LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A federal judge has ruled former Kansas football coach David Beaty’s lawsuit against the school will proceed.

Federal Judge Kathryn Vratil declined a motion from the university to dismiss the lawsuit on Thursday.

Beaty sued Kansas in March. He alleges breach of contract and claims he’s owed $3 million. Beaty was fired in November after posting a 6-42 record in nearly four seasons.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports Kansas spokeswoman Erinn Barcomb-Peterson says the university still believes Beaty’s court filings contain misstatements and false claims.

Kansas officials have said they are withholding the money pending an NCAA investigation into possible rules violations.

Beaty’s lawyers have said the former coach is unaware of any violations of NCAA rules during his tenure.

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.

SURREY, England (AP) – McLaren will return to full-time IndyCar competition next season for the first time since 1979 in a partnership with existing team Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.

The new venture will be renamed Arrow McLaren Racing SP and rely on SPM’s current infrastructure. McLaren will be responsible for technical expertise, commercial experience and marketing. It will be a two-car team but switch next season to Chevrolet.

“IndyCar has been part of McLaren since our early years of racing, and the series today provides not only a commercial platform to continue to grow our brand in North America, but competition with some of the best teams in international motorsport,” said Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing. “We come to IndyCar in full respect of the sport, our competitors, the fans and the task ahead.

“At our core, we at McLaren are racers and where there’s competition that puts us to the test, we will race.”

The team currently fields cars for James Hinchcliffe and Marcus Ericsson, and Hinchcliffe is a longtime Honda ambassador and star of ads for the automaker in North America. Brown said Ericsson is under a one-year contract that will be reviewed, but Brown answered “yes” when asked by The Associated Press specifically if Hinchcliffe is expected to drive for the team next year.

“Hinch is under contract and we think he’s an excellent racing driver who has won lots of races and he does have big ties to Honda,” Brown said. “From our point of view, we are very happy to continue to have Hinch and that’s kind of the state of play.”

Hinchcliffe later indicated on social media that he will be a Chevrolet driver next season and stay with the new team.

“My love for motorsports started on those weekends watching F1 races with my dad and McLaren was a huge part of that,” the Canadian posted. “To be able to drive for that name is a dream come true. …

“It is rather unfortunate what this means for our relationship with Honda. They are another company that has done so much for me and when the time is right, a discussion to what that means for my partnership with them and HondaCanada will need to occur. But that is secondary right now to this exciting news.”

Hinchcliffe drove for Chevrolet in 2012 and 2013 when he was part of the Andretti Autosport lineup.

Schmidt has been a Honda team since 2010 and all seven of Schmidt’s IndyCar victories were powered by the automaker. Schmidt also won two Indianapolis 500 poles with Honda power. But McLaren had an ugly split in Formula One with Honda and the engine maker is not willing to work with the team at this point.

Honda Performance Development said in a statement Friday “although we regret that this (Schmidt) partnership will be coming to an end … HPD has the utmost confidence in the strength and commitment of its remaining partner teams.”

Arrow Electronics will remain the team’s title partner and team co-founders Sam Schmidt and Ric Peterson will continue in their current leadership roles.

“I’m extremely proud of the team that Ric and I have built and that a legendary brand like McLaren Racing has decided to partner with us,” Schmidt said. “Arrow is a tremendous partner which has been integral to our growth as a team since 2015 and to the creation of this new partnership. The combined technical resources and commercial opportunities both McLaren and Arrow bring to the table provide a winning combination.”

Gil de Ferran, the sporting director for McLaren Racing, will lead the IndyCar effort for McLaren independently from the Formula One effort.

“IndyCar is a natural fit for McLaren, given our legacy and determination to succeed at the top levels of international motorsport,” said de Ferran, a former Indy 500 winner. “Our ambition, over time, is to consistently compete for wins and championships.

“We acknowledge the challenge ahead of us but McLaren is committed to this partnership and to supporting the team as a whole.”

McLaren is coming off a spectacular embarrassment in which it failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 in May with celebrated two-time Formula One champion Fernando Alonso. McLaren partnered with Andretti Autosport in 2017 on an Indy 500 effort for Alonso but took the next season off. Its return to Indy last year was as a stand-alone team, but McLaren was ill-prepared and Alonso missed the race.

