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Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Judging by her stats, Iowa junior Megan Gustafson might be the best player in America. She leads the nation in scoring with 25.6 points per game for the sixth-seeded Hawkeyes, who face 11th-seeded Creighton on Saturday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Los Angeles.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Matt Carpenter is showing the St. Louis Cardinals what they were missing while he was sidelined by a back strain. A day after making his spring training debut, Carpenter hit a two-run, wind-aided home run off Justin Verlander in the Cardinals’ 3-1 win over Houston. Carpenter also singled through the right side of the infield in the first inning. He walked twice Tuesday against Miami and reached base in all four plate appearances.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Patrick O’Brien, Tristan Gebbia and Adrian Martinez are being given an equal chance to win the starting quarterback’s job as Nebraska enters spring practice under new coach Scott Frost. Only O’Brien has game experience. The biggest challenge in the move from the pro-style offense to spread option is adjusting to the fast pace.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs’ trades of Alex Smith to the Redskins and Marcus Peters to the Rams became official with the start of the new league year. So did the free-agent signings of wide receiver Sammy Watkins and linebacker Anthony Hitchens, who should fill two of the Chiefs’ biggest holes heading into next season.
SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — Actor Jim Caviezel has played Jesus and golfer Bobby Jones on the big screen. On Wednesday, he portrayed Kansas City Royals bench coach Dale Sveum. Sveum had a medical appointment for his stiff neck and missed the photo shoot, so Caviezel stood in for him. Sveum’s face will then be Photoshopped over Caviezel’s in the team photo.
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Aric Holman had 16 points and 10 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season, Lamar Peters was four assists shy of a NIT record with a career-high 14 and Mississippi State won its first post-season game since 2010 with a 66-59 victory over Nebraska in the first round. Mississippi State (23-11) is in the postseason for the first time since a 101-96 double-overtime loss to UMass in the 2012 NIT.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — In October 1970, one of two planes carrying the Wichita State football team to a game at Utah State crashed in Colorado, killing 31 people. Six weeks later, Marshall’s team plane returning from a game crashed near its West Virginia campus. On Friday, the two schools forever linked by tragedy will meet in the NCAA Tournament. Marshall and Wichita State have never before played in men’s basketball.
The Harlan girls and boys track teams were among those that competed at the Bob Prince Early Bird Indoor Track Meet on Tuesday at the University of South Dakota. Here is a look at the top-5 finishes for the Cyclones. Full results can be viewed here: Bob Prince Early Bird 2018
Girls
800 Meter Run
2nd-Abby Alberti, 2:42.69
1,600 Meter Run
1st-Kara Rueschenberg, 5:58.85
7th-Liv Freund, 6:29.01
3,000 Meter Run
1st-Greichaly Kaster, 12:05.47
60 Meter Hurdles
3rd-Chloe Hansen, 10.04
4X200 Meter Relay
4th-Chloe Hansen, Alyssa Sotelo, Cassidy Riley, Molly Gubbels, 1:58.52
4X800 Meter Relay
2nd-Kara Rueschenberg, Greichaly Kaster, Abby Alberti, Liv Freund, 10:57.06
4th-Kennedy Kjergaard, Olivia Anderson, Abi Baldwin, Lucia Rodriguez, 11:39.93
Boys
400 Meter Dash
2nd-Deren Schmitz, 53.70
4th-Michael Erlmeier, 56.15
4X200 Meter Relay
4th-Andy Burchett, Eli Boldan, Thoung Vo, Jonathon Monson, 1:42.10
Long Jump
2nd-Michael Erlmeier, 19-05.25
Shot Put
3rd-Caleb Brouse, 46-09
A number of area teams competed at the Boys ISU Indoor meet in Ames on Tuesday. Here’s a look at some of the top area finishers.
