Standing shoulder to shoulder at a season-ending press conference Tuesday, Denver Broncos vice president John Elway defended the in-game decisions of head coach John Fox. Fox has come under fire for some conservative play-calling in Denver’s shocking loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Divisional Playoffs, particularly the decision to run out the clock and go to overtime after Baltimore tied the game with 31 seconds left in regulation. Fox and Elway said the team was ‘shocked’ by the Ravens’ score and, in Fox’s words, “it didn’t seem like the right time to go for the knockout punch.”
Category: Sports
Maller Wins Defenseman of the Week
Tri-City Storm defenseman Dylan Maller was named the United States Hockey League’s Defenseman of the Week. Maller scored his first goal of the season in the Storm’s loss to Fargo on Friday, and then assisted on a goal in a Storm win over the Force Saturday. He finished the week with a +4 in the plus/minus department. The 18-year old Maller is in his second season with the Storm. He is committed to play at the University of New Hampshire. The Storm play two games at Fargo this weekend.
Fisher Declines Sixth Year, Will Attend Med School
Husker senior linebacker Sean Fisher announced yesterday he would not pursue a sixth year of eligibility, leaving the program to pursue medical school. Fisher was eligible for a sixth year under the NCAA’s medical hardship regulations, having sat out two full seasons due to injury. He played in all 14 games in 2012 after missing 2011 with a broken leg, and recorded a career-high 48 tackles. In a statement released through the athletic department, Fisher said it was “difficult to walk away” from the football program, but that it was time to move on.
Full Statement from Sean Fisher:
“The opportunity to be part of this football program the past five years has been a great experience and one that is difficult to walk away from, but I made the determination it was time to move on. I am planning to enroll in medical school in the fall and am putting all my energy toward preparing for that. I appreciate Coach Pelini and the coaching staff leaving the door open for me to consider returning to football and giving me the time to finalize my decision.”
Marsh Departs Nebraska for UNK
Quarterback Bronson Marsh has left the Nebraska football program and will transfer to Division II Nebraska-Kearney. Marsh was the Gatorade High School Player of the Year in Nebraska at Millard North in 2009. After taking a greyshirt year, he redshirted in 2011 and was the Huskers’ scout team player of the year in 2011. He appeared in two games for the Huskers in 2012. Marsh will have three seasons of eligibility at UNK and is expected to start next season.
Brady Eagle Sports Update – January 14
The Brady Eagles and Lady Eagles kept right on winning last weekend, and are hoping to stay hot heading into next week’s Sandhills Conference tournament. Eagles head coach David Jacobs says he’s pleased with his team’s offensive progress. Hear his thoughts and more in this week’s Brady Eagle sports update!
Monday Sports Day – Lance Armstrong’s Begins Tour de Apology
AP source: Armstrong ‘sorry’ to Livestrong staff
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A person with knowledge of the situation says Lance Armstrong has apologized to the staff at his Livestrong cancer foundation. He did so before heading to an interview with Oprah Winfrey.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because the discussion was private.
Armstrong addressed the staff Monday and said, “I’m sorry.” The person said the disgraced cyclist choked up and several employees cried during the session.
The person also said Armstrong apologized for letting the staff down and putting Livestrong at risk but he did not make a direct confession to the group about using banned drugs. He said he would try to restore the foundation’s reputation.
Armstrong urged the group to continue fighting for the charity’s mission of helping cancer patients and their families. After the meeting, Armstrong, his legal team and close advisers gathered at a downtown Austin hotel for the interview.
Four teams left
UNDATED (AP) — One game is a rematch. The other might feel like one — at least to one of the teams.
For the second straight year in the AFC, the New England Patriots will host the Baltimore Ravens with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.
In the NFC title game, San Francisco will travel to Atlanta, with the Falcons defense trying to stop a versatile, running quarterback for the second straight week.
The 49ers also made it to the NFC title game last year, losing to the Giants. Atlanta is the only team not making a repeat appearance in the NFL’s final four.
Yesterday, the Falcons barely got past Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks, who overcame a 20-point deficit to take a one-point lead, but gave it up after Matt Ryan drove Atlanta into field goal range and Matt Bryant made a 49-yard kick with 8 seconds left for a 30-28 win.
Colin Kaepernick passed for 263 yards and rushed for 181 — a playoff record for a quarterback — in San Francisco’s 45-31 victory over Green Bay Saturday.
The Ravens advanced when Justin Tucker kicked a 47-yard field goal 1:42 into the second overtime Saturday, ending the NFL’s longest game in 26 years and giving the Ravens a 38-35 win over the Denver Broncos. The win postponed Ray Lewis’ retirement at least one more game and ended Peyton Manning’s sensational comeback season with the Broncos.
New England advanced to the AFC championship when Tom Brady threw for three touchdowns yesterday to beat Houston 41-28 and become the winningest quarterback in postseason play. The Patriots’ win didn’t come without a cost. Tight end Rob Gronkowski was injured on the Patriots’ eighth offensive play and needs surgery on his broken left arm, according to a person with knowledge of the injury. He previously missed five regular-season games and is done for the playoffs.