Alonso is not interested in a full-time IndyCar ride in 2020, but Brown has indicated the new team will field a third car for the Indianapolis 500. Alonso would likely have an option to drive that entry.

“Fernando is always interested in what McLaren is doing,” Brown said. “His desire to win the Indy 500 hasn’t changed. Our desire to do it with him has not changed. He wants to be a little selective in what he’s doing. Fernando is his own man sometimes, and you need to let him make his own decisions.”

Brown said Alonso will meet with McLaren at the Italian Grand Prix next month and the Indy 500 will be on the agenda.

Brown also said he will honor the SPM promise to Robert Wickens to have a car for him should he return to IndyCar racing. Wickens suffered a spinal injury last August in a crash at Pocono in Pennsylvania, and Schmidt, a paraplegic, said he’d have a seat for Wickens if he is medically cleared to drive. Brown said that remains unchanged.

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) — Masters champion Tiger Woods withdrew Friday from the opening FedEx Cup playoffs event with what he described as a mild oblique strain.

It was the first time Woods has pulled out in the middle of a tournament since the Dubai Desert Classic in February 2017, two months before he had a fourth surgery on his back to fuse his lower spine.

“Due to a mild oblique strain that led to pain and stiffness, I have to withdraw from The Northern Trust,” Woods said in a statement released by the PGA Tour. “I went for treatment early Friday morning, but unfortunately I’m still unable to compete.”

Woods, playing in only his second tournament since the U.S. Open in June, opened with a 4-over 75 on a Liberty National course so soft that only one other player had a higher score. It was his second-worst score in 89 rounds in the FedEx Cup playoffs.

He has said all year that there are days when his back doesn’t feel as limber. In March, he decided not to play the Arnold Palmer Invitational on the road to the Masters because of lingering soreness in his neck. At the PGA Championship, he played only nine holes of practice in cold weather at Bethpage Black, where he missed the cut.

Woods stopped hitting full shots on the back nine of his pro-am Wednesday at Liberty National. After his opening round, he said his back was “a little stiff, but that’s just the way it’s going to be.”

He said he is hopeful to play next week in the BMW Championship at Medinah, where he won two of his PGA Championship titles.

If he plays, Woods likely would need to move back into the top 30 in the FedEx Cup to advance to the Tour Championship, where he is the defending champion. It was last year at East Lake that he capped off his comeback from four back surgeries with his first victory in five years.

That comeback included a busy schedule to get back among the elite in the game.

Woods had played only 17 official tournaments after his first back surgery in April 2014, and the fusion surgery was as much about quality of life as golf. His tie for sixth in the British Open last year got him back into the top 50 in the world and made him eligible for a World Golf Championship. His runner-up finish in the PGA Championship assured he could play all four FedEx Cup playoff events.

And with the Ryder Cup, he wound up playing eight times in 11 weeks, including five of the last six. Woods has said all year he would not play nearly as much. If he doesn’t make it to the Chicago area next week for the BMW Championship, he will have played just 11 times this season — five times since winning the Masters.

FridayMorning Sports with KWBW’s Rob Dreher.

DETROIT (AP) — Jordy Mercer’s two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth gave the Detroit Tigers a 10-8 win over Kansas City Royals on Thursday. Travis Demeritte led off the ninth with his third walk of the game and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Jake Rogers.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs have added depth at cornerback by signing Morris Claiborne to a one-year deal, according to a person familiar with the agreement. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team had not announced the signing. Claiborne is suspended the first four weeks of the season for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy. He spent his first five seasons with Dallas before spending the last two with the Jets.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Sam Mikulak surged to the lead at the U.S. men’s gymnastics championships, moving closer to a sixth national title after posting an all-around score of 86.750, well clear of 2017 national champion Yul Moldauer. The 26-year-old Mikulak put together a dazzling routine on parallel bars and his score of 15.35 was the highest of the night on any event to help give the two-time Olympian a massive cushion heading into the finals.

National Headlines

UNDATED (AP) — The Chicago White Sox will play a game against the New York Yankees next summer at the site in Iowa where the movie “Field of Dreams” was filmed. Major League Baseball says the White Sox will play host to the Yankees in Dyersville, Iowa, on Aug. 13. A temporary 8,000-seat stadium will be built on the site to accommodate the first major league game played in Iowa.

