Tag Archives: Greg Hall

Hearne: Are Marathons Dangerous for Seniors?

The death by heart attack of Greg Hall at age 65 raises some serious questions.. Like can running in marathons for people of a certain ago be unhealthy? Was it in n Hall’s case? To most people who knew him (and thought … Continue reading

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Glazer: The Awful Truth; Greg Hall’s Site Never Really Mattered

I read Greg Hall when he wrote for KC Confidential – I remember him… But I never really went to his website after he left. He’s a nice guy, but I just never was interested in what he had to … Continue reading

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Hearne: The Rise & Fall of ‘Husker’ Greg Hall

Who’s gonna believe they’re getting an unbiased opinion on this one?  Then again, does it really matter? What opinion really is completely unbiased, including those of “reporters” for newspapers such as the Kansas City Star? Truth is, with the odd exception there’s no … Continue reading

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Hearne: Whitlock Riles Canucks with Bigoted ESPN Diss

Hypocrisy thy name is Jason… For a dude who made something of a name combating African American stereotypes, former KC Star scribe Jason Whitlock sure plays fast and lose when it comes to other ethnicities. Anybody remember Whitlock’s failed attempt at humor … Continue reading

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OTC: The Top 10 Reasons Greg Hall Left KC Confidential

Read ’em and weep…

10. Craig Glazer’s scandalous tales of juggling 20-something babes enticed Hall into trolling Westport. Haven’t seen that white boy since.

9. Hearne promised Hall a Fiat 500 but the delivery date turned out to be December 2015…in Rome.

8. The Kansas City Star called, "Hall?…Sorry, wrong number.”

7. The Kansas City Star called Hall back, "Would you like to purchase a subscription?”

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OTC: Ex-Royal Paul Splittorff Loses Battle To Melanoma

 

“Normally when you hear news like this you have heard about it for quite a length of time and have had time to reflect on the guy. But man, what a bomb to drop on today. … I had heard rumors that Paul had told somebody that he was going in for some treatment at the hospital and he would be out in seven to ten days. That was seven to ten days ago.”
George Brett, in an interview with Bob Fescoe, on the passing of his former teammate Paul Splittorff, 610 AM
“You can never be ready even when you think you are when a loved one passes away.”
Fred Patek, former Royals shortstop, talking with Petro on 810 AM
GH: When I heard Nate Bukaty read the Royals’ email before 8:00 AM this morning announcing the passing of Splitt I was finishing my morning run. I ran the last block with my left arm raised to honor the Royals big southpaw.

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OTC: Nick Says 610/810 Ratings Hubbub Ain’t Wright

 

“I don’t know if you guys (frequent) those local sports media sites, but there’s been some misinformation.”
Nick Wright, 610 AM
GH: This statement in itself was absolutely shocking. Misinformation on a local sports media website??!! Al Gore just rolled over in his gravy!
“Some (of this misinformation) was good for this radio station and some bad about ratings going on. I just want to clear it up.”
Nick Wright, 610 AM
GH: Nick never alluded to what local sports media websites he was referring, which I believe to be a tad unprofessional. I am going to assume at least one of those sites was this one you are currently reading.

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OTC: Ray Lewis Warns Of “Evil” If NFL Lockout Continues

 

 

“Do this research if we don’t have a (NFL) season — watch how much evil, which we call crime, watch how much crime picks up, if you take away our game.”
Ray Lewis, Ravens All-Pro linebacker, in an interview with Sal Paolantonio, ESPN
GH: Read this quote from Lewis again, I’ll wait. Sounds like a threat, right? Is Lewis saying we are all going to hit the streets and start boosting cars, looting stores and rolling old people just because we have our Sundays free this fall? Hey Ray, we don’t all live in Oakland.
 
“Maybe Lewis meant the players would turn to crime.”
Soren Petro, who said this in jest but was taken seriously by at least one caller, 810 AM
GH: Petro fielded a call from a person who identified himself as having a chance to make the Chiefs in the 90s. He explained that the way players receive their paychecks only during the season would leave some players desperate for cash if the players remain locked out. To the point of turning to crime? These NFL coaches and GMs don’t make enough money if they are dealing with an element of society that is this stupid.

