KIRKLAND ... 'KEYSTONE KOPS' ... AND MORE
A bunch of stuff:
For the second time this season, your Richmond Kickers
beat defending USL League One champion Union of
Omaha in Nebraska Saturday night, The final was 4-3,
thanks to Richmond native (Deep Run High) JOSH
KIRKLAND who had two goals, setting up the other two
… and no thanks to a porous defensive effort in front of
goalkeeper JAMES SNEDDON … Omaha (3W-2T-7L)
trailed 2-0 after 14 minutes, 3-1 at the half, and 4-1 in the
51st minute on Kirkland’s team-best seventh goal of the
season. But a penalty kick in the 58th minute followed by
18 year old substitute MARK BRONNIK’s perfect strike
made it a one-goal match with more than 15 minutes
(including stoppage) to go … Omaha, which had
possession of the ball a whopping 71 percent of the time,
kept pressing but Sneddon held firm … despite being
kicked in the head by a glancing blow while down deep
into 5 minute stoppage … The victory snapped a four-
game non-winning streak (0W-1T-3L) for the Kickers
(5W-4T-6L) in league play. They are 10-5-14 in all
competitions.
*** Who assigned the Keystone Kops to umpire the
College World Series final game between LSU and
Coastal Carolina? In the bottom of the first inning …
plate ump ANGEL COMPOSejected Coastal coach
KEVIN SCHNALL for questioning his questionable
judgement calling balls and strikes. When Schnall didn’t
take kindly to being tossed by Compos, 1B umpire
CASEY MOSER got between them and, for his trouble,
lost balance and tumbled to the ground. Talk about
embarrassing! … Later, the NCAA accused Schnall of
bumping Moser and suspended him for the first two
games of 2026.
Actually, it was Moser who made contact, pushing
Schnall ever so-slightly then ostensibly tripping on
Compos’ feet. What he thought he could accomplish by
interceding in what was, by any measurement, a mild
argument, only Moser knows for sure … For the most
part, the Coastal coach seemed bewildered by the whole
thing … which apparently began when first-base coach
MATT SCHILLING said something about Compos’
work behind the plate. Schnall came onto the field to find
out what was going on … and, according to the umpire,
drew a warning not to question his calls. Schnall reacted
by holding up three fingers, meaning how many pitches
he already had missed. Compos promptly tossed Schnall
and Schilling ... Coastal had a 26-game winning streak
come to an end 1-0 in the first game of the best-of-three
championship round. The favored Tigers won game two
5-3 to win their second CWS in three years … Given time
to reflect on the crazy first inning, Schnall said, “I’m
sorry … not for what happened but how it ended.”
*** Your New York Rangers decided to give Pittsburgh
the 12thchoice in Friday’s NHL draft and keep next year’s
first round selection instead. Don’t ask.
On the NHL Network, everyone was gushing about JJ
PETERKA, 27-goal-scoring forward for Buffalo traded
to the Utah Mammoth … everyone, that is, but former
coach BRUCE BOUDREAU who said, “He’s OK, but
I’m not jumping. The guy’s got talent … but Buffalo has
lost every year he’s been there … I don’t know him very
well. All I do know is he wasn’t among the top 6 for the
German Olympic team … What is it I don’t know about
him?”
Until next time ...
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