The Kansas City Chiefs are in their final week of training camp in St. Joseph at Missouri Western State University and they wrapped up another practice Monday. Click the links below to listen to post-practice audio from coaches and players.
Offensive Coordinator Doug Pederson
Training Camp Report with “Voice of the Chiefs” Mitch Holthus
MIAMI (AP) — Giancarlo Stanton led the Miami Marlins to a victory with his bat and his glove.
Stanton hit two home runs and made a spectacular diving catch in right field to help the Marlins beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-5 on Monday night.
“He was definitely trying to take that game over not only with his bat, but with his glove,” Marlins manager Mike Redmond said.
Stanton’s 13th multihomer game established a franchise career record and he tied Hanley Ramirez for second place on the club’s home run list with 148. Stanton hit a two-run homer in the first and a solo shot in the third to give him 31 on the season and five in his last five games.
“Just feeling better and having better at-bats and pitch selection is a little better,” Stanton said of his recent surge.
Marlins starter Tom Koehler (8-9) allowed three runs and eight hits in five innings.
Steve Cishek escaped the ninth to record his 30th save in 33 chances. With two outs, Cishek allowed an RBI triple by Kolten Wong and an RBI single by Matt Holliday, allowing the Cardinals to pull within 6-5. Cishek struck out Matt Adams to end the game.
Jon Jay hit a two-run homer, Holliday had four hits, and Shelby Miller (8-9) allowed five runs in five innings for the Cardinals, who have lost three of four.
“We had plenty of hits, they just had bigger ones,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said.
Stanton’s diving catch to his left on the warning track took a hit away from Wong in the fifth inning.
“I was more trying to protect myself and slide on grass as opposed to dirt and make sure I secure it at the same time,” Stanton said.
The catch prompted the home crowd into giving him a standing ovation, with two homers already to his credit.
“That was really cool that they appreciate things like that,” Stanton said.
Koehler and the Marlins also benefited from key defensive plays by Jordany Valdespin, Christian Yelich, and Adeiny Hechavarria.
“I don’t think I’ve had that many top-notch plays in a course of a season, that was unbelievable,” Koehler said. “If you watch ‘SportsCenter’ tonight, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t have all 10 (top plays).”
The Cardinals were 2 for 11 with runners in scoring position.
The Marlins led 3-0 after Stanton’s homers, but the Cardinals tied it with three runs in the fourth.
“I made some pitches, but when it came down to the best hitter on their team I threw two of the worst pitches I’ve probably thrown all night,” Miller said.
Hechavarria and Yelich drove in runs in the bottom of the inning to put the Marlins up 5-3.
— Associated Press —
For the ninth-straight season, the Kansas men’s basketball team will make four appearances on ESPN’s Big Monday, as announced by the Big 12 Conference Tuesday.
KU’s first two ESPN Big Monday contests will be featured inside Allen Fieldhouse: Jan. 19 vs. Oklahoma and Feb. 2 vs. Iowa State. The Jayhawks will then hit the road for its final two matchups: Feb. 16 at West Virginia and Feb. 23 at Kansas State.
In the Big 12 era, Kansas and Oklahoma have faced each other on ESPN Big Monday eight times, while the Jayhawks have played Kansas State and Iowa State six times each. KU and West Virginia will be meeting for the second time on ESPN Big Monday.
Since the inception of the Big 12 in 1996-97, Kansas is 52-17 all-time on ESPN’s Big Monday (29-1 at home, 23-16 on the road), including 33-9 under head coach Bill Self. Additionally, KU has won 22-straight ESPN Big Monday games in Allen Fieldhouse, which includes an 18-0 mark under Self.
