FiredUp Network
Thursday, August 1:Timeout KC
(upbeat music) - Welcome in to Time Out Kansas City here on the Fired Up Network. We're gonna go through what's been an active week in Kansas City sports, plenty of stories breaking. And the Royals making some news, just right out of the blocks today as we ran right up to the trade deadline. You're watching us on the Fired Up Network. The best way to get it is on that true TV plus app. You can also see us on sports.tv. Arbon TV as well. So exposure all around the country. Today we're joined by Carson Flake from IONU Media. Carson, thanks for stepping in here. - Thank you for having me Gerald. I'm happy to be back. - Yeah, absolutely. Glad to have you back on. And then frequent contributor, the playmaker himself, Chris Stimpson, coming on to Time Out Kansas City when he needs that sports cranny, passed up a chance to go see future and Metro Boomin' with this. I do imagine, thank you. I think I would have gotten to see future and Metro Boomin' overseeing myself, but. - Oh, no, no, no, man. The party's right here, man. The party's right here tonight. That's where it's at. Although I've seen future a couple of times. I think I can miss out on this window. But shout out to everybody down here. - Yeah. - And I could tell Carson was saying they not like us. - Oh, okay. - He just hasn't gone there. So you couldn't hear. - He's like that. (laughing) - Well, hey, let's go ahead and start out with the royals. Absolutely an amazing game yesterday, right? Bobby Wood Jr. has been just incredible coming out of the All-Star break. And he did something that really, I don't think anyone with the royals has done since George Bratt. A grand slam game winning home run on the first pitch. The royals keep the White Sox losing and the White Sox 14th loss in a row. And just a dramatic way to beat a bad team. They did it with six runs in the inning. A home run from Hunter Renfrok. A home run from MJ Melendez back from injury. Kind of getting it turned on. We're maybe seeing the MJ we saw the end of last year. Then a great at bat by Adam Fraser to get on base. Michael Massey, another great at bat. And that gave Bobby Wood Jr. the chance to come on and be a superhero. And that's what he did. Are we seeing a Mahomesian season from Bobby Wood Jr. Is he following in the mald of the other great junior in Kansas City and the second year is when he lights it up. I think so. I don't know how Carson feels, but he is. 100% 100%. Yeah, yeah. He's already, he might already be top five right now in the league. That's crazy to say. Yeah. Yeah. I saw this insane stat yesterday. In his last 88 at bats, he's gone 44 for 88, which is nuts. So that grand slam is just, you know, the proof of how good he is. No one's looking that deep into the stats. They only see the grand slam, but on top of doing things like that, this guy's consistent. And one thing that I think is very interesting is I've heard a lot after the home run derby, players sometimes fall into slumps because they kind of trained their swing to hit home runs. I think he's almost gotten better. He's gone on the up since the home run derby, which is just awesome. Like, that's just insane to me. So I thought that was pretty cool, so. Yeah. Yeah. And we're talking about the grand slam, but we need to also talk about those two defensive plays he made in that same inning to actually seal the win. Like to see those two throws. I think I tweeted out. I was like, Bobby is having his way today out there. So yeah, yeah, it's great to see that, that great at bat that you mentioned Adam Fraser, I think it was like 10, 11 pitches that he was battling with and then just got on base, man. So it's just a testament to not only one that he's got that win in mentality already. And two that start to become contagious within that whole team. So and that's one of those games where you see, we seen that before they down like five or two or whatnot. And you're like, turn it off. It's over about to get blown out and call it a day. But no, we keep the game on now because the players like Bobby with the CMJ who's back on that second half MJ is where we're going to start calling them now. And so about that second half, he just starts coming through and starts hitting and doing what he do. So yeah, that's great. And you mentioned a couple of trades that they made today, they're making that push. And that's all I want to see is them competing and making that push for the playoffs. And we're getting that this year. But all thanks to Bobby Witt. So that's a great, great thing that you said that you're open. Yeah, he's hitting 440 for the months of July. There's only three players in major league history to have ever done that. Todd Helton, back with the Rockies before they modified the baseball so it doesn't fly out of there. And it was like 20 some years ago. And then the other two guys, they were pretty good players. Luke Garrick and Rogers Hornsby. Wow. I mean, that's-- And all three Hall of Fame is company. All three Hall of Bavers, yeah. I mean, 440 for the month. And he's already got-- I believe he's already got to hit. So I mean, he's going to hold on to that. It's absolutely incredible. And then I think you're seeing those contributions from the other guys, Adam Frazier, when they signed him. They said the guy's a winner. He's a professional player. He is a leader. I mean, the game on Friday night, Adam Frazier, had a great at bat and blooped ahead in that drove in too. So he's been making those contributions, despite the stats not being there. He is a winning player. The guy makes winning plays and is just a contributor. And Hunter Renfro has been incredible. I mean, I think we're seeing the potential upside that they were hoping that they could get when they signed him. But probably not really thinking he'd do. He's been playing at an amazing clip over really the last month or so. Yeah, what do they say? He's finally living up to the back of his baseball card. Is that what they say? Usually when you look to what your stats are, he's