The Iowa State and Northern Iowa wrestling teams will be in Evanston, Illinois this weekend for the 50th annual Midlands Championships. The two-day tournament at Welsh-Ryan arena is considered one of the toughest competitions of the season as many former collegiate All-Americans are in the field. UNI Coach Doug Schwab says the Midlands is one of the highlights of the year for the wrestling world. “It’s always been a big event…it’s always a tournament you really look forward to,” Schwab says. “It’s kind of a mid-season gage of where you’re at and where you want to get to. Almost every top team in the country is wrestling over these two days, so it’s great for wrestling. I’m looking forward to having some guys have a lot of success and bringing a lot of hardware home.”

This will be UNI’s first competition since December 13, when the Panthers beat Ellsworth Community College in a dual 46-9. The Midlands will be the second two-day long tournament UNI has participated in, as the Panthers took part in the Cliff Keen Invite in Las Vegas earlier this season. “And now we’re putting ourselves in another tough tournament and giving our guys an opportunity to really set themselves up for the rest of the season and make a name for themselves nationally. That’s what we’ve been talking about trying to do all year,” Schwab says. “I’m ready to get back…the break was way to long for me. We’re getting back at it now and I’m just looking forward to Midlands.”

Top-ranked Penn State is not competing in the Midlands. Instead, the Nittany Lions are wrestling in the Southern Scuffle taking place in Chattanooga, Tennessee next Tuesday and Wednesday (Jan 1-2). Neither UNI or Iowa State are ranked in the top 25. Iowa State enters the Midlands following dual meet losses to Old Dominion and Iowa and a win over North Dakota State. ISU Coach Kevin Jackson says his wrestlers are improving as they continue to develop team chemistry. “I see a tighter connection with our team. I see some bonding going on and some more cheering for each other,” Jackson said. “The guys are pulling together in building this team and building this program. These guys kind of started from scratch a little bit, as far as trying to build back the culture, tradition and mentality in which we’re founded on. I’m starting to see more of that and we just have to continue to build that.”

The second-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes are not sending a full team to this year’s Midlands Tournament. Only a handful of Hawkeye freshman are competing – including Cory Clark, who is considered a top contender at 125 pounds. Clark is 9-0 this season wrestling unattached behind two-time NCAA champion Matt McDonough. The Hawkeyes host fourth-ranked Ohio State in a dual at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City next Friday, January 4.

Iowa State is preparing for a rematch with Tulsa in Tuesday’s Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tennessee. Senior defensive lineman, Jake McDonough said getting a chance to play in a 13th game means a lot. “It’s huge for our program, we need to come out here, we need to have that mentality that we are going to win the game,” McDonough said. Iowa State beat Tulsa 38-23 on September first to open the season. But McDonough knows a lot has happened to both teams since then.

“They’ve developed pretty well over the season, they’ve changed a little bit, whereas in the beginning of the year we thought we were going to get more throwing from them, they have great tailbacks now — I think three great tailbacks — that have carried the ball for almost 700 yards. They have a lot of talent on their team. I mean it got them to a conference championship, so we can’t take them lightly, it’ll be a fun, good rematch,” McDonough said.

The Golden Hurricane’s leading rusher is Trey Watts, the son of former Oklahoma great J-C Watts. He ran for 125 yards against I-S-U in the first match-up. McDonough expect to see Watts and the other Tulsa backs again in the bowl game. “I have no doubt in my mind they are going to try and run it at us, but you know, we’ve got to be prepared for that, we’ve got to be prepared for the pass too. Whatever they throw at us, we’ve got to be prepared for it,” he says.

The game against Tulsa is Monday at 2:30 Iowa time. The Cyclones come in at 6-6 on the season, while Tulsa — the champions of Conference U-S-A — is 10-3.

(Radio Iowa Sports)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Romeo Crennel joined a long list of Chiefs dealing with illness and injury on Thursday.  Kansas City’s coach was hobbling around on crutches after having fluid drained from his left knee. Crennel said it’s been bothering him “off and on” all season, and it barked enough Wednesday night that he visited a doctor, who drained a significant amount of fluid.

