Melee, spitting incident mar end of Leagues Cup final

Melee, spitting incident mar end of Leagues Cup final

The Seattle Sounders' dominant home victory in the Leagues Cup final on Sunday night was marred by a melee at the final whistle, with tempers flaring and the apparent instigator, Inter Miami striker Luis Suarez, appearing to spit on a Sounders staffer. Suarez, who has a history of losing his temper, rushed Seattle midfielder Obed Vargas when the 3-0 shutout became final and put him in a headlock. That set off players from both sides yelling, pushing and scuffling and others, including staff members, trying to break it up and pull players away. Inter Miami's Sergio Busquets punched Vargas on the chin, according to a USA Today report, which led to the Sounders' Cody Baker getting into a heated exchange with him. When Inter Miami's Maxi Falcon tried to pull Baker away from Bousquets, he ended up putting Baker in a headlock, per the USA Today report. Suarez at one point went to the ground at Lumen Field. He was on his feet later and was yelling at a Sounders staff member when Inter Miami goalkeeper Oscar Ustari got between them in an effort to break it up. However, Suarez appeared to be caught on camera spitting at the staffer in video that went viral on social media. Asked after the match about his players' behavior, Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano said: "I have nothing to say because I was far away and didn't see what happened. Nobody likes for there to be these types of actions. Maybe there was provocation, but I don't know what happened." The Leagues Cup is a tournament held jointly by MLS and Liga MX with Concacaf sanctioning, and thus has a disciplinary committee independent from both leagues or the continental federation. Presumably, it would be responsible for deciding any discipline from the incident, though potentially MLS could also get involved. "Unfortunately, that is going to take some of the attention away from a great performance by the Seattle Sounders," Seattle coach Brian Schmetzer said afterward of the melee. "Their players were frustrated and that led to some things happening on the field that shouldn't happen on the field. "I'm going to shut that down, because that shouldn't be the story. The story of the game is not what happened after the game. I had a quiet moment with (Inter Miami superstar Lionel) Messi on the field (after the game) and we talked and we tried to push it aside. "That's the story." --Field Level Media

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August 31, 2025

Melee, spitting incident mar end of Leagues Cup final

Melee, spitting incident mar end of Leagues Cup final The Seattle Sounders' dominant home victory in the Leagues Cup final on Sunday nig...

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San Diego FC spoils Son Heung-min's LAFC home debut with a 2-1 victory

San Diego FC spoils Son Heung-min's LAFC home debut with a 2-1 victory

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hirving Lozano and Anders Dreyer scored, and San Diego FC spoiled the home debut of Los Angeles FC forward Son Heung-min with a 2-1 victory Sunday night. After Dreyer got the tiebreaking goal in the 66th minute, Western Conference-leading San Diego held on against a barrage of LAFC chances to extend its unbeaten streak to six matches in MLS play. Denis Bouanga scored in the first half for LAFC, but the French star and Son both failed to convert golden scoring chances in the final minutes of expansion San Diego's first trip 120 miles north to BMO Stadium. CJ Dos Santos made three saves for the visitors, including a diving stop on Son in second-half injury time. Son was given a hero's welcome in his first match in Los Angeles, taking the field nearly four weeks afterLAFC announced the landmark signingof the South Korean star following his decade at Tottenham. Son played his first three matches on the road for LAFC, scoring a goal and immediately energizing the offense while his new club went unbeaten. The sellout crowd serenaded Son from the moment he stepped on the field for warmups in Los Angeles, which has the world's largest Korean population outside Korea. With thousands of fans wearing his jerseys for club and country, Son repeatedly waved to those cheering him on, and he exhorted the crowd into a frenzy right before kickoff. Bouanga put LAFC ahead in the 15th minute with a beautiful chip volley into San Diego's net off an excellent pass from teenager David Martínez. Bouanga's goal was his 15th of the season, all in his last 19 matches. But Lozano answered in the 33rd minute with a strike from the middle of the box for his ninth MLS goal. The Mexican national team star celebrated by taunting the famously raucous North End supporters' section. Dreyer put San Diego ahead with a individual effort by the Danish star, slipping behind LAFC's back line to collect Jeppe Tverskov's pass and juking two defenders before firing a left-footed shot for his 14th goal. LAFC controlled play for long stretches, but couldn't even it. Son hit a screamer toward the far top corner in the 45th minute, but Dos Santos made a superb leaping save. Hugo Lloris' long pass put Son in a one-on-one break in the 74th minute, but he couldn't get a shot off. Son then hit the post in the 78th minute with a shot from the top of the box. Bouanga got alone on the keeper in the 82nd minute, but waited too long to take a shot. Son's hard shot in the 92nd minute was saved by a diving Dos Santos. ___ AP soccer:https://apnews.com/soccer

