Nadal, Djokovic double trouble

Tennis: Talk about a one-two punch: No. 1 Rafael Nadal (pictured) and No. 2 Novak Djokovic are teaming up to play doubles together at next week’s tournament in Toronto.

The ATP said it believes it’s the first time the men holding the top two spots in the singles rankings have partnered for doubles at a tournament since No. 1 Jimmy Connors and No. 2 Arthur Ashe in 1976.

Benito Perez-Barbadillo, the publicist for Nadal and Djokovic, said the pair discussed the possibility of playing with each other last season at hard-court events in Montreal or Cincinnati. But Nadal wound up having a stomach muscle problem, so those plans were scuttled.

Djokovic brought up the thought of a high-powered doubles team again recently.

“Novak called Rafa a couple of weeks ago and reminded him,” Perez-Barbadillo wrote in an e-mail to the AP on Saturday. “Rafa liked the idea again and here they are.”

Neither has won a major championship in doubles.

Associated Press

Football: Spokane will face Milwaukee in the National Conference championship game Thursday at 5 p.m. at the Spokane Arena. The game will be televised live on NFL Network.

Milwaukee defeated visiting Chicago 64-54 in a first-round playoff game Saturday. Top-seeded Spokane (14-3) split two games against No. 2 Milwaukee (12-5), losing the season opener 74-62 before winning the rematch 62-48 in June.

Tickets can be purchased through TicketsWest (800-325- SEAT or www.ticketswest.com).

Tampa Bay will entertain Orlando for the American Conference championship. The third-seeded Storm thumped No. 2 Tulsa 68-38 on Saturday. No. 4 Orlando upset No. 1 Jacksonville 73-69 on Friday.