SportsBeat KC
Episodes
Royals can be a model when baseball returns, and a Buck O’Neil story
19 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We waited all week to talk about baseball’s return, but MLB and its union have run out of week. On this episode of The Star’s daily SportsBeat KC ...
In the strangest of times, Mizzou gets back to business of athletics
18 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Through protests and a pandemic preparation for the 2020-21 sports calendar continues at Missouri. On SportsBeat KC, Tigers beat writer Souichi Terada...
The survey says ... how KU fans feel about their teams, Jayhawk coaches
17 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Kansas is facing potential trouble with its men’s basketball program, and the Jayhawks’ football team just completed a decade of futility. But gen...
On Mike Gundy, Eyes of Texas and the empowerment of college athletes
16 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The voices of college athletes are being heard. This week, one of the nation’s top running backs, Oklahoma State’s Chuba Hubbard, expressed anger ...
Did Royals’ position on paying minor leaguers help land top free agent?
15 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Baseball wrapped up the strangest of drafts and undrafted free agent signings over the past few days and the Royals like where they stand. College pit...
How Major League Soccer beat the other U.S. team sports on return to play
12 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We’ve seen auto racing, mixed-martial arts and golf return to action in the U.S. Now we have a definitive date for the first return of a team-sports...
What adding another young arm through draft means for Royals
11 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Let’s talk baseball, and not the feud between players and owners about when to start the season. Major League Baseball is holding its draft and the ...
Chiefs press conference becomes call to action with Reid, Mahomes, Mathieu
11 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It was a Chiefs press conference unlike any other. Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes and Tyrann Mathieu used nearly all of their time talking to Kansas City ...
On racism with coaches Calipari, Martin, Sampson, Chambers, others
09 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Some of college basketball’s most prominent coaches got together last week for a forum called “Using Your Platform as a Coach During This Critical...
Talking KC sports greatest, saddest moments with veteran scribe
08 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Recently, The Star has use the pause in sports action to review and rank the greatest sports moments and people in the Kansas City sports scene, event...
Talking Mizzou, a peaceful march and voter registration
05 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Missouri coaches and athletes joined the the anti-racism demonstrations this week but in a different way. Football coach Eli Drinkwitz, assistants and...
Breaking down Drew Brees and reaction from NFL, including Chiefs
04 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The biggest NFL story to come out of the nation-wide protests is happening now. In an interview, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees repeated a ...
Training camp homebodies means St. Joe a no-go for Chiefs
03 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
For the first time in nearly three decades the Chiefs won’t leave the metro area for training camp. The NFL is requiring teams to use their training...
Standing at the intersection of sports and protest
02 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The role of teams and high profile athletes in times of protest and unrest is the topic on today’s SportsBeat KC. Kansas City Star columnist Vahe Gr...
With treatment of employees, minor leaguers, Royals set baseball’s example
01 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Royals made news on Friday with the organization saying it would continue to pay its minor league players, more than 200 of them, throughout the s...
Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Mitch Schwartz indulging passions waiting for sport to return
29 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Chiefs first-round draft pick, Clyde Edwards-Helaire is confident he’s doing all he can from his Louisiana home to prepare for life NFL. He also has...
What’s known, and isn’t, about college football as return dates are set
28 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The college football calendar is starting to populate with dates toward a return, with major conferences like the Big 12 establishing reporting days f...
Debating Kansas City sports history in lists
27 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Everyone has their list of greatest plays or moments in Kansas City sports history, or least their favorites. The Star is putting together a list that...
In dugout with Royals during Edinson Volquez’s Game 1 World Series drama
26 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Game 1 of the 2015 World Series arrived on the same day as the death of Edinson Volquez’s father, Danio. The news reached Royals general manager Day...
Go ahead, NFL, change the onside kickoff rule. Mahomes’ Chiefs are ready
22 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
One shot at a fourth-and-15 from the kicking team’s 25 instead of an onside kick when trailing? Give the Chiefs some of that. That proposal is on th...
Drama on field and in press box as Royals crowned World Series champions
21 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Royals had pushed through the Houston Astros in the division series and the Toronto Blue Jays to win the American League. It was on to the World S...
