Monday April 13th Local Sports

TONIGHT:

AM-1300 KGLO — Twins Classic — August 18th, 2009 — Twins vs. Rangers — Joe Mauer raises batting average to .383 in his MVP season — 7:00 PM

IOWA CITY — There is plenty of debate about how much of a preseason is needed before a college football season could begin. That will be determined by when players and coaches are allowed to return to campus when restrictions due to COVID-19 are lifted. Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz says this summer could be similar to the early 80s when he joined Hayden Fry’s staff.

And because of that Ferentz would like to see a month of strength and conditioning before players hit the practice field.

Iowa State coach Matt Campbell played and coached at Division III Mount Union of Ohio so he is familiar with having a month to get ready for the season.

Campbell says a month was plenty of time to get ready.

Both teams are scheduled to open the season at home on September 5th, with Iowa hosting Northern Iowa, and Iowa State hosting South Dakota.

BOONE — After announcing tentative spring sports dates earlier in the week last week, the Iowa High School Athletic Association and the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union on Friday afternoon announced potential start dates for the summer sports seasons. Both associations met with their respective baseball and softball advisories committees and agreed that first practices in each sport would start on May 18th with first competition dates being June 1st. For practices that’s two weeks later than originally scheduled, with first competition dates being a week later than originally planned. The athletic associations earlier last week announced that if school resumed on May 1st, all spring sports practices could start on May 1st, with first competition dates being May 4th, except for soccer, which can first play on May 8th. All spring sports state tournaments would be held in the month of June.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The cancellation of this year’s College World Series because of the coronavirus pandemic isn’t hurting Omaha just economically. The eight-team tournament that decides the Division I baseball championship each June has long been a point of pride for the city of just under a half-million. Total attendance for the 15 games in 2019 was more than 330,000. Thousands more gather outside the stadium. The move to TD Ameritrade Park 10 years ago sparked development near the stadium. The event packs a $75 million economic impact each year.