KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – The Kansas City Royals have exercised their $13.5 million option on right-hander James Shields for 2014 after he anchored one of the league’s best starting rotations last season.

Shields, acquired last offseason in a trade from Tampa Bay, went 13-9 with a 3.15 ERA and an AL-leading 228 2-3 innings. He was especially good after the All-Star break, going 9-3 with a 3.06 ERA to help the Royals get into playoff contention.

Kansas City went 43-27 after the break to finish 86-76, its best record since 1989.

The decision Thursday to exercise Shields’ option, which needed to be made within three days of the end of the World Series, was mostly a formality.

Earlier in the day, Shields won the Joe Burke Special Achievement Awarded presented by the Kansas City chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

MANHATTAN – The Kansas State Athletics Department will hold its 18^th-annual Cats for Cans food drive during Saturday’s home football game against Iowa State. Fans are encouraged to help the K-State Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) fight hunger in Manhattan by participating in the food drive by bringing canned foods or cash donations to the game.

Wildcat student-athletes will begin collecting donations two hours prior to the 2:30 p.m. kickoff in the parking lot and at all stadium entrances.

All proceeds from the event will go to the Flint Hills Breadbasket in Manhattan. The Breadbasket assists in providing meals for over 2,000 families throughout Manhattan and the surrounding area, especially throughout the holiday season.

This year’s goal is 6,000 pounds of goods and $15,000 worth of monetary donations.

Cats for Cans is just one of many community service projects that allow Kansas State student-athletes to give back to the community in a positive and influential way.

While the 11^th straight sellout at Bill Snyder Family Stadium is expected, a limited number of scattered single tickets remain for Saturday’s 2:30 p.m. game. Fans can purchase tickets online at k-statesports.com, by calling 1-800-221-CATS or visiting the K-State Athletics Ticket Office at Bramlage Coliseum.

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Fans will have the opportunity to talk with Kansas State head coach Bruce Weber during his postgame show on the K-State Sports Network following Friday’s exhibition game with Pittsburg State.

Weber will take questions from callers regarding this year’s Wildcat squad for two 10-minute segments following the game and will include insight from the Voice of the Wildcats Wyatt Thompson and color analyst Stan Weber. Fans are asked to call toll free at (866) KS ST CAT (577.8228) approximately 25 minutes after the conclusion of the game, which tips at 8 p.m. CT.

Single-game tickets to the team’s lone exhibition game on Friday start as low as $10 for bench and general admission seating and $20 for chairbacks. Admission also includes the women’s second exhibition game with Alaska-Anchorage, which tips at 5:45 p.m. at Bramlage Coliseum.

These ticket options, along with season tickets for the defending Big 12 champions, can be purchased through the Athletics Ticket Office in a variety of ways, including toll free at (800) 221.CATS (2287), online at www.kstatesports.com/tickets and in-person at Bramlage Coliseum.

K-State Athletics officials have announced that approximately 300 reserved tickets from Oklahoma’s returned allotment for the Nov. 23 matchup against the ninth-ranked Sooners are currently on sale.

The tickets, priced at $75 each, are located in the visiting team section of the lower bowl of the stadium.

Tickets can be purchased online, by phone or in person at the K-State Athletics Ticket office. Contact the ticket office at 1-800-221-CATS or visit www.k-statesports.com.

When Kansas State hosts Iowa State on Saturday it will be Fort Riley Day at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. 

Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m.

At this year’s Fort Riley Day more than 1,000 soldiers and family members will be treated to a pre-game tailgate party with free food and beer, and donated tickets. The Big Red One band will perform alongside the university’s marching band, and video messages from deployed soldiers will be played on the scoreboard throughout the game.

Soldiers also will receive a cap bearing the insignia of the Big Red One, 1st Infantry Division that all regiments belong to, alongside the K-State Powercat logo.

K-State officials announced the Wildcat volleyball match against Oklahoma scheduled Thursday night at Ahearn Fieldhouse was cancelled due to travel complications for Oklahoma from Norman to Manhattan.

No makeup date was announced.

The Wildcats will host Texas Tech next Wednesday, November 6.

THERE ARE A NUMBER OF THURSDAY NIGHT HIGH SCHOOL
FOOTBALL GAMES.

–ABILENE IS AT SMOKY VALLEY

–CONCORDIA HOSTS CLAY CENTER

–CHAPMAN GOES TO MCPHERSON

–WAMEGO HOSTS HAYDEN

–ROCK CREEK GOES TO RILEY COUNTY

–WAKEFIELD HOSTS LAKESIDE

–WHITE CITY HOSTS CHASE

–GOESSEL IS AT HOPE

–AND BLUE VALLEY – RANDOLPH GOES TO BAILEYVILLE B & B

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) – The euphoria that came with winning a share of its first regular-season conference title in nearly four decades wore off quickly at Kansas State.

That tends to happen when a team is dumped by a No. 13 seed in the NCAA tournament.

All the goodwill that Bruce Weber earned during his first season in Manhattan dissipated when Angel Rodriguez’s last-second shot glanced off the rim and the fourth-seeded Wildcats were sent packing in the second round in March.

Now, they’re rebuilding after losing top scorer Rodney McGruder and 7-footer Jordan Henriquez to graduation, and after Rodriguez decided to transfer to Miami.

Kansas State plays an exhibition game against Pittsburg State on Friday night before opening the regular season Nov. 8 against Northern Colorado.

Game time for Kansas States November 9, match up at Texas Tech has been scheduled for an 11 a.m. kick  and will be televised on ABC.

This will be the Wildcats first morning kick of the season and the first day game at Texas Tech since 2005.

Texas Tech is currently ranked 15th with a 7-1 record, including a 4-1 mark in Big 12 play. They will face Oklahoma State this weekend.

The Wildcats will be looking for their second conference win Saturday, wrapping up a three game home stand, against Iowa State. That game will kick off at 2:30 p.m. from Bill Snyder Family Stadium. The game is Fort Riley Day and scattered singles, including a limited number of tickets returned by Iowa State, are available.

The four year starter at Kansas State University defensive back, Ty Zimmerman has been named one of 15 semifinalists for the Jim Thorpe award as the nation’s top defensive back, the Jim Thorpe Association announced Monday.

Zimmerman is only one of five from KSU to ever be selected and only the second safety from the school chosen for the award. He has started 43 games and is only 12 tackles shy of breaking the schools top-25 list.

Three finalists will be named November 25th, with the winner announced December 12th, on ESPN. The award is presented by the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame and Jim Thorpe Association in Oklahoma City.