MLS Release Home Openers, Sporting Have Three Games Announced

MLS today announced the home openers for all 22 MLS teams, and with that we know three of Sporting KC's games to start the season.

Sporting KC will once again open the season on the road, starting against DC United at RFK Stadium on March 4th with a 6pm kick off. The game should be the last game KC ever plays in the stadium where they won MLS Cup 2000 as DC United is scheduled to open their new stadium in 2018 and KC's next road trip to DC won't come until the 2019 season. This will actually be the eighth time that KC will play DC in their season opener, KC is 5-2 in the previous seven games (1998 L, 2001 L, 2003 W, 2007 W, 2008 W, 2010 W, 2012 W) including a 2-2 record when opening the season at RFK Stadium (1998, 2001, 2007, 2012).

Sporting will have their home opener just one week later, on March 11th they'll welcome the defending Supporters' Shield winners, FC Dallas to Children's Mercy Park. Kansas City has one of the best records in home openers in all of MLS, with a 13-2-6 record in the first home game of the season. The game will hopefully be a sign of things to come for many Sporting KC fans this season, Saturday night games, as the game kicks off at 7:30 Central time. One of the big complaints I saw last season from a number of fans was the schedule that saw Kansas City have numerous different start times and a lack of Saturday games. Sporting obviously had little to do with this due to their being on national television so much. Hopefully KC will have a few more Saturday night games than the four they had in 2016.

The third game that is already on the schedule for Sporting KC is the fifth week of the season when Sporting KC will travel to BMO Field for Toronto FC's home opener. This will be the second time that KC will play Toronto in their home opener, the last time was when the stadium opened back in 2007, when Kansas City pulled out a 1-0 win on a goal by Eddie Johnson. Playing two Eastern Conference teams on the road so early in the season means that KC will have gotten two of their five or six East Coast road trips out of the way early in the season. This year Sporting is supposed to play DC, Toronto, Columbus, New York City, and Orlando on the road for sure, and could possibly play Atlanta as well, depending on how MLS breaks the schedule down. With getting two out of the way early it'll mean fewer road trips East later in the season.

The rest of the schedule is still scheduled to come out in January, when we'll see the club's first trip to Minnesota and the first time they play Atlanta.

Sporting Grab a Point in DC

Sporting KC walked in to RFK Stadium, and while they couldn't come away with all three points, did manage to take one as the two teams played to a 1-1 draw. KC made a couple changes from the team that beat Chicago last week, inserting Jacob Peterson and Erik Palmer-Brown for Krisztian Nemeth and Kevin Ellis. On the other side of the ball, DC United was without one of their main threats, with Fabian Espindola missing out due to injury.

KC actually came out as the better team in the first half, looking the better side and taking the game to DC. KC almost grabbed the lead in the 19th minute as Benny Feilhaber played a free kick wide to Seth Sinovic who found Roger Espinoza a little further back on the field. Espinoza played a cross into the far post where Jacob Peterson met it, but his sliding shot went into the cross bar and bounced clear of goal. KC forced Bill Hamid into a number of saves in the first half, Benny Feilhaber tested him on one occasion, forcing a good save from the US international. Against the run of play in the first half, DC grabbed the lead in the 42nd. A long ball over the top found Chris Rolfe in the KC box, he cut back on Jalil Anibaba and picked out Jairo Arrieta in the box and he fried a shot as Matt Besler slid in beating both Besler and Tim Melia to give DC the 1-0 lead. KC though responded immediately and tied the game with Espinoza receiving the ball in DC's attacking thrid, dribbling into the box before laying it off for Dom Dwyer who beat Hamid and tied the game at 1-1.

The second half saw DC with the better of the chances, in the 51st there were a couple scrambles in front of net as a Role cross made it entirely through the box without touching anyone. Sean Franklin collected the rebound and crossed it to the back post where it was headed into the middle and pinged around by a couple players before it was eventually sent out of bounds. KC thought they'd grabbed the lead 10 minutes later in the 62nd as a great cross into the box found Dwyer who beat Hamid, but Dwyer was just in front of the last defender and offside as the score remained level at 1-1. A very close call as Dwyer just stepped offside on the play. The second half saw DC with the better of play but they couldn't capitalize on all the possession. In second half stoppage time, DC had a great opportunity to win it. A corner by United wasn't cleared well and fell to substitute Amadou Dia. Dia attempted to clear the ball, but only did on the ground right to Michael Farfan who fired a shot from just outside the box that went just wide of KC's net, keeping the score at 1-1.

Wizards Man of the Match - Roger Espinoza - The KC midfield looked quite good tonight breaking up DC's attack and getting forward, Espinoza provided the assist on Dwyer's equalizer and overall was a pest all night for DC.

Player Ratings - Melia 6, Anibaba 5, Besler 6, Palmer-Brown 5, Sinovic 5, Mustivar 5, Espinoza 7, Feilhaber 6, Zusi 5, Dwyer 6, Peterson 5. Subs Nemeth 4, Hallisey NR, Dia NR.

Match Day 10: Sporting visit DC United

For the first time since MLS Cup 2004, Sporting KC and DC United will meet tomorrow without being in the same conference. KC plays another former conference rival this week traveling to DC to take on DC United. Before tonight's MLS game between Orlando and New England, DC was sitting tied with New England atop the Eastern Conference with 17 points.

DC has not lost a game at RFK since June of last year when they lost 1-0 to the Seattle Sounders. They've gone 16 unbeaten in all competitions, including last week when they picked up an impressive 2-0 win over the Columbus Crew. On the season, DC has lost just once, in the second week of the season to New York. Since then, DC has gone six games without a loss, winning four of them. Now DC has forward Fabian Espindola back and he'll provide plenty of issues for KC's back line with his pace. He showed that last week as he was able to get behind the Crew back line a few times. The defense has been doing quite well at the same time, whether Bill Hamid has been in net or not as they've allowed a league low six goals.

KC meanwhile ended a three game winless run with their 1-0 win over the Chicago Fire last week. KC had plenty of decent chances in the game but were unable to find the net more than the one time. The defense looked better, but they'll be facing a better attack in United than the Fire provided. The big question of the week is whether goalkeeper Tim Melia will retain his starting spot from last week or not. Peter Vermes had said Luis Marin had sat because he needed a mental break, but with the way Melia played Vermes will be hard pressed to sit him. Other than that the only other potential change I could see is Vermes handing a start to Paulo Nagamura who won the game for KC, potentially giving Roger Espinoza a break for a week. Seth Sinovic struggled on the left wing against the Fire, but with Marcel de Jong likely out, Sinovic seems likely to start again at left back.

