Springtime for Royals, home game for Sporting and a roadie for Current: KC’s Next Play
It’s 70 degrees one day, 40 the next, and that can only mean one thing in Kansas City:
It’s almost baseball season.
We may have mentioned this last week, but the ball fans among this Midwestern city’s denizens are a resilient bunch. Solve that flipping lockout, throw some sunscreen and wool gloves in our pockets and we’re ready for a day at The K. Rain, wind or even snow, nbd. We love baseball here, and we’re willing to put up with a little frost to feed our habit.
So it’s not quite opening day, not yet, but at long last we can finally see it from here. The Royals are in Surprise, Arizona for spring training, and it just feels right that we begin this week’s edition of Next Play with those boys in blue.
Springing into action
The Royals reported for spring camp this past week. They played their first spring game the other day. It’s almost like the MLB lockout was just a bad dream.
And now it’s all systems go in the Grand Canyon State. Today, the Royals play a 3:05 p.m. Cactus League game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Surprise Stadium. It’ll be the first of six spring games scheduled for broadcast on Bally Sports Kansas City. The others: Monday at 3:10 vs. the Angels; Tuesday at 3:05 vs. the A’s; Friday at 3:05 vs. the Rangers; Saturday at 8:05 p.m. vs. the Dodgers; and Tuesday, April 5 — KC’s spring finale — at 2:10 vs. the Brewers.
We’ll all but certainly be able to get our first look at (among other things) Bobby Witt, Jr. and two pitchers of note — newly acquired Amir Garrett and newly reacquired Cy Young winner Zack Greinke — and we’re pretty excited about that.
How Sweet it is
The other great thing about this time of year, especially if you’re a sports fan, is, of course, March Madness. And is there a better portion of the NCAA Tournament than the Sweet 16? (This is open to debate, because the opening weekend is awesome, and the Final Four is great, and, wait, we forgot about the Elite Eight ... heck, it’s all fabulous.)
The Super Bowl might rival the Big Dance in terms of built-in drama, but for our money it’s tough to beat the intensity of the NCAAs’ round of 16. So grab the remote, settle into your favorite chair and watch the stories unfold on all those courts.
Home again, home again
Sporting Kansas City fans have created a ridiculously fun and unique environment at Children’s Mercy Park. Trust us on this one — we’ve been to MLS games at a few other stadiums, and there’s just something about the vibe at that pitch in KCK.
Sporting KC’s players and coaching staff would no doubt agree, especially after playing their last two matches on the road at Colorado and Chicago. KC returns to Children’s Mercy Park next Saturday for a 7 p.m. game against Real Salt Lake — the very RSL club that knocked Sporting out of the MLS playoffs in November.
The drumbeat will be throbbing and vengeance will hang in the air Saturday night. Can’t. Wait.
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Challenge accepted: Current at Chicago
The Kansas City Current play its second game of the 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup on Friday against the Red Stars in Chicago.
The game will be just the second in teal and red for no less than half the Current’s current roster. That’s how much different this year’s lineup is from the one with which the team ended its first season.
The home fans will have to wait a couple more weeks to see the Current play in person at Children’s Mercy Park (the team’s home venue this season during construction of a purpose-built stadium downtown), but they (like us) will certainly be watching Friday’s match on Paramount+ livestream.