Month: September 2018

NAACP to meet Sept. 4

The Kansas City, Kansas, Branch NAACP will meet on Tuesday, Sept. 4, at the Bethany Medical Building, 21 N. 12th St., in the second floor meeting room.

The executive meeting will begin at 6 p.m. followed by the general membership meeting at 7 p.m.

All members are encouraged to attend and the public is welcomed. The agenda includes updates on the plans for the 100th Year Freedom Fund Banquet; the general membership will determine the date, time, and location for the branch November election and a nominating committee will be elected to report out at the October meeting.

For further information, call 913-281-7900.

Two teams with winning streaks, Sporting KC and Seattle, to meet today

A Western Conference clash beckons Saturday as second-place Sporting Kansas City (13-6-6, 45 points) and sixth-place Seattle Sounders FC (11-9-5, 38 points) put their winning streaks on the line at CenturyLink Field in Seattle.

Kickoff is set for 3 p.m., with three hours of live coverage on FOX Sports Kansas City and FOX Sports Midwest Plus beginning at 2:30 p.m.

The contest will also air nationally in Spanish on UniMas and UDN and stream live in English via @UnivisionSports on Twitter. Local radio broadcasts will air live on ESPN 94.5 FM / 1510 AM (English) and ESPN Deportes KC 1480 AM (Spanish), while the Sporting KC Uphoria app will provide additional live updates.

Two of the league’s hottest teams are on a collision course this weekend as Sporting KC, winners of four straight, aim to knock off a surging Seattle that has collected seven consecutive victories of their own.

Sporting KC enters Week 27 one point behind Western Conference leaders FC Dallas with a game in hand, while Seattle currently holds the sixth and final playoff spot in the West by the slimmest of margins – tied with seventh-place LA Galaxy on 38 points but owning the wins tiebreaker.

Sporting KC is coming off a 2-0 home triumph against Minnesota United FC last Saturday that saw manager Peter Vermes’ men become the sixth MLS team all-time to record four straight shutout wins in a single regular season.

Substitute Yohan Croizet fired the hosts ahead early in the second half before Diego Rubio continued his masterful month of August with a game-clinching goal in the 62nd minute. Sporting KC is seeking their first five-game MLS winning streak since 2012, and has the chance to become the first team in league history to record five straight shutout wins.

Led by head coach Brian Schmetzer, the two-time defending Western Conference champion Sounders have rattled off seven successive victories to tie the single-season MLS record first set by Sporting KC in 2012.

The club earned a resolute 1-0 road win over rivals Portland last Sunday, receiving a 76th-minute own goal from Timbers defender Julio Cascante after Seattle defender Kim Kee-Hee swung a low cross into a crowded penalty area.

Riding a 376-minute shutout streak dating back to July 28, Sporting KC boasts a conference-best plus-17 goal differential.

Goalkeeper Tim Melia leads MLS with 11 shutouts to anchor a defense that has conceded 30 goals, third-fewest in the league.

Offensively, Johnny Russell (eight goals, eight assists), Daniel Salloi (seven goals, seven assists) and Diego Rubio (seven goals, five assists) bolster a dynamic attack that ranks among the best in the league. Russell (Scotland), Salloi (Hungary) and Rubio (Chile) have all received call-ups to their national teams and will travel abroad for international matches following Saturday’s game.

Seattle wields an 8-0-2 record since the start of July – thanks in part to influential playmaking midfielder Nicolas Lodeiro, who has five goals and five assists during the unbeaten run.

The Sounders have outscored opponents 19-5 over the last two months, posting five clean sheets, with goalkeeper Stefan Frei, center back Chad Marshall and gritty captain Osvaldo Alonso comprising the spine of a team that has allowed 26 goals in 25 games, tied for the fewest in MLS.

A lesser-used role player during Seattle’s recent surge was forward Clint Dempsey, who announced his retirement from the game on Wednesday at age 35.

The U.S. international and American soccer legend played professionally for 15 years, including seven years in the English Premier League for Tottenham and Fulham in between MLS stints with the New England Revolution and Seattle.

