August 2014 – Page 47 – Welcome to Wyandotte Daily!

Eastern Conference contenders set for showdown tonight at Sporting Park

Atop the East, Sporting Kansas City hosts third place Toronto FC at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan., in a clash of Eastern Conference contenders.

The match will be televised live locally on KMCI-TV 38 and across the Midwest on SKCTV. Fans can also listen to the match on Sports Radio 810 WHB (English) and La Gran D 1340 AM (Spanish).

A limited number of tickets remain available, including standing room only tickets, which can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com or at the Sporting Park box offices on game day.

Sporting Kansas City fell 2-0 to the Vancouver Whitecaps last weekend after conceding a pair of first half goals. The loss snapped an eight-game unbeaten streak for the reigning MLS Cup champions that included five consecutive road victories.

Homegrown goalkeeper Jon Kempin made his MLS debut in the match after Andy Gruenebaum suffered a shoulder injury and could not return after the halftime break. Kempin’s first save of his MLS career came on a Darren Mattocks penalty kick attempt, which earned MLS Save of the Week honors.

Toronto FC concludes a four-game road trip on Saturday in Kansas City. After falling 3-0 at second place D.C. United to begin their travels, Toronto FC recorded victories against Montreal and Columbus in back-to-back weeks.

Both wins came without leading scorer Jermain Defoe as the English international remains questionable for tomorrow’s match with a right adductor strain. Defoe’s 11 goals in 15 MLS matches are fifth most in MLS and three behind Sporting KC forward Dom Dwyer, who replaced Defoe on the MLS All-Star game day roster.

Fellow MLS All-Star Michael Bradley returns to Kansas City for the first time since the 2013 MLS All-Star Game while playing for AS Roma. A member of the United States Men’s National Team at the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups, Bradley was acquired by Toronto prior to the start of the season. Along with Defoe, the duo share the distinction as Major League Soccer’s highest-paid players with $6 million base salaries.

Sporting Kansas City and Toronto FC have already met twice this season, including a 2-2 draw at Sporting Park on May 23 that kept the Manager Peter Vermes’ squad unbeaten at home (5-0-1) against their Canadian counterparts since 2010. More recently, Sporting KC earned a 2-1 victory over Toronto FC at BMO Field on July 26 with Graham Zusi and Jacob Peterson on the scoresheet.

Fans can get in-game updates online at SportingKC.com/GameOn or by following @SKCGameday on Twitter. Additionally, the match will also be available to watch live online as MLSsoccer.com’s Stream of the Week.

– Story from Sporting KC

Bicyclists tour Wyandotte County neighborhood

by William Crum

Today, there was a bike race that was held at the Waterway Park in Kansas City, Kan.

Bike enthusiasts came from all over the Greater Kansas City metropolitan area just to participate in this event. The proceeds for the event go to FreeWheels for Kids, which promotes bicycling for kids.

Through FreeWheels for Kids, youth are encouraged to start bike clubs in the various schools, which in turn cause the children to be healthier.

Bicycling among all ages is very popular especially in Wyandotte County. Wyandotte County as a whole is getting a lot of new bike trails, making cycling truly something the whole family can enjoy.

If you’re ever seen a bike race it will amaze you how fast the cyclists go. Each cyclist has to go through training before entering a race. Today was no exception to the rule. They traveled at speeds that would scare you, all to benefit FreeWheels for Kids.

For more information on how you can volunteer with FreeWheels for Kids, go to the website www.FreeWheelsKC.org.

Bougher stalls T-Bones bats

The T-Bones failed to get their offense going yet again off Gary SouthShore starter Stephen Bougher, as they fell 8-1 in front of 5,395 fans at CommunityAmerica Ballpark in Kansas City, Kan., on Friday night.

Bougher is now 3-0 against the T-Bones in four starts. Kansas City managed to get only one run off six hits in 6 innings off Bougher (7-5).

Gary SouthShore jumped on T-Bones starter Joe Van Meter out of the gates. Following back-to-back singles starting the game off, Ryan Babineau flew out to left bringing in Danny Pulfer from third.

Kansas City answered back with their lone run in the bottom of the fourth. With one on and two out, Bryan Sabatella sliced an RBI single toward second that scored Matt Padgett, who led off the inning with a walk. That base hit for Sabatella — one of his two in the game — extended his hitting streak to nine games.

After tacking on one in the fifth, the RailCats poured it on in the sixth when they scored three runs off four hits, forcing Kansas City to reach into their bullpen. Babineau drove in his second run of the evening with an RBI double into left-center.

Van Meter (0-1) allowed four runs off five hits and struck out seven batters over the course of 5 innings on the mound. His replacement, Hamilton Bennett, gave up four runs and four hits in 1 1/3 innings.

With the loss the T-Bones fall to 37-46, while the RailCats improve to 44-40. Game two of the three-game series is scheduled for Saturday evening at 7:05. Tickets are available by calling the Providence Medical Center Box Office at CommunityAmerica Ballpark at 913-328-5618.

Box score: http://www.pointstreak.com/baseball/boxscoretext.html?gameid=178148
– Story from T-Bones