Sports – Page 416 – North Platte Post Archive

FCC Spikes Sports Blackout Rule

Posted on September 30, 2014

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FCC wants an end to sports blackouts.

The Federal Communications Commission has voted to spike a decades-old rule preventing cable and satellite operators from airing sports events that were blacked out on local TV.

The commission says the rule was outdated and unnecessary. It was originally adopted to help boost ticket sales in the 1970s.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler says NFL teams have hidden behind the rule for 40 years, but no more.

But Wheeler acknowledges it may not spell the end to sports blackouts. The NFL would still be able to privately negotiate its own rules with cable and satellite companies — those agreements just wouldn’t have the backing of the federal government.

Athletics, Royals Set Rosters for AL Wild-Card

Posted on September 30, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Royals manager Ned Yost went with a nine-man pitching staff and Oakland counterpart Bob Melvin opted to keep eight pitchers for their AL wild-card game Tuesday night.

The winner advances to face the Los Angeles Angels in the division series Thursday.

The Royals are sending James Shields to the mound to start their first postseason game in 29 years. He’ll be backed by one of the strongest bullpens in baseball, which includes left-hander Brandon Finnegan, the club’s first-round pick out of TCU just this year.

The Athletics will start Jon Lester. He’ll be backed by an equally stout bullpen and an offense that includes slugger Adam Dunn, making his first postseason appearance after playing 2,001 regular-season games for five clubs over 14 seasons.

Penalty on Chiefs Player Ignites Social Media, NFL Says Flag Shouldn’t have been Thrown

Posted on September 30, 2014September 30, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Husain Abdullah knew before he even reached the end zone Monday night that he would drop to his knees in thankful prayer after intercepting Tom Brady in the fourth quarter of the Kansas City Chiefs’ 41-14 victory over New England.

He had no idea he would be penalized for it.

But after sliding to the grass in the end zone at Arrowhead Stadium, that’s exactly what happened. The devout Muslim, who stepped away from the game for a year to make a pilgrimage to Mecca, saw yellow flags flying from the game officials.

The unsportsmanlike conduct penalty touched off a firestorm of controversy on social media, with many wondering how it was different than players dropping to one knee in Christian prayer.

It turns out the referees were flagging Abdullah for the slide, not the prostration, and even Abdullah acknowledged that the NFL prohibits sliding to the knees in celebration.

UPDATE:

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The NFL says Kansas City Chiefs safety Husain Abdullah should not have been penalized for dropping to his knees in prayer in the end zone after an interception.

NFL spokesman Michael Signora writes in an email to The Associated Press on Tuesday that “the officiating mechanic in this situation is not to flag a player who goes to the ground as part of religious expression.

Signora says “there should have been no penalty on the play.”

The flag thrown in the fourth quarter of Kansas City’s 41-14 victory over New England on Monday night touched off a firestorm on social media, with many wondering how it was different from players dropping to one knee in Christian prayer.

Nebraska AP High School Football Rankings

Posted on September 30, 2014

Here are the Associated Press Nebraska high school football rankings in Classes A through D-2. Listings include name of school, season record, previous week’s ranking, previous week’s result and this week’s opponent (NR-not ranked). The rankings are based on a formula that includes ratings from the Omaha World-Herald and Lincoln Journal Star plus experts for each class. Class A: Dale Miller, Grand Island Independent. Class B: Jeff Fielder, Scottsbluff Star-Herald. Class C1: Tom Behmer, Norfolk Daily News. Class C2: Brent Wasinius, Fremont Tribune. Class D1: Andrew Bottrell, North Platte Telegraph. Class D2: Nick Blasnitz, Hastings Tribune.

CLASS A

1. Omaha North (5-0), 1, def. Creighton Preparatory School 47-14, at Omaha Central.

2. Millard North (5-0), 2, def. Lincoln North Star 38-3, at Omaha Northwest.

3. Bellevue West (4-1), 5, def. Bellevue East 69-30, at South Sioux City.

4. Papillion-La Vista South (4-1), 6, def. Lincoln Southwest 33-24, at Lincoln North Star.

5. Omaha Creighton Prep (4-1), 4, lost to Omaha North 47-14, at Bellevue East.

6. Millard West (3-2), 8, def. Millard South 44-24, Norfolk.

7. Omaha Central (4-1), 7, def. Omaha South 44-6, Omaha North.

8. Omaha Westside (3-2), 10, def. Grand Island 27-24, at Omaha Burke.

9. Grand Island (4-1), 3, lost to Omaha Westside 27-24, at Fremont.

10. Kearney (4-1), 9, def. Lincoln Southeast 42-6, at Lincoln East.

Others receiving votes: None.

