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Download the Cardinals 2020 schedule

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Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI

The St. Louis Cardinals announced their 2020 regular season schedule. All game times will be announced at a later date. Opening Day is scheduled for Thursday, March 26 at Great American Ballpark vs the Cincinnati Reds. It will mark the third year in a row that the Cardinals will open on the road and the third straight year the first road trip will include a trip to Milwaukee’s domed Miller Park.

The Cardinals’ home opener at Busch Stadium will be on Thursday, April 2 vs. Baltimore.

St. Louis will continue its I-70 series vs. Kansas City with two games at Kauffman Stadium from Aug. 4-5 and two games at Busch Stadium from Sept. 15-16. The Cardinals will host the Toronto Blue Jays for two games in the beginning of June, then travel to Tampa Bay just before the All-Star Break and then host the Yankees in the first series out of the break July 17-19.

The Cardinals return the favor by finishing the regular season with the Cubs, with the final series at Wrigley Field.

Download the Cardinals 2020 schedule

Download the Royals 2020 schedule

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40,000 people are expected at the All-Star Game tonight at Kauffman stadium.

The Kansas City Royals announced their 2020 regular season schedule. All game times will be announced at a later date.

Opening Day is scheduled for Thursday, March 26 at Guaranteed Rate Field vs. the Chicago White Sox to mark just the second time in six years that the Royals open on the road. It’s the third straight season in which Kansas City will open against the White Sox. This will be the Royals’ earliest Opening Day in club history, two days earlier than this year’s opener, which was at home vs. the White Sox.

The Royals’ home opener at Kauffman Stadium will be on Thursday, April 2 vs. Seattle.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS:

Kansas City will continue its I-70 series vs. St. Louis with two games at Kauffman Stadium from Aug. 4-5 and two games at Busch Stadium from Sept. 15-16. The remaining 16 Inter league games will be played over six series, including three at home and three on the road against the National League West. Kansas City will host Inter league matchups vs. Los Angeles (May 15-17), Arizona (June 30-July 1) and San Diego (July 24-26). The road Inter league schedule will take the Royals to Colorado (June 22-24), Arizona (Aug. 17-18) and San Francisco (Aug. 28-30). This will mark their sixth trip to Coors Field and first since 2014, the fourth trip to Chase Field and first since 2014 and the third regular season visit to the newly-branded Oracle Park, and first since 2017.

2020 Regular Season Schedule

Missouri State volleyball coach resigns

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Melissa Stokes

Melissa Stokes, Missouri State University’s head volleyball coach, has announced her resignation, effective Aug. 12, 2019. The announcement came following an independent investigation by Spencer Fane LLP, which concluded that NCAA violations had occurred within the volleyball program. These violations included allowing a non-qualifier to accompany the team during a foreign tour without personally paying all costs associated with the tour and allowing currently enrolled athletes to participate as campers in Stokes’ volleyball camps.

As a result of the investigation’s findings, the university is in the process of self-reporting the NCAA violations found during the inquiry.

“The university commissioned a review of our volleyball program, due to some concerns that were brought to our attention,” Missouri State Athletic Director Kyle Moats said in a statement. “As a result of the investigation, we have concluded that we need to take the program in a new direction.”

Stokes, who fully participated in the investigation, made a decision to resign.

“For the last 23 years, the Missouri State volleyball program has been my top priority,” said Stokes. “I have always wanted what is best for our student-athletes and the university. To minimize further distraction to the program and the players, I submitted my resignation earlier today.”

Stokes has served as head volleyball coach for the last 23 years, during which time the program amassed a 509-243 overall record, for a .677 winning percentage. Stokes is also the Missouri Valley Conference’s all-time winningest coach in league matches, with 299 MVC wins.

“There’s no question that the Missouri State volleyball program has been tremendously successful with coach Stokes at the helm,” Moats stated. “We appreciate her contributions and wish her the best.”

As part of a negotiated separation agreement, the university agreed to make a severance payment of $80,000. The severance payment is in lieu of any other compensation to which Stokes would have been entitled under her employment agreement. Under the contract, her employment was scheduled to continue through June 30, 2023.

