Yearly Archives: 2011
OTC: Is K-State’s Swoon Pullen Wildcats Toward NIT?
“This is my last go around. I’m not going to the NIT. I won’t play basketball in the NIT. I’m saying that now. If we lose and we have to go to the NIT, I will not play.”Jacob Pullen, when asked if playing in the NIT is creeping into his once third-ranked Wildcats’ thoughts now that his club is 0-2 and soon to be out of the top 25, 610 AM
GH: Pullen’s comments came shortly after K-State’s home loss to Colorado. It would not be a stretch to say emotion played a role in his head-jerking words. But Pullen is the senior leader on this team…or should be. To say he’ll quit on his team and school if they don’t make the NCAA sounds ridiculous to me. Especially since his off-court actions (and those of fellow senior Curtis Kelly) have contributed greatly to the team’s poor play.
“I would rather he said, ‘We’re not going to the NIT.’”
Josh Klingler, 610 AM
GH: But that’s not what Pullen said. I’ve heard a couple different spins on Pullen’s words but the only one that rings true is Pullen’s adamant stance that he’s not playing in the NIT. Spin it how you want but that is about as far from a team player and leader as you can get. Especially one who just came off an NCAA suspension.
Josh Klingler, 610 AM
GH: But that’s not what Pullen said. I’ve heard a couple different spins on Pullen’s words but the only one that rings true is Pullen’s adamant stance that he’s not playing in the NIT. Spin it how you want but that is about as far from a team player and leader as you can get. Especially one who just came off an NCAA suspension.
Kat: Shrek’s Big, Fat Ass Steals Show at Music Hall
An ass stole the show tonight at the Music Hall’s production of Shrek The Musical.
Shrek might be the title character, but his noble steed, Donkey, won this Midwestern audience over with his sultry voice, dancing hooves and adult humor. Proving Kansas City to be just a little too sophisticated for repetitive fart jokes. But even with Shrek left in the wind – so to speak – the show still managed to shine.
The Internet claimed an eight o’clock show time Wednesday, but the production began at 7:30 p.m.
Tonight’s show starts at 7:30 again. Friday and Saturday evening performances are at 8 p.m.with matinees at 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. Sunday evening’s performance is at 6:30 p.m.
Today: How to Dodge the Frozen Pipes Plumbing Bullet
The weather outside is frightful…
And for local plumbers – some might suspect – delightful. In the case of Roger ther Plumber there was heck to pay starting in the wee hours of this morning, with locals burning up the phone lines with tales of frozen water pipes.
"You know, I can measure what time people in Johnson County get up by the calls I got this morning," Roger says. "My phone started ringing at 5 after 4. Then the second wave of people started calling at 10 after 5. Then I went to the office and we had 18 more calls between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m."
OTC: Mario Little Returns In Selfish Move
“I tried to look at it as if he was my own child and also let the legal system play out.”Bill Self, on his decision to reinstate Mario Little onto the Kansas basketball team, Kansas City Star
GH: At a minimum, Little was guilty of forcing his way into a residence and physically engaging with two females and one male. He was the only person arrested for this incident. Little is not a “child” as Self describes. He is a fifth-year senior who tracked down a woman at 2:00 AM and assaulted her and her friends. I would find it difficult to cheer for Mario if I were inside Allen Fieldhouse this season. KU fans have far more in common with his victims than with Mario. They too are just average Janes and Joes who do not have KU’s powerful athletic department and fan base defending their criminal acts.
"It’s not as though Lawrence (Phillips) is an angry young man all the time and a threat to society. I don’t believe that. But there are occasions every four to five months when he becomes a little explosive.”
Tom Osborne, in 1995 when he defended his star Nebraska running back after he was charged with assaulting his girlfriend at her residence, Lincoln Star Journal
STARBEAMS: Boobie Ice Cream and Shuttle Cocks in KC
Chiefs coach Todd Haley said he is relieved the season is over so he can finally get back to not shaving.
I did have an entertaining moment while at the game Sunday. I sat next to Casey Wiegmann’s wife, Danni Boatwright of CBS Survivor fame. She gave birth a few weeks ago and well into the first half she informed me that her milk had "dropped."
I asked if I could help her with that and she said, "Only if you want ice cream!"
TOP 5 WAYS TO STAY WARM IN KANSAS CITY:
Today: Updates, Lezak on Weather, Star Budget Cuts & Fiat of Olathe
Seems like only yesterday, KSHB weather wonk Gary Lezak issued his winter storm warning...
"It will be mostly dry through this winter but we’ll have a few storm systems," Lezak said here December 2nd. "Last year we had 12 winter storms and 44 inches of snow. This year I’m only seeing four to six chances of winter storms…I’m forecasting 13 inches of snow. And even though it’s 30 inches less than last year, that still leaves room for a 5-incher, a 3-icher, a couple 2-inchers and a 1-incher maybe. And that still leaves room for an ice storm."
The latest?
Glazer: The Chiefs Lost, So Effing What?
So does winning in pro sports really matter in the big picture of life?
The answer is a resounding NO! Sure it’s a nice ego boost for some fans. But let me ask you this: Did winning four Super Bowls with Terry Bradshaw make people want to go visit Pittsburgh? Did the Baltimore Orioles get hoards of folks running to their fair city because of their world series wins?
