Sports – Page 365 – North Platte Post Archive

Big Deals on Minds of Owners During MLB Meetings

Posted on November 19, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Yankees President Randy Levine offered a succinct response when asked what he thought about the Marlins and outfielder Giancarlo Stanton breaking the record for richest contract that had been held by Alex Rodriguez for more than 13 years until last spring.

“Thank God,” Levine said, laughing. “Thank God.”

Not all executives are quite so pleased.

As baseball executives gathered for two days of owners meetings in Kansas City, the flurry of pricy contracts that have already been offered this offseason was a topic of conversation.

Along with Stanton’s record-setting $325 million, 13-year pact with Miami, the Blue Jays gave catcher Russell Martin an $82 million, five-year deal, and the Athletics agreed to give Billy Butler a $30 million, three-year deal to become their first baseman and designated hitter.

Abdullah Named Semifinalist for Doak Walker Award

Posted on November 19, 2014

Nebraska senior I-back Ameer Abdullah has been named one of 10 semifinalists for the 2014 Doak Walker Award. The award is given annually to the nation’s top running back.

This marks the second straight season Abdullah has been a semifinalist for the award. The 5-9, 200-pound Abdullah has produced a standout senior campaign in 2014. He ranks among the top 10 nationally in all-purpose yards per game (3rd), rushing touchdowns (4th), scoring (7th) and rushing yards per game (9th).

Abdullah has rushed for better than 200 yards four times during the 2014 season, tying a Nebraska school record. He has also produced a pair of games with better than 300 all-purpose yards, making him the only player in the nation with two games of 300-plus all-purpose yards. In the process, Abdullah has set a Nebraska school record for career all-purpose yards (6,700), while ranking second in Big Ten history in career all-purpose yardage.

Abdullah has 1,319 rushing yards this season and 4,296 career rushing yards, and remains in pursuit of Mike Rozier’s school record of 4,780 career rushing yards.

Abdullah is one of three Big Ten running backs on the semifinalist list, joining Tevin Coleman of Indiana and Melvin Gordon of Wisconsin. Abdullah is one of two seniors among the 10 semifinalists.

The Doak Walker Award is named after three-time SMU All-America running back and 1948 Heisman Trophy winner Doak Walker.

The list of semifinalists will be trimmed to three finalists next Tuesday. The 2014 Doak Walker Award recipient will be announced live on The Home Depot College Football Awards on Thursday, Dec. 11 on ESPN.

Judge to Weigh Fairness of NFL Concussion Deal

Posted on November 19, 2014

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Critics of what could be a $1 billion settlement of NFL concussion lawsuits will have their day in court in Philadelphia.

Dozens of former players, relatives and lawyers on Wednesday hope to speak to the judge weighing final approval.

The deal was announced last year to settle claims the NFL long hid what it knew about concussion risks.

The NFL expects about 6,000 former players to develop Alzheimer’s disease or dementia in the coming decades. They would get an average $190,000.

Some critics say that’s not enough to cover their needs — especially when the NFL takes in $10 billion each year.

Lead plaintiff Kevin Turner is battling Lou Gehrig’s disease and can’t make the hearing. But he hopes the deal is approved.

Turner says time is of the essence for players like him.

DH Billy Butler and Athletics reach 3-year deal

Posted on November 19, 2014November 19, 2014

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP)- The Oakland Athletics have agreed to terms on a $30 million, three-year contract with designated hitter Billy Butler through the 2017 season.

Butler helped the Kansas City Royals reach the World Series last month after a 29-year playoff drought. In the postseason opener, they rallied late to eliminate Oakland in the AL wild-card game. Butler contributed two hits and two RBIs.

After losing to the San Francisco Giants in seven games, the Royals declined their $12.5 million option on Butler for next season, making the 2012 All-Star a free agent for the first time in his eight-year career.

The Royals, who selected Butler with the 14th overall pick in the 2004 draft, owed him a $1 million buyout.

