(AP) – Make that three NFL coaches fired in the past two weeks. Hours after the Kansas City Chiefs announced Monday that they had dismissed Todd Haley, the Miami Dolphins said they had fired Tony Sparano, who was in the midst of a 4-9 season. Haley’s injury-ravaged Chiefs are 5-8 after Sunday’s 37-10 loss to the New York Jets. Sparano’s dismissal came a day after Miami’s 26-10 loss to Philadelphia.

Haley leaves with a 19-27 record in nearly three-years at his first NFL head coaching job. Defensive Coordinator and former Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel will take over as the Chiefs interim coach. Todd Bowles, who has been an assistant head coach in charge of the secondary, will be the Dolphins’ interim coach for the final three games. Miami lost its first seven games of the 2011 campaign and Sunday’s loss to the Eagles ended a recent surge.

Dolphins owner Stephen Ross says he’s looking for  “A young Don Shula” as his long-term solution to the Dolphins’ woes. Jacksonville fired coach Jack Del Rio, on Nov. 29th.

The Top Ten teams in the Associated Press Iowa high school basketball poll with first-place votes in parentheses and won-loss record, total points and position last week at right:
Class 4A
Record Pts Prv
1. Iowa City West (9) 4-0 134 4
2. Ankeny (5) 4-0 131 2
3. Marion Linn-Mar 2-1 92 1
4. West Des Moines Valley 3-1 77 3
5. Dubuque Senior 3-0 69 8
6. Sioux City East 3-1 59 5
T7. Waukee 3-1 57 9
T7. Southeast Polk 4-0 57 NR
9. Cedar Rapids Kennedy 3-0 36 10
10. Cedar Falls 1-1 18 6
Others receiving votes: Cedar Rapids Jefferson 18. Des Moines Hoover 11. Des Moines Roosevelt 4. Des Moines North 3. Waterloo West 3. Urbandale 1.

Class 3A
Record Pts Prv
1. Waverly-Shell Rock (10) 4-0 132 1
2. MOC-Floyd Valley (3) 4-0 118 2
3. Davenport Assumption 2-1 91 5
T4. Sioux City Heelan (1) 3-0 84 T3
T4. Iowa Falls-Alden 4-0 84 T3
6. Mount Pleasant 5-1 59 6
7. Solon 4-0 48 10
8. Le Mars 4-0 28 NR
9. Carroll 3-1 27 NR
10. Atlantic 3-0 26 NR
Others receiving votes: A-D-M, Adel 19. Humboldt 15. Dubuque Wahlert 14. Dallas Center-Grimes 12. Pella 4. Epworth, Western Dubuque 3. Harlan 2. Storm Lake 2. Ballard 1. Algona 1.

Class 2A
Record Pts Prv
1. Hull Western Christian (10) 3-0 131 2
2. West Marshall (1) 5-0 111 4
3. West Fork, Sheffield (3) 4-0 82 6
4. Fort Dodge St. Edmond 3-1 68 3
T5. Kuemper Catholic, Carroll 5-1 56 5
T5. Regina, Iowa City 3-0 56 9
7. Beckman, Dyersville 4-0 46 7
8. Mount Vernon 4-1 44 8
9. Des Moines Christian 5-0 29 10
10. Orange City Unity Christian 4-1 28 NR
Others receiving votes: Denver 22. Paullina South O’Brien 21. Monroe PCM 20. Dike-New Hartford 10. Goose Lake Northeast 10. Ogden 9. Pella Christian 8. Stanwood North Cedar 7. Roland-Story 5. Bloomfield Davis County 3. Mediapolis 3. Forest City 1.

Class 1A
Record Pts Prv
1. Danville (11) 5-0 137 1
2. Storm Lake St. Mary’s (2) 3-0 123 3
3. Blairsburg NE Hamilton (1) 6-0 98 4
4. Kalona Iowa Mennonite 4-1 69 2
5. Boyden-Hull 3-1 66 5
6. Treynor 4-0 54 6
7. Council Bluffs St. Albert 2-0 41 NR
8. Kingsley-Pierson 4-0 37 T8
9. Lone Tree 5-0 21 NR
10. Buffalo Center North Iowa 4-1 20 NR
Others receiving votes: Harris-Lake Park 19. Keota 17. Greenfield Nodaway Valley 14. Lisbon 14. Troy Mills North Linn 11. Exira 6. Oakland Riverside 3. Le Mars Gehlen Catholic 3. Hinton 3. Algona Garrigan 3. Southeast Webster-Grand, Burnside 2. Newman Catholic, Mason City 2. Mount Ayr 2. Moville Woodbury Central 2. Tripoli 2. Lynnville-Sully 1.

BOYS BASKETBALL:
Corning 49, Stanton 47
Logan-Magnolia 51, Maple Valley-Anthon-Oto 40
Missouri Valley 68, Westwood 47
GIRLS BASKETBALL:
Bedford 52, Osceola Clarke 45
Boys Town, Neb. 44, Clarinda Academy 31
Corning 69, Stanton 40
Maple Valley-Anthon-Oto 55, Logan-Magnolia 21
Missouri Valley 46, Sloan Westwood 41
Walnut 65, Heartland Christian High School 14

Radio Sales Executive

KJAN Radio in Atlantic, IA is looking for a self-motivated, well-organized team player to join our sales staff.  If you enjoy a flexible environment that allows you to meet people, listen to their needs, help them find solutions and make your own paycheck then this job is for you!  Do not apply if you think sales means sitting in the office answering phone calls!

