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

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — College athletes who play spring sports have a lot of free time this weekend after conferences announced they were suspending or canceling competitions because of concern about the spread of the new coronavirus. That happened after the NCAA announced Thursday it was canceling all spring sports championships, along with remaining winter championships. Some good news came Friday when the NCAA Division I Council Coordination Committee informed schools spring athletes would be given another year of eligibility to make up for their lost season. That still doesn’t take away the sting for athletes who are sitting idle the rest of the spring.

The United Center ownership and the Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks say they will pay day-of-game employees through the end of their scheduled seasons. The NBA and NHL seasons have been suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic. In a statement attributed to Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz and Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf, the teams say their employees “are family, and we will navigate this unprecedented situation together.”

ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — The Washington Redskins have placed the franchise tag on three-time Pro Bowl guard Brandon Scherff after the two sides were unable to reach a long-term deal. Scherff could have been among the NFL’s highest-paid guards had he got to free agency. The 28-year-old dealt with numerous injuries the past two seasons but has been a force for Washington when healthy. He was named to his third Pro Bowl in 2019 after starting 11 games. Scherff has started all 65 games he has played in since turning pro out of Iowa and being drafted fifth overall by the Redskins five years ago.

ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — The Washington Redskins have placed the franchise tag on three-time Pro Bowl guard Brandon Scherff after the two sides were unable to reach a long-term deal. Scherff could have been among the NFL’s highest-paid guards had he got to free agency.

The 28-year-old dealt with numerous injuries the past two seasons but has been a force for Washington when healthy. He was named to his third Pro Bowl in 2019 after starting 11 games. Scherff has started all 65 games he has played in since turning pro out of Iowa and being drafted fifth overall by the Redskins five years ago.

w/ Chris Parks

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Class 3A Consolation

Clear Creek-Amana 76, Ballard 73 (OT) | BOX SCORE

Class 4A Consolation

Cedar Falls 65, Ankeny Centennial 58 | BOX SCORE

Class 1A Championship

Wapsie Valley, Fairbank 65, Bishop Garrigan, Algona 53 | BOX SCORE

Class 2A Championship

Boyden-Hull 64, North Linn, Troy Mills 51 | BOX SCORE

Class 3A Championship

Norwalk 70, Sergeant Bluff-Luton 68 | BOX SCORE

Class 4A Championship

Ankeny 78, Waukee 70 | BOX SCORE

2019-20 Western Iowa
All-Conference Basketball Teams

Western Iowa Conference – Boys
2019-20 Final Team Standings

#*Treynor            16-0            24-3
AHSTW                14-2            17-5
Tri-Center            12-4            18-5
IKM-Manning       9-6            13-10
Underwood         6-10            10-12
Audubon             6-10            8-14
Logan-Magnolia  5-11            8-14
Riverside              3-13            6-16
Missouri Valley    0-16            2-20
*2019-20 WIC Regular Season Champion
#2020 State Tournament Qualifier

WIC BOYS Player of the Year: Jack Tiarks, Treynor, Sr.

First Team

*Jack Tiarks, Treynor, sr.; *Jack Stogdill, Treynor, sr.; *Leyton Nelson, Tri-Center, jr.; *Raydden Grobe, AHSTW, soph.; Jon Schwarte, Treynor, sr.; Clayton Akers, AHSTW, sr.; Tre Melby, Logan-Magnolia, jr.; Ethan Alfers, Tri-Center, jr.  *Unanimous Selection.

Second Team

Colby Keller, IKM-Manning, sr.; Skyler Schultes, Audubon, sr.; Blake Hall, Underwood, jr.; Sam Porter, AHSTW, sr.; Colten Brandt, IKM-Manning, sr.; Gavin Bartalini, Missouri Valley, sr.; Drake Woods, Riverside, jr.; Dylan Cunard, Logan-Magnolia, sr.; Parker Behrens, IKM-Manning, sr.; Amos Rasmussen, IKM-Manning, soph..

Western Iowa Conference – Girls
2019-20 Final Team Standings

*AHSTW                           14-2            20-4
#Logan-Magnolia            13-3            21-4
IKM-Manning                  12-4            17-6
Audubon                          11-5            15-8
Underwood                       8-8            12-11
Treynor                              8-8            8-14
Missouri Valley                3-13            3-19
Tri-Center                        2-14            5-18
Riverside                          1-15            4-19
*2019-20 WIC Regular Season Champion
#2020 State Tournament Qualifier

WIC GIRLS Player of the Year: Kailey Jones, AHSTW, jr.