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August 31, 2025

San Diego FC spoils Son Heung-min's LAFC home debut with a 2-1 victory

San Diego FC spoils Son Heung-min's LAFC home debut with a 2-1 victory LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hirving Lozano and Anders Dreyer scored, and S...

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Jessica Pegula, Barbora Krejcikova advance to U.S. Open quarterfinals

Jessica Pegula, Barbora Krejcikova advance to U.S. Open quarterfinals

Fourth-seeded Jessica Pegula is making another deep run at the U.S. Open and she claimed her spot in the quarterfinals Sunday with an easy 6-1, 6-2 victory over fellow American Ann Li in New York. Pegula converted 6 of 9 break points and needed just 54 minutes to subdue Li, who committed 19 unforced errors while playing in Arthur Ashe Stadium for the first time. Pegula next will face two-time Grand Slam winner Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic. Krejcikova staved off eight match points while rallying to a 1-6, 7-6 (13), 6-3 victory over upstart Taylor Townsend. Krejcikova held a 43-37 edge in winners while needing three hours and four minutes to finish off Townsend, who was vying to reach the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam event for the first time. Townsend dominated the first set and had a chance to close the deal in straight sets. She was leading 6-3 in a second-set tiebreaker before letting three straight match points get away. The two women traded big hits and missed shots throughout the 25-minute tiebreaker before Krejcikova finished off the 98-minute set with a slam. Seven of Townsend's squandered match points came in the second-set tiebreaker. Krejcikova broke Townsend's service to make it 4-2 and 5-3 in the third set before finishing off a scintillating victory that disappointed the pro-American crowd at Louis Armstrong Stadium. "I'm totally enjoying this crowd. Even though it's not for me, it's fine," Krejcikova said in her on-court interview. "I love the atmosphere. I love when they're cheering. They're making the match huge. It's for the Americans. It's not for me. "I wish we had a tournament in Czech Republic and there were a lot of fans rooting for me. Maybe in a different life. Not now. I'm just enjoying. I'm having fun on court. I'm so happy I can be here. It's a huge privilege that I can play in front of such a nice crowd on Armstrong." Krejcikova's impressive showing snuffed out the dreams of the 29-year-old Townsend, a No. 1 doubles player who is enjoying the top singles run of her career. "It just stings because I literally gave everything," Townsend said. "She came up with some really, really great tennis in moments where she was down, and I thought I had it." Townsend lost in the first round of the other three majors this year before winning her first three matches at the Billie Jean King Center. She swept No. 5 seed Mirra Andreeva of Russia on Friday, two days after beating No. 25 Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia in straight sets and being on the receiving end of some disparaging comments about her lack of sportsmanship. Pegula, a 2024 finalist, is more used to being on the big stage in New York. "I've obviously kind of earned that right over the years," the 31-year-old Pegula said of playing in Ashe. "When I was younger, I never hit on Ashe, I never played on Ashe. I was always on another court, Court 17 or maybe Grandstand if I was lucky. That's definitely changed. "Specifically here being an American, I have played a lot there now. Maybe against someone that hasn't gotten a lot of reps on that court, I think it is a little bit like a home-court advantage." This marks the third time Pegula has advanced to at least the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open. She lost to Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in last season's title match and also reached the quarters in 2022. Pegula has won just one of three matchups against Krejcikova. Pegula's victory came in the 2023 Australian Open round of 16. On Sunday, Pegula outclassed the 25-year-old Li and was highly effective at the net by winning 12 of 15 points. "It's a part of my game I can use as a weapon," Pegula said. "We've definitely worked on that a lot. They're really happy when I can finish a point with an overhead or a volley at the net." Pegula won the first three games of the match while sailing through the first set. It was more of the same in the second as she won four of the first five games before finishing off the match. Later Sunday, top seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus cruised past Spain's Cristina Bucsa 6-1, 6-4, posting more winners (26-9) and never having to save a break point. She advanced to the quarterfinals without dropping a set and will remain the top-ranked player after the tournament. The Czech Republic's Marketa Vondrousova knocked off ninth-seeded Elena Rybakina of Russia 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 in one hour, 51 minutes. Vondrousova, the 2023 Wimbledon winner, had the edge in aces (13-5) and won 5 of 7 break-point opportunities, to 3 of 6 for Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion who had more winners (40-29) and unforced errors (38-15). --Field Level Media

