Month: September 2020

Sporting, Minnesota to battle for first place Sunday

A battle for first place in the Western Conference will unfold Sunday night at Children’s Mercy Park as Sporting Kansas City (5-3-2, 17 points) and Minnesota United FC (5-3-2, 17 points) write the next chapter of their regional rivalry.

The annual Kick Childhood Cancer match will kick off at 7:30 p.m. with three hours of live coverage on FOX Sports Kansas City, FOX Sports Midwest and FOX Sports GO beginning at 7 p.m. The contest will also air locally on ESPN 94.5 FM.

Following detailed safety protocols developed in conjunction with the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, Sunday’s match at Children’s Mercy Park will be held at a reduced capacity with extensive safety protocols in place.

Tickets for the game are available exclusively to Sporting Kansas City season ticket members via lottery and no single-game tickets will be sold by the club on SeatGeek.com or at the stadium box office.

Trailing first-place Seattle Sounders FC by a point in the standings, Sporting and Minnesota have the opportunity to reach the Western Conference summit with a win on Sunday.

Both teams have experienced similar journeys within the context of an unprecedented 2020 season thus far, beginning 2-0-0 prior to a four-month hiatus, performing well at the MLS is Back Tournament and earning mixed results since MLS resumed to home markets in mid-August.

Sporting returned from Walt Disney World and beat the Loons 2-1 on Aug. 21 to improve to 5-1-0, but have taken just two points from their previous four games. The Loons jumped to 3-0-0 with a 2-1 win over Sporting on July 12 in Orlando, then went on a five-game regular season winless skid before rebounding with consecutive home wins last week over Real Salt Lake and FC Dallas.

Minnesota entered MLS as an expansion club in 2017 and has faced Sporting 12 times in all competitions since then. Manager Peter Vermes’ side has a 6-4-2 edge in the all-time series, including a perfect 5-0-0 record at Children’s Mercy Park. Sporting has dominated the Loons in the friendly confines of their world-class stadium, outscoring Minnesota 14-1 and posting four shutouts.

After missing the playoffs in 2017 and 2018, head coach Adrian Heath led Minnesota to its first postseason appearance last fall. Momentum has continued into 2020, with the Loons proving to be one of the more dynamic MLS outfits during the first half of the campaign.

Attacking midfielder Kevin Molino is tied for fifth in MLS with five goals, having scored twice in Wednesday’s 3-2 home win over FC Dallas, while Robin Lod, Ethan Finlay and Luis Amarilla have all bagged multiple goals this year to go with Jan Gregus’ five assists.

The emerging X-factor, however, could be newly acquired Argentine playmaker Emanuel “Bebelo” Reynoso. The 25-year-old joined the Loons on Sept. 1 from South American powerhouse Boca Juniors and has recorded assists in each of his first two MLS starts.

Sunday’s fixture will feature two of the league’s most potent offenses. Minnesota is tied for second in the league with 2.1 goals per game, while Sporting is fourth at a clip of 2.0 per game. The hosts are also chasing history, as they have scored in each of their first 10 regular season matches for the first time since 2007, two games shy of the club record.

Sporting’s deep attacking corps features forward Khiry Shelton (four goals), midfielder Gadi Kinda (four goals, two assists), striker Alan Pulido (three goals, four assists), winger Johnny Russell (two goals) and center forward Erik Hurtado (two goals).

In recent weeks, Vermes has navigated a congested schedule by relying on a stable of young Sporting Kansas City Academy products. Eighteen-year-old midfielder Gianluca Busio and 20-year-old defender Jaylin Lindsey have started five straight matches, while 19-year-old Cameron Duke and 22-year-old Felipe Hernandez have seen their minutes grow in midfield. Forward Daniel Salloi is another attacking option at Vermes’ disposal, having finished as the team’s top goal scorer in 2018.

In advance of the contest, Sporting KC announced Saturday that a firt-team player has been confirmed positive for COVID-19, according to a news relese.

All other players and members of the club have returned multiple negative test results and do not have symptoms, according to the announcement.

Upon receiving an initial positive test result, the player self-isolated under a strict and comprehensive protocol, according to the news release. The player will remain in isolation until medically cleared and will be monitored daily by the club’s medical staff. Sporting Kansas City has also implemented contact tracing ahead of the club’s home match against Minnesota on Sunday.

The MLS testing protocol requires all MLS players to undergo polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests every other day, including the day before each match. The confirmation of a positive COVID-19 case occurs when a player receives two consecutive positive test results, according to a spokesman.

In conjunction with Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, Sporting and The Victory Project have joined MLS in launching the Kick Childhood Cancer campaign to help support to one of the most vulnerable populations affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A variety of Kick Childhood Cancer retail items will be available at the stadium on Sunday, including limited-time scarves and beanies. For every beanie sold, a beanie will be donated to Children’s Mercy Hospital. Supporters can also visit victorykc.org/5050 through the end of September to participate.

