KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (AP) – NASCAR driver Tony Stewart is recovering from a third surgery on his right leg following an August crash at an Iowa sprint car track.  Stewart-Haas Racing said the procedure was done Monday to to examine and close a wound on his shin stemming from the broken tibia and fibula he suffered in the Aug. 5 crash at Southern Iowa Speedway. He remains hospitalized for observation.

The team said the surgery was a proactive measure and Stewart is expected back with the team next season.  He also had surgery on Aug. 6 and Aug. 8, with the latter procedure done to insert a metal rod inside the tibia.

w/ Jim Field

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The director of the University of Iowa’s sports concussion program says modern-day football helmets do not prevent concussions. Dr. Andy Peterson says helmets help diffuse the impact of collisions on the football field, but the helmet doesn’t absorb the forces of that impact. “There’s this common fallacy that equipment can prevent concussions in some way and it doesn’t. There’s never been any evidence that a better helmet, a cap that you add to the helmet, any additional padding, any other piece of equipment really makes any difference,” Peterson says.

“In fact, a very elegant study was just done out of the University of Wisconsin that demonstrated that football players really didn’t have any change in their concussion risk based on the age of their helmet, the quality of the helmet, the price of the helmet, the brand of the helmet, any additives to the helmet, type of mouth guard they’re wearing.” Helmet manufacturers have begun to void the warranties on helmets that have been altered with more padding or other add-ons.

“These companies that are marketing their products to try to prevent concussions don’t actually do that,” Peterson says. “There’s no evidence that they do anything and the Federal Trade Commission has started to crack down on that.” The doctor says modern-day helmets do help protect against skull fractures and the kind of traumatic head injuries that cause bleeding in the brain that can lead to death. “Football is as safe as it’s ever been. I think people lose track of this. There were only two traumatic deaths in all of the U.S. and that compared back to the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s when where were, maybe, a hundred deaths a year,” Peterson says.

“Football has become dramatically safer over the past decade.” Marv Cook, a former N-F-L tight end who was stand-out at the University of Iowa, now coaches high school football at Iowa City Regina. “The thing is these kids are getting bigger, faster and stronger and I can attest to that. I mean, I’ve seen these kids grow up and from when I was playing to now and they run faster, they hit harder,” Cook says. “And a lot of it’s got to be in the way we coach the game. I’m an ambassador with ‘Heads Up USA Football’ with the NFL and there’s new ways to teach to tackle, to try to keep the head out of the tackle, and I think that’s the direction that the league is going to be going and high school and college football as well.”

The coach and the doctor made their comments during taping of a program set to air Tuesday night on Iowa Public Television after the P-B-S show FRONTLINE examines the subject of concussions in the N-F-L.

(Radio Iowa)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pedro Alvarez hit a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-3 on Sunday to take a 2-1 lead in best-of-five NL division series. Alvarez pulled a grounder into right field that scored pinch-runner Josh Harrison from second base. Russell Martin followed with a sharp RBI single against reliever Kevin Siegrist, who took over after Carlos Martinez (0-1) faltered. Mark Melancon (1-0) picked up the win despite allowing Carlos Beltran’s tying home run in the top of the eighth.

Jason Grilli worked the ninth to move the Pirates within one victory of winning a postseason series for the first time since the 1979 World Series. Charlie Morton is set to start for the Pirates in Game 4 on Monday against rookie Michael Wacha.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Jamaal Charles scored a 1-yard touchdown with 6:23 left, and the Kansas City Chiefs kept up their perfect start after rallying to beat the Tennessee Titans 26-17 on Sunday.  The Chiefs (5-0) are off to their best start since 2003, when they won their first nine games. This win came despite blowing a 13-0 halftime lead in this early AFC showdown between these surprising teams bouncing back after losing seasons.

