MARCO ISLAND, Fla. — So this is what the NFL and players are reduced to: Both sides are writing letters and issuing statements to and about each other, disputing “facts” about the sport’s first work stoppage since 1987.
The locked-out players wrote a letter to commissioner Roger Goodell on Saturday, responding to an e-mail he sent them Thursday and telling him, “Your statements are false.”
In a four-page letter, the 11 members of the NFL Players Association executive committee told Goodell that, during labor negotiations, the league’s owners did not justify “their demands for a massive giveback which would have resulted in the worst economic deal for players in major pro sports.”
• Former NFL wide receiver Drew Hill, a two-time Pro Bowler who was a key part of the Houston Oilers’ famed “Run and Shoot” offense of the 1980s, died at an Atlanta hospital Friday after suffering two massive strokes. He was 54.
Djokovic will improve to No. 2
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic beat Roger Federer 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 to stay undefeated this season and reach the BNP Paribas Open final while knocking the Swiss star from the No. 2 spot in the world.
Djokovic and Federer will switch spots when the latest rankings are released on Monday, with the Serbian moving up to No. 2 and Federer slipping to third.
Djokovic will play top-ranked Rafael Nadal in today’s final. Nadal rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the first set to beat Juan Martin del Potro 6-4, 6-4.
Klitschko defends WBC title
COLOGNE, Germany — Vitali Klitschko retained his WBC heavyweight title with a first-round knockout of Odlanier Solis, who injured his knee in the fall.
Klitschko’s right to Solis’ left temple staggered the Cuban, who wobbled then fell on his back and clutched his right knee.
Solis (17-1) managed to beat the count but was unsteady on his feet as referee Jose Guadalupe Garcia called the fight. Klitschko, 39, improved to 42-2.
The Factor wins Rebel Stakes
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. — The Factor took the lead at the start, poured on the speed in the stretch and easily won the $300,000 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park.
The 3-year-old colt’s third straight wire-to-wire victory gives trainer Bob Baffert a top contender for the Kentucky Derby on May 7.
Footnotes.
Fiesta Bowl officials are bracing for what could be a scathing report from an internal investigation of the event’s financial and political dealings, some of which may have skirted, or even broken, state and federal law.
• Matt Goss of Australia won the opening one-day cycling classic of the season by beating an eight-man sprint to the finish of the Milan-San Remo in Italy.
• Anna Holmlund of Sweden clinched the freestyle World Cup skicross title by winning the season finale in Myrkdalen-Voss, Norway, while Christopher Delbosco of Canada won the men’s event.
The Associated Press
