Barcelona Open — Draper vows to overcome injury woes after first-round exit Jack Draper vowed to work his way out of his injury woes after being forced to retire with a right leg ‌problem midway through his first-round match against Tomas Etcheverry at the Barcelona Open ⁠on Monday.The 24-year-old, who returned to action in February after six months out due to a ‌niggling left arm injury, pulled up while trailing 1-4 in the deciding set ‌of his meeting with Argentine Etcheverry ‌to ⁠cast doubts on his fitness for the ⁠clay season.“Sad to retire in Barcelona. I’ve tried hard these last months to stay positive and give my all,” Draper, who tried ‌to soldier on with taping below his right knee, said in a post on social media.“It will take time but I will ‌work my way out of this. Thank you for all the support throughout this process.”After an early exit in ⁠Dubai in February, Draper shook off the cobwebs to beat 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic ‌at Indian Wells but his title defence in the Californian desert ended in the quarterfinals against Daniil Medvedev.The left-hander then suffered another early defeat in Miami and pulled out of Monte Carlo to protect his arm, but ‌hoped to kick-start his campaign in Barcelona ahead of the French Open that will begin on May 24.“I like how he plays, ⁠he’s a great fighter,” Etcheverry said of the former ⁠world number four, who has now slipped to 28th in the rankings.“Hopefully, he ‌can recover as soon as he can to get back on tour, because the tour likes him.”Published on Apr 14, 2026 #Barcelona #Open #Draper #vows #overcome #injury #woes #firstround #exit

Barcelona Open — Draper vows to overcome injury woes after first-round exit
Jack Draper vowed to work his way out of his injury woes after being forced to retire with a right leg ‌problem midway through his first-round match against Tomas Etcheverry at the Barcelona Open ⁠on Monday.
The 24-year-old, who returned to action in February after six months out due to a ‌niggling left arm injury, pulled up while trailing 1-4 in the deciding set ‌of his meeting with Argentine Etcheverry ‌to ⁠cast doubts on his fitness for the ⁠clay season.
“Sad to retire in Barcelona. I’ve tried hard these last months to stay positive and give my all,” Draper, who tried ‌to soldier on with taping below his right knee, said in a post on social media.
“It will take time but I will ‌work my way out of this. Thank you for all the support throughout this process.”
After an early exit in ⁠Dubai in February, Draper shook off the cobwebs to beat 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic ‌at Indian Wells but his title defence in the Californian desert ended in the quarterfinals against Daniil Medvedev.
The left-hander then suffered another early defeat in Miami and pulled out of Monte Carlo to protect his arm, but ‌hoped to kick-start his campaign in Barcelona ahead of the French Open that will begin on May 24.
“I like how he plays, ⁠he’s a great fighter,” Etcheverry said of the former ⁠world number four, who has now slipped to 28th in the rankings.
“Hopefully, he ‌can recover as soon as he can to get back on tour, because the tour likes him.”
Published on Apr 14, 2026
#Barcelona #Open #Draper #vows #overcome #injury #woes #firstround #exit

Sports news barcelona open, barcelona open 2026, barcelona open 2026 latest, barcelona open latest, jack draper, jack draper in barcelona open, jack draper on barcelona open exit April 14, 2026

Jack Draper vowed to work his way out of his injury woes after being forced to retire with a right leg ‌problem midway through his first-round match against Tomas Etcheverry at the Barcelona Open ⁠on Monday.

The 24-year-old, who returned to action in February after six months out due to a ‌niggling left arm injury, pulled up while trailing 1-4 in the deciding set ‌of his meeting with Argentine Etcheverry ‌to ⁠cast doubts on his fitness for the ⁠clay season.

“Sad to retire in Barcelona. I’ve tried hard these last months to stay positive and give my all,” Draper, who tried ‌to soldier on with taping below his right knee, said in a post on social media.

“It will take time but I will ‌work my way out of this. Thank you for all the support throughout this process.”

After an early exit in ⁠Dubai in February, Draper shook off the cobwebs to beat 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic ‌at Indian Wells but his title defence in the Californian desert ended in the quarterfinals against Daniil Medvedev.