Melia

Anibaba - Ellis - Besler - Sinovic

Mustivar

Nagamura - Feilhaber

Zusi - Dwyer - Nemeth

Number to Remember - 353 - That's how many minutes that KC has gone without a goal against DC. United shut KC out in all three games the teams have played last year. The last goal scored by KC was Dom Dwyer in the 7th minute in KC's 1-0 win in October of 2013.

Key Match Up - Kevin Ellis vs Fabian Espindola - The DC forward is going to try to get himself isolated against the less experienced of KC's two center backs. If he can, Espindola could cause KC a ton of problems. Matt Besler and Jalil Anibaba are going to need to watch the match up and pinch in to help Ellis out.

PREDICTION - Honestly I just think that DC is too good for KC at this point. Their team is playing well on both sides of the ball right now, Espinodola and Chris Rolfe are causing issues for opposing back lines, and the defense has been solid even without Steve Birnbaum out of the line up. KC has just struggled with inconsistencies on both sides of the ball too much in the early part of this season to walk out with any points in this game.

SKC - 0
DC - 2 (Espindola x2)

Sporting Pick Up a Point on the Road

Sporting KC wasn't able to keep DC United from clinching a playoff birth, but they did limit them to one point and in the process earned a shut out in a 0-0 draw at RFK Stadium. It won't go a long way towards getting the team back on track, but it is definitely a step in the right direction.

Sporting actually came out in the first half and had plenty of the run of play. Unfortunately they really didn't test DC keeper, Bill Hamid much. Kevin Ellis had a good chance early on off a free kick, but with a free header, instead of trying to put it on goal, headed it across the face of goal trying to find a teammate, but the ball was cleared. With KC getting the possession mostly in the first half, DC was looking to strike on the counter, and of the two teams probably had the better of the opportunities with it. Fabian Espindola had a few chances, one putting a shot wide of Andy Gruenebaum's net. Another came in the 28th minute when Taylor Kemp won the ball off Toni Dovale near midfield. He raced down field and squared the ball into the middle for Luis Silva who took a touch to round a sliding Matt Besler, the ball appeared to hit Besler's arm on the way through but no call was made. Silva kept the ball and laid it back to an on rushing Espindola who fired on goal but Gruenebaum came up with a big save. Overall KC did a good job of limiting Espindola's chances to shots from outside the box that allowed Gruenebaum time to react and make the save.

The second half saw DC continue to have the better of the chances, but really didn't force a huge test of Gruenebaum. Early on in the second half DC had a penalty shout as Espindola played a nice lofted ball into the box for Chris Pontius. Pontius brought the ball down as Igor Juliao went for the ball, Juliao missed and Pontius went down but no foul was called on the Brazilian right back. In the 58th Espindola again fired just wide on the counter after a Graham Zusi pass didn't reach CJ Sapong. Like the first half, DC's best offensive chances were coming through the Argentine, a couple more times in the game he fired wide of the net. Silva also got in on the action putting a free kick just wide of Gruenebaum's near post in the 71st minute. KC's best chance of the night came in the 76th. A cross by Seth Sinovic into the box was headed back into the middle by Dom Dwyer for Sapong. Sapong did very well to get power on his header and headed it down, but Hamid got down well and made the save. Late on, KC was the aggressor, looking for the winner, getting a number of late opportunities off of free kicks, but they failed to capitalize on them, the last one coming with basically the last kick of the ball as Zusi played a free kick into the box that no one got a touch on and went right into the arms of Hamid. Immediately after the final whistle blew. Disappointing not to get all three points, but a point at this point is a plus for KC.

Wizards Man of the Match - Andy Gruenebaum - Back in the starting lineup for Eric Kronberg who Peter Vermes said didn't have his timing back, Gruenebaum did well, recording 7 saves, a season high for Sporting.

Player Ratings - Gruenebaum 7, Juliao 5, Besler 6, Ellis 6, Sinovic 6, Olum 5, Nagamura 6, Zusi 5, Dovale 4, Dwyer 4, Sapong 5. Subs Feilhaber 4.

Match Day 31 - Needing to Right the League Form

Sporting Kansas City continues to have their league struggles in MLS play. Heading into tomorrow's game against DC United, Sporting has won just one of their last six and just two of their last eight and since their four game winning streak ended the team has picked up just seven of a possible 27 points. This stretch has led to Sporting sliding back towards the pack and has brought some questions regarding KC's potential playoff run.

DC United comes in on the verge of a playoff birth themselves. If United can pick up just a point they'll clinch a playoff spot. They've turned their team around from the one that finished at the bottom of the East last year. The likes of Fabian Espindola, Davy Arnaud, and Bobby Boswell have helped to shore up DC's spine and it shows with DC being a much more consistent team this year. One player from that spine that will be missing though is Perry Kitchen. The defensive midfielder is suspended for tomorrow night's game due to yellow card accumulation. That will be a bonus for KC as Kitchen has had himself a very good year.

Kansas City will welcome back Lawrence Olum after he returns from yellow card suspension. But Olum may not be slotting into his normal midfield position that he's played most of the season at. Instead he may well be slotting in at center back next to Matt Besler. This is because Aurelien Collin is still struggling with injury and is doubtful for tomorrow's game. Other than that change, I'd expect Sporting to come out with a lineup similar to the one that played against New England last Friday.

Kronberg

Juliao - Olum - Besler - Sinovic

Claros - Nagamura

Feilhaber

Dovale - Dwyer - Zusi

Number to Remember - 2 - That's how many wins Sporting KC currently has against the other four teams in the East currently in the playoffs in the East. Those two wins are against one team, the Columbus Crew. Against the other three teams, KC is 0-6-1.

Key Match Up - Luis Silva and Fabian Espindola vs KC back line - Espindola and Silva have both been a handful for opposing defenses. The two have combined for 20 goals this year between the two of them. They aren't physically imposing attackers, but their style of play will cause issues for KC's back line.

PREDICTION - A few weeks ago DC came into Sporting Park and stomped KC 3-0. Sporting played better last week against New England than they did in that game. The question is whether KC can take it a step further and pick up a win against the team at the top of the East. It would also put KC in a better position playoff wise and probably restore some confidence in the team that has been lost over the past two months. Against a DC team that is playing well lately though, especialy at home where they haven't dropped a point since June.

