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Royals announce deal with right-hander Volquez

Sports

December 30th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Royals have announced the signing of right-hander Edinson Volquez to a $20 million, two-year contract that includes a mutual option for the 2017 season. Volquez will make $7.5 million in 2015 and $9.5 million in 2016 under the deal announced Monday. His option year is worth $10 million with a $3 million buyout. Volquez fills the last big hole by taking James Shields’ spot in the rotation. Shields became a free agent and it was unlikely the Royals would be able to keep him.

The Royals have already signed designated hitter Kendrys Morales and outfielder Alex Rios to fill two of their other pressing needs. They also signed pitcher Kris Medlen, who is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and could help contribute midway through the season.

Chiefs’ Houston heads into uncertain offseason

Sports

December 30th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — In the hours after a four-sack performance gave Justin Houston the Chiefs’ franchise record, all he could talk about was how close Kansas City came to making the playoffs. Houston insisted his new single-season mark would hit him some day. He might be on a new team by the time it happens. The Pro Bowl linebacker became a free agent when the season ended, putting the Chiefs in a difficult situation. Their attempts at striking a long-term deal last offseason when nowhere, and Houston’s 22-sack season has given him even more leverage in negotiations.

“It’s the part of the business side that I don’t want to talk about,” Chiefs general manager John Dorsey said Monday. “I can say it’s ongoing business, ongoing conversation.” If the Chiefs slap Houston with the franchise tag in March, they would have until July 15 to agree on a multiyear contract, so there is plenty of time to work out a multiyear contract. But if no deal is reached, the Chiefs would have to pay Houston a one-year deal averaging the top five salaries at his position.

(Podcast) KJAN Sports Report, 12/29/2014

Podcasts, Sports

December 29th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

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

Play

No. 23 Northern Iowa beats SDSU 74-63

Sports

December 28th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — Nate Buss scored 14 points off the bench and 23rd-ranked Northern Iowa closed out non-conference play with a 74-63 win over South Dakota State on Sunday. Wes Washpun had 12 points and Seth Tuttle scored 11 for the Panthers (11-1), which got 45 points from its reserves.

Northern Iowa took control with a 13-0 run late in the first half. The Panthers let the Jackrabbits close to within five with 6:11 left before putting them away late to improve to 6-0 at home. George Marshall had 16 to lead South Dakota State (9-5), which dropped its second straight game against a Top 25 opponent. The Jackrabbits were beaten by No. 14 Utah 80-66 on Tuesday.

No. 23 Iowa beats Penn St. 77-52 in Big Ten opener

Sports

December 28th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Bethany Doolittle had 12 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks, and No. 23 Iowa beat Penn State 77-52 on Sunday in the Big Ten opener for both teams. Melissa Dixon was 5 of 12 from 3-point range and led the Hawkeyes (10-2) with 21 points. Ally Disterhoft, Whitney Jennings and Christina Buttenham each added 11 points. Jennings also had eight assists.

Lindsey Spann had 22 points, five rebounds and four assists for Penn State (3-9). Alex Harris grabbed 10 rebounds. Iowa scored the first nine points and opened the game on a 16-1 run, but Spann’s 3-pointer brought Penn State within 20-16.

The Hawkeyes took control back with a 13-2 run to go ahead 33-18 with 4:54 left in the half and started another 13-2 run in the final minute that stretched into the second half to lead 50-26.

Chiefs beat Chargers 19-7 as both miss playoffs

Sports

December 28th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs beat San Diego 19-7 on Sunday to eliminate the Chargers from playoff contention, moments before they were eliminated themselves by games happening elsewhere. The Chiefs needed Cleveland to beat Baltimore and Jacksonville to beat Houston, and neither of those outcomes transpired. The Ravens wound up with the AFC’s final playoff spot. San Diego (9-7) needed merely to beat Kansas City (9-7) to reach the postseason.

Chiefs linebacker Justin Houston piled up four sacks to finish with 22 on the season, breaking Derrick Thomas’s franchise record, and Cairo Santos had four field goals. The Chargers’ Philip Rivers threw for 291 yards, but was picked off twice. Branden Oliver ran for 71 yards and a touchdown.

National Sports Headlines: Sun., 12/28/2014

Sports

December 28th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Top-ranked Kentucky is 13-0 after Tyler Ulis scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half of a 58-50 win over No. 4 Louisville. Fellow freshmen Karl-Anthony Towns and Devin Booker also contributed to help stake Kentucky to a 50-38 lead with 4:43 left. Towns had 10 points and nine rebounds, while Booker added nine points.