2015 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Schedule on ESPN’s Big Monday
Date – Game(s), Time (CT)
January 5 – Oklahoma at Texas (ESPN or ESPN2), 8 p.m. CT
January 19 – Oklahoma at KANSAS, 8 p.m. CT
January 26 – Texas at Iowa State, 8 p.m. CT
February 2 – Iowa State at KANSAS, 8 p.m. CT
February 9 – Iowa State at Oklahoma, 8 p.m. CT
February 16 – KANSAS at West Virginia, 8 p.m. CT
February 23 – KANSAS at Kansas State, 8 p.m. CT
March 2 – Baylor at Texas or Oklahoma at Iowa State, 8 p.m. CT
— KU Sports Information —
DAN GELSTON, AP Sports Writer
Kevin Ward Jr. died of blunt force trauma when he was hit by a car driven by NASCAR star Tony Stewart.
Ontario County Sheriff Philip Povero says the autopsy was completed Monday. The 20-year-old driver was competing in a dirt-track race in upstate New York.
Authorities questioned Stewart on Saturday night and went to Watkins Glen to talk to him again Sunday. Povero said Monday there were no plans “at this time” to talk to him again.
There is no timetable to complete the investigation.
Povero says there is nothing in the inquiry that supports criminal conduct or probable cause. He says there was no camera in Stewart’s car.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Alex Gordon is eager for another marketing gimmick.
Gordon and Salvador Perez homered, Danny Duffy pitched into the seventh inning and the Kansas City Royals beat the San Francisco Giants 7-4 Sunday for their seventh consecutive victory.
The Royals gave out 10,000 Gordon bobbleheads for the series finale against San Francisco. Gordon, who played his college ball at Nebraska, also homered on Husker Night on Saturday.
“We’ve got to think of a promotion for tomorrow to keep it going,” Gordon said.
The big weekend is part of a nice roll for Gordon, who is batting .350 (14 for 40) with three homers and seven RBIs in his last 11 games.
“Gordy is not swinging the bat well because it is Husker day or because it was bobblehead day,” Yost said. “Gordy is swinging the bat well because he is seeing the ball well and putting good swings on it.”
The Royals, who won 10 in a row in June, have put together two winning streaks of seven or more games this season for the first time since 1985, the last time they were in the playoffs.
They moved within one-half game of first-place Detroit in the AL Central. The Tigers lost 6-5 to the Toronto Blue Jays in 19 innings on Sunday.
Gordon hit a two-run shot off Tim Lincecum (9-8) in a four-run first. The inning also included Billy Butler’s run-producing double and Perez scoring on a wild pitch.
“He was all over the board,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said of Lincecum. “When he threw a strike or threw an off-speed pitch it was up. He regrouped, but it’s tough when you get down four runs.”
Perez homered off Juan Gutierrez with Nori Aoki aboard in a three-run fourth. Aoki reached base four times — two walks and two singles — and stole three bases.
Jarrod Dyson went 3 for 3 and also swiped a career-high three bases.
Duffy (7-10) allowed four runs and three hits in 6 2/3 innings in winning back-to-back starts for the first time this season. He walked two in the seventh and both scored on an Andrew Susac’s double.
“You are really comfortable on the mound,” Duffy said after the four-run first. “The offense just keeps doing their job. It’s been a lot of fun to watch.”
Lincecum, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, was roughed up for six runs and seven hits in 3 1/3 innings. Lincecum, who is winless since July 11, has a 10.59 ERA in his past four starts, giving up 20 runs and 28 hits in 17 innings.
“You just see how far you can go to give your team a chance to fight back and get in the game,” Lincecum said.
Wade Davis pitched a scoreless eighth and Greg Holland worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth while picking up his American League-leading 34th save in 36 opportunities.
— Associated Press —
BALTIMORE (AP) — Using their own brand of baseball, the St. Louis Cardinals showed power-hitting Baltimore they can score a bunch of runs, too.
Rookie Kolten Wong had four hits and scored twice, Peter Bourjos homered and St. Louis beat the Orioles 8-3 Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep.
After allowing nine home runs in losing the first two games of the series by a collective 22-5 score, the Cardinals amassed a season-high 17 hits — 14 of them singles.
St. Louis came into the game with 80 home runs compared to 147 for Baltimore, but the Cardinals’ style of little ball produced a big win.
