Iowa State coach Steve Prohm wants the Cyclones to display a sense of urgency at the start of tonight’s (Saturday’s) game at home against Oklahoma. Poor starts have become common and the most recent example was Tuesday’s 67-65 loss at Texas when the Cyclones fell behind 22-5 at the outset. (click on the left side of the audio player bars to listen)

Iowa State’s first game against the Sooners was another example. The Cyclones fell behind by 19 points in the opening half before rallying for a 92-87 victory in double overtime. Prohm says it us up to him to get the problem solved.

The loss to the Cyclones started a six-game losing skid for the Sooners, who are 2-9 in the Big-12. Iowa State is in a fourth place tie with TCU at 6-5. Tip time from Hilton Coliseum in Ames is at 5-p.m.

(Learfield Sports)

We’re six weeks into the new year and Iowans who made a resolution to get fit are likely succeeding if they have a gym membership, according to an Iowa State University study. Elizabeth Schroeder, lead author of the report and a former I-S-U grad student, says the study found people who belong to a health club tend to exercise more and see healthier returns.

“From the results, we speculate that you have more options at the health club so you’re more apt to have all that resistance training and weight machines around you,” Schroeder says, “but you also have classes you can take and the social support from others to help you work out, that could lead to more physical activity while you’re at the health club instead of at home.”

The study found health benefits were even greater for people who had a gym membership for more than a year. “A lot of motivation goes into working out, so it’s not just buying the membership, it’s not going to make you work out,” Schroeder says. “There has to be some other internal motivation that’s also going to make you go there which could be as simple as you bought a membership, it’s going to cost you X dollars a month and you don’t want to waste that money.”

While it’s no surprise that people with a gym membership work out more, the differences were dramatic. The study found gym members were 14 times more aerobically active than non-members and 10 times more likely to meet muscle-strengthening guidelines, regardless of their age and weight.

“Even though you have the health club membership, we thought maybe those people would exercise less when they’re at home and not at the health club,” Schroeder says. “You get that mentality of, ‘Oh, I worked out today, I went to the gym so I don’t need to do anything the rest of the day,’ but we actually found that people who had the health club membership worked out or were just as active outside the health club as people without that membership.”

The results were similar in men and women. It’s recommended adults get 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity each week, such as brisk walking or running, along with two days of weight lifting or other muscle-strengthening activities. Despite the health benefits, only half of Americans get enough aerobic activity and about 20 percent meet the guidelines for strength training.

(Radio Iowa)

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Chiefs general manager John Dorsey has had “very positive” discussions for representatives of safety Eric Berry and defensive tackle Dontari Poe, though he declined to say whether he expects to reach agreements with either of the pending free agents.

Dorsey also addressed his own contract situation during an end-of-season teleconference with reporters Thursday. Dorsey and coach Andy Reid both have one year left on their five-year deals. The GM said that “from my family’s perspective and mine, this has been the greatest four years of my life.” There have been reports that Dorsey could be the heir apparent in Green Bay, where he played and spent most of his career, but he said “nobody asked me about it.”

The Chiefs went 12-4 and won the AFC West this past season, but lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers at Arrowhead Stadium in the divisional round of the playoffs.

Several of the Iowa Hawkeye women turned in key performances during an 87-83 overtime victory against Michigan State Thursday night in front of 4,384 on Mediacom Court inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Among those players who stepped-up their performance, was Senior Ally Disterhoft, who recorded her second double-double of the season with 25 points and 12 rebounds.

Freshman Makenzie Meyer made 12-of-14 free throws in the game and was 11-of-12 in the fourth quarter and overtime. Her 14 points are a career high. Junior Chase Coley benefited from a season-high 29 minutes to score 10 points with five rebounds. She entered the game shooting 42.1 percent from the free throw line, but was 4-for-4 against the Spartans, including two with 14.8 seconds left in regulation. And Freshman Bre Cera made her first start in 11 games and opened overtime by making a 3-point field goal that gave Iowa the lead for good.

The Hawkeyes attempted six field goals in overtime, five fewer than Michigan State. But Iowa went to the line 12 times in the final five minutes and converted 32-of-41 for the game. Michigan State falls to 16-8, 6-5 despite a 32-point, 11-rebound performance from Tori Jankoska.

It was the first time this season that the Hawkeyes played without sophomore point guard Tania Davis, who torn an ACL on Sunday. Disterhoft was the lone upperclassman in the starting lineup and all things considered, might have turned in one of the best games of her career. The Hawkeyes made 7-of-16 3-point field goals — their best percentage from distance in 14 games. Disterhoft (25), Gustafson (18), Meyer (14), Kathleen Doyle (12), and Coley scored in double figures. Meyer had a team-high four assists, but she will be remembered most for coming up clutch from the free throw line.

Iowa returns to action Sunday at Ohio State with an 11 a.m. (CT) start. The Buckeyes (21-5) have won seven games in a row and are 14-2 at home this season.

(HawkeyeSports.Com)

The Northern Iowa women return home tonight (Friday night) to host Bradley in Missouri Valley Conference play. The Panthers are 9-2 in the Valley after a loss at Southern Illinois.The Panthers are now two games behind Valley leader Drake in the standings. It’s “Play4Kay” wear pink night at the McLeod Center, in Cedar Falls.

The Panthers’ Play4Kay game is designed to bring awareness to breast cancer. Fans are encouraged to wear pink. Head coach Tanya Warren will donate $25 for every made Panther three-pointer tonight to a cancer charity of her choice.

Tip-time is at 7-p.m.

BOYS BASKETBALL
Council Bluffs, Abraham Lincoln 62, St. Albert, Council Bluffs 53

IKM-Manning 77, Griswold 34

Maple Valley-Anthon-Oto 69, Underwood 54

Western Christian, Hull 79, Sioux Falls Christian, S.D. 68

GIRLS BASKETBALL
Bishop Heelan Catholic, Sioux City 66, Council Bluffs, Thomas Jefferson 49

Creston 47, Clarinda 34

Denison-Schleswig 43, Glenwood 41

IKM-Manning 62, Griswold 18

Class 1A Region 1
Regional First Round
Audubon 56, Ar-We-Va, Westside 22

Boyer Valley, Dunlap 74, Riverside, Oakland 34

Charter Oak-Ute 57, Whiting 36

Lawton-Bronson 51, Siouxland Community Christian 36

Westwood, Sloan 78, West Harrison, Mondamin 16

Woodbine 81, Heartland Christian 46

Class 1A Region 8
Regional First Round
Bedford 45, Stanton 35

CAM, Anita 69, Orient-Macksburg 32

Coon Rapids-Bayard 50, Paton-Churdan 28

Diagonal 50, Lenox 29

Essex 73, College Springs South Page 36

Fremont Mills, Tabor 27, East Mills 23

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Having a dome will allow the Northern Iowa softball team to open the season at home when the Panthers host the UNI-Dome Classic beginning Friday. UNI coach Ryan Jacobs who says the six teams will compete over three days. Jacobs says with a lot of new faces he is not sure what to expect from the Panthers. UNI is picked to finish fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll.

(Learfield Sports)