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
No. 13 Michigan State chasing season sweep of Indiana
Jan 13, 2026; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State Spartans center Carson Cooper (15) dunks the ball over Indiana Hoosiers forward Tucker Devries (12) and forward Nick Dorn (7) during the second half at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Dale Young-Imagn Images No. 13 Michigan State picked up a valuable road win on Thursday to enhance its NCAA Tournament resume.
The Spartans won’t get much time to savor it, however, as they face Indiana on Sunday afternoon in Bloomington, Ind.
The Spartans knocked off No. 8 Purdue, 76-74, for their third straight win and fifth over a ranked opponent. Michigan State (23-5, 13-4 Big Ten) was projected as a No. 4 seed entering the contest but could move up to a No. 3 or even No. 2 seed with a strong finish.
“They’ve got a hell of a team, it was just our night,” Spartans coach Tom Izzo said of the Boilermakers. “They made 3s. We weathered the storm of all those 3s. To do that on the road in Mackey Arena, I’ll give my team some credit on that.”
It was Michigan State’s first win at Purdue since a 94-79 decision on Feb. 20, 2014. The Spartans had lost seven straight games on Purdue’s home floor.
“I did think we played with a different mentality that we haven’t been playing with as much lately,” Izzo said. “So hopefully that can catapult us. Now we go home, get a quick rest, quick turnaround and then go to Indiana.”
The Spartans, who had four players in double figures, shot 52.7% from the floor, including 57.7% in the second half. They also committed just six turnovers.
“All in all, we couldn’t play much better,” Izzo said.
Now, the Spartans will look for their second win over the Hoosiers (17-11, 8-9) this season. Michigan State rolled to an 81-60 victory in the first matchup on Jan. 13 behind a big performance from point guard Jeremy Fears Jr., who racked up 23 points and 10 assists.
Indiana is desperate for a quality win to improve its chances of getting an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Hoosiers have lost three straight following a stretch of five wins in six games.
They were defeated on the road by Illinois and Purdue before a damaging 72-68 home loss Tuesday to unranked Northwestern.
“It was a tough loss. We have a big home stand here,” coach Darian DeVries said. “This was the first game of it. We’re at that point in the year where games have become very meaningful and it was an opportunity. We certainly wanted to get started off on the front of the home stand with a good note. You know, didn’t happen, so we have to make sure that we put it away. We got a big game on Sunday and then we’ve got to come ready to go.”
The Hoosiers were outscored 39-26 in the second half and missed 11 straight field goal attempts during crunch time.
“The path forward is just keep fighting, keep pushing forward,” DeVries said. “The Illinois and the Purdue losses were tough. They were two tough games, two tough teams. Not a lot of people going in there and winning. I thought our guys were ready (Tuesday). Thought they came out and had good focus in practice, good energy. Thought they came out and played well the first half. Unfortunately, the second half we weren’t good enough.”
Lamar Wilkerson (21.0 points per game) has led the team in scoring the last six games. The Hoosiers will need a big game from him to pull off the upset on Sunday.
–Field Level Media
Sports
NYCFC visits Philadephia, hoping to get on winning track
Feb 1, 2026; Austin, Texas, USA; New York City FC coach Pascal Jansen looks on after a win in a MLS preseason match between Austin FC at Q2 Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Jefferson-Imagn Images The Philadelphia Union and visiting New York City FC will both look to respond from disappointing away results when they meet on Sunday in Chester, Pa.
As the winner of the 2025 Supporters’ Shield, awarded to the team with the best regular-season finish, the Union (0-1-0, 0 points) suffered one of the MLS opening weekend’s most shocking results in last Saturday’s 1-0 loss at a D.C. United team that finished 2025 with the worst MLS record.
Former Union striker Tai Baribo scored the lone goal for his new club late in the first half. And a red card on the hour mark to Philadelphia Ezekiel Alladoh for an obscene gesture toward an opponent hurt the Union’s comeback chances. It also means Alladoh will be suspended on Sunday.
But after beginning their 2026 schedule with a 5-0 victory at Defence Force in a Concacaf Champions Cup match three days before the league opener, Philadelphia manager Bradley Carnell was able to rest several regulars in Thursday’s home return leg (a 7-0 win).
“It’s only as good as we want it to be, right?” Carnell said of the rest. “I mean we have to apply it in the right way, and just because you’re rested, it doesn’t mean — it’s only an ingredient for success. It doesn’t mean that the success is there. So we have to work really hard at it to make it count.”
New York City (0-0-1, 1 point) earned a 1-1 draw at the LA Galaxy in their opener last Sunday, but that felt more like a defeat after failing to capitalize on a man advantage for the final 26 minutes plus stoppage time.
Nicolas Fernandez Mercau scored the visitors’ lone goal from the penalty spot as they began the season without Alonso Martinez, who led NYCFC in scoring the previous two seasons but suffered a torn ACL while on international duty last November.
But Cityzens manager Pascal Jansen insisted the performance showed his team is still capable of attacking production.
“We are fully aware of the fact that we are missing our No. 1 No. 9,” he said. But the fact is … If you see, if we are able to add maybe 20% more quality, better decision-making, we’ll get the goals …”
–Field Level Media
–Field Level Media
Sports
Inter Miami looks to get offense going against Orlando
Feb 21, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Inter Miami CF forward Lionel Messi (10) moves the ball against Los Angeles FC midfielder Mathieu Choinière (66) during the second half at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-Imagn Images Inter Miami led the MLS with 81 regular-season goals last season.
Surprisingly, the defending champions didn’t find the back of the net a single time in their 2026 opener.
Inter Miami look to get the attack moving on Sunday night when they travel north to face Orlando City.
Miami lost 3-0 at Los Angeles FC last weekend when soccer icon Lionel Messi managed four shots and all of them were off target.
It certainly wasn’t the type of season debut Miami coach Javier Mascherano was expecting.
“We clearly know we have a lot to improve,” Mascherano said. “We need to keep building on the positive things we’ve done, correct the mistakes we made, and keep moving forward.”
Miami defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps in the MLS Cup and is reportedly set to visit the White House next Thursday, two days before a road match against D.C. United.
Messi did score a goal in a friendly this past Thursday when Inter Miami closed out their Champions Tour with a 2-1 victory over Independiente del Valle of Ecuador at Bayamon, Puerto Rico.
Keeping two-time MLS MVP Messi in check has been a challenge for Orlando City. Messi has six goals in four matches across all competitions against the Lions.
Orlando City also got off to a rough start last weekend as they fell 2-1 to the visiting New York Red Bulls.
The Lions finally got on the board in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time when Tiago tapped in a pass from Zakaria Taifi.
New goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau was bombarded all game long and matched a franchise record with 11 saves.
Crepeau said the Lions might be the fresher side Sunday due to Miami’s trip to Puerto Rico.
“The mileage they have is a bit more challenging than us this week, since we stayed here, that is for sure,” Crepeau said. “But every team has their own decision on how to manage their preseason, manage their roster. Both teams, when they step on the field, will be ready to play.”
Orlando City won both regular-season meetings against Miami last season by a combined 7-1. Messi played in just one of those games.
Messi scored two goals when the squads met in the Leagues Cup semifinals with the Herons prevailing 3-1.
Orlando coach Oscar Pareja said his side can’t be consumed by the 38-year-old Messi.
“They have kept that identity that is normal and functional, just trying to play around Leo and what he contributes to that team,” Pareja said. “We have respect for them like any other, but now we’re focusing much more on us.”
–Field Level Media
No. 13 Michigan State chasing season sweep of Indiana
NYCFC visits Philadephia, hoping to get on winning track
