Month: August 2019

Real Salt Lake visits Sporting KC tonight

Real Salt Lake will visit Sporting KC at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 10, at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas. It will be military appreciation night. Twelve Purple Heart recipients will be saluted at the game.

Sporting will hold its third annual Sporting Salutes, an immersive military appreciation night for past and present members of the U.S. armed forces.

FOX Sports Kansas City Plus, FOX Sports Midwest Plus and FOX Sports GO will provide three hours of live match coverage beginning at 7 p.m., while Sports Radio 810 WHB and ESPN Deportes KC 1480 AM will air live radio broadcasts

Fresh off a pulsating 3-2 road win over Seattle Sounders FC last Sunday, Sporting (7-9-7, 28 points) will now begin a decisive stretch of four matches in 13 days.

Manager Peter Vermes’ side occupies 10th place in the West with 28 points, five points below FC Dallas for the seventh and final playoff spot, while Real Salt Lake (10-9-4) sits sixth with 34 points and has just one loss in its last eight league matches.

Sporting will view Saturday as an opportunity to close the gap and build momentum for the home stretch. Conversely, RSL will aim to move nine points clear of its rivals and deliver a blow in Sporting’s chase for a ninth straight postseason berth.

After missing four months with a knee injury, Erik Hurtado capitalized on his first MLS start for Sporting last weekend. The center forward was a constant menace for the Seattle backline, providing a physical presence up top and showcasing a lethal combination of strength and speed with his game-winning strike in the 58th minute.

Elsewhere, Felipe Gutierrez’s first-half brace lifted his MLS goal total to a team-best 10 in 2019, making him the fourth midfielder in club history to hit double-digit goals in a single regular season. Gutierrez now has three multi-goal games this year, tied for the fourth-most in MLS behind bona fide stars Carlos Vela, Josef Martinez and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

RSL approaches Saturday on a strong run of form, having defeated Eastern Conference contenders New York City FC 3-1 last Saturday. Influential midfielder Albert Rusnak scored and assisted in the home win to take his 2019 totals to a team-leading eight goals and four assists.

Talented winger Jefferson Savarino also provided a goal and an assist and now has three goals and three assists over his last four MLS appearances.

Mike Petke is in his third season as RSL manager but won’t make the trip to Kansas City this time around. The 43-year-old continues to serve a suspension for remarks made during a Leagues Cup match last month, meaning RSL will be led on Saturday by assistant coach Freddy Juarez.

The visitors may also have to cope with the potential absence of striker Sam Johnson, who scored twice in a 2-0 win over Sporting on June 29 before suffering a quad injury in early July. On a related note, integral RSL center back Nedum Onuoha, who has missed five weeks with an adductor issue, is no longer on the injury report and could make his way back onto the pitch this weekend.

Both teams will be without the services of key midfielders as Sporting’s Benny Feilhaber and RSL’s Everton Luiz are suspended due to caution accumulation.

On the Sporting KC injury front, Hungarian duo Botond Barath (back) and Krisztian Nemeth (abdomen) are listed as questionable, while Cam Duke (hamstring), Adrian Zendejas (back) and long-term absentee Rodney Wallace are ruled out.

Sporting has held the upper hand on Real Salt Lake in winner-take-all scenarios, boasting victories in the 2013 MLS Cup and 2018 Western Conference Semifinals as well as the 2015 and 2018 editions of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

The regular season, however, has been a different story: Sporting is 1-7-5 in the last 13 regular-season meetings since 2014, and RSL was a comfortable winner when the sides last met in June at Rio Tinto stadium.

Vermes’ men have also hit a rough patch at home, going 2-4-3 in their last nine league fixtures at Children’s Mercy Park. By comparison, Sporting boasted a 29-3-13 regular season home record from June 2016 through March 2019.

An annual tradition will continue Saturday as the Sporting community salutes military members and their families.

This year, Sporting Salutes will welcome 12 Purple Heart recipients to Children’s Mercy Park, all of whom were wounded during wartime. The venerated Purple Heart has been awarded since 1917 and remains a timeless symbol of service to the country.

