AUSTIN, Texas – In his first competitive round in nearly two months, Bryson DeChambeau admitted he was rusty on Day 1 at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. He also proved to himself that after being sidelined with multiple injuries, he can still play at a high level.

“I know I can play golf. That's first and foremost. I don't have to one-hand it all day,” said DeChambeau, who tied his match against Richard Bland.

DeChambeau hadn’t played a competitive event since he withdrew from the Saudi International in early February with a fractured hamate bone in his left hand. He also revealed on Tuesday at Austin Country Club that he has a torn labrum in his left hip.

“I was very cautious,” said DeChambeau, who was 1 over for the day. “There was a lot of drives out there I felt really bad because it's not going the places I want it to go just because I'm not confident with how my wrist will go through it. That will get ironed out over time.”

DeChambeau also confirmed that he hopes to participate in a Professional Long Drivers Association event the week after the Masters in Jupiter, Florida. DeChambeau finished seventh last fall in the PLDA World Championships.

“If I'm progressing positively and not overdoing it every day and having these micro-progressions, when I get to Augusta where I'm close to 200 [mph] ball speed again, there's a possibility that the next week, if nothing gives out and it's structurally stable, that I'll do that,” he said. “I want to do it. I love it.”

MEXICO CITY -- While United States coach Gregg Berhalter wasn't willing to divulge any details about the starting XI he'll use in Thursday's World Cup qualifier against Mexico, he downplayed the idea Wednesday that team is willing to play for a draw at the Estadio Azteca.

"We want to win all three games [in this window]," he said. "We're going to put a team on the field in Mexico that is going to try and win the game."

- World Cup qualifying: CONCACAF standings
- 2022 World Cup: How the USMNT, Mexico can qualify
- Soccer on ESPN+: FC Daily | Futbol Americas
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Berhalter didn't dismiss the idea that the team could field a "B" squad, with the goal of staying fresh for Sunday's pivotal game against fourth-place Panama in Orlando. He acknowledged he took the idea to his staff and they debated its merits.

"I think it was an important exercise to do for us," he said. "We came out with our answer, and you'll see tomorrow. Certainly, there's no harm in looking at both sides of this thing."

The United States has never won a competitive match at the Azteca and is 0-3-3 all time in the venue in World Cup qualifying.

"Our record here is horrendous. The odds are against us getting something out of the game," Berhalter said. "We know that. We realize that. That's just how it is and we're focused on going in and being difficult to play against."

U.S. star attacker Christian Pulisic also wasn't willing to concede the Americans will be content not to chase three points.

"It would mean everything [to win at the Azteca]," he said. "We know it's not going to be easy. Of course, we've got the better of them in the last couple of games, but that means nothing coming into tomorrow's game. So we're going need to battle, we're going to need another top performance and continue to do the things that we have been doing in the past games against them.

"We're going to need an amazing performance to win again tomorrow."

The United States and Mexico enter the final round of CONCACAF qualifying tied with 21 points, behind first-place Canada (25 points). In the first meeting between the rivals during qualifying, the U.S. won 2-0 for its third straight victory in the series, including wins in the CONCACAF Nations League and Gold Cup finals.

After the game against Panama, the U.S. will travel to fifth-place Costa Rica (16 points).

The top three teams in CONCACAF qualifying will receive an automatic place at the Qatar World Cup, with the fourth-place team needing to beat the OCEANIA champion in a one-match playoff in Qatar in June.

With the U.S. seeking to avoid the disaster of missing out on a second straight World Cup, Berhalter said he had left his staff no doubt as to what's at stake over the next three games.

"One thing I told the staff in our meeting as we started camp was this is probably the biggest week of our lives as professional coaches," he said. "And that's just honest. I've coached in Columbus and I've coached an MLS final and stuff like this but this is bigger than that."

Later Wednesday, the squad announced the defender Reggie Cannon was held out of training due to a inconclusive COVID-19 test.

An executive of Peruvian club Universitario Deportes has stated that former Portland Timbers midfielder Andy Polo was paid in full by Major League Soccer and the Timbers despite the MLS club saying his contract was terminated last month, and that Polo was asked by MLS not to sue the league because he was terminated without cause.

On Feb. 10, the Timbers said Polo's contract was terminated by the club following accusations of domestic violence leveled against him by his estranged wife, Génesis Alarcón. She has since filed a domestic violence lawsuit against Polo in U.S. District Court for Oregon.

In a March 9 interview with ESPN, Alarcón said that two weeks after a May 23, 2021 incident of domestic violence, she met with two Timbers representatives who tried to pressure her into not pressing charges. Neither Alarcón nor the Washington County District Attorney decided to proceed with the case.

Earlier this week, Polo officially signed with Universitario, the same club where he made his professional debut as a 16-year-old. Universitario disclosed on Wednesday that Polo had 15 days to resolve his legal matters with his estranged wife, and that this was a condition of his contract.

