Sporting Kansas City's Season Ends, Controversial No-Call Late

Sporting Kansas City’s season is over, as they split a pair of games with the Houston Dynamo yet fell 2-1 on aggregate. It is the second consecutive year that KC’s season has ended in the playoffs against Houston after winning the Eastern Conference regular season title.

The game will leave a bitter taste in the mouths of Kansas City fans, as Sporting was absolutely screwed late in the game on a no-call in the box. A sporting player got the ball in great position in the box, and was blatantly tripped by Houston’s Ricardo Clark in front of the goal. The ref swallowed his whistle, afraid to make the call late in the game. The end result was Sporting’s season coming to an end.

The non-call in the box is even more frustrating due to how badly Sporting dominated last night’s game. Kansas City outshoot Houston 20-3, including 13 shots inside the penalty area. KC also had a 5-0 edge on corner kicks, a 31-1 edge on open-play crosses and held 71% possession.

Due to their dominating play, Sporting had plenty of great chances to add to their lead, but simply couldn’t find a second goal. C.J. Sapong had a great opportunity to score when he beat Houston’s goalkeeper to the ball in the box, but his shot sailed over the crossbar. Minutes later, defender Matt Besler volleyed a bouncing ball in the box slightly over the goal. Midfielder Roger Espinoza found a couple of open looks from deep, but couldn’t deliver a dangerous shot.

The non-call in the box late will loom over this game for quite a while, but Sporting certainly had plenty of chances to tie the aggregate up. The team deserves a lot of credit for not only a brilliant regular season, but fighting back and playing lights-out when their backs were against the wall. Kansas City fans have one sports team they can take pride in this fall.

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Kansas City Wizards Change Name and Logo

The team formerly known as the Kansas City Wizards announced Wednesday afternoon that their name going forward would be Sporting Kansas City. The team is trying to reinvent itself with their new stadium opening next summer. Their new logo was also unveiled, and hopefully all this newness will translate into better soccer played on the field. The Wizards were disappointing last season, finishing out of the playoffs in a league where half of the teams go to the postseason.

The new name is a nod to the way European and South American clubs name their teams. Around the world, professional sports teams are known as Sporting Clubs and might have teams competing in several different sports.

Originally Kansas City's Soccer team was known as the Wiz - perhaps the worst EVER name for a sports team. They changed to the Wizards a season later - not much better. They definitely needed a new name and the timing is perfect with a real soccer stadium opening up. I think they went the wrong direction with the new name, however - a mistake many MLS teams have already made. Using Football Club (FC) or Real in the name alienates many Americans who are not used to sports teams being named in this way. In a time that is very important to growing soccer in the US, I think more traditional American name would serve better. Then again maybe no one cares about soccer anyway and never will. Maybe it will grow on me.