Sports
Cam Ward Opting Out of Pop-Tarts Bowl at Halftime Was Pretty Weird
Miami Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward did not seem to care much for the edible mascot celebration at the conclusion of the Pop-Tarts Bowl, as he benched himself at halftime.
Ward, who is widely expected to be one of the top two quarterbacks selected in the 2025 NFL Draft, decided to not return to Miami’s bowl game against Iowa State after halftime.
“I think all meetings with players and decisions like that, we make them in private and we keep them private. So I’ll prefer not to answer questions as it relates to that,” Miami head coach Mario Cristobal said when asked about Ward’s decision. “I know he played his best while he was in there.”
Ward was 12-of-19 passing for 190 yards and three touchdowns at half. It was a good showing in a game that had a lot of scoring, but the performance has been completely undermined by his decision.
And it is weird. But let’s not pretend like this is the first time it’s ever happened.
Just last year, wide receiver Malik Nabers played in LSU’s bowl game against Wisconsin just to break the program’s all-time receiving record and then sat out the entire second half, likely to preserve his health for the NFL Draft.
Ward’s decision to wave the white flag at halftime just looks a little bit strange because at that point, why play in the game at all? If injuries are truly the No. 1 concern, why risk something catastrophic happening within the first two quarters?
We’ve seen promising NFL careers slam on the brakes before they even get started because of severe injuries in bowl games. Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral and Michigan tight end Jake Butt are a few examples that immediately come to mind, but there are several more.
These players owe it to themselves to be as healthy as possible. These bowl games are meaningless, outside of hoisting a trophy with a built-in toaster.
Sure, in the era of name, image and likeness dominating the world of college football, star players like Ward and Nabers are compensated fairly for their contributions on the field. But they know a much bigger payday is coming in the NFL.
It’s yet to be determined whether that decision will raise any red flags for Ward’s draft stock. NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah stated that the situation is silly, while draft analyst Todd McShay criticized the decision.
The New York Giants currently have the No. 1 overall selection. While there’s no guarantee that GM Joe Schoen will be the man making the pick, he traveled to Orlando to watch Ward play in this game. As Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders showed off Giants-themed cleats before their Alamo Bowl matchup against BYU, the Giants preferred to watch Ward in person, but you have to wonder if they were caught off guard when he didn’t come out to play the second half.
It surely seems like whatever conversation was had between Ward and Cristobal came to the conclusion that they did not care about the Pop-Tarts Bowl and would rather see Ward cement himself as a top 10 NFL Draft pick.
Did Ward “quit on his team?” Possibly.
But it’s hard to criticize that decision when literally every NFL mock draft available has him slated to make tens of millions of dollars in just a few months. It’s a decision that any sane person would have made.
Sports
Report: RB David Montgomery 'wants out' of Detroit
Dec 25, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery (5) looks on before the game against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images Lions running back David Montgomery “wants out” of Detroit after three seasons, ESPN reported on Sunday.
Montgomery, however, immediately appeared to refute the report on X, posting: “Damn, Dmo told you that?”
The ESPN report claims the Lions would want “a decent Day 3 pick (possibly a fifth-rounder)” in the 2026 NFL Draft in return for Montgomery, who turns 29 in June and is owed $6 million next season.
The report follows general manager Brad Holmes’ remarks after the season about Montgomery being unhappy with his playing time in 2025. Sharing a backfield with Jahmyr Gibbs, Montgomery rushed for a career-low 716 yards and eight touchdowns in 17 games (no starts).
“Those are conversations that we’re going to have to have because I’ve got a lot of respect for that player,” Holmes said of Montgomery in January. “He deserves to be in a situation where his skillset can be utilized, and so yeah would love for it to be here, but if it can’t be here then you’d just love to see where could work out best for him.”
At the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis on Tuesday, Holmes said the situation with Montgomery is “fluid.” He signed a two-year extension during the 2024 season that runs through the end of the 2027 campaign.
“Yeah, I have been in touch with David’s agent, and his representation,” Holmes revealed. “Obviously, we love David, he’s a great player, we love to have him, you know, kind of want to put last year in the rear view, and just move forward. But, obviously, a player has to want to be at a certain place as well. The conversations are still fluid, but we’ll see how it goes.”
Montgomery has rushed for 2,506 yards and 33 touchdowns in 45 games (28 starts) in three seasons with Detroit (2023-25). He has 76 catches for 650 yards in that span.
He began his career with the NFC North rival Chicago Bears, who drafted him in the third round in 2019. Montgomery rushed for 3,609 yards and 26 scores in 60 games (51 starts) with the Bears (2019-22).
–Field Level Media
Sports
Yankees LHP Ryan Yarbrough joins U.S. roster for WBC
Jun 18, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees relief pitcher Ryan Yarbrough (33) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images New York Yankees left-hander Ryan Yarbrough was added to the Team USA roster for the upcoming World Baseball Classic on Sunday.
The 34-year-old reliever replaces Minnesota Twins right-hander Joe Ryan, who is dealing with low back tightness. Ryan moves into the designated pitcher pool, meaning he is eligible for a call-up after each round of the WBC.
Yarbrough went 3-1 with a 4.36 ERA and one save in 19 games (eight starts) during his first season with the Yankees in 2025, striking out 55 batters and walking 19 in 64 innings.
Ryan Yarbrough has been added to our roster for the World Baseball Classic!#ForGlory???? pic.twitter.com/RrtKJQ20gz
— USA Baseball (@USABaseball) March 1, 2026
Team USA will play its first game of the 2026 WBC on Friday night, meeting Brazil in a Pool B contest in Houston.
Yarbrough has a career record of 56-41 with a 4.22 ERA and four saves in 215 games (76 starts) with the Tampa Bay Rays (2018-22), Kansas City Royals (2023), Los Angeles Dodgers (2023-24), Toronto Blue Jays (2024) and Yankees. The side-arming southpaw signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal in November to return to New York in 2026.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Ex-pitcher Dan Serafini gets life sentence for '21 murder
Dan Serafini (file photo) pitched in MLB with seven teams. He was convited of first-degree murder. Former major league pitcher Dan Serafini was sentenced to life in prison without parole on Friday for the 2021 shootings of his in-laws in North Lake Tahoe, Calif.
Serafini, 52, was convicted in July of the first-degree murder of father-in-law Gary Spohr and the attempted first-degree murder of mother-in-law Wendy Wood during a burglary. Spohr, 70, died from a single gunshot and Wood, then 68, survived but died by suicide the following year.
In the courtroom on Friday in Auburn, Calif., Placer County prosecutor Morgan Gire described Spohr and Wood as loving grandparents.
“The impact of this attack has extended far beyond the immediate victims, deeply affecting family members and the broader community, and highlighting the lasting harm caused by deliberate violence,” Gire said.
Serafini, who pitched for six MLB teams from 1996 to 2007, addressed the court and maintained his innocence. He said he was out partying with his wife, Erin Spohr, at the time of the shooting and referred to himself as a “broken, imperfect man that makes mistakes,” according to MyNews4.
The Minnesota Twins selected Serafini, a native of the San Francisco area, with the No. 26 overall pick in the 1992 MLB Draft. He made his debut in 1996 and went on to appear in 104 games (33 starts) with the Twins, Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds and Colorado Rockies before his retirement in 2007.
He had a 15-16 record with a 6.04 ERA and one save. He threw 263 2/3 innings and struck out 127 batters.
–Field Level Media
Report: RB David Montgomery 'wants out' of Detroit
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