NFL owners approve a radical overhaul to kickoff rules
Kickoff returns are returning to the NFL.
Team owners on Tuesday approved a new rule that will take what essentially had become “a dead play” and make it an integral part of the game again.
“We feel this is a great day for the NFL,” said Saints special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi, who was heavily involved in creating the framework for the new hybrid kickoff.
The major overhaul to special teams — which has been in the works for years — takes elements of the kickoff rules used in the XFL and tweaks them for use in the NFL beginning in 2024. The rule will be in play for one season on a trial basis and then be subject to renewal in 2025.
NFL Competition Committee chairman Rich McKay said the new rule passed by a 29-3 to vote.
There were 1,970 touchbacks on kickoffs last season that now could be returns. There were 92 fair catches last season that are no longer allowed. Any ball caught in the field of play must be returned.
MLB
LEFT-HANDER MCFARLAND ACQUIRED BY THE A'S >> Lefthander T.J. McFarland was acquired by the Oakland Athletics from the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday for cash and was added to the 40-man roster.
The 34-year-old agreed to a minor league contract with the Dodgers on Jan. 26 and had a 1.35 ERA in seven spring training games.
He made three relief appearances last year with the New York Mets, going 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA. McFarland was 5-2 with a 2.30 ERA in 44 relief appearances at Triple-A with Baltimore's Norfolk farm team and the Mets' Syracuse affiliate.
Women's basketball
UTAH COACH SAYS TEAM WAS SHAKEN AFTER EXPERIENCING RACIST HATE DURING NCAA TOURNAMENT >> Utah coach Lynne Roberts said her team experienced a series of “racial hate crimes” after arriving at its first NCAA Tournament hotel and was forced to change accommodations during the event for safety concerns.
Roberts revealed what happened after Utah lost to Gonzaga in the second round of the NCAAs on Monday night. Roberts didn't go into detail but said there were several incidents that happened Thursday night after the team arrived in the Spokane, Washington, area for the tournament and they were disturbing to the traveling party to the point there were concerns about safety.
Utah was staying about 30 miles away in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and was relocated to a different hotel on Friday.
Tony Stewart, an official with the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations, said in a news conference Tuesday the Utes were walking from the hotel to a restaurant when a truck with a Confederate flag drove up. The driver began using racist language, including the N-word.
College football
WISCONSIN, CAL ANNOUNCE HOME-AND-HOME FOOTBALL SERIES FOR 2029 AND 2030 >>
Wisconsin and Cal will play a home-and-home series in 2029 and 2030.
Under the agreement that was announced Tuesday, Wisconsin will play at California on Sept. 1, 2029. Cal will visit Wisconsin on Aug. 31, 2030.
Cal and Wisconsin haven't faced each other since 1990. California leads the series 5-1, with Wisconsin winning in 1946.
WASHINGTON HIRES ATHLETIC DIRECTOR CHUN AWAY FROM RIVAL WASHINGTON STATE >> Washington is hiring athletic director Pat Chun away from Apple Cup rival Washington State, reaching across the state to fill its AD job about a week after it surprisingly came open, a person with direct knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal was still being finalized and Washington was preparing an official announcement. ESPN first reported that Washington was finalizing a deal for Chun.