This is a full-time, commissioned sales position with an established territory and room to grow.  KJAN also offers a benefit plan to the successful applicant.  Sales experience is welcomed but we are willing to train the person who best fits this opportunity.

Interested applicants should apply no later than December 31, 2011 by sending a resume and any other applicable information to:
Jim Field
General Manager
KJAN Radio
PO Box 389
Atlantic, IA 50022
712-243-3920
800-283-5526
kjan@metc.net

Walnut:  No Varsity Boys Basketball game tonight (12/12).  Girls still play at 6:15. No make-up date set.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs have fired coach Todd Haley less than a year after he led the team to the AFC West division title.The injury-ravaged Chiefs dropped to 5-8 after Sunday’s 37-10 loss the New York Jets.Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt said Monday the move is “best for the future of the Chiefs,” who lost several of their stars to season-ending injuries, including quarterback Matt Cassel and running back Jammal Charles.Haley leaves with a 19-27 record in nearly three years at his first NFL head coaching job. The Chiefs won the AFC West last season with a 10-6 record.The Chiefs are planning a news conference later today (Monday).

w/ Jim Field

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AMES, Iowa – Without the services of post players Chelsea Poppens and Anna Prins, someone had to step up for Iowa State in Sunday’s home game against Mississippi Valley State. Hallie Christofferson got the message. The sophomore scored a career-high  24 points in 22 minutes of play as the Cyclones posted a 77-47 victory over the Devilettes Sunday in Hilton Coliseum. The victory lifts Iowa State to 6-2. Mississippi Valley State falls to 2-5.

Christofferson scored 11 of Iowa State’s first 16 points with a 3-pointer and four buckets under the basket as Iowa State jumped out to a 16-6 advantage in the first six minutes. The Cyclones were off to the races and steadily built a lead that stood at 40-19 at the half.  Christofferson left the game with 12:29 remaining. Her previous single-game points high was 21 at Kansas last season.

Amanda Zimmerman scored 11 points in 12 second-half minutes. Fallon Ellis had 11 points and seven rebounds off the bench and Brynn Williamson added 10 points her first career start.

Mississippi Valley State hit on just 3-of-18 shots beyond the arc. The Devilettes were led by 11 points and nine rebounds from Ka’Neshia Smith and Brittney Lakes also reached double-figures with 10 points.

With Poppens sitting out the contest, her streak of 73 consecutive games played was broken. Iowa State has now won 62 straight regular-season nonconference home games.

Iowa State’s next game is when it plays host to Northern Iowa Dec. 20 at 7 p.m. CST in Hilton Coliseum.

Girls Basketball:

Adair-Casey 52, Guthrie Center 43
Audubon 65, West Central Valley 51
Coon Rapids-Bayard 37, Exira-EHK 32
Denison-Schleswig 67, Carroll 62
Harlan 68, St. Albert 28
Kuemper Catholic 60, South Central Calhoun 24
Panorama 85, Jefferson-Scranton 36
Villisca 68, Essex 46
Walnut 49, Woodbine 37

Boys Basketball

Essex 49, Villisca 45
Jefferson-Scranton 66, Panorama 62
Kuemper Catholic 86, South Central Calhoun 23
Red Oak 67, Shenandoah 31
Walnut 61, Woodbine 49
West Central Valley 60, Audubon 45

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Todd Haley could have spent the rest of Sunday pointing out everything his Kansas City Chiefs did wrong – just in the first half. Coming off two strong defensive performances, the Chiefs couldn’t get out of their own way in a 37-10 loss. They couldn’t get in the Jets’ way, either, falling behind 28-3 by halftime. “The first half, when we can’t get a first down and are terrible keeping the other team from getting a first down, that will not be a good half,” Haley said. “They did a great job in the red zone,” he added about the Jets. “They were more prepared and just played better, period.” Through two quarters, New York (8-5) led Kansas City 253-4 in yards, 16-1 in first downs, and 20:34-9:26 in time of possession. Not a formula for success for the Chiefs (5-8).

The second half wasn’t much better, marked mostly by penalties. In the most brutal stretch, the Chiefs were penalized five times for 81 yards during the Jets’ final touchdown drive. One of those was an unsportsmanlike conduct call on Haley. Kansas City finished with 11 penalties. Tyler Palko was sacked five times, a week after the quarterback earned his first victory as a starter at Chicago. He was 3 for 8 for 11 yards in the first half. He finished 16 of 32 for 195 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Dwayne Bowe dropped a would-be touchdown pass midway through the fourth quarter for Kansas City. Mark Sanchez threw two touchdown passes and ran for two more scores as the Jets improved their lot in the AFC playoff race. The Jets were helped by that inept Chiefs offense, and KC couldn’t stop New York’s rushing game, either.

Notes: Chiefs K Ryan Succop badly botched an onside kick attempt that traveled 3 yards early in the fourth quarter. … Chiefs S Jon McGraw left in the second quarter with an injured left ankle and didn’t return. … New York’s five sacks were a season high. … Chiefs RB Thomas Jones had just 12 yards on five carries, but passed Eddie George and Tiki Barber for 22nd on the NFL’s career list.