Wednesday Morning Sports with KWBW’s Rob Dreher.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) —The St. Louis Cardinals now find themselves within a one game of the NL Central-leading Chicago Cubs and 2 ½ games ahead of Milwaukee after Jack Flaherty tossed three-hit ball over seven innings to pitch St. Louis past Kansas City, 2-0. Flaherty has allowed 20 hits with 50 strikeouts and 0.70 ERA since the All-Star break to help the Redbirds challenge for the division crown. The Cubs absorbed a 4-2 loss to the Phillies as J.T. Realmuto (ree-al-MOO’-toh) homered and doubled home the tiebreaking run in the seventh inning.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Cardinals activated catcher Yadier Molina from the injured list, placed outfielder Jose Martinez on it with a shoulder injury and selected outfielder Randy Arozarena from Triple-A Memphis before opening a two-game series at Kansas City. Molina has been out since July 8 with a strained right thumb tendon that has caused the nine-time All-Star to miss the past 28 games.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes lit the league on fire last season, throwing for more than 5,000 yards with 50 touchdown passes and a mere 12 interceptions. But the Chiefs quarterback showed in their preseason opener Saturday night that he’s grown even more, as evidenced by a seemingly simple slide toward the end of his only drive against Cincinnati.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Former Oklahoma running back Mike Gaddis has died at the age of 50. Former coach Barry Switzer calls Gaddis the best running back from the state of Oklahoma he ever signed, Switzer says the family told him Gaddis died Monday at his home in Oklahoma City. A cause was not immediately known.

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma State University and the University of Arkansas have added two football games to a previously announced two-game, home and home series. The Cowboys and Razorbacks on Tuesday announced the two schools will play nonconference games in Stillwater in September 2032 and in Fayetteville in September 2033. OSU of the Big 12 and Arkansas of the SEC had previously announced games in 2024 in Stillwater and 2027 in Fayetteville.

National Headlines

UNDATED (AP) _ The Minnesota Twins are back atop the AL Central by a half-game over Cleveland following a comeback victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. Marwin Gonzalez smacked a three-run home run off of Josh Hader in the eighth inning to propel the Twins past the Brewers, 7-5. Jackie Bradley Jr. did the Twins a favor by belting a home run with one out in the 10th inning to send the Boston Red Sox past the Indians, 7-6.

ATLANTA (AP) _ Atlanta Braves rookie slugger Austin Riley will not need surgery on his injured right knee and expects to return to the lineup in about two weeks. Riley has been on the IL since Aug. 5 after spraining his knee during a workout. But Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson continues to rehab a bruised right foot and is unsure when he’ll be able to come off the IL.

DENVER (AP) _ The Colorado Rockies have designated veteran catcher Chris Iannetta for assignment and purchased the contract of backstop Dom Nuñez from Triple-A Albuquerque. Iannetta departs as the team’s all-time leader among catchers in games played, runs, hits, homers, RBIs and walks. The 36-year-old hit .222 with six homers in 52 games this season.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) _ New York Giants wide receiver Golden Tate has lost the appeal of his four-game suspension for a violation of the NFL’s policy on performance enhancers. Tate announced the suspension on Twitter last month and felt his appeal had merit because he was using a fertility drug prescribed by a doctor. The appeal was heard by a member of an independent appeals panel in New York last week.

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) _ Former U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro has withdrawn from the upcoming Grand Slam tournament while he continues to recover from right knee surgery. The 12th-ranked del Potro fractured his kneecap for the second time in less than a year while playing in a Wimbledon tuneup tournament. The U.S. Tennis Association says the withdrawal allows American Denis Kudla to move into the main draw.

Tuesday Scores

INTERLEAGUE
Final Minnesota 7 Milwaukee 5
Final St. Louis 2 Kansas City 0
Final San Francisco 3 Oakland 2
Final Pittsburgh 10 L-A Angels 7
Final Tampa Bay 7 San Diego 5

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Houston 6 Chi White Sox 2
Final N-Y Yankees 8 Baltimore 3
Final Toronto 3 Texas 0
Final Boston 7 Cleveland 6, 10 Innings
Final Seattle 11 Detroit 6
Final Chi White Sox 4 Houston 1

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Washington 3 Cincinnati 1
Final Philadelphia 4 Chi Cubs 2
Final L-A Dodgers 15 Miami 1
Final Atlanta 5 N-Y Mets 3
Final Arizona 9 Colorado 3

ST. LOUIS – Kansas’ all-time winningest men’s basketball coach, Dr. Forest C. “Phog” Allen will be inducted into the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Hall of Fame in a ceremony in St. Louis on March 6, 2020.

