CINCINNATI (AP) — Streaking Salvador Perez had three more hits, including a homer and RBI double, Reds left-hander Wade Miley made another early exit, and the Kansas City Royals beat Cincinnati 5-4 for their fifth victory in six games. The Royals’ offense has led the way during the surge. It scored one run at a time to keep it going, led by Perez’s homer, double and single. Trevor Rosenthal escaped a bases-loaded threat in the ninth.

UNDATED (AP) — The Big 12 Conference is moving ahead with plans to play college football and other fall sports. They will join the Atlantic Coast and Southeastern conferences in taking the field amid the coronavirus pandemic. The move came one day after the Big Ten and Pac-12 announced they would not play this fall. In the Big 12, fall sports will begin after Sept. 1 with the football schedule beginning league play Sept. 26. Schools also can play one non-conference opponent.

UNDATED (AP) — Marlins manager Don Mattingly says his players sidelined by a coronavirus outbreak are all asymptomatic. Mattingly says those players are feeling great and feel like they are ready to go, adding that some have applied for reinstatement. The Marlins placed 17 players on the injured list last week following an outbreak in Philadelphia that forced seven games to be postponed.

NEW YORK (AP) — Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly had his suspension for throwing pitches near the heads of Houston hitters reduced to five games on appeal. Kelly was originally penalized eight games by Major League Baseball on July 29. In that game he threw a 96 mph fastball near the head of Houston’s Alex Bregman and two curveballs that brushed back Carlos Correa.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — The Bills have signed coach Sean McDermott to a multiyear contract extension. A person with direct knowledge told the Associated Press the contract is a four-year extension that runs through the 2025 season. McDermott is the first Bills coach to receive a contract extension since Dick Jauron in 2008 — though Jauron was fired the following year.

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State finalized its 2020 football schedule by adding Louisiana on Sept. 12 in Jack Trice Stadium.

The Big 12 announced its revised conference slate this morning and Louisiana will be the lone non-conference game for the Cyclones in 2020.

This will be the first meeting between the two schools.

The Ragin’ Cajuns are picked to finish first in the Sun Belt West after finishing the 2019 season with an 11-3 record, including a win over Miami (OH) in the Lending Tree Bowl.

Iowa State will begin the conference season on Sept. 26 at TCU and close out the slate by hosting West Virginia on Dec. 5. The Cyclones will have three “off weeks” on Sept. 19, Oct. 17 and Nov. 14.

2020 Iowa State Football Schedule
Sept. 12              LOUISIANA
Sept. 26              at TCU
Oct. 3                  OKLAHOMA
Oct. 10                TEXAS TECH
Oct. 24                at Oklahoma State
Oct. 31                at Kansas
Nov. 7                 BAYLOR
Nov. 21               KANSAS STATE
Nov. 28               at Texas
Dec. 5                  WEST VIRGINA
Dec. 12 or 19     *Big 12 Championship
*AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas

Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby held a press conference on Wednesday morning and stated the conference intends to proceed with a fall sports season.

Bowlsby was quoted as saying “Ultimately, our student-athletes have indicated their desire to compete in the sports they love this season and it is up to all of us to deliver a safe, medically sound, and structured academic and athletic environment for accomplishing that outcome.”

The conference also released a revised conference football schedule with play set to begin on September 26th. Member schools will be allowed to schedule 1 non-conference game that must be completed prior to September 26th. Check out the conference schedule in graphic below.

The honors keep piling up for that normal guy from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. That’s how Zach Johnson described himself when he won the Masters in 2007. Now he’s adding an award that brought him to tears. The two-time major champion has been selected to receive the Payne Stewart Award by the PGA Tour. The award began after Stewart perished in a freak plane accident on his way to the 1999 Tour Championship. It’s for players who display his character, charity and sportsmanship. Johnson says the award makes everything he does on and off the golf course worthwhile.

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast with Jim Field.

