The North Platte Community College men’s basketball Head Coach Kevin O’Connor was recently named the Omaha World Herald Midlands College Men’s Coach of the Year.

Coach O’Connor earned the honor after leading the Knights to a school record 30 wins and the second round of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) National Tournament. The Knights also finished a perfect 14-0 at home this past year.

Coach O’Connor finished his 28^th year at North Platte Community College and has compiled a 567-318 record in his career. The Knights advanced to the NJCAA National Tournament after winning the Region IX Tournament for the second time in four years and the second time in school history.

Lincoln – Nebraska will take on a first-time foe to open the Charleston Classic presented by Foster Grant, as the pairing for the eight-team field was unveiled Wednesday morning. The eight-team, 12-game tournament runs Nov. 21-24 at TD Arena in Charleston, S.C.

The Huskers will take on UMass in their tournament opener on Thursday, Nov. 21 at 11:30 a.m. (CT) on ESPN3.  This will be the first-ever meeting on the court between the two programs, as the Minutemen went 21-12 last year and reached the NIT. UMass returns three starters, including All-Atlantic 10 point guard Chaz Williams, who ranked third nationally in assists per game (7.3 apg) in 2012-13 while also averaging a team-high 15.5 points per game.

Nebraska would take on either UAB or New Mexico on Friday Nov. 22, with the semifinal taking place at 1:30 p.m. (CT) on ESPN2 or ESPNU and the consolation game taking place at 11 a.m. on ESPNU or ESPN3.  New Mexico returns four starters from a team that went 29-6 and was a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Guard Kendall Williams (13.5 ppg, 5.0 apg) and center Alex Kirk (12.1 ppg, 8.0 rpg) highlight the Lobo returners. UAB returns four starters for second-year coach Jerod Haase, paced by All-CUSA forward Rod Rucker, who averaged 14.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game as a junior. Nebraska will meet one of the remaining four teams – Clemson, Davidson Georgia and Temple – on the final day of competition on Sunday, Nov. 24.

ESPN3 will have five exclusive games and ESPNU will air four contests, while the championship game will be shown on Sunday, Nov. 24 at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN2. Colorado won the 2012 tournament title. Previous winners include Clemson (2008), Miami (2009), Georgetown (2010) and Northwestern (2011).

Nebraska, under second-year Coach Tim Miles, returns three starters from a team that went 15-18 in his first season, including guard Ray Gallegos and forwards David Rivers and Shavon Shields. Gallegos, who averaged 12.5 ppg in 2012-13, led the Big Ten in 3-pointers per game and ranked second in school history with 83 3-pointers, while Shields averaged 8.6 points and 5.1 rebounds per game as a true freshman. Rivers started NU’s final 17 games at forward and averaged 5.6 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. In all, 10 letterwinners return for the Huskers in 2013-14, while eight newcomers, including three redshirts, will suit up for the Scarlet and Cream this season.

Fans can purchase tickets to all six sessions (12 games) for $100 each, or single-session tickets (two games) for $20 each. Tickets are available at www.CharlestonClassic.com, by calling the College of Charleston box office at (843) 953-2632 or at the TD Arena Box Office. Discounted hotel accommodations as well as game tickets are now available for fans traveling to Charleston. Visit AnthonyTravel.com/CharlestonClassic or call 888-632-6951 to make your reservation today.

DETROIT – The Detroit Lions announced today that they have entered into a six-year partnership with the Big Ten Conference for a bowl game that will be played at Ford Field beginning in 2014.

The game will be officially named once sponsorship agreements are in place. The inaugural game is tentatively scheduled forDecember 30, 2014 (pending TV broadcast schedule).

“We are thrilled to be hosting a new bowl game in Detroit that will be anchored by an annual commitment from the Big Ten,” said Detroit Lions Team President Tom Lewand. “In addition to showcasing our city and its rich football tradition, this game will be an opportunity for fans to enjoy a postseason matchup featuring one of college football’s best conferences.”

At the end of each college football season, the Big Ten and a conference to be named will determine their team representatives after discussion between bowl and conference officials to create the best possible matchup.

