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Sports; Tigers Having a Long Drink and Wait for a Bowl; Chief Playing for Highest Draft Pick in Years; It’s Basketball Season 

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By Bob Priddy, Missourinet Contributing Editor

(MIZFB)—Missouri ground up Arkansas and spit it out as it wrapped up its 8-4 season that leaves fans with several “what ifs.”   What if Sam Horn hadn’t lost his season in his first game of the year? What if Beau Pribula had not lost three games with his ankle injury and wasn’t mobile for a fourth? What if the team’s field goal kicker had not been hurt.

—all of which is meaningless, of course. Missouri is 29-9 in these last three seasons with a chance to win 30 games in three years for only the third time (Missouri was 30-11 twice, from 2007-09 and from 2006-2008) in school history. For the record, Missouri went 40-14 from 2007-2010, 38-16 from 2006-2009 and 36-17 from 2008-2011.

Three Tigers had more than 100 yard of offense in the game: Ahmad Hardy with 149 rushing yards, Jamal Roberts with another 100, and Pribula, who was 4-7 passing for only 25 yards but who ran for 78.  It’s Hardy’s eighth 100-yard game of the year.

(POTY)—Despite Hardy’s performance, including his astonishing tackle-busting TD run, SEC Player of the Week honors went to two other Tigers.

Wide receiver Kevin Coleman Jr., was named Special Teams POTW for his 67-yard punt return for a touchdown, the first return for a Missouri touchdown since 2022.  Defensive tackle Chris McClellan was the defensive lineman of the week for recording two sacks and three pressures. His sack after Coleman’s return created a six-yard loss on first down, putting the Razorbacks in a hole they couldn’t get out of, forcing a three-and-out that stifled any chance for a rally.

(MIZPOLLS)—Missouri will go to its bowl game as a ranked team, but just barely. The AP sportswriters led Missouri squeak in at 25 in their poll, only a couple of votes ahead of Tennessee.  The Tigers aren’t so highly regarded by coaches. Iowa and Houston are ahead of Missouri as the first teams outside the top 25 of their poll.

(DOAK)—Ahmad Hardy’s yardage against Arkansas moves him to 1,560 for the year, just 28 yards behind Jacksonville State’s Cam Cook.  He is one of the three finalists for the Doak Walker Award, given to the best running back in college football for the year. It’s named for the SMU All-American who won the Maxwell Award in 1947 and the Heisman Trophy in 1948.

How do the three stack up statistically?  Physically, really close. Performance-wise, close.

Ahmad Hardy  Missouri  5-10  206 pounds  241 carries 1560 yds.   6.5 average 16 TD

Kewan Lacy Ole Miss  5-11  200 pounds  258 carries 1279 yds.  5.0 average  20 TD

Jeremiah Love  Notre Dame  6-0  214 pounds   199 carries  1372 yds.  6.9 average  18 TD

Love is a Junior. Hardy and Lacy are Sophomores.

Here’s one stat that might give Hardy a leg-up, if you will: More than 1,000 of his yards have come after breaking at least one tackle.  His 53-yard touchdown run through, it seemed, the entire Arkansas defense could be a clincher.

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(DRINKWITZ)—His team won’t win ten games this year but Tiger Coach Eli Drinkwitz has won a bid extension to his contract—six years with an average paycheck of #10.75 million. The University Board of Curators authorized the extension through the 2031 season after rumor increased that he was on the short list of coach choices in several major universities.

The six-year deal is two more years than the extension he signed earlier. It’s worth $64.5 million, putting Drinkwitz in the top-ten list of football coach salaries.

He was frustrated by all of the speculation about his possible candidacy for a job elsewhere. He said he was never interviewed for any of the high-profile positions that gossip put as a favorite to take: Penn Sate, LSU, Florida, or Auburn. He said after the Arkansas game, “We’ve got to figure this out, where we’re not putting pressure on coaches and programs and people during the middle of the week where there’s nothing but speculation…We’ve got Twitter trending with bets on who’s going to be leading or get this job… That’s annoying. That’s bullcrap. OK? And it’s just speculation, it’s just media throwing stuff on the wall, and it’s tough on everybody. It’s tough on players, it’s tough on coaches…I just felt like we weren’t done yet. That north end zone isn’t completed. And, so, my job here is not completed yet.”

In his six years at Mizzou, the Tigers are 46-28 and 26-24 in the SEC. He’s 58-29 in his career after gpomg12-1 as a first-year coach at Appalachian State. The Mountaineers finished 18th and 19th in the polls that year.

(MIZMBB)—The undefeated season-opening string for the Missouri Tigers has reached eight games with a Dennis Gates homecoming win at Cleveland State, the school from which Missouri hired him four years ago. The hiring became something of a swap because Cleveland hired former Missouri coach (and former Gates assistant), Rob Summers, as its head coach.

The Tigers were never challenged in their 86-59 win, running off the first 23 points of the game. The Vikings were scoreless for half of the first half. Five Tigers were in double figures with Jacob Crews finishing with 19.

Seven-foot-five center Trent Burns saw action in his second straight game as he works his way back into shape after foot surgery. Although he was in for only six minutes and didn’t score, he two rebounds, a block, and a pair of assists.

Things get more serious now. The Tigers play Notre Dame tonight before facing the Kansas Jayhawks in Kansas City on the 7th.

Missouri got the 28th most vote from the AP, the 29th most from the coaches. Notre Dame did not receive any points in either poll. The Fighting Irish roundballers are 5-3.

Kansas is 21st in both with a 6-2 record.

(MIZWBB) The women’s team is off to a 7-2 start after a big win against Northwestern in the Fort Myers Tip-Off in Florida. The Lady Tigers used Grace Slaughter’s 33 points to win 85-70. It was a landmark day for two people.  Slaughter’s last bucket got her to 1,000 career points. It also lifted coach Kellie Harper to her 400 win.

Five players racked up double figures for Mizzou with Shanno Dowell getting her fourth double-double of the year—12 points and 13 rebounds.  Northwestern drops to 6-1.

Missouri faces California in the ACC/SEC Challenge Thursday night in Columbia. The Tiger women received no votes in this week’s Ap women’s basketball poll.  (ZOU)

(POST-SEASON)—Northwest Missouri State made it to the Division II playoffs but didn’t make it past Harding, losing 38-16 in the first round.

Missouri State and Delaware are the last two teams to get into the 82-team FBS post-season tournament. The Bears will learn next Sunday who their first-round opponent will be. They’re 7-5 (5-3 in Conference USA) after losing their last regular-season game, 42-30 to Louisiana Tech.

(CHIEFS)—The Chiefs continue to make it appear likely they’ll be in the best position inyears for the college draft next Spring. Their 31-28 loss to the Dallas Cowboys dropped their record to 6-6.

There still is time to mess up their draft status, though. Last year the Chiefs also had split their first dozen games and wound up in the Super Bowl.

It was a familiar story against Dallas—inconsistency, a leaky offensive line, momentum-robbing penalties, and a vulnerable defense.

(BASEBALL)—Other than the Sonny Gray trade to the Red Sox for two minor league pitchers, the Cardinals have been pretty quiet. Any speculation that reliever Ryan Helsley would come back to St. Louis after his trade last season to the Mets has been killed by Halsley’s two-year $28 million dollar deal with the Orioles.