EL PASO, Texas (AP) — No. 15 Arizona State was a 36-31 winner over Duke in the Sun Bowl as Kalen Ballage returned a kickoff 95 yards to set up Demario Richard’s fourth touchdown of the game with under five minutes to go. Ballage’s big return came after 9-4 Duke took a 31-30 lead on receiver Jamison Crowder’s 12-yard touchdown pass to Isaac Blakeney with 5:03 left. Richard tied a Sun Bowl record with 24 points for the 10-3 Sun Devils.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Southern California earned a bowl victory despite blowing a 45-27 lead. The Trojans won the Holiday Bowl as Cody Kessler threw for 321 yards and three touchdowns in a 45-42 triumph over 25th-rated Nebraska. Kessler tossed a 71-yard TD pass to Adoree’ Jackson, who also scored on a 98-yard kickoff return.

BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Cleveland Browns receiver Josh Gordon will miss Sunday’s season finale against Baltimore after being suspended by the team for a violation of team rules. The troubled receiver missed the first 10 games of the season after being suspended by the NFL for repeated drug violations.

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — The New Jersey Devils lost their first game since announcing Saturday that Adam Oates, Scott Stevens and GM Lou Lamoriello will serve as co-coaches the rest of the season. Oates ran the club and Lamoriello assisted as the Devils were beaten 3-1 by the Rangers. Lamoriello fired Peter DeBoer on Friday.

(Podcast) 7:20-a.m. Sports Report, 12/27/14

Podcasts, Sports

December 27th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

With Ric Hanson.

Play

National Sports Headlines: Sat., 12/27/14

Sports

December 27th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

ATLANTA (AP) — Jared Dudley came off the bench to score a season-high 24 points on 10 of 10 shooting as Milwaukee clobbered Atlanta 107-77. Dudley’s marksmanship included four 3-pointers that help the Bucks send the Hawks to their second-worst loss of the season. Brandon Knight added 16 points as the Bucks handed Atlanta just its third loss in 16 games.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Josh Smith scored 21 points and had eight rebounds in his Houston Rockets debut, a 117-111 win against Memphis in overtime. Smith shot 9 of 21 while playing 31 minutes off the bench, two days after he was officially released by the Detroit Pistons. James Harden finished with 32 points and 10 assists to help the Rockets overcome Marc Gasol’s (gah-SAHLZ’) 29 points.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Damian Lillard poured in 28 points and had nine assists as the Portland Trail Blazers whipped Philadelphia 114-93. Wesley Matthews hit seven 3-pointers and finished with 25 points to help the Trail Blazers improve to 13-2 at home. The Blazers shot 42 percent from 3-point range, hitting 18 of 43.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — North Carolina State shredded Central Florida’s top-10 defense for 488 total yards in a 34-27 victory at the Bitcoin Bowl in St. Petersburg. Jacoby Brissett threw for 262 yards and one touchdown, and Matt Dayes scored on runs of 24 and 15 yards to help the Wolfpack finish 8-5.

DALLAS (AP) — Houston Bates had 4 1/2 sacks against his former team and Kenneth Dixon scored one of his two touchdowns on an 80-yard reception as Louisiana Tech topped Illini 35-18 in the Heart of Dallas Bowl. Xavier Woods scored on a 69-yard interception for the Bulldogs, who also had touchdown runs from Jarred Craft and Blake Martin. Dixon became Louisiana Tech’s career leader in yards rushing, finishing with 63 for a total of 3,410 in three seasons.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Running back Ryan Mathews has been ruled out of San Diego’s game Sunday at Kansas City, which the Chargers must win to clinch a wild-card berth. Mathews will miss his third straight game with what’s believed to be a high ankle sprain. Also ruled out on Friday was punter Mike Scifres, who broke his left collarbone in the loss to New England.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith will miss Sunday’s game against the San Diego Chargers because of a lacerated spleen. Chase Daniel will start in his place. Team trainer Rick Burkholder said Friday that Smith was likely hurt on a hit during the third quarter of last weekend’s loss to the Steelers, but the quarterback didn’t have significant symptoms. If the Chargers beat Kansas City, they make the playoffs. The Chiefs would need to win and have Baltimore and Houston lose to earn a postseason berth.

