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Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

UNDATED (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals have returned to the field for light workouts nearly a week after an outbreak of COVID-19 forced the club and its staff members to quarantine in Milwaukee. Cardinals manager Mike Shildt called it “a breath of fresh air” after five days spent in The Pfister Hotel. The Cardinals returned 13 positive coronavirus tests in their traveling party, seven of them players, forcing them to suspend their season. They were finally cleared to travel back to St. Louis late Tuesday, when they returned negative tests for the second straight day.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Yu Darvish pitched seven sharp innings and the Chicago Cubs beat the skidding Kansas City Royals 6-1 on Wednesday night for their sixth straight victory. Javier Báez drove in two runs for the Cubs, who handed Kansas City its sixth consecutive defeat. Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo each had two hits and scored twice. Darvish was in midseason form for the second straight outing. He gave up five hits, struck out four and walked one.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs hope to know soon whether cornerback Bashaud Breeland will be suspended to start the season, but they are confident they’ll be fine either way. Even before the veteran was arrested in South Carolina in April, the Chiefs worked hard to fortify one of the crucial spots in coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s defense. They signed special teams ace Antonio Hamilton, who played for the Giants last season, and used a pair of draft picks on cornerbacks. L’Jarius Sneed was picked in the fourth round and Bopete Keyes was chosen in the seventh.

CHICAGO (AP) — Cubs overcame another shaky outing by closer Craig Kimbrel to beat the Kansas City Royals 5-4 Tuesday night for their fifth straight win.Jason Heyward, Jason Kipnis and Willson Contreras homered and the Chicago Cubs overcame another shaky outing by closer Craig Kimbrel to beat the Kansas City Royals 5-4 for their fifth straight win. Kimbrel took over to begin the ninth inning with a 5-2 lead, but struggled again and allowed two runs and two hits while getting only one out. Kyle Ryan closed it out for his first save, getting Bubba Starling to ground out with a runner on third to end it.

UNDATED (AP) — When a team is sidelined by the coronavirus, it affects future opponents as well, and leaves players and managers in an unusual holding pattern. That’s a challenge several teams have already had to deal with during this baseball season. Milwaukee had a whole series against St. Louis called off, and Detroit now has a gap in its schedule because the Cardinals still can’t play. Philadelphia played three games against Miami. Then the Marlins were sidelined because of an outbreak within their team, and the Phillies went a week without playing a game.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs have had two players opt out of the upcoming season because of COVID-19 concerns in running back Damien Williams and guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif. Both were key parts of their Super Bowl run. But with the signing of veteran guard Kelechi Osemele, and some key offseason acquisitions at both spots, there may be no positions for which the Chiefs are better able to absorb those losses as they head into training camp.

(Radio Iowa) – Several Iowa high schools are gaining the services of football players from states that have pushed back their seasons to next year. That includes the defending Class A state champions.

Alex Marks is a lineman from Bakersfield, California and moved to Iowa in the spring. He will play for West Hancock. Eagles coach Mark Sanger.

WEST LAKE OKOBOJI, Iowa – The DNR Law Enforcement Bureau is seeking the public’s help in locating a boat involved in a hit and run on Tuesday, August 4, 2020 at approximately 10:35pm, near Manhattan Point on West Lake Okoboji. A boat, traveling northbound hit another boat from behind just off Manhattan Point, injuring Vaughn Wickman, 52, of Spirit Lake, who was operating the boat that was hit. The boat that caused the crash then fled the scene.

Wickman was transported to a local hospital by ambulance where he was treated for injuries sustained in the crash. DNR Conservation Officers and local law enforcement attempted to locate the boat involved, and also utilized the Dickinson County thermal imaging drone, but were not able to locate the boat. Conservation Officers continue to investigate the incident.

Anyone with information related to this hit and run investigation, including witnesses or anyone who sees a boat with new front end damage or scrape marks, is asked to contact DNR Conservation Officer Steve Reighard immediately at (712) 260-1018 or Steve.Reighard@dnr.iowa.gov. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous should state that when sharing pertinent information related to this case.

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Iowa Hawkeyes will play a 10-game Big Ten Conference football schedule in 2020, featuring five home games in Kinnick Stadium. The entire Big Ten schedule of games was announced Wednesday by the conference office.