doing that now lately. So that's definitely good. Because for a minute there, I thought it was a bus at the beginning of the year for how he was hitting. He started defensive and all that. But the hitting wasn't matching up. But now he's starting to rake as well, which is needed. Which is needed because the lineup we think can be deep. But you know, I could be hit or miss sometimes, besides what Bobby and Salvi is doing. So it's good to see him stepping up. It's good to see MJ back and doing this thing. Garcia, I've been seeing him doing a little bit of thing as well. So it's good to see Royles clicking at this time. Especially during some of these sub-games they've been going through. They went through a tough bit these last couple of weeks, even though they still had a positive homestand. But yeah, it's good to see them, like you say, picking up those wins and making that push for that wild card spot. I think that the best out about the whole thing. Sorry, go ahead. No, you're fine. Right now they're in wild card position. Wow. Well, I think the best part of the whole thing is the team dynamic. I feel like the last couple of years, it's really, really hard to watch the team. Even if they're doing, you know, they have their own couple of weeks and they start winning some games, you're still just like, it's just not fun. This team's out there and they've all got smiles on their face, they're all having a good time. And then you got dudes standing up for each other, like Salvi last week when they threw at Bobby Whit. It's like, this team is a family. And I think that's something that, you know, started with just Kansas City sports in general. And now it's finally, you know, caught up to the Royals. It feels like we're watching the World Series from 2015 again, which I think is awesome. That's good, that's good. Yeah. Yeah, that's a great point. They're playing together, they're building together, and they're picking each other up, which is a key of any team that's gonna be a winning team. Right? Bob's good. Let's hear what Hunter Renfro said about getting that lineup more stretched out because we don't just have MJ back, we got Michael Massey back now too, who's been a key offensive contributor, had a chance to talk to Hunter Renfro after the home stand, here's what he had to say. With lineups getting together, you guys are building the consistency, especially with Massey coming back with MJ coming back. Yeah, I mean, obviously this is the first day in the back, so, but yeah, I feel like we're never getting our guys back, you know, I think everybody's getting healthy. We have an offensive side, we've got a community going out there and focus on what we're gonna do offensively and put it in play. And just personally, you have to feel in a really good place right now. You've been producing now, they really had an all-star player. Yeah, I mean, I feel great. I've been seeing the ball well. You know, I hadn't struck out four times in the series, I can't tell you how long, but you know, I feel good seeing the ball well, trying to put the ball in play, and the ball they're putting in play are falling, so I feel like I, that's a lot going to ask for. And then just finally, a couple of big road trips coming up, series anyways, getting the bite sawn, got the Tigers, divisional teams, any added significance playing in the division? More than anything, it's just the significance that we need to play good baseball. You know, obviously the significance to playing those guys and being our division, we got to take care of business on our front and beat the guys we need to beat and control it in Chicago, where a lot better team than they were earlier, so we got to go out there, have a really good focus behind us in the offensive team and do what we can. Got to like that, I mean, a guy who's a power hitter only striking me, I'm not striking out four times in a series, that means he's making contact and he's got a good, good feel for getting that on the ball, which is all you want, because when Hunter Redford gets hot, he's a significant threat on the offensive side. But, and I love his chains. His chain was pretty blingin' on that camera there, Gerald, he's got it there. I was not expecting Hunter to be on that type of time, but I'm winning. Yeah, yeah, no. And then, you know, we had a chance to, had a chance to talk to him a little bit and he's feeling good, right? I mean, I don't think he gives you that time early in the season is it in 180 and, you know, not clicking his weight, but the guy has been contributing and he's contributed all year. He's actually been a good on base person, even when he wasn't hitting for average. So, I think you're, I think you're seeing what the Royals thought process was, because honestly, when you looked at the outfielders that were available, there's not like there's anybody out there better than what MJ Melendez was in the second half of last season. And if you just look at MJ Melendez over the last 20 games, he's fine. I mean, if you get this MJ the rest of the way, the round field's fine, because Kyle Isball is contributing a knot. If he hit and hit 240, 250 and do what he does on the base paths and in center field defensively, they're fine. - Yes, yes. No, I totally agree because at the beginning of the season, again, like we said, with MJ night hitting, Hunter night hitting, and we expected Isball to be Isball, it was not looking good out there for the outfield, but now if you're getting contributions from all three in those aspects, that's gonna be a good look coming up here for August and September. - You know, how do you guys feel about the pitching? Because starting pitching has been the key for the team this year. And I think it makes it easier for the team because last year, until Cole Reagan's got here, it was Brady Singer and Hope. It was a Boobick started the year upgrade, then he got hurt and there just was nothing else there. So the pressure had to be just solidly on Brady's shoulders. Got Cole there, that took some of the weight off. Seth Lugo has been tremendous. I don't think anyone hoped that Seth Lugo would be this good, let alone a magic he would. And Michael Walker's been in his career. He's a consistent, solid starting pitcher. And even Alec Marsh has been a contributor. Did you guys see the starting pitching coming together like at house? 