Sports – Page 603 – North Platte Post Archive

Study: Concussions Less Prevalent in Young Players

Posted on February 19, 2014

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A new study shows that the youngest football players are less likely to suffer concussions.

The results, obtained by The Associated Press and expected to be released later Wednesday, show that 4.3 percent of players from ages 5 to 14 were diagnosed with concussions. Thirty-four percent of the players who did report injuries complained of bruises. Ligament sprains were the second-most common injury, coming in at 16 percent.

Indianapolis-based USA Football asked another Indy-based organization, the Datalys Center, to conduct the research which evaluated more than 4,000 youth players in six states between 2012 and 2013.

Researchers found that the behavior of coaches has a direct correlation on the number of injuries, and that the youngest athletes were the least likely to be injured.

The Lady Dawgs Get 2nd Seed in Districts

Posted on February 19, 2014

The North Platte Lady Bulldogs earned the second seed in the A-1 District tournament, despite having two more games in the regular season.

The district assignments for classes A and B were released on Tuesday by the NSAA. North Platte was the 14th-ranked team in the NSAA points system and as a result was the last No. 2 seed. The Lady Dawgs will play the top No. 3 seed, Lincoln Southeast, in the first round of the A-1 District tournament. The host school is the No. 1 overall seed, Bellevue West, which plays Omaha Bryan in the first round.

The first round of the district tournament is Tuesday, February 25 at Bellevue West High School. No. 1 Bellevue West (20-2) and No. 4 Omaha Bryan (0-21) play at 5:00 pm followed by a 7:00 pm tip-off between No. 2 North Platte (13-9) and No. 3 Lincoln Southeast (13-9). The district championship game will be played Thursday, February 27 at 7:00 pm at Bellevue West High School.

The Lady Dawgs have already faced the Lady Knights of LSE once this season. Southeast earned the win on North Platte’s home floor, 54-53. The Knights won the game with a banked-in three-pointer at the buzzer.

North Platte still has two games to finish the regular season before beginning postseason play. The Lady Bulldogs host Millard West this Friday with tip-off scheduled for 6:00 pm. North Platte follows that game with a road trip on Saturday to play Millard South at 2:00 pm.

The bracket for the A-1 District Tournament can be seen below.

5 Things to Know About the Sochi Olympics

Posted on February 19, 2014

SOCHI, Russia (AP) — Fast five, Wednesday edition: Five things you’ll want to know about the 2014 Winter Olympics.

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LIGETY SPLIT: Ted Ligety won the giant slalom at the Sochi Games with a dominating performance Wednesday, becoming the first American man to win two Olympic gold medals in Alpine skiing. Ligety finished his two runs in 2 minutes, 45.29 seconds. His first gold came in combined at the 2006 Turin Games as a 21-year-old. The only other American to win two Olympic golds in Alpine skiing was Andrea Mead Lawrence, in the 1952 Oslo Games.

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BUBKA SPEAKS: Sergei Bubka, the pole vault great who heads the Ukrainian Olympic Committee, is urging both sides in Ukraine’s political crisis to lay down their weapons and halt the violence that is bringing the country to “the brink of catastrophe.” Bubka issued his call after clashes between riot police and anti-government protesters left at least 25 people dead and 240 injured in Kiev, the worst violence in the country’s post-Soviet history.

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WILD WIN: Vic Wild of Russia won Olympic gold in men’s snowboard parallel giant slalom. It’s Russia’s sixth gold medal of the Sochi Games.

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WOMEN’S HOCKEY CLASH: The women’s hockey game everyone has been waiting for has nearly arrived. Canada and the United States, the two teams that have dominated international play, will face off in the gold medal game on Thursday. It’s the fourth time in five Olympics the two teams will meet for the championship. Canada defenseman Jocelyne Larocque says it’s going to be “just another game.”

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MEDAL MOVERS: Norway won two gold medals and a silver on Tuesday to be the biggest medal mover of the day, jumping to second behind Germany in the overall medal standings through 67 of 98 events. All of Norway’s 18 medals in Sochi are in snow sports.

