The Iowa Hawkeye basketball team is preparing to travel to Europe for a 12-day trip. Coach Fran McCaffery spoke with reporters about the trip and says they are allowed 10 practices before they go. “It was great to be able to get everybody together because we were able to use the other time available for skill development. “So, then we had practices and then we had skill development sessions,” according to McCaffery. “And I think that was incredibly beneficial, because even though we have a lot of guys back we still have a lot of young guys. So I think that’s important.”

McCaffrey says they have had to spend some time working on the rules of the European game, which he says are dramatically different in some cases. “What we consider goal tending they don’t. What’s a travel over there is not a travel here — and we run, so we are susceptible to more travels — can you get your mind to understand that,” he says.

There’s a big difference in the type of ball they will use. He says some of the guys really like it and some don’t. “That’s all we’ve played with for two months, so they are getting used to it.” McCaffery says. He says they will face some good teams, but he’s not concerned about the wins and losses. “We’re just going to try to really, truthfully focus on what do we have to do to get better,” McCaffery says.”Obviously we are going to try to win. But if you win or lose, nobody will even remember it. It’s not as critical as getting quality playing time for our young guys trying some different things on the court. Just work on our motion game, work on our press.”

McCaffery says the experience gained on this trip will pay dividends this winter. “You know my experience has been in the past has been that the teams that have this opportunity have always jelled and played well the following year. “They’ve just come together,” McCaffery says. “So that’s probably as important a component of this opportunity as any other. Maybe more.”

Iowa will play a total of four exhibition games in Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. They leave for Europe on Sunday.

(Learfield Sports)

Iowa State football coach Matt Campbell is in his second season in Ames and says the biggest difference in opening fall practice this year is knowing what he has. He says they were apprehensive last year as they were only six months in and were not trying to create trust and belief among the players, but also trying to figure out what the players could and couldn’t do.

Campbell says they’ve also had more than a year now to be with the players and teach and work with them. “And that to me is the essence of a football program. It’s not just go recruit guys and get good players here — its’ really develop those people within your walls and give them the tools and resources to have sustained success,” Campbell explains. “I think that we feel really comfortable even though we’ve only been here now a year-and-a-half, that we’ve been able to give some of those tools. and it’s been fun to watch some of our improvement.”

He says there are a lot more people involved in the program than when he was at Toledo and a big key is that everyone now is on the same page. He says the one word to describe it is alignment as everyone now is aligned to the same vision. “As we came in here, whether it was players, whether it was strength and conditioning, athletic training, nutrition, academics, all of us are together, unified, going in the same direction,” Campbell says.

Campbell isn’t predicting a number for season wins or that the team will get to a bowl game. “You know really for me the future of the program has zero to do with wining and losing. My humble opinion,” Campbell says. “Obviously at the end of it, winning and losing will take care of itself. No greater competitor in this room than Matt Campbell — I’ll cheat in golf if I have to to win okay — but at the end of this, the deal in football wining and losing takes care of itself.”

He says that doesn’t mean they don’t have goals. “Yeah we want to go play in bowl games, yes our goal is to win Big 12 champions some day. But for us to get there we have to learn what the process is and laying a foundation to continue that. I think we’ve laid a good foundation,” according to Campbell.

He says they’ll know a lot more about the team after the first few weeks of the season.
“Where are we as a football program? Gosh I don’t know. We are in year two of taking this program over and seeing it, there are lot of young that’re guys playing,” Campbell says. “Does that mean that we can’t win and not have success — absolutely not, that doesn’t mean that. But it’s going to be really fun to see where this program is in four weeks.”

Iowa State opens the season with back-to-back in-state home games against Northern Iowa on September 2nd and then Iowa on September 9th.

(Learfield Sports)

MILWAUKEE (AP) – Keon Broxton drove in the go-ahead run and saved a run with a leaping catch, Matt Garza made a strong start in his return from the disabled list, and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1 on Thursday afternoon.

Broxton, who robbed Jose Martinez of a homer in the second when he stretched his glove atop the center field wall, gave Milwaukee a 2-1 lead with a single in the fifth off reliever Brett Cecil (1-4).

Garza (5-5), making his first start since July 21 because of a right leg strain, gave up one earned run on four hits in 5 2/3 innings to give second-place Milwaukee its first home series win over St. Louis since July 2012.

Kolten Wong missed a tying home run by a few feet when his drive to right-center bounced off the wall in the eighth. He was stranded at second when Anthony Swarzak retired Tommy Pham on a groundout and Matt Carpenter on a flyout.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) – Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson returned to training camp Thursday after missing two workouts with a tooth abscess, while a trio of cornerbacks had to leave practice early with various injuries.

Terrance Mitchell, who could start at cornerback alongside Marcus Peters, went to the locker room on a cart with a sore hamstring. Roster long shots J.R. Nelson left with a groin injury and Keith Baxter with a wrist injury.

Running back Charcandrick West continued to do rehab work after dealing with an ankle injury earlier in the week. Defensive end Chris Jones and left guard Parker Ehinger also continued their rehab. Jones had knee surgery in July and Parker had surgery to repair his ACL last November.