Sports: Getting the Job Done at Arrowhead; Work To Do at Mizzou; The Last Six Games

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By Bob Priddy, Missourinet Contributing Editor

(CHIEFS)—Statistically, the Chiefs were all over the Colts Sunday night.  But before the game was all over, the Chiefs had to keep Indianapolis from getting a touchdown in overtime—and did, holding them to a field goal, while the Chiefs got two kicks through the uprights for a 33-30 win.

Patrick Mahomes threw for 371 yards (more than 160 more than his Colts counterpart, Daniel Jones) and Kenneth Walker ran for 117 of Kansas City’s 119 rushing yards.  Total offense; Chiefs 352., Colts 329.  Travis Kelce ran on young legs for 101 receiving yards and a touchdown. But it was Harrison Butker’s 40-yard field goal as the clock hit zero that won the game.

The win was an NFL record eighth straight overtime victory.  The Chiefs are 2-0 with a game next weekend against 0-2 Miami. The Colts are 0-2.

(MIZ)—Troy State beat Missouri everywhere but on the scoreboard Saturday night, leaving Coach Eli Drinkwitz with a long list of things that have to be shaped up before Mizzou starts SEC play next weekend against Mississippi State—which had a big win Saturday.

Missouri dropped behind Troy 10-0 before running off 24 straight points before the half. A Tiger field goal late in the fourth quarter put the game out of reach for Troy, 27-17.  Troy had the ball fifteen minutes longer than Missouri did, outgained them 323-230 and had five more first downs than the Tigers had.

Drinkwitz ticked off a list of concerns—going only 2 for 11 on third downs, the inability to complete a pass when needed (“We weren’t great throwing and catching the football. There was receivers falling down, receivers running around too deep, quarterback throwing the ball too early, offensive holding, inefficient runs off first down, inability to use play action to create separation between the second level of the defense.”)

Both Missouri and Mississippi State are 3-0.  State rallied from a 13-0 deficit against South Carolina Saturday night to win 41-34.

The unimpressive win was good enough to advance MU’s position by one slot in the national polls. The AP poll puts them 19th. Coaches have them 21st.

(FORMERTIGERS)—Former Tiger Quarterback Drew Lock played like a starter instead of a sub for the Seattle Seahawks Sunday, filling in for injured starter Sam Darnold. On the second play of the game he hit Jaxon Smith-Njigba for an 82-yard touchdown.  The two connected on two other TDs as the Seahawks beat the Arizona Cardinals 31-7.

Another Tiger QB, Brady Cook, was waived by the Jets in late August and was picked up by the Dolphins. He’s considered Miami’s emergency quarterback, to be activated if starter Malik Wilson and backup Kyle McCord can’t play.

Luther Burden III, who missed some training camp workouts with an injury, is  a Bears starters. In two games he had nine catches for 95 yards. No touchdowns yet.

(BASEBALL)—By the time we next write about baseball, the uniforms will be cleaned and put away, Busch and Kauffman Stadiums will be silent (I find few things more lonely than a baseball diamond in winter) until spring, and the playoffs will be underway involving other people’s teams.

But there’s always next year. That’s the never-ending story of the game.

The Cardinals are gone from St. Louis, their last home game something that will help fans get through the winter.  Their last six games will be on the road.  They have to win five of the six to finish at .500. Even if they don’t make it, they’ve given the Cardinals’ fans plenty to live for until the magical first day of spring training. The names of the last home game youngsters are likely to become quite familiar in 2027.

Quinn Matthews was solid on the mound against the Nationals.  The Cardinals got ahead in eht first inning with Ivan Herrera’s first homer since the All-Star break.  Jose Fermin led off the second with a double, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a single by J. J. Wetherholt.

Matthews struggled in the 6th and gave up a two-run homer to give Washington a 3-2 lead. He lasted seven innings, gave up seven hits and three earned runs.

Herrera hit his second homer in the eighth to tie the game. After Jordan Walker was intentionally walked, Leo Bernal put one in the seats 424 feet away for the lead. Riley O’Brien shut the Nationals down to end it.

The Cardinals play the first half of the rest of their schedule starting tonight in Pittsburgh. They finished the year 41-42 at home.

The Royals will play their last six games at the K, hoping to end things on a high note after being swept by the Pirates in Pittsburgh. The bullpen was the culprit again. The Royals were up 3-2 in the eighth after a pinch-hit two-run homer by Vinnie Pasquantino. But a homer by Rafael Flores Jr., gave the Pirates a 4-3 win.

The bullpen wasted another good outing by Michael Wacha who threw 113 pitches in 5.2 innings, gave up only four hits and allowed two runs.

The Royals finished the year 28-53 on the road. They’re 39-36 at home with the White Sox and the Guardians coming to town to wrap up the season.

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Not everybody is done playing baseball this fall, though. The Arizona Fall League starts October 3 and ends on Nov. 11.  A few players who hope one day to be engulfed by the cheers of the crowd as they step onto the field They’re among the top prospects of each team going to the Arizona League for another month of work and learning.

Eight Cardinals wannabes will be there—Pitchers Tekoah Roby,  Michael Watson, Brandon Clarke, Nate Dohm, and Frank Elissalt, outfielder Tai Peete, third baseman Cade McGee, and catcher/outfielder Sammy Hernandez.

Peete, on Sunday, had five hits including a two-run homer, four RBIs, a stolen base and two runs scored as Springfield won the first game in its defense of the Texas League championship. Springfield beat the Amarillo (TX) Sod Poodles 7-2 in Amarillo and will play the second game of the series tonight at home.

Roby will play his first baseball game in almost a year after Tommy John surgery last year. He has a spot on the 40-man roster, the only one of the eight with one of those prized slots. He came over from the Rangers in 2023. Pete also has had injury problems. He was able to play only 66 games in the rookie league, High-A and Double-A ball this year. But when he was healthy he flashed the kind of promise it was hoped he’s show—.296 average in 312 times at the late.

Clark, who was a big part of the Sonny gray trade with Boston, came back from an arm injury to work 29.2 innings in four levels of minor league ball, struck out 44 and showed 100 mph plus on the gun a few times.

Ellisalt will be playing after missing all of the season with an injury.

Hernandez was solid in High-A this year—65 games, .279 with an OPS of .940. McGee was in 86 games with High-A Peoria this year after being a ninth round pick in the draft earlier this year.

Dohm came to the Cardinals in the Ryan Helsley trade with the Mets. He started 13 games, relieved in 11 and had a7.43 ERA.

Watson was an undrafted free agent who was at Springfield all year, striking out 71 in 52.32 innings.

One of the most-watched Royals hopefuls will be this year’s first-round draft pick, Zion Rose. He’ll be joined by eight others from the Royals system. Rose got into 19 games in High-A, hit .268 with a homer and 14 walks. He also stole 14 bases.

A .319 batting average in Low-A by catcher Brooks Bryan earned him a trip to Arizona. He went on the IL after 33 games and three home runs.

Injuries have dogged shortstop Austin Charles who had seven homers  and a .285 average in 45 games at Quad Cities. Teammate Josh Hansell has been hurt for parts of the last two seaosns but he had 41 Ks and 25 walks on 40.2 innings.

Justin Lamkin is considered the eighth best Royals prospect. He had a strong year in High-A and Double A. He made eight starts before he went on the injured list in mid-May, went 39.2 innings, had 53 strikeouts and a 2.04 ERA.

It’s been five years since Frank Mozzicato was Kansas City’s number one draft pick, coming out high school with a big curveball.  He’s had control problems in Double-A where he had 72 walks in 71.2 innings this year and an 8.04 ERA. But in the last month of his season he appears to have gotten it together, with 30 strikeouts in 18 innings with opposing batters hitting only .121 against him.

Hiro Wyatt, also drafted out of high school (2023) did well during his second time in Low-A. Seven starts, 28 innings, 24 strikeouts and a 3.21 ERA before he was shut down in May.

The Royals had enough faith in Steven Zobac that he was put on the 40-man roster last year although he had injury problems and wasn’t too effective.  This year he made 13 starts in Double-A totaling 42.2 innings. He fanned 41 and had a 4.85 ERA. He’s considered the 14th best player in the Royals system.

Now, a sport lasting into November—-

(NASCAR)—Bristol is a short track where tempers also get short when 35 or more drivers are turning laps every 15 seconds for 500 trips around the oval and trying to get past one another.  Sometimes it doesn’t work out and the disagreement over space on track continues in the pits after the race.

Joey Logano slipped past Carson Hocevar and Ty Gibbs as they fought for the lead with five laps to go and neither could catch him as he racked up his third win of the year and 40th of his career.

