Albert Pujols will sign with the Angels for ten years and $250-260MM, tweets Yahoo’s Tim Brown.  He’ll receive a full no-trade clause.  Pujols decided this morning, writes Brown.  Pujols is represented by Dan Lozano of Icon Sports Group.

Pujols, 32 in January, was drafted by the Cardinals in 1999 in the 13th round and began his career with a staggering 11-year stretch.  The first baseman is the active career leader in batting average (.328) and slugging percentage (.617), he’s second among active players in career on-base percentage (.421).  Pujols owns a Rookie of the Year award and three MVP awards, and has ranked no worse than ninth in the MVP voting in every season of his career.  He’s been extremely durable, averaging 155 games per season.  The Cardinals signed Pujols to a long-term deal in 2004, which ended up being a huge bargain at $111MM over eight years.  Pujols and the Cardinals failed to find common ground on an extension in February this year, but the contract didn’t seem a distraction as the team ended up winning the World Series.

The suddenly free-spending Marlins made a competitive bid for Pujols this offseason, offering a ten-year deal.  They seemingly dropped out after signing Mark Buehrle, and up until Thursday morning, the Cardinals were considered the favorite.  It’s not much of a consolation prize, but the Cardinals will receive the Angels’ #19 pick in the 2012 draft as well as a supplemental choice.

With Kendrys Morales and Mark Trumbo, the Angels now have a couple of first base trade chips.  Morales could be non-tendered next week.

AMES, Iowa – Senior Lauren Mansfield scored a season-high 15 points, nine of which were from three-point land in Iowa State’s 62-54 victory over Iowa Wednesday. Four Cyclones scored in double figures for the second time this season in the annual Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk series rivalry. Iowa State improves to 5-2, while Iowa falls to 5-4 overall this season.

Mansfield caused a momentum shift in the first half after drawing a charge with just 52 seconds remaining, which ignited the Cyclone crowd and her teammates. Iowa State went on to force a Hawkeye turnover and responded with a trey by Cyclone guard Nikki Moody four seconds before halftime. Moody’s three-pointer brought the Cyclones within three, but it was forward Hallie Christofferson’s basket with just a half second to play that put the Cyclones down by just one point heading into the locker room. Christofferson went up strong after receiving a pass from Moody on an inbounds play and converted from the charity stripe after drawing the foul.

Freshmen Brynn Williamson and Moody each contributed solid performances for the Cyclones. Moody finished with 13 points and was six-for-six from the free throw line. The Euless, Texas native converted on four crucial free throws in the final two minutes of the game as the Hawkeyes pushed for a comeback. Williamson posted 11 points for Iowa State and finished three-for-six from three-point range.

As a team, the Cyclones improved dramatically from the first half to second in three-point field goal percentage. Iowa State shot 41.7 percent from beyond the arc in the second period compared to just 18.2 percent in the first.

Iowa State forced 22 Hawkeye turnovers, the second-most Iowa has committed this season.

Despite an early exit from the game due to a knee injury, which isn’t considered to be serious, with three minutes remaining, Poppens scored 10 points, grabbed nine rebounds and drew three charges for the Cyclones. In the first half alone, the Cyclone forward posted six points and five rebounds. This is the fifth game Poppens has scored 10 points or more.

Iowa was led by center Morgan Johnson’s 16 points. Johnson converted on five of 10 from the free throw line and grabbed seven boards for the Hawkeyes. Melissa Dixon chipped in 11 points for Iowa and two buckets from beyond the arc.