The Royals have been quiet, too.

Nineteen of the game’s top 25 free agents remain unsigned as we head to the winter meetings, starting December 10 in Dallas.

As we experience our first bitter cold and snow of the winter, here’s a warming reminder—Pitchers and catchers report for spring training on February 11. The days can’t pass fast enough.

Speaking of things that are fast—

(INDYCAR)—The 110th Indianapolis 500 next May will have an even more patriotic mood about it than usual, as the race and the nation celebrate the 250th anniversary of the document that created our nation, the Declaration of Independence.

The first part of the race’s promotion is the unveiling of next year’s logo.

The speedway says, “the logo colors directly match those of the American flag. The shield harkens back to the coat of arms, now called the Great Seal of the United States. The red stripes represent the stripes of the flag, as well as the wings of the IMS Wing & Wheel logo, while the four stars represent IMS’s four “founding father.”

At least one of the cars will carry the theme.  A. J. Foyt Racing will have this car for Santino Ferrucci next year.

HFOT stands for Homes For Our Troops a nonprofit organization that provides custom homes for severely injured post 9/11 veterans. A team statement says, “Most of these veterans have sustained injuries, including multiple limb amputations, partial or full paralysis, blindness, severe burns, and/or severe traumatic brain injury.

(NASCAR)—The antitrust lawsuit filed by two NASCAR Cup teams against the sanctioning body (and owner of most of the tracks where the series’ major races are run has begun. The pre-trial climate has been increasingly ugly and the trial is expected to follow suit.

(FORMULA1)—The last race of the last major racing series to call it a year will be Abu Dabi next weekend. Max Verstappen’s win last weekend moves him to only 12 points behind Lado Naorris.

 

 

T-shirts

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It is Christmas catalog time and several of the catalogs we’ve gotten already are peddling t-shirts.

I found one, though, that is a pre-Christmas one, good for this season. It commemorates one of the great moments in broadcast journalism. This REAL fake news.

WKRP Turkey Drop

Why are they called t-shirts?  We’ll save you a trip to Wikipedia where you will find a history that, like the shirts, covers the topic and doesn’t require a lot of material.  They’ve been around for thousands of years and in ancient times were called tunics.  But here’s the simple reason they’re called t-shirts:

When you lay them down flat, they look like the letter “T”

That’s kind of disappointing. I was hoping for something more ancient, a more colorful story.  But the Wikipedia article about t-shirts is what you’d expect—something simple, not particularly interesting, just something simple for a simple topic.

Well, anyway, these catalogs often have amusing t-shirts in them. I’m not talking about some of the gross stuff printed on t-shirts that most of us wouldn’t be caught dead wearing but that some people think are amusing enough to wear with pride in the Wal-Mart or fast food place checkout line.

I don’t much like standing in line at a fast food restaurant with people wearing t-shirts referring to excrement, sex, or that are generally an insult.  But I do like a clever one.

“I’m a multitasker. I can listen, ignore, and forget at the same time.”

“Bigfoot saw me, but nobody believes him.”

“Everyone is born right-handed. Only the gifted overcome it.”

“I don’t have my ducks in a row. I have squirrels and they’re everywhere.”

“I have a hen who could count her own eggs. She was a mathemachicken.”

“Hunkle. Like a normal uncle but way better looking.”

(I can identify with this one): “It’s weird being the same age as old people”

“I don’t want to go through things that don’t kill me but make me stronger anymore.”\

“When 2 people argue online I believe whoever spells correctly.

(For a nurse): “Cute enough to stop your heart. Skilled enough to restart it.”

“Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and good with ketchup.”

“90 percent of being married is yelling “WHAT” from other rooms”

“Either you love dogs or you’re wrong.”

“Octogenarian: A chronologically gifted person in their 80s.’

“Being a trophy husband is exhausting.”

“I don’t mind getting older but my body is taking it badly”

“If I said I’d fix it, I will. There is no need to remind me every six months.’

“I do not think, therefore I do not am.”

“Be alert. The World Needs More Lerts.

“I wish more people were fluent in silence.”

“Your design here.”

“I have selective hearing. Sorry you weren’t selected”

“A Little More Kindness, a Litle less Judgment.”

“Please be patient with me. I’m from the 1900s.”

“This is my stepladder (illustration). I never knew my real ladder.”

“Fat People are Harder to Kidnap”

“Retired. I’m free to do whatever my wife wants whenever she wants me to do it.”

“I was addicted to the Hokey Pokey. Then I turned myself around.”
“I was Normal two Kids Ago.”

“I am often mistaken for an adult because of my age.”

Or a bid more seriously:

“When tyranny becomes law, rebellion becomes duty—Thomas Jefferson”

“Think—while it’s still legal”

“We Are Not Descended From Fearful Men.”

“The Constitution. I Read It For The Articles.”

These things often show up on cars and trucks as bumper stickers. Pulling up to someone close enough to read the sticker breaks the boredom of a long drive, hoping they don’t stop suddenly.

Want to share your favorite t-shirt?  Preferably one that is not insulting or profane. Try to remember you’re a responsible person in polite society when you write it in the comment box below and hit enter.

The Magnetic Personality

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Magnetism is a property of certain metals that causes them to attract or repel one another. Iron, cobalt, and nickel are among the metals having those properties. There is nothing rare about these metals.

Magnetism has provided President Trump with another opportunity to cause jaws to drop, heads to shake, and speculation about his mental faculties (we’ll have a serious discussion about that in a little bit).

A few days ago, during an Oval Office press conference, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins asked him about Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green’s suggestion that he put more focus on domestic policy.  His answer was an all-too-common digression into nonsense. He eventually got around to talking about China.

The transcript of his remarks was published by the internet side Mediaite.

“China was going to hit us with rare-earth. Now, everybody says, ‘Oh, what does that mean?’

“Magnets. If China refused to give magnets, ’cause they have a monopoly on magnets ’cause they’re allowed to happen over a 32-year period, there wouldn’t be a car made in the entire world. There wouldn’t be a radio. There wouldn’t be a television. There wouldn’t be internet. There wouldn’t be anything because magnets are such a part.

“Now, nobody knows what magnets are. And not overly sophisticated, but to build magnet system would take two years. So if I weren’t able to say to China, “Look, if you’re gonna do that to us, we’re gonna charge you a 158% tariff.” It was 100% on top of 58%. And China called up immediately and, “Listen, we will make peace.” And we made peace. We made a great deal. We made an unbelievable deal. China’s paying tariffs to the United States. Not the United States paying tariffs to China, which has always been the way it was. Nobody can believe these deals.”

Did he just call himself a “nobody?”  Or did he admit he’s ignorant?   Or both?

I’ve known what magnets are from my youngest years when I played with a couple of little scotty dogs, one black and one white, who were attracted to each other by magnetism.  We don’t know if he had a similar toy although we do know he doesn’t have a pet—dog, cat, hamster, or what seems appropriate—a gold fish. He has indicated, however, that he thinks he has a certain animal magnetism.

A few days ago he came up with an astounding scientific theory.