Associate head coach Manolo Concepcion has been named interim head coach, effective immediately. A national search for the head coach position will be conducted at the end of the 2019 season.

Story:  Missouri State Athletics

#BillPollockShow–Our 5-RBI guys who were heroes for the Cards and Royals. Top takeaway from the Chiefs win

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Thanks for listening and please subscribe to the Bill Pollock Show podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Sound Cloud and Facebook

Highlights from the 5-RBI guys from our big heroes in Sunday wins for the Cards and Royals.

Top takeaway from the Chiefs win

Philly fans never cease to amaze me. We go to the video!!!

WATCH: Biles makes history in Kansas City at U.S. Gymnastics Championships

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Simone Biles became the first woman in nearly 70 years to win six straight all-around titles at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships on Sunday in Kansas City. She also became the first woman to perform a clean triple-double in floor exercise. The 22-year old Biles joins Clara Schroth-Lomady, who won the women’s all-around from 1945-46 and 1949-52, as the only women to have six titles to their credit

In addition to the all-around title, Biles also won the U.S. title for three of the four events – vault (30.850), balance beam (29.650) and floor exercise (29.450) – along with the uneven bars bronze medal (28.800). Biles’ 118.500 was nearly five points ahead of silver-medalist Sunisa Lee.

The members of the U.S. Women’s Senior National Team are: Biles; Jade Carey of Phoenix, Ariz./Arizona Sunrays; Jordan Chiles of Spring, Texas/World Champions Centre; Kara Eaker of Grain Valley, Mo./Great American Gymnastics Express; Hurd; Lee; McCallum; Riley McCusker of Brielle, N.J./MG Elite; MyKayla Skinner of Gilbert, Ariz./Desert Lights Gymnastics; Trinity Thomas of York, Pa./University of Florida Gymnastics; and Wong.

Eaker talked on Friday about competing so close to home.

The 2020 U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials, which will determine the U.S. gymnastics teams for the Tokyo Summer Games, will be held June 25-28, 2020 at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. In a change from four years ago, both the men’s and women’s trials will be held in the same spot

MLB Recaps: WATCH as Thomas takes advantage of start with Cardinals. Dozier, Soler power Royals

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>>Rookie Thomas Powers Cardinals Past Pirates

(St. Louis, MO) — Rookie Lane Thomas tripled, hit a grand slam, and drove in five as the Cardinals beat the Pirates 11-9 in St. Louis. Dexter Fowler and Paul Goldschmidt each hit two-run homers. Jon Gant moved to 8-and-0 with the win in relief as Andrew Miller picked up his fourth save. The Cards have won three-straight after sweeping the series. Josh Bell hit a pair of homers and drove in four while Adam Frazier had two hits and two RBI. Kyle Crick fell to 3-and-7 after giving up five runs on three hits in two-thirds of an inning. The Pirates have lost eight straight.

>>Soler-Power, Royals Light Up Tigers

(Detroit, MI) — Jorge Soler homered twice, doubled and drove in five runs as the Royals clobbered the Tigers 10-2 in Detroit. Whit Merrifield homered and drove in three runs, while Hunter Dozier added two solo shots. Jakob Junis allowed two runs over six innings to pick up the victory as Kansas City split the four-game series. Daniel Norris absorbed the loss, yielding four runs over three innings.

NL Central

>>Cubs Rally To Down Reds

(Cincinnati, OH) — Kris Bryant belted a three-run homer in a four-run seventh as the Cubs rallied from a three-run deficit to defeat the Reds 6-3 in Cincinnati. Jason Heyward had two hits and scored two runs in the win, while Ian Happ hit a solo blast. Jon Lester allowed three runs over five innings in a no-decision as the Chicago won for the seventh time in 10 games. Eugenio Suarez pounded his 33rd home run as the Reds led 3-0 after five innings. Michael Lorenzen took the loss in relief. The Reds split the four-game series.

