Press Box: Kentucky star tears ACL; IOC, wrestling chiefs to meet
Kentucky standout Nerlens Noel will be out for the remainder of the season after an MRI on his injured left knee Wednesday revealed a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Noel was injured in a collision with a basket support during Tuesday night's SEC game at Florida.
A 6-foot-10 freshman center, Noel crashed to the floor and screamed in pain while holding the knee after it appeared to twist and buckle. He was trying to catch Florida's Mike Rosario from behind on a breakaway and block his shot in the second half when his momentum carried him into the padding underneath the hoop. While X-rays taken at a Gainesville hospital on Tuesday night showed no fractures or breaks, an MRI in Lexington revealed the damage. Noel is expected to undergo surgery in the next two to three weeks.
"His leg was wobbly, knee looked dislocated," Florida's Patric Young told the Palm Beach Post. "It was gruesome. I don't want to think about it."
The Wildcats lost 69-52 to the sixth-ranked Gators, snapping Kentucky's five-game winning streak.
The country's leading shot-blocker at 4.5 per game, Noel is a national defensive player of the year candidate and a potential No. 1 pick in the NBA draft.
---International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge admitted Wednesday that the organization expected significant protests after the IOC decided to eliminate wrestling from the Summer Olympics beginning in 2020. "We knew it would lead to criticism from followers of that particular sport," Rogge said.
Rogge plans to meet with Raphael Martinetti, head of the international wrestling federation (FILA), to discuss the decision and what the future holds for wrestling in the Olympics. "They vowed to adapt the sport and to fight to be eventually included in 2020," Rogge said.
Rogge pointed out that the elimination of wrestling is not final. The IOC still has to ratify the decision at its September meeting.
---Swedish golfer Daniela Holmqvist made it through a painful pre-qualifying round at the LPGA Tour's season-opening ISPS Handa Australian Open in Yarralumla, Australia, after being bitten Tuesday by a highly poisonous Black Widow spider. Holmqvist was on the fourth hole at Royal Canberra Golf Club when she felt a sting near an ankle. She looked down and saw the spider, which she swatted away. Reacting quickly, she took out a golf tee and dug out the venom, according to Golf Digest. After course doctors checked her out, Holmqvist played on despite her pain and apprehension, finishing the final 14 holes under close supervision. She didn't qualify for the tournament, shooting a 74.
