CHICAGO (AP) – Jonny Gomes drove in three runs, and the banged-up Kansas City Royals moved into a tie with Toronto for the AL’s best record with a 6-4 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday night.

Kansas City played without outfielders Lorenzo Cain and Alex Rios, and designated hitter Kendrys Morales (left quad tightness) and catcher Salvador Perez (swelling in right thumb) each departed during the game. Cain was sidelined by a sore right knee, and Rios was scratched because of a stiff back.

All four players are day to day, and the AL Central champions held on for their second straight victory against the lowly White Sox. Kris Medlen (6-2) pitched six innings of two-run ball, and Ryan Madson tossed a perfect ninth for his third save.

Kansas City (92-67) finishes the season with three games at Minnesota, while Toronto, which holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Royals, closes with a weekend series at Tampa Bay.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) – Touted freshman Cheick Diallo has been cleared to begin practicing with Kansas this week. The forward is still awaiting word from the NCAA on whether he can play this season.

The five-star prospect from Mali attended Our Savior New American, a private high school in Centereach, New York. But the legitimacy of the school’s classes has come under scrutiny by the NCAA, and Alabama and Oklahoma State have had recruits from there ruled ineligible.

Jayhawks coach Bill Self said Thursday on the eve of practice that he is confident Diallo will be cleared. But he also said there is also no timetable for a decision.

Kansas plays its exhibition opener against Pittsburg State on Nov. 4.

After the dust settled after last season the Kansas State Men’s Basketball team was down to just five returning players, and only three of them had seen substantial playing time that season.

When Kansas State opens practice Friday it will be the first official practice in a Wildcat uniform for 11 of the 16 players on this year’s roster. Considering all of the new players, Coach Bruce Weber seems to be enjoying this years team.

“This group likes to play, open gym you don’t have to kind of prod them to get into the gym, they’re there,” said Weber. “Just the drills and stuff they’ve been very coachable, want to work at it, come with excitement. Now that we’ve started practice it will be a whole other level of intensity and we’ll just have to see how they adjust the next four weeks.”

When comparing this year’s team to last years Wesley Iwundu, Junior Guard said that this year they’re the, “underdogs.”

“That’s what strives us to go out there and play hard and perform. Everybody’s just taking things serious this year. There’s no things going on off the court everything is more mature and guys are just ready to go,” said Iwundu.

Kansas State will kick off the season with two exhibition games starting on October 30th against Emporia State and November 6th against Fort Hays State. This year’s non-conference schedule includes six potential matchups against teams that participated in the postseason a year ago, including three from the 2015 NCAA Tournament.

 

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Single-game tickets for Kansas State’s 19-game men’s basketball home schedule, excluding the Kansas game, will go on sale to the public on Monday, October 5.

 

Single game tickets, along with a variety of season ticket packages and two mini plans, can be purchased through the Athletics Ticket Office, including toll free at (800) 221-CATS (2287), online at www.kstatesports.com/tickets and in-person at Bramlage Coliseum.

 

Exhibition and non-conference (excluding Ole Miss) game tickets start at $10 for general admission and bench and $20 for chairbacks. Groups of 12 or more can purchase tickets for just $5. In addition, a new single-game ticket package will be available for all exhibition and non-conference games in 2015. The Bramlage Bundle includes a game ticket, $10 concessions voucher and a souvenir from the K-State Super Store for just $20 per package. A minimum order of two Bramlage Bundles is required per game. Souvenir options include a t-shirt, lanyard, mini-basketball or keychain.

 

Midweek conference games (Texas Tech, Baylor, Texas and TCU) start at just $12.50 with a Wildcat 4 Pack of bench tickets for $50. Single bench tickets are $15, while chairbacks and cushions are $35. Groups of 12 or more can purchase tickets for just $10.

 

Weekend conference games (excluding KU) (West Virginia, Iowa State, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma) and Ole Miss start at less than $20 with a Wildcat 4 Pack of bench tickets for $75. Single bench tickets are $25, while chairbacks and cushions are $50. Groups of 12 or more can purchase tickets for just $15.

 

KU game tickets are available now through the 6-Game Mini Plan for $270. Any remaining KU game tickets will go on sale to the public on Monday, November 16. Bench tickets are $125, while chairbacks and cushions are $150.

 

A number of promotions are also scheduled for the 2015-16 season. The Fort Hays State matchup on Friday, November 6, will be Ladies Night. The $15 ticket package includes a game ticket, a K-State Basketball charm and an invitation to an exclusive pre-game event at the Ice Family Basketball Center.

 

The Texas Tech game on Tuesday, January 12, will be Military Appreciation Day. Fans with a military I.D. can purchase a ticket for $10 – a savings of $5.

 

Saturday, January 23, will be the annual Coaches vs. Cancer game. Fans can purchase the official shirt for the Oklahoma State game with proceeds benefitting the AmericanCancer Society.

 

National halftime acts will entertain fans at four games this season. The Saturday, January 2, matchup against West Virginia will feature Christian & Scobby (The Russian Bar Trio (rb3usa.com) will perform at the January 16 game against Iowa State. The January 23 Oklahoma State game will feature the Olate Dogs (olatedogs.com). Rubber Boy (therubberboy.com) will perform at the Oklahoma game on February 6.

 

The November 6 and November 20 games are Wildcat Weekends. Tickets are only $5 with a football ticket from the Baylor (November 5) or Iowa State (November 21) games, a savings of $5.

 

Youth teams and Coach Weber basketball camp attendees can attend a game for free this season with prior registration. Teams and campers can choose from November 16 versus Columbia, December 9 against Coppin State or December 22 versus North Dakota. For more information or to register your teams, contact Jackson Stevens at(785) 532.7747 or promotions@kstatesports.com no later than three days prior to your selected game.

