The Missouri Department of Transportation dedicated the bridge on East Stadium Drive crossing over Interstate 435 in Jackson County as the “Len Dawson Bridge” in honor of the Super Bowl winning, Hall of Fame quarterback. This ceremony will officially honor Dawson’s bridge dedication. The dedication will take place on Friday, September 26, 2014 at 10:00 a.m.
In 1962 Dawson joined the Dallas Texans, who became the Kansas City Chiefs the next year, and led the franchise to its first AFL Championship in a double overtime victory over the Houston Oilers. Under his guidance, the Chiefs were perennial contenders and won the AFL Championship in 1962, 1966 and 1969. Dawson was the MVP of Super Bowl IV when he directed Kansas City to a 23-7 victory over the heavily-favored Minnesota Vikings.
Dawson was selected to play in six AFL All-Star games and the 1972 AFC-NFC Pro Bowl. An All-AFL selection in both 1962 and 1966, he was named the AFL Player of the Year in 1962. During his career, he completed 2,136 of 3,741 passes for 28,711 yards and 239 touchdowns. He also rushed for 1,293 yards before retiring after the 1975 season.
Dawson’s storied playing career was preserved by Kansas City in 1979 when he was inducted into the Chiefs Hall of Fame. In 1987, his legacy was then immortalized with his enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
After his playing career, Dawson became a nationally known sportscaster. He was a host of the groundbreaking show “Inside the NFL” on HBO during 1978-2001; a game analyst for NBC for several years; served as sports director at KMBC-TV (Channel 9), starting in his playing days from 1966 to 2011; and has been the analyst for Chiefs radio broadcasts since 1984.
In 2012, Dawson was awarded the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Pete Rozelle Award for Radio-Television, joining Dan Dierdorf and Frank Gifford as the only individuals in the Hall of Fame as both players and broadcasters.
This memorial designation became effective August 28th, 2014.
TOPEKA, Kan. — The 2015 KSHSAA State Baseball and Softball Tournaments will return to Pratt and Great Bend for the 2-1A tournaments while 6A softball heads to newly-constructed Rock Chalk Park. All tournaments are scheduled forMay 28th and 29th, 2015.
The softball field at Rock Chalk Park will be open for play this season for the Kansas Jayhawk softball team and will now host the 6A state softball tournament this spring. “Blue Valley West did a great job hosting the 6A softball tournament the last few years and the KSHSAA is grateful for their work managing the two-day tournament,” said KSHSAA Assistant Executive Director, Francine Martin. “We are excited about the opportunity to host the 6A tournament now at the state-of-the-art facility, Rock Chalk Park.”
Having the 6A softball tournament in Lawrence will mirror the 6A baseball tournament being hosted at Hoglund Stadium on the University of Kansas campus.
The 2-1A baseball and softball tournaments will have a little different feel this year with baseball being hosted in Great Bend and softball in Pratt. Both communities held tournaments in 2014; Pratt hosted 4A DII baseball and softball while Great Bend hosted the 2-1A tournaments.
The 5A baseball and softball tournaments will go back to Wichita after having a year in Manhattan. Wichita State’s Eck Stadium will host the baseball tournament and Two Rivers Youth Complex gears up for the softball slate of competition.
As mentioned, Manhattan, who has a terrific host for a number of KSHSAA events, brought in class 5A in 2014 but will switch back to hosting class 3A for baseball and softball.
Topeka will play host to a second consecutive year of baseball and softball tournaments with class 4A DII coming to the state’s capitol at the Topeka USD 501 Hummer Sports Complex.
For the 20th consecutive year, Salina will host a state baseball and softball tournament. Class 4A DI returns to Dean Evans Stadium and Bill Burke Complex for the second year.
Baseball 6A – Lawrence, KU, Hoglund Stadium
5A – Wichita, WSU, Eck Stadium
4A DI – Salina, Dean Evans Stadium
4A DII – Topeka, Hummer Sports Complex
3A – Manhattan, KSU, Tointon Family Stadium
2-1A – Great Bend, Great Bend Sports Complex
Softball 6A – Lawrence, Rock Chalk Park
5A – Wichita, Two Rivers Youth Complex
4A DI – Salina, Bill Burke Complex
4A DII – Topeka, Hummer Sports Complex
3A – Manhattan, Twin Oaks Complex
2-1A – Pratt, Green Sports Complex
CLEVELAND (AP) — They’re alive, barely, but it beats the alternative. The Indians’ playoff hopes are fragile, and they’re doing all they can to keep them from shattering.
