Expectations are high at Council Bluffs St. Albert where the Class 1A second ranked Falcons open on the road at Griswold, tonight (Friday). Coach Kevin Culjat’s team borrowed a theme from many college basketball programs as they conducted their own version of “Midnight Madness” to open pre-season practice. He says with the weather being so hot, they were practicing at night anyway, so that’s the way the kicked-off the season. Culjat says they adopted the theme “First team to practice last team to play.” They rolled out to practice at 12:01-a.m. and worked out for about 2-hours. Afterward the kids got to sleep in the next day. The team ran their second two-a-day practice on Monday night, which allowed them to split the week up. He says the kids and coaches enjoyed the change in practice times.)

Several new faces will be counted on this season. Culjat says they lost seven-out-of 10 players last year to college football. This year’s starting players are ready to step-up to fill their shoes, and he’s anxious to see how they perform tonight. Culjat says the Falcons will be tested by Griswold. He says the Tigers have a very athletic group, and have lost only five or six Seniors, so they have a lot of returning starters, especially on defense. The team also has the speed necessary to run the ball because they also participate in track.

Listen to the game live tonight on KJAN with pre-game at 6:30 and kick-off at 7:00.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) – Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby believes a multi-year television deal that could be worth as much as $2.6 billion could be finalized in a matter of weeks. Bowlsby also said during a stop in Kansas on Wednesday that a TV deal for the Champions Bowl, a new postseason game between the Big 12 and SEC, will be announced soon, and that officials from both conferences are ready to review five bids to host the game. The recently hired commissioner is touring member schools, hitting nine of 10 in the coming days. Bowlsby plans to visit West Virginia in September.  The Mountaineers and TCU are new members of the Big 12 this season. They were part of a wave of conference realignment that Bowlsby said he hopes has calmed down.

High School Football:

• Lewis Central 38, Abraham Lincoln 0

High School Volleyball:

• (3-1) Griswold 24-25-25-25 Orient-Macksburg 26-17-22-18
• (3-0) Missouri Valley 25-25-25, Boyer Valley 13-17-9
• (3-0) Tri-Center 25-25-25, Logan-Magnolia 22-13-18
• (3-0) Kuemper Catholic 25-25-25, Carroll 15-18-17
• (3-2) Winterset 25-25-23-22-15, Nodaway Valley 22-23-25-25-9
• (2-0) Bedford 25-25, Central Decatur 11-17
• (2-0) Bedford 25-25, Mount Ayr 15-18
• (2-0) Central Decatur 25-25, Mount Ayr 19-22

ST. LOUIS (AP) — David Freese’s three-run homer snapped the Cardinals’ seven-game long-ball drought and St. Louis beat the Houston Astros 13-5 Thursday to complete a three-game sweep. Freese and Matt Holliday each had four RBIs and Allen Craig had three hits and three RBIs. The Cardinals shrugged aside a 4-0, fourth-inning deficit and sent Houston to its seventh straight loss. The Astros are 0-4 while getting outscored 32-8 since interim manager Tony DeFrancesco replaced Brad Mills as leader of the stripped-down roster. Houston has won just seven of its last 50 overall.