On Saturday night at Folsom Field, No. 18 Kansas State and Colorado will play a very important game for the Big 12 conference championship race.

The Wildcats and Buffaloes are both 4-1 on the season heading into this matchup, but the Wildcats have already lost a conference game in blowout fashion to BYU. The Buffaloes were handled by Nebraska in a non-conference road game but are 2-0 in the conference. This game is an opportunity for a statement win for either side.

The biggest star on the field will be the Buffaloes’ Travis Hunter. He is a unique player who excels as a star wide receiver and cornerback. He is one of the Heisman frontrunners this season for a reason, and he will give the Wildcats’ offensive and defensive coordinators a lot to think about and prepare for. Meanwhile, Kansas State will be hoping that Avery Johnson will win the quarterback battle with Shedeur Sanders. The Buffaloes’ signal-caller is one of the best in the country and has thrown for 1,630 yards and 14 touchdowns this season. The Wildcats will be looking to force him into some mistakes, of which he has not made many this year. He has only thrown three interceptions on the year.

This will be the toughest test of the season for Colorado so far. The Wildcats are a better team than Nebraska, who handled Colorado 28-10 a few weeks ago. However, if Kansas State shows any signs of looking like they did in their 38-9 loss to BYU, they could go home with their second conference loss of the season. That would essentially kill their Big 12 title hopes. On the other hand, Colorado can keep its name at the top of the conference standings with what would be the biggest win of head coach Deion Sanders’ career so far.

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Kansas City’s brunch scene is full of sweet and savory delights, with a wide variety of dining experiences for various occasions.

Blue Bird Bistro stands out with its ever-changing, locally sourced pancakes. Happy Gillis offers a homey ambiance with varied menu options. HomeGrown celebrates local ingredients with dishes like the West Coast Wake Up omelet and Cinnamon Swirl French Toast. Hemma Hemma, endorsed by Donna Kelce, entices with its signature cinnamon rolls, while Niecie’s Restaurant merges traditional soul food with a welcoming vibe.

The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories below were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.

No. 1: Pancakes with apples? Sweet potatoes? KC bistro menu is always changing, always superb

This restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. We’re there for the pancakes. | Published January 23, 2024 | Read Full Story by Alison Booth

No. 2: My biggest mistake since moving to Kansas City? Not trying this brunch place sooner

I love everything at this KC restaurant. But this has been my go-to order from the start. | Published May 14, 2024 | Read Full Story by Chandler Boese

No. 3: At brunch I want savory AND sweet. This growing restaurant in KC gives the best of both

This omelet stuffed with gooey cheese, bacon and veggies, paired with French toast that radiates cinnamon: my perfect brunch. | Published June 11, 2024 | Read Full Story by Sharon Hoffmann

No. 4: At this restaurant, 2 Kansas City treasures mix heart and soul into the scrambled eggs

This longtime Kansas City restaurant has “Good Food.” But the “Served Right” part of its motto makes it taste even better. | Published May 7, 2024 | Read Full Story by Vahe Gregorian

No. 5: Donna Kelce promised I’d love the cinnamon rolls from this KC brunch spot. She was right

This Waldo restaurant serves some of the best cinnamon rolls I’ve had in Kansas City. | Published September 23, 2024 | Read Full Story by Natalie Wallington

This report was produced with the help of AI tools, which summarized previous stories reported and written by McClatchy journalists. It was edited by journalists in our News division

Gerrit Cole pitched like a postseason ace Thursday night, holding the Kansas City Royals to a single run over seven innings and sending the New York Yankees to a 3-1 victory that put them back in the American League Championship Series.

The six-time All-Star scattered six hits and struck out four before handing the ball to the New York bullpen, which dominated a tense AL Division Series. Clay Holmes tossed a perfect eighth inning and Luke Weaver breezed through the ninth, extending the scoreless streak by Yankees relievers to 15 and two-thirds innings this postseason.

New York will play Cleveland or Detroit of the ALCS starting Monday night at Yankee Stadium.

“Proud of these guys,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “We get to go play for it now and we’re excited about that.”

Juan Soto, Gleyber Torres and Game 3 star Giancarlo Stanton drove in runs for the Yankees, who fittingly clinched a spot in their fourth ALCS in eight years on the road. They won 50 games away from home in the regular season, their most in 21 years.

Michael Wacha failed to get through five innings for Kansas City, allowing two runs, six hits and a walk. He didn’t get much help from a long-scuffling offense that managed just five runs total over the final three games of the series.

“In 2023, our season ended here, you know? We didn’t get in the postseason,” said Aaron Judge, who secured the final out for New York. “I remember a lot of these guys were looking out on the field, and you know, we all kind of came together and said, ‘It’s not going to happen again.’”

Kansas City did not win a home game after 8 September, losing nine in a row including the playoffs.

Still, it was a remarkable turnaround for a club that went from 106-loss laughingstock a year ago to making its first postseason appearance since winning the 2015 World Series. And with young stars such as Bobby Witt Jr signed to long-term deals, there is hope in Kansas City that this was a beginning rather than an ending.

“Feel really badly for those guys in the room,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said, “because as you know, this is seven, eight months of the year that they just pour it all into it, and give every ounce of effort and energy they have.”

New York set the tone from the start, pouncing on Wacha like it did in the series opener. Torres hit the veteran right-hander’s first pitch of the game for a double, and Soto followed with an RBI single on just the third pitch of the night.

Anthony Volpe kept on the pressure with his single in the fifth. And after Alex Verdugo grounded into a forceout and Jon Berti singled to put runners on the corners, Torres lined a two-out single to make it 2-0 and put an end to Wacha’s night.

Meanwhile, Cole only seemed to get stronger as he clicked off innings.

The reigning Cy Young Award winner retired his first six batters, worked around a leadoff single in the third and retired eight more before Tommy Pham’s single in the fifth. Cole promptly struck out Kyle Isbel on three pitches to end that inning.

“It was a great battle,” Cole said. “Just a great battle.”

Stanton, who hit the go-ahead homer in the eighth inning in Game 3, extended the lead to 3-0 with his single in the sixth before tensions that had simmered all night – and all series, after Yankees third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr called the Royals’ Game 2 win “lucky” – boiled over in the bottom half. Volpe slapped a hard tag on Maikel Garcia at second base to complete a double play, and the Royals third baseman took umbrage with it. Players spilled out of both dugouts before order was restored.

“I just felt like (Garcia) tried to go in and injure Volpe because he was being a sore loser,” Chisholm said. “I didn’t like that. I told him that we don’t do that on this side, and I’m going to stick up for my guys.”

The near-fracas nearly ignited Kansas City, though. Witt, who had been 1 for 15 in the series, followed with a base hit and Vinnie Pasquantino – who’d been 0 for 14 – had an RBI double. But with the sellout crowd of 39,012 in Kauffman Stadium whipped into a sudden frenzy, Cole got Salvador Perez to pop out lazily to second base to end the inning.

Cole’s night ended after he got Isbel to fly out to the warning track with a runner aboard to end the seventh, a deep shot to right field that would have been a tying homer had it been hit to that part of Yankee Stadium.

New York’s bullpen did the rest.

“We’re in a good place. That doesn’t mean we’re in a great place,” Stanton said. “We’re here to win. Noone wants to be on the losing side of this. Imagine how Kansas City feels right now. Nobody wants to feel that way. We have an opportunity to keep it rolling, but that is understood reality, that we have to take care of business.”