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August 31, 2025

Jessica Pegula, Barbora Krejcikova advance to U.S. Open quarterfinals

Jessica Pegula, Barbora Krejcikova advance to U.S. Open quarterfinals Fourth-seeded Jessica Pegula is making another deep run at the U.S. Op...

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What is Labor Day, why is it celebrated? Here's the holiday's history

What is Labor Day, why is it celebrated? Here's the holiday's history

With students back in school andpumpkin-flavored treatsreturning to menus, the end of summer, unofficially marked byLabor Day, is here. During the three-day Labor Day weekend, many Americans will travel,shop for deals online and in-storeand maybe sneak in one final visit to the beach or neighborhood pool. However, the federal holiday is much more than just the summer's last hurrah. Observed each year on the first Monday of September, Labor Day is a celebration of the hard-won achievements ofAmerica's labor movement and a recognition of the contributions workers have madeto the nation's prosperity. This year, hundreds of thousands of Americans are expected to skip the barbecue andspend their Labor Day protestingPresident Donald Trumpand the billionaires who support him. More than a thousand "Workers Over Billionaires" events are planned nationwide onLabor Day and the surrounding days,USA TODAY reported. Organizers are expecting "a big show of force on Monday that we're not going to take it sitting down, that working class people across the country are ready to fight back and to make sure that we don't just let billionaires run roughshod over our communities," Saqib Bhatti, executive director of Action Center on Race and the Economy, told USA TODAY. Here's what you need to know about the Labor Day holiday, including when it falls in 2025 and its origins. What to expect on Labor Day:More protests against Trump are planned nationwide. In 2025, Labor Day falls onMonday, Sept. 1. Rooted in the labor movement of the 19th century, Labor Day originated during a dismal time for America's workforce, which faced long hours, low wages and unsafe working conditions. As labor unions and activists advocated and fought for better treatment for workers, at the height of the Industrial Revolution, the idea arose to establish a day dedicated to celebrating the members of trade and labor unions,according to History.com. Two workers can make a solid claim to the title of Labor Day's official founder, according to theU.S. Department of Labor. Some records indicate Peter J. McGuire, co-founder of the American Federation of Labor, was the first to suggest the idea for the holiday in 1882. However, recent research supports the contention that machinist Matthew Maguire proposed the holiday in 1882, while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. Regardless of who proposed the holiday, Labor Day soon became recognized by labor activists and individual states long before becoming a federal holiday. Organized by the Central Labor Union, the Labor Day holiday was first celebrated in New York City in 1882, according to the Department of Labor. On that day, 10,000 workers took unpaid time off to march from City Hall to Union Square, according to History.com. New York was also the first state to introduce a bill recognizing Labor Day, but Oregon was the first to pass such a law in 1887, according to the Department of Labor. By 1894, 32 states had adopted the holiday. Labor Day became a national holiday in 1894 when President Grover Cleveland signed a law passed by Congress designating the first Monday in September a holiday for workers. The federal recognition was hard-won, having come after a wave of unrest among workers and labor activists put the issue of workers' rights into public view. In May that year, employees of the Pullman Palace Car Company in Chicago went on strike to protest wage cuts and the firing of union representatives, according to History.com. A month later, the government dispatched troops to Chicago to break up a boycott of the Pullman railway cars initiated by labor activist Eugene V. Debs, unleashing a wave of fatal riots. Congress quickly passed an act making Labor Day a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories. By June 28, Cleveland signed it into law. Contributing: Sarah D. Wire, USA TODAY Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X@GabeHauarior email him at Gdhauari@gannett.com. Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:What is Labor Day? What to know about the holiday, its history

