Nadal pulls out of Indian Wells, Miami events with injury
Rafael Nadal pulled out of the upcoming hardcourt tournaments at Indian Wells and Miami on Tuesday because of the left hip flexor injury that has sidelined him since the Australian Open.
The 22-time Grand
Slam champion tweeted about his withdrawals, which were expected but still raise questions about when he will be able to return to action.
“Took my time off, started rehab, gym and physiotherapy as instructed by the doctors,” Nadal wrote as part of a thread on Twitter that included videos showing him in the gym. “Getting ready to come back … in the best conditions.”
He is a three-time winner and reached the 2022 final at the BNP Paribas Open in California, where the men begin main-draw play on March 8. That will be followed by the Miami Open, another Masters 1000 tournament, where ATP action starts on
March 22 and Nadal last competed in 2017.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEEKS TO SHORTEN GAMES
College football administrators are looking at ways to reduce the number of plays in games in the name of player safety, with a tweak in clock operating procedures likely the first step.
The NCAA Football Rules Committee is meeting in Indianapolis this week, and recommendations it forwards and approves in the spring would take effect next season.
Steve Shaw, NCAA secretary-rules editor and officials coordinator, said the average number of plays per game in the
Bowl Subdivision has hovered at 180 the past three seasons. NFL games average 154.
Conference commissioners would like to cut the number to reduce the players’ potential injury exposures. The issue has taken on urgency because some teams will be playing more games as the
College Football Playoff expands. The playoff goes from four to 12 teams in the 2024-25 season, and further expansion is possible after that.
A proposal to let the game clock continue running when a team makes a first down, except in the last two minutes of a half, has broad support.
Currently, the clock stops on a first down until the referee gives the ready-for-play signal. A rules committee study last
season found about eight plays per game would be cut if the clock kept moving.
A more radical proposal would have the clock begin running once the ball is spotted after an incomplete pass. Currently, in both the college and pro game, the clock starts running once the ball is snapped. Tulane athletic director Troy Dannen, who chairs the Football Competition Committee, said there is minimal support for the clock change on incompletions.
ETC.
NHL: K’Andre Miller
●
of the New York Rangers has been suspended three games for unsportsmanlike conduct for spitting at Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty.
Miller, 23, was given a match penalty and ejected late in the first period of the Rangers’ game against the Kings on Sunday. In a message posted on social media Monday, Miller called his actions “completely accidental.” … The Rangers acquired Patrick Kane in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks. The Rangers sent a conditional second-round pick and a future fourth-rounder to Chicago and a thirdrounder in 2025. Kane, 34, won the Stanley Cup three times with the Blackhawks and was playoff MVP in 2013.
Soccer: After nearly
●
three decades — and 6 ½ months of agony this season — Cremonese has finally won a match in Serie A again. The promoted club beat Roma 2-1 with a late penalty from Daniel Ciofani after Giallorossi coach Jose Mourinho was sent off for dissent earlier in the match. Cremonese’s 30-match winless streak in Serie A stretching back to its last appearance in 1995-96 was tied for the Italian league’s longest with Ancona, which went winless between 1993 and 2004. Frank Tsadjout
put Cremonese ahead early on with a powerful shot, then Mourinho was shown a red card as the first half ended for vehement protests to the referee. Leonardo Spinazzola
equalized for Roma midway through the second half before a foul from Roma goalkeeper Rui Patricio set up Ciofani’s winner from the spot in the 83rd. … Phil Foden
scored in each half in Manchester City’s 3-0 win at second-tier Bristol City in the FA Cup, helping the team secure a place in the quarterfinals. … Juventus came back twice from a goal down to beat Torino 4-2 in a derby.