Sports – Page 272 – North Platte Post Archive

Chiefs Place Franchise Tag on All-Pro Houston

Posted on March 2, 2015March 2, 2015

The Kansas City Chiefs have placed the franchise tag on All-Pro pass rusher Justin Houston.

The Chiefs announced the move on Monday, saying in a statement that “it was in the best interest of the club” and it pursues a long-term deal with Houston.

Monday’s move was widely expected given the relatively little progress Kansas City has made with Houston and his representatives on a long-term deal.

The two sides still have until July 15 to negotiate a contract, and it is not certain whether Houston will immediately sign his tender. As an outside linebacker, the one-year deal would earn him about $13.1 million for the upcoming season.

The Chiefs likely will need to make additional moves soon to free up salary cap space.

NFL Salary Cap Increases $10 Million to Top $143 Million

Posted on March 2, 2015

NEW YORK (AP) — The NFL’s salary cap is going up $10 million to $143.28 million for the 2015 season.

All 32 teams and the players’ union were notified Monday of the increase, the second straight season the cap went up by at least $10 million. Adding in benefits, the league says the projected player costs will be $180.775 million per team.

The NFL’s business year starts March 10, when free agency begins.

The salary cap is determined by a series of NFL revenue streams, with the players receiving 46 percent to 48 percent of those revenues, depending on the year.

Kentucky No. 1, Change Hits Rest of AP Top 25

Posted on March 2, 2015

Kentucky remains the unanimous No. 1 during a tumultuous week in The Associated Press Top 25.

The Wildcats (29-0) received all 65 first-place votes from a media panel on Monday.

Virginia remained at No. 2, but the next three spots changed after Gonzaga and Wisconsin lost.

Duke moved up one to No. 3, Villanova climbed two spots to No. 4 and Arizona was up two to No. 5.

Wisconsin dropped at spot to No. 6 and Gonzaga fell four places to No. 7.

Wichita State moved back into the top 10 at No. 8 and Kansas dropped to No. 9 after losing to Kansas State.

Maryland moved into the top 10 for the first time since 2003 and No. 25 Murray State is ranked for the first time since 2012.

The top 25 teams in The Associated Press’ college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through March 1, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last week’s ranking:

	Record	Pts	Prv
1. Kentucky (65)	29-0	1,625	1
2. Virginia	27-1	1,547	2
3. Duke	26-3	1,501	4
4. Villanova	27-2	1,417	6
5. Arizona	26-3	1,338	7
6. Wisconsin	26-3	1,318	5
7. Gonzaga	29-2	1,244	3
8. Wichita St.	27-3	1,104	11
9. Kansas	23-6	1,087	8
10. Maryland	24-5	1,035	14
11. N. Iowa	27-3	908	10
12. Notre Dame	24-5	879	9
13. Utah	22-6	823	13
14. Baylor	22-7	801	19
15. Oklahoma	20-8	759	16
16. Louisville	23-6	728	17
17. Iowa St.	20-8	536	12
18. Arkansas	23-6	515	18
19. North Carolina	20-9	435	15
20. West Virginia	22-7	389	20
21. Butler	21-8	359	23
22. SMU	23-6	210	21
23. Ohio St.	21-8	114	—
24. Providence	20-9	91	25
25. Murray St.	26-4	79	—

Others receiving votes: Dayton 61, Boise St. 53, Oregon 33, St. John’s 27, BYU 21, Texas A&M 20, Davidson 18, Georgetown 13, Colorado St. 7, San Diego St. 7, Tulsa 7, LSU 6, Rhode Island 3, VCU 3, Stephen F. Austin 2, Valparaiso 2.

This Week in Nebraska Athletics

Posted on March 2, 2015

Wednesday, March 4 Men’s Basketball at Illinois (BTN) Champaign, Ill. 9 p.m.

Thursday, March 5 Women’s Basketball vs. Illinois (BTN) (Big Ten Tournament) Hoffman Estates, Ill. 6 p.m.

