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Cassel Leads Vikings to 30-12 Win over Kansas City

Kansas City Chiefs LogoKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Vikings’ Matt Cassel threw for 152 yards and a touchdown in his return to Kansas City, and Minnesota rolled to a 30-12 victory over the Chiefs in a preseason game Saturday night.

Cassel, benched and then released by the Chiefs two years ago, found Cordarrelle Patterson for a 53-yard scoring strike on the Vikings’ first offensive series.

Teddy Bridgewater threw two TD passes to tight end Allen Reisner later in the game.

Vikings running back Adrian Peterson and Chiefs counterpart Jamaal Charles dressed but did not play. Kansas City also was without wide receivers Dwayne Bowe and Junior Hemingway.

Alex Smith was 14 of 24 for 124 yards with two red-zone interceptions. The Chiefs’ first-team offense still has not scored a touchdown in 16 preseason possessions.

White Defeats Red, 3-1

Nebraska-Volleyball-HuskersLincoln – The White team defeated the Red, 3-1, Saturday night in a competitive Red-White match in front of 6,150 fans at the Bob Devaney Center.

The White won the first three sets (25-10, 29-27, 25-19) before the Red captured set four by a score of 25-19. Five Huskers finished with double-figure kills in the match, led by a trio of outstanding performers on the White squad. Junior Meghan Haggerty produced a match-high 16 kills on just 32 swings, while also totaling a match-high seven blocks. Classmate Alicia Ostrander produced 15 kills on .316 hitting, while freshman Annika Albrecht impressed in her debut, recording a double-double with 14 kills and 11 digs. Libero Justine Wong-Orantes added a match-high 21 digs for the White squad.

Leading the Red was junior Kelsey Fien and sophomores Melanie Keil and Kadie Rolfzen. Fien finished with 11 kills while Keil added 10 kills on 16 swings, hitting .562. Rolfzen produced a double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs. Sophomore Amber Rolfzen led the Red with 13 digs, while junior Cecilia Hall totaled a team-high five blocks.

The White squad led the match in nearly every category. The White produced 13 more kills, five more digs and three more blocks than the Red. The White team hit .270 on the match with 11 blocks, while the Red squad attacked at a .156 clip with eight blocks.

In the true intra-squad scrimmage, the Red team featured Fien, Hall, Keil, the Rolfzen twins, senior Mary Pollmiller and sophomore libero Alexa Ethridge. The White squad included Haggerty, Ostrander, Albrecht and Wong-Orantes, along with sophomore Kelly Hunter, redshirt freshman Kira Larson and true freshmen Maddie Haggerty and Sydney Townsend. Freshman Olivia Boender sat out the match with an injury.

Nebraska also switched up its setters, as Pollmiller played with the Red squad in sets one and two, with Hunter playing for the Red in sets three and four.

The White team jumped out to an early 8-2 lead in set one and never looked back. Meghan Haggerty accounted for the first four points of the set with two kills and two blocks. Four of the Red’s first eight attacks were stuffed with Haggerty totaling four kills and Larson adding three blocks. A pair of kills and a block from Albrecht stretched the lead to 12-4 and the White continued to cruise behind Albrecht. Albrecht recorded her fourth kill on set point to close out a 25-10 victory. Albrecht finished the set with four kills on five error-free swings. White enjoyed a 5-2 edge in blocks in set one and an 11-4 edge in kills, hitting .409 compared to -.233 for the Red. All five White players who had an attack produced at least one kill, while Wong-Orantes produced seven digs.

The second set was much tighter as neither team led by more than two until the Red used a 5-1 run to grab a 13-10 advantage. The teams then traded sideouts until the White won four straight rallies to tie the set 17-16 lead on a Larson block. The Red came back to take a 19-18 lead but the back-and-forth set continued with the White regaining the lead at 20-19 on an Albrecht solo block. Albrecht’s 10th kill of the match gave White three set points at 24-21 but the Red fought back with three straight points to tie the set. The Red team earned its first set point at 26-25 following an ace from Keil. The White pulled even on a Haggerty kill following a timeout before Ostrander gave the White squad another set point at 27-26. The fifth match point proved to be the charm as an attack error gave White a 29-27 win. Albrecht led all Huskers with six kills in set five, while Haggerty put down five kills on eight swings and Ostrander added four kills. The Red out-hit the White .171 to .159 but four service errors hindered the Red’s chances to even the match.