Sweet 16 Cyclones highlight year in Iowa sports

Sports

December 26th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – In 2014, Iowa State rose to heights it hadn’t seen in over a decade.
Coach Fred Hoiberg and the Cyclones might go even further in 2015. Iowa State won the Big 12 tournament for the first time since 2000 in March, a thrilling three-day run through Kansas State, Kansas and Baylor. The Cyclones reached the Sweet 16 after a last-second win over North Carolina before falling to eventual national champion Connecticut.

Iowa State started this season at 9-1, including a 90-75 blowout of rival Iowa in Iowa City, and were ranked 12th as on Monday. The Cyclones kick off Big 12 play on Jan. 6 against Oklahoma State. While the league is arguably the nation’s toughest, Iowa State is a legitimate threat to win its first Big 12 regular season title in 14 years.

Here were some of the other moments that defined Iowa sports in 2014….

HAWKEYES RISE…AND FALL: Iowa reached the top 10 in late January last season and appeared poised to fulfill its promise under fourth-year coach Fran McCaffery. But the Hawkeyes dropped six of their final seven Big Ten games and stumbled into the First Four matchup in the NCAA tournament, where it lost to Tennessee in overtime. The collapse on the court was overshadowed by the cancer diagnosis given to McCaffery’s 14-year-old son Pat in early March. Thankfully, doctors declared Pat cancer-free in June. Iowa got off to a disappointing start to 2014-15 as well. It will enter Big Ten season at 9-4 and in need of a major revival to return to the NCAA tournament.

WEST HOPES DASHED: A host of returning starters and a seemingly favorable schedule had many pegging Iowa among the favorites to win the inaugural Big Ten West title. But the Hawkeyes dropped close games against Wisconsin and Nebraska and finished the regular season at 7-5. Much like its basketball team, Iowa will face Tennessee in an unexpectedly underwhelming postseason game, the Taxslayer Bowl on Jan. 2.

FIELD HOCKEY FIRING: Iowa field hockey coach Tracey Griesbaum was fired in August over allegations of player mistreatment, setting off protests from supporters who demanded that Griesbaum be reinstated. Griesbaum is planning legal action against the university, contending that athletic director Gary Barta discriminated against her and other gay female coaches. Barta has rejected discrimination claims. The Hawkeyes finished 11-7 under interim coach Lisa Cellucci.

CYCLONES STUMBLE AGAIN: Iowa State’s football team followed up a 3-9 season with a 2-10 one this fall, putting coach Paul Rhoads on the hot seat for 2015. The Cyclones allowed 38.8 points a game, and their offense struggled under first-year coordinator Mark Mangino. Iowa State will bring back a lot of starters next fall, along with a handful of highly touted junior college transfers who are expected to plug gaps. But unless the Cyclones improve drastically, they could be looking for a new head coach next December.

SPEEDWAY SUCCESS: NASCAR’s first year running the Iowa Speedway was a smooth one. Sprint Cup star Brad Keselowski and Sam Hornish Jr. won Nationwide races in Newton, and Ryan Hunter-Reay passed half the field in his final 10 laps to win the IndyCar event. The track will again host two races in the newly-branded NASCAR XFINITY series, along with IndyCar and trucks races, in 2015.

PARKER’S PASSING: Longtime Iowa coordinator Norm Parker, whose defenses were the cornerstone of the program’s success under head coach Kirk Ferentz, died in January at age 72. Parker spent 13 seasons under Ferentz, and his defenses routinely ranked among the nation’s best. Iowa State defensive assistant Curtis Bray died at the age of 43 just two days after Parker’s passing.

UNI REVIVAL: Northern Iowa appears set to return to the NCAA tournament for the first time in five years. The Panthers got off to a 10-1 start, highlighted by a 56-44 win over the Hawkeyes in Des Moines on Dec. 20, and could threaten Wichita State for the Missouri Valley title.

I-CUBS ON THE RISE: The Triple-A Iowa Cubs didn’t even make the International League playoffs. But the list of players who went through Des Moines might look staggering in a few years. Third baseman Kris Bryant finished his remarkable season in Iowa, hitting 43 home runs with a .325 batting average overall. Middle infielders Javier Baez and Arismendy Alcantara also stopped by Des Moines before ending up in Chicago – and even Manny Ramirez spent a few months there as a hitting coach, mentor and part-time player.

DES MOINES LANDS THE NCAAs: Des Moines was selected to host the NCAA men’s basketball tournament for the first time, a further sign of the capital city’s rise in last 15 years. Wells Fargo Arena will host first and second-round games in 2016.