Chamberlain not focused on rotation or bullpen

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) Joba Chamberlain doesn't worry about whether he'll wind up in the New York Yankees' rotation or the bullpen.

A starter in the minors after he left Nebraska, Chamberlain became Mariano Rivera's primary setup man during the final two months of last season. The Yankees say the 22-year-old eventually will be a starter, but that he will have an innings limit this year and could start in the bullpen.

"We've approached it in a great way. We're going to go in the beginning and understand there's an innings limit, and I know that," Chamberlain said Monday. "I'm excited to have a new challenge this year."

Chamberlain enters spring training along with two other heralded young pitchers: Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy. The Yankees are relying on youth more than in recent years as they try to dethrone the World Series champion Boston Red Sox.

"They won. Now, it's up to us to take that away," Yankees catcher Jorge Posada said. "They've done things right. They're a good group of guys. They've got some youngsters that played good toward the end of the season. Obviously, they are the defending champions. There's no question, we are following them."

Chamberlain will work with the starting pitchers during the early part of spring training, even if he begins the season in the bullpen. Last year, Chamberlain worked under strict pitch and innings limits, which came to be known as Joba Rules.

"This game is definitely a marathon, not a sprint, and I understand that," Chamberlain said. "Last year, it was kind of frustrating, having the rules, but you understood what it was about. I understand the work load and what's going to go on, but this is going to be my first go around, so I've got to be patient and learn and understand that I've got to ask questions as I prepare myself for a full season in the big leagues."

Chamberlain has been throwing off a mound for the past month at the Yankees' minor league complex. The on-field success has changed his off-field life, which includes being recognized more in public and invitations to baseball events.

"I definitely got some frequent-flyer miles, I'll tell you that much," Chamberlain said with a smile. "It's just the opportunities that came, and the people that I got to meet was great. If you don't perform on the field, you don't get to do all that great stuff and enjoy yourself in the offseason. It was definitely an honor. Hard works pays off, but you've got to come back and work even harder so you can have that much fun next year."

Notes: Posada received a small cut on his right calf when he was struck by a piece of a broken bat during batting practice. Posada got a new bat and continued his BP session with Derek Jeter, Shelley Duncan and Chris Woodward. ... Chamberlain threw 45 pitches off a mound Monday.

Nebraska-Kearney sweeps Metro State

DENVER The Nebraska-Kearney baseball team used a three-run ninth inning to beat Metro State 7-6 in the second game of a doubleheader Sunday afternoon.

In the early game, UNK (2-1) pounded out 18 hits to breeze to a 13-6 victory. All three games this weekend with the Roadrunners (1-2) were non-conference contests.

Metro used a five-run fifth inning to erase a 3-1 deficit and take control of the second game. After UNK scored an unearned run in the sixth, the Lopers took advantage of another error, and two hit batters, to score three in the ninth.

The inning started with senior Chris Gillaspy getting plunked and senior Tyler Keeble reaching on an infield error. Pinch hitter Travis Lindhorst then sacrificed both runners over but Metro countered by intentionally walking senior Joe Nowaczyk.

Gillaspy would get UNK within one run when he scored on a fielder's choice from junior Nate Swearer. Matt Backes then took over for Metro and promptly hit junior Brad Hull to load the bases once again.

Sophomore third baseman Blake Cover, who hit his first collegiate homer in Saturday's 15-10 loss, came up next and delivered a two run single to right to provide the winning margin.

In the Metro ninth, sophomore Ryan Seefus struck out the first two batters to record a 1-2-3 inning. Seefus earned the win by throwing 4 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. He also fanned four and gave up just one hit.

Finally, Seefus got UNK out of the five-fun fifth by getting Brennan Brown to ground into a 4-6-3 double play. Swearer and Cover each had two hits in the game with Hull joining Cover with two RBI's.

In the first game, UNK scored four in the first, three more in the third and then five in the fourth to open up a 12-1 lead. Metro had only eight hits in the game and scored three unearned runs in it's final at-bat.

Gillaspy, Swearer, Cover and senior Trey Howell each had three hits with Swearer knocking in four runs and Nowaczyk (2-for-4, two runs) three.

UNK didn't have a homer but did record seven doubles, including two from Cover and two from Swearer. For the weekend, Cover went 6-for-12 with seven RBIs and four runs scored.

Kearney native and Barton County (Kan.) Community Collegeg transfer Ryan Sheldon was strong in his Loper debut, allowing seven hits and three earned runs in five innings of work. Fellow newcomer Bobby Ficenec then came in and allowed only one hit in two innings.

Woodhead named to Division II All-America squad

CHADRON Chadron State senior running back Danny Woodhead has been named to Don Hansen's Football Gazette NCAA Division II All-America Team.

Woodhead, the NCAA's all-time leading rusher with 7,962 yards, was also named to the Football Gazette First-Team last season and he shared offensive player of the year with Cullen Finnerty of Grand Valley State.

Chadron State's John Strand and Aaron Ide also received accolades from Football Gazette. Strand, a senior offensive tackle from Imperial, was named to the third-team, and Ide, a junior from Holdrege, earned honorable mention as a defensive tackle.

This marks the 20th year Football Gazette has selected an All-America team.

Fonner Park fantasy jockey contest on tap

Fonner Park's third annual fantasy jockey league contest, sponsored by Nebraskaland Distributing, will start this at 6:30 p.m. with an auction being conducted in the Clubhouse.

Entry fee is $60 with each team using a fictitious $100 bankroll to bid on and assemble a stable of eight jockeys. Riders from seven designated simulcast tracks plus a Fonner colony of 17 jockeys will be eligible. Scoring is determined by the mutuel payoff of wins only during all live Fonner racedays.

Cash prizes, T-shirts, hats and gift certificates will be awarded on a weekly and overall 12-week season. Auctioneer Terry Carnze and track announcer Steve Anderson will conduct the evening's ceremonies. All race fans are invited to attend.

A father-son team of Gus and George Katrouzos will be on hand to defend their title for the third year in a row.

For more information call Steve Anderson at (308) 383-0545 or Todd Otto at (308) 382-4515.

St. Paul's Dethlefs commits to Hastings College

HASTINGS Hastings College women's basketball coach Tony Hobson announced that St. Paul's Justine Dethlefs has committed to play for the Broncos next season

Dethlefs, a 5-foot-9 senior point guard, is averaging 14 points, six rebounds and four assists per game for the Wildcats. She is a two-time Lou-Platte Conference all-conference selection and has been named honorable mention all-state by the Associated Press

Central City's Smith wins district title at 112

Kevin Smith of Central City won the 112-pound title Saturday in the Class B, District 3 wrestling tournament at York. A story in Sunday's edition omitted him from a list of Bison district champions.