ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith says that the time is approaching where he will shelve all talk about a contract extension and focus solely on football for the remainder of the season.
The Chiefs have been discussing a new deal with Smiths’ representatives for months, though the sides remain far apart. Smith said after practice Wednesday that he’s yet to set a date to break off negotiations, but he acknowledged that “at some point mentally it’ll come to me.”
Smith is due $7.5 million this season, the final year of his contract, and many expect him to get an extension similar to what Colin Kaepernick received from the San Francisco 49ers.
Kaepernick signed a six-year, $126 million deal that includes $61 million guaranteed.
Husker football fans will get their first opportunity to see the 2014 team Friday afternoon at Nebraska Football Fan Day presented by U.S. Cellular. Friday’s festivities represent the best opportunity for fans to meet and greet this year’s team before the start of practice next Monday.
Fan Day will run from 2 to 3:30 p.m. inside Memorial Stadium with all Husker players and coaches that will be part of fall camp in attendance and available to the fans.
Fans may enter Memorial Stadium through Gates 3 and 24 on the southeast and southwest corners of the stadium. Gates will open at 2 p.m. The majority of players will be seated on the field at Memorial Stadium, while true freshmen will be located in the stands throughout West Stadium.
Fans are asked to respect players and coaches, as well as other fans by limiting their autograph requests to one item per player or coach. Any apparel items fans are wishing to have autographed should be in hand, rather than being worn. These policies will help accommodate as many fans as possible within the 90-minute Fan Day window.
Also as a reminder, autographs obtained for players and coaches are for personal use only. Any re-sale of an autographed item is prohibited and re-sale of an item with a student-athlete’s signature could jeopardize the player’s eligibility.
Free parking for Fan Day will be available in the 14th and Avery Parking Garage, the Champions Club parking lot (west of Memorial Stadium), Lot 8 (north end of Osborne Athletic Complex) and Lot 5 (northeast of Memorial Stadium). Parking is also available in the Stadium Drive parking garage, but fans will be charged for that garage.
Restrooms for fans will be available near Gates 2 and 24, as well as under the northeast corner of the stadium near Gate 15. Fans will not have access to the Osborne Athletic Complex, or the new construction areas in East Stadium. Drink stations will be available near the 50-yard line on the West sideline with water, Pepsi products and Gatorade.
Huskers Authentic Team Store will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fan Day and will have brand new adidas products, as well as this year’s media guides and schedule posters.
The Nebraska Athletic Department encourages fans to participate in Fan Day through social media by adding #Huskers to photos on Twitter or Instagram and by posting photos to Facebook.com/Huskers. Nebraska Athletics will sort through social media posts using the #Huskers hashtag. Posts will be placed on the big screen at Memorial Stadium throughout the afternoon. These posts will also be collected and displayed on Huskers.com.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha residents will soon be able to select live farm animals for future meals and watch them get slaughtered.
The Omaha City Council on Tuesday approved the creation of a live meat market in the southern part of the city. The council debated for more than an hour on whether to grant a special use permit for Tom’s Live Market.
The business will process animals such as sheep, pigs, rabbits, goats and small cattle. Customers can pick animals from pens at the business and wait while they’re slaughtered, processed and packaged.
Council members have required owner Tom Meyer to post signs warning off children under 12 from areas where they could see the animals processed.
Meyer says the concept is new for Omaha but familiar in cities around the country.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Campus sexual assault victims are joining senators on Capitol Hill in announcing legislation designed to make colleges more accountable to rape victims.
The effort was led by two Democratic senators, Claire McCaskill and Kirsten Gillibrand, but the legislation has bipartisan support. It would require campuses to designate a confidential adviser for victims and to develop an agreement with local law enforcement over how such cases are handled.
The action on Capitol Hill further escalates the dialogue in Washington on an issue long handled locally. A White House task force on campus sexual assault earlier this year recommended a series of actions schools should take, and the Education Department took the unprecedented step of releasing the names of schools facing federal investigation for the way they handle sexual abuse allegations.
DALLAS (AP) — Prosecutors in Dallas say a member of a “swatting” ring that made hoax 911 calls has pleaded guilty to computer-related conspiracy and retaliation counts.
Jason Allen Neff of Omaha, Nebraska, faces up to five years in federal prison in a plea deal over the investigation since 2006.
Six other people have been convicted and sentenced to prison over bogus emergency calls that sent SWAT law enforcement teams to various locations.
Neff pleaded guilty Tuesday to aiding and abetting the conspiracy to use access devices to modify telecommunications instruments and to make unauthorized access to protected telecommunications computers. Neff also pleaded guilty to obstruction by retaliating against a witness, victim or informant.
Neff was arrested in 2011 in Jackson, Missouri, and remains in custody pending sentencing.
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida woman is charged with child neglect after police say she let her 7-year-old son walk to a park alone.
