darnews
The Federal Aviation Administration's nationwide ground stop on Friday created widespread disruption across the sports world, leaving NBA, NHL, and college teams stranded as they attempted to reach their destinations. NFL teams, meanwhile, were left questioning whether the situation would be resolved in time for their weekend travel.
The FAA attributed the ground stop to extraordinary circumstances and safety concerns. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy later explained that a communications problem affecting the 22 regional air traffic control centers, which guide planes between airports nationwide, was under investigation by FAA technicians.
Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin sought to reassure the public, stating, "There's no reason to be concerned about your loved ones if they're flying."
Most college football teams playing on Saturday travel the day before their games, and the stoppage left several schools at a standstill, including No. 2 Utah, No. 8 Texas, and No. 9 Tennessee, all of which were departing for road matchups. The Utes are set to play at No. 22 Arizona, the Longhorns visit No. 24 LSU, and the Volunteers travel to Texas A&M in some of the weekend's most anticipated games.
Texas posted a short video on social media showing the team boarding its plane before the stoppage occurred. Should the Longhorns ultimately take a bus to Baton Rouge, the journey for the 6:30 p.m. CT kickoff on Saturday would take approximately seven hours. "We are grounded and waiting to see when we can leave," a team spokesman said.
Other affected schools included No. 19 Ole Miss, Baylor, Kansas State, Washington, and Minnesota. It also remained unclear whether referees, who typically fly to their assignments the day before games, would arrive on time.
Several teams managed to take off before the stoppage took effect, including Missouri, which was flying to No. 1 Georgia; Duke, en route to No. 5 Miami; and No. 10 Texas Tech, which was headed to Oklahoma State.
In the NBA, the Nets were among five teams scheduled to fly on Friday for Saturday games. They had just boarded their team plane in New Orleans after playing the Pelicans earlier in the week when their flight to Memphis was halted. The Pistons had flown earlier in the day to Miami. The Cavaliers, Bulls, and Grizzlies were set to play Friday night and were due to fly afterward.
The NHL has 14 games on Saturday's schedule. While the Panthers reached St. Louis for their game before the stoppage began, the Sharks were among those left waiting to depart for their game in Utah.
The FAA did not provide a timeline for resuming flights, leaving events beyond Saturday in limbo, including most of the NFL's Week 10 schedule and numerous college sporting events.
AP Sports Writers Jim Vertuno, Aaron Beard, and Tim Reynolds contributed to this report.
See AP's full sports coverage here.
Originally reported by darnews.