CLASS B

1. Elkhorn (5-0), 4, def. Nebraska City 41-7, Omaha Roncalli Catholic.

2. Gretna (5-0), 3, def. Platteview 44-20, at Plattsmouth.

3. Elkhorn South (5-0), 5, def. Ralston 21-14, at Mount Michael Benedictine.

4. Omaha Skutt Catholic (4-1), 1, lost to Blair 45-28, Lincoln Pius X.

5. Aurora (4-1), 7, def. McCook 20-19, Scottsbluff.

6. McCook (4-1), 2, lost to Aurora 20-19, Gering.

7. Sidney (4-1), 8, def. Lexington 36-13, at Northwest.

8. Scottsbluff (4-1), 9, def. Northwest 45-40, at Aurora.

9. Seward (4-1), NR, def. Schuyler 59-7, at Norris.

10. Beatrice (3-2), 10, def. Mount Michael Benedictine 54-0, Omaha Gross Catholic.

Others receiving votes: Blair.

CLASS C1

1. Boone Central/Newman Grove (5-0), 1, def. West Point-Beemer 30-6, Pierce.

2. Norfolk Catholic (5-0), 2, def. Madison 55-0, at West Point-Beemer.

3. Ashland-Greenwood (5-0), 3, def. Arlington 48-7, at Fort Calhoun.

4. Kearney Catholic (5-0), 4, def. St. Paul 44-12, at Central City.

5. Columbus Scotus (4-1), 5, def. David City 47-0, Bishop Neumann.

6. Wilber-Clatonia (5-0), 6, def. Lincoln Lutheran 65-14, Raymond Central.

7. Pierce (4-1), 7, def. Wayne 56-13, at Boone Central/Newman Grove.

8. Cozad (4-1), 8, def. Gothenburg 27-24, at Ord.

9. Chadron (4-1), 10, def. Ogallala 26-6, at Mitchell.

10. Syracuse (3-2), NR, def. Johnson County Central 42-0, at Conestoga.

Others receiving votes: Fort Calhoun.

CLASS C2

1. Battle Creek (5-0), 1, def. Crofton 43-0, Hartington Cedar Catholic.

2. Hastings St. Cecilia (5-0), 2, def. Doniphan-Trumbull 21-0, at Southern Valley.

3. North Platte St. Patrick’s (5-0), 3, def. Hershey 50-28, at Bridgeport.

4. Aquinas Catholic (4-1), 4, def. Yutan 38-0, Omaha Brownell-Talbot.

5. Hartington Cedar Catholic (4-1), 5, def. West Holt 42-7, at Battle Creek.

6. Archbishop Bergan (4-1), 6, def. Tekamah-Herman 46-6, at Logan View.

7. Sutton (5-0), 7, def. Sandy Creek 32-0, at Doniphan-Trumbull.

8. Lutheran High Northeast (4-1), 8, def. Ainsworth 51-0, Crofton.

9. Malcolm (5-0), 9, def. Tri County 49-6, at Centennial.

10. Oakland-Craig (4-1), 10, def. Ponca 44-8, Stanton.

Others receiving votes: Stanton.

CLASS D1

1. Hemingford (4-0), 1, def. Perkins County 78-6, Morrill.

2. Creighton (4-0), 2, def. Bloomfield 60-14, at Plainview.

3. Guardian Angels Central Catholic (4-0), 3, def. Plainview 74-6, at Scribner-Snyder.

4. Heartland (4-0), 4, def. High Plains Community 82-36, at Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family.

5. BDS (4-0), 5, bye, Diller-Odell.

6. Elm Creek (4-0), 6, def. Shelton 54-24, at Arapahoe.

7. Amherst (3-0), 7, def. Central Valley 45-12, South Loup.

8. Howells-Dodge (3-1), 8, def. Clarkson/Leigh 54-32, Nebraska Christian.

9. Diller-Odell (4-0), 9, def. Pawnee City 58-16, at BDS.

10. Scribner-Snyder (4-0), 10, def. Omaha Nation 62-6, Guardian Angels Central Catholic.

Others receiving votes: Friend.