Chiefs coordinators speak to how newcomers might fit in
20 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
For the first time since Super Bowl week, Chiefs coordinators Eric Bieniemy, Steve Spagnuolo and Dave Toub met the media, and there was plenty of grou...
How will schools like Mizzou take advantage of new likeness rule?
19 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The college basketball season abruptly because of the COVID-19 pandemic but the business of college hoops continues. Missouri Coach Cuonzo Martin chat...
A visit to the center of the College Football Playoff universe
18 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Where else would the heartbeat of the College Football Playoff be but Prairie Village? That’s where Bill Hancock lives, and he’s the executive dir...
Should he stay or should he go... approaching third base. Mike Jirschele makes the call
15 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
My eyes have always enjoyed Mellinger MInutes, you know the Tuesday column on steroids by the Kansas City Star’s Sam Mellinger. Now, I get to add a ...
Catching (up with) Kelce and how Chiefs will remain motivated as champs
14 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Chiefs will have the same identity and same hunger for 2020 that they brought into their Super Bowl championship season. That’s the sense from P...
The joy and chore of chasing .400, 40 years later with George Brett
13 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In 1980, the sports world was focused on Kansas City and George Brett. Could he become the first player since Ted Williams in 1941 to hit .400 in a se...
Cain’s dash, Davis’ toughness marked Royals’ 2015 ALCS conclusion
12 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The 2015 American League Championship Series matched the Royals against the Toronto Blue Jays, and although Kansas City never trailed in the series th...
A Chiefs schedule of prime time games and future Hall of Fame quarterbacks
11 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The NFL schedules are out, and who has a tougher opening month than the Chiefs? Four games, three division champions from last season and two on the r...
Stakes are high in the NCAA-KU battle. And both sides have much to lose
08 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In March, Kansas delivered its response to the NCAA’s Notice of Allegations, which consisted of five Level 1 violations against Bill Self’s men’...
How Sporting KC felt to be 1st KC pro sports athletes back on the field
07 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The first Kansas City pro athletes have returned to the practice field. It wasn’t a full-go workout for Sporting KC, but they were one of a handful ...
Remembering what made Royals’ 2015 season special with Ned Yost
06 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Not the most talented team Ned Yost had managed or coached, but the 2015 World Series champion was the closest and most clutch. They proved it time an...
How Taco Charlton fits in with Chiefs, plus staying motivated with Tyrann Mathieu
05 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Chiefs landed their second first-round pick from the 2017 draft. If this one turns out as well as the first one...The Chiefs have signed Taco Char...
Talk about a Royals rally for the ages. Reliving Game 4 of 2015 ALDS
04 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Royals entered the 2015 MLB playoffs with the American League’s best record, but they always seemed to play from behind in the division series a...
Patrick Mahomes on a long-term deal, and Duvernay-Tardif on the pandemic front line
01 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What does Patrick Mahomes think of the fifth-year option exercised by the Chiefs earlier this week, and of the possibility of signing an extension? Al...
Keep the good-bye, bring the buyout is David Beaty’s message to KU
30 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
David Beaty stopped being Kansas’ football coach after the 2018 season, but he and the school haven’t quite cut ties. Kansas doesn’t want to pay...
Feeling the optimism for baseball’s return with Royals’ GM Dayton Moore
29 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Royals general manager Dayton Moore is an optimist by nature. Maybe he was simply looking at the bright side when he told reporters earlier this week ...
Putting a bow on the Chiefs draft, and a thought on Dustin Colquitt
28 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The business of NFL football has been on display the last few days for the Kansas City Chiefs. They wrapped up a draft and rookie free agent signing p...
Grading the Chiefs draft. Honor roll good?
27 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Chiefs draft haul of six players was widely appreciated by national critics, with most grading in the B-C range. That’s fine. Unlike nearly ever...
Let’s talk about the newest Chiefs, Clyde Edwards-Helaire
24 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The first night of the NFL Draft didn’t offer many surprises but one involved the Kansas City Chiefs. With the No. 32 overall pick, the Chiefs not o...
