A little chilly, some broken water pipes and hotel issues, Kansas and its fans are working through the problems of the program’s first bowl game in 14 years. But they’re happy to be at the AutoZone LIberty Bowl in Memphis to meet the Arkansas Razorbacks. On today’s SportsBeat KC, beat writer Sheryas Laddha breaks down the bowl experience and the game that matches a pair of 6-6 teams that were ranked during the season. The Jayhawks are ahead of schedule in Coach Lance Leipold’s second season, and...
Dec 28, 2022•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast Better late than never on our Chiefs postgame conversation. The Chiefs beat the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday 24-10 and beat writers Herbie Teope and Jesse Newell discussed the game before leaving the press box to enjoy Christmas the next day. That chat is today’s SportsBeat KC podcast. It holds up. Not much has happened since we talked Chiefs. Well, there is one thing: The next opponent, the Denver Broncos, fired head coach Nathaniel Hackett on Monday. The new ownership group had seen enough wit...
Dec 28, 2022•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Chiefs look to keep pace with the Buffalo Bills in the AFC West playoff race and will meet the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs and Bills own 11-3 records but the Bills won the matchup earlier this season, so the Chiefs must finish with a better record. We discuss the playoff picture, Harrison Butker’s kicking woes, the potential return of Mecole Hardman and much more on today’s SportsBeat KC podcast with beat writers Jesse Newell and Herbie Teope a...
Dec 22, 2022•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast The run-up to Christmas provides Missouri Tigers athletics with a couple of high-profile contests, and we talk about both on today’s episode of SportsBeat KC, The Kansas City Star’s daily sports podcast. Star columnist Vahe Gregorian previews Thursday’s Braggin’ Rights men’s basketball game against Illinois and then shifts gears for a look at Mizzou’s bowl game against Wake Forest on Friday. Missouri and the Demon Deacons meet on the gridiron for the first time. It’s a strength-on-strength match...
Dec 21, 2022•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast Moments after Argentina’s game-winning penalty kick hit the back of the net to defeat France in the World Cup final, thoughts turned to the next World Cup, the 2026 event to be held in 16 North American cities, including Kansas City. On today’s SportsBeat KC podcast, Star columnists Vahe Gregorian and Sam McDowell sat down with three Kansas City officials who attended the World Cup in Qatar: Kansas City Sports Commission and VisitKC president Kathy Nelson, Kansas City deputy city manager and exe...
Dec 20, 2022•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Chiefs outgained the Houston Texans 502 yards to 219, held an overwhelming advantage in first downs (33-18) and controlled the ball for 10 minutes longer than their hosts. Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes completed 20 straight passes in Sunday’s game at NRG Stadium. So why the Chiefs need overtime to record a 30-24 victory over a team that dropped to 1-12-1 this season? Let’s count the ways: Two fumbles, 10 penalties and a missed field goal and extra point, for starters. The Chiefs bumbled enough t...
Dec 19, 2022•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ty Zentner had a smile on his face as he prepared to kick the 31-yard field goal in overtime that would give Kansas State the victory over TCU in the Big 12 Championship Game. What was he thinking? On today’s SportsBeat KC, Zentner provides the answer and much more in a conversation with beat writer Kellis Robinett and host Blair Kerkhoff. It’s been a wild ride for the Kansas State kicker who came to place-kicking late in his career. Zentner was an all-around athlete in Shawnee Hights High in To...
Dec 16, 2022•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Chiefs head to Houston on Sunday with a chance to clinch their seventh straight AFC West title, and the division dominance is an amazing thing. But the past two games have shown some flaws. The Chiefs split games with Cincinnati and Denver and have had issues on the defensive side and with turnovers. On today’s SportsBeat KC, beat writers Herbie Teope and Jesse Newell and columnist Sam McDowell break down the Chiefs, warts and all. We discuss Patrick Mahomes’ recent performances and discuss ...
Dec 15, 2022•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Royals conducted the first program on their new stadium/entertainment district “listening tour,” on Tuesday. About 300 came to event held at the Plexpod Westport Commons. A lineup that started with Royals chairman and CEO John Sherman made their pitches for about an hour, then took submitted questions for 45 minutes. The presentation covered many details, although it was short on certain specifics. Left unanswered about the proposed $2 billion project are the specific breakdown between priva...
Dec 14, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Transcript available on Metacast The good news first. In defeating the Denver Broncos on Sunday, the Chiefs improved to 10-3 and won their 14th straight over the AFC West rival. The final score was 34-28. But the Chiefs led this game 27-0 and seemed on their way to a blowout victory. Three Patrick Mahomes interceptions and some shaky defense brought Denver back into the game. On today’s SportsBeat KC podcast, Star columnist Sam McDowell and beat writer Jesse Newell break down the game’s ebbs and flows. What tells us more about ...
