LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A judge has ordered a southeast Nebraska school district to pay $770,000 in damages to a pickup driver injured in a collision with a school bus nearly five years ago.
Jeff Hall had sued the Norris school district and Lancaster County, saying the bus driver was at fault for speeding through a blind rural intersection with no stop sign. The court awarded him $1.1 million but reduced it by 30 percent, saying Hall bore some responsibility for the August 2009 crash. The judge ordered the district to pay 50 percent and the county 20 percent.
In April the Nebraska Supreme Court cleared the county from responsibility and sent the case back to the trial court.
Last week the district was ordered to pay all but 30 percent of the judgment.
Today: A 10 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 5pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 94. Southeast wind 6 to 9 mph.
Tonight: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly between 7pm and 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67. East southeast wind 7 to 10 mph becoming northeast after midnight.
Saturday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 85. North northeast wind 7 to 11 mph.
Saturday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 62. North northeast wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light north after midnight.
Sunday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 85. North wind 5 to 7 mph becoming east southeast in the morning.
Sunday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 62.
Monday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 81.
The North Platte First Nationals beat Hershland 17-0 at Bill Wood Field Thursday.
North Platte (27-17) wasted no time jumping out to an early lead by scoring five runs in the first inning, including a two RBI triple by Luke Volz. The First Nationals scored 10 more runs in the second inning and two in the third inning to get the 17-0 run-rule victory.
Ty Brockmoller returned from an injury to start the game on the mound for North Platte. He went three and two-third innings and gave up just two hits, struck out four batters and walked two. Devan Hovden pitched the final one and one-third inning and only allowed two batters to reach base on walks.
Volz led the way at the plate by going 2-3 with a triple, four RBI and three runs scored. Riley Vierya had North Platte’s only other extra-base hit with a double. Jack Kenny, Darian Allberry and Drew Callaghan each drove in two runs in the win.
North Platte’s next game is Friday against Ogallala at Bill Wood Field. The game is scheduled for a 7:00 pm first pitch.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Everybody in Detroit’s lineup had at least one hit and scored one run, the season-best offensive onslaught spurring the Tigers to a 16-4 rout of the Kansas City Royals in the opener of their four-game series Thursday night.
The Tigers established a season-high for runs just two days after their 14-5 blitzing of the Dodgers, and took a 5 1/2-game lead over the second-place Royals in the AL Central.
Drew Smyly (5-8) allowed four runs on eight hits and a walk in 6 2-3 innings for Detroit.
Jeremy Guthrie (5-8) gave up a career-worst eight earned runs on eight hits, three walks and two hit batters. He was mercifully pulled with no outs in the fifth, which means the Royals’ veteran has now allowed 16 earned runs in eight-plus innings covering his last two starts.
ATLANTA (AP) — The new College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta will open on Aug. 23.
The date was announced Thursday.
The opening of the 94,000-square-foot facility was timed to coincide with two games at the Georgia Dome to begin the college football season: Mississippi vs. Boise State on Aug. 28, followed two days later by Alabama vs. West Virginia.
The hall was previously located in South Bend, Indiana, but was plagued by poor attendance. Five years ago, the National Football Foundation announced a deal to move it to Atlanta, on a site near the Georgia Dome and overlooking Centennial Olympic Park.
Also Thursday, the foundation announced a lead sponsor for the facility, which will be known officially as the College Football Hall of Fame and Chick-fil-A Fan Experience.
North Platte – The North Platte Community College Knights softball team announced the signing of Larissa Fornwalt to a Naional Letter of Intent. Fornwalt is a graduate of Chaparral High School in Parker, Colo. and played on the Twister travel team.
Fornwalt is a pitcher and corner infielder who throws in the high 50s. “Larissa hits her spots well and does a good job keeping batters off balance,” said head coach Janelle Higgins. “She will also help our depth in the batting line up as she has great power and adjusts very well to pitchers.”
“I am excited to begin college at NPCC and continue to play the game I love,” said Fornwalt. “During this time I plan on bettering myself and gaining more knowledge of the game. I have heard great things about Coach Higgins and what she brings to the game of softball and I am excited to be a part of her team.”
“I am excited to get Larissa on campus this fall,” said Higgins. “She has a great personalit and humor that she brings with her from Colorado and will fit in very well with current and new NPCC Knights.”
