A puppy, a nana, a fight and more: Top 10 KC sports stories that went viral in 2016

I will say this for the year 2016: It has been interesting.

Many people are simply thrilled that 2016 is coming to a close. It seems like there have been a large number of celebrity deaths, particularly late in the year.

But there was a lot to like in the Kansas City sports scene. The Royals got their World Series rings, visited the White House, the Chiefs have been fun to watch, Sporting KC made the playoffs again and much more.

And that doesn’t include the many stories that went viral. Here are the top 10 viral stories in Kansas City in 2017.

10. Ned Yost breaking concrete blocks

Motivational speaker Donnie Moore visited the Royals at spring training in March and manager Ned Yost showed that he could break a bunch of concrete bricks with his hands.

Despite having cuts on his hands, Yost said afterward: “You’ve got to power down through it, that’s for sure. Nothing to it.”

Royals manager Ned Yost breaks concrete blocks at spring training 

9. Rally Mantis I & II

Of all the fun surrounding the Royals’ temporary mascots, nothing quite resonated with fans like the tribute video Danny Duffy made after the death of the first Rally Mantis.

8. Royals fans save puppy at Kauffman Stadium

This one garnered national attention. Royals fans Josh Lee, his family and his brother Michael Warner left early during a Royals game on a hot Sunday afternoon. It’s a good thing they did. They heard a puppy whimpering in a car and saved it.

Puppy saved from hot car during Royals game safe at KC Pet Project 

7. Guthrie’s goodbye

Jeremy Guthrie shared a sweet letter on Instagram thanking Royals fans for their support and love shown toward him and his family.

6. Fan fight

The Chiefs swept the Raiders this season, including a “Thursday Night Football” win at Arrowhead Stadium on Dec. 8. However ... fans didn’t get along in the stands.

Watch Chiefs and Raiders fans brawl in stands at Arrowhead Stadium 

5. Hosmer again?

As if losing to the Royals wasn’t enough, Mets manager Terry Collins had to watch Eric Hosmer and Salvador Perez hit home runs in the All-Star Game. Hosmer’s two-run run blast was the big hit and he was the MVP.

Collins was disgusted. After the game, he told Newsday: “I’m tired of seeing (expletive) Eric Hosmer getting a big hit. (Expletive) sick of it.”

4. Royals meet with Caleb Schwab’s family

The terribly sad story about the death of Scott and Michelle Schwab’s son on Schlitterbahn’s Verrückt water slide touched the Royals, who invited the family to spend some time with members of the team. Sam Mellinger shared the story of that special meeting.

3. The flying security guard

The Christmas Night game between the Chiefs and Broncos will be talked about for years to come. The biggest plays: Dontari Poe’s touchdown pass late in the game and the security guard’s takedown of a fan who ran on the field. The video of the tackle tickled fans everywhere.

Arrowhead Stadium security guard makes impressive tackle during Broncos-Chiefs game.  

2. Chiefs clock management

Down two touchdowns at New England late in the fourth quarter, the Chiefs took a loooooooong time to find the end zone. There didn’t seem to be any urgency, which upset just about everyone.

1. Pay it forward to Nana

Jesse Newell had this wonderful story from “Late Night in the Phog.” KU sophomore Jordan Stiers picked KU director of basketball operations Brennan Bechard to take a halfcourt shot. Make it and Stiers would win $10,000. Bechard drained the shot and Stiers said she was going to give the money to her paternal grandmother who rescued her from foster care at age 10.

“I was just thinking about my Nana and what I was going to do to help her,” Stiers said. “I’ve always thought about that one question: ‘If you win so much money, what are you going to do with it?’ And she’s helped me a lot in my life, so pay it forward.”

Pay it forward. That’s good advice for all of us in 2017.

Watch the half-court shot that won a KU student $10,000 

This story was originally published December 31, 2016 at 7:40 AM.