By Bob Priddy, Missourinet Contributing Editor
(MIZ)—Fall camp is over at the University of Missouri. Arkansas-Pine Bluff will be the cannon fodder for the Thursday night opener. APB is a school of 2100 students that has gone 9-27 in the last four years.
Coach Drinkwitz says Ahmad Hardy will not play. He says Hardy is “working is rear end off” but is still rehabilitating his wounded leg. Hardy has not practiced and will not be activated untoil he has completed two full weeks of practive at full speed before he will be activated. Drinkwitz has no timetable for his return.
His replacement will be Jamal Roberts, who is hardly chopped liver. He ran for 753 yards and six touchdowns last year, averaging 5.5 yards per carry in his three-year collegiate career, eighteen inches less than Hardy’s career average. Teammates have voted him team captain.
The Tigers also have transfers Xai’Shaun Edwards and Malae Fonoti as backups.
Hardy’s status has not kept SEC coaches from making him one if four Tigers on the pre-season all conference team. Joining him on the first team is LT Cayden Green. Long Snapper Brett LeBlanc is on the second team. LB Robert Woodyard Jr., is on the third team.
Missouri starts the season ranked 25 by the AP and the Coaches polls. (ZOU)
(CHIEFS)—The Chiefs are 0-2 with little sign of offense in their first two preseason games. The biggest highlight of the 16-15 loss to the Bucs was Harrison Butker’s 69-yard field goal with room to spare. The kick sent the Chiefs to the halftime locker room up 9-0.
But he missed a PAT and a potential game-winning kick near the end.
(ROYALS)—The hottest team in baseball has been the lowly Kansas City Royals, who won their 8th straight game Sunday, 11-7 against the Tigers, a game highlighted (with tongue in cheek) by a stolen base by Salvador Perez, who broke a five-year steal-less streak. He now has seven in his career. The Royals have outscored opponents 47-27 in those games.
The streak is the Royals’ longest since May, 2024. Although they are now 16 games under .500, they are only 7.5 games out of the last AL playoff spot.
Stay tuned.
(CARDINALS)—The Cardinals have cooled off after last week’s surge and dropped back to .500 with their Sunday sweep loss to the Phillies—a disastrous loss that resulted from the Phillies scoring six times in the ninth to snatch a 6-4 win. Kyle Schwarber his a 459 foot walk-off homer the first walk-off homer for the Phillies since he did it in July of ’23. Schwarber leads the major leagues with 39 homers.
Now, to the nation’s capital—-
(INDYCAR)—The first automobile race through the streets of the U.S. Capital was a huge hit with fans and drivers, Kyle Kirkwood dominated the race, tightening his points chase with Alex Palou, who encountered problems throughout the race.
Event organizers counted 215,000 spectators in the two days and noted souvenir sales of almost one million dollars. Event chairman Bud Denker says the door is open for another run next year, that series owner Roger Penske and his friend Donald Trump will talk about a race in 2027. Washingtoh Mayor Muriel Bowser is upbeat.
Kirkwood’s win cuts Palou’s points lead to 31 with three races left. Christian Lundgard chased him trough the closing laps but could not get close enough to try pass. Kirkwood teammates Will Power and Marcus Ericsson gave the Andretti Global team three of the four positions.
The cost of the event—reportedly $35 million—might be discouraging for those hoping for another run next year, but the race was $25 million dollars cheaper than the UFC event at the White House last summer.
About 100,000 complimentary tickets were given away but some individual tickets cost $5,000 and rental of luxury suites cost a cool quarter-mil. Organizers think they suffered a net loss of about $30 million because of all of the free tickets. The city thinks the race generated $100 to 200 million in revenues for it.
Regardless, the event was a major success for IndyCar, a major visibility boost for the series. And all it takes for a second one is another executive order from Roger Penske’s longtime friend.
(NASCAR)—The cream is rising to the top aa NASCAR’s regular season nears its end. Ryan Blaney won his second straight race at New Hampshire Sunday, his third victory of the year.
Blaney is second in the point standings to Denny Hamlin, who locked up the regular season championship with his 7th place finish. The win is his 20th career vicory,
The race started on rain tires after a heavy rain and cars were switched to the usual racing slicks during the first round of pit stops. A two-tire change on the last stops gave him a lead he never relinquished.
Bubba Wallace chased him across the line, followed by Josh Berry, Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, Ty Gibbs and Hamlin. Tyler Reddick, the pole winner, finished ninth, ahead of Ryan Preece.
Berry’s finish was his third straight on he podium and his fourth straight top ten, a run that his Wood Brothers team has not seen sine 1994 when Morgan Shepherd scored five straight top tens. Unfortunately for him, Wood Brothers had announced before the string began that he would be replaced in the 21-car next year.
Thirteen of the 16 drivers who will chase the championship during the next ten races are locked in. Five drivers will fight for the last three slots next Saturday night at Daytona: Bubba Wallace, Austin Cindric, Shane Van Gisbergen, Preece and Brad Keselowski.
A blown engine wiped out even the remote chance that Ross Chastain had to make the chase. He finished last, 36th.
(GORDON RETURNS, WINS)—Jeff Gordon is 55 years old now but the competitive fire still burns. 
Before the IndyCar race in Washington, the old IROC (International Race of Champions) was resurrected, using the Pontiac Firebirds used in the last years of the original IROC series that last ran twenty years ago.
Retired NASCAR champions Bill Ellott, Bobby Labonte and Rusty Wallace were joined by Indianapolis 500 winners Tony Kanaan and Helio Castroneves and road racer Tommy Kendall. for a two-heat race. Gordon smoked ‘em all. Both heats. Gordon started last as the field was inverted for the second race, but he took the lead early in the second race and led the way home again.