Final pre-NFL Draft podcast, before first post-NFL Draft podcast
23 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It’s NFL Draft day! Finally a live sporting event to discuss, digest, get emotional over. It begins tonight with the first round and runs Friday and...
Could top running back prospect be on board for Chiefs?
22 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Running backs aren’t as popular in the NFL Draft as they once were. There might not be one taken in the first round on Thursday. What has become of ...
Adjusting to draft and possible Chiefs targets in first round
21 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
An NFL Draft unlike any other approaches. Commissioner Roger Goodell will be at his New York home conducting the event. Personnel from the 32 teams wi...
How Chiefs found enviable draft position, and remembering Pellom McDaniels
20 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
NFL Draft week has arrived and the Chiefs own the first-round slot every team covets, No. 32. Chances are, one of the top dozen or so college prospect...
Remember projecting Mahomes’ NFL greatness before draft? Us neither. But there was an idea
17 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
With the NFL Draft on the clock, we turn back the clock to about this time in 2017. The draft approached and the Chiefs held the No. 27 selection. The...
The Chiefs’ draft, with Brett Veach. And what about Mahomes and Jones?
16 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The NFL Draft will happen next week from home offices and basements throughout the league. This shut-in setting was created by the COVID-19 pandemic, ...
Navigating football through a shutdown with a new coach at Mizzou
15 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Missouri had just started its spring football practices when the COVID-19 coronavirus hit and things were shut down after three workouts. The situatio...
Projecting K-State, KU when college football returns
14 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Spring is in the air, but spring football on college campuses has been grounded. So let’s play a little what-might-have-been at Kansas State and Kan...
Not many new faces for Chiefs for 2020. A good thing?
13 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Chiefs figure to have as many 20 starters returning from their Super Bowl championship game. That’s a remarkably high number, and it’s been su...
Sporting KC sprinted from gate. How to maintain edge in shutdown
10 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sporting KC was off to a flying start in Major League Soccer play. The 2-0 record included the best goal differential in the league. That’s where th...
Breeland back with Chiefs; Border War football another step closer
09 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Will an NFL team return as many starters next season as the Chiefs? With the signing of cornerback Bashaud Breeland, reported on Thursday, the Chiefs ...
Will all 30 Major League Baseball teams play a season in Phoenix?
08 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A plan to have all 30 Major League Baseball teams conduct a season in one area —Phoenix—using the Diamondbacks’ stadium and 10 spring training f...
Door revolves for K-State hoops roster, opens belatedly for Eddie Sutton
07 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The NCAA men’s basketball championship game would have been played on Monday night. College basketball was still on our minds Tuesday. Kansas State ...
Longing for a Final Four, and was President Trump overly optimistic with commissioners?
06 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The weekend wasn’t without sports news. The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced it class and it was star-studded with inductees like Tim Dunc...
Chiefs’ signing of Sammy Watkins kicks off #RunItBackTour
03 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Chiefs fans woke up Friday morning to some good news. Wide receiver Sammy Watkins had signed a one-year deal worth $9 million, with incentives that ca...
No Opening Day at the K, but baseball talk anyway
02 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Thursday was to be Opening Day at the K, the Royals’ home opener. But there’s no baseball, or sports of any kind these days. Still, we can talk ba...
Matching this KU team against Final Four squads with Bill Self
01 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week college basketball would be preparing for the Final Four, and the likely overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, Kansas, figured to have ...
What can the Chiefs do with $177 in cap space? We have some ideas
31 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Who wouldn’t want $177? You could pay a bill or have a big night on the town when we’re back to having big nights on the town. What you can’t do...
Sports fields, courts silent in pandemic but not sports columnists
30 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Some sports continue to happen, like NFL free agency and esports competition. But the fields and courts have been silent for competition. That hasn’...
College football and COVID-19. Can they avoid each other?
27 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Will football season be affected by the covid-19 pandemic? It’s too early to say, and some aspects of college football already have been impacted. T...
College basketball is over but not transfer season at K-State, Mizzou, Wichita St.