Somehow, it appears, Trump knows how to make magnets quit working, information that might earn a Nobel Price in Physics to make for the peace prize he is unlikely to get. He told a campaign rally in Iowa last year, “Now all I know about magnets is this, give me a glass of water, let me drop it on the magnets, that’s the end of the magnets.”

He got on the topic a few weeks ago in his dislocated ramblings with American soldiers in Japan. “You know, the new thing is magnets,” he advised them before wandering into even deeper into his mental swamp. “So instead of using hydraulic that can be hit by lightning and it’s fine. You take a little glass of water, you drop it on magnets, I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

We need some clarification, Mr. President, on a couple of things. First, you apparently do not know what will happen when you pour water on magnets.  But would you please explain what you mean by “hydraulic that can be hit by lightning and it’s fine?”

We think we know what he thought he knew that he was talking about.

Somebody must have mentioned to him that the newest aircraft carrier, the Gerald R. Ford, uses an electromagnetic launch system and an advanced system of arresting gear for landing planes.  The Navy has spent years perfecting the technology replacing the steam launch systems and the hydraulic cable-arresting system.

He has a tendency to seize on something he doesn’t understand and babble about it, unaware of the level of ignorance he unabashedly displays.

He does this so much that there is real concern that he is deteriorating mentally. An interview with a psychologist on a Times Radio podcast offers in-depth concern:

‘Trump will not make it to the end of this term compos mentis’ | Psychologist analyses Trump

Times Radio is part of the London Times and The London Sunday Times, two Murdoch-owned newspapers in the United Kingdom.

(Photo credit: Vermont Country Store)

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Sports: Frustration in Norman; Elation in KC; A Former Tiger Gets a Kick Out of Playing in LA

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By Bob Priddy, Missourinet Contributing Editor

(MIZFB)—A frustrating day for the Missouri Tigers in Norman Oklahoma means Missouri must win at Arkansas next weekend to have the chance for a nine-win season when much more was anticipated.

Missouri is now 7-4 after its 17-6 loss in Norman, a game the defense saved for Missouri  but the offense could not claim.  Missouri took an early lead on a Robert Meyer field goal and had a chance to make it a six-point lead when Meyer’s kick from inside the red zone in the second quarter was blocked.

Oklahoma seized the lead on the only big play of the game—an 87 yard pass from John Mateer to Isaiah Sategna, who’d gotten a step ahead of Tiger safety Marvin Burks Jr.  Mateer hit Javonnie Gibson for a second touchdown after Missouri went three-and=out on its next drive.

Bo Pribula was back from his ankle injury and went 20/35 for 231 yards but had two interceptions and the Sooner sacked him four times. Playing on the ankle injured a month ago, Pribula did not show the mobility that had helped open the Tiger offense in previous games.

Missouri has become a team that cannot beat a top-10 team. It’s the fourth time this year they have failed and Coach Drinkwitz drop to 0-7 against top-25 SEC teams in the last two years.

The loss drops Missouri to 29th in the coaches poll; 28th in the AP.

(MIZBB)—-The Missouri Tigers are undefeated through their first six games but have yet to dent the top 25 in either major poll.  The Tigers are 33rd in the top 25  rankings by the AP and in the Coaches poll. The Tigers play South Carolina State at the Mizzou Arena tonight.  State has yet to win after six games this year.

(MIZTHICKER)— Jushua Karty is still on the Los Angeles Rams roster as a place kicker and former Tiger Harrison Mevis is doing his best to make sure he stays there.  Mevis kicked four more extra points this weekend to run his consecutive string to 13 and then was two for two on field goals—from 42 and 50 yards—in the Rams win over Tampa Bay.  (ZOU)

(CHIEFS)—They were down by eleven with only the last quarter ahead of them and the Indianapolis Colts  were ready to hammer the nails into their playoff coffins. The hometown fans had been watching the Kansas City Chiefs once again with a sluggish offense, a disappointing defense, a team crippled by penalties at wrong times and unable to put a coherent offense together.

And the Chiefs stopped the Colts in their tracks and played a fourth quarter out of the past to win the game in overtime 23-20 on a Harrison Butker field goal.

Rashee Rice was a key figure in the comeback. The Chiefs were pinned close to their end zone line, Patrick Mahomes found Rice for 47 yards.  His fourth and 3 grab that went for 19 yards kept the final drive going before the game-winning field goal.

If Rice was the lightning, Kareen Rush was the thunder in the second half.  He finished the day with 30 carries for 104 yards, giving KC a 100-yard rusher and a 100-yard receive  in a game for the first time this year.

The defense stopped Colts cold in the second half, giving up only five first downs and giving up first downs on only two of seven Colts chances.  They dominated the fourth quarter, holding the ball for 10:39 of the quarter’s fifteen minutes and stopping the Indianapolis passing game as well as its rushing attack.

Patrick Mahomes set a new passing record in the game. His 352 yards (but no touchdowns) put him past the 35,000 yard mark for his career. It was his 123rd game, breaking Matthew Stafford’s record of 126.

The Chiefs avoided falling below .500 with the win. The loss was only the third of the season for Indianapolis. They lead the AFC South by a game over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Chiefs have a short week before their Thanksgiving game in their original home town against the Cowboys, who have struggled to a 5-5-1 season.  The Cowboys had won their last two games but they’re giving up a lot of points—314 so far. The Chiefs have given up only 201.

CARDINALS)—The Cardinals are laying the groundwork for free agent signings, trades, or promotions from the minors in coming weeks.  They’ve decided not to offer contracts to four players, including Yohel Pozo, who finished second in all of the major leagues with seven pinch-hit runs batted in. They’ve also non-tendered reliever John King and minor league pitcher Sem Robberse. They’ve DFA’s reliever Jorge Alcala. It’s thought Pozo could come back with a minor league contracts next year.

There are three guaranteed contracts: William Contrares, Sonny Gray, and Noen Aranado. Seven more are eligible for new contracts—Nolan Gorman and Alex Burleson, Brendan Donovan, Lars Nootbar, Matthew Liberatore, Andre Pallante, and JoJo Romero.

Three players have guaranteed contracts==Nolen Aranado, Sonny Gray, and Willson Contrerras. The list of players eligible for new contracts stands at seven: JoJo Romero, Brendan Donovan, Lars Nootbar, Andre Pallante, Matthew Liberatore, Nolan Gorman, and Alex Burleson.  Pre-arbitration contracts have been offered to 27 other guys.

Two top minor leaguers are hoping to head north with the team after spring training next year—J. J. Wetherholt and Brycen Mautz.

Wetherholt has been named the Cardinals’ Minor LeaguePlayer of the Year. He’s considered the fifth overall prospect in the majors. A left=handed batter, he hit .306 in 109 games last year, one of six minor leaguers to exceed .300/400/510 last year with 17 homers, 28 doubles, a pair of triples, 23 steals, and 59 RBIs playing for Springfield (double A) and Memphis (triple A). The last player to do that in the Cardinals system was Ted Savage, fifty-nine years ago.  Savage bounced around among  eight teams in his ten-year major league career.

