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Author: Dave Riggert

No. 1 Kansas gets upset at 11th-ranked West Virginia

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riggertKUMORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia’s formula for winning — going hard to the rim to score, chasing after bad shots and constantly pressuring opponents — has the Mountaineers off to their best start in 34 years.

But coach Bob Huggins wasn’t in a mood to put a historical spin on No. 11 West Virginia’s 74-63 win over top-ranked Kansas on Tuesday night.

He explained it means giving his players a day off from practice on Wednesday before starting preparations for another difficult test, at No. 2 Oklahoma on Saturday.

Jaysean Paige scored 26 points, Devin Williams had 17 points and 12 rebounds for West Virginia (15-1, 4-0 Big 12). Williams had his seventh double-double of the season but the first over a span of seven games.

“Just a team effort, man,” Williams said. “Whatever and whoever, as long as we get team effort, there’s no one in the country who can stop us.”

An emphasis on driving the ball to the basket paid off for the Mountaineers, who outscored Kansas 33-13 from the free throw line.

“I thought it gave us the best chance to win,” Huggins said. “I think the way the game’s being called, it’s hard to guard the ball. We tried to kind of revamp some things and keep them spread to try to be able to get guys to the basket.”

West Virginia forced Kansas into a season-high 22 turnovers and held the Jayhawks (14-2, 3-1) to their lowest point total of the season.

“They’re great at what they do,” said Kansas’ Perry Ellis, who scored 21 points. “They were all over the place and we definitely give them credit.”

West Virginia fans stormed the court and sang John Denver’s “Country Roads” after the Mountaineers’ first win over a top-ranked team in 33 years.

The Mountaineers haven’t started a season this well since 1982, when it won 24 of its first 25 games.

With snowy conditions and traffic gridlock outside, Kansas arrived at the WVU Coliseum from their nearby hotel only an hour before the game with the help of a police escort.

It didn’t get any easier for the Jayhawks on the court.

They are the fourth No. 1 to lose this season, joining North Carolina, Kentucky, and Michigan State.

“The game in a nutshell is that they were so much more aggressive and quicker,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “They were way more athletic than we were and played above the rim. We didn’t do any of that.”

West Virginia opened a 39-27 halftime lead. Ellis scored 10 of the Jayhawks’ first 15 points of the second half, including a dunk at the midway point to cut the deficit to 50-44. But Kansas went more than 4 minutes between baskets and could get no closer.

West Virginia didn’t need to be stellar from the field — the Mountaineers shot just 33 percent (19-of-57) and made just one field goal over the final 5 minutes. But they made up for that from the line, where they entered the game shooting 66 percent.

West Virginia went 12-of-16 from the line down the stretch. Williams kept hitting free throws and kept grabbing missed shots.

He got plenty of help from Paige, who made 14 of 17 free throws for the game.

TIP-INS

Kansas: The Jayhawks dropped their third straight to the Mountaineers in Morgantown. Last year, Ellis caught a long pass and missed a layup off the back of the rim just before the final buzzer, and the Jayhawks lost 62-61. In 2014, Andrew Wiggins returned to the state where he played prep school. The freshman led a furious comeback with 41 points, but the Jayhawks couldn’t make up a 25-point deficit and lost 92-86.

West Virginia: The Mountaineers improved to 4-7 all-time against top-ranked teams. The previous time they did it was against UNLV in February 1983. … Guard Daxter Miles Jr. returned to the starting lineup after missing the first game of his career with an ankle sprain. … West Virginia’s bench outscored Kansas’ 40-10.

UP THE CHARTS

With his 780th career win, Huggins passed Lou Henson for 11th place all-time. Huggins is 780-313 in his 34th season of coaching.

UP NEXT

Kansas: Hosts TCU on Saturday.

West Virginia: Is at No. 2 Oklahoma on Saturday.

— Associated Press —

Kansas State beats Texas Tech for first Big 12 win

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riggertKansasStateMANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Ineffective on the offensive end in its first three conference games, Kansas State finally found its rhythm scoring the ball Tuesday night.