The 12 Purple Heart recipients to be honored before kickoff include local servicemen and servicewomen who were wounded during combat operations spanning from the Korean War to the present.

For ticket information, visit SeatGeek.com.

  • Story from Sporting KC

Saturday events

Back-to-School Parade and School Supply Giveaway to be Aug. 10

A Back-to-School Parade and School Supply Giveaway is planned at 9 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 10, starting at 18th and Quindaro Boulevard, Kansas City, Kansas. The parade will end around 9th and Quindaro, where a performance by school bands and the Gateway High Steppers is planned. School supplies will be given away to Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools students and a dance-off will take place at the Parkwood Pool parking lot during the Back-to-School Splash Bash. The event also features a bounce house, free food and prizes at Parkwood Park. The event is free and open to the public. Those attending do not need to have proof of residency. The parade is sponsored by P.R.I.D.E., the Kansas City, Kansas, Chapter of the International Association of Black Professional Firefighters. The grand marshal of the parade will be Commissioner Gayle Townsend.

History re-enactor to be at Grinter Place today

A history re-enactor will be on hand to talk about trading in the mid-1800s from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 10, at the Grinter Place, 1420 S. 78th St., Kansas City, Kansas. There will be tours of the 1857 home. There is a charge for tours. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/1400so78street/.

Dotte Con event today at library

The annual Dotte Con event is planned from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 10, at the West Wyandotte Library, 1737 N. 82nd St., Kansas City, Kansas, in the auditorium. The event will include special guests and panels, a cosplay contest, video and tabletop games, anime viewings and other activities. It is for all ages. It is free.

Family story time planned
 Family story time will be held from 11 a.m. to noon Saturday, Aug. 10, at the youth services craft room, Main Kansas City, Kansas, Public Library, 625 Minnesota Ave., Kansas City, Kansas. This program is geared to ages 2 to 6. There will be a story, dancing and singing. For other library programs, visit www.kckpl.org.

Spanish singing lessons planned

“Clases de Canto,” or Spanish singing lessons, are planned from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 10, in Conference Room B, South Branch Library, 3104 Strong Ave., Kansas City, Kansas. The Spanish language singing class is taught by Sandra Zamora. For other library programs, visit www.kckpl.org.

Two artists to exhibit works Saturday at Alcott

Two artists are scheduled to exhibit their works on Saturday, Aug. 10, at the Alcott Arts Center, 180 S. 18th St., Kansas City, Kansas. Cheyenne Banda, a self-taught mixed media artist, will have a show in the Harrison Gallery at the Alcott. Her work includes mixed media and computer artwork, and she mashes it together in a colorful and thought-provoking way, said Chris Green, Alcott executive director. Banda’s art might be considered surreal. Xavier Gayden works with watercolors on paper and has developed a unique style, Green said. His pictures tell a story, often from his life. The galleries open at 6 p.m. Saturday and close at 8:30 p.m., with a reception for the artists at 6:30 p.m. There will be air-conditioning. Green said the Alcott Arts Center also is gearing up for its Shakespeare production this year, which is a spin on the classic, “Two Gentlemen from Verona.” The Alcott’s production will be titled “Two People from Verona,” and it will include women in the cast. The comedy will be performed at 3 p.m. Sept. 14-15 and Sept. 21-22. This year, the production will be indoors at the Alcott, and there will be air-conditioning, Green said. Chairs will be provided. Admission will be a suggested donation of $5. The Alcott Arts Center is not ADA-accessible. For more information, call 913-233-2787 or visit https://www.alcottartscenter.org/.

T-Bones will play Texas AirHogs tonight

The Kansas City T-Bones will play the Texas AirHogs at 7:05 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 10, at JustBats Field, T-Bones Stadium, 1800 Village West Parkway, Kansas City, Kansas. There will be post-game fireworks and a salute to the armed forces on Military Appreciation Night. It will be Boy Scout campout night.

Real Salt Lake visits Sporting KC tonight
 Real Salt Lake will visit Sporting KC at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 10, at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas. It will be military appreciation night. Twelve Purple Heart recipients will be saluted at the game. For ticket information, visit SeatGeek.com.