KC Replay: Kansas City sports week saw MLB lockout begin, prep titles earned and more

Welp, at least it’s the offseason.

That’s how a lot of us will rationalize the silence in coming days, or weeks, or (gulp) months as Major League Baseball endures its first work stoppage since 1994. The 30 MLB owners locked out the players this past week upon expiration of baseball’s collective-bargaining agreement.

Tense times, to be sure, as those players and the clubs that employ them ostensibly work toward a new pact that would allow spring training to begin as scheduled in February. But nothing’s guaranteed, so annual to-do’s like the major-league portion of the Winter Meetings are, for now, shelved.

The Royals, like other MLB organizations, won’t have contact with their major-league players until the situation is resolved. As noted in a recent KC Star story by Royals beat writer Lynn Worthy, the work stoppage has ramifications for players like Sal Perez and Adalberto Mondesi, as well as their teammates.

Here’s to the two sides soon reaching a resolution each finds palatable. And soon. Those of us who lived through MLB’s last labor impasse, in 1994, remember ugly times. We’d rather look forward to baseball, even if it’s barely December.

Here’s our weekly recap of sports stuff in and around Kansas City.

Locked-out Royals

Here’s the part about the lockout that really resonates locally: The lack of contact between clubs and players will affect what the Royals are trying to build in KC.

“By letter of the law,” Worthy wrote Thursday, the lockout “means All-Star Salvador Perez will be barred from training with Royals coaches Pedro Grifol and Mike Tosar — part of the catcher’s regimen in recent years in Miami. The Royals had hoped that shortstop Adalberto Mondesi, who is training in Florida this offseason, could also work with Tosar. Tosar is one of the organization’s hitting gurus and has worked closely with Perez and former Royal Jorge Soler. That will be prohibited until an agreement is reached.”

Yep, this situation stinks. But as noted at the top, there’s some time to work with here before anyone need worry about missed spring training or games. With any luck and a little cooperation, it won’t come to that.

Basketball jonesing

If hoops is your thing, you’ve had plenty to consume of late.

Kansas beat St. John’s 95-75 in the Big East-Big 12 Battle Friday night, an interesting matchup because the Red Storm is coached by former Mizzou coach Mike Anderson (who drew a late double-T). The well-traveled Anderson had St. John’s running pretty well in the game at Elmont, N.Y., but Bill Self had his Jayhawks running just a little bit better.

Mizzou turned in another disappointing showing in a season that’s accumulating too many of them. The latest setback was a 66-45 loss at Liberty on Thursday. Much different story for Robin Pingeton’s Mizzou women’s team, by the way, which blazed to an 8-0 start (after being picked to finish next to last in the SEC). A big test awaited Saturday night against 7-1 Baylor.

Cats on prowl for new OC

Kansas State football coach Chris Klieman made a Friday afternoon news drop in announcing that offensive coordinator Courtney Messingham is out in Manhattan.

As Kellis Robinett wrote Friday, “Quarterbacks coach Collin Klein will serve as K-State’s interim offensive coordinator at its bowl game, most likely the Cheez-It Bowl in Orlando on Dec. 29 or the Texas Bowl in Houston on Jan. 4.”

Bottom line, the Wildcats had problems scoring at some crucial junctures.

“Fans seemed to turn on Messingham once and for all when K-State went 1 for 9 on third downs and 0 for 2 on fourth downs against Texas,” Robinett wrote.

High school champions

It was a momentous week for several high school teams around the metro, and for Blue Valley West golfer Julia Misemer.

Misemer, a senior who will play for Arizona next year, on Wednesday won the annual Kenneth Smith Award as the top girls high school golfer in the KC area. Her credentials are impeccable, including four straight state championships at the Class 6A level. She’s just the second golfer, male or female, in Kansas high school history to accomplish that.

On the gridiron, Blue Valley Northwest (6A), Mill Valley (5A) and St. James (4A) each won Kansas championships. Smithville (Class 4) and Cass County’s Drexel/Miami (8-man) earned Missouri state titles, with St. Pius X still to play in the Show Me Bowl’s Class 3 game on Saturday.