Mautz was a second-round draft pick in ’22 and was the Cardinals Minor League Pitcher of the year this year. He was in double-A last summer, started 25 games, went 8-3 with a 2.98 ERA in 25 starts. He fanned 135 and walked only 33 in 114.2 innings as he led Springfield to a Texas League championship.

(ROYALS)—Catcher Salvador Perez has been named he captain of the Venezuelan team in the World Baseball Classic that will be played in March.

The Royals have are gambling that reliever Alex Lange can return to major league level after he missed most of last season. Lange’s deal is worth $900,000 in 2026 with $100,000 in performance bonuses, a source told MLB.com. He will make $2.5 million in his two-year contract and will be under Royals control through 2028. Lange was DFA’s by the Tigers on November 12. He was in one game for the Tigers last season before going on the injured last season after surgery on a right lat injury. When he returned, he was sent to Toledo in triple-A. He was released after posting a 4.64 ERA.

With the Tigers in 2022-23 when he was in 138 games with a 3.55 ERA, and rang up 26 saves in 32 opportunities. He’s a home town boy who went to Lee’s Summit West High School before going to LSU and becoming a first-round pick by the Cubs.

The Royals have signed infielder Jonathan India to a new deal after his first season with the team. He came over from the Reds. He’d been considered a possible non-tender player after hitting .233 last season. His deal is worth $8 million, a million dollar raise from 2025.

But the Royals are cutting loose J. J. Melendez and pitcher Taylor Clarke. Melendez didn’t seem to match his promise although showing good power. He was a second-round pick in 2017 who made his major league debut in 2022. Last year, he was in just 23 games and hit .083 with five hits in sixty at-bats before being sent down to Omaha. He had 20 homers and 64 RBIs at Omaha and hit .261 last season.

Clarke was in 51 games for Kansas City last year, posted a 3.25 ERA, had one save, and was 1-1. He’ll be 33 next year.

The Royals have offered contracts to their arbitration-eligible players: outfielder Kyle Isbel, infielders Vinnie Pasquantino, Maikel Garcia, and Michael Massey, and pitchers Kris Bubic, Angel Zerpa, John Schrieber, Daniel Lynch IV, and Bailey Falter.

Now, the speedy stuff:

(INDYCAR)—Immortality, at least as long as sterling silver lasts, has come to Alex Palou, the winner of this year’s Indianapolis 500 as well as his fourth IndyCar championship. His image joins the images of all of other 500 winners of the race on the Borg-Warner Trophy.

He had never won a race on an oval until last May when he got past former winner Marcus Ericsson and led the last thirteen laps. He’s the first driver from Spain to make it to the trophy.

Seeing his image on the big trophy provoke emotions that other winners have felt when they saw their images for the first time. “I know that it’s always going to be there forever, if I race one more year or if I race 50 more years. And whatever the history of INDYCAR is going to be, it’s always going to be there. So, it’s great to be part of all those amazing drivers. And, yeah, I feel that now. I want to get that face again on that trophy. Try and be part again of the history of our sport.”

Palou’s image joins that of 2024 winner Josef Newgarden and 110 other images on the trophy created in 1936.

(Roger Penske and Josef Newgarden with their Baby Borgs after Newgarden’s 2024 win)

The trophy has the image of only one non-winner of the race. Long-time track owner Tony Hulman, who rescued the Indianapolis Speedway from destruction after World War II, and owned it until his death in 1977, is portrayed by a gold image.

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Another former Formula One driver is moving to IndyCar—Mick Schumacher, who has signed with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. He’s the son of Michael Schumacher, a seven-time world champion. He’s part of a team that includes veteran Graham Rahal and IndyCar Rookie of the Year Louis Foster.

It’s a new chapter in Schumacher’s life after a career in F1 and in endurance races. He’s never raced on an oval. Six of next year’s races are on ovals. He’ll run his first race for RLL on the St. Petersburg, Florida street circuit on March 1.

(FORMULA 1)—Max Verstappen repeated his victory on the glitzy streets of Las Vegas, taking a first lap lead over points-leader Lando Norris and running away from any challenges. It was the third F1 race in the States this year as the series hopes to build its constituency in this country.

Norris crossed the finish line in second place twenty seconds behind Verstappen with George Russell third and Norris teammate Oliver Piastri fourth.

But Norris and Piastri were disqualified because the skid plates under their car were short of specifications, relegating them top 19th and 20th place in the race and allowing Verstappen to take a bite out of Norris’ points lead.

The results put Verstappen and Piastri 24 points behind Norris with two races to go.

(Photo Credits: Mahomes—KC Chiefs; Mevis: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images © Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images; Palou—Indycar; Penske and New Garden—Detroit News)

The Border War

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I might not be considered a loyal Missourian—

because I don’t give a hoot on which side of the state line the Royals and the Chiefs play.  If I’m going to drive three hours to get to a game in Kansas City, what’s another ten or fifteen minutes on Interstate 70?  A game is a game wherever it’s played.

I long ago thought the Missouri-Kansas sports rivalry thing was stupid. The pre-war Civil War ended more than 150 years ago and to liken two teams of big guys trying stomp on each other, or two teams of tall guys jamming a ball into a metal circle has any significance to the universe is insane.

The great sports columnist Heywood Hale Broun wrote in the forward to his wonderful book, Tumultuous Merriment;

“The actual importance of the contest is immaterial to both spectators and players once the period of magic has begun.  The level of excitement is subconsciously chosen by those present and after a time exists beyond their control. It is only harmful when, like some lingering germ from a tropical paradise, it darkens the future.  All of us should play as if life and honor depended on it, and all of us should cheer as if it were Lucifer State versus Angel U. in the arena; but at game’s end all of us should recognize that paradise was neither won nor lost. None of us should emulate those middle-aged men who stare glumly into the bottom of a highball glass when they think of a shot that failed to drop in the last second of some long-ago basketball game.”

In other words, the game is what is important and it is important only within the time of the game. Attaching any importance outside that period is a waste of time.

So, then, is all of the anguish about economic advantage of one place over another unimportant within the entirety of an economic area.  And that should be what we are talking about here because the metropolitan cities and counties form their own economic area regardless of rivers and streets. Why there continues to be a counterproductive economic civil war within that area is beyond my understanding.

It’s not a case of whether the teams play on one side of the Missouri River or the other. The river as a boundary is a manmade abstraction as are state lines. The grass is the same color on both sides. Drive down Stateline Road. One side is in Jackson County, Missouri. The other is in Wyandotte County, Kansas.  If you drive north, you’re in Missouri.  Drive south and you’re in Kansas.  The difference is a white line about six inches wide in the pavement..

The Chiefs and the Royals are still going to be “The Kansas City Whatevers” regardless of which side of a manmade line on which they hold their contests.

Get over it.

For years, Missouri and Kansas have waged an economic war, giving tax breaks to snatch this or that business from the other side only to have the other side a few years later offer tax breaks to get the company back.

If one state or the other is economically ahead, it can’t be by very much.

This silliness almost became—and maybe should have become—academic in 1855, the days of the pre-war border war, when pro-slavery Westport resident Mobillion McGee decided the chances of Kansas entering the Union as a slave state would be improved if the Missouri boundary line was shifted to the east a few miles, thereby putting more pro-slavery voters in Kansas. He and newspaper publisher Robet T. Van Horn convinced the legislatures of both states to agree to the scheme.  But a young man they hired to seek congressional approval went to Washington, fell in love, married and left on an extended honeymoon, during which time enthusiasm for the plan cooled and it was never carried out.

Their idea has some validity today, not in redrawing the boundary lines for slavery but in considering territory on both sides of the lines as a single economic entity. Such a move would take, as happened in 1855, legislative approval from both states to form an economic district that would jointly pursue economic development mutually beneficial to the broader area.

Call it the McGee Enterprise Zone in which rivalries would not be recognized and the economic power of two states will be combined for greater development, the value of which would be shared by both.

It won’t be simple to organize such an entity. But doing so could end decades of unproductive rivalry resulting from unnecessary adherence to manmade lines. A battle between Lucifer State and Angel U is okay in the three hours of a game. But the game does not last for more than 150 years and neither should the parochial man-made rivalry between Kansas and Missouri.

Build stadiums wherever negotiations lead them to be built. It’s all still the Kansas City area and in the end we should be glad they don’t move to Nashville.

 

Sports:  A Runaway in Columbia; A Toasting in Denver; Other Teams AND Suppose Every Quarter or Inning Started at Zero 

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By Bob Priddy, Missourinet Contributing Editor

(CHIEFS)—A Chiefs dynasty was kicked to the curb Sunday evening in Denver when the Bronco’s Wil Lutz drilled a 34-yard field goal on the last play of the game. Denver 22, Kansas City 19. It’s the eighth straight win for Denver and runs their record to 9-2. The Chiefs are 5-5, their first time they’ve lost five games in the regular season since 2017.

Each team scored only one touchdown. Denver had five field goal. Kansas City four.

Bo Nix and Wil Lutz showed off their clutch genes again, and the Broncos are now firmly in control of the AFC West — a division the Chiefs have won nine straight times —  after a 22-19 win over Kansas City. It’s Denver’s eighth consecutive win.

Kansas City had taken a 19-16 lead halfway through the quarter but Lutz hit a field goal from 54 yards to tie it and then the 34-yarder to win.

Denver QB Bo Nix outplayed Chiefs QB Patrick Mahome, especially in the final drive. He converted a 3rd and 15 with a 20 yard completion, completed another pass on 3rd and 5 for another first down and hit Troy Franklin for 32 yards to set up the winning field goal

Denver is 7-2 in one-score games this year and lead the NFL in that category. The Chiefs are winless in five one-score games after going 12-0 last year in that category.

The Chiefs are now third in the AFC West behind Denver (9-2) and the Chargers (7-4.) They are 9th in the playoff standings, two games on the outside. They’re one game behind the Jaguars and do not have them on the schedule for a second game this year.

One bright spot for the Chiefs: Mahomes and Travis Kelce combined for a touchdown that gave the Chiefs their only lead for the day in the fourth quarter. Kelce now has 84 TDs, one more than Priest Holmes had in his career.

(THICKER)—The Los Angeles Rams activated former Tiger Harrison Mevis from the practice squad for the second weekend in a row for their game against the Seattle Seahawks and he was perfect again—three for three on points after touchdowns. He’s now 9 for 9.

(MIZZFB)—Missouri’s Ahmad Hardy ran over, around, and through Mississippi State in the Tigers 49-27 win that has returned the Tigers to the top 25 in the ratings. Theyu’re 23rd in the AP poll. Coaches have them 21st.   They’ll get another stiff test next weekend against Oklahoma, ranked 8th in both polls.

Hardy’s 300 yards gives him 1,346 for the season, fifth on the all-time list but with a chance to break Cody Schrader’s record of 1,627.

Speaking of Schrader, where is he?  Still in the NFL, now on the Jacksonville Jaguars roster but not good enough to get in any games. He was considered healthy inactive for last week’s game against the Chargers.  The Jags resigned him October 8. He’s about fourth on the running back depth chart, important enough to be on the regular roster rather than the practice squad but buried in the sideline crowd and inactivated for weekend games.

(SECPOTW)—Two Tigers have made the SEC Player of the Week list after the 49-27 win over Mississippi State. But they have to share their honors with players from other teams.

Ahmad Hardy’s 300-yards on 25 carries and three touchdowns earned him co-offensive POTW with Ole Miss running back Kewon Lacy.  It was a game of superlatives for Hardy:

The seventh 300-yard game in all of the SEC history, the second-best in Tiger history, less than twenty yards behind Devin West’s 318 in 1995. Forty-six of his yards came after contact. He forced eight missed tackles.  Ten of his runs on third-down plays became first down.  He had five gains of 20 or more yards including touchdowns of 72 and 43 yards. His third TD was a run of “only” ten yards. He now has seven 100-yard rushing games this year.

Lacy had a career-best 224 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-24 win over Florida. He also set a new team record with his 19th touchdown of the year.

Cornerback Toriano Pride Jr., had an interception that turned into a touchdown and a picked up fumbled field goal placement that he almost took back for a score. He shares this week’s award with Oklahoma Cornerback Eli Bowen whose 87-yard touchdown return of an intercepted pass.

(BEAUBACK.)—Pribula ready to return?  CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz reports Beau Pribula might be back for Oklahoma. If so, it’s a quick return for a guy whose season was thought to be endangered just three weeks ago with a non-fracture dislocated ankle. The report characterizes it as “early optimism.”

Pribula was on the field before the game throwing some light passes, sanding on both feet with leverage enough to throw the ball.

True Freshman Matt Zollars is still listed as the starter early in the preparation week.  Pribula’s mobility gave Missouri an important dimension while he was playing. Zollars has not shown that kind of mobility in either of the games he has started in Pribula’s place; Ahmad Hardy pretty well eliminated that as an issue.

(MIZBB)—Mizzou’s basketball squad made Prairie View its latest tune-up victim last night, 91-73, the second game the Tigers have gotten to 90 or better.  Six players were in double figures with Jacob Crews hanging up 20 points in 24 minutes on 7-of-10 shooting, including four of five from outside.

Missouri is 5-0 going into its next game—against South Dakota on Thursday night at the Mizzou arena. The Tigers have three straight wins of 15 points or more.

(MIZRECRUITS)—Looks as if the hits are going to keep on coming for Missouri basketball.  Recruiting season has wrapped up and Missouri has the nation’s #1 class for 2026 that includes three of the nation’s top 100 prospects—Jason Crowe Jr., the number five recruit in the country, toni Bryant, who was 14th, and Aidan Chronister, who comes in at 83. Coach Dennis Gates says, “His work ethic is unmatched, his discipline is unmatched and his performance on the court is unmatched…On the court, J2 is as smooth as a player as there is. He is extremely crafty with a high basketball IQ that allows him to score in any situation.”

Bryant is a 6-9 power forward from North Tampa Christian High School in Florida. He’s considered the fourth-best player at his position who hit two-thirds of his field goal attempts (43% from three land), and had an average double-double last year—21 points and almost 12 rebounds. Gates compares his skills to those of Kobe Brown and Mark Mitchell and says he’s a “top shot blocker and can rebound the ball with the best of them.”