Kamau Stokes and Barry Brown combined to hit seven of Kansas State’s season-high 10 3-pointers, and the Wildcats notched their first Big 12 victory with an 83-70 win over Texas Tech.

“Obviously, when you make shots it helps. It changes the whole dynamic of the game,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. “We were able to make some 3-pointers in the first half, and then a couple in the second half. That hasn’t been our forte by any means, but what we’ve talked about has been getting into the gym and getting shots up.”

Stokes and Wesley Iwundu led the Wildcats (11-5, 1-3) with 17 points apiece, part of an offensive outburst that also yielded 15 points from Brown. Five Wildcats finished in double figures.

Brown capped off a critical 11-0 run that spanned 1:48 with an emphatic reverse dunk to give Kansas State a 70-54 lead with 7:30 to play. The spurt helped the Wildcats fend off a comeback attempt by Texas Tech, who nearly erased a 16-point halftime deficit midway through the final period.

“We never really could recover from that barrage of 3-point shots,” Red Raiders coach Tubby Smith said. “We gave ourselves a chance late, but we couldn’t get back in it.”

The offensive firepower displayed on Tuesday was lacking in Kansas State’s first three conference games. The Wildcats’ cold shooting included a dismal 14 of 64 from 3-point range. But in the first half alone Tuesday, the Wildcats buried eight 3-pointers, including four from Stokes and three from Brown.

The hot shooting helped open up a double-digit lead early. Stokes added to it with back-to-back 3-pointers with 5:05 to play, giving Kansas State its biggest lead of the opening period at 17 points. He later sank a fade-away attempt well beyond the 3-point line to give the Wildcats a 47-31 halftime advantage.

That lead began to slip away thanks to adjustments made by Texas Tech at the break. The Red Raiders rattled off 13 points in the first five minutes of the second half, and Keenan Evans later connected on a deep 3-pointer, and the visitors trailed 59-54 with 9:42 remaining. However, that left more than enough time for Brown and the Wildcats to wake up and cruise to the win.

Justin Gray led all scorers with 23 points to go along with eight rebounds for Texas Tech (11-4, 1-3).

“I think if we keep coming in the gym and executing and sharing the basketball,” Weber said, “I don’t know if we’ll get 80 (points), but if we keep doing those things and get stops, we can be a good-scoring team.”

RISING SIXTH MAN

Brown is averaging 14.6 points in his last six games, including a career-high 20 in a double-overtime loss to No. 19 West Virginia. The freshman finished in double figures just once in nine games from Nov. 23 to Dec. 29. His 17 points per game average last week against Texas and No. 2 Oklahoma earned him Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors, the conference announced on Monday.

TIP-INS

Texas Tech: Gray has finished in double figures in three-straight games after scoring none against Texas. . The Red Raiders outrebounded Kansas State 36-32, which included 17 offensive rebounds.

Kansas State: The Wildcats avoided falling to 0-4 in conference play for the first time since the 2008-09 season.

UP NEXT

Texas Tech: Home against Baylor on Saturday.

Kansas State: Home against No. 17 Iowa State on Saturday.

— Associated Press —

Nebraska cruises to 25-point win over Minnesota

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riggertNebraskaLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Shavon Shields scored 19 of his 24 points in the first half and Nebraska rolled to an 84-59 win over Minnesota on Tuesday night.

The Cornhuskers’ 25-point margin of victory is their largest against Minnesota in a 64-game series that dates to 1902.

Andrew White III added 15 points for Nebraska (10-8, 2/3 Big Ten).

Jordan Murphy led Minnesota (6-11, 0-5) with 12 points. Joey King chipped in 10 points.

Nebraska trailed 8-4 early then solved the Minnesota zone with a 29-4 run. The Cornhuskers went up 10 on Shields’ layup off an over-the-head assist from Glynn Watson Jr. with 9:45 left, and took a 33-12 lead on Michael Jacobson’s free throws with 6:29 remaining in the half.

Nebraska scored 12 of its first-half points off nine Minnesota turnovers, and outrebounded the Gophers 22-9 in the period.

— Associated Press —

NFL approves St. Louis Rams to relocate to Los Angeles; Chargers option to join

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RamsHOUSTON (AP) – NFL owners voted Tuesday night to allow the St. Louis Rams to move to a new stadium just outside Los Angeles, and the San Diego Chargers will have an option to share the facility.