Given both teams’ defensive form and recent history between the clubs, goals could be at a premium on Saturday.

In 17 regular season meetings all-time, Sporting KC and Seattle have combined for more than three goals just twice, including their 2-2 draw at Children’s Mercy Park on April 15. The exciting stalemate, played in frigid conditions in Kansas City, saw Sporting KC take a first-half lead on an Ilie Sanchez penalty kick before Will Bruin equalized on the stroke of halftime. Cristian Roldan fired Seattle ahead in the 73rd minute, but Graham Zusi bagged an equalizer five minutes later to split the points.

Including playoffs, eight of the nine MLS meetings between Sporting KC and Sounders FC at CenturyLink Field have produced a goal or less. The only match played in Seattle to produce more than one goal was a 1-1 draw in June 2012.

– Story from Sporting KC

T-Bones win 12-6; closing in on post-season play

The Kansas City T-Bones won 12-6 on Friday night in baseball action at T-Bones Stadium in Kansas City, Kansas, keeping their playoff hopes alive. (Photo by John Ellis, T-Bones)

An eight-run fourth inning for Kansas City sealed a win over the Wichita Wingnuts Friday evening 12-6 at T-Bones Stadium in Kansas City, Kansas.

The T-Bones continue to hold second place in the league, as they have for most of the season, 2.5 games ahead of Wichita.

In the first, the T-Bones took an early 2-0 lead with a two-run RBI single by Noah Perio Jr. that scored Todd Cunningham and Mason Davis.

But Wichita answered back quickly, tying the score 2-2. With no outs in the top of the second and runners in scoring position, a two-run RBI single to center by John Nester brought home Tony Thomas and Chase Simpson.

Davis scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the third when Colin Walsh dropped an RBI single into left.

The bottom of the fourth saw Kansas City break it open, sending 11 batters to the plate and scoring eight runs – the second-most runs scored in an inning this year for the T-Bones.

Adrian Nieto led off with a ground rule-double to right center. He moved up to third on a fielder’s choice, then was brought on by Keith Curcio with a ground ball through the hole on the left side.

With bases loaded and two out, Davis came up to the plate as the next batter. He lined to center for a two-run RBI double that scored Alay Lago and Curcio to make it 6-2 KC.

Wichita brought in relief pitcher James Campbell, who hit the first batter he faced, Cunningham, to load the bases. Campbell then walked Walsh to push home the T-Bones’ seventh run of the game.

Perio Jr. then hit into a fielder’s choice that put out Walsh and scored Davis, solidifying KC’s lead at by six at 8-2. Then, an explosive three-run home run by Nieto to the Wichita bullpen in left center put KC up 11-2.

Wichita grabbed a pair of runs in the top of the fifth. The T-Bones gave up a single, a walk and a passed ball, then Logan Watkins hit an infield sacrifice to score Logan Trowbridge and make it 11-3. Zach Nehrir dropped a ball into right center for a double that brought home Leo Vargas.

In the bottom of the fifth, Curcio slammed the ball to right-center for a stand-up triple. Davis hit a double past the third baseman to bring home Curcio and make it 12-4 KC.

Wichita grabbed a run in the sixth on an RBI single by Tony Thomas, making it 12-5. They had a late ninth inning run off an RBI single by Abel Nieves.

But that would be the last of any type of comeback as Kansas City grabbed the win with a final of 12-6.

T-Bones starter Barett Astin had a strong performance in the early innings, retiring eight straight in the second, third and fourth innings. He struck out six batters and gave up only one walk in six innings of work.

The T-Bones hit the road to close out the regular season and work towards clinching a playoff appearance. The first of the three-game series against the Gary SouthShore RailCats is at 4:10 p.m. Saturday.

Listen to all of the action with the voice of the T-Bones, Dan Vaughan Jr., at http://mixlr.com/t-bones-baseball/.

Season, group tickets, mini-plans and nightly party suites are on sale and can be purchased by visiting the box office at T-Bones Stadium. Call the box office at 913-328-5618 or purchase and print at www.tbonesbaseball.com. Box office hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday – Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

– Story from T-Bones