60 Meter Hurdles
9th-Gratt Reed, Atlantic, 8.78
60 Meter Dash
14th-Gratt Reed, Atlantic, 7.35
3,200 Meter Run
12th-Brycen Wallace, Nodaway Valley, 10:05.22
23rd-Noah Nelson, ACGC, 10:23.22
1,600 Meter Sprint Medley
2nd-Atlantic, 3:40.26
18th-Underwood, 3:50.34
1,600 Meter Run
22nd-Jaxson Eden, Atlantic, 4:49.69
25th-Brycen Wallace, Nodaway Valley, 4:50.72
26th-Craig Becker, Atlantic, 4:50.75
4X400 Meter Relay
5th-Atlantic, 3:30.55
13th-Glenwood, 3:45.86
Long Jump
5th-Caden Wardyn, ACGC, 19-06.25
6th-Zach Vondra, Glenwood, 19-02.75
Full results here.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A prominent youth basketball coach in Iowa has been arrested and charged in federal court with knowingly transporting child pornography. Greg Stephen, the co-founder of the Iowa Barnstormers of the Amateur Athletic Union, was expected to make his initial appearance this (Tuesday) afternoon in Cedar Rapids.
A complaint alleges Stephen confessed to secretly recording three adolescent boys naked in a hotel room during a trip to Illinois.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs have agreed to deals with wide receiver Sammy Watkins and middle linebacker Anthony Hitchens, filling two of their most glaring needs on the eve of free agency.
The 24-year-old Watkins intends to sign a $48 million, three-year contract with $30 million in guarantees, while the 25-year-old Hitchens agreed to a five-year deal, two people familiar with their decisions told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the contracts, along with several other moves made by Kansas City, cannot become official until the start of the free agency Wednesday afternoon.
The Chiefs have been looking for a playmaking wide receiver to pair with speedster Tyreek Hill since last offseason, but resorted to using Chris Conley in the role. Then Conley went down with a season-ending injury, robbing the Chiefs of their No. 2 wide receiver and forcing journeyman Albert Wilson into a more substantial role in their West Coast offense.
But questions persist about Conley’s health and long-term upside, and Wilson has agreed to a free-agent deal with the Miami Dolphins, leaving the Chiefs in the market for a wide receiver.
Watkins was considered one of the premier talents on the market.
The 2014 fourth overall pick of the Buffalo Bills spent last season with the Los Angeles Rams, where he caught 39 passes for 593 yards and eight touchdowns. And while he seems far removed from his best season in 2015, when he caught 60 passes for 1,047 yards and nine scores in a season shorted by injury, the Chiefs undoubtedly believe Watkins has yet to reach his ceiling.
It would help matters if he stayed healthy. Along with a calf strain and ankle sprain that season, he’s had hip issues in the past, and missed eight games in 2016 with a fractured left foot.
Buffalo decided to decline its fifth-year option on Watkins after all the injuries, and wound up sending him to the Rams last August for cornerback E.J. Gaines and a draft pick.
On defense, the Chiefs have been trying to get younger across the board, releasing cornerstone linebackers Derrick Johnson and Tamba Hali and shuffling their defensive backfield.
Hitchens, who The Kansas City Star reported will make about $9 million per season, would fill Johnson’s spot alongside Reggie Ragland in the middle of the defense. The 2014 fourth-round pick had 84 tackles in only 12 starts last season, when a knee injury sidelined him the first four games.
Hitchens also had a couple of pass deflections and nine tackles for a loss, and showed flashes of the same kind of instincts that made Johnson the Chiefs’ career tackles leader.
Watkins and Hitchens are expected to sign their contracts Wednesday, when the new league year means the Chiefs can finally consummate their agreed-upon trades sending quarterback Alex Smith to the Washington Redskins and cornerback Marcus Peters to the Rams.
The Chiefs will get cornerback Kendall Fuller and a draft pick back from Washington and two picks back from Los Angeles, allowing them to restock with younger players through the draft.
Kansas City intends to turn its starting quarterback job over to Patrick Mahomes II, whom former general manager John Dorsey traded up to select 10th overall last year. Mahomes dazzled during training camp and was dynamic in a Week 17 start against Denver, when the Chiefs were already assured of the AFC West title and their playoff positioning, allowing Smith to take the week off.
That performance against the Broncos is what made the Chiefs comfortable moving on from Smith, who had a career season that made him coveted by several other teams in the trade market.