'Cause that's been really, I think, the foundation of the team. - I think, you know, at the end of the day, there's not been that one dude that's been phenomenal. Like you think of guys around the league that are just like top to your pitchers. We don't necessarily have that guy, but the thing is that we do have is consistency across the board. We can go into any game and not feel like, "Oh, we're not throwing our best guy." Or, you know, you play maybe a tougher opponent and you wanna throw the best guy the first game and then you might be screwed for the other two games. Well, I think that what the Royals have is pretty much consistency every single game. It might not be top dude in the MLB, which is okay. But as long as there's not a major drop off each time, I think that's huge. So I think that's what the Royals have been doing really, really well. - And Carson, does that remind you of Tampa as far as when, 'cause I know Queens came, was there. And that's what it reminds me of, as far as they had a good starting rotation. Maybe not the, like you say, the side young winner on a rotation, but solid enough to say, they're gonna give you the starts, they're gonna give you your outs. And I think that's what we're seeing. Seth Lugo has been lights out all season. Cole Reagan's be kind of like, okay, can you tee what you did the second half of last season? He's shown that Brady Singer's been doing good. Like you say, we're not relying on the Jordan Laws. These are the pitcher staffs in the game. Yeah, you know what I mean? I think that's the biggest thing that you say. We actually got pitchers that deserve to be in the start not just because we paid you this money, you gotta go pitch. Or you gotta get into the young guys come in. Now it's like, who deserves to be the starting pitcher in the rotation? That's what we're getting this year. I think that's the biggest difference. And I think something nice to have too is competition in the locker room, right? If you've got dudes that are starting pitchers and they keep wanting to be a little bit better than the other, then obviously everyone starts producing more. If you've got the one guy that's the best and everyone else isn't, no one's really working that hard to try to be better than the other. So there's a little, you know, in the clubhouse competition on who can produce the best, which obviously helps the team. Yeah, and you got to give the Royals credit too because Chris, that was a good point. They were starting Jordan and Lyles last year because, I mean, just to be honest, somebody needed to pitch and they were paying him for the Royals a ton of money. Jordan Lyles just got picked up by the Dodgers. We released him weeks ago. It wasn't even an engine. Years ago, go back five years ago with the Royals in 2019 have walked on a 10 million plus contract. No way. So that's a huge move showing that commitment to win because you know, they looked at Jordan Lyles and said, "Man, you're not good enough, let's move on." Yeah. And got nothing at four. That's okay, that's an okay move. I mean, the Yankees gloss over mistakes and paper over mistakes all the time. I mean, at some point you have to be willing to do that if you're going to win. So they trust their guys at the end of the day. If they didn't trust their guys, they would keep, they would just, you know, they wouldn't make, you know, ballsy moves. And so, I'll try to think of a better word. It couldn't think of one. No, that's fine. But if they didn't trust their guys, they wouldn't do things like that. But they know they'll be all right. They can, you know, they made a mistake. Let's go move on. Yeah. And hey, we're a year and a half in now to the J.J. Piccola macrotraero regime. Halfway through, if we were talking at this point last season, I don't think anyone would have the thoughts that they do right now because there was plenty of toxin. Okay. These guys need to go. We can't do this anymore. But I think it's safe to say they really did have a plan to the owner, to John Sherman, say, "Hey, this is going to be an evaluation year." We made it literally. And then we're going to see what we have moving forward because I'm honestly stunned at how well it's come together. And then when you look out forward, these moves, they made it to trade deadline to get the team a little bit better. You added a couple of high level major league relievers. Hunter Harvey and Lucas Ursic. They are quality relievers. That helps. Add Chris Buwbeck in. That's a guy who's been really just dominant on the mound since he came back from that Tommy John surgeries. Hasn't lost what he found last year. I think he's going to be a weapon out of the bullpen. That helps a lot because that extends that bullpen out. So now, kind of like the starters, MacArthur doesn't have all the pressure on his shoulders. Angel Zarpa is not the only guy you can run out there. You got a few options you can put in. Yeah, I think that's a huge difference. And I got to give JJ Picolo a ton of credit for sticking to a plan and not panicking. Yeah, and they didn't give up a lot. I guess as far as it's real top prospects in Oregon. Yeah, I mean, that's really the biggest thing. Yeah, yeah. So it's just a little bit of help. And Ursic, if I read, right, is under control for about a few more years still. So not only is he going to help you out now and he's still going to help you out in the future for the run you're about to make for the next couple of years. So I think that's a very good pickup. And can't sleep on Paul the young too. Switching sides playing against him one night. And now he's actually crossing the clubhouses. But as what I saw with the Cardinals as long as he can hit, he's going to bring you something