Dec 12, 2022•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast One of college basketball’s top rivalries–Kansas vs. Missouri–continues on Saturday, and we’re here to break it down. The current state of the programs, the history, Norm Stewart, we talk about it all on today’s SportsBeat KC. Star columnist Vahe Gregorian joins beat writers Gary Bedore and Shreyas Laddha to preview the game that begins at 4:15 p.m. on Saturday and will be televised by ESPN. Mizzou is 9-0 under new coach Dennis Gates and roster full of transfers. Kansas, the defending NCAA champ...
Dec 09, 2022•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast The assumption for several weeks has been the Chiefs are the top team in the AFC, if not the NFL. Is that still true after the team’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals last weekend? The outcome dropped the Chiefs to 9-3 and they no longer have the top seed in the AFC playoff picture. If that’s the case, how do the Chiefs get back to the top, and what issues did the Bengals expose? We discuss that and more on today’s SportsBeat KC with the reporters and columnists who cover the team for The Star. Th...
Dec 08, 2022•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast Kansas State won a conference championship, then joined Missouri and Kansas in learning its bowl destination. SportsBeat KC tells the huge weekend in college football in podcast form. You’ll hear comments from K-State coach Chris Klieman and players Daniel Green, Deuce Vaughn, Will Howard and Felix Anudike-Uzomah after their stirring 31-28 victory over TCU for the Wildcats’ first Big 12 championship in a decade. The Wildcats are headed to the Sugar Bowl to face Alabama. Also with their suitcases...
Dec 06, 2022•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast So much for the Chiefs circling the Bengals game on the schedule. The team that defeated Kansas City twice last year — and knocked them from the playoffs — did it again. Cincinnati defeated the Chiefs 27-24, winning the matchup for the third time in 17 games. The Chiefs had won 26 straight games in November and December until Sunday. On today’s episode of The Star’s SportsBeat KC podcast, beat writer Herbie Teope joins host Blair Kerkhoff to discuss the game. It shifted momentum a few times, the...
Dec 05, 2022•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast Kansas rolled to a big victory over Seton Hall in the Big 12/Big East Battle on Thursday with the Jayhawks getting double-figure scoring from six players. The victory capped a 2-0 week for KU after suffering its first loss of the season. On today’s show new beat writer Shreyas Laddha discusses the game and more. Laddha joined The Star this week and offers his first impressions of the defending NCAA champion. We also discuss some bowl game possibilities for the football team. After a break, you’l...
Dec 02, 2022•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast Since Patrick Mahomes became a starter, two teams have defeated him twice in one season. The first was the New England Patriots in 2018. The next was the Cincinnati Bengals last year. Both times, the second losses came in the AFC Championship Game, and both came in overtime, But there was something different about the Bengals’ loss. The Chiefs were in control of that game in the first half, only to fall apart after the break. Mahomes played his worst half in a Chiefs uniform. We’ll see that outc...
Dec 01, 2022•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast For the first time since 2003, Kansas State is playing in a Big 12 Championship Game. The Wildcats can only hope this one will go as well. Two decades ago, K-State throttled then top-ranked Oklahoma at Arrowhead Stadium. This time, the opponent is undefeated TCU angling for a spot in the College Football Playoff. The game is Saturday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Tex. In between those games, Kansas State picked up another Big 12 championship, in 2012, but there wasn’t a title game then. On today...
Nov 30, 2022•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast Plenty of good and some concerns for the Chiefs in their 26-10 triumph over the L.A. Rams on Sunday. The outcome was never in doubt. The Patrick Mahomes-to-Travis Kelce connection produced another impressive touchdown. The Chiefs’ 9-2 record remains the best in the AFC. But the Chiefs didn’t get touchdowns on five of six trips to the red zone, one of the failures on a Patrick Mahomes end zone interception. And another muffed punt by rookie Skyy Moore may mean his days on that duty are numbered. ...
Nov 28, 2022•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s high school football playoffs semifinal weekend in Kansas and for Class 6 in Missouri, and Dion Clisso of PrepsKC.com is here to break it down. Great matchups include Liberty North against Christian Brothers College of St. Louis and Lee’s Summit North against DeSmet in Missouri Class 6. Could there be an All-Kansas City championship game? Kansas 6A features teams reaching the semifinals in class for the first time: Gardner-Edgerton against Olathe Northwest. In Kansas 5A, Mill Valley, which ...
Nov 18, 2022•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast The last best chance for keeping the Chiefs from winning a seventh straight AFC West title happens on Sunday Night Football, when Kansas City visits the L.A. Chargers. The Chiefs hold a two-game lead over the Chargers and have beaten them once already. Win this one and only an epic collapse would prevent the Chiefs from taking the division yet again. But there are some concerns. Three Chiefs wide receivers have missed practice time with injuries this week, and on today’s episode of The Star’s Sp...
