Farm Aid 2011 Will be Held in Kansas City

Representatives from the State of Kansas, Livestrong Sporting Park, and Farm Aid were in Kansas City, KS yesterday to officially announce the 2011 Farm Aid Concert will be held at the venue. For 26 years the Farm Aid organization has been raising money to promote and provide support services for small family farms. Their goal is to see the family farm thrive because they believe the small farm provides better quality food, and promotes the survival of the American small town.

Farm Aid started in 1985, one of several benefit concerts inspired by the epic Live Aid of earlier that year. Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, and Neil Young started Live Aid and have been going strong ever since. A benefit concert has been held nearly every year since 1985 and the organization has raised more than $39 million according to their website. Dave Matthews has also been very active since 1995 and a member of the Board of Directors since 2001. Farm Aid has been by far the most successful of the benefit concerts in terms of longevity.

This is the first concert scheduled for Livestrong Sporting park. It will seat 25,000 for the event, and tickets go on sale May 20th. You can get tickets before they go on sale to the general public if you become a member of Farm Aid. The cost is a $50 donation to the organization - it is an annual membership. Tickets to the show range from $29-$149 - unfortunately you have to use Ticketmaster to purchase your tickets.

Suns President Rick Welts Reveals He Is Gay

Phoenix Suns president and CEO Rick Welts has revealed to the public that he is gay. Welts hopes that by coming out, he will help the NBA address a topic it has had trouble approaching in the past.

Welts' admission wasn't much of a surprise to Suns guard Steve Nash, NBA commissioner David Stern, or Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry, who all had ideas about Welts' sexuality but reaffirmed their support for the Suns executive. Welts hopes that by admitting he is gay, he can help breach a wall that has seperated homosexuality and sports.

Welts' revelation may have opened the door for other athletes to address their sexuality. ESPN now has a feature on former Villanova guard Will Sheridan, who also has admitted that he is gay. Other athletes may address the topic in the future after the general positive reception both Welts and Sheridan have received for their bravery.

Texas A&M To Hire Billy Kennedy

Texas A&M appears close to a deal with current Murray State coach Billy Kennedy. The deal would cap off an already turbulent offseason for coaches in the Big 12.

The league has already seen the return of two coaches who have had previous success in the league. Lon Kruger is taking over at Oklahoma while Billy Gillispie will try to recreate the success he had at Texas A&M at Texas Tech. The coaching turnover seemed finish, until Maryland grabbed Mark Turgeon and the Aggies were left searching for a coach when many of the top candidates were already off the market.

Considering the circumstances, this seems like a no-brainer for Texas A&M. There aren't many top candidates available this late in the offseason, and Kennedy has had a lot of success at Murray State. While it isn't a sexy hire like Kruger at OU or Gillispie at Texas Tech, the Aggies could have done a lot worse.

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.