Ryan Blaney dominated the race, leading 120 until his car, running a high line, dipped low to block Hocevar’s pass.  Blaney’s left rear bumper touched the nose of Hocevar’s car, sending Blaney into the wall and out of the race.

Hocevar finished third behind Kyle Larson and found himself face to face in the pits after he race with a furious Blaney (right).  Some punches were thrown but neither of these guys is much of a pugilist and crew members pulled them apart—twice.  As we go to press

NASCAR will not penalize either driver. CEO Steve O’Donnell told Kevin Harvick on Harick’s podcast yesterday, “We’re not going to encourage fighting, but what we are going to encourage is passion, right? And those are two guys — Blaney’s showing his passion, showing his fire. So no, there’s nothing coming from us in terms of [penalties]. We’ll obviously watch what happens the rest of the way, but nothing in terms of post-race penalties.”

Larson’s second-place finish and Denny Hamlin’s finish in 8th gave Larson a one-point lead in the championship standings with seven races left in the season.

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(WWTR)—Driver complaints about the narrowness of the pit road at World Wide Technology Raceway near St. Louis after last week’s Cup race there will take NASCAR officials there this week to talk about possible changes. A pit incident in a second-tier NASCAR race left some crewmen injured. Racing Insights says the track has the second-narrowest pit lane on the NASCAR circuit—25 feet wide, one foot wider than the pit lane at Indianapolis.

(Photo credit: Drinkwitz—larrybrownsports; Peete—Cardinals; Royals—newssportslogos.net; fight— Chris Graythen, Getty Images)

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The Ban Won’t Work

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(This entry has been updated by events today.)

I have walked under this arch more times than I can count. The words engraved on it are a derivation from the third verse of the 12th chapter of the Old Testament book of Daniel.  It’s the University of Missouri School of Journalism arch connecting the two buildings that have been the heart of the school for decades, the places where I learned the responsibilities of being a journalist.

William F. Woo, the then-editor of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, wrote in 1996 that Walter Williams, the founder of the nation’s oldest journalism school, and Joseph Pulitzer, who joined two 19th century St. Louis newspapers together were partners in stating the journalism ideal.

Williams wrote The Journalist’s Creed that begins, “I believe in the profession of journalism.  I believe that the public journal is a public trust; that all connected with it are, to the full measure of their responsibility, trustees for the public; that acceptance of a lesser service than the public service is betrayal of this trust…I believe that suppression of the news, for any consideration other than the welfare of society, is indefensible.”

Pulitzer’s platform, still published every day in his newspaper, says: “Never tolerate injustice or corruption; always fight demagogues of all parties; never belong to any party; always oppose privileged classes and public plunderers; never lack sympathy with the poor; always remain devoted to the public welfare: never be satisfied with merely printing news; always be drastically independent; never be afraid to attack wrong whether by predatory plutocracy or predatory poverty.”

It is not easy to live those noble words.  Many professions have statements of standards and it’s no easier for practitioners of those professions to live up to those highest standards either. As Woo said, the challenge is “how to successfully work through the matters of our day that are pressing but in fact peripheral and concentrate, with clarity and determination, on the great public purpose that endures.”

Sometimes it’s hard to see those noble words in practice when they bring reporters into angry confrontations with their subjects. In our experience, the worst confrontations have been caused by a search for the truth from someone who is less than zealous about telling it or having it revealed.

Tolerating President Trump from this distance is relatively easy when compared with those who have to put up with him every day, especially when he spends so much time insulting reporters and news organizations that challenge him when he lies—which seems to be most of the time—or shows no interest in telling the truth.

Thus we have his banning of reporters from three organizations from the White House. Not just the White House but from the press area set aside on the west wing lawn.  Reporters for CNN, MS NOW, and Politico—a Capitol Hill political news organization—learned Saturday morning when checking through the security gate that Trump had cancelled their credentials.

We watched some of them report on the street side of the fence.

He also has hinted these three might not be the last news organizations banned from the White House, the press room, and the yard.

There’s a simple way to end what he thinks is constant hostile reporting.

He can quit constantly lying.

Washington Post fact checkers caught him in 30,573 lies in his first term. We haven’t been able to find a running total for the second term but the independent The Cap Times, the Madison, Wisconsin version of our Missouri Independent,  reported a week after his second inaugural, “Trump’s Lie Meter Runing Full Time.”

Comedian and social commentator John Stewart has suggested Trump might be doing an injustice to himself.  Huff Post quotes him saying, “I actually think he needs them more than they need him.”  He says the media might want to think about ignoring him instead of reporting everything he does or says. Press conferences, he says, are “designed for his personal performance” that “serves no purpose in terms of public value. It’s just another platform for him to spew.”  A press pool that ignores him, he says, “would deny him the thing that he craves the most,” being the center of attention.

He has a point.  But it isn’t realistic.  Donald Trump is the crash scene you have to look at as you slowly drive by, muttering about how slow the traffic is ahead of you because others are doing the same thing.

Unfortunately for Trump, it is journalistically impossible to ignore his rolling wreck.  There is an obligation to report on his tantrums, his prevarications, his lack of decency, his bullying, his complete lack of responsibility for what he is doing and has done to individuals, the nation, and the world..

“I believe that suppression of the news, for any consideration other than the welfare of society, is indefensible,” said Williams 118 years ago.

The welfare of society is at risk when there is no one to hold someone like Donald Trump accountable.  And being held accountable is something he can’t tolerate which is why he bans reporters from Air Force One and from the White House and why he rants about news organizations and specific news reporters.

Banning some reporters never works.  Colleagues ask their questions for them. Colleagues demand their answers.  He can roar all that he wants. He will never escape the scrutiny of the press.  He can have his favorite network lap dogs but they won’t keep the public from knowing more of the truth than he would ever tell.

After announcing the ban on the three news agencies, Trump said he was tired of all of the negative reporting correspondents had been doing about him.  “They’re fake news,” he said.  “You get so tired of reading and seeing fake news. You get sick of it.”

There’s an old saying that politicians should not get into a war of words with people who buy ink by the barrel.  He can throw out reporters but he can’t hide from the news.

Donald Trump IS the fake news and the polls indicate a lot of people are “sick of it.” Journalists are just exposing him to the public as he is. The public is seeing the light. And an increased percentage of the public also is “sick of it.”

Banning reporters is an act of cowardice by a man who resents the fact that the image he creates for himself is being truthfully reported.

One way or another, he—not the press—will be the loser.

(UPDATE)—Most of the major television news organizations announced today—Monday—that they would no longer provide their cameras for the White House TV pool. News divisions from ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX, and NBC have taken steps that effectively cuts off coverage of the Trump White House.  The move was led by FOX News Washington Bureau Chief Bryan Boughton, the chair of the White House TV Pool.  The five networks put out a joint statement: “The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government. No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting.”

Trump and his loyal followers are not reacting positively, as you might expect, to the press pool effectively agreeing with John Stewart.)  

Photo Credit: (Sheila Scarborough)

Our Bilingual Country

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My monthly opinion piece in the Jefferson City News Tribune this month focused on Canada’s recognition of its bilingual heritage—English and French—with our country’s failure to recognize our bilingual heritage of English and Spanish.

English is the mother tongue of 57% of Canadians. French is the mother tongue of 20%, most of whom live in Quebec where Canadian federal law protects the language and the culture.

About 78% of USA homes are English-speaking.  About 12% are Spanish speakers but some of our states are much heavier with Spanish speakers. Our nation, however, offers no Canada-like appreciations accorded Quebec, especially a region almost as large as that province. We’ll get to that later.

Our country language has not always been English-dominated. English was a just a minor language when our pious Pilgrim Protestant forbears landed in the late 1500s and early 1600s. There were many Native American Languages but in terms of competing European languages, Catholic Spanish predominated.

I couldn’t put this map in the newspaper, but it shows that English was very much THE OTHER language.

It is too easy for us to get all sniffy about the superiority of our Christian English ancestors (and for those who go for the “Christian nation” myth, we will only suggest that most would not have wanted to live in such a place where the religious freedom concept applied only to THEIR religious freedom, dissenters such as Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson being exiled for questioning some Puritan tenets. There are, however, more than enough today who want no questions about their version.).

We are becoming more bilingual or even multi-lingual but we show no signs of being like Canada in respecting the original language of others. American Community Survey data from 2024 shows 43-45% of the population of California is non-English home speakers. Texas is about 36%. New Mexico is 34%. Various estimates put Arizona at 30-30%.

Quebec, by the way, is about the same size as Texas. California, and New Mexico combined.  Texas and New Mexico do not have English official laws. President Trump has taken care of that with an executive order declaring English the official language in all of our states.

