Sports – Page 357 – North Platte Post Archive

Nebraska Beats Iowa 37-34 in OT

Posted on November 28, 2014

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Kenny Bell caught a 9-yard touchdown pass in overtime and Nebraska rallied to beat Iowa 37-34 on Friday, snapping a two-game losing streak.

Tommy Armstrong Jr. had four TD passes for the Cornhuskers (9-3, 5-3 Big Ten), who trailed by as many as 17 points before storming back in the second half.

Jordan Canzeri caught a 5-yard touchdown pass with 1:49 left in regulation to put Iowa ahead 31-28. But Drew Brown’s 20-yard field goal with 8 seconds left forced overtime.

Armstrong threw TD passes to Taariq Allen and Kenny Bell, and De’Mornay Pierson-El’s 80-yard punt return for a touchdown put Nebraska ahead 28-24 with 12:06 left in the fourth.

Jake Rudock had 230 yards and two TD passes for Iowa (7-5, 4-4). The Hawkeyes closed the regular season with back-to-back home losses.

Royals Trade Crow to Miami; give Frasor $1.8M Deal

Posted on November 28, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Former first-round draft pick Aaron Crow has been traded from the Kansas City Royals to the Miami Marlins for left-hander Brian Flynn and right-hander Reid Redman.

In another move Friday, Jason Frasor and the Royals agreed to a one-year contract with a 2016 mutual option that guarantees the reliever $1.8 million.

Crow, a 28-year-old right-hander taken with the 12th overall pick in 2009, was 6-1 with a 4.12 ERA and three saves in 67 relief appearances this year. The Topeka, Kansas, native did not pitch in the postseason.

Flynn, 24, was 8-10 record with a 4.06 ERA ERA in 25 starts at Triple-A New Orleans and also had one start and one relief appearance for the Marlins, a year after making four starts for Miami in his first big league season. He played at Wichita State in 2009 and ’11.

Chiefs Try to Rectify Slow Starts Ahead of Denver

Posted on November 27, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — By the time the Kansas City Chiefs pushed the pause button and looked at the scoreboard on Thursday night, they were already trailing the previously winless Oakland Raiders.

Not just trailing, either. They were in a 17-3 hole midway through the third quarter.

They rallied down the stretch, even taking a brief lead in the fourth quarter. But a defensive collapse and their offense’s inability to go the length of the field in the closing minutes led to a humiliating 24-20 defeat, one that knocked Kansas City from first place in the AFC West.

“We wanted to start off fast and we didn’t play like that in the first half,” Chiefs linebacker Josh Mauga recalled, “and it kind of hurt us.”

That may be an understatement.

“We didn’t really start the way we wanted to,” Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith admitted. “You know, on the road, we gave them too much momentum, it felt like.”

When asked to explain the Chiefs’ slow start, running back Jamaal Charles was stumped.

“I don’t know, you know? Some games are just like that,” he said. “You learn from those games. Hopefully we’ll learn from it and move on and come back next week against Denver.”

Yes, the Chiefs get their bitter division rival at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday night, and with them a prime opportunity to move back into a tie atop the AFC West. But unless they are able to solve a troubling trend of slow starts, Peyton Manning and the Broncos could bury them early.

The Chiefs are 5-0 when leading at halftime. They’re 2-4 in all other games.

“We come back home and then we’ve got another big division game, and we are about to handle this the right way,” Smith said. “We can regroup and get it together.”

Just how do you get it together, though? How do you fix slow starts?

After all, it’s not a tangible problem, something that can be fixed with playcalling alone. It doesn’t come down to personnel groups, necessarily, or the scheme for the week.

Often, it involves all of those things and more.

In their opener against Tennessee, the Chiefs trailed 10-3 at halftime. They were behind 23-3 by the fourth quarter, when they finally found traction. The result was still a 26-10 loss, one that is even more frustrating now that Kansas City has clawed back into playoff contention.

A few weeks ago in Buffalo, the problem popped up again.

Kansas City trailed 10-3 at halftime and 13-3 after three quarters, finally coming alive when the game was coming down the stretch. The Chiefs scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns, their defense shut the Bills out and the result was a confidence-building 17-13 victory.

