Not all breakups are created equal.

Some are ugly, with one party still hanging on when everyone else knows it’s over. Others are more mutual as the sides recognize that the spark is gone. Sam Darnold and the New York Jets fall into the latter, having gone through a breakup that didn’t require a restraining order attached to it.

Darnold had to go elsewhere to find success, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t still look back on his time with the Jets fondly. During an event at a Raising Canes in Seattle on Feb. 10, Darnold was asked about his message to the Jets fans who continue to support him.

‘That’s all you can ask for as a player is to feel supported, especially by the team that drafted you,’ Darnold said, via FanSided’s Justin Fried.

‘I always look at myself and feel like I could’ve done a lot more for that franchise.”

Darnold only lasted three seasons with the Jets after the team selected him with the No. 3 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. He led the team to a 13-25 record in 38 starts, tossing 45 touchdowns to 39 interceptions. Since New York owned the No. 2 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Jets opted to move on and select Zach Wilson.

It was a move that reset the rookie quarterback contract window and aligned Wilson with the team’s new coaching staff, led by Robert Saleh.

Darnold was traded to the Carolina Panthers that offseason, where he spent two seasons before becoming a backup quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. After a breakout year for the Minnesota Vikings, Darnold signed with the Seahawks in free agency last offseason.

The quarterback proved the breakout was no fluke, leading Seattle to a 14-3 regular season record and a win in Super Bowl 60 – the second Super Bowl win in franchise history.

While Darnold is experiencing plenty of success with his new team, the Jets remain mired in mediocrity and searching for an answer at quarterback. Despite that reality, Jets fans still showed plenty of support for their former signal-caller in the Super Bowl.

“The fact that [Jets fans] are able to support me even through that means a lot,” Darnold said.

The problems with the Tennessee women’s basketball team’s start with head coach Kim Caldwell.

In Caldwell’s second season as head coach, Tennessee has five ranked losses of 15 points or more, including a 30-point loss to No. 1 UConn and a 43-point defeat to No. 3 South Carolina. The latter is the largest margin of defeat in Tennessee women’s basketball history. What’s more, three of those losses to college basketball’s top team include 20 turnovers.

But, after the gut-wrenching loss to South Carolina, a frustrated Caldwell seemed to lay the responsibility at her players’ feet.

‘We just had a lot of quit in us tonight,’ Caldwell said. ‘And that’s been something that’s been consistent with our team is ― we’re not comfortable, and things don’t go our way, and I have a team that’ll just quit on you. And you can’t do that in big games, can’t do that anytime in the SEC, but you certainly can’t do that at a program like this.’

Why does Caldwell’s team seem to unravel, instead of staying composed when the pressure is on?

‘That’s a question for them, about why they can’t stick together,’ Caldwell said.

In case it wasn’t clear, Caldwell’s words seem to indicate the issues plaguing the Lady Vols are on the players and not her. However, the way Tennessee shows up in big games and the day-to-day grind of the season matters. For example, after a 77-62 loss to unranked Mississippi State on Jan. 29, Caldwell seemed stunned when, ahead of the game, her team was late to warmups.

She revealed to the media that she told her team during shootaround she hadn’t seen that version of them ‘about 20, 25 days’ and it was starting to ‘creep back in.’ (Transparently, creeping was probably putting it lightly. It’s oozing at this point.) Yet, 10 days before blaming her players, Caldwell said how the team carries itself is her responsibility.

‘It’s my fault. I’m the coach,’ she said about her team showing up late. ‘I can sit here and be frustrated all I want with them, but if I’m seeing it, it’s my job to fix it. And, I obviously didn’t fix it.’

So, what changed between January 29 and February 8?

Tennessee played four games during that stretch, losing three of the four by an average of 29 points. It hosted Mississippi State before three road games against UConn, Georgia and South Carolina. The team’s only win was in overtime, 82-77, against unranked Georgia. The victory certainly helps, but losing massive matchups against the Huskies and Gamecocks at this stage have to hurt potential NCAA tournament seeding and morale, for that matter.

