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Chiefs Add Long-Snapper Winchester as Overhaul Continues

Kansas City Chiefs LogoKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs have signed long snapper James Winchester to a two-year contract, yet another move in what has turned into a massive roster overhaul this offseason.

The signing Friday came one day after the Chiefs traded a fifth-round draft pick to New Orleans for Pro Bowl offensive guard Ben Grubbs and signed offensive lineman Paul Fanaika, a former Cardinals starter.

Kansas City also signed wide receiver Jeremy Maclin and safety Tyvon Branch this week, and released veteran wide receiver Dwayne Bowe in a cost-saving move.

Kansas City now has three long snappers on the roster in Winchester, Brandon Hartson and Jorgen Hus, which means the club appears to be moving on from incumbent Thomas Gafford.

Spotlight Shines on Bullied Cheerleader Defended by Athletes

Desiree Andrews (Photo from Facebook)
Desiree Andrews (Photo from Facebook)

KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — The story of three Kenosha middle school basketball players defending a cheerleader who has Down syndrome is attracting a lot of attention.

The three players had heard mean-spirited comments directed at cheerleader Desiree Andrews coming from the crowd during a game last year at Lincoln Middle School. During a timeout, Chase Vazquez, Scooter Terrien and Miles Rodriguez walked off the court to address the comments.

Desiree’s father, Cliff, tells the Kenosha News (https://bit.ly/1wDYzus ) his phone has been ringing “nonstop” since the story surfaced, including calls from talk shows and news outlets. He says Desiree is “on cloud nine” with all the attention, but he says the story is really about the boys’ standing up against bullying.

Since the incident, the gym at the school has been dubbed “D’s House” in Desiree’s honor.

No. 23 Georgetown Advances in Big East with 60-55 Win

Creighton-Jays-BasketballNEW YORK (AP) — D’Vauntes Smith Rivera scored 25 points, including 12 of Georgetown’s final 14 of the game, and the 23rd-ranked Hoyas beat Creighton 60-55 on Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden.

The junior guard and first-team all-conference selection took over in the last 5 minutes when the second-seeded Hoyas finally took the lead for good over the upset-minded Bluejays, who finished last in the conference. His final points were two free throws with 3.2 seconds left.

The Hoyas (21-9) will face the winner of the Xavier-Butler game in Friday night’s semifinals. It is their first semifinal appearance since 2010. Georgetown has won the tournament seven times, tying former member Connecticut for the most titles.

James Milliken led 10th-seeded Creighton (14-19) with 17 points.

Former Knight Montalvo, Texas State Upset UT-Arlington 68-62 in Sun Belt Opener

Ethan Montalvo with the NPCC Knights in 2014
Ethan Montalvo with the NPCC Knights in 2014

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Emani Gant scored 19 points, Cameron Naylor added 15 and eighth-seeded Texas State opened the Sun Belt Conference tournament Thursday with a 68-62 upset of fifth-seeded Texas-Arlington.

Wesley Davis and Ethan Montalvo added 11 points apiece for the Bobcats (14-16), who earned a matchup with fourth-seeded Louisiana-Lafayette in Friday’s quarterfinals.

Jamel Outler had 15 points and Anthony Walker and Lonnie McClanahan had 12 points and 7 rebounds each for the Mavericks (16-15), who made 12 of 13 free throws in the second half but were just 3 of 16 on 3-pointers.

Texas State, which had never won a Sun Belt tournament game before, led 33-29 at the half and stretched that to 54-42 on a Montalvo jumper at 8:53. Then the Mavericks went on a 12-0 run to tie the game on a Kevin Hervey jumper with 5:28 to play. But after that they went 0-8 from the field and Nayor’s consecutive three-point plays and dunk secured the upset.

Broncos Sign DE Vance Walker to 2-Year Deal

Vance Walker with the Oakland Raiders
Vance Walker with the Oakland Raiders

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — The Broncos continued their low-key approach to free agency with the signing of defensive lineman Vance Walker to a two-year, $4 million deal Thursday.

The versatile seventh-year pro is familiar to the Broncos because he’s spent the last two seasons in the AFC West.

