Keepin' Up With Kelso

Washburn’s baseball team is rolling through the opposition currently. The Ichabod baseball team has won the last nine out of 10 games.  Washburn is carrying an immense amount of swagger and character to each pitch and plate appearance. Washburn Baseball (10-4, 2-0): 9 of 10 games of sheer dominance February has been quite kind to the Ichabod baseball team. While the PBA Sailfish Invitational in the sunny beaches of Florida wasn’t the outcome they’ve wanted (1-3) record, they’ve gone 9-1 since then.  Washburn’s offensive production has been one of the top-scoring machines in the nation in the last 10 games. The Bods have averaged 7.4 runs per game in the past 10.  The likes of Tyler Clark-Chiapparelli, Parker Dunn, Zion Bowlin, Cal Watkins, Brett Ingram and the rest of the crew are tearing the cover off of the baseball. Washburn’s offense is playing at an extremely high level and it will take a lot to stop them. The pitching staff has been just as productive as the high-fl...

The Kansas City Chiefs inside linebacker, Anthony Hitchens. Hitchens was with the team for four seasons.  The release creates $8.4 million in cap space and will cost the team $4.2 million against the cap for 2022.  “When I first became General Manager, one of the first moves I wanted to make was to bring in Anthony Hitchens from Dallas,” Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach. “We knew how intelligent, hard-working and consistent he was as a player, and we knew he’d become a selfless leader." Since being traded by the Dallas Cowboys, Hitchens had 381 tackles, 2 sacks, 17 TFLs, 2 AFC Championships and one super bowl ring. The release doesn't come as a surprise. With the uprising stardom of Nick Bolton and the production value of Willie Gay, it makes sense. Teams are starting to shape their rosters to create cap space before the 2022-2023 campaign.  "I appreciate the way he came to work, ready to do his part, but also his willingness to teach the younger guys around him," ...

Tony Pena Jr. was a top-tier major league shortstop. He has now devoted his life to helping players reach their full potential in the game of baseball.  Tony Pena Jr. played for the Atlanta Braves and the Kansas City Royals.  Pena Jr. stepped up to a major league batters box nearly a thousand times before retiring.  His dad, Tony Pena Sr., was a five-time gold glove, four-time all-star choice, and one of the greatest catchers in the history of baseball.  Like his father, he is addicted to the game. He is currently a coach for the Kansas City Royals organization. Pena Jr. currently coaches the minor league level.  He gets to work with top prospects, such as Bobby Witt Jr., who was the second overall pick in the 2019 MLB draft. In 2010, Tony Pena Jr. was top 10 in the MLB in triples and sacrifice hits. The shortstop was also 3rd in the big leagues in errors committed making him just shy of winning the gold glove award. Getting to the big leagues is a difficult cha...

One of the biggest “What if’s?” in recent MLB memory… Johnny Giavotella.  Giavotella had many more downs than ups in his career, but he’s still grateful for what Major League Baseball provided him.  The New Orleans native was a second-round pick by the Kansas City Royals in the 2008 Major League Baseball draft.  While scouts rated him high, they still questioned his size. Being 5’8 in the big leagues presents its challenges, but in the end, it didn’t make a difference for the slugging second baseman.  Giavotella had a career .255 BA, .294 OBP, .653 OPS and had an OPS+ of 81. Giavotella played for three different teams in his career. He spent four years with the Royals, two years with Angels and one year with the Orioles.  After moving on from the Royals, he went and reached his full potential with the Los Angeles Angels. A memory that will stick with him forever was on May 6th, 2015. Giavotella was up to the plate in a very high-pressure/tense situation. With t...

Silver Lake -- Wabaunsee and Silver Lake will meet up on Thursday night for the final regular-season contests of the year. Here is what Thursday looks like: Girls: Class 3A No. 1 Silver Lake (18-1) vs. Wabaunsee (7-12). Who can knock down Silver Lake from the top of the mountain? Wabaunsee? Maybe. That upset Wabaunsee hopes to achieve will be a difficult task. These two teams met this year back on Jan. 11th, where Silver Lake won convincingly 55-23. Silver Lake center Makenzie McDaniel led the team in points and rebounds (16 pts, 10 rebounds).   Silver Lake hasn't taken a loss since Jan. 22, where the Eagles lost to Rock Creek, 60-55.  Wabaunsee has looked like a vastly improved team as of late. After two miserable losing streaks, Wabaunsee has beaten some quality teams from the Mid-East League and the Flint Hills League.  Wabaunsee is a gritty team and has shown that all year. Kaci Meseke and Karli Meseke seem to always be front and center of the intimidating defens...

DERBY– Derby guard and 2023 Arkansas Razorback commit Maryn Archer is playing at one of the highest levels in the state of Kansas. The future Razorback describes herself as a loyal person. She has been loyal to her current Derby team and her commitment to Arkansas. “I committed to Arkansas the summer of my sophomore year,” said Archer. “(Arkansas) Coach (Mike) Neighbors was the first one to truly recruit me and was the first one to show interest. (Neighbors) showed love to me from the beginning. He saw something in me and has been loyal to me since he started showing interest. I’ve wanted to go to a loyal program. He went out of his way to come to my games, send coaches to my games and keep up with me.” Archer’s unselfishness on the court also carries off the court. She wants to help people in the present and the future as much as she can. “For a major, I am leaning towards social work or psychology,” said Archer. I love helping people when they need help and I want to be there for peo...