First Team

*Kailey Jones, AHSTW, jr.; *Kylie Morrison, Logan-Magnolia, sr.; *Aleah Hermensen, Audubon, soph.; Kinsey Scheffler, AHSTW, sr.; *Alexa Ahrenholtz, IKM-Manning, jr.; Lexi Branning, IKM-Manning, sr.; Violet Lapke, Logan-Magnolia, sr.; Claire Denning, AHSTW, jr.  *Unanimous Selection.

Second Team

Jaci Christensen, Audubon, soph.; Mandy Stogdill, Treynor, jr.; Claire Harris, AHSTW, jr.; Morghan Herman, Missouri Valley, sr.; Clara Tiegland, Treynor, fr.; Emilee Thompson, Logan-Magnolia, jr.; Erin McMains, Underwood, sr.; Leah Subbert, Audubon, sr.

2019-20 WIC Academic All-Conference

(Must be senior, maintain 3.35 cumulative grade point average).

Boys Basketball

AHSTW: Clayton Akers, Brody Langer, Michael Mantell, Sam Porter.
Audubon: Jackson Jensen, Marcus Olsen, Skyler Schultes.
IKM-Manning, Colten Brandt, Will Jorgensen, Ben Lingle.
Logan-Magnolia: Gabe Walski, Dylan Cunard.
Missouri Valley: Stephen Kean.
Riverside: Talen Williams.
Treynor: Craig Chapman, Luke Mieska, Quinn Navara, Jack Stogdill.
Tri-Center: Ryan Lyle.
Underwood: Nick Ravlin, Zach Teten, Isaac Heilman.

Girls Basketball

AHSTW: Kinsey Scheffler, Tristin Heiny.
Audubon: Rylie Hartl, McKenna Petersen, Mallory Riebhoff, Leah Subbert.
IKM-Manning: Emily Kerkhoff, Alexia Branning.
Logan-Magnolia: Megan Dunn, Violet Lapke, Kylie Morrison.
Missouri Valley: Peyton Hilts, Morghan Herman.
Riverside: Ashlynn Amdor, Meghan Reed.
Treynor: Tori Castle, Kennedy Elwood.
Underwood: Abby May, Erin McMains, Lauren Brown, Avary True.

Wrestling

AHSTW: Brady Canada, Seth Kiesel, Joel Sampson.
Audubon: Luke Mosinski.
Logan-Magnolia: Olivia Diggins, Kaleb King, Tanner Mace, Bryce Hudnut, Barret Pitt.
Missouri Valley: Jon Johnson.
Treynor: Brock Fox, Will Halverson, Jacob Hrasky, Mitchel Lutz.
Tri-Center: Bryson Freeberg, Connor Atkisson.

The Big Ten Conference announced today that all organized team activities have been suspended until April 6, 2020, and will be re-evaluated at that time.

The Big Ten has previously announced that in addition to canceling the Men’s Basketball Tournament it will be canceling all conference and non-conference competitions through the end of the academic year, including spring sports that compete beyond the academic year, and participation in all NCAA tournaments and competitions. The Conference also has announced a moratorium on all on- and off-campus recruiting activities for the foreseeable future.

The Big Ten Conference will use this time to work with the appropriate medical experts and institutional leadership to determine next steps for moving forward in regard to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The main priority of the Big Ten Conference continues to be the health, safety and wellness of our student-athletes, coaches, administrators, faculty, fans and media as we continue to monitor all developing and relevant information on the COVID-19 virus.

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast with Jim Field.

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

NEW YORK (AP) — Chiefs cornerback Charvarius Ward earned the most in the NFL’s performance-based pay program, getting an additional $654,750 out of an overall pot of just under $148 million. Ward, who was not selected in the 2018 draft, received nearly 15%t more than his 2019 salary of the league minimum for second-year players ($570,000). He started all 16 games during Chiefs’ championship season, playing in nearly 95% of the Chiefs’ defensive plays, as well as almost 26% of the special teams plays.

UNDATED (AP) — Facing criticism for coaching his team when he was not feeling well Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg wrote in a social media post he would not have been on the bench if he knew his presence could expose others to illness. Hoiberg wrote on Twitter that he would never do anything that would put his team, family or anyone else in harm’s way. Hoiberg was taken to an Indianapolis hospital after he left Wednesday night’s 89-64 loss to Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament. Hoiberg was diagnosed with influenza-A, which the school characterized as a “common cold” in a news release.

