Month: December 2021

Sporting KC signs midfielder

Sporting Kansas City has signed free agent midfielder Oriol “Uri” Rosell to a two-year MLS contract through 2023 with an option for 2024.

“I am really happy to be back home,” Rosell said. “I’m excited for this new opportunity. I’m here to win again.”

Rosell, 29, has been added to Sporting’s roster and returns to Kansas City after helping the club to the 2013 MLS Cup title.

The Spanish midfielder played three seasons under manager Peter Vermes from 2012-2014 before transferring to Portuguese powerhouse Sporting Lisbon. Rosell has spent the last four years in MLS with Orlando City SC, where he logged 73 appearances across all competitions.

Born and raised in Puig Reig, Catalonia, Spain, Rosell joined FC Barcelona’s famous La Masia academy as a 14-year-old in 2006. He competed alongside past and present Sporting players Andreu Fontas, Cristian Lobato, Jordi Quintilla and Ilie Sanchez during his time at the club and made his debut professionally for FC Barcelona B in January 2012.

Rosell began his first stint at Sporting KC in August 2012, making six MLS appearances during the final stretch of a campaign that saw Vermes’ side win the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and finish atop the Eastern Conference regular season standings.

The following year, Rosell reached new heights by cementing a regular starting spot in the defensive midfield for the 2013 MLS Cup champions.

He started 41 of 42 matches in all competitions, led MLS with 130 interceptions during the regular season and finished as the team’s leader in successful passes and tackles won. Rosell started all five playoff matches in Sporting’s run to the MLS Cup, which culminated with a shootout victory over Real Salt Lake following a 1-1 draw at Children’s Mercy Park.

Rosell began 2014 brightly, setting a pair of Opta-era MLS records at the time by completing 158 of 164 passes in a 3-0 win at CF Montreal on May 10 and making his most recent appearance for Sporting four days later.

The following month, Rosell was transferred to Sporting Lisbon in Europe after finishing his time at Sporting KC with 57 games played, 52 starts, two goals, two assists and a 25-13-11 record in MLS competition (including playoffs).

In his first season at Sporting Lisbon, Rosell earned his debuts in the UEFA Champions League-featuring in a group stage win over German side Schalke 04-and the UEFA Europa League, starting in a knockout round clash against German club Wolfsburg.

He ended the 2014-2015 campaign with 22 total appearances, including three in the Taça de Portugal as Sporting Lisbon won the prestigious domestic cup title with a team bolstered by former MLS All-Star Fredy Montero and eventual MLS All-Star Nani.

Over the next three seasons, Sporting Lisbon loaned Rosell to Portuguese clubs Vitoria Guimaraes, Belenenses and Portimonense, respectively. He played 42 matches in the top-flight Portuguese Primeira Liga from 2014-2018 before returning to MLS.

Rosell signed for Orlando in January 2018 after the Lions had acquired the No. 1 position in the MLS Allocation Order from FC Dallas in exchange for $400,000 in Targeted Allocation Money.

He appeared in 70 MLS matches during his four-year stay in Orlando, helping the club to its first two playoff appearances in 2020 and 2021. Through his first seven MLS seasons, Rosell boasts a passing accuracy clip of 86.9% and a tackle success rate of 66.8%.

Sporting will continue to build its 2022 squad ahead of the new MLS season, which will kick off Feb. 27 at Atlanta United FC with a 2 p.m. showdown inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Season tickets for Sporting Kansas City’s 2022 campaign and several 2022 ticket packages and promotions and are available by calling 888-4KC-GOAL or visiting SportingKC.com.

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Red Cross offering T-shirts to blood donors

With a shortage in the nation’s and local area’s blood supply, the American Red Cross is offering incentives to those who give blood.

The Red Cross stated that the blood supply has dipped to dangerously low levels and could force hospitals to hold off on essential blood transfusions for patients.

The decline comes at a time when donations typically fall, the holiday season, when there is often lower donor turnout, according to a spokesman.

Potential donors are urged to schedule an appointment by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

All who come to give through Jan. 2 will receive an exclusive Red Cross long-sleeved T-shirt, while supplies last.

Also, those who come to give blood, platelets or plasma in January will automatically be entered for a chance to win a getaway to Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles. As an extra thank-you from the Red Cross, those who come to donate in January will also be automatically entered to win a home theater package and a $500 e-gift card. Terms apply; visit RedCrossBlood.org/SuperBowl for more information.

To donate blood, individuals need to bring a blood donor card or driver’s license or two other forms of identification that are required at check-in. Individuals who are 17 years of age in most states (16 with parental consent where allowed by state law), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood. High school students and other donors 18 years of age and younger also must meet certain height and weight requirements.

The next Red Cross blood drive in Wyandotte County is scheduled in a week and will be from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 29, at Cabelas, 10300 Cabela Drive, Kansas City, Kansas.

To find other dates and times for Red Cross blood drives in other nearby counties, visit www.redcrossblood.org.

Kelly recommending one-time $445 million tax rebate to 1.2 million Kansas taxpayers

Democrat enters re-election year with proposals for tax rebate, food sales tax reform

by Tim Carpenter, Kansas Reflector

Topeka — Gov. Laura Kelly said the flow of state tax revenue was sufficient to propose Wednesday a $445 million tax rebate to Kansans who filed tax returns in the 2021 calendar year.

The Democratic governor said the recommendation would deliver a one-time $250 rebate to individual taxpayers. The 2022 Legislature, which is led by Republicans, would have to concur with her strategy.

“Thanks to our fiscal responsibility and record economic development success, we can return money to taxpayers and give every Kansas resident who filed taxes in 2021 a $250 rebate. These are significant savings for every family to be delivered by summer of 2022,” she said.

The governor, who will be seeking re-election next year to a second term as governor, previously recommended elimination of the state government’s 6.5% sales tax on groceries. Kansas has the nation’s highest sales tax on food, when local sales tax rates are factored.

Under the tax rebate proposal, Kelly said it would take the form of a non-taxable direct payment of $250 for every Kansas resident tax filer. Resident tax filers who filed as married and who filed jointly would be eligible for a $500 direct payment. All other filing types would be eligible for a $250 direct payment.

The Kelly administration estimated 1.2 million Kansas resident taxpayers would qualify for the tax rebate.

Kelly said the plan would have “no impact on the state’s ongoing ability to collect revenues that fund critical services.”

She said the tax refund proposal would be paid for with Kansas’ current budget surplus. The state has experienced income and sales tax revenue collections in excess of analysts’ projections. In addition, Kansas has benefitted from billions of dollars in federal COVID-19 and economic revitalization funding.

“Since 2019, my administration has carefully worked to get Kansas’ budget back on track after years of mismanagement,” Kelly said.

Kansas Reflector stories, www.kansasreflector.com, may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
See more at https://kansasreflector.com/2021/12/22/kelly-recommending-one-time-445-million-tax-rebate-to-1-2-million-kansas-taxpayers/