OMAHA, Neb. – The 34th Kansas-Nebraska Junior Cup ended in a tie for just the fourth time in the event’s history, with the defending champions from Nebraska retaining the cup after the teams finished in an 8-all tie, at Omaha Country Club. The teams from Kansas and Nebraska entered the day deadlocked at 4-all, after a split of the first two sessions on the first day. Kansas jumped out to a 3-1 lead after the Four-Ball matches, before Nebraska stormed back to tie it with a 3-1 Foursomes session. Kansas took the lead in a few of the early matches, but Nebraska’s top point earner, Reed Malleck of York, fought back in the lead match to start a rally. Malleck tied his match against future Kansas Jayhawk Sion Audrain of Garden City, and it all came down to the last match. Norfolk’s Jake Kluver also tied his match against Tyler Trudo of Wichita for the clinching point, as the teams split the Singles session, 4-all, and Nebraska retained the cup.

The Kansas Tournament team is coached by Hutchinson’s Rusty Hilst who is the Kansas Golf Association Tournament Director.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs agreed to terms with cornerback Morris Claiborne on a one-year deal Thursday to fortify a thin and unproven backfield, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.

The person, who said the deal could be worth about $3 million with incentives, spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the team had not announced it. Claiborne still must pass a physical to make it official.

The Chiefs have been searching for help at cornerback all offseason, and that need became even more apparent when backup Keith Reaser suffered a season-ending Achilles injury. Claiborne would give Kansas City some depth behind the starting trio of Bashaud Breeland, Charvarius Ward and Kendall Fuller.

Well, when he becomes eligible to play.

The former sixth-overall pick has been suspended the first four games of the season for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy. That means the earliest he could play is Week 5 against the Colts, giving him plenty of time to learn defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s system.

Claiborne, who was teammates at LSU with new Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu, spent his first five seasons with Dallas before spending the last two with the Jets. He has started 73 of the 77 games in which he has appeared, making 251 tackles and seven interceptions while scoring a pair of touchdowns.

One of his biggest problems has been staying healthy.

Claiborne has missed time with injuries ranging from hamstring and groin problems to a torn patellar tendon that caused him to miss 12 games in 2014. He also has missed a game each of the past two seasons in New York, first with a foot injury and last season with a shoulder problem.

The Chiefs have been working on a deal with Claiborne for a while, which is one of the reasons they felt comfortable switching second-year pro Tremon Smith from cornerback to running back last week.

“They’re competing,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said of his collection of cornerbacks, “but I feel comfortable doing this move right now with Tremon.”

Breeland, who signed as a free agent in the offseason, and Fuller are listed as the first-team cornerbacks on the initial depth chart released for Saturday night’s preseason opener against Cincinnati. But the Chiefs intend to use Fuller primarily in the slot, which means Ward could start on the opposite side of Breeland when the Chiefs are in their base 4-3 defense.

The Chiefs knew what they were getting in Breeland. Ward has been a pleasant surprise.

“When I did watch the tape, and I had mentioned it to (general manager) Brett (Veach) that I think this particular player — I didn’t know him at the time — had some potential to be a good press corner,” Spagnuolo said. “I like the guys with the long arms. Now, I have to get used to the inner makeup of a corner. That’s really important in this league. I’d like to see him always challenge every play.”

Perhaps an internal challenge from a new signing in Claiborne will help to spur Ward along.

That goes for the rest of the Chiefs’ reconstructed defensive backfield, too.

NOTES: The Chiefs signed TE Hunter Dimick late Wednesday. He was an undrafted free agent out of Utah who spent time with Jacksonville last season. … WR Sammy Watkins hurt his finger during Thursday’s practice, but Reid said it should be OK. … DT Xavier Willilams (lower back soreness), TE David Wells (calf bruise), DE Alex Okafor (sore hip) and WR Gehrig Dieter (back spasms) did not practice. … RB Damien Williams (hamstring) practice for the second day after missing most of the first two weeks of camp. “We’re just easing him back in,” Reid said. “We don’t want him to take any steps back with his hamstring, but he looks good.”

