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Author: Dave Riggert

Four Wildcats pick up preseason All-Big 12 accolades

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MANHATTAN, Kan. – Led by a trio of juniors, Kansas State totaled four football players named to the Preseason All-Big 12 team as chosen by media representatives who cover the league, the conference office announced Wednesday.

Winston Dimel (fullback), Dalton Risner (offensive line) and D.J. Reed (defensive back) were joined by sophomore Reggie Walker (defensive line) to give the Wildcats the third-most players on the list behind Texas and defending champion Oklahoma. Dimel was named to the preseason team for a second-straight year, while the other three are first-time honorees.

Dimel, Risner and Reed each earned 2016 First Team All-Big 12 honors from the league’s coaches, while Walker was the Defensive Freshman of the Year, as they led K-State to a 9-4 record and a victory in the Texas Bowl.

A product of Manhattan, Dimel has started all 26 career games and has 18 career rushing touchdowns, five shy of entering the school’s top-10 list. He is coming off a season in which he registered 12 rushing touchdowns, which tied for third in the Big 12.

Risner started all 13 games at right tackle in 2016 after starting every game at center the year prior. Both he and Dimel were an integral part to K-State’s rushing attack, which set the school record for rushing yards per carry (5.27) and ranked in the top 10 in three other categories.

Reed, a community-college transfer prior to last year, was the 2016 Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year after ranking fifth nationally and tying for third in school history with a Big 12-leading 19 passes defended. A member of the 2017 Bednarik Award watch list, Reed tied for second on the team with 75 tackles to go along with three interceptions.

A native of Ponchatoula, Louisiana, Walker collected 11.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks to earn Freshman All-America honors from the Football Writers Association of America. He finished seventh in the Big 12 in sacks and eighth in TFLs but was tops among freshmen in both categories, while he ranked fourth nationally among freshmen in sacks.

Risner and Reed, along with other team captains Jesse Ertz, Trent Tanking and Dayton Valentine in addition to head coach Bill Snyder, will represent K-State at 2017 Big 12 Football Media Day next Tuesday at The Star in Frisco, Texas. Fans can follow media day coverage on K-State Football’s official Twitter handle, @KStateFB, and the Big 12 website, www.big12sports.com. The two-day event will also be televised live from 9 a.m., to 1 p.m., on FS2 and various FOX Sports Regional Networks, including FOX Sports Midwest and FOX Sports Kansas City.

Kansas State begins is 2017 season and seven-game home schedule with the ninth-annual K-State Family Reunion on Saturday, September 2, against Central Arkansas.

— K-State Athletics —

Mustangs roll to 14-8 win at Ozark

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The St. Joseph Mustangs bounced back from back-to-back losses to defeat Ozark 14-8 Tuesday night in Springfield.

St. Joe’s collegiate summer baseball team improves to 26-10 and 20-9 in MINK League play. They remain three games ahead of Sedlia in the North Division standings as the Bombers also won Tuesday night 21-1 against Nevada.

The Mustangs scored three runs in the first inning to take an early lead against Ozark and they broke the game open with a nine-run third inning.

Josh Williams and Colton Pogue had three hits each for St. Joseph, while Williams drove in five runs and Derek Hussey and Easton Fortuna each had two runs batted in.

Matt Diaz (1-2) earned his first win of the season as he allowed three runs on two hits in six innings of work. Diaz struck out four and walked nine.

The Mustangs return home Wednesday as they host Clarinda inside Phil Welch Stadium. The first pitch is at 7:00 p.m. and it’ll be broadcast on 680 KFEQ AM.

Chiefs promote Brett Veach to general manager

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – It only took Brett Veach a decade to go from working as an assistant to Andy Reid in Philadelphia to standing alongside the Kansas City Chiefs’ coach as their general manager.

The Chiefs announced Monday they had promoted their co-director of player personnel to the top job in the front office. Veach takes over for John Dorsey, who was let go after four years despite taking the once-downtrodden franchise from two wins prior to his arrival to an AFC West title last season.

Veach was an instrumental part of that rise, though, helping Dorsey to identify and acquire the kind of talent that has produced three playoff appearances in four years.

“Brett has a sharp football mind, a tremendous work ethic and a keen eye for finding talent,” Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement.

“Over the last four seasons he’s played a critical role in building our football team. I look forward to working with him to continue to build on the strong foundation we have in place.”

The Chiefs will introduce Veach during a news conference July 24, the same day rookies and select veterans begin to report to Missouri Western for the start of training camp.