(From cyclones.com) AMES, Iowa – Iowa State sophomore guard Jakolby Long is transferring from the men’s basketball program, head coach Steve Prohm announced Tuesday.
“We appreciate Jakolby’s effort and hard work for our program,” Prohm said. “He has been a good teammate and we wish him the best as he moves forward academically and athletically.”
Long, a Mustang, Oklahoma native, saw action in 22 games for the Cyclones in 2017-18. He averaged 1.9 points in 9.5 minutes per game.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs have released one of their career sack leaders, Tamba Hali, and veteran stalwart of their secondary, Ron Parker, moves designed to help Kansas City get younger on defense and have some financial freedom for the start of free agency.
The Chiefs parted ways with longtime linebacker Hali on Monday. The move was hardly a surprise given his decreased production. Safety Parker, who had missed just one game over the past four seasons and provided some stability when Eric Berry was injured last season, also was waived.
Hali was due a base salary of $5,750,000 this season with a salary cap hit of more than $9 million, and his release will only cost them about $1.7 million in dead money. Parker’s release saves about $5.3 million against the salary cap. “I thank the greatest fans in the world #ChiefsKingdom for 12 incredible years,” Hali posted on Twitter. “I also want to thank the @Chiefs organization for believing in me from the beginning. All the support during my career in Kansas City has been overwhelming and KC will always be special to me.”
The Chiefs were strapped for cash heading into the offseason, necessitating moves on several fronts. They’ve already voided the contract of linebacker Derrick Johnson, their career tackles leader, to save about $8 million, and released cornerback Darrelle Revis to save $4.5 million. They’ll save some more when the new league year begins Wednesday. That’s when the trade of Alex Smith, which his salary cap number of $17 million, to the Redskins for cornerback Kendall Fuller and a draft pick, becomes official. The Chiefs will also save a bit of money when their trade of cornerback Marcus Peters to the Rams for two more draft picks becomes official.
The Chiefs only rolled over about $2.6 million in salary cap space from last season, so freeing up space to address their leaky defense — and perhaps help new quarterback Patrick Mahomes II with some offensive weapons — was of paramount importance for new general manager Brett Veach. “You look at every situation and every position group and if it makes sense from a structural standpoint, a schematic standpoint and also a cap standpoint,” Veach said during last week’s scouting combine in Indianapolis. “And it really is just the schematic standpoint and the cap standpoint along with the age, and if you get all those things pointing in the right direction, you go that route.”
Make no mistake: The Chiefs had aged considerably on defense the past couple of years, especially in the linebacker corps, where Johnson and Hali had been the foundation for years. Hali was the 20th overall pick in the 2006 draft out of Penn State, started every game as a rookie and never really looked back. He became a fan-favorite and went to five consecutive Pro Bowls beginning with the 2011 season, when he had 12 sacks and forced four fumbles.
He combined to add 20 more sacks over the next couple seasons, but the decline soon began for the 34-year-old pass rusher. He started just two of 16 games during the 2016 season, when knee pain caught up to him, and only appeared in five games last season after beginning the year on the PUP list. When asked in January what his plans were for the future, Hali acknowledged he was “leaning more toward” retirement but wanted to leave the door open to returning for another season.
He has plenty of interests away from football, including a hip-hop recording company.
“Tamba has been a tremendous ambassador for our organization, both on and off the playing field,” Chiefs owner Clark Hunt said. “His incredible work ethic and passion for the game helped make him one of the most successful pass rushers in franchise history. Tamba will always be a part of the Chiefs family, and we sincerely appreciate his contributions to the Chiefs and the Kansas City community over the last 12 seasons.”
The 30-year-old Parker should have plenty of suitors in free agency. He made 279 tackles, seven sacks and picked off nine passes after finally getting his break with Kansas City. “It was great playing in front of the fans in Arrowhead and with some of the best teammates,” he said on Twitter. “Now it’s time for me to move on. I look forward to this new journey and chapter.” Parker’s age combined with his cost for next season ultimately forced his release.
“It’s kind of today’s world in the NFL,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said during the combine, when asked about their desire to get younger. “Guys change teams and move. We think we have some good young players and feel comfortable with them.”
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