The Kick Childhood Cancer initiative will be amplified on the field this weekend with a commemorative gold ribbon on the adidas 2020 MLS Nativo XXV Official Match Ball as well as gold corner flags and goal nets. Players will wear Kick Childhood Cancer gold ribbon jersey patches and captain’s armbands, technical staff will don Kick Childhood Cancer pins, and PRO referees will sport gold wristbands.

Sunday marks the continuation of a busy match schedule through the end of the regular season, as clubs will play up to two times per week through Decision Day on Nov. 8 to conclude the abbreviated and condensed 23-game campaign. The Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, featuring an expanded field of 18 teams, are slated to begin on Nov. 20 and culminate on Dec. 12 with MLS Cup.

Information from Sporting KC

Doctors urge people to get flu shots

Wyandotte County reported an increase of 44 COVID-19 cases on Friday afternoon, for a cumulative total of 6,290, according to the Unified Government COVID-19 webpage. There was one additional death, for a cumulative 120. (From UG COVID-19 website)

Doctors are urging people to get flu shots this year, usually around October or when the shots become available.

If patients have COVID-19 or similar symptoms and have been isolated, they would want to wait at least 10 to 14 days or later since the start of the symptoms to get a flu shot, according to Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control at the University of Kansas Health System.

“If you are still suffering from a fever, it wouldn’t be a good time to get a flu shot,” said Amanda Gartner, RN, director of quality and safety at the University of Kansas Health System.

Sometimes people get mild symptoms of flu after a flu shot, and may have muscle aches, fatigue and a fever, she said.

The first 24 to 48 hours after a flu shot would be an anticipated symptom following the vaccine and not a reason to suspect you have COVID-19, she said, and so people should probably monitor it 24 to 48 hours.

Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer of the KU Health System, said he thinks the number of flu cases will be lower this year. He said he based his prediction on an Australian study that showed the number of flu cases declined there because of mask-wearing this year.

“We know that the mask culture here in the United States, depending on what community you live in, is a little different from others,” Dr. Hawkinson said.

The steps to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 have decreased influenza cases in other countries, he said. Masks have made a difference, and also there might have been a decrease in the number of people wanting to seek treatment, he said.

“As we can continue to endorse our message of masking, not meeting in large groups, physical distancing, that will also help decrease the spread of influenza as well,” Dr. Hawkinson said.

The doctors answered questions at their video news conference on Friday morning.

They were asked if a person who attended a sporting event with hundreds or thousands of people in attendance should quarantine.

Gartner said the Kansas Department of Health and Environment has mandatory advice if people attended a large venue.

The KDHE travel quarantine list says that those who have attended a mass gathering event out-of-state of 500 people or more, where individuals do not socially distance and wear masks, should quarantine for 14 days after they have arrived back in Kansas.

If they were able to socially distance and wear masks, they would not have to quarantine.

The doctors noted there wasn’t as much mask-wearing in the stands at the Chiefs game in the fourth quarter on Thursday night as there was at the start of the game.

The University of Kansas Health System reported 22 acute COVID-19 patients in the hospital on Friday morning, with four in the intensive care unit and two on the ventilator, according to Dr. Hawkinson. There were five patients on the ventilator who are considered to be in COVID-19 recovery status, he said, and 29 to 30 patients in active recovery status.

Wyandotte County reported an increase of 44 COVID-19 cases on Friday afternoon, for a cumulative total of 6,290, according to the Unified Government COVID-19 webpage. There was one additional death, for a cumulative 120.

On Friday, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported that Johnson County had the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the state, with a cumulative 9,350. It was an increase of 203 cases since Wednesday.

According to KDHE information, some of the other counties with high numbers of cases, besides Johnson and Wyandotte, included Sedgwick, 7,839; Ford, 2,486; Shawnee, 2,448; Finney, 1,835; Leavenworth, 1,819; Douglas, 1,709; Seward, 1,356; Riley, 1,120; Lyon, 911; Reno, 893; Crawford, 855; Butler, 712; Ellis, 685; and Saline, 525.

The KC Region COVID-19 Resource Hub reported 36,747 total cumulative cases in the nine-county region.

The KU doctors’ news conference is at https://www.facebook.com/kuhospital/videos/314483242962749


The UG COVID-19 webpage is at https://alpha.wycokck.org/Coronavirus-COVID-19-Information.


The KDHE active cluster list is at https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/160/COVID-19-in-Kansas.

The Unified Government COVID-19 hub outbreak map is at https://wyandotte-county-covid-19-hub-unifiedgov.hub.arcgis.com/.


To see an NEA list of schools that have had COVID-19 cases, visit https://app.smartsheet.com/b/publish?EQBCT=aa3f2ede7cb2415db943fdaf45866d2f

The KC Region COVID-19 Hub dashboard is at https://marc2.org/covidhub/.

The Unified Government Health Department is collecting input on people’s experiences getting tested for COVID-19 in Wyandotte County. The survey is on the UG website at https://us.openforms.com/Form/ea97a450-3d74-4d86-8d1f-6e340d55cf7c.

The UG Health Department new school and sports guidance is online at https://alpha.wycokck.org/files/assets/public/health/documents/covid/09042020fallsportsrecommendations.pdf.