SKC - 0
DC - 2 (Espindola, Silva)

Sunday After Stats

The game was the 50th league game between KC and DC, it's the fourth team KC has played 50 games against, KC has a 20-20-10 record, scoring 73 and conceding 66.

In the 45th minute, Seth Sinovic moved past Chance Myers and into 20th place for minutes played in league play for KC. Sinovic finished the game with 9,166 minutes played.

Sinovic made his 104th start in league play for KC, tying him with Sean Bowers for 19th place on that list.

Matt Besler made his 170th appearance in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Mo Johnston, and moving him into a tie with Michael Harrington for 9th all time on that list.

Besler made his 163rd start in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Jack Jewsbury for 7th place on that list.

Graham Zusi made his 165th appearance in all competitions for KC, tying him with Josh Wolff for 12th all time on that list.

Zusi made his 107th league start for KC, tying him with Uche Okafor for 17th place on that list.

Sporting Fall to DC, Suffer Worst Defeat in Time at Sporting Park

Sporting Kansas City suffered their largest defeat in the history of Sporting Park, falling 3-0 last night to DC United. The loss was KC's first by three goals at home since a 3-0 loss to New York in June of 2010 when the team played at Community America Ballpark. Three goals in less than 10 minutes allowed DC United to easily beat KC and move past them and into first place in the Eastern Conference.

KC had some good possession early on around the top of DC's box, creating some half chances, but failing to really test Bill Hamid early on. Benny Feilhaber was the early creator seeing much of the offense go through him. In the 24th minute DC got themselves on the board. Fabian Espindola got the ball out wide. He turned Aurelien Collin backward before dribbling towards the middle of the field. Espindola fired a shot from the corner of the 18 yard box. The ball beat Jon Kempin and went into the far corner to make it 1-0 DC. Only four minutes later, United doubled their lead. After KC couldn't control the ball in the middle of the field, the ball fell to Luis Silva. The forward chipped a ball over the KC defense to Chris Rolfe who was onside and in behind KC's defense. Kempin got a touch on the ball, but couldn't keep it out of the net as DC went up 2-0. KC attempted to push numbers forward to try and find a way back into the game, but left themselves exposed to the counter. In the 31st United hit on the counter and made it 3-0. The ball was played in to Perry Kitchen who had raced forward from his midfield position. He cut back inside on Collin and then beat Kempin to his near post. The defense was just at sixes and sevens throughout much of the night.

With the lead, DC as able to sit back a bit, but throughout the second half still looked the more dangerous side, especially on the counter. In the 53rd DC should have made it four. KC's defense was a mess as two DC forwards combined up top for DC against four KC defenders. The ball came to Nick DeLeon who tried to get the ball into the corner, but it hit the base of the post and was eventually cleared. KC hit the woodwork themselves shortly after, in the 60th minute. Zusi from outside the box fired a shot towards goal. The shot beat Bill Hamid, but clanged off the cross bar and away from goal. DC inserted David Estrada into the game and he caused more problems for the KC back line. In the 88th, DC again hit the post. After Collin pushed forward to win a ball, the ball went right to Estrada who sprung Espindola in the space Collin had left. Espindola raced down the field and lofted a cross to the back post for Estrada who fired a shot the hit the post and was then cleaned up by Lawrence Olum. When the final whistle blew, Sporting players made a B line for the locker room trying to put the game behind them.

Wizards Man of the Match - Benny Feilhaber - Really it's a matter of who was the least worst last night. No one really had a good game last night, the defense was in shambles, the forwards couldn't get many chances. Early on in the game before DC's first goal, Feilhaber looked extremely plugged in for the game. Unfortunately nothing came of it.

Player Ratings - Kempin 3, Juliao 3, Collin 2, Besler 2, Sinovic 3, Olum 3, Feilhaber 5, Zusi 4, Saad 4, Dwyer 3, Zizzo 3. Subs Sapong 4, Bieler 4, Dovale 4.

Match Day 25 - Top of the East

Sporting Kansas City head into another big league match up after a 1-1 midweek draw with Real Esteli. The game is the second in a row against teams in a top three team in the East. Last week Sporting KC topped Toronto FC. This week, Sporting KC welcome second place DC United. United sits just two points behind KC and also has a game in hand. A win would allow KC to go five clear of United.

United heads into tomorrow's game having played midweek as well. They were at home though, hosting Jamaican side, Waterhouse FC, winning 1-0. DC put out a reserve lineup at home and were able to get the win. That means that starters like Bobby Boswell, Davy Arnaud, and Fabian Espindola were rested ahead of this weekend's game. They've won three of their last five league games, but the three wins all came at home. On the road DC lost their two games in that stretch.

Kansas City, unlike United put out a number of first team players in their game against Real Esteli. Combine that with the return trip from Nicaragua could make for some tired legs by the end of the game Saturday. KC's injury issues look like they'll continue to a point, Jacob Peterson is listed as out on the injury report this week with a knee sprain. It looks like both Andy Gruenebaum and Paulo Nagamura will also miss the game. So Jon Kempin looks set for another start in goal. The question will be how KC sets up the rest of the field after the midweek game against Esteli.

Kempin

Juliao - Collin - Besler - Sinovic

Olum - Lopez

Feilhaber

Zizzo - Dwyer - Zusi

Number to Remember - 0 - That's the number of wins that DC has in Kansas City since Sporting KC moved to Kansas. Since the start of the 2008 season when KC moved out to Community America Ballpark, Kansas City is 6-0-2 against DC, including a 4-0 record at Sporting Park. They've only allowed 1 goal in those 4 games.

Key Match Up - Matt Besler vs Fabian Espindola - Espindola beat KC with a curling shot/cross that fooled Eric Kronberg in DC. Espindola likes to drift out wide to receive the ball and come in. That's going to have to be a big thing for KC to watch out for tomorrow. He can cause KC all kinds of trouble.

PREDICTION - KC has just the one home loss at home this season, but has quite a few draws. DC has lost their last two games on the road, conceding four and not scoring one. KC needs to start shoring up the defense, which has not had a shutout since Kronberg went down with his broken hand. Stepping up in a big game against the team right behind you in the standings would be the perfect time to get the defense back in order. Unfortunately I'm not sure that happens. Espindola is the type of forward that causes KC trouble. But I don't think DC has enough offensively to top KC tomorrow.