Allen is the first Veteran’s Committee selection to the MVC Hall of Fame (and also the first from the University of Kansas). In his 39 seasons at the helm at Kansas, Allen’s teams won 24 conference championships, three national titles and posted a record of 590-219. The Helms Athletic Foundation retroactively recognized Allen’s 1921–22 and 1922–23 Kansas teams as national champions. Allen also served as the head football coach at Kansas for one season in 1920. Allen was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame with the inaugural class of 1959. The home basketball arena at Kansas, Allen Fieldhouse, was named in his honor when it opened in 1955. Allen is a posthumous inductee having passed away in 1974.

Kansas competed in what was then known as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association for 21 seasons (1907-28) and Allen was basketball coach for 11 of those years. While in the league, he earned two national titles (1922, 1923) and eight league titles. His .792 winning percentage in conference play (126-33) ranks second all-time in MVC history. In that 11-year span, Allen won .793 percent of all basketball games (169-44) – that percentage ranks third-best all-time in MVC history. 

Joining Allen in the 23rd MVC Hall of Fame class is: a two-sport (baseball/football) student-athlete in Mike Prior (Illinois State); a baseball student-athlete in Bill Mueller (Missouri State); a four-time NCAA track & field pole vault champion in Kylie Hutson (Indiana State); coaching legends Richard “Itchy” Jones (Southern Illinois baseball) and basketball star Larry Humes (Evansville).

The league will conduct its annual Hall of Fame ceremony as part the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Men’s Basketball Championship next March 5-8. The March 6 festivities will begin with an 8 a.m. breakfast, followed by the induction ceremony at 8:30 a.m.

“The Missouri Valley Conference has always been recognized for the great success of its athletics programs, with a rich history that dates back more than a century,” said MVC Commissioner Doug Elgin. “Our MVC Hall of Fame has provided us with an opportunity to honor the student-athletes, coaches, administrators and contributors who have played important roles in the Conference and in intercollegiate athletics.

“The individuals we will be honoring in the Class of 2020 have brought significant honor to themselves, their institutions and to the Conference. We are truly humbled to have this opportunity to salute them for their achievements.”

By DAVE RIGGERT
St. Joseph Post

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs wrapped up their 13th practice of training camp in St. Joseph on Tuesday at Missouri Western State University. The Chiefs were in full pads for a second consecutive day as they have just two more open practices left before they wrap up the St. Joe portion of training camp.

Six assistant coaches spoke with the media after practice on Tuesday.

 

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Listen to updates from Kansas City Chiefs Training Camp in St. Joseph, Mo. with the “Voice of the Chiefs” Mitch Holthus. The reports originally air weeknights at 5:25 p.m. on KWBW Radio 1450 am/98.5 fm.  Brought to you locally by Egbert Liquor.

 

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — The goals haven’t changed for defending national champion Clemson.

When asked recently what’s left the Tigers, who have won two of the past three national titles, to accomplish, coach Dabo Swinney grinned slyly then said, “We haven’t won two in a row yet.”

The Tigers are poised to make a run at repeating.

Sure, Clemson lost all four of its “Power Rangers” defensive line and seven starters on defense from its title team. But the Tigers’ offense, led by Heisman Trophy candidates quarterback Trevor Lawrence and tailback Travis Etienne, looks ready to operate at an even higher level than a year ago when it averaged 527 yards and 44.3 points a game. Clemson finished the season 15-0 and routed Alabama 44-16 in the title contest.

“You saw last year kind of us start flourishing, start clicking,” said Lawrence, who took over as the starter in game five. “I think that’s one thing, we’re picking up kind of where we left off from last year.”

That’s a scary thought for anyone on Clemson’s schedule.

The Tigers were picked in the preseason poll to win their fifth straight Atlantic Coast Conference crown. With that comes a probable berth in the Tigers’ fifth College Football Playoff and a possible fifth consecutive matchup with Alabama. The Crimson Tide and Clemson have combined to win the past four national titles.

Swinney tries to temper early talk of a Clemson-Alabama title rematch, saying this group of Tigers have not won anything even though their prospects may be strong.

Co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott hears regularly from Clemson backers who say they’ve already got flights and hotels for New Orleans, site of the next championship game.