to the table as well. And a good bath to come off the bench or the fill in when somebody needs to take a day off. So I think that's a good pickup as well. So I like what they're doing. I like what the world is doing. And like you said, just compare to what you see in the division, you would think Detroit would be what we're out right now. And you see what they're doing. They're taking a step back while Kansas City's taking a step forward. And that's what I definitely like to see coming in this year once again is the biggest thing is competition. Compete, compete, compete. We've been seeing in too many years. They start off bad. And then they look good in the second half and tease you. This time they tease us early and we're still getting the same results. So it's great to see. Actually, the deadline makes sense. They're actually buying, not selling. Yeah, all right. Well, hey, I had a chance to talk to Cole Reagan's as well. And you just kind of asked him how you feeling this season because the team has carried over that strong finish they had. It got lost in the record, but they ended the year strong in September. Here's a call set. The season in general, because we're heading into a little bit more of the stretch run now. That's where the all start break going back on the road. That's got to feel good about where we're sitting. Yeah, 100%. You know, we feel great. We're confident, you know. Just take it day by day. Like I always say, I think that's our mindset. It's just take it day by day, game by game. Well, I mean, talking with Patreiro, Andrew Patreiro, he's very maché, processed, focused person. And the team showed that in the second half of last year. That's when everything turned around. I guess feel you can keep cranking it going in the second half. Kind of carry that momentum for my season. Yeah, 100%. I mean, we've been playing great baseball, you know. Had a few rough patches. Every team does. Like I said, you just got to take it day by day, game by game, and prepare for the next one. Thanks. And I don't think you could tell from listening to call there that that came after a disappointing loss to the Cubs. They had a chance to win the series. They lost the rubber game, which has been a problem. They're 3 and 11 and 14 rubber games this year. Yeah, that's crazy, crazy stat. But for some having covered a Cleveland team when they were on their World Series run, you want the baseball team to be like, there's 162 games. If you're freaking out about a game, that means you're losing. Because if you have confidence and you know, hey, there's another game tomorrow, we're going to win that one, that's what winning baseball team sounds like. Yeah. I mean, it just is. And people that go in and think baseball players are going to be freaking out and losing their mind because they lost a game, no. I mean, they'll get excited a little bit when you dramatically win a game like they did last night. But that fades away in fact, because for every 10 football, sorry, every football game, it would be the equivalent of 10 baseball games. You just don't get us worked up. You have to be consistent. And I think the Royals definitely have a winning mentality going. And I just think the thing with baseball is just like, obviously, they've all been playing for a very, very long time. And baseball, like, you can have a good team. But sometimes things just don't go your way. You can make real good contact in just every single time to the line drive out to the right fielder. Sometimes it just doesn't go your way. And I think that's just kind of what these guys know. It's just like, you know, maybe this just wasn't our night. And the Cubs were just better than us tonight. And it is what it is. Football soccer a little bit different because it takes a little bit more of like you have to work together type of thing. Baseball, you could be making contact great. You could be fielding. And the other guy just happened to run a little faster than you thought. And it is what it is. Yeah, very true. And Carson, to move over to the beautiful game, sometimes you just get unlucky, you know? But we were at the Summer Familial Cup where the current, they go to 2 and 0 in their group stage of that tournament with the NWSL against Lega MX. And it really wasn't much of a game against Poochka. They just pummeled them. And, you know-- And I thought it was going to be a good game. That was crazy about 2D. I was like, this is going to be a good game. OK, we get to see Kern against Pachuca, see how they look. Nah, they turned up on him. It was just a beat down. And there wasn't even really much level of competition, even with the substitutions. And I think it was good that the current's able to get different lineup combinations in there and get people, you know, up to speed and up to form, because you easily saw the best game of the season from DeBina. Yes. Yes. Yes. Couldn't Brazil use heart right now? Granted, she hasn't had a good season. Yeah, well, she spent, you know, it's been her. And she had an injury right out of the box in the opening game. And the current was able to rise above that. And they got a little bit of injury going right now with Bia. But they've made some adjustments and had a chance to talk to DeBina about, hey, are you feeling good now? And how much does this help the current as they get to go into a little bit of a summer break after a game coming up here on Thursday? Yeah, I'm very happy, you know, like, with the team, my teammates. Like, I love soccer. So, like, when I'm on the field, like, I just look, I enjoy myself and, you know, like enjoy my teammates on the field. And, yes, when my family was here, like, I refused the energy, which was great, to have my nephew and my sister. And I'm just happy to do what I love. And, of course, like, every time I go step on the field, I'm going to my 100% and try to help my teammates. And, I mean, you saw it, they were fired up and they were going at it. There wasn't any doubt on who was going to win that game. No, not at all. I think that