We’ll have more in a later entry about the languages of our states.  You might be as surprised as I am about what the second and third languages of Missouri are.

In the newspaper article I cited Walt Whitman’s letter refusing to write a poem for Santa Fe’s 333rd anniversary:

We Americans have yet to really learn our own antecedents, and sort them, to unify them. They will be found ampler than has been supposed and in widely different sources. Thus far, impressed by New England writers and schoolmasters, we tacitly abandon ourselves to the notion that our United States have been fashioned from the British Islands only, and essentially form a second England only—which is a great mistake. Many leading traits for our future national personality, and some of the best ones, will certainly prove to have originated from other than British stock. As it is, the British and German, valuable as they are in the concrete, already threaten excess. Or rather, I should say, they have certainly reach’d​ that excess. To-day, something outside of them, and to counterbalance them, is seriously needed.

Thus seething materialistic and business vortices of the United States, in their present devouring relations, controlling and belittling everything else, are, in my opinion, but a vast and indispensable stage in the new world’s development, and are certainly to be follow’d​ by something entirely different—at least by immense modifications. Character, literature, a society worthy the name, are yet to be establish’d​ , through a nationality of noblest spiritual, heroic and democratic attributes—not one of which at present definitely exists—entirely different from the past, though unerringly founded on it, and to justify it.

To that composite American identity of the future, Spanish character will supply some of the most needed parts. No stock shows a grander historic retrospect—grander in religiousness and loyalty, or for patriotism, courage, decorum, gravity and honor. (It is time to dismiss utterly the illusion-compound, half raw-head-and-bloody-bones and half Mysteries-of-Udolpho, inherited from the English writers of the past 200 years. It is time to realize—for it is certainly true—that there will not be found any more cruelty, tryanny, superstition, &c., in the résumé of past Spanish history than in the corresponding résumé of Anglo-Norman history. Nay, I think there will not be found so much.)

Then another point, relating to American ethnology, past and to come, I will here touch upon at a venture. As to our aboriginal or Indian population—the Aztec in the South, and many a tribe in the North and West—I know it seems to be agreed that they must gradually dwindle as time rolls on, and in a few generations more leave only a reminiscence, a blank. But I am not at all clear about that. As America, from its many far-back sources and current supplies, develops, adapts, entwines, faithfully identifies its own—are we to see it cheerfully accepting and using all the contributions of foreign lands from the whole outside globe—and then rejecting the only ones distinctively its own—the autochthonic ones?

As to the Spanish stock of our Southwest, it is certain to me that we do not begin to appreciate the splendor and sterling value of its race element. Who knows but that element, like the course of some subterranean river, dipping invisibly for a hundred or two years, is now to emerge in broadest flow and permanent action?

We are living in a time when diversity in language and in so many parts of life is a living presence among us but an official target of disrespect from a president who has never lived outside his small cultural bubble.

I concluded in the article, “Language might separate us culturally one from another, but we should learn from better-taught history not to allow it to divide us as Americans.  We are one out of many. This is a time to understand and honor that sentiment, not ignore it.

Canada can teach us an important lesson about tolerance and respect.”

(map from appswm.com)

Sports:  Pat’s Back & So Are the Chiefs; Tigers Beat Jayhawks Like a Drum, Etc.

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By Bob Priddy, Missourinet Contributing Editor

(CHIEFS)—-Patrick Mahomes was Patrick Mahomes, Kenneth Walker III was Kenneth Walker III. The offensive line looked like a vintage line. The defense was solid and Mahomes and his rebuilt knee and the Chiefs with their rebuilt roster delivered a dominating win over last year’s division champions Denver Broncos 31-10.

Walker had more yards of total offense than the entire Broncos team.  His 173 rushing yards on 23 carries are the most for a Chiefs running back since Jamal Charles ran for 226 on December 23, 2012 (he also ran for 233 three months earlier and had a career best 259 in January of 2020).

Travis Kelce’s long catch and run moved him into second place, all-time, in tight end yardage with 13,067, trailing only Chiefs predecessor Tony Gonzalez, who finished with 15,127.

Mahomes showed no fear in running the ball when necessary and ran for a touchdown early.  Although he was a pocket quarterback most of the game, he did show he could scramble if necessary and was not limping at the end of the game.

The Chiefs meet the Indianapolis Colts next weekend. (9/18/26)

(MUKU)—Sometimes it’s interesting for fans to hear what the other coach has to say about your team after a big game.  Our coach, of course, will mix the good and the bad with his reviews of his team’s performance and Coach Drink has plenty of things to talk about the Tiger’s needing to improve. Six false starts were among the ten Tiger penalties, for example.

But the Tigers left Lawrence with the first Missouri victory there since 2001.

KU Coach Lance Leopold wasn’t happy that his team gained only 255 yards againt Missouri’s defense and succeed on only three of its fifteen third downs.  The KU defense allowed Missouri to gain an average of 6.6 yards per play to run up a total of 469 yards. The Missouri pass defense held KU quarterback Isaiah Marshall to just 13 of 30 passing and forced him into two turnovers.

Although he thought KU played “really good football game” in the first half but thoughts the Tigers “derailed us a lot.”  Although Missouri had two field goals blocked, one of which was run back for the game’s first touchdown, “a good football team is going to get themselves corrected…and they did it, especially when we gave them those short fields.”  He called the game “very deflating.”

The Jayhawks could not stop Austin Simmons because “he’s a really good football player” who found his rhythm early in the game. Simmons hit 19 of his 29 passes for 292 yards and here touchdowns.

Leopold complimented Missouri for “having a good game plan that “found ways to attack us,” The offensive line impressed Leopold, who thinks “they’ve got probably eight draftable guys” and at least one who will go high in the draft.

The rivalry won’t be renewed until at least 2031, if even then.  “It’s a good rivalry,” said Leopold…I think these are things that help make college football what it is and iat’s a special game.”

Missouri’s Drinkwitz wasn’t happy with the Tigers’ first half. “The things that we gave them were undisciplined penalties. Our special teams was not good tonight, in any form or facet, and that’s going to get cleaned up.”

The trophy since 1935 for this long-standing, but interruptible rivalry, is a drum, originally purchased by Missouri and Kansas alumni from a Kansas City pawn shop. One drum head has a Tiger on it. A Jayhawk is on the other.  That first drum is now in the College Football Hall of Fame. In the 1980s the Taos Pueblo Indians in New Mexico made a new drum as the new traveling trophy. Missouri has kept it since 2009 and has beaten the Jayhawks five straight games.  The last time that happened was 84 years ago.

The game has brought weekly SEC honors for two Tigers. Quarterback Austin Simmons and defensive lineman Daeden Hopkins  are offensive and defensive players of the week. Simmons, who has completed 75% of his passes in his first two games at Mizzou, shares his award with Texas QB Arch Manning. Pro Football Focus says Hopkins, who is only a sophomore, led the charge that pressured KU quarterback Isaiah Marhall better than forty percent of KU’s 70 snaps with eight pressures and one and a half sacks.

This week’s coaches poll moves Missouri up one place, to 22nd. The AP sportswriters rank Missouri 20th.

The Tigers play Troy University next Saturday evening in Columbia.  The Trojans have won both games this year, against Sam Houston and against Alabama State. Troy has about 14,000 students.

(BASEBALL)—Only a dozen games are left and the Cardinals have to win eight of them to finish even. They took their first step in that direction last night with a 2-1 win against the Giants who were long ago out of playoff contention and now are 62-89.  The Cardinals’ Quinn Mathews had a no hitter going into the sixth inning and left after two outs in that inning and allowing the first run and four hits. He struck out eight and walked four in the longest start of his rookie year. Alec Burlison upped his league-leading RBI total to 110 and rookie catcher Leo Bernal drove in the other one.

The Redbirds got some good news about J. J. Wetherholt during the weekend. He’s rehabbing from a wrist injury and hit off a tee Friday. He hopes to be back in the lineup before the end of the season.

Thomas Saggese has filled in for Wetherhold at second base and has impressed people since his callup from Memphis when Wetherholt went out.  He’s hitting .260 with four homers and a dozen runs batted in, a record good enough to be moved to the leadoff position.

The Royals will finish below .500 if they win all of their remaining game. They dropped to 66-84 with a series-ending loss to the Red Sox.  But a couple of guys continued their run at the Royals record books during the weekend.

Carter Jensen has tied Bob Hameline’s record for most homers by a Royals rookie.  He provided a souvenir in the outfield seats for the 14th time this year.  He also racked up his twelfth straight extra-base hit,  joining New York’s Aaron Judge for most consecutive extra-base hits by a rookie in the expansion era (namely, since 1961).