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Clemson’s national championship football program has been flagged for eight NCAA infractions.

Clemson self-reported the violations and says none were considered major and all issues about the penalties have been resolved.

The football violations reported by the school included a homeowner paying a player above the going rate for work around the home on three separate occasions. Two violations involved players on social media in a promotional capacity.

The other five infractions were committed by football staffers and included reimbursing an athlete for ground transportation expenses above the school’s mileage rate.

Thursday Morning Sports with KWBW’s Rob Dreher.

HAVEN, Kan. – The Haven High School Alumni Wall of Honor will be graced with three new inductees on October, 11th at it’s annual alumni meeting.  Andy Dirks (2004), Beth Coleman (1965) and Lyle Koontz (1944).

Dirks lettered all four years in baseball, football and Basketball.  Also Dirks was all-state in 2002, 2003, & 2004 in baseball.  He went on to play for the Hutchinson Blue Dragons and Wichita State Shockers in baseball and was drafted by the the Detroit Tigers in 2008.  He was an All-American in 2008 with WSU.  Dirks retired from baseball due to a back injury in 2014.

Coleman was posthumously inducted into the KSHSAA Hall of Fame in 1997.  While coaching volleyball at both Haven and Washington, Ks, her teams qualified for state 8 times, taking 4th place twice in 1974 and 1975, plus a 3rd place finish in 1988. Her Washington High team won state twice with wins in 1971 and 1972.  Coleman was a third generation Haven teacher.

Koontz was a state champion in track and field for the Wildcats as well as All-State in football while leading Haven to an undefeated season in 1944.  Koontz went on to play football at Hutchinson Community College and Kansas State University after a stint in the US Navy.  He was a 1950 graduate of Kansas State.  He went on to be very successful in various business ventures with Great Plains Industries and Great Plains Ventures.

For those interested in attending the Wall of Fame induction ceremony, contact the Haven High Alumni Association at PO Box 131, Haven, KS 67543 or go to havenhighalumni.org.

Haven-High-Alumni-Dinner-Meeting-2019-Registration

BOSTON (AP) — The series finale between the Boston Red Sox and Kansas City Royals was suspended by rain with the score tied 4-4 in the top of the 10th inning. The game will be picked up where it left off with a 2-1 count on Meibrys Viloria _ on a mutual off-day, Aug. 22, at 1:05 p.m.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Russell Martin drove a two-run, two-out single up the middle in the ninth inning for the Dodgers’ 10th walk-off win of the season, and Los Angeles swept the St. Louis Cardinals with a 2-1 victory. Martin improbably came through after a frustrating offensive day for the Dodgers, who have won five straight. Marcell Ozuna homered in the sixth for the Cardinals, who went 0-5 on their California road trip after scoring just two runs in three games at Dodger Stadium.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs did a complete overhaul of their defense this past offseason. But the offense? There is plenty of continuity there. And that could mean more big things for quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

BOSTON (AP) — Kansas City Royals speedster Billy Hamilton was so fast even the first base umpire couldn’t seem to believe it. Hamilton had back-to-back plays at first base overturned by instant replay against Boston. The first was a relay on a potential double play. The second he just legged out an infield single.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The owner and president of the Triple-A baseball team that will start play in Wichita, Kansas, next year says the new $75 million stadium will be the site of a lot more than baseball. The Wichita Eagle reports that the final structural beam on the stadium was hoisted into place Wednesday. The minor league team is moving from New Orleans to Wichita starting next season.

