KCSN Weekly: Tolbert Goes Off, USA Bows Out, and Messi Returns to Arrowhead
A weekly look at everything happening across Kansas City sports.
There is no real Chiefs news this week, outside of star tight end Travis Kelce officially tying the knot with Taylor Swift, which is kind of a big deal.
ESPN seems to be running a stir the pot a bit, ranking the Chiefs as the 12th-best roster in the league and Kelce as just the 10th-best tight end, despite the fact that he put up the fourth-most yards and sixth-most receptions at the position in 2025. I know the Chiefs went 6-11, but they've bought more grace than that.
The same wave of analysis has the offensive line, which includes Creed Humphrey, Trey Smith, Kingsley Suamataia, and Josh Simmons, ranked in the bottom 10 of the league by multiple outlets, including ESPN's Mike Clay and Warren Sharp’s Sharp Football Analysis.
Football is played on the field, though. We will see how right everyone is or is not come fall. In the meantime, let’s get into what is actually happening.
Royals Report: Tolbert Makes History, but the Week Ends Even
The Royals went 3-3 on the week, taking two of three from the Philadelphia Phillies before the New York Mets returned the favor to close things out.
Monday, in the Phillies finale, was a big one. Kansas City put a 15-1 drumming on Philadelphia behind an astonishing five-hit performance from shortstop Tyler Tolbert, who delivered his hits during a historic 12-consecutive-at-bat stretch that tied an MLB record. Noah Cameron backed him up with five innings of one-run ball and seven strikeouts, making it a complete night.
Tolbert was not done. On Tuesday, he went five-for-five again against the Mets, this time adding a home run, as the Royals outlasted New York in a wild 16-12 affair. Seth Lugo took the ball that night and was tagged for six earned runs over 4.1 innings, but the offense was more than enough to make it work.
By week’s end, Tolbert had slashed .684, one of the more eye-popping single-week performances you will see. Infielder Nick Loftin and center fielder Lane Thomas were the next best, hitting .455 and .409, respectively. On the mound, Cameron and Luinder Avila put forth the strongest outings of the week, while Michael Wacha had two uncharacteristic starts, surrendering 10 runs over 10.2 innings and nudging his season ERA up to 3.77.
The good news off the field came in bunches. Bobby Witt Jr. and Wacha earned All-Star selections, Jac Caglianone will represent Kansas City in the Home Run Derby, and first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino is nearing a return from the IL. On a team that has struggled to string things together, those are welcome storylines heading into the break.
The Royals have three road games against the Baltimore Orioles before the All-Star break gives everyone a chance to breathe.
World Cup: USA Bows Out, Arrowhead Gets One More
The United States Men’s National Team’s World Cup run came to a bitter and humbling end this week. A 4-1 defeat to Belgium at Lumen Field in Seattle was not what anyone had in mind after the Americans won Group D and appeared to be building momentum.
It started promisingly enough. Malik Tillman equalized in the 31st minute with a brilliant free kick, making it 1-1. Then, just 61 seconds later, Belgium retook the lead, and that was essentially the ballgame. The immediate deflation of that reply took the wind completely out of the American squad.
Belgium dominated the majority of the game, capitalizing on USA’s defensive mistakes throughout the second half, and Romelu Lukaku hammered home a late goal to finalize the 4-1 result.
The Americans generated virtually no big scoring chances after Tillman’s equalizer, outside of when it did not matter at the end, and the gap in quality between the two sides was difficult to ignore by the final whistle.
It is a disappointing exit for a team that had genuine belief heading into the knockout stage, but Belgium was simply the better side on the day, by a wide margin.
On the bright side for Kansas City fans, the World Cup is not done at Arrowhead just yet. Tomorrow night brings one of the marquee matchups of the entire tournament, as Lionel Messi and Argentina take on Switzerland at 8 p.m.
Messi already delivered a hat-trick at Arrowhead in group play. It would be hard to top that, but with the best player in the sport's history, you never quite know.
What to Watch This Week
Royals (38-56)
At Baltimore Orioles (43-51): Three games before the All-Star break
World Cup at Arrowhead
Argentina (-145) vs. Switzerland: Saturday, July 11, 8 p.m. CT at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium