This feels like it came out of nowhere. The Chiefs announced today that they were putting tight end Tony Moeaki on the physically unable to perform list.
Moeaki had a hell of a first year with the Chiefs in 2010. His stunning one-handed catch into the end zone against San Francisco was a season highlight. Moeaki is one of the reasons I'm looking forward to the new season, along with the fact that the Chiefs signed his former Iowa Hawkeye QB, Ricky Stanzi. If I can digress for a second here, Stanzi is erratic, yes, but that dude keeps his cool and he can come back when he's in a hole. Which I can't say about certain nameless players with arrowheads on their helmets ...
Watch your back, Cassel.
By ERIC BARTON
Psst. Wanna get high?
According to ESPN, former Jayhawks Mario Chalmers and Darrell Arthur were booted from an NBA rookie program on Wednesday after allegedly being caught in their hotel rooms with marijuana.
It's a surprising story. Not because Chalmers and Arthur brought the University of Kansas a national championship. What's odd is that the NBA cares.
Considering current and former players have attested to the widespread smoking of pot, it almost seems like there's something missing from ESPN's story. Perhaps what led to the violation wasn't that they were smoking a bit of grass but the way in which they were smoking it.
Arthur and Chalmers, just out of college as they are, could've been wasting their weed in rolling papers instead of a pot-conserving water bowl. An NBA official could've stumbled upon the scene and fined them $20,000 apiece for flagrant disregard of the bud, something that's probably a rulebook violation in the pros.
Or perhaps it was their alleged lonely method of smoking out. No entourage? No bitches? No group of teammates puffing smoke out of a cracked window so housekeeping didn't detect the smell?
There's always the possibility of a source-sharing violation. The two were lighting up at the Doral Arrowwood resort in Rye Brook, New York. Can you imagine how hard it would be to find a source in a tiny town like Rye Brook? Maybe they found a valet or the dude at the smoothie place. And they just smoke it up, just the two of them, while surrounded by pot-loving NBA players?
Not cool, Mario and Darrell. Not cool.
By JOSH ZIEGLER
I got word recently that my Royals season tickets are in a section closed off for construction of Kauffman Stadium. It seems the team assumed they would be out of the playoff run way back at the start of the season, figuring they wouldn't need my section by October.
When I brought my new tickets to the stadium recently, I discovered a bonus. The new tickets they sent me were for another section that was also closed off for construction.
When told of this, the usher said, "Sit wherever you want."
That wasn't so hard considering the crowd looked like this:
By ERIC BARTON
Here I was about to write about the cheapening of the name of Arrowhead Stadium when I came across this well-put version of the same idea at the blog See Katy Write. The author, local magazine editor Katy Ryan, laments about the fact that the Chiefs want to "besmirch the name of the greatest football stadium in the nation" by naming it after a sponsor.
Do you seriously expect me to hold a stadium named after some blood-sucking corporate entity in the same esteem as the hallowed Arrowhead? And your compromise is to keep the original name somewhere in the title. Super. I can't wait until I attend my first game at McDonald's Double Cheeseburger Arrowhead Stadium.
Ryan gives cred to her stance with her own tales of suffering through "the cold, the snow, the rain, the heat," only to see the team flounder. She even backed up her premise with a photo to prove she's been through the worst.
Yep, that photo says it all. Nobody wants to wear ear muffs to Double Cheeseburger Arrowhead.
By DAVID MARTIN
Royals manager Trey Hillman acts like a dick on occasion, and the media are
starting to call him on it.A few weeks ago, the Royals faced Boston knuckleballer Tim Wakefield. In preparation for the game, Hillman, an ex-infielder who fooled around with a knuckler in his playing days, tossed batting practice.
810 WHB's Nate Bukaty tried to engage Hillman in a light conversation about his knuckler. But Hillman was having none of it. His terse answers suggested a man who had just buried his dog and broken up a fistfight in the clubhouse.
By ERIC BARTON
If you're debating between watching Barack Obama accept the Democratic nomination or catching the Chiefs in the final preseason game, here's a primer.
Fans expected to watch Obama speak at Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium: 76,273
Fans expected at Arrowhead Stadium: 27 (estimate)
First lady credentials at Mile High: A seasoned lawyer and mother, Michelle is an impressive speaker in her own right.
First lady credentials at Arrowhead: Kelli Croyle doesn't hurt the eyes.
Possible spoiler at Mile High: Hilary Clinton supporters continue to call for her nomination.
Possible spoiler at Arrowhead: The return of Trent Green, now playing for the Rams, overshadows the three backup-quality quarterbacks fielded this year by the Chiefs.
By ERIC BARTON
I got a text message last night at 8:58 from a friend with some pretty big breaking news. The Royals, he reported, have dropped the Kiss Cam for a more Disney-style version called the Hug Cam. "Dunno for sure but if so that is too creepy conservative," he wrote.
Admittedly, I haven't been to the 'K in a couple months, so I called someone who had been to a recent game. Yep, on Monday night, he saw the Hug Cam but no Kiss Cam.
These sources did enjoy the beverage selections at the 'K. That, of course, leads to the need to visit the concourse facilities. So both of them could've missed the Kiss Cam while headed to the can. So I called the Royals to find out if they had, in fact, turned the Kiss Cam conservative.
By Justin Kendall
A young Chiefs fan expresses his opinion of the rankings.
Forbes ranks Kansas City as a the sixth worst city to be a sports fan. Forbes writer Tom Van Ripper reasons: "Ticket prices are reasonable, but the Royals just can't shake over a decade's worth of the doldrums. The franchise has had just one winning season since 1995."
Forbes refuses to acknowledge soccer as a sport, denying the existence of the Kansas City Wizards. But neither does The Kansas City Star.
By DAVID MARTIN
Fantasy football guides are making it evident how badly the Chiefs screwed up the selection of a special-teams player in the 2007 draft. Nick Folk – bypassed by the Chiefs in favor of Justin Medlock – is the top-rated kicker in draft guides published by Sports Illustrated and USA Today.
The Chiefs took Medlock with the 160th pick in the ’07 draft. After a poor pre-season, the former UCLA Bruin failed to make the team.
The Dallas Cowboys, meanwhile, selected Folk, who kicked at the University of Arizona, with the 178th pick. In 2007, Folk made 26 of 31 field-goal attempts and went to the Pro Bowl.
By Justin Kendall
Just got back from the press conference announcing the 2009 and 2010 Iowa State and Kansas State neutral site games at Arrowhead.
Good to see the Cyclone beat writers -- both of them -- made the trip south on I-35. The pre-press conference jabber was whether the Cyclones had settled their quarterback conundrum. Of course not. The season opener is only SIX DAYS AWAY!
MCI is freaking awesome. Its quick and easy. THATS ALL YOU NEED IN AN AIRPORT!!!
Yummies! Great smoked BBQ ribs. Ate lunch there hours ago and I'm still full... And…
Had lunch there today, amazing smoked ribs. Hours later, I'm still full, but still want…
Reallly!?!? No mention of Hopfest???
Would love to give it a try! Are you going to open for dinner any…
The Pitch's Taste of KC is ready for eaters this Sunday
Jim Gaffigan, Dad Is Fat author, on his way to our fat town
KC Pride Festival 2013? Yes, it's still on
Cody Rhodes keeps his family's tradition alive on WWE's Monday Night Raw
The Humdinger: Stand in line to get in, baby
Big Rip Brewing Co. opens to the world Sunday
Indios Carbonsitos and the Hangover III and other weekend possibilities
Friends of KCI take another crack at stalling new KCI terminal