Giancarlo Mandriotti, the legal and corporate manager for Universitario, said Wednesday that Polo had been paid in full by MLS upon the termination of his contract.

"When the MLS realizes that Andy Polo had not committed any act of a criminal nature, they ask Andy Polo to sign the document by which they harmoniously end their relationship," Mandriotti said via an interpreter. "Andy is paid the full amount of his contract. MLS asked him to please don't sue them because Andy was separated without just cause."

MLS is investigating the Timbers' handling of situation and the club's failure to report it to the league until Alarcón's allegations were made public.

An MLS spokesperson provided the following statement to ESPN on Wednesday: "Upon learning of the domestic violence allegations against Andy Polo, Major League Soccer and the Portland Timbers determined that his conduct did not represent the values of the league or club and promptly terminated Mr. Polo's playing contract.

"MLS' priority was to (1) separate Mr. Polo from the club and (2) ensure the league was able to conduct a thorough and fair investigation into the club's conduct. Following the player's termination, the MLS Players Association filed a grievance challenging the termination of Mr. Polo's contract.

"The league determined that settling the grievance and focusing on the league's investigation was appropriate. Any other comment will be reserved until the issuance of MLS' investigative report which will be released soon."

In a redacted separation agreement dated Feb. 24 obtained by ESPN late Wednesday, Polo is ordered to "fully and finally resolve all disputes or potential disputes" with MLS and the Timbers in exchange for a financial settlement. The amount paid to Polo also is redacted.

According to data from the MLS Players Association, Polo made $500,000 last year. His contract option was later picked up by the Timbers last December, after the alleged incident of domestic violence at Polo's home in May.

There has been considerable backlash to his signing in Peru, with Peru's Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations issuing a statement in staunch opposition to Polo's signing by Universitario.

"Being a footballer, athlete or having fame should never be a pretext to justify, tolerate and normalize violence against women," the ministry said in a statement in Spanish. "We express our solidarity with Genesis Alarcon and her children. We reiterate the immediate availability of legal psychological services of the MIMP for your entire family.

"We urge the club Universitario Sports Club to take immediate actions in relation to the unfortunate situation of violence exposed yesterday in the media and which directly involves Andy Polo. A violent man, an abusive husband and an abusive father must be punished. Parents should not promote violence, even less in front of their daughters/sons."

On May 23, 2021, Polo was cited by a Washington County Sheriff's deputy for harassment. The citation is classified as a Class B misdemeanor. In the deputy's report, it said that a friend of Alarcón's called police stating that her friend's husband was hitting her. Two deputies arrived and separately began interviewing Polo and Alarcón. When the police arrived, the report says that Alarcón "seemed to be frantic, scared and stressed" and that the children looked frightened.

The report adds that Alarcón said that in an attempt to get a cellphone out of her hand, "Andy reached out and grabbed her right wrist and scratched it. She showed me the underside of her right wrist and I saw what appeared to be a light red abrasion."

The report goes on to detail that two Timbers employees, Gabriel Jaimes, the team's head of players affairs, and Jim McCausland, the team's head of security, later arrived at the residence. According to the responding officer, "[McCausland] told me he would make sure that peace would be maintained inside the house," the report said. "He said if he needed to move Andy or Genesis out of the home to maintain safety and security, he would take care of it. He assured me no further incidents would take place."

It is unclear whether McCausland and Jaimes informed their superiors about the situation, but the league's constitution states that among the violations of the league's substance abuse and behavioral health policy is "domestic violence." It is also not clear what the threshold is for teams to report such violations to the league.

The domestic violence allegations against Pollo and the subsequent investigation follow another instance of abuse within the same organization with National Women's Soccer League side Portland Thorns. In September, two former Thorns players publicly accused former coach Paul Riley of coercing a player into having sex with him and sending lewd photos to another, along with verbal abuse, anti-gay comments and other inappropriate behavior.

One of the players had reported Riley's behavior to the Timbers' front office in 2015. Riley quietly left the club and was quickly rehired by another team in the NWSL, prompting backlash and protests from fans who say the club should've done more to protect players.

The Timbers vowed an independent investigation of their handling of the player's complaint but closed it without interviewing any players so other investigations could take precedence. An investigation commissioned by the U.S. Soccer Federation is being led by Sally Yates, a former acting U.S. attorney general, while the NWSL Players Association is leading another with the league. Both are ongoing.

UFC star Conor McGregor was arrested for "alleged road traffic violations" Tuesday in his native Dublin, Ireland, his team confirmed Wednesday with ESPN. The Irish Independent was first to report the news.

"Mr. McGregor was driving to the gym when he was stopped by [Irish police] for alleged road traffic violations," McGregor spokesperson Karen Kessler told ESPN in a statement. "He passed the drug and alcohol tests taken at the station."