Friday, March 6 Men’s Golf at Desert Mountain Intercollegiate Scottsdale, Ariz. 9 a.m.

Friday, March 6 Bowling at Music City Classic (Bowl.com) Nashville, Tenn. 8:45 a.m.

Friday, March 6 Baseball vs. Texas A&M (Houston College Classic) Houston, Texas 3:35 p.m.

Friday, March 6 Women’s Tennis Georgia State Lincoln Racquet Club 4 p.m.

Friday, March 6 Women’s Basketball vs. Iowa (BTN) (Big Ten Tournament) Hoffman Estates, Ill. 6 p.m.

Saturday, March 7 Wrestling at Big Ten Championships (BTN Plus) Columbus, Ohio 9 a.m.

Saturday, March 7 Men’s Golf at Desert Mountain Intercollegiate Scottsdale, Ariz. 9 a.m.

Saturday, March 7 Women’s Tennis Purdue vs. Georgia State Lincoln Racquet Club 11 a.m.

Saturday, March 7 Softball vs. South Dakota (Shocker Invitational) Wichita, Kan. Noon

Saturday, March 7 Baseball vs. Hawaii (Houston College Classic) Houston, Texas 12:05 p.m.

Saturday, March 7 Bowling at Music City Classic (Bowl.com) Nashville, Tenn. 8:30 a.m.

Saturday, March 7 Softball at Wichita State (Shocker Invitational) Wichita, Kan. 5 p.m.

Saturday, March 7 Women’s Gymnastics Oregon State (Pepsi Pack the House) Devaney Center 6 p.m.

Saturday, March 7 Women’s Basketball at Big Ten Tournament Semifinals (BTN) Hoffman Estates, Ill. 8:30 p.m.

Sunday, March 8 Wrestling at Big Ten Championships (BTN) Columbus, Ohio 9 a.m.

Sunday, March 8 Bowling at Music City Classic (Bowl.com) Nashville, Tenn. 8:30 a.m.

Sunday, March 8 Women’s Tennis Purdue Nebraska Tennis Center 10 a.m.

Sunday, March 8 Baseball vs. LSU (Houston College Classic) Houston, Texas 11:05 a.m.

Sunday, March 8 Softball vs. South Dakota (Shocker Invitational) Wichita, Kan. Noon

Sunday, March 8 Men’s Tennis at Wichita State Wichita, Kan. Noon

Sunday, March 8 Soccer Iowa State Hawks Championship Center 1 p.m.

Sunday, March 8 Men’s Gymnastics at Illinois Champaign, Ill. 2 p.m.

Sunday, March 8 Softball at Wichita State (Shocker Invitational) Wichita, Kan. 2:30 p.m.

Sunday, March 8 Women’s Basketball at Big Ten Championship Game (ESPN) Hoffman Estates, Ill. 6 p.m.

Sunday, March 8 Men’s Basketball Maryland (BTN) Pinnacle Bank Arena 6:30 p.m.

Monday, March 9 Swimming & Diving at NCAA Zone Diving Meet Iowa City, Iowa TBA

Lions’ Website Reports Team Won’t Franchise Suh

Posted on March 2, 2015

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Lions’ website is reporting that the team will not use the franchise tag on star defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.

Monday is the deadline for teams to designate franchise or transition players. Suh can test the open market when free agency begins March 10.

The Lions did not officially confirm the decision to let the deadline pass without franchising their 28-year-old All-Pro, but the report on the team’s website said Detroit concluded that the franchise tag’s price of around $27 million for Suh proved too daunting. Last month, general manager Martin Mayhew said he was “very optimistic” about getting a deal done with Suh, but the franchise tag was probably the team’s best source of leverage, and even that would have come at a prohibitive cost.

