Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Andy Reid was gushing after watching his Kansas City Chiefs beat Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and for good reason: Patrick Mahomes and Tyreek Hill had an eye-popping day and the defense came through in the clutch. The Chiefs coach also acknowledged there is plenty of room for improvement. The reigning Super Bowl champions were penalized 10 times for the second consecutive week, and were flagged eight times the week before that. They also were 0 for 3 when it came to converting touchdowns in the red zone and that same defense also gave up more than 400 yards.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals agreed to a two-year deal with pitcher Mike Minor and finalized a $1.75 million, one-year contract with outfielder Michael Taylor as they piece together a roster in their rebuilding effort.. The deal with the 32-year-old Minor was reached late Sunday and requires him to pass a physical before it can be completed. Taylor signed his $1.75 million contract Monday and it includes up to $1 million in incentives.
MANHATTAN, Kansas (AP) — Nijel Pack and DaJuan Gordon scored 14 points each as Kansas State battled past Missouri-Kansas City 62-58, picking up the Wildcats' first win. Pack, a freshman, scored the game's first basket and his first 3-pointer put K-State ahead 12-0 as part of a 17-0 opening run. The Wildcats led 33-23 at the half, taking advantage of UMKC's cold start — 0-for-8 with four turnovers. Kaosi Ezeagu added 11 points and blocked three shots. Brandon McKissic scored 24 points to lift UMKC back into it, hitting 10 of 17 shots, including four 3-pointers. He scored 15 after halftime.
UNDATED (AP) — Gonzaga and Baylor remain the top two teams in the first Associated Press men's college basketball poll of the regular season. The Zags received 57 first-place votes from a 63-person media panel. The Bears received six first-place votes, with Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois rounding out the top five. Gonzaga was the preseason No. 1 and lived up to the billing by rolling over Kansas and Auburn in Fort Meyers, Florida. The Jayhawks dropped a spot to No. 7 this week but were ranked for the 222nd consecutive week to break UCLA's all-time record set from 1966-80. Villanova and Virginia plunged after losses while Virginia Tech entered the rankings at No. 16 and Richmond at No. 19.
Update on the latest sports
NFL-RAVENS-STEELERS-PPD
Ravens-Steelers rescheduled again by COVID-19 to Wednesday
UNDATED (AP) — The Baltimore Ravens' struggle to contain an extended outbreak of the coronavirus forced their rescheduled game Tuesday night against the unbeaten Pittsburgh Steelers to be moved back to Wednesday.
It's the third fix to a matchup originally slated to be played Thanksgiving night. The NFL announced the most recent switch Monday after the Ravens placed starters Matthew Judon, Willie Snead and Mark Andrews on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Although Baltimore also had four players return from that list the team will still be severely short-handed when this game is finally played.
In other NFL news:
—The 49ers will host the Buffalo Bills next Monday and Washington on Dec. 13 at State Farm Stadium, home of the Arizona Cardinals. The team says it will have information on practice arrangements later. Santa Clara County, California, announced new rules that include a three-week ban on practices and games for contact sports starting Monday.
— Browns star defensive end Myles Garrett is on track to be activated from the COVID-19 list on Wednesday after missing two games with the virus. Garrett sat out Cleveland's wins over Philadelphia and Jacksonville the past two weeks after testing positive on Nov. 20. Garrett was leading the NFL with 9 1/2 sacks when he tested positive for the coronavirus, which has sidelined several other Browns players.
— Cincinnati Bengals coach Zac Taylor said he expects injured quarterback Joe Burrow to have knee surgery sometime this week. Taylor said the surgery on Burrow's damaged left knee is set for midweek, but he declined to share any other details. Burrow's promising rookie season ended Nov. 22.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL POLL
Gonzaga, Baylor stay atop AP Top 25; Va. Tech, Richmond in
UNDATED (AP) — Gonzaga and Baylor remain the top two teams in the first Associated Press men's college basketball poll of the regular season.
The Zags received 57 first-place votes from a 63-person media panel. The Bears received six first-place votes, with Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois rounding out the top five.
Gonzaga was the preseason No. 1 and lived up to the billing by rolling over Kansas and Auburn in Fort Meyers, Florida.
The Jayhawks dropped a spot to No. 7 this week but were ranked for the 222nd consecutive week to break UCLA's all-time record set from 1966-80. Villanova and Virginia plunged after losses while Virginia Tech entered the rankings at No. 16 and Richmond at No. 19.
In Top 25 action:
— Freshman RJ Davis scored 16 points and No. 14 North Carolina overcame an ugly start to beat UNLV 78-51 in the first round of the relocated Maui Invitational. Garrison Brooks added 14 points and surpassed the 1,000-point mark for his career in the first half for the Tar Heels. UNC fell behind 13-0 and didn't score for the first 6 1/2 minutes. But UNC closed the gap then ran off a 28-4 run spanning halftime to take a big lead of its own. Bryce Hamilton had 15 points to lead UNLV.
—Courtney Ramey had the go-ahead driving score with 20 seconds left for No. 17 Texas in the opening game of the Maui Invitational. Ramey's score broke a 76-all tie, then the Longhorns (2-0) came up with a pair of stops on the final possession, when the Wildcats (1-1) had a chance to tie or win. Davidson's Sam Mennenga missed a contested 3-pointer from the wing, but the Wildcats got another shot when the ball went out of bounds with 3.8 seconds left.
The Wildcats inbounded again to Mennenga, who missed a final 3 for the win with Texas' Andrew Jones closely defending him. Mennenga turned toward the official at the horn, while Davidson coach Bob McKillop also protested slightly before leaving the court.
Ramey scored 14 points to lead the Longhorns. Jones finished with 13 points in his season debut, as did Kai Jones.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Minnesota cancels game against Northwestern
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota has canceled its game against Northwestern on Saturday, the second straight football cancellation for the Gophers because of a spike in their COVID-19 cases.
The decision was made by university officials Monday in consultation with the Big Ten. Since Nov. 19, Minnesota has had 47 positive cases, including 21 players and 26 staff members. Seven of those cases were reported on Monday.
The Gophers paused all team-related activities six days ago. They canceled their game at Wisconsin last week.
Northwestern leads the Big Ten West Division at 5-1.
MLB-ROYALS
Royals agree with Minor, sign Taylor to $1.75M, 1-year deal
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals agreed to a two-year deal with pitcher Mike Minor and finalized a $1.75 million, one-year contract with outfielder Michael Taylor as they piece together a roster in their rebuilding effort.
The deal with the 32-year-old Minor was reached late Sunday and requires him to pass a physical before it can be completed.
Taylor signed his $1.75 million contract Monday and it includes up to $1 million in incentives.
In other MLB news:
— Right-hander Jacob Barnes and the New York Mets agreed to a $750,000, one-year contract, two days ahead of the deadline for teams to offer 2021 deals to unsigned players on their 40-man rosters. The 30-year-old was 0-2 with a 5.50 ERA for the Los Angeles Angeles last season, then was claimed off waivers by the Mets on Oct. 30. He is 4-13 with a 4.36 ERA in 199 relief appearances and one start in five major league seasons.
— Major League Baseball is creating a minor league for top eligible prospects leading to the summer draft. The MLB Draft League is launching with five teams and could add a sixth. The teams are in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New Jersey. Teams will use wood bats and play a 68-game regular season that includes an All-Star break coinciding with the draft in early July.