KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs linebacker Tamba Hali remains out of practice with swelling in his left knee, leaving his status for this weekend’s playoff game in Indianapolis in question. Right tackle Eric Fisher also missed the final workout at the Chiefs’ practice facility Thursday before the team departs for Saturday’s game. He strained his groin earlier in the week. Chiefs coach Andy Reid won’t rule Hali out of the game and says it’s “just a matter of the swelling coming down.” He adds: “It’s been up; it’s been down. We want to make sure we get it out of there.”

Hali is tied with Justin Houston for the team lead with 11 sacks. Houston will be returning to the lineup Saturday after missing six games with a dislocated right elbow.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Hardly anyone expected anything out of the Hawkeyes this season. But Iowa came through for longtime coach Kirk Ferentz, bouncing back from a 4-8 season with eight wins, a 5-3 mark in the Big Ten and a New Year’s Day bowl bid. Though the Hawkeyes (8-5) closed the season with a 21-14 loss to LSU in the Outback Bowl, that shouldn’t put too much of a damper on what they accomplished.

Iowa made major strides in 2013 and could be in position to challenge for a Big Ten title in 2014.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Larryn Brooks led Indiana with 20 points and nine assists as the Hoosiers opened Big Ten conference play with an 86-84 victory over Number 22 Iowa on Thursday. The Hawkeyes (12-3, 0-1) outscored Indiana 8-3 in the final seconds to climb within two, but Brooks made 7 of 8 free throws in the final minute, and Simone Deloach and Taylor Agler each added one to stay ahead.

The score remained close in the first half until the Hoosiers went on a 12-4 run with three 3-pointers by Karlee McBride and one by Larryn Brooks. Indiana (14-0, 1-0) was up 43-36 at intermission and led by as much as 12 until Melissa Dixon knocked down a 3-pointer for the Hawkeyes with 2:40 to play to cut the deficit to three. Samantha Logic led Iowa with 25 points and 12 rebounds.

Indiana will face off against No. 17 Purdue on January 6th.

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Nicole Blaskowsky came off the Iowa State bench to pump in 24 points and spark the undefeated, 14th-ranked Cyclones to a 71-49 win over Texas Christian in a Big 12 Conference opener Thursday Night. Iowa State built an eight-point lead in the first half, then put the defensive clamps on the Horned Frogs over the final 20 minutes, holding them to just 19 second-half points to earn its 12th win to start the season, matching a school record.

Blaskowsky was 8-of-16 from the field and drilled 7 of 15 3-point attempts. Nikki Moody added 13 points, Seanna Johnson 12 and Halle Christofferson 10 for Iowa State (12-0, 1-0 Big 12). The Cyclones now are 4-1 all-time against the Horned Frogs and 9-9 in conference openers.

Zahna Medley scored 22 points on 7-for-16 shooting to lead TCU (9-4, 0-1), which lost at home for the first time this season.

w/ Jim Field

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The Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources says  the state’s pheasant, late muzzleloader and archery deer, and archery fall turkey seasons close on Jan. 10th. The January antlerless deer season is Jan. 11th through the 19th, in select counties. Furbearer seasons, squirrel, quail, partridge and grouse remain open until Jan. 31st. Rabbit season is open until Feb. 28th. Crow season is Jan. 14th to March 31st. Beaver trapping season closes on April 15th.

For waterfowl, the north zone Canada goose season closes Jan. 3rd, and the light goose season closes on Jan. 12th. The south zone for Canada goose season closes Jan. 10th and the light goose season closes Jan. 17th. The Missouri River zone Canada goose season and light goose season both close on Jan. 17th.

The light goose conservation order season is open Jan. 18th to April 15th statewide; additional regulations apply. Don’t forget, all 2013 Iowa hunting and fishing licenses expire on Jan. 10th, 2014. All hunters and anglers will need a 2014 license to hunt or fish beginning Jan. 11th.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs wide receiver Dwayne Bowe has been cleared to play in Saturday’s wild-card playoff game against Indianapolis after sustaining a concussion against the Colts two weeks ago. Bowe was among several starters held out of last week’s overtime loss at San Diego. Kansas City could be without right tackle Eric Fisher, the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft. He strained his groin near the end of Tuesday’s practice and was not working Wednesday.

Outside linebacker Tamba Hali’s status also remains up in the air. He’s been dealing with some inflammation in his knee that has kept him out of practice the last couple of weeks, though he planned to try working out during Wednesday’s practice.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — On at least three occasions this season, an opposing coach was asked what it takes to stop Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles. Each time, they came back with the exact same response. “If you’ve got the answer,” Colts coach Chuck Pagano said, “I’m all ears.”

That was before Kansas City played Indianapolis a couple of weeks ago at Arrowhead Stadium, and the Colts didn’t need to do much to stop Charles in a 23-7 victory. The Chiefs only gave him six touches in the second half, something coach Andy Reid lamented following the game.

It stands to reason that Kansas City will at least make the Colts do the job themselves when the teams meet in a wild-card playoff game Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Pagano calls Charles a “game wrecker” and a “home-run hitter.”

Two years after a devastating knee injury threatened his career, and one year after he was the lone bright spot in a blighted season, Charles has put together one of the finest campaigns in the history of a franchise that has had plenty of notable offensive stars.

He’s already run for 1,287 yards and 12 touchdowns, solid if unspectacular numbers unless you consider that he’s done it while averaging 5 yards per carry. He also has a career-best 70 catches for 693 yards and seven more touchdowns, giving him nearly 2,000 yards from scrimmage.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — Seth Tuttle scored a season-high 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Northern Iowa to an 80-46 victory over Bradley on Wednesday night. Matt Bohannon had 16 points and three assists for the Panthers (7-6). Wes Washpun added 15 with eight assists and a pair of steals and Jeremy Morgan came off the bench to score 10.

Northern Iowa surged to a 14-0 advantage early in the first period and went on to lead 43-26 at the break. A pair of 3-pointers by Bohannon and two buckets from inside the paint by Tuttle to start the second half extended the Panther lead to 26. Northern Iowa would finish the game hitting 48 percent from the field and sinking 84.2 percent from the line.

Bradley averaged just 37 percent from the field overall and suffered 13 turnovers in the contest. Walt Lemon, Jr. led the Braves (5-9) with 17 points.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Jordan Daniels scored 28 points with three assists as Drake defeated Evansville 94-66 on Wednesday night. Richard Carter put up 19 points and grabbed four rebounds for the Bulldogs (10-3). Chris Caird had 10 points and Aaron Hawley came off the bench to score 12. Drake hit 61 percent from the field overall, 65.5 percent from the line and sank 65.5 percent from 3-point range. A Daniels 3-pointer at 16:25 in the first capped a 12-2 Bulldog run to start the game.

Evansville’s D.J. Balentine scored nine points in the final minute of the first period, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer, to cut the Aces’ deficit to four points at the break. The Bulldogs completely dominated the second period, leading by as many as 30 points with a minute left to play.

Balentine led the Aces (7-7) with 20 points.