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OTC: Did KU Help Or Hinder Josh Selby? And Vice Versa

 

“You shouldn’t use certain words on the airwaves but that is absolute crap! Josh is a very good athlete. Josh is one of the more athletic kids on our team. That’s how rumors get started. That’s as false as anything could be. One thing that is a coach’s responsibilities is to promote his kids and put them in the best light they can possibly be.”
Bill Self, in an interview with Nick Wright, after Wright asked him to comment on a report that stated KU didn’t find Selby to be as athletic as thought and that they intentionally limited Selby’s play at KU to make him less attractive in the NBA draft, 610 AM
GH: Wright has long held the opinion that KU’s handling of Selby will hurt the Jayhawks in their future efforts to recruit top recruits. Some of those fears are possibly coming to fruition. Read on.
“(Josh) Selby was, in a word, awesome in the (NBA) workouts I saw in Vegas. At Kansas, Selby looked wild, out of control and oddly unathletic. He struggled to create space from himself and made a number of bad decisions with the ball and in his shot selection. In Vegas he once again resembled the superstar we saw in high school. He was explosive athletically, got to the basket at will and shot the ball very well from range.”
Chad Ford, NBA draft expert, in a May 13, 2011 post on ESPN.com
GH: Could it be Selby is simply allergic to wearing the uniform of the “City of Kansas?” How could Selby play like Jelani Janisse while at KU but then turn into Dwayne Wade in his Vegas workouts?

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OTC: To Write Or Not To Write, Which Is Nobler?

 

“Split’s health is his business. If he wants information to go public, that’s fine. Otherwise, you’re a grade A jerk for taking Split’s most personal information public. Split has a right to privacy. You have no right violating it. You have a legal right, but no moral or ethical right. I don’t see how you can sleep at night. But I’m sure you don’t care.”
Scott, KCC Comments
GH: I was not surprised that my decision to report this unfortunate news about Paul Splittorff’s rapidly deteriorating health and his battle with cancer on two fronts painted me in the eyes of some as a heartless, sensationalistic ass. Did I weigh the personal repercussions and attacks to my professionalism before deciding to post this story? Not really. I understand that these are simply byproducts of being a reporter and a journalist.

“Really poor journalistic work here. And you can hide and say you’re not a ‘journalist’ since you’re blogging, but it’s a pretty unethical violation of Splitt’s privacy.”
Max, KCC Comments
GH: It is my opinion I did follow journalistic ethics in writing this story. Whether the subject of the story is pleased or not that the report is being made public is not part of the equation in deciding whether or not to tell the story. Does it matter that I like Splitt and have even shared some fun one-on-one conversations? No. Is it easy to write a story you know a well-liked and respected man will be unhappy reading? No.

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Royals Great, Paul Splittorff, In A Losing Battle With Cancer

 

Paul Splittorff spent his 15-year MLB career with the Kansas City Royals befuddling major league batters as a talented southpaw on the mound. The past two seasons he has done the same to Royals fans who have tuned in to Royals TV broadcasts on FoxSports. Splittorff was there for opening day in 2010 but his voice was gone. The longtime Royals’ analyst’s speech was slurred. He had people asking if he had suffered a stroke.
Splittorff quickly brushed off all questions about his health by saying he had simply caught a virus and that he expected his voice to recover soon. Fox removed him after the 2010 season opener but he returned to the broadcasts later last season. After returning, his voice seemed no better despite the layoff.
Splitt has been there for almost every Royals’ home game I’ve watched this season and sounded worse than ever. His speech issues again have sparked a number of rumors and questions as to what is affecting his speech. I have confirmed with people close to Splitt that he has been suffering from both throat cancer and melanoma now for some time and he appears to be close to death. He recently was administered Last Rites by his priest in his KU Medical Center hospital room. He is not expected to make it through the week.

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OTC: Scott Boras Expects Hosmer’s Future Free Agency To Be “Eventful”

 

“Agent Scott Boras on Thursday shot down any hopes the Kansas City Royals had of signing burgeoning star Eric Hosmer to a long-term extension, telling Yahoo! Sports he expects massive increases in television revenue to change the landscape of salaries in baseball.”
Jeff Passan, writer, YahooSports.com
GH: Boras managed to get Hosmer a $6-million signing bonus from the Royals out of high school. It makes some sense that Hosmer will listen to his well-paid agent when and if the Royals come calling this season with an offer to lock him up with a long-term deal. But will TV revenues really increase to a point where another fountain of cash will inflate MLB free agency? Times are changing and not in a good way for professional athletes. Boras might want to check with what is happening in the NFL.
 

