Mass Appeal News » Mass Sports

NBA player Wright dead at 34

wayne — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:48:58 +0000

NBA PLAYER LORENZEN WRIGHT FOUND DEAD IN MEMPHIS, the Associated Press

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Relatives and friends of Lorenzen Wright gathered Wednesday and grieved for the former NBA player who has been missing for 10 days, as police investigated the discovery of a man’s body outside of Memphis. Wright’s uncle, Curtis Wright, told The Associated Press that police called the player’s father, Herb Wright, on Wednesday afternoon with the news he had died. Sgt. Alyssa Macon-Moore of the Memphis Police Department wrote in an e-mail to the AP that police were investigating the death of an unidentified man beside a wooded area about 15 miles south of downtown Memphis.

Asked if the man was Wright, she wrote they could not confirm the victim’s identity Wednesday night. The family issued a statement through a cousin of Lorenzen Wright, Camella Logan: “Lorenzen’s family has come together to mourn his loss and honor his legacy. We appreciate your thoughts, prayers and condolences as they are comforting at this very difficult time. Additionally, we ask that you please respect our privacy as we try to cope with his sudden loss.”

Wright’s mother, Deborah Marion, arrived at the scene Wednesday night with a handful of family members. She crossed the crime scene tape and tried to talk to police when she was told to move back. She sat in a TV van before returning to the tape. Two officers then let her through.

The distraught Marion then started running down the road toward the crime scene before being stopped by an officer. She spoke with officers and then walked back past reporters without speaking straight to a van. The 34-year-old Wright was last seen July 18 when he was expected to fly out of town. His family filed a missing person report July 22. Wright played 13 years in the NBA for the Los Angeles Clippers, Atlanta Hawks, Memphis Grizzlies, Sacramento Kings and most recently the Cleveland Cavaliers with 17 games in the 2008-09 season.

Wright left the University of Memphis early for the NBA, and the Clippers made him a lottery pick with the No. 7 selection overall. He averaged 8 points and 6.4 rebounds in 778 career games. By nightfall, nearly 200 people had visited the road blocked off by police while TV news helicopters showed investigators scouring the grounds for evidence. Police brought in a mobile command center that further blocked off the scene.

Former NBA star Penny Hardaway, who played at Memphis two years before Wright, said he heard the news from a friend and went to the scene near where the body was found. “I cried. The emotions hit me immediately. It’s just sad because we lost a good person and a brother,” Hardaway said. Elliot Perry, another friend and former Memphis player, was also at the scene. Wendy Wilson, who once worked as Wright’s personal assistant, was also there and said Wright often used the road police had cordoned off as a shortcut to his mother’s house.

“He was a good person. He did not deserve to die this way. God is not pleased with this,” Wilson said. Grizzlies majority owner Michael Heisley issued a statement late Wednesday, saying: “We are deeply saddened by the tragic death of Lorenzen Wright. We lost a member of the Grizzlies family. Lorenzen delighted fans on the court with his passion and off the court with his generosity in a Memphis community that watched him grow throughout his playing career …”

Hodges: Royals’ Moore gotta go

wayne — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 13:08:50 +0000

GM DAYTON MOORE HAS STRUGGLED TO BRING TOP TALENT TO KC, by Wayne Hodges

KANSAS CITY – Ok, it’s time to pull the plug on the Kansas City Royals. On Monday night, franchise pitcher Zack Greinke and the boys in blue got their behinds kicked, 19-1, by the Minnesota Twins. “It was bad. It was bad the whole time,” said a disappointed Greinke. “Every fastball was hit hard.” No diggity? Folks, skip bad. This game was ugly. Ooh, it was ugly. And when I say ugly we’re talking Flava Flav, Jack Nicholson, Herman Munster, Shabba Ranks, Jimmie Walker type ugly. To add insult to injury; obscure Twins third baseman Danny Valencia, fresh up from the minors, hit his first career homerun (a back-breaking grand slam in the first inning). Can you believe that? The dude didn’t even homer in the minor leagues.

Yet, Valencia found both the strength and guts necessary to pimp slap our hapless major league baseball franchise. Afterwards, he poured salt in the wound by talking a little smack. “What better way to start it off?” Valencia said with a big grin. “Not just hit a home run, but a grand slam, and off a guy who’s an accomplished big leaguer and won the Cy Young. It was great.” Then, on Tuesday night, Valencia pounded out 4 more hits in an 11-2 smackdown of KC; becoming the first Twins rookie to collect as many in back-to-back games. Yes, records are being broken in KC. And not in a good way. Valencia’s production confirms the Royals are officially the biggest joke in baseball.

Speaking of jokes, the real reason for KC’s on-field futility is owner David Glass. You know it. I know it. And old ladies shopping at the grocery store know it. Unfortunately, the owner won’t fire himself. I guess that’s one of the perks of being the head honcho in charge. So, for sanity purposes, it’s imperative the blame be placed elsewhere. Scapegoat #1 was former manager Trey Hillman. Scapegoat #2 should be general manager Dayton Moore. I’m serious. Time for Dayton to pack his bags and go. Look, Moore looks real cool in his sunglasses. He gives the perception he knows what he’s doing. But let’s face it. The guy has failed miserably in acquiring legitimate major league caliber talent.