NPCC Knights Conquer the Conquistadors

Posted on November 18, 2014

In a battle of two unbeaten teams, North Platte Community College traveled to Dodge City, Kansas and came away with a 70-68 win over the Conquistadors of Dodge City Community College on a last second shot by sophomore Marco Pascolo. The Knights remain unbeaten at 5-0. Dodge City fell to 5-1.

Knights head coach Kevin O’Connor said that Dodge City is a talented and athletic team.

“We played decent,” O’Connor said. “Except for the runs at the beginning of each half.”

The Conquistadors jumped out to a 10-0 lead during the first two and a half minutes of the game. The Knights went on an 18-7 run to take their first lead of 18-17 with 11 minutes to go in the first half.

The game was tied at 23 when Dodge City went on a 9-0 run to lead 32-23. They held on to lead at halftime 41-36.

At the beginning of the second half, the Conquistadors went on a 15-6 run and held their biggest lead of the game 56-42 with just under 13 minutes to play in the game.

The Knights started battling back by not turning the ball over and the offense of sophomores Cameron Williams and Marco Pascolo,

The Knights took the lead 59-56 with 6 minutes to go on a three-pointer by Pascolo.

Dodge City regained the lead. Freshman Matt Thomas hit a three-pointer with 2 minutes to play to put the Knights within two points of the lead 66-64. On the next possession, the Knights had a good defensive stand causing Dodge City’s EJ Eaves to miss a layup and the Knights came down the court and took the lead on a three pointer by Pascolo, 67-66.

The Conquistadors were at the free throw line with 3.8 seconds to play. Eaves hit both free throws to put Dodge City out in front 68-67. The Knights had 3.8 seconds to go the length of the court and with 1.4 seconds Pascolo hit the game winning shot.

Pascolo led the Knights in scoring with 18 points. He was perfect from the field shooting 7 of 7 and 4 of 4 behind the three point line. Cameron Williams and Tyree Peter finished with 15 and 12 points respectively. Pascolo also pulled down 11 rebounds.

The Conquistadors were led by Eaves, who had a game high 19 points. The only other player to score in double figures for Dodge City was Ameer Jackson, who finished with 16 points.

The Knights return home this weekend to open up Region IX play. Otero comes to town on Friday with a 7:30 tip-off. On Saturday, Trinidad State is in town. Tip-off for the Trinidad game is 2:00.

Both games can be heard on ESPN 1410 radio or online at www.northplattepost.com. It may also be viewed at https://www.coachesaid.com.

No. 21 Huskers Start Slow, Rout C. Arkansas 82-56

Posted on November 18, 2014

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Terran Petteway scored 23 points, Shavon Shields added 16 and No. 21 Nebraska shook off a sloppy first half to beat Central Arkansas 82-56 on Tuesday night.

Tai Webster had 11 of his 13 points in the second half for the Cornhuskers (2-0), who turned the game into a rout after leading their opponent from the Southland Conference by only five points shortly after halftime.

Jake Zuilhof led Central Arkansas (0-3) with 12 points. Albert Christensson had 11 points, and Jordan Howard scored 10.

Huskers Turn Attention to Gophers

Posted on November 18, 2014

Lincoln, Neb.- The Nebraska football team continued preparations for its Big Ten West showdown with the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Tuesdayafternoon, as the Huskers practiced for nearly two hours inside of the Hawks Championship Center and outside on the Ed and Joyanne Gass practice fields.

Offensive Coordinator Tim Beck spoke with the media following practice. Beck said the Huskers will have their hands full offensively Saturday, as the Gophers have been very stingy on defense this season.

“They are well-coached defensive team. They are very active up front, and they play the ball well in the secondary—a lot of man-to-man stuff,” Beck said. “They play their system, they have recruited to it and they coach them with good technique, and they do a good job. They are rarely out of position.”

Beck added that Minnesota’s defensive line is very active, pushing opposing offenses into third-and-long situations.

“They are active, they use their hands really well and get you into third-down situations. Obviously all offenses want to stay out of those situations,” Beck said. “They are really good in those situations, so you want to do everything you can to keep yourself out of third-and-long.”