“We walked in here today and that’s all the conversation was, we’ve got to win this, we’ve got to figure out a way to get this one,” manager Mike Matheny said. “We felt good about what our offense could do. The guys, they were taking good at-bats all day long. We got a couple big hits when we needed them; that’s usually the difference.”
Bourjos capped the barrage with a three-run drive in the ninth off Zach Britton, ending the left-hander’s run of 27 straight scoreless appearances at home.
The additional runs seemed to be unnecessary, but against the Orioles it’s hard to determine how much offense is enough.
“We saw what they can do the last couple nights and we had to keep pushing to keep pace with them and keep the lead,” third baseman Daniel Descalso said.
Wong’s four hits, all of them singles, matched a career high and lifted his batting average 11 points to .253.
St. Louis right-hander Lance Lynn (12-8) gave up three runs and nine hits over 5 2/3 innings, only the second time in his last 12 starts that he allowed more than two runs.
“They’ve got some guys that can hit the ball all the way up and down the lineup, and I knew that going in today it was going to be a grind,” Lynn said. “I was able to make enough pitches when I needed to and get out of some jams.”
Nick Markakis had four hits for the Orioles, who went 2 for 13 with runners in scoring position. Caleb Joseph’s streak of consecutive games with a home run ended at five, one short of the club record.
Orioles manager Buck Showalter was ejected after a replay overturned an out call on a force play in the top of the seventh. His first ejection of the season was automatic after he came out to argue the result of a replay.
Baltimore starter Kevin Gausman (6-4) allowed three runs and eight hits in five innings.
“I like that he didn’t let the game get away from him completely,” Showalter said. “A lot of borderline pitches. It wasn’t like he imploded.”
The AL East-leading Orioles next host the New York Yankees for a three-game series that begins Monday night. New York trails by six games.
“We don’t really look at it quite the way everybody else does,” Showalter said. “It’s significant because they’re one of the teams we’ve got to be better than when the smoke clears.”
St. Louis went up 4-2 in the sixth on an RBI single by Descalso, but Markakis matched that in the bottom half with a run-scoring single.
Successive doubles by Descalso and Matt Carpenter, off Andrew Miller in the eighth, made it 5-3.
Bourjos wrapped it up with his home run. He entered as a pinch runner in the seventh.
— Associated Press —
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Darren Mattocks scored for the fourth time in the last five games to help the Vancouver Whitecaps beat Sporting Kansas City 2-0 on Sunday night.
Vancouver (7-4-11) also took advantage of an own goal by Sporting defender Igor Juliao to hand Kansas City (11-6-6) its first loss in Major League Soccer play since May 31.
The Whitecaps took the lead in the 17th minute when Juliao and Kansas City goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum got their signals crossed after Vancouver’s Pedro Morales lofted a long ball towards goal. Juliao tried to head a pass back toward Gruenebaum, but it dribbled over the line.
Vancouver doubled the advantage in the 30th minute when Morales and Mattocks pounced on a Kansas City turnover in midfield and broke back the other way. Morales drew a defender towards him before squaring the ball to Mattocks, who made no mistake in slotting a low shot past a helpless Gruenebaum for his sixth of the season.
— Associated Press —
Despite rain in St. Joseph, the Chiefs practiced outside on Sunday.
HEAD COACH ANDY REID
OPENING STATEMENT: “There is nothing necessarily new on the injury front. Damond Smith had an abductor strain, and (Mike) DeVito, (Kyle) Love, (Kona) Schwenke, (Ryan) Succop, you know the deal there. Good work today, glad we were able to get outside. The weather cooperated a bit with us. Good challenging throughout – offense and defense – it was all 1’s working together, 2’s working with 2’s and the 3’s with the 3’s. They competed, they challenged each other. I know you want to know a little bit about the corner situation. What we’re doing is we’re rolling the three guys in there so (Sean) Smith is in with the 1’s and he is rolling with the 1’s, and they’re really getting equal opportunity. It’s great competition right now. Smith is coming off a good game, he is playing good football right now so it’s important that we’ve got three or four of those guys. If we can get a fifth one that is even better that we feel can jump in and compete for us.”
