A Dog's Love for Heat, a Fan's Hope for Victory, and a Delicious Feast: A Summer Weekend to Remember

100 out... Oliver Loves it!

Last week was another hot week with temperatures closed to 100 degrees the first part of the week. It found Oliver out enjoying the warmth of the sun in our back yard. Yes, he goes out and sits in the sun to warm up from being inside our house with air conditioning. He will sit out there until he starts panting and then head back to the door to go back inside. What a knucklehead. The picture to the right is from late in the week and as of Sunday temperatures have dropped to acceptable temperatures.

The weekend has been beautiful since Thursday with weather in the seventies or eighties. I am sure Oliver is not liking that as he wants more heat when he is outside. Looking at the forecast for the next week and the trend is supposed to continue. No complaints from me.

Shrimp, Crab, etc., Boil

Carrie and I had a treat planned for Friday night dinner. Our friends, Laura and Jason, invited us over for a shrimp boil. Ok, that was an easy answer. The dinner was tagged as shrimp boil and while it did have shrimp it also included crab legs. What a night! It was so good! Poured it right out on the kitchen table and grabbed whatever we wanted to eat for dinner. The potatoes were excellent along with all the other fixings. Following dinner, we went outside to hang out at the fire pit which was a lot of fun. A perfect way to kick off the holiday weekend!

Hoping the Royals can turn around the losing streak we have been on since Wednesday. A four-game losing streak going into the game this afternoon. We need to turn it around and snap this bad skid. It started late in the week when two players got hurt and we have not been able to turn it around since then. I will be wearing all of my lucky Royals gear today to try and push us in the direction of a win and point us in a new direction.

Have a great rest of your Sunday and Labor Day.

Summer Fun at the Ballpark

Royals Game Friday Night

Friday night found me at the Royals game. Erin and Greg were planning to go into the game and asked if I wanted to go when Carrie had to work that night. I took them up on it and go my ticket. They were in another section with another friend and no seats available around them, but I was able to get a seat a section away and it worked out perfectly. About the third inning I was able to move over to where they were sitting and sit right in front of them for the remainder of the game. 

Selfie at the Game

We watched a fun game with the Royals winning 7 - 4 over the Phillies. A beautiful night for a game with a cool breeze blowing most of the night. We picked a good night to go into a game with the temperatures rising on Saturday through Thursday. Not to mention on Saturday the Royals lost 11 - 2 which I watched from home in my lounge chair. We had a great time at the game and it was good to be able to sit with Stacy, Erin, and Greg and topped off with a Royals win.

Friday Night Fireworks

Friday also happened to be fireworks night. We watched as we walked back to our car where we hung out watching fireworks, chatting, and snacking. They put on a good show after the game although I did not get any photos they were fun to watch.

While we were at the game, Carrie was working. She checked in with us through the night and it even sounded as though she was following the game. We got back to Topeka late. She confirmed when I got home that the event went well.  This was my fourth Royals game to attend on the year and I think Carrie has attended two. I am hoping to get in 2 - 5 more Royals games before the post season. 

It was good to be able to go to the Royals game after a long week. Our AC is working again as of last Tuesday. Classes started and that is always a busy time. It was a good first week of classes though although still hard to believe that the fall semester has started again. 

Until next time, have a great week! 

Hattitude and Happiness: A Royals Fan's Perfect Sunday

Showing Off Our New Hats

Carrie and I attended the MIAA Day at The K game on Sunday, July 21. We had a great time. We got our new hats (pictured to the right) that have the Royals and Washburn on them. It was fun seeing other MIAA attendees with their hats. It seems as though Fort Hays State University had the most people attending the game as I saw their hats everywhere. It was a fun day and I am glad that we decided to go somewhat last minute (the day before the game).

The hats are really sharp. We tried to get additional hats but we were told they are not available. Sold out or something, but later I saw boxes of hats as we were leaving the game. Could easily put those on a site to sell them as they look great representing the Royals and Washburn.

The day was beautiful even with our seats in the sun but soon the clouds moved in and provided the perfect ending to the day. We met up with the Mosers' briefly before the game to have a quick beer. Plus we saw the Ybarras' in the ball park.

Section 248 at Royals Game

Our seats were good sitting in section 248 row MM. Good crowd on a Sunday afternoon which was good. It has been fun watching the attendance continue to increase as the Royals continue to win. This was my third Royals game to attend this season and so far the Royals are 3 - 0 when I attend their games. 

We need to find our next game to attend. This next week we play on the road the whole week. We are back in Kansas City starting August 5. Probably good we are away this next week as high temperatures are back in the area starting tomorrow.

Royals Win!

The Royals won 4 - 1 this day. Got a little burnt on my knees but overall it was a great day. So fun to go in for the Sunday game and back in time for Sunday evening relaxing. As I mentioned, we need to do more of these when it is a Sunday afternoon game. It is easy to get into the games and we are having fun watching our Royals play ball.

Until next time, have a great rest of your Sunday and a wonderful week. Go Royals!

Royals Win on a Beautiful Friday Night!

Royals Game on May 17

Another Great Night at the Ballpark

This past Friday night, I headed to my second Royals game of the season with Greg, Eddie, and Chris. It was a beautiful evening, and the best part? The Royals pulled off a win against the A's!

We arrived early to enjoy some pre-game tailgating. It had been a while since I'd been able to do that, and it was a great way to kick things off. Greg whipped up some hot dogs, Eddie brought the beers, and Chris supplied the peanuts. All I had to do was show up and enjoy the delicious food and drinks!

Greg and me in our Seats

Greg got our seats and parking permit and then we all paid him back. I thought I got a picture of Eddie, Chris, and me, but I was using the BallPark app and apparently it did not post or did not take, so I have the picture to the right of Greg and me at the game. 

Royals Perfect When I Attend (So Far!)

While I wasn't able to find a picture of everyone together (seems the BallPark app failed me this time!), I did snag one of Greg and me at the game. Interestingly, the BallPark app tracks your attendance and win/loss record for the games you go to. With two games under my belt this season, the Royals are undefeated when I'm in the stands! (Just sayin') 

Stats from BallPark App

BallPark App Fun Facts

For anyone who's been using the BallPark app for a while, like me, checking your team stats can be a fun way to relive past games. To find yours, just tap your initials in the top left corner. My profile shows I've checked in to 33 games, seen 16 different teams, and visited 3 ballparks.

The app even tells me my earliest recorded game was on June 8th, 2013 (guessing the app launched around then?). Most of my Royals game attendance came in the magical 2014 season, where I saw 10 games throughout the regular and post-season. What a ride that was! And of course, who can forget the back-to-back World Series appearances in 2014 and 2015? Carrie and I were lucky enough to attend game one of the 2015 Series – an experience I'll never forget.

Royals Win!!!!

Here's to More Games and Ballpark Memories!

I'm looking forward to catching more Royals games this season and adding to my BallPark app stats. Maybe I'll even visit some new ballparks in the coming years! (Though I've definitely been to more than three, some pre-date the app's existence). Those attendance records are a fun way to see how my teams perform when I cheer them on in person.

Until next time, have a great week and Go Royals!

Kansas City Royals Start of Season Brief Update and Looking Forward to Attending a Game

Royals Stadium from 2008

Not a very good end to March or start to April. The Kansas City Royals started off the season 0 - 3. We went two full games without a single run. That makes it difficult to win a game. We finally got a run in the third game, but lost that game after getting four runs. Not an ideal start to the season. I was looking forward to watching a competitive season. Granted, the season is young and there is still a lot of baseball to play. We did finally get our first win on Monday night, but then lost the second game of the series Tuesday night. 

Here we are on Thursday night writing and the Royals lost again today. We have won one game this season.We have had a total of 36 hits during our first seven games and only 17 runs. Our pitching has not been all that bad, but our batting has completely failed us in at least three games so far scoring zero points in those three games. Pitiful!

I write this update for Sunday on Thursday night and we start a new series on Friday against the Giants. Our first road game of the season and I am not expecting much. The Giants are 3-3 to start the season, so there is a chance we could go zero runs for all three games or get lucky and win the one game. At this point, that is about as good as I see it getting the way the season has started.

It is so enjoyable to visit Kauffman Stadium to watch our Kansas City Royals and while I have not made it to one of the early season games, I do plan to get to a few games this season. My hope is that when I do finally make it to see a game this summer, we are competitive and have an exciting game.

Until next time, have a great week! Here is to hoping we play well the next three days and manage to get at least one win. I am not asking much, two would be great, but being realistic, I would take one win for the next three games. Go Royals!

I had this post lined up and ready to post for Sunday night at midnight, but here I am on Friday evening updating that the Royals got their second win of the season this afternoon. We beat the Giants 3 - 1 Friday afternoon. I might need to not watch, listen, or follow their games more often. I truly thought we were going to be swept this weekend, so I am happy to get this Friday win.