“My family and I would like to extend our gratitude to Clark and the Hunt family for this incredible opportunity,” Veach said. “Together, we built a strong foundation of players that have helped us sustain success on the field. I’m looking forward to continuing our progress as we head into 2017.”

The 39-year-old Veach, one of the youngest GMs in the league, was a star running back in high school before playing wide receiver at Delaware. One of his quarterbacks during those years was Matt Nagy, who is now the Chiefs’ co-offensive coordinator.

Veach envisioned as a career in collegiate administration before taking a job as Reid’s assistant in Philadelphia in 2007. Three years later, he turned his attention to scouting, helping to assemble teams that consistently challenged for division championships.

Veach headed to Kansas City in 2013, shortly after Reid accepted the coaching job, and spent two years as a pro and college personnel analyst. His responsibilities expanded to player personnel two years ago, when he began working hand-in-hand with Dorsey and current Colts general manager Chris Ballard.

Dorsey was fired June 22, when Hunt decided a series of problems — communication issues, contract disputes and poor salary cap management, among them — became too big to ignore.

Still, the move was a surprise given the mid-summer timing of it, and the fact that the Chiefs were aging and underperforming when he arrived but are now positioned to have success well into the future.

Some of their best players are recent draft picks, including cornerback Marcus Peters and wide receiver Tyreek Hill, and Dorsey boldly moved up in this year’s NFL draft to select Texas Tech’s Patrick Mahomes III — giving the Chiefs an heir apparent to quarterback Alex Smith.

The Chiefs expressed interest in several GM candidates outside the organization, including Scott Fitterer of the Seahawks and Ryan Cowden of the Titans. It’s unclear how seriously those candidates were considered, but Veach was widely considered the top in-house candidate.

His promotion should create some continuity in the front office, which is crucial with the training camp on the horizon, and allow him to begin addressing several major issues.

The salary cap remains tight, even after the release of top wide receiver Jeremy Maclin to free up space. The future of Smith and a handful of other expensive veterans will also require close scrutiny, as will the futures of recent draft standouts who will soon be reaching free agency.

One thing Veach won’t need to worry about? Finding his way to the office.

— Associated Press —

Mizzou’s Crockett, Frazier named to award watch lists

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COLUMBIA, Mo. – Summer is winding down, and it is pre-season watch list time for college football award organizations. Front and center for Mizzou is a pair of prominent players in the first batch of lists released today, as sophomore RB Damarea Crockett (Little Rock, Ark.) and senior DE Marcell Frazier (Portland, Ore.) have been named to the 2017 pre-season watch lists for the Maxwell and Bednarik awards, respectively.

The Maxwell Award, named in honor of Robert W. “Tiny” Maxwell, has been given to America’s College Player of the Year since 1937. Maxwell’s contributions to the game of football were extensive, including time as a player, a sportswriter and an official. The Bednarik Award has been presented to the College Defensive Player of the Year since 1995. Chuck Bednarik, former standout at Penn and with the Philadelphia Eagles, is a member of both the College Football Hall of Fame’s Class of ’69 and the NFL Hall of Fame’s Class of ’67.

Crockett burst onto the scene in 2016 as a true freshman and developed into one of the top ball carriers in the vaunted Southeastern Conference, as he rushed for an MU freshman-record 1,062 yards and 10 touchdowns. Crockett finished the regular season with a per-game rushing average of 96.5 yards, which was the nation’s top mark among freshmen. His signature game was a 225-yard, one-touchdown game at Tennessee where he broke the program’s freshman single-game rushing record. He also had 100-yard outings four other times, including games against Middle Tennessee (156 yards, 4 TDs), Vanderbilt (154 yards, 1 TD), at Florida (145 yards) and against Delaware State (115 yards, 2 TDs). His four-score game against Middle Tennessee tied Mizzou’s single-game scoring record.

Frazier closed 2016 in strong fashion, and looks to be next in the long line of game-changing rush ends for the #DLineZou tradition. Frazier was named the SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week on Nov. 28 after sparking Mizzou’s defense in a 28-24 comeback win over Arkansas (Nov. 25), as he ended that game with three quarterback sacks (35 yards) and a quarterback pressure, as part of his four-tackle day. For the season, Frazier totaled 33 tackles in 12 games (five starts) and was second on the team with his 8.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 quarterback sacks. He also led the Tiger defense in 2016 with two fumble recoveries.

Up next for Mizzou will be its annual appearance at SEC Media Day, with MU’s visit set for 9 a.m.-Noon (central time) on Wednesday, July 12 in Hoover, Ala.

