Wednesday August 19th Local Sports

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kenta Maeda lost a no-hitter in the ninth inning for the Minnesota Twins, who blew a three-run lead but came back to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 in 12 innings. Byron Buxton slid headfirst into home on a slow roller against a five-man infield for the winning run. Jorge Polanco poked the grounder past Milwaukee pitcher David Phelps. Maeda’s no-hit bid was ended by Eric Sogard’s soft single that soared just over the glove of a leaping Polanco at shortstop.

EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings have signed former Cincinnati linebacker Hardy Nickerson for depth. Nickerson played three seasons for the Bengals, appearing in 37 games with nine starts. He was undrafted in 2017 out of Illinois, where he played his final year of college after transferring from California. Nickerson’s father, Hardy Nickerson Sr., was a five-time Pro Bowl linebacker for Tampa Bay in the 1990s. With setbacks for Cam Smith and Ben Gedeon, the Vikings need more experience backing up Anthony Barr and Eric Kendricks.

IOWA CITY — The NCAA will decide in mid-September if the college basketball season will start on time in early November. Iowa coach Fran McCaffery says several options are being considered, even a bubble type of arrangement that the NBA used to restart its season.

McCaffery says while a lot of unknowns remain he is confident there will be a season.

The Big Ten is reportedly one of two leagues considering a bubble for competition.

UNDATED (AP) — Whether college football players play a lot in the fall, a little in the spring or not at all over the next 10 months, some athletic administrators want to give them all a mulligan on the 2020-21 season. The NCAA Division I Council meets Wednesday with two important issues on the agenda: What will happen with the eligibility of fall sport athletes heading into an uncertain season already impacted by the pandemic? Also, should the NCAA stage fall sports championship events in the spring now that most of Division I has punted on trying to play sports in the first portion of the school year. On the first question, the idea of simply turning off the eligibility clock for everyone seems to be gaining traction.