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Soccer surging in K.C. K A N S A S C I T Y , K AN . ( AP ) — Davy Arnaud remembers gazing into the stands at Arrowhead Stadium on a crisp March day and nearly being able to count the number of fans. The midfielder was playing for the Major League Soccer club in Kansas City against Costa Rican club Deportivo Saprissa. It was a quarterfinal of the CONCACAF Champions League, and Arnaud estimates there were about 400 people that day — which means nearly 80,000 empty seats were staring right back at him. “I’ve seen it in a lot different times, for sure,” Arnaud said with a smile. Fast forward six years, and Arnaud’s place on the team is about all that’s remained the same. The club has changed its name from the Kansas City Wizards to Sporting Kansas City, a rebranding this season designed to forge a new identity while emulating its European counterparts. The team practices in a plush facility in Kansas City, Mo., and its home games are played in Livestrong Sporting Park, a $200 million stadium on the Kansas side of the state line that opened last month to rave reviews. Just about every game at the soccer-specific stadium has been close to a sellout, a far cry from when their games were played at the home of the NFL’s Chiefs. Local television ratings are booming, sponsors are coming on board and the club is becoming a fixture on talk radio shows. “There’s no doubt in my
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started with the Phenom AAU program as a favor to his cousin, whose daughter’s team needed a coach. “At the end of the day, I think it’s basketball,” Nooner said. “Of course, athletically is the biggest difference — the athleticism and size of players. Girls players are getting taller, bigger and faster every day. Since I’ve been coaching, at tournaments I’ve seen girls dunk and all that kind of stuff. I think from boys to girls or women to men ... in my experience the women listen a little bit better, take instruction a little bit better as far as the people I’ve dealt with.” Nooner says he thinks he’ll be a good recruiter. He enjoyed being on the road for the first eight days of the July evaluation period — except for the fact he couldn’t speak with any of his former Missouri Phenom players in attendance in accordance with NCAA rules.
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routes and quick throws, as the KU coaching staff dialed up a game plan that suited Mecham’s strengths. In that game, it worked. For much of the rest of the season, below-average arm strength and lack of mobility limited Mecham’s effectiveness. With that in mind, the senior from Provo, Utah, hit the offseason determined to get bigger, stronger and faster. “Quinn has worked hard on his development, physically, and it’s improved,” Long said. “He had a much stronger arm in the spring, and I know he’s gonna continue to do that in the summer and into the fall. He was throwing the long ball a lot better.” Long also said Mecham’s mind — without question his biggest strength — began to process the game even faster than it already had. Though there has been talk of Mecham’s improvement, the result did not show up on the biggest stage of the offseason. Mecham completed six of 11 passes for 102 yards and a TD while being sacked four times during the spring game in April. Had it not been for an acrobatic catch between two defenders by Christian Matthews on a 53-yard TD,
Don Ryan/AP File Photo
SPORTING KANSAS CITY GOALKEEPER JIMMY NIELSEN, MIDDLE, celebrates with teammates Michael Harrington, left, and Matt Besler after beating the Portland Timbers, 2-1, in this file photo from July 2 in Portland, Ore. mind how far we’ve come just in the time I’ve been in the league,” said Arnaud, the club’s captain and elder statesman. “It’s pretty phenomenal when you look at it.” The success on the business front has translated to the pitch, where Sporting Kansas City is riding an 11match unbeaten streak against MLS teams. Omar Bravo and Matt Besler were recently selected as All-Stars, and Brazilian standout Jeferson arrived this week from Brazil as only the third designated player in club history. He’s expected to debut tonight when Sporting plays a friendly against Premier League club Newcastle United, which has embarked on a preseason tour of the United States.
“I feel very fortunate to be in Kansas City, where the infrastructure is laid out for you,” said Jeferson, who had offers to play for other clubs in other countries but chose Sporting in part because of the facilities. “Myself and many other players in Brazil don’t have that available to us.” After averaging 10,287 fans for 15 home dates last season, when games were played in the cramped confines of a nearby minor league baseball stadium, Sporting Kansas City has averaged 18, 107 through the first five games in its new digs. And for the first time since 2004 — and the second time ever — the club is averaging more fans for its home games than for those played on the road.