The Hawkeyes open the season at home on Saturday, Sept. 5, hosting Maryland. Additional home games include Nebraska (Sept. 26), Northwestern (Oct. 3), Michigan State (Oct. 31) and Wisconsin (Nov. 14). Iowa travels to face Purdue on Sept. 12, and plays at Minnesota the following week on Saturday, Sept. 19. Remaining road games include at Illinois (Oct. 10), Penn State (Oct. 24) and Ohio State (Nov. 21). Iowa has open dates scheduled for Oct. 17 and Nov. 7.

“We continue to face uncertain and unprecedented times, and the health, safety and wellness of our student-athletes, coaches, staff, and others associated with our sports programs remains our number one priority,” said Gary Barta, Henry B. and Patricia B. Tippie Director of Athletics Chair. “I am confident in the medical protocols established by the Big Ten Conference Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases and Sports Medicine Committee, in addition to the continued oversight provided by our UI Hawkeye team physicians within the UIHC Department of Orthopedics and Epidemiology.

“The past few months have entailed numerous conversations between my conference colleagues, Commissioner Kevin Warren and our Big Ten presidents, as we have worked to navigate the challenges associated with this pandemic. We appreciate the continued patience and support from our donors, ticket holders, partners, and fans. Now that the football schedule has been announced, we will finalize our Kinnick Stadium seating plan and share that in the next few days. If we have the opportunity to play, we are excited about our challenging conference schedule and the five games in Kinnick Stadium.”

Iowa’s opening game marks the first time since 1980 the Hawkeyes will open the season against at Big Ten opponent. The Hawkeyes opened that season with a 16-7 win over Indiana in Kinnick Stadium.

“As a program, we have been looking forward to this day since the decision to play a conference-only schedule was announced,” said UI head football coach Kirk Ferentz. “Knowing when our games are scheduled will allow us to prepare for what is ahead on the field and support our players’ academic schedules off the field.

“Our players have shown patience and dedication during the most recent period of conditioning and off-season workouts, and now we are excited to begin the process of preparing for a football season. We are continuing to closely monitor the health and safety of our players and staff and look forward to starting our season in Kinnick Stadium on Sept. 5.”

Iowa football has won 47 games over the past five seasons, the best five-year total in school history and a total that ranks ninth in the nation. The Hawkeyes posted six home wins in 2019 and have posted 27 victories in Kinnick Stadium in the last five seasons.

Iowa will begin the 2020 campaign with a four-game winning streak, including a 49-24 win over No. 22 Southern California in the 2019 Holiday Bowl.

Iowa is scheduled to begin official preparation for the 2020 season Friday, Aug. 7 with the opening of preseason camp. The opening contest against Maryland will be the first opportunity to see the 2020 Hawkeyes in action, as the annual August Kids Day in Kinnick Stadium will not take place.

Information regarding fan attendance for 2020 home games, including ticketing update and information, along with Kinnick Stadium policies and procedures for the season, will be released soon. Iowa Athletics has not yet finalized an allowable attendance figure for home games.

The Big Ten Conference championship game is scheduled for Dec. 5, at Lucas Oil stadium in Indianapolis. Following is Iowa’s 2020 football schedule:

Sept. 5         Maryland
Sept. 12       at Purdue
Sept. 19       at Minnesota
Sept. 26       Nebraska
Oct. 3          Northwestern
Oct. 10        at Illinois
Oct. 17        Open
Oct. 24        at Penn State
Oct. 31        Michigan State
Nov. 7         Open
Nov. 14       Wisconsin
Nov. 21       at Ohio State
Dec. 5         Big Ten Championship

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa will open the football season September fifth at home against Maryland. The Big Ten released a ten game, conference only schedule that gives each team two bye weeks and the possibility of moving the conference championship game two weeks to December 19th. Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren was interviewed on BTN.

Warren says starting the season Labor Day weekend will provide the conference the flexibility it needs.

Warren says football teams will be allowed to begin fall camp on Friday.

Warren says all players and staff will be tested weekly beginning the week of the season opener.

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(Radio Iowa) — U-N-I officials have the go-ahead to create a “team room” for the Panther football team inside the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls. Michael Hager, a vice president at the University of Northern Iowa, says “To the extent there are corners in a round building, it’ll go in the northeast corner of the UNI-Dome. It’ll add 120-140 seats and that can be divided in two for offense and defense or whatever. It’ll also serve as premium seating on game day and other special events.”