Me again, it is now Saturday evening as I write and once again, I missed the game today. I saw the score and I see that we won again. Ok, I think the baseball Gods are telling me something that I need to not watch or only partially watch and the Royals will win. Your welcome!

I wrote the majority of this on early in the week. I decided to leave it as I think it is a bit funny and then if it is helping the Royals win, I am good with that too. I would like to eventually be able to watch the Royals and have them win the game. 

This will post at midnight this evening (Saturday), so I am interested to see how it goes tomorrow. I will not be watching or following the game tomorrow. Go Royals!

Nothing to Say First Part of February… So Rambling Away I Go…

One of those weeks where I cannot think of anything to write about, so I see this as being a rambling post for this Sunday update. Let’s see where this takes me as I write.

We are already five days into February 2023. Hard to believe that January has come and gone. With Carrie being in the hospital in January (see Not a Fun Start to 2023), that made the month fly by and not in a good way. She finished up her last IV appointment this past weekend, but will be taking antibiotics orally for the next two weeks. She is doing well and I appreciate everything who has asked about her status since I did the update a few weeks ago on her hospital stay. Carrie and I will be happy once she is off of the antibiotics and the infection is completely gone.

Now that we are into the month of February, I find myself starting to wonder about our camping sites for this year. We have not made any plans, but we have begun to think about spots. We have thrown out the idea of visiting a camping site near an away football location for Washburn next Fall, but still discussing to see what would make sense and whether it would work out. I think we want to try some new places for our camping sites, but no decisions made yet. Hoping by March we will have some sites booked and planned out for the summer.

In about a month, we will have March Madness, but still a lot of basketball to play before the madness begins. We continue to enjoy attending home Washburn basketball games. We are 8-2 at home, but 1-8 on the road. We missed a few home games when Carrie was in the hospital, but we have been back to the most recent games. Our next home game is February 11 and only three more home games for the season for Washburn.

Kansas Jayhawks have been frustrating to watch here recently too. We lost three games in a row a week or so ago and we were swept by Iowa State this season. KU is 18-5 on the season but 6-4 in conference play. Frustrating to watch at times, but still a lot of season to play.

Baseball season is right around the corner. Recent news from YouTube TV is that MLB Network is gone from the service. While we have not had Royals broadcasts in a few years, I was able to watch MLB Network or even subscribe to MLB.TV through YouTube TV to watch games, but all of that is gone. Contract disputes between MLB and YouTube TV have the service removed. 

I have read a few thoughts from others that they think it will be renewed as Spring Training begins, but guessing that is not the case and lose it completely. While it makes sense it would be removed around this time as it was added a year ago at this time just before Spring Training was starting. I am surprised that only a one year contract was done between the two entities. Granted, I will be able to watch games that are on ESPN, TBS, etc., but it was nice to have all the games (except my local Royals) to watch.

I would be remiss if I did not share that the Kansas City Chiefs are in the Super Bowl a week from today. I am a bit superstitious, so it will be interesting as we lead up to kickoff next week for the big game. Yes, I realize what I do has no impact on the outcome, but it makes me feel better and connects me to the team. So, get ready for the big game and hoping that two weeks of being off will give time for us to heal and be ready to play.

That is all the rambling I can do for today, so have a great week. 

Royals Lose on a Saturday Night, Yard Work, and Oliver Being Scared of Thunderstorms… Uneventful Weekend

Oliver and I stayed up late Saturday night watching Royals baseball. Managed to get my hopes up as we took the lead in the top of the seventh and then did not score again through the end of the game. The bottom of the 7 Seattle scored one run to tie the game and in the bottom of the eighth, Seattle scored six runs. Brentz walked four guys with one of his walk leading to a run. One of those evenings where when it is done, I sit there and think what I could have been doing with my evening instead of baseball. 

The game finished sometime after midnight and I watched until the end. Disappointing way to end the night especially after coming back to lead the game and then lose it just as fast. The Royals started the season with two wins, went on a five game losing streak, won three games, and now are on a three game losing streak. Ah, the joys of baseball. We are once again in last place for the AL Central.

The Royals play again today at 3:10, so I plan on doing yard work today. I may or may not be done with yard work by the time the game starts, but that is OK. I can listen to the game and switch to music if I do not like the direction we are headed.