Winter Olympic Medals Table

Posted on February 19, 2014

Nation	G	S	B	Tot
Russia	6	8	7	21
Netherlands	6	6	8	20
United States	6	4	10	20
Norway	7	4	7	18
Canada	4	9	4	17
Germany	8	3	4	15
Switzerland	6	3	1	10
France	3	1	5	9
Austria	2	6	1	9
Sweden	2	5	2	9
Slovenia	2	1	4	7
Japan	1	4	2	7
Belarus	5	0	1	6
China	3	2	1	6
Czech Republic	1	3	2	6
Italy	0	2	4	6
Poland	4	0	0	4
South Korea	2	1	1	4
Australia	0	2	1	3
Latvia	0	1	2	3
Britain	1	0	1	2
Finland	0	2	0	2
Slovakia	1	0	0	1
Croatia	0	1	0	1
Kazakhstan	0	0	1	1
Ukraine	0	0	1	1

Green’s 36 Points Lead Suns Past Nuggets in OT

Posted on February 19, 2014

DENVER (AP) — Gerald Green scored a career-high 36 points, including eight in overtime, and the Phoenix Suns beat Denver 112-107 on Tuesday night to hand the Nuggets their fifth consecutive loss.

Goran Dragic added 21 points and 14 assists for the Suns, who completed a four-game season sweep of the Nuggets, their first in nine years.

Evan Fournier scored 25 to lead the Nuggets, who lost a tough, close game after being blown out in their previous four defeats.

Kenneth Faried added 21 points and 10 rebounds for Denver, which was without leading scorer Ty Lawson (broken left rib) for a third consecutive game.

MLB Managers Ready to Test Expanded Video Replay

Posted on February 18, 2014February 18, 2014

PHOENIX (AP) — Major League Baseball managers are getting ready to test expanded replay reviews of umpire’s decisions.

While most seem to embrace the idea, they acknowledge it’s uncharted territory and yet another strategic tool to employ during games.

The issue was a consistent line of questioning when managers and general managers of the 15 teams that hold spring training in Arizona gathered for MLB media day on Tuesday.

All clubs will get a chance to test the new system in a handful of spring training games, although details of that schedule had not been determined.

Each team will get at least a minimum number of games this spring to test the rule. Teams with more spring training games that are televised probably will have more opportunities to try out the new system.

Morneau Takes Over for Icon Helton in Colorado

Posted on February 18, 2014

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — If you’re going to replace Todd Helton at first base in Colorado while wearing Larry Walker’s old number, you better have a solid resume.

The Rockies are convinced four-time All-Star and former American League MVP Justin Morneau is the answer as they begin the post-Helton era.

Morneau signed a two-year, $12.5 million free-agent deal with the Rockies in December. He’s one of several position players to report early to spring training in Arizona.

Manager Walt Weiss thinks Morneau’s experience as a four-time All-Star and former American League MVP with Minnesota will mean “maybe that ghost won’t be so overwhelming” as he replaces the retired Helton.

BTN to Air Seven Big Ten Winter Championships

Posted on February 18, 2014

CHICAGO – For the seventh consecutive year, BTN will televise seven winter Big Ten Championships, including wrestling, men’s and women’s swimming & diving, men’s and women’s indoor track & field and men’s and women’s gymnastics.

Among BTN’s expert analysts for the upcoming Big Ten winter championships are three former Olympians, including gymnasts Shawn Johnson and John Roethlisberger, diver David Boudia and Rowdy Gaines, a World Champion swimmer.

Coverage begins at 10:30 AM ET on Sunday, Feb. 23, with the Big Ten Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships from Minnesota. The Big Ten Men’s Swimming & Diving Championships will air at 10:30 AM ET on Sunday, March 2, from Michigan.

Coverage continues at 10:30 AM ET on Saturday, March 8, with the Big Ten Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track & Field Championships. Both the men’s and women’s events will take place at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, OH.

BTN’s coverage of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships will be carried live at 2 PM ET on Sunday, March 9, from Wisconsin.

