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It's not every day you get invited to sit in the Victory Suite at Sporting Park. So when eight-year-old Joseph -- a local soccer player diagnosed with leukemia in December -- was the Victory Suite's special guest last week for Sporting Kansas City's match against the Seattle Sounders, he made the most of his moment.
Check out Joseph showing off for the cameras during his pre-game recognition on the videoboard...
Visit VictoryKC.org for more information on The Victory Project, a new community-driven foundation to impact children with cancer in the Kansas City region. Follow @VictoryKC and @SportingCares on Twitter.
Sporting Kansas City defender Matt Besler joined The Border Patrol on Sports Radio 810 WHB this morning, chatting with show hosts Steven St. John, Nate Bukaty and Jake Gutierrez. The 15-minute segment touched on several topics, including the win in Houston last Sunday and Besler's eagerness to return to the lineup after missing the last three matches with a knee injury. Listen to the audio archive here.
Besler is also in the national discussion today as U.S. Men's National Team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann revealed his roster for the team's five upcoming matches. Besler and Zusi are two of five MLS field players on the list and SportingKC.com caught up with both players after today's Sporting KC training session to get their reaction:
Suds and summer with a splash of Sporting KC.
For the second straight year, Sporting Kansas City is proud to present the annual Summer Beer Festival, a tribute to craft beers and benefit for AIDS Walk Kansas City. The event will take place on Saturday, June 15th from 5-9 p.m. CT on Pennsylvania Avenue in front of McCoy’s in Westport.
Over 30 breweries from around the world will be highlighted during the event and all in attendance -- including Sporting Kansas City's Jimmy Nielsen, Benny Feilhaber and Seth Sinovic -- will receive a commemorative Sporting KC tasting glass, have the chance to sample more than 70 exclusive beers and enjoy the opportunity to mingle with the creators of the beers being poured. Visit BeerKC.com for a list of participating breweries.
Tickets for the Summer Beer Festival are $25 in advance and $30 at the door. Get them here and RSVP on Facebook!
Photo by Graham Green
Sporting KC midfielder Benny Feilhaber joined hosts Callum Williams and Andy Edwards on this week's edition of The Sporting KC Show on Sports Radio 810 WHB last night live from Em Chamas Brazilian Grill. The playmaker is second on the squad with three assists this season, one behind League leader Graham Zusi, and he shared his thoughts on the team's start to the 2013 season, the emergence of Peterson Joseph in the midfield and his U.S. Men's National Team hopes for the CONCACAF Gold Cup this summer. His 10-minute interview comes from 2:30-12:30 in the audio archive.
The show also spoke with D.C. United midfielder and Canadian international Kyle Porter. The 23-year-old has started each of D.C. United's last four games, pairing with fellow Canadian Dwayne De Rosario in the midfield, and he provided the view from the opposition's side ahead of Sporting Kansas City's trip to RFK Stadium on Sunday. That segment can be found from 30:45-36:30 in the podcast.
Or, of course, you can listen to the full show online at 810whb.com.
The Sporting KC Show will air on Sports Radio 810 WHB from 7-8 p.m. CT on Tuesday, live from Em Chamas Brazilian Grill (6101 NW 63rd Terrace, Kansas City, MO). Hosts Callum Williams and Andy Edwards will be joined by Sporting KC midfielder Benny Feilhaber to catch up listeners on all the latest discussion around Sporting Kansas City and Major League Soccer, including analysis from the team's 1-0 victory over the Houston Dynamo last night and thoughts on their next match at D.C. United on Sunday.
Earlier today, Callum was a guest on The Program with Soren Petro, while Andy Edwards joined Between the Lines with Kevin Kietzman later in the afternoon. Click the links for their full interviews and follow both hosts on Twitter at @AndyEdSKC and @CalWilliamsSKC. They'll take your questions on Tuesday night via Twitter or through the phone at 913-3-810-810.
Sunday's showdown between Sporting KC and the Houston Dynamo was the latest in a rivalry that continues to blossom and like any good grudge game, the contest came with no shortage of tough tackles. Referee Chris Penso whistled Sporting Kansas City for 25 fouls in the match, most by a team in MLS this season and second most in club history, but might there have been a method to the madness?
Mapping out each of the 25 fouls committed by Manager Peter Vermes' squad shows no set pieces were conceded closer than 35 yards from Jimmy Nielsen's net. The closest (shown below) came in the 25th minute when Brad Davis' left-footed free kick was saved by Nielsen at the near post.
