Sports – Page 608 – North Platte Post Archive

McDermott Leads No. 18 Creighton Past Butler 68-63

Posted on February 13, 2014February 13, 2014

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Doug McDermott scored 26 points and made the go-ahead 3-pointer with 47.8 seconds left to give No. 18 Creighton a 68-63 win over Butler on Thursday night.

The Bluejays (20-4, 10-2 Big East) have won five of six and 15 of 17, and are now within a half game of No. 6 Villanova in the conference standings.

Kellen Dunham had 16 points and Alex Barlow added 13 for Butler (12-13, 2-11), which has lost four straight.

After leading most of the first half, Creighton found itself in a back-and-forth struggle most of the second half and couldn’t fend off Butler’s charges until McDermott hit the 3 to make it 64-63.

Andrew Chrabascz had two chances to give Butler a late lead but twice lost the ball and a 3 from Dunham that might have forced overtime was short.

NCAA Moves Women’s Final Four to Friday-Sunday

Posted on February 13, 2014

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The NCAA approved moving the women’s basketball Final Four to a Friday-Sunday format beginning in 2017.

The Final Four had that format from 1996-2002 before switching to the current Sunday-Tuesday model in 2003.

The NCAA also will move up the preliminary rounds by a day, with the first games of the tournament played on Friday.

The moves were made to help improve attendance, which has become stagnant over the past few years. Last season, the NCAA averaged 5,466 for all rounds — 17th since the tournament began in 1982.

The NCAA hasn’t announced a site yet for the 2017 Final Four, but said last month that there were seven finalists for the 2017-2020 cycle — Columbus, Ohio, Dallas, Houston, Nashville, Tenn., New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Pa., and Tampa Bay, Fla.

This year’s Final Four will be played in Nashville.

Q&A With Storm Forward Cody Milan

Posted on February 13, 2014

Storm play-by-play broadcaster Jared Shafran recently caught up with one of the newest Tri-City forwards Cody Milan for a Q&A session.

Q: How has your transition been from Sioux Falls to Tri-City?

A: It has been a good transition so far. The guys have really helped me become comfortable here. The coaching staff has helped me become comfortable. I’m taking online classes now so that’s not too much of an adjustment, I don’t have to go to a new school or anything like that so overall the transition has been really good.

Q: How has your relationship been with coach Hulton so far?

A: I think it has been pretty good. He’s been teaching me some new things, he’s teaching me how to compete hard every shift, stop at the net and not do circles or anything like that. He likes to pay attention to the little details which is going to help my game in the long run.

Q: Any specific goals or things you’re working on for the rest of the year?

A: Not really any specific goals, I just want to work hard the rest of the year, maybe produce some more offense but that comes over time, you’ve got to work hard to get that. Other than that I just want to make sure I’m playing good, strong hockey.

Q: How would you describe your style of play?

A: I like to skate and handle the puck a lot and make plays. Once in a while I like to throw my body around a little bit.

Q: What other activities do you like to participate in off the ice?

A: I like all sports. I like to play basketball and football when I can. I also like to play Xbox, go bowling, go out to eat, play ping pong and other little activities I find fun.

Q: What’s your favorite NHL team and who’s your favorite player?

A: I like the Detroit Red Wings because I’m from Detroit. It’s a long winning tradition in Detroit so you’ve got to like them. My favorite player changes a lot, but right now I like Henrik Zetterberg. I like the way he protects the puck, I like his vision, and he’s a two-way player that plays well on both sides of the puck.

Q: How much can you pick up when you watch an NHL game? What are you looking for?

A: One thing, it’s good to watch position out there. I can watch how the center plays, how they take face-offs, how they play in the defensive zone, how they compete and keep their poise, and the plays they make with the puck. Just all around it’s good to watch how they act and try to make your game similar to that.

Q: Any weird pre-game rituals or habits?

A: I like to go to Caribou Coffee and get myself a white hot chocolate.

Q: What’s your favorite thing to do on a long bus ride during a road trip?

A: I like to listen to music and play games with my teammates.

NPCC Knights Softball Kicks Off Season in Colby

Posted on February 13, 2014

North Platte – The North Platte Community College softball team kicks off their season this Saturday, February 15 as they travel to Colby, Kan. to square off with the Colby Community College Trojans for a double header at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.

“The team has been working hard inside and a few times that we have been able to get outside to practice,” said head coach Janelle Higgins. “We are excited to get games started.”

The Knights return five sophomores from last year’s team that went 4-39. The sophomores include Soliel Atenza of Lomita, Calif., Alexis Bryant of Wellington, Colo., Rylee Murphyof Ashland, Katharine Savolt of Yuma, Colo. and Siarra Velasquez of Carter Lake, Iowa.

The Knights also welcome nine new freshman to the mix as the season gets underway. The freshman include Britlee Anderson of North Spanish Fork, Utah, Shaylynne Campo of Fremont, Jazmin Chang of Lahaina, Hawaii, Shannon Lieber of Lone Tree, Colo., Brittney Odum of Aurora, Colo., Christina Rodie of Wheat Ridge, Colo., Sara Runia of Aurora, Colo., Sydney Standage of North Platte and Brooke Wakefield of Lone Tree, Colo.