— Mizzou Athletics —

K-State’s Ertz, Reed earn spots on preseason watch lists

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MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State senior quarterback Jesse Ertz and junior defensive back D.J. Reed were named to the 2017 preseason watch lists for the Maxwell and Bednarik awards, respectively, the Maxwell Football Club announced Monday.

The honors are the first of each player’s career. Ertz is the first Wildcat to be up for the Maxwell Award, given to the College Player of the Year, since 2014 when quarterback Jake Waters was one of 20 semifinalists and Tyler Lockett was a preseason candidate. Reed’s inclusion on the Bednarik Award marks the sixth-straight season a Wildcat has been a candidate for the College Defensive Player of the Year.

Ertz, the MVP of the 2016 Texas Bowl, was one of three quarterbacks in school history to rush for 1,000 yards (1,012) and throw for 1,500 yards (1,755), while he was one of only four in the nation a year ago to accomplish the feat. He recorded the school’s 15th 1,000-yard rushing season, while he was the third-fastest player in school history to reach 1,000 rushing yards.

A product of Burlington, Iowa, Ertz enters his senior campaign holding the school’s career record for lowest interception percentage (1.52 percent), ranked fourth in 100-yard rushing games among quarterbacks (3) and fifth in career rushing yards among quarterbacks (1,063).

Reed, a community-college transfer from Cerritos College, picked up 2016 Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year honors from the league’s coaches after tying for second on the team with 75 tackles to go along with three interceptions and a Big 12-leading 19 passes defended. A First Team All-Big 12 pick, Reed tied for third in school history and fifth nationally during the 2016 season in passes defended. He also tied for team-high honors with three interceptions, a mark that tied for seventh in the Big 12.

The Wildcats open their seven-game home slate and the 2017 season with the ninth-annual K-State Family Reunion on Saturday, September 2, against Central Arkansas

— K-State Athletics —

KU’s Armstrong Jr. earns a spot on 2017 Bednarik Award watch list

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LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas junior defensive end Dorance Armstrong Jr., was tabbed to the 2017 Chuck Bednarik Award watch list, the Maxwell Football Club announced Monday. Armstrong is the first Jayhawk to be considered for the award since Ben Heeney was on the 2014 Chuck Bednarik Award watch list.

The Bednarik Award has been presented to the College Defensive Player of the Year since 1995. Chuck Bednarik, former standout at Penn and with the Philadelphia Eagles, is a member of both the College Football Hall of Fame’s Class of ’69 and the NFL Hall of Fame’s Class of ’67.

A native of Houston, Texas, Armstrong enters the 2017 season as the Big 12 Conference’s returning statistical leader in sacks (10.0), tackles-for-loss (20.0) and forced fumbles (3) and ranks second among returnees in fumbles recovered (2). Armstrong was a consensus first team All-Big 12 honoree in 2016, becoming Kansas’ first-ever unanimous first team selection by the league’s coaches.

Armstrong was among the best defensive players in the country in 2016, ranking fifth in the NCAA’s Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) in tackles-for-loss and 18th in sacks. He tallied more sacks from his defensive end position than any Jayhawk has posted in the last 15 years with an even 10.0, including a six-game stretch where he had at least one sack in each outing.

Armstrong enters the 2017 campaign as a preseason Third-Team All-America selection and First Team All-Big 12 honoree by Athlon Sports. He is one of nine players from the Big 12 Conference on the Bednarik Award watch list.

Semifinalists for the Bednarik Award will be announced October 30, 2017, while the three finalists for the award will be unveiled November 20, 2017. The winners of the 2017 Bednarik Award will be announced as part of the Home Depot College Football Awards Show held on December 7, 2017. The formal presentations of the award will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards Gala hosted by Tropicana Hotel & Casino Atlantic City on March 9, 2018.

Armstrong and his Jayhawk teammates will begin the 2017 season on Saturday, September 2 with a home game against Southeast Missouri State.

— KU Athletics —

Mustangs fall at Sedalia 11-8 for second consecutive loss

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The St. Joseph Mustangs lost their second consecutive game Sunday as they fell at Sedalia 11-8.

It’s the first time this season that St. Joe’s collegiate summer baseball team has dropped back-to-back games. They’re now 25-10 overall and 19-9 in the MINK League.

Sedalia jumped out to a 6-0 lead after four innings and eventually led 9-1 after five.

The Mustangs rallied and scored six unanswered runs in the sixth and seventh innings to pull within two runs, 9-7, but that was as close as they’d get.

Michael Lydon-Lorson, who came into the game with a 4-0 record and a 1.86 ERA, suffered his first loss as a Mustangs as he allowed six runs on nine hits in four innings of work.

