KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Pat Valaika hit a two-run homer with two out in the eighth inning and Greg Holland finished for his 36th save in the Colorado Rockies’ 3-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Thursday.

Valaika snapped an 0-for-12 slide, driving a full-count pitch from Mike Minor (5-6) to left after Gerardo Parra singled.

Holland worked a perfect ninth. He allowed Eric Hosmer’s game-ending, three run homer in the ninth inning Wednesday night and was 0-4 with three blown saves in his previous six appearances.

Adam Ottavino (2-3) struck out two in a perfect seventh.

The Rockies snapped a four-game losing streak with just their fifth victory in 17 games.

Rookie Jake Junis limited the Rockies to one run and seven hits over 5 1-3 innings. He matched his career high with seven strikeouts and walked one. The right-hander is 2-0 with a 1.86 ERA in three August starts, walking one and striking out 16 in 19 1-3 innings.

Whit Merrifield and Brandon Moss led off the Royals’ first and second innings with home runs. It was Merrifield’s third career leadoff home run, all this season, and his eighth hit in 15 at-bats. Moss hit his 17th home run, 14 of them with the bases empty.

By RALPH D. RUSSO
AP College Football Writer

There are a couple of ways to approach making predictions for a college football season.

If being correct in the end is the most important thing, stick with the chalk picks and come away with a solid completion percentage built mostly on short throws to open receivers. Hooray, efficiency!

Of course, where’s fun in that? Open things up and maybe come away with one or two memorable plays – or huge mistakes.

The college football season is just days away, so time to take a few shots down field.

AP TOP 25

Three teams in the AP preseason poll that will not finish the season ranked – No. 13 LSU, No. 16 Louisville, No. 22 West Virginia.

Three teams not in the AP preseason poll that will finish the season ranked – Northwestern, North Carolina State, Notre Dame.

CONFERENCE WINNERS

– American Athletic Conference: Memphis (West) over USF (East). Heavily hyped AAC favorite gets knocked off again.

– Atlantic Coast Conference: Miami (Coastal) over Florida State (Atlantic). ‘Canes, back! Really.

– Big Ten: Ohio State (East) over Northwestern (West). Wildcats are surprise winners of the West, but Buckeyes take care of business to finish 13-0.

– Big 12: Kansas State (second) over Oklahoma (first). Of course an upset in the Big 12 championship game helps keep Oklahoma out of the playoff. Of course.

– Conference USA: Middle Tennessee (East) over Louisiana Tech (West). Stockstill & son (coach Rick and quarterback Brent) rule C-USA.

– Mid-American Conference: Toledo (West) over Miami (East). Finally, Toledo. Steady Rockets win the MAC for first time since 2004.

– Mountain West: Boise State (Mountain) over San Diego State (West) Broncos snap Aztecs’ MW title streak at two.

– Pac-12: Southern California (South) over Washington (North). Heavyweight matchup that sends the winner to the playoff.

– Southeastern Conference: Alabama (West) over Georgia (East). SEC East champ still just a tuneup for playoff-bound Crimson Tide.

– Sun Belt: Appalachian State. Mountaineers coach Scott Satterfield positions himself for a possible Power-Five gig.

HEISMAN TROPHY

Top five vote-getters (in order):

– Sam Darnold, QB, USC. The favorite becomes the Trojans’ eighth Heisman winner.

– Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State. Barkley goes for 2,000-plus total yards.

– Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma. Mayfield joins Tebow as three-time finalist.

– Christian Kirk, WR, Texas A&M. Spectacular receiver also provides special-teams thrills.

– J.T. Barrett, QB, Ohio State. Fifth-year senior gets some career achievement support.

CHIP KELLY

The most-wanted coach on the market will end up at UCLA after another rough season by the Bruins convinces the administration to dip into all that new Under Armour money – this is the first of a 15-year deal worth $280 million – to part ways to Jim Mora. Former Oregon coach Chip Kelly will be biding his time at ESPN this season.

NEW YEAR’S SIX

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF

Sugar Bowl – Alabama (2) vs. USC (3).

