Month: May 2014

Sporting KC kicks off against D.C. United at 6 p.m. Saturday

Sporting Kansas City heads east to face D.C. United on Saturday at RFK Stadium.

The match, set to kick off at 6 p.m., will feature the defending MLS Cup champion Sporting KC and the 2013 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open winner D.C. United.

Fans can view the match locally on KMCI’s 38 The Spot and on SKCTV across the Midwest.

Saturday marks the seventh game in a span of 28 days for Sporting Kansas City, who is looking to snap a four-game winless streak and secure the club’s first victory since May 10 against the Montreal Impact at Stade Saputo. Sporting KC recorded back-to-back draws in its last two outings, including a 1-1 result against 2013 Supporters’ Shield winners New York Red Bulls on Tuesday.

D.C. United finished at the bottom of the MLS standings in 2013 with just three wins through 34 regular season matches. However, the club secured a draw and four victories on the road to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup title, including a 1-0 victory over Real Salt Lake in the final.

Sporting KC hoisted the U.S. Open Cup trophy in 2012 and also played Real Salt Lake in a championship match in 2013, defeating the Western Conference opponents in the MLS Cup final.

With their titles, Sporting Kansas City (Group 2) and D.C. United (Group 4) will each represent Major League Soccer in the 2014-15 CONCACAF Champions League later this year.

In 2014, D.C. United sits in third place in the Eastern Conference, one point behind Sporting Kansas City, and maintains a 5-4-3 record. D.C. United has scored 12 goals at home this season, second best in the East behind only the New York Red Bulls who have tallied 13. D.C. United forward Fabian Espindola has contributed four of his team-leading six goals this season and all five of his assists at home.

Espindola, who ranks sixth in Major League soccer for goals scored (6) in 2014 and second for assists (5), was acquired by D.C. United in the offseason along with two former KC teammates. Midfielder Davy Arnaud, once a captain in KC and the team’s all-time leader in regular season games played, and Designated Player Eddie Johnson were part of a roster overhaul by head coach Ben Olsen that also included four new contributors on the backline in Cristian Fernandez, Jeff Parke, Bobby Boswell and Sean Franklin.

Sporting KC is 5-4-4 in 2014 and holds a slight advantage (20-18-10) over D.C. United all-time. Sporting KC is 6-12-5 on the road against D.C. United, but is undefeated in the last seven matches between the two clubs with six victories. Sporting KC’s last loss to D.C. United came at RFK Stadium on May 5, 2010.

Sporting KC’s Dom Dwyer has scored 10 goals this season and sits in second place for goals scored behind New York’s Bradley Wright-Phillips (11), who notched the game-tying goal in Tuesday’s 1-1 draw at Sporting Park. Manager Peter Vermes will again be without Matt Besler (USMNT), Graham Zusi (USMNT) and Lawrence Olum (Kenya) due to international duty, however he has two-time MLS All-Star Aurelien Collin back in central defense after recovering from a hamstring strain.

– Story from Sporting KC

Barone helps snap T-Bones’ slide

Sioux Falls, S.D. — The T-Bones got ace material from Daniel Barone in a 7-3 victory over Sioux Falls on Friday night.

Barone (2-0) didn’t walk anyone, scattered seven hits and allowed only three runs, including two in the first inning off a two-out two-RBI single from Chris Valencia. Barone then retired 19 out of the next 20 Canaries before leaving with two on and no outs in the eighth inning, as the T-Bones snapped a three-game losing streak.

Kansas City’s Vladimir Frias jump-started the offense with a one-out triple in the second. He scored on a Byron Wiley double, cutting the deficit to 2-1.

The T-Bones took the lead for good in the fourth inning on a two-out RBI single off the bat of Brian Erie that scored Frias and Wiley, who was on first but came around when the ball got past right fielder Steve Tinoco. That gave Kansas City a 3-2 lead. The T-Bones would cash in on additional two-out RBIs from Danny Richar in the fifth and Erie in the eighth.

Kansas City reliever Kris Regas pitched two innings in which he allowed just one hit and struck out four. Regas, Kansas City’s only other pitcher besides Barone, allowed the lone walk for the T-Bones, compared to six free passes allowed Thursday night.

Erie ended the game going 2 for 4 with two RBIs, and Frias went 3 for 5 and scored three times, pushing his season average to .321.

The T-Bones and Canaries continue the four-game series with the third match on Saturday evening at 6:05. The game can be heard on 1660-AM in Kansas City or online at tbonesbaseball.com.

Box score: http://www.pointstreak.com/baseball/boxscoretext.html?gameid=177709

– Story from T-Bones

Saturday events

Track and field event set May 31
The Hershey Track and Field event, an annual competition, will be at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 31, at Washington High School, 73rd and Leavenworth Road. Those who are age 14 and younger may participate in the free track event. They may be in three events. Those who are 9-14 may qualify for the state Hershey Track meet. To pre-register, visit local community recreation centers. Registration also will be at the event, beginning at 8 a.m.

Church plans 5k run-walk and block party today
New Bethel Church, 745 Walker Ave., is sponsoring a Family 101: 5k run-walk and Kids Miracle Mile Run from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Saturday, May 31. The free event starts and ends at New Bethel Church.
Celebrities from the metro area are expected to participate, including representatives from the Harlem Globetrotters, television personnel, Kansas City Chiefs cheerleaders and others.
The walk focuses on the basics of family, unity, health, education and building a stronger community. Persons may register for the 5k run-walk at www.newbethelkc.org or www.nbcdc.org.
After the 5k, there will be a community cookout and block party from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 745 Walker Ave., Kansas City, Kan. It will include free health screenings by health care professionals, free food, games, races, contests, horseback riding, hamster bowling, face painting, dune buggy rides, bounce house, splash slides, and basketball tournaments.

Plan a trip to the ‘Rozarks’ Saturday for a new nature trail opening
What’s like the Ozarks but is in Kansas City, Kan.? One such area is the “Rozarks” in Rosedale.
The Rozarks Nature Trail will hold its grand opening Saturday, May 31, at Mount Marty Park (Rosedale Arch), 35th and Marty, Kansas City, Kan. Events begin at 9 a.m. and last past 1:30 p.m.
More than 170 volunteers have put in 739 hours of work to construct the natural surface trails in the park since September 2013.
The trails are the result of community planning for a healthy neighborhood, and these visions were outlined in the Rosedale Master Plan and Southwest Boulevard-Merriam Lane “Green Corridor” Master Plan, as well as the Unified Government’s Sidewalk and Trails Master Plan.
The event will begin with a trail workday from 9 a.m. to noon. A free community lunch, catered by local business Deco Catering, will follow at noon, and the ribbon-cutting ceremony will be at 1 p.m. Neighbors, volunteers and special guests will participate in a trail walk and bike ride at 1:30 p.m.
The trails were created through a partnership between Rosedale Development Association, Earthriders Trails Association and the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kan. They are expected to bring additional visitors to the Rosedale Arch, a memorial to Rosedale veterans constructed in 1924, and provide a car-free environment for walking and biking in the neighborhood. Since 2009, the Rosedale Development Association has been working to create an environment that promotes health and physical activity.
Event sponsors include Lane 4 Property Management, BNIM, Mid-America Regional Council, KC Healthy Kids, and Earthriders Trails Association. Other partners include the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kan., Bike Walk KC and Healthy Communities Wyandotte. This is the final event of Bike Month, a month-long celebration of bicycles that included dozens of events throughout the metro area.
Rozarks T-shirts will be available for purchase for $12 at the event, and proceeds will support ongoing trail development. All food and beverages are free.
For more information, visit www.rosedale.org.