Month: August 2021

Portland visits Sporting KC tonight in KCK

The race for first place will resume Wednesday night when Western Conference leaders Sporting Kansas City (11-4-4, 37 points) look to continue their winning ways against the Portland Timbers (7-9-2, 23 points) in a showdown at Children’s Mercy Park.

Wednesday’s contest is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and tickets are available at SeatGeek.com, with the first 5,000 fans through the stadium gates receiving a free felt pennant. Bally Sports Kansas City Plus, Bally Sports Midwest Plus, BallySports.com and the Bally Sports app will provide three hours of live coverage beginning at 7 p.m., while listeners can follow the action locally on Sports Radio 810 WHB (English) and La Grande 1340 AM (Spanish).

Under the guidance of 13th-year manager Peter Vermes, Sporting is in hot pursuit of its third first-place finish in the West since 2018.

Saturday’s 2-0 win at FC Dallas vaulted Sporting to the top of the division — one point ahead of Seattle Sounders FC and two ahead of the LA Galaxy — as forwards Alan Pulido and Daniel Salloi scored on either side of halftime. Sporting boasts an impressive 4-0-1 record in its last five away fixtures, with each of their last four league victories since the start of July coming on the road.

Pulido and Salloi dazzled over the weekend, showcasing their quality with a goal and an assist each.

Since joining the club at the start of 2020, Pulido’s 0.97 goals and assists per 90 minutes are the most in MLS among players with at least 1,000 minutes. The 30-year-old Mexican has eight goals and two assists in 10 starts this year and Sporting is 11-1-0 over the last two seasons when he scores.

Salloi has built a legitimate MLS MVP case with a league-leading 17 combined goals (11) and assists (six). The 25-year-old Sporting KC Academy product sits atop the MLS charts with five game-winning goals and is tied for second with three game-winning assists.

He has also become just the second player in club history, alongside Sporting Legend Preki, to record 11 goals and six assists in two regular seasons after finishing with that exact total in 2018.

Sporting’s potent attack has garnered headlines throughout the year — and fairly so, as the team ranks second in MLS with 35 goals — but a steadily improving defense has tightened its grip in recent weeks.

Spanish center back Andreu Fontas was named to the MLS Team of the Week on Monday for his role in the shutout win over Dallas, while goalkeeper Tim Melia has collected two straight clean sheets and places third in MLS with a 0.93 goals against average.

Left back Luis Martins has showcased consistency by appearing in all 19 league matches this season, while right back Graham Zusi — who will celebrate his 35th birthday on Wednesday — has tallied four assists in the last five games.

Zusi’s birthday could coincide with a major milestone for the World Cup veteran and former U.S. international. On Wednesday, he will likely become the all-time leader in regular season appearances among one-club players in MLS history. His 306 games with Sporting are currently tied with LA Galaxy legend Cobi Jones, who plied his trade for the club from 1996-2007.

On the opposite side, fourth-year head coach Giovanni Savarese will be tasked with rallying a Portland outfit that suffered a brutal 6-2 home loss to archrival Seattle on Sunday night. Sebastian Blanco and midfielder George Fochive scored first-half goals and the match was tied 2-2 at halftime, but the Sounders exploded for four unanswered goals in the final 45 minutes to hand Portland their third loss in five games.

Sunday’s result was emblematic of Portland’s defensive frailties in 2021. The club has conceded 35 goals, surpassed only by Toronto FC’s 40, and their three shutouts are third fewest in the league. The Timbers have allowed 15 goals in their last five matches, during which time they have taken only four points.

Despite the recent blip, Portland wields a wealth of MLS experience and undeniable attacking prowess. Blanco and Diego Valeri, who put Sporting to the sword in the 2018 Western Conference Championship, remain a formidable playmaking duo and forward Felipe Mora has quietly chipped in 13 goals and five assists with starts in 22 of 33 appearances since the start of 2020. Brothers Diego and Yimmi Chara add bite to the midfield and Dairon Asprilla is second on the team with four goals.

Sporting and Portland will meet for the second time this season after the Timbers emerged with a 2-1 home win on June 19. Asprilla and Marvin Loria scored for the hosts, overcoming a first-half strike from Sporting’s Jaylin Lindsey.

Vermes’ men lead the all-time regular season series with a 7-5-5 record and a 3-1-3 mark at Children’s Mercy Park, where Portland’s lone victory came in April 2013. In 10 regular season appearances against Portland, Melia has five shutouts, a 5-2-3 record and a goals against average of 0.7.

Hamstring ailments will sideline Sporting defenders Lindsey and Nicolas Isimat-Mirin on Wednesday. Forward Khiry Shelton is day-to-day as he recovers from an abdomen issue and midfielder Felipe Hernandez remains out for personal reasons.

Portland has two important players listed as questionable. U.S. international midfielder Eryk Williamson is observing health and safety protocols and Polish forward Jaroslaw Niezgoda made his 2021 debut with a late substitute appearance on Sunday after recovering from ACL surgery. Niezgoda bagged seven goals in just 600 minutes for Portland in 2020.

  • Story from Sporting KC

Health Department to provide third vaccine doses for immunocompromised people

The Unified Government Health Department will begin offering additional doses of Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines today for people who are moderately to severely immunocompromised, according to a news release.