NBA-PREVIEW
Eight games tonight
UNDATED (AP) — In the NBA tonight, The Los Angeles Clippers are in Memphis, trying to forget an embarrassing loss Saturday at home against the lowly Orlando Magic. The Clippers will also try to avoid a season-high-tying third straight road loss. They dropped their last two outside Los Angeles by 14 and 21 points. The Grizzlies lost Saturday in Dallas.
— The Miami Heat have lost two of three on their recent road trip. Tonight, they are in Utah to play the Jazz. After losing the first two on the road, the Heat won in Sacramento Saturday. The Jazz are going for their fourth win in the last five games.
— The Phoenix Suns just snapped a 12-game road losing streak and they are hoping to keep that momentum going at home. It won’t be easy. Tonight’s opponent is the league-leading Oklahoma City Thunder. The Suns won at Chicago Saturday. The Thunder are coming off a victory on the road Friday against the Lakers.
— The Chicago Bulls have lost two in a row at home and tonight, they host the Atlanta Hawks. After winning 20 of their first 30 games, the Hawks are mired in their worst stretch of the season. They lost for the fifth time in six games Saturday to the league’s worst team, the Washington Wizards.
Also tonight, Charlotte is at Boston, Orlando visits Washington, Minnesota travels to Dallas and Cleveland is at Sacramento.
Louisville moves to No. 1 ranking in AP poll
Louisville, taking advantage of weekend losses by Duke and Michigan, is No. 1 in The Associated Press’ college basketball poll.
This is just the second time the Cardinals have the top ranking. They were No. 1 in the final poll of the 2008-09 season.
Louisville (15-1) moved up from No. 3. The Cardinals have won 10 straight games since losing to Duke in the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis.
In a poll with five teams receiving first-place votes, Louisville was No. 1 on 36 ballots from the 65-member national media panel Monday. Indiana, which jumped from fifth to No. 2, drew 13 first-place votes. Duke, which dropped two spots to third, had 14.
No. 4 Kansas and No. 5 Michigan, which had been second, each got one first-place vote.
Oregon, VCU, UCLA and Marquette joined the poll this week.
Short-handed Husker Men Lose at Michigan State
Despite a valiant effort, the Husker men’s basketball team dropped to 0-4 in Big Ten play with a 66-56 loss at eighteenth-ranked Michigan State. Nebraska played the Spartans tight all night long and were within one point at 55-54 in two and a half minutes to play, but Michigan State wrapped up the game on an 11-2 run. The undermanned Huskers were led by David Rivers, who made a big impression in his first career start by scoring a career-high 18 points. Rivers made each of his eight field goal attempts. Dylan Talley added 17 points, and Ray Gallegos tallied 12 points. Nebraska drops to 9-8 overall with the defeat. They’re back on their home hardwood for their next game, as they host Purdue Wednesday night.
Husker Women Fall Hard at No. 8 Penn State
Eighth-ranked Penn State went on a 33-10 run that spanned the end of the first half and beginning of the second half, and routed the Husker women’s basketball team 78-58 in University Park yesterday. Nebraska was within three at 26-23 with three minutes remaining in the first half, but the Nittany Lions closed on a 14-4 burst and then came out of the locker room on a 19-6 run in the first five minutes of the second half to build an insurmountable lead. Emily Cady led the way for the Big Red with 17 points and nine rebounds. Jordan Hooper chipped in with 11 points and nine rebounds, while Lindsey Moore tallied 11 points and five assists. Nebraska falls to 12-5 overall and 2-2 in Big Ten play with the defeat. They’re back in action Thursday night, at home against Illinois.
Nuggets Win Fifth Straight
The Denver Nuggets ran their winning streak to five with a 116-105 win over the Golden State Warriors at the Pepsi Center last night. Down by eight points entering the fourth quarter, the Nuggets outscored the Warriors 37-18 in the final 12 minutes to run their home record to 14-2 and their overall record to 23-16. Danilo Gallinari led the Nuggets with 21 points. Ty Lawson added 20 points. The Nuggets host the Portland Trail Blazers Thursday night.
SWIMMING: Bulldogs Fifth, Lady Bulldogs Ninth at Cotter Invite
The North Platte swim teams competed at the Cotter Invite at Lincoln High over the weekend. The boys team finished fifth overall and the girls took ninth.
Diving results:
Allexis Menghini 267.25 (3rd)
Tanner Malmkar 238.30 (4th)
Ben Jolliffe 193.30 (8th)
Top individuals for NPHS:
Boys
Landon Jahnke 4th 200 IM 2:25.62 and 6th 100 Free 56.16
Tyler Halligan 4th 100 Backstroke 1:01.58
Charley Halligan 6th 500 Free 6:07.32
Girls
Kelly Fitzpatrick 7th 100 Backstroke 1:16.19
Lydia Darling 11th 200 IM 2:51.30
Kim Hall 12th 50 Free 28.55