Crennel said he plans to coach from the sideline as usual on Sunday at Denver. If the knee is still bothering him, he’ll move up to the press box. Running back Jamaal Charles and linebacker Tamba Hali were back in the building after missing practice Wednesday due to illness. Others who have missed practice this week include center Ryan Lilja, defensive end Tyson Jackson, left tackles Donald Stephenson and Branden Albert, tight end Tony Moeaki and wide receiver Terrance Copper.

The first significant snowfall of the season last week had area snowmobilers out enjoying their machines and hoping for more snow to keep them active. Cass County Recorder Joyce Jensen says before you begin your next adventure in the open, you should be aware the State of Iowa has made some changes in snowmobile registration, license renewal, titling and assignment of liens.

Jensen says her office uses the Recreational Vehicle and Vessel Registration, or RVVRS (pronounced “Rivers”) System. She reminds snowmobile enthusiasts that registrations for your machine or machines are due no later than the end of this month. Jensen says registrations are due by December 31^st, if you want to avoid a penalty.

In addition she says, there are some new requirements when it comes to using snowmobiles on public land. Jensen says all snowmobiles, regardless of owner residency status, used on public land, public ice, and designated snowmobile trails in the State of Iowa, must display and IDNR User Permit.

User permits are required in addition to a valid registration. And, Jensen says also the State requires insurance cards or proof of insurance in order for snowmobiles to be used on the highways. There are new rules as well, regarding the use of snowmobiles for“Water Skipping.”

She says you are welcome to come into the Cass County Recorder’s Office to pick up a booklet containing information on all the new changes, which Joyce and her staff will go over with you. She says she hopes to see all snowmobile enthusiasts in her office over the next few days to get their registration up-to-date and go over the new rules.

w/ Jim Field

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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Houston Rockets coach Kevin McHale says he’s unsure of first-round draft pick Royce White’s future with the team.   White, a former Iowa State star, has been away from the team all season while sparring with the Rockets on how to treat his anxiety disorder. White has been vocal about the situation on Twitter, but has given no indication about when he will rejoin the team.

McHale was asked before the game against Minnesota on Wednesday when White would return to the team. He seemed genuinely puzzled, saying “that’s a good question. I don’t know.”  McHale is still getting back up to speed following an extended absence to deal with the sudden death of his daughter.

He says “as crazy as it sounds, you’re just kind of going with the guys who are there.”

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – An illness running through the Kansas City Chiefs the past few weeks kept running back Jamaal Charles, linebacker Tamba Hali and left tackle Donald Stephenson out of practice Wednesday. Coach Romeo Crennel said that Hali and Stephenson were sent home soon after arriving at the team’s practice facility. Charles was sent home a short time later.

Last week, wide receivers Jon Baldwin and Josh Bellamy, defensive backs Brandon Flowers and Neiko Thorpe and defensive tackle Jerrell Powe missed time due to illness. Safety Eric Berry and guard Jeff Allen have also been sick recently. Defensive tackle Tyson Jackson, left tackle Branden Albert, center Ryan Lilja, wide receiver Terrance Copper and tight end Tony Moeaki missed practice due to injuries Wednesday.

The Chiefs (2-13) finish their season Sunday at Denver.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – The joke running through Jacksonville these days carries the same punch line as the one in Kansas City:  “Our team is so bad it can’t even stink in the right year.”  The Chiefs and Jaguars will vie for the top pick in the NFL draft in separate games Sunday. But the value of “winning” the race to the NFL’s worst record is debatable in a year without a clear, franchise-changing prospect.

The Chiefs and Jaguars are both 2-13, but the Chiefs hold the tiebreaker for the No. 1 pick because of their weakness of schedule. The only way Jacksonville can take it is by losing to Tennessee and Kansas City beating Denver. That would give the Jaguars the worst overall record.