Inter Miami's latest exhibition match in Asia — although he still left some supporters wanting more.

Messi came off the bench for the final half hour, energized his teammates and probably had the best chance of the match in the 80th with two point-blank shots — the first stopped by goalkeeper Shota Aria and the second cleared off the line by the Vissel Kobe defense.

On the first anniversary of his trade to Dallas, Kyrie Irving returned to Brooklyn on Tuesday and showed his old team what they had lost with 36 points as the Mavericks beat the Nets 119-107.

Jurgen Klinsmann's position as South Korea coach came under intense pressure on Wednesday after what local media called a "shameful" and "humiliating" Asian Cup semi-final defeat to Jordan.

The Koreans crashed out 2-0 to a team ranked 64 places below them in the world and they failed to muster a shot on target despite boasting Son Heung-min in attack.

Lionel Messi started on the bench for Inter Miami's pre-season friendly in Tokyo Wednesday, days after his absence on the pitch in a recent Hong Kong friendly angered fans there.

The decision not to come on in Hong Kong had prompted the ire of tens of thousands of fans, who booed the World Cup-winning Argentinian and the team's co-owner David Beckham.

The Spanish league will take action against the young fan who appeared to touch the backside of a Sevilla player during a game.

The league said on Tuesday it identified the fan with the help of authorities and will denounce him to local prosecutors.

Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and new Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner are slated to participate in an exhibition event in Saudi Arabia in October, the kingdom's latest move into tennis.

Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune are the other players involved in what is being touted as the "6 Kings Slam" in Riyadh.

Phil Foden grabbed the spotlight from fit-again Manchester City superstars Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne by scoring a hat trick in a come-from-behind 3-1 win at Brentford that moved the champions two points behind Liverpool in a congested English Premier League summit on Monday.

City's opponents might be able to stop Haaland from scoring or close down the space for assist king De Bruyne, but there will always be a top-class player somewhere in the team to inflict the damage.

Look for Lionel Messi to play on Wednesday in Tokyo where Inter Miami meets Japanese club Vissel Kobe in a friendly.

And don't look for another public relations disaster as happened on Sunday when Argentina's World Cup-winning captain sat on the bench for an entire match against a selection of players from the Hong Kong league, angering thousands of fans who demanded refunds.

Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry gained a 10th NBA All-Star nod and Lakers star Anthony Davis a ninth as reserves for the mid-season showcase were announced on Thursday.

A Los Angeles Lakers team missing superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis barreled past the NBA-leading Boston Celtics on Thursday as Tyrese Maxey scored 51 points to lead Philadelphia over Utah.