KC Replay: MLB lockout ends, Russell Wilson arrives, Bruce Weber departs, Sporting wins
Major League Baseball’s finally ended its lockout this past week, with the 30 clubs’ owners and the MLB players’ union agreeing to the framework of a new collective-bargaining agreement.
News of their newfound labor peace brought smiles to faces across a Kansas City landscape digging out from yet another dump of late-winter snow. It’s still cold out right now, but we can see the warm light of spring at the end of the tunnel.
And that’s just the start as we recount another week of KC sports milestones.
‘Play ball’ never sounded so good
The baseball lockout had reached critical mass in at least two respects.
The players realized that canceled games were hitting them in the wallet, and the owners decided that continuing along a path of self-inflicted damage to the game wasn’t such a good idea. And make no mistake, the game was being damaged.
It stinks to be so jarringly reminded that baseball (like other pro sports) is first and foremost a business. But with labor peace finally restored, we’ll make plans to visit the Royals in spring training, renew our ticket packages and scramble to find game broadcasts in an increasingly confusing television landscape. We love this game. So we put up with a lot.
Anyway, we’re sure glad baseball is back.
Cats bid goodbye to Bruce
The five-year Bruce Weber era came to an end in Manhattan on Thursday, when the Kansas State men’s basketball coach resigned after a Big 12 tournament-ending loss to West Virginia at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.
KC Star beat writer Kellis Robinett summed up Weber’s run in Manhattan by noting that he won “184 games with the Wildcats. He also reached the NCAA Tournament five times, claimed a share of two Big 12 championships and led his team to one Elite Eight. By any measure, those incredible highs made him one of the most successful coaches in school history.”
Now, K-State AD Gene Taylor is on the hunt for a new coach. He hopes to introduce this next man up by the end of the month.
Marquee trade for Broncos
The AFC West got more competitive last week when the Denver Broncos pulled off a giant trade for Russell Wilson, acquiring the former Seattle Seahawks QB for an armload of players (including Lee’s Summit native Drew Lock) and high draft picks.
This news of course reverberates especially sharply in Kansas City, where the Chiefs have enjoyed an historic dominance over their neighbors to the west since Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes arrived.
The Chargers also cracked the NFL headlines a few days ago, trading for Chicago Bears edge rusher Khalil Mack. The former Raiders star joins a Bolts roster headed by another star QB, Justin Herbert. Suffice to say there’s no sleeping in the Chiefs’ division, not with everyone trying to catch up with them.
Sporting KC wins home opener
Sporting Kansas City’s season opener was a flop as the club lost 3-1 at Atlanta. But Sporting’s home opener, played last weekend against the Houston Dynamo at Children’s Mercy Park, was a smash hit.
The boys in blue collected three points in the early Major League Soccer standings with a 1-0 decision against Houston on a breezy, warm afternoon in KCK. Remi Walter’s goal, just his second with Sporting KC, was backed up by strong play in goal from veteran keeper Tim Melia.
Fans were pleased to see Sporting KC seal the deal in a close match. It was Sporting’s first 1-0 victory since October 2020.
Franchise tag for Chiefs’ left tackle
With free agency looming this week, the Chiefs placed the franchise tag on left tackle Orlando Brown Jr.
Brown arrived from the Baltimore Ravens before last season and had progressed pretty well in year one with the Chiefs. The franchise tag designation, assuming Brown signs the one-year contract it entails, would pay him $16.5 million for the 2022 season.
In other team news, the Chiefs as of Friday appeared content to let star safety Tyrann Mathieu test the waters of free agency. Mathieu’s contract here has expired and the veteran defender who turns 30 in May is looking for a long-term deal. His return to the Chiefs has not been ruled out, but on the open market, other suitors for Mathieu’s services are sure to emerge.