Sports – Page 470 – North Platte Post Archive

Diamondbacks Rout Rockies 14-4

Posted on August 10, 2014

PHOENIX (AP) — David Peralta hit a grand slam in Arizona’s nine-run eighth inning, Mark Trumbo homered and drove in four runs, and the Arizona Diamondbacks routed the bumbling Colorado Rockies 14-4 on Saturday night.

Arizona led 5-4 heading into the eighth inning behind Trumbo’s a three-run homer off Jorge De La Rosa (11-8) and seven effective innings by Trevor Cahill (2-8).

The Rockies came apart in the bottom half of the inning with two errors, a passed ball and a wild pitch. Colorado also walked in a run and Peralta capped the eight-hit inning with his first career grand slam over the pool in right-center.

Alfredo Marte added a solo homer. Cliff Pennington had three of Arizona’s 15 hits and scored three runs.

Nolan Arenado homered and had three RBIs for Colorado, which has lost eight of nine.

Royals Win 6th Straight, 5-0 over Giants

Posted on August 9, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — James Shields threw a four-hitter and Alex Gordon homered as the Kansas City Royals won their sixth straight, beating the San Francisco Giants 5-0 on Saturday night.

The Royals have won nine of 10 to move within 1 1-2 games of AL Central-leading Detroit. The Royals, who have not made the playoffs since beating St. Louis in the 1985 World Series, are in second place in the AL wild card standings.

Shields (11-6) gave up three singles in the first four innings. He allowed only two Giants to reach second base. He walked Joe Panik in the fifth and he moved to second on a wild pitch with two outs, but was stranded. Panik doubled in the eighth.

It was Shields’ ninth career shutout, his first since Sept. 9, 2012.

Tim Hudson (8-9) gave up a home run to Gordon to lead off the fifth inning.

O’Bannon Ready to Keep Fighting after Beating NCAA

Posted on August 9, 2014

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Ed O’Bannon knows it’s not over, far from it. He’s ready for the appeals, and welcomes a challenge to the ruling that could change big-time college sports forever.

After five years of battling the NCAA, O’Bannon isn’t about to back away from the fight. Not when he is such a believer in the cause.

O’Bannon said Saturday that was prepared to “go to the Supreme Court.”

The former UCLA basketball star and face of the lawsuit that has shaken the NCAA to its core could have been out celebrating, a day after a federal judge issued an injunction paving the way for future college football and basketball players to receive payments for service to their schools.

Instead, he was headed back to the auto dealership in a suburb of Las Vegas where he sells cars.

Ball Returns to Sideline after Appendectomy

Posted on August 9, 2014

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — The Denver Broncos are content to wait for running backs Montee Ball and C.J. Anderson to heal.

Coach John Fox said Saturday he doesn’t plan to bring in any free agent running backs in light of Ball’s appendectomy or Anderson’s concussion.

“We are always looking to improve the team. That goes on 24/7, 365, really, but right now there is nothing pressing,”

Fox says the Broncos feel good about the backs they have.

That group includes just one back who’s ever played in an NFL game, Ronnie Hillman, plus three undrafted free agents in Juwan Thompson, Brennan Clay and Kapri Bibbs and first-year pro Jerodis Williams, who played for Minnesota in last year’s preseason.

Chiefs’ Kelce Finally Shows Glimpse of Potential

Posted on August 9, 2014

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — As tight end Travis Kelce walked down the hill and onto the practice fields at Missouri Western, the crowd that turned up at sunrise for Saturday’s practice gave him a round of applause.

After spending all of last season on injured reserve and dealing with a knee injury that many though could jeopardize his playing career, Kelce finally showed a glimpse of his potential in the Chiefs’ preseason opener. The athletic Kelce got loose over the middle, hauled in a pass and then out-ran the entire Bengals secondary on what turned into a 69-yard touchdown reception.

It was exactly the kind of play the Chiefs envisioned Kelce making when he was chosen in the third round out of Cincinnati. And it was why the fans Saturday were cheering him on.

Nebraska Loses Its 3rd Defensive Player in 3 Days

Posted on August 9, 2014

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska middle linebacker Michael Rose will undergo knee surgery next week, making him the third key member of the defense in three days to be ruled out for the season.

Coach Bo Pelini said Saturday that Rose injured his knee in a non-contact drill Friday.