Tennessee was actually tied with UConn at halftime of its Feb. 1 matchup. However, with every mistake the Lady Vols made in the second half, the Huskies made them pay. Tennessee didn’t score for nearly five minutes in the third quarter, and the brutal tendencies the team built throughout the season were exploited.

For every play taken off, bad shot or possession without moving the ball, UConn scored on the other end. Eventually, the lead ballooned to 30 points, and the Lady Volunteers lost, 96-66, to one of their biggest rivals. It was a far cry from Caldwell’s statement win over UConn, 80-76, just a year ago, and the blame began shifting to her players.

‘They have to fix it,’ Caldwell said after the South Carolina loss. ‘They have to decide they want to fix it.’

With so much turmoil under Caldwell’s leadership, it begs the question: Is it time for Tennessee fans to panic? Is Caldwell already on the hot seat?

No, but her seat’s likely, at the very least, starting to boil.

In 2024, Caldwell was a bold hire by Tennessee, having coached at DI Marshall from 2023-24 but having no ties to the Lady Vols ― a departure from the program’s track record. Before her arrival, she had a 217-31 career record and a Division II national title while at Glenville State.

The Lady Volunteers coach introduced a system that includes an up-tempo pace, hockey-style substitutions and press defense. That system produced some early returns. After a 22-9 regular season during her first year and an NCAA tournament run to the Sweet 16, Caldwell was rewarded with a reworked contract and a one-year extension. Her annual base pay was raised from $750,000 to $1 million, making her one of the 25 highest-paid coaches in the country.

‘In just one season, we experienced firsthand how her winning formula can revolutionize the game with her dynamic, high-octane offense and relentless defense,’ Tennessee athletic director Danny White said last year. ‘The promising future of Lady Vols basketball is in great hands under Kim’s leadership, setting the stage for a remarkable journey ahead.”

While the system may have worked initially, it’s currently faltering in the face of elite competition. Additionally, fair or unfair, the Lady Vols’ seemingly disheveled state reflects Caldwell’s leadership. If her team isn’t responding to adversity when challenged or showing up to routine activities on time, it shows a disconnect with the locker room.

Not to mention, when walking in the shadow of Tennessee coaching legend Pat Summitt, the pressure and expectations are high. It comes with the job. Caldwell can’t be Summitt, nor should she try. Still, Summitt established a level of excellence and expectations still coursing through the program’s veins. Caldwell has to meet the moment. She doesn’t really have any other choice, or she could find herself on the hot seat before her contract is up.

What’s more, Tennessee’s schedule to close out the season includes five ranked teams between Feb. 12 and March 1. Four of those games are against teams ranked 10 or higher. After playing No. 4 Texas on Feb. 15, Tennessee faces No. 16 Ole Miss before entering an SEC gauntlet of No. 10 Oklahoma, No. 6 LSU and No. 5 Vanderbilt. The Commodores also pose another challenge: stopping guard Mikayla Blakes, the nation’s leading scorer.

If Caldwell wasn’t feeling the heat already, it’s suddenly getting much warmer.

I know this is going to shock you, but Detroit became the latest to shutter its doors to the college football postseason. 

I’m sure players are distraught at the thought of missing a few days in D-Town, in the dead of winter, to play in front of a couple thousand fans in an utterly meaningless bowl game.

Here’s a novel idea moving forward: Cut loose more struggling, straggling bowls, and make bowl season great again. 

That’s right, I said it. 

Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve reached the point where — I can’t believe I’m writing this — the idea any December ball is good ball is now a wild miscalculation. 

Most December bowl ball is unwatchable.

When you’re begging teams with losing records to play in bowl games that are nothing more than content for ESPN — and when some of those teams with losing records are turning down invitations — it may be time to start rethinking this process.

Detroit’s exit earlier this week followed game cancellations from the LA Bowl, and the Bahamas Bowl. A full-blown tragedy, I know. 

