Sports – Page 610 – North Platte Post Archive

Roy Oswalt Retiring After 13 Seasons in Majors

Posted on February 11, 2014

Right-hander Roy Oswalt is retiring after 13 major league seasons.

Oswalt’s agent, Bob Garber, confirmed Oswalt’s retirement Tuesday and said the pitcher would come to work for his agency.

Oswalt, 36, had a 163-102 career record with a 3.36 ERA. His best season came with Houston in 2004, when he went 20-10 with a 3.49 ERA. The durable righty — a three-time All-Star and 2006 NL championship series MVP — went over 200 innings seven times in his career but dealt with injuries in recent years.

He was 0-6 with an 8.63 ERA in nine outings and six starts for Colorado last year. He signed a minor league deal with the Rockies in May 2013 and missed time with a strained left hamstring.

A 23rd-round pick by Houston in the 1996 amateur draft, Oswalt pitched his first nine-plus seasons for the Astros and then played for Philadelphia, Texas and the Rockies.

Leadership Kearney Helps Create Sunday Funday

Posted on February 11, 2014

KEARNEY, Neb. – The Leadership Kearney program is helping to bring more fun to the Viaero Event Center on Mar. 2when the Storm battle the Fargo Force on a Sunday afternoon in Kearney.

The group will help provide kid friendly activities in an attempt to create a fun and friendly atmosphere to a game that will start at 3:05 p.m.

In addition, Leadership Kearney is raising funds for the Family Advocacy Network (FAN), an organization that helps with the prevention, identification and treatment of victims of abuse.

FAN works to support and strengthen families through education and direct services, thus settling in place a system that will break the cycle of abusive behaviors.

“One of the main reasons the Family Advocacy Network (FAN) was selected for our fundraising efforts is because of its immediate needs and inability to tend to those needs due to a large increase in workload,” said spokesperson Jonathan Ruyle. “As the government has tightened its budget, FAN has had to rely heavily on private donations from the community. At the same time, the number of families in need of FAN’s services has increased.

“Leadership Kearney’s goal is not only to raise funds for necessary upkeep to the facility, but also to raise awareness about what FAN is doing for our community and help it start a capital campaign for a new facility.”

FAN is a non-profit organization that receives funding from a mixture of government grants and charitable contributions.

Leadership Kearney will provide face-painting, bounce-houses and personnel to serve free ice cream sundaes at the game. In addition, they will be selling tickets to the game. A portion of the ticket sale will be donated back to the FAN program.

For more information on the Leadership Kearney ticket sale, contact Alicia Korte in the Storm office at 308-338-8809.

The Storm will be back at the Viaero Event Center to face Lincoln on Feb. 22 at 7:05 p.m.

NBC’s Costas Sitting Out with Eye Infection

Posted on February 11, 2014

NBC Olympics host Bob Costas is headed to the sidelines because of his eye infections.

NBC said Costas will be replaced on Tuesday night’s prime-time broadcast by “Today” anchor Matt Lauer.

Costas has been wearing glasses since the start of the Sochi Olympics because of an infection that reddened his left eye. On Monday’s broadcast, it was apparent the infection had spread to his other eye. It has become the topic of much conversation on social media.

Costas told Lauer on the “Today” show Tuesday morning that NBC is going to the bullpen, “and you’re Mariano Rivera.”

Update on the Latest Olympic Medal Count

Posted on February 11, 2014

	At Sochi, Russia
(3 of 8 events Tuesday)
(21 of 26 total events)
Nation	G	S	B	Tot
Norway	4	2	4	10
Canada	4	3	2	9
Netherlands	3	2	2	7
United States	2	1	3	6
Russia	1	2	3	6
Sweden	0	3	1	4
Austria	1	2	0	3
Czech Republic	0	2	1	3
Germany	2	0	0	2
France	1	0	1	2
Italy	0	1	1	2
Slovenia	0	1	1	2
Poland	1	0	0	1
Slovakia	1	0	0	1
Switzerland	1	0	0	1
China	0	1	0	1
Finland	0	1	0	1
Britain	0	0	1	1
Ukraine	0	0	1	1

NC Pair Make Deal for Violating Game Laws in Neb.