“Larissa is hard working, dedicated and an extremely competent and gifted pitcher,” said her travel team coach Charlie Williams. “I am excited about Larissa fulfilling her dream and goal to play college softball and earn a degree.”
Lincoln – Sophomore Tai Webster begins a busy summer this weekend, as he returns to New Zealand in hopes of making the senior team’s roster for the FIBA World Cup.
Webster, who hails from Auckland, New Zealand, is one of 17 players selected to the camp. He has been in Lincoln training and taking summer classes which end this week. The competition begins for Webster next week, as New Zealand hosts Korea in a three-game series beginning on July 15 in Wellington. It is one of five events that New Zealand will participate in prior to the FIBA World Cup in late August.
New Zealand will play in the Three Nations Tournament in Korea, travel through China, Lithuania and Serbia before opening the 2014 FIBA World Cup on Aug. 30 against Turkey.
“What we have identified is we are maybe a little thin in the guard line,” Nenad Vucinic said after trimming the roster from 24 to 17 players this week. “Tai (Webster) boosts our stocks in that regard when he arrives on Monday. He was with us a couple of years ago and enjoyed a good season with Nebraska, and we are hoping that he comes back in good shape and good form and is able to slot in quickly.”
If Webster makes the World Cup roster, he will be tested in a six-team bracket that includes Team USA (Sept. 2), Turkey (Aug. 30), Dominican Republic (Aug. 31), Ukraine (Sept. 3) and Finland (Sept. 4)
Webster started 30 games for the Huskers in 2013-14, helping Nebraska make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998. He averaged 3.9 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. He topped the Huskers with 63 assists and reached double figures four times as a true freshman.
Webster made his national team debut in 2012, leading New Zealand in scoring three times in six contests in his first competition on the senior national team. He averaged 13.5 points per game in the 2012 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament, while shooting 52.5 percent from the field. He made his debut at age 17, becoming the youngest player to make the New Zealand National Team.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Royals outfielder Alex Gordon will miss next week’s All-Star game after visiting with a hand specialist and receiving an injection Thursday for his sprained right wrist.
Angels shortstop Erick Aybar was added to the roster as Gordon’s replacement.
Gordon said he still plans to attend the game at Target Field in Minneapolis, and that he’s looking forward to rooting on fellow All-Stars Greg Holland and Salvador Perez.
Holland, the Royals’ closer, and Perez, their catcher, are also making their second straight appearances.
Royals manager Ned Yost said he’s holding off on putting Gordon on the disabled list in hopes that rest during the All-Star break will be enough. It’s possible he could be used as a defensive replacement during a four-game series against Detroit starting Thursday night.
NEW YORK (AP) — Chicago White Sox pitcher Chris Sale and Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo were voted by fans onto the rosters for Tuesday’s All-Star game, and Los Angeles Angels shortstop Erick Aybar will replace Kansas City outfielder Alex Gordon.
Rizzo received 8.8 million votes among the 52.5 million ballots and Sale 6.7 million, Major League Baseball said Thursday. Voting was conducted on MLB.com, team websites and Twitter.
MLB did not release voting totals for players other than the winners. The others on the AL ballot were all pitchers: Houston’s Dallas Keuchel, Cleveland’s Corey Kluber, the Angels’ Garrett Richards and Detroit’s Rick Porcello. The losing NL players were Miami third baseman Casey McGehee, Colorado first baseman Justin Morneau, Washington third baseman Anthony Rendon and Atlanta outfielder Justin Upton.
Aybar joins fellow shortstops Derek Jeter and Alexei Ramirez on the AL roster. Gordon has been bothered by a sprained right wrist.
There was no immediate announcement on a replacement for St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina, who is to have surgery Friday to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb and is likely to be sidelined for at least eight weeks.
The NBA unveiled the logo for the 2015 All-Star weekend on Thursday, a subway-inspired theme that’s fitting for an event that will have fans on the move when it comes to the Big Apple.
The Friday and Saturday events will be held at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, before the All-Star game is staged at Madison Square Garden, home of the Knicks, on Sunday, Feb. 15.
The logo features the teams’ abbreviations, BKN and NYK, next to a picture inspired by the colorful subway and bus line maps that are featured throughout the city’s transportation system. The numbers in 2015 are written to appear like they are subway lines.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A judge has ordered a southeast Nebraska school district to pay $770,000 in damages to a pickup driver injured in a collision with a school bus nearly five years ago.
