Who Will Represent the Royals in the 2011 MLB All Star Game?

The 2011 MLB All Star game is approaching, and managers will be making their player selections soon. In baseball, each team must have at least one representative in the game, which means Kansas City will be sending someone to Phoenix - we just don't know who that player will be.

Several candidates are being mentioned as a possible representative for the Royals. Many experts feel Billy Butler should be in the All Star game. Butler leads the team with a .303 batting average and a .403 on base percentage. Others feel that Jeff Francoeur is deserving of a bid, and for good reason. Francoeur leads the team in home runs (10) and RBI (46).

Despite the impressive stats of both Butler and Francoeur, Alex Gordon is leading most fan polls in regards to which Kansas City player should earn the big. Gordon leads the Royals in runs and OPS, while hitting a respectable .293. He also narrowly trails Francoeur in home runs with nine. Gordon's well-rounded game certainly make him worth of a bid, but Francoeur seems to be the man to beat at this point.

Other Royals in consideration are relief pitcher Aaron Crow, centerfielder Melky Cabrera, shortstop Alcides Escobar, relief pitcher Joakim Soria, and first baseman Eric Hosmer. The results will be announced on July 3rd on TBS.

Storms Overnight Knock Out Power Again

Two waves of severe weather this morning in the Kansas City area downed trees and knocked out power again. Almost 46,000 customers had lost power according to KCPL, many of whom lost power the last time strong storms moved through the area. In the city, and older areas with mature trees and overhead power lines were the strongest hit.

For many today will be spent cutting up downed trees, or maybe buying a generator. The good news is that the weather for Monday and Tuesday looks fabulous. Get out and enjoy it!

Northwest Missouri actually got the brunt of this storm, with a brief tornado touchdown near Maryville on Sunday evening. There were also reports of cars blown off the road, and large trees down onto power lines.

Royals Beat Cubs, Win Series

The Kansas City Royals defeated the Chicago Cubs 6-3 today, giving them a rare inter-league series victory. Luke Hochevar pitched well, giving up only three runs in 5 2/3rds innings to improve his record on the season to 5-8. Joakim Soria earned another save, and has now converted 13 saves in his last 18 opportunities.

The Royals' bats were hot from the start, as Billy Butler, Alex Gordon and Jeff Francoeur all delivered RBI hits in the first inning. Gordon's RBI double in the first extended his hitting streak to 13 games, and the young outfielder has been playing at an all-star level the past month. Six Royals batters wound up reaching base in the first inning, as Kansas City quickly built a four run lead it would not relinquish.

The Cubs battled back, cutting the lead to 4-3 with runs in the third and fourth inning. However, Eric Hosmer and Chris Getz added RBI singles in the bottom of the fourth to give Kansas City a bigger cushion and fend off Chicago's comeback bid. It was the most runs the Royals have scored in a game since June 14, when they defeated the Oakland A's 7-4.

The win moved Kansas City out of last place in the AL Central, as they are now a half game better than the Minnesota Twins. The Royals will be back in action tonight, traveling to San Diego to begin a series with the Padres. Jeff Francis (3-8) will get the start for Kansas City.

2011 NBA Draft Recap

The 2011 NBA draft took place last night, and as expected, five Big 12 players were drafted in the first round. Tristan Thompson, forward from Texas, was the first Big 12 player to be selected. Thompson went fourth to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Colorado guard Alec Burks was selected 12th by the Utah Jazz.

One of the biggest stories from the draft was the back-to-back selections of Marcus and Markieff Morris. Most pundits considered Marcus, last season's Big 12 Player of the Year, to be the better player and more NBA ready. However, Markieff ended up being selected before Marcus, going 13th to the Phoenix Suns. Marcus was drafted next by the Houston Rockets. Markieff has a more natural NBA position, being a true power forward, while Marcus is considered more of a "tweener." Interestingly, Markieff was born seven minutes ahead of Marcus, and was also drafted seven minutes ahead of his twin brother.

Texas' Jordan Hamilton was the last Big 12 player to go in the first round, falling all the way to the NBA champion Dallas Mavericks at 26. Hamilton got a nice shot in towards his former coach Rick Barnes, showing some of the turnmoil that took place in Austin last season. Despite some alleged personality problems, Hamilton was once projected as a top ten pick, and could be an absolute steal for the Mavericks.

Census Shows White Babies are Minority

It's finally happened. According to new census data, white babies are the minority in the United States. It will now be a matter of time before white folks are the minority race in this country, and Democrats will be able to completely plunder the wealth of the United States with the help of welfare cows and community organizers.

The figures also show that the number of black households headed by women outnumbers the black households headed by two parents. This sad truth goes hand in hand with the violence that plagues our inner cities - Kansas City being no exception. The rash of shootings in Kansas City is on a record pace, while our new black mayor gives lip service to the problem.

Twelve States and DC now have white populations below 50 percent in children 5 and under, that's up from six on the 2000 census. At the current rate, 7 more states will have a white minority under 5 at the next census (in 10 years).

Our only hope as a nation is that minorities, and blacks specifically reverse their current attitudes as absentee fathers, and lazy entitlement culture that plagues the American Ghettos. God help us.