Northwestern played Central Michigan in December in the (insert sponsor) Detroit Bowl, and won 34-7. For those who pine for the pristine bowl age of days gone by, a Northwestern-Central Michigan game in September is called a body bag game. 

In other words, Northwestern is paying CMU to come to Evanston and take a whipping. But three months later, whoa, buddy, now we’re talking. 

Flat out electric. 

Can we cut to the chase here? If you’re watching Troy play Jacksonville State in the Salute To Veterans Bowl from Montgomery, Ala., on a random Tuesday in mid-December, you may have a problem.

Want a Salute to Veterans? Don’t make them watch that slop.

Or how about the 68 Ventures Bowl, where Louisiana and Delaware played to see who could reach seven wins first. I’m gonna venture to say no thanks.

There’s the Xbox Bowl and the Myrtle Beach Bowl. The Gasparilla and Boca Raton Bowl, and yep, something called the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl. 

And who could forget the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl? Want to impress me, Doggfather?

Bring your pals Ricky, Bubbles and Julian to the joint, and make the trophy a replica sterling silver double wide. Way she goes, bud.

Seriously, it’s almost as though those running college football — for the 1,000th time, the presidents of the SEC and Big Ten — are giving the non-SEC and Big Ten schools a ball of yarn stuffed with catnip and calling it bowl season. 

There were 41 bowl games this season, everyone. Forty-flipping-one.

Let’s do some quick math, shall we? That’s 82 of the 136 FBS teams playing in the postseason, or 60%.  

The elite of college football haven’t separated from the pack as much as they’ve allowed bowl season to water down the postseason — and by proxy, the sport itself.

College football was once built and sustained on its irreplaceable regular season of every game matters. Now it doesn’t, but that doesn’t mean you reinforce that now huge blindspot by underscoring it in the postseason. 

The new CFP is the marquee product of college football, and shouldn’t be dragged down by five-win Mississippi State praying coach Jeff Lebby gets a bucket of mayo dumped on his noggin — and avoids an eighth loss. He didn’t, for the record.

Playing in a bowl game is a reward, not a right depending on how many random cities can convince donors to come up with enough cash to pay teams and keep the stadium lights on. 

You want a December to remember? Lop off 20 bowls, leave 16 (not including the CFP bowls) and watch how important those games become to programs trying to find a way to the elite of the game. 

Watch how important it makes November — the regular season — with teams vying for one of those spots.

Watch attendance increase, and television ratings jump and college football postseason popularity take off like it never has before. Watch cities compete for games, and get creative with financial packages ― and watch college football make even more money.

Watch something good come out of this hellish train wreck of the past five seasons of paradigm change in the sport. 

Make bowl season great again.

How big was Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl 60 halftime show?

The ratings are out for Super Bowl 60 a few days after the big game concluded, and the numbers show that its halftime show was one of the most-watched of all time. Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny’s performance drew more than 100 million live viewers to NBC to watch the show.

In the days since, more figures have dropped to show just how wide of an audience Bad Bunny reached with his halftime show performance, which also featured Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin.

Here’s a closer look at five wild stats that show just how popular Bad Bunny’s halftime show really was:

Buy Seahawks championship pages, gear

How many people watched Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show?

Halftime show views (U.S. only): 128.2 million average viewers

According to a press release from NBC, which owned the broadcast rights to Super Bowl 60, Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show averaged 128.2 million viewers between 8:15-8:30 p.m. ET in the United States.

That would make Bad Bunny’s performance the third-most-watched Super Bowl halftime show in history, trailing Kendrick Lamar’s performance at Super Bowl 59 (133.5 million viewers) and Michael Jackson’s Super Bowl 27 halftime show (133.4 million viewers).

Nielsen, the media audience measurement firm, is expected to have more detailed viewership metrics from a global audience later in the week.

How many YouTube views does Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show have?

Halftime show YouTube views: Over 69 million

As of 1 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Feb. 11, three days after Super Bowl 60, the official, NFL-uploaded YouTube video of Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show has more than 69 million views.

