Eric Hosmer is the Real Deal

Just when it looked like the Royals' season was starting to slip away, Kansas City rebounded to take a series from the Yankees. Rookie phenom Eric Hosmer led the charge in an 11-5 beatdown at Yankee Stadium last night, blasting two homers to give him three for the series.

Hosmer had a lot of hype surrounding him when he was called up to the major leagues, and rightfully so. He was leading the minor leagues in hitting and had been billed as one of Kansas City's top prospects. How quickly he adjusted to the major leagues has many now billing him as the next big thing, and I am one of them. The guy just destroyed the Yankees in one of the biggest and most intimidating stadiums in all of sports. Clearly, he is ready for prime time, and he could be a piece the Royals build around for the next ten years - if Kansas City can hold on to him.

Hosmer's power has already had a positive effect on the rest of Kansas City's lineup. Billy Butler had four hits yesterday, and he other hitters can expect protection as long as Hosmer is blasting home runs. The Royals had a lot of guys who could hit and get on base, and the addition of a power hitter may be what pushes Kansas City's offense from good to great.

The Royals travel to Detroit today to face the Tigers' Justin Verlander, who is fresh off of tossing a no hitter. Should be a great test for Hosmer and the rest of Kansas City's offense.

Royals Win Series in New York for First Time Since 1999

The Royals finished an impressive series win over the Yankees last night in New York marking the first time the Royals had won a series in New York since 1999. This is quite a statement for this young club who have exceeded expectations thus far. Many Royals fans, myself included are simply waiting for the collapse to begin. I thought the 0-6 road trip was the beginning of the end, then I looked at this road trip to NY and Detroit and thought this might be it. Lo and behold, the Royals surprise again. I now am a believer as the Royals simply destroyed the Yankees last night 11-5, and young hope Eric Hosmer had three more hits including a HR for the second straight game.

To give some perspective on how long it's been since the Royals won a series over the Yankees in New York, I thought I would compile a list of how the world was back in 1999.

Elvis Grbac was the Chiefs Quarterback and it had only been 5 years since the Chiefs had won a playoff game. Gunther Cunnigham was their Head Coach.

Norm Stewart had just retired as Mizzou's Basketball coach.

Almost nobody in the US knew who Osama Bin Laden was.

Napster was released to very little fanfare.

Bill Clinton was President of the United States.

Lance Armstrong won his first Tour de France.

The Columbine Massacre occurred in Colorado.

Eric Hosmer was 9 years old.

Royals Loss to Yankees Shows How Far Team has to Go

The Royals you were expecting this year have surfaced, as Kansas City has regressed back to its 2010 season form. Last night's 3-1 loss to the Yankees was a bad trip down memory lane for Royals fans, and it appears as if this year's magic may be slowly wearing off.

On paper, a two run loss to a dangerous Yankee team doesn't appear that bad. However, it was the way Kansas City lost that was so cringeworthy. Every inning, it seemed that the Royals put men in scoring position and failed to manufacture runs. Melky Cabrera provided Kansas City with its only run, a solo shot in the fourth inning. The bottom of Kansas City's order is what will ultimately hold this team back, proven last night when the Royals 7 through 9 hitters constantly left players on base.

The Royals also made several head-scratching plays that showed this club still has a long way to go. Matt Treanor got picked off in a horrible steal attempt, and Chris Getz was easily thrown out trying to reach second base off a pitch that hit the dirt.

The Royals also announced yesterday that starter Bruce Chen will be placed on the 15 day DL due to a sore side. Kansas City will call up Vin Mazzaro from Omaha to take his place. This could be a big blow as Chen has been the rotation's most consistent pitcher this year. The Royals are still above .500, but the team has a lot of work to do and obstacles to overcome if they want to keep the cinderella story going.

KCI Baby Patdown Picture Becomes International News

This picture, tweeted by local pastor Jacob Jester, has made international news with an appearance on the Drudge Report. Since the story's emergence on Saturday, it has been picked up around the world, including CBS News.

Saturday Afternoon, the 8-month old's stroller set of the alarm at the pre-flight screening area and further pat downs of family members, including the baby were performed. According to the TSA, the family was "very cooperative" with the pat down searches.

This incident comes less than a month after there was an outcry over the TSA search of a six year old in New Orleans, who's parents made a Federal case of a pat down when they should have told their spoiled brat to deal with it. I'm not in favor of pat downs at all, personally I think we should profile, but until this PC crap goes out the window, your bratty kids are going to have to suffer the same indignities as the rest of us. Maybe, God forbid, you can use the experience as a character builder instead of an opportunity to reinforce the general attitude of whinyness in America today. What a nation of pussies we are.

Kanrocksas Music Festival Lineup Tickets Kansas Speedway

Eminem, Muse, The Black Keys, A Perfect Circle, The Flaming Lips, Kid Cudi, D12, Girl Talk, Flogging Molly and more are headed to the Kansas Speedway on August 5th and 6th for the Kanrocksas Music Festival.

I've heard of stupid names before for concerts, Yallapalooza, etc. but Kanrocksas is without a doubt THE dumbest name for an event that I've ever heard.  How in the hell did THAT name get out of the meeting room?  It's like a tribute to illiteracy.  Well, it makes sense since given the bands that will be on stage will certainly draw Kansas City's biggest morons.  If they posted up a police checkpoint at the front gate and checked everyone for outstanding warrants, they would need 50 buses to fit them all in.  This will be the biggest gathering of white trash that Kansas City has ever witnessed in one place.

Kanrocksas is expected to draw near 100,000 attendees and they are providing camping grounds for fans to stay overnight.  This is NOT a good idea.  The kind of people who would want to hear bands like the King of White Trash himself, Eminem, are not the kind of people who will all get out of this alive.  I'm going to guess that there will be at least 3 deaths at Kanrocksas, and at least 1700 babies conceived.  I'm going to take another wild guess that Crystal Meth will be the substance of choice among these well educated and sophisticated fans, giving them the opportunity to stay up for the entire 48 hours of the concert without needing sleep or food.  The last concert that hosted this many white trash attendees was the 2010 Warped Tour where there were only about 2500 people and 1 person still died of dehydration.  This time there will be 100,000 drunk crystal meth heads in the dead heat of August, you do the math.

There is one shining light for Kanrocksas in that it will definitely be a good place to people watch.  There will definitely be some camo shorts, steel toe boots, the over sized man earrings that make the earlobe stretch out (those are so cool), various trashy tattoos, and some classic white trash girls who look really cute.........until they speak, that is.........  think Mallory from Natural Born Killers (pictured right).

Tickets for the Kanrocksas Music Festival are on sale at Ticketmaster as follows:
 
G.A. TICKET, 2-DAY
This is a general admission (G.A) ticket, valid for two-day admission. Two-day G.A. passes are $179 and include free parking and free camping.  This ticket will be $225 on the day of the event.

VIP TICKET, 2-DAY
VIP tickets include the 2 day G.A. admission, plus upgraded VIP parking, exclusive access to the Kanrocksas VIP area, and premium food and beverage purchase options. Two-day G.A. passes are $359 and include upgraded VIP parking and free camping.  This VIP ticket will be $420 on the day of the event.