The result was better. The way the Chiefs got there was a bit disappointing.

Andy Reid has experience just about everything over the course of his coaching career, and even the Chiefs’ boss has yet to put his finger on the solution to the slow starts.

“Well, I’ve got to make sure that I dial up plays that will help us with that. If you have an opportunity then we’ve got to execute when given the opportunity,” he said. “It hits all of us and defensively the same thing. There are things you can do as a coach with play calls and then the guys have to execute; we’re all in it together that way.”

Reid shouldered much of the blame for the flop in Oakland, and admitted that “we weren’t as well coordinated as we needed to be.” But he also said the Chiefs failed to grasp the opportunities that were presented, and that responsibility falls on the players.

“You’ve got to stay on and execute. That’s one area on both sides of the ball we can do better at it. We didn’t do a great job there,” Reid said. “I didn’t feel it was a letdown; the guys didn’t work hard and all that. It was one of those deals.”

One of those deals the Chiefs are trying hard to resolve by Sunday night.

Huskers Host Skyhawks Friday Night

Posted on November 27, 2014

The Husker men’s basketball team returns to the court Friday night, as Nebraska hosts Tennessee-Martin at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

As of Wednesday afternoon, a limited number of tickets are still available, including 100 level end court seats, by visiting Huskers.com, calling the Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office at 800-8-BIG RED during business hours or visiting the Pinnacle Bank Arena box office beginning Friday at 5:30 p.m.

Tipoff for Friday’s tilt is set for 7:02 p.m. (central) and will be available on ESPN3 and on the WatchESPN app with Peter Young and Rich Zvosac on the call. For more information on WatchESPN and ESPN3, visit (espn.go.com/watchespn/index). Friday’s game will be one of four ESPN3 broadcasts during non-conference play.

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 SiriusXM Satellite Radio.

The Huskers look to continue on a roll at Pinnacle Bank Arena, as they are 18-1 since moving into the facility following an 80-67 win over Omaha Tuesday night. Nebraska is riding an 11-game home win streak dating back to last January.

On Tuesday, the Huskers received an outstanding performance from Shavon Shields, who had a career-high 35 points, including four 3-pointers, and eight rebounds. The junior wing is second in the Big Ten at 23.5 points per game and is sixth in rebounding at 8.0 per game. Shields was one of three Huskers in double figures in the win over UNO.
Nebraska has been strong offensively, putting up 80 or more points in each of its first three home games, the first time since the 1995-96 season that Nebraska has scored at least 80 points in its first three home games. It is also the first time since 2006-07 that the Huskers have scored 80 or more points in three consecutive home contests.

Tennessee-Martin comes to town riding a three-game win streak following a 74-56 win at Bethune Cookman on Tuesday. Tonight’s game will be the second of six straight road games for the Skyhawks, as they will not play another home game until Dec. 20. UT-Martin is coached by Heath Schroyer, who served as the head coach of Wyoming for four seasons while Nebraska Coach Tim Miles was at Colorado State.

Green Scores 24, Suns Beat Nuggets 120-112

Posted on November 27, 2014

PHOENIX (AP) — Gerald Green scored 24 points and Eric Bledsoe had 21, leading the Phoenix Suns to a 120-112 win over the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night.

Green made 6 of 11 3-pointers, four in the second half when he scored 16 points, and the Suns won for the fifth time in six games. Goran Dragic added 20 points for Phoenix, which ended Denver’s five-game winning streak.

Timofey Mozgov led the Nuggets (7-8) with 18 points and 13 rebounds and Ty Lawson added 17 points and 12 assists.

Green carried the Suns (10-6) to a big lead in the third quarter after the score was tied at halftime. He hit three 3-pointers in the third, the first of which gave the Suns an 85-74 lead at the 4:26 mark.

Bickell lifts Blackhawks over Avalanche, 3-2

Posted on November 27, 2014

DENVER (AP) — Bryan Bickell scored late in the third period and the Chicago Blackhawks overcame strong goaltending from Calvin Pickard to beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 Wednesday night.