Brody Santilli and Matt Wollink led the St. Joseph offense with two hits each, while Colton Pogue and Jacob Richardson each drove in two runs.

The Mustangs have Monday off before traveling to Ozark Tuesday for a 7:00 p.m. game with the Generals.

Kansas City gets swept by Kershaw, Dodgers

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — With Sandy Koufax watching on a 94-degree day, Clayton Kershaw was a model of efficiency in tossing a six-hitter.

“I wanted to do it for him,” Kershaw said.

The left-hander became the majors’ first 14-game winner, Justin Turner homered twice, and the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Kansas City Royals 5-2 on Sunday to complete their major league-best 10th sweep and sixth straight victory.

Kershaw struck out 13 on 99 pitches, becoming the first pitcher in major league history to strike out at least that many in a complete game with fewer than 100 pitches.

“It was a good way to end the first half,” he said after his first complete game of the season and 25th of his career. “It felt good to get out there and finish a game.”

The streaking Dodgers head into the All-Star break owning baseball’s best record of 61-29. They’ve won 18 of their last 19 at home, where they lead the majors with a 39-11 mark.

“Obviously, we just got slapped by the best team in baseball,” Royals starter Danny Duffy said.

Kershaw (14-2) allowed two runs and six hits and walked none to set the Dodgers’ record for most wins at the break. The old mark of 13 was held by Orel Hershiser, who had 13 in 1988, the last time the franchise won the World Series.

“He was Clayton-esque,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He had everything working.”

The seven-time All-Star, who won’t pitch in Tuesday’s showcase in Miami, has made 13 straight starts without a loss, going 10-0 with a 1.98 ERA and the Dodgers winning every game.

Roberts said Kershaw won’t pitch in the series at Miami after the All-Star break, giving him an extended rest.

“It would feel good to go out there and keep on winning games,” Kershaw said.

Duffy (5-5) gave up five runs and six hits in seven innings of his first career start at Dodger Stadium, located 150 miles from his hometown of Lompoc. He struck out nine and didn’t walk anyone.

“No walks really makes me happy,” Duffy said. “Strikeouts were there, I just didn’t execute on a couple of pitches.”

Kansas City’s Eric Hosmer went 3 for 4, drove in two runs and scored a run while extending his hitting streak to 15 games, but the Royals lost their third in a row.

“Definitely not how we wanted to end the break,” Hosmer said. “If anything, it was a bit of a wake-up call for us to see how good they are playing and we have to realize that we can’t make key mistakes.”

Turner tuned up for his first All-Star appearance by going 2 for 4 and driving in three runs. His two-run homer made it 4-0 in the third after Logan Forsythe’s RBI single scored Trayce Thompson, who tripled leading off.

Turner’s first homer came in the first. Austin Barnes also homered in the sixth.

The Royals trailed 4-2 on Hosmer’s two-run homer in the fourth that barely eluded Thompson’s glove stretched over the wall in left-center. Lorenzo Cain scored after singling for the Royals’ second hit off Kershaw.

RARE ENDING

The Dodgers’ 5-4 victory in 10 innings on Saturday ended on four consecutive walks without an out or a hit recorded. That hadn’t happened since June 6, 1962, at Wrigley Field, according to Elias Sports Bureau. San Francisco’s Don Larsen walked the Cubs’ Lou Brock and Bob Will to open the ninth. After a wild pitch, Larsen intentionally walked Andre Rogers to load the bases and ended the game with a walk to Don Landrum for a 4-3 Chicago victory.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: RHP Nate Karns, on the DL since May with thoracic outlet syndrome, will see a specialist after the All-Star break.

Dodgers: C Yasmani Grandal’s swelling in his left hand went down after leaving Saturday night’s game early, but he didn’t start Sunday and is day-to-day.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Jason Hammel (4-8, 5.04 ERA) is scheduled to start Friday’s opener at home against Texas. He allowed three runs and eight hits in six innings of a 4-1 loss last Friday against the Dodgers.

Dodgers: RHP Brandon McCarthy (6-3, 3.12) starts the opener of a three-game series at Miami on Friday

— Associated Press —

Pham, DeJong, Voit homer as Lynn, Cardinals shutout Mets

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ST. LOUIS (AP) — Lance Lynn said he felt terrible before his start on Sunday.

He made the New York Mets feel even worse.

Lynn pitched seven innings of three-hit ball, and Tommy Pham, Paul DeJong and Luke Voit homered as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Mets 6-0.

“The sinker was good, mixed the ball in and out,” Lynn said. “I was able to keep them off-balance with the fastball and change speeds with it so it worked out well.”