SKC - 2 (Dwyer, Zusi)
DC - 1 (Espindola)

Sunday After Stats

In the first 14 games of the season so far, Sporting has used 25 players, 24 of those players have started at least one game. The only player that has so far not started a game is Soony Saad.

The loss was Peter Vermes' 50th as head coach of Sporting. He's now tied with Ron Newman for the 2nd most in team history. It took Vermes 58 more games to reach that mark than Newman.

In the 26th minute, Seth Sinovic moved past Uche Okafor and into 19th place for minutes played in all competitions, he finished the game with 10,346 minutes played.

Sinovic made his 116th start in all competitions for KC, tying him with Uche Okafor for 19th place on that list.

The meeting was the 50th meeting in all competitions between Sporting and DC. KC's record in those 50 games is 20-20-10, scoring 74 while conceding 66.

Sporting Fall Again, Now Winless in Five

The winless run has hit five games. It's not the team's longest run without a win since they went 10 without a win at the beginning of the 2011 season. This time it was a 1-0 loss to DC United on a goal by Fabian Espindola.

Things started out extremely poorly for Sporting as in just the 9th minute, Aurelien Collin pulled up lame after winning the ball off of Espindola. Immediately Peter Vermes pulled the Frenchman, inserting teenager Erik Palmer-Brown for his second professional appearance. At this point with Collin's hamstring I sit him until at least the US Open Cup game against Minnesota United, if not the end of the World Cup break when KC take on Portland.

DC controlled much of the earn going, in the 17th Eric Kronberg had to save a header by Nick DeLeon. A couple minutes later Eddie Johnson had a good opportunity as he got played in behind KC's defense. Johnson continued around Eric Kronberg as the goalkeeper came off his line, but as Johnson wound up to soot, Palmer-Brown made a nice recovery tackle to knock the ball out for a corner. KC found some chances going forward as well though. In the 23rd minute, Seth Sinovic found space on the left and put a cross into the middle. Dom Dwyer reached it first but turned his effor just the wrong side of the post. In the 28th though DC finally found the net. After a cros was partially cleared, Espindola received the ball out wide. He cut back up the field and then curled what appeared to be a cross into the box. Kronberg initially took a step forward to come and claim it. It was only after he realized the cross was long that he started back pedaling, and by then it was too late as the ball looped into the net making it 1-0. After the goal KC started to get more of the possession and could have equalized in the 39th. Som good movement down the left saw Jacob Peterson cross into the box. The cross was behind Sinovic but Dwyer was there to one time the effort on goal.

Early in the second half DC had another opportunity as Espindola got played in behind KC's defense, but Kronberg was quickly off the line and knocked the ball away. KC continued to have the better of possession in the second half, but really struggled to test Bill Hamid in the DC net. Meanwhile at the other end, Espindola continued to cause problems having a shot pushed just wide of the post by Kronberg. And it wouldn't be a Sporting game without a red card. In second half stoppage time DC's defense had cleared a ball to midfield. Alex Caskey was racing Sporting's Kevin Ellis to the ball. Ellis won the race touching the ball ahead. Caskey had gone to ground trying to win it, but his foot wasn't on the ground and he took Ellis down at the shins. The red card came out and really there can't be much argument to it. KC couldn't take advantage of the man advantage in the minute and a half or so before the whistle blew.

Wizards Man of the Match - Kevin Ellis - With Collin's early injury a lot more pressure fell on Ellis to be the anchor of the middle of the back line for KC. He did a very good job along with Palmer-Brown to keep the DC attack in check for most of the game.

Player Ratings - Kronberg 4, Juliao 5, Ellis 7, Collin NR, Sinovic 6, Feilhaber 5, Nagamura 4, Martinez 5, Peterson 5, Dwyer 4, Dovale 4. Subs Palmer-Brown 6, Medranda 4, Saad 4.

Match Day 14: Can We Skip May Next Year?

Every year Sporting KC should just skip the month of May. Since Peter Vermes has taken over the team, KC has just three wins in the month of May. KC is 5-11-7 in the month of May since Vermes took charge, and two of those five wins have come this year against Columbus (2-0) and Montreal (3-0). KC's struggles this year have a lot to do with their defensive issues with losing Matt Besler and Lawrence Olum to international call ups as the same time that Aurelien Collin went down with a hamstring injury. He was back for Tuesday's game against the New York Red Bulls. And this will also be the last game without Lawrence Olum. So KC's issues may slowly be resolving themselves.

Tomorrow's opponent DC got a midweek boost when the red card that Eddie Johnson received last week against the New England Revolution was rescinded. The former KC Wizard and US national team snub will be available for selection by Ben Olsen tomorrow. Against KC's still makeshift back line, combined with Fabian Espindola, the DC offense has to be excited for this match up tomorrow. United also now has one of KC fans' "favorite" players, after his crawling act a few years ago while a member of the Chicago Fire. Chris Rolfe has also been a paint for KC through the years with the Fire.

While KC is still far from 100%, they've done a good job of holding things together as best they can. While the team hasn't gotten a win since the injury and call up issues started, they haven't been beaten into submission. Most teams by the team they were on their eighth and ninth string center backs would be leaking in a number of goals. And while by KC's standard, the number is higher than normal, the team has done well to maintain a good position in the league to make a run when more players return. At this point though, it's time to start to get some wins again. The current four game winless run is the longest since a 0-3-1 run in 2012. One more winless game would be the club's longest since their 10 game league winless run in 2011 when KC had the long road trip before the opening of Sporting Park. On the field there's not much to change from the lineup that took the field against the Red Bulls, maybe insert Jacob Peterson on one wing to provide more defensive cover on the road. Other than that the only change I'd make is if Oriol Rosell is healthy enough to return.

Kronberg

Juliao - Ellis - Collin - Sinovic

Feilhaber - Nagamura

Martinez

Peterson - Dwyer - Dovale

Number to Remember - 2 - That's the number of goals in the last eight not scored by Dom Dwyer. It's great to finally see a KC forward in some really fantastic form, but KC also needs to start getting production from elsewhere. Dwyer has still scored over half the team's regular season goals, and the team's second leading scorer is Aurelien Collin with two.

Key Match Up - KC's defense vs Eddie Johnson and Fabian Espindola - Once again many questions will be asked of Sporting KC's defense tomorrow as they face another formidable strike force in Johnson and Espindola. While Johnson only has one goal this year, his history in the league is one that can't be discounted. Espindola as well has a good scoring record in his history in the league.