Chronister is a small forward at 6-6 and 175 pounds from Rogers Arkansas. Gates had his eyes on Chronister early on and thinks he is “a seamless fit” to the Tiger system with “elite shooting skills.” (ZOU)

(MOSTATE)—The Missouri football team is not the only 7-3 top-drawer team in the state. The Missouri State Bears bounced back from a bad third quarter to dominated the fourth quarter against UTEP and come away with a 38-24 victory, their sixth straight win. The Bears are now 5-1 in Conference USA and next meet Kenesaw State, which has the same record.

Quarterback Jason Clark’s school-record 30 completions Saturday (in 39 attempts) to ten receivers earned recognition as the conference’s Offensive Player of the Week. His passing was good for 330 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. It was his tenth 300-yard game and his 19th game with more than 200 yards, tying a school record.

It’s Clark’s second POTW this year.

(BEARCATS)—The football Bearcats of Northwest Missouri State has made the NCAA Division II playoffs for the 27th time. They’re an at-large team and will play their first round game at Searcy, Arkansas next weekend against undefeated Hardin University’s Bisons.

Harding is 11-0. Northwest Missouri is 9-2 and is the MIAA champion for the 32nd time. Harding hopes to make the Bearcats their 22nd straight home-field victim. Northwest Missouri has won all four of the games they’ve played against each other.

The 27 playoff appearances is an NCAA record for Division II.  Their 53 playoff victories also is a DII record. Their playoff record is 53-20. Their six national championships are a Division II record. They have won repeat championships twice, 1998-99 and 2015-16.

Some wheel thoughts—.

(NASCAR)—NASCAR is expected to make some changes in the off=season in how it crowns its 2926 Cup champion.  The twelve-driver playoff system has been attacked on various fronts and one of the biggest criticisms is that it does not guarantee the best driver during the entire season gets the big prize.

Another part of the NASCAR racing system that draws mixed reviews is stage racing. Although it was added to encourage more racing throughout each event, particularly through the long mid-race laps that seemed to lack excitement, there are those who never have been fans of the system.

Back when Columbia’s Carl Edwards was one of the top drivers on the circuit, he was not a fan of stage racing.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Wiidmmf9dZk

His criticism is similar to other comments by competitors comparing racing to other sports. For instance, suppose a baseball game were divided into nine segments, each segment beginning scoreless, with only the ninth segment determining the winner of the game based on the number of runs scored in that inning or overtime innings although teams could score points for innings won.  Suppose your team won the first inning 5-1, lost the third inning 0-2, the fifth inning 2-3 and the ninth inning 0-1.  Instead of your team winning the game 7-6, it would lose because the other team got a run in the ninth and it would finish with one point in the standings while the other team emerged with three plus a bonus point for winning.

Theoretically, at the end of the season, a team with a mediocre win-loss record could become the champion because it won more innings.

And that’s a problem for NASCAR. A driver who would not even be in the top five, or in the top ten in total points for the year might finish no higher than 13th in the final standings because he made the playoffs but did not win one of the three races in the first playoff round.

But one widely-recognized part of racing is “the show.”  Are they putting on a good show?  Is there a reason for the entire season to be entertaining if a driver has enough points to clinch the championship with three races to go?

Should the NCAA championship be given to the only undefeated team left after the regular season or should there be a 69-team tournament that gives a team with a losing record a chance to play for a national championship?  The big tournament is the answer, in no small part being the ability to get more television money by playing more games.

Let’s face it, one reason we love sports is because there are underdogs. And sometimes underdogs pull upsets

A Museum is Dying—And We Should Be Ashamed

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Something more important than Kansas City sports stadiums has come up so I’ll wait to encourage some thinking about that issue until later.   An announcement late last week takes precedence—the planned closing of the Steamboat Arabia museum in Kansas City.

Some readers of these entries know that for almost eight years I have been trying to convince the Missouri General Assembly to keep this irreplaceable historical resource from closing and probably leaving our state.

We have tried to convince the legislature to meet its responsibilities to the people of Missouri by updating an important part of our gambling laws—the casino admission fee. One part of that proposal would have that industry finance a new home for the Steamboat Arabia Museum in Kanas City—or in some other city as long as it stays in Missouri.

But the legislature has refused to end the multi-million dollar scam gave them more than $60 million in unearned profits in the most recent fiscal year, weakened the financial ability of the Missouri Gaming Commission to regulate it and, even worse, has brought our system of seven state-operated veterans homes to the verge of closing one of those homes.

Last Thursday, the Arabia Museum announced that it would be closing a year from now. Many of you know what an incredible experience the museum provides in telling the story of life in Missouri and on the frontier five years before the Civil War.  There is nothing like this museum anywhere.

For those unfamiliar with the story, here it is.

The Steamboat Arabia, bound upstream to deliver winter supplies to sixteen then-small communities and outposts struck a submerged log above Kansas City and sank withing half an hour, taking 200 tons of cargo with it. The boat sank into the soft river mud so quickly that the cargo would not be recovered—-until the winter of 1988-89 when five men located it in a Kansas farm field a half mile away from the present river channel.  They went far in the hole financially and realistically, finding the wreckage fifty feet down and recovering the entire cargo that had been perfectly protected from the deteriorating effects of light and air.

They decided their discovery was too important to be sold and three years later opened the museum that has never take a dime of government funding but has given hundreds of thousands of visitors an unequalled window into the mid-19th century and how our ancestors lived.

I invite you to look at a video at 1856.com to get a taste of what is and what can be—if the state steps in and for once does not allow itself to be influenced or intimidates by a predatory industry untruthfully claiming to be a good corporate citizen.

Our plan has been to increase casino admission fee, set at two dollars per person in 1993, to contemporary dollar values with part of that money going to finance a new building for this incredible historical resource.

Why the casinos?  Because the very existence of casinos in Missouri is based on our riverboat heritage. The industry never promoted “casino gambling” in winning voter approval for it in 1992.  Instead, it promoted “riverboat gambling,” avoiding the red-flag word that might have incited increased opposition.  We still see the results of that campaign in our laws and in our Constitution where casinos are called “excursion gambling boats.”

Thirty years of inflation have greatly increased the contemporary equivalent of two dollars in 1993 money to $4.56 as of September, 2025.  So it is that the state and host cities still split the two dollars for each admission but the casinos keep $2.56. However, inflation works both ways by lowering the buying power of the two dollars they do receive. Two 1993 dollars have the buying power now of 90-cents.

The admission fee is equally split between the gaming commission with its worthy causes that include veterans nursing homes, and the casinos’ host cities.

These calculations mean that the host cities of our casinos are getting 45 cents in today’s valued money while the casino on the riverfront of those cities is making $2.56.  That is not how the legislature thirty-some years ago planned for the situation to be.

These are the five men who spent a cold, wet, muddy and miserable four months digging down to the Arabia and recovering history as it really was lived in 1856 on the frontier.  Two of them have died—Bob Hawley and the older of his two sons, Greg, (the left of the two men in or near the cab). The other three are (L-R)_ Jerry Mackey, Dave Hawley, and David Luttrell.

These five men decided their findings were too important to be sold. They have protected the museum and its teachings and dreamed of expanding it to include, among other things, an entire boat that might have escaped extensive damage in its sinking.