Even worse, Moore is primarily responsible for screwing up the promising career of the reigning American League Cy Young winner. Pretty sad. First, Moore inexplicably shipped Greinke’s favorite catcher, Miguel Olivo, out of town at the conclusion of last season. Then, as an encore, Moore parted ways with longtime signal caller John Buck who promptly transformed himself into an All-Star catcher with Toronto this year. As a byproduct of Moore’s ineptness, the Royals are stuck with broken-down, 37-year-old has been, catcher Jason Kendall.

Trust me; Greinke has certainly noticed the difference in catchers. EXHIBIT A: In lasting only 4 innings, Zack coughed up his worst effort of the season; giving up 6 runs in the first inning alone. He was mercifully removed after serving up two more runs in the fourth. Greinke (4.01 ERA) is scheduled to become a free agent in a couple years. It would be foolish to re-sign with KC. Although a perennial loser, former GM Allard Baird, fired prior to the hire of Moore, offered something in the form of consolation to fans by delivering All-Star caliber players to KC’s roster in a list that includes the aforementioned Greinke, Carlos Beltran, Jermaine Dye and Johnny Damon.

Yes, the team stunk under Baird. But at least he gave us a reason to visit the ballpark. Moore, on the other hand, hasn’t brought diddly squat to KC. And this year’s roster serves as a painful reminder of that. Hate to say this. Really, I do. But Moore has to go. Plain and simple. Time for Glass to hand him that one-way Greyhound Bus ticket out of town. Because in the words of R&B group Rose Royce: “Love don’t live here anymore.”

Wayne Hodges, an MBA from St. Mary University, is the Editor-in-Chief of “Mass Appeal News.” He is also a candidate for Kansas Senate District #7, an adjunct professor, and legislative intern with the Kansas Senate. Wayne welcomes your comments at whodges@massappealnews.com

Royals take another spanking

wayne — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 05:17:26 +0000

ROYALS TAKE ANOTHER SAVAGE BEATING AS THE TWINS ROMP 11-2, the Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Milestones and historic firsts just keep piling up for both the happy Minnesota Twins and the battered Kansas City Royals. Danny Valencia became the first Twins rookie ever to have four hits in back-to-back games, equaling Monday’s feat in an 11-2 win Tuesday night. The night before in an even worse 19-1 drubbing, he’d become the first Twins rookie to smack a grand slam for his first major league homer.

Altogether, the surging Twins also hit double-digits in runs for a third straight game for the first time since June 11-13, 1967. But on the other side of the baseball diamond, the Royals are in a horrible slump. Before the two lopsided losses to Minnesota, the Royals were beaten 12-6 on Sunday by the New York Yankees. Never in their history had they allowed this many runs (42) and hits (53) in three consecutive games. “We need to do something,” said Bruce Chen, who gave up 11 of the Twins’ 19 hits and six of their 11 runs. “We need to do something soon.”

Valencia had three RBIs and Joe Mauer, Michael Cuddyer and J.J. Hardy all had two as the Twins totaled 19 hits one night after getting 20. The Twins have won six of seven, and over their past four games against Baltimore and Kansas City have rung up 47 runs on a whopping 72 hits. Perhaps no one appreciates the way Minnesota hitters are tearing it up more than Minnesota pitchers. “It’s amazing,” said Carl Pavano (13-6), who went five innings and gave up five hits and one run while winning a career-best eighth consecutive decision.

“Just watching the at-bats and watching the guys who are stepping up. You’ve got the usual guys who get their knocks every night. But then you’ve got these younger guys who are having big days.” Valencia, the rookie third baseman who was 4 for 4 with a grand slam Monday night, had two singles and a double in his first three trips to the plate against Chen (5-5) but took a called third strike from Robinson Tejeda in the seventh. “That was a bad at-bat,” Valencia said. “But he made some good pitches. You can’t get a hit every time.”

Until then, he had nine hits in 10 at-bats going back to Sunday in Baltimore. Then, facing Victor Marte in the eighth, he had an RBI single, making him 4 for 5 with three singles and a double. “This is rare. It’s definitely rare,” he said. “It’s great to have, but it’s something that probably could never come again. It’s been a great time for me and it’s been a great time for the team. We’ve been winning, and you couldn’t ask for anything more.” Mauer, who was 5 for 5 with seven RBIs Monday night, doubled and scored in his first at-bat on Tuesday and was 2 for 4 with two doubles and two RBIs.

According to Royals manager Ned Yost, there is nothing mysterious about the collapse of the pitching. “The problem that we’re running into is we’re throwing too many pitches. We’re not commanding the ball down in the zone,” he said. “We’re not making quality pitches. The pitch counts are rising way up and we’re overexposing (the bullpen). Those guys are in there every day. It runs into problems.” It also doesn’t help that the pitchers the last three games have faced the likes of Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Joe Mauer and Valencia.