For comparison, the YouTube video of Lamar’s halftime show performance from last year reached 50 million views in a similar, 72-hour time frame in the days following Super Bowl 59.

To date, Usher’s performance from the Super Bowl 58 halftime show has 38.2 million views two years after his performance.

How many social views does Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show have?

Halftime show social views: Over 4 billion

NBC’s press release from the evening of Tuesday, Feb. 10 said that Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show generated more than four billion views on social media within the first 24 hours after the performance.

The broadcast network stated that meant the performance at Super Bowl 60 was ‘the most-consumed halftime show of all-time on NFL social platforms.’

How many people watched Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show press conference?

Halftime show press conference views: 63 million

An Apple press release on Sunday, Feb. 8 stated that Bad Bunny’s halftime show press conference, which he conducted on Feb. 5, ‘became the most watched in Super Bowl history with more than 63 million views across an array of related content, including the live stream and social clips.’

How many people watched Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show on Telemundo?

Telemundo halftime show ratings: 4.8 million average viewers

Telemundo, the Spanish-language broadcast network owned by NBCUniversal, averaged 4.8 million viewers during Bad Bunny’s halftime show, according to NBC’s press release. That numbers was 1.5 million average viewers higher than the big game itself, which averaged 3.3 million viewers on Telemundo.

NBC’s press release stated that the Telemundo halftime show ratings made the Puerto Rican artist’s Super Bowl 60 performance ‘the most-watched Super Bowl halftime in Spanish-language history.’

Mauricio Pochettino has revealed that he told Donald Trump the U.S. men’s national team can win the World Cup on home soil this summer.

The USMNT head coach and U.S. president crossed paths in December at the World Cup draw in Washington, D.C.

Pochettino recounted the meeting during an appearance on the High Performance Podcast.

‘At the draw of the World Cup, I met Donald Trump for a few minutes. He asked me: ‘What do you think, coach. Can you win the World Cup?’

“I said, ‘Of course, Mr. President.’ Because it’s the USA. The American dream is there. The American culture is about being first, being number one. When we accepted the challenge to go there it’s because we really believe that we can win. 

‘After a year and a half working there, people start to feel that we can win. The last few camps in October and November, we competed against very good teams and we started to show that possibility to perform well.’

He added: ‘We are going to have the support of a massive country and all its fans. To try and push us to run, score goals, and make tackles. I think that will be a massive boost for us.’

The USMNT had an excellent end to 2025, winning four of its last five matches including a 5-1 thrashing of Uruguay in its last game of the year.

Pochettino’s side has been drawn into Group D alongside Australia, Paraguay and a European team yet to be determined.

Should it advance, the U.S. would move onto the knockout stage where it would have to win five consecutive matches to take home the World Cup.

In its entire history, the USMNT has won just one World Cup knockout match.

Pochettino’s right-hand man, assistant coach Jesus Perez, also appeared on the podcast and said that the team lacked ‘basics’ when the pair took over in the fall of 2024.

‘We found that there was a lack of basics for whatever reason,’ Perez said. ‘They (the USMNT) were in a transition. 

‘What we did was assess things and implement our vision. We didn’t go there to teach anyone, to show them how to do things. Just to convince a group of players and staff that we can be competitive.’

Rising talents in women’s college basketball like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers will officially make their debuts for the senior national team in games next month.

The trio of young WNBA stars were named to Team USA’s roster for a qualifying tournament for the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from March 11-17.

Olympic gold medal winners Kahleah Copper, Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young are on the roster. Veterans Dearica Hamby, Rhyne Howard and Aliyah Boston will also represent for the Americans.

In addition to Clark, Reese and Bueckers, other players making their senior national team debut include Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen.

Notably absent from the roster — which was selected by managing director Sue Bird — are Napheesa Collier, two-time MVP Breanna Stewart and reigning WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson. But it’s worth noting that the Americans are already qualified for the World Cup, which they accomplished when a Kara Lawson-coached group of college players won the AmeriCup last summer. So, the stakes for this qualifying tournament aren’t all that high.