It is a beautiful morning and this will be my first time mowing for the season. I must say, this is the best our yard has looked in a long-time. I had the yard over-seeded last fall and it is paying off. A dark green lawn so far and I have not done a thing except over water in the late fall months. We had a good rain storm Saturday afternoon, so I should be good on watering at least for a while. I do have to monitor moisture as last year in the late summer months our lawn started to go dormant. 

The storm we had Saturday early evening caused Oliver to hide behind my chair. When it thunders, he does not really want us to look at or touch him. He knows how to keep himself safe. He is a funny little guy!

Short update for this week. One of those weeks where I was not sure what I was going to post until I sat down and started writing. Have a great week!

Weekend Ramblings as the End of May Fast Approaches

It is hard to believe that this is the last full week of May. Have to be careful not to blink or summer will be over before we know it. The end of May certainly has brought a lot of rain to the area and the outlook for more rain the next week too. With all the rain brought to light the fact that I need to get out and clean some gutters. We do have protectors on our gutters, but the back and the front gutters were overflowing with water during the heavy rain we received Thursday night. I am hopeful to get in gutter cleaning before the next big rain.

Carrie and I are searching out camping sites for future camping weekends. We have our eyes on a few locations and continue to review various camping gear that we want to buy for our camping adventures. We loved the first adventure so much, we cannot wait to go again. As we look at upcoming dates, we review the weather and hope to have nice weather for our second adventure. We are event talking about camping in September for our wedding anniversary and making plans to do so in Arkansas possibly. Nothing confirmed for September, but we are reviewing options and will be making a plan soon.

A lazy weekend for me around the house Saturday and I hope to do some work Sunday as I mentioned earlier. The Royals game is currently in a rain delay as I write this Saturday afternoon, but hoping they can get the game in and get a much needed win.

Until next time, have a great week and talk to you again next Sunday.

Bally Sports Kansas City New #Royals Graphics #TogetherRoyal #BallySports

The start of the MLB season started on Thursday, April 1 and with it we saw a new branded channel. Formerly Fox Sports Midwest. It seems like we have watched Royals baseball on Fox Sports Midwest forever, but looking it up the channel launched in March 2008 (according to Wiki). The new branding is Bally Sports. Bally Sports officially launched April 1 but their web site still says “Coming Soon” and the app on my iPhone and Roku devices still says Fox Sports Go. The rumor was that everything was going to change on Opening Day of baseball, but that does not appear to have happened.

What did change was the broadcast. Broadcasters saying “Bally Sports” now and graphics indicate we are watching “Bally Sports” just to remind us over and over. I am still upset that I cannot get Royals baseball on YouTube TV and have to watch through my Mom’s streaming account from Midco. I am happy that is working and hope it continues to work to watch Royals baseball. I am one of the lucky ones as many people are not able to watch their favorite teams with blackouts or their provider no longer carrying the games (see Contract Disputes posted back in January).

For years we have had the same graphics and I have to admit I missed them when I first started watching the game on Thursday. I was so used to seeing the layout in the lower right hand corner when watching Royals baseball that I missed not seeing it in the corner. I am not sure, but I would guess the graphic for pitcher, batter, score, inning, outs, and count had not changed since Fox Sports Midwest launched in 2008, or if it did change it was not by much.

Having seen the same graphics for so many years, I get set in my ways, and expect to see them to start the new season. I think it will be fine with the new graphics, but I can still complain about what I do not like and then compliment the new changes that I do like.

Typical information on the graphics with the score on the left. Inning, bases, outs, and count in the middle. Then on the right side displays other games. The whole graphic is along the bottom of the screen. The center section is also where it displays MPH for a pitch. 

The addition of the running scores of other games is a new addition. I do not recall where scores of other games would post/scroll on Fox Sports Midwest  but I believe it might have been at the top and only if there was an interesting game in session. The most part, I do not think they showed scores of other games at all. That is a nice new addition with the scrolling scores to help keep an eye on those other games.

The center section section where it displays inning, who is on base, outs, and count needs some work is fine, but could use some color changes. Instead of outs showing as black dots, I would rather see red. The other complaint is that outs usually show left to right so it is odd to see them right to left. Again, not a huge issue, but it is going to take a little while to get used to the change. Although it appears this was only for the first game of the season on Opening Day. The second game of the season on Saturday had corrected the sequence of going left to right on outs, so it was better.

Overall, I like the new graphics and especially the scrolling scores of other games. It will take a while to get used to saying Bally Sports Kanas City, but I am sure we will all get used to it as they say it over-and-over throughout the game, commercials, and via social media.