“They are both great offensive lineups,” said Yost. “You make a bit of a mistake and they’re going to crush it somewhere and they’ve done that. Some of the pitches (the Twins) are driving to the gap or hitting the ball out of the ballpark, they’re all mid-thigh and higher and a good part of the plate. That’s just a recipe for disaster.” Pavano was not as sharp as he’d been while throwing a shutout against Baltimore in his previous start. But he gave up only one run on five hits in five innings, walking three and striking out two and winning for the fifth time on the road. Jose Guillen’s sacrifice fly in the fifth was the first run Pavano had allowed in 18 straight innings.

Chen was charged with six runs on 11 hits as the Royals lost for the 12th time in 15 games and dropped into a last-place tie with Cleveland in the AL Central. The Twins picked up right where they’d left off in Monday night’s rout, taking a 2-0 lead on RBI singles by Cuddyer and Valencia in the first. Cuddyer, Mauer, Delmon Young, Valencia, J.J. Hardy and Drew Butera all had a multihit game for the Twins. In the third, Young doubled and went to third on Cuddyer’s single and Valencia and Hardy followed with RBI singles. Mauer, Young, Cuddyer and Valencia all had RBIs in the eighth. J.J. Hardy had a solo homer in the seventh.

Game notes
The old record for runs and hits allowed in three straight games was 40 and 50. … Cuddyer’s first-inning single stretched his hitting streak to 12 games. … Pavano retired the side in the fourth on eight pitches. … Scott Podsednik’s RBI single in the sixth extended his hitting streak to 14 games, matching his career-high.

Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press

Rouse: New Arrowhead rocks!

wayne — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 03:14:55 +0000

MAKEOVER AT ARROWHEAD RENDERS STORIED CHIEFS HOME BRAND NEW, by Charles Rouse

KANSAS CITY – Wait till you get a good look at the New Arrowhead Stadium, especially the exciting new fan-centered features inside, around and rising up above the classic sports edifice that has served as the home of the Kansas City Chiefs for nearly four decades. It is truly a sight to behold. It’s taken over four years to realize the dream that the Chiefs’ late owner and founder Lamar Hunt had for his beloved Arrowhead Stadium. But when Chiefs fans, and everyone else who passes through the portals of the New Arrowhead this season, get the opportunity to see the fruits of the 1.9 million mans hours and 1,147 days of construction that went into the project, they’ll surely agree it was well worth the wait.

The Chiefs provided a preview of the many upgrades and newly added features in the $375 million renovation of Arrowhead to members of the Kansas City area media late last week in advance of the exhibition soccer match between the Kansas Wizards and world soccer powerhouse Manchester United. The tour for the media was led by Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt, who said, “Our vision for the New Arrowhead was ‘New body, same soul,” in keeping with the Chiefs’ promotional tagline for the coming season. “We wanted to give our fans all of the amenities of a brand new, first-class venue while preserving the iconic elements of Arrowhead.”

Hunt said the completed renovation has exceeded his loftiest expectations. “Every area of the stadium is among the best in the National Football League,” he said, “and that includes the new Dallas stadium and the new stadium in New York.” Although changes are highly noticeable throughout the stadium, most of the upgrades and additions are to the exterior of the complex and in the fan areas just inside the stadium. One of the first things fans will notice in approaching the New Arrowhead from one of the adjacent parking lots that surround the stadium is the new shaped glass and metal skin that forms the new body that wraps around the modernized facility, supported by 1,570 tons of steel.

Once inside the stadium, digital media enhancements are strategically placed throughout to add to fan enjoyment and the desire to keep up with the live action on the field. The concourses have been widened to 40 feet, a 60 percent increase from before. The number of concession stands has been increased by 35 percent (from 47 to 63). Plus there are numerous portable concession locations, giving the fans a total of 445 different concession points throughout the newly remodeled Arrowhead.

One of the major concerns expressed by fans about the old stadium was the long lines created by inadequate restroom facilities. This problem has been addressed in the New Arrowhead with the addition of 530 new toilet fixtures, nearly doubling the capacity in both the men’s and women’s restroom areas. The Club level has been refurbished and expanded to 231,000 square feet and now features a complement of spacious, specially designed and themed bar, lounge and reception/banquet areas. As a point of reference, the floor space on the Club level is now equivalent to the size of Kansas City’s Nelson-Atkins Museum.

The new facilities on the Club level include the Founder’s Club, located on the Club level on the north side of the stadium, which, as it name implies, serves a tribute to the Chiefs’ founder, Lamar Hunt. Designed with a 50-foot double-sided bar and double-sided fireplace, the Founder’s Club is where the Chiefs Ambassadors will gather on game days, allowing fans to mingle with some of the Chiefs’ greats from years past.