Nov 17, 2022•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast In a letter to fans and media, Royals owner John Sherman laid out his vision for a new downtown ballpark and entertainment district, complete with a price tag–$2 billion–and renderings. There is plenty to determine, starting with more specifics on funding and a timetable. On today’s SportsBeat KC podcast, Star columnist Vahe Gregorian and beat writer Lynn Worthy explore those questions and more. What seems more clear now than at any other time, the Royals are determined to move downtown. After a...
Nov 16, 2022•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast Kansas State has an inside track in the race to be TCU’s opponent in the Big 12 Championship Game. The Wildcats can clinch a spot this weekend. For that to happen, the Cats would have to win at West Virginia and Texas would need to lose at Kansas. Easier still: K-State would also be in with two straight wins, meaning at WVU and against. KU the following week. K-State’s Big 12 title-game chances have see-sawed in recent weeks, but one common thread is the performance of backup quarterback WIll Ho...
Nov 15, 2022•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast The possibility of a defeat for a team that loses the turnover battle by three, falls victim to an opening onside kick and misses and extra point has to be high. But the Chiefs also did many things well and defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 27-17 on Sunday. We unpacked most of it on The Star’s postgame show, SportsBeat Live, which you’ll hear today presented as a podcast. Columnists Sam McDowell and Vahe Gregorian along with beat writer Herbie Teope broke down the game and extended the Chiefs’ l...
Nov 14, 2022•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast The high school football playoffs have reached the quarterfinal stage, and Dion Clisso of PrepsKC.com is here to break down the key matchups in Missouri and Kansas. Is Liberty North vulnerable as the region’s top team against Park Hill South in Class 6? Which of the newcomers to the late rounds will emerge in Kansas 6A? Clsso breaks down these story lines and games. After a break, you’ll hear from Patrick Mahomes from his weekly media session. He speaks about throwing a person record 68 passes a...
Nov 11, 2022•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast Tell me I’m wrong to believe Chiefs fans should be more concerned about the victory over the Tennessee Titans than the loss to the Buffalo Bills. We start today’s SportsBeat KC podcast with Star columnist Sam McDowell and beat writers Herbie Teope and Jesse Newell with that topic. But there’s plenty more to discuss as the Chiefs play host to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, when Andy Reid will be taking on a former assistant coach Doug Pederson. We break down the Chiefs running back position ...
Nov 10, 2022•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Three games remain in the Big 12 regular season and Kansas State and Kansas remain in the conference championship race. The Wildcats figured to be here, but it’s an epic season from the Jayhawks. Beat writers Kellis Robinett and Gary Bedore break down the teams they cover on today’s SportsBeat KC. For K-State, the plot thickens at quarterback. In last weekend’s loss to Texas, Coach Chris Klieman returned to Adrian Martinez, who had been out with an injury. In stepped Will Howard and looked good....
Nov 09, 2022•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast The college sports crossroads season is upon us. Regular-season football is in its final month as basketball season tips off. On today’s SportsBeat KC, Missouri is the focus of this junction. Mizzou is coming off a disappointing football loss, which has been this season’s theme in conference games. But head coach Eli Drinkwitz and defensive coordinator Blake Baker received contract extensions last week. We talk about those developments with Chris Gervino of the Tiger Radio Network, the sideline ...
Nov 08, 2022•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Chiefs got big numbers from Patrick Mahomes and needed all of them to outlast the Tennessee Titans 20-17 in overtime on Sunday Night Football. On today’s SportsBeat KC, Star columnist Vahe Gregorian and beat writers Herbie Teope and Jesse Newell break down the game, and engage in a spirited debate over how concerned the Chiefs should be with the performance. Does it matter how a victory was achieved when it comes to thinking about the playoffs? The Chiefs’ triumph kept them atop the AFC West...
Nov 07, 2022•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Chiefs were off last week but they stayed busy. Wide receiver Kadarius Toney joined the team. Cornerback Rashad Fenton departed. Injured players like rookie cornerback Trent McDuffie and defensive end Mike Danna worked their way back, while the Chiefs worked out with suspended end Frank Clark. We talk about it all and then some on SportsBeat KC, The Star’s daily sports podcast with columnist Sam McDowell, and beat writers Herbie Teope and Jesse Newell, who join host Blair Kerkhoff. The show ...
Nov 04, 2022•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast New Royals manager Matt Quatraro was introduced at Kauffman Stadium on Thursday by team executive vice-president for baseball operations J.J. PIcollo, and shared ideas of his new team and his first job as a major league manager. “It’s surreal still,” Quatraro. “There is so much work ahead.” Yes, there is for a franchise that finished last in the AL Central with a 65-97 record. The Royals face the future with a manager who comes from his position as bench coach of the Tampa Bay Rays and previousl...
Nov 03, 2022•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
