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

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs aren’t the only ones who hope Patrick Mahomes plays against Minnesota on Sunday. Vikings counterpart Kirk Cousins also wants to see the league MVP back on the field after missing last week’s game while recovering from a dislocated kneecap. If he can’t go, Matt Moore will make his second straight start for Kansas City.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals have hired Mike Matheny as manager. The 49-year-old Matheny was manager of the cross-state St. Louis Cardinals from 2012-18, going 591-474 and becoming the first manager to reach the postseason his first four seasons. Matheny was fired in July 2018 by the Cardinals. He was hired last November by the Royals as a special adviser for player development. He will take over for Ned Yost, who announced his retirement last month.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska freshman Luke McCaffrey made his true debut in college football last weekend and one of his rivals in backyard games must have had flashbacks as he watched. That’s Carolina Panthers star Christian McCaffrey. Luke is the last of the Brothers McCaffrey and son of former NFL receiver Ed McCaffrey. Luke made an unexpected entrance against Indiana last week and turned in a strong performance. Christian said Luke’s fighting spirit comes from getting pushed around in those family games.

IRVING, Texas (AP) — The Big 12 Conference has issued public reprimands and fines of $25,000 against Kansas State and TCU for how the schools handled fans storming the field to celebrate wins over ranked teams last weekend. Kansas also received a reprimand, but wasn’t fined after the Jayhawks beat Texas Tech on Saturday. Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby says conference schools have a duty to provide a safe game environment.

UNDATED (AP) — In August, the three teams most talked about in the Big 12 were Oklahoma, Texas and Iowa State. The Sooners, Longhorns and Cyclones will head into November looking to bounce back from crushing defeats. It has thrown the conference title race into turmoil and left the Big 12 on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoff.

UNDATED (AP) — TCU and Oklahoma State meet after both got needed wins in the Big 12. The Horned Frogs and Cowboys have freshman starting quarterbacks, and the league’s longest-tenured coaches. Gary Patterson is in 19th season at TCU and Mike Gundy in his 15th season at Oklahoma State. Both had lost three of four games before wins last week that knocked other Big 12 teams out of the Top 25. TCU beat Texas, and Oklahoma State beat Iowa State.