INDIANAPOLIS — One misstep by Robbie Hummel has put Purdue’s Final Four hopes in jeopardy.
The do-it-all junior forward will miss the remainder of the season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.
The injury occurred during the first half of No. 3 Purdue’s 59-58 victory over Minnesota on Wednesday. Purdue made the announcement after Hummel underwent an MRI examination Thursday.
Hummel ranks second on the team with 15.7 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.
• Missouri junior forward Justin Safford suffered a torn ACL in Wednesday’s victory over Colorado, and the injury will be assessed again next week.
MLS labor contract expires
NEW YORK — Major League Soccer’s collective bargaining agreement expired after players balked at a third short-term extension.
While the union’s decision left open the possibility of the league’s first strike, players said they won’t walk off just yet.
The sides, whose five-year contract initially was due to expire Jan. 31, have not met since Monday’s session in Washington.
“We have advised our players to keep working for the time being, but as of (today) they will be doing so without a CBA,” Major League Soccer Players Union executive director Bob Foose said. “In the meantime, all options are being considered as the process continues.”
• Wayne Bridge is refusing to play for England in the wake of teammate John Terry‘s alleged affair with his former girlfriend, saying his presence on the World Cup squad could be “divisive.”
• U.S. attacker Clint Dempsey, who has been sidelined since injuring his right knee Jan. 17, said he will be back in action by mid- March.
• Brazilian midfielder Anderson has a ruptured cruciate ligament in a knee that will cause him to miss the World Cup.
Kings’ Thompson out
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento Kings forward Jason Thompson, who is averaging 12.7 points and 8.8 rebounds, will miss up to two weeks with a lower back injury.
• The Memphis Grizzlies assigned rookie center Hasheem Thabeet to the Dakota Wizards of the NBA Development League. Thabeet, the second overall draft pick last year, averaged 2.5 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 50 games.
Footnotes.
San Antonio Silver Stars coach Dan Hughes is stepping down to become general manager on a full-time basis and promoted assistant Sandy Brondello to replace him.
• J.C. Elder, known as “Suitcase Jake” during his long tenure as a NASCAR crew chief, died Wednesday in Statesville, N.C. He was 73.
• Three gold medals have been stolen from the home of former Olympic swimmer Melissa Belote, who won them as a 15-year-old at the 1972 Games in Munich. Belote, 53, normally kept the medals in a safety-deposit box, but had put them underneath clothes in a dresser drawer at her Tempe, Ariz., home after taking them to an elementary school for a presentation.