Set three was tight as well. Fueled by a pair of kills from Pollmiller – who switched teams before set three – the White squad won three straight points to grab a 10-7 lead and force a Red timeout. The White held its small lead until three consecutive kills – including two from Keil – tied the set at 16. Following a timeout, the White won five consecutive rallies, grabbing a 21-16 lead on an Albrecht ace. The Red would get no closer than four down the stretch, as Larson closed out the set with a kill. The White hit .267 in the third set, compared to an .057 mark for the Red. Ostrander had six kills on 11 swings for the White, while Keil delivered four kills on seven swings with one block for the Red.

Despite White’s 3-0 lead, a fourth set was played. The Red team did not take its first lead until 15-4, but the squad closed the set on an 11-5 run to win the set. The Red hit .444 in the set, producing 18 kills on 36 swings. Kadie Rolfzen put down six kills on six swings, while Keil had five kills on six attacks. Haggerty led the White with five kills in set three.

Nebraska, ranked seventh in the preseason AVCA Top 25, opens the regular season on Friday at 7 p.m. against 13th-ranked Florida State at the Devaney Center as part of the AVCA Showcase.

Houston’s Arm, Bat Lift Chicago by Vegas in LLWS

Jackie Robinson West Little LeagueSOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) — Joshua Houston survived a rocky start to pitch five innings and also brought in the tying run with a line single in the fifth to lead Chicago past Las Vegas 7-5 on Saturday in the U.S. final at the Little League World Series.

The Great Lakes Region champions from Jackie Robinson West advance to meet South Korea in Sunday’s championship game.

Trailing 3-0 after the first and 5-4 heading into the home half of the fifth, Chicago scored three times to win it. Houston’s single tied it after two walks, with runs also scoring on a fielder’s choice and an error.

Ed Howard then came on to close it out for Jackie Robinson West, a member of the Urban Initiative which supports Little League programs in needy urban areas.

Rose In, Lillard Out for US Basketball Roster

USA-BasketballNEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. national basketball team has kept Derrick Rose and cut Damian Lillard and three others, getting its roster down to 12 before the FIBA World Cup of Basketball.

Kyle Korver, Gordon Hayward and Chandler Parsons also were cut early Saturday morning, shortly after the Americans beat Puerto Rico 112-86 in their final exhibition game before leaving for Spain.

Team officials had previously said they might bring more than 12 players on the trip, but coach Mike Krzyzewski said after the game he wanted to get down to 12, the maximum allowable for the World Cup rosters.

Rose was expected to make the team if he was healthy enough after missing most of the last two seasons following two knee surgeries.

The rest of the roster is: Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, DeMarcus Cousins, Klay Thompson, Andre Drummond, Rudy Gay, DeMar DeRozan, Kenneth Faried and Mason Plumlee.

Ozuna’s Slam Helps Marlins Beat Rockies 13-5

colorado-rockiesDENVER (AP) — Marcell Ozuna hit a grand slam for his third homer in as many games, Giancarlo Stanton had three hits and three RBIs, and the Miami Marlins beat the Colorado Rockies 13-5 on Friday night.

Henderson Alvarez (10-5) withstood a pair of homers over six innings to win his fourth consecutive decision. He was making his second start since successfully returning last week from a stint on the disabled list because of a right shoulder inflammation.

Alvarez struck out five, walked none and gave up 10 hits, including two-run homers by Justin Morneau and Corey Dickerson.

Franklin Morales (5-7) allowed six runs in four innings.

US Beats Puerto Rico 112-86 in Hoops Exhibition

USA-BasketballNEW YORK (AP) — Stephen Curry scored 20 points and the U.S. national team pulled away in the second half to beat Puerto Rico 112-86 on Friday night in its final home exhibition game before the FIBA Basketball World Cup.

