Sports – Page 261 – North Platte Post Archive

AP Sources: Saints Trade Grubbs to Chiefs for 5th-Rounder

Posted on March 12, 2015

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Two people familiar with the deal say the New Orleans Saints have traded starting left guard Ben Grubbs to the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for a fifth-round draft choice.

The people spoke to The Associated Press Thursday on condition of anonymity because neither club had announced the trade.

The move gives the Chiefs a veteran offensive lineman who was named to Pro Bowls in 2011 and 2013, while giving the Saints not just an additional draft pick, but also more flexibility under the NFL’s salary cap.

Grubbs, an eight-year veteran out of Auburn, is due a base salary of $6.5 million this season.

He began his NFL career in Baltimore in 2007, starting 12 games as a rookie. Grubbs joined New Orleans in 2012.

Royals’ Collins has Season-Ending Tommy John Surgery

Posted on March 12, 2015

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — Kansas City Royals left-hander Tim Collins has undergone season-ending Tommy John surgery.

Kansas City said Thursday the 25-year-old was operated on a day earlier by Dr. James Andrews.

Collins made his spring training debut against Texas on March 4 and left after two outs. A MRI revealed ligament damage.

He topped AL relievers with 93 strikeouts in 2012, but a left flexor strain last April put him on the disabled list for a month. He went 0-3 with a 3.86 ERA in 22 regular-season games and had a 3.18 ERA in four postseason games, including three World Series appearances.

Collins out, Brian Flynn, Franklin Morales and Brandon Finnegan are the leading left-handed relief candidates.

NPCC Lady Knights Earn Postseason Awards

Posted on March 12, 2015

The North Platte Community College Lady Knights recently concluded their season, finishing 14 – 14. Three Lady Knights were selected to the Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference (NCCAC) All-Conference team. Two were selected to the All-Region IX Division II team and one was named to the All-Region IX Tournament team.

Sophomores April Stull from Sweeny, Texas and Aliyah Brown from Omaha Burke, were selected to the All-NCCAC team and the All-Region IX team.

Freshmen Sarah Mahr from Sidney was named Honorable Mention on the NCCAC team and was selected to the Region IX All-Tournament team.

Stull led the Knights this season in scoring with a 15.3 points per game average. She also led in rebounding with 8.4 rebounds per game. Stull finished in sixth place on the Lady Knights All-time scoring list with 757 career points. Stull also led the Lady Knights in blocked shots with 31.

Brown averaged 10.3 points per game for the Lady Knights, led the Lady Knights with 3.5 steals per game and 1.8 assists per game. Brown’s quickness and defense were one of the keys to the Lady Knights this season.

Mahr averaged 7.5 points per game and 5.9 rebounds per game. In the Region IX semifinal game against Central Community College Mahr scored 17 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had three steals.

Creighton Tops DePaul 78-63 in 1st Round of Big East Tourney

Posted on March 11, 2015

NEW YORK (AP) — James Milliken scored 22 points and Creighton took charge of a tight game in the second half for a 78-63 victory over DePaul in the first round of the Big East Tournament on Wednesday night.

Devin Brooks added 12 points and senior guard Austin Chatman had 11, surpassing 1,000 for his career. Will Artino provided energy down low, finishing with nine points and eight rebounds to help the 10th-seeded Bluejays (14-18) advance to the quarterfinals Thursday night against No. 23 Georgetown, the tournament’s second seed.

Jamee Crockett scored 15 points to pace seventh-seeded DePaul (12-20), which lost its final eight games of the season and 11 of the last 12. Billy Garrett Jr. had 10 points and eight assists.

The score was tied at 46 before Artino’s putback with 12:45 left started Creighton’s decisive 13-2 surge.

Nuggets Beat Eastern Conference-Leading Hawks 115-102

Posted on March 11, 2015

DENVER (AP) — Danilo Gallinari had 23 points, Will Barton added 16 and the Denver Nuggets beat Eastern Conference-leading Atlanta 115-102 on Wednesday night for their eighth straight home win over the Hawks.

By the end of the third quarter, Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer had seen enough and inserted his bench players, who went on a 24-1 run midway through the fourth quarter to make the score respectable after trailing by 32 with 7:32 remaining. The Hawks haven’t won in the Mile High City since Dec. 6, 2006.

Kyle Korver had 18 points to lead Atlanta. He hit five 3-pointers to give him 1,697 in his career and move him past Kobe Bryant (1,694) for 12th in NBA history.

Denver turned it into a rout with a 45-21 run in the first half. The Hawks’ backups closed the gap by holding the subs for the Nuggets to 5-of-23 shooting in the fourth quarter, but it was a too late.

NPCC Knights Softball Sweep Dawson

Posted on March 11, 2015

The North Platte Community College Knights softball team swept the Dawson Community College Lady Buccaneers on Wednesday at the Wayne Dowhower Softball Complex 4 – 3 and 6 – 0.

The first game started with the Lady Buccaneers scoring two runs in the second inning by Alissa Keeler and Haley Swan. Keeler added a home run in the third to make the score 3 – 0.

In the fourth inning the Knights Sara Villalobos and Brittney Odum hit back-to-back home runs and Sara Runia scored on a single by Audrie Conner to tie the score at three.

The Knights scored the go ahead run in the fifth on an error by the Lady Buccaneers center fielder scoring Mehana Chang.

Shannon Lieber pitched seven innings for the win allowing three runs on eight hits. Lieber struck out five.