The Oakland Raiders, who also wanted to move to the area, could move to Los Angeles if San Diego doesn’t, Commissioner Roger Goodell said.
San Diego Chargers fan Richard Farley shows his feelings about keeping the NFL football team in San Diego outside the hotel where NFL owners are meeting Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016, in Houston to discuss possible relocation to Los Angeles.

The moves end the NFL’s 21-year absence from the nation’s second-largest media market.

The compromise— the Chargers and Raiders wanted to share a new stadium in Carson, California, and the Rams wanted to move to nearby Inglewood — was approved 30-2 after the other options did not get the 24 votes needed for approval.

The Chargers can continue to negotiate with San Diego for a new stadium deal, while keeping the option of joining at the Rams and owner Stan Kroenke at the $1.8 billion complex he is building.

“Relocation is a painful process. It’s painful for the fans, for the communities, for the league in general,” Goodell said. “In some ways a bittersweet moment, because we were unable to get the kind of facilities done we wanted in their markets.”

The Rams —based in the LA area from 1946-94 — will play in a temporary facility — probably the Los Angeles Coliseum — until the new stadium is ready for the 2019 season.

“Today, with the NFL returning home, Los Angeles cements itself as the epicenter of the sports world,” Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said in a statement. “We cannot wait to welcome the Rams, and perhaps others soon, as they join a storied lineup of professional franchises, collegiate powerhouses, and sports media companies.”

The league will give $100 million to the Chargers and the Raiders if either team builds a new stadium in their current markets.

“I will be working over the next several weeks to explore the options that we have now created for ourselves to determine the best path forward for the Chargers,” chairman Dean Spanos said.

The Chargers play 120 miles south of Inglewood in Qualcomm Stadium. The Raiders played in Los Angeles from 1982-94 and currently split a facility with baseball’s Athletics, the last remaining NFL-MLB stadium.

No NFL franchise has moved since the Houston Oilers went to Tennessee in 1997. The Raiders and Rams both left Los Angeles after the 1994 season.

In a report to all 32 teams days before the meetings, Goodell deemed the venues in all three existing cities inadequate and said the stadium proposals lacked certainty. In the case of San Diego, that includes a public vote required for the financing.

The Chargers and the city have been at odds since 2000, when owner Alex Spanos said his team needed to replace Qualcomm Stadium. That was just three years after the venue was expanded to accommodate the Chargers and Super Bowls.

The stadium saga turned nasty in the past year as Mark Fabiani, an attorney for team Chairman Dean Spanos, criticized Mayor Kevin Faulconer and his proposals. The city has claimed that the Chargers didn’t negotiate in good faith and had several misrepresentations in their relocation bid.

Spanos has had the right to leave San Diego since 2008, but the team’s efforts became more aggressive after Kroenke announced plans for the Inglewood move. The Chargers have played in San Diego for 55 seasons after one year in Los Angeles when the former AFL franchise was born.

The St. Louis proposal calls for an open-air, $1.1 billion stadium along the Mississippi River north of the Gateway Arch to replace the Edward Jones Dome.

The plan includes $150 million from the city, $250 million from Kroenke, at least $200 million from the league, and $160 million in fan seat licenses. The rest of the money comes from the state, either through tax credits or bonds.

Goodell says NFL policy limits the league’s contribution to $100 million, and Kroenke has largely ignored the plan. The team said in its relocation bid that the St. Louis market lags economically and that the stadium proposal is doomed to fail.

The Rams have a year-to-year lease in St. Louis.

Oakland is still in debt from a renovation 20 years ago when the Raiders moved back from Los Angeles. City officials have said they won’t seek help from taxpayers with a new stadium, and asked the NFL for more time to develop a project in a response to the Raiders’ relocation plan.

Los Angeles Coliseum, the college football home of Southern California, would host at least one team until a new stadium is finished, probably in 2019 if relocation plans go forward. Finding a home for a second team could prove more difficult, although the coliseum is a possibility.