I am so excited to be watching baseball and happy that at least for now, I get to watch Royals baseball. Enjoy the season for whatever team you follow.

MLB, Streaming Services for Television, Blackouts, Fox Sports Midwest, RSN, and Contract Disputes -- Time for a Change by MLB for Live Game Viewing

Background on Blackouts, Streaming Services, and MLB

As of today, it will not be possible to watch Kansas City Royals baseball when it starts later this year on a variety of streaming services which currently includes YouTubeTV, Sling, Hulu+, and Dish to name a few. It is important to note that Sling is owned by Dish, but all of this has to do with the contracts, or lack thereof; these television viewing services have not been able to agree to contracts with Sinclair Broadcast Group for Fox Sports Midwest to play Royals games but many other events too. The companies in contract disputes means that not only do their viewers (i.e. ME) are not able to watch Royals games but we do not get the channels at all. They were completely removed from YouTubeTV, Sling, Hulu+, and Dish.

A recent article (Sports Networks Are Losing Their Grip on Your Television) from The Motely Fool  provides a detailed background on how the contracts are done with viewing services, why this happened, and possibly the future of how this will work.

It is important to note that this is not only affecting the fans of Kansas City Royals, but other markets too that want to watch their favorites teams whether that is baseball or hockey. Recently, I have been reading a lot of customers complaining regarding not being able to watch their local hockey team because their Fox Sports Network is gone. All of which is because the provider and Sinclair have not been able to come to agreement on a contract.

Typical cable providers such as AT&T or ComCast (note Xfinity bought ComCast) keep the contracts because they are large and that’s how it has been for years, but it is the streaming services that have lost out. I recall when we were a Dish customer that it seemed that almost every year it would be threatened that we would lose our ability to view games. Sometimes the channel would go out for a few days while they were making negotiations and suddenly the channel would be back. Then they started to lose the channel out of season of the sport such as baseball. Now it is gone completely from all these services with no end game for when or if it will return.

Meanwhile, there is a Major League Baseball app (MLB) that is available to listen or watch games that are out of market. Sounds great, right? Well, with the MLB local games are blacked out so you can only watch them after they finish. The radio option is available to listen to the game live, but sometimes it is nice to be able to relax on a weekend, drink a beer, and watch my local sports team.

The process of blackouts has never made sense going back to when I was a Cox customer years ago and there would be two channels with one broadcast out of Topeka and the other from Kansas City. One channel would blackout during different times of the day as they wanted us to watch it on the other local channel. What? That made no sense then... Today, I understand why MLB blacked out local games years ago, but why does it still happen? 

Request for Change by MLB

Let us be fans. Let us watch the games. My request is directed to MLB and their agreements with various providers to ask if we are fans to be able to watch and not have blackouts for live games. Especially if we are paying MLB to be able to watch the games we should be able to watch them no matter in market or not. The whole process seems to be antiquated and out of touch from what is happening in the streaming service industry. We are paying you for the access to your app and we should be able to watch live games through the app whether in market or not.

The whole idea of having blackouts reminds me of having an old TV sitting in a field and not being able to watch the TV because there is no power. Here we are with the power but the games are blacked out because of agreements between MLB, major television providers, and local affiliates. 

The reasons for the blackouts is simple and twofold: the first reason is cable providers' desire for exclusive broadcasting rights in their local networks. The second, is MLB's desire to get fans into the stadium for attendance purposes. -- from SportingNews

This is an old practice dating back to agreements with cable providers and the desire to get people into games. Having a blackout in my view does not make me attend the games. Instead, I will either listen to the game or not pay attention at all. When we pay for a service we should be able to watch the live games and not have to watch the game after the live event has ended.

MLB , please change the process and lift the antiquated process of blackouts!

What Happens Next?

Even though YouTubeTV has increased their prices, we are happy with their service. DVR options are awesome! I am hopeful that Sinclair Broadcast Group and YouTubeTV can come to an agreement so that when baseball starts later this year, I can watch the games. However, I am not holding my breath as it has been an ongoing battle for a few years as mentioned earlier. What if nothing happens and no live television baseball for me in the spring or through the summer? Well, I will try to bum access from friends who have DirectTV so I can use their service to watch the games. Or, simply, I will listen to my $2.99 a month MLB Audio so I can listen to the games will be how I will follow my team. I have no plans to change television service because of a contract dispute. I will be frustrated and blame MLB and Sinclair Broadcast Group.

Spring training is right around the corner. How are you doing to follow your team?