National Headlines

UNDATED (AP) — There are concerns about the NCAA’s new requirements allowing men’s basketball players to sign with an agent during the NBA draft process while maintaining their college eligibility. The NCAA has outlined its certification process for agents requiring a college bachelor’s degree as well as certification from the NBA players union. That educational requirement has led to criticism and concern from some, including NBA All-Star LeBron James on Twitter.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins have been putting on a power display this season at Target Field. Atlanta witnessed it yesterday, as Ozzie Albies homered twice in his second straight four-hit game. But the Braves produced an even bigger show of strength as Ronald Acuña Jr. and Freddie Freeman both went deep in an 11-7 victory over the Twins. AL Central rivals Cleveland come to Minneapolis next.

NEW YORK (AP) — A disappointing season for the New York Mets is starting to look like it may have some postseason possibility. Michael Conforto homered twice, Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil hit two-run shots and the surging New York Mets beat the Miami Marlins 7-2 to complete a four-game sweep. That puts them just one game out of a wild card spot.

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona knocked of one of the teams it’s chasing in the wild card race. Zac Gallen threw five scoreless innings and helped himself with a run-scoring sacrifice bunt in his Diamondbacks debut, leading them to a 6-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Arizona moves to 1 1/2 games out of the second wild card spot in the National League.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — “Not good enough.” That was Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash’s blunt assessment after the Rays closed out a homestand against Miami and Toronto with a 3-2 record. Toronto reliever Brock Stewart allowed two hits over four scoreless innings in his Toronto debut as the Blue Jays withstood a late Tampa Bay rally for a 4-3 victory. The Rays still hold a half game lead for the second AL wild card spot over the Oakland Athletics, who lost 10-1 to the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Wednesday Scores

INTERLEAGUE
Final Atlanta 11 Minnesota 7
Final Houston 14 Colorado 3
Final Chi Cubs 10 Oakland 1
Final Seattle 3 San Diego 2

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Toronto 4 Tampa Bay 3
Final Chi White Sox 8 Detroit 1
Final Cleveland 2 Texas 0
Final Cleveland 5 Texas 1
Final N-Y Yankees 14 Baltimore 2
Kansas City 4 at Boston 4 – Game suspended by rain in the 10th

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final N-Y Mets 7 Miami 2
Final L-A Dodgers 2 St. Louis 1
Final Washington 4 San Francisco 1
Final Milwaukee 8 Pittsburgh 3
Final Arizona 6 Philadelphia 1

BOSTON (AP) — Ned Yost had better things to do than return to Boston to finish a suspended game.

The Kansas City Royals manager, whose team is 29½ games out in the AL Central, would have preferred to wait until the end of the season to see if making up the game was really necessary.

“That’s the smart thing to do,” Yost said after the series finale between the Red Sox and Royals was suspended by rain early Thursday morning with the score tied 4-4 in the top of the 10th inning.

Rain started falling in the eighth inning, but the grounds crew wasn’t called out until extra innings had just begun, at 10:47 p.m. The teams waited 1 hour, 49 minutes — until 12:36 a.m. before the game was suspended.

“It shouldn’t have lasted two hours long,” Yost said. “If anybody could look at the radar, they’d see that it was probably going to be a showstopper.”

The game will be picked up on Aug. 22, at 1:05 p.m. where it left off — with a 2-1 count on Meibrys Viloria. The Royals were supposed to have a day off while on their way from Baltimore to Cleveland.

“We have a night game there, too, on the getaway day, so I don’t know how we’ll work that,” Yost said.

The Red Sox finish up with the Phillies at Fenway Park on Aug. 21 and had a day off before starting a three-game series in San Diego.

“There’s a lot of people upset about that one,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “No golfing, or SeaWorld, or Legoland.”

After entering the series on an eight-game losing streak that all-but eliminated them from the postseason race, the Red Sox led 4-2 after five innings and were on the verge of taking two of three from Kansas City. But the Royals scored one in the sixth and one in the seventh to tie it.

Kansas City had lost nine of its last 11 games.

Rain started coming down in the eighth, though it stopped and started from there. It was coming down heavily in the ninth when J.D. Martinez came up with two outs and a runner on first.

