NPCC Freshman Matt Thomas goes up for a layup against Central Wyoming in the Region IX quarterfinals. / Photo Courtesy of NWC Sports Information.
The North Platte Community College Knights advance to the National Junior College Athletic Association Region IX semifinals with a win over the Central Wyoming College Rustlers Thursday night 74 – 66.
The Knights started out slow out of the gate allowing the Rustlers to jump out to a 19 – 7 lead. Once the Knights got going they never looked back. The Knights went on a 23 – 10 run to lead at halftime 30 -29. They never trailed in the second half and led by as much as 12 points with just over a minute to play 74 – 62.
The game featured the No. 2 and No. 3 three-point shooting percentage teams in the region. The Rustlers, who rely on the three-point shot, shooting an average of 25.5 three pointers per game and making an average of 9.9 three-pointers made for 38.6 percent, shot 7 – 28 from behind the arc for 25 percent. The Knights are shooting 7.1 for 18.6 from behind the arc for 38.3 percent for the year, shot for the game 10 – 20 for 50 percent. They made six for eight in the second half.
The Knights improve to 24 – 8 on the season. They were led in scoring by Cameron Williams, who scored 22 points to lead all scorers. Williams also added seven rebounds and two assists. Matt Williams added 19 points going five for nine from behind the arc. Shyquinn Dix was the third Knight in double figures with 10 points. Tyree Peter grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Knights.
The Rustlers who finish their season at 19 – 10 were led by Eimer Lopez and Xavier Webb who scored 16 points each.
The Knights will face the host Northwest College Trappers in the semifinals, who defeated Western Nebraska 101 – 77. The other semifinal will feature Northeastern Junior College and Gillette College.
The Knights game will tip-off at 8:00 p.m. CST. The game will be broadcast on ESPN Radio 1410 or www.northplattepost.com on the World Wide Web. The game will also be live streamed on www.nwc.edu/regionix.
HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. (AP) — Natalie Romeo hit seven 3-pointers and scored 26 points, both career highs, to lead seventh-seeded Nebraska to an 86-71 win over Illinois in the second round of the Big Ten tournament on Thursday.
Nebraska (21-9) will play 14th-ranked Iowa, seeded second, in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Hailie Sample and Tear’a Laudermiller had 14 points apiece for the Cornhuskers while Allie Havers added 13 and Emily Cady had 11. Brandi Jeffery had nine rebounds and eight assists to go with her six points.
Ivory Crawford had 19 points and Amarah Coleman 18 for the Illini (15-16), who shot just 34.6 percent.
Romeo, a freshman who has started nine straight games since All-American Rachel Theriot was lost for the season with an ankle injury, was 5 of 7 behind the arc in the first half when the Cornhuskers (21-9) opened a 49-29 lead. She broke her career marks early in the second half with a layup, which she turned into a three-point play. Nebraska shot 61.7 percent and led by 28 with 8:21 to play.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs released veteran linebacker Joe Mays on Thursday as they attempt to free up much-needed salary cap space before the start of free agency next week.
The Chiefs saved about $3 million by parting with Mays, who started last season on injured reserve and wound up making just 16 tackles in eight games. Mays was expected to start alongside Derrick Johnson, but never seemed to solidify his role.
The Chiefs have made modest savings by releasing Mays along with wide receivers Donnie Avery and A.J. Jenkins and tight end Anthony Fasano. Now, the big question is whether they will carve out more significant salary cap space by trading, releasing or restructuring the massive contracts of wide receiver Dwayne Bowe and linebacker Tamba Hali in the coming days.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Previous Walter Payton Award winner Charles Tillman and four others are finalists for the Byron “Whizzer” White Award given annually by the NFL Players Association for community service in players’ cities and hometowns.
Bears cornerback Tillman, the 2013 Payton recipient as the league’s Man of the Year for his charitable work, is joined by Chiefs punter Dustin Colquitt, Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway, Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins, and Giants linebacker Jameel McClain.
The winner, who will receive $100,000 for his foundation or a charity of his choice, will be announced March 18 at the NFLPA’s annual meetings in Hawaii.
The award is named for Supreme Court Justice Byron Raymond “Whizzer” White, a scholar, athlete, humanitarian and public servant. Each team nominated players.
Last year’s winner was 49ers receiver Anquan Boldin.