game could have easily been six or seven zero if the current wanted it to be. They, I mean, they just like... It was a, it was a, it was a curb stomping. And they were subbing in players. Yeah. They were subbing in players. It was like, I'm not even with the team. Yeah. It was like funny watching, you know, in the box. I think Gerald, you and I were literally talking for 15 minutes and we didn't miss a thing. Like, that was, that was the funniest. I was, I had my whole match recap written and I was just hoping that we wouldn't, that current wouldn't score again. So I wouldn't have to go change something. I'm like, I just, I'm like, I've got it done. Like there was the weirdest game I've ever been to. Yeah. And the only, the only question was, was there an injury to Michelle Cooper because they did pull her out after she went down and well, no, that even came up good. Yeah, I think it's been really good. I think we're getting into the areas that we want to get into lately and me included. And it's been really good. Clearly we've been scoring goals. I've been helping out on that. I've been scoring my own goals. And we're getting into the right form at the right time, pushing through this summer tournament and getting back into season is, it's like the perfect time we're baking. So that's great. Is she's going to be good to go? And then hopefully you get Bia coming back here healthy real soon. She was going to be down, I believe they said four to six weeks. So we're nearing the four week mark now. So I think you're going to see a great second half stretch run by the current. And then they even added a piece to a, really probably the only spot of weakness since Gabrielle Robinson was out with that season ended ACL injury. Traded for cash and got Alana Cook, a two time NWSL defender of the year. So we haven't seen her in the game yet, maybe Thursday, but it's another team that they're coming up to the end of that and soccer, it's the transfer window. And they went ahead and added a key component to make themselves better. I mean, they're definitely going for it. - Hey, the championship game is here. Let's see if they can make it there. I think they got a good shot at that. The offense has been crazy all year. I just cannot believe the offense that I'll put I've seen with this team, but it's good to see. And that's a big pickup like you mentioned, Gerald, as far as what Alana could come in. Yeah, big pickup for the current. I think she's going to help tremendously. And with B a B a coming back. I like to see the run coming through for the rest of the season. Should be a good one. I need that Orlando rematch now. Let's be telling you, give me that rematch, please. - It's coming and they've all been talking about it. They remember that. It's easy to remember your losses when you only have one. - Right, right, right, right. In the way, in the way it happened. In the way it happened. They know they remember, yeah. - On the other side, sporting Kansas City really in their best form of the year. And I think you have to be, you have to be excited for them because they're kind of pulling it together now. And we're seeing it pull together with young players. Steven Afrifa just looked terrific. And that league's cup match up against Chicago. Blasted ball off the top of the post. Easily could have been a goal. Dink it down, came back and a beautiful assist to a diving Willie Agata. Willie's 20th goal in 20 games. So he's coming on. Maybe we found our striker that we were looking for the whole time. He was here. - Willie Dinerst. - What am I? (laughing) And the best part that I leave the guy. - Oh, I think he is, honestly. I think he is. Well, he scored already 11 goals across all competitions. So he's leading the team in goals. He scored six goals in six games. In the last six games, he scored six goals, which is a fantastic stat, of course. But my favorite thing about this dude, every single time we interview him, he shots out his teammates. When I talk to him in the press conference on Sunday, the first thing he said, we talked about his goal, that header goal. The first thing he said is, shout out to Afrifa. What a ball that was. Like, he didn't even talk about the goal. He shouted out Afrifa. And then Peter Vermeez talked about how, you know, Afrifa is really starting to get some confidence going. And it's really interesting because the guys that we think at the start of the season are front three dudes are the three people that have done nothing the whole season. It's these guys that have kind of, you know, been the diamonds in the rough. Obviously, it got us showed some signs last year, but no one would have expected him to do what he's done so far. Polito was out with an illness on Sunday. But again, I don't even think he would have started. Like, that's, he's supposed to be our best player. And at this point, he's not even starting in my eyes. So I, that's what I think is cool. These guys have stepped up. Same thing, Agata said, he, you know, credits, Johnny Russell and Polito actually for a lot of his success. He's like, they're helping me find, you know, where to go, have, you know, what balls to play, what balls to ask for. So it seems like the front three, even if the guys aren't playing, are really all connected. We've been seeing that all year too. Yeah. Well, and I think Polito quietly has really been a good facilitator. His best moments have been on setting up just some, some beautiful crosses and really tremendous assist to Willie, where Willie's able to just drive it in from two, three feet away. That, like Peter Vernez say a couple of games ago, Willie's great from two feet out. Yep, I mean, hey, you know, more power to you. If you could get in the position where you're there, you make yourself available and you have guys like Polito, like Daniel Shallow, we had a great assist to him. And that one from Stephen Afrifa. Well, that's a weapon. I mean, there's something to be said for being in the position to put it away. That's what you want out of your number nine. Go