“You can’t look at the markets of the past. For players like Hosmer, as you go back and look, as [Mark] Teixeira had his own market and [Prince] Fielder had his own market, Hosmer will have his own. And something tells me it’s going to be a rather eventful one.”
Scott Boras, YahooSports.com

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OTC: Hosmer’s 1st Homer Is At Yankees Stadium / Royals Superfan Chris Interview

 

At Least Eric Hosmer’s Family Went Home Happy Last Night“Oh my God!”
Illeana Hosmer, Eric Hosmer’s mom in the stands at Yankee Stadium, after her 21-year-old son hit his first MLB home run, FSRoyals
GH: Hopefully, this will become old hat for Hosmer and his clan. But on this night in the Bronx, it was a very special moment for Hos and his parents. I cannot even imagine how all this must feel for his mom and dad, who just three years ago were watching him play ball in high school.
 

“I think Hosmer will hit his first major-league home run at Yankee Stadium during this series.”
Kevin Kietzman, prior to the Royals/Yankees series this week, 810 AM
GH: Good thing KK didn’t predict Hosmer was heading to the Big 10.

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OTC: JoPo Leave Kansas City With Only Memories

 

“I still love Kansas City. I love it in ways I never could have imagined that day Dinn (Mann) picked me up at the airport. What do you think? Now I know what I think. I have lived here longer than any other place. I know this place, know its rhythms, know its flaws, know its music. When my flight lands at KCI, I feel that thing Tom Sorensen talks about. I feel Home. Capital letters: Home. And … now we’re moving. Well, you didn’t think that I would write all this if we were staying, did you? We are moving to Charlotte, N.C. for many reasons, personal and professional — it is the right thing for us…”
Joe Posnanski, announcing his family’s move to Charlotte in Wednesday’s Kansas City Star
GH: I have a unique perspective of JoPo’s time here in Kansas City if only from the fact I was writing for The Star when Joe was hired. While he hasn’t written for The Star as a fulltime columnist for almost two years, it speaks to his following in Kansas City that his decision to move to Charlotte would rate a column in his former newspaper. I have compiled here some thoughts of JoPo and my memories of his time with The Star.

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OTC: Topeka’s Mark Turgeon Takes His Talents To Maryland

 

“Aggies: Thanks for a great 4 years. I was proud to represent Texas A&M University. It is truly a special and classy place.”
Mark Turgeon, in a message to the TAMU fan base after resigning to take the Maryland job, Twitter
GH: The college basketball coaching carousel got another hard tug when Gary Williams resigned from Maryland and Mark Turgeon bolted A&M to replace him. Will the Topeka kid be a success in the ACC? Read on.
“(Mark Turgeon) wasn’t (Maryland’s) first choice. They went through like five guys apparently.”
Todd Leabo, 810 AM
GH: Maryland looked at high-profile candidates before “settling” for Turgeon. This is not a hire that will cause season ticket sales to spike in Terp territory but one I think will prove to be successful. Not everyone agrees.

“If Maryland’s inability to land (Arizona’s) Sean Miller as its basketball coach can be analogized to an open layup that was blown over the rim, how best to describe the Terps’ decision to hire Mark Turgeon? One might say it’s like shooting at the other team’s goal. Pursuing Miller was the right idea but horribly executed.”
Mike DeCourcy, SportingNews.com

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OTC: Tyler Gabbert Transfers Out Of Mizzou

 

“University of Missouri redshirt freshman quarterback Tyler Gabbert has decided to leave the football program, to pursue other playing opportunities, as announced today by Head Coach Gary Pinkel. Gabbert came to Mizzou as part of the 2010 recruiting class, and enrolled a semester early at MU.  He took part in the last two spring camps, and redshirted during the 2010 season.”
Chad Moller, Missouri Assistant AD, press release
GH: Maybe not a bombshell but at least a tremor through Pinkel’s football program. Just days after former Mizzou QB,  Blaine Gabbert, is drafted 10th overall by Jacksonville, his younger brother drops out of what many thought were a highly competitive starting QB battle at Mizzou between him and James Franklin. Read on.

“One thing I’ve learned, people who are very jealous and insecure about themselves talk down about people on twitter. Sweet life!!”
Blaine Gabbert, Twitter
GH: Just a guess here but I’m pretty sure big brother Blaine was commenting about some of the snaky tweets regarding Tyler’s departure. Read on.