Corey Crawford made 27 saves, and Jonathan Toews and Andrew Shaw also scored for Chicago. Patrick Kane had three assists.

Pickard, making his first start after winning two games in relief of Reto Berra, kept Colorado in the game with a career-high 42 saves. He left for an extra skater with 2:15 remaining, but Colorado couldn’t tie it.

Ryan O’Reilly and Max Talbot scored for the Avalanche, who had won two consecutive games.

Colorado tied it 2-all on O’Reilly’s third goal of the season at 3:36 of the third. Chicago stepped up the pressure but Pickard kept it a tie game until Bickell’s go-ahead goal at 14:43.

Bucs Hold Off Storm On Thanksgiving Eve

Posted on November 27, 2014

DES MOINES, Ia. – A slow start came back to haunt the Tri-City Storm (9-6-3) on Wednesday night at Buccaneer Arena, as the Des Moines Buccaneers (10-6-2) hung on to win 4-3 and move back into second place in the Western Conference standings.

Storm forward Mason Appleton had a goal and an assist in the loss, while captain Garrett Gamez scored his seventh tally of the season and defenseman Mattias Goransson had his fourth of the year.

Des Moines scored the first goal of the game on a penalty shot by forward Nikita Pavlychev at 17:49 of the opening period and Tri-City went into the first intermission trailing 1-0.

The Bucs then increased their lead early on in the middle frame on a power play goal by forward Mark Petaccio at 3:05.

Goransson cut the lead to 2-1 at 5:29 of the second, scoring off a pass from defenseman Bobby Nardella on a rush. Forward Nick Master started the play, picking up the second assist by finding Nardella. The Rosemont, Ill. native found Goransson trailing the play for an open look at the net and the big man didn’t miss.

Less than two minutes after Goransson’s tally, Des Moines made it 3-1 on a goal by Joe Widmar at 6:45.

In the third, Tyler Drevitch extended the Bucs’ lead to 4-1 with his first goal of the season 3:57 in.

But Tri-City got a comeback going a few minutes later when Gamez found a loose puck in front for a power play tally to make it 4-2. Appleton and Nardella were credited with assists on the goal.

While a Tory Dello tripping penalty had the Storm down a man minutes later, defenseman Jalen Schulz found an opening and hit Appleton on a home run pass that sent the forward in on a breakaway. The Green Bay, Wis. native converted for the team’s second short-handed goal of the season and cut the lead to 4-3.

With the score holding up late in the game, Des Moines defenseman Patrik Kosh took a five-minute major penalty for slashing, giving the Storm a power play for 4:19, which was all that was left in regulation.
Although Tri-City had their chances, they couldn’t find the equalizer they were searching for and fell short by one goal.

Blake Weyrick got the start in between the pipes for the Storm and made 28 saves in the loss. Des Moines netminder Ryland Pashovitz earned the win for his team, making 33 saves.

After the Thanksgiving holiday, Tri-City will resume play in Omaha against the Lancers on Saturday night at 7:35 p.m. The Storm return to the Viaero Event Center on Tuesday, Dec. 9 in a matchup with the Lincoln Stars at 7:05.

Notes: The Storm scratched forward Chase Hatcher and defenseman Jason Krych. Chris Wilkie was also scratched, serving a one-game suspension…

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Period

Des Moines – Nikita Pavlychev (penalty shot) 17:49

2nd Period

Des Moines – Mark Petaccio (power play) (Ryan Dmowski, Corey Schueneman) 3:21
Tri-City – Mattias Goransson (Bobby Nardella, Nick Master) 5:29
Des Moines – Joe Widmar (Kyle Patava, Ryan Dmowski) 6:45

3rd Period
Des Moines – Tyler Drevitch (Brennan Sanford, Joe Widmar) 3:57
Tri-City – Garrett Gamez (power play) (Mason Appleton, Bobby Nardella) 6:51
Tri-City – Mason Appleton (short-handed) (Jalen Schulz) 10:38