Bobby Witt needs two home runs to compile a third straight 20 homer, 40 stolen bases in a season. It will be his second time (the first was in 2023). Carlos Beltran had 26 homers and 41SBs in 2003.

We now know who is going to build the new stadium in KC.  Three companies will tame up to build the three-billion dollar roofless ball park near crown Center, downtown.  The nationally-know construction companies of Mortenson and McCownGordon will jointly serve as construction manager. J.E. Dunn will superintend the ballpark village-like development in the surrounding 85-acre site. The stadium will seat about 34,000 fans, about four thousand fewer than can watch a game at the K.

Now: Racing to the End—

(NASCAR)—Kyle Larson can quit counting how many races it has been since he won.  Larson survived intense racing marred by a track-record 18 caution flags to win the Enjoy Illinois 300 at the World Wide Technology Raceway just across the river from St. Louis. It’s his first win since May of last year, 51 races in all.

Larson finished just ahead of teammate Alex Bowman. Pole sitter Joey Logano, who led the most laps, came home third and the third Hendrick driver, William Byron was fourth. Points leader Denny Hamlin had a mediocre day but finished ninth when several drivers ahead of him crashed, many of them because their heavily-used brake rotors exploded, putting them into the wall and out of the race sometimes taking some other drivers with them.  The race was stopped twice for track clean-up.

Thirty-five percent of the race’s 247 overtime laps were run under caution leaving an average speed of just 81.47 mph. Between the yellows, however, racing sometimes was three and four-wide on the egg-shaped oval that relies of heavy braking and road course-like shifting in the turns. The 18 yellows were the most race caution periods in any Cup race this year.  The record for most caution periods in a race is 22, at Charlotte in 2005, a race that was twice as long (600 miles) as Sunday’s race.

Hamlin led the standings by a dozen points going into the race and gained a few points on last weeks’ neared challengers.  But Larson’s win shortened the Hamlin lead to nine going into next week’s short-track race at Bristol, the third stop in the ten-race series for the championship.

The race was the first to honor Kyle Busch with a new permanent trophy that honors Busch’s memory at WWTR.

(INDYCAR)—Look for several drivers wearing different colors next year in IndyCar.  The seat juggling that began before season’s end has continued in the days after. There are only 25 fulltime rides available so it’s a fairly closed society.  Here’s what’s being reported so far.

Scott Dixon was reported moving from Ganassi to McLaren some time ago.  Meyer-Shank has lost Indianapolis 500 winner Felix Rosenqvist to Mclaren. They will join with Pato O’Ward there. Jettisoned by McLaren are Christian Lundgaard, although he was third in the points chase this year, and Nolan Siegel.

Mick Schumacher is moving from Rahal Letterman Lanigan to replace Rosenqvist at Meyer-Shank. Marcus Armstrong will stay with M-S but will moved to the 60-car that Rosenqvist had this year.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan has sold one of its franchises to the returning Dreyer & Reinbold team, which quickly filled the seat with Connor Daly.

It’s a long seven months, though, before we see the realigned series take to the track in earnest again.  The 2027 season opens with the annual street race at St. Petersburg, Florida on March 7.

(Photo credits: Walker—Facebook; Drum—St. Joseph Post; Larson–Bob Priddy)

 

What’s Left After Contempt and Concession 

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Records in the State Supreme Court Historical Society indicate Secretary of State Denny Hoskins’ contempt of court case is the first contempt case before the court since 1878 and might be only the fifteenth in state history, none of which involved a statewide office holder.  All of the old cases were appeals of lower court contempt holdings. This could be the first time someone was held in contempt of the Missouri Supreme Court itself.

In my sixty years of reporting in Jefferson City, this is the first contempt of the Supreme Court case that I have ever seen.

Shortly before the court was to return with its finding Thursday afternoon, Hoskins buckled to the inevitable and notified local election officials that the congressional district map approved by the legislature in 2022 would be used in the November election.

His earlier notice said that the Republican gerrymandered districts adopted to please President Trump would be used—although other court rulings had blocked that usage.

The tricky issue of deciding a proper penalty for violating the court’s earlier order forbidding use of the gerrymandered districts was thus avoided.  Chief Justice W. Brent Powell noted that Hoskins could purge himself of his previous statement and orders and that he had done so with his letter to election authorities. The contempt ruling stands but there will be no punishment from the court. Whether feelings of voters when Hoskins is up for re-election in two years will take their due is something we’ll have to wait for.

There might be many bottom lines from this series of actions.  Legislative Republicans are 0-for-3 on major public policy decisions this year with two really hot issues on the ballot in November—

Amendment 3 prohibits abortion in most cases, and blocks gender transition procedures for people younger than 18. The amendment would overturn a more pro-choice amendment adopted by voters in 2024 after a petition campaign generated enough signatures for a ballot position. It got about 52% of the vote.

Amendment 6 says the legislature cannot change a law proposed by a petition and approved by voters without 80% percent of the voters agreeing with the change.

The other proposition is the one that upholds the gerrymandered redistricting plan, proposition A. What all of this fuss and feathers has resolved is that voters still can approve the new districts by adopting proposition A, which will make the districts available in the 2028 elections but not useful in protecting President Trump from a House and/or Senate controlled by Democrats after November’s election.

Republicans could go 0 for 6 this year on ballot issues if the People Not Politicians movement maintains its momentum or, with these court rulings, picks up strength.

There still remains one piece of absurdity in this ugly worship of The Donald.

A few hours before the court’s hearing and its ultimate ruling on contempt, fourteen members of the legislature threatened the court with impeachment.

The seven judges didn’t even blink when hearing of this threat.  They not only went ahead with the hearing and found Hoskins in contempt.

So now what?

The only thing goofier than the threat would be for these fourteen Republicans (and their colleagues) to file articles of impeachment in this week’s veto session. The court’s lack of interest in their threat gives them a choice: Look foolish for filing the threat or look foolish for going ahead with it.

How would they go about impeaching and convicting the court—all seven members?

Guess who conducts the trial of an impeached state official?   The Supreme Court, that’s who.  Impeaching one at a time leaves the other six to run a trial of a colleague, a pretty goofy idea. Maybe they could import the supreme court of a surrounding state to do it.

Goofiness seems to be the order of the day.

Will their threats generate votes for them and their party in November?  It’s hard to see that it will because of national surveys showing that President Trump’s behavior as a political bully isn’t going over anymore and in fact is turning people off, way off. .

What we have here, folks, seems to be that too many Republicans are lowering the anchor of the ship of state, not realizing the chain is wrapped around their own ankles.

The Republicans have handed Democrats wheelbarrows full of campaign issues that the D’s can use in the next two months or so to pound on R’s.

And in two more years, when the Governor, Attorney General (who represented Hoskins), and Hoskins come up for re-election along with legislative Republicans seeking re-election or election to a higher office, the Democrats still will be well-armed.

Republicans need to do some serious image repair. They need to pick up a major issue (or many major issues) that will sympathetically resonate with the people.

(Picture credit:  Front row (from left): Judge Fischer, Chief Justice Powell, Judge Ransom; Back row (from left): Judge Gooch, Judge Wilson, Judge Broniec, Judge Russell —Missouri Supreme Court;  Goofy—Etsy)

Chaos 

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(Two important updates to this posting occurred overnight as the gigantic mess that will be our congressional elections in November has gotten even worse)  Look for  the boldface additions in this revised–for the third time—column).  

The two people in this household are going to vote in the November election. As of today, we are not sure who we will want to be our member of Congress because we aren’t sure which congressional district we will be in.

Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh might have settled it yesterday when he flatly rejected the appeal of the Missouri Supreme Court’s ruling that the old districts will be used for the election.  Kavanaugh is a Trump appointee and we would not be in this mess if Trump had not asked his loyal Republican-dominated legislature to skew congressional districts to help keep him in power.

However, shortly after that, a lower federal court judge ruled the other way.  We went to bed last night glad the day was over but knowing it is likely today will produce more political and judicial mayhem that none of us deserves but that all of us are getting, thanks to a President thinks our political system was invented just to keep him happy.

But since then, things have really heated up.

Shortly after that, the Chief Federal District Judge of this region, Stephen Clark, ruled the other way, issuing a temporary restraining order telling Hoskins to use the gerrymandered map while the case goes forward in the federal court system.  We went to bed last night glad the day was over but knowing it is likely today will produce more political and judicial mayhem that none of us deserves but that all of us are getting, thanks to a President thinks our political system was invented just to keep him happy. 

Governor Kehoe thanked the judge for providing “much needed clarity for Missouri voters and the election process.”  Since yesterday was the last day to make changes to the November ballot, he said, “the Missouri First Map will be used in the general election.”

