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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