CINCINNATI (AP) — Anthony Rizzo had a pair of hits as part of a 30th birthday celebration, Nicholas Castellanos added to his Chicago surge with a pair of homers and the Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds 12-5 for their biggest NL Central lead of the season. The Cubs’ sixth win in seven games gave them a 3½-game margin over the idle Brewers.

TORONTO (AP) _ Nine in a row for the New York Yankees. Gio Urshela hit two home runs for the second straight game and the New York Yankees outslugged the Toronto Blue Jays 12-6 Thursday night. The Yankees have hit a record 19 homers over their last four games.

DETROIT (AP) _ Jakobi Meyers caught two touchdown passes in an impressive preseason debut, and the New England Patriots drubbed the Detroit Lions 31-3 on Thursday night. Tom Brady and Matthew Stafford didn’t play, and plenty of other key players were also spectators, but Meyers stood out for New England. The undrafted rookie finished with six catches for 69 yards.

BALTIMORE (AP) _ Lamar Jackson directed two scoring drives in three possessions, and the Baltimore Ravens’ defense throttled Jacksonville Jaguars backup quarterback Gardner Minshew in a 29-0 preseason victory. The Jaguars played without quarterback Nick Foles, the 2018 Super Bowl MVP who was signed as a free agent in March.

Thursday Scores

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final N-Y Yankees 12 Toronto 6
Final Boston 3 L-A Angels 0
Final Detroit 10 Kansas City 8
Final Cleveland 7 Minnesota 5

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Miami 9 Atlanta 2
Final Chi Cubs 12 Cincinnati 5
Final San Francisco 5 Philadelphia 0
Final San Diego 9 Colorado 3

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PRESEASON
Final Buffalo 24 Indianapolis 16
Final N-Y Giants 31 N-Y Jets 22
Final Cleveland 30 Washington 10
Final Baltimore 29 Jacksonville 0
Final New England 31 Detroit 3
Final Tennessee 27 Philadelphia 10
Final Miami 34 Atlanta 27
Final Green Bay 28 Houston 26
Final Carolina 23 Chicago 13
Final Seattle 22 Denver 14
Final Arizona 17 L.A. Chargers 13

DETROIT (AP) — It took 864 major league games for Jordy Mercer to hit his first game-ending homer.

As he rounded the bases Thursday, one thought went through his mind.

“All I was really thinking was how cold the Gatorade bath was going to be,” he said. “I couldn’t wait to get to the plate, but they really got me.”

The 32-year-old Tigers shortstop didn’t mind, since his two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth gave Detroit a 10-8 victory over the Kansas City Royals.

“That’s an awesome feeling, especially since I had never hit one,” he said. “I have a lot of game-ending hits, but you always dream about hitting a walk-off homer. This isn’t the year we hoped for, but there are still good moments.”

The teams combined for eight homers on a rare night where the ball was flying at Comerica Park.

“We don’t get a lot of games like that here,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. “It seemed like everything was going out.”

Travis Demeritte led off the ninth with his third walk of the game and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Jake Rogers.

Mercer then hit a 2-1 fastball from Richard Lovelady (0-2) into the right-field stands for his sixth homer of the season.

“I wanted a fastball down and away and it stayed up,” Lovelady said. “Every time I tried to throw a fastball away, I couldn’t get it below the belt.”

The homer was Detroit’s fourth on a night in which both starters struggled.

Joe Jimenez (3-6) got the win with a scoreless ninth inning.

Tigers starter Matt Boyd gave up five runs on six hits, including three homers, and three walks in a season-worst 2 2/3 innings. Boyd entered the game fourth in the American League with 187 strikeouts, but only had one against the Royals.

“I knew right away I was out of sync, and that’s going to happen once in a while,” he said. “Usually, I can make an adjustment and get things back under control, but nothing worked tonight.”

Hector Lopez, making his first start since May 25, only got four outs. He allowed five runs on two hits, three walks and a hit batter.

Against a Tigers team with the American League’s worst on-base percentage, Kansas City pitchers walked nine batters.

“Walks early, walks in the middle and walks late,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “That’s not good for business. We’d been better lately at containing them, but we just couldn’t do it tonight.”

The Royals took a 2-0 lead in the first. Whit Merrifield led off the game with a double and scored on Hunter Dozier’s one-out homer to right.

Detroit, though, scored five runs on two hits in the second.

After a single and an error, Harold Castro’s three-run homer gave the Tigers the lead.

