Fanfare

Softball meeting
set for Tuesday

Newton High School softball  coach Mike Boston is hosting a meeting for all current and incoming softball players and their parents at 8 p.m. Tuesday in the high school commons.
Topics include “fund-raising, off-season condtioning, expectations of the high school program and answer questions the athletes and parents may have.”
For more information, call Boston at 283-8578 or e-mail coachmikeboston@hotmail.com.

Sayers to speak
to Boathouse Club

WICHITA — National Football League Hall of Famer Gayle Sayers will speak to the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame’s Boathouse Club Aug. 30 at the Boathouse in Wichita.
Sayers will be speaking at the Boathouse Club’s Membership Kickoff Party from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Sayers will speak at about 7 p.m.
A ribbon cutting and open house, free and open to the public, will be held earlier in the day.
“We want the Boathouse Club to be like a private country club for sports junkies,” said Tim Daniel, who serves on the Board of Directors for the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame and is Chairman of the Boathouse Committee. “We have the very best venue in Wichita, the greatest artifact in Kansas with the Jayhawk yacht, a beautiful presentation of the Hall of Fame inductee portraits and memorabilia. ... And the perfect location for watch parties for the Super Bowl, World Series, Final Four, and so forth. Membership in the Boathouse Club represents a dream come true for those of us who have supported the Hall of Fame for a long time and it is a great opportunity for other Wichitans to join a fun, vibrant, active group of sports fans in one of the most prestigious and popular facilities in the community.”
“Sayers is the perfect Kansas sports icon to kickoff our celebrity appearance slate for future Boathouse member socials,” Kansas Sports Hall of Fame president and CEO Ted Hayes said. “Our goal is to provide an informal, social gathering place for true Kansas sports fans who would like to get together to watch a big game, meet and talk to the stars who have helped write the fabulous sports history for our state, and to simply enjoy the beauty of the Boathouse while sharing their enthusiasm with like-minded sports fans. And, most importantly, the membership dues will help support the mission of the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame to provide positive role models for youth to educate and inspire them — not only in athletics, but in every area of their lives.”
Sayers is a two-time All-American at Kansas in 1963 and 1964. He had 2,675 rushing yards in 412 carries for the Jayhawks, including 283 yards against Oklahoma State and a 99-yard run against Nebraska.
Sayers was a first-round pick by the Kansas City Chiefs (then of the American Football League) and the Chicago Bears of the NFL. He played just 64 NFL games, but retired with 4,956 yards. He was inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame in 1977 at the age of 33, the youngest player ever inducted.
For information on Boathouse Club membership or to order ticketsm call (316) 262-2038 or e-mail lhartley@kshof..org.

Thunder signs
three players

WICHITA — The Wichita Thunder signed three players for the 2010-11 season — defensemen Ryan Hand and Peter Stevens and right wing Adam Knight.
Hand spent last season in the ECHL with Utah and Reading. He spent 2008-09 in the Central Hockey League with Laredo. Hand is a native of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Stevens is a rookie, who played 60 games last year with the Sarina Sting and Ottawa 67s of the major junior Ontario Hockey League. He is a native of Chester, N.J., who spent last season on the Allen playoff roster.
Knight played for Thunder coach Kevin McClelland in 2008-09 with the Colorado Eagles. He also played for the New Mexico Scorpions. A native of Mile House, Alberta, Canada, Knight played collegiately for the South Alberta Institute of Technology.
Wichita opens the season Oct. 15 at Tulsa.

Royals drop
game to Yankees

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Royals opened a four-game homestand with the New York Yankees by losing 4-3 Thursday at Kauffman Stadium.
The loss was the Royals’ fifth straight and seventh in the last eight games.
Yankees pitcher C.C. Sabathia went 8 2-3 innings for the win, allowing three runs on 10 hits with two walks and three strikeouts. David Robertson pitched the rest of the game for his first save of the season. Sabathia improves to 15-5.
Bruce Chen went five innings for the loss, allowing three runs on eight hits with two walks and two strikeouts. Chen falls to 7-6.
Nick Swisher went three for four hitting for the Yankees. Curtis Granderson went two for three hitting with an RBI. Austin Kearns went two for four with a solo home run. Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez each added an RBI.
Willie Bloomquist went three for four for the Royals with two RBIs. Mike Aviles went two for four with an RBI. Alex Gordon went two for four with two runs scored.
The second game of the series is 7:10 p.m. today.
New York    011    100    100    —4    10    0
Kansas C.    000    100    002    —3    12    2
Sabathia (W, 15-5), Robertson (S, 1) 8 and Cervelli; Chen (L, 7-6), K.Texeira 6, Holland 8, Soria 9 and Kendall. HR — NY: Kearns (9). Time — 2:55. Attendance — 23,337.