PENALTIES

1st Period

Tri-City – Matthew Freytag – (Elbowing), 2 min, 10:11
Tri-City – Matthew Freytag – (Boarding), 2 min, 12:55
Des Moines – Kyle Patava – (Cross Checking), 2 min, 15:38

2nd Period

Tri-City – Tory Dello – (Holding), 2 min, 2:04
Des Moines – Patrick Koch – (Unsportsmanlike Conduct), 2 min, 7:22
Tri-City – Nolan Aibel – (Unsportsmanlike Conduct), 2 min, 7:22
Tri-City – Kyle Eastman – (Roughing), 2 min, 7:22
Des Moines – Nikita Pavlychev – (Kneeing), 2 min, 15:30

3rd Period

Des Moines – Patrick Grasso – (Slashing), 2 min, 6:04
Tri-City – Tory Dello – (Tripping), 2 min, 8:53
Des Moines – Patrik Kosh – (Slashing), 5 min, 15:41
Des Moines – Patrik Kosh – (Slashing) (Misconduct), 10 min, 15:41

Power Play

Tri-City – 1/4

Des Moines – 1/5

Shots

Tri-City: 6, 12, 18 = Total: 36
Des Moines: 13, 11, 8 = Total: 32

Saves
Tri-City – Blake Weyrick – 28/32
Des Moines – Ryland Pashovitz – 33/36

Husker Win Streak Comes to an End in Five Sets at No. 11 Illinois

Posted on November 27, 2014

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Despite a spirited comeback to force a fifth set, the No. 10 Nebraska volleyball team fell at No. 11 Illinois, 3-2 (25-16, 22-25, 25-18, 24-26, 15-10), on Wednesday night at Huff Hall.

The loss snapped the Huskers’ eight-match win streak and perfect month of November. Nebraska dropped to 20-8 overall and 14-5 in the Big Ten, while Illinois moved to 23-7 and 15-4 in conference play. The Illini improved their home record to 11-1 this season.

Kadie Rolfzen had a team-high 19 kills with 11 digs. Kelsey Fien added 13 kills, and Amber Rolfzen had eight kills and 10 digs with five blocks. The Huskers outblocked Illinois 16-10, led by 10 blocks from Cecilia Hall. But Nebraska committed 11 service errors and hit just .146 for the match, while Illinois hit .232 and outdug NU 78-69.

Mary Pollmiller had 39 assists, and Justine Wong-Orantes had a team-high 20 digs.

Jocelynn Birks led the Illini with 22 kills and added 10 digs. Michelle Strizak had 15 kills, and Liz McMahon had 13. Morganne Criswell, who had 21 kills against the Huskers in Lincoln on Oct. 18, sat out the first four sets with an injury but came in to the match in set five to post four kills and lead the Illini in the decisive set.

Illinois broke free from a 5-5 tie in set one with a 7-0 run to stake a 12-5 lead. Strizak had three kills and a block in that stretch. Two kills by Fien and a Hall/Pollmiller block cut it to 12-8, but the Illini quickly restored the seven-point lead at 16-9 and pushed it to 22-13 before settling on the 25-16 win. The Huskers hit just .032 in the set with eight attacking errors.

Illinois led set two 9-7 before a Fien kill and block by Amber Rolfzen and Hall to tie it at 9-9. After trading sideouts, the Huskers strung together three straight with an Illini hitting error, Kadie Rolfzen kill and Annika Albrecht ace for a 13-10 lead. NU went up 17-13 on back-to-back kills by Amber and Kadie Rolfzen. Leading 18-15, the Huskers got a kill from Pollmiller and ace serve from Kadie Rolfzen for a 20-15 lead. Two more kills from Fien helped put the Huskers up 23-18 before Illinois drew within 23-20. But after Nebraska called timeout to set up an attack for Kadie Rolfzen, the Huskers had set point at 24-20. Illinois fought off two set points, but again out of a timeout the Huskers ran a play to set up Kadie Rolfzen, and she delivered the winning point to give the Huskers the 25-22 win and even the match.