A previous UG sports order is online at https://alpha.wycokck.org/files/assets/public/health/documents/covid/08132020localhealthofficerorderregardingsports.pdf.

The Wyandotte County school start order is online at https://alpha.wycokck.org/Coronavirus-COVID-19-Information.

Wyandotte County is under a mandatory mask order and is in Phase 3 of the state’s reopening plan. For more information, residents may visit the UG COVID-19 website at https://alpha.wycokck.org/Coronavirus-COVID-19-Information or call 311 for more information.


The KDHE’s COVID-19 webpage is at https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/.

The CDC’s COVID-19 webpage is at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html.

KCKPS students may be able to play fall sports in the spring

Kansas City, Kansas, Public School students who were hoping to play fall sports may get to play those sports next spring.

In a two-hour internet special meeting on Friday afternoon, the KCK school board voted unanimously to accept the Kansas State High School Activities Association proposal to participate in fall sports in the spring, if health conditions allow.

The district would have to meet gating criteria before any sports could take place. Those criteria include information such as the community’s positivity rate and other health information. That rate is the number of positive COVID-19 tests divided by the number of total tests. Currently, the number is over 17 percent in Wyandotte County, which is in the “red zone.”

On Sept. 8, the school board voted to allow student athletes to participate in conditioning or workouts beginning Sept. 14. That date has now been pushed back to Sept. 21 after a meeting with principals, district officials said at the board meeting.

The board’s 7-0 vote for the KSHSAA plan is not a guarantee that they will play sports, Board President Randy Lopez said at the meeting. The decision to play sports will be based on conditions closer to that time, he said. Today’s vote is giving the students an opportunity, he said.

The KCK school board had suspended fall sports and some activities because of the risk of COVID-19. The Unified Government Health Department issued an order Aug. 13 restricting fall sports in Wyandotte County and prohibiting football, volleyball, soccer and marching band events in Wyandotte County. The action was met with some student protests.

After some other local schools and clubs decided to go out of the county to play sports in other counties, the Health Department then issued more guidance on fall sports, on Sept. 4. Those who participate in sports outside of the county were asked to stay in their same “cohorts” while they are at school under the new guidelines.

Tammie Romstad, the district’s director of athletics, said that KSHSAA had offered an option of playing in the spring to schools that could not play sports in the fall. The option also would apply to schools that started sports in the fall but were unable to complete the season, she said.

Fall sports teams that are in Class 5A and 6A could compete in one class together in the spring, she said. The KSHSAA has made up a schedule that will be used in the spring if there are 50 percent or more of the schools that couldn’t compete in the fall.

If there are less than 50 percent, the district would make up its own schedule under the KSHSAA rules, she said. That could include a shortened season of perhaps five games where district schools play each other.

The school board also voted 5-2 to approve a proposal that would use the state gating criteria.

According to the proposal that was presented Sept. 8 by the district athletic director, and was discussed Sept. 11, a COVID-19 response team would evaluate the gating criteria, making a decision on Fridays for the next week, based on the previous two weeks.

The gating criteria would determine the start of the winter and spring sports, with winter sports practices scheduled to start Nov. 16, according to the proposal.

The members of the COVID-19 response team would be the district’s chief of staff, a medical specialist, a district nurse and the athletic director, according to the proposal.

Voting against the proposal were board members Dr. Valdenia Winn and Wanda Brownlee Paige.

“I’m concerned that the responsibility is not in the right hands, and the board should not be delegating, giving away its authority, so I vote no,” Dr. Winn said.

The passage of the gating criteria item takes the authority away from the school board and places it with school district personnel. Dr. Winn said the board and district have the liability for whatever happens as a result of the actions, and the committee does not.

According to Dr. Alicia Miguel, interim superintendent, the COVID-19 response team would be able to meet every Friday to discuss the gating criteria, while the school board typically does not meet every Friday. It meets every two weeks on Tuesday evenings, with special meetings added if needed.

When asked, the school board’s attorney said during the meeting that a school district committee would not be subject to the Kansas Open Meetings Act. The meetings would not be public meetings, according to the attorney. If they were school board meetings, or board committees, they would be open to the public, according to the attorney.

Janey Humphries, a board member, proposed a motion that would have at least one board member represented on the district’s COVID-19 response team, and that a report be made to the school board members after the end of each of the team’s meetings.

The vote was 4-3 to add a board member and to have a report to the board. Voting in favor were Yolanda Clark, Janey Humphries, Wanda Brownlee Paige and Dr. Valdenia Winn, and voting against it were Maxine Drew, Dr. Stacey Yeager and Randy Lopez.

Romstad also discussed some plans to help students with a “showcase” presentation that they can use to show college coaches. The showcase presentation would include information about the students’ athleticism and skills such as speed and strength. It might include some film clips from their previous years on the team. The showcase might be worked on during the conditioning sessions.

In other action, the school board also approved an update to board policies on bullying, intimidation and retaliation. The policies are online on the Sept. 11 meeting agenda at https://go.boarddocs.com/ks/kckps/Board.nsf/vpublic?open, items 2A and 2B.