Posted on February 11, 2014

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A North Carolina couple who own an outfitting company that hired guides and worked for clients in Nebraska have been convicted of violating game laws.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission says 31-year-old Britney Edney and her husband, 36-year-old Jason Edney, made plea deals. They live in Hendersonville, N.C.

The commission says Jason Edney was ordered to pay $35,000 in restitution and court costs. His five-year probation includes a ban on hunting, fishing or trapping. Britney Edney was ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution and court costs. Her three-year probation also includes a ban on hunting, fishing or trapping.

The commission says the couple violated the federal Lacey Act, which bars the trade of fish, wildlife and plants that are illegally taken, transported or sold.

5 Things to Know About the Sochi Olympics

Posted on February 11, 2014

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

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FLYING TOMATO: Shaun White says he is getting antsy about his upcoming chance to make Winter Olympics history. White says in a video given to AP that he is ready to get going in the halfpipe contest on Tuesday night. If he wins, he will become the first American man to bring a gold medal home from three straight Winter Games, and only the second American athlete to do that, joining speed skater Bonnie Blair.

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INDIA BACK IN SOCHI: The IOC lifted a suspension of India’s Olympic committee, allowing its athletes who were introduced during the opening ceremony as “independent Olympic participants” to compete under their own flag. Indian luger Shiva Keshava said that would boost his countrymen in the Sochi Games and clear the way for meaningful progress for sports back home.

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SPRING GAMES: Winter is nowhere to be found at the Winter Games. Another day of warm temperatures has Sochi organizers facing questions about their ability to keep the events coming in the mountain cluster of events. Competition in the halfpipe has been delayed, as has training in the women’s downhill, while officials try to address the sloppy conditions.

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RUSSIA’S LESSON: Russian hockey legend Vladislav Tretiak says the Soviets did not respect the Americans when the two teams played in the 1980 Olympics. He says Team USA’s “Miracle on Ice” victory taught the Russians a lesson about taking teams lightly. “We did not have the respect for the competitors at that time,” Tretiak said.

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CANADA, NETHERLANDS JUMP IN MEDALS: Canada jumped to the top of the medal standings thanks to its dominance in freestyle skiing, taking six of nine medals possible in three events, including a gold and bronze Tuesday in the women’s slopestyle. The Dutch showed their own prowess in speedskating, jumping to second in the medal standings after 18 events by sweeping the men’s 500-meter race. Eight more golds were up for grabs Tuesday.

Pacers Roll Past Short-Handed Nuggets 119-80

Posted on February 10, 2014

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — David West scored 25 points and Roy Hibbert added 14 as the Indiana Pacers routed the short-handed Denver Nuggets 119-80 on Monday night.

Indiana snapped a five-game skid in the series, beating the Nuggets for the first time since a 31-point blowout in November 2010. The Pacers (40-11) still have the NBA’s best record, the league’s best home record (25-2) and now lead two-time defending champion Miami by four games in the Eastern Conference.

Wilson Chandler scored 17 points to lead the Nuggets (24-26), who have lost three straight. They played without several injured players, including Andre Miller, Danilo Gallinari, JaVale McGee, Nate Robinson and Ty Lawson.

The Pacers took control with a 21-5 run that made it 37-20 early in the second quarter. Then they closed the half on a 14-4 spurt to make it 61-40, and the Nuggets couldn’t get closer than 19 in the second half.

Royals’ Holland Mum on Contract Discussions

Posted on February 10, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Royals pitchers and catchers report to Arizona for the start of spring training on Friday, and that presumably means All-Star closer Greg Holland will be there.

Of course, there’s a little business that still needs to be finished.

Holland is eligible for arbitration and the two sides have yet to reach an agreement. He asked for $5.2 million after going 2-1 with a 1.21 ERA and 47 saves, while the Royals offered $4.1 million. Either way, it’s a big bump from the $539,000 he made last season.

