Month: April 2022

Sporting KC hopes to add to the win column Saturday at home against Columbus

Sporting Kansas City (2-6-0, 6 points) will play host to 2020 MLS Cup champions and 2021 Campeones Cup winners Columbus Crew (2-3-2, 8 points) at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at Children’s Mercy Park, Kansas City, Kansas.

Tickets are available via SeatGeek, including College Night packages featuring a match ticket and co-branded scarf for fans of select area schools.

The cross-conference clash will be locally televised on 38 The Spot with three hours of coverage beginning at 7 p.m.

The broadcast will also stream live on SportingKC.com and in the Sporting KC app for viewers in Kansas and Missouri (excluding St. Louis area per MLS policy), as well as ESPN+ for out-of-market subscribers. Radio broadcasts will also be available locally on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM.

Both teams enter Saturday looking to snap three-game losing streaks in the regular season.

Columbus’ recent slide was compounded this week with a 2-1 loss at USL Championship newcomers Detroit City FC on Tuesday in the U.S. Open Cup Third Round and an injury to midfielder Lucas Zelarayan that has kept the reigning MLS Player of the Month out of training.

The 2020 MLS Newcomer of the Year, Zelarayan leads Columbus with four goals and two assists, and leads all MLS players in chances created and expected assists this season.

The Crew, already missing Luis Diaz (back) and Kevin Molino (knee) due to injuries, may also be without Gyasi Zardes as reports on Friday afternoon linked the U.S. Men’s National Team forward with a trade to the Colorado Rapids.

Columbus has been held scoreless in the club’s last three MLS matches as the offense has stagnated after kicking off the campaign with a 4-0 win.

Since the season-opening victory, Columbus has conceded the first goal in each of the team’s last six matches and has struggled to overcome the deficit despite leading the league in shots while also conceding the fewest in MLS.

Saturday’s match will be the first meeting between the two MLS charter clubs since 2019 when Sporting prevailed 1-0 in Columbus to improve to 7-1-2 in the team’s past 10 matches in the series. The Crew’s last trip to Children’s Mercy Park came in May 2018, when Tim Melia saved a Zardes penalty in a scoreless draw, and Columbus’ only win at the stadium came nearly a decade ago in July 2012.

The match will feature two of the league’s longest-tenured players as Graham Zusi and Darlington Nagbe are among eight active MLS players with 325 or more regular season appearances.

Nagbe is the most accurate passer in MLS this year with an accuracy rate of nearly 95% while Zusi is on the cusp of tying Matt Besler for the most regular season games started in club history.

Sporting captain Johnny Russell is also on the verge of a major milestone as his next appearance will be his 500th senior team game played for club and country in his career. Russell is one of two players questionable on Sporting’s player availability report along with midfielder Uri Rosell while designated players Gadi Kinda and Alan Pulido remain sidelined with long-term knee injuries.

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KCK schools to make masks optional on Monday

The Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools will go mask-optional on Monday, according to information from the school district.

Because Wyandotte County’s COVID-19 community level is currently low on the CDC rankings, and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment shows Wyandotte County at a moderate level of risk, the mask requirement will be lifted in the public schools beginning Monday, April 25, according to school district information.

Public health officials recommend that anyone with severe medical conditions, symptoms, possible exposure or a positive COVID-19 test wear a mask.

The KCK district respects that some students and staff may choose to continue to wear masks for personal, safety, or other health reasons, the district stated in a post on its website. Those who will be in district buildings are asked to be respectful and supportive of all choices, according to the district’s statement.

The district asked all families and staff to monitor themselves for potential symptoms, such as a new cough, headache, congestion, fever or sore throat.

Those who have symptoms should stay home and contact their supervisor, building nurse or principal, according to the district’s post.

The district will work closely with the Unified Government Health Department to address concerns related to COVID-19, according to the post. The district will be prepared to reinstate a mask requirement if needed, the district stated on its website.

“Our goal remains to keep students and staff safe in our buildings,” the district posted on its website.

A spokesman for the KCK school district stated that the mask requirement is the only change regarding COVID-19 procedures on Monday. There are no other changes to the policy as of Friday.

COVID-19 numbers

The Unified Government’s COVID-19 webpage reported 39,921 total cumulative cases on Friday, April 22, with 500 total cumulative deaths.

The University of Kansas Health System reported treating a total of 25 COVID patients on Friday morning, April 22. There were nine patients with the active virus on Friday, an increase of three from Thursday, according to the report. There were two COVID patients in the intensive care unit, the same as Thursday, with one on a ventilator, an increase of one since Thursday. There were another 16 COVID patients hospitals who were out of the acute infection phase, no change from Thursday.

Vaccinations

The Unified Government Health Department reported on its Facebook page that there will be COVID vaccinations from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, April 25, at The Merc Co+Op store, 501 Minnesota Ave., Kansas City, Kansas. The vaccinations are through Swope Health.

The KCK school district has scheduled a COVID vaccine event from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 27, at Grant Elementary School, 1510 N. 4th St., Kansas City, Kansas. Those who are age 5 and up will be eligible to receive a first dose of Pfizer vaccine, or a second dose of Pfizer vaccine. Those who are 18 and older may receive a first dose of Pfizer vaccine, second dose of Pfizer vaccine, a first booster shot 5 months after the second dose, or a second booster shot four months after the last booster shot.

Masks are required at the vaccine event, and parents or guardians should be present for those 5-17. Those receiving a second dose or booster should bring their vaccination cards. Those who receive the vaccine will be given a free ticket to eat at one of the food trucks at the site.

A graph of the rolling average of COVID-19 cases in Wyandotte County showed a peak in January and February, followed by a decline in March and April. (Graph from UG Health Department COVID webpage)

I-70 closed in western Kansas because of high winds, poor visibility

I-70 has been closed between Goodland and Colby in western Kansas because of high winds, poor visibility and vehicle crashes, according to the Kansas Department of Transportation. (KanDrive photo)

Update: I-70 has now reopened between Goodland and Colby, according to KDOT.

I-70 has been closed between Goodland, Kansas, and Colby, Kansas, because of high winds, zero-visibility conditions and vehicle crashes, according to the Kansas Department of Transportation.

I-70, eastbound and westbound, was closed at 2:40 p.m. Friday and will remain closed until conditions improve, a KDOT spokesman stated.

Motorists in areas where there are high winds were asked to use caution or reduce their speed because of weather conditions, the spokesman stated. Updates are at www.kandrive.org.