Fresh off a 2-0 victory over the Philadelphia Union in Sunday’s MLS home opener, Sporting Kansas City will continue their pursuit of continental glory on Thursday with a pivotal showdown against Panamanian side Independiente in the second leg of the Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League Quarterfinals.,No Other Pub in the Kansas City Power & Light District (1370 Grand Blvd.) will host a meet-and-greet with newly acquired Sporting KC midfielder Gedion Zelalem tonight from 5:30-6:30 p.m. CT.,The St. Patrick's Day fixture will kick off at 8��p.m. CT, with FOX Sports Kansas City and FOX Sports Midwest Plus televising three hours of live coverage beginning with Sporting KC Live presented by Bud Light at 7:30 p.m. CT.,Postgame programming will include The Final Whistle show on 95.3 FM and Sporting KC Live presented by Sprint on FOX Sports Kansas City and FOX Sports Midwest Plus.,A new episode of The Sporting KC Show Podcast will debut Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT on Sports Radio 810 WHB.

In a busy week full of fan appearances and charity opportunities, the team is also smoothing out its gameday and broadcast plans for its second season in the MLS.,In addition to its national broadcasts, LAFC announced today a total of 18 local broadcasts in the 2019 season in partnership with Univision Los Angeles.,“There are no bigger sports fans than Latinos in Los Angeles, and we are excited to once again partner with LAFC on the 2019 season.”,The members of the club’s expansive supporters’ system voted Jimmy Lopez to be president of the 3252, the overarching organization in charge of fan support, for the upcoming 2019 season.,Lopez previously served as the president of the Black Army 1850, one of the original supporters groups for LAFC that predates the team’s first roster and the completion of its stadium.

Sporting Kansas City embarks on a pivotal two-game road trip this week, venturing to Mexico for the second leg of the Scotiabank Concacaf Round of 16 against Deportivo Toluca FC on Thursday before kicking off their 2019 MLS regular season campaign at LAFC on Sunday.,Sports Radio 810 WHB will also provide 60 minutes of pregame coverage beginning at 8 p.m. CT in addition to airing The Final Whistle postgame show immediately after the match.,Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT with national television coverage on ESPN and ESPN Deportes and local radio broadcasts on Sports Radio 810 WHB and ESPN Deportes KC 1480 AM.,In the lead-up to an action-packed week for the club, Sports Radio 810 WHB will air a new episode of The Sporting KC Show at 7 p.m. CT Tuesday with hosts Nate Bukaty and Carter Augustine.,The duo will hear from forward Gerso Fernandes, who tallied a goal and an assist in last Thursday’s defeat of Toluca, and preview Sporting’s upcoming battles in the Concacaf Champions League and MLS regular season.

But unlike HBO and “Game of Thrones,” WGN and the Cubs aren’t hyping their final season together after 72 years.,In my first year as Cubs beat writer in 1997, WGN televised 144 games.,The following January, the Cubs owners — Tribune Co. — decided to reduce the WGN schedule to 92 games, placing 62 games on CLTV, the company’s local cable news channel.,Fans gradually grew accustomed to watching more games on cable, and in 2003 the Cubs, White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks began their own sports channel, Comcast SportsNet Chicago, which is now NBC Sports Chicago.,WGN will televise the Cubs' season opener — likely for the last time »

'I have more confidence than last year': A healthy Yu Darvish eyes his return to dominance with the Cubs » read more