PREDICTION - May can't end soon enough. KC's not had a good month. The team also can't get to the World Cup break soon enough. DC's been on hard times recently, but they're a better team than they were last year by far. It only took one mistake against New York to be punished and Johnson or Espindola are also capable of pouncing on those mistakes. With the partnership of Collin and Ellis, it'd allow Ellis to drift some with Espindola (while he'd also need to rely on Juliao when Espindola drifts wide) while Collin deals with Johnson in the middle. KC's offense should be able to find space, hopefully Dwyer's form stays high.

SKC -1 (Dwyer)
DC - 2 (Johnson, Rolfe)

Sporting Clinch Top Two Spot

It wasn't the prettiest game of the season from Sporting KC, but they took care of business and clinched a top 2 spot in the Eastern Conference last night with a 1-0 win over DC. KC also, at least for the moment jumped into the lead in the Supporters' Shield race, hoping over Portland and New York.

The lone goal in the game came extremely early. In just the 7th minute, DC appeared to be controlling the ball in their end of the field. But KC's high pressure worked to perfection. On a pass back to center back Perry Kitchen, Peterson Joseph chased the ball down and forced Kitchen to play a back pass to goalkeeper Bill Hamid. Dom Dwyer though had anticipated the pass, intercpting it and putting it under Hamid and into the net to make it 1-0. KC continued the early pressure and caused confusion in DC's box, but their efforts did not end up on net and Hamid was able to collect loose balls in the box. Still in just the 11th minute, DC had a decent opportunity after a cross into the box was only partially cleared by Ike Opara. The effort though was skied over the net by Chris Pontius. In the 15th Ike Opara was able to get his head on a Benny Feilhaber corner, but it was right at Hamid. Hamid's save led to DC's best opportunity of the game. Jared Jeffrey got played in behind KC's defense with a great through ball. Jeffrey though seemed to freeze when 1v1 with Jimmy Nielsen and when Jeffrey tried to shot it, he shot right into Neilsen's stomach and he knocked the ball away. After the first 15 minutes or so the game really started to slow down and chances for both sides were limited.

The second half was limited in action as well. There didn't seem to be a lot of interest from either side to really push the game. KC seemed content to sit on the one goal and DC seemed resigned to their fate. The chances were really limited in the second half, even though DC held possession for the majority of the second half, they really didn't threaten Nielsen's net too much.

Wizards Man of the Match - Matt Besler - Sporting KC held DC to just one shot on goal the entire game, the save by Nielsen on Jeffrey. Sporting's defense limited a very poor DC team quite well. They were limited really to chances mainly from long distance.

Honorable Mention - Ike Opara

Player Ratings - Nielsen 6, Myers 7, Besler 8, Opara 8, Sinovic 7, Rosell 7, Joseph 6, Feilhaber 5, Sapong 5, Dwyer 6, Saad 5. Subs Zusi 5, Olum 6, Bieler 5.

Playoffs Clinched, Time for the Next Step

Sporting KC clinched a playoff spot last weekend without even taking the field. Tomorrow night at Sporting Park, they can clinch a top three spot with a draw and a top two spot with a win. KC welcomes the "Wooden Spoon" winner (worst record in the league), DC United tomorrow night. While United won this year's US Open Cup they've been struggling in league play.

United is on pace to set a number of league records this year. If they don't get a win in KC they'll tie a league record for fewest wins on the road (0) and they'll be guaranteed to at best tie a league record for fewest wins (4). If they're shutout, they'll stay on pace to tie their old record for fewest goals in a season (21). As the records above are showing, it's not been a good season for DC. Their leading scorers in league play both have three goals. KC has eight players that currently have at least three goals. Two of those players that have three are defenders.

Sporting KC cannot be complacent though at home. In their past two home games, both against lesser competition KC has picked up a draw (vs Real Esteli) and a loss (vs Philadelphia). A team like DC is going to be dangerous for KC cause they'll come in with nothing to play for. Sporting will play without Aurelien Collin tomorrow. Collin is suspended again tomorrow due to yellow card accumulation. Peter Vermes though had worked out a deal with Jurgen Klinsmann that allowed Matt Besler to return to KC after the qualifier in Kansas City. So tomorrow Sporting will have Besler and Ike Opara partner in the center of defense. Graham Zusi has also returned, but it's not known if he will start or not. Another question is whether Claudio Bieler will return back to the starting lineup after making way for Dom Dwyer the past few weeks.

Nielsen

Myers - Opara - Besler - Sinovic

Rosell - Joseph

Feilhaber

Saad - Dwyer - Sapong

Number to Remember - 1 - The number of points KC needs to clinch a top 3 spot in the East. It's also the number of goals that Bieler has scored since mid-July. That one goal came from the penalty spot. Heading into the playoffs, Sporting needs Bieler to find form and start scoring again.

Key Match Up - KC forwards vs DC Defense - Someone on the front line of Sporting KC needs to start finding form. While Bieler is certainly a big key to hit form. At this point KC needs one of their forwards to starting finding the net regularly. CJ Sapong had scored three goals in two games, but has been kept off the board the last three. Bieler and Soony Saad haven't scored since Columbus, and Dwyer has the one league goal. KC needs to start finding the net.

PREDICTION -Now is the time in the season where you have to get everything lined up for the playoffs. You limit your lineup shuffling and you put your best team on the field. Facing a team at the bottom of the table at home this a game that Sporting KC absolutely must win. And really there's no reason that KC shouldn't win this one going away. Last time KC played DC at home it took a late Bieler goal to win 1-0. So it's certainly not a guarantee, but a team in KC's position should be able to win this without a huge problem.

SKC - 2 (Saad, Dwyer)
DC - 0

Controversial Call Limits KC to a Point in DC

In close games many times you'll see a questionable call by a referee help to decide the game.  More often than not that quesitonable call is a judgment call by the referee that could be called either way and is usually argued as such depending which side of the call you're on.  Then you have incidents like in today's game and you get offside calls that are blatantly wrong.  KC defender Ike Opara had a legitimate goal ruled out due to an offside call that live looked totally wrong and on replay looked worse when there are at least 3 DC players between Opara and the goal (and potentially a 4th even with Opara depending on how you view the angle). PRO Executive Director, Peter Walton said it was "clearly a wrong call and one that cannot be justified."