— Associated Press —

Mizzou hires Glen Elarbee as offensive line coach

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Courtesy Arkansas State
Courtesy Arkansas State

COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri Head Football Coach Barry Odom has added Glen Elarbee to his new coaching staff, as announced today.  Elarbee will serve as Mizzou’s offensive line coach, a position he has coached successfully for the past six seasons at several programs, including the last two while also serving as co-offensive coordinator at Arkansas State.  In 2015 the Red Wolves went a perfect 8-0 in Sun Belt Conference play to win the league championship and earn a bid to the New Orleans Bowl, thanks largely to an offensive line which paved the way as ASU ranked 12th nationally in scoring offense (40.0 avg.) and 15th in the nation in rushing (231.3 ypg).

Two of his pupils this past season at ASU earned first-team All-Sun Belt honors (T Jemar Clark and G Colton Jackson), while a third (C Robert Mondie) was a third-team all-league pick.  In all, the Arkansas State offense averaged just under 440 yards per game of total offense this past season, which ranked 37th nationally.  Details of Elarbee’s contract will be released once fully executed, along with the completion of human resources procedures.

“I’ve had a chance to coach against Glen in three of the last four seasons, and after every game we played I came away with a lot of respect for how his group played,” said Odom.  “He’s been around a lot of very successful offenses that from my first-hand experience play with great toughness and attention to detail.  Glen also has strong recruiting relationships in areas that are important to us – he grew up in Georgia and has recruited there and in the southeast region heavily, as well as in Texas, and that will bring value to our staff.  I know Glen is excited to get going here, and we’re excited to have him,” he said.

Odom faced off against Elarbee this past season when Mizzou won at Arkansas State.  The two also matched wits in 2012 and 2013 when Odom was at Memphis, and while Elarbee was at Middle Tennessee (2012) and Houston (2013).

“I’m really grateful for this opportunity,” said Elarbee.  “I’ve seen Mizzou firsthand several times at various stops and have always been impressed with the support they have and the environment their fans create.  Obviously, I had a chance to go up against Coach Odom several times recently, and I have the utmost respect for what he’s done defensively.  I thought each time he was always one of the biggest challenges we faced schematically.  Personally, I’ve gotten to know him on the road recruiting and am really impressed with the kind of person he is.  Having a chance to work with a guy like him is a no brainer, and I’m excited to get up there and get to work with this staff,” he said.

Despite having to replace four starters in 2014, Elarbee’s first season at A-State saw his offensive line pave the way for a school-record 6,194 yards of total offense, averaging 476 yards per game that ranked 20th in the nation.  He quickly molded the group into a unit that produced record-breaking results as ASU established new school standards for points (477) and touchdowns (65).  The Red Wolves’ offense ranked among the top 25 teams in the nation in numerous statistical categories while working behind the line, including scoring offense (No. 18), total offense and rushing offense (No. 25).

Behind Elarbee’s line, which included just two senior starters, A-State recorded at least 300 yards in every game, over 400 in nine contests and at least 500 in five outings.  The Red Wolves exploded for a school and Sun Belt Conference record 764 yards total offense in their regular-season finale against New Mexico State, which was also the seventh most in the nation for a single game.

Prior to A-State, Elarbee most recently spent the 2013 season as the offensive line coach for the University of Houston, helping lead the Cougars to an 8-5 record and an appearance in the BBVA Compass Bowl.  Elarbee was part of the offensive staff that helped the Cougars average 420 yards of total offense, including 280 passing yards per game that ranked 26th in the nation.  Houston also ranked 38th in the nation scoring offense with 33.2 points per game.

His lone season at Houston saw him tutor starting left tackle DeAnthony Sims, who earned all-league recognition from the American Athletic Conference after playing a total of 899 offensive snaps with 36 knockdown blocks.  Sims was part of an offense that ranked second in the AAC in scoring and fourth in sacks allowed.

Elarbee served as Middle Tennessee’s offensive line coach in 2012 before joining the Houston staff.  The Blue Raiders’ offensive line ranked second nationally in fewest sacks allowed under Elarbee, giving up just seven on 344 pass attempts.  The group, which included All-Sun Belt performer Micah James, also helped lead the way for three different 100-yard rushers.

