After a solid training camp at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs last week, Jordan Hooper and her USA Basketball World University Games teammates opened five days of practice today in Kazan, Russia.

Hooper, a 6-2 senior forward from Alliance, Neb., and the U.S. team have spent the past two days traveling to Russia to compete in the 2013 World University Games. Women’s basketball competition is set to begin on Monday, July 8. Hooper and the United States open play in Pool B against Mali on Monday at 11:30 a.m. (CT).

The USA Basketball squad will hold its first Russian practice on Wednesday, July 3, before a practice and scrimmage on July 4. Hooper also will participate in U.S. practice on July 5, and Saturday, July 6, the same day as Opening Ceremonies for the World University Games, which begin at 10 a.m. (CT).

The U.S. squad will hold its final practice on Sunday, July 7.

Following its opening game with Mali on July 8, the U.S. team will face the Czech Republic on Tuesday, July 9 (11:30 a.m. CT), before squaring off with Brazil on Wednesday, July 10 (3:30 a.m. CT). Quarterfinal play will be held on Friday, July 12, before the semifinals onSaturday, July 13. The final round, including the Gold Medal Game, will be played on Monday, July 15.

The U.S. team consists of Hooper, Crystal Bradford (Central Michigan), Aaryn Ellenberg (Oklahoma), Reshanda Gray (California), Cassie Harberts (USC), Bria Hartley (Connecticut), Tricia Liston (Duke), Ariel Massengale (Tennessee), Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (Connecticut), Theresa Plaisance (LSU), Shoni Schimmel (Louisville) and Odyssey Sims (Baylor). The team is coached by Sherri Coale (Oklahoma), Brian Giorgis (Marist) and Coquese Washington (Penn State).

USA Basketball Women’s World University Games Schedule
Kazan, Russia 

– Wednesday, July 3 – Sunday, July 7 – Practice
– Saturday, July 6 – Opening Ceremonies – 10 a.m.
– Monday, July 8 – U.S. vs. Mali – 11:30 a.m. (Pool B)
– Tuesday, July 9 – U.S. vs. Czech Republic – 11:30 a.m. (Pool B)
– Wednesday, July 10 – U.S. vs. Brazil – 3:30 a.m. (Pool B)
– Thursday, July 11 – No Game
– Friday, July 12 – Quarterfinals – 1 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. tip times
– Saturday, July 13 – Semifinals – 1 a.m. – Noon tip times
Medal Semifinals – Game 1 – 9:30 a.m.
Medal Semifinals – Game 2 – Noon
ESPNU will air a U.S. semifinal game on July 13 at Noon and 9 p.m. and on Saturday, July 14 at 4 a.m. and 10 a.m.
– Sunday, July 15 – Finals – 1 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. tip times
Gold Medal Game – 12:30 p.m.
ESPNU will air a U.S. gold medal game on July 15 at 12:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. and on Monday, July 16 at 7 a.m.

(All Times Central – Moscow, Russia Standard Time is 9 hours ahead of U.S. Central Time)

The North Platte First Nationals dropped a double header against Grand Island on Tuesday.

Grand Island doubled up the First Nationals in game one 8-4 then won game two over North Platte 5-1. At the plate for the First Nationals Ben Sukraw went a combined 3-8 with a home run a double and an RBI. He also pitched a complete game in the game two loss.

The First Nationals are now 20-19 on the season. North Platte’s next game is Friday, July 5 against Elkhorn South in Densmore. The team also plays Sampson Construction Friday night in Densmore.

DENVER (AP) — Clayton Kershaw tossed a four-hitter for his second shutout of the season and rookie sensation Yasiel Puig had three more hits, including a solo homer, to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to an 8-0 win over the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night.

The 22-year-old Puig also added a double and a single to raise his average to .443 this season.

Kershaw (7-5) kept the Rockies off balance all night, even top hitter Michael Cuddyer, who had his franchise-record 27-game hitting streak halted after going hitless in four plate appearances. Cuddyer flied out to Puig in right to end the game.

The hard-throwing Kershaw had eight strikeouts and walked none. He only allowed one runner to get to second all evening.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The NCAA has awarded Creighton’s Grant Gibbs a sixth season of eligibility — a decision that could end up costing coach Greg McDermott thousands of dollars.

That’s because McDermott’s son — two-time first-team All-American Doug McDermott — probably will have to play his final season as a walk-on to free up a scholarship for Gibbs.

Greg McDermott said Tuesday he didn’t have Gibbs penciled in on his 2013-14 roster because he doubted the NCAA would buy Creighton’s argument that Gibbs should get an extra year because of injuries that limited him when he was at Gonzaga.

Greg McDermott said Doug becomes a walk-on if all 13 scholarship players show up in the fall. Greg gets no tuition discount for Doug because he hasn’t been a university employee for five years.

Lincoln – University of Nebraska Head Coach Tim Miles announced Tuesday the hiring of Teddy Owens as administrative coordinator for the Husker basketball program. In his role, he will assist in daily operations, on-campus recruiting and other assigned duties, including student-athlete outreach on campus.

For Miles, Owens’ combination of experience and basketball acumen made him an ideal fit for the Husker staff.

“Teddy has a great basketball background with his family and has been involved in the game throughout his life. He was a successful high school coach so he knows how to make decisions, and he spent the last two years working for Lon Kruger, a coach I admire and have a lot of respect for, at Oklahoma. As I got to know Teddy, I thought he was a strong fit for our program and is what we need to make our program better every day.”

Owens comes to Nebraska after spending the last two seasons working as a graduate assistant at Oklahoma under Lon Kruger. While at Oklahoma, he was in charge of on-campus recruiting tours for recruits and family members, created recruiting pieces, assisted in individual workouts and practices and helped coordinate Oklahoma’s summer basketball camps. The Sooners went 20-12 and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2012-13.