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August 31, 2025

What is Labor Day, why is it celebrated? Here's the holiday's history

What is Labor Day, why is it celebrated? Here's the holiday's history With students back in school andpumpkin-flavored treatsreturni...

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Xi and Putin stand shoulder to shoulder as China casts itself as an alternative global leader

Xi and Putin stand shoulder to shoulder as China casts itself as an alternative global leader

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has cast his country as a force for global economic stability and pledged hundreds of millions of dollars to support its partners, at a time when President Donald Trump wages a global tariff war and has decimated foreign aid under his "America First" policy. Xi's comments came during an address on Monday that is the centerpiece of a two-day summit orchestrated to play-up China's global leadership and its close and enduring partnership with Russia, as the two neighbors seek to rebalance global power in their favor at the expense of the US and its allies. "We should leverage the strength of our mega-sized markets and economic complementarity between member states and improve trade and investment facilitation," Xi told world leaders in the Chinese port city of Tianjin for a summit of the Beijing- and Moscow-backed Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). The Chinese leader pledged 2 billion yuan ($280 million) in grants to SCO member states this year, and to set up a SCO Development Bank to provide "stronger underpinnings" for security and economic cooperation among the bloc. Without naming the United States, Xi vowed to oppose "hegemonism," "Cold War mentality" and "bullying practices" in an address to political heavyweights from across the world, including Russian President Vladimir Putin,Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modiand Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Those phrases are often deployed by Xi to criticize what he sees as a world order led by the US and its Western allies. The summit is a showcase for closer ties between China and Russia, as well as the friendship struck up over the years by their two autocratic leaders. The deep personal rapport between the two men was on show Sunday evening, when Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan hosted a welcome banquet for attending leaders. Footage released by Russian state news agency RIA showed Xi and Putin gesturing animatedly and smiling as they chatted at the event, showing a different side of the typically restrained Chinese leader – and his warm and relaxed demeanor with his Russian counterpart. The pair then walked shoulder to shoulder together after posing for a photo alongside other gathered leaders, with Xi gesturing for Putin to walk with him past the others, footage released by the Kremlin showed. The SCO summit is also the leaders' first opportunity to meet since Putin's summit with Trump in Alaska earlier this month – and comes as Putin resists Western pressure to end his onslaught in Ukraine. Just last week, Moscow's forces carried out their second largest aerial attack to date on Ukraine. Observers say that Xi sees the gathering – and a massive military parade that he'll host on Wednesday in Beijing, expected to be attended by Putin, North Korea's Kim Jong Un as well as some two dozen other leaders – as a critically timed diplomatic push. As Trump alarms nations with his global trade war and withdraws from international organizations and foreign aid, Beijing views the US as undermining the international order it worked to build – and sees an opportunity to ramp its own vision as an alternative. Chinese officials touted this year's SCO as the largest yet, saying ahead of the event that 20 leaders from across Asia and the Middle East would join. In addition to Russia, China and India, SCO members include Iran, Pakistan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account atCNN.com

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August 31, 2025

Xi and Putin stand shoulder to shoulder as China casts itself as an alternative global leader

Xi and Putin stand shoulder to shoulder as China casts itself as an alternative global leader Chinese leader Xi Jinping has cast his country...

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