The teams engaged in a sideout battle early in the third set before Illinois gained a 14-9 lead with a 4-0 run. Nebraska came back, sparked by a spectacular dig by Albrecht leading to a Kadie Rolfzen kill, and then an Albrecht kill of her own to get within 14-12. But the Illini went up 17-12 with kills by Birks and Ali Stark around a Husker attacking error, and after Illinois went up 18-13, the Huskers never got closer than five points again. NU fought off two set points down 24-16, but the Illini finished the 25-18 win to go up 2-1.

A tremendous hustle play in the fourth set that saw Kadie Rolfzen fly into the bench and Sydney Townsend dig up three near kills led to a Husker block to tie the fourth set at 9-9. NU went up 12-11 on a kill by Amber Rolfzen, but the Illini went on a key 5-0 run to lead 16-12. The Huskers got within 17-15 on a Townsend service ace, and a Fien kill cut it to 19-18. But back-to-back kills by McMahon put Illinois up 21-18 and forced the Huskers’ final timeout. The Huskers pulled within 22-21 after a Hall/Amber Rolfzen block and kill by Hall, and Illinois took a timeout. After the timeout, Albrecht tallied her third ace of the night to tie the set 22-22. Back-to-back Kadie Rolfzen kills gave the Huskers set point at 24-23, but Birks took one swing to tie it 24-24. However, Kadie Rolfzen completed the comeback with two more kills to record the Huskers’ last four kills of the set for a 26-24 win.

After the Huskers took a 1-0 lead in set five, Birks went out with an injury for the Illini. But they subbed in Criswell, who had been sitting out injured until then. Criswell – who had 21 kills against the Huskers on Oct. 18, immediately posted three kills on five swings to put Illinois up 5-4. Amber Rolfzen killed to tie it 5-5, but the Illini took the next three points for an 8-5 lead before the teams switched sides. The Huskers got within 9-7 after an Illini service error, but a service error of their own, followed by a collision going for the ball put Illinois up 11-7. Criswell’s fourth kill of the set made it 13-8 Illini. NU pulled within 13-10 after a stuff by Hall and Kadie Rolfzen, but the Huskers’ 11th service error of the night gave Illinois match point, and the Illini won 15-10 after a Husker attacking error.

Nebraska closes the regular season on Saturday at No. 4 Penn State at 7:30 p.m. (CT) on Big Ten Network.

Huskers Set for Regular Season Finale

Posted on November 26, 2014

Lincoln, Neb. – The Nebraska football team held a 45-minute walkthrough at the Hawks Championship Center on Wednesday as the Huskers prepare for their Black Fridaymatchup against Iowa. Head Coach Bo Pelini spoke to the media afterwards.

“We had a good week,” Pelini said. “(It was) a short week, but we had good attention to detail. I think the kids have a pretty good feel for what we are trying to get accomplished. We’ll finish it up tomorrow and get ready to go.”

Pelini said that no one has been officially ruled out for the game, adding that defensive end Randy Gregory as well as wide receivers Kenny Bell and Alonzo Moore are all “50/50.”

Pelini addressed the challenges of the week, saying, “We moved things up a day. We gave them Sunday off. We’ve been through this before, so I like our schedule. We’ll be ready to go.”

In addition, Pelini talked about the team’s visit to local hospitals on Wednesday.

“It’s big for us,” Pelini said. “It’s not mandatory. They go because they want to go. Some guys couldn’t, because obviously treatments and things like that. I think it was well-represented. Giving back to our community is important to our kids. They do it all year round.”

The Huskers and Hawkeyes face off on Friday at 11 a.m. (CT) at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa on ABC.

MLB Minimum Salary Rises to $507,500 from $500,000

Posted on November 26, 2014

NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball’s minimum salary is rising to $507,500 next year from $500,000.

The sport’s collective bargaining agreement called for a cost-of-living adjustment based on the yearly increase through October of the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, rounded to the nearest $500. There will be a similar adjustment for the minimum in 2016, the final season of the labor contract.

The commissioner’s office said Wednesday that the minor league minimum for a player signing a second major league contract goes up to $82,700 from $81,500. The minor league minimum for a player signing an initial big league contract rises to $41,400 from $40,750.