Pelicans hold off Nuggets 99-92 for 5th Straight Win

Posted on March 1, 2015

DENVER (AP) — Tyreke Evans scored 22 points, Dante Cunningham drew a key charge late in the fourth quarter and the New Orleans Pelicans extended their winning streak to five games by holding off the struggling Denver Nuggets 99-92 on Sunday night.

Eric Gordon added 18 points and Omer Asik grabbed 16 rebounds for the Pelicans, who were without All-Star forward Anthony Davis for a fourth straight game after he re-injured his right shoulder on Feb. 21. The Pelicans are 4-0 in Davis’ absence to remain in the playoff conversation.

Denver dropped its 10th straight at the Pepsi Center, its longest home skid since losing 11 in a row during the 1997-98 season.

Danilo Gallinari had 21 points for Denver, including a half-court shot to end the third quarter that revved up the crowd. The Nuggets fell to 0-6 since the All-Star break.

Rockies add Axford to Big League Bullpen at $2.6 Million

Posted on March 1, 2015

John Axford with the St. Louis Cardinals

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The Colorado Rockies have selected John Axford’s contract, adding a veteran reliever with late-inning experience to their bullpen.

Axford, who agreed to a minor league deal last month, gets a $2.6 million, one-year contract with a chance to earn more in performance bonuses. The 31-year-old right-hander was 2-4 with a 3.95 ERA in 62 games with Cleveland and Pittsburgh last year.

In six major league seasons, Axford is 24-23 with a 3.40 ERA and 116 saves, including 10 for the Indians last year.

To make room on the 40-man roster, the Rockies placed right-hander Tyler Chatwood on the 60-day disabled list Sunday. Chatwood is recovering from Tommy John surgery last July.

Axford can earn $50,000 each for 35, 40, 45 and 50 games pitched; $100,000 each for 55, 60 and 65 games pitched; and $100,000 each for 30, 35, 40, 45, 50 and 55 games finished.

Cady, Jeffery Notch Double-Doubles in Senior Day Setback

Posted on March 1, 2015

Lincoln – Emily Cady and Brandi Jeffery both recorded double-doubles, but Ohio State used a 15-0 run to end the first half to propel the Buckeyes to a 78-60 women’s basketball win over Nebraska on Senior Day for the Huskers at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

With the loss, Nebraska ended the regular season with a 20-9 overall record and a 10-8 Big Ten mark. Ohio State improved to 21-9 and 13-5 in the conference. The Buckeyes secured the No. 3 seed and a double bye at next week’s Big Ten Tournament in Hoffman Estates, Ill., while Nebraska earned the No. 7 seed and a first-round bye.

The Huskers will play their first game at the Sears Centre Arena on Thursday, when they take on 10th-seeded Illinois. Tip-off between the Big Red and Fighting Illini is set for 6 p.m., and the game will be televised live by BTN.

Cady, a 6-2 senior forward from Seward, Neb., led the Huskers with 21 points and 13 rebounds to produce the 33rd double-double of her career and 11th of the season. Jeffery, a senior from Vacherie, La, notched the first double-double of her career with 10 points, 13 rebounds and four assists.

Fellow senior Hailie Sample, a 6-1 forward from Flower Mound, Texas, pitched in nine points, six rebounds and three assists, while senior guard Tear’a Laudermill (Moreno Valley, Calif.), contributed eight points on the afternoon.

Nebraska’s four seniors ended their home career with a combined 55-11 record, on their way to a school-record 95 victories over the past four seasons The group combined for more than 500 appearances and more than 350 career starts.

The seniors, who combined for 48 points on the afternoon, had their Senior Day spoiled by Buckeye freshmen Kelsey Mitchell, Asia Doss and Shayla Cooper. Mitchell, the Big Ten’s leading scorer, erupted for 28 points and 10 rebounds, while Doss scored a season-high 14 points, including 4-of-5 shooting from three-point range. Cooper added 13 points and a career-high 18 rebounds. Ameryst Alston gave Buckeyes four players in double figures with 12 points.