ahead. Yeah. And how many more goals would he would have had? Because we've seen how many games where he could have had two or three goals in the game. Willie, you've got to, like, for misses alone, like where he was lucky or unlucky, where he got to a ball, but then get that final, that final kick here, that final touch right, or just flat out, like you say, hitting the post or missing. And now he's just, he's been on a roll. And the sport needed it. They definitely needed it, because, like, as Carson mentioned, that front three hasn't been great with Shallowy, Polito, and Russell this season, apparently. But now you get help from Afrifa. You're getting Willie on track. And Vargas has been looking good, too, when he's been out in the field as far as bringing that speed. So I think we could be seeing a new front line of future out here, where Tommy's still doing this thing, and Logan's back. That's good to see that he's going to be back on the pitch here soon. When Jake comes back from Olympics, that's going to be kind of another quick addition. It's going to be back on the team. And I know Sportin is looking to add, as well. So with the transfer season out here right now. So yeah, love to see what's going on out there right now with him. And be interested to see what they're doing against Toulouka coming up. Yeah, that'll be a little bit of a difference, because Chicago obviously sitting 14th in the East. So you weren't going up against the fast that there was to offer. And like an MX Carson, safe to say. League of MX man. A little bit different than the League of MX women. A hundred percent. A hundred percent. A hundred percent. And they played him. So what did they played him? Was that the CONCACAP Champions League not too long ago? Were they were playing into Loulou? Is that right? It was trying to get to the finals and all that. That was a big deal. I remember that. So yeah, that was a great match for me. We actually talked to Cassianos after the game, even after our interview with him. It was really funny. We were all the reporters and I were walking with him, just kind of chatting. And we were talking about the Toulouka game. And he's like, you know, it's a big rematch from last year. We kind of have that chip on our shoulder. They got embarrassed last year. Four to one final score. Oh, yeah. But he's, but we kind of made the point, you know, maybe that was their revenge game from, you know, a few years back in the CONCACAP Champions League. Yeah. Does it go back to sporting now this year? And we just keep trading? Maybe. That'd be a great sign that they're getting it pulled together. And, you know, there's still quite a bit to play for. Obviously, you're in a terrific position to get to the US Open Cup final. Getting to take on the US outside, the Indy 11. Yes. So, yeah. Which is amazing to say for the season or having an MLS that they could still walk away with two cups this season. It's a testament to what Peter has been doing. Staying the course, you know, you know, he's been like that the whole season. So to get two cups would be amazing if he could pull that out. Well, and hey, I want to be, I want to be fair to sporting Kansas City too. Because we talked about the Royals, how they had an evaluation year. They're trying to build with some youth. And you got to let the young guys play and then you can be set up to go. That's something that sporting Kansas City hadn't done. And Peter Vermeans even said in a press conference recently when I had a chance to ask them about the substitution patterns and using different lineup combinations that, hey, this isn't something we usually do. And I think it's good because we're getting everybody involved. That had been a knock on sporting Kansas City that they weren't getting their young guys in. They weren't playing them. And that doesn't let them have a chance to develop. This may be what they needed to do for a long time. And just just didn't because you had a team of established guys. You'd always been good and never really took that step back. Maybe this is the year that you get all the young guys playing. Maybe we get a contributor. Our guy, Kyrie Shelton, maybe we have him in the right position now where he is. And right back is crazy. And, you know, maybe everything's coming together. And you needed this chance to just say, hey, okay, let's let these guys play. Let's see what we got. Because even the brief is sitting on the bench all year. You don't know. You never get a chance to see him out there. And then when you do see him out there, he hasn't played in three or four weeks. He doesn't, you know, maybe he's not as fit. But then also, he's young. He needs to like get used to it. The best guys, unless you're just a star, it takes you a year or two. You got to get up to speed with MLS. It's not like college soccer. It's not anywhere close to MLS next pro. It is completely different beast. So for those guys that were coming through SKC2 like Vargas, it's like they have to get in. If they want to have any sort of chance to get up to speed, practice can only do so much. So I think it's perfect. Yeah, and we'll see if youth will be served here as they wind up and get ready for that second half. Obviously August 27th, a big game. That's when they take on the India 11 here at Children's Mercy Park. Now the other team that is ramping up, not in the season yet, but it's getting close. Exhibition football only two weeks away. You guys feeling good about the Chiefs? Because I mean, just going to training camp, the offense looks so much better. Because now you actually have legitimate wide receivers. I mean, say what you will about Hollywood Brown and McCall Hardman, but they are legitimate NFL caliber wide receivers. Rishi Rice, the more it goes, the more it's looking like he's going to play the whole season. And that suspension is not going to come until after a court verdict comes, which that's not going to be until the summer and next summer. And who knows, by the time you get there, it may all be settled out. So if you have