All Star Celebrity Softball Game Rosters Announced
Game Will Be Televised Immediately Following the State Farm Home Run Derby on ESPN on July 9^th

The 2012 Taco Bell All-Star Legends & Celebrity Softball Game on ESPN will feature star-studded talent from music, television and sports alongside former Kansas City Royals greats and Baseball Hall of Famers on July 8^th at Kauffman Stadium.

“Modern Family” Emmy Award winner and Kansas City native Eric Stonestreet; Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel; and University of Kansas Men’s Basketball Head Coach Bill Self are scheduled to participate alongside Golden Globe winner and “Mad Men” star Jon Hamm; Chord Overstreet from “Glee”; American Idol contestant Haley Reinhart; “Desperate Housewives” actor James Denton; captain of the US National Soccer team Carlos Bocanegra; actor and comedian Horatio Sanz; country music artist David Nail; American Idol winner, David Cook, who used to work at the Stadium Club in Kauffman Stadium; reigning UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon “Bones” Jones; Paul Dimeo from “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”; and USA Softball’s Gold Medalist hurler Jennie Finch.

Past MLB stars also are schedule to participate, including former Royals greats George Brett, Bo Jackson and Mike Sweeney plus Hall of Famers Ernie Banks, Andre Dawson, Rollie Fingers, Rickey Henderson, Ozzie Smith and Dave Winfield as well as perennial All-Stars Joe Carter and Mike Piazza.

The Taco Bell All-Star Legends & Celebrity Softball Game features Major League Baseball legends with celebrities from TV, movies and music, and is the second game of a fun doubleheader of activity at Kauffman Stadium during Taco Bell All-Star Sunday.  Preceding the softball game will be the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game at 5:00 p.m. Eastern, featuring some of MLB’s best young prospects from the U.S. and around the world.  Current Royals players Eric Hosmer, Billy Butler and Alex Gordon are among the many young stars in baseball who have played in this game, including Justin Verlander, Prince Fielder and Joey Votto.

Following the softball game, the skies above Kauffman Stadium will be lit by a spectacular fireworks show to cap off Taco Bell All-Star Sunday.

The Taco Bell All-Star Legends & Celebrity Softball Game will be televised by ESPN at approximately 10:30 p.m. Eastern immediately following the State Farm Home Run Derby which begins at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on Monday, July 9th. The Game will also be available on ESPN3.com, ESPN Mobile TV and via the WatchESPN app.

For more information, go to www.allstargame.com.

The Kansas City Chiefs are playing a postseason game today, the first time they’ve been in the playoffs since 2006 and the first time they’ve earned it since 2003. Kansas Citians are ecstatic over this, and rightly so: the Chiefs came out of nowhere to win the AFC West.

But over on the other side of the Truman Sports Complex, the sad-sack Kansas City Royals have not been in the postseason for twenty-five years. They came within spitting distance in 2003 before falling back into oblivion.

So what can the Royals learn from the Chiefs? And in what ways are the two teams already similar?

Let’s take a look:

1. Build through the draft.

Largely under coach Herman Edwards (and, more recently, under GM Scott Pioli and coach Todd Haley), the Chiefs have built a strong core of young players, including Jamal Charles, Tamba Hali, Dwayne Bowe, Eric Berry and the Brandons – Carr and Flowers. Those players now form the foundation of the team.

The Royals have not been so lucky in the draft. The organization, as bad as it has been, has only claimed one No. 1 overall pick in the draft – Luke Hochevar, who has proven to be a below-average Major League pitcher. Other first-round draft picks have flamed out completely. Zack Greinke, perhaps the Royals’ greatest first-round success, has been traded. Under GM Dayton Moore, the Royals have seemingly made more solid draft choices, including recent acquisitions Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer. Hopefully, they’ll be able to do what the Chiefs have done.

2. Make smart free agent signings.

This may be the area where the Royals could learn the most from the Chiefs.

On the current Chiefs team, two free agent signings in particular have been essential for the offense. Thomas Jones has provided stability to the running game, although many fans say Jamal Charles should be getting more carries. And Matt Cassel, who was practically Public Enemy No. 1 in fans’ eyes a mere year ago, has proven to be one of the best quarterbacks in the league this season.

During the current offseason, the Royals have signed three significant free agents: Jeff Francoeur and Melky Cabrera. I wouldn’t be surprised if they also added a pitcher in the next few weeks. Francoeur and Cabrera are castoffs from their previous teams, and it’s doubtful they would have received contracts – or virtually guaranteed starting positions – with any other team in the league. Last year, the Royals paid millions for Jason Kendall, a once-great catcher who is way past his prime.

The Royals must sign more viable free agents if they ever want to turn the team around.

3. Sound fundamentals.

This one’s short and sweet. The Chiefs have played this season with relatively few penalties and stupid mental errors. The Royals, quite obviously, have a lot to learn.

The Royals are at least a season away from playing .500 ball, and maybe a season or more past that before they come close to the postseason. But it they can learn from the Chiefs in those three simple areas, they’ll be playing November baseball in no time.

Matt Kelsey is a Royals writer and the associate editor of I-70 Baseball. He can be reached at mattkelsey14@yahoo.com.