“I saw my old team play in Vegas. I saw them play in Nashville. I had to sit over there and watch as a college coach as opposed to being their coach,” Nooner said. “You can’t have any contact with the players. It was just looking. A lot of times it was tough, especially if they did stuff I wouldn’t have approved of.” SIU’s team went through a tough 2-28 season a year ago. Nooner sees better times ahead for the Missouri Valley school located in Carbondale, Ill. “We have a top-rated recruiting class coming in. We have one senior and one junior, six freshmen and six sophomores. We are young with a lot of new talent,” Nooner said. “I expect big things from our team. “I’m not used to losing like that. I’m used to losing two and winning the rest of the games,” he added with a laugh. “I’m expecting big things.” As to a timetable for his becoming a head coach, “I have no idea,” Nooner said. “I’ve not put a time on it. I’m
just going to get in here and work my butt off and go from there.”
Tribute Nooner spoke with former KU assistant coach Neil Dougherty the day Nooner was hired. Neil died July 5 while jogging in Indianapolis. “He gave me a good pep speech,” Nooner said. “I told him after getting the job I was kind of nervous — excited, but nervous. He let me know to not be nervous and work hard, that I’m ready and that kind of stuff. “It was tough,” Nooner said about Dougherty’s death, “just the type of man he was and the way we connected with him. He has the ability still after all this time to be part of our lives. He’s somebody we can call and talk to about anything. He’s there to help you out. To have that kind of relationship with somebody — especially me. It’s not like I was one of the stars of the team. For him to still be willing to help and give me advice even after I graduated in 2000 is a testament to what type of man he was.”
Mecham’s numbers would have been less impressive. Again, Long cautioned reading too much into Mecham’s performance during one scrimmage in April. “The thing with quarterbacks in the spring game is, they’re going in with all the players,” Long said. “They’re throwing and catching with all the guys, young and old, and everyone’s trying to kind of find their way. I don’t think Quinn really had a good spring game last year, but he ended up having the game of his life against Colorado. The thing about Quinn is, he just works through it. He’ll keep working until he gets it right.” That’s what gives Long confidence about putting the ball in Mecham’s hands, should that become necessary, during 2011. Mecham is battling with sophomore Jordan Webb and freshmen Michael Cummings and Brock Berglund for the right to be KU’s starter this fall. To this point, the competition has been mostly about individual improvement. Once preseason camp opens Aug. 3, Long expects things to heat up. “Once they get through the summer and get into training camp and work with the same receivers, it becomes a little different deal,” he said. “A lot can happen between the spring game and the regular season.”
Mangino kicks off camp Former KU coach Mark Mangino was one of the featured guests at an NFL High School Player Development Camp in Immokalee, Fla., earlier this week. Mangino, who spent eight seasons at Kansas, kicked off the camp Monday night with a speech that not only talked about the fundamentals of the game but also emphasized the importance of strong character. After resigning at the end of the 2009 season, Mangino, 54, and his wife, Mary Jane, moved to Naples, Fla., and have maintained a low profile. During the past 18 months, Mangino has dabbled in the football world via consulting. He’s been invited to several college campuses to talk offense and even spent time working with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In an interview with the Naples Daily News, Mangino told Adam Fisher that he would be interested in returning to football as a head coach as long as the situation was right, but added that he was in no hurry to do so. “Naples is a beautiful place,” Mangino told Fisher. “My wife and I couldn’t have picked a better spot to buy a place and just relax for a little bit. We really like it here. No matter what the future brings, I think we will always have a place here in Naples.”
