One hour before kickoff, the No. 18 Miami Hurricanes football team announced two players as “unavailable” for Tuesday’s Cheez-It Bowl game against No. 21 Oklahoma State. Miami’s policy for the 2020 season is to provide a “unavailability report” one hour before kickoff. Miami has announced that DT Jason Blissett and DB Amari Carter will be out against OSU.
Carter, a safety, has started nine games and taken 424 defensive snaps this season. His absence will likely result in more snaps for Bubba Bolden and Gurvan Hall as UM’s three-man safety rotation is reduced to two men. True freshman Brian Balom may also see more playing time.
Tennis champion Novak Djokovic is practicing at UCLA’s Los Angeles Tennis Center. Djokovic was training on campus on Wednesday ahead of the BNP Paribas Indian Wells Open, which starts on March 8 in the Palm Springs area.
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This will be Djokovic’s first appearance in the Indian Wells tournament in five years, dating back to 2019. Djokovic has been unable to attend many meets since the outbreak began due to COVID-19 limitations.
With Djokovic’s arrival on campus, a large crowd of UCLA students gathered in the tennis stadium to watch him practice. The tennis stadium is a popular route for students walking to and from campus to their dorms or apartments, so it’s not unexpected that many people discovered Djokovic was on campus and opted to watch. Following his practice, fans surrounded Djokovic on the UCLA tennis courts, seeking to take a picture or obtain a signature, according to Jack Nelson of the Daily Bruin. Chaos at the LATC, when a few fans stepped onto the court for autographs quickly turned into a throng around Djokovic at the end of his practice session.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion is the top-ranked tennis player in the 2024 ATP rankings. Djokovic, 36, is widely regarded as the best men’s tennis player of all time, having won the most Grand Slam championships among male tennis players. Copyright ABG-SI LLC. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. All rights reserved.