Prior to his time at MTSU, Elarbee spent two seasons at West Georgia, first as the offensive line coach in 2010 before being elevated to offensive coordinator in 2011.  At UWG, wide receiver and return specialist Denarius Appling earned All-America honors in 2011 and was one of three offensive players to receive all-conference honors.  The 2010 season saw offensive tackle Brandon White named the Gulf South Conference Freshman of the Year.

The Carrollton, Ga., native has additional experience coaching in bowl games as he spent the 2008 and 2009 seasons as an offensive graduate assistant at Oklahoma State and the 2007 campaign in the same role on the staff of an LSU team that captured the BCS National Championship.  The 2008 Oklahoma State offense ranked among the top 10 teams nationally in rushing, total offense, scoring and pass efficiency while the 2007 LSU squad scored at least 40 points in seven games.

Elarbee spent the 2006 season as the offensive line coach at East Central Community College in Decatur, Miss., after a year as Middle Tennessee’s tight ends coach in 2005.  Elarbee began his coaching career as a graduate assistant for his alma mater MTSU in the 2003 and 2004 seasons, when he worked alongside current Arkansas State Head Coach Blake Anderson, who served as the Blue Raiders co-offensive coordinator at the time.

As a collegiate offensive lineman, Elarbee played in 35 career games at Middle Tennessee, starting his final 23, and earned all-conference honors as a junior and senior.  A four-year letterman, Elarbee was a member of the program’s first Sun Belt Conference championship team in 2001.  He had 91 knockdowns on 735 snaps as a senior.

— Mizzou Athletics —

K-State’s Snyder confirms he’ll return to coach the Wildcats next season

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riggertKansasStateMANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Kansas State coach Bill Snyder announced Monday that he will return next season, ending months of speculation that the 76-year-old Hall of Famer might retire for the second time.

Snyder said he spoke with his family after a loss to Arkansas in the Liberty Bowl. They told him to keep coaching as long as he was in good health, he was having a positive impact on his players and Kansas State officials wanted him on the sideline.

Snyder is entering his 25th season, a period interrupted by a brief retirement. He needs seven wins to reach 200, and figures to have a good shot at it with plenty of talent returning.

Kansas State went 6-6 this season, despite a slew of injuries on both sides of the ball.

— Associated Press —

Missouri RHP Tanner Houck named preseason All-American

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riggertMissouriCOLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Baseball sophomore righty Tanner Houck (Collinsville, Ill.) has been named a Preseason All-American by PerfectGame.com, as announced Monday (Jan. 11). Houck, who was a consensus Freshman All-American a year ago, landed on PerfectGame’s All-America Third Team on Monday. Houck is Mizzou’s first Preseason All-American since Kyle Gibson and Trevor Coleman earned the distinction in 2009.

Houck put together one of the best freshman seasons in Mizzou baseball history. His eight wins are the most by a Tiger freshman since Kyle Gibson (a former first-round draft pick) in 2007 and his 100.2 innings are the most ever by a Tiger freshman under Tim Jamieson. At the end of the regular season, he had thrown more innings than any other freshman in the country. He compiled a 3.49 ERA on the season, striking out 91 batters over 100.2 innings while walking just 12 in 15 starts as a freshman.

Houck was named to the Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List and was an All-SEC Freshman Team honoree as well. He helped Mizzou defeat three top-five teams – No. 6 South Carolina, No. 4 Florida and No. 1 Texas A&M – earning wins in two of those three starts. Houck spent his summer with USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team, where he led the team in innings pitched, strikeouts and starts while boasting an 11-1 strikeout-walk ratio and a .159 opponent batting average. He threw 4.0 perfect innings in a combined no-hitter against Cuba as well.

— Mizzou Athletics —

Missouri State announces coaching changes to football staff

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riggertMSUSPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Missouri State head football coach Dave Steckel announced several staff changes Monday, including the addition of assistant coach Jason Ray and the elevation of Sean Coughlin and Mack Brown as co-offensive coordinators.