As a team, Ohio State hit 43.8 percent of its shots, including 10-of-23 three-pointers. The Buckeyes matched the Huskers on the glass, while winning the turnover battle, 12-9.

Nebraska, which matched Ohio State shot for shot for the first 16 minutes, went cold at the end of the first half and the cold shooting carried over to the second half.

The Huskers ended the game at just 31.4 percent (22-70), including just 6-of-22 from three-point range. NU hit just 27.5 percent of its second-half shots.

Nebraska and Ohio State were locked in a back-and-forth battle for the first 16 minutes, until Laudermill, who was guarding Mitchell for most of the first half, was whistled for her second foul of the game with 4:40 left.

Mitchell hit a pair of free throws to put Ohio State up 32-30 at that point, before Chandler Smith scored on a putback to tie the score at 32 with just under four minutes left. But the Buckeyes took control of the game, finishing the half on a 15-0 run that included Nebraska missing three layups and two open short jumpers.

Mitchell, who finished the half with 16 points, scored 10 without Laudermill on the floor in the final 4:40. Doss also had a big first half for the Buckeyes, knocking down her first three three-pointers of the half on her way to 11 points. Doss entered the game with 15 straight misses from long range.

Cady, Jeffery and Sample kept the Huskers in the game in the first half on Senior Day. Cady finished the half with 13 points and four rebounds, while Jeffery added 10 points, six rebounds and three assists, while Sample pitched in seven points.

Nebraska cut the lead to 12 points early in the second half, but was unable to pull closer the rest of the way in the 18-point setback.

Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament Bracket Announced

Posted on March 1, 2015

ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten announced the bracket on Sunday for the 2015 Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament, which features a five-day format for the first time in conference history. Maryland secured its first outright Big Ten Championship and the No. 1 seed in the tournament in its inaugural season. The tournament is set for March 4-8at Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Ill.

The Terrapins received the tournament’s top seed after recording an 18-0 Big Ten record, joining Ohio State and Purdue as the third team to have an undefeated conference record in Big Ten women’s basketball history. Maryland has won 21 consecutive games, closing out the regular season with a 27-2 overall record. The Terrapins will play their opening tournament game on Friday, March 6, at 11:30 a.m. CT, the first game of the day.

Iowa enters the tournament as the No. 2 seed after compiling a 14-4 conference record and a 23-6 overall mark this season. The Hawkeyes open tournament play on Friday at 6 p.m.

Ohio State secured the No. 3 seed, going 13-5 in Big Ten play and 21-9 overall. The Buckeyes’ first tournament game will be the last game on Friday night at approximately8:30 p.m.

Northwestern and Rutgers finished tied for fourth place with matching 12-6 conference records. The Wildcats won the tiebreaker based on their win over the Scarlet Knights in the regular season. At 22-7 overall, Northwestern earned the No. 4 seed and will play in Friday’s second game at approximately 2 p.m.

The fifth-seeded Scarlet Knights went 21-8 overall and will play in Thursday’s second game at approximately 2 p.m.

Minnesota enters the tournament as the No. 6 seed after finishing 11-7 in the conference and 22-8 overall. The Golden Gophers will play in Thursday’s final game at approximately 8:30 p.m.

Nebraska receives the No. 7 seed after closing out the regular season with a 10-8 record in conference play and a 20-9 overall record. The Huskers will take on No. 10 seed Illinois in Thursday’s third tilt at 6 p.m.

As the No. 8 seed, Michigan squares off against ninth-seeded Michigan State in Thursday’s first contest at 11:30 a.m. The Wolverines finished the regular season at 8-10 in Big Ten games, while Michigan State recorded a 7-11 mark in conference play.

The tournament will open on Wednesday with a 5 p.m. matchup between No. 13 Penn State and No. 12 Indiana, followed by No. 14 Purdue taking on No. 11 Wisconsin at approximately 7:30 p.m.