In the second game, Baileigh Oleson pitched a gem, allowing one hit and no runs. Oleson struck out four batters in seven innings.

The Knights scored in the third inning on a two-run home run by Lieber, scoring Conner who had singled earlier. Odum added her second home run for the day in the fourth inning to put the Knights up 3 – 0. The Knights added three insurance runs in the sixth inning on doubles by Chang and Jessica Jarvis. Jarvis, Chang and Odum scored the runs.

The Knights improve to 6 – 12 on the season and the Lady Buccaneers fall to 3 – 3.

The Knights take to the road this weekend to play six games in three days. On Friday they travel to Columbus to play Central Community College in a doubleheader. On Saturday they travel to Beatrice for a doubleheader with Southeast Community College. All four of these games are National Junior College Athletic Association Region IX Division II games, which will help determine seeding for the Region IX tournament at the end of April in North Platte. Game times for the Central games are at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.; Southeast games are at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. CDT.

The Knights conclude their road trip on Sunday by playing a doubleheader against Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Game times are at noon and 2 p.m. CDT.

AP Source: Chiefs Agreed with OL Fanaika on 3-Year Deal

Posted on March 11, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs and offensive guard Paul Fanaika have agreed to terms on a three-year deal, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity Wednesday night because the Chiefs have not announced the deal. Fanaika still must pass a physical for it to be complete.

The Chiefs were looking for help on the offensive line after losing three starters to free agency last offseason, and then watching starting center Rodney Hudson sign a five-year, $44.5 million deal with AFC West rival Oakland this week.

Fanaika was a seventh-round draft pick of the Eagles in 2009, when Chiefs coach Andy Reid was in charge. He’s come into his own in Arizona, starting all 30 games he played in over the past two seasons.

Nine Huskers Qualify for NCAA Championships

Posted on March 11, 2015

Nine Husker wrestlers earned spots in the 2015 NCAA Championships when the field was announced on Wednesday.

Senior Robert Kokesh leads the team with the No. 1 seed at 174 pounds. Kokesh, a two-time All-American, is 33-0 this season after capturing the Big Ten title last weekend. He is one of five seeded wrestlers for Nebraska.

Three-time All-American James Green is the fourth seed at 157 pounds. The senior is looking to become the second wrestler in school history to capture All-America honors on four occasions. He is 30-4 this season after taking third place at the Big Ten Championships.

Anthony Abidin (No. 9 seed at 141), Aaron Studebaker (15th seed at 197) and TJ Dudley (16th seed at 184) are also seeded. Tim Lambert (125), Eric Montoya (133), Austin Wilson (165) and Collin Jensen (HWT) will also compete for the Huskers at the NCAA Championships.

The tournament begins on Thursday, March 19 at 11 a.m. (CT) and runs through Saturday, March 21 in St. Louis, Mo.

Nebraska’s NCAA Qualifiers
125: Tim Lambert
133: Eric Montoya
141: #9 Anthony Abidin
157: #4 James Green
165: Austin Wilson
174: #1 Robert Kokesh
184: #16 TJ Dudley
197: #15 Aaron Studebaker
HWT: Collin Jensen

Huskers Learning Under Riley

Posted on March 11, 2015

Lincoln, Neb.- The Nebraska football team continued its 2015 spring practice season Wednesday afternoon, as the Huskers practiced outside at the Ed and Joyanne Gass practice fields in sunny, 70-degree weather. The Huskers were in full pads for the first time this spring, as the team was again split into two groups, and each group practiced for about an hour and 45 minutes.

Nebraska Head Coach Mike Riley spoke with media members following Wednesday’s practice, as he mentioned that the Huskers had a really good first day of contact practice in full pads.

“I thought it was really good, it was a beautiful day, we added pads for the first time which means we were able to do our first ‘inside run’ period,” Riley said. “I thought the guys handled that very well, a lot of what we are doing is not only teaching the plays and how to run the plays, but basically it is how to practice.”

Riley added that the intensity at practice has been really good so far this spring.

“For the most part I really liked the enthusiasm at practice, I thought they got into the first day of pads and hit pretty well without a lot of craziness going on.”

According to Riley, the team is really starting to mesh and learn the playbook, not only the players, but the coaching staff as well.

“I think it is going pretty well, there is always some frustration for the coaches and for the players, when it doesn’t quite click all the time,” Riley said. “That is understandable, but for the most part for what we have done so far, both coaches and players are handling the newness pretty well.”

The first day of contact practice also brought the first day of practicing the inside run with both the offensive line and running backs. This was something Riley had been eager to see because as he said, the Huskers have to run the football to be successful.

“I was looking forward to today because of that, with everything being said, we really need to run the football. We need to have a little variety in the run game, so far we have probably more shotgun run than we have ever had in our offense to this point. That has been interesting.

Nebraska returns to the practice field on Friday for its fourth workout of the spring. Check back at Huskers.com for updates.

Penn State Hangs On, Beats Nebraska 68-65 in Big Ten Opener

Posted on March 11, 2015

CHICAGO (AP) — D.J. Newbill scored 26 points, Shep Garner added 19 and Penn State hung on to beat Nebraska 68-65 Wednesday in the Big Ten tournament opener.

The 13th-seeded Nittany Lions (17-15) advanced in the tournament for the first time since a run to the final in 2011, despite letting a 16-point lead in the second half dwindle to one.

They came away with their second-straight win after dropping six in a row when Shavon Shields missed a 3 for 12th-seeded Nebraska (13-18) at the buzzer.