The promotions of Brown and Coughlin fill the void on the Missouri State staff left by the departure of offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mario Verduzco,  who accepted an assistant coach post at the University of Central Florida in December. Coughlin, who is entering his 11 season on the Bears’ staff, will continue to mentor the MSU offensive linemen, while Brown will shift roles and work with the Bears’ signal-callers after tutoring the wide receivers in his first year with the program.

“After great thought, I felt it was important to name Mack and Sean as co-offensive coordinators to provide continuity and a solid foundation moving forward and for the future of our program,” Steckel said.

Brown moves into the role of co-offensive coordinator after a whirlwind first year in Springfield that saw the Overland Park, Kan., native work with the Bears tight end and wide receiver position groups while also helping coordinate MSU’s special teams units. Eight different receivers recorded at least 10 receptions for the Bears this past season, while a pair of MSU special teamers earned all-conference recognition, including sophomore return specialist Deion Holliman, who was a first-team All-MVFC pick after leading the nation in combined kick return yardage.

Brown joined Steckel’s first MSU staff last winter following a three-year stint as a graduate assistant at Missouri, where he helped MU post dramatic statistical improvements in numerous offensive categories and back-to-back SEC East Division championships.

Over the last nine seasons, Coughlin’s linemen have earned 10 MVFC all-conference selections, including 2015 honorable mention choice Riley Shantz. Three of Coughlin’s pupils have moved on to the NFL ranks, including David Arkin, a 2011 fourth-round pick, who remains active on the practice squad of the St. Louis Rams. Under Coughlin’s watch, the 2014 Bears were fourth overall in the Valley in rushing yards per game (180.7) thanks to an offensive line that included three All-MVFC honorees.

This past fall, Shantz earned league-wide recognition, starting the first 10 games of season — including the last eight at center — blocks as the stabilizing veteran force in the middle of the MSU line.

Ray will join the Bears after previous coaching stops at Wyoming (2009-12), Oklahoma State (2013-14) and fellow Missouri Valley Football Conference member UNI (2015). This past fall, the Porter, Okla., native helped guide UNI to a 9-5 mark, a third-place finish in the MVFC and an NCAA Division I FCS Quarterfinal berth. Ray, who coached the Panther wide receivers, helped guide a balanced offense that ranked fourth in the Valley in scoring (29.5 points per game) and featured seven different players who reached double-figures in receptions on the year. UNI posted six wins over Top 25 opponents in reaching the quarterfinal round of the FCS Playoffs for the 13th time in school history. “Ray has a wealth of knowledge and experience and that has been evident in his playing and coaching career,” Steckel added. “He has been successful at every stop as a coach at Wyoming, Oklahoma State, and most-recently UNI. He has great intensity, enthusiasm and knowledge and will be a great addition to our offensive staff.”

Prior to joining the UNI program, Ray spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Oklahoma State mentoring the Cowboys receivers and return specialists. In 2014, he guided a position group that saw six different receivers notch double-digit reception totals, while first-team All-Big 12 and league newcomer of the year Tyreek Hill ranked second nationally in combined kick return yardage (996).

The Cowboys turned in one of the strongest offensive performances in school history in 2013, ranking 14th nationally in scoring and registering the No. 5 passing offense in program history to earn a berth in the 2014 Cotton Bowl Classic. Second-team All-Big 12 performer Josh Stewart — who set a Big 12 Conference record with a 95-yard punt return for a touchdown — ranked fourth nationally in punt return average (18.2), while Justin Gilbert led the conference in kickoff return yardage (26.6 yard per return).

Ray also spent four years on Wyoming head coach Dave Christensen’s staff, helping lead the Cowboys to a pair of bowl game appearances during his stay in Laramie. He coached the Cowboys’ running backs for three seasons, overseeing the development of All-Mountain West performer Alvester Alexander, who capped his Wyoming career with 2,127 yards and 27 touchdowns to rank among the top 10 rushers in school history in both categories.