Rishi Rice, Hollywood Brown, McCall Hardman, Justin Watson, and Xavier Worthy, how much better are your wide receivers than last year, which I mean, anyone would say was the main problem with the team. It's night and day, isn't it? Hollywood Brown is the best picket Chiefs could have made in years, you know, years like two. But I mean, that's huge. He's a known name across the league. And that's what the Chiefs did not have was like the guy, you know. I think one thing that we always that the Chiefs always did well, you know, playing against other teams is you've got Tyree Kill, you've got Kelsey, you've got to double someone. So then someone's open, right? When we didn't have the, you know, strong wide receiver core, the teams, you know, the defense was, we're like, we'll just play them straight up and hope that it works, you know. But if you have a guy that's top on the depth chart, it's like ease got to be covered. And then it opens up other dudes to make plays. So I think it's huge. Yeah. And for what I've been seeing as well is you're seeing Hollywood Brown hanging out with Patrick Mahomes, like outside of football. So that tells me they're clicking and they're probably working outside of what's going on with training camp and all that, they've been working together. So that's good to see. And Worthy, there are, I mean, we already seen the throws, the deep throws already. So we can already see the bombs away coming back for the Chiefs, which is something they highly missed because as we saw last season, some of those long throws were good throws. They're just weren't being caught or being fumbled away. So in this case, now you're starting to see Xavier Worthy pull up now. You got Hollywood Brown. Like you said, you mentioned Nicole Hartman, who knows how things go down there. So I think that the Chiefs are going to be in for another good season, which is another cheat code. It's just crazy to say. And I hear Patrick, here's a here's another fast receiver, which by the way, it's probably even better. Some of the other receivers you drafted recently from there. So it's it's it's crazy to see that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And we even talked about the running game. Now, and, you know, that it's going to be a question, I guess, because you have Isaiah Bejeko, number two backs. Clyde Edward DeGaller in a prove it year. And I think he did show signs last year that he can be that outlet receiver. And honestly, that's what got him drafted. He didn't get drafted by being a tremendously evasive runner. He was the outlet receiver on LSU with Joe Burrow. Jamar Chase. I mean, it wasn't that Clyde was, you know, running at will and breaking all sorts of tackles. He was a swing outlet receiver, you know, a functional running back, but it was a team that was so loaded. All he had to do was get into the areas. This may be an offense that's more suited to him and where he can be. That's strong player that we saw a couple of times last year when he had those big receiving games. And they've just got a lot of depth at running back. You look at guys too, like Luis Rezaemit, like, who knows what he's going to do. But he might end up in the backfield. And then I've been hearing things that Kidarius Tony actually might be a little bit more of a running back this year. So yeah, he's been taking snaps and running back. Yeah. So Andy Reid's going to get real, real creative with the backfield. So this will be interesting, I think. Yeah, changing positions helped Kyrie Shelton. Maybe it'll help Kidarius to try. Maybe, maybe, maybe, can he play corner? They might try him on corner. Well, who do you think is going to be the starting corner opposite Trent McDuffie? Looks like Nasey Johnson, if he's healthy. Yeah, is he okay? I haven't seen any like news yet on if he's been okay. Muscle pulls, it seems to be fine. Having recovered from multiple ACL surgeries, you do get muscle pulls when you're getting back to speed. So that's nothing to be super concerned about. He should be okay. And our old boy Felix is looking good too. Felix the cat, man. My wild cat, I heard he's been looking good in training camp. Talking about knee injuries too. Showing that the Chiefs are following the right model and moving away from guys when the time comes. Ligirious need hasn't been going full steam yet for the Titans because of the same lingering knee issues he had the whole time he was here. And cornerbacks with bad knees, that's not a good combination. Nope, not today's NFL. No, no, I mean, and especially since that freed up the money so they can make the moves that they did. Really, the only question I think is left tackle and that seems to be being answered. It looks like Kingsley's the guy. Right. Man, I love it. I love what the Chiefs are looking at. Oh, and if they need more motivation, you saw what the rate is. What happened to their training camp recently? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, go ahead and wake up the bear and poke the bear if you want to or poke the frog is what they were trying to do out there. Okay. Wow, did you guys see what Jamar Chase did as well? Yes. So that two teams in the same week that are basically, you know, said bad things about the homes and the Chiefs. So it's like, like, what are you thinking, man? Give them the respect. Like, let them play a little easier against you. Give you a chance. Don't piss them off and then he's going to want to beat you even more. Like, oh, man, I don't know what they're thinking. Yeah, I don't, I don't get it. Not a good call. I really don't get it. It doesn't surprise me coming from the Raiders because Antonio Pierce is that kind of rah, rah, us against the world. Yeah, motivational head coach over being a tactician. So we'll see if it works. I don't think it's going to work too well. And if I'm looking at Gardner Minshu as my starting quarterback, I don't think I'm picking a fight with Patrick Mahomes. No, no, no, no. I will, I will work, I will focus on trying to get a winning season in Vegas. I will