The dream is fading and the museum will disappear if private philanthropists or philanthropic organizations do now act quickly to raise money and if the legislature continues to let the casino industry dictate what state policy will be for that industry.

I have compiled almost 200 pages of charts, tables, and other information showing how this industry, not the legislature nor the gaming commission, is serving the general public as it should.

One of the sad facts accompanying the situation is that the Missouri Gaming Commission has let all of this happen without public comment even as it has watched its own financial resources decline because of decreasing admissions and the decreasing value of the funds the casinos have agree to let it have.  It publishes an annual report but never has put the industry-supplied numbers in any context that would tell the public how the industry has annually mugged the state.

In the most recent fiscal year, the casino industry kept $64.1 million in unearned income that would have stayed with the state and the host cities if the admission fee had been adjusted for contemporary values.  Because inflation also has diminished the purchasing power of the money the casinos DID pay, the state and the cities lost another $30 million.  The lost revenue/unearned profits are on track to be a nine-figure amount this year.

Maybe, now that the museum has announced its planned closure, enough members of the legislature will recognize the seriousness and the urgency of this issue and will find the courage to meet their responsibilities more to the people at home than to the casino people in the Capitol hallways, and will provide funding to keep that museum open and in Missouri.

Leavenworth, Kansas has made a strong offer and the state of Kansas is supporting it.

This is make or break time for Missouri. Frankly, I am pessimistic. I do not believe our legislators have the will to act in the people’s interests rather than the gambling industry’s interests.

All of the numbers I have cited here, and much more, are from a lengthy study, year by year, of how the industry has exploited a flaw in the original admission fee law and now refuses to let the legislature fix it.

Do not misunderstand me. The Missouri General Assembly seems incapable of exercising its policy-making authority on this issue.

The situation is more desperate than ever. The clock is ticking at an increasing rate. The people must act, whether it is in pressuring their elected officials or seeking out those with philanthropic sympathies.

We cannot lose this museum.  We will lose a major part of ourselves and of our history if we do not act now.  As we view the situation at this hour, though, Leavenworth and Kansas will not so much gain the museum as Missouri and Jefferson City will shamefully abandon it.

If you can help or if you know someone who can offer major help, we will be giving ourselves history—and saving history is a reward in itself and a legacy of this generation to generations we will never know.

There’s another video I hope you will watch— One Last Chapter: The Arabia Steamboat Museum.

You know what’s worse than personal disappointment?  The feeling that Missouri will have let down the dreams of the five men who gave us this incredible gift recovered during those cold, wet, muddy months in the winer of 1988 and ’89 because it puts the will of the powerful few above the benefit of the common many.

I’m not sure how much I can believe in the state motto very much:

“Let the welfare of the people be the supreme law.”

Notes from a Quiet Hill (Dork edition)

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Would Donald Trum’s campaign for the Nobel Peace Prize be more successful if he could get a truce between Republicans and Democrats in the House and the Senate?  That would be—what? the tenth war he has ended?

What a great ceremony that would be!

In the Trump Ballroom.

So far, he hasn’t suggested the nation’s capital be renamed Trump, District of Columbia.

What did the members of the United States House of Representatives do during the longest government shutdown in our country’s history?

There is one thing they did NOT doing with all of this free time—visiting the folks back home, going around to the cities in their districts, holding meetings or shaking hands with constituents who are shopping at Wal-Mart.

Given the continued deterioration of the economic situations of millions of Americans, it is logical that they would prefer to hide out instead of holding community meetings.  In a time when wisdom is in short supply, perhaps they are wise not to show their faces in their districts after all.

We cannot recall the last time the congressman representing Jefferson City visited here and met with the good folks who sent him to Washington. Coming to Jefferson City to file for another term doesn’t count.

Come to think of it, his predecessor was no prize either. I went to his office once, found the door locked, and when somebody opened it I was greeted with an attitude that asked, “What are you doing here?”

Maybe next year we should elect somebody who won’t ignore us for a change.

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Does anybody else think the President looks like a Dork in his baseball cap?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dork squared.

Does he wear it to cover his apparently expanding bald spot?  Or does he wear it because he didn’t shampoo his mane?

At least he didn’t wear it during his visit with the King of England or in his recent United Nations, uh, speech.  Had he done so, this is the one that would have been appropriate, if any cap was appropriate.

This is the cap he wore while speaking to the Ameircan troops during his recent visit to  Japan. If we were a person in uniform engaged in the serious business of defending our country, we might struggle with our composure while listening to some old guy in a necktie and a ball cap ramble on about how he’s so abused by critics. I’m not sure I could salute my commander in chief who thinks dorkiness is fashionable.

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Speaking of wretched excess (a White House ballroom, a marbleized Lincoln bedroom bathroom, a $400 million used jetliner), there is this home in Jefferson City where “going overboard” is woefully inadequate in describing Halloween decorations.

What better time to display “wretched” excess than Halloween?

These folks in Jefferson City obviously like Halloween but we wonder where they store this stuff the rest of the year—-especially since they put up comparable decorations for Christmas. If it’s at their house, where do they live?

A second thought occurred to us that maybe they do this to make it impossible for trick or treaters to make their way to their door.

They have a lot of fun with Halloweek and Christmas. Can’t wait to see what more they add to their Christmas decorations in a few weeks. We’ll try to remember to show them to you.

But will Santa be able to find the house?

Sports: Mizzou Can’t Stop A&M; Tiger Basketball Faces Toughest Opponent; Royals & Cardinals at the Start of Free Agency; Blues are Blue

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By Bob Priddy, Missourinet Contributing Editor

(MUFB)—The Missouri Tigers are barely clinging to a top-25 ranking in one of the polls after Saturday’s disheartening loss to third-ranked Texas A&M.  They’ve fallen out of the coaches poll but the AP sportswriters gave Missouri four votes, letting them stay at 25th.

Missouri was able to stay in the game for most of the first half before quarterback Matt Zollers fumbled the ball in the air when he was hit while preparing to pass with one minute left in the half. The ball went straight into the arms of A&M defensive back Dalton Brooks.  Brooks took it to the two=yard line and A&M got a touchdown just before halftime to go up 14-0.

Zollers hand was “banged up” on the play and he was seen on the sideline afterwards flexing it. He later did some throwing on the sidelines and stayed in the game.

Missouri’s offensive line could have been stouter in protecting Zollers in his first collegiate start and in opening running space for Jamal Roberts and Ahmad Haley, both of whom topped 100 yards rushing, but not until well into the second half when Missouri was two or three scores down.

Missouri also was caught flat-footed in the third quarter by a fake punt turned into a touchdown for A&M.

Missouri’s offense missed the versatility of Beau Pribula, out indefinitely with hia ankle injury, who had added a running dimension to his position.. Zollars was 7 of 22 passing for just 77 yards and had negative yards on three rushing attempts.

The loss ended any hopes, although they were slim to begin with, of making the playoffs. The Tigers have lost three of their last four games with Saturday’s loss marking the first time Missouri has lost two in a row since 2022.

The last game of the year on Faurot Field is next Saturday against Mississippi State. They close on the road with games against Oklahoma and Arkansas. They have to win all three plus their bowl game to hit the ten-win mark for an unprecedent third straight year.