He said, “Voters and candidates deserve consistency, certainty, and not to have the rules changed between elections,” an observation that is interesting because that is exactly what President Trump, the legislature, and Governor Kehoe have done “between elections” in 2024 and 2026. 

The scramble yesterday has left the Missouri Supreme Court, shall we say, in a state of high urinary agitation.  We awoke this morning to read a Missouri Independent report that the court has ordered Secretary of State Denny Hoskins to appear before it in person at 10 o’clock tomorrow morning to show why he should not be held in contempt of court for telling election officials to go ahead with a district map the court has forbidden him from using. It seems Hoskins had, as soon as Clark’s order came down, certified the official state ballot using the rejiggered congressional districts and sent the order, and his certification of the districts out to local election officials.  He says the Clark order, in effect, overrules the Missouri court’s order. 

The Chief Justice of the Missouri Supreme Court wants Hoskins to explain exactly why his actions “is not an affirmative violation” of the court’s injunction which has the backing of a United States Supreme Court judge (who ranks higher on the judicial food chain than Clark) and, “if he is not willing to comply with this court’s injunction, he should take no action in all things related to the congressional district map until guidance is received from a higher court…”

Chief Justice W. Brent Powell made it clear this hearing is a face-off between Hoskins and the court.  Nobody else will be allowed to intervene.  

The last time we can recall a sitting state official to answer to the Missouri Supreme Court was when the court tried and convicted Secretary of State Judy Moriarty in 1994 of committing impeachable offenses—-  

—–which raises a question about how all of this could eventually play out for Hoskins, should anyone want to make a case of it.  If the GOP continues to control the legislature, that question likely is going to be moot.

This whole ugly thing is compliments of the same political party that gave us two amendments that were stomped flat by voters in August, allowed a small number of maverick state senators to produce two or three of the least productive legislative sessions—probably since the Civil War when we had a government supported by the U. S. Army in Jefferson City and a bunch of exiles pretending to be a Confederate government based in Texas, and who so badly fumbled a chance to pass a sports gambling law that the interested parties gave us a constitutional amendment that is of grave disservice to the people of Missouri

Republicans have no one to blame but themselves if voter in November seek retribution for this craziness by promoting many GOP lawmakers back to private life. Will the majorities in the House and Senate switch in November? Probably not.  But we’ll be watching to see if the two-third majorities and the accompanying arrogance that comes with such margins disappears at the hands of voters who think these lawmakers have gone too far.

The Missouri Supreme court has blamed our Secretary of State, who was one of those maverick senators, for this mess.  And the court underlined its feelings with a unanimous vote.

The court suspended the congressional district maps drawn because President Trump is afraid he’ll lose control of Congress in November and asked the Missouri legislature to approve maps that will oust one of our senior congressmen, Emanuel Cleaver of Kansas City. That would giving the GOP one more Congressman from Missouri who can protect Trump..  The legislature was more than happy to oblige him.

But then some citizens who felt such manipulation of the political system more focused on government of one person, by one person, and for one person is not exactly what this country is all about.  They went around and collected signatures of about 300,000 other dissenters demanding the new map not go into effect until the people had agreed to it.  The number of signatures was more than adequate to put the question on the ballot.

Secretary of State Denny Hoskins apparently found some wiggle room in a federal district judge’s ruling last December that the new map would be suspended if the petition had enough signatures and a vote could be held on overturning that map. The judge’s opinion noted, however, that Hoskins believed he had the power to declare the petition itself was unconstitutional.

The Missouri Supreme Court told him, twice, that he had to rule on whether the petitions had enough signatures to put the issue on the ballot.

Rather than do that before the primary election that used the questionable new districts, Hoskins waited until the primary election was already underway before proclaiming the petition unconstitutional.

The Missouri Supreme Court said he screwed up, saying there actually are no new districts because opponents had gathered adequate signatures to have an election on their legitimacy. Unless voters approved the districts, they did not exist.

But Hoskins let the election proceed with the new districts.  So now we have candidates in our eight districts and—-

?

Justice Kavanaugh’s terse rejection of the districts is a second loud slap in the face of Hoskins and the obedient Trumpicans in our Capitol, coming after our Supreme Court’s ruling.

As we understand it these two rulings, we have no districts except the old ones and the candidates did not run in the old districts. They ran in the new ones which the court says don’t exist. The Missouri court has said rather clearly that Hoskins is responsible for any confusion the people of Missouri might have.

That’s a very heavy load of responsibility.  Hoskins will be up for re-election in 2028. Missourians are likely to be reminded of these events.

Out of this complicated embarrassment so far, however, is something vitally important. The Constitutional right of Missouri citizens “to petition the Government for a redress of grievances”     to enact laws through a petition process and to overturn offensive laws enacted by the people who are supposed to represent us has been upheld. The court decisions have upheld Missourians’ right to initiative and petition in overwhelming numbers. (Next year will be the 120th anniversary of the adoption of initiative and referendum in Missouri. We need to have a big celebration.)

Hoskins disputes the Missouri court’s ruling that he’s the one to blame.  He seemed to argue in a radio interview (KFTK) that the Trumpian map should be valid for November because voters used it in the primary election.

—although the State Supreme Court says they (we) voted in illegal and therefore nonexistent districts.  Justice Kavanaugh obviously didn’t buy Hoskins’ arguments either.

We must confess that we are as befuddled as most people are and we’re not convinced we understand all of this folderol or if we have explained the situation correctly.

If the districts were not legal, then there actually was no congressional primary election, right?   And those of us who voted were just rehearsing for the real thing. Can that be correct?  Are we headed to November with candidates nominated in a non-election?

And since the petition issue gathered enough signatures to merit a vote and no districts, old or new, will be established until voters have decided on the petition issue, how can we vote for our congressional delegation in November?

If it turns out that one of the winners in August is not a resident of the old district that might be in effect in November—-

Well?

I feel as if I am wading in the dark through an endless swamp of mashed potatoes and the legislature led me to it.  Lawmakers are back at the Capitol for a day or two next week to consider overriding any of the Governor’s vetoes from the spring session.  Can they, will they, do anything to restore some orderliness in our state political system?

To paraphrase an old saying:

“To err is human. To really screw up things you need a politician.”

I am now going to take some aspirin and lie down and hope this all passes.

(picture credit: Demotivators)

 

Sports: Seasons Begin; Seasons Winding Down; Seasons Ending 

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By Bob Priddy, Missourinet Contributing Editor

(MIZ)—When your university has more than five times the number of fulltime employees than the other school has students, it should not be a surprise that your football team would be able to put 74 players on the field for at least one snap when the two teams meet.  The Post-Dispatch and its analytical partner, Hudl IQ counted 41 defensive and 33 offensive players who got on the field against Arkansas-Pine Bluff Thursday night.

UAPB has 1,868 students.  MU has more than 11,000 employees in Columbia.

The victory over the overmatched Lions didn’t move Missouri in the polls. They remain 25th headed to the Kansas game in Lawrence Friday night.

Kansas beat Long Island University 51-6. LIU has slightly more students than KU has staff members.

(CHIEFS)—The Kansas City Chiefs finally are going to let Patrick Mahomes play a football game—next Monday night, the season opener against the Broncos at Arrowhead.  But one of his main protectors is out –left tackle Josh Simons. He’ll probably be replaced by undrafted rookie free agent Kahlil Benson.

Simmons’ rookie season last year was cut short with injuries. He was in only eight games last year after coming off a national championship season at Ohio State. He has a lower back injury.

Benson, who was with the Indiana national champions last year, has been competing with Jaylon Moore for the right tackle job during camp. Moore will stay on the right side and Benson will shift to the other side.

(CARDINALS)—The Cardinals started this week needing to make up four games on the Arizona Diamondbacks in the last 18 games of the regular season to make it to the playoffs. It’s  a distant possibility, but a real chance to play better than .500 baseball this year. A dozen wins will give them their best record since they went 93-69 in winning their division championship in 2022.

They started the week 72-72 with the first of six games against the Giants, who 59-85. They took two out of three from the Rockies during the weekend.

The Diamondbacks are 76-68.

The latest youngster brought up from the minors to make an impressive debut was pitcher Cooper Hjerpe, who came out of the bullpen to throw four innings, strikeout six and not allowed any baserunners. He is only the second pitcher in MLB history to throw four or more hitless innings with six or more strikeouts.  The only other one is former MU Tiger Max Scherzer.  He’s been a starter throughout his career but will fill a reliever’s role for the rest of the year.

The Cardinals have lost Hunter Dobbins for the rest of this year and probably most of next season.  He had right elbow surgery for the second time last week and has a one-year recovery period ahead of him.