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(Radio Iowa) – Kinnick Stadium will be silent in September as the Big Ten Conference has canceled the fall sports season — including Iowa Hawkeye football games. Head Coach Kirk Ferentz spoke with reporters after the announcement and said the release of the schedule last week had given the players hope they would see the field this fall.

Nebraska’s coach has indicated the school might play anyway if the Big Ten canceled the fall season. Ferentz said he has great respect for the conference and believes they should stick together.

The conference is looking at the possibility of having a spring season. “We’re refocusing on what the next step can be. And we to my knowledge have had no discussion about doing anything against what the conference decides,” Ferentz said. “As much as we may want to — we are going to abide by that unless they reconsider.” The statement from the Big Ten conference says the decision was made due to ongoing health and safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The conference statement says it relied on the medical advice and counsel of the Big Ten Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Big Ten Sports Medicine Committee. Ferentz says he’s no doctor and understands there was a tough decision to be made.

Ferentz believes a spring season would work.

U-I athletic director Gary Barta released a statement following the announcement that said:

“With the announcement today from the Big Ten Conference, our immediate focus is on our student-athletes and continuing to provide care and support. They have overcome a number of obstacles associated with this virus and handled the uncertainties with undeniable resolve. We will continue to work together and move forward. We have said from the very beginning, the health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches, and staff is our first priority. Our athletics department is incredibly fortunate to have the expertise and guidance of our medical team and the U-I Hospital and Clinics. Unfortunately, there were still too many uncertainties to move forward with our fall sports. The University of Iowa supports the extremely difficult decision made by the Big Ten Conference.”

UNDATED (AP) — A crumbling college football season took a massive hit Tuesday when the Big Ten and Pac-12, two historic and powerful conferences, succumbed to the pandemic and canceled their fall football seasons. Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott called the decision “extremely difficult and painful.” Despite pleas from players, coaches and President Donald Trump in recent days to play on, 40% of major college football teams have now decided to punt on a fall season, a decision that will cost schools tens of millions of dollars and upends traditions dating back a century.

CINCINNATI (AP) — Joey Votto doubled home the winning run in the 10th inning, and the Cincinnati Reds blew another late lead before rallying for a 6-5 victory over the Kansas City Royals. The Royals tied it 5-5 in the eighth on Ryan McBroom’s pinch-hit, two-run homer off Amir Garrett, but they couldn’t keep their four-game winning streak going. With a designated runner on second base in the 10th, Josh Staumont walked Nick Castellanos and Votto doubled off the wall in center.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Mecole Hardman is probably faster than 99% of players in the NFL. Tyreek Hill happens to be in the 1%. The Chiefs wide receivers settled that when the two lined up for a race in their indoor facility this week. Hill won it easily, but the real winners might be the Super Bowl champions. They already had one of the fastest groups of wide receivers in the league, and they added speedy running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire to the mix in this year’s draft.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Damian Lillard tied his career high with 61 points, willing Portland to a 134-131 victory over the Dallas Mavericks Tuesday night that moved the Trail Blazers into eighth place in the Western Conference. The Blazers will clinch a spot in the play-in series with a win Thursday against Brooklyn. Lillard is the 12th player in NBA history to score 50 points in back-to-back games after dropping 51 on the 76ers on Sunday.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — In the first major league game in Buffalo since 1915, Travis Shaw hit an RBI single in the 10th inning and the Toronto Blue Jays settled into their new nest with a 5-4 win over the Miami Marlins. Barred from playing in Toronto by the Canadian government over concerns about the coronavirus, the wandering Blue Jays spent nearly three weeks on the road before moving into the ballpark of their Triple-A affiliate as their temporary home this year.

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cleveland Indians placed starters Mike Clevinger and Zach Plesac on the restricted list after the pitchers broke team rules by leaving their hotel in Chicago and risking exposure to the coronavirus. Clevinger and Plesac went out Saturday night with a group of people following the Indians’ win over the White Sox. The team immediately sent Plesac home in a car service. The Indians were not aware Clevinger had been with him until after he flew back to Cleveland with the team and staff.

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Rasmus Andersson scored the tiebreaking goal late in the second period, and the Calgary Flames beat the Dallas Stars 3-2 in the opener of their best-of-seven Western Conference playoff series. Dillon Dube scored twice in the first to put the Flames up 2-0. Dallas got even in the second when Denis Gurianov and captain Jamie Benn scored in a nine-second span. Game 2 of the series is Thursday.

ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference announced the postponement of the 2020-21 fall sports season, including all regular-season contests and Big Ten Championships and Tournaments, due to ongoing health and safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In making its decision, which was based on multiple factors, the Big Ten Conference relied on the medical advice and counsel of the Big Ten Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Big Ten Sports Medicine Committee.

“Our primary responsibility is to make the best possible decisions in the interest of our students, faculty and staff,” said Morton Schapiro, Chair of the Big Ten Council of Presidents/Chancellors and Northwestern University President.

“The mental and physical health and welfare of our student-athletes has been at the center of every decision we have made regarding the ability to proceed forward,” said Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren. “As time progressed and after hours of discussion with our Big Ten Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Big Ten Sports Medicine Committee, it became abundantly clear that there was too much uncertainty regarding potential medical risks to allow our student-athletes to compete this fall.

“We know how significant the student-athlete experience can be in shaping the future of the talented young women and men who compete in the Big Ten Conference. Although that knowledge made this a painstaking decision, it did not make it difficult. While I know our decision today will be disappointing in many ways for our thousands of student-athletes and their families, I am heartened and inspired by their resilience, their insightful and discerning thoughts, and their participation through our conversations to this point. Everyone associated with the Big Ten Conference and its member institutions is committed to getting everyone back to competition as soon as it is safe to do so.”

The fall sports included in this announcement are men’s and women’s cross country, field hockey, football, men’s and women’s soccer, and women’s volleyball. The Big Ten Conference will continue to evaluate a number of options regarding these sports, including the possibility of competition in the spring. Decisions regarding winter and spring sports will also continue to be evaluated.

The Big Ten Conference is proud of its 14 world-class research institutions and has leveraged their resources and expertise to address this pandemic over the past five months. The Big Ten Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Big Ten Sports Medicine Committee have engaged in extensive research and sharing of materials and conversations with federal, state and local government agencies, and professional and international sports organizations in order to track and better understand the daily updates surrounding this pandemic. Their advice and counsel have been invaluable as they have worked tirelessly over the past several months in their efforts to create and maintain a safe environment for athletics.

The Big Ten Conference will continue to work with medical experts and governmental authorities to gather additional information, evaluate emerging data and technologies, and monitor developments regarding the pandemic to make the best decisions possible for the health, safety and wellness of our student-athletes.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Mecole Hardman is probably faster than 99% of players in the NFL. Tyreek Hill happens to be in the 1%. The Chiefs wide receivers settled that when the two lined up for a race in their indoor facility this week. Hill won it easily, but the real winners might be the Super Bowl champions. They already had one of the fastest groups of wide receivers in the league, and they added speedy running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire to the mix in this year’s draft.

FILE – In this Jan. 27, 2020, filer photo, Kansas City Chiefs’ Mecole Hardman (17) and Tyreek Hill (10) pose for a photo in Miami. The two Chiefs wide receivers have traded barbs about their speed ever since Hardman was chosen in the second round of last year’s draft. Hardman and Hill both have world-class speed — that much was never in question — but just who was the fastest man in Kansas City wasn’t settled until the two lined up in the team’s indoor facility this past week.
Hill won easily. Hardman copped to it on social media with a sad-face emoji. (AP Photo/Doug Benc, File)

The Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association released their 2020 All-State Teams late Monday. Follow the link below to see the full teams for all classes.

2020 IHSBCA All-State Teams