CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – Cam Newton made a successful return following ankle surgery, Jonathan Stewart ran for two touchdowns and the Carolina Panthers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 28-16 on Sunday night.

Newton completed 4 of 9 passes for 65 yards and led a pair of touchdown drives in the preseason game before exiting late in the second quarter with Carolina (1-1) up 14-6.

Stewart ran for 26 yards on four carries and made a strong case to be the Panthers’ goal-line back – if not their primary ball carrier – with scoring runs of 3 and 2 yards.

Carolina managed just a yard in on its first three possessions before Stewart provided a spark with a 17-yard run. The Panthers scored touchdowns on their next two possessions.

Alex Smith was 14 of 22 for 127 yards for Kansas City (1-1). Rookie Aaron Murray’s first NFL pass resulted in a 43-yard touchdown strike, but he also had an interception.

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The Kansas State Wildcats are ranked 20th in the Preseason Associated Press Top 25 college football poll.  It is the second time in the last three K-State has been ranked in the initial AP poll, while it was the highest the Wildcats have been ranked in the organization’s preseason survey since 2004 when they were ranked 12th.

Other Big 12 programs joining K-State in the Preseason Top 25 are Oklahoma ( fourth ) and Baylor ( 10th ). In addition, Auburn — K-State’s opponent on Thursday September 18 — checked in at No. 6. Florida State is ranked No. 1.

Kansas State returns 39 letterwinners — including 14 starters — from last year’s squad that tallied an 8-5 record.

The Wildcats open the 2014 season on Aug. 30 with a 6:10 -p.m., tilt against Stephen F. Austin at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Alex Gordon, Salvador Perez and Josh Willingham homered, and the Kansas City Royals beat the Minnesota Twins 12-6 on Sunday for their 20th win in their last 25 games.

Kansas City sent 11 batters to the plate and scored seven times in the second, keyed by two-run singles for Alcides Escobar and Nori Aoki. The Royals also increased their AL Central lead to 1 1/2 games over Detroit, which lost 8-1 to Seattle.

This is the latest the Royals have been in first place since 2003.

Kansas City’s Jeremy Guthrie (9-10) returned to the mound after a 54-minute rain delay in the fourth and lasted seven innings, yielding home runs to Joe Mauer and Kennys Vargas.

 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – A person familiar with the situation says Kansas City Chiefs receiver Dwayne Bowe is expected to be suspended for the season opener against Tennessee after his arrest for marijuana possession.

The person disclosed the expected one-game suspension to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team and NFL had not yet announced a punishment.

Bowe was pulled over in a Kansas City suburb on Nov. 10 for driving 48 mph in a 35 mph zone. He was arrested after police found a black bag containing his wallet, driver’s license and two containers of suspected marijuana.

He later pleaded guilty to amended charges of defective equipment and littering, and paid $610 in fines. Bowe’s attorney said there was no admission of guilt for the marijuana charge, which was dismissed.

 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Nori Aoki and Billy Butler each drove in two runs in a five-run seventh and the surging Kansas City Royals rallied to defeat the Oakland Athletics 7-3 Thursday.

The Royals have won 18 of 22 to move 12 games above .500 for the first time since July 20, 2003.

The Royals took the season series, winning five of seven against the Athletics, who have the best record in the majors.

Aoki’s two-run triple put the Royals ahead 5-3. Butler’s single scored Aoki and Alcides Escobar. Jarrod Dyson fouled off four consecutive pitches before hitting an RBI single to right for the first run of the inning.

Right-hander Jeff Samardzija (3-2) took the loss, giving up four runs, three earned, and eight hits in 6 2-3 innings.

He left with a 3-2 lead, but Ryan Cook failed to hold it, facing three batters and all scored. Cook’s streak of 21 consecutive scoreless innings ended.

The Junction City Blue Jays will have a senior quarterback calling the signals this season.

Tanner Lueker started much of the 2013 season and returns for his final Blue Jay football campaign at quarterback.

Coach Randall Zimmerman said Lueker did a good job a year ago for the Blue Jays. Tanner is one of the few returning starters from a year ago on the offensive side of the ball for Junction City. Zimmerman noted Grant Whaley and David Graham also saw playing time on the offense. “So we have a number of kids that have played some there on the offensive side, but we are fairly inexperienced as far as game time.”

On defense the Blue Jays return five starters. They include Trey McDaniel, Tyriq Naz, Ray Wilson, Christian Ozores, and Darius Hicks.

Junction City opens the season September 5 at Highland Park. The home opener is against Emporia on September 12.

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State’s Brandon Bolden and Justin Edwardseach scored in double figures in helping Athletes in Action wrap up its international tour with a 108-99 win over the Barons, a Latvian professional team, on Wednesday at Olimpic Center in Riga, Latvia.