On Saturday, March 22, BTN will televise the first session of the Big Ten Women’s Gymnastics Championships live atNoon ET, followed by the second session live at 5 PM ET. Penn State will host the women’s event. The network will also have live coverage of the Big Ten Men’s Gymnastics Championships at 7 PM ET on Friday, March 28, and at 5 PM ET on Saturday, March 29. The men’s event will take place at Nebraska.

The Big Ten currently has 43 teams ranked in the top 25 nationally in Olympic sports programs for the winter season, including in men’s gymnastics (No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 5 Minnesota, No. 6 Illinois, No. 7 Penn State, No. 8 Iowa, No. 11 Nebraska), women’s gymnastics (No. 7 Michigan, No. 8 Nebraska, No. 14 Illinois, No. 15 Minnesota, No. 20 Penn State, No. 23 Penn State), men’s swimming & diving (No. 2 Michigan, No. 4 Ohio State, No. 7 Indiana, No. 11 Minnesota, No. 23 Purdue, No. 24 Penn State), women’s swimming & diving (No. 11 Indiana, No 13. Minnesota, No. 16 Ohio State, No. 18 Purdue, No. 19 Penn State, No. 20 Michigan, No. 25 Wisconsin), men’s indoor track & field (No. 5 Wisconsin, No. 6 Penn State, No. 21 Nebraska, No. 23 Ohio State), women’s indoor track & field (No. 10 Penn State, No. 15 Purdue, No. 25 Michigan) and wrestling (No. 1 Minnesota No. 2 Penn State, No. 3 Iowa, No. 8 Michigan, No. 9 Nebraska, No. 13 Ohio State, No. 15 Wisconsin, No. 18 Illinois, No. 23 Northwestern, No. 24 Purdue).

The complete television schedule for the Big Ten Winter Championships appears below. For more information, go towww.btn.com or www.bigten.org.

2014 BTN Winter Championships Schedule:

Sport	Dates	Site	Air Date and Time (ET)
Women’s Swimming & Diving	February 19 – 22	Minnesota	Sunday, Feb. 23 at 10:30 AM
Men’s Swimming & Diving	February 26 – March 1	Michigan	Sunday, March 2 at 10:30 AM
Indoor Track & Field	February 28- March 1	Geneva, OH	Saturday March 8 at 10:30 AM
Wrestling	March 8 – 9	Wisconsin	Sunday, March 9 at 2 PM (LIVE)
Women’s Gymnastics	March 22	Penn State	Saturday, March 22 at Noon(LIVE)
Women’s Gymnastics	March 22	Penn State	Saturday, March 22 at 5 PM (LIVE)
Men’s Gymnastics	March 28 – 29	Nebraska	Friday, March 28 at 7 PM (LIVE)
Men’s Gymnastics	March 28 – 29	Nebraska	Saturday, March 29 at 5 PM (LIVE)

Rules Chair: No Need For Rule if no Safety Issue

Posted on February 18, 2014

The chairman of the NCAA Football Rules Committee says a proposal to prohibit snapping the ball until at least 10 seconds run off the 40-second play clock should not go forward if there’s no hard evidence showing up-tempo offenses endanger the safety of defensive players.

Air Force coach Troy Calhoun is the chairman. He said Tuesday he has yet to see a medical study linking the rapid pace of an offense to potential health issues for defensive players.

The comment period for the proposal ends March 3. The Playing Rules Oversight Commission, which meets March 6, would have to approve the proposal.

This is a non-rules change year for the NCAA, but exceptions can be made for rules that affect player safety.

QB Testifies in Bid to Form College Athlete Union

Posted on February 18, 2014February 18, 2014

CHICAGO (AP) — Northwestern quarterback Kain Colter is the first witness at a closely watched hearing to determine whether college athletes can form a union.

Colter testified Tuesday at a National Labor Relations Board hearing in Chicago that is expected to last three days.

Colter has said most of the team’s 85 scholarship players support forming a union, though he has been the only one to step forward publicly. He is a senior who has finished his college career.

The pivotal question is whether college athletes qualify as employees and thus have a right to unionize.

A union would dramatically change the landscape of college sports, and the NCAA maintains that students are not employees. The bid is being supported by the United Steelworkers union.