CLASS D2

1. Falls City Sacred Heart (3-1), 1, def. Johnson-Brock 66-14, at Lewiston.

2. Stuart (4-0), 2, def. Wausa 66-6, CWC.

3. Exeter-Milligan (4-0), 3, def. Giltner 76-62, at Lawrence-Nelson.

4. Humphrey St. Francis (4-0), 4, def. Palmer 76-6, at Hampton.

5. Anselmo-Merna (4-0), 6, def. Pleasanton 90-36, at Sandhills/Thedford.

6. Kenesaw (3-1), 7, def. Alma 64-6, at Parkview Christian.

7. Giltner (2-2), 5, lost to Exeter-Milligan 76-62, Meridian.

8. St. Mary’s (4-0), 9, def. Osmond 28-7, at Randolph.

9. Elwood (3-1), NR, def. Loomis 64-42, Bertrand.

10. Randolph (3-1), NR, def. CWC 52-26, St. Mary’s.

Others receiving votes: Emerson-Hubbard.

Chiefs Offense Hums in 41-14 Rout of Patriots

Posted on September 30, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Perhaps the Kansas City Chiefs gave their neighbors across the parking lot a little bit of inspiration with their impassioned performance against New England.

Jamaal Charles returned from an ankle injury to score three touchdowns, Alex Smith threw for 248 yards and three scores, and the Chiefs routed the Patriots 41-14 on Monday night, getting the sports week off to a smashing start in Kansas City with the Royals preparing to open the baseball playoffs on Tuesday.

“To have back-to-back events like this, Monday night football and a home playoff game, yeah, it’s special,” Smith said. “Right next door to each other.”

Arrowhead Stadium, which was packed to the brim in red-clad Chiefs fans, is just a short walk from Kauffman Stadium, which will surely be packed with blue when the Royals end a 29-year playoff drought against the Oakland Athletics in the AL wild-card game.

Several members of the Royals even showed up for the Chiefs-Patriots game, including starting pitcher James Shields, drawing huge roars when they were shown on the big screens. And some of the Chiefs said they were thinking about returning the favor, including wide receiver Dwayne Bowe.

Regardless, the Chiefs will be able to spend Tuesday in a celebratory mood.

They held the Patriots’ Tom Brady to 159 yards passing and a touchdown, picking him off twice and returning one for a touchdown. Brady was also strip-sacked by Tamba Hali to set up a Chiefs field goal, capping off a miserable night for the two-time NFL MVP.

“It was just a bad performance by everybody,” Brady said. “We need to make sure we never have this feeling again. We’ve got to figure out what we have to do better.”

The Chiefs forced the Patriots to air it out by stuffing Shane Vereen and Stevan Ridley. And when Brady dropped back, their front seven ran roughshod over New England’s suspect offensive line.

It hardly helped the Patriots offense that it was trying to operate on the same night Chiefs fans were trying to reclaim the record for loudest outdoor sports venue. The record was set in the first half, when Guinness World Records noted a noise level of 142.2 decibels — breaking the mark of 137.6 that Seattle Seahawks fans set last season.

“My ears are still ringing,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said with a smile.

Kansas City had 303 yards of offense by halftime, the most against any Belichick-coached team in the first half of a game. That includes his years coaching in Cleveland.

“We just never got anything going. Nothing,” Patriots defensive tackle Vince Wilfork said. “They just executed. They executed perfectly. We were always out of the game, it seemed.”

Here are a few of the reasons why the Patriots were thumped so soundly:

RUN, RUN, RUN: Charles looked just fine on his sprained right ankle, running for 92 yards. He was spelled by Knile Davis, who added 107 yards on 16 carries. “We kept each other fresh,” Davis said. “When he went in, he did his thing. When I went in, I did my thing.”

TENSE MOMENT: Charles briefly went to the locker room after stumbling into the end zone on his third touchdown of the game. He appeared to grab his hamstring, and Reid said that he received an IV, indicating that he might have been cramping. “I feel sore,” Charles admitted afterward.

BRADY’S STRUGGLES: Brady is completing just 59 percent of his passes through his first four games, his worst rate since becoming the Patriots’ starter in 2001. He is also averaging less than 200 yards passing per game. “I wouldn’t say we’ve had a very productive four games to start, but hopefully we can learn from it and understand the things that we’re doing wrong,” he said. “There’s nobody going to dig us out of the hole. We’ve kind of created it for ourselves and we’re going to have to look each other in the eye and see what kind of commitment we’re willing to make.”