The left-hander then suffered another early defeat in Miami and pulled out of Monte Carlo to protect his arm, but ‌hoped to kick-start his campaign in Barcelona ahead of the French Open that will begin on May 24.

“I like how he plays, ⁠he’s a great fighter,” Etcheverry said of the former ⁠world number four, who has now slipped to 28th in the rankings.

“Hopefully, he ‌can recover as soon as he can to get back on tour, because the tour likes him.”

Published on Apr 14, 2026

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#Barcelona #Open #Draper #vows #overcome #injury #woes #firstround #exit

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Just 41 TikTok-Approved Things You’ll Use Pretty Much Daily

The March Madness logo is pictured during a second-round game in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament between Nebraska Cornhuskers and Vanderbilt Commodores at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Saturday March 21, 2026.

The 2027 NCAA Tournament will officially expand to 76 teams following approval Thursday afternoon by the Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Committees, the Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Oversight Committees, the Division I Finance Committee, the Division I Board of Directors and the NCAA Board of Governors.

“Expanding the Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships is the right decision for the student-athletes and programs that will now have access to the greatest events in college sports,” Board of Directors chair and Virginia Tech president Tim Sands said in an NCAA-issued press release Thursday. “As NCAA leaders, we are especially excited to provide additional, highly competitive games for fans who look forward to March Madness every year.”

As part of the bigger tournament, the expansion adds three times the number of Tuesday and Wednesday games to the men’s tournament.

Adding these bids brings the total of tournament-eligible teams in men’s basketball to 21%, the NCAA confirmed.

In confirming the decision Thursday, the NCAA said the deal allows it to “award more than $131 million in new revenue distributions to member schools participating in the basketball tournaments over the remaining six years of the NCAA’s broadcast agreements.”

To create that revenue, the NCAA said the rights agreement is set to increase by $50 million per year over the next six years and it will open “new, previously restricted product categories for the NCAA Corporate Champions and Partners Program, including beer, wine, spirits, and hard seltzer, and allows for expanded in-game advertising opportunities during the linear and streaming coverage of the tournaments.”

When the 2027 NCAA Tournament begins the Tuesday after Selection Sunday, a total of 12 games — three per day at two locations — are part of the newly approved bracket before the traditional tournament start day of Thursday.

A look at the new bracket ?? pic.twitter.com/esm18WdUSJ
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) May 7, 2026

Dayton, Ohio, remains one site for the men’s tournament with a second site to be determined.

With the increase in teams and games, those games will no longer be called the “First Four.”

The NCAA will shift to a label of Opening Round. The teams eligible to play in the Opening Round will be the 12 lowest-seeded at-large teams and 12 lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers.

First Four contests in the women’s tournament have been single games at on-campus sites.

The change marks the first expansion of the tournament since the field moved from 65 to 68 teams with the addition of the First Four games in 2011. The field had previously been 64 or 65 teams since 1985.

The NCAA said it will also continue to provide transportation and funding for lodging, meals and other incidentals for teams in the expanded format.

–Field Level Media

#Deadspin #official #NCAA #tournaments #expand #76team #brackets">

mwasimuddin125 0

The March Madness logo is pictured during a second-round game in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament between Nebraska Cornhuskers and Vanderbilt Commodores at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Saturday March 21, 2026.

The 2027 NCAA Tournament will officially expand to 76 teams following approval Thursday afternoon by the Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Committees, the Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Oversight Committees, the Division I Finance Committee, the Division I Board of Directors and the NCAA Board of Governors.

“Expanding the Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships is the right decision for the student-athletes and programs that will now have access to the greatest events in college sports,” Board of Directors chair and Virginia Tech president Tim Sands said in an NCAA-issued press release Thursday. “As NCAA leaders, we are especially excited to provide additional, highly competitive games for fans who look forward to March Madness every year.”

As part of the bigger tournament, the expansion adds three times the number of Tuesday and Wednesday games to the men’s tournament.

Adding these bids brings the total of tournament-eligible teams in men’s basketball to 21%, the NCAA confirmed.

In confirming the decision Thursday, the NCAA said the deal allows it to “award more than $131 million in new revenue distributions to member schools participating in the basketball tournaments over the remaining six years of the NCAA’s broadcast agreements.”

