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Midwest Sports Headlines: 2/2/20

Sports

February 2nd, 2020 by Ric Hanson

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

MIAMI (AP) — Sammy Watkins was supposed to be an NFL star. That’s why the Buffalo Bills selected him in the first round of the draft. But after his incredible career at Clemson, the quirky wide receiver has struggled to live up to the expectations. The big culprit? Injuries. But now that he’s been healthy for most of the year, the Chiefs’ forgotten star is playing the best football of his career. He had 114 yards and a touchdown in the AFC championship game against Tennessee, and now the 26-year-old playmaker has an opportunity to silence his critics once and for all in the Super Bowl on Sunday.

MIAMI (AP) — Passing the family business onto the kids is a delicate chore, even when the whole world isn’t watching. When it plays out in the NFL, everyone gets to see the successes and failures unveiled in real time. This year’s Super Bowl features two of those stories. San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan learned a lot of what he knows from his dad, Mike, who has three Super Bowl rings of his own back at home. Clark Hunt of the Chiefs took over the team when his trailblazing father, Lamar, died in 2006. Both transitions are good examples of sons who navigated the potential pratfalls of taking over the family business.

MIAMI (AP) — Edward Lee Hubbard had no idea his beloved Kansas City Chiefs were playing in the Super Bowl the previous time they made it to the big stage, nor did he learn that they had won the 1970 championship until three years after the fact. Hubbard instead was living in a 6-by-6 prison cell as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. When NFL officials heard his story, they decided to make sure Hubbard wouldn’t miss the Chiefs in their return. So with a special invitation from Commissioner Roger Goodell, the 81-year-old Hubbard will be in Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday night to watch Kansas City play the San Francisco 49ers in its first Super Bowl appearance in 50 years.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Devon Dotson scored 21 points, Marcus Garrett added 15 points and No. 3 Kansas topped Texas Tech 78-75 on Saturday afternoon in Allen Fieldhouse.

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Elijah Joiner caught an inbounds pass with 3.3 seconds left and raced from one key to the other, connecting on a 3-pointer as time expired to give Tulsa a 54-51 victory over No. 23 Wichita State on Saturday. Hundreds of fans in the near-sellout crowd of 8,089 stormed the court in a wild celebration after Tulsa toppled another ranked visitor. In its previous home game, the Hurricane routed then-No. 20 Memphis 80-40. Joiner shot 5-for-6 on 3s and scored 22 points as Tulsa won its sixth in a row. Jaime Enchinique scored 15 for Wichita State.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Derek Culver scored 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead No. 12 West Virginia to a 66-57 victory over Kansas State on Saturday. The win moved West Virginia’s Bob Huggins past Kentucky’s Adolph Rupp into seventh place all time in Division I with 877 career victories. The Mountaineers bounced back from a loss at Texas Tech on Wednesday. They improved to 11-0 at home and ended a three-game losing streak to Kansas State. Xavier Sneed scored 11 points to lead Kansas State. The Wildcats have lost five straight road games.