Pelini announced Thursday that the Cornhuskers had lost nickel back Charles Jackson to a knee injury, and on Friday the Athletic Department announced that safety LeRoy Alexander would be suspended for the season.

Pelini said he’s confident the defense “will be just fine” because of the quality of players competing for open positions.

Huskers Complete First Week of Fall Camp

Posted on August 9, 2014

Lincoln, Neb. – The Nebraska football team ended its first full week of Fall Camp on Saturday with a two-hour practice at the Ed and Joyanne Gass practice fields outside of the Hawks Championship Center.

With the conclusion of the first week of practice, NU has seen its fair share of bumps and bruises along the way, losing both sophomore linebacker Michael Rose-Ivey and junior nickel back Charles Jackson for the season due to injury.

Head Coach Bo Pelini met with the media following practice Saturday, noting that the teams overall morale is just fine, despite the loss of two potential starters for the 2014 season.

“Our team morale is fine, I feel for those kids,” Pelini said. “As far us going forward, we have a lot of good players and a lot of good competition. We will be fine.”

Overall, Pelini thought the Huskers had a good first week of practice, mentioning that he has been impressed with the competition between the players.

“We had a good week, our kids are making progress. There is a lot of competition going on for spots and that competition will continue.”

A player that has stepped up recently in practice has been true freshman cornerback Kieron Williams. Williams, a late addition to the 2014 recruiting class played at Air Force Prep and Byrd High School in Shreveport, La., before coming to Nebraska. He recorded 41 tackles in two seasons at Byrd, 36 of which were solo stops.

“I think Kieron is aggressive, he has good insticts,” Pelini said. “I think his understanding, the more we install, it is all starting to run together for him.”

Nebraska will take Sunday off, before resuming practice on Monday with two practices.

Nebraska fans are reminded about their opportunity to be on hand at Memorial Stadium as the Huskers kick off the 2014 season. Fans can purchase the Cornhusker Kickoff Combo package for the Florida Atlantic game on Aug. 30 and the matchup with McNeese State on Sept. 6. The two-game package can be purchased at Huskers.com for $100. Fans can also purchase single-game tickets to all games other than the Miami and Minnesota games at Huskers.com.

NBA Calendar

Posted on August 9, 2014

Aug. 30-Sept. 14 — FIBA World Cup of Basketball, Spain.

Sept. 27 — Training camps open for teams competing in preseason games outside North America.

Sept. 30 — Training camps open for all teams.

Oct. 27 — Rosters set for opening day.

Oct. 28 — 2014-15 regular season begins.

Jan. 5 — 10-day contracts can be signed.

Jan. 10 — Contracts guaranteed for rest of season.

Feb. 13-15 — All-Star weekend, New York.

Feb. 19 — Trade deadline (3 p.m. EST).

April 15 — Last day of regular season.

April 18 — Playoffs begin.

Diamondbacks Beat Rockies 5-3

Posted on August 9, 2014

PHOENIX (AP) — David Peralta had two extra-base hits and stole home, Miguel Montero hit a three-run homer and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the listless Colorado Rockies 5-3 on Friday night.

Montero homered off Tyler Matzek (2-7) in the first inning and not much else happened between the NL West’s two worst teams until Peralta flashed his speed in the seventh.

The rookie hit a run-scoring triple off Rex Brothers then caught the Rockies off-guard, racing home when catcher Michael McKenry lobbed the ball back to the mound. Peralta is the sixth Arizona player to steal home, first since Chris Young in 2007.

Chase Anderson (7-4) pitched five solid innings, giving up a leadoff homer to McKenry in the fifth inning and little else.

Corey Dickerson and DJ LeMahieu had run-scoring singles in the ninth inning for the Rockies, who have lost 10 of 12.

Butler, Royals Win 5th Straight, 4-2 over Giants

Posted on August 8, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Billy Butler homered and drove in three runs and outfielder Nori Aoki threw out to runners in the same innings as the Kansas City Royals beat the San Francisco Giants 4-2 Friday night for their fifth straight victory.

The Royals, who have not been in the playoffs since winning the 1985 World Series, hold a half game lead for the second AL wild card.

Butler, who is hitting .423 in the past seven games, homered with two out in the first off Madison Burgarner (13-9).

Butler singled home the go-ahead run in the two-run sixth, which was aided by throwing errors on Giants infielders Michael Morse and Matt Duffy. Alex Gordon had an RBI single.

The Giants scored twice in the third on Joaquin Arias’ double and Matt Duffy’s single.