With the win, Iowa State leads the 2011-12 Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series by a score of 11-4.

w/ Jim Field

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Hawkeye 10:

• Atlantic 68, Red Oak 54
• Kuemper Catholic 51, Creston 50
• OA-BCIG 60, Harlan 47
• IKM-Manning 55, Denison-Schleswig 45

Western Iowa:

• Treynor 51, Audubon 41
• Underwood 50, A-H-S-T 31
• Missouri Valley 51, Griswold 22

Rolling Hills:

• CAM 51, Glidden-Ralston 27
• Exira-EHK 41, Adair-Casey 35
• Iowa Christian 40, Walnut 25

Others:

• Bedford 60, Corning 43
• Carroll 66, Perry 65
• Charter Oak-Ute 76, Woodbine 42
• Coon Rapids-Bayard 37, Van Meter 30
• Abraham Lincoln 56, Thomas Jefferson 20
• Essex 61, East Mills 51
• Panorama 54, Des Moines Christian 40
• Westwood 46, Logan-Magnolia 7
• Fremont-Mills 60, Heartland Christian 25
• Villisca 81, Clarinda Academy 30
• West Central Valley 40, Guthrie Center 32
• Ar-We-Va 67, Ridge View 44
• Boyer Valley 49, Maple Valley-A-O 48

Hawkeye 10:

• Atlantic 57, Red Oak 35 
• Clarinda 53, Maryville, Mo. 35
• St. Albert 72, Shenandoah 42
• IKM-Manning 46, Denison-Schleswig 44
• Nebraska City Lourdes, Neb. 47, Glenwood 41
• OA-BCIG 69, Harlan 61
• Kuemper Catholic 43, Creston 27

Western Iowa:

• Treynor 68, Audubon 43
• Underwood 61, A-H-S-T 37
• Griswold 65, Missouri Valley 52

Rolling Hills:

• CAM 63, Glidden-Ralston 49
• Exira-EHK 56, Adair-Casey 39
• Orient-Macksburg 63, Paton-Churdan 30
• Iowa Christian Academy 61, Walnut 50

Others:

• Carroll 76, Perry 28
• Clarinda Academy 81, Villisca 63
• Des Moines Christian 71, Panorama 47
• Boyer Valley 63, Maple Valley-Anthon-Oto 49
• Nodaway Valley 68, Lenox 22
• Guthrie Center 77, West Central Valley 46
• Omaha Brownell-Talbot, Neb. 79, West Harrison 66
• Fremont-Mills 89, Heartland Christian 23
• Van Meter 52, Coon Rapids-Bayard 31
• Woodbine 65, Charter Oak-Ute 56
• Nishnabotna 45, Sidney 41
• East Mills 59, Essex 38
• Corning 63, Bedford 47

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Percy Gibson laid out a simple goal for himself in his first start for Iowa State.”I just wanted to come in and make as much impact as I could early so we could just keep the team going,” the freshman said.He did exactly that. Gibson scored 13 of his 15 points in the first half and Iowa State broke out of a two-game shooting slump with an 84-59 victory over Prairie View A&M on Tuesday night. Gibson started in place of Royce White, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, and came up big in helping the Cyclones (6-3) regain their touch after shooting just 39 percent in consecutive losses to Northern Iowa and Michigan. White did not start because he was 3 minutes late for the morning shoot-around.Chris Allen had 16 points for the Cyclones, who shot 55 percent in the first half and 52 percent for the game. White, who entered the game after the first media timeout, and Tyrus McGee each added 12 points. Jourdan DeMuynck’s 18 points led Prairie View (2-7), which lost its seventh straight.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — Iowa coach Fran McCaffery, who’s known for his fiery demeanor on the sidelines, finally lost it on the officials and got himself ejected.Northern Iowa stayed calm, like it usually does, and turned a tight game against the Hawkeyes into an uncharacteristic rout.Anthony James scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half and Northern Iowa blew past a frustrated Iowa 80-60 for its seventh straight win.Jake Koch added 13 points and six assists for the Panthers (8-1), who hit 11 3-pointers and improved to 3-0 against major-conference opponents this season. Northern Iowa led by just two points midway through the second half. But three consecutive technical fouls by the Hawkeyes helped spur a decisive 20-2 run by the Panthers.McCaffery, who was ejected with 4:47 to go after drawing his second technical, refused to address the events that led to his exit after the game.