(MIZBB)—-The basketball Tigers are 3-0 in their first week on the court, hanging on for a win against Southeast Missouri State and a dominating victory over VMI.

The Tigers let the Southeast Red Hawks stay uncomfortably close because they couldn’t hit a free throw in the 89-84 win. They were just 19 of 31, a concerning figure because they were 10 of 21 in the season opener against Howard.

Mark Mitchell got his first double-double Sunday with 24 points and ten rebounds in the 106-68 win against VMI. The Tigers outscored the Kaydets 56-28 in the second half, showing a significantly tighter defense than they had displayed in their earlier games.

Ant Robinson’s versatility showed in his stat line—20 points (4 of 5 from the arc), four steals and four assists.

Missouri faces its first big-time test tomorrow night against Minnesota. One of those teams will lose its undefeated season.

(XMU)—Former Tiger place kicker Harrison Mevis has landed with one of the top teams in the NFL and hasn’t missed the chance to be around for a while. Mevis was signed to the Los Angeles Rams practice squad last week and was activated for Sunday’s game against the 49ers.  He was six for six in extra points as the Rams won 42-26.

(BASEBALL)—The talent pool for teams looking for a free agent is falling into place.  The Cardinals have a dozen minor league guys who want to play for somebody else. Michael Siani, who spent part of last season in the bigs, has been signed by Atlanta. Roddery Munoz has been claimed off of waiver by the Reds. Miles Mikolas has cut ties with the team by becoming a free agent. Mikolas was 18-4 when he joined the Redbirds after three years in Japan. He was 40-65 in the other six years in St. Louis.

The Royals have signed their first free agent, a guy they drafted in 2016. Outfielder Kameron Misner decided to play ball for the University of Missouri instead of signing with the Royals. He was designated for assignment by the Tampa Bay Rays after hitting .213 in 217 plate appearances. When he hit the ball, he hit it hard—nine doubles and five home runs. He also stole eight bases.  But 69 of the 217 times he stepped into the batter’s box, he struck out.

He made history with his walk-off home run on opening day, the first player ever to make his first homer a walk-off on an opening day. Kansas City gives up a player or cash to be decided later.

They have guaranteed that Salvatore Perez will retire a Royal. He has signed a two-year extension. They have several players eligible for free agency.  Sports Illustrated is reporting that the Tampa Bay Rays are strongly interested in signing Mike Yastrzemski, who joined the Royals in mis-season.

The Royals have lost Randal Grichuk, who has declined a five-million dollar deal to go into free agency. The Royals also have cut Michael Lorenzen loose

The Royals have moved to strengthen their hitting coaching staff by offering a job to Connor Dawson, who at 32 years old already has four years as the Milwaukee Brewers’ hitting coach and time spent as the minor league hitting coordinator for the Seattle Mariners.

(HOCKEY)—The St. Louis Blues got their season off on the wrong skate and find themselves winners of only five of their first sixteen games (5-8-3) and last in their division. They are averaging 2.3 goals per game. They’re giving up almost four goals.

Only the Calgary Flames have fewer wins, at 4-11-1. The Buffalo Sabers also have only five wins. But they have four ties—-5-6-4.

 

 

An Open and Shut Case

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The Associated Press reported earlier this week that Governor Kehoe’s latest pitch to keep the Kansas City Chiefs in Missouri goes back to the original plans for the Truman Sports Complex, as the area that contains Kauffman and Arrowhead Stadiums on the eastern edge of Kansas City.

Kehoe told the AP there’s no talk of building an ultra-expensive completely domed stadium, but there might be another way to enclose the present Arrowhead Stadium.   The leases the Royals and Chiefs have on the Jackson County Sports Complex expire in about five years, a pretty short time in stadium-building scenarios.

His concept has assumed immediate importance with a report by Pete Mundo of KCMO radio that the Chiefs have put out a request for proposals to design a new stadium near the Kansas Speedway. Mundo says the move does not mean the Chiefs have decided to move to the Kansas side. In fact he says his “gut” tells him they’ll stay on our side.

Kansas officials are not commenting and Chiefs owner Clark Hunt says the team is still negotiating with both sides.

But the story raises the stakes in the discussions.

Missouri officials well remember the failure of the legislature in the late 1990s to react favorably to a proposal to put a major automobile race track near Kansas City International Airport.  The Kansas Speedway opened just across the state line in Wyandotte County Kansas and opened in 2001, triggering considerable development in the area.

World Sports Network estimated seven years later that the track already had generated $243 million a year in economic benefits to the area.

The idea of a covering for Arrowhead is not new. The original designs for the complex in the 1960s included a covering for both stadiums.

The rolling roof system would be on tracks that could move a covering over the playing fields for inclement weather.  The stadiums would not be heated or air conditioned under that system but rain and snow would not be a factor.

The idea came from architect Charles U. Deaton, an innovative thinker born in New Mexico who never got a college degree. He became a certified architectural engineer after personal studies of industrial design, structural engineering, and  architecture. He designed board games in addition to structures and held several patents for furniture and interior lighting designs—and for designing board games. He worked in St. Louis for a time before moving to Denver, where practiced until his death in 1996.

The original plans were for a facility much like Busch Stadium II in St. Louis, where both baseball and football games could be played. But Deaton convinced Chiefs GM Jack Steadman the dual stadium concept would be better.

If you want a more detailed description of the philosophy behind his designs, go to the KC Yesterday web page.

Deaton’s idea of the rolling roof was scrapped during the construction process—practicality time, and cost were factors. The Chiefs played their first game in Arrowhead in 1972. The Royals played their first game in their new home on April 10, 1973. Twenty years later it was renamed for Royals’ owner Ewing Kauffman.

Kehoe is not recommending a return to Deaton’s original but now outdated design. He cites more modern stadium architecture that he think would work at far less cost—-and the incredible costs of new stadiums is a huge factor.  Jackson County voters rejected the extension of a local sales tax to finance an $800 million overhaul of Arrowhead and construction of a two-billion dollar ballpark and ballpark village (as it’s called in St. Louis) downtown.

Missouri and Kansas now are in a heated competition for the two teams and legislatures in both states have authorized millions of dollars in one form or another to provide the new facilities.

What Kehoe is suggesting is something similar to what he saw in Frankfurt, Germany when he attended a Chiefs-Dolphis game in 2023 at Frankfurt’s Deutsche Bank Park, a 100-year old soccer stadium that has been overhauled many times and now sports a cable-supported flexible, translucent fabric covering that can be opened or closed.

The Governor plans to meet today with the new Jackson County Executive, Phil LeVota, who also is talking to the Chiefs.  The Chiefs aren’t reacting yet to the Kehoe suggestion but they have said they’d invest $1.l5 billion into the project if they decide to stay on our side of the state line. Another Kansas City (Missouri) election could be held next year.

For what it is worth, the view of the situation from the height of our hill is that this entire decades-long war for economic development in the Kansas City area has gone on too long.  Somebody needs to develop a solution to it.

And we are as qualified as anyone to do that….and we will, on Monday.

(Photo credit: KC Yesterday/Jackson County Historical Society, Stadiowelt, Trip Advisor)