Yan Gomes hit a three-run homer, Michael Brantley got three more hits and Cleveland stayed in the AL wild-card chase for at least one more day with a 6-4 win over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night.
A loss would have eliminated the Indians, but after blowing a 3-0 lead, they rallied and moved within 3 1/2 games of Kansas City and Oakland in the wild-card standings. There are four days left in the regular season.
“We said all year long as long as we have life, we’re going to keep battling and that’s exactly what we did tonight,” outfielder David Murphy said. “We’ve had some good moments. We’ve had some bad moments this season, but hopefully we’re going to be going into the last series of the season still alive.”
The Royals, who haven’t made the playoffs since 1985, fell two games behind first-place Detroit in the AL Central.
Zach McAllister (4-7) pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings and Cody Allen worked the ninth for his 23rd save as the Indians kept their season relevant.
They’re off on Thursday, but the Indians will closely monitor Kansas City’s game in Chicago and Oakland’s visit to Texas.
“It has all to do whether or not we have life coming into Friday,” Murphy said, “so regardless we’re going to come ready to play, but hopefully we’re going to be playing for something.”
Brantley has hit safely in 15 straight games and needs one more hit to be the first Indians player with 200 in a season since Kenny Lofton in 1996.
The Indians took the lead in the fifth off rookie Brandon Finnegan (0-1) on Carlos Santana’s RBI groundout. Cleveland added a run in the sixth on Murphy’s pinch sacrifice fly.
Cleveland entered the unusual series — the teams completed a suspended game on Monday — 3 1/2 games behind the Royals and the Indians ended in the same place. Unfortunately for them, they wasted a chance to pull closer and now have to win their final three games and hope for help from other teams to play in the postseason.
Billy Butler had three RBIs for Kansas City, which can lock up one of the two wild cards by winning one of four games in Chicago against the White Sox starting Thursday.
“I know things are close, we’re close,” Butler said. “We’ve got four games left. If we could do it right now, we’d be in a playoff spot. You can’t help but realize that it’s right around the corner, but you have to keep grinding and keep your head down.”
Their flimsy playoff hopes fading, the Indians scored twice in the fifth to take a 5-4 lead.
Jason Vargas hit Michael Bourn with a pitch to open the inning and Royals manager Ned Yost pulled the left-hander, who has just one win in his last seven starts.
Jose Ramirez doubled off the wall and the speedy Bourn, waved around by third-base coach Mike Sarbaugh, scored the tying run on a headfirst dive into the plate, reaching in with his left hand to avoid catcher Salvador Perez’s tag.
“When you see a guy dive into home like that you realize nobody’s playing out the string,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “He was pretty fired up.”
Gomes’ two-out shot, his 21st homer, to straightaway center gave the Indians a 3-0 lead in the first.
WALK THIS WAY
Santana walked three times, giving him 112 this season, the sixth most in club history. Santana has walked more than any major league switch-hitter since Lance Berkman (127) for Houston in 2002.
NO RELIEF
Indians reliever Bryan Shaw tied the club record with his 79th appearance, matching the mark set by Bobby Howry in 2005.
K KINGS
Cleveland’s pitchers have combined for 1,419 strikeouts, nine shy of the major league record set by Detroit in 2013.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Indians: Nick Swisher rejoined his teammates after undergoing surgery on both knees last month. Swisher tried to play through pain for several months before deciding to have his knees “cleaned out.” He expects to be ready for the start of spring training.
UP NEXT
Royals: RHP James Shields (14-8) makes his team-leading 34th start as Kansas City tries to clinch a playoff spot in Chicago. Shields is 20-5 with a 2.48 ERA on the road since the start of 2013.