Walker, who turns 28 next month, was a 3-4 defensive end for Kansas City last season and a 4-3 defensive tackle in Oakland the year before that.

He spent his first four season with the Falcons, who drafted him out of Georgia Tech, where he was teammates with Broncos star receiver Demaryius Thomas.

Storm Partner With CHS In Harvest For Hunger

H4HgraphicKEARNEY, Neb. – This Saturday, as part of Ag Appreciation Night, the Tri-City Storm are partnering with CHS Agri Service Center to host a food drive, collecting donations for the Harvest for Hunger campaign.

Harvest for Hunger gathers funds, food and grain to help fight hunger locally. Contributions are made directly to local food banks or shelves.

The Storm are offering a special ticket discount to fans who bring a non-perishable food item to Saturday’s game against the Omaha Lancers.

For each item brought to the Viaero Event Center Box Office on Saturday, fans will receive $2 off a regularly priced ticket. This offer can only be claimed in person at the VEC Box Office.

“We’re proud to join forces with CHS Agri Services in a quest to help fulfil the needs that exist in central Nebraska with Harvest for Hunger,” said Storm President Greg Shea. “Our fans have continually supported charitable efforts in this region, and we look forward to seeing lots of food collected at the game.”

Tri-City has 10 games remaining in the 2014-15 season and will play seven in Kearney.

For more information and to purchase tickets, contact the Viaero Event Center Box Office at 308.338.8011 or visit www.stormhockey.com.

‘Firewater’ Remark Draws Ire of American Indian Team’s Fans

Winnebago Indians Logo
Winnebago Indians Logo

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An owner of a sports website apologized Thursday after one of its commentators used the term “firewater” in describing how supporters of an American Indian boys high school basketball team would celebrate its first-round victory at the state tournament.

WahooSportsOnline.com co-owner Bryce Cook said the comment was made by a volunteer who was assisting Cook and Kevin Stuhr as the site streamed the game online. Cook said the volunteer would not work for the site again.

The comment was made near the end of Winnebago High School’s 66-50 win over Wahoo in the Class C1 tournament Thursday.

Lance Morgan, president and CEO of the economic development corporation owned by the Winnebago Tribe, said the term “firewater” is upsetting because it refers to the stereotype of American Indians drinking to excess.

Brasfield Joins Nebraska Staff, Wilhite Promoted

Chris Brasfield
Chris Brasfield

University of Nebraska Head Coach Mike Riley has announced the addition of Chris Brasfield to the Husker football staff. Brasfield will serve as Nebraska’s Director of High School Relations.

Brasfield joins the Nebraska staff following four seasons of working with Riley at Oregon State. Brasfield served as the Beavers’ running backs coach for the past four seasons and was regarded as an elite recruiter for Oregon State.

In his role at Nebraska, Brasfield will oversee the administration of the Huskers’ walk-on program and serve as the primary contact for high school football coaches. Brasfield will also serve as the initial point of contact with the Nebraska program for professional teams, and will help coordinate the Huskers’ annual pro day workouts.

“Chris will play a key role in the administration of our football program as we continue to develop relationships with high school coaches throughout the region, and also build on the great walk-on tradition at Nebraska,” Riley said. “Chris will bring great energy to this position and has an eye for identifying and evaluating talent. Chris has experience at the professional, college and high school levels which helps make him an excellent fit for this job.”

Brasfield helped develop versatile running backs in his four seasons on Riley’s staff at Oregon State. Tailback Storm Woods accounted for more than 2,100 rushing yards during the past three seasons in the Beaver offense. Known for his recruiting ability, Brasfield was recognized in 2012 as one of the top 50 recruiters in the country.

Brasfield gained a wide range of experience at both the collegiate and professional level before his time at Oregon State. He was a defensive graduate assistant at Oregon in 2010, after spending the previous four seasons as the defensive backs coach at Samford.  Brasfield also served in assistant coaching roles at Midwestern State, Southwest Texas State and TCU.

Brasfield has NFL experience with three organizations, most recently participating in the NFL Minority Coaching Internship program with the Titans in 2009. He also served as an intern with the Oakland Raiders in 2000, and was an area scout for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2001 and 2002.

