ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Peyton Manning said his plan was to spend the Broncos’ bye week getting healthy and he’s doing just that.
The quarterback skipped practice Wednesday for the second consecutive day, something he hadn’t done since coming to Denver in 2012.
Manning said after the Broncos’ 47-14 rout of the Raiders on Sunday that earning the AFC’s No. 2 seed and a first-round bye was imperative because of the team’s long list of banged up players.
He counted himself in that group although he didn’t go into specifics. Two weeks ago, he strained his right thigh in a victory at San Diego when he was dehydrated from the flu.
DENVER (AP) — Kobe Bryant had 23 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds for his 21st career triple-double, and the Los Angeles Lakers held off the Denver Nuggets 111-103 Tuesday night to end a three-game losing streak.
Bryant shot 6 of 11 from the floor, giving him 25,000 field goal attempts for his career. The only players who’ve attempted more shots in NBA history are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (28,307) and Karl Malone (26,210), according to STATS.
The Lakers star played nearly 32 minutes in his second game back. He missed three games around Christmas because of overall soreness.
Carlos Boozer had 19 points and Ronnie Price added a season-high 18.
Ty Lawson and Jusuf Nurkic both finished with 16 points for the Nuggets, who have lost four of five.
Day two of the Greater Nebraska Athletic Conference basketball tournaments saw the North Platte Bulldogs boys basketball team win in the consolation bracket and the Lady Dawgs fall in the semifinals.
The North Platte boys beat McCook 60-42 in the consolation bracket semifinals on Tuesday. The Bulldogs jumped out to an 8-0 lead and maintained that lead through halftime, going into the break up 30-22. Junior Rashawn Bryant propelled North Platte to the early lead by hitting three first quarter three-pointers and finishing the half with 11 points. Bryant kept things going in the second half by hitting three more shots from beyond the arc to finish the game with 20 points and making six three-pointers. The Dawgs pulled away in the fourth quarter and led by as many as 21 before settling for the 18-point win. Senior Shane Mauch also scored in double-figures as he finished with 10 points.
The Dawgs advance to the consolation championship on Wednesday in Hastings and will play fourth-seeded Columbus, which beat Lexington 69-55 to advance. The Discoverers beat North Platte 60-46 at NPHS on December 20. Tip-off Wednesday is scheduled for 3:15 pm and the game can be heard on ESPN Radio 1410. The updated 2014-15 GNAC boys bracket can be seen below.
The North Platte Bulldogs girls basketball team lost in the semifinals of the championship bracket on Tuesday to the Kearney Bearcats, 45-16. Kearney led 7-6 in the first quarter before going on a 30-4 run that spanned more than two quarters and put North Platte down 37-10 to start the fourth quarter. The Lady Dawgs struggled from the field, shooting just 12 percent and were led in scoring by junior Allison Kuenle and senior Taylor Johnson who each scored six points.
The second-seeded North Platte girls will play for 3rd place on Wednesday against fourth-seeded Columbus, which lost to No. 1 Norfolk 46-38. The Lady Dawgs beat Columbus in North Platte 57-52 on December 20. Tip-off Wednesday is scheduled for 10:00 am and the game can be heard on ESPN Radio 1410. An updated 2014-15 GNAC girls bracket can be seen below.
After nearly three weeks off from competition, Nebraska will open 2015 at the Defense Soap & Flips Wrestling Southern Scuffle at McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Thursday and Friday.
Live scoring and updated brackets will be available on TrackWrestling.com. Live video streaming will be provided by Flowrestling.org, with a paid subscription required to view the matches. Event information can be found at TheSouthernScuffle.com.
Thursday’s action begins at 8 a.m. (CT) and will consist of three championship rounds and three consolation rounds. Friday’s slate starts at 8 a.m., with the quarterfinals, before the championship finals and medal matches, set for 6 p.m.
KEARNEY, Neb. – The United States Hockey League has announced the rosters for the 2015 USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game, which will be held on Jan. 13 at the Mystique Community Ice Center in Dubuque, Ia.
Three Tri-City Storm skaters were among the 40 players chosen, including defenseman Tory Dello and forwards Matthew Freytag and Chris Wilkie. All three will play for “Team West” in the game.
This is the third season for the event, which will showcase many of the top players in the USHL who are eligible for the 2015 NHL Draft in Sunrise, Fla.June 26-27. The USHL set a record in 2014, seeing 35 players from the 2013-14 season selected by NHL clubs.
The selection process was completed in cooperation with USHL General Managers, NHL scouts and team personnel, and NHL Central Scouting. All 40 players chosen are eligible for the 2015 NHL Draft, including 30 players that are in their first year of eligibility.
In his second USHL season, Dello has appeared in 24 games and has nine assists from the back end. Seven of his helpers have come on the power play, and the Crystal Lake, Ill. native has a plus-three rating on the season.
Dello also represented the Storm in the CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game the night before the USHL season began on Sept. 25. A Notre Dame commit, Dello has played in 73 total games during his career with Tri-City.
Freytag is fourth in scoring among Storm forwards through 25 games in this, his first USHL campaign. The Wayzata, Minn. product has five goals and 10 assists, along with a plus-two rating.
Three of Freytag’s goals have come on the power play, which is tied for second on the team. The forward is committed to play collegiately at the University of Wisconsin.
Wilkie has been Tri-City’s most consistent offensive performer this season, in his third year in the USHL. An Omaha native, Wilkie leads the team with 15 goals and 22 points in 25 games. His goal total is fourth best in the league, and his seven power play tallies is third in the USHL.