Losing Track of Outs, Missing Pop Ups, and No Focus for Kansas City Royals

Should have known prior to the Kansas City Royals not playing well the past 10 games. We are 3-7 and just got blown out today by the Washington Nationals 13-2. Should have known when early in the season in a few separate games, our Royals had no clue how many outs were left. Lorenzo Cain and Eric Hosmer both were caught on camera heading back to the dugout not knowing how many outs.

Below is the clip of Hosmer when he lost track of how many outs. Really?

Thinking back to last year, when the Royals won the World Series, or even the year prior to last year, when the Royals made it to the World Series and went seven games, I do not recall any Royals player forgetting the outs. Seems like a thing as a ball player I would track and know how many outs. Remembering back to prior to 2014, I remember watching games and seeing players forget how many outs. Back then, and possibly now, our teams were not focused.

I get it! They play a lot of games and might lose track from time-to-time on the field. But to me it seems like when they are losing track of outs, those are the times we are bad and playing bad. Those are the stretches of time when as a spectator it appears they do not care.

It is time to focus on baseball and get our mojo back to playing Royals baseball. They are off tomorrow and back at it on Friday. Come on Royals!

Royals Opening Day is this Sunday

Excited for the start of the season for the Kansas City Royals. It all starts on Sunday evening with the Royals playing the New York Mets at 7:30 pm CST. Ready to get the season started and the hunt for blue October going again. A few changes in the team, but the core is back and it sounds like they are out to prove again this season that the Kansas City Royals can play ball.

I was hoping to get tickets to the home opener, but that did not happen. Plus, the tickets are way too much, so instead, Carrie and I will be going to the game on April 8. We then also have tickets to a game in a few months too. My brother and I plan on going to a game in July and just need to figure out when we will be going.

The overall hope is to make it to a number of games this year. Last year, I only made it to four regular season games. Then of course there was the Game 1 of the World Series game which I will never forget and would gladly give up going to regular season games to repeat that experience again. Using the Ballpark app from MLB, it tracks games that I attend and my keeps my record when attending those games. It is cool to be able to look back and see the history of games I have attended. The first game I attended using the Ballpark app was June 8, 2013 and I have been using it ever since to track games I attend. My record since 2013 is 15 - 2 for Royals home games. Not bad!

Hoping the weather is nice for the start of the season. Keep the snow away and get off to a great start! Makes it feel as though spring is almost here with the baseball starting up.

Get ready Royals fans!

Bob Davis Final Sign-off for Kansas Jayhawks

Bob Davis called his last game on March 26, 2016.



Good memories of hearing Bob Davis on the radio. Growing up listening to him call games for the Kansas Jayhawks. Hearing his voice on the radio reminds me of listening to games with my dad or my grandma. Usually listening as we were traveling in or around Lawrence. Of course back when I was young, you could only listen to Bob Davis on the radio. There was not the Internet or listening on our phones.

Sure, he would get excited and you could hear it in his call. I remember listening to Bob Davis call games in my dorm room at Washburn University. He would get excited and barely understand what he was saying about the game. I enjoy hearing him call the games all through these years and that familiar voice.

Hearing Bob on the broadcasts for the Kansas City Royals and then the familiar voice for the Kansas Jayhawks, he will be missed. Great career of broadcasting!

Brief Update on Royals World Series Trophy Tour at Washburn University #Royals #ForeverRoyal

The Kansas City Royals had their World Series Tour and Washburn University was one of the stops, so we had to show up to get pictures. It looked like a good turnout as the line was fairly long when I got there at 5. Took us about an hour to get through to see the trophy and when we left, there was still a long line of people waiting to get into see the hardware.

No mascot or players, but the trophy there allowing fans to take pictures with it and of it. It was fun and glad I attended.  Unfortunately, Carrie has been sick since Sunday and she was unable to attend. I am sure she will see it this year at one of our visits to Kauffman Stadium as it will be displayed in the Hall of Fame.

Congrats to the Royals and thank you for sharing the hardware from the World Series Championship!

Flickr album of all my Royals pictures is below... Spans a couple different seasons.  Looking forward to another fun season!

Videos from Game 1 of 2015 World Series ... Rediscovered on my Phone Today #Royals

Carrie and I had the opportunity to attend Game 1 of the World Series on October 27, 2015.  Of course, we were there to cheer on the Kansas City Royals!

We did some tailgating in the parking lot prior to the game.  It was raining steadily as we sat in the parking lot.  We had purchased the tickets the day before when Carrie saw them advertised on StubHub for cheap.  It was not planned in anyway.  What a great night though we had!

