Sports – Page 325 – North Platte Post Archive

AP Source: Raiders Interview Del Rio for Coach

Posted on January 3, 2015

ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) — The Oakland Raiders interviewed Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio for their head coaching vacancy on Saturday.

A person with knowledge of the interview said the Raiders met with Del Rio as they seek a full-time coach. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team is not releasing details on interviews. The interview was first reported by the Denver Post.

Del Rio, who grew up in the Bay Area, has been defensive coordinator in Denver for the past three seasons, helping the Broncos win three straight AFC West titles.

Del Rio previously was head coach in Jacksonville for nine seasons. He had a 68-71 regular-season record and made the playoffs in 2005 and 2007, winning one playoff game in his second postseason trip. Del Rio was fired with five games remaining in the 2011 season.

He has extensive NFL experience, having played 12 seasons as a linebacker and coaching with New Orleans, Baltimore and Carolina before getting the head coaching job with the Jaguars.

The Raiders are seeking a full-time coach after firing Dennis Allen four games into last season. Interim coach Tony Sparano is also a candidate. Like Del Rio, Allen was hired in Oakland in 2012 after a stint as defensive coordinator in Denver.

Oakland has had eight coaches since the start of the 2003 season. The Raiders have not had a winning record or playoff berth in that span as the constant turnover has contributed to the struggles on the field.

The Raiders have also interviewed Philadelphia offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur. Seattle coach Pete Carroll told SiriusXM NFL Radio earlier this week that Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell also interviewed for the job.

Oakland is also reportedly interested in interviewing San Francisco assistant Eric Mangini, who has head coaching experience with Cleveland and the New York Jets, and Indianapolis offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton.

Tanguay, Duchene lead Avs past Oilers 2-1 in SO

Posted on January 3, 2015

DENVER (AP) — Alex Tanguay and Matt Duchene scored shootout goals, Semyon Varlamov stopped both of Edmonton’s shooters and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Oilers 2-1 on Friday night.

Varlamov had 27 saves in regulation and overtime, and Daniel Briere scored in regulation for Colorado.

It was the fifth straight shootout win for the Avalanche, who are 6-2-2 in their last 10.

After both teams failed to convert on their first shootout opportunities, Duchene got one past Ben Scrivens. Varlamov made a save on Jordan Eberle, and Tanguay finished it with a roof shot over a sprawled Scrivens.

Ben Pouliot scored for Edmonton, and Scrivens finished with 27 saves.

Early Hole Dooms Storm In Sioux Falls

Posted on January 3, 2015

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Tri-City Storm (14-9-5) worked their way back from a big deficit but couldn’t finish the comeback and fell to the Sioux Falls Stampede (15-12-2) by a score of 6-4 on Friday night at the Denny Sanford Premier Center.

Chris Wilkie had two power play goals for the Storm in the loss, while Bobby Nardella had a goal and an assist and Mattias Goransson had three assists of his own.

Sioux Falls took control of the game right from the start with five goals in the opening period, including three by Cooper Marody.

Kieffer Bellows bookended the scoring, finding the net just 41 seconds into the contest before sealing a Stampede victory with an empty net goal.

Sioux Falls forward Logan O’Connor also had a goal in the opening frame, in which the Stampede scored all five tallies during the first 12 minutes of play.

But Tri-City didn’t go away quietly, scoring four straight goals of their own to slowly work their way back into the game.

Wilkie got the Storm on the board with a power play strike at 16:11 of the first, assisted by Nardella and Goransson.

The Omaha native struck again with the only goal of the second period in the final minute of the frame. Also a power play goal, Wilkie got his 17th of the season from Goransson and Joel Herbert.

In the third, Cody Milan made the game 5-3 with his seventh goal of the year at 12:45. Goransson led the White Lake, Mich. native with a perfect pass into the zone and the goal breathed life into Tri-City in the final minutes.

The Storm then made it 5-4 less than two minutes later on Nardella’s fifth goal of the season. Assists were credited to both Wilkie and Chase Berger.

But the one-goal deficit was as close as the Storm could get before Bellows put the game out of reach with the empty net goal.

Stefanos Lekkas picked up the win for the Stampede in net, making 30 saves. Alec Dillon started the game for Tri-City, but was pulled in favor of Jared Rutledge after allowing two goals in the first. Rutledge finished with 19 stops.

Tri-City returns home to face Omaha in Kearney at the Viaero Event Center on Saturday at 7:05 p.m.