He also had elbow surgery in 2025.

Dobbins had eight starts and three relief appearances this year and hits the shelf with a 3.67 ERA.

(ROYALS)—The Royals and the Diamondbacks waited until the tenth inning for all the fireworks.  Noah Cameron and relievers held the D-backs scoreless through nine before Arizona scored five in the tenth in the Labor Day Game.  The Royals got back four of those runs before the final out.

 

Cameron continued his late-season excellence with six innings of shutout ball, striking out seven and allowing only three hits. Arizona blew the game open against Craig Kimbrell with five in the tenth. Kansas City clobbered Gerardo Cabrillo with three earned runs in one-third of an inning and picked up another score before Dennis Santanna put out the fire.

The Royals flew into September after going 16-11 in August, thanks to Cameron and teammate Joe Caglionone who were the Ameircan League Pitcher and Player of the month, respectively, for August. This is first time the Royals have won both awards since Brett Saberhagen and George Brett won it in July, 1985, the year of the Royals’ first World Series win.

Cameron, in five August starts, allowed only seven runs in 33.2 innings including his complete game shutout against the Dodgers on August 16. He had a 1.87 ERA for the month. He led the American league by lasting an average of 6.2 innings per game.

Caglianone stormed through August, hitting .411 with six home runs and 33 other hits and 26 runs batted in.  The performance upped his season average to .282, with 23 homers, 26 doubles, and 67 RBIs.

Another reason for optimism as the Royals wind down their season is rookie catcher Carter Jensen, who has started 83 games as Salvador Perez works his way through a sore elbow. He has set a Royals record with six leadoff home runs, a team record.  Coming into September, he was hitting .252 with 38 extra base hits including 21 home runs.

On to the track:

(INDYCAR)—It’s all over for IndyCar for 2026. Scott McLaughlin won his first race in the last 37 starts in the final race of the year and celebrated his win while Alex Palou was getting his fifth championship trophy in the last six years.

McLaughlin dominated at Laguna Seca, starting P1, leading 87 of the 95 laps and beating Kyle Kirkwood to the finish line.  Former Indianapolis 500 winner  to lead Kyle Kirkwood across the line. Alexander Rossi finished third for his first podium finish of the year.  A second Penske driver, David Malukas, ran fifth for his third straight top five finish. He had four finishes in second place but will have to wait until next year to get his first win.

Kirkwood finished second in the race and overtook Christian Lundgaard for second in the point standings.  Lundgard was the only driver to complete every lap of every race this year—all 2,557 of them. He’s only the sixth driver in all of IndyCar history to do that.

The race ended Scott Dixon’s 25-year career with Chip Ganassi Racing.  He posted 58 wins and won six championships with Ganassi.  He’ll have a new team next year.  Only A. J. Foyt has more wins and more championships than Dixon.

The season might be past but the future of IndyCar will be on track for a couple of days this week. Alex Palou and Alexander Rossi will test the 2028 IndyCar prototype at Indianapolis tomorrow and Thursday, giving the new chassis it’s first high speed workout after road-course tests earlier.

The series also will have  a new engine formula in 2028.  The expectation is that the new car will break long-standing speed records, particularly at Indianapolis where Arie Luyendyk’s one lap record of 237.498 and a four-lap qualifying run at 236.986.

(NASCAR)—Christopher Bell picked a fine time to get his first win of the year and his first win at Darlington—the first of the 10 races that will decide the Cup Championship.

Bell’s four tire final pit stop helped him take the lead from Kyle Laron, who had gambled and stayed out while others went to the pits, with eleven laps left. Ty Gibbs and pole sitter Tyler Reddick and Ryan Blaney also got past Larson.

Regular season points champion Denny Hamlin finished 18th after a late-race incident with Michael McDowell..

Gibbs drove from 28th to second, just over one second behind Bell. Pole sitter Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson completed the top five.

Bell’s win ends a 33-race winless streak that has included seven second-place finishes. His win and Hamlin’s poor finish has cut Hamlin’s early points lead in half.

Round two of the playoff races will be next Sunday at St. Louis—-actually, Madison, Illinois, just across the Stan Musial Bridge at World Wide Technologies Raceway.

(Photo Credits: Hjerpe—PJ Maigi; Players of the Month: MLB; McLaughlin @ WWTR—Rick Gevers; New car—IndyCar; Bell at Indy—Bob Priddy)

Notes from a Quiet Hill (Geography Edition)

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Saw this pop up on the internet the other day.  We always like to remind folks the founders weren’t Europeans but were the people who met them when they arrived (as Will Rogers once remarked about his ancestors).  The t-shirt is being sold on the Honoringthetribe.com, which we couldn’t reach when we looked for it.

But we appreciate the image.  Our President might not be caught wearing this t-shirt even if they had one large enough to fit him. Even if he wore it, it’s doubtful that he would give a hoot about the message.

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I used to think, “This man cannot be more absurd that this” but he quickly dissuaded me of that opinion on a daily if not hourly basis, much of it driven by childish pettiness.  In recent days he has “punished” Canada by signing an executive order renaming Lake Superior “Lake America.”  Now, most recently, he has shown a new map of New Mexico with “Mexico” crossed out and the word “America” written in.

Why don’t he end this ridiculous business and sign an all-encompassing executive order and make it “Planet Trump” and be done with it?

Would it be enough or would he want more?  You don’t need to answer that.

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From a January, 1922 Jefferson City newspaper: “It is said to be an open question whether Congress at present represents public opinion.  If not, next fall will be open season on congressmen.”

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Question for folks in Jefferson City: When was the last time our member of Congress showed up in our town? I don’t mean slipping in to say hello to the office staff, but to meet with the voters. He cannot recall any visits in recent years. Your intrepid correspondent stopped by Congressman Luetkemeyer’s office one day. The door was locked.  When somebody let me in the basic attitude was, “What are you doing here?”  I had a note for the Congressman I wanted to drop off. I doubt he ever saw it because I didn’t even get one of those “Thank your four your interest” form letters.

I think I have run into Northwest Missouri’s Sam Graves more times at the Capitol than I have heard of our own members of Congress being around except to file for election.

Our current Congressman (we think) Bob Onder is one of two GOP politicians asking the U. S.  Supreme Court to overturn our Missouri Supreme Court order reinstating non-gerrymandered district lines.

We could not do any worse by having a Congressman from Kansas City.  In fact, it’s hard not to think a longtime Methodist minister would be anything but better.

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Went to Colorado to visit the granddaughters and their parents last month. We rather like driving across Kansas because of ancestral ties that help us appreciate the Flint Hills and the Tallgrass Prairie and the rolling limestone hills that used to be the floor of the Great Inland Sea.  We even like when we get West of Hays and the upland prairie begins under a wide-open sky not obscured by billboards (there are few of them).  But once again we were reminded when we cross the state line that there still is too much Kansas in Colorado.

Your observer has often felt that a new state should be carved from the area between Hays and Burlington, Colorado, extending south to include the Oklahoma Panhandle and north to include the Nebraska Panhandle

Stopped in Bennett to fuel up. We were a little, uh, stunned.

The cheapest stuff was 15% ethanol. The Subaru is accustomed to a diet of 10% but we were sure it wouldn’t cough and sputter on the strong stuff.   12.2 gallons.  55 dollars.

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This is St. James’ Church in the English village of Ormside, near Appleby (hope that helps you understand its location).  The BBC reports this church is getting something for the first time in its long history. A £10,000 gift from a private trust will pay for an indoor loo, which the church never has had.

A loo over there is a bathroom.

For centuries, people in Ormside carried buckets of water from the village well to operate the primitive indoor plumbing. The BBC reports that the church hopes the improvements “will make the site more welcoming and hospitable, after attendees at weddings and funerals had previously had to rely on nearby residents homes for bathroom access.

The new toilet won’t be in the church itself. A disused hearse house will be modified for people who have to go while sending someone on their way

When we traveled across the pond a couple of years ago we visited the community of Looe, which is the case with many towns and cities, has public bathrooms. Admission, we think, was 25 pence.

The town of Looe is pronounced without the “e.”   I took a picture of the public bathrooms. I refer to it as Looe’s Loos.

 

The Home Time Capsule 

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Two or three houses ago, we sold the big 1904 uninsulated house that was the first home we bought (and found the heating bills in the dead of winter were double our mortgage payment)  sooner than we thought we would. We had put it on the market when the snow was so deep our realtor couldn’t get the “for sale” all the way into the ground.  We found another house quickly—-too quickly because the people who were selling it hadn’t bought THEIR new house. They did let us store our stuff in their basement and we rented a dark apartment with a terrible green shag rug and a one-window living room that looked out onto a parking lot while the bedroom windows looked onto High Street.