Other special bar and lounge areas available to Club-level patrons are Club IV, which celebrates the Chiefs victory in Super Bowl IV and features images and memories from the special occasion in Chiefs history. In the east end zone of the Club Level is a new themed area called The Foolish Club, named after and commemorating the eight original owners and teams of the American Football League, which of course was founded 50 years ago by Lamar Hunt.

The new Arrowhead Stadium promises to provide a nice home field advantage for the boys in red.

One of the truly special additions to the New Arrowhead is the Founder’s Plaza, which honors Lamar Hunts’ legacy and offers a dramatic entrance to the north side of the stadium. This eye-catching new outside tribute to the Chiefs’ founder will evoke fond memories of the team’s origin and history. Fans will be greeted by a nine-foot sculpture of Lamar Hunt as they enter the Plaza area. A few feet away is a large AFL logo built into decorative pavement and flanked by eight fountains that symbolize the league’s original eight franchises

The Founder’s Plaza also features a three-dimensional diagram of the Chiefs most famous play: “65 Toss Power Trap. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell will join the Hunt family and members of the Chiefs organization at a special dedication ceremony for the Founders Plaza this Friday.

There are so many new design features and additions to enhance the fan experience at a Chiefs game, it is difficult to cite and describe them all in a single article. But one new feature that should not be overlooked is the Chiefs Sports Lab and Theater – a first of its kind in NFL stadiums. This unique, interactive area is designed as a learning center for school-aged children to teach them the importance of sound nutrition and physical fitness, using football as a general framework.

Immediately adjacent to the Sports Lab, which will have its grand opening on Aug. 30, is a new, greatly expanded team store that is now eight times larger than its predecessor. Another area surely to be a huge fan attraction as a result of the stadium renovation is the new interactive museum and Chiefs Hall of Honor. Rather than create a separate building with its own entrance, which is what a number of baseball and football franchises have done, Chiefs’ management decided to locate the Hall of Honor inside the stadium in a 28,000-square-foot space on the lower-level concourse of the stadium, easily accessible to the fans. The grand opening of the new Hall of Honor is scheduled for Aug. 25.

The Hall will highlight the great teams and players in pro football history and showcase exhibits and artifacts from the Chiefs’ illustrious history, including a virtual locker room honoring Chiefs Hall of Famers. There were no major changes made to the seating bowl itself. However, the actual seating capacity was reduced by approximately 2,500 seats to a new capacity of 76,000, while the overall size of the stadium was increased by 450,000 square feet.

New LED ribbon boards, totaling more than 2,000 linear feet, circle the club seating bowl and frame the sidelines of the upper bowl. Another major structural change at New Arrowhead is the addition of a new media deck above the south stands and immediately above the all-new Horizon level. The Horizon level, with additional restrooms and concessions, was created at the back of the seating bowl on the south side to open up additional seating for fans with physical disabilities and needing assistance. This represents a 300 percent increase in what Arrowhead could accommodate previously for American Disabilities Act patrons.

The two large HD video boards located at both ends of the field are the equivalent of 2,149 32-inch television screens. With the relocation of the media deck and the new Horizon level atop the south stands, new field lighting was added above the press level. Fans will also notice that the color of the wall surrounding the playing field is now Chiefs red, replacing the gray surface that was there before. The Jackson County voters approved $250 million in funding for the Arrowhead stadium project, which was designed by the Kansas City-based sports architectural firm Populous. The Hunt family committed an additional $125 toward the project.

The Chiefs players will get to experience the New Arrowhead for the first time on Aug. 27 when they play a preseason game with the Philadelphia Eagles. The grand opening will take place on Sept. 13 when the Chiefs host the San Diego Chargers on ESPN Monday Night Football.

During the tour for the media, Clark Hunt related a conversation he and former Chiefs chairman and general manager Jack Steadman had with his father when he was very ill and at the end of his life. “He told both of us, ‘Make sure we get the New Arrowhead right.’” It was so important to him, Clark said, and he knew it would be important to the fans. “I think if he could see it, he would say, ‘Well done!’” I don’t think there’s any question.

Charles (Chip) F. Rouse III, the Kansas City Sports Examiner, has spent over 40 years working in and with the news media. Rouse, a journalist by training and a graduate of the University of Kansas, has served in the role of newspaper reporter; in addition to radio and television. To view Chip’s sports articles, including this one, on Examiner.com, please click here. He welcomes your comments at crouse@massappealnews.com.

Rouse: Sunday great for KC Sports

wayne — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 22:36:14 +0000

WIZARDS SHOCKING EXHIBITION WIN HEADLINES GREAT DAY IN KC SPORTS, by Charles Rouse

KANSAS CITY – Sunday was a day to be remembered in Kansas City sports lore. Only a slow, painful pounding by the reigning World Series champion and perennial Kansas City nemesis New York Yankees stood in the way of what turned out to be an historic day in the annals of Kansas City-based pro sports franchises. Because the Royals were the ones who got things started on Sunday for the local sports teams, it appeared to be shaping up as just another day of high hopes only to end in bitter disappointment.