Meanwhile the referee himself, Matthew Nelson said he "misjudged the play."

In the end the call helped to cost Sporting Kansas City 2 points as they and DC played to a 1-1 draw. And while there's no way to tell how the rest of the game would have gone if the goal had counted it's a frustrating situation with the game ending 1-1.

KC had a strong start to the game, pushing the game and putting DC on the back foot.  It was DC on the counter though that created the first really good chance of the half in the 10th minute.  After a cross was played back to an onrushing Nick De Leon, the midfielder fired a shot from outside the box that Jimmy Nielsen just palmed into the air and out for a corner, not attempting to hold the ball.  KC kept pushing and in the 30th minute came the controversy.  Off a corner the ball ended up wide with Seth Sinovic.  Sinovic played the ball to Matt Besler who was racing towards the end line.  Besler cut the ball back into the path of Jacob Peterson. Peterson played the ball to the back post where Opara had made his run.  Opara tapped the ball into the net but was wrongly ruled offside and the score remained 0-0.  KC tried to find a goal before half, Graham Zusi forced a decent save out of Bill Hamid in the 39th after DC turned the ball over in their own end.  As the half wore down it was acually DC who almost grabbed the lead heading into the half.  A deep cross made it into the box where Dwayne DeRosario found himself unmarked.  DeRosario tried to head the ball back towards the near post, but put his header wide keeping the score 0-0.

KC continued their search for the first goal in the second half but struggled to create chances. Finally in the 60th minute they found it.  Off a Zusi corner kick, Opara ran into the box and got a touch on the ball and deflected it onto the head of Ethan White who headed it past Hamid and into his own net to make it 1-0 Sporting.  The lead only lasted 5 minutes though as in the 65th DC was level.  Chris Pontius played a fantastic cross to the back post for Kyle Porter who one timed an effort into the far post past Nielsen to level the game at 1-1. After giving up the equalizer Kansas City again was pushing the game looking to retake the lead.  A great ball into the box in the 77th minute.  Opara knocked the ball into the middle where Claudio Bieler dummied the ball, unfortunately no one had made the run to the back post.  Off the ensuing corner the ball ended up at the back post where Opara and Kei Kamara had cracks at the goal but saves by Hamid and the DC defense kept the score 1-1.  DC came right back down the field off a long clearance from Hamid and almost took the lead themselves.  The ball ended up at the feet of Porter who raced into the box and fired on Nielsen who made a good kick save.  KC in the 81st had one of their better chances as a Zusi cross was knocked back to the top of the box to Bieler who fired a shot on goal that Hamid did very well to get down and tip around the post. Bieler could have had another chance or two but Bieler and Kamara both made the same runs a few times and Kamara ended up with the effort instead.  KC pushed but couldn't find the winner their arguably deserved and had to settle for a point, leaving KC 1-1-3 against the bottom 4 in the East while they're 4-0 against the top 5 currently.  KC is playing well against the opponents they should but more often than not appear to be playing down to the level of their competition when teams in the lower half of the table.

Wizards Man of the Match - Ike Opara - Created the own goal and wrongly had one of his own ruled out.  He also did a very good job of shutting down DC's attack. He's proven over the last few games that KC shouldn't have to worry too much when Besler is gone with national team duty.

Player Ratings - Nielsen 6, Jerome 6, Besler 6, Opara 7, Sinovic 5, Nagamura 6, Joseph 6, Fielhaber 5, Peterson 5, Bieler 6, Zusi 7. Subs Olum 6, Kamara 5, Gardner 5.

It's a Trap

Tomorrow's game against DC United at RFK Stadium is a classic trap game for Sporting Kansas City.  Sporting comes into the game coming off a big win over Houston on the road last week.  DC on the other hand comes in on the backs of a 7 game winless run and lost their last home game 4-0 to Houston. So DC is at a point of extreme pressure to get a result.

United's last game home game was a 4-0 loss to Houston at RFK.  The pressure is mounting on DC coach Ben Olsen to begin to get results.  DC has scored the fewest goals in the league heading into the game, having only scored 5 times through 10 games.  They've struggled with some injuries as well, with Chris Pontius and Nick DeLeon missing time for the club during this stretch.  They still have former MVP Dwayne DeRosario (and Carlos Ruiz although he is injured) on the roster and he seems to always cause KC some problems.

Kansas City comes in with a few issues of their own, specifically in defense.  In the 1-0 win over Houston last week, both Aurelien Collin and Oriol Rosell picked up their 5th yellow cards of the season.  That will see them both suspended for tomorrow's game.  The two suspensions raise enough questions for Sporting's starting 11 on their own, but there are other questions for Sporting as well.  Specifically the health of Matt Besler.  Besler has missed the last few games with a knee injury.  With Collin out Ike Opara is expected to get another start at center back.  If Besler can't go, then Lawrence Olum looks set to get his first start of the season alongside Opara.  The midfield could be a product of whether Besler can or cannot go.  If Besler can go, Olum could slot directly into Rosell's spot in front of the back four.  The other option is to have Paulo Nagamura play in the more withdrawn role and play the likes of Benny Feilhaber and Peterson Joseph in front of him. The other possibility is to drop Graham Zusi back into midfield, but I think that'd do more harm to the attack than good.  The other question is whether Kei Kamara has been with the team long enough to get reinserted into the starting lineup.

Nielsen

Myers - Opara - Besler - Sinovic

Nagamura - Joseph

Feilhaber

Kamara - Bieler - Zusi

Number to Remember - 5 - Kansas City has won 5 straight games in the series against DC United. They've won the two meetings each of the last two years as well as the one match up so far this year.  In those 5 games, KC has shut out DC in four of them, all by a 1-0 score line.  The only one that wasn't 1-0 was a 2-1 win at Sporting Park last year.

Key Match Up - Claudio Bieler vs Dejan Jakovic - Bieler so far this year has been as good as advertised, he's currently still second in the league in scoring and has been a handful for teams.  He scored the winner when these two teams met at Sporting Park earlier this year and will be counted on again to find net.

PREDICTION - As I mentioned in the opening, this is a trap game for KC.  KC is coming off a huge win against a rival in Houston now get to travel to play a team who is desperate.  And KC gets to do it without two key defensive parts.  The good news for KC is that the DC offense still don't strike me with a ton of fear. DeRosario is a threat, but the rest of the team offensively has struggled. Casey Townsend has done well early on in the lower division this year, he's not proven himself at the MLS level.  The other option is Lionard Pajoy who doesn't strike a ton of free in teams.

