KC’s Next Play: Women’s sports take spotlight with WIN for KC Awards, NWSL negotiations
Welcome to the upside-down of the NFL playoffs, the two-week stretch between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl — a perfect (down)time to focus on some of the other sports happenings in and around Kansas City.
While we wait to see whether the Chiefs beat the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship Game, you can make plans to attend a truly special midday celebration of girls and women in sports or one of numerous college basketball games of note, or spend some time sending positive thoughts through the ether toward negotiations that’ll determine whether the National Women’s Soccer League will begin its preseason camps on time.
(If the Chiefs do get past the Bengals in the fourth straight conference championship game played at Arrowhead Stadium, they’d face the NFC champions in Super Bowl LVI on Sunday, Feb. 13 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.)
Honoring Kansas City’s best
The annual WIN for KC Women’s Sports Awards Luncheon arrives Thursday at Municipal Auditorium. This is a new location for the yearly celebration of women and girls in sports around Kansas City.
The guest speaker this year is basketball star Sue Bird, who’s won WNBA championships with the Seattle Storm and world and Olympic championships for Team USA. She’s regarded as the best guard on earth, pretty much, and her words are typically both empowering and inspiring.
A reception gets the banquet underway Thursday at 10:30 a.m., with the 11:30 luncheon and a 1 p.m. autograph session to follow. For more information, visit sportkc.org/win-for-kc/awards-celebration.
Full menu of hoops ahead
The Jayhawks make their never-dull annual visit to Hilton Arena on Tuesday for a 6 p.m. tipoff against the Cyclones. After that comes another biggie: home against Baylor at 3 p.m. next Saturday.
Kansas State plays host to Oklahoma State at 8 p.m. Wednesday and is at TCU at 7 p.m. Saturday.
After a brief detour through Ames to play Iowa State on Saturday, it’s back to the SEC for Mizzou coach Cuonzo Martin and the Tigers. They play host to Florida at 8 p.m. Wednesday and travel to Texas A&M Saturday for a 3 p.m. tip.
KC Current open camp ... maybe
Players across the National Women’s Soccer League, including those who play for the Kansas City Current, are scheduled to report on Tuesday for the start of preseason camp.
Ongoing negotiations toward a new collective-bargaining agreement between the NWSL Players’ Association and the league’s owners — represented by a board of governors — have been slow to advance, at least publicly.
Unlike the ongoing Major League Baseball impasse, it’s unlikely the NWSL standoff will result in a lockout the likes of which we’re seeing across baseball right now. Rather, the women’s pro soccer players could choose to not report for their respective camps until a new CBA is ratified. That would be termed a strike.
But it’s too soon to say whether this will happen. There’s a deadline to reach a new deal, but such negotiations often continue into the 11th hour. So a new CBA could certainly be worked out early this week, and all players could well report on time when Tuesday rolls around.
The NWSL’s recent history is littered with scandals involving alleged sexual misconduct and harassment by those in charge of the league’s players — coaches and executives. The players are seeking protections from such misdeeds, as well as better compensation and increased benefits involving such critical matters as health/safety and travel.