The Royals, hoping to salvage a respectable split in the four-game road series with their most-hated opponent, jumped out in front 2-0 in the third inning of Sunday’s series finale, only to quickly squander the lead as the Yankees scored four times in the bottom half of the inning. New York held a 6-3 lead when the skies opened up, producing a downpour that lasted almost two-and-a-half hours. It only got worse from there, with the formidable, star-laden Yankee lineup pounding away for an eventual 12-6 triumph over the one-and-done Royals.

That’s when things took a huge u-turn for the better. As it turned out, if you were playing at home on Sunday in Kansas City, fate was definitely on your side. Case in point: The Wizards, who have struggled all year to find the victory column, handed international soccer giant Manchester United its first loss on the team’s five-city North American tour before a record-setting KC soccer crowd.

Meanwhile, the Kansas City T-Bones expanded their first-place lead to two games in the independent Northern League with a 10-1crushing of the Rockford RiverHawks, and our hometown entry in the World Team Tennis league, the Explorers, capped its best season ever after 18 seasons with the WTT championship. And you could add another big win for the city with the Baseball Hall of Fame induction of Whitey Herzog, arguably the most popular and unquestionably the most successful manger in Kansas City Royals history.

An emotionally draining and heartfelt day like no other in recent or distant memory among Kansas City sports fans. Following is a quick summary of yesterday’s milestone events:

Wizards whip soccer world giant Man United, spurred on by their largest home crowd

If their much-anticipated “friendly” match with European soccer powerhouse Manchester United is any indication, the Kansas City Wizards can’t wait to get into their new, much larger permanent home currently under construction next door to their temporary home at CommunityAmerica Ballpark in Kansas City, Kan. The Wizards gave a record-setting crowd of over 52,000 at the New Arrowhead Stadium a win for the ages, defeating United 2-1, with all of the scoring in the game coming in the action-packed first 45 minutes.

The Wizards stunning victory, which has been somewhat of a rarity this MLS season, may not have been as important as the message it sent about the growing popularity of soccer in Kansas City and the bright future that looms for the Wizards. The fan attendance for this exhibition match was 20,000 greater than the previous largest crowd to watch the Wizards in Kansas City, three years ago when the Wizards played the Los Angeles Galaxy (before David Beckham was signed to play with the Galaxy) at Arrowhead.

The large attendance also provided a huge boost for Kansas City’s bid to be one of the host cities for the 2018 or 2022 World Cup should the United States be selected as a future host country.

Herzog goes into Baseball Hall of Fame as a Cardinal, but
around here, he will forever be remembered as a Royal

I’m not here because of my playing career, I’m hear because of what I did as a manager, Whitey Herzog assured the crowd of nearly 10,000 that attended the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremonies Sunday in Cooperstown, N.Y. Herzog, who had an eight-year career as a player and played for four different teams, including the Kansas City Athletics, managed in the major leagues for 18 more years, joined former Chicago Cubs and Montreal Expos star Andre Dawson and former National League umpire Doug Harvey as newly enshrined members of baseball’s most elite fraternity, the Hall of Fame.

Most of Herzog’s comments during his surprisingly short induction speech were directed to his 11 years as manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, whom he led to three National League pennants and a World Series title in 1982. But he will forever be remember on the west side of the Show-Me state as one of the most popular managers in Kansas City Royals history and the first manager to take them to the playoffs (1976-78).

Never one who has been at a loss for words or stories, the crusty, down-home-boy Herzog, who is now 78, purposely shortened his remarks from what was to be about a 17-minute speech down to around 11 minutes. “The program was dragging a little bit, and I wanted to hurry it up,” Herzog told reporters afterward with that slight glint of disbelievabilty in his eye. Herzog’s remarks at the podium may have been the shortest of the day, but he may have had the most moving line when he closed his comments with: “Being elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame is like going to heaven before you die.”

Explorers capture their first WTT championship and do it in front of their supportive home crowd
The Kansas City Explorers of the World Team Tennis league have come as close as you can to a championship without winning – runner-up status – once before. This time, however, they finished the job. As culmination to a whirlwind weekend, Kansas City’s pro tennis team came from behind for a thrilling 21-18 victory over the Eastern Division-champion New York Sportimes to win the WTT final and bring the Explorers their first championship in the team’s 18-year history.

With Kansas City serving as the host site for this year’s WTT Finals, the Explorers played their way into the final and a home-court advantage with a 20-17 home win Friday over the Springfield (Mo.) Lasers to claim the Western Division title. The women’s events have been Kansas City’s strength all season, and the Explorers used that strength to their strategic advantage in defeating the Sportimes. As the designated home team, Kansas City was able to set the order of the games in the match. As a result, Explorers head coach Brent Haygarth scheduled women’s singles and women’s doubles as the final two events in the match.