Beck noted that it was good for the players to get back to work on the field, including sophomore quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr.

“He had a good day today,” Beck said of Armstrong. “He threw the ball well. I think it was good for the guys to get back on the field and get to work. (Tommy) is getting better. He will continue to grow. He is a young guy and it means a lot to him.”

Nebraska will practice again on Wednesday afternoon. Saturday’s Big Ten conference clash between Nebraska and Minnesota will be nationally televised on ESPN at 11:00 a.m. (Central).

Alabama Rolls to No. 1 in Playoff Rankings, Nebraska 23rd

Posted on November 18, 2014

Alabama is the new No. 1 in the College Football Playoff rankings and Mississippi State is still in the top four after losing to the Crimson Tide.

Alabama jumped from fifth to first after handing previously undefeated and top-ranked Mississippi State its first loss on Saturday. Mississippi State dropped to fourth, Oregon remained second and unbeaten Florida State is still third. The Seminoles are the only undefeated team left in a Big Five conference.

TCU slipped to No. 5 while Ohio State moved up to No. 6, ahead of TCU’s Big 12 rival Baylor and Mississippi. Nebraska dropped to No. 23 following its loss to Wisconsin.

Tri-City To Face Best In The West This Weekend

Posted on November 18, 2014

KEARNEY, Neb. – With 15 games down and 45 to go, there’s still a long road ahead in the 2014-15 USHL season. Through the first quarter of the year, the Tri-City Storm have an overall record of 8-4-3 and 19 points which is good for third place in the Western Conference.

During the upcoming weekend, Tri-City will face the two teams ahead of them in the standings, Des Moines and Sioux City.

“We’re very excited to line up against the top two teams in our conference this weekend,” said Storm Head Coach Jim Hulton. “This is a time for us to make up some ground and we think we’re at that stage in the season now that we’re ready to take it to another level. We’ve been satisfied with our play, but we’d like to be a lot more consistent and make a real push to the top.”

The Buccaneers (9-5-2, 20 points) come to Kearney on Friday night, for a 7:30 p.m. matchup. In the first meeting of Tri-City and Des Moines back onOct. 4, the Storm skated out of Buccaneer Arena with a 2-1 shootout victory. Forward Nick Master scored for Tri-City in the first period of the contest, while Chris Wilkie and Bobby Nardella took care of the extra point, scoring in the shootout.

Sioux City (11-4-1, 23 points) is at the top of the Western Conference and second-best in the USHL. Saturday’s game at the Tyson Events Center will be the first of six matchups between the teams this season.

With eight wins in their first 15 games, the Storm are off to their best start since the 2006-07 season, when they had nine wins in the team’s first 15 contests.

Tri-City has been led offensively by Chris Wilkie, who has nine goals and five assists this season. Three defensemen are tied for the lead in scoring amongst blueliners, with Mattias Goransson, Kevin Kerr and Bobby Nardella each recording nine points on the season.

Goaltender Alec Dillon has shouldered most of the load between the pipes, posting a record of 8-3-2 with a goals against average of 2.16 and a save percentage at .921.

For more information and to purchase tickets, contact the Viaero Event Center Box Office at 308.338.8011 or visit www.stormhockey.com.

Champ Bailey Retires after Stellar 15-Year Career

Posted on November 18, 2014

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Champ Bailey said goodbye to the NFL on Tuesday after signing a ceremonial one-day contract with his beloved Denver Broncos.

Bailey retired with a dozen Pro Bowl selections, 52 interceptions and no regrets.

Dozens of current players joined former teammates including John Lynch, Brandon Stokley, Brian Dawkins, Jake Plummer and Rod Smith in celebrating Bailey’s unparalleled career.

Bailey thanked the Washington Redskins for drafting him with the seventh overall pick in 1999 and the Broncos for bringing him to Denver in the famous 2004 trade for Clinton Portis.

Bailey became the Broncos’ most decorated defensive player and helped them reach the Super Bowl last season.