Always dangerous with the puck, Wilkie has put 121 shots on net already this season, which is second in the league. The North Dakota commit has appeared in 121 career USHL games, scoring 39 goals and 33 assists.
15 USHL teams have at least one player selected to participate in the event.
The full list of players chosen can be found here.
The Storm will close out the 2014 calendar with a New Year’s Eve battle in Sioux Falls on Wednesday night at 6:05 p.m.
Tri-City returns home to face the Lancers in Kearney at the Viaero Event Center this Saturday at 7:05.
For more information and to purchase tickets, contact the Viaero Event Center Box Office at 308.338.8011 or visit www.stormhockey.com.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Royals outfielder Alex Gordon has had surgery on his right wrist, and the four-time Gold Glove winner should be ready for the season opener against the White Sox on April 6.
The surgery, an extensor retinaculum repair, was performed by Dr. Bruce Toby at the University of Kansas Hospital on Tuesday. It is not yet clear when Gordon will be able to start in spring training.
Royals trainer Nick Kenney says in a statement that Gordon reached out to the team about some wrist discomfort last week. Gordon traveled to Kansas City and underwent testing, and the surgery was scheduled immediately so that he would be ready for the upcoming season.
Gordon dealt with pain in the same wrist midway through last season but did not miss significant playing time. He aggravated the injury during his winter training sessions.
NEW YORK (AP) — Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh can play in Detroit’s playoff game after his one-game NFL suspension was reduced to a $70,000 fine.
Hearing officer Ted Cottrell heard Suh’s expedited appeal Tuesday and ruled that Suh can play Sunday at Dallas but must pay the fine.
Suh originally was suspended for stepping on Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ left leg twice last Sunday in a loss to Green Bay for the NFC North title. He stepped on Rodgers once with each foot, which violated unnecessary roughness rules, according to the league.
But Cottrell reduced the punishment.
Cottrell is jointly appointed by the NFL and the players’ union.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — New York Giants quarterbacks coach Danny Langsdorf is headed to Nebraska to become new coach Mike Riley’s offensive coordinator.
The Giants announced Tuesday that Langsdorf is leaving the team after one season to take the job with the Cornhuskers. Langsdorf was Riley’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Oregon State from 2005-13.
Riley earlier announced four assistant coaches he’s hired. Nebraska officials would not comment on Langsdorf’s hiring. Riley said last weekend that he wouldn’t announce the rest of his staff until next week.
The 42-year-old Langsdorf will replace Tim Beck as Nebraska’s offensive coordinator.
Giants coach Tom Coughlin said it was Langsdorf’s choice to leave. Coughlin said, “You don’t expect someone to be here for a year, but that’s his decision. Wish him well.”
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska defensive end Randy Gregory is declaring for the NFL draft.
The school’s sports information department confirmed Gregory’s decision, which was first reported by ESPN on Tuesday.
Gregory was a first-team All-Big Ten pick as a junior after leading the Cornhuskers with seven sacks. He was fourth on the team with 54 tackles, including 10 for losses. He also blocked two kicks. He missed or was limited in four games because of injury.
Gregory is considered one of the nation’s top pass rushers, and he’s been projected to be a high first-round draft pick. The 6-foot-6, 240-pound Gregory finished his two-year Nebraska career with 17.5 sacks after transferring from Arizona Western Community College.
The Nebraska men’s basketball team returns home for the first time since Dec. 13, as the Huskers welcome Indiana to Pinnacle Bank Arena in the Big Ten Conference opener for both teams Wednesday afternoon.
Tipoff for the New Year’s Eve matchup is set for 4:30 p.m. and the game will be nationally televised on BTN with Kevin Kugler and Shon Morris on the call. Wednesday’smatchup will also be available on BTN2GO.
A very limited number of $30 tickets are available on Huskers.com or at the Pinnacle Bank Arena Ticket Office beginning at 3 p.m. Wednesday afternoon, as a sellout crowd of over 15,000 is expected.
The game will be broadcast across the state of Nebraska on the IMG Husker Sports Radio Network, including KLIN 1400 AM in Lincoln, 1110 KFAB in Omaha and KRVN 880 AM in Lexington with Kent Pavelka calling the action and Matt Davison adding color commentary. The game can be heard for free on Huskers.com and available on the Huskers’ app on iOS or android devices, as well as on TuneIn Radio and on SiriusXM Satellite Radio.
The Huskers are 8-4 on the season after wrapping up a 2-1 showing in Hawaii last week with a 71-58 win over Ohio on Christmas Day. Against Ohio, the Huskers got 22 points apiece from Terran Petteway and Shavon Shields, while holding the Bobcats to 38 percent shooting. Nebraska never trailed and enjoyed a 39-28 advantage on the boards, including a career-high 13 rebounds by David Rivers, which matched the Huskers’ best individual rebounding effort in five years.
Nebraska has defended at a high level since the loss to Incarnate Word on Dec. 10, holding its last four opponents to a combined 34 percent shooting and 55.2 points per game. The improvement has coincided with a string of strong performances from junior forward Walter Pitchford, who is averaging 9.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game in that stretch.
The Huskers will need to continue that strong defensive against an Indiana team which leads the Big Ten and ranks fourth nationally in scoring offense at 83.4 points per game. The Hoosiers are second in the Big Ten in field goal percentage (.499) and fourth in 3-point percentage (.417).
Wednesday’s game features two of the top scoring duos in the Big Ten as Shields and Petteway combine for 36.5 points per game for the Huskers, while the Hoosiers’ duo of James Blackmon Jr. and Yogi Ferrell account for 35.1 points per game.
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Peyton Manning said his plan was to spend the Broncos’ bye week getting healthy and he’s doing just that.
