UNDATED (AP) — The Big Ten Conference won’t play nonconference games in football and a handful of other sports this fall because of the coronavirus pandemic. The move effectively cancels the annual Cy-Hawk football game.

University of Iowa director of athletics Gary Barta issued a statement that said, in part, “The uncertainties have been difficult on our student-athletes and coaches and I appreciate their continued understanding of the situation. “I am grateful for our fans who are also waiting for direction. While many uncertainties still exist, today’s decision will provide the greatest amount of flexibility as we move forward.”

Sen. Chuck Grassley has spoken out about the announcement on Twitter saying, “Very disappointed by the Big Ten making a decision that non conference games can’t be played Don’t they realize the Cy-Hawk game is a lot more interesting than many big ten games?? Especially disappointed Iowa can’t play MY UNIVERSITY uni BIG DISAPPOINTMENT.”

The league also warned that it was “prepared not to play” at all to keep its athletes safe. The decision affects more than 40 games, including some marquee matchups like Notre Dame against Wisconsin at Lambeau Field. The announcement came a day after the Ivy League called off all fall sports. Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith says he is “very concerned” about the season.

ST. LOUIS, Mo., July 9, 2020 – The St. Louis Cardinals, in conjunction with Major League Baseball’s league-wide release, today announced their 2021 regular season schedule.  The home opener is set for Thursday, April 8, against Milwaukee as part of a six-game home stand with the Brewers (April 8, 10-11) and Washington (April 12-14).

The Cardinals will open the 2021 season on the road with a three-game series at Cincinnati beginning on Thursday, April 1, followed by a three-game series at Miami (April 5-7).

Among the key home dates for 2021 are a pair of three-game weekend series visits by the Chicago Cubs on May 21-23 and to conclude the regular season on October 1-3.  The Cubs will also visit St. Louis for a four-game series July 19-22.  Additionally, the game against the Milwaukee Brewers in St. Louis on Saturday, April 10, will mark the 15th anniversary of the first game played at Busch Stadium III (also against the Brewers).

The 2021 season will feature 26 home series and 26 road series, including 13 weekend series at Busch Stadium: April 8, 10-11 vs. Milwaukee, April 23-25 vs. Cincinnati, May 7-9 vs. Colorado, May 21-23 vs. Chicago Cubs, June 3-6 vs. Cincinnati, June 24-27 vs. Pittsburgh, July 16-18 vs. San Francisco, July 30-August 1 vs. Minnesota, August 6-8 vs. Kansas City, August 20-22 vs. Pittsburgh, September 10-12 vs. Cincinnati, September 17-19 vs. San Diego, and October 1-3 vs. Chicago Cubs.

The Cardinals 20-game interleague schedule will feature a pair of three-game home-and-home series with in-state rival Kansas City on consecutive weekends (August 6-8 at Busch Stadium & August 13-15 at Kansas City), marking the first time the Cardinals have hosted a three-game weekend series against the Royals since 2015.  The interleague schedule also features a pair of two-game home-and-home series against the Cleveland Indians (June 8-9 at Busch Stadium & July 27-28 at Cleveland) and the Detroit Tigers (June 22-23 at Detroit & August 24-25 at Busch Stadium).  Additionally, the Redbirds will host a three-game interleague series versus the Minnesota Twins (July 30-August 1) and travel to Chicago for a three-game interleague series against the White Sox (May 24-26).

The Cardinals are scheduled to play 41 of their 81 home games before the July 12-14 All Star Break, playing 13 home games in April, 12 in May, 16 in June, 9 in July, 15 in August, and 16 in September/October.  The club is scheduled to host holiday games on Mother’s Day (May 9 vs. Colorado) and Labor Day (September 6 vs. Los Angeles Dodgers).

The Cardinals longest home stand of the 2021 consists of nine games (July 30-August 8) with three games against each of the Twins, Atlanta Braves, and Royals.  Their longest road trip consists of two 10-game trips from May 24-June 2 and before the All-Star Break from July 1-11.  The team has two stretches that will see them play 17 consecutive games without a day off from April 23-May 9 and May 21-June 6.

The Cardinals will make future announcements regarding game times, ticket pricing and ticket availability for the 2021 season. The complete 2021 regular season schedule can be viewed at cardinals.com/schedule and follows.

The brackets for 2020 postseason baseball in Class 3A and 4A were released on Thursday morning by the Iowa High School Athletic Association. First round games will be played on July 17th, Second round July 20th, and Substate finals on July 22nd. Atlantic will be in 3A District 15 and open up at Carroll. Here is a look at area pairings.

Class 3A District 15

Greene County @ Dallas Center-Grimes 7:00 p.m.
Atlantic @ Carroll 7:00 p.m.
District Final at Dallas Center

Class 3A District 16

Creston @ Harlan 7:00 p.m.
Glenwood @ Denison-Schleswig 7:00 p.m.
District Final at Harlan

Class 4A Substate 8

#1 Ankeny bye
#5 Des Moines North vs. #2 CB Thomas Jefferson (@ Lewis Central) 5:00 p.m.
#4 CB Abraham Lincoln @ #3 Lewis Central 7:30 p.m.

Full brackets for all classes can be seen HERE.

SOFTBALL

Hawkeye Ten Conference 

• Harlan at Denison-Schleswig

Pride of Iowa Conference 

• Central Decatur at Bedford

Other Games

• Missouri Valley at Atlantic – ON KJAN and KJANTV
• Bishop Heelan Catholic at Abraham Lincoln (DH)
• Bondurant-Farrar at Martensdale-St. Marys
• Boyer Valley at Panorama
• CAM at Southwest Valley
• Clarinda at Riverside
• Clarke at Southeast Warren
• Diagonal at Orient-Macksburg 
• Earlham at Audubon
• East Mills at Woodbine
• Fremont-Mills at Shenandoah
• Glenwood at Underwood
• Glidden-Ralston at Kuemper Catholic
• Knoxville at Creston
• Lenox at Red Oak
• Logan-Magnolia at West Harrison
• Nodaway Valley at West Central Valley
• Thomas Jefferson at Sioux City North (DH)
• Tri-Center at Lewis Central
• Whiting at West Monona

BASEBALL

Hawkeye Ten Conference 

• Glenwood at Atlantic
• Harlan at Denison-Schleswig

Pride of Iowa Conference 

• Central Decatur at Bedford

Other Games

• Bishop Heelan Catholic at Abraham Lincoln (DH)
• Clarinda at Underwood
• Creston at Winterset
• Earlham at Audubon
• East Mills at Lenox
• Fremont-Mills at Shenandoah
• Nodaway Valley at Stanton
• Pleasantville at Martensdale-St. Marys
• St. Albert at Hinton
• Thomas Jefferson at Sioux City North (DH)
• Wayne at Lamoni

The Atlantic Trojans softball team will wrap up regular season play tonight against the Missouri Valley Lady Reds and we’ll have coverage on KJAN and KJANTV.

The Trojans are 14-1 and the Lady Reds are 3-10. Atlantic is coming off a win over Shenandoah on Tuesday night 8-3, completing an undefeated sweep through the Hawkeye Ten Conference. The Lady Reds are coming off a 10-2 loss to Woodbine on Wednesday night.

Our pregame coverage will start at about 7:15 p.m. with first pitch set for 7:30 p.m. You can listen on AM 1220, FM 101.1, or online at kjan.com. You can also catch live video of the game tonight as well on KJANTV.