To create that revenue, the NCAA said the rights agreement is set to increase by $50 million per year over the next six years and it will open “new, previously restricted product categories for the NCAA Corporate Champions and Partners Program, including beer, wine, spirits, and hard seltzer, and allows for expanded in-game advertising opportunities during the linear and streaming coverage of the tournaments.”

When the 2027 NCAA Tournament begins the Tuesday after Selection Sunday, a total of 12 games — three per day at two locations — are part of the newly approved bracket before the traditional tournament start day of Thursday.

A look at the new bracket ?? pic.twitter.com/esm18WdUSJ
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) May 7, 2026

Dayton, Ohio, remains one site for the men’s tournament with a second site to be determined.

With the increase in teams and games, those games will no longer be called the “First Four.”

The NCAA will shift to a label of Opening Round. The teams eligible to play in the Opening Round will be the 12 lowest-seeded at-large teams and 12 lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers.

First Four contests in the women’s tournament have been single games at on-campus sites.

The change marks the first expansion of the tournament since the field moved from 65 to 68 teams with the addition of the First Four games in 2011. The field had previously been 64 or 65 teams since 1985.

The NCAA said it will also continue to provide transportation and funding for lodging, meals and other incidentals for teams in the expanded format.

–Field Level Media

#Deadspin #official #NCAA #tournaments #expand #76team #brackets">Deadspin | It’s official: NCAA tournaments expand to 76-team brackets

As part of the bigger tournament, the expansion adds three times the number of Tuesday and Wednesday games to the men’s tournament.

Adding these bids brings the total of tournament-eligible teams in men’s basketball to 21%, the NCAA confirmed.

A look at the new bracket ?? pic.twitter.com/esm18WdUSJ
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) May 7, 2026

Dayton, Ohio, remains one site for the men’s tournament with a second site to be determined.

With the increase in teams and games, those games will no longer be called the “First Four.”

The NCAA will shift to a label of Opening Round. The teams eligible to play in the Opening Round will be the 12 lowest-seeded at-large teams and 12 lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers.

First Four contests in the women’s tournament have been single games at on-campus sites.

The NCAA said it will also continue to provide transportation and funding for lodging, meals and other incidentals for teams in the expanded format.

–Field Level Media

#Deadspin #official #NCAA #tournaments #expand #76team #brackets

This is because the alternative is truly terrifying. If Russ doesn’t play for the Jets in 2026 he’s mulling over opportunities to take a TV job where he’d be an NFL analyst. If that doesn’t scare you, then you obviously haven’t watched enough Russ off the football field — because while he was an incredible quarterback, with a potential Hall of Fame resume, the man is the entertainment equivalent of wallpaper paste when he isn’t on the field.

The role of “extremely boring man” has already been filled in broadcasting by Tom Brady, who is objectively horrible as an announcer — and we don’t need another one to fill the void. Just imagine turning on the game to be greeted with this.

The choice is either the train wreck of being subjected to Wilson during Jets games in 2026, or the train wreck of Wilson being on multiple NFL broadcasts for multiple NFL teams throughout the season. It’s the football equivalent of the Trolley Problem, and I’m sorry Jets, but y’all have to be the sacrificial lamb on this one.

Eventually it seems inevitable that we’re going to have to deal with Russell Wilson in the booth calling games, because every TV executive has no imagination outside of hiring every ex-player, regardless of whether they’re skilled in broadcasting or not. It’s how we’ve ended up in a world where Tom Brady calls NFL games, Kendrick Perkins is an NBA analyst, and P.K. Subban is dredged up in hockey — all of whom are terrible for different reasons.

Let’s delay this process as much as possible. Go to the Jets, Russ. Try to get everything back on track for one more run. Who knows, maybe you can get everything clicking again, play for another five years, and cement yourself as a Hall of Fame player. Wilder things have happened, just look at Sam Darnold.

You could be the reverse Darnold, Russ. The man who saves the Jets organization. You should definitely do that instead of taking a boring on analyst job where you have to sit in a studio all day and try to be entertaining.

#Russell #Wilson #Jets #NFL #signing #fan">