We wore our ponchos into the game as it was raining steadily while in the parking lot and prior to the game.  Just about the time first pitch was supposed to happen, it did stop raining.  We made it to our seats which happened to be our favorite area to sit.  We love sitting in left field by the fountains. The seats are roomy and we are close to the beer!

During the game, I broadcast via Periscope and forgot until today that I had recorded those clips to my phone too.  We got excited last week with the re-signing of Alex Gordon and after looking through my phone for pictures/videos, I came across these and wanted to share them too.

The first video is from before the first pitch.  Everyone is ready and #TheK is packed! We meet the two guys next to us which were a lot of fun. One was a manager of Johnny's West in KC and the other was the bartender for Johnny's West.  Could not have asked for better guys to sit next to for a game let alone my first ever World Series game.  It is rather long at 12 minutes.  I also did not realize that with Periscope that I could shoot it wide screen until late in the second time shooting a video.

Bottom of the 9th inning and Alex Gordon hits a home run that sends us to extra innings. It starts off with Salvy at bat. This video is a little over seven minutes long. When Gordon hits that home run, we all go crazy! There were high fives everywhere... hugs....  I realized after watching this whole clip that at about the six minute mark when someone on Periscope said to go wide screen, it does not change when I posted it.  Oh well, you can still hear us yelling and the plays. "Enjoy the rest of the game" was my last comment in the video and little did we know it would go on a while after that... Fun night!

I am not going to apologize for my screaming during the videos.  That was something new that I started toward the end of the regular season.  Trying to throw off the opposing team.  Plus, I feel like it is good luck, so I keep doing it for other sports too.

Image Copied from KC Royals Web Site

The Royals ended up winning the World Series... in case you did not know...  Carrie and I only made it to the first game.  The rest we watched from my lucky chair where I yelled, screamed, and cheered for the Royals.  Looking forward to the 2016 to start and it is good to hear and read about contracts and new additions to the Royals. #ForeverRoyal is right!  I know I have been a fan since I was little and so fun to see the #Royals the past past and last year making it to the World Series.

Sometime this spring, Carrie and I will be traveling with brother-in-law Greg and his girlfriend Erin to watch minor league games in Arkansas.  We are all looking forward to that and hopefully we will see some up and comers that will soon be playing for the Royals.

Go Royals!!!!

John Bale is a Idiot!

John Bale, LHP for Kansas City Royals, who has been on the DL the past few weeks because of a shoulder injury will remain on the DL. In frustration over his shoulder not healing as fast as he would like punched a hotel room door. Did he punch it with his non-pitching hand? No! He punched it with his pitching hand. Idiot!

John Bale is 33 years old and has been playing in the majors for 1999. This is something I would expect to see from a teenager in high school. If he was frustrated with the rate at which his shoulder was healing at least use the sense to hit the door with your non-pitching hand. Idiot!

Bale has pitched 15.1 innings and been rocked for 13 hits in only three appearances. He has a 7.63 ERA in his second year with the Royals. "They've got to think about how it's going to affect the rest of their team -- how it's going to affect their individual possibilities of being able to perform" Royals manager, Trey Hillman, said of the incident.

Brett Tomko pitches in tonights game against the Angels. The Royals swept the Cleveland Indians yesterday afternoon 2 - 0 improving their record to 14 - 16. The Angels spanked KC when we visited them back in April. Tomko needs to have a great outing tonight to help the Royals. Tomko has not been good at all in six starts. He has a 6.26 ERA and has has struggled
in all but one of those appearances.

Time will tell how Bale's actions will impact the Royals. Not being impressed with his abilities early in the season, his punching the door could be a bonus to the Royals.

Note that prior to Friday's game Trey Hillman shaved off his goat. Since that day, the Royals are 2 - 0 (Friday was rained out). I noticed in yesterdays game that Hillman had a clean shaven face. Can that be the spark that will help the Royals keep a 2 game winning streak? We can only
hope!

Tenth Win Finally Arrives for the Royals

The Kansas City Royals finally win their tenth win of the season last night. They are on a two game winning streak with both wins coming from the Toronto Blue Jays. The Royals won last night 2 - 1. Their ten win coming after a seven game losing streak. Their last win before the losing streak coming from the Angels back on April 16 (see my post from April 17). The Royals managed to from a half game out of first to dead last in the AL Central. What a streak!