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OTC: Royals Bring Baseball Hysteria Back To KC W/ Surprising Hosmer Call Up

 

“He’s ready. It’s as simple as that. He’s in a league of his own. … The kid’s producing down there. The time’s right. He’s comin’.”
Ned Yost, 810 AM
GH: I heard the Royals’ manager utter these words live on Sports Radio 810 as I flipped on my car radio while dodging ominous thunderstorm clouds moving in swiftly from the southwest about 4:30 PM Thursday. Did he just say Eric Hosmer is comin’? I cranked the volume knob into double digits and smiled as my pulse and imagination began to run wild.  
“Homers called up.”
Joel Goldberg, FSRoyals sideline reporter, Twitter
GH: Goldberg later corrected his misspelled tweet but I kinda liked the original version.

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OTC: Is Waiting Kila-ing Royals’ Chance At Pennant?

 

“Kila Ka’aihue is hitting .195. (Eric) Hosmer is hitting .439 (in Omaha). That’s .439! The disparity is just crazy! It’s ridiculous!”
Steven St. John, 810 AM
GH: Ka’aihue is slumping just when he needs to be producing and proving his worth at the big-league level. Wednesday night he came up in the ninth with the tying run on second base with two out and flied out weakly to right. Meanwhile, Hosmer went 3-for-5 for Omaha and raised his average from .430 to .439. That will get people talking about moving Kila down and Hosmer up. Read on.
“What the hell do you gotta do to get called up in this organization? … They need to start generating some excitement out at the ballpark. They need to generate some excitement in that clubhouse. … I want Dayton Moore to tell me why this kid isn’t ready.”
Soren Petro, campaigning for Hosmer to take over at first base for the Royals, 810 AM
GH: The media and fans have been patient with Dayton Moore’s vision of the Royals future. Some would say catatonic. But the whiff of success the Royals have shown the first five weeks of the season has us hungry for more than promises. If the future is now, Moore and Yost need to seize the opportunity. Waiting has never worked for this franchise in the past.

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OTC: Nick Wright Nails Chiefs Draft W/ 5 of 9 Correct Picks

 

“Some people think I’m arrogant and this probably isn’t going to help.”
Nick Wright, after he predicting 5 of the Chiefs’ 9 draft picks correctly prior to the draft, 610 AM
GH: I heard Wright play an audio clip Monday from one of last week’s shows where he impressively nailed five of the Chiefs picks. He named Baldwin, Hudson, Houston, Stanzi and Powe. He didn’t just list a bunch of names as possible Chiefs’ picks, Wright went round by round and named all five of these players. He didn’t get them all in exactly the correct round but who cares? If 610 Sports hasn’t put together a promo add highlighting Nick’s picks, what the hell are they waiting for? The kid needs all the help he can get when it comes to sports credibility and this kind of pub can only help.

“I’ll send out a tweet Gabe and try and help you out (collecting Twitter followers).”
Nick Wright, to the Chiefs’ fifth-round pick, Gabe Miller, a DE out of Oregon State, 610 AM
GH: I chuckled when I heard Wright tell this new Chief he would help him out, with a tweet to his followers. I missed Wright’s tweet. He is the only member of the Kansas City media who has chosen to block me from his tweets. Some guys have thicker skin than others. Wright’s appears to be onion-skin depth.

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OTC: Athletes Take To Twitter To Express Pro & Con On Osama Killing

 

"What kind of person celebrates death? It’s amazing how people can HATE a man they have never even heard speak. We’ve only heard one side."
Rashard Mendenhall, Steelers running back, after the breakout of celebrations across America after news broke that Osama bin Laden was killed by a team of US special ops, Twitter
GH: Athletes took to Twitter (along with everyone else) to express their opinions of the news bin Laden had been killed. Some, like Mendenhall, were not as excited to see America celebrating OBL’s demise. I am curious as to what news vacuum Mendenhall frequents in that he pretends to not know bin Laden’s “side” of terrorism. Read on.

“We just looked like the Afghan people, a decade later. That’s not what we should be doing, celebrating with beers and all that. I didn’t agree with that. That’s just me.”
Chris Douglas-Roberts, of the Milwaukee Bucks, Twitter
GH: We could always cut the heads off a few innocent people on live television to commemorate the event. I kind of think beer was invented for occasions like Osama’s death.

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