“We are pleased to join with the Detroit Lions in creating this new postseason bowl game in Detroit,” Big Ten Commissioner James E. Delany said. “The city of Detroit has played host to as many big-time sporting events as any other major city in America, from NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four and Regional games to the Super Bowl, World Series and NBA Finals. The support of the business and community leaders of Detroit coupled with a world-class facility in Ford Field and Detroit Lions’ management of the game will result in a meaningful experience for Big Ten teams and their fans.”

The Big Ten has sent a representative to Detroit for a bowl game three times (Northwestern, 2003; Purdue, 2007 and 2011) for the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl, also played at Ford Field.

The Detroit Lions become only the second NFL team (Houston Texans, 2006) to officially host and operate a college football bowl game. The team’s entertainment division, DLI Entertainment, has promoted multiple large scale shows and events at Ford Field, including seven consecutive sold out Kenny Chesney concerts, Taylor Swift, Basketbowl (2003), 2008 NCAA Men’s Basketball Regionals, 2009 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four and the 2010 NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Frozen Four

About the Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL), and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit. The team located to Detroit in 1934 and are the National Football League’s fifth oldest franchise. The Detroit Lions most recently made the NFL playoffs in 2011, when they finished with a 10-6 record. In addition to professional football, the Detroit Lions have a very visible and active community relations role in the Detroit area. With a focus on health and wellness and community revitalization, the Lions have contributed $6.2 million through philanthropic efforts since 1991. For more information visit www.Detroitlions.com.

About the Big Ten Conference

The Big Ten Conference is an association of world-class universities whose member institutions share a common mission of research, graduate, professional and undergraduate teaching and public service. Founded in 1896, the Big Ten has sustained a comprehensive set of shared practices and policies that enforce the priority of academics in student-athletes’ lives and emphasize the values of integrity, fairness and competitiveness. The broad-based athletic programs of the 12 Big Ten institutions provide in excess of $141 million in direct financial aid to more than 8,200 student-athletes playing on more than 300 teams in 42 different sports. The Big Ten sponsors 26 official conference sports, 13 for men and 13 for women, and will add men’s and women’s lacrosse as the 27th and 28th official sports for the 2014-15 academic year. For more information, visit www.bigten.org.

CHADRON, Neb. (AP) — A Colorado man has won the men’s championship at the annual World Championship Buffalo Chip Toss at the Fur Trade Days event in Chadron.

The Panhandle Post website for station KQSK says 27-year-old Charley Teal of Fort Collins, Colo., threw a piece of dried bison dung 103 feet, 6 inches on Saturday to win the male 18-and-older competition.

His throw was well short of the world record of nearly 187 feet set in 2000.

The women’s crown for those 18 and older was claimed by 39-year old Crystal Ford, of Fort Collins, Colo., who tossed a chip 62 feet, 7 inches.

A $32 T-shirt that appeared on Nike’s website has been pulled.

The company used an image of South Carolina to represent the Carolina Panthers, which are based in North Carolina.

The shirt placed the Panthers team logo and the abbreviation “NC” on top of a rather large graphic image of South Carolina.

Nike issued a formal apology:

“A small quantity of incorrect Carolina Panthers tee shirts were recently made available for sale. This product should not have been sold. We have removed it from sale and apologize for the error.”

NEW YORK (AP) — One by one they came out of the bullpen, hard throwers on a mission to shut down many of baseball’s top hitters.

Max Scherzer and Chris Sale. Felix Hernandez and Matt Moore.

Heat, heat and more heat.

Even with its own studs such as Matt Harvey and Clayton Kershaw, the National League couldn’t match up.

The AL’s 3-0 victory at Citi Field on Tuesday night was an arms showcase.

Scherzer, throwing at up to 99 mph, pitched a 1-2-3 first, and Sale followed with a pair of perfect innings. The NL managed just three hits.

The NL managed just three hits.

Michael Cuddyer reached on a leadoff walk against Grant Balfour in the sixth, Wright singled softly to center against Greg Holland in the seventh and Paul Goldschmidt doubled to deep right off Joe Nathan in the ninth.