In addition to his work at Oklahoma, Owens spent three seasons as the basketball coach at Lincoln Christian in Tulsa, Okla., compiling a 48-27 record leading the school to a pair of Class 2A state tournament appearances in 2009 and 2010. He also was an assistant coach at Holland Hall Preparatory and Tulsa Edison High Schools. He served as a student manager at Oklahoma State during the 2003-04 season, when the Cowboys went 31-4, won the Big 12 title and reached the Final Four.

Owens received his bachelor’s degree in liberal studies from Oklahoma State and his master’s degree in human relations from Oklahoma in May of 2013.

He is the son of former Kansas basketball coach Ted Owens, who went 348-182 in 19 seasons at Kansas from 1965 to 1983. The elder Owens won six Big Eight titles and reached the Final Four with the Jayhawks in 1971 and 1974.

PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks will wear a memorial patch on their uniforms for the remainder of the season to honor the 19 firefighters killed while battling a wildfire northwest of Phoenix.

In addition, jerseys with the name “Yarnell” and the No. 19 are hanging in the clubhouses of both teams for this week’s series between the Diamondbacks and Mets in New York.

The Arizona players will wear black arm bands for the Mets series. When the Diamondbacks return home, they will wear black jerseys for this weekend’s series against Colorado with the No. 19 on a white patch across the heart.

Beginning today, the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation will give up to $100,000 to match fans’ donations to charities assisting the firefighters’ families and affected communities.

A recent 2012 research study conducted by University of Minnesota researchers found that teens are using steroids and muscle-enhancing substances at higher rates than previously thought.  The study found that 5.9 percent of boys in the survey reported using steroids, while the rate among girls was 4.6 percent. The findings were surprising, especially since some of the steroid users were only in seventh or eighth grade.

Earlier unrelated studies have found that:

1.     Among those who admit using steroids, 80 percent said they believed the drugs could help them achieve their athletic dreams

2.     65 percent of steroid users would be willing to use a pill or powder, including dietary supplements, if it guaranteed they would reach their athletic goals, even if it might harm their health

3.     57 percent of users said they would use it even if it could shorten their lives

4.     About 6 in 10 users believe that professional athletes have the right to use steroids, and they think that using anabolic steroids for athletic purposes is legal.

5.     About 60 percent of users said that professional athletes influenced their (or a friend’s) decision to use PEDs

Beyond the Zone is a feature/documentary of how a 55 year old amateur powerlifter has defied the odds by setting two World Weightlifting Endurance Records at 53, and 54 years and is positioned to attempt another world record in 2013 at 55 – drug free!

It’s a unique story of ground breaking “drug free” fitness training, teamwork, hard work, focus and inspiration developed to prove that performance enhancing drugs are not needed to reach your fitness – sports goals at any age!

All the funds from this campaign will be used to produce a 30 minute feature-documentary on the process of training as a “total athlete” and utilizing ground breaking training techniques to break World Weightlifting Records drug free! Big things are possible if you work hard, smart and stay clean!

No joke, no gimmicks!

Child obesity, rampant steroid use, unhealthy adult lifestyles, etc. are not the only headlines people need to read! Anyone can be strong and healthy, young or old…it’s just a matter of knowledge, a plan and lots of hard work!

Baby boomers to fitness enthusiasts and teen athletes to elite pro athletes at any age react to this story with excitement, interest and motivation……..… branding together the marketing opportunities are endless!

The effort is the development of a not-for-profit film documentary “Beyond the Zone” about “Winning Big without Performance Enhancing Drugs” – It Is Possible. http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/beyond-the-zone-steroid-free-winning-at-any-age/x/3619545

Lincoln – Nebraska’s Steffi Neisen claimed a spot on the WGCA All-America Scholar Team for the third consecutive season, while teammates Jackie O’Doherty and Cassidy Stelzmiller added their first appearances on the academic team announced by the Women’s Golf Coaches Association on July 1.

Neisen, a junior from New Prague, Minn., will enter her senior season at Nebraska in 2013-14 with a chance to become just the fifth four-time scholastic All-American in school history, joining Madeleine Shiels (2009-10-11-12), JC Stevenson (2007-08-09-10), Allison Stewart (2005-06-07-08) and Jackie Beste (2003-04-05-06).

A three-year starter in Coach Robin Krapfl’s lineup, Neisen ranked second among the Huskers in stroke average in 2012-13. The education major also continued to excel in the classroom, earning academic All-Big Ten honors for the second straight season. She was also Nebraska’s Big Ten Sportsmanship Award winner.

O’Doherty and Stelzmiller, both redshirt freshmen for the Huskers in 2012-13, claimed the first national scholastic honors of their careers. O’Doherty, a Lincoln East graduate, competed in 31 rounds for the Huskers while earning academic All-Big Ten honors as a nutrition and health science major. Stelzmiller, a native of Placerville, Calif., played 22 rounds for Nebraska as a redshirt freshman while earning academic All-Big Ten accolades as an accounting major. Both O’Doherty and Stelzmiller are four-time Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll selections.

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama minor league baseball team has cancelled a gun raffle that was supposed to be featured during its Second Amendment Night promotion.

Huntsville Stars spokeswoman Nicole Colonis said Monday that the raffle during the team’s Wednesday night game against the Chattanooga Lookouts was cancelled after Minor League Baseball officials said the promotion was likely not in the franchise’s best interest.

Colonis says Second Amendment Night will still feature free admission for members of the National Rifle Association who present their membership card.

The Huntsville Stars are a Class-AA affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers.