Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — This was supposed to be the first opening day for the Royals under new owner John Sherman. The fulfillment of a lifelong ambition. Instead, Kauffman Stadium sat empty under sunny skies and amid continued uncertainty whether baseball will be played at all this year. The outbreak of the new coronavirus has brought the sports world to a halt. That includes baseball, which is hard at work planning for an abbreviated season that executives hope will begin later this year.

UNDATED (AP) — A panel of Associated Press sports writers has come up with the top 10 men’s basketball games in the history of the NCAA Tournament. The sixth game on the list is Kansas’ 75-68 victory against Memphis in the 2008 national championship game. Mario Chalmers tied the game with a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left in regulation and the Jayhawks pulled away in overtime to win their first title in 20 years. The late heroics nullified an explosive second half for the Tigers’ Derrick Rose, who finished with 18 points.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs have agreed to one-year deals with defensive tackle Mike Pennel and fullback Anthony Sherman, continuing their trend of keeping low-cost valuable contributors to their Super Bowl run on the roster. The cash-strapped Chiefs have been relatively quiet in free agency, though they have retained several of their own. That includes franchising defensive tackle Chris Jones and signing backup quarterback Chad Henne on a two-year deal.

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Kansas State guard Cariter Diarra is leaving the basketball program with the intention of turning professional. Diarra is leaving open the option of transferring to another school for his senior season. Wildcats coach Bruce Weber says in a statement Thursday that his leading primary ball-handler and second-leading scorer will graduate this spring. That would allow Diarra to play elsewhere next season without having to redshirt. Diarra was often seen at odds with Weber during a difficult season in Manhattan though both brushed off their verbal spats as simply heat-of-the-moment situations.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Athletics Inc. contends in a newly unsealed court filing that it has evidence former football coach David Beaty “allowed and encouraged NCAA violations” while at the University of Kansas. The memo was filed by the university’s lawyers in January and unsealed this past week. It says those alleged violations has “resulted in several hundred thousand” dollars in legal fees for Kansas Athletics. The Lawrence Journal-World reports the filing includes transcripts of interviews with players and members of the football staff that that the university says suggest that NCAA rule violations occurred under Beaty.

Here is a look at area 2020 high school football schedules released on Thursday by the IHSAA. You can check out links to all schedules on our other story on the sports page.

ACGC
Week 1, August 28th, at Earlham
Week 2, September 4th, vs IKM-Manning
Week 3, September 11th, vs South Central Calhoun
Week 4, September 18th, at Interstate-35
Week 5, September 25th, vs Woodward-Granger
Week 6, October 2nd, vs Kuemper Catholic
Week 7, October 9th, at Van Meter
Week 8, October 16th, at Panorama
Week 9, October 23rd, vs West Central Valley

AHSTW
Week 1, August 28th, vs Shenandoah
Week 2, September 4th, at Missouri Valley
Week 3, September 11th, at Underwood
Week 4, September 18th, vs IKM-Manning
Week 5, September 25th, at SW Valley
Week 6, October 2nd, at Sidney
Week 7, October 9th, vs St. Albert
Week 8, October 16th, vs Riverside
Week 9, October 23rd, at Tri-Center

Atlantic
Week 1, August 28th, at Underwood
Week 2, September 4th, at Kuemper Catholic
Week 3, September 11th, vs Mount Ayr
Week 4, September 18th, vs Treynor
Week 5, September 25th, at Greene County
Week 6, October 2nd, vs Clarinda
Week 7, October 9th, at DM Christian
Week 8, October 16th, at Shenandoah
Week 9, October 23rd, vs Red Oak

Audubon
Week 1, August 28th, at St. Mary’s, Remsen
Week 2, September 4th, at Newell-Fonda
Week 3, September 11th, vs Exira-EHK
Week 4, September 18th, vs Ar-We-Va
Week 5, September 25th, at West Harrison
Week 6, October 2nd, at Boyer Valley
Week 7, October 9th, vs Glidden-Ralston
Week 8, October 16th, at Coon Rapids-Bayard
Week 9, October 23rd, vs Woodbine

CAM
Week 1, August 28th, vs Grand View Christian
Week 2, September 4th, at Martensdale-St. Marys
Week 3, September 11th, at Griswold
Week 4, September 18th, vs Bedford
Week 5, September 25th, vs East Union
Week 6, October 2nd, at East Mills
Week 7, October 9th, at Lenox
Week 8, October 16th, vs Fremont-Mills
Week 9, October 23rd, vs Stanton/Essex

Exira-EHK
Week 1, August 28th, vs Newell-Fonda
Week 2, September 4th, at Kingsley-Pierson
Week 3, September 11th, at Audubon
Week 4, September 18th, vs Coon Rapids-Bayard
Week 5, September 25th, vs Glidden-Ralston
Week 6, October 2nd, at Woodbine
Week 7, October 9th, at West Harrison
Week 8, October 16th, vs Ar-We-Va
Week 9, October 23rd, vs Boyer Valley

Griswold
Week 1, August 28th, vs Melcher-Dallas
Week 2, September 4th, at Grand View Christian
Week 3, September 11th, vs CAM
Week 4, September 18th, at Fremont-Mills
Week 5, September 25th, vs Lenox
Week 6, October 2nd, at Stanton/Essex
Week 7, October 9th, vs East Union
Week 8, October 16th, vs Bedford
Week 9, October 23rd, at East Mills

Harlan
Week 1, August 28th, vs Thomas Jefferson
Week 2, September 4th, at ADM
Week 3, September 11th, vs Sergeant Bluff-Luton
Week 4, September 18th, at Spencer
Week 5, September 25th, vs Glenwood
Week 6, October 2nd, vs Denison-Schleswig
Week 7, October 9th, at Carroll
Week 8, October 16th, at Creston/O-M
Week 9, October 23rd, vs Lewis Central

Nodaway Valley
Week 1, August 28th, at West Central Valley
Week 2, September 4th, vs Mount Ayr
Week 3, September 11th, vs Central Decatur
Week 4, September 18th, at SW Valley
Week 5, September 25th, vs Madrid
Week 6, October 2nd, at Ogden
Week 7, October 9th, at Wayne
Week 8, October 16th, vs Earlham
Week 9, October 23rd, vs Woodward Academy

Riverside
Week 1, August 28th, vs Red Oak
Week 2, September 4th, at West Monona
Week 3, September 11th, at Westwood
Week 4, September 18th, vs Shenandoah
Week 5, September 25th, vs St Albert
Week 6, October 2nd, at Tri-Center
Week 7, October 9th, vs Sidney
Week 8, October 16th, at AHSTW
Week 9, October 23rd, vs SW Valley

Tri-Center
Week 1, August 28th, at IKM-Manning
Week 2, September 4th, vs. Underwood
Week 3, September 11th, vs. Missouri Valley
Week 4, September 18th, at Logan-Magnolia
Week 5, September 25th, at Sidney
Week 6, October 2nd, vs. Riverside, Oakland
Week 7, October 9th, vs. Southwest Valley
Week 8, October 16th, at St. Albert, Council Bluffs
Week 9, October 23rd, vs. AHSTW

The Iowa High School Athletic Association released the 2020 high school football schedules on Thursday morning. The Atlantic Trojans will be in 2A District 9 along with Clarinda, Des Moines Christian, Greene County, Red Oak, and Shenandoah. The schedule includes five road games and will not include the traditional annual contest with the Harlan Cyclones.

Here’s a look at the full schedule for the Trojans.

Atlantic 2020 Schedule:
Aug. 28 — at Underwood
Sept. 4 — at Kuemper Catholic, Carroll
Sept. 11 — vs. Mount Ayr
Sept. 18 — vs. Treynor
Sept. 25 — at Greene County
Oct. 2 — vs. Clarinda
Oct. 9 — at Des Moines Christian
Oct. 16 — at Shenandoah
Oct. 23 — vs. Red Oak

The Iowa High School Athletic Assocation has released the 2020 high school football districts and schedules. Follow the links below to find information for each class.

Football classifications for 2020: Class 4A | Class 3A | Class 2A | Class 1A | Class A | Eight-Player

Schedules, organized by classification and alphabetically by team, can be viewed through the links below.
Games listed “vs.” are home. Games listed “at” are away.

CLASS 4A

CLASS 3A

CLASS 2A

CLASS 1A

CLASS A

EIGHT-PLAYER 

ALL SCHOOLS

Practice is scheduled to begin on Monday, August 10. Playing dates are Fridays, but subject to change for Thursdays or Saturdays depending on host school and site availability. Regular season playing dates and their corresponding weeks are below.

Week 1: August 28
Week 2: September 4
Week 3: September 11
Week 4: September 18
Week 5: September 25
Week 6: October 2
Week 7: October 9
Week 8: October 16
Week 9: October 23

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Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs have agreed to a one-year contract with Jordan Ta’amu, the highest-rated quarterback during the abbreviated XFL season. He will compete with veteran Chad Henne for a backup job next season. The 22-year-old Ta’amu was undrafted out of Mississippi last year and spent time in training camp with the Texans. He was released in August and signed with the St. Louis Battlehawks. He led the XFL with an 82.8 passer rating and 72.4% completion percentage and was third with 1,050 yards passing in five games.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The NCAA announced Tuesday that University of Iowa junior Spencer Lee has been named its Division I Most Dominant Wrestler.

The Most Dominant Wrestler standings are calculated by dividing the total number of team points awarded through match results by the total number of matches wrestled. Lee averaged 5.0 team points in 18 matches, edging Mark Hall of Penn State (4.7) and Pat Glory of Princeton (4.5).

Lee, a two-time NCAA champion and the 2020 Big Ten champion, had nine technical falls and four falls in 2019-20, scoring bonus points in 17 of 18 matches.

Iowa junior Alex Marinelli ranked 11th on the Most Dominant list. The two-time All-American and 2020 Big Ten champion averaged 4.1 team points, registering a team-high eight falls among his 11 bonus-point victories.

Lee’s nine technical falls are the most by a Hawkeyes since 1999 and rank second in Division I. He recorded those nine technical falls in 35 minutes, 44 seconds. Junior Austin DeSanto ranks 14th in Division I with six technical falls (24:36).

The NCAA on Tuesday released its complete list of wrestling awards in Divisions I, II and III. The three awards, given in each division, honor the Most Dominant Wrestler as well as the student-athletes who have accumulated the most falls and the most technical falls throughout the course of the regular season, conference tournaments and NCAA super regionals. The complete list is available at NCAA.com.

AMES, Iowa – Tyrese Haliburton’s contagious smile and dazzling play on the basketball court made him a fan favorite at Iowa State.

He turned heads with a record-setting 17-assist game as a freshman and averaged more than 22 points in three games at the prestigious Battle 4 Atlantis last November.

Unfortunately for Haliburton and the Cyclones, his sophomore season came to an abrupt halt in February when he suffered a fractured wrist while falling after blocking a shot in transition against Kansas State.

It was one of those plays that made Cyclone Nation love Haliburton, and it is those plays that we’ll always remember as the point guard announced today that he will follow his dreams and enter his name in the 2020 NBA Draft. The Oshkosh, Wisconsin native will sign with an agent, forgoing his final two seasons of eligibility.

“I want to thank God, Coach Prohm and his staff for believing in me when nobody else did,” Haliburton said. “The trust they have put in me these last two years has made me the player I am today, but the relationships I’ve made with everybody have made me the person I am today.

“To Cyclone Nation, thank you. Playing at Hilton Coliseum in front of all you guys every night was a dream come true,” Haliburton added. “Coming to Iowa State was the best decision I’ve made in my whole life. There is no doubt in my mind you are the best fans in the country, and I can’t thank you all enough for the last two years.

“After talking with my family, we have decided that it is in my best interest to declare for the 2020 NBA Draft. Once a Cyclone, Always a Cyclone.”

Haliburton concludes his career with 574 points, 267 assists, 249 rebounds, 108 steals and 45 blocked shots. He is one of just two players nationally to record 500 points-200 rebounds-250 assists-100 steals and 40 blocked shots the last two seasons, but his legacy will be as much about his personality and love for all things Iowa State as it will for the many things he accomplished on the court.

“We are all incredibly proud of Tyrese and all that he accomplished at Iowa State,” Iowa State head coach Steve Prohm said. “He loves Iowa State and will always be a significant part of our Cyclone family. Tyrese, as well as his parents John and Brenda, have been outstanding ambassadors for this University and we are incredibly fortunate to have had them as part of our program.

“When Tyrese suffered his injury in February, he poured his energy into supporting his teammates and that speaks volumes about him as a person. I wish all of them the very best and know that Tyrese will be very successful. I think I speak for everyone associated with our program when I say we can’t wait to watch his career.”

Haliburton went from a three-star recruit to one of the nation’s most talked about players seemingly overnight.

While most players burst onto the scene because of a high-scoring game, for Haliburton it was his playmaking ability. The ability to make teammates better. With an incredible knack for setting teammates up for success, Haliburton ranked second nationally and led the Big 12 with a 4.5 assist-to-turnover ratio as a freshman.

The summer before his sophomore season, Haliburton played for and won a Gold Medal with the 2019 USA Basketball Men’s U19 World Cup Team. Named to the tournament’s All-Star Five, he was the fourth Cyclone men’s basketball player to win a Gold Medal while representing the United States.

As a sophomore, Haliburton was poised to see an increase in his usage and he was ready for the moment. In 22 games, he averaged 15.2 points per game, an increase of 8.4 points per game from his freshman season, while still dishing out 6.5 assists per game. At the time of his injury, Haliburton ranked among the Big 12 Conference’s top 10 in scoring (15.2), assists (6.5), steals (2.5), assist-to-turnover ratio (2.3), field goal percentage (50.4), 3-point field goal percentage (41.9), 3-point field goals made per game (2.4) and minutes played (36.7).

He played 10 complete games this season, just two off the school record of 12, which was set by Barry Stevens during the 1984-85 season.

Haliburton concludes his career with the second-best assist-to-turnover ratio in school history at 3.00. He ranks 17th in the Cyclone record books with 267 assists and 20th with 108 steals.

He was also extremely efficient shooting the ball, ending this season as one of just four players nationally to play in at least 55 games the last two seasons and shoot 50 percent from the field, 40 percent behind the arc (30 3FGM) and 75 percent from the line.

He scored in double figures 28 times in his career, had double-digit assists on four occasions and double-digit rebounds twice.

Haliburton posted just the sixth triple-double in school history this season, finishing with 22 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists against TCU. He was honored as the Big 12 Player of the Week after his efforts against the Horned Frogs, one of two such honors he received this season.

At the time of his injury, Haliburton was on the Bob Cousy Watch List, the Wooden Award Midseason Top-25 and the Lute Olson Award Midseason Watch List.

In the end, Haliburton was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team despite playing just half the conference season. He was also an Academic All-Big 12 First-Team honoree.

The 2020 NBA Draft Combine is currently scheduled for May 21-24 in Chicago, though it has not yet been determined if Haliburton will participate. The 2020 NBA Draft is slated to take place June 25 in Brooklyn.

Since Prohm arrived at Iowa State, the Cyclones have had five players drafted and a total of eight reach the NBA.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) announced its first-team All-America team on Tuesday, which included University of Iowa junior center Luka Garza.

Garza has earned consensus first-team All-America status as a result of being voted to All-America first teams by the NBAC, Sporting News, AP, and United States Basketball Writers Association). Garza joins former Hawkeyes Murray Wier (1948) and Charles Darling (1952) as consensus first team All-Americans.

Garza becomes the first Hawkeye in program history to be voted to the first team and third Iowa player to earn national recognition by the NABC; Ronnie Lester and Jarrod Uthoff were third team honorees in 1979 and 2016, respectively.

Five major news outlets have already named Garza as its national player of the year: Sporting News, Basketball Times, Stadium, Bleacher Report, and ESPN. Garza is the first Iowa men’s basketball player to earn national player of the year distinction. Additionally, Garza has been named first team All-America by every major news outlet.

The Washington, D.C., native is also a finalist for five national awards: Naismith Trophy, Oscar Robertson Trophy, Wooden Award, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, and the Lute Olson Award.

2020 NABC COACHES’ DIVISION I ALL-AMERICA FIRST TEAM 

Udoka Azubuike, Kansas, 7-0, Senior, Center, Delta, Nigeria
Luka Garza, Iowa, 6-11, Junior, Center, Washington, D.C.
Markus Howard, Marquette, 5-11, Senior, Chandler, Ariz.
Payton Pritchard, Oregon, 6-2, Senior, Guard, West Linn, Ore.
Obi Toppin, Dayton, 6-9, R.-Sophomore, Forward, Brooklyn, N.Y.

2020 NABC COACHES’ DIVISION I ALL-AMERICA SECOND TEAM 

Devon Dotson, Kansas, 6-2, Sophomore, Guard, Charlotte, N.C.
Malachi Flynn, San Diego State, 6-1, Junior, Guard, Tacoma, Wash.
Filip Petrusev, Gonzaga, 6-11, Sophomore, Forward, Belgrade, Serbia
Myles Powell, Seton Hall, 6-2, Senior, Guard, Trenton, N.J.
Cassius Winston, Michigan State, 6-1, Senior, Guard, Detroit, Mich.

2020 NABC COACHES’ DIVISION I ALL-AMERICA THIRD TEAM 

Jared Butler, Baylor, 6-3, Sophomore, Guard, Reserve, La.
Vernon Carey Jr., Duke, 6-10, Freshman, Center, Miami, Fla.
Tre Jones, Duke, 6-3, Sophomore, Guard, Apple Valley, Minn.
Jordan Nwora, Louisville, 6-7, Junior, Forward, Buffalo, N.Y.
Jalen Smith, Maryland, 6-10, Sophomore, Forward, Baltimore, Md.