Kansas City’s Jarmila Groth, who was named WTT Finals MVP, won her singles match over the Sportimes’ Abigail Spears and then paired with teammate Kveta Peschke for a 5-3 doubles victory to clinch the championship for the Explorers. “On paper, our girls were stronger.” Haygarth said. “If they (New York) had the chance (to set the order of the matches), they would have gotten our girls out of the way early. We were able to keep them until the end, and it proved huge.”

The Explorers came within one win of the championship in 2008, losing to the New York Buzz by the same 21-18 margin that carried them to victory on Sunday. Last season, Kansas City finished fourth in the Western Division, three games out of the playoffs.

McMurray wins Brickyard 400

wayne — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:06:41 +0000

RECORD DAY FOR GANASSI AS MCMURRAY WINS BRICKYARD 400 AT INDY, by Charles Rouse

INDIANAPOLIS – Jamie McMurray of Joplin, Mo., led for only 16 laps the entire race, but those laps came when it counted the most, at the end, as McMurray’s No. 1 Pro Bass Shops Chevrolet took the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Brickyard 400 Sunday at historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was McMurray’s second victory of the season and his fifth Sprint Cup win in 278 career races. He has seven top-10 finishes to his credit in the 20 Sprint Cup races so far this season.

McMurray became only the third driver to win both the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400 the same year. His boss, Chip Ganassi, co-owner of Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing, did his driver on better on this day, however. With McMurray’s come-from-behind-win on Sunday, Ganassi is now the only owner to win the Daytona 500, the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard race at the Indy track all in the same year.

All of the local NASCAR drivers from the Kansas City area fared well in Sunday’s Brickyard 400 race. Aside from perhaps an understandably ecstatic Ganassi, no one was happier for McMurray’s win than his friend and fellow NASCAR driver from the Show-Me state of Missouri than Carl Edwards, who hails from Columbia. Edwards, who drives for Roush-Fenway Racing, had reason to be happy for his performance in Sunday’s race as well, finishing seventh in the No. 99 Aflac Ford for his ninth top-ten run of the season in the Sprint Cup Series.

The 30-year-old Edwards drew his second probationary period of the season from NASCAR last week for aggressive driving. Edwards bumped Brad Keselowski’s car on the final lap of the Nationwide Series race last weekend at Gateway International Speedway in Illinois, sending Keselowski’s into a sideway slide into the track retaining wall. At the time, Keselowski was was leading the race, which Edwards went on to win. This is not the first time that Edwards and Keselowski have been involved in similar track incidents.

Edwards was docked 60 Nationwide Series driver points, almost a third of what he gained by winning the race, and was fined $25,000. Both drivers were place on probation, effective until Dec. 31. “I feel that NASCAR’s penalty is fair,” Edwards said on Friday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in response to the ruling. “The part I’m real happy with (on what NASCAR did) is, I can accept my penalty, but I’m happy that NASCAR recognized that Brad needed to be penalized too,” he added.

Edwards had an excellent run Saturday night, as well, coming in second to Kyle Busch in the Nationwide Kroger 200 at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis. Kansan Clint Bowyer, from Emporia, made it a threesome for the local drivers finishing in the top ten at the Brickyard 400. The Richard Childress Racing driver came in fourth in his No. 33 Wheaties Fuel Chevrolet behind second-place Kevin Harvick, the Sprint Cup Series point leader, and Edwards’ Roush-Fenway teammate Greg Biffle. It was Bowyer’s third top-five finish of the season and his 11th time among the top ten.

The race Sunday got off to a rough start. Kyle Busch and Sam Hornish Jr. collided on the opening lap, causing significant body damage to Busch’s car and involving seven other cars. When the cars from the Busch-Hornish collision slid into the infield area at Indy Motor Speedway, the debris that kicked up apparently got caught in the grills of several cars, including the No. 99 car of Carl Edwards, causing them to overheat. Although he began the race on the 10th row in 19th position on the starting grid, Edwards experienced trouble with his car in the opening part of the race and dropped back to 33rd place.

The dominant car throughout most of the race was the No. 42 Target Chevrolet driven by Juan Pablo Montoya. Montoya led for 86 of the 160 laps around the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Speedway. He gave up the lead, though, with 23 laps remaining when a caution flag came out for debris on the track. Most of the car field pitted, including Montoya, while pit row remained open during the caution. Montoya’s Earnhardt-Ganassi crew replaced all four tires. The first seven cars off of pit road, however, led by Montoya’s teammate McMurray, took only two tires.

By the time Montoya made it off pit road, the race pole sitter found himself back in seventh place. In an aggressive attempt to get back to the front, Montoya lost control and ended up crashing his car into the wall with 15 laps to go. The late-race accident ended his day and dropped him all the way back to 32nd in the final results. “When Juan was leading and I was in second, I thought this was just the way it was meant to be,” an all-smiles McMurray said in Victory Lane in Indianapolis on Sunday. “I won the (Daytona) 500, Dario (Franchitti) won the Indy 500, and Juan is going to win this race. I really thought it was his day.