SKC - 2 (Bieler, Kamara)
DC - 1 (DeRosario)

Should Bieler be Suspended?

Sporting KC came away with a 1-0 win over DC United on Friday night to improve the team's record to 3-1-2 on the season thanks to an 89th minute goal from Claudio Bieler.  Some DC players though felt that Bieler shouldn't have even been on the field at that time to score the winning goal.  The argument is that Bieler should have been sent off in the 25th minute for an elbow to the chest/throat of DC United defender Brandon McDonald.

The incident occurred shortly after a Sporting KC restart for an offside call on DC United. As Sporting worked their way back up the field, finding CJ Sapong.  Sapong had the ball touched away from him by a United defender into the path of McDonald.  McDonald cleared the ball one time up the field while under pressure from Bieler.  Bieler turned and made a small jump looking to block the ball, but did not.  As Bieler then turned to head back towards the defensive end of the field, he raised his elbow with McDonald behind him.  Play was stopped shortly after as McDonald had gone down clutching his throat.

The DC United players were calling for a red card for Bieler at the time.  The referee, Armando Villarreal seemed to get a look at the play during play, but did not make a call.  After McDonald stayed down, Villarreal looked to his linesman though who was making a hand motion that seemed to indicate that there was nothing in the incident. After a discussion with him, Villarreal did not produce a card of any kind for Bieler.

Post game, the discussion of the no call continued, McDonald said that Bieler "punched me in the throat," which based on the replays doesn't appear to be the case.

McDonald also compared Sporting to the LA Lakers and getting special treatment if the league does not suspend Bieler for the incident.

I could certainly see Bieler being handed a suspension for the play if and when the Disciplinary Committee takes a look at the play. The committee has given suspensions and fines for less in the past.  But I'm just not sure that they will at this point.  A suspension would leave Bieler unavailable at least for next Wednesday's game in New York against the Red Bulls.

You can see a replay of the incident below starting at the 15 second mark, where Simon Borg believes Bieler should have seen red. But in the videos in this series that I've watched there should be about 1 red card in each game played according to him.



So should Bieler get suspended for his elbow on McDonald?  Will he be suspended for the elbow?

Sporting Leave it Late but Get 3 Points

Sporting KC left it late, but they picked up another win on Friday night against DC United thanks to a late goal from Claudio Bieler. 

Unlike in previous games this season at Sporting Park, DC United didn't totally sit back, instead they took the game to KC, especially in the first half where they pressured KC and had more of the control of the game.  Chances as a whole in the first half were at a premium though as both sides clogged shooting lanes.  KC were able to create the better chances of the ones that were created.  The best of which was off a long throw in from Matt Besler that found the head of Bieler.  Bieler though put his header just wide of Bill Hamid's post. The only shot on goal in the entire half for either side was an effort from CJ Sapong that he put right at Hamid.  DC though had a chance themselves in stoppage time as Lionard Pajoy got played in over the top.  He cut between two Sporting defenders and tried to beat Jimmy Nielsen at his near post but fired wide of the goal.

In the second half, DC started to sit back just a little bit more, looking to secure themselves the road point.  KC upped the level of attack but struggled with creating scoring chances.  DC did a good job defensively of closing down KC and keeping them from creating chances.  And the chances they did create, Sporting weren't able to finish. In the 63rd KC had a good chance created through Benny Feilhaber as he collected a ball from Seth Sinovic and tried to play a ball in to Bieler.  Bieler got a touch but the ball rolled past to Paulo Nagamura who played the ball back to Feilhaber who continued his run.  But from around the corner of the 6 yard box, he fired wide of Hamid's goal.  Sinovic also had an opportunity himself collecting a ball on the wing and racing towards goal, firing a shot wide of the post from just outside the box.  Nielsen was rarely called into action in the second half, as he had to make an easy save on a low free kick for his only official save of the match.  In the 80th he also saved a bicycle kick from Carlos Ruiz, but he was in an offside position which would have negated any goal anyway.  In the 89th minute, KC finally found their goal.  Sinovic tried to beat Chris Korb, but was cutout with some assistance by Marcelo Saragosa.  Saragosa fed the ball Marcos Sanchez who was immediately closed down by Peterson Joseph and joined by Sinovic and Soony Saad.  Sanchez tried to play the ball back to Saragosa but didn't get enough on his touch.  Saad won the hospital ball and his first touch played the ball through Saragosa's legs. Saad collected the ball and carried the ball down the end line towards the goal.  He then played a low cross into the middle where Bieler one timed the ball into the net giving KC the lead.  KC killed off the rest of the game, which included 5 minutes of stoppage time to earn their 3rd win of the season. 

It wasn't a pretty game as DC took the game to Sporting more than I thought KC would let them, but Kansas City get the 3 points which is always key.

Wizards Man of the Match - Matt Besler - The Sporting defense shut down DC's attack for much of the game, limiting them to only 4 shots, only 1 of which was on target.  Besler was a big part of that, especially with containing Rafael and Pajoy. 

Player Ratings - Nielsen 6, Myers 6, Collin 5, Besler 7, Sinovic 7, Rosell 5, Nagamura 5, Feilhaber 6, Zusi 6, Bieler 6, Sapong 5.  Subs Saad 6, Joseph 6, Olum NR

Friday Night Lights

Sporting KC and DC United will meet at Sporting Park tomorrow night under the lights.  Sporting heads into their last match before a week off while DC heads into the game after having a week off.  And for the third time this season, Sporting will "kick off" the weekend of games for MLS.

DC had last weekend off, but the weekend before they lost at home 2-1 to the Columbus Crew.  United though is a little injury struck right now.  Two players that started the game against the Crew will be missing tomorrow night.  Nick De Leon and Dwayne De Rosario will both not appear for United tomorrow night due to injuries.  The absence of those two will put a lot more pressure on Chris Pontius in the United midfield. How he fairs against Kansas City will be a key for United.  Whether they move him into the middle to take De Rosario's spot or leave him on the wing, he'll be the main guy that KC will need to key on.

Kansas City is coming off their best performance of the season in their win over Montreal.  KC was dominate in all aspects of the game and were deserved winners.  The question is whether KC can continue that performance into this week's game against United.  Benny Feilhaber had his best game since moving to KC, and KC will be hoping that it's just a sign of things to come from the former New England player.  Defensively KC had their full selection back as Matt Besler and Chance Myers returned.  Myers' addition to the offense was key for Sporting against Montreal.  Both him and Seth Sinovic were able to get into the attack.