>>Rangers Shut Out Brewers

(Milwaukee, WI) — Mike Minor allowed four hits, walked one and struck out 11 over eight innings as the Rangers shut out the Brewers 1-0 in Milwaukee. José Leclerc
pitched a spotless ninth for his eighth save. Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s sacrifice fly scored Willie Calhoun in the seventh for the run. Texas snapped a four-game skid. Jordan Lyles allowed one run and three hits over seven innings, while striking out nine and walking four to take the loss. Ryan Braun had two of the four Milwaukee hits. The Brewers’ five-game winning streak was halted.

NL Wild Card Race

>>Cabrera Pushes Nationals Past Mets

(Flushing, NY) — Asdrubal Cabrera’s two-run double in the in the seventh pushed the Nationals to a 7-to-4 win over the Mets in Queens. Victor Robles hit a two-run homer in the ninth to put the game out of reach. The Nats scored three runs in the first on a throwing error by Pete Alonso. Matt Grace picked up the win in relief of Anibal Sanchez. Sean Doolittle pitched a perfect ninth for his 26th save. Washington avoided the sweep and has won four-of-six. Joe Panik and Jeff McNeil each had run-scoring hits in the second to tie the game 3-3 for the Mets. Michael Conforto hit a sac fly in the seventh. Robert Gsellman took the loss, giving up two runs in a third of an inning in relief of Jacob deGrom. The loss snaps New York’s eight-game winning streak.

>>Giants Take Three Of Four Against Phillies

(San Francisco, CA) — Kevin Pillar tripled in the go-ahead run in a three-run eighth inning to lift the Giants to a 9-6 win over the Phillies in San Francisco. In his first ever plate appearance, reliever Will Smith drove in two on a single to add some insurance. Smith also got the win to improve to 4-and-0. Scooter Gennett and Mike Yastrzemski homered for the Giants, who took three-of-four in the series. Bryce Harper hit a two-run single and Cesar Hernandez had three hits and two RBI for Philadelphia, which wrapped up a 2-and-5 west coast road trip. Jose Alvarez took the loss in relief.

Area golfers compete in weekend four-ball championship

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Saturday was the first round of play the 2019 Missouri Four Ball Championship at St. Albans Country Club in St. Albans, Missouri on the Tavern Creek course. This tournament features two flights of players are competing in a Championship division and a Net division.

The Championship division saw a lot of low scores today with 30 of the 48 teams turning in scores under par. The low score of the day was a 9-under 62 from the team of Sam Migdal (St.Louis) and Chris Dale (St. Louis). There is a five-way tie for second place, following closely behind with scores of 63. Defending champions, Crimson Callahan (Chesterfield) and Frankie Thomas (Chesterfield) are among those tied for second place.

Currently leading the Net division is the team of Kennedy Travis (St. Louis) and Andy Dickherber (Overland Park), with a 12-under score of 59. Following them is Brian Moeller (Shawnee) and Logan Henry (Cave Creek) with an 11-under score of 60. Defending Net division champions, Danny Vaughan (Jefferson City) and Sam Verslues (Jefferson City) are currently tied for 12th place with a 6-under score of 65.

The final round of the 2019 Missouri Four Ball Championship will begin Sunday morning at 8:00. Players will be switching to the Lewis and Clark course for tomorrow’s round. The Net division will tee off first with the Championship division to follow.

Mahomes flashy in his one series. Chiefs open preseason with a convincing win

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Patrick Mahomes showed no rust, marching the Kansas City Chiefs downfield for a first-quarter touchdown in a 38-17 preseason victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday night. Mahomes did a bit of everything on the only series by the Chiefs’ first-team offense, going 4-for-4 for 66 yards while adding a 10-yard scramble and inducing an an offside penalty. His first pass was a nifty sideline throw hitting Travis Kelce in full stride for a 36-yard gain. Mahomes even slid before the goalline instead of diving for a potential touchdown to avoid a collision. He smiled and gave the Chiefs sideline a thumbs up. The Chiefs scored on the next play.

The Chiefs and Bengals were involved in one of the new rule changes which allows pass interference to be reviewed by replay. Fighting for the third string QB job, Chiefs quarterback Kyle Shurmur had his pass picked off by safety Brandon Wilson. Officials decided that cornerback Tony Lippett had caused interference. The penalty gave the Chiefs the ball back and they ended up kicking a field goal. It should be noted, the only team that voted against the 31-1 measure to review those calls were the Bengals.