Lopez walked the next two hitters and, after a groundout, hit JaCoby Jones to load the bases. He then walked Niko Goodrum on four pitches to force in Detroit’s fourth run of the inning before being replaced by Kevin McCarthy.

McCarthy walked Miguel Cabrera to make it 5-2 before getting out of the inning.

Dozier led off the third with his second homer of the game, and after Jorge Soler walked, Cheslor Cuthbert hit his eighth homer over the Royals bullpen in left-center field.

Boyd retired the next two batters but walked Nick Dini, bringing Matt Hall in from the bullpen.

Kyle Zimmer replaced McCarthy to start the third and walked the first three batters he faced. Mercer struck out, but Victor Reyes bounced into a run-scoring force at second to give the Tigers a 6-5 lead.

Cabrera led off the fourth with his 473rd career homer to make it 7-5, but Gordon hit a three-run homer over the scoreboard in right-center to put the Royals ahead 8-7 in the sixth.

Demeritte hit his first major league homer to tie it in the seventh.

JACKSON COMES BACK TO DETROIT

After the game, the Tigers optioned LHP Blaine Hardy to Triple-A Toledo and selected the contract of much-traveled RHP Edwin Jackson. Jackson, who has played for 14 major league teams, spent the 2009 season in Detroit and made his only All-Star team.

GORDON’S HOME AWAY FROM HOME

Gordon’s sixth-inning homer was his 15th at Comerica Park, the most by any active visiting player. He is tied with Joe Crede for fifth since the stadium opened in 2000. David Ortiz is the leader with 23 in 55 games.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Jones left the game after being hit on the left wrist in the second inning. X-rays were negative.

“We really got lucky, because our trainer was afraid on the field that it might be a fracture,” Gardenhire said. “Instead it is just a deep bruise.”

MEMORABLE DEBUT

Dini, making his major league debut, singled to left in the sixth inning. The catcher is the 10th Royal to play his first game in the majors in 2019.

STREAK FINALLY ENDS

Hall pitched a perfect fourth inning, ending a streak of 43 straight innings where Tigers pitchers had allowed at least one baserunner.

UP NEXT

The teams play the second of four games on Friday evening, with Kansas City’s Brad Keller (7-11, 3.95) facing Jackson (1-5, 11.12).

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.

By LUKE MEREDITH
AP Sports Writer

Major League Baseball is going to build it — and the White Sox and Yankees are coming to Iowa.

The Chicago White Sox will play the New York Yankees next summer at the site in eastern Iowa where the movie “Field of Dreams” was filmed, MLB announced Thursday.

The game is set for Aug. 13 in Dyersville, which is about 200 miles west of Chicago.

A temporary 8,000-seat stadium will be built on the site to accommodate the first major league game played in Iowa.

“As a sport that is proud of its history linking generations, Major League Baseball is excited to bring a regular-season game to the site of ‘Field of Dreams,’” Commissioner Rob Manfred said. “We look forward to celebrating the movie’s enduring message of how baseball brings people together at this special cornfield in Iowa.”

A video tweeted by MLB shows Yankees star Aaron Judge asking Ray Kinsella, Kevin Costner’s character in the 1989 movie, if he was in heaven. Costner replies with one of the movie’s iconic lines — “No, it’s Iowa” — and Judge nods before trotting back into the corn beyond the outfield.

A pathway is being built through a cornfield that will take fans to the stadium. It will overlook the site where Costner’s character carved a ballpark out of a field after a mysterious voice told him, “If you build it, he will come.”

The right field wall will be broken up by windows to show the cornstalks beyond the wall, and the ballpark’s design will honor old Comiskey Park, home of the White Sox from 1910-1990.

“‘Field of Dreams’ is an iconic, generational baseball story built upon a deep love of the game that transcends even the most impossible of circumstances. The filmmakers tell a beautiful story that resonates to this day,” White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said.

The one-off game in Iowa is part of the sport’s recent trend of hosting games outside of traditional ballparks and cities, such as the Little League Classic in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and a matchup between Detroit and Kansas City in Omaha in June ahead of the College World Series.

The Yankees also took part in a two-game series in London against the rival Red Sox earlier this season.

The White Sox will be the home team for the game, which will be played on a Thursday and air nationally on Fox. The clubs will then have Friday off before resuming their series in Chicago.

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