Scott is gracious in thanking them, but likens it to buying an undeveloped plot of land and setting a date for dinner with friends in the house yet to be built.

“There are lots of steps to accomplish before we get to that,” Scott said.

Some other things to watch with Clemson this season:

HEISMAN HOPEFULS

Quarterback Trevor Lawrence and tailback Travis Etienne are Heisman Trophy candidates this season. Lawrence, the sophomore passer, threw for 3,280 yards and 30 touchdowns despite splitting time for the Tigers’ first four games. Etienne, the junior back, led the Football Bowl Subdivision with 24 touchdowns and set Clemson’s single-season record with 1,658 yards. Lawrence said he and Etienne don’t talk about the attention, or even to joke about it. “That’s when things go wrong,” Lawrence said.

REBUILT DEFENSE

Clemson will have several new players up front this season after defensive ends Clelin Ferrell and Austin Bryant and tackles Christian Wilkins and Dexter Lawrence were all drafted. Justin Foster and Xavier Thomas came out of spring as starting defensive ends while Jordan Williams and Nyles Pickney will fill the middle. Clemson will also start two new linebackers and a new cornerback in Derion Kendrick to take over for underclass draftee Trayvon Mullen.

INTACT STAFF

Clemson held its national championship staff together for another offseason, not that it didn’t cost the school. Clemson upped the salaries for co-offensive coordinators Tony Elliott and Jeff Scott to $1 million for this season while defensive coordinator Brent Venables makes $2.2 million a year. It all starts at the top as Swinney was awarded with a new deal worth $93 million over 10 years.

GOODBYE JUMBO PACKAGE?

With defensive linemen Christian Wilkins and Dexter Lawrence off to the NFL as first-round draft picks, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney was asked if that meant the end to the team’s “Jumbo” package in goal-line or short-yardage situations. Both Wilkins and Lawrence rushed for touchdowns last year, sending a stream of defenders knocking on Swinney’s door for the chance to score. Swinney wasn’t sure who, if anyone, would inherit those roles. “I’ve got to think about it,” he said. “That’s kind of been my baby.”

TIGHT END INEXPERIENCE

Clemson counted on sophomore Braden Galloway to take over the tight end spot this season. But Galloway was among three players who tested positive for the banned substance, ostarine, right before the start of the College Football Playoffs. Galloway, the only one still on the Tigers, lost his appeal and will miss the next year, although he can practice with the team. Junior J.C. Chalk, the grandson of Swinney’s mentor and former coach at Alabama Gene Stallings, goes into camp as the starter. Behind Chalk are freshmen Davis Allen and Jaelyn Lay, meaning it will be a position of concern entering the season.

A federal judge has approved an amended settlement in a class-action concussion lawsuit against the NCAA that will establish a 50-year medical-monitoring program for college athletes.

The settlement was announced Monday by Hagens Berman, the law firm representing the plaintiffs. The case originated with a claim against the NCAA in 2011 by former Eastern Illinois football player Adrian Arrington. The case was later consolidated with other claims. Initially, a settlement was reached in 2016. It created $70-million fund for monitoring of current and former college athletes for brain trauma.

Arrington opposed that agreement because it did not pay damages.

According to Hagens Berman, the settlement approved by U.S. District Judge John Z. Lee changes the NCAA’s approach to concussion treatment and establishes a $5 million fund for concussion research.

 

Tuesday Morning Sports with KWBW’s Rob Dreher.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes lit the league on fire last season, throwing for more than 5,000 yards with 50 touchdown passes and a mere 12 interceptions. But the Chiefs quarterback showed in their preseason opener Saturday night that he’s grown even more, as evidenced by a seemingly simple slide toward the end of his only drive against Cincinnati.

DALLAS, Tx (AP) — Oklahoma and Texas could be on the course for another Red River rematch in the Big 12. The Sooners have won the last four Big 12 titles. They got their latest with a win over Texas in the Big 12 championship game to avenge their only regular-season loss. Oklahoma has another transfer quarterback in Jalen Hurts after their last two transfers won the Heisman Trophy and were No. 1 overall NFL draft picks. Iowa State has been on the rise with consecutive eight-win seasons under coach Matt Campbell.

