Metro Sports Report

Marion trimmed by Benton, 64-63, in OT

VAN HORNE - Tyler Gunderson poured in 26 points for the Marion Indians Tuesday night in their Wamac Conference ballgame at Benton Community.

As it turned out, the Indians might have been better off he had scored only 25.

Gunderson went to the foul line with his team trailing, 64-61, with 3.2 seconds left in overtime. He made his first throw but was supposed to miss the second shot on purpose to give his teammates a chance to grab an offensive rebound and tie the game.

Sweeney gets batting tips from Rod Carew

Ryan Sweeney will return to Cedar Rapids Wednesday with a new approach to hitting, thanks to Hall of Famer Rod Carew.

He also could return with a new Major League team.

Sweeney, 27, has spent more than a week in California with Carew, working on his approach to hitting and tinkering with his swing.

Boys basketball pods announced

The Metro area could end up with as many as five or as few as zero teams in the boys state basketball tournament in March.

The Iowa High School Athletic Association released its pods for Class 4A and 3A on Monday. The six Class 4A teams were spread among three substates.

Kennedy and Washington were sent to Substate #3, Linn-Mar and Xavier to Substate #4, and Jefferson and Prairie to Substate #6. Marion competes in Class 3A and Cedar Valley Christian in Class 1A.

The road is rough for all eight Metro teams.

Greve leaving Lions for Chi-Town Cream

Linn-Mar senior Nate Greve struggled with the decision for several months, weighing the pros and cons as he contemplated his baseball career.

Should he play his senior year with the Lions and try to help them get back to the Class 4A state tournament? Or should he take a bold step and play for an elite travel team that might better prepare him for college baseball?

"It was a very tough decision," he said.

His heart was with the Lions, but he's decided to cast his lot with the Chi-Town Cream and skip the 2013 high school baseball campaign.