In fact, Houston managed only two shots on goal through the game's first 90 minutes and both came from free kick opportunities. The Dynamo - historically a dangerous team on dead ball situations with Davis serving pin-point deliveries -- were stifled in the run of play and Sporting KC did well to limit the effectiveness of their restarts in large part by pushing the proximity of those free kicks further up the field.
Ironically, the foul-friendly approach is a tactic often used to stymie Sporting KC who lead all MLS teams in fouls suffered this season. Either way, the rivalry will write its next chapter in two weeks' time when Sporting Park hosts the rematch on May 26 live on national TV.
"When we play each other, it is always a battle," Vermes said. "These two teams are always battling each other. It’s every roll of the ball."
Graham Zusi joined Glenn Davis on Dynamo All-Access ahead of Sporting KC's trip to Houston for tonight's showdown between the Eastern Conference contenders. Hit play below to hear from the reigning MLS Player of the Week for his thoughts on renewing the rivalry...
Speaking of Zusi and the radio, MLSSoccer.com talked musical tastes and compiled a Spotify playlist with some of the National Teamer's favorites.
Need more noise? Jake Yadrich, color commentator for the Sporting KC Television Network, joined T.J. Carpenter on Sports Radio 810 WHB for a SportsNight segment on Thursday. Listen to the full interview online at 810whb.com.
Sports Radio 810 WHB will simulcast tonight's match with The Final Whistle: Sporting KC Postgame Show immediately afterward. Call 913-3-810-810 to join the discussion with hosts Dave Borchardt and Andy Edwards.
Sporting Kansas City Manager Peter Vermes joined The Border Patrol with Nate Bukaty and Steven St. John this morning on Sports Radio 810 WHB to discuss last night's match against the Seattle Sounders FC and the team's trip to Houston for Sunday's showdown with the Dynamo.
"With three games in eight days, we've got to get focused on Houston. But it was a tough one to swallow based on the fact that we gifted them the goal at the end there. A major blunder on our part defensively and it wasn't just from the throw-in. It was the play leading up to it, giving the ball away as we were attacking up the field -- just a big mistake on our part."
Given the quick turnaround, Vermes will put the team through training sessions on Friday and Saturday at the Sporting Club Training Center to prep for the trip to BBVA Compass Stadium.
"They're undefeated there -- it's not an easy place to play -- since they opened the place...They're actually on a bit of a roll at the moment. They're feeling it. They're a very confident team. So where it's going to be important for us, I truly believe that second balls in the game are going to be a big thing. They like to pump some balls forward and they like to win those second balls close to your box. And that's where they put you under pressure. The other is that they have two guys wide that have some good speed that are good in the counter. We're going to have to be alert to those two players."
Hear much more from Vermes -- including his thoughts on Graham Zusi's versatility, Matt Besler's injury and the Chiefs' Andy Reid -- in the full interview on 810whb.com.
It's an abundance of audio today. Earlier we posted about the Sporting KC Show and Kei Kamara on SiriusXM Sports, and now we've got more radio ready for your listening pleasure. Captain Jimmy Nielsen joined The Program with Soren Petro on Sports Radio 810 WHB while Aurelien Collin spoke with Jay Binkley and Henry Lake on The Day Shift on 610 Sports.
Collin and Nielsen were MLS All-Star and MLS Best XI selections in 2012 and have played every minute of every match for Sporting KC this season. See them in action tonight at Sporting Park as Sporting Kansas City hosts the Seattle Sounders FC at 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster.com or at the Sporting Park Box Offices.
Player of the Week times two for Sporting KC.
One day after Graham Zusi was recognized as MLS Player of the Week, Dom Dwyer was named USL PRO Player of the Week for Week 7. Dwyer -- one of four Sporting Kansas City players currently on loan to USL PRO affiliate Orlando City SC -- had a hat trick in Orlando City's 7-2 victory against Antigua Barracuda FC on Saturday to give him eight goals on the season, most in the league. Match highlights below...
The Lions are in first place in the 13-team USL PRO with a 5-1-1 record and a league-best 21 goals scored. They'll next face...the Seattle Sounders FC.
After Sporting Kansas City faces Seattle's first team tonight at Sporting Park, Orlando City SC will travel to the Pacific Northwest to take on the Sounders Reserves at 6 p.m. CT on Sunday. That match can be seen live on USLNation.com or follow @OrlandoCitySC for updates.