KICKOFF, TV DESIGNATION ANNOUNCED FOR NEBRASKA/CINCINNATI:
ESPN announced Tuesday afternoon that Nebraska’s season-opening matchup with Cincinnati in Kansas City on Thursday, Aug. 28, will be televised on ESPN with kickoff set for 8 p.m. Central.
The Huskers and Bearcats will square off at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, Nebraska’s first contest in the stadium since the 2006 Big 12 Championship game and NU’s first regular-season game in Kansas City since 1998. The matchup was originally scheduled as a Cincinnati home game before being moved to a neutral site. It marks just the second all-time meeting between the schools and the first since a 1906 matchup in Lincoln.
Tuesday’s announcement is the first kickoff time set for the Huskers’ 2025 season. Additional game times and television designations for the upcoming season are expected to be announced by the end of May.
UNK WBB ANNOUNCES NAIA HC BASSETT TO JOIN COACHING STAFF:
Nebraska Kearney head women’s basketball coach Drew Johnson announced today that K.C. Bassett is the Lopers new assistant coach.
She replaces Josh Burt who recently became head coach at NAIA Southwestern (Kan.) College. Nicole Ohlde-Johnson also serves as an assistant coach for the Lopers.
Bassett has spent the past 11 years as head coach of the NAIA Sterling (Kan.) College Warriors. During that time, she amassed 231 wins, four 20-win seasons, two 30-win seasons and six trips to the NAIA National Tournament. Additionally, Bassett led Sterling to three KCAC (Kansas College Athletic Conference) regular season and tournament titles. In 2021, she was named the WBCA’s NAIA National Coach of the Year and the 4-Year C.O.Y. by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association. Bassett also was a three-time KCAC Coach of the Year.
“K.C. is an incredible coach with a long resume of success. She is an absolute winner who has led teams to conference championships and deep into the national tournament. Along with her competitive fire, K.C. also brings a passion for player development both on and off the court,” said Johnson.
KEARNEY, GI NORTHWEST SWEEP REGIONAL TRACK CHAMPIONSHIPS, CLASS D MEETS TODAY:
Kearney and Grand Island Northwest swept NSAA District Track team titles yesterday.
In the A2 meet hosted by Kearney, the Bearcat boys scored 172.5 points, followed by Lincoln North Star with 96. The girls scored 192 points, followed by Millard West with 91.
The Vikings sweep of the B5 meet at Aurora was a bit closer. Northwest won the boys team race with 94 points, followed by Central City with 87 and host Aurora in third with 66. The Girls won with 107 points, followed by a tie for second with York and Adams Central both scoring 58 points, and Hastings in fourth with 55.
Local athletes will compete in Class D Regional meets today, hosted by Burwell, Lawrence-Nelson, Bertrand, and Sutherland. Class C runs tomorrow.
NSAA STATE BOYS SOCCER SOCRES:
Class A Quarterfinals
(1) Creighton Prep 3, (8) Papillion-LaVista South 1
(4) Omaha Westside 4, (5) Lincoln Southeast 0
(2) Millard North 1, (7) South Sioux City 2
(3) Omaha South 5, (6) Lincoln Southwest 2
NSAA STATE BOYS SOCCER TIMES TODAY:
(1) Bennington 18-1 vs (8) Gretna East 9-7 – NOON
(4) Lexington 15-4 vs (5) Mount Michael Benedictine 11-6 – 2PM
(2) Hastings 17-1 vs (7) Elkhorn North 12-5 – 5:30PM
(3) Schuyler 16-2 vs (6) Crete 12-4 – 7:30PM
MLB REINSTATES PETE ROSE AND SHOELESS JOE JACKSON, MAKING THEM HALL OF FAME ELIGIBLE:
NEW YORK (AP) — Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson were reinstated by baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred on Tuesday, making both eligible for the sport’s Hall of Fame after their careers were tarnished by gambling scandals.
Rose’s permanent ban was lifted eight months after his death and came a day before the Cincinnati Reds will honor baseball’s career hits leader with Pete Rose Night.
Manfred announced Tuesday he was changing the league’s policy on permanent ineligibility, saying bans would expire at death. MLB said 17 individuals had their status changed by the decision, including all eight banned members of the 1919 Chicago Black Sox, former Philadelphia Phillies president Williams D. Cox and former New York Giants outfielder Benny Kauff.
TATUM TO MISS REMAINDER OF PLAYOFFS AFTER ACHILLES TENDON SURGERY, IMPERILING CELTICS’ REPEAT HOPES:
BOSTON (AP) — When Jayson Tatum toppled to the court, writhing in pain and grabbing at his right foot late in the Celtics’ Eastern Conference semifinals Game 4 loss to the New York Knicks, it looked like a potentially season-altering injury.
Boston’s worst fears are now confirmed.
Tatum had surgery Tuesday to repair a ruptured right Achilles tendon that will sideline him for the remainder of the playoffs, the team announced.
The Celtics provided details on the extent of Tatum’s injury and announced news of the surgery a day after the six-time All-Star went down in the Celtics’ 121-113 Game 4 loss to the New York Knicks. It puts the hopes of the defending champions repeating and Tatum’s playing status for next season in doubt.
They did not give a timetable for his return, but said a full recovery was expected.
THE NBA’S PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS ARE GOING UP FOR SALE:
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Paul Allen’s estate announced Tuesday that it has begun the process of selling the Portland Trail Blazers.
The sale of the team is “consistent with Allen’s directive to eventually sell his sports holdings and direct all estate proceeds to philanthropy,” the Trail Blazers said in a statement.
Allen, the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft, died in 2018 at age 65 from complications of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Since then, his sister, Jody Allen, has served as chair of the Trail Blazers and the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and trustee of the Paul G. Allen Trust.
The estate said it has hired the New York investment firm Allen & Company and the law firm Hogan Lovells to lead the sales process, “which is estimated to continue into the 2025-26 basketball season.”
The team noted in its announcement that the NBA Board of Governors must ratify any final purchase agreement.
WEDNESDAY’S TIME SCHEDULE:
MLB
Minnesota at Baltimore, Game 1, 12:05 p.m.
Minnesota at Baltimore, Game 2
St. Louis at Philadelphia, Game 1, 1:05 p.m.
Milwaukee at Cleveland, 1:10 p.m.
Arizona at San Francisco, 3:45 p.m.
N.Y. Yankees at Seattle, 4:10 p.m.
St. Louis at Philadelphia, Game 2, 6:15 p.m.
Boston at Detroit, 6:40 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Toronto, 7:07 p.m.
Pittsburgh at N.Y. Mets, 7:10 p.m.
Chicago White Sox at Cincinnati, 7:14 p.m.
Washington at Atlanta, 7:15 p.m.
Miami at Chicago Cubs, 7:40 p.m.
Colorado at Texas, 8:05 p.m.
Kansas City at Houston, 8:10 p.m.
L.A. Angels at San Diego, 9:40 p.m.
Athletics at L.A. Dodgers, 10:10 p.m.
NBA Playoffs – Conference Semifinals
Eastern Conference
New York Knicks at Boston – Game 5, 7 p.m.
Western Conference
Golden State at Minnesota – Game 5, 9:30 p.m.
NHL Playoffs – Conference Semifinals
Eastern Conference
Florida at Toronto – Game 5, 7 p.m.
Western Conference
Edmonton at Vegas – Game 5, 9:30 p.m.