The board that governs the state universities approved the project at its meeting in late July. Hager says the project will cost about two-MILLION dollars and will be financed with private contributions. “There’s no public funds, no general fund dollars going to this,” Hager says. “It’s entirely private gifts from generous donors will pay for this.”

The UNI-Dome was built in the mid-1970s and is the home for Panther sports as well as the Iowa High School Football Championship games.

Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — Jason Heyward, Jason Kipnis and Willson Contreras homered and the Chicago Cubs overcame another shaky outing by closer Craig Kimbrel to beat the Kansas City Royals 5-4 for their fifth straight win. Kimbrel took over to begin the ninth inning with a 5-2 lead, but struggled again and allowed two runs and two hits while getting only one out. Kyle Ryan closed it out for his first save, getting Bubba Starling to ground out with a runner on third to end it.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina says he’s one of the players on the team who tested positive for COVID-19. The nine-time All-Star revealed his results in a Spanish-language Instagram post. Soon afterward, the Cardinals issued a release naming six of the players who have tested positive. The others are infielders Paul DeJong, Edmundo Sosa and Rangel Ravelo along with pitchers Junior Fernandez and Kodi Whitley. The outbreak resulted in the postponement of the Cardinals’ scheduled three-game weekend series at Milwaukee as well as a four-game series with Detroit.

UNDATED (AP) — When a team is sidelined by the coronavirus, it affects future opponents as well, and leaves players and managers in an unusual holding pattern. That’s a challenge several teams have already had to deal with during this baseball season. Milwaukee had a whole series against St. Louis called off, and Detroit now has a gap in its schedule because the Cardinals still can’t play. Philadelphia played three games against Miami. Then the Marlins were sidelined because of an outbreak within their team, and the Phillies went a week without playing a game.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs have had two players opt out of the upcoming season because of COVID-19 concerns in running back Damien Williams and guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif. Both were key parts of their Super Bowl run. But with the signing of veteran guard Kelechi Osemele, and some key offseason acquisitions at both spots, there may be no positions for which the Chiefs are better able to absorb those losses as they head into training camp.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tristan Wirfs knows he has a critical role to play in helping Tom Brady transform the Tampa Bay Buccaneers into winners. The rookie is undaunted by the challenge of preparing for the task without the benefit of a normal preseason. The former Iowa star was the 13th pick in this year’s NFL draft, addressing the need to bolster an offensive line responsible for protecting the team’s 43-year-old quarterback. While Wirfs is expected to be an immediate starter at right tackle, he concedes he has a lot of ground to cover in training camp.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Six-time Pro Bowl running back LeSean McCoy has finalized a one-year contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With the signing, the Bucs add another offensive playmaker to help Tom Brady with his new team. The 32-year-old McCoy is entering his 12th NFL season. He has started 141 of 160 career games, rushing for 11,071 yards and 73 touchdowns. He also has been effective in the passing attack, with 503 receptions for 3,797 yards and 16 touchdowns with the Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs. McCoy added a Super Bowl title to his resume as a backup with the Chiefs last season.

ST. LOUIS, MO., August 4, 2020 – The St. Louis Cardinals today have acknowledged that the following six
players tested positive for COVID-19: catcher Yadier Molina, infielders Paul DeJong, Edmundo Sosa, and Rangel
Ravelo, and pitchers Junior Fernández and Kodi Whitley. All six individuals made the decision to grant permission in
order to release this information.

“I am saddened to have tested positive for COVID-19, even after adhering to safety guidelines that were put in
place,” said Molina. “I will do everything within my power to return as soon as possible for Cardinals fans, the city of St.
Louis and my teammates. As I recover, I request that you please respect my privacy and family in my absence from the
team.”

“I am disappointed to share that I have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, even though I followed team
protocols,” stated DeJong. “I will approach my healing as I do all other things in my life – with education, commitment,
and persistence. I look forward to re-joining the team soon and ask that you respect my privacy at this time.”

The tentative plan is for the Cardinals to resume their regular schedule on Friday against the Chicago Cubs at
Busch Stadium.