 

Single-game tickets for the game with Colorado State in the Wichita Wildcat Classic on Saturday, December 19 as well as the Holiday and 6-Game Mini-Plans are already on sale in the Athletics Ticket Office.

 

Tickets for the Wichita Wildcat Classic game start as low as $12, while groups of 12 or more can purchase tickets for as low as $7. These tickets can be purchased through K-State Athletics or through INTRUST Bank Arena at www.selectaseat.com.

 

An allotment of $10 student tickets for the Wichita Wildcat Classic are currently available to K-State students through the Athletics Ticket Office. All purchases must be done in-person with a valid student ID.

 

Fans can choose from two mini-plan options, including the $25 Holiday Mini-Plan and the $270 6-game Mini-Plan. The Holiday Mini-Plan includes a general admission seat for the Saint Louis game on Tuesday, December 29 and the Big 12 opener with West Virginia on Saturday, January 2 – for just $25. The 6-game Mini-Plan includes a reserved ticket to the Kansas game on Saturday, February 20, three non-conference games, one midweek conference game and one weekend conference game for $270.

 

A variety of season ticket packages are still available. The Wildcat 4-Pack, which includes bench and general admission sections, has also been expanded to include the Cat Cushion sections of 10-17 and 26-27, 1-2, and can be purchased at $900, $1,100 or $1,200, depending on location, for a savings up to $95 per ticket. The Wildcat Victory Ticket Plan, available in limited quantities, includes all non-conference and all-midweek conference games in general admission seating (sections 24-25) for $129.

 

In addition to its usual ticket offerings, there are also a limited number of Young Alumni packages, which are available for all K-State undergraduate degree recipients in the past five years (December 2010 to May 2015). These ticket packages are $200 and just $100 for those with Young Alumni football season tickets with an option to utilize the 6-month payment plan for $34 per month. Young Alumni can purchase up to two season tickets at the discounted rate.

 

The Wildcats return four players with starting experience in 2015-16 to go with the influx of seven newcomers, including PARADE All-American Dean Wade (St. John, Kansas/St. John) and NJCAA First Team All-American Carlbe Ervin II (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma/Connors State College). Senior guard Justin Edwards (6.3 ppg., 3.3 rpg.) is the team’s top returner in both scoring and steals (37), while junior forward Wesley Iwundu (5.8 ppg., 3.5 rpg.) is the leading returner in rebounding (108), assists (61), blocks (20) and minutes (780).

 

 

CHICAGO (AP) – Royals center fielder Lorenzo Cain exited Wednesday night’s game against the Chicago White Sox and is day to day for playoff-bound Kansas City with a bruised right knee after fouling a pitch off himself.

Cain collapsed to the ground and writhed in pain after the ball struck him around the right knee cap. He remained on the ground for several minutes while being examined by a team trainer. Cain briefly remained in the game, but struggled to get down the first base line after grounding out to White Sox third baseman Mike Olt.

Cain, who was 0 for 4 Wednesday before being forced out by the injury, was replaced in center by Jarrod Dyson.

Cain is batting .303 with 16 homers and 28 stolen bases this season.

CHICAGO (AP) – Eric Hosmer hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the top of the 10th inning, and the Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox 5-3 on Wednesday night to clinch home-field advantage in an AL Division Series.

Ben Zobrist singled with one out, and Hosmer drove a pitch from David Robertson (6-5) into the bullpen in right field to give the Royals the lead. For Hosmer, it was his 18th homer of the season.

Alex Gordon and Mike Moustakas also homered for Kansas City, which had already clinched the AL Central title. They will host the first two games of their ALDS, and a Game 5 if necessary.

Combined with Toronto splitting its doubleheader in Baltimore, the Royals pulled within a game of the Blue Jays for home-field advantage throughout the AL playoffs. Toronto did win the season series, giving it the tiebreaker over the Royals.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – The Chiefs got Sean Smith back from his three-game suspension on Wednesday, the same day they found out that fellow cornerback Phillip Gaines will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL.

Smith was suspended for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy after getting arrested last year for drunken driving. That is normally a two-game suspension for first-time offenders, but Smith was given an extra game for crashing into a light post.

His return couldn’t come at a better time.

Gaines had been playing in his place until Monday night in Green Bay, when he tore his ACL while defending a pass in the end zone. The Chiefs struggled to stop Aaron Rodgers and the Packers’ passing offense after he left the game, losing 38-28.

Kansas City visits Cincinnati on Sunday.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) – Kansas forward Dwight Coleby, a transfer from Ole Miss, tore the ACL in his left knee during a light team workout last week and will be unable to practice with the team this season.

Coleby had already planned to sit out under NCAA transfer rules.

Jayhawks coach Bill Self said Wednesday that Coleby will have surgery Oct. 11, and he should be ready by the start of next season. The Bahamas native will have two seasons of eligibility left.

Coleby started four of 28 games as a freshman two years ago, and played in all 34 games last season. He averaged 5.4 points and 4.8 rebounds while helping Ole Miss go 21-13 and reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Duck hunting could be good in the Milford Lake – Geary County area.

Chuck Otte, Geary County Extension Agent, said there should be a lot of ducks this year. “We had more ducks stick around the entire state this year. They’re opportunistic. They take advantage of when there’s a lot of water available, but a lot of ducks were around. Numbers coming down out of the prairie pothole regions up in the Dakota’s are up over last year. And last year’s numbers are phenomenal.”

The ducks usually arrive in this area in October.

“There’s going to be a lot of ducks coming into the area, a lot a lot of waterfowl here.”Because there is so much water and cover, Otte added the challenge is going to be getting to a location where the ducks can be hunted. “We need cold fronts like just came through to start moving them down.”