The Garda, Ireland, police force does not, by law, release the names of those arrested. However, spokesperson Sgt. Margaret Flanagan told ESPN in a statement that a man in his 30s was arrested for "an incident of dangerous driving" in the Palmerstown section of Dublin on Tuesday evening. Per Flanagan, the man was taken to Lucan Garda Station, where he was later charged and released "pending an appearance before Blanchardstown District Court at a later date."

McGregor, 33, is the biggest moneymaking star in UFC history. The Notorious was the first UFC fighter to ever hold two titles in two different weight divisions simultaneously, capturing both the featherweight and lightweight belts. Most recently, he lost to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 last July when he fractured his leg at the end of the first round. McGregor has been training for a comeback from the devastating injury later this year.

McGregor has also had his fair share of run-ins with the law, including several driving offenses and an arrest in Brooklyn in 2018 when he threw a dolly through a bus window after a media day in an effort to get at rival UFC fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov. In 2019, he pleaded guilty to assault after punching an older man at a Dublin bar and was fined 1,000 euros.

MEXICO CITY -- While United States coach Gregg Berhalter wasn't willing to divulge any details about the starting XI he'll use in Thursday's World Cup qualifier against Mexico, he downplayed the idea Wednesday that team is willing to play for a draw at the Estadio Azteca.

"We want to win all three games [in this window]," he said. "We're going to put a team on the field in Mexico that is going to try and win the game."

- World Cup qualifying: CONCACAF standings
- 2022 World Cup: How the USMNT, Mexico can qualify
- Soccer on ESPN+: FC Daily | Futbol Americas
- Don't have ESPN? Get instant access

Berhalter didn't dismiss the idea that the team could field a "B" squad, with the goal of staying fresh for Sunday's pivotal game against fourth-place Panama in Orlando. He acknowledged he took the idea to his staff and they debated its merits.

"I think it was an important exercise to do for us," he said. "We came out with our answer, and you'll see tomorrow. Certainly, there's no harm in looking at both sides of this thing."

The United States has never won a competitive match at the Azteca and is 0-3-3 all time in the venue in World Cup qualifying.

"Our record here is horrendous. The odds are against us getting something out of the game," Berhalter said. "We know that. We realize that. That's just how it is and we're focused on going in and being difficult to play against."

U.S. star attacker Christian Pulisic also wasn't willing to concede the Americans will be content not to chase three points.

"It would mean everything [to win at the Azteca]," he said. "We know it's not going to be easy. Of course, we've got the better of them in the last couple of games, but that means nothing coming into tomorrow's game. So we're going need to battle, we're going to need another top performance and continue to do the things that we have been doing in the past games against them.

"We're going to need an amazing performance to win again tomorrow."

The United States and Mexico enter the final round of CONCACAF qualifying tied with 21 points, behind first-place Canada (25 points). In the first meeting between the rivals during qualifying, the U.S. won 2-0 for its third straight victory in the series, including wins in the CONCACAF Nations League and Gold Cup finals.

After the game against Panama, the U.S. will travel to fifth-place Costa Rica (16 points).

The top three teams in CONCACAF qualifying will receive an automatic place at the Qatar World Cup, with the fourth-place team needing to beat the OCEANIA champion in a one-match playoff in Qatar in June.

With the U.S. seeking to avoid the disaster of missing out on a second straight World Cup, Berhalter said he had left his staff no doubt as to what's at stake over the next three games.

"One thing I told the staff in our meeting as we started camp was this is probably the biggest week of our lives as professional coaches," he said. "And that's just honest. I've coached in Columbus and I've coached an MLS final and stuff like this but this is bigger than that."

Later Wednesday, the squad announced the defender Reggie Cannon was held out of training due to a inconclusive COVID-19 test.

TAMPA, Fla. -- Rachel Balkovec, hired by the New York Yankees as the first woman to manage a minor league affiliate of a Major League Baseball team, was hit in the face by a batted ball during a drill and will be sidelined for up to a week.

Balkovec was struck Tuesday. She will not be available for her first scheduled spring training game Thursday with Class A Tampa.

The 34-year-old Balkovec didn't sustain a concussion but has facial swelling, the Yankees said Wednesday. She was involved in a hitting drill in an indoor cage at the minor league complex when she was hurt.

Balkovec has been instructed by team doctors to rest for the next five to seven days. She will be re-examined after the swelling goes down.

"All things considered, I feel very fortunate," Balkovec said in a statement. "The doctors have asked me to be smart about limiting my activities over the next several days, and I plan on following their guidance. As much as I already miss being around the players and staff, I do not anticipate this affecting my role and responsibilities for the regular season."

Balkovec is scheduled to manage her first regular-season game on April 8 at Lakeland.