The Titans (3-2) couldn’t have been more out of synch in the first half with Ryan Fitzpatrick starting for Jake Locker sidelined with his sprained right hip. He missed his first five passes and went three-and-out on his first five series before guiding Tennessee to 17 straight points in the second half.

Charles put the Chiefs ahead to stay, and they intercepted Fitzpatrick twice in the final 6:14. Ryan Succop kicked four field goals, including a 48-yarder.

Game details to follow…please check back for subsequent update.

Tri-Center Tournament @ Neola:

The Red Oak Tigers picked up five more wins in taking the Tri-Center volleyball tournament title on Saturday. The Tigers took care of Stanton in the final 28-26 and 25-15.  Glenwood and Tri-Center fell in the semifinals.

Sharon Semler Invitational @ Council Bluffs/Thomas Jefferson:

Sergeant Bluff-Luton defeated St. Albert in the final to capture the Sharon Semler Invitational, hosted by Thomas Jefferson High School on Saturday. LeMars and Missouri Valley were semifinalists in the 8-team tournament.

Final: (2-0) Sergeant Bluff-Luton def. St. Albert 21-13, 21-19

Semifinals: (2-1) Sergeant Bluff-Luton def. LeMars 21-19, 16-21, 15-11; (2-0) St. Albert def. Missouri Valley 21-19, 21-19.

Consolation Semifinals: (2-1) Denison-Schleswig def. Thomas Jefferson 21-15, 13-21, 15-13; (2-1) Shenandoah def. Exira/EHK 11-21, 21-17, 15-11.

Consolation Final: (2-0) Denison-Schleswig def. Shenandoah 21-18, 22-20.

Other scores from around the area:

(2-0) Harlan 21-21, Pella 11-17; (2-0) Harlan 25-25, Pella 15-8

(2-0) Urbandale 21-24, Council Bluffs, Abraham Lincoln 10-22

(2-0) Western Christian 25-25, Council Bluffs, Abraham Lincoln 16-19

(games that were postponed from Friday due to bad weather):

A-H-S-T, Avoca 49, Riverside, Oakland 13

Clarinda 33, Red Oak 13

Harlan 34, Creston-Orient-Macksburg 7

Westwood, Sloan 16, Logan-Magnolia 14

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Drake quarterback Andy Rice had a career day, accounting for four touchdowns to rally the Bulldogs past Jacksonville 27-17 Saturday. Down 17-13 in the fourth quarter, Rice led Drake (2-3, 1-1 Pioneer League) on a 79-yard scoring drive, capped by his 2-yard rushing TD to put the Bulldogs up 20-17. Jacksonville missed a 41-yard field goal before Rice answered again, this time connecting with Lee Snell for a 32-yard TD to make it 27-17.

Rice rushed for a 1-yard score, and threw a 26-yard TD to Michael Hudson to give the Bulldogs a 13-0 first quarter lead. Rice was 17 of 26 for 241 yards. Jacksonville (2-4, 1-2) had back-to-back touchdown drives in the third quarter, highlighted by a Steven Hughes 77-yard TD pass to Andrew Robustelli to put the Dolphins ahead 17-13. Hughes was 21 of 38 for 269 yards in Des Moines.

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — Sam Ojuri ran for 96 yards and the go-ahead touchdown as North Dakota State rallied back from a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit to prevail 24-23 over Northern Iowa on Saturday. With three minutes to play, Ojuri took the handoff, shuffled right and burst through a gap up the middle, breaking two tackles on his way to the 19-yard game-winning touchdown.

The Bison (5-0, 2-0 Missouri Valley) cut the lead to 23-17 earlier in the fourth quarter. Going for it on fourth-and-6 from the Panthers 11, Brock Jensen threw a line drive to Zach Vraa crossing the middle of the end zone. David Johnson had 142 yards on 12 carries for the Panthers (4-1, 0-1) but injured his hip in the third quarter on Northern Iowa’s last scoring drive. Though able to return, he was still in pain and stayed on the sideline for most of the remaining plays in Fargo.