SAM MELLINGER

Why Ned Yost smiles through the Royals’ struggles

Manager Ned Yost says he isn’t panicking about the Royals’ recent slide because that approach got him fired in Milwaukee. And while fans may feel his response is aloof or out of touch, Yost says he’s trying to keep his young players calm.

Chiefs

Throwing to the tight end is back in Chiefs’ offense under Andy Reid

The Chiefs have revealed plenty of two-tight end formations during their offseason program and spent plenty of time at least trying to throw the ball to both of their new tight ends, Anthony Fasano and Travis Kelce. The signs are everywhere that the tight end as a pass receiver is back in the Chiefs offense under new coach Andy Reid.

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Sports

Watch it or not, you pay for sports on cable TV

As live sports programming (like the NBA playoffs featuring LeBron James, above) becomes more coveted by advertisers, ESPN and other networks are bidding in the billions to secure broadcast rights. And those costs — ESPN charges TV providers more than $5 per month per subscriber, making it by far the most expensive basic cable channel — get passed to the consumer, whether they like sports or not. Some have called it a sports tax on their cable bill.

National News

Lack of answers tests the faith and mettle of families and searchers alike

The Air Force crew that had manned Spooky 21 had long ago been declared dead. But there never had been anything definitive. Without some evidence of the plane or the missing airmen, their families would continue to seesaw between faint hope and heartbreak. The imprecision of the search made anything definitive a tough mission.

TV review

Lots of heat but little light in ‘Behind the Candelabra’

For two hours, “Behind the Candelabra” lays bare Liberace’s loneliness, his insecurity, his narcissism and his futile attempts to keep his sexuality a secret before his death from AIDS. The film, which premieres Sunday on HBO, isn’t a smear job, but it’s not a revelation, either.

The Kansas City Star Magazine

Baking bread brings kneaded therapy

Baking bread is at once invigorating and soothing. You can take out aggression on dough, hurl it at the counter from a foot high and punch it with your fists if you want. You can’t hurt it. Or you can find a gentle reverie in the dough, squeeze its cool pillowy sides with your finger and rock the heels of your hands lazily back and forth in the center. The main thing is to find a rhythm and just keep going.

House + Home

Airy elegance: Outdoor decor comes into its own

The selection has never been greater or more stylish for outdoor furniture. There’s all-weather wicker, modern mesh and other open weaves. Teak in all shades from honey to warm grays, metal in sleek stainless steel and rustic wrought-iron looks in a range of painted hues.

C.W. GUSEWELLE

Toss the tassel and let the sweet beginnings commence

Graduation is one term for it — the ceremony of passage that marks the end of a specific period of learning. Commencement is to my mind the better word, alluding as it does not to a conclusion but rather to a beginning — not what’s behind, but what lies just ahead. Through the course of a life, the starts are what contain the excitement and promise.

Politics

Inability to agree on taxes frustrates Kansas Republicans

The Legislature adjourned Friday after 91 days without cutting taxes or passing a budget, two of the session’s principle goals. Many lawmakers left Topeka frustrated and angry Friday after the House decisively rejected a plan offered by the Senate to cut taxes on income and sales taxes on food.

Business

KC protesters object to genetically modified crops

Concerns about genetically modified crops and their impact on the food chain brought protesters to the Country Club Plaza for a “March Against Monsanto” on Saturday. Many similar gatherings were expected around the world Saturday.