Shurmur finished 6-for-15 for 77 yards. Chase Litton, also battling for that third QB spot was 11-for-15 for 122 yards and two touchdowns and a pick.

The Chiefs defense held Cincinnati to 274 total yards.

MLB recaps: Central Division tightens as Cards and Brewers gain on Cubs. Royals blow out Tigers

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CARDINALS 3, PIRATES 1

Adam Wainwright gave up a home run on the first
pitch of the game and St. Louis held on to beat Pittsburgh.

The contending Cardinals won their second in a row after ending a
five-game losing streak.

Wainwright (8-8) allowed six hits, including the home run by Adam
Frazier, and struck out eight in six innings. He improved to 6-2
this season at home.

Giovanny Gallegos pitched 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief before
yielding to Carlos Martinez, who got two outs for his 12th save in
15 chances.

BREWERS 3, RANGERS 2

Adrian Houser struck out a career-high 10 and
rookie Keston Hiura hit his 14th home run as Milwaukee beat Texas
and extended its winning streak to five games.

REDS 10, CUBS 1

Rookie Aristides Aquino homered in his first
three at-bats , leading Cincinnati over Chicago.

Aquino has hit seven homers in his first 10 games, tying the big
league mark set by Trevor Story in 2016. The Reds hit six home runs overall.

Kyle Hendricks (8-9) gave up seven runs and a season-high 12 hits
in only 2 2/3 innings.

ROYALS 7, TIGERS 0

Mike Montgomery struck out a career-high 12 in seven
innings and Kansas City beat Detroit. Jorge Soler homered and scored twice for the Royals,
who had lost six of seven.

Montgomery (2-5) picked up his first win of the year as a starter,
allowing four singles without walking a batter. He struck out 10
Royals for Seattle on June 13, 2015.

Bottoms up #Mizzou fans. Beer and wine will be sold at home football games

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After getting positive feedback from fans, the University of Missouri Athletics Department will begin selling beer and wine in public areas at Memorial Stadium beginning this football season.  Mizzou joins a growing number of schools inside the “Power 5″ conferences who will sell alcohol.  More than half of the P5 institutions currently sell beer and wine at their football games and of the 129 FBS- playing schools, approximately 65 are set to sell alcoholic beverages this season.

“Since the SEC staff established its working group to study this issue in 2018, our staff has been working with campus leadership, including MU Chief of Police Doug Schwandt, and our Wellness Center team, to develop a detailed and thoughtful alcoholic beverage sales plan for Mizzou in the event that the SEC position on this issue were to change,” said Mizzou Director of Athletics Jim Sterk. “Based on the experiences of other institutions, we expect Mizzou football fans will appreciate this new option. We also expect alcoholic beverage sales at Memorial Stadium will help reduce the incidents associated with binge drinking that can occur on game day. We consider that a win-win for our fans.”

Beginning with the Tigers’ Sept. 7 home-opener against West Virginia, beer and wine will be available for purchase by fans 21 and over in several locations around Faurot Field. In accordance with SEC policy, the sale of alcoholic beverages at football games will end at the end of the third quarter and fans with a valid ID will only be able to purchase two drinks per transaction at select concession stands.

The university is ensuring fans of all ages that an enjoyable experience will be created for everyone.  Two feature Mizzou will include are a designated driving program and the establishment of an alcohol free zone in the stadium. The designated driving program will provide free fountain drinks and other giveaways to fans who sign in at guest service booths throughout the stadium to serve as a sober driver for the day. No alcohol will be sold in the alcohol free zone and tickets for that area will indicate that no alcohol will be sold in that area.

“Our plan is one that emphasizes control, monitoring, education and employee training which will make Mizzou Football enjoyable for all fans,” Sterk said. “Stadium personnel and law enforcement will monitor fan behavior, and if need be, we will adjust this policy as the season unfolds to provide the best possible game-day experience when cheering on the Tigers at Faurot Field.”