Collier is recovering from surgery on her ankles, and Team USA says Stewart will join the squad for its pre-tournament training camp in Miami, Florida on March 7-8.

Team USA says head coach Kara Lawson will lead the team for part of the tournament because it collides with the start of the NCAA Tournament.

‘Lawson will return to Duke to prepare for the NCAA Tournament prior to the tournament ending, and an assistant coach will sit in the first chair for the remaining games,’ USA Basketball said in a press release.

Lawson’s Duke Blue Devils — now winners of 15 straight games and in first place in the ACC — will be in the thick of March Madness preparation. The ACC Tournament will end on March 8, Selection Sunday is March 15, and NCAA Tournament games will begin on March 20. Another Duke staffer, associate head coach Tia Jackson, will serve as a scout coach in San Juan.

On the court, Lawson will be assisted by a trio of WNBA head coaches in the Indiana Fever’s Stephanie White, Golden State Valkyries’ Natalie Nakase of Phoenix Mercury’s and Nate Tibbetts. Jose Fernandez, formerly the longtime coach at USF who is now the head coach of the Dallas Wings, will also serve as a scout coach.

The first of Team USA’s five games in Puerto Rico is March 11 vs. Senegal.

The FIBA Women’s World Cup begins on Sept. 4 in Berlin, Germany.

A mic’d up clip the NFL released after Super Bowl 60 may have revealed why New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye struggled so much in the big game.

The clip features mic’d up Seattle Seahawks safety Julian Love telling his teammates that he figured out a tell Maye has when dropping back to pass. The second-year quarterback appeared to be giving away his intention for where he wanted to throw the ball when he reached the top of his dropback.

‘Classic young quarterback,’ Love says in the clip. ‘As soon as that back foot hits, he’s going to where he wants, but he’s pausing for a second to confirm that he’s open.’

Later on in the game, Love took advantage of his intel and intercepted Maye on a downfield pass attempt. He returned his interception 35 yards and back into Patriots’ territory. It led to another Seahawks field goal to extend their fourth-quarter lead.

Buy Seahawks championship pages, gear

Love was not the only Seahawks defender who sniffed out the tells from the AFC-champion Patriots in Super Bowl 60. Cornerback Devon Witherspoon told SiriusXM NFL Radio after the game that Seattle’s defense also figured out some tells from New England’s offensive linemen.

‘We had a tell on their guards and their tackles, how they like to set,’ Witherspoon said. ‘They’re gonna overset on certain rushes, and they’re gonna fall for certain moves.’

Witherspoon recorded a sack and three quarterback hits in the Super Bowl, and the Seahawks’ defense was credited with 28 pressures by Next Gen Stats – the most Maye had ever faced in his career. Rookie left tackle Will Campbell allowed 14 of those pressures – the most by any player in a single game (regular season or postseason) this year.

As Seattle’s pass-rush consistently beat the Patriots’ linemen while the Seahawks’ secondary had a tell on Maye, the young quarterback struggled for most of the game.

Maye finished the Super Bowl with a 62.8% completion rate, 295 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Prior to the fourth quarter, Seattle’s defense held him to a 44.4% completion rate and 60 passing yards.

The Patriots’ second-year quarterback’s struggles for most of the game earned him a 30.0 grade on Pro Football Focus (PFF), the lowest in any game of his career.

Detroit Pistons centers Isaiah Stewart and Jalen Duren have been suspended for their roles in a brawl during a game against the Charlotte Hornets on Monday, Feb. 9.

Stewart’s suspension is for seven games, while Duren gets two games, the league announced Wednesday.

Hornets suspensions include Moussa Diabate (four games) and Miles Bridges (four games).

This marks the fifth time Stewart has been suspended during his six-year career.

The brawl began after Diabate was fouled by Duren with more than seven minutes remaining in the third quarter. The players exchanged words and then Duren shoved Diabate in the face. Bridges stepped in and shoved Duren before Diabate threw a punch at Duren and had to be held back by coaches and teammates, according to the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network.