Notes: The Storm scratched forwards Garrett Gamez and Kyle Eastman along with defenseman Tory Dello…

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Period

Sioux Falls – Kieffer Bellows (Alec Marsh, Cooper Marody) 0:41
Sioux Falls – Cooper Marody (Alec Marsh, Chris Pohlkamp) 3:26
Sioux Falls – Cooper Marody (Alec Marsh) 7:15
Sioux Falls – Logan O’Connor (Troy Loggins, Dakota Joshua) 8:51
Sioux Falls – Cooper Marody (Logan O’Connor, Dillon Eichstadt) 11:29
Tri-City – Chris Wilkie (power play) (Bobby Nardella, Mattias Goransson) 16:11

2nd Period

Tri-City – Chris Wilkie (power play) (Mattias Goransson, Joel Herbert) 19:23

3rd Period
Tri-City – Cody Milan (Mattias Goransson) 12:45
Tri-City – Bobby Nardella (Chris Wilkie, Chase Berger) 14:21
Sioux Falls – Kieffer Bellows (empty net) (unassisted) 18:36

PENALTIES

1st Period

Tri-City – Chris Wilkie – (Charging), 2 min, 9:25
Sioux Falls – Nikolas Koberstein – (Fighting), 5 min, 11:43
Sioux Falls – Nikolas Koberstein – (Fighting) (Misconduct), 10 min, 11:43
Tri-City – Chase Berger – (Fighting), 5 min, 11:43
Tri-City – Chase Berger – (Fighting) (Misconduct), 10 min, 11:43
Sioux Falls – Chaz Switzer – (Elbowing), 2 min, 15:40
Sioux Falls – Dillon Eichstadt – (Cross Checking), 2 min, 19:26

2nd Period

Tri-City – Gordi Myer – (Roughing), 2 min, 8:57
Sioux Falls – Kieffer Bellows – (Cross Checking), 2 min, 13:59
Tri-City – Gordi Myer – (Roughing), 2 min, 14:05
Sioux Falls – Nikolas Koberstein – (Holding), 2 min, 14:07
Sioux Falls – Dakota Joshua – (Head Contact), 2 min, 19:14
Tri-City – Jalen Schulz – (Boarding), 2 min, 19:36

3rd Period

(no penalties)

Power Play

Tri-City – 2/4

Sioux Falls – 0/3

Shots

Tri-City: 6, 11, 17 = Total: 34
Sioux Falls: 10, 13, 4 = Total: 27

Saves
Tri-City – Alec Dillon – 2/4, Jared Rutledge – 19/22
Sioux Falls – Stefanos Lekkas – 30/34

Kokesh, Green Win Southern Scuffle Crowns

Posted on January 2, 2015

Chattanooga, Tenn. – Senior All-Americans Robert Kokesh (174) and James Green (157) each captured weight class titles at the Defense Soap and Flips Wrestling Southern Scuffle at McKenzie Arena on Friday.

The Huskers finished fourth as a team with 116 points. Four-time defending national champion Penn State took home the team title with 165 points, while Missouri (150) and Oklahoma State (135.5) also notched top-three finishes.

Kokesh, the top-ranked wrestler at 174 pounds, completed his tournament run with a 3-2 decision over No. 4 Matt Brown of Penn State in the finals. Over the course of the Southern Scuffle, Kokesh collected three pins and one major decision. He improves to 21-0 on the season and wins his third tournament title.

Green, the No. 1 seed at 157 pounds, took down Jason Nolf of Penn State in the finals by a 7-4 margin. Green’s performance at the tournament included one pin and two major decisions over the span of five matches. He is now 18-1 this season and wins his second tournament title of the 2014-15 campaign.

No. 20 Anthony Abidin took third place at 141 pounds after a 6-1 showing during the two-day event. No. 17 Tim Lambert placed fifth with a 6-2 record at the Southern Scuffle. Unattached wrestler Tyler Berger (149) earned a sixth-place finish at the tournament, while 184-pounder TJ Dudley finished eighth.

Eric Montoya (133), Justin Arthur (149), Austin Wilson (165), Aaron Studebaker (184), Spencer Johnson (197), Micah Barnes (197) and Collin Jensen (HWT) also competed for the Huskers at the Southern Scuffle. Dustin Williams (165) and Derek White (197) each wrestled unattached at the tournament.

The Huskers return home to host Purdue next weekend at the Devaney Center. The dual, set for Jan. 9 at 7 p.m., will be part of Tumble N’ Rumble, which will also feature a Nebraska women’s gymnastics meet on the Devaney floor at the same time.

