COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Ahmad Hardy, an Associated Press All-America running back, will miss Missouri's season-opening game as he recovers from being shot in the leg three months ago.
“Hopefully, he can keep working and try to get back as soon as possible,” coach Eli Drinkwitz said Saturday. “Really don't have a timetable on that. It's up to his body and his response.”
The 25th-ranked Tigers will start the season at home on Sept. 3 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff without Hardy on the field.
“He’s doing everything that we can ask him to do,” Drinkwitz said. “Just not going to be able to be ready for that first game. We’re going to do the very best by him. His team and our medical team just feel like it’s in his best interest to hold off. I want to make sure that I get that out there to fans now so that there’s no false hope there.”
Drinkwitz said in July that it could take Hardy five to eight weeks to be cleared to play.
Hardy was shot in his home state while attending a concert in Laurel, Mississippi, on May 10. A few days later, police made an arrest in the shooting and charged Rashodrick Harris with aggravated assault. Harris was released on $500,000 bond.
Hardy set a single-season school record with 16 touchdowns last year as a sophomore and was second in the nation with 1,649 yards rushing. He ran for 1,351 yards and scored 13 touchdowns for Louisiana-Monroe as a freshman before transferring to play for the Tigers.
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FILE - Missouri running back Ahmad Hardy (29) runs past Mississippi State linebacker Tyler Lockhart (11) and safety Hunter Washington (21) during the second half of an NCAA college football game Nov. 15, 2025, in Columbia, Mo. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson, File)
ZANDVOORT, Netherlands (AP) — Mercedes boss Toto Wolff defended the use of team orders in the Formula 1 title fight after George Russell protested when he was asked to give up second place in the Dutch Grand Prix to teammate Kimi Antonelli.
Over team radio, Russell questioned the call to let Antonelli past in the final stages of Sunday's race, suggesting it left him vulnerable to Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton behind with little to gain for the team. Antonelli was on fresher tires but eventual winner Lando Norris was far ahead.
Russell, who held off Hamilton to keep third, relented after the race and said his teammate and title rival Antonelli “deserved to finish ahead."
“Team orders are always harsh from one driver’s perspective,” Mercedes team principal Wolff said, arguing that not swapping positions would have left both drivers a target for Hamilton. “We’re not losing time with each other if there are competitors breathing down our neck. We’ve seen it with the Ferraris at the beginning of the year in Shanghai, you just lose so much race time, you risk losing more points.”
Antonelli had been ahead of Russell earlier in the race before Mercedes brought him in for fresh tires and that was another reason for the switch, Wolff added.
“Today, it wasn’t a very difficult call, because Kimi was running second, clear of George, and that’s basically the order we restored after the stop. So, a completely normal modus operandi, and we would have done it the other way around also,” he said.
Antonelli, who turns 20 on Tuesday, faces another obstacle in his quest to become F1's youngest-ever champion.
He will need to take a hefty grid penalty at his home Italian Grand Prix in two weeks' time as Mercedes plans to swap his car's power unit to head off potential reliability problems in the second half of the season. That will put Antonelli over his allowance of key components for the year.
“Our theory, our calculations say that that’s the best track to take it. Obviously, our algorithms don’t take the nationality into consideration,” Wolff said. “We’re here to fight for a championship and not the most PR, so that’s what we’re going to do.”
Monza is a high speed track where Mercedes' engine is likely to be strong, and overtaking is relatively easy, giving Antonelli a chance to make up places. He's accepted the decision.
“I think it still will give me a chance to do a great result and bring home good points,” he said.
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From the left, second-placed Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy, first -placed McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain and third-placed Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain spray champagne at the podium during the Formula One Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort , Netherlands, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain makes a pit stop during the Formula One Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort , Netherlands, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Patrick Post, Pool)
Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy waves for the podium after taking the seond place at the Formula One Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort , Netherlands, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