KELCE STARS: Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who is quickly becoming one of Smith’s favorite targets, had eight catches for 93 yards and a touchdown. “We know what we can do on our offense and our defense,” Kelce said. “Our defense got a lot of turnovers today, and that was awesome to see.”

GAROPPOLO PLAYS: Rookie quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo got into the game in the fourth quarter for New England, when the outcome was already decided. He was 6 of 7 for 70 yards with a touchdown. “I am a relief pitcher, pretty much,” he said, “so that is my job.”

Chiefs Break Seahawks’ Guinness Noise Record

Posted on September 30, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Arrowhead Stadium is once again the loudest outdoor venue in sports.

After claiming the record last season, and then losing it to the Seattle Seahawks, the fans of the Kansas City Chiefs reclaimed the mark with a reading of 142.2 decibels in the first half of their game against the New England Patriots on Monday night.

Guinness World Records was on hand to record the noise level. The record had been 137.6.

To put that in perspective, a jet engine at 100 feet is about 140 decibels, which means the sustained noise in the stadium was enough to jeopardize the hearing of the fans.

Among them were several members of the Kansas City Royals, who will play the Oakland A’s in an AL wild-card game across the parking lot at Kauffman Stadium on Tuesday night.

MLB Crowds Drop Slightly for 2nd Straight Year

Posted on September 30, 2014

NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball attendance has dipped slightly for the second straight season.

The 30 teams drew 73,739,622 for an average of 30,458, the commissioner’s office said Monday, a 0.2 percent drop from last year’s average of 30,515. Teams averaged 30,895 in 2012, down from a peak of 32,785 before the Great Recession.

Total attendance of 73.74 million was down from 74.03 million last year and 74.86 million in 2012 but was still MLB’s seventh-highest.

Pittsburgh, in the playoffs for the second straight season following a 21-year absence, set a team home record at 2.44 million, drawing about 6,000 fans more than during PNC Park’s opening season in 2001.

Kansas City made the postseason for the first time since 1985 and drew 1.96 million for its highest total since 1991.

Autopsy Shows Chiefs LB Belcher Had Brain Damage

Posted on September 29, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — An autopsy performed a year after Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher killed his baby’s mother and himself found the 25-year-old sustained the same kind of brain damage that has turned up in other NFL players.

Belcher fatally shot 22-year-old Kasandra Perkins on Dec. 1, 2012, in the couple’s Kansas City home before driving to Arrowhead Stadium and killing himself in front of the team’s general manager and head coach.

Belcher’s mother, Cheryl Shepherd, sued the team, claiming the Chiefs failed to care for her son after he was subjected to repetitive head trauma.

The autopsy found signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease found in athletes and others with a history of repetitive brain injuries. Attorneys for Shepherd and other plaintiffs suing the team released the findings.

A’s Lester, Royals’ Shields in AL Wild-Card Focus

Posted on September 29, 2014

Jon Lester (Left) and James Shields (Right). Photo courtesy of ESPN.com

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals made one of the boldest trades in franchise history two years ago. The Oakland Athletics made a similarly aggressive move just a couple of months ago.

The results of both will be in the starting spotlight Tuesday night.

For the Royals, it’s “Big Game James” — James Shields, the centerpiece of a deal with the Tampa Bay Rays that finally pushed the long-downtrodden franchise into the postseason for the first time in 29 years. For the A’s, it’s Jon Lester — the postseason star of the Red Sox last season who was acquired by Oakland at the trading deadline just for this moment.

The one-game AL wild-card playoff. The winner advances to face the Los Angeles Angels in the best-of-five division series Thursday. The loser trudges off into the offseason.

Huskers Looking to Dent Michigan St. Defense Again

Posted on September 29, 2014

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Michigan State has had one of the nation’s top defenses in recent seasons, and no team has moved the ball better against it than Nebraska.

The 19th-ranked Cornhuskers (5-0, 1-0 Big Ten) hope the trend continues Saturday night when they meet the No. 10 Spartans (3-1) in East Lansing, Michigan.

In 2012, the Huskers ran for 313 yards in a 28-24 victory, with Ameer Abdullah going for 110. Nebraska’s 473 total yards were 90 more than any other team gained against the Spartans.

In 2013, Nebraska totaled 392 yards against what would end up as the nation’s No. 2 defense. Abdullah had 123 of the Huskers’ 182 rushing yards. The Huskers committed five turnovers and the Spartans won 41-28.