Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Nelson Cruz homered and drove in five runs to help the Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals 11-9. Max Kepler, Jorge Polanco and Eddie Rosario each had two hits for the Twins, who used a five-run seventh inning to maintain a three-game lead over Cleveland in the AL Central.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs are still haunted by the memory of their overtime loss to the Patriots in last season’s AFC title game. They were so close. Four inches, in fact. That’s how far offside a Chiefs player was, a penalty on which the game turned. Now, as they get deeper into training camp, they are walking a fine line _ using the painful defeat as motivation and dwelling on an outcome they can never change.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White says an Illinois license plate featuring the St. Louis Cardinals will be sold in support of public schools. The license plate was unveiled Thursday by White at Busch Stadium prior to the Cardinals game against the Chicago Cubs. The plates with the Cardinals “Birds on Bat” logo will be available for purchase after Labor Day. White says the plate offers an opportunity for fans to express pride for their team, while supporting public education in Illinois.

CANTON, Ohio (AP) — At one end of the room sat Tony Gonzalez. All the way across it was Ed Reed. Sometimes in the past, that’s as close to each other as the two new Hall of Famers cared to be. Same thing for Champ Bailey and Ty Law when it came to covering Gonzalez, the game-changing tight end and matchup nightmare for defensive backs. They’re all part of the Class of 2019 that will be inducted Saturday night. On Friday, they spoke about each other _ and the honor of entering the pro football shrine together.