“I thought our kids really fought hard (Tuesday) night, I really did,” McCaffery said when asked about the technicals.Devyn Marble had 14 points to lead Iowa (5-4), which played without starting point guard Bryce Cartwright. Cartwright is nursing a sore hamstring, and McCaffery said he’s not sure if Cartwright will be ready to play at Iowa State on Friday night.Northern Iowa was up 47-45 with 9:46 remaining when McCaffery went ballistic over a foul call, knocking over what appeared to be a basket of rosin from the scorer’s table in disgust and drawing his first technical.

James knocked down four straight free throws. The Hawkeyes drew two more technicals – one on the bench, another on Zach McCabe for punching the ball – and Northern Iowa stretched its lead to 55-45 in just 20 seconds.Iowa never recovered. James’ 3-pointer with 6:20 left put the Panthers ahead 61-47, rendering the rest of a chaotic night at the McLeod Center as garbage time. Northern Iowa, which also fell behind by 10 early in a 69-62 win at Iowa State last week, calmly scored the next eight points to prevent the Hawkeyes from running away with things.Chip Rank gave Northern Iowa its first lead, 24-23, on a 3-pointer with just over four minutes left in the first half. The Hawkeyes then left Rank wide open in the corner, and he converted a rare four-point play that helped put the Panthers ahead 32-27 at halftime.Northern Iowa was 29 of 33 from the free-throw line – with some of those attempts coming thanks to the Hawkeyes – and shot 45.5 percent from the field.Northern Iowa has three winnable home games left before the start of Missouri Valley play at Illinois State on Dec. 29.

The Iowa DNR says hunting and fishing licenses in the State for 2012 will go on sale Dec. 15th.  The 2011 licenses are valid through Jan. 10th, 2012. Nonresident hunting and fishing licenses go on sale Jan. 1, 2012.  Nonresident 2011 licenses are valid through Dec. 31st, 2011.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says hunters have reported harvesting nearly 61,000 deer so far this fall which is about 10 percent fewer than last year. Fewer deer were taken during the opening weekend of the first shotgun season due partly to less than ideal hunting conditions, but concerned hunters are commenting that they are seeing fewer deer across much of the state.

Iowa’s first shotgun season closes tomorrow (Dec. 7th). The DNR expects that 50,000 hunters will take the field for the second shotgun season which runs from December 10th – 18th. Shooting hours are one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset.

In areas where deer numbers are down, hunters should work with the landowner to see if the deer population is at a desirable level. Hunters should refrain from taking extra does if deer numbers are reduced. In some areas deer numbers are still strong and can take the extra pressure. The DNR says Hunters are the key to a properly managed Iowa’s deer herd.

Safety First

Blaze orange is required for hunters participating in the shotgun hunts and party hunting is legal. Hunters who hunt in a party should plan their hunt and hunt their plan. They should never shoot if they are unsure of what is beyond the animal they are harvesting. Hunters using blinds during the shotgun seasons are reminded that they are required to display at least 144 square inches of blaze orange that is visible from all directions (see p. 23 of the 2011 Hunting Regulations for more information).

Report Your Harvest

All deer taken must be reported using the harvest reporting system by midnight the day after the deer is recovered.  Accurately reporting the harvest is an important part of Iowa’s deer management program and plays a vital role in managing deer populations and future hunting opportunities. It is also required by law and officers will be checking to see if all deer have been reported.

For hunters with Internet access, the online harvest reporting is the easiest way to register the deer. Hunters can report their deer online at www.iowadnr.gov, by calling the toll free reporting number 1-800-771-4692, or at any license vendor.  

Tagging Antlered Deer

Hunters are reminded that antlered deer must have the transportation tag attached to the antler’s main beam, either at the base or between two points. 

Youth Season Tags

Youth season hunters with an unfilled “any-deer” license from the youth deer season who did not harvest a deer are eligible to hunt during one of the two shotgun seasons. However, the youth hunter must follow the weapons restrictions that are in place during the season and be under the direct supervision of a licensed adult. A youth must harvest and tag their own deer.

w/ Jim Field

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