Thirty-four-year-old Nicole Gainey of Port St. Lucie was arrested Saturday. Police say her 7-year-old son was en route to a park about a half-mile from home when lifeguards spotted him sitting alone at a nearby pool. When they questioned him, he ran toward the park, where officers picked him up. According to a police report, Gainey told officers she allowed her son to go to the park unsupervised once or twice a week.
Attorney John Whitehead of the Rutherford Institute, a Virginia-based civil liberties group representing Gainey, says his client is a good mother who is scared but ready to fight the charge.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska is requesting federal disaster aid to help individuals and businesses recover from the June tornadoes.
The Nebraska Emergency Management Agency says Gov. Dave Heineman submitted a request this week to the U.S. Small Business Administration.
If approved, the SBA would make low-interest loans available to five northeastern Nebraska counties that were hit by severe storms, tornadoes and flooding. Residents in Cedar, Cuming, Dixon, Stanton and Wayne counties could qualify.
The request comes after the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced that it was rejecting Nebraska’s request for individual federal disaster assistance. The level of private insurance coverage in the area was a factor, because federal disaster aid can’t duplicate insurance proceeds or assistance from other sources.
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — Oft-injured Chiefs safety Sanders Commings was carted off the practice field Wednesday after getting juked to the ground by running back Jamaal Charles and hurting his right ankle.
Commings broke his collarbone in his first practice as a rookie and was finally getting up to speed. He was trying to tackle Charles in the open field when he whiffed, turning his ankle in such a way that he was unable to put any weight on it.
Commings was in a heated competition for a backup job, and the Chiefs hoped he would push veteran Husain Abdullah for the free safety spot that opened when Kendrick Lewis departed.
Meanwhile, right tackle Donald Stephenson returned to practice after missing Monday’s workout with a left ankle injury. The Chiefs had Tuesday off.
DETROIT (AP) — A Texas lawyer has sued General Motors on behalf of 658 people injured or killed in crashes allegedly caused by faulty ignition switches.
The lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan names 29 people who were killed and 629 who were hurt. All the crashes occurred after GM left bankruptcy protection in July 2009. That makes them exempt from GM’s efforts to shield itself from claims due to crashes that happened before the bankruptcy, attorney Robert Hilliard said.
Hilliard said he wants to file another 248 cases from before the bankruptcy, including 21 deaths.
The lawsuit alleges GM knew about defective switches that can cause engines to stall since 2001, yet it didn’t recall any cars until this year. GM would not comment on the lawsuit.
KEARNEY, Neb. – As the 2014-15 season inches closer, Tri-City Storm Head Coach Jim Hulton has added another name to his staff, hiring Neil Breen as an assistant coach.
Breen won a Clark Cup Championship with the Omaha Lancers in 1998 before playing collegiately at Quinnipiac University from 1998-2002. Most recently, he had an assistant coaching role with the Springfield Jr. Blues in the North American Hockey League (NAHL).
But what makes Breen different is what he did once his playing career was over.
“When I was a player, I always stayed in pretty good shape,” Breen said. “After I stopped playing hockey I got involved in mixed martial arts and got myself certified as a personal trainer. As an MMA fighter you learn what your limits are physically, and that really sort of opened some doors up for me.”
In addition to helping Hulton behind the bench and assisting in recruiting efforts, the 36-year-old will work with the team’s players as a strength trainer.
“I started training hockey players at all different levels both on and off the ice and realized the potential for the convergence of the two sports,” Breen said. “The way that mixed martial artists train is explosive work. It’s cardio, core, and balance, everything that a hockey player needs.”
“Using the methods I’ve learned training myself as a hockey player, and the methods mixed martial artists use, I’ve put them together and it’s really worked. I’ve had a lot of success with it and it’s something that I’ve been doing with teams for a few years. It’s something I take a lot of pride in and I look forward to working with the players and getting them in tip-top shape.”
A Spokane, Wash. native, Breen spent parts of three seasons in Omaha, playing in 131 games with the Lancers.
“I’m very excited to come back to Nebraska,” said Breen. “The USHL is a league I was very fond of as a player, and now that I’m coming back as a coach, it’s pretty awesome. The last time I was in a USHL rink in Nebraska was when we won the Clark Cup in Omaha.”
The hire is the first Hulton has made to his staff since taking over behind the bench last November.
“We are pleased to add Neil to our staff,” said Hulton. “As a former captain and Clark Cup Champion, he is both a proven winner and a leader. Neil’s background in playing, coaching and off-ice training made him our ideal candidate. We look forward to his arrival in Kearney.”
The Storm’s full 60-game schedule for the 2014-15 USHL season is posted on the team’s website, stormhockey.com. Tri-City will host the Sioux Falls Stampede to open their home schedule on Oct. 3 at 7:30 p.m.
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith says that the time is approaching where he will shelve all talk about a contract extension and focus solely on football for the remainder of the season.
