Miami, FL
Inter Miami and Kansas City might play the coldest soccer game ever. Will Messi?
The “Cold Weather Advisory” warns anyone in Kansas City that “dangerously cold wind chills as low as 20 below zero could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes.” And yet, on Wednesday night, with forecasted temperatures dipping below 4 degrees Fahrenheit, Sporting Kansas City and Inter Miami are scheduled to play a soccer game.
They were originally set to open their seasons Tuesday in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, but snow in Kansas City led to a one-day postponement. On Wednesday, however, it could be even colder. At 7 p.m., when the match is slated to kick off, the forecasted wind chill is -9 degrees; by 9 p.m., it could fall to -11.
It will be colder than any game in Major League Soccer’s 29-year history and perhaps one of the coldest soccer games ever recorded, anywhere.
And it has prompted a raft of questions, including: Will Lionel Messi, Miami’s peerless star, participate?
Inter head coach Javier Mascherano assured reporters Monday that Messi is “100% available,” no matter the weather. “I can assure you that Leo will play,” Mascherano said.
But, with the game rescheduled from Tuesday to Wednesday, Inter Miami rearranged its plans and is now scheduled to travel to Kansas City on Wednesday morning, a source familiar with the plans told Yahoo Sports. Naturally, fans are skeptical that Messi will join his teammates. And some are questioning whether the game should happen at all.
Why Miami vs. Kansas City will go on despite the cold
CONCACAF, the North and Central American soccer governing body that runs the Champions Cup, made the original decision to reschedule the match from Tuesday to Wednesday “due to adverse weather conditions expected to impact the Kansas City metropolitan area in the next 24 hours, including significant snow accumulation,” it said in a Monday statement.
“The decision,” it added, was “made to prioritize player and fan safety, and in close coordination with the two participating clubs and the local authorities.”
On Wednesday, snow is less of a worry. It is expected to stop falling late Tuesday night. And the underground heating system at Children’s Mercy Park should make Sporting KC’s field playable.
The worry, instead, is hypothermia, or frostbite, and other health issues — from illness to standard injuries — that might stem from the extreme cold.
FIFPRO, an umbrella group representing players’ unions across the soccer globe, “recommends that training and matches be canceled and rescheduled when the air temperature is less than -15 Celsius [5 degrees Fahrenheit] and when the Wind Chill Temperature is less than -27 Celsius [-16.6 degrees Fahrenheit].”
But there are no CONCACAF or FIFA rules that account for cold temperatures. In Kansas City, there is an expectation that the game will go ahead as (re)planned — in part because there is no room for further postponement on the schedule. This is the first leg of a two-leg knockout matchup. The second leg is set for next Tuesday. And for the winner, the first leg of the following round is the week after that. On weekends, beginning Saturday, there are MLS matches. (Miami’s league opener, originally set for Saturday at 2:30 p.m., has been pushed back to 7:30 p.m. to accommodate CONCACAF’s 24-hour postponement.)
The only viable workaround would have been for Inter Miami to agree to host the first leg and travel to Kansas City for the second leg next week — when KC temperatures will rise back to normal, all the way into the 50s. But now, it is too late to flip the legs. (When asked to confirm that the club was offered this option, and to explain why that switch didn’t happen, Inter Miami spokespeople did not respond to messages. CONCACAF also did not respond to emails seeking comment.)
When is it too cold for soccer?
There are no rules in part because there is very little precedent for soccer in such cold weather. Most leagues in countries with frigid winters, such as those in Scandinavia and Russia, break for January and February. MLS seasons end in early December and begin in late February, thereby avoiding the worst of the winter months.
The coldest MLS game on record was a March 3, 2019, match in Colorado, which clocked in at 18 degrees Fahrenheit. The coldest game between MLS teams was the Feb. 20, 2018, clash between the Colorado Rapids and Toronto FC in the CONCACAF Champions League — which has traditionally started a week or two before the MLS regular season.
That Colorado-Toronto game was around 5 degrees Fahrenheit at kickoff, and 3 degrees by conclusion, with the wind chill dipping well below -10 degrees.
It was then surpassed as the coldest high-level game on United States soil in February 2022, when the U.S. men’s national team played Honduras in a World Cup qualifier in Minnesota. The temperature that day was 2 degrees Fahrenheit at kickoff, with a wind chill of -14. Honduras had to substitute multiple players due to the “extreme climate conditions.” Their coach was incredulous.
Most weather-related controversies, though, have centered on snow. Last year’s March 2 match between Real Salt Lake and LAFC, played on a snow-covered pitch in Utah, was branded an “absolute joke” by LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo.
Generally, however, clubs in cold-weather cities embrace adverse conditions. In Colorado, where it will also be around 4 degrees Fahrenheit for Tuesday’s Champions Cup game between the Rapids and LAFC, the Rapids appeared to subtweet Inter Miami’s concern about the conditions in Kansas City. (Inter’s nickname is the Herons.)
Globally as well, games are occasionally postponed due to snow or heavy rain, but very rarely due to cold. In Siberia, a 2018 Russian Premier League game was played amid a wind chill of -13 degrees Fahrenheit. Russian soccer rules stated teams could refuse to play if temperatures dropped below -15 degrees Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit), but the temp that day at kickoff was -13.9 Celsius (6.98 Fahrenheit). There is no such rule in CONCACAF.
So the Kansas City-Miami match will likely go ahead. Messi’s participation, therefore, is a decision for him and Inter Miami. Playing could jeopardize his health in the short and medium term for the 2025 season ahead. Staying home could jeopardize Inter’s run in the Champions Cup, one of their priority competitions.
The Miami Dolphins now know who and when they will play in the upcoming preseason. The Dolphins first two games will be on the road against the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions then finally finishing at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars. It’s expected that the Dolphins will have joint practices with their opponents leading up to their games.