Tournament Finishes
125: No. 17 Tim Lambert (5th) 6-2
133: Eric Montoya (DNP) 3-2
141: No. 20 Anthony Abidin (3rd) 6-1
149: Justin Arthur (DNP) 3-2
149: Tyler Berger (unattached) (6th) 5-3
157: No. 2 James Green (1st) 5-0
165: No. 20 Austin Wilson (DNP) 2-2
165: Dustin Williams (unattached) (DNP) 0-2
174: No. 1 Robert Kokesh (1st) 6-0
184: No. 19 TJ Dudley (8th) 4-2
184: Aaron Studebaker (DNP) 4-2
197: Spencer Johnson (DNP – Medical Forfeit) 3-0
197: Micah Barnes (DNP) 1-2
197: Derek White (unattached) (DNP) 2-2
HWT: No. 14 Collin Jensen (DNP) 2-2

College Semifinals Break Cable TV Records

Posted on January 2, 2015

BRISTOL, Conn. (AP) — The first College Football Playoff semifinals drew the two largest audiences in cable television history.

ESPN had a 15.2 rating and averaged 28,271,000 viewers for its Sugar Bowl broadcast Thursday night after drawing a 14.8 rating and averaging 28,164,000 viewers for the Rose Bowl, Nielsen said Friday.

Both games had significant increases from last year on ESPN when the Rose Bowl had a 10.2 rating and averaged 18,636,000 viewers and the Sugar Bowl had a 6.6 rating and averaged 11,304,000 viewers.

ESPN also will broadcast the Jan. 12 national championship game between Oregon and Ohio State. The network has drawn the 18 largest audiences in cable TV history and 36 of the top 40.

Despite technical problems during the Rose Bowl, WatchESPN averaged 864,000 unique viewers for the two games.

Big Ten Hoping Ohio St. leads a League Football Resurgence

Posted on January 2, 2015

The Big Ten is starting the new year with a new sense of pride.

The first week of January typically is when the conference absorbs insults and jeers following a run of disappointing bowl performances.

Not this year.

Not after Ohio State took down top-seeded Alabama in the College Football Playoff semifinals. Not after Wisconsin beat another SEC West team, Auburn, in the Outback Bowl. And not after Michigan State came from behind to defeat Big 12 champion Baylor in the Cotton Bowl.

Those three wins gave the Big Ten a total of five this bowl season, its most since 2002.

“I was very proud of the Big Ten yesterday and how well we played,” Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez told The Associated Press on Friday. “I’ve said all along we always get criticism about being a weak league, and that the criticism is going to continue unless we win some of these games.

“I was happy for our league and happy for Ohio State and Michigan State and ourselves. Those were big wins against good teams, and that speaks well for the Big Ten.”

The Big Ten, with a record-tying 10 bowl teams, is assured of at least a .500 postseason record for the first time since 2009. An Iowa victory over Tennessee in the TaxSlayer Bowl late Friday would give the Big Ten its best bowl winning percentage (.600) since going 5-2 in 2002 (.714).

Thursday’s two wins over SEC teams brought the widest smiles to fans in the upper Midwest. The SEC has long been the Big Ten’s nemesis when it comes to power and prestige, having won nine national titles to the Big Ten’s one during the 1998-2013 Bowl Championship Series era.

In addition to dismal bowl performances, often in the high-profile Rose, the Big Ten has a losing record in matchups against each of the other power conferences except the ACC since 2003.

Ohio State coach Urban Meyer referenced the knocks against the Big Ten after his team beat Alabama 42-35. He credited Wisconsin’s performance against Auburn, and also Michigan State’s against the Big 12’s Baylor, for helping give his Buckeyes the mental wherewithal to rally from a 21-6 deficit.

“I’ll tell you when I think the tide turned a little bit; when Wisconsin beat Auburn,” Meyer said. “Everybody on our team knew that. I made sure they knew that. (And) when Michigan State came back and beat an excellent Baylor team. And maybe the Big Ten’s not that bad. Maybe the Big Ten is pretty damned good. And it’s certainly getting better.”

Ohio State will play Oregon on Jan. 12 for the conference’s first national championship since the Buckeyes won it all in 2002.

There are other signs that could portend a Big Ten football resurgence.

Michigan’s hiring of Jim Harbaugh last week was the nation’s biggest splash hire since Ohio State brought in Meyer three years ago. Michigan State’s only losses this season were to the teams that will play for the national title. Penn State is trending upward under James Franklin.

All that is happening in just the East Division.

