AMES, Iowa (AP) — Another quarterback battle is under way at Iowa State. Senior Steele Jantz and sophomore Jared Barnett say the players who improves his accuracy is likely to get the starting job. The two start preseason practice dead even on the depth chart after each led the team to three victories during the Cyclones’ 6-7 season a year ago. But Jantz completed just 53 percent of his passes, Barnett was a 50 percent passer and they combined for 17 interceptions against 16 touchdowns. Offensive coordinator Courtney Messingham says they have to settle for taking what the defense gives them instead of trying to force the ball in hopes of making a big play.

NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — Duke, Louisville and Memphis will be among the teams playing in this year’s Battle 4 Atlantis holiday basketball tournament. The eight-team field, which has a combined 160 NCAA tournament appearances, will play Thanksgiving weekend on a court inside a converted ballroom. The field also will include Missouri, Minnesota, Virginia Commonwealth, Stanford and Northern Iowa. Harvard won the inaugural tournament last year on its way to the school’s first NCAA tournament berth in 66 years. The tournament started as a doubleheader in 2010 and was given exempt status by the NCAA in 2011.

Defending national champion North Dakota State is the preseason pick to win the Missouri Valley Football Conference title this season. The Bison, who won the Football Championship Subdivision championship last year, shared the conference title last season with Northern Iowa, which is second in the preseason poll conducted by league coaches, media and sports information directors. NDSU returns six starters on offense and seven on defense from a team that finished 14-1. The Bison received 37 of 38 first-place votes in the preseason poll. The other went to Illinois State. Youngstown State is third in the poll, Illinois State fourth and Indiana State fifth. The rest of the top ten is South Dakota State, Southern Illinois, South Dakota, Western Illinois and Missouri State.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — Tamba Hali didn’t turn down a single autograph request. Even after a grueling two-hour workout on the campus of Missouri Western State University on Thursday, the star outside linebacker signed for more than half an hour. In Hali’s world, nothing gets done halfway. The 28-year-old Penn State product serves as the elder statesman and most experienced player on Kansas City’s defense, a unit that ranked in the top half of the league last year. Hali led the Chiefs in sacks five of his first six seasons after Kansas City took him with a first-round draft choice in 2006. Coming off a 7-9 season, the Chiefs are counting on Hali to help the younger players around him develop.

DENVER (AP) — Tyler Colvin hit a tiebreaking double and rookie Josh Rutledge homered in his fourth straight game, lifting the Colorado Rockies over the St. Louis Cardinals 8-2 Thursday night to avert a three-game sweep. Wilin Rosario hit his first career pinch-hit homer, a two-run shot off reliever Brian Fuentes in the eighth inning, and Jordan Pacheco went 3 for 3 with two doubles and two RBIs to help the Rockies snap a five-game losing streak. It was their first win in their last eight games at Coors Field. With the score deadlocked at 2, DJ LeMahieu singled off reliever Fernando Salas (1-4) to start the seventh inning and was sacrificed to second. Colvin then doubled to left to put the Rockies back on top.