When we finally were able to occupy the new place a couple of months later (it might have been more; it certainly felt like it), and started bringing stuff up from the basement, a peculiar thought came to mind.  It was as if we were doing an archaeological excavation.  Here was the lamp table for the living room.  There was the frame of a bed for one of the children’s rooms. That box had 20th century bathroom supplies and another held late 20th century kitchen appliances.

It was different from usual moves where professionals with a big truck lug things out of one house and sets them up in the new one. These were things that had disappeared from our lives for a period of time and now were being rediscovered, if you will.

Kind of exciting.

Sometimes when we’ve been gone for a couple of weeks, I play a little mind game and try to imagine that we are entering Jefferson City for the first time.  What are my impressions?

From the west we get a stunning view of the Capitol framed by the Dix Road overpass.  From the east we drive past back yards and roadside businesses and offices as the traffic seems to funnel into an unimpressive area of concrete and traffic lights and ultimately an interchange if we want to take it. Sometimes don’t even notice the Capitol.  From the south we crest the Ellis Boulevard hill and there’s the dome dramatically shining above the trees and against the dark bluffs and from the north, there’s the view of the Capitol overlooking the great river.

And when we come home to a place that has been empty and silent (except for Max and Minnie and once a day a visiting cat-sitter, Mary), I briefly imagine we have entered a well-preserved early 21st century townhouse that appears to have been frozen in time by the people who once lived there.

The feeling dissipates quickly, of course, as life returns to normal within an hour or two.

But it’s kind of fun and it lets me see today’s world from a little different perspective. We’ve visited a lot of famous homes of notable figures or barracks rooms at 1870s frontier forts or other historic sites restored or recreated with period furnishings and in fifty years or so there really will be houses from our times that let our descendants see how we lived today.  Today’s possessions are tomorrow’s artifacts.  Today’s nick-nacks will be found in antique store sale cases.

The wonders of our age will have become museums or museum pieces.  The things we think are advanced technology today will seem primitive then.

We will be what our great grandparents are to us.

The experience can have a leveling effect on our pride of having the things we have. Maybe it will trigger some thinking about our attitudes and how they will be regarded generations hence by those who wonder, “How could they think like that?” or “How did they get along with just those_______,” or “It took a lot of work to live in those days,” or maybe just, “Isn’t that interesting?”

It never hurts to try to look at our life and times through pretend new eyes. You never know what you might see.

The Phrase Becomes Real: A Political Football 

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By Bob Priddy, Missourinet Contributing Editor

We usually offer a roundup of the week’s Missouri sports news on Tuesdays but before we do that, we want to observe how Donald Trump is not the only person in Washington who thinks history needs to be re-written.

(MIZTHEN)—I was there that day the Missouri Tigers lost to the Kansas Jayhawks 23-7 at Memorial Stadium (it was not then Faurot Field).

But that’s not the way Congress and the NCAA record it. Congress has done something the sportswriters and the coaches did not do in 1960 when Missouri lost a game it later won, later won a conference championship it had lost, and until recently a national championship it could not reclaim.

Kansas and Missouri fought for superiority in the Big Eight Conference that year. Kansas temporarily won its first outright conference championship in thirty years.  The Jayhawks finished ranked 11th in the AP Sportswriters poll, only the second time the Jayhawks were ranked (the first time was 1947).

However—-KU running back Bert Coan, who scored the only two Kansas touchdowns that day was found to have been ineligible in games against Colorado and Missouri and on December 8, the Big Eight declared that KU big-bucks recruiter Bud Adams had illegally recruited Coan while he was at TCU. The two Kansas victories had to be forfeited.  The Big Eight and MU consider the Tigers record to be 10-0 in the regular season. But KU and the NCAA still consider the record is 9-1.

Coan later played seven years in the American Football League, six of those years with (it seems appropriate) the Kansas City Chiefs, the team right between the two states. He caught a 19-yard touchdown pass and ran for 37 yard TD in the Missouri game.

Coan and most of the other players from both sides in that 23-7 Kansas victory are gone now.  The AP and the competing UPI (United Press International) did not do polls after the bowl season—which concluded on January 2 in those years before the national championship playoff system came along.  The last polls put Minnesota first and Missouri 4th and 5th.

But the Golden Gophers lost to Washington in the Rose Bowl. Ole Miss, which went 10-0-1 and Iowa (also with one loss) also got some championship votes.

Missouri went to the Orange Bowl to face a Navy team that was ranked 4 and 6,  and starred Heisman Trophy winner Joe Belino.  The opening minutes were electrifying with Navy picking a fumble out of the air and returning it 98 yards for a touchdown. Navy threatened again until the Tigers’ Norm Beal ran a pick-6 back 90 yards for the tie.

CBS television had the game that year with one of the greatest pairs in the booth at the time making the calls—Ray Scott and Paul Christman.  Christman was Missouri’s first great star as a pre-war quarterback who later played for the Chicago Cardinals which he led to the NFL championship in 1947, the franchise’s only championship (they now play in Arizona after stop in St. Louis for a while). You won’t hear Christman but you can catch the game highlights with Scott making the calls:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zKUfYF84h8

(QB Ron Taylor hands off to Donnie Smith–who led the conference with 13 touchdowns—with Ed Mehrer (35) and Norm Beal (21) with Gordon Smith (89) looking to take out the right side of Navy’s defensive line)

Missouri stuffed Navy’s run game in the 1961 Orange Bowl while Dan Devine’s “student body right,” and “student body left” running game that featuring pulling guards and blocking backs ground out more than 200 yards and ate up a lot of clock.

The Tiger rush was led by Norris Stevenson and Mel West, the first two African-American Tiger football players.

Coach Devine always thought Missouri would have finished the year with the national championship if there had been a post-season poll, but the University has never claimed the national title.  Missouri finished 11-0* with the asterisk noting the game on the last day of the regular season, that they actually lost.

Well, if the University of Missouri and the now-Big 12 Conference won’t claim the national championship, it’s time for the politicians to get all huffy and fluffy about it these 66 years later and say, “Ignore the asterisk.”

One of our intrepid United States Senators, Eric Schmitt, has stepped boldly forth and introduced a Senate resolution declaring the Tigers were undefeated national champions. Such resolutions have no force of law and certainly have no authority over the Big 12, the NCAA, or the history of the game (which Missouri played poorly, by the way).  But the Senate has had bigger things to do than take time with this resolution and there were no objections, not even from Kansas’ Senators, so it stands as passed.

The University of Missouri will take the resolution for whatever value it has and will celebrate the 1960 national championship during its September 19 game against the Troy Trojans.  The halftime event also will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Memorial Stadium.

It would be greater fun if the celebration could be done when MU plays KU this year, but that game will be in Lawrence and the Jayhawks are not just about to let Missouri do any whoopeeing that day.

Memorial Stadium’s original capacity was 25,000. We were one of the 41,000 who watched Kansas win that loss in 1960.

With the new quarter-billion addition intended for use by high-roller Tiger supporters, the stadium will hold almost 65,000, including those sitting in 2,280 new premium seats, 628 loge box seats, 270 mezzanine club seats and mingling in 71 suites.

And in a few weeks there will be a celebration of a game that truly has become a political football.

(MIZZNOW)—The season kicks off Thursday night shortly after Mizzou alumnae Sheryl Crow sings the national anthem. The game is a sellout. Arkansas-Pine Bluff will give the Tigers someone wearing a different uniform to hit.

Ahmad Hardy won’t play but ESPN’s Pete Thamel says the Tigers hope he can be ready my mid-September.  After the Thursday game, Missouri plays Kansas in Lawrence on September 11 and then is at home against Troy on the 19th.  SEC play starts with Mississippi State on the 26th.