The team, fans, announcers, and other teams were all in awe of the Royals starting the season on an unexpected run that placed them in first place. There does seem to be a split between fans. You have those that know what would eventually come to the Royals and those that thought we could win the division. Well, the seven game losing streak finally put things into perspective and we saw the "same old Royals".

If you did not read the article on ESPN (see Hillman adamant about changing Royals' losing ways) by Elizabeth Merrill, it is worth a read. I have said since Trey Hillman was hired and during Spring Training that there is a definitely new feel to the Kansas City team. In the article, Hillman is quoted as saying that [seven game] skids were something that he and Royals general manager, Dayton Moore, were expecting. It is good that they are finally out of the skid and have a new two game winning streak going. Kansas City has a chance for their second sweep of the season against the Blue Jays today at 1:10 PM CST.

I was one of those fans that was very excited with the start of the season. How could you help but not be excited the way they started. Still, there were some obvious problems. I still have a offensive problem with Tony Pena, Jr. He cannot bunt and he cannot hit. He is batting .156 for the season. The Royals finally scored their most runs in their first game with the Blue Jays scoring eight runs in a 8 - 4 win. Prior to that, they had scored as many as six runs, but that came in a loss to Cleveland 9 - 6.

Still, I could also feel the same feeling in my gut as I watched the seven games prior where they lost. The worst being the last of a two game series against Cleveland when the Royals played a double header on Thursday night. Along with the Oakland A's series, the Cleveland series was just about as painful to watch as a fan. Given how the team started and then to crash like that, it did feel like Royals teams of old.

For now, we will take it one game at a time. We will enjoy the wins and hope that the losses are few between. Lets get the Blue Jays for the win today! Go Royals!

Tenth Win Has to Wait for the Royals

Well, Kansas City lost tonight against the Angels 5 - 3. Their tenth win will have to wait for the series with the Okland A's coming up tomorrow. The Royals were down 5 - 2 going into the top of the ninth. They scored one run and had the go ahead at the plate, but could not get a hit after two outs. The Royals split the series with the Angels. They go up next with the A's in a three game series.

Lets Go Royals!

Kansas City Royals Doing Well... 9 - 6 on the Season

Well, if you happen to remember last season, you will recall that at this time of year Kansas City was not even close to getting their tenth win of the season. They were losing games left and right, not scoring runs, and their pitching was horrible!

This is 2008 and the Royals are a half game in back of the Chicago White Sox (they are tied at the end of 9 against the Orioles) and they are going for their tenth win of the season. Except for the fact that the Royals have not been getting a lot of runs, they have had some great pitching (starters, relievers, and closers). They have been fun games to watch and like last night I have stayed up late watching them play. They won last night in their first game against the Angels 3 - 2.

That is not to say that they do not have some odd things during the games. The other night Billy Butler popped it up and did not even bother running; the Angels recognized this and ended up getting a double play. For the most part, I have seen nothing but hustle coming from the Royals. They run like someone is chasing them to first base; they appear to be trying on every at bat. It is fun to watch and great to see when thinking back to the previous years teams when they give up running to first.

We only have a couple of items that need improvement. The first part of the needed improvement is that of our last part of our starting pitchers. We have a couple that are struggling. On the flip side, we have three pitchers that are pitching lights out. The second part that needs improvement is that of Tony Pena, jr. I love it when TPJ comes to the plate and needs a bunt. He cannot lay down a bunt to save his life. It is frustrating to watch and I cannot imagine what Hillman is going through to watch him try. However, his defensive skills are what is keeping him on the field or not putting in a pinch hitter.

The important thing right now is that the team is having fun. You can see that they are having fun while watching them on the television. Later this Summer, I will personally see that they are having fun when I go to their games. You can see that they have a manager that they believe in and that they are willing to do what he asks them to do. I blogged early in Spring Training that I like Trey Hillman and that continues. There is a different feel when watching the 2008 Kansas City Royals. There is a difference there that I have not felt for a long time when watching this team.

We are through three innings in this evenings game and it is zero all. Lets go Royals!

KC Royals go to 5 - 2

In case you missed it, the Kansas City Royals won today in their home opener against the New York Yankees (5 - 2). This makes the Royals 5 - 2 and tied for first. Meanwhile, the Detroit Tigers have not won a single game this year. Oh, how we can relate to that type of pain. Well, except for the fact that they spent a lot of money on their roster and so far it is not producing for them.

Kansas City plays New York again tomorrow evening at 6:30 pm CST. Go Royals!