Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

UNDATED (AP) — Hitters smashed a record 6,776 home runs in 2019, soaring past the previous high of 6,105 from two years earlier. The seismic home run spike has been attributed to changes in the baseballs. Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred has acknowledged the ball has less drag and is seeking more “consistent performance from the baseball,” but no changes are planned until at least after the World Series. This postseason could be the juiciest yet, bad news for pitchers like Astros ace Justin Verlander.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes resembled a pitcher without his best stuff Sunday, a fraction of an inch off on so many of his throws but hanging in there long enough to give his team a chance. Leaning on his impressive cast of cohorts, the Chiefs quarterback calmly rallied his team in the final minute Sunday, setting up Darrel Williams’ short touchdown plunge and giving Kansas City a 34-30 victory in Detroit that kept the three-time and defending AFC West champions unbeaten.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The moment the final out was made on another 100-loss season for the Kansas City Royals, fans immediately began gazing toward the future rather than lamenting the way things have been lately. There is a new owner on the way. New manager, too. And the Royals, who have been in the midst of a massive rebuilding effort after their back-to-back World Series appearances in 2014-15, are beginning to see the fruits of that labor.

UNDATED (AP) — Jon Gruden’s trio of rabble-rousers is down to one after the NFL suspended linebacker Vontaze Burfict for the rest of the season for his latest illegal hit. The ouster follows Antonio Brown’s departure a month ago after a summer’s worth of drama. That leaves Richie Incognito as the only one of the three still around as he tries to put his troubled past behind him while bringing the Raiders’ one last hurrah in Oakland.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A videographer who collapsed from a heart attack in a Busch Stadium dugout is alive, thanks in part to a St. Louis Post-Dispatch journalist. The videographer, 64-year-old Mike Flanary, was in the Chicago Cubs’ dugout Sunday before the game against the Cardinals when he collapsed. The Post-Dispatch reports that baseball writer Derrick Goold performed CPR on Flanary, who was in critical but stable condition. The stadium doctor on duty, David Tan, says Goold’s CPR probably saved Flanary’s life.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Northwestern and Nebraska have split eight games since the Cornhuskers joined the Big Ten in 2011 and only two of them have been decided by more than one touchdown. The last two meetings have gone to overtime. The 2013 game ended on a Hail Mary thrown by Nebraska third-string walk-on quarterback Ron Kellogg III. The Wildcats and Cornhuskers are both coming off losses entering their game in Lincoln on Saturday.