SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A Sioux City prep football star who has committed to playing football next year for the University of Iowa faces a drug infraction and three misdemeanors in Nebraska.  The Sioux City Journal reports that 18-year-old Michael Malloy has pleaded not guilty to the charges: obstructing a peace officer, trespassing, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving without headlights.  Court records say Malloy was arrested on a Nebraska warrant issued after an incident early on July 31 in South Sioux City, Neb.  A police officer says in an affidavit that Malloy ran from a vehicle that the officer had pulled over.  Malloy is a running back beginning his senior season at Bishop Heelan High School.

w/ Jim Field

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     PARK RIDGE, Ill. (AP) – Big Ten volleyball coaches have picked Penn State to win a ninth straight conference championship.       The Nittany Lions, who have won four consecutive NCAA titles, also are No. 1 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association national poll.  Following Penn State in the Big Ten poll are Illinois and
Nebraska, which tied for second place, and then Purdue, Minnesota and Michigan State. Nebraska is in its first season in the Big Ten after winning six of the last seven Big 12 championships.  Joining Penn State in the national rankings are No. 5 Nebraska, No. 8 Illinois, No. 12 Minnesota, No. 13 Purdue, No. 21 Ohio State and No. 24 Michigan.

     KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Bubba Starling says it’s great to be a Kansas City Royal and be relieved of the pressure of deciding between football and baseball.  The three-sport high school star from Edgerton, Kan., appeared at his first news conference in Kauffman Stadium on Wednesday, about 42 hours after agreeing to give up a football scholarship at Nebraska. In return, he was given a $7.5 million bonus by the Royals, who drafted him No. 5 overall in June.  The power-hitting outfielder said being from the Kansas City area and growing up a Royals fan made his decision at least a bit easier. He said he can’t wait to get to the Royals’ instructors in Arizona and start working on his game.

PITTSBURGH (AP) – Allen Craig homered twice to break out of a slump and lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 7-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night.  Craig went 4 for 5 with three RBIs and Yadier Molina added three hits for the Cardinals, who are trying to stay within shouting distance of front-running Milwaukee in the NL Central.  Craig was hitless in his last 11 at-bats before he connected for a two-run homer against Paul Maholm in the first. He added a solo shot in the seventh off Brad Lincoln.  Kyle Lohse (11-7) picked up his 99th career victory by pitching seven solid innings.  Maholm (6-14) dropped his fifth straight decision, giving up three runs – all in the first inning – and eight hits in five innings.

AMES, Iowa – It’s almost here! The sixth annual Cyclone Fan Fest is here once again. This free event will be held Sunday, Aug. 21 from 2-4 p.m. Don’t miss your chance to meet various Iowa State student-athletes and coaches. This is a free event and will be held in the Bergstrom Indoor Practice Facility located northwest of Jack Trice Stadium.
Fans will be able to interact directly with student-athletes and coaches in numerous hands-on activities. Select Iowa State football players along with head coach Paul Rhoads will be on hand for free autographs. Kids of all ages can shoot hoops with the basketball teams, practice serving with the volleyball team, working on putting with the golf teams and much more.
Inflatable attractions, temporary tattoos, food and beverages and Iowa State merchandise from the new Cy’s Locker Room will also be a part of the festivities.
Be sure to start your day at the ISU Soccer Complex at Noon when the Cyclone soccer team makes its regular season debut vs. Northern Illinois.
Cyclone Fan Fest is a great way for the whole family to enjoy free fun with Iowa State student-athletes and kick off the fall sports season!

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Drake defensive lineman John Sawhill is preparing for his senior season with the Bulldogs and hopes the senior class will lead them to the P-F-L title.   He says his class is the first recruiting class for coach Chris Creighton, and he says with 10 of 11 starters on offense they have the leadership there too. Sawhill played high school football at Jefferson-Scranton, and says coming from the small school, it was a transition moving to the college game.  Sawhill says he didn’t know the time commitment, and says that was different, but he says the atmosphere, feel of football and the family feeling of the team was what he expected. He says they pride themselves on being a hardworking team and he says their strength and conditioning is their strong point. Sawhill says the team also has pride in being a non-scholarship team that stands toe-to-toe with schools that offer scholarships.   Sawhill says it’s something they pride themselves on, “we go to school, it’s academics first.” He says even though academics is the main goal they feel they are excellent athletes too. Sawhill says while the offense is more experience this season, the defense still looks to make things happen.  He says they always want to win the turnover margin by being plus two in the turnover margin with the goal of three turnovers a game. Sawhill says while some players might have individual goals, the only written goals they have are team oriented goals. Drake opens the season on Thursday September first at North Dakota.

Iowa defensive end Broderick Binns hopes strength in numbers can help the Hawkeyes overcome some key losses on the defensive line. With the likes of Adrian Clayborn and Karl Klug gone there will several new faces on the defensive line.  Binns says there will aloso be more depth up front.  Binns feels the added depth will help keep the defense fresh. The Hawks gave up several late touchdowns a year ago enroute to an 8-5 record.  The Big Ten Conference looks a lot different as Binns prepares for his senior season. The addition of Nebraska has introduced divisional play and for the first time the Big Ten will hold a championship game.  The Hawkeyes open the season at home on September third against Tennessee Tech.

PITTSBURGH (AP) – Garrett Jones homered to lead off the bottom of the 11th inning and lift the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 5-4 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night.  Jones connected on a 2-2 pitch from Arthur Rhodes (3-4) for his 14th home run. It was also Jones’ second career game-ending homer as he connected against San Francisco’s Bob Howry on July 17, 2009.  Center fielder Andrew McCutchen prevented St. Louis from going ahead in the top of the 11th when he made a running backhanded inning-ending catch to rob Albert Pujols of extra bases and keep Rafael Furcal from scoring from first base.  Chris Resop (4-4) pitched two scoreless innings for the win.