The New York Yankees continue to dangle Sonny Gray as a possible trade target for several pitching-starved teams.,Gray’s name surfaced yet again as a possible move that the Reds could make before the start of the 2019 season.,However, let us once again explore the Sonny Gray rumblings and what they could mean for the Reds.,Many will cringe, including myself, at the notion of sending either Santillan or Gutierrez to New York for Gray, especially with both having the capabilities of taking the leap to Cincinnati later in 2019.,It is now down to if the Reds will go the free agency route to add that third starting pitcher or if a modest trade, such as one with the Yankees to bring Sonny Gray to Cincinnati will be the path they follow.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Trevor Lawrence passed for 347 yards and three touchdowns and No. 2 Clemson rolled No. 1 Alabama 44-16 on Monday night in the College Football Playoff national championship game.,NEW YORK (AP) — Texas quarterback Vince Young and Notre Dame speedster Raghib Ismail have been selected for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame, along with 11 other players and two coaches.,The rest of the players to be enshrined in December include Arkansas running back Darren McFadden, Oklahoma defensive back Rickey Dixon, John Carroll linebacker London Fletcher, Texas AM defensive lineman Jacob Green, North Carolina State receiver Torry Holt, Arizona State quarterback Jake Plummer, USC defensive back Troy Polamalu, Wisconsin offensive tackle Joe Thomas, Florida State defensive back Terrell Buckley, Michigan State running back Lorenzo White and Mississippi linebacker Patrick Willis.,NFL read more

Senior Brenna Dowell (Gymnast of the Week), junior Jade Degouveia (Event Specialist of the Week) and freshman Olivia Trautman (Newcomer of the Week) each received accolades from the league.,Dowell was named the Big 12 Gymnast of the Week for the second time in her career after competing in the all-around for the first time at the collegiate level.,Dowell’s beam score was a career high as she made her collegiate debut on the event.,Degouveia earned her second career Big 12 honor and first recognition as Event Specialist after setting a career high on both vault and floor.,In her collegiate debut, Trautman shined as she competed on three events to earn her first career Big 12 weekly honor.

It is the first of two dates – the series will return Jan. 19 to Anaheim – and the first of five stops in the state and Arizona

It’s a season of change for the 12-round series.,NBC Sports begins its first season with the Monster Energy AMA Supercross on Saturday with live coverage of the season-opening event in Anaheim starting at 7 p.m. Ralph Sheheen will call the action, as he has done since 2005, and will be joined in the booth by five-time Supercross champion Ricky Carmichael, host and former racer Daniel Blair, and reporter Will Christien.,He and Kasey Kahne Racing teammate Brad Sweet will kick off the 2019 dirt-sprint seasons at Volusia Speedway in Florisa with the Dirt Car Nationals on Feb. 6.,Pit stops read more

Fayetteville, Ark.- Maggie Nichols scored the first perfect 10 of the 2019 season and the No. 2 Oklahoma women’s gymnastics team opened the year with a statement victory, downing No. 12 Arkansas 198.050-195.575.,Nichols now has five perfect 10s on vault and 16 in her career, earning the Sooners’ 40th perfect score in program history.,Nichols won the event title on vault, beam (9.975) and the all-around (39.750) while senior Nicole Lehrmann took the top spot on bars with a 9.95 and freshman Olivia Trautman took home a share of floor with a 9.95.,Lehrmann debuted an upgraded vault, a Yurchenko 1.5, for her senior season, tying her career high with a 9.9.,Back in the lineup for the first time since mid-last season, sophomore Carly Woodard was gorgeous in the No. 3 spot for a 9.875.

The Sooners lead the all-time series with the Razorbacks, 15-2, and have won the last 11 meetings between the two teams, including last year’s meeting at the Lloyd Noble Center.,Brenna Dowell, Ashley Hiller, Nicole Lehrmann and Alex Marks make up this year’s talented group.,OU is ranked No. 2 in the WCGA preseason coaches’ poll, the fifth straight season the Sooners have been ranked in the top two to begin the year.,Oklahoma returns six previous NCAA All-Americans who own 22 total accolades: Jade Degouveia (VT), Brenna Dowell (UB, VT, FX), Nicole Lehrmann (UB, BB), Maggie Nichols (AA, VT, UB, BB, FX), Bre Showers (VT, AA) and Anastasia Webb (FX).,The Big 12 Championship will be hosted at the Lloyd Noble Center on Saturday, March 23, at 1 p.m. CST and will air on ESPNU.