Q: Can you talk about the movement next to Derrick Johnson at inside linebacker?
REID: “Joe Mays, he’s the guy in base. JMJ (James-Michael Johnson) you see in there in nickel, and (Josh) Mauga. They are all kind of in there and doing their things. Nico (Johnson) is getting better every day, which is fun to watch so good competition in there too.”
Q: Are you okay seeing Derrick Johnson hitting Jamaal Charles in practice?
REID: “They’ve got this Texas thing. You’ve got to look at the positive: Jamaal got up and his head was good and everything else so I’m good with it. That is going to happen out here. That is going to happen, I got it. You saw one with the offensive line, one of the offensive lineman hit a linebacker and then hit him again. You’ve got to be smart. It’s part of the game and things are going to happen.”
Q: I know you’re surveying back there. Are you kind of like ‘just get up’? What are you thinking when you see it?
REID: “Well, I mean, you see a lot of those in football. You just keep going. They’re competing. It’s a Texas thing.”
Q: You’ve talked about a fifth corner. Do you see anyone stepping up right now?
REID: “You see (DeMarcus) Van Dyke is playing good football. Gaines is playing good football. I mean these guys are getting better every day. Again, that’s a good thing and they’re getting a lot of reps which is important right now against good players. I’m curious to see how they carry it over as they continue to get reps in games and how they do there.”
Q: Do you plan on replacing Steve Gregory?
REID: “John (Dorsey) and his crew are looking at that right now.”
Q: Brad Childress seems to be doing a lot of work with De’Anthony Thomas running routes. How is that going?
REID: “That was Brad’s title to work with those guys, and I’m not going to say De’Anthony is a hybrid, he does a lot of different things. He did it in college at Oregon, and he’s still doing it here. Brad works with him, David (Culley) works with him a little bit and EB (Eric Bieniemy) works with him probably more than anybody. The kid’s got a lot of plays, and he’s handling it very well.”
Q: Is that something you spent a lot of time on then?
REID: “Not too much. I guess when I first started off I did. As I’ve gone on, I’ve got a pretty good feel on the quarters I want them to play and what they need and collectively as a group.”
Q: You’ve seen a lot of football, how good is Jamaal Charles as a blocker at the running back position?
REID: “He’s good, he works at it. A lot of those guys don’t work at it. He wants to do everything the best, that’s a part that you love about him as a football player. He spends a tremendous amount of time doing it. You see how EB (Eric Bieniemy) works these guys, and it’s not just on carrying the football, it’s route running, it’s blocking in the run game, it’s blocking in the pass game. They’ve got to do all of it.”
Q: As far as the quarterback situation, I know you’re still a week away from your next game, but its looks like you’re intending to play Tyler Bray a little more.
REID: “Yeah, I’m not exactly sure. I haven’t gotten to that point. I’ll get that here later in the week. I’ll make that decision as we go here.”
Q: It looks like Ricky Henry has climbed up the guard charts there because he’s getting some snaps with the ones, what do you like about him?
REID: “He’s a tough kid, I’m not telling you it’s all pretty. He looks like Larry the Cable Guy and plays like Larry the Cable Guy. He’s kind of a dirt bag type guy, he gets in there and he’s rough and tough and scrappy and all of that so that’s how he’s playing right now.”
Q: Is he as funny as Larry the Cable Guy?
REID: “I don’t think he’s as funny. I haven’t heard him say a word. He just does his job.”
LB JOE MAYS
Q: How are you doing?
MAYS: “I’m good, I feel good. I mean, as good as I’m going to get, it’s training camp.”
Q: Is it hard at this point to not peek around the corner and see the end coming?
MAYS: “No, there’s too much work to get done out here. There’s a couple days left, and I notice that. But at the same time, you can’t look ahead that many days because there is so much work to put in one day. We are out here for three hours and we have a ton of stuff we install. So, it’s a lot of work to do.”
