A week of Lionel Messi mania might end in disappointment for more than 50,000 in Landover. With the Barcelona superstar feeling the effects of a foot injury suffered last weekend against Real Madrid, Argentina coach Gerardo Martino said Friday that he could not guarantee the four-time world Player of the Year would play in a friendly against El Salvador today at FedEx Field. During the 15 minutes that Argentina's training session was open to reporters, Messi sat on the bench in a warmup outfit. He was expected to do some light running during the closed period. Argentine media reports said Messi might enter the game in the second half. Martino must also take into account Argentina's next match, Tuesday against South American rival Ecuador at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
—Steven Goff, The Washington Post
Colleges
Stevenson men to play hockey in ECAC West
Stevenson has been accepted into the ECAC Men's West Ice Hockey League for the 2016-17 academic year, the Eastern College Athletic Conference announced Friday. The Mustangs are elevating their program from club status to varsity and will begin a national search for a coach. Adding Stevenson gives the ECAC Men's West seven teams (Hobart, Neumann, Nazareth, Elmira, Utica and Manhattanville are the others) and makes the league eligible for an automatic qualification into the NCAA tournament. The league could receive an automatic qualification for its league champion as early as the 2018-19 season.
Women's lacrosse: Katie Chase (Glenelg) scored four goals and Jennifer Porretto added three to lead No. 14 Ohio State (9-2, 1-0 Big Ten) to a 13-5 win over Michigan (5-5, 0-1). The Buckeyes led 8-2 at halftime. ... No. 9 Stanford (5-1) scored the last seven goals in a 15-10 come-from-behind victory over host Harvard (3-4). The Cardinal's Lucy Dikeou (two goals) tied the game at 10 with 14:12 remaining, and Elizabeth Cusick scored the go-ahead goalwith 13:31 left. Rachel Ozer had a hat trick for Stanford.
Men's basketball: The National Association of Basketball Coaches named Maryland's Mark Turgeon the Division I District 7 Coach of the Year along with Wisconsin's Bo Ryan. Terps freshman guard Melo Trimble and senior guard Dez Wells made the District 7 first and second teams, respectively. UMES' Mike Myers made the District 15 first team, and Mount St. Mary's Byron Ashe made the District 18 second team.
Et cetera
Centennial's Kraisser to join his brother at Campbell
Centennial junior wrestler Austin Kraisser, a two-time state champion, has committed to Division I Campbell. Kraisser, 115-8 in three seasons and ranked ninth nationally at 152 pounds by Intermat, also considered Virginia Tech. He said the decision came down to two factors – wrestling with his older brother Nathan, who redshirted this past season at Campbell after transferring from North Carolina, and wrestling for coach Cary Kolat, who ran the Kolat Wrestling Club in Cockeysville from 2008 to 2010.
For more of Tim Schwartz's article about Austin Kraisser, go to baltimoresun.com/varsity.
Horse racing: Laurel Park will end its winter meet today with nine races highlighted by a $50,000 optional claimer at a mile. The six-horse field includes Talk Show Man, the 2014 Maryland Million Turf Stakes winner; Cerro, the 2013 Canonero II Stakes winner; and A.P. Cino, who was beaten by a neck Feb. 14 in the John B. Campbell. The first race will be at 12:30 p.m. Gates will open at 9:45 a.m. so fans can watch and wager on the Dubai World Cup program, featuring 2014 Preakness winner California Chrome and dual 2014 Eclipse champion and Fair Hill resident Main Sequence. The Maryland Jockey Club will resume live racing Thursday at Pimlico Race Course. The meet will be include the Preakness on May 16.
Baseball: The Pittsburgh Pirates reassigned former Orioles infielder-outfielder Steve Lombardozzi (Atholton) to minor league camp. ... The Washington Nationals reassigned six players to minor league camp, all headed to Triple-A Syracuse: infielder-outfielder Kila Ka'aihue, outfielder Derrick Robinson, right-hander Manny Delcarmen, catcher Steven LeRud, and infielders Cutter Dykstra and Emmanuel Burriss, a Washington native.
Billiards: Trick-shot artist Florian "Venom" Kohler will perform a free exhibition and autograph session today at 3 p.m. at The New Green Room in Dundalk.