Balkovec has broken several barriers on her way to the position. She was the first woman to serve as a full-time minor league strength and conditioning coach, then the first to be a full-time hitting coach in the minors with the Yankees.

The Yankees announced her hiring as a minor league manager in January.

"The players that I've worked with, whether they like me, they don't like me, they like what I'm saying, they don't like what I'm saying, I do feel like they respect me," she said during her introduction following the hire.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

New York Mayor Eric Adams is expected to lift the city's COVID-19 vaccine mandate on athletes Thursday, paving the way for Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving to play at the Barclays Center on Sunday and for unvaccinated New York Yankees and Mets players to play in their April home openers, sources familiar with the situation told ESPN on Wednesday.

The rollback of the mandate that has applied to all private businesses in the city would cover professional athletes and performers, and come on the heels of discussions that had given hope to NBA and MLB teams that the long-awaited move would come to fruition.

Adams, who was sworn in Jan. 1 and has eased the city's COVID-19 policies since, said Tuesday: "Baseball, basketball, businesses -- they have to wait until that layer [of progress] comes."

The wait is not expected to be much longer. The Nets, currently in eighth place in the Eastern Conference and subject to the play-in tournament that begins April 12, would get back Irving, who has been kept out of their 35 home games this season. Irving turned 30 on Wednesday and is averaging 27.7 points in 19 games this season.

His absence has dominated headlines about the mandate, though the approach of Opening Day -- the Yankees' home opener is April 7 and the Mets' April 15 -- ratcheted up pressure, with multiple unvaccinated players on both teams.

Because MLB has the lowest vaccination rate of the four major men's professional sports, baseball officials were working with the mayor's office, according to sources, to push for updates to the mandate. Unvaccinated players on road teams have been allowed to play against the Nets and New York Knicks, and would have been eligible to participate against the Yankees and Mets as well.

Adams' announcement Thursday will take place at Citi Field.

Unvaccinated baseball players are expected to miss their teams' games against the Toronto Blue Jays -- and the salary and service time that come with them -- after the league and union agreed that Canadian entry rules would preclude them from playing there. The Yankees play 10 games in Toronto this season.

Before the expected update to the mandate, unvaccinated Yankees and Mets were not "permitted to enter NYC Club facilities," which include "the clubhouse, training rooms, weight rooms, hitting cages, and outdoor playing field areas," according to a memo from the MLB Players Association earlier this week that was obtained by ESPN.

During a COVID-19 outbreak on the Nets in January, Irving stood firm in his decision not to receive the vaccine, telling reporters: "In terms of where I am with my life outside of this, I stay rooted in my decision. And that's just what it is."

The rollback of former Mayor Bill de Blasio's policies by Adams has included an April 4 lifting of the mask mandate for children in daycare. While he did not commit to further changes, Adams hinted Tuesday at amendments to the policy that would soon come.

"We're going to do it in the right way," Adams said Tuesday. "We're going to follow the science ... we're going to make the right decision. And in New York, no matter what you do, this is 8.8 million people and 30 million opinions, so you're never going to satisfy New Yorkers, so you must go with the logic, your heart and the science."

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Right-hander Tyler Mahle will start for the Cincinnati Reds on Opening Day April 7 in Atlanta against the World Series champion Atlanta Braves.

Manager David Bell gave Mahle the news on Wednesday morning ahead of his second spring training start.

"It means a lot," Mahle said. "Some people never get to do this. I may only get to do it once. I don't know so, I will try to make the most of it and have a lot of fun."

A four-year veteran, Mahle, 27, tied for the major league lead with 33 starts last season, finishing with a team-best 13-6 record with a 3.75 ERA.

"It was a real honor to give him the news," Bell said. "He doesn't always show it, but he was really excited. He knows how important it is, and he's earned it. He has quietly become one of the best pitchers in baseball."

Luis Castillo made the Opening Day start last season and in two of the past three. He has shoulder pain and is expected to miss at least his first start of the season.

Sonny Gray was the Opening Day starter in 2020 but was traded to the Minnesota Twins for right-handed prospect Chase Petty before camp opened.

"I was surprised to be named because Castillo has been our guy for the last couple years," Mahle said. "He still is our guy, but I'm really excited."

Mahle has made 94 big league starts with the Reds and has a 26-31 career record.

"The last couple seasons I took a big step from the two previous seasons," Mahle said. "I was able to compete on a more consistent basis."

Also Wednesday, the Reds signed right-hander Hunter Strickland. The eight-year veteran made 57 relief appearances with the Rays, Angels and Brewers last season.

"He's going to pitch on the back end of our bullpen," Bell said.

Third baseman Mike Moustakas left Tuesday's game with a sore left shoulder after diving for a groundball. Bell said Moustakas will be held out of games until Saturday.