Thursday August 3rd Local Sports

TONIGHT:
AM-1300 KGLO — Minnesota Twins at St. Louis — pre-game 6:00, first pitch 6:45

 

IOWA CITY (AP) — Gambling investigations at Iowa and Iowa State have now resulted in criminal charges filed against seven current or former athletes, with ex-Hawkeyes basketball player Ahron Ulis and Cyclones quarterback Hunter Dekkers the ones with the highest profiles.

Each is accused in the complaints of tampering with records related to an investigation by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation into sports gambling. Current athletes also face a loss of eligibility for violating NCAA gambling rules.

According to Johnson County online court records, charges have been filed against Ulis, Iowa baseball player Gehrig Christensen and Iowa kicker Aaron Blom.

Dekkers was charged in Story County, as were ISU football player Dodge Sauser, ISU wrestler Paniro Johnson and former football player Eyioma Uwazurike (E-yoh-mah Ooh-WHA-zah-REE-kay), who was drafted by Denver in 2022 and suspended indefinitely by the NFL for betting on Broncos games during his rookie season.

The Iowa Department of Public Safety said Wednesday the investigation was ongoing and additional charges could be filed. Attorneys for the athletes were not listed in the complaints. Mark Weinhardt of Des Moines said he was representing Dekkers and Sauser and that both would plead not guilty.

Ulis, who transferred to Nebraska after starting 27 games for the Hawkeyes last season, is accused of placing 1850 wagers totaling over $34,800 on a FanDuel Sportsbook account set up under the name of his brother. At least one was placed on an Iowa sporting event and over 430 placed on NCAA basketball and football games, the complaint said.

One of Blom’s bets included the 2021 Iowa-Iowa State football game, according to the complaint. The bet Blom placed on the rivalry game was an over-under wager, which requires the bettor to choose whether the teams will combine for more or less than a designated combined point total. The over-under for the game was 45 points, and Iowa won 27-17 for a total of 44 points. Blom, who did not participate in the game, chose the under, according to the complaint.

Dekkers is accused of placing 366 online bets worth more than $2,799. According to documents, those bets included 26 Iowa State athletic events and a 2021 football game with Oklahoma State when Dekkers was a backup. He did not play in the game, which Iowa State won 24-21.

Dekkers was expected to be the second-year starting quarterback for the Cyclones this season. His attorney said he would skip preseason camp.

In May, officials at Iowa State and Iowa announced they were cooperating with state gaming regulators who were investigating illegal online gambling on their campuses. Iowa said it identified 26 athletes in various sports that might have also compromised their NCAA eligibility. Iowa State at the time said about 15 athletes across three sports were suspected of violating gambling rules.

Iowa State University athletic director Jamie Pollard said in a statement that the university has been actively working to address the issues with the involved student-athletes and that it will take time before being completely resolved.

 

 

 

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Dakota Hudson pitched seven strong innings in his second start of the season and Alex Burleson hit a three-run homer, leading the St. Louis Cardinals to a 7-3 win over the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins. Lars Nootbaar added a two-run homer and Tyler O’Neill and Jordan Walker added solo homers for the Cardinals, who won their third straight game. Matt Wallner hit a three-run homer for the Twins in the seventh. Hudson (2-0) struck out seven with three walks and one hit batter. Joe Ryan (9-8) surrendered nine hits and seven runs in four innings in facing the Cardinals for the first time in his career.

 

 

 

IOWA CITY — Kirk Ferentz is entering his 25th season as the University of Iowa’s football coach and says the feeling entering fall camp never changes. The Hawkeyes hit the practice field for the first time on Wednesday.

Ferentz added 13 newcomers, including Michigan transfer Cade McNamara at quarterback, in hopes of improving an anemic offense that ranked 130th out of 131 FBS teams during last year’s 8-5 campaign. The Hawkeyes were picked to finish second in the west division in the Big Ten preseason poll.

Iowa opens the season on September 2nd hosting Utah State.