focus on that part. No, well, it's going to be a problem. There's a, like we said, they got Gardner Minshu, a quarterback. Well, hey, let's go ahead and wind it down here. We're, uh, we're wrapping it up. It's time for the weekly champion. Got the wrestling spotlight title and you can see more wrestling spotlight on wrestling spotlight TV right here on these same services. Here's a little look. Hey, what's up guys? This is Tybell. We're at Aloka and you are watching wrestling spotlight. And Tyia had her chance at the AEW championship last week. It didn't end up going too well, but it was good to see it. We're up Loka on our TV. Chris, who's your champion of the week? Okay, we're going to go across the pond. I've been watching a lot of Olympics so far this week. Can I give a shout to the USA women's rugby team for pulling up that victory earlier? It was crazy to see. I do not watch a lot of rugby, but for what I watch, it looked like they picked up a fumble and ran it back to win a game in extra time, which is crazy. So for them to actually get a medal there, give a shout out to the USA women's rugby team. Congratulations. I like that. That's a good one. Carson? You know what? On the same Olympics bandwagon here, I'm going USA gymnastics team. Men's team, yeah. Well, specifically, she wasn't in the last Olympics for personal reasons, and they came out and I actually watched it. They killed it today. Yeah, and one of the girls, I do not remember her name. Apparently, she was sick leading up the whole week leading up to this. And she just locked in and her dad was one of the coaching staff. And, dude, I could just see the emotion when she got done and just killed her event, how happy she was. And then we watched the celebrations afterwards. And it seemed like it really, really meant something to all the people on the team, including Simone Biles, which I thought that was really cool to see. So, yeah. And way to be able to bounce back from Jordan Childs, too, to off the beam when she messed up. But the dude with her mat routine was just crazy. So, yeah, shout out to him. Well, and here, I'll stick on the theme because what amazed me watching the men's gymnastics team, U.S. wins their first medal since 2008. Wow. Those guys, you saw that team mentality. They bonded together. Man, they celebrated that bronze medal. Like they just won the World Championship. And that was great. The specialist. Yeah, of course. Carrying through gets the medal. And that's what you want to say, right? We did it for all of us, people with the glasses. I thought he was going to go on the Pawel Horse wearing them. He did take them off, but they really showed that Olympic spirit and the national pride. That's what makes everybody watch the Olympics. And you watch sports, you never watch. But you get to see that Cyrillic competition. And everybody's pulling for the U.S. team. And great job. And it's something to win a medal when they had a done one in almost 20 years. And seeing that true celebration. You got to like that because, man, it's not like winning the bronze is losing. You're one of the best in the world. And it's everybody. And it came in third. And that's incredible. And they didn't have that disappointed look. You get sometimes from people that win the bronze. They were celebrating it. They were thrilled. And they were great representatives. So congratulations to the U.S. men's gymnastics team as well. Yeah, lives are getting changed these next couple of weeks, man. I'm proud of all the athletes. Yeah, absolutely. Well, hey, we'll wrap it up with this on the fired up network, Time Out Kansas City. Carson, where can people find your work? I'm on Twitter. Flake underscore Carson. If you want to find me on Twitter. And then I write for IONU media, which is www.ion. Like IONU, Y-O-U, media.com. Simple as I am. There you go. And Chris, I know everybody, they can listen to you coming home on hot 103 jams here in Kansas City. Where else can they find you? Oh, that's right. Having up three jams, kprs.com is the website. Having up three jams is the app. You can listen to wherever you add. I'm on three to seven Monday through Thursday through the six on Friday. Check out my podcast as well. My brother Simpson ain't easy. Well, we rank stuff every week. So we got some great topics coming up for you. And also shout out to my brother. This is his rap group, live from the basement. So that's just one of the two threads I'm wrapping today. So if you ever listen to some hip hop, you want to check out. Go check out live from the basement. Good clean hip hop. Then my brother's put out. All right. Awesome. And hey, just since it's coming up on Saturday, summer slam. Yeah. Is CM Punk beating Drew McIntyre? Whoo, man. That is a tough one. I feel like Drew is going to win. Or do you think that's freaking Rollins gets involved? And we actually get to see a curb stomp. OK, that's why I'm ready for that. I'm actually going to be at the hot dog festival. Shout out to the knee rolling baseball. He's doing the hot dog festival this Saturday. So I'll be out there. But if I can, I'm going to try to catch the rest of summer slam. Well, I have to watch it on Sunday because I can't miss out. It sounds like it's going to be great. No, the hot dog festival looks fun. I think Brownstone is performing this year. Yes. Don't we permit conditions should be there. Midnight star, I believe will be there as well. So it's going to be a great show for a great cause. So benefit me, release baseball. Yeah, great facility. And then you got the Urban Baseball Academy right there. It's really terrific right there. I love it. It needs a fine area. Yeah, great, great. Awesome. Good to mention that. Well, hey, thanks for joining us this week on Time Out Kansas City. Stay tuned to the fired up network for more sports and entertainment right here on the best place to watch it. If you have it, the true TV plus app. Just download it wherever you get your apps. You can also see us on sports.tv. And carbon TV. Thanks a lot. Have a good night, guys.