Nielsen

Myers - Collin - Besler - Sinovic

Rosell - Nagamura

Feilhaber

Sapong - Bieler - Zusi

Number to Remember - 18 - That's the number of wins that both teams have in the regular season against each other.  The teams are 18-18-9 in the 45 meetings, very even, so either side has the chance to take the lead in the series.

Key Match Up - Chance Myers vs Chris Pontius - Unless DC moves Pontius to the middle he's likely to match up against Myers on the wing.  If Myers can pin Pontius back, he's going to be able to get forward more and into the attack.  But if Pontius wins the ball, Myers is going to be pinned back in KC's defensive half not able to contribute to the attack.

PREDICTION - With the injuries to De Leon and De Rosario, the worry is that DC is going to come in and park the bus, similar to the way that Chicago did in the home opener.  The key if DC is going to do that is the same thing that KC did against Montreal, score early.  An early goal will force DC to not sit back, and instead try to attack.  The longer the game sits scoreless the deeper DC is going to sit without those two offensive weapons.  The other thing that KC is going to have to watch out for is an old KC "favorite", Carlos Ruiz, who now plays for DC.  He's always been a pest for KC and scored at Sporting Park last year for the Guatemalan national team.  Still DC's offense without De Leon and De Rosario seems to be missing a few teeth.

SKC - 1 (Bieler)
DC - 0

Opponent for Sporting's Last Preseason Game Changed

Sporting KC was set to close out their preseason this coming Saturday in Florida in the 3rd place game against the Philadelphia Union.  When that game was announced though there immediately became questions of whether the game would take place.  The reason for that is because a week from this coming Saturday, Sporting KC is set to kick off the 2013 MLS season against the same Philadelphia Union in Philadelphia.  Initially it was wondered whether the game would be played at all, or whether the teams would switch opponents with another match up. 

According to Steven Goff today, a switch in opposition has taken place.  KC and DC United who were both in group B for the tournament have switched opponents.  DC was set to face off against Toronto FC in the 5th place match. Now Sporting will take on Toronto while Philadelphia will face DC.  According to Goff on Twitter, the Kansas City vs Toronto game will take place at 3pm.  KC will play Toronto twice to close out preseason, as the two are set to play tomorrow in a game as well.  That game seems likely to be one mainly for reserves.  With those two preseason games, Sporting will play 3 of their next 4 games against Toronto, because after KC open their regular season against Philadelphia, they'll go to Toronto the following week for their home opener.

Appearances and Minutes vs DC United

Now taking a look at Kansas City appearances against DC United.

First appearances in league play.

1. Kerry Zavagnin - 24
2. Preki - 22
3. Nick Garcia - 21
4. Davy Arnaud - 20
Jack Jewsbury - 20
Chris Klein - 20
7. Jimmy Conrad - 15
8. Diego Gutierrez - 13
Matt McKeon - 13
10. Scott Sealy - 12
Mo Johnston - 12

Here's a look at all competitions.

1. Kerry Zavagnin - 25
2. Nick Garcia - 22
Preki - 22
4. Davy Arnaud - 21
Jack Jewsbury - 21
6. Chris Klein - 20
7. Jimmy Conrad - 16
8. Diego Gutierrez - 14
9. Matt McKeon - 13
10. Scott Sealy - 12
Jose Burciaga - 12
Mo Johnston - 12

On both lists, Matt Besler is the closest active player, currently with 8 appearances against DC United.

Here's a look at league minutes vs United.

1. Kerry Zavagnin - 2,089
2. Nick Garcia - 1,853
3. Preki - 1,775
4. Chris Klein - 1,594
5. Davy Arnaud - 1,592
6. Jack Jewsbury - 1,445
7. Jimmy Conrad - 1,372
8. Diego Gutierrez - 1,154
9. Mo Johnston - 985
10. Tony Meola - 979

In all competitions the list looks like this.

1. Kerry Zavagnin - 2,179
2. Nick Garcia - 1,943
3. Preki - 1,775
4. Davy Arnaud - 1,682
5. Chris Klein - 1,594
6. Jack Jewsbury - 1,511
7. Jimmy Conrad - 1,462
8. Diego Gutierrez - 1,244
9. Jose Burciaga - 1,058
10. Mo Johnston - 985.

On both lists, Besler is the closest active player as he sits at 720 minutes played.

Here's a look at the top 10 in league play when you look at both KC and DC.

1. Jaime Moreno - 26
2. Kerry Zavagnin - 24
3. Preki - 22
4. Nick Garcia - 21
5. Davy Arnaud - 20
Jack Jewsbury - 20
Chris Klein - 20
8. Clyde Simms - 18
9. Brandon Prideaux - 17 (Played for both teams)
10. Bryan Namoff - 16
Ben Olsen - 16
Marco Etcheverry - 16
Richie Williams - 16

Here's a look at all competitions.

1. Jaime Moreno - 27
2. Kerry Zavagnin - 25
3. Nick Garcia - 22
Preki - 22
5. Davy Arnaud - 21
Jack Jewsbury - 21
7. Chris Klein - 20
8. Clyde Simms - 18
Brandon Prideaux - 18 (Played for both teams)
10. Bryan Namoff - 17
Ben Olsen - 17

Bobby Convey has the most appearances in this series of active KC players with 10 mixed between both DC and KC.

Here are the minutes played between the two clubs.

1. Kerry Zavagnin - 2,089
2. Nick Garca - 1,853
3. Jaime Moreno - 1,836
4. Preki - 1,775
5. Chris Klein - 1,594
6. Davy Arnaud - 1,592
7. Clyde Simms - 1,475
8. Bryan Namoff - 1,451
9. Jack Jewsbury - 1,445
10. Brandon Prideaux - 1,421 (Played for both teams)

Here's the all competition minutes.

1. Kerry Zavagnin - 2,179
2. Nick Garcia - 1,943
3. Jaime Moreno - 1,926
4. Preki - 1,775
5. Davy Arnaud - 1,682
6. Chris Klein - 1,594
7. Bryan Namoff - 1,541
8. Jack Jewsbury - 1,511
9. Clyde Simms - 1,475
10. Jimmy Conrad - 1,462

Besler with 720 minutes is the highest on both lists among KC's active players.