BTN will carry 10 games of the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, while Wednesday’s opening games will appear on BTN Plus. The championship game will be televised by ESPN.

Entering the 2015 Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament, seven teams have been crowned champion. Nebraska is the most recent team to earn a title, claiming the program’s first-ever title in 2014. Purdue leads the way with nine tournament titles, while Ohio State owns four tournament championships. Iowa and Penn State have each had two, while Indiana and Michigan State each have one title in program history.

Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament tickets can be purchased through the Sears Centre Arena ticket offices at 1-888-SEARS-TIX (732-7784) or www.searscentre.com. Information on tournament tickets, lodging and history can be found at bigten.org.

The bracket, including teams, dates, times and television information, is attached.

Huskers Win 5-1, Take Final Two Games at LMU

Posted on March 1, 2015

Los Angeles, Calif. – After dropping the series opener on Friday night, 4-1, the Nebraska baseball team (6-4, 0-0 Big Ten) bounced back with an 8-1 win on Saturday and a 5-1 win in Sunday’s finale to take a road series from the Loyola Marymount Lions (7-4, 0-0 WCC).

Sophomore Derek Burkamper was dominant on the hill, going a career-high 7.0 innings in the win, the first of his Husker career. The Muscatine, Iowa, native was nearly untouchable in his third career start, allowing two hits and one walk, while striking out five. Burkamper retired the Lions in order five times on the afternoon, and after a giving up a leadoff double in the second he retired 18 of the final 20 Lion batters he faced.

After handing Trevor Megill a loss on Saturday, the Huskers dealt his younger brother, Tylor, a loss on Sunday. The younger Megill got off to a rocky start, allowing five runs (four earned) on six hits in the first three innings, but then settled in and retired the final 14 Huskers he faced.

The early runs were key for the Huskers, as Megill and reliever Michael Silva combined to not allow just one base runner over the final six innings. Nebraska’s pitching staff was just as good, with Burkamper along with relievers Jeff Chesnut and Colton Howell combining to allow only three hits and one walk, while striking out seven.

The Husker offense got their young starter a 2-0 cushion in the first on a pair of hits and an LMU error. Jake Schleppenbach opened the game with a single and was quickly on third base after Megill committed a throwing error on a bunt by Scott Schreiber. With runners on the corners and Ryan Boldt up, Megill uncorked a wild pitch that scored Schleppenbach. Schreiber also came in to score in the inning on an RBI single by Blake Headley.

Burkamper retired the Lions in order in the first, but was touched for a run in the second after Tanner Donnels started the frame with a double. Burkamper nearly stranded Donnels at second, but a wild pitch allowed Donnels to score on a sacrifice fly.

The Huskers got the run back and then some in the third inning with three runs on three hits, including two doubles. Steven Reveles led off with a double and the bases were quickly loaded following a four-pitch walk to Schleppenbach and a bunt base hit by Schreiber. NU’s No. 3 and 4 hitters then did their jobs, as Boldt delivered a sacrifice fly and Headley drove in a pair of runs with his third double of the series.

Working with a 5-1 lead, Burkamper retired the Lions in order in the third and fourth. After giving up the leadoff double in the second, Burkamper retired 10-straight Lions before David Edwards snapped the streak with a one-out walk in the fifth. Chris Barnett then doubled to put runners on second and third for the Lions. Burkamper’s defense got him out of the jam though when Ted Boeke flew out to right field and Austin Darby threw a strike to Lubach at home that cut down Edwards for an inning-ending double play.

The game then turned into a pitching duel, with the two teams combining for just two hits over the final six innings.

The Huskers will be back on the road next weekend when they travel to Houston, Texas, for one of the premier tournaments in college baseball, the Houston College Classic. Hosted at Minute Maid Park, the home of the Houston Astros, the Huskers will play Texas A&M on Friday, Hawaii on Saturday and LSU on Sunday. Every game of the tournament will be carried on ROOT Sports Southwest.