The problem with the Royals’ Yordano Ventura, who makes his seventh major-league start Friday in Baltimore, is that nobody knows. This is the wonder in watching him pitch. It is also the danger. The thrill. The fear. Baseball is a world where everything is calculated, by computer or by intuition, and Ventura doesn’t fit any of the formulas. He is the size of a high school sophomore and throws a baseball, literally, harder than anyone on earth. What can you make of a guy like this?
This week’s case of a 15-year-old stowaway who clambered into a jet’s wheel well and flew away undetected has airport officials across the country considering whether something like that, or perhaps an even more serious security breach, could happen at their installations. And like other colleagues elsewhere, officials at Kansas City International Airport say the answer is yes.
Dontae D. Jefferson, 27, was charged with first-degree murder and five other felonies in the brazen April 18 attack at a gas station at 45th Street and Cleveland Avenue. “Now my nephew can be at ease. He no longer has to sleep with his eyes open,” said an aunt of 10-year-old Ka’Vyea Tyson-Curry, who remains hospitalized and on a respirator.
Xavier men’s basketball coach Chris Mack (above) has not been contacted about the vacancy at Missouri, a source close to Mack told The Star on Thursday. “Chris is happy at Xavier,” the source said. Also on Thursday, Dayton confirmed that it has not been contacted by Missouri or any third party about Flyers coach Archie Miller’s interest in the Tigers’ vacancy.
Police in Raleigh, N.C., filled out an incident report after finding Miller in a car with a black male prostitute dressed as a woman, said Douglas McCullough, who in 1987 prosecuted Miller on charges of possessing hand grenades and mailing a threatening communication. McCullough said the prostitute case was never prosecuted.
The report comes as supporters of broadening eligibility for Medicaid make their last push to get approval through a contentious General Assembly. Some lawmakers have raised concerns about the program’s future costs and who would benefit from Medicaid expansion.
Ride sharing services operate through local drivers who use their own cars to respond to ride requests transmitted through the company’s mobile app. Lyft’s cars stand out thanks to big pink mustaches that drivers attach to the grill of their cars. News of Lyft’s expansion to Kansas City drew a challenge from a taxi company as well as interest from the city.
Drivers who traverse Interstate 35 on the Kansas side can expect to wrestle with construction at three interchanges, starting with a ramp closure on Friday and more closures into next week. These projects are not part of the massive Johnson County Gateway Project scheduled to begin early next month at the Kansas 10, Interstate 35 and I-435 interchange.
Perhaps we should resolve to practice the arts of conversation and long-form communication, if only for a few minutes each day or week, lest we lose them forever.
If you put much stock in basketball recruiting rankings, the rich continue to get richer in the Big 12 and Southeastern conferences. Kansas features two players in the top six of Rivals’ final top 150 rankings for the class of 2014, which were released on Thursday morning. Kentucky has four players in the top 30. Defending SEC champ Florida boasts three signees in the top 50.
Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles is coming off another brilliant season in which he led the NFL with 19 touchdowns and ranked second in yards from scrimmage with 1,980. So whom does he want to emulate this season?
Maybe another movie will come along like “Bridesmaids” that pairs funny women with an actual plot. Until then, “The Other Woman” joins “The Heat” and similar wannabes in wasting legitimate comedic chemistry on ’80s sitcom formulas.
Live music’s busy season is now upon us. Here’s a look at some of the best shows rolling into town over the next week or so. Arcade Fire’s previous Kansas City show, in April 2011, topped many best-concert lists that year. This time, the seven-member band is touring on “Reflektor,” its most-recent album, and one that requires a larger ensemble of musicians.
NFL teams are actively seeking versatile linemen such as North Dakota State’s Billy Turner, Notre Dame’s Zack Martin or Nevada’s Joel Bitonio. Teams can only dress 46 players, which often means only two backups are available on the line if a starter goes down to injury.
Fred W. Sauceman introduces his new book “Buttermilk & Bible Burgers” with some reflections on what “Appalachia is” to him. As the one-year anniversary of Chow Town draws near, let’s reflect on what Kansas City’s culinary scene is to us. Here are my 52:
Police and others who are trying to save lives shouldn’t have to worry about their own state legislatures undercutting their efforts. In Kansas, the damage has already been done. But there’s still time in Missouri for some adults in the Republican majority to step up and put public safety above the interests of gun rights groups.