A San Antonio native, Brasfield has extensive high school coaching experience as well, including stops at Fort Worth’s Country Day, All Saints Episcopal School and Chicago Hope Academy in Illinois.

Nebraska has also announced that Kenny Wilhite has been promoted to Associate Director of Player Personnel. Wilhite joined the Husker football staff in the spring of 2014 as a regional recruiting assistant, before transitioning to the player personnel role on Mike Riley’s staff.

Wilhite plays a key role in the recruiting efforts in helping identify prospective Nebraska student-athletes, while assisting on all official and unofficial visits. Wilhite was a standout defensive back at Nebraska, earning All-Big Eight honors in 1991.

Huskers Welcome Eagles to Hawks Field

husker baseballFresh off a pair of wins against Northern Colorado, the Nebraska baseball team (9-6, 0-0 Big Ten) continues its 16-game homestand with a three-game series against the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles (8-9-1, 0-0 Atlantic Sun) that starts on Friday afternoon.

Friday’s series opener is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. and will be the first-ever meeting between the two teams. They are scheduled to meet on Saturday at 2:05 p.m., before wrapping up the series on Sunday at 1:05 p.m.

The Eagles have yet to play a game outside of the state of Florida this season. They have played 16 of their 18 games at home, while their two road games were in Tampa and Miami.

After opening the season with a win at UNLV, senior Chance Sinclair has dropped his last three starts and will look to break the streak in Friday’s opener. Sinclair, who was 9-1 last season, will match up against junior right-hander Mike Murray, who is 1-2 on the year after posting a 13-1 record last season. The 6-3 Murray was the Atlantic Sun Pitcher of the Year in 2014, and was also named a second-team All-American by Louisville Slugger as well as a third-team All-American by both the NCBWA and ABCA. He has gone at least 7.0 innings in each of his last three starts, including 8.0 innings in a loss to Minnesota on Feb. 27.

Senior Kyle Kubat is scheduled to start Saturday for the Huskers and is 2-0 on the year, including wins in each of his past two starts. The Eagles are scheduled to start a left-handed pitcher also in freshman Devin Smeltzer. A native of Voorhees, N.J., Smeltzer is 1-1 on the year in four starts and has given up at least three runs in every start.

Sophomore Derek Burkamper is set to climb the hill for the Huskers in Sunday’s finale. Burkamper is coming off a loss to LSU where he struggled early, but allowed just four base runners and two hits over his final five innings of work. The Eagles have not yet announced a starting pitcher for Sunday.

Friday, March 13 (4:05 p.m.)

Probable Starters: RHP Sinclair (1-3) vs. RHP Murray (1-2)

TV: None

Audio Stream: Huskers.com | Video Stream: HuskersNSide

Radio: Husker Sports Network

Saturday, March 14 (2:05 p.m.)

Probable Starters: LHP Kubat (2-0) vs. LHP Smeltzer (1-1)

TV: None

Audio Stream: Huskers.com | Video Stream: BTN Plus

Radio: Husker Sports Network

Sunday, March 15 (1:05 p.m.)

Probable Starters: RHP Burkamper (1-1) vs. TBA

TV: None

Audio Stream: Huskers.com | Video Stream: BTN Plus

Radio: Husker Sports Network

‘Five Tool’ Will Ferrell off on Spring Training Blitz

Will Ferrell as Ron Burgundy (Photo from Twitter)
Will Ferrell as Ron Burgundy (Photo from Twitter)

MESA, Ariz. (AP) — Telling everyone “I’m a five-tool guy,” Will Ferrell was off on his barnstorming tour Thursday through five Arizona spring training games.

Wearing a No. 19 Oakland uniform, the star of “Anchorman, The Legend of Ron Burgundy,” ”Elf” and many other movies took batting practice with the A’s.

And waving to the crowd, he took the field as the Athletics’ shortstop. Ferrell fielded warmup grounders and threw perfectly to first baseman Max Muncy as the crowd cheered, but the Seattle Mariners never hit the ball to him.

Ferrell tipped his hat to the crowd as he walked off the field, then gave high fives to his Athletics teammates in the dugout, the first half-inning of his odyssey at an end.

The comedian planned to play for 10 teams at five spring training games, playing every position along the way.

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