26 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
College basketball ended much too soon because of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic but the business of roster shaping continues. It’s player transf...
Denny Matthews has seen it all in a career that spans Royals history
25 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
When the baseball season starts after a delay for the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the Kansas City Royals will being their 52nd season. Play-by-play...
Chiefs make a move at quarterback! Relax, only adding depth
24 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Chiefs have a new quarterback. No, there’s nothing wrong with Patrick Mahomes. Ta’amu Jordan was added for position depth. He was off to a ter...
Kansas Citians pull together, including teams you pull for
23 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Chiefs were down by 10 midway through the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl? Remember when the Royals trailed the Astros by four in the eighth inni...
Talking NCAA Tournament and everything else with Kevin Harlan
20 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We’ve lost the action of the NCAA Tournament with its cancellation and we’ve also lost the event’s voices. Kevin Harlan brings energy and excite...
Chiefs mostly quiet during free agency so far. What does that mean?
19 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Free agency opened this week with plenty of movement around the NFL, especially at quarterbacks. But one of the quieter teams was the Kansas City Chie...
A few details remain for college basketball’s final No. 1 team, Kansas
18 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The college basketball season isn’t quite over. The games are finished but the final Associated Press poll was released on Wednesday and more All-Am...
Hot stove extended with baseball delay. Royals bullpen improved?
17 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The start of baseball season has been delayed by strikes and lockouts. A pandemic? This will be a first. Spring training facilities have closed down t...
Chiefs playing (franchise) tag. You’re it, Chris Jones
16 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sports on the court or field? Not happening. Sports over the phone? You bet. Coronavirus has shut down competition in prettu much all sports, but NFL ...
The strange new world of sports
12 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A headline in The Kansas City Star in the days after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorists attacks read: Sports, ppd. As NFL, college football and baseball ga...
NCAA, Big 12 exclude fans. Here’s what Bill Self, Bob Bowlsby had to say
12 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In a remarkable announcements, the NCAA and Big 12 said no spectators would be allowed to attend its men’s and women’s tournament games this year ...
Big 12’s Bob Bowlsby on tournaments, coronavirus. Plus Mizzou preview
11 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Big 12 Tournament begins Wednesday and as of early afternoon there were no plans to alter event’s schedule or play games in a Sprint Center with...
Chiefs making noise as key dates approach, and K-State’s 1-game momentum
10 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What’s new with the Chiefs? No more Mahomes Magic Crunch, players taking to social media to make their free agent statements, and the collective bar...
Hoop madness has already started for Big 12 champion Kansas
09 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Let’s see, over the past five days, Kansas announced its 307-page response to the NCAA Notice of Allegations, won at Texas Tech to capture the outri...
Making sense of KU’s response to NCAA, and Roos women make history
06 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Kansas issued its response to the NCAA’s Notice of Allegations issued in September and it was forceful. No spirit of cooperation here. KU will fight...
OK-Doke, Kansas big man Azubuike leads Jayhawks to Big 12 title
05 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Udoka Azubuike was a beast. The Kansas senior center finished with 31 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots in his final game at Allen Fieldhouse...
Nobody wins like Bearcats, and everyone want to be like Honey Badger
04 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On SportsBeat KC, college basketball leads off with a conversation with the winningest men’s coach over the previous four years. Ben McCollum speaks...
New math could help Chris Jones get his long term deal
03 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Chiefs could be forced to make some difficult decisions regarding free agents for 2020 because of the salary cap. But what if the NFL cap spikes t...
Chiefs’ Combine week, and why Lamar Jackson hates facing Mahomes
02 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The NFL Combine is over and it’s on to the next NFL off-season thing, free agency. Star beat writers Herbie Teope and Sam McDowell spent last week i...
With KU, K-State, will rivalry pick up where it left off?
28 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The nation’s top-ranked team returns to action on Saturday when Kansas visits Kansas State in the 293rd Sunflower Showdown. Although KU is tied for ...
Talking futures of Bruce Weber, Salvador Perez and Isaiah Simmons
27 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It’s a busy SportsBeat KC episode. Star columnist Sam Mellinger joins host Blair Kerkhoff to look ahead of Saturday’s Sunflower Showdown from a Ka...