It was Lynn’s longest outing since May 23, when he threw 123 pitches in eight scoreless innings in a 2-1 loss to Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers.

Lynn (7-6) had a season-low two strikeouts, but he needed just 93 pitches while facing two batters over the minimum. He did not allow a runner past first and lowered his ERA to 3.61.

“He just came after hitters,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “There wasn’t a whole lot of guessing about what he was going to do today. You could tell from the pop-ups he was using the top of the zone well, but when he needed to make a pitch on the inside corner, he had it.”

Trevor Rosenthal struck out the side in the eighth and John Brebbia pitched a scoreless ninth as the Cardinals finished a 6-4 homestand and moved into a tie with the Chicago Cubs for second place in the National League Central.

Steven Matz (2-2) gave up five runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings, his shortest outing since June 3. He struck out a season-low one.

“We’re not hitting, we’re not pitching,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “When you don’t pitch the game looks rugged. When you don’t hit, they look even worse.”

DeJong finished 2 for 4 and is 10 for his last 13 and is the first rookie and first Cardinals player in the modern era to have seven extra base hits in a three-game series.

“It was one of those days where I was seeing the ball well again,” DeJong said. “I wasn’t doing too much thinking. Overall, it’s a pretty good series.”

Matt Carpenter reached and scored twice. Yadier Molina had his second RBI in two games.

Pham drove a 3-1 pitch from Matz the other way over the right-field wall to give the Cardinals a 3-0 lead in the third. It was Pham’s 11th homer of the season and first in six games.

DeJong’s homer, his third in three games, made it 4-0 in the fourth. Voit greeted Seth Lugo with an opposite field homer, his third in his last seven games, to right to make it 5-0.

Carpenter led off the first with a double and scored to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead. It was the first time in six games that the Cardinals scored in the opening inning and it broke Matz’s 17-inning scoreless streak, the second-longest of his career.

EARLY EXIT

Pham left the game with right hip tightness after the sixth inning. He was 3 for 3 with two runs scored.

“I didn’t feel like I needed to push through something,” Pham said. “I thought it would be best to just leave the game and get some treatment because my hip was tight. It’s been tight for like two weeks.”

CONFORTO ZONE

Playing for the first time since missing the last 10 games due to a bruise left hand, Mets outfielder Michael Conforto went 1 for 4 with a single in the fourth inning.

“He was locating his pitches, throwing strikes,” Conforto said of Lynn. “He was mixing up sinkers and straight ones. He could elevate, he could hit the corners. It makes it tough when a guy can command his stuff like that.”

TRAINING ROOM

Mets: INF Neil Walker (partial tear, left hamstring) is continuing his rehab at the team’s spring training facility in Florida. … RHP Jeurys Familia (blood clot, right arm) is expected to start throwing this week.

Cardinals: 2B Kolten Wong (right tricep strain) went 1 for 4 in a rehab game with Double-A Springfield on Saturday.

UP NEXT

Mets: RHP Jacob deGrom (9-3, 3.65) will kick off a 10-game home stand against Colorado after the All-Star break. He is 2-0 with a 0.95 ERA in four career starts against the Rockies.

Cardinals: RHP Mike Leake (6-7, 3.12) will start at Pittsburgh as the team begins a 10-game road trip after the All-Star break. He is 10-5 with a 3.33 ERA in 30 career starts against the Pirates.

— Associated Press —

St. Joseph falls at home Saturday to Nevada 4-2

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The St. Joseph Mustangs had their three-game winning streak snapped Saturday as they lost at home to the Nevada Griffons 4-2.

St. Joe’s collegiate summer baseball team is now 25-9 this season and 19-8 in the MINK League. They have a 4.5 game lead over Sedalia in the North Division standings.

Nevada’s L.J. Hatch broke a scoreless tie in the fifth inning Saturday nigth with a three-run home run and that was all the Griffons would need.

The Mustangs scored two in the sixth inning to pull within one run, but that was as close as they’d get. Derek Hussey hit a triple to drive in Drew Standifer and Josh Williams had an RBI groundout.

St. Joseph outhit Nevada 10-6 but they left 12 men on base and went just 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position.

Standifer, Colton Pogue and Easton Fortuna each had three hits for the Mustangs.

St. Joe starter Jake Van Vacter (2-3) suffered the loss as he allowed three runs on four hits in 6.2 innings of work. Van Vacter struck out nine and walked three.

The Mustangs are back in action Sunday as they travel to Sedalia for a 7:00 p.m. first pitch with the Bombers. The game will be broadcast on 680 KFEQ.

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