(MIZCUTS)—Twenty-five former Tigers will start the season on NFL 53-man rosters.  On3.com lists:

  • Kris Abrams-Draine – CB, Denver Broncos
  • Tyler Badie – RB, Denver Broncos
  • Nick Bolton – LB, Kansas City Chiefs
  • Larry Borom – OL, Detroit Lions
  • Luther Burden III – WR, Chicago Bears
  • Jaylon Carlies – LB, Indianapolis Colts
  • Kevin Coleman Jr. – WR, Miami Dolphins
  • Brady Cook – QB, Miami Dolphins
  • Jordan Elliott – DL, Tennessee Titans
  • Akayleb Evans – CB, Carolina Panthers
  • Javon Foster – OL, Cincinnati Bengals
  • Ty’Ron Hopper – LB, Green Bay Packers
  • Khalil Jacobs – LB, New England Patriots
  • Drew Lock – QB, Seattle Seahawks
  • Chris McClellan – DL, Green Bay Packers
  • Isaiah McGuire – DL, Cleveland Browns
  • Armand Membou – OL, New York Jets
  • Harrison Mevis – K, Los Angeles Rams
  • Toriano Pride Jr. – CB, Cleveland Browns
  • Ennis Rakestraw Jr. – CB, Detroit Lions
  • Darius Robinson – DL, Arizona Cardinals
  • Keagen Trost – OL, Los Angeles Rams
  • Josiah Trotter – LB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  • Zion Young – EDGE, Baltimore Ravens

Players Waived or Released

  • Marcus Bryant – OL, New England Patriots (injured reserve)
  • Joshuah Bledsoe – S, Washington Commanders
  • Stephen Hall – CB, Houston Texans
  • Xavier Loyd – WR, Kansas City Chiefs
  • Albert Okwuegbunam – TE, Las Vegas Raiders
  • Cody Schrader – RB, Denver Broncos
  • Theo Wease Jr. – WR, Miami Dolphins

Injured Reserve

  • Jaylon Carlies – LB, Indianapolis Colts
  • Yasir Durant – CB, New England Patriots
  • Johnny Walker – WR, Denver Broncos

(TRAGEDY)—A William Jewell College football player who had; just scored the first touchdown of the year for his team collapsed on the sidelines Saturday and was pronounced dead at a Liberty hospital a short time later. MicahJo Barnett. He was 20, a business administration major.  The game was suspended and later canceled.

Barnett was a home-town boy, the captain of the Liberty Eagles when they won their first state championship when he was a senior. He ran for 1,450 yards, scored 20 touchdowns and made the all-state team that year.

(MIZBB)—Former Tiger basketball star Mark Mitchell might be a Tiger basketball star again.  He’s enrolled at the University of Missouri.  The court system will decide if he can have a fifth year of eligibility.

Mitchell went undrafted by the NBA after his all-SEC year last year. He played for the Denver Nuggets Summer League team and appeared to be headed to the Nuggets training camp before he changed his mind.

He’s one of several players—more than 25—who were not grandfathered in by the NCAA’s “five for five”  rule. His future is in the hands of a federal district judge in Colorado, Charlotte Sweeney, who has granted fifth years of eligibility in other cases before her. In all of those cases, the players had not signed a professional contract. The NCAA opposes such rulings and the SEC doesn’t like it either.

Financially, returning to Mizzou is a better deal.  He made $45,000 playing in the G-league last season and would get as much as $85,000 if he goes to camp. Sources indicate he’ll make more at Mizzou under the NIL system.

(BASEBALL)—Baseball seems to be eternal during the summer months and it is something akin to a shock to realize there are only 25 games left for our two teams. One has a slight chance of making the playoffs but it’s going to have to get its act together in a significant way to do it.

Our two teams seem to be headed in different directions again. It’s the Royals that have been hot for the last couple of weeks. Although they were hammered by the Guardians on Sunday, they have won 11 of their last 13, 13 of their last 16,  and remain in the playoff picture, as unlikely as that might seem. But they are playing in the weakest division in baseball.

Royals reliever John Schreiber, put on waivers during the weekend, was quickly snapped up by the New York Yankees. He had been in 55 games this year and had put up a 3.65 ERA. He held right-handed batters to a .143 average but lefties were hitting .326.   Schreiber likely on his way out anyway. He was going to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

The Cardinals have dropped to two games under .500 again and now they’ve put J. J. Wetherholt on the IL.  He’s been dealing with tendinitis in his right wrist.  The Cardinals started the week 68-70.

One notable achievement, however—Alex Burleson, who was a much-discussed trade possibility in the offseason, has become the first left-handed Cardinals batter to drive in 100 runs since Jim Edmunds did it in 2004, with 111—a number Burlison has 23 games to beat.

He came into this week ranked number two among first basemen in all of baseball in batting , base hits, and doubles.

The Cardinals have decided during the weekend that Caleb Ferguson wasn’t such a good deal after all and cut him loose. He was designated for assignment three weeks after the Redbirds picked him up from Cincinnati. He pitched 8.1 innings in relief, gave up eight walks, 11 hits and eight earned runs in his short stint after doing pretty well for the Reds where he had 22Ks in 24.2 innings and a 4.01 ERA.

His roster spot will be taken by pitcher Hancel Rincon when rosters expand. Also coming up will be Leo Bernal. Rincon has spent eight years in the minors although he’s only 24. He’d been a starter but was moved to long relief this year. In 41 games this year in Memphis he has thrown 71.1 innings with a 4.04 ERA.

Bernal is a catcher prospect, a minor league gold glove winner last year and has been voted the best defensive catcher in the International League this year. He has hit .278 with 16 home runs and 77 runs batted in through 101 games. His callup leaves the Cardinals with some choices to make. Their roster already carries three catchers—Ivan Herrera, Padro Pages, and Jimmy Crooks.

—-Moving along, quickly:

TWO FOR PATO; FIVE FOR PALOU; AND A BIG ONE FOR PREECE

(NASCAR)—Somehow the NCAA Tournament phrase “Sweet Sixteen” isn’t appropriate for the field that will run for the NASCAR Cup Championship in the next ten races. But sixteen it is, the field established with a dramatic win Saturday night on the high banks of Daytona Saturday night with the sixteenth driver making it by winning while a big part of the field crashed behind him.

Ryan Preece had never won a Cup race until then. The win boosted him past Shane Van Gisbergen into the sixteenth and final playoff slot.  It’s his first win in 249 races covering eight seasons.

The race, run with a new aero package for the cars, was fairly sedate for a Daytona race until four laps from the finish when a crash and subsequent cleanup sent the race into overtime. Zane Smith led at the start but when he tried to block an oncoming Tyler Reddick, he was turned with the rest of the field bearing down upon him.  Preece got through the melee first and was leading when the caution flag was thrown, locking him into the position.

The sixteen drivers who will try to accumulate the most points in the next ten races to claim the cup are regular season champion Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick, Ty Gibbs, Chase Briscoe, Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Chris Buescher, Daniel Suarez, Carson Hocevar, William Byron, Bubba Wallace, Austin Cindric, and Preece.

The field includes the winners of the last seven championships: Logano in 2018, 2022, and 2024; Larson in 2021 and 2025, Blaney in 2023 and Elliott in 2020.

The Chase begins at Darlington next weekend.

(INDYCAR)— Two for O’Ward; Four of Five for Palou

Pato O’Ward has won both weekend IndyCar races on the Milwaukee Mile but he had to do it on the same day.  Saturday’s race was stopped by rain before the halfway mark, with O’Ward in the lead, forcing the race to be completed Sunday, after the regularly-scheduled Sunday race also went his way.

The day was a historic one for O’Ward, who became the first IndyCar driver to win two races on the same day since Rick Mears did it 45 years ago.  Only six other drivers in the series have achieved that distinction—and they’re pretty big names.  Mears, Mario Andretti, Al and Bobby Unser, Dan Gurney, and Johnny Rutherford.

 

“Those are heavy names. Then you hear mine, you’re like, ‘What?'” he said in a post-race interview. “I’m just writing my own story. I really don’t know what’s in store for my IndyCar career. So far I’ve dedicated my whole life to this. I always really dedicate myself to everything that I do to the best of my ability. I’m one hungry competitor. I love to go out there and compete and to challenge.”

His double victory was overshadowed by Alex Palou, who did not win but accumulated enough points to guarantee his fourth championship in a row, his fifth in six years. Only Scott Dixon, with six, and A. J. Foyt with seven, have more series championships than Palou, who is by far the youngest driver to win five.

 

“I never thought I would be, first of all, an IndyCar driver. Never thought I could make it. Never thought that I would have the chance to be a professional race car driver. That was my dream,” Palou said after the race. “When I had the opportunity to be an IndyCar driver, that was already a huge achievement for me. I was living the dream. I remember also then Chip (Ganassi) giving me that chance to drive for a championship-winning team at that moment. They just won in 2020 with Scott. That was mind-blowing. Since then I feel like I’ve been on this incredible cloud where everything has been so good for me… It’s just super fun.”

The last driver to win four straight titles was Sebastien Bourdais, who took his fourth one in 2007.

One race is left on the IndyCar schedule. It’s next week at Laguna Seca.

(Photo credits: Student Body Left—1961 Savitar; Stadium—MLR Group; Preece—Bob Priddy at Brickyard ’26; Palou—Rick Gevers, WWTR;  O’Ward—Bob Priddy, Indy, 2026; NASCAR playoff field—Facebook)