Around the Kindom: Andrew Wiggins, Raul Ibanez, Chiefs Offense, Dom Dwyer

The LeBron James return to Cleveland bombshell is reverberating through the sports world. The first question is: what does it mean for former KU player Andrew WIggins, whom the Cavaliers took no. 1 overall in the NBA draft just a few weeks ago? I’m sure Cleveland’s front office did not expect LeBron to return, so they are probably figuring it out just like the rest of us.

Meanwhile, the Royals dropped the second game of their showdown series against Detroit 2-1, making a split the best they can do.

That’s not what you want to do when you have a chance to make up ground on the division leader on your home field. However, it’s also not surprising when your team’s best position player (Alex Gordon) is out. Of course, it didn’t help when home plate umpire Chad Fairchild cheated the Royals out of an out, and a runner on third base, with his awful interference call on Lorenzo Cain in the 8th inning.

Fairchild committed the cardinal sin of an umpire, he changed the course of a game with a terrible call. Unfortunately, incompetent umpires don’t get demoted to single A by the commissioner’s office—which is what should happen to Fairchild.

The bottom line is the Royals are limping into the All-Star break in a season where the front office really needs to make a playoff push.

On Sunday, Sporting KC player Dom Dwyer scored a goal against the Chicago Fire. During the celebration, Dwyer snapped a selfie of himself—and fellow KC player Soony Saad—against a backdrop of adoring fans at Sporting Park, using a cell phone borrowed from a sideline cameraman.

The selfie quickly went viral, and got mentions on “Good Morning America” and ESPN’s “Around the Horn”.

There is now less than two weeks to go to training camp for the Chiefs—13 days to be exact. I don’t know about you, but you know you’re suffering NFL withdrawl when you’re looking forward to seeing news about two-a-days that don’t even bear a remote resemblance to real games.

KANSAS JAYHAWKS

KUSports.com – LeBron James’ return to Cleveland puts former KU star Andrew Wiggin’s future with the Cavs in jeopardy:

"One of the other big headlines Friday came minutes after James’ announcement, and it revolved around Minnesota all-star Kevin Love saying he would commit to the Cavs long-term if Cleveland found a way to trade for him.While that’s hardly a shock — who wouldn’t want to play with LeBron? — it did bring Wiggins smack dab into the middle of this thing because, in order to get Love today, the Cavs likely will have to part with Wiggins."

KANSAS CITY ROYALS

Royals Review – Max Rieper profiles potential trade target Marlon Byrd
Kings of Kauffman – David Hill calls for the Royals to end the Raul Ibanez experiment:

"After his quick start, Ibanez has not done anything at all at the plate, going 0-23 since his eighth inning home run on July 2nd. His bat has looked slow, as he has routinely been behind even decent fastballs. It is at the point where Ibanez appears to be cheating for the fastball, with his swing in the awkward position of being too fast for offspeed pitches and behind the heater."

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS

Arrowhead Addict – Ben Nielsen asks 3 questions about the Chiefs wide receivers in his ongoing position reviews
Arrowhead Pride – Chiefs historic 2nd half offensive turnaround in 2013:

"The Chiefs spent 2011 and 2012 averaging about 13 points a game with the worst offense in the league. Suddenly, Alex Smith and Andy Reid show up and the team ends last season averaging over 32.I can say, with much confidence, that this is the greatest offensive turnaround in NFL history."

SPORTING KC

Kansas City Star – Brian Davidson asks whether Dom Dwyer’s selfie was poor sportsmanship—or exactly what the MSL needs:

"According to TV Eyes, a national TV and radio monitoring service, news of the Dwyer selfie was broadcast to more than 10 million people across the country. The time it was given on national shows — “Good Morning America” and ESPN’s “Around The Horn,” for example — equated to more than $1 million in advertising space. That figure doesn’t include local broadcast stations or newspaper publications."

There you have it KC fans—the news Around the Kingdom.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/mls/sporting-kc/article715962.html#storylink=cpy

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