After trailing 25-24 after the first quarter, Athletes in Action was able to slowly build a lead against the Barons, narrowly winning the second quarter, 26-24, to take a 50-49 edge into the locker room at halftime, before winning both the third (29-22) and fourth quarters (29-28) to gain the victory.

Edwards, who was coming off a tour-high 23-point effort in a win over Latvia University on Tuesday, once again led six players in double figures with a game-high 18 points to go with six rebounds, a team-tying three steals and one assist. He went 8-of-13 from the field, including 1-of-1 from 3-point range.

Bolden had his best performance of the trip against the Barons, scoring in double figures for the first time with 13 points on 5-of-7 field goals to go with a 3-of-4 effort from the free throw line. He also added six rebounds and an assist.

Baylor’s Royce O’Neale registered his second consecutive double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Wichita State’s Darius Carter added 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting. Kansas’ Landen Lucas grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds. UNLV’s Kendall Smith (13) and Davidson’s Brian Sullivan (11) also scored in double digits.

The team finished its seven-day tour of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia with a 3-1 record, which included wins over Klaipeda Nafta (80-76), Latvia University (99-93) and the Barons to go with a buzz-beater loss to the National Team of Qatar (67-66). All the games utilized FIBA rules, which included four, 10-minute quarters, a 24-second shot clock and a slightly longer 3-point arc.

During the tour, Edwards averaged a team-best 17.5 points on 52 percent shooting (26-of-50), including 60 percent (12-of-21) from 3-point range, to go with 5.5 rebounds per game. Bolden averaged 7.3 points on a team-high 78.6 percent shooting (11-of-14) and 3.0 rebounds per game.

The trip was the first major experience for Edwards and Bolden after sitting out the 2013-14 season. A 6-foot-4 junior guard from Whitby, Ontario, Edwards played two seasons at Maine before transferring to K-State last summer. He averaged an America East-best 16.7 points per game as a sophomore in 2012-13. A 6-foot-11 sophomore forward from Sumter, South Carolina, Bolden played in four games in Georgetown as a true freshman in 2012-13.

The Wildcat duo return to the U.S. mainland on Thursday, as they leave Riga for a flight to first, Frankfurt, Germany then on to Denver. They will return home before returning to Manhattan at the end of month for the start of school.

Release by Tom Gilbert, Associate Director/Athletics Communications

Public tours of the West Stadium Center at Bill Snyder Family Stadium will resume in September following a debut season that saw nearly 3,000 K-Staters visit the facility outside of football gamedays.

The Athletic Department has announced that tours will resume September 1, and run through October 31 with fans being able to access the facility at noon every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Each tours will last approximately 45 minutes, and advance reservations are required.

The tour, led by Ahearn Fund Athletic Hospitality staff, will begin outside Gate B where fans will receive informational materials on the facility. The tour will continue through the south concourse, highlighting the new Hall of Honor and enhanced restrooms and concessions areas.

Other key points of interest during each tour will include a look at the new Student-Athlete Lounge and Ahearn Fund Student-Athlete Performance Table, club and loge level seating and entertaining areas, and also the opportunity to see a “staged” suite.

Upon completion of each tour, fans will exit the West Stadium Center near the K-State Super Store at the Stadium, which is open Monday through Thursday from noon until 4 p.m.

Reservations for tours can be made by calling the Ahearn Fund Athletic Hospital office at 785-532-7952 or emailing Chelsey Barnes at cbarnes@kstatesports.com.  Some dates may not be available due to previously scheduled athletic events.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) – Kansas coach Charlie Weis believes this may be the most talented team he’s had in his first three seasons in charge. He also knows it’s time to prove it.

After winning one game his first season and three last year, Weis may need to show some significant progress this season to justify the final two years of his five-year deal.

That may be one of the reasons why Weis essentially fired himself as offensive coordinator after last season, hiring John Reagan to bring his spread system from Rice.

Kansas opens the season Aug. 30 against Southeast Missouri State, and then hits the road for a game against Duke. After returning home to face Central Michigan, the Jayhawks open Big 12 play Sept. 27 against Texas.

 

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) – Things couldn’t be much different for Kansas State from a season ago.

The Wildcats are now settled at quarterback with Jake Waters. They have a bevy of talent back on defense. And they have a load of momentum heading into the season after winning six of their last seven games, including a blowout of Michigan in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl.

There are still plenty of question marks, especially at running back and in the defensive backfield. But optimism abounds as coach Bill Snyder embarks on another season.

Kansas State opens Aug. 30 against Stephen F. Austin and then opens Big 12 play the following week at Iowa State. Then comes a Thursday night showdown against Auburn, one of the most high-profile nonconference games of the season.