The 2015 Big Ten Wrestling Championships are set for this Saturday and Sunday, March 7-8, at St. John Arena on the campus of Ohio State University. The event gets underway at 10 a.m. ET on Saturday, with the preliminary, quarterfinal, semifinal and wresleback matches taking place in Session I and II. Consolation semifinals and seventh-place matches get underway at 1 p.m. on Sunday, while first-, third- and fifth-place matches begin at 3 p.m. BTN will provide live streaming coverage of Sessions I, II and III, while the championship rounds will be carried live on the network.
Penn State enters the championships looking for its fifth-straight Big Ten title, after earning crowns in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. Last season, Penn State earned 140.5 team points, followed by Iowa and Minnesota with 135 and 118.5 points, respectively. Iowa leads all Big Ten schools with 34 team titles and 195 individual crowns.
Five wrestlers that took home Big Ten titles last season return to this year’s championships, with Illinois’ Jesse Delgado (125), Ohio State’s Logan Stieber (141), Northwestern’s Jason Tsirtsis (149) and Nebraska’s James Green (157) and Robert Kokesh (174) each earning crowns at last year’s event.
Six schools boast at least one top-seeded wrestler, with Iowa and Ohio State leading the way with three each. For Iowa, 125-pounder Thomas Gilman, 149-pounder Brandon Sorensen and 184-pounder Sam Brooks earned top billing in their weight classes, while Ohio State’s Logan Stieber (141), Bo Jordan (165) and Kyle Snyder (197) enter the championships as the top seed. The Illini’s Isaiah Martinez (157), Gophers’ Chris Dardanes (133), Huskers’ Robert Kokesh (174) and Badgers’ Connor Medbery (285) round out the group of top-ranked grapplers.
Ten Big Ten teams enter the championships ranked in the USA Today/NWCA/AWN Division I Coaches Poll, with conference squads claiming three of the top five spots. Iowa leads the way at No. 2, followed by No. 4 Minnesota, No. 5 Ohio State, No. 7 Penn State, No. 11 Nebraska, No. 12 Illinois, No. 14 Michigan, No. 15 Wisconsin, No. 21 Rutgers and No. 23 Purdue.
CHAMPIONSHIPS INFORMATION
Date: March 7-8, 2015
Site: Ohio State University
St. John Arena
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS (ET)
Saturday, March 7
9 a.m. – Doors open to the public
10 a.m. – Session I begins (first round, quarterfinals)
Fans clear arena at conclusion of Session I
5 p.m. – Doors open to the public
6 p.m. – Session II begins (semifinals, wrestlebacks)
Sunday, March 8
Noon – Doors open to the public
1 p.m. – Session III begins (consolation semifinals, seventh-place matches)
3 p.m. – Session IV begins (first-, third-, fifth-place matches)
TELEVISION COVERAGE
All four sessions will be broadcast live on BTN or streamed online. Sessions I, II and III wil be streamed on BTN Plus, while the championship, third-, and fifth-place matches will air live on BTN at 3 p.m. on Sunday.
LINCOLN, NE – Tennis champions John McEnroe, Andy Roddick, Jim Courier and James Blake will compete in the “Champions Cup Presented by Woods Park Tennis” Wednesday, April 1 at the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska, as part of the 2015 Power Shares Series champions tennis circuit.
The Lincoln event is presented by Woods Park Tennis Center campaign, which is raising $5.6 million to replace the indoor bubbles and make other improvements at the public tennis center located at 33rd and J Streets in Lincoln.
“We’re thrilled to bring championship tennis to Lincoln. This is a fun way for us to create greater awareness for tennis and the need to improve our public facilities. And everyone can benefit for learning the game,” said Marg Lincoln Donlan, campaign leader and long-time tennis advocate.
The one-night event begins at 7 p.m. and will feature two one-set semifinal matches, followed by a one–set championship match. Individual tickets and unique VIP fan packages are available. VIP packages include Play with the Pros, Player Party, Backstage and Ball Kids experiences and opportunities to meet the players, get autographs and photos.
Lincoln is one of 12 cities selected for The PowerShares Series, which runs March 24 – May 2. Other host cities are: Salt Lake City, Utah; Los Angeles, Calif.; Chicago, Ill.; Austin, Texas; Little Rock, Ark.; Dallas, Texas; Boston, Mass.; Richmond, Va.; Minneapolis, Minn.; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Vancouver, Canada.