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Longtime coach Bill Snyder has retired at Kansas State and his replacement, Chris Klieman, has precious little experience in a Power Five conference. But he won four national titles at North Dakota State, and Klieman is confident that experience can translate to the Big 12. He gets a chance to prove it when the season opens Aug. 31 against Nicholls State.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Coach Matt Campbell has spent three years making Iowa State respectable within the Big 12. The Cyclones might be ready for more. Iowa State has been picked third in the preseason Big 12 poll. The Cyclones return a tough defense and have a strong quarterback in sophomore Brock Purdy. Iowa State opens the season Aug. 31 against Northern Iowa.

National Headlines

NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball will open its 2020 season March 26, its earliest start other than international games. The schedule also features an April series in Puerto Rico between the New York Mets and Miami Marlins. Globe Life Field, the new home of the Texas Rangers, opens March 31. The 2020 regular season is to end Sept. 27, putting the World Series on track to run from Oct. 20-28.

METAIRIE, La. (AP) _ Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards says the state is working on lease extensions with the New Orleans Saints designed to keep the NFL club in the Superdome for up to 30 additional years. Edwards says the lease talks are running in conjunction with plans for “extensive and needed” renovations to the Superdome. The Louisiana state bond commission is scheduled on Thursday to consider approval of about $500 million in financing for project.

ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) — Antonio Brown says he’s “working on getting back to full health and looking forward” to rejoining his Oakland Raiders teammates on the field. Brown lost a grievance with the NFL today over his use of an old helmet that is no longer certified as safe to use for practice or play. The wide receiver has not participated in a full practice for the Raiders after starting training camp on the non-football injury list with injuries to his feet that reportedly came from frostbite suffered while getting cryotherapy treatment in France.

UNDATED (AP) — The website Law360A reports a petition has been filed with the National Labor Relations Board seeking to create a separate union for NFL running backs. The International Brotherhood of Professional Running Backs bases its case on the shorter careers for players at the position. The average pro career for a running back is 2.57 years, by far the shortest of any position.

UNDATED (AP) — The Toronto Raptors’ Kyle Lowry says his surgically repaired thumb hasn’t improved enough for him to participate in workouts for USA Basketball’s World Cup team. He had surgery last month for a torn tendon. The tournament is set to start later this month.

Monday Scores

INTERLEAGUE
Final Pittsburgh 10 L-A Angels 2
Final Tampa Bay 10 San Diego 4

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final N-Y Yankees 8 Baltimore 5
Final N-Y Yankees 11 Baltimore 8
Final Toronto 19 Texas 4
Final Cleveland 6 Boston 5
Houston at Chi White Sox 8:10 p.m., postponed

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Washington 7 Cincinnati 6
Final Arizona 8 Colorado 6

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Melissa Stokes, Missouri State University’s head volleyball coach, has announced her resignation, effective Aug. 12, 2019. The announcement came following an independent investigation by Spencer Fane LLP, which concluded that NCAA violations had occurred within the volleyball program. These violations included allowing a non-qualifier to accompany the team during a foreign tour without personally paying all costs associated with the tour and allowing currently enrolled athletes to participate as campers in Stokes’ volleyball camps.

As a result of the investigation’s findings, the university is in the process of self-reporting the NCAA violations found during the inquiry.

“The university commissioned a review of our volleyball program, due to some concerns that were brought to our attention,” Missouri State Athletic Director Kyle Moats said in a statement. “As a result of the investigation, we have concluded that we need to take the program in a new direction.”

Stokes, who fully participated in the investigation, made a decision to resign.

“For the last 23 years, the Missouri State volleyball program has been my top priority,” said Stokes. “I have always wanted what is best for our student-athletes and the university. To minimize further distraction to the program and the players, I submitted my resignation earlier today.”

Stokes has served as head volleyball coach for the last 23 years, during which time the program amassed a 509-243 overall record, for a .677 winning percentage. Stokes is also the Missouri Valley Conference’s all-time winningest coach in league matches, with 299 MVC wins.

“There’s no question that the Missouri State volleyball program has been tremendously successful with coach Stokes at the helm,” Moats stated. “We appreciate her contributions and wish her the best.”

As part of a negotiated separation agreement, the university agreed to make a severance payment of $80,000. The severance payment is in lieu of any other compensation to which Stokes would have been entitled under her employment agreement. Under the contract, her employment was scheduled to continue through June 30, 2023.

Associate head coach Manolo Concepcion has been named interim head coach, effective immediately. A national search for the head coach position will be conducted at the end of the 2019 season.

— Missouri State Athletics —