As a student-athlete, Ray was a three-year letterwinner, second-team academic All-Big 12 selection and 2007 team captain as a wide receiver at Missouri, where he was a part of four different bowl-qualifying Tiger squads from 2003-07. Ray served a leadership role on Mizzou’s 2007 Big 12 North championship team that set a program record for wins (12) and garnered the school’s first No. 1 national ranking in 47 years. In addition to playing a key role on an MU offense that ranked No. 5 nationally and paved the way to a Cotton Bowl bid as a senior, Ray was a part of the Tigers’ Independence Bowl teams of 2003 and 2005, as well as the 2006 club that earned a trip to the Sun Bowl.

Ray earned his undergraduate degree in Business Administration-Marketing with a minor in English from Missouri in 2007. He served as a development associate for the Tiger Scholarship Fund, where he assisted with prospective donor solicitation, coordinating special events and projects and cultivating stewardship toward his alma mater’s primary athletics fundraising operation before beginning his coaching career.

The new staff alterations and Ray’s hire are subject to formal approval by the Missouri State Board of Governors at its next regularly-scheduled meeting.

— MSU Athletics —

Chiefs move on in playoffs while Maclin remains in limbo

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riggertChiefsKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs cobbled together an 11-game win streak that included their first playoff triumph in 22 years by using backups, third-stringers and a whole lot of scotch tape.

To keep it going, they may have to be resourceful again.

Wide receiver Jeremy Maclin had an MRI on Sunday that showed his right ACL was intact, but revealed a sprained ankle sustained in the Chiefs’ 30-0 romp in Houston.

While the severity of the ankle injury was unknown, it is unlikely Maclin will be available for Sunday’s divisional game in New England.

“I hate to jump conclusions, or jump ahead. Let me just gather the information,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “Right now I’m telling you most of his pain is in his ankle, more than his knee.”

The Chiefs initially feared that Maclin had hurt his knee ligament, which he’s twice had surgically repaired. That it was an ankle injury provides some hope he’ll play again in the playoffs.

Maclin missed a game against Pittsburgh earlier this season with a concussion, and rookie Chris Conley had six receptions in his place. Conley also replaced him for the remainder of the Houston game, and caught a touchdown pass on a play that was designed with Maclin in mind.

Conley had six receptions in that Steelers game, which started the Chiefs’ 11-game win streak.

“I was proud of him for stepping in,” said Reid, who believes Conley is better equipped to take over the job now than he was in Week 7. “I think we’re OK there.”

Perhaps they are OK. But without Maclin, they would lose by far their top downfield threat.

The veteran had 87 receptions for 1,088 yards and eight touchdowns this season, while Conley managed just 17 catches for 119 yards and a touchdown.

Maclin’s absence would also deprive Alex Smith of his biggest safety blanket. Whenever things go awry, the Chiefs quarterback has a tendency to look in Maclin’s direction.

“It’s not just down to his physical talents. He rubs off on everybody,” Smith said, “the competitor he is, what he brings on game day, that energy. Everybody kind of feeds off that. We’ll find out what it is, but certainly playing without him is tough. He brings a lot.”

Yet playing without key players has become one of the hallmarks of this team.

They lost electrifying running back Jamaal Charles to a season-ending knee injury in Week 5, and journeymen Charcandrick West and Spencer Ware filled in admirably.

When pass rushers Justin Houston and Tamba Hali went down, Dee Ford and Frank Zombo kept things together in their absence. Ditto for injuries to nickel back Philip Gaines and a litany of offensive linemen that have gone done.

Among them have been center Mitch Morse, who missed Saturday’s game with a concussion, and right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, who sustained a concussion during the game.

“You hope you have depth there. That’s why I keep coming back to the job (general manager) John Dorsey has done,” Reid said. “There are going to be injuries, and so guys have got to step up.”

Reid pointed to Conley’s touchdown reception as a perfect example. The play itself was new, and only Maclin had practiced it.

But when he got hurt, Reid called the play for Conley anyway, and Smith hit the rookie wide receiver with a strike between a couple of defenders.

“He stepped in and did a nice job basically from watching,” Reid said.

That may be the only silver lining to Maclin’s injury. If he’s unable to play in New England, at least Conley will have an entire week of practice time to prepare.

“We all kind of have to pick it up,” Smith said. “With a guy like that, when he’s not playing, when he’s missing, we’ve all got to pick up the slack. I don’t think it’s any one person.”

— Associated Press —

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