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manager Ozzie Guillen stacked with right-handed hitters for the express purpose of facing the left-handed rookie. Duffy needed 64 pitches to get through the first three innings — and 30 total over the next four. He allowed five hits and two walks while striking out six, matching the longest start of his blossoming big league career. “This kid threw strikes. He was good,” Guillen said. “He threw the ball very well. He threw more strikes after the first inning and got more confidence. He’s got a good arm.” Greg Holland pitched a perfect eighth inning for Kansas City, and Joakim Soria worked around a single in the ninth for his 10th consecutive save and 17th of the season. Peavy wound up taking the loss in what was still an encouraging performance. The two-time All-Star had allowed 14 earned runs in 16 13 innings over his last three starts, two of them losses and one against Kansas City. Peavy had said he’s been slow to bounce back after surgery about a year ago to repair a torn muscle under his right shoulder, but his command seemed to return against a struggling Royals lineup that has failed to score more than four runs each of its last seven games. “Everything was a little bit more crisp,” Peavy said. “I didn’t have great stuff, but I had plenty enough stuff to compete. There’s a lot more positive out of this start than there has been the previous three.” Carlos Quentin and Alex Rios hit consecutive RBI singles in the first to stake Peavy to a 2-0 lead. His only blemish until the sixth inning came when Royals rookie Eric Hosmer singled in the second, Treanor hit a double and Escobar grounded out to drive home a run. Peavy set the Royals down in order in the fourth and fifth before finally cracking. Billy Butler singled with one out in the sixth and Jeff Francoeur doubled into the left-field corner to put runners on second and third. After a visit to the mound, Peavy intentionally walked Hosmer to load the bases for Treanor, who came through with a single up the middle to give Kansas City a 3-2 lead. Cabrera’s two-out homer in the seventh gave the bullpen a bit of breathing room.
BOX SCORE Chicago Kansas City ab r h bi ab r h bi Pierre lf 3 1 1 0 AGordn lf 4 0 1 0 AlRmrz ss 3 1 1 0 MeCarr cf 4 1 2 1 Konerk 1b 3 0 0 0 Butler dh 4 1 1 0 Quentin dh 4 0 1 1 Francr rf 4 1 1 0 Rios cf 4 0 2 1 Hosmer 1b 3 1 2 0 Lillirdg rf 3 0 0 0 Treanr c 4 0 2 2 Teahen ph 1 0 0 0 Mostks 3b 4 0 0 0 Bckhm 2b 4 0 1 0 AEscor ss 3 0 0 1 Flowrs c 3 0 0 0 Getz 2b 3 0 1 0 Przyns ph 1 0 0 0 Morel 3b 3 0 0 0 Totals 32 2 6 2 Totals 33 4 10 4 Chicago 200 000 000 — 2 Kansas City 010 002 10x — 4 E—Beckham (2), A.Escobar (12). DP—Kansas City 2. LOB—Chicago 6, Kansas City 6. 2B—Rios (15), Francoeur (22), Treanor (6). HR— Me.Cabrera (12). SB—Hosmer (4). CS— A.Gordon (6), Getz (6). IP H R ER BB SO Chicago Peavy L,4-4 6 7 3 3 1 5 Sale 1 2 1 1 0 0 Bruney 1 1 0 0 0 2 Kansas City Duffy W,2-4 7 5 2 2 2 6 G.Holland H,7 1 0 0 0 0 1 Soria S,17-22 1 1 0 0 0 0 HBP—by Duffy (Pierre). Umpires—Home, Dale Scott; First, Jerry Meals; Second, T—2:28. A—20,126 (37,903).
X Wednesday, July 20, 2011
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BRIEFLY Kansas’ Hudy named finalist for award
KSU golfer leads Kansas Amateur
Andrea Hudy, Kansas University’s assistant athletics director for sports performance, has been selected as one of five finalists for the 2011 Strength Performance College Coach’s Choice Award, the Strength Performance Network has announced. This year’s winner will be determined by online vote. Voting takes place now through Aug. 31 at www.strengthperformance.co m/pages/finalists.
LEAWOOD — Kansas State golfer Kyle Smell leads Kansas University’s Chris Gilbert and KU coach Kit Grove by three strokes after the first day of the Kansas Amateur Championships. Smell shot a first-day 65 Tuesday at Hallbrook Country Club, while Gilbert and Grove shot 68s on the par-72 course. Lawrence’s Tyler Cummins was another stroke back at 69. The second round of stroke play will be today.
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