John McEnroe
About the Champions McEnroe won seven majors singles titles in his career along with 10 other majors in doubles and mixed doubles. He won the U.S. Open four times and Wimbledon three times and helped the United States to the Davis Cup title five times. He captured 77 career singles titles and 78 career doubles titles on the ATP tour. He has continued his fine play on the Champion’s Tour, winning numerous champions events around the world since his final full-time year on the ATP Tour in 1992, including the points title on last year’s PowerShares Series. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1999.
Nebraska native Roddick was the top American man in professional tennis over the last 10 years, winning the 2003 U.S. Open while also posting runner-up finishes at Wimbledon in 2004, 2005 and 2009. He achieved the world No. 1 ranking in 2003 and guided the United States to the Davis Cup title in 2007 – the first championship for the U.S. in 12 years. He concluded his sure-to-be Hall of Fame career at the 2012 U.S. Open.
Courier won a pair of French and Australian Open singles titles in the early 1990s when he became the first American to reach the No. 1 ranking since McEnroe in 1985. Courier was also the youngest player to reach all four major singles finals in a career when he reached the Wimbledon final in 1993 at age 22. He also guided the U.S. to Davis Cup titles in 1992 and 1995 and currently serves as the U.S. team captain. Courier was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2005.
Blake ended his 14-year ATP career that saw him win 10 singles titles and reach a career high ranking of No. 4, at the 2013 U.S. Open. Blake is best known for playing singles for the U.S. Davis Cup team in helping the United States win the 2007 title – the first win for a U.S. team since 1995. Last year, he finished No. 2 on the PowerShares Series rankings behind John McEnroe.
Ticket Information: WOODS promo code! Tickets and unique VIP fan experience packages are still available. Tickets start at $30 and all ticket and VIP information is available: www.pinnaclebankarena.com. 10% of the proceeds from tickets sold with the WOODS promo code will support the Woods Park Tennis Center campaign. For more information about the campaign, please visit: www.takingthegame.com.
CINCINNATI (AP) — One year after the NCAA changed how rules were enforced to open up the men’s basketball game, it looks a whole lot like it once did.
Fouls, free throws and scoring increased at the start of last season with a new emphasis on eliminating some of the physical play, especially around the basket. Those statistics leveled off as the season went along, and they’re now back to near where they were two years ago.
Coaches and players say officials went back to calling the game the old way for the most part, and they’re glad to see it. One of the athletic directors involved in the changes says players adjusted as well, and the game is better because of it.
In college football, spring comes early. Or at least spring practice comes early.
Practice has already started for many teams around the country and will ramp up just about everywhere else throughout March.
Spring story lines tend to revolve around quarterbacks, coaches and coordinators. Most quarterback competitions won’t get settled until August. New coaches and coordinators will install their systems, but how much progress are they actually making? Who knows?
The intrasquad games and scrimmages that wrap up spring practice will give fans a glimpse of what they have to look forward to (or brace for) come September.
So while acknowledging that spring football often provides few definitive answers, a look at some of the most interesting story lines from around the nation.
QUARTERBACK COMPETITIONS
You might have heard that national champion Ohio State has a lot of good quarterbacks. Well, most of them aren’t going to be fully healthy for spring ball. Two-time Big Ten player of the year Braxton Miller is still recovering from shoulder surgery. Last year’s All-Big Ten quarterback, J.T. Barrett, is still on the mend from a broken ankle. So Cardale Jones, who led the Buckeyes to the Big Ten and national championships in three starts, should get a lot of snaps. The bigger question for the Buckeyes will be who sticks around after spring. Miller has graduated and can transfer without restrictions.
Other intriguing quarterbacks battles:
— Notre Dame: Mistake-prone Everett Golson will try to win the starting job back from Malik Zaire. And if Golson doesn’t, will he take the graduate transfer route?
— Florida State: There is no clear replacement for Jameis Winston. Last season’s backup, Sean Maguire, is the only quarterback on the roster with any experience.
— Baylor: Stud freshman Jarrett Stidham will try to jump past next-in-line junior Seth Russell. Coach Art Briles has had a lot of success plugging in the experienced player.
— LSU: Highly touted Brandon Harris will get another shot to take the starting job away from uninspiring incumbent Anthony Jennings. Tigers fans might want to keep an eye on how things play out with Golson and Miller.