“Just shows you to never give up, and just drive your heart out on every lap,” said McMurray. Montoya led this same race for 116 laps a year ago, but a late speeding penalty on pit row cost him the victory. As far as Edwards and Bowyer are concerned, there was no change in their positions in the driver standings after 20 Sprint Cup races. With six races left before the Chase for the Sprint Cup kicks in, Edwards remained 10th and Bowyer in the 12th and final qualifying position for the 10-race Chase series.

McMurray’s Brickyard 400 victory gained him two positions in the points standings to 16th, but still on the outside looking in insofar as qualifying for the championship series. Next weekend, the Sprint Cup Series moves to Pocono Raceway for the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500.

Dawson, Herzog & Harvey in Hall

wayne — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 23:03:12 +0000

DAWSON, ALONG WITH HERZOG AND HARVEY, INDUCTED INTO HALL-OF-FAME. ESPN.com

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. – Former Montreal and Chicago Cubs star Andre Dawson, former St. Louis Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog and former umpire Doug Harvey have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. The 56-year-old Dawson, an All-Star eight times and one of only three major league players to hit 400 homers and steal more than 300 bases, is the 203rd player to make the Hall of Fame. Dawson had 438 homers, 2,774 hits, 1,591 RBIs and 314 stolen bases in his 21-year major league career.

Dawson poked fun at several Hall of Famers before getting serious, warning players not to be lured to the dark side of using performance-enhancing drugs. “It’s a stain on the game, a stain that’s being gradually removed,” he said. Herzog served in baseball long before the Steroids Era took hold. The 78-year-old Herzog, who played eight seasons as a first baseman and outfielder before moving to the front office, is just the 19th major league manager to be inducted.

Herzog managed for 18 seasons, 11 with the Cardinals after stints in Texas, California and Kansas City. He guided the Royals to three consecutive playoff appearances in the 1970s and guided the Cardinals to the 1982 World Series title just two years after he was hired. The Cards also made World Series appearances in 1985 and 1987 under Herzog, who finished his managing career in 1990 with a record of 1,279-1,123, a .532 winning percentage. “Ever since I was elected in December, people have asked, ‘What’s it feel like to be a Hall of Famer,’ ” Herzog said. “Now I can tell you what it feels like. It feels like going to heaven before you die.”

While Herzog talked of heaven, the Hall welcomed in the umpire nicknamed “God.” The 80-year-old Harvey, who worked in the National League from 1962 to 1992, was one of the last major league umpires who didn’t attend umpiring school. He called 4,673 regular-season games during his major league career and also umpired five World Series, six All-Star Games and nine National League championship series. Harvey, the ninth umpire to be inducted and the first living umpire inducted since Al Barlick in 1989, has been battling throat cancer and tape-recorded his speech in the spring.

Harvey, nicknamed “God” because of his no-nonsense demeanor on the field, spoke during a rain shower that abruptly ended in the middle of his speech. “I want you to notice that I stopped the rain,” he deadpanned in closing. While Dawson, Herzog and Harvey were inducted for their contributions between the lines, two more inductees received honors for the stories they told. ESPN broadcaster Jon Miller was honored with the Ford C. Frick award while New York journalist Bill Madden earned J.G. Taylor Spink Award for his contributions as a baseball writer.

“I’m overwhelmed by the whole thing,” Miller said. “It was an incredible time being here.” Miller was introduced by his broadcast partner and Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Morgan. “I always used to kid him … about going off with his fellow immortals to baseball’s Olympus,” Miller said. “These last few days … I’ve learned it’s absolutely not a joke at all, it really exists. What a treat it’s been. I’ve been walking on air for several days.”

Durant dominates U.S. scrimmage

wayne — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 18:24:58 +0000

KEVIN DURANT SCORES 28 POINTS FOR WHITE SQUAD IN VICTORY, the Associated Press

LAS VEGAS – Kevin Durant scored a game-high 28 points to lead the White squad past the Blue 114-96 at the USA Basketball Showcase on Saturday night. Durant had six rebounds and was 10 for 17 from the field and 6 for 6 from the free-throw line in 29 minutes. Andre Iguodala had 17 points for the winners, going 5 of 6 from the field including making all three 3-point attempts. Rudy Gay led the Blue with 23 points going 7 of 11 from the field, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range.

“They’re coming together more than I thought they would,” United States coach Mike Kryzewski said. “There’s a great spirit of cooperation. They’re really a good group of guys. They’ve been tested this week. They’ve done it enthusiastically. It was a really good week for us.” Eric Gordon added 16 points and Derrick Rose had 15 for the White, which shot 55 percent from the field. Stephen Curry had 14 points and Tyson Chandler added 13 and nine rebounds for the White.

Tyreke Evans sat out with a sprained ankle. The roster of 19 players will be cut to 14 or 15 by Monday and training camp begins for the world championships in New York Aug. 10. “We’re going to be a blue-collar team,” Durant said. “We’re going to play hard on every possession. We’ll live with the results. We have so many great guys.”