In the West, Nebraska, which hasn’t won a conference title since 1999, showed it’s not content to stand pat when it fired a coach (Bo Pelini) who never won fewer than nine games a year over seven seasons. Wisconsin doesn’t expect to take a step back after losing Gary Andersen and hiring Paul Chryst, and Minnesota continues to improve under Big Ten coach of the year Jerry Kill.

Alvarez is as deeply invested in the Big Ten as anyone, having entered the league as an assistant at Iowa in 1979, becoming one of the winningest coaches in conference history at Wisconsin from 1990-2005 and serving as the school’s athletic director since 2004. With the Badgers between coaches, Alvarez was interim coach for the Outback Bowl.

From a perception standpoint, he said, it’s important for programs like Michigan, Nebraska and Penn State to become factors on the national scene again. Michigan is the only Football Bowl Subdivision school with more than 900 all-time wins, Nebraska ranks fourth and Penn State is 12th.

“Those are brands that have to be good,” he said. “When we’ve dipped, some of them have taken a dip. When they’re good, our future is good.”

The immediate future has Ohio State carrying the Big Ten banner in a national championship game for the first time since 2007. It also is the first time the SEC will have no participant in the title game since 2005.

“The SEC has had their day,” Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany said. “Maybe it’s a new day.”

Watt, Gronkowski Unanimous AP All-Pros; Dallas leads with 4

Posted on January 2, 2015

NEW YORK (AP) — J.J. Watt and Rob Gronkowski are unanimous selections for the 2014 Associated Press NFL All-Pro team announced Friday.

Houston’s Watt did it in an unusual manner. He was listed on all 50 ballots by a nationwide panel of media members who regularly cover the league, with 45 of the votes for defensive end and the other five for defensive tackle. So he actually was a first-team end and a second-team tackle in gaining his third straight selection.

No such confusion for New England’s Gronkowski, who grabbed all the votes for tight end.

Dallas led all teams with four All-Pros, including guard Zach Martin, the only rookie on the squad. League rushing leader DeMarco Murray, tackle Tyron Smith and wide receiver Dez Bryant made it.

Seattle and Pittsburgh each had three All-Pros. There were 16 AFC players and 11 from the NFC.

Oregon vs Ohio State in National Championship

Posted on January 2, 2015January 2, 2015

The Rose Bowl is coming to Texas for the first College Football Playoff championship.

Pac-12 champion Oregon and Big Ten champion Ohio State will meet in Arlington, Texas, at the home of the Cowboys on Jan. 12 to decide the national title in the first year of the new postseason system.

The Ducks (13-1) and Buckeyes (13-1) last played in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, in 2010. Ohio State won that game 26-17. Much more will be at stake this time around.

Fourth-seeded Ohio State upset Alabama 42-35 at the Sugar Bowl on Thursday night.

Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota and Oregon blasted Florida State 59-20 at the Rose Bowl.

Now it’s Buckeyes-Ducks. Ohio State is looking for its first title since 2002. Oregon is seeking its first — period.

Sweet as Sugar: Buckeyes Upset Alabama 42-35

Posted on January 2, 2015

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Cardale Jones came through again at the Sugar Bowl in his second career start and Ezekiel Elliott ran for 230 yards, leading Ohio State to a 42-35 upset of top-ranked Alabama in the College Football Playoff semifinal Thursday night.

The Buckeyes advanced to play Oregon in the Jan. 12 national championship game at Arlington, Texas.

Jones threw for 243 yards, including a 47-yard touchdown to Devin Smith that put the Buckeyes ahead for good early in the third quarter. He also ran for 43 yards and converted a crucial third-down play on a 1-yard dive with Ohio State (13-1) clinging to a 34-28 lead.

On the next play, Elliott took a handoff, broke one feeble attempt at a tackle, and was gone for an 85-yard touchdown that clinched the victory with 3:24 remaining.

Alabama (12-2) was denied a shot at its fourth national title in six years.

Rose leads Bulls over Nuggets 106-101

Posted on January 1, 2015

CHICAGO (AP) — Derrick Rose scored 13 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, and the Chicago Bulls beat the Denver Nuggets 106-101 on Thursday night.

Jimmy Butler scored 26 for Chicago, and Pau Gasol added 17 points, nine rebounds and a career-high nine blocks.

The late surge by Rose lifted the Bulls to their 11th win in 13 games. The 2011 NBA MVP missed his first eight shots, including all seven in a scoreless first half, but the point guard dominated down the stretch, coming up with one big basket after another.

Wilson Chandler led Denver with 22 points. Ty Lawson scored 20, while Arron Afflalo had 19 points. Kenneth Faried added 18 points and 19 rebounds, but the Nuggets fell to 4-12 on the road.