Q: So, it’s not like the end of the tunnel because there might be a train at the end if you don’t keep your mind on your job. There’s a lot of stuff you guys have put in and more than ever it seems the linebackers. They’ve decided that you guys are the best part of their defense because you’ve got a bunch of different packages now. Is it sometimes hard to keep them all straight?
MAYS: “You know what, it does get difficult at times. With me being the new guy, I try to know as much as I can, try to know every single defense and what everybody is doing. Yeah, it can get difficult and my mind can get scrabbles a little bit. But that is part of being a pro, going back in and getting your playbook. Making sure you ask the right questions, so when you’re out here on the field you’re always on the same page as your coaches and your teammates.”
Q: What do you think of the guys up front, guys like Dontari Poe?
MAYS: “Awesome, there aren’t that many guys in the NFL that are that big and can move the way he can move. He’s one part of the piece, one big part of the piece. We’ve got Tamba (Hali), (Justin) Houston and I have my man DJ (Derrick Johnson) playing right next to me. So it’s awesome to not only play in the scheme that we are playing in but to have the guys that I’m playing with. It doesn’t get any better than that.”
The Home for the Chiefs in Central Kansas is 99KG and KINA!
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (AP) — A spokesman for Tony Stewart calls the death of a fellow driver he struck and killed at an upstate New York dirt track a “tragic accident.”
The three-time NASCAR champion hit Kevin Ward Jr. on Saturday night as Ward walked toward Stewart’s car following an on-track incident at Canandaigua Motorsports Park.
In a statement released Sunday morning, a representative for Stewart says, “our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.” The statement says Stewart’s team is still trying to sort through the details of the accident.
Stewart did not race Sunday in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen.
12:40 p.m. UPDATE WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (AP) — Tony Stewart says “there aren’t words” to describe his sadness over the accident that killed Kevin Ward Jr.
In a statement released by spokesman Mike Arning, Stewart says “my thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and everyone affected by this tragedy.”
The three-time NASCAR champion hit Kevin Ward Jr. on Saturday night as Ward walked toward Stewart’s car following an on-track incident at Canandaigua Motorsports Park.
Stewart says “It’s a very emotional time for all involved, and it is the reason I’ve decided not to participate in today’s race at Watkins Glen.”
The decision was an about-face for his racing team, which said earlier Sunday that Stewart would be behind the wheel of his No. 14 Chevrolet when the green flag waved. Regan Smith drove Stewart’s car instead.
——————–
UPDATE 9:23 a.m. WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (AP) — Tony Stewart will not race Sunday following the death of a sprint car driver who was struck and killed by Stewart at an upstate New York dirt track.
Greg Zipadelli, competition director for Stewart-Haas Racing, said the three-time NASCAR champion “feels strongly” he should not race at Watkins Glen following Kevin Ward Jr.’s fatal accident.
Regan Smith will replace Stewart in the car.
Ward had climbed from his car on the darkened dirt track and was trying to confront Stewart when he was struck Saturday night.
———–
CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. (AP) — A manager for NASCAR driver Tony Stewart’s racing team says Stewart will race in an event Sunday in upstate New York.The decision comes hours after Stewart struck and killed a driver who was walking on a dirt track during a race on Saturday night.
A video of the crash at Canandaigua Motorsports Park showed driver Kevin Ward Jr. stepping toward Stewart’s car before being hit and hurtled 50 feet. It appeared Ward was trying to confront Stewart when he was struck.
Team manager Greg Zipadelli says Stewart will race in NASCAR’s event Sunday at Watkins Glen, calling the race “business as usual.”
—–
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (AP) — A spokesman for Tony Stewart calls the death of a fellow driver he struck and killed at an upstate New York dirt track a “tragic accident.”
The three-time NASCAR champion hit Kevin Ward Jr. on Saturday night as Ward walked toward Stewart’s car following an on-track incident at Canandaigua Motorsports Park.
In a statement released Sunday morning, a representative for Stewart says, “our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.” The statement says Stewart’s team is still trying to sort through the details of the accident.
Stewart is scheduled to race later Sunday in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen.