Indians: The Indians end a stretch of 30 games in 30 days with their final off day of 2014. They open a three-game series vs. Tampa Bay on Friday as Corey Kluber (17-9) tries to strengthen his case for the Cy Young.
CHICAGO (AP) — Preparing for the final weekend of the regular season, the St. Louis Cardinals hoped to easily move past the non-contending Chicago Cubs.
Instead, they ran into Chicago’s buzzsaw — Jake Arrieta.
Arrieta (10-5), coming off a one-hit shutout against Cincinnati last week, limited St. Louis to two hits and an unearned run while striking out 10 in seven innings, leading the Cubs to a 3-1 victory.
“He’s got swing-and-miss stuff in the strike zone and he’s got the ability to get it out of the strike zone as well, and that makes him tough,” Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter said. “Anytime you got a guy with that type of electric stuff, you kind of feel like you’re on defense up there. Anytime he gets ahead of you, you’re in a bad spot.”
Arrieta outdueled St. Louis’ John Lackey (3-3), both on the mound and at the plate. After Lackey intentionally walked Logan Watkins in the fourth inning, Arrieta hit a two-run triple — the first triple of his career and the first by a Cubs pitcher since 2012. The Cubs never surrendered the lead.
“It’s amazing that that at-bat is the one that does it,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said.
Lackey gave up two runs and five hits in 6 2/3 innings. He struck out eight, his most since joining the Cardinals at the trade deadline.
The Cardinals, who clinched a playoff berth earlier in the week, remained 1 1/2 games ahead of Pittsburgh in the NL Central. The Pirates lost at Atlanta, reducing St. Louis’ magic number to three for clinching the division title.
“I’m tired of looking up there and waiting for somebody else to help us,” Matheny said following the game. “Nobody’s helped us all season long. Why are they going to start now?”
The Cardinals’ loss assured NL East champion Washington will open a division series at home.
The Cardinals were held without a hit through four innings but managed two singles in the fifth. Yadier Molina came in to score on Welington Castillo’s throwing error, cutting the Cubs lead to 2-1.
Molina has hit safely in seven consecutive games and 12 of his past 14.
Chris Valaika had a pinch-hit RBI single in the eighth to extend the Cubs lead to 3-1.
The Cardinals mounted a two-out rally in the ninth, but Hector Rondon worked out of the jam for his 13th consecutive save and his 27th in 31 opportunities this season.
After the game, Arrieta took pride in playing the role of spoiler.
“To pitch well against them, at this time of the season with the implications on the game that are there, it’s meaningful,” Arrieta said. “It’s just another positive thing to use moving forward into the offseason.”
Arrieta has allowed two or fewer runs in 19 of 25 starts this season.
TRAINING ROOM
Cubs: SS Starlin Castro will miss the remainder of the season, according to manager Rick Renteria. Castro injured his left ankle sliding into home against the Milwaukee Brewers on Sept. 2.
Cardinals: OF Jon Jay missed Wednesday’s game due to a personal matter. He will rejoin the team on Friday in Arizona.
UP NEXT
Cubs: LHP Eric Jokisch (0-0, 1.74) will make his first career start on Friday when the Cubs open a three-game set at Milwaukee.
Cardinals: RHP Michael Wacha (5-6, 3.18), who missed approximated three months earlier this season with a stress reaction in his throwing shoulder, starts for the Cardinals on Friday against Arizona.
WRIGLEY FACELIFT
Now that the Cubs’ regular-season schedule is over, improvements and renovations at the 100-year-old ballpark — including constructing a large video scoreboard in left field — are expected to begin soon. The scoreboard and other outfield signs are expected to be in place by the start of next season, but the new home clubhouse isn’t slated to be completed until 2016.
Photo by Jeff and Laura Jacobson / Kansas Athletics
Kansas senior Jimmay Mundine was named the John Mackey Tight End of the Week Wednesday morning, it was announced by The John Mackey Award.
A senior from Denison, Texas, Mundine recorded six receptions for 67 yards (both career-highs), leading the Jayhawks in receptions in their 24-10 win over Central Michigan. Mundine was one of 40 tight ends named to the 2014 Mackey Preseason Watch List in July.
Honorable mentions for this week’s John Mackey Tight End of the Week include Nick O’Leary of Florida State and Clive Walford of Miami.
