The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast w/Jim Field.

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ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) – The massive linebacker with the sweat-drenched biceps insists he never took a day off this offseason, even if he never showed up for one of the Kansas City Chiefs’ workouts. Early in training camp, it’s easy to believe him.

With his familiar No. 50 stretched across his broad shoulders, Justin Houston has wasted no time in terrorizing quarterbacks again – even if they happened to be his own teammates. While the Chiefs worked out in only shells during the first couple of days, and hitting the QB is always taboo this time of year, more than once Houston could have easily leveled the boom.

“I just made sure about being busy at all times,” said Houston, who often posted videos of his offseason workouts on social media while his representatives worked on a long-term contract. The deal was consummated just over a week ago, a six-year, $101 million pact.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz talked about the basics in an appearance at Big Ten media day. He says they have to fill some holes on both sides of the line to have success this season. “If you look at our football team, we have two outstanding senior defensive tackles, two outstanding offensive tackles. So the discussion really starts kind of there,” Ferentz says. “The good news is I think we have good players that are working hard to try to follow those players. Follow in their footsteps. They’re progressing. And certainly what we do in the next month is going to be really important for our development as a football team.”

Once the fill in the spots on the lines, they need to work on depth. “We need to develop depth at the quarterback position, receiver position as well. Defensively, the two defensive tackles, replacing those guys, developing depth there. The linebacker spot, we lost Quinton Alston, our middle linebacker. We feel pretty good about the group we have, and then a safety spot at the back end. So those areas are things we’ve been addressing,” Ferentz says.

Tight end Jake Duzey was injured in spring practice, but the coach is optimistic they’ll get him back. “The only good thing that came out of that was it’s not going to be a season-ending injury. So his rehab has gone very well. He’s making good strides,” according to Ferentz. “I think where we’re at right now, the next four weeks will be really critical how the four weeks go for him. And we’re optimistic. We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it, but we’re optimistic he’ll be able to return sometime in September.”

Iowa is picked to finish 4th in the Big Ten West this season.

(Learfield Sports)

NEWTON, Iowa (AP) — Ryan Blaney survived a flurry of late cautions to win the NASCAR Xfinity race Saturday night at Iowa Speedway for his first victory of the season. Blaney erased the sting of a disappointing runner-up finish last week in Indianapolis by maintaining his lead through a second green-white-checkered finish on the 0.894-mile oval.

Blaney won after finishing second three times in his other six Xfinity starts this season. Regan Smith was second, followed by Brian Scott, Ty Dillon and Brendan Gaughan. Fifty-one-year-old Kenny Wallace, the career Xfinity starts leader with 547, finished 15th in the last race of his NASCAR career.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) – There was already going to be plenty of competition for one of the starting cornerback jobs in Kansas City, even before the Chiefs learned Sean Smith would be suspended for the first three games of the regular season. Now, there are two jobs up for grab.

The battle began in earnest Saturday, when the Chiefs had their first full-squad workout of training camp on the campus of Missouri Western. Nearly a dozen players on the roster are capable of playing cornerback, and nearly half have a realistic shot at a starting job. That makes the competition one of the most intriguing of camp.

Sat., Aug. 1st 2015 at Principal Park in Des Moines

Class 1A

Newman Catholic 10, Pleasantville 0 (five innings) –

The Newman Catholic Knights won the Class 1A state championship game 10-0 over the Pleasantville Trojans behind Joey Verstegen’s no-hitter and a 10-run fifth inning Saturday at Principal Park. It was Newman Catholic’s fifth state title (1998, 2002, ’09, ’13 and ’15) and their first since 2013. Verstegen’s no-hitter was the fifth in an Iowa state title game and the first since J.D. Nielsen turned the trick in 2012 for Martensdale-St. Marys. Both teams came into the title game with the best team-ERAs in 2015 tournament play.

Class 2A

Clear Lake 11, Columbus Catholic 1 (five innings) –

Clear Lake defeated Columbus Catholic 11-1 in five innings to win the Class 2A state championship Saturday afternoon at Principal Park.Clear Lake ended at 30-11. The Lions won the 3A state title in 2013. Columbus closed the season at 32-6.

Class 3A

Waverly-Shell Rock 11, Harlan 1 (five innings) –

Number one-seeded Waverly-Shell Rock exploded for eight runs in the bottom of the fifth inning as they defeated the number three-seeded Harlan Cyclones 11-1 to claim the class 3A title on Saturday at Principal Park. Waverly-Shell Rock capped the third straight run-rule shortened game of our four state final games on Saturday. It was their first state baseball title in school history.

Class 4A

Southeast Polk 6, Iowa City West 2 –

Southeast Polk got an early lead after a four-run first inning and never looked back. The Rams defeated the Iowa City West Trojans, 6-2 to win back-to-back 4A state championships.

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast w/Ric Hanson.

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ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) – Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson and defensive tackle Mike DeVito, both coming back from season-ending injuries, were among the veterans reporting to training camp Friday. This is generally a loathsome period for veterans, with insufferable practices in heat often topping triple digits. But Johnson and DeVito wore broad grins on their faces as they ambled up the pathway to Scanlon Hall at Missouri Western State University.

Johnson’s season ended before halftime of last season’s opener when he ruptured his Achilles tendon with nobody near him. He remains 15 tackles away from breaking the franchise record. Eight plays later, DeVito went down with the same injury at nearly the same spot on the field. And without him on the line, the Chiefs struggled all season to defend the run.