Those moderately to severely immunocompromised persons who have already been fully vaccinated with the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine can receive a third dose, according to the news release.

This follows authorization by the FDA as well as the recommendation of the CDC and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to provide third vaccine doses for immunocompromised persons, according to the news release. The expanded emergency use authorization from the FDA does not apply to persons who received the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. At this time there is not enough data to determine if an additional dose of Johnson and Johnson vaccine will improve immune response in people who are immunocompromised, the Health Department stated.

Why these doses are offered

Third doses of mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) were authorized by the FDA for people who are immunocompromised, meaning people who have health conditions that significantly weaken their immune system, according to the Health Departmenet. For these individuals, their immune system is not able to mount the typical level of immune response with two doses of these vaccines. Adding a third dose helps increase immunity in order to protect a population that is already at higher risk for serious illness or hospitalization if they get COVID.

Offering additional doses for people who are immunocompromised is different from offering vaccine “boosters” for anyone, according to the Health Department. Booster shots for any immunizations can function to either increase immunity that has waned over time or protect against new virus strains. COVID vaccine boosters for the general population have not been authorized by the FDA at this time. The UGPHD asked that fully vaccinated people who are not immunocompromised
do not seek out third doses at this time, and encourages these individuals to await further information and recommendations.

Who is eligible for an additional vaccine dose?

Currently, CDC is recommending that moderately to severely immunocompromised people receive an additional dose. This includes people who have:

• Been receiving active cancer treatment for tumors or cancers of the blood (hematologic malignancies)
• Received an organ transplant and are taking medicine to suppress the immune system
• Received a stem cell transplant (CAR-T-Cell or hematopoietic stem cell transplant) within the last 2 years or are taking medicine to suppress the immune system
• Moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency (such as DiGeorge syndrome, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome)
• Advanced or untreated HIV infection
• Active treatment with high-dose corticosteroids or other drugs that may suppress your immune response (alkylating agents, antimetabolites, transplant-related immunosuppressive drugs, cancer chemotherapeutic agents classified as severely immunosuppressive, TNF blockers and other biologic agents that are immunosuppressive or immunomodulatory)

These individuals must have already received two doses of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, and it must be at least 28 days since their second dose.
People should talk to their healthcare provider about their medical condition, and whether getting an additional dose is appropriate for them.

How it works at the Kmart vaccination site

People who live in Wyandotte County age 12 and older who meet the eligibility criteria above can now come to the UGPHD’s vaccination facility to get their third dose of either Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccination for free.

• The UGPHD encourages patients to bring their COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card to help expedite the process.
• Patients will be asked to sign a form attesting that they need an additional COVID vaccine dose because they are moderately to severely immunocompromised.
• Minors must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. A parent or guardian must sign the attestation form on behalf of their child.

Free COVID-19 vaccinations are available from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Friday at the former Kmart building at 7836 State Ave. in Kansas City, Kansas.

Learn more about COVID vaccines and resources at WycoVaccines.org or by calling 3-1-1.

Showers possible today

Thunderstorms and showers are possible today, according to the National Weather Service. (National Weather Service graphic)
More storms are possible Friday, with a marginal risk of severe weather. (National Weather Service graphic)

Pop-up showers and thunderstorms are possible today, with storms gradually fading at sunset, according to the National Weather Service forecast.

Lightning, heavy rain and gusty winds will be the primary concerns, the weather service said.

Severe weather is not anticipated at this time, according to the weather service.

Several more rounds of storms are possible Thursday afternoon, late Thursday night into Friday morning, and against Friday afternoon and evening, the weather service said.

A marginal risk for severe weather is possible on Friday, according to the weather service.

A cold front is expected to move through the area on Friday afternoon, providing a needed push for strong to severe storms to develop and affect the area by the afternoon and evening, the weather service said.

Main concerns will include large hail, damaging winds, lightning and heavy rainfall, according to the weather service.

Today, there is a slight, 20 percent, chance of showers and thunderstorms after 4 p.m., the weather service said. The high will be near 88 with a south wind of 5 to 8 mph.

Tonight, it will be mostly clear, with a low of 71 and a south southeast wind of 3 to 7 mph, according to the weather service.

Thursday, there is a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1 p.m., the weather service said. The high will be near 87 with a south southeast wind of 3 to 8 mph. Less than a tenth of an inch of rain is expected.


Thursday night, there is a 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, with a low of 73, according to the weather service. A south southeast wind will be around 7 mph.

Friday, there is a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, with a high near 88, the weather service said. A south wind of 7 to 13 mph will gust as high as 20 mph. Less than a tenth of an inch of rain is possible.

Friday night, there is a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, with a low of 72, according to the weather service. Between a tenth and quarter-inch of rain is possible.

Saturday, it will be sunny, with a high near 90, the weather service said.

Saturday night, it will be mostly clear, with a low of 68, according to the weather service.

Sunday, it will be sunny, with a high near 90, the weather service said.

Sunday night, it will be mostly clear, with a low of 75, according to the weather service.

Monday, it will be sunny, with a high near 95, the weather service said.

Monday night, it will be mostly clear, with a low of 74, according to the weather service.

Tuesday, it will be sunny, with a high near 95, the weather service said.