— Oklahoma: That Sugar Bowl victory against Alabama seems like a long time ago for Trevor Knight, who followed up his breakout postseason performance with a mediocre 2014. Texas Tech transfer Baker Mayfield will provide competition, along with redshirt freshman Cody Thomas.
NEW COACHES
Michigan’s first spring under Jim Harbaugh started in February. What should expectations be for the Wolverines? Well, when Harbaugh comes to town the team tends to get better quickly and the Wolverines, despite missing the postseason last season, do have some talent. Two things to watch: A) Can Harbaugh tap into whatever it was that made quarterback Shane Morris a highly touted recruit? B) How large will the crowd be at the Big House on April 4 for the spring game? The faithful in Ann Arbor, Michigan, have not been this excited for a season since before the failed Rich Rodriguez experiment.
There hasn’t been quite the same buzz coming out of Gainesville, Florida, where Jim McElwain is putting his stamp on the Gators. The inability to put a productive offense on the field cost Will Muschamp his job at Florida. The spring game will give Gators fans a taste of what McElwain has up his sleeve and which quarterback — sophomore Treon Harris or freshman Will Grier — is the front-runner to run the show.
In Nebraska, Huskers fans seem to be embracing Mike Riley, who brings an experienced coaching staff and refreshingly friendly personality to Lincoln. Two major stars need to be replaced. Running back Imani Cross gets first crack at the tailback job vacated by Ameer Abdullah’s departure. Defensive end Randy Gregory will be even more difficult to replace. Maybe redshirt freshman Stoltenberg can help fill the void.
Other new coaches to track:
— Wisconsin: Paul Chryst comes home to take over the Badgers.
— Pittsburgh: Fiery former defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi brings the Michigan State formula to Pitt.
— Oregon State: Gary Andersen bailed from Wisconsin after just two seasons to replace Riley and give the Beavers a new look for the first time in a long time.
— American Athletic Conference West Division: The AAC West could be supercharged with three former offensive coordinators stepping into their first head coaching jobs: Chad Morris (formerly of Clemson) at SMU, Tom Herman (formerly of Ohio State) at Houston and Philip Montgomery (formerly of Baylor) at Tulsa.
FIXING THE D
With offenses flourishing, quality defensive coordinators were hot commodities this offseason.
The two hires that drew the most attention were in the Southeastern Conference. Auburn’s Gus Malzahn brought in Muschamp, who, for all his problems at Florida, always had quality defenses.
Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin wanted Muschamp but ended up with a pretty good consolation prize in John Chavis, the former LSU and Tennessee defensive coordinator.
Points are rarely a problem for Sumlin and Malzahn’s teams so fans of the Aggies and Tigers will be happy to see boring spring games dominated by their new-look defenses.
Other new defensive coordinators:
— UCLA: Bruins coach Jim Mora reached across the country to hire Tom Bradley to run his defense. Bradley, the longtime Penn State assistant, spent last season with West Virginia.
— Colorado: Former USF coach Jim Leavitt returns to the college game, given the task of fixing the worst defense in the Pac-12.
— Michigan State: Mark Dantonio stayed in-house to replace Narduzzi, promoting secondary coach Harlon Barnett and linebackers/special-teams coach Mike Tressel to co-defensive coordinators.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A federal appeals court has allowed Nebraska’s gay marriage ban to stay in place, putting a federal judge’s ruling striking down the ban on hold.
The decision by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals means that Nebraska’s ban will continue to be recognized until an appeal in the case is decided. Had the appeals court ruled in favor of the lower court, Nebraska would have been ordered to recognize gay marriages and civil unions starting Monday.
The appeals court decision came days after Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson filed a motion to keep U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon’s ruling striking down Nebraska’s ban from taking effect next week.
BELLEVUE, Neb. (AP) — Bellevue has been threatened with a lawsuit by the Nebraska chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union if it passes and enforces a citizen code of conduct.
The “Bellevue Nebraska Citizen Code of Conduct” says that individuals who enter city buildings must show respect for the facilities and use common courtesy with others. The code also says that they should not use lewd or offensive behavior and cause disturbances.
Amy Miller of the civil liberties group said in a letter to the city that the policy is unconstitutionally vague and covers speech that is protected by the First Amendment. Miller said that several residents had contacted the group about the policy.
City administrators want the policy in place to deal with citizens who could harass city staff.