You can check out that story here, and the rest of the day’s round-up below.
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Introductory news conference for new Suns GM Brian Gregory
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The Miami Heat experienced one of their toughest seasons in recent memory.
Going 37-45, Miami suffered its first losing record since 2018-19.
The Jimmy Butler drama ultimately led to trading the star forward just two years removed from him leading the Heat to the 2023 NBA Finals.
The Heat emerged from the play-in to make the playoffs as an eighth seed only to have the Cleveland Cavaliers sweep them in the first round. Miami lost Game 4 by 55 points, suffering the worst margin of defeat in a game to close a series.
Through it all, Chris Quinn remained steady.
League sources say the Heat’s associate head coach helped keep Miami together and made sure the team didn’t go “sideways.”
Now, Quinn is a head coach candidate for the Phoenix Suns, who also experienced a disappointing and drama-filled season that ended with just 36 wins and the firing of Mike Budenholzer after one season.
Cleveland Cavaliers assistants Jordan Ott and Johnnie Bryant, Oklahoma City Thunder assistant Dave Bliss, Minnesota Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori, Brooklyn Nets assistant Steve Hetzel, Dallas Mavericks assistant Sean Sweeney, New Orleans Pelicans assistant James Borrego, Suns assistant David Fizdale and Quinn are candidates for the job, league sources confirmed to The Arizona Republic this week.
Quinn has been an assistant under Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra since 2015. He previously worked as an assistant for the Heat’s G League team, Sioux Falls Skyforce, in the 2014-15 season.
He also played three seasons for the Heat, with the first two under Pat Riley (2006-08) and the third one for Spoelstra (2008-09).
Quinn is Spoelstra’s “right hand man” when it comes to in-game adjustments, sources say. He has been in contention for NBA head coaching vacancies in recent years.
Quinn’s ability to connect with players is deemed impressive. He’s big on player development as evidenced by him leading the charge to have coaches available 24/7 for players to work on their game.
A Notre Dame graduate, Quinn played a role in the development of shooting guard Tyler Herro, who became a first-time All-Star for the Heat this season.
Herro averaged a career-high 23.9 points in his sixth NBA season out of Kentucky.
Quinn was a director of player development on the collegiate level at Northwestern before joining the Heat.
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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A man wanted on two counts of murder in Venezuela was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at a Broward apartment building on Thursday.
CBS News Miami was there for the arrest of the man—whose identity ICE has asked us not to disclose—as part of a ride-along with the law enforcement agency.
With growing questions and concerns about immigration enforcement and removal operations, CBS Miami had been requesting a ride-along since the new administration took over in January.
That request was granted Thursday, and our cameras were rolling for the targeted enforcement operation arranged by ICE.
CBS News Miami did not have any control over which operation we were allowed to witness.
Operation begins with briefing and strategy in Miramar
The day started around 10:30 a.m. at the agency’s facility in Miramar with a quick rundown of the plan.
“He’s a foreign fugitive wanted for double murder out of Venezuela,” one man explained to the team. “The other male, the friend who was helping him with the car issues—we’re going to try to arrest him too… He hasn’t been accounted for by us yet, so we’re going to try to get a two-for-one.”
After a moment for questions, the team geared up with protective equipment and headed out.
ICE Assistant Field Office Director Mitchell Diaz said they are simply continuing the work they’ve always done.
“This is what we do every day,” Diaz said. “There’s no change from this current administration to the prior administration or any other administration before that. We want to make sure that we’re protecting the community, the public, and national security.”
Surveillance leads agents to Broward arrest
Thursday’s investigation led officers to an apartment building near Sunrise. Surveillance had suggested the target would leave for work around 1 p.m. By 1:50 p.m., agents had him in sight.
ICE requested that his name and face not be shared publicly as the case remains pending. Officials say the man, in his late twenties, is wanted in Venezuela for two counts of first-degree murder, organized crime, and aggravated assault.
Records indicate he traveled through Colombia and Brazil before entering the United States illegally. ICE reports he has been a fugitive since 2018. He will face an immigration judge in the U.S. before being returned to Venezuela to face charges.
Diaz emphasized that immigration arrests like this one are administrative, not criminal—though that doesn’t mean they’re without risk.
“There are always nerves. The officer safety aspect of it—this is like every law enforcement agency,” Diaz said. “These are brave men that are going out there every day to ensure that not only national security but the community and the public are safe from these individuals.”
Questions surround immigration practices and public perception
ICE recently touted the arrest of more than 1,100 undocumented immigrants in Florida over the span of a week in an operation dubbed Operation Tidal Wave. But Diaz insisted that these were not “raids” as some critics describe.
“These are targeted enforcement actions. Raids are different,” he explained. “A raid could be based on employment inspections just to ensure that the employer is following U.S. laws and immigration laws. A lot of these individuals that may be part of a raid may be working with fraudulent documents, Social Security numbers, and fraudulent employment cards. So raids are completely different than what ICE does as to fugitive operations.”
During the ride-along, officers also arrested a second individual who admitted to being in the U.S. illegally.
Following the arrests, the team returned to Miramar, where both individuals were fingerprinted and processed to determine if they appear in any law enforcement databases. They will remain in ICE detention until they appear before an immigration judge in the coming days.
CBS News Miami asked ICE about reports of people being arrested outside immigration courts. Officials stressed that such arrests are part of targeted enforcement, not random sweeps.
We also inquired about concerns over parents being deported without their children. ICE responded that parents are given the choice to take their children with them or to leave them in the custody of someone within the U.S.
According to ICE, individuals with a final order of removal—or who illegally re-entered the U.S. after being previously deported—are subject to immediate removal. Others, they say, are afforded due process under immigration law.
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