The Royals would not disclose when his arbitration hearing will take place, so it’s unclear when a deal would need to be reached. Hearings run through Feb. 21.

Holland did say he’d welcome a long-term deal, but he’s staying out of those talks.

No. 3 NPCC Knights Face McCook, Eastern Wyoming, Western Nebraska in Region IX Action

Posted on February 10, 2014

North Platte – The No. 3 North Platte Community College men’s basketball team (21-3, 9-3 South Sub-Region, 4-0 NCCAC) travels to face the McCook Community College Indians (16-9, 6-6 South Sub-Region, 2-2 NCCAC) tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. and then hosts the Eastern Wyoming Lancers (10-13, 2-9 South Sub-Region) on Friday Feb. 14 at 7:30 and the Western Nebraska Community College Cougars (15-10, 6-5 South Sub-Region) on Saturday Feb. 15 at 3 p.m.

The Knights kick off the week by travelling to McCook to square off with the Indians at 7:30 p.m. in both a Region IX and Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference (NCCAC). The Knights held home court earlier this year when they defeated the Indians 82-79 on Jan. 29 behind 25 points from Ethan Montalvo and 23 from Cameron Williams. Dominic Williams led the Indians with 20 points and 11 rebounds.

North Platte then kicks off their four game home stand to end the season by hosting Eastern Wyoming at 7:30 p.m.. The Knights defeated the Lancers on Jan. 11 behind 19 points from Montalvo and 17 from Tim Simmons in a 79-69 victory in Torrington, Wyo. Mark Hall and Jonathan Doss led the Lancers with 13 points apiece.

The Knights finish out the week when they host Western Nebraska on Saturday at 3 p.m. North Platte defeated the Cougars on Jan. 10 75-68. Montalvo again led the Knights as he finished with 18 points. Youssoupha Kane led the Cougars with 14 points and 13 rebounds.

Next week marks the end of the regular season as the Knights host Laramie County Community College (15-10, 6-6 South Sub-Region) on Feb. 19 at 7 p.m. and Southeast Community College (19-8, 0-3 NCCAC) on Feb. 22 at 4 p.m. The Knights fell at Laramie County 78-82 and defeated Southeast 83-68.

NPCC Lady Knights Travel to McCook, Host Eastern Wyoming This Week (Updated)

Posted on February 10, 2014February 10, 2014

North Platte – The North Platte Community College Lady Knights basketball team (13-10, 2-1 Region IX Division II, 3-1 NCCAC) travels to face the McCook Community College Lady Indians (5-20, 1-3 NCCAC) on Tuesday Feb. 11 at 5:30 pm. The Lady Knights then return home to play the Eastern Wyoming College Lady Lancers (13-11) on Friday Feb. 14 at 5:30 p.m.

The Lady Knights get things going this week as they travel to McCook to play a Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference (NCCAC) opponent on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. The Lady Knights currently lead the NCCAC and defeated the Lady Indians earlier this year at home 64-58 behind 18 points from Courtney Widick, 12 points from Aliyah Brownand 11 rebounds from DaVontaye Merritt.

North Platte then returns home for their second to last home game of the regular season as the host Eastern Wyoming at 5:30 p.m. The Lady Knights lost at Torrington on Jan. 11 by a score of 59-77 despite 14 points from Jordan Dickerson and a double-double from Merritt of 13 points and 12 rebounds.

The Lady Knights finish out their regular season next week with two games. First North Platte travels to Goodland, Kan. to take on Northwest Kansas Technical College on Wednesday Feb. 19 at 5 p.m. The Lady Knights defeated the Lady Broncos 92-76 on Nov. 22.

The last home game and last game of the regular season for the Lady Knights is Feb. 22 at 2 p.m. when they host the Southeast Community College Lady Storm (0-2 Region IX Division II, 1-3 NCCAC) in a very important Region IX Division II match-up. The Lady Knights won in Beatrice 59-50 on Jan. 17.

Editor’s Note: The previous version of this story included an NPCC Lady Knights game at Nebraska Wesleyan on Sunday, February 16. That game has been canceled.