Rouse: KU, KSU on Big Monday

wayne — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 18:34:45 +0000

SUNFLOWER SCHOOLS TO DOMINATE AIR TIME ON “BIG MONDAY,” by Charles Rouse

KANSAS CITY – If you’re a fan of college basketball and you live in or support teams from the state of Kansas, you’re going to get very attached to ESPN’s ‘Big Monday’ telecasts next season. The Kansas Jayhawks have been somewhat of a regular over the years in the second half of the network’s traditional Monday night twin bill that features games from the Big East Conference, typically followed by a battle of conference teams from the Big 12, and Bill Self’s Jayhawks will get its share of the Monday night national spotlight again this coming season.

Only this year, it won’t be just Kansas commanding the lion’s share of ESPN’s Monday Big 12 games. The Jayhawks will be sharing the spotlight with their Sunflower state archrival Kansas State. Largely in response to Kansas State’s outstanding season in 2009-10, in which the Wildcats went 29-8 for the season (11-5 and tied for second in conference play), finished seventh in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll (right behind Kansas) and came within three games of playing for the National Championship, the team from the Little Apple, as some like to refer to Manhattan, Kan., is being awarded four games on the Big Monday broadcast schedule for the coming Big 12 basketball season.

This is the same number of times that Kansas will play in front of a Monday night national audience on ESPN next winter. Of the eight games that make up the Big Monday schedule next season, either the Jayhawks or Wildcats appear in seven of them. The only game in which one of those two teams will not appear is a Jan, 31 game between Texas and Texas A&M. “We’re very excited to have four games on ESPN’s Big Monday lineup,” said Kansas State head coach Frank Martin in a statement issued to the media. “This is obviously a great opportunity to not only showcase our program, but also the university and the Manhattan community.”

The Wildcats made only one appearance on Big Monday last season, and they have made only 10 appearances total in the 18 previous years the Big 12 and Big Eight conferences have participated as part of ESPN’s Monday night basketball programming. K-State won it only Monday night appearance last season, defeating then No. 1-ranked Texas in a game played at KSU’s Bramlage Coliseum. Prior to this, the most times Kansas State has appeared in a season on a ESPN Big Monday telecast is twice. That happened on three previous occasions: in 1992, 1993 and 2007.

Next season’s Big 12 Big Monday schedule tips off on Martin Luther King Day on Jan. 17, with a late afternoon game between Kansas State and Missouri in Columbia. That game will be followed by Baylor hosting Kansas the same evening. Two featured games on the schedule have Missouri visiting Kansas on Feb. 7 and a Sunflower Showdown game on Feb. 14 (Valentine’s Day), with Kansas at K-State. KU and K-State will both have two home games and two road contests as part of next season’s Monday lineup.

Here is the complete Big 12 Big Monday schedule for the 2010-11 season:

Jan. 17: Kansas State @ Missouri
Jan. 17: Kansas @ Baylor
Jan. 24: Baylor @ Kansas State
Jan. 31: Texas @ Texas A&M
Feb. 7: Missouri @ Kansas State
Feb. 14: Kansas @ Kansas State
Feb. 21: Oklahoma State @ Kansas
Feb. 28: Kansas State @ Texas

The Big 12 regular season defending-champion Kansas Jayhawks (15-1 in the conference last season) have made four Big Monday appearances in each of the last three seasons and nine times overall in the 13 seasons of Big 12 play Kansas’ overall record in Big Monday telecasts is 38-14 (21-1 in games played at Allen Fieldhouse). Under Bill Self. the Jayhawks are 19-7 in ESPN Monday night games, and an unbeaten 10-0 at home.

Kennison retires as a Chief

wayne — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 12:55:28 +0000

WIDE RECEIVER EDDIE KENNISON SIGNS A CONTRACT TO RETIRE AS CHIEF, by ESPN.com

KANSAS CITY, Mo – Receiver Eddie Kennison signed a one-day contract with the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday so he could retire as a member of the organization. “I am honored and humbled to officially conclude my NFL playing career as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs,” Kennison said in a statement. “My family is extremely grateful to the Hunt family, Scott Pioli and the Chiefs organization for making this moment possible. Kansas City has a special place in our hearts, and has truly become our home. I feel very blessed to have been extended the opportunity to retire as a member of the Chiefs.”

Kennison ranks seventh in Chiefs franchise history with 5,230 yards and his 321 receptions are the eighth-most in team history. In addition, he had 17 100-yard receiving games in his time with the Chiefs, the fourth-most in franchise history. In 179 career games with the Chiefs, St. Louis Rams, Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos and New Orleans Saints, the 37-year-old Kennison had 548 receptions for 8,345 yards and 42 touchdowns.

He did not play last season after being released by the Chiefs after the 2008 season. Kennison, who played collegiately at LSU, was the 18th overall pick of the 1996 NFL draft by the Rams.

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