NEW YORK (AP) — In one of the stranger sports developments, Creighton and St. John’s played 20 minutes of hotly contested basketball Thursday afternoon in a mostly empty Madison Square Garden. Then the Big East Conference called off the rest of its postseason tournament because of the coronavirus pandemic. Only a few hundred fans were on hand as part of the restricted attendance policy. By the time some of them were able to grab a drink or return from the restroom, TV broadcasters had announced the rest of the tournament was scrapped. Moments later, word came over the public address system. And fans soon filed for the exits.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The cancellation of the NCAA basketball tournaments shook the nation. But more than two dozen other men’s and women’s championships won’t be contested this winter and spring, either, and that doesn’t include all the sports in Divisions II and III. The NCAA decision to cancel winter and spring sports championships means the College World Series will not be held for the first time in since 1946. The Division I baseball championship is the NCAA’s No. 2 revenue producer and has been held in Omaha every year since 1950. The NCAA said the decision was based on the public health threat posed by the coronavirus.

DES MOINES, Iowa – The Iowa High School Athletic Association’s 2020 State Basketball Tournament will play Friday’s games with spectator restrictions due to increasing concern of the spread and impact of novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

The consolations and finals set for Friday, March 13 at Wells Fargo Arena will be played as currently scheduled. The IHSAA will provide additional updates to this strategy should they be necessary. Thursday’s games will continue as scheduled and are currently without spectator restriction.

The IHSAA has coordinated with health officials, state and local government, and Iowa Events Center throughout this week’s event, with updated guidance requiring these measures.

Only team members, game officials, essential tournament workers, Iowa Events Center staff, limited credentialed media, and select school spectators (see below) will be allowed inside the facility. Those spectators will be asked to leave the facility once their game is complete.

Other spectators and previously scheduled award recipients and visitors will not be permitted.

The IHSAA acknowledges these updates are inconvenient and unprecedented. The understanding of member schools and communities is sincerely appreciated.

The remaining games will be available to view through the Iowa High School Sports Network’s coverage. The IHSSN has television coverage for semifinals and finals, free live streaming, and a free downloadable app to view the games. Visit ihssn.com/basketball or ihssn.com/live for viewing information.

The IHSAA staff will also provide frequent updates on the games through its website and social media platforms.

Spectators who purchased tickets in advance of Friday’s games at Wells Fargo Arena will be refunded at the point of purchase.

The IHSAA will continue working with health officials to determine adjustments or preventative measures for the upcoming spring sports seasons. Updates will be provided as they become available.

Team & Family Spectator Information

Each of Friday’s participating schools will be allowed up to 100 total entrants, free of charge.  The 100 total include the official team traveling party. The IHSAA recommends these entrants are immediate family members of your traveling party.

Participating schools are required to submit a list of names for those attending.

School administrators should send those lists in one document to ttharp@iahsaa.org before their games and bring printed copies upon check-in. Spectators will be checked in as a group 30 minutes prior to tipoff at the north entrance of Wells Fargo Arena.

ST. LOUIS, Mo., March 12, 2020 – Following the official statement from Major League Baseball this afternoon, the St. Louis Cardinals are making contingency plans and proactively monitoring the Coronavirus situation.

This afternoon, Commissioner Robert D. Manfred Jr. announced the cancellation of Spring Training games for all 30 Clubs, along with at least a two-week delay to the start of 2020 Opening Day.

“From the beginning of this uncertain, global pandemic, we have emphasized the safety of our fans, players and staff,” said Bill DeWitt Jr., Chairman and CEO. “We are supportive of the decision by MLB, which allows us additional time to navigate this evolving situation and prioritize the safety of everyone.”

One of those guidelines involves the creation of an internal task force, which the Cardinals have already established. The task force includes stakeholders from across the organization—including representatives from Baseball Operations, Ticket Sales and Marketing, Corporate Sales, Communications, Special Events and Merchandising, Finance and Administration and Human Resources.

The internal task force, led by Vice President of Stadium Operations, Matt Gifford, will implement guidelines from the league, review updates from local and state health departments and communicate important messages on behalf of the Club.

“This developing situation is, and has always been fluid,” said John Mozeliak, President of Baseball Operations. “At this time, spring training camps in Jupiter remain open for player workouts and training, but our practice fields and facility will be closed to the public.”

Mozeliak added, “We have been communicating as much as we can with our players, fans, and employees up to this point, and are taking direction from the MLB Commissioner’s Office while we analyze our next steps from all angles.”

“We anticipate fans will have questions about their ticket purchases for those first two weeks, as well as for future games,” said Joe Strohm, Vice President of Ticket Sales. “At this time, we are still working through our approach to handling ticketing issues, and will be communicating the details to fans soon.”