The 2014 John Mackey recipient will be announced on December 10, 2014 and presented live on December 11, 2014 at The Home Depot College Football Awards Red Carpet Show on ESPNU. Other key dates include the announcement of the Midseason Watch List on October 13, 2014, the Mackey Semi-finalists on November 17, 2014 and the Mackey Finalists on November 24, 2014.
The John Mackey Tight End of the Week is an honor distinct and different from the annual John Mackey Award. This weekly honor was started in 2004 to draw attention to individual play by Tight Ends during the active season. The Tight End of the Week acknowledgment does not have a direct bearing on the final John Mackey Award selection process.
The John Mackey Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA) which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. The 21 awards boast 678 years of tradition-selection excellence.
Mundine and his Kansas teammates host Texas in the annual Homecoming game, which doubles as their first Big 12 contest of the 2014 season, Saturday, Sept. 27. Game time is slated for 3 p.m.
CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. (AP) — A grand jury has decided against charging NASCAR star Tony Stewart in the August death of another driver at a sprint car race in upstate New York.
The decision was announced Wednesday, nearly seven weeks after Stewart’s car struck and killed Kevin Ward Jr. at a dirt-track race on Aug. 9 in Canandaigua (can-uhn-DAY’-gwah).
Ward had climbed from his car after it had spun while racing alongside Stewart. The 20-year-old walked down the track, waving his arms in an apparent attempt to confront the three-time NASCAR champion.
The front of Stewart’s car appeared to clear Ward, but Ward was struck by the right rear tire and hurtled through the air. He died of blunt force trauma. Stewart skipped three races following what he called a tragic accident.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The NFL players’ union has hired former federal prosecutor Richard Craig Smith to oversee its investigation into the Ray Rice domestic violence case.
Smith will look at how the league and the Baltimore Ravens handled issues of due process and discipline, as well as look at the conduct of the league office and the Ravens that led to the indefinite suspension Commissioner Roger Goodell gave to Ray Rice.
The Ravens also cut Rice after video of him punching his then-fiancee in a hotel elevator went public. Originally, Goodell had given Rice a two-game suspension.
Rice and the NFL Players Association have appealed his suspension.
A former federal prosecutor, Smith is the head of regulatory and governmental investigation for the law firm Norton Rose Fulbright.
The union said in a statement Wednesday it “will request that the NFL and the Baltimore Ravens cooperate in the interest of transparency.”
MANHATTAN, Kan.- Kansas State basketball player Thomas Gipson III has pleaded no contest, and been found guilty in
Geary County on an amended misdemeanor charge of No Driver’s License in Possession.
That information was obtained through a check with Assistant County Attorney Lloyd Graham, who confirmed Gipson paid a $100 fine and $108 in court costs.
Gipson was initially arrested in Geary County in August near the U.S. Highway 77 – Interstate 70 intersection on suspicion of Driving While His Driver’s License was revoked. There was an accompanying speeding allegation. Graham confirmed the speeding count was also dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
Gipson, who is from Texas, had his driver’s license reinstated there.
The Missouri Western volleyball team moved to 9-3 overall and 3-1 in MIAA play Tuesday night with a five-set victory over Northwest Missouri State, 20-25, 25-18, 20-25, 25-16, 15-11. It was the team’s third straight MIAA win.
The Griffons trailed by as many as four points in the fifth set, but rallied back on a 10-2 run to take the match. Trailing 9-5 in the fifth set, a service error by Northwest, then a kill by Amanda Boender turned momentum for the Griffons.
It was Boender’s turn to lead the Griffon offense, racking up 14 kills on the night. Boender hit .387 and added eight block assists and two digs. Erica Rogginghaus had 13 kills and Kelsey Olion finished with 11 kills, nine digs and four block assists.
Sarah Faubel had 12 digs to move within 36 of the MWSU career record. Jordan Chohon added 11 digs and led the team with 51 assists. Lindsey Partridge continued her upward swing with eight kills, including the clincher, and five block assists.
Missouri Western continues the road trip Friday at Missouri Southern before taking on Central Oklahoma on Saturday.
CITY