Rose Bowl – Ohio State (1) vs. Miami (4).

Cotton Bowl – Oklahoma vs. Stanford.

Orange Bowl – Florida State vs. Penn State.

Fiesta Bowl – Washington vs. Kansas State.

Peach Bowl – Auburn vs. Memphis.

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Alabama beats Ohio State to avenge that 2014 semifinal loss to the Buckeyes and win its fifth national title in the last nine seasons under Nick Saban.

___

Friday, August 25th:
5:00 – Volleyball in the HS main gym
9th/JV will play @ 5:00 pm and JV/Varsity will play @ 5:45 pm
7:00 – Football @ Memorial Stadium

ADMISSION FOR ALL SCRIMMAGES WILL BE SPORT DRINKS AND WATER.

• 2017-18 Ticket Prices:

Student (grades K-12)
$4 for varsity events
$3 for JV/C-Team/9th grade events

Adults
$6 for varsity events
$5 for JV/C-Team/9th grade events

** Post Season events are regulated by the KSHSAA

KANSAS CITY, MO (AP) -The Kansas City Chiefs trudged to training camp on the campus of Missouri Western with only a couple of positions up for grabs, one of the benefits of having a veteran team coming off an AFC West title.

The starting job opposite cornerback Marcus Peters remains that way.

A rash of injuries to just about everybody on the depth chart has kept some of the main instigators from taking part in the race. Those that have made it onto the field for the first two preseason games have yet to distinguish themselves, and that leaves Chiefs defensive coordinator Bob Sutton in a rather tough position heading into Game 3 – typically the final dress rehearsal – on Friday night in Seattle.

Steven Nelson was listed as a starter on the depth chart released this week, but the undersized third-year pro is better suited to the nickel position. Terrance Mitchell was the backup, but hasn’t practiced in weeks because of a hamstring injury. Phillip Gaines was listed as the backup behind Peters, but he started on the other side in last week’s preseason game against Cincinnati.

So much for some clarity in the cornerback competition.

“I think we’re growing,” Chiefs secondary coach Al Harris insisted. “We’ve got an extremely close room regardless of who’s in there, but I think we’re growing as a unit.

“Usually the secondary takes a little more time as far as once camp starts to get everybody on the same page,” he said, “but I think the guys are doing an extremely good job of taking coaching points from the room and bringing them out here to the field.”

That doesn’t sound like a coach who is worried about how things will shake out.

There is reason for that, too. Just about everyone fighting for playing time has been on the field in some capacity, giving the Chiefs a wealth of experience at the position.

Nelson has become an integral part of the defense after starting 14 games a year ago. Mitchell was a mid-season pickup last year who performed so well down the stretch that the starting job was thought to be his to lose. And Gaines has made 13 starts and appeared in 27 games in his injury-plagued career.

Even backups such as De’Vante Bausby, Kenneth Acker and Jacoby Glenn have NFL experience.

Then there’s the fact that regardless who wins the starting job, a handful of guys will be called upon at some point this season. That’s just like in the modern, pass-happy NFL, where teams that expect to compete for a division title and the Super Bowl require plenty of depth in the secondary.

“There is a lot of competition out there,” Nelson said, “so every day is a work day.”

Getting that work in has been the biggest challenge of camp, though.

Gaines hurt his finger in the Chiefs’ preseason opener, though he practiced through the pain. Nelson and Acker have dealt with groin injuries. Bausby has worked through an ankle injury. Glenn is currently out with a concussion, while another backup, JR Nelson, is sidelined by a heel injury.

Mitchell’s injury may be the most frustrating, given not only the sizeable role he’s expected to play but also what coach Andy Reid has called his biggest hurdle: learning the scheme.

“It’s a matter of him knowing what’s going on. He’s a talented athlete,” Reid said. “We ask those guys to line up and play a lot of man-to-man coverage. It’s a matter of getting used to that.”

Reid has yet to express any concern that the secondary will be settled – and healthy – by the Chiefs’ opener. But considering their opponent Sept. 7, perhaps there should be a sense of urgency: Tom Brady and the Super Bowl champion Patriots.

On the road, no less.