Derrick Rose came off the bench for the Americans, who used 12 of their 16 players and are expected to cut at least a couple of them on Saturday before departing for Spain. They will play a final exhibition game there against Slovenia and will need to have their final 12-man roster set the day before their Aug. 30 opener against Finland.

All-Star Damian Lillard, Andre Drummond, Gordon Hayward and DeMar DeRozan didn’t play.

James Harden added 13 points for the Americans.

AL Central-Leading Royals Win 6-3 at Texas

kc-royalsARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Rookie right-hander Yordano Ventura struck out six in six innings for his 10th victory, and Billy Butler and Josh Willingham had inning-starting homers for the AL Central-leading Kansas City Royals in a 6-3 win at Texas on Friday night.

The hard-throwing Ventura (10-9) allowed one run, four hits, and three walks.

Greg Holland worked a scoreless ninth for his MLB-leading 40th save in 42 opportunities after Wade Davis retired all three batters he faces to extend the majors’ longest active scoreless streak to 22 2-3 innings.

Lorenzo Cain shook off a 2-for-14 slump with three hits for Kansas City, which won for the 23rd time in 29 games.

Butler led off the second with his eighth homer, tying the game at 1-all. Cain and Alcides Escobar, the bottom two batters in the Royals lineup, had consecutive RBI singles in that inning against Colby Lewis (8-11) to put Kansas City ahead to stay.

Huskers Shutout Mustangs in Home Opener

huskersoccerLincoln, Neb – Four different Huskers scored goals as goalkeeper Kelly Schatz earned a 4-0 shutout against SMU on Friday night at the Nebraska Soccer Field.

Senior Caroline Gray struck first for No. 13 Nebraska in the 13th minute off an assist from sophomore Jaycie Johnson. The Huskers added nine more shots in the first half compared to the Mustangs’ one, scoring on two of them.

In the 22nd minute, Caroline Flynn scored from 20 yards out to give NU a 2-0 advantage before Johnson added the Huskers’ third goal 10 minutes later. She scored a breakaway goal off a give and go from Mayme Conroy. Johnson took five shots for the game, three of which were shots on goal.

Nebraska added its fourth goal in the second half as sophomore Sydney Miramontez scored off a pass from Courtney Claassen in the 75th minute. Schatz, making her first start at goalie for the Huskers, earned four saves in the second half and made five overall in 90 minutes.

The Huskers complete their opening home stand on Sunday at the Nebraska Soccer Field against DePaul at 1 p.m.

1 of 3 Teens Hit by Lightning Out of Hospital

Lightning on Football FieldLAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — One of three eighth-grade football players hit by lightning during practice in a southern New Mexico town is out of the hospital.

His father says 13-year-old Demetrius Aguilera was released Thursday afternoon from a children’s hospital in Texas.

Kenndre Aguilera tells the Las Cruces Sun-News his son wanted to see his teammates at Picacho Middle School in Las Cruces right away.

El Paso Children’s Hospital spokeswoman Jennifer Badr (BAY-der) said Friday that the most badly injured of the three teens, 13-year-old Hunter Keffer, has been upgraded from critical to serious condition. Another teen was in good condition Thursday, but Badr couldn’t release updated information because he hasn’t been identified.

An injured coach was released from a hospital after treatment.

The lightning struck near the school’s practice field Tuesday afternoon.

Chiefs OT Stephenson Suspended for PEDs Violation

Donald Stephenson
Donald Stephenson

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs offensive tackle Donald Stephenson has been suspended by the NFL for the first four games of the regular season for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances.

Stephenson was a fill-in starter last season but was expected to anchor the right side of the line this year. He remains eligible to participate in all preseason practices and games, including Saturday night’s game against Minnesota.

Stephenson will miss games against Tennessee, Denver, Miami and New England, and be eligible to return to the active roster Sept. 30. The Chiefs play San Francisco the following Sunday.

The Chiefs were already without wide receiver Dwayne Bowe for the season opener after he was suspended by the league for an incident involving marijuana last November.

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