The crowd seemed to relish the downpour, standing and cheering. But the Red Sox slugger, who had already homered once in the game, grounded out to send it to extra innings.

They only got three pitches in.

EARLY SCORING

The Royals took a 2-0 lead in the third on two, two-out walks and a two-run single by Viloria. Martinez tied it with a two-run homer in the fourth, his 25th.

Xander Bogaerts doubled in a pair of runs to give Boston a 4-2 lead in the fifth. But Billy Hamilton doubled and scored in the sixth and Nicky Lopez had an RBI double in the seventh to make it 4-4.

STARTERS’ LINES

Eduardo Rodriguez was deprived of his 14th win — one off the major league lead — when the bullpen blew its 21st save. That’s tied for the most in the majors with the A’s.

Rodriguez gave up two runs on seven hits and three walks, striking out one in five innings. Royals starter Glenn Sparkman was charged with four runs on seven hits and three walks, striking out five in 4 1/3.

INSTANT REPLAY REPLAY

Twice in the first four innings, Royals speedster Hamilton was called out at first base. Twice, he was ruled safe by a replay review.

In the second, Hamilton hit a comebacker to the mound to start what could have been a double play. But after he was called out, the Royals challenged and the replay showed Hamilton just beat the relay.

In the fourth, he narrowly legged out an infield single to the shortstop. He then stole second — the 295th stolen base of his career — but was thrown out trying to take third on a fly ball to center.

It’s not the first time one Royal has had two calls overturned in his favor in one game. Lorenzo Cain did it against Tampa Bay in 2017.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Red Sox: 2B Dustin Pedroia had surgery on his troublesome left knee on Tuesday. Pedroia, the 2008 AL MVP, played only six games this season, all in April. The four-time All-Star was limited to three games last year.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Jorge López (1-7, 6.19 ERA) gets the start Thursday night as the Royals open a four-game series at Detroit. LHP Matthew Boyd (6-8, 3.91) starts for the Tigers.

Red Sox: LHP Chris Sale (5-11, 4.68) starts against Los Angeles Angels LHP Dillon Peters (2-0, 3.20). Sale has allowed 14 earned runs over nine innings while losing his last two starts.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – The Royals have acquired catcher Adam Moore from the Rangers, according to Texas’ executive vice president of communications, John Blake. The Rangers received cash considerations for Moore, who will now report to Triple-A Omaha. Meanwhile, Rangers catcher Tim Federowicz has joined their Triple-A club in Nashville. The Rangers outrighted him over the weekend.

The Moore swap will go down as a rare August deal in a league that no longer features a waiver trade deadline. The teams were able to swing it because Moore’s on a minor league contract. He inked that pact with the Rangers back in mid-February.

The 35-year-old Moore has spent the season in Nashville, where he has hit .255/.363/.349 with two home runs in 124 plate appearances. Moore has combined for a more powerful line of .265/.327/.406 with 65 HRs across 2,526 career PA at the minors’ highest level. He has seen major league action in the past with several clubs – including his new team, the Royals, from 2012-13 – but hasn’t totaled more than 20 at-bats in an MLB campaign since 2010. Moore has batted .199/.239/.412 in 312 trips to the plate in the bigs.

OMAHA, Neb. – The 2019 two-day Kansas-Nebraska Junior Cup Matches got underway Wednesday at Omaha Country Club, but no team took the lead in the match for the Junior Cup as both teams are tied at 4-4 after the opening day of competition.

Action concludes Thursday with 8 singles matches at Omaha County Club.

Kansas needs to win four matches and tie one to win back the Cup.

The event annually pits the best juniors from each state in Four-Ball, Foursome and Singles matches.  This is the 34th year of this prestige event. Last year Nebraska put an end to Kansas’ seven consecutive victories, winning 10-6, but Kansas still leads the series 19-14.