“We have a solid foundation being laid by our sophomores and a very talented and energetic freshman class, everyone is eager to show what they can bring to the team as a whole,” said Higgins. “The team is meshing very well on and off the field which makes practices fun to watch as everyone is pushing each other to better as a whole.”

After getting their season underway, the Knights have two weeks of practice before returning to the diamond when they travel to Garden City, Kan. to play in the Garden City Tournament. The Knights will face Garden City Community College, Otero Junior College, Pratt Community College and Lamar Community College.

Winter Olympic Medals Table

Posted on February 13, 2014

Nation	G	S	B	Tot
Norway	4	3	5	12
United States	4	2	6	12
Canada	4	4	2	10
Netherlands	4	2	4	10
Russia	2	4	3	9
Germany	6	1	1	8
Austria	1	4	0	5
Switzerland	3	0	1	4
Slovenia	1	1	2	4
Sweden	0	3	1	4
France	1	0	2	3
Czech Republic	0	2	1	3
Japan	0	2	1	3
Italy	0	1	1	2
Belarus	1	0	0	1
Poland	1	0	0	1
Slovakia	1	0	0	1
South Korea	1	0	0	1
Australia	0	1	0	1
China	0	1	0	1
Finland	0	1	0	1
Britain	0	0	1	1
Latvia	0	0	1	1
Ukraine	0	0	1	1

Shields Scores 33 in Neb’s 67-58 Win Over Illini

Posted on February 12, 2014

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Shavon Shields scored a career-high 33 points, making all 15 of his free throws for Nebraska’s best performance at the line in 32 years, and the Cornhuskers defeated Illinois 67-58 on Wednesday night.

The Huskers (13-10, 5-6 Big Ten) pulled away with the help of a defense that held Illinois to two field goals over the last 6:57.

Terran Petteway added 16 points as the Huskers raised their record to 11-1 at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

Shields bettered his previous high of 29 points against Penn State last season. He made 8 of 12 shots from the field, and his 15-for-15 night at the line was the best for Nebraska since Jack Moore made all 15 of his against Oklahoma State in 1982. The Huskers were 24 of 27 from the line, 14 of 17 in the second half.

Rayvonte Rice scored 23 points to lead the Illini (14-11, 3-9).

Love Leads Wolves Past Depleted Nuggets 117-90

Posted on February 12, 2014

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kevin Love started practicing early for All-Star weekend, making six of 11 shots from 3-point range and totaling 32 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 117-90 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night.

Love, chosen as a first-time starter for the Western Conference team, will also take part in the 3-point shooting contest this weekend in New Orleans.

In five February games, Love has averaged 32.6 points. He sat out twice last week, once because of a stiff neck and again with a bruised left quadriceps, but his banged-up body hasn’t hindered his production when he is on the court.

Injuries have affected the Nuggets all season. Ty Lawson, Nate Robinson, Danilo Gallinari and JaVale McGee are hurt, and Andre Miller is on leave from the team because of a strained relationship.

NCAA Selection Committee Hopes for More Fairness

Posted on February 12, 2014

The chairman of the Division I men’s basketball committee believes changes made last August to the way teams are bracketed in the NCAA tournament will result in a fairer March Madness.

Ron Wellman also said Wednesday that there have been no discussions of expanding the field beyond 68 teams, and that officiating emphases put in place in the regular season to create greater movement will carry over to the NCAA tournament.

The new bracketing rules should be apparent to most college basketball fans.

Previously, the selection committee tried to keep schools from playing rematches before the regional finals, sometimes moving teams multiple seed lines in the process. Wellman said relaxing that policy allows the committee to honor their seeding, creating a fairer overall bracket.

NCAA Proposes Change to Targeting Rule

Posted on February 12, 2014

The NCAA football rules committee has proposed a change to the targeting rule that would eliminate the 15-yard penalty when instant replay officials overturn an ejection.

Last year, when a targeting penalty was called, the 15-yard penalty stood even if the replay official determined the player should be allowed to stay in the game.

The proposal needs approval from the playing rules oversight panel.

The rules committee also proposed a change to allow defenses to substitute within the first 10 seconds of the 40-second play clock, with the exception of the final two minutes of each half. Offenses would not be allowed to snap the ball until 29 seconds are left on the play clock.

The proposed change is in response to no-huddle offenses that don’t allow defenses to substitute.

Elway Gets 3-Year Extension, New GM Title

Posted on February 12, 2014

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — The Denver Broncos have extended Executive Vice President John Elway’s contract for three years and added general manager to his title.

The Broncos have gone 37-17 since Elway rejoined the team in 2011 and are coming off an AFC Championship but a 43-8 blowout to Seattle in the Super Bowl.

Elway guided the Broncos to five Super Bowls during his Hall of Fame playing career, winning his last two before retiring in 1999.

When he returned to the Broncos after a 4-12 season in 2010, Elway hired coach John Fox, who has led Denver to three straight AFC West titles.

Elway has hit the jackpot in free agency, first with Peyton Manning in 2012 and last year with Louis Vasquez and Wes Welker among others.