Veach talks Chiefs contracts, and blast from past gets Royals shot
26 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The NFL Combine is underway and that means Chiefs are stepping to the podium. General manager Brett Veach addressed the contract decisions involving C...
Mizzou hoops has shown recent promise. Can it be sustained?
25 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Missouri has steadied the ship in basketball. The Tigers are 3-2 in their past five games, a run that includes their first successive SEC triumphs. Is...
In NFL speed dating, coaches, prospects get acquainted at combine
24 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The NFL Scouting Combine is like speed dating. Teams get to know prospects quickly through scouting and interviews and have to make a decision about a...
What will decide the college hoops game of the year, KU at Baylor?
21 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Third-ranked Kansas has won 11 straight games and stands 12-1 in the Big 12. But that’s not good enough to lead the league. Top-ranked Baylor rides ...
Joe Lunardi breaks down bracketology, the study he helped create
20 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It’s one thing to watch a college basketball game but if your team is having a good season, you want to know where it might stand in the NCAA Tourna...
Mizzou once again in victory lane, with Kansas State on skid row
19 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
With Tuesday’s heart-stopping triumph against Mississippi, Missouri has won three of four and is playing its best basketball of the season. Reasons ...
Dealing with free agents Chiefs’ first major offseason priority
18 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As Herbie Teope likes to call it, “speculation season” in the NFL as commenced. As Sam McDowell responds, “When is it not speculation season?”...
How the Big 12 turned into a two-team race between Baylor and KU
17 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The latest AP basketball poll is out with no change at the top. Baylor is first, Kansas is third, meaning their meeting on Saturday in Waco will be th...
Negro Leagues turns 100, celebration begins in Kansas City
14 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A baseball milestone birthday was celebrated this week. The Negro Leagues turned 100, and the occasion was recognized in the place of its birth. On Fe...
What a victory for Jayhawks at West Virginia. Let’s talk about it
13 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
After trailing for most of the game, Kansas picked up a huge victory on Wednesday, defeating West Virginia 58-49. The Jayhawks dominated down the stre...
After the Super Bowl, how do the Chiefs keep Mahomes, Jones happy?
12 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Chiefs are the topic for Star sports columnists Sam Mellinger and Vahe Gregorian. Last week’s Super Bowl championship held deeper meaning for the ci...
Measures taken to avoid another non-playoff season for Sporting KC
11 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sporting KC finds itself in an odd position, entering the season as the hunter and not the hunted. For the first time in nine seasons, the club missed...
Hope springs eternal as spring training for Royals approaches
10 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Baseball’s moment of full confidence arrives this week with the opening of spring training camps. Everybody has pennant hopes in the spring. Royals’...
Behind the scenes of planning a Super Bowl championship parade
07 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What goes into planning a Super Bowl parade? We get insight from Kathy Nelson, president and CEO of the Kansas City Sports Commission. Her office help...
You saw Super Bowl LIV, now hear it through the NFL’s microphones
07 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
One place that is not accessible to media during a game is the field itself, and the sidelines. But there’s no escaping NFL Productions’ microphon...
Who doesn’t love a parade? Kansas City celebrates Super Chiefs
06 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On Wednesday, Kansas City and the Chiefs let loose. The Super Bowl parade motored down Grand. According to the schedule players were supposed to ride ...
While awaiting a parade, let’s keep talking Chiefs
04 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Let’s keep talking Super Bowl shall we? Yahoo Sports reporter Terez Paylor, who used to cover the Chiefs for The Star, joined his old friends for so...
Just how did the amazing comeback Chiefs win the Super Bowl?
03 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
How did the Chiefs do it? How did they for the third straight playoff game overcome a double-digit deficit to win the game, this time the Super Bowl? ...
Who wins Super Bowl 54 and how? A final pregame look from The Star
01 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Super Bowl 54 edges closer and the A-Team of Herbie Teope, Sam McDowell, Vahe Gregorian and Sam Mellinger breaks down the game between the Kansas City...