Maybe Johnny Cueto should cut his hair. Do those “Dreads” not agree with the Kansas City heat and humidity?  Does Johnny even have a barber? All interesting thoughts while pondering the slide down the unwanted slope of pitching futility that has attached itself to Johnny Cueto since he joined the Royals.

Consider these undesireable facts: Cueto has lost his last five starts. In those five starts he has posted a 9.57 ERA, including an eight-run slugging by Baltimore on Sunday. During this dereliction of pitching finesse opponents have batted nearly .400 against Cueto.  Those are Hall of Shame numbers!

It’s gotta be the hair! Cut the hair Johnny!

An interesting sideline to this drama is that Cueto is eligible to be a free agent at the end of this season. What a double-edged sword! Of course the Royals want him to win now but every loss, every poor performance, reduces his salary demands for a new contract. Still, the Royals didn’t go out and get Cueto for next year or 2017. They want to win now!

Cueto is scheduled to pitch Friday against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Team officials say Cueto has shied away from using his fastball during this slump, that he is over-manipulating his delivery, feeling the pressure of carrying this team.

Me? I think it’s time for a buzz cut!
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Put me in the camp that says NO to Thursday night NFL games. Obviously it is just another, in a never-ending list, of things that say it is just about MONEY, MONEY, MONEY!

It is obvious, even to we non-medical types, that playing on just a few days rest puts the players at greater risk of injury so you can put Thursday games on the list of attorneys who will, in the future, be filing lawsuits against the NFL claiming their clients, the players, were injured due to the policies of the NFL that did not provide enough recovery time between games.

More so , I say NO to Thursday night games because-I am going to commit heresy here-there is too much NFL football on television! Sunday afternoon, Sunday night, Monday night, Thursday night and, soon, Saturday afternoon and Saturday night games, as the season narrows down.  

Do you remember the thrill of being able to watch a game on Monday night started? Now most of us read a book, read the paper or knit a scarf while having an NFL game on.

NFL football is a good thing. So is ice cream but you can’t eat it ALL of the time-though I’ve been known to try!
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CHALK TALK: Larned at Kingman, an important CKL battle. Eagles undefeated but Indians on rebound. Larned 27, Kingman 14........Can Great Bend get to 3-0? A trip to Garden City stands in the way.

Undefeated Buffaloes are better than advertised. Buffs 21-17 | Hoisington is at Pratt in a battle of unbeatens.  Cardinals are quicker than Frogs. Hoisington 31, Pratt 20 | Ellinwood gets their second win of the season as they handle Kinsley at home 44-13 | Kansas doesn’t lose this week as they have a bye. Meanwhile Kansas State hosts Louisiana Tech.  The Bulldogs are no pushover. They were a bowl team last year, defeating Illinois 35-18 in the Heart of Dallas Bowl. Still, this one is in Manhattan and the Cats seldom lose to teams with two parts to their name in friendly Bill Snyder Family Stadium. K-State 34, Techsters 13.