KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel has been ruled out for Sunday’s game at Tampa Bay with a concussion, and Brady Quinn will start an NFL game for the first time since the 2009 season.  Coach Romeo Crennel said Thursday that doctors have not cleared Cassel after he was hurt in the fourth quarter of a 9-6 loss to Baltimore last Sunday.

Quinn has been taking repetitions with the first team in practice this week. The former first-round draft pick hasn’t started a game since he was with the Cleveland Browns. Ricky Stanzi, the Chiefs’ fifth-round draft pick last year, will serve as the backup.

Officials with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources announced today (Thursday), that four Louisiana men face 76 counts and nearly $86,000 in fines and civil damages for allegedly killing five deer illegally in southwest Iowa last November. The DNR says 41-year old James Keith Moore,  of Hammond, La., and 45-year old Michael D. Fralick,  of Ponchatoula, La., were charged with 32 counts each of deer related violations in four different counties in southwest Iowa. Moore and Fralick were each fined $6,123.90. The state is also seeking $25,000 in civil damages from each man for the deer they allegedly killed illegally. In addition, 46-year old Stanley B. Russell, of Roseland, La., and 39-year old William H. Chambliss,  of Kentwood, La., were charged with six counts each of deer related violations in Montgomery County. Russell and Chambliss were each fined $1,823.40.  The state is seeking $10,000 in civil damages from each man for their role in the alleged poaching activity. The state has also requested forfeiture of four rifles the individuals used to shoot the deer.

The investigation began in late November when the Kansas Wildlife and Parks Department received a TIP call from a concerned citizen about the activities of these men. The information led authorities to possible illegal activity in Iowa. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources received a TIP call about illegal deer activity around the same time that linked the two cases together. Deb Howe, state conservation officer for the Iowa DNR, said “These men came to Iowa specifically to road hunt trophy bucks during the rut. They did not have any licenses or tags to hunt in Iowa during the time they were here.”

A 10 month investigation by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Bureau, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Louisiana Department of Game & Fish, and the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks culminated in the 76 wildlife-related counts being filed against four Louisiana men.  Fralick, Russell and Chambliss face similar charges in Kansas. An initial court date will be scheduled for November.

Information received through the TIP hotline in both Iowa and Kansas was critical in this investigation.  If you have information on wildlife crimes please call TIP of Iowa at 1-800-532-2020 you can remain anonymous.

w/ Jim Field

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Royals have hired Doug Henry to be their bullpen coach next season. Henry served as the interim bullpen coach the final two weeks of last season. He takes over on a permanent basis for Steve Foster, who was appointed the club’s minor league pitching coordinator and special assistant to general manager Dayton Moore on Aug. 31st. Henry has been part of the Royals organization since 2008, primarily with Triple-A Omaha. The Royals are still searching for a new hitting coach after choosing not to renew the contract of Kevin Seitzer last week. Manager Ned Yost says he’ll likely promote someone from within the organization to take his place.

WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s another umpiring call that went the St. Louis Cardinals way this postseason. And it’s not the first time TV replays show umpire Jim Joyce missed a call at first base. Joyce ruled Nationals batter Danny Espinosa out when he bunted with a runner on and no outs in the second inning of Wednesday’s Game 3 of Washington’s NL division series against St. Louis. Nationals manager Davey Johnson came out to argue as fans booed. The Cardinals benefited from a disputed infield-fly rule call in their wild-card game victory at the Atlanta Braves last week. Fans at that game responded by tossing trash on the field. Joyce is best known for blowing a call at first base to ruin Detroit pitcher Armando Galarraga’s bid for a perfect game in 2010.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa State rode a pair of one-and-done transfers to its first NCAA tournament appearance in seven years. The formula worked so well that the Cyclones will give it another go in 2012-13. Iowa State lost perhaps the nation’s most versatile player, Royce White, and standout senior guard Chris Allen from the team that went 23-11 before falling to eventual national champion Kentucky in the third round of the NCAA tournament. Enter senior forward Will Clyburn and point guard Korie Lucious.

Clyburn, a 6-foot-7 forward, led Utah in scoring at 17.1 points per game in 2010-11 before transferring to Iowa State following a coaching change. Lucious, like Allen before him, fell out of favor with Michigan State coach Tom Izzo and decided to spend his final college season in Ames.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Chris Carpenter was every bit the postseason ace he’s been in the past for the St. Louis Cardinals. Taking the mound for only the fourth time in 2012, missing a rib after surgery to cure numbness on his right side, the 37-year-old Carpenter pitched scoreless ball into the sixth inning, rookie Pete Kozma delivered a three-run homer, and the defending champion Cardinals beat the Washington Nationals 8-0 Wednesday to take a 2-1 lead in their NL division series.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Brady Quinn is preparing to start his first NFL game since the 2009 season when the Kansas City Chiefs visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. The Chiefs are expected to be without quarterback Matt Cassel, who sustained a concussion in the fourth quarter of last Sunday’s 9-6 loss to Baltimore. Quinn finished out the game.

Chiefs coach Romeo Crennel said Wednesday that Cassel has not been cleared to play by medical staff and that Quinn, whom he coached with the Cleveland Browns, would be taking snaps with the first team in practice. Ricky Stanzi would serve as the backup.

Quinn is a former first-round draft pick out of Notre Dame who has started just 12 games over the past four-plus seasons due to injuries and ineffectiveness.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Romeo Crennel said Wednesday that he shares the frustration of fans in Kansas City over the Chiefs’ 1-4 start while also calling them “some of the best fans in the NFL.” The Chiefs coach served as a spokesman for an organization whose fanbase has been the subject of national scrutiny this week. On Sunday, offensive lineman Eric Winston laid into fans he believes were cheering after quarterback Matt Cassel was injured.  Cassel sustained a concussion in the 9-6 loss to Baltimore. Crennel said he believes most Chiefs fans “felt bad” that Cassel had been hurt. He also said that Brady Quinn is preparing to start Sunday at Tampa Bay.

A former Iowa Hawkeye football player who went on to be a star in the N-F-L and on television has died. Alex Karras was an Indiana native who played college football at the University of Iowa. Karras, a defensive tackle, was the runner-up in the voting for the 1957 Heisman Trophy. He played professional football for the Detroit Lions and retired in 1970 at the age of 35. Karras had success as an actor. In the 1974 movie, Blazing Saddles, Karras played Mongo — a character who punched out a horse in a memorable scene. Karras also starred in the long-running T-V series “Webster” — portraying a retired professional football player who adopted the child of a fellow player.

The woman who portrayed his wife on the show was married to Karras in real life. Karras and his wife joined 69 other former N-F-L players in filing a lawsuit against the league earlier this year, arguing the N-F-L did not properly warn players of the risk of returning to the field after suffering a concussion. According to a family statement, Karras died after “a heroic fight with kidney disease, heart disease, dementia and, for the last two years, stomach cancer.” He was 77 years old.