Who’s gonna come visit or move to KC if we ever win anything – not that we will? What’s more, it’s not gonna change anybody’s life in any meaningful way.
So while fans love to wear their tacky shirts and the hats of their favorite team and some will venture several hundred miles to see a game now and then, it really no longer changes the overall image of a city.
I mean if Cleveland won a Super Bowl would anyone actually want to go there? Of course not!
Hearne: Sports Babe 68 Flees the Scene at 18th & Grand
Just like that, now former Kansas City Star sports editor Holly Lawton has quietly left the newspaper.
"The new guy came in right after Christmas and Holly stayed for a week," says a source. "So she was here last week but not this."
Lawton – whose Twitter name was Sports Babe 68 – was widely believed by Star staffers to have been romantically involved with her boss, Star editor (and former sports section head) Mike Fannin. A belief aired publicly last summer by departing Star sports scribe Jason Whitlock.
OTC: Pizza Bob Fescoe’s Reporting Is Thin Crusted
“610 Sports Radio’s Bob Fescoe is reporting that Chiefs Head Coach Todd Haley took play calling duties away from Offensive Coordinator Charlie Weis in the second half of yesterday’s playoff loss to Baltimore. Hear more on this story on 610 Sports Radio and 610sports.com.”Press Release from 610 Sports Radio following the Chiefs loss to the Ravens
GH: I first saw this “story” Sunday afternoon when Fescoe began tweeting that he had evidence that Weis was seen at a local pizza joint shortly after the game where he was telling local pizza patrons Haley stripped him of his play-calling duties in the second half. I was not at all shocked at Fescoe’s goofy tweet. But I was stunned that 610 Sports then went public with the story as if it was legit. The radio station went with this story despite the fact Fescoe had no firsthand confirmation from Weis, the Chiefs or anyone besides a “source” in a pizza parlor. Read on.
“Bob Fescoe of 610 Sports in Kansas City reports that Haley stripped Weis of the play-calling duties during the second half of the game. Which means that the horrendous showing is on the shoulders not of the guy who left the team, but of the guy who’ll still be there.”
Mike Florio, ProFootballTalk.com
GH: Once 610 Sports sent out their email to media sources, the story was reported by others as factual. This is how rumors and secondhand comments get reported by legitimate news services. There exists an over-eagerness by too many newshounds to make a name for themselves by being first rather than being correct. Florio was burned by Fescoe’s pizza reporting and he torched Fescoe once he discovered how thin the crust was on his reporting. Read on.
Mike Florio, ProFootballTalk.com
GH: Once 610 Sports sent out their email to media sources, the story was reported by others as factual. This is how rumors and secondhand comments get reported by legitimate news services. There exists an over-eagerness by too many newshounds to make a name for themselves by being first rather than being correct. Florio was burned by Fescoe’s pizza reporting and he torched Fescoe once he discovered how thin the crust was on his reporting. Read on.
Hearne: Pending Star Layoffs Come as Little Surprise
Since when did the obvious become startling?
I mean, really. For three years the Kansas City Star and other newspapers owned by the McClatchy Company have been passing out pink slips. It’s nothing new. The one-two punch of a dismal economy and a free fall in newspaper readership and circulation across the country have taken a brutal toll on a once prosperous industry.
So while some staffers at the Star were reportedly caught off guard last week when management told department heads to prepare for another round of layoffs, come on – how startling was it?
McClatchy sets quarterly goals for its papers and at the end of each period, cuts must be made if they don’t achieve those goals.
So while the Star is one of the brightest papers in McClatchy’s portfolio, it has to help carry the load of its less well endowed siblings in order to help keep the parent company afloat.
Maria: Hooters Girls’ Hubris and What It Taught Me
"I woke up with Sherron Collins‘ hand down my shirt. I was like, ‘Come on now, Sherron. You know I don’t like you like that!’ But it’s cool. I love the basketball team. We’re homies. I mean, I was with Brady Morningstar when he got his DUI!"
A gaggle of Hooters girls latched on to her every word as she ended her story with a sort of proud insouciance.
Meet Sarah – a previous coworker and managerial favorite.
Hearne: Why the Star Dropped Gary Lezak for Katie Horner
For four years KSHB TV weather wonk Gary Lezak laid down the daily local weather in the pages of the Kansas City Star.
No mas.
The newspaper recently handed the keys to its prominently featured weather casting kingdom to Lezak’s controversial rival Katie Horner on KCTV.
Lezak’s take on the switcheroo?
"It was a great honor for me being in the Kansas City Star every day for the last four years," he says. "Providing the most accurate forecast. But I don’t think providing an accurate forecast was good enough for them."
But why hop in the sack with the most controversial weather caster on local telelvision?
Horner has no less than five Facebook pages devoted to bagging on her for sensationalizing weathercasts.
Tony: Tips For Enduring A Local Snow Day
There’s less than seven inches of snow on the ground and this city has come to a virtual standstill.
The mainstream media is reporting NOTHING but the snowfall with footage of the rare snowplow making its way through Kansas City streets.
Because readers of this Web site aren’t children, I don’t think we need be concerned with the best places for sledding tomorrow – Suicide Hill in Brookside to be certain.
In fact, there’s a much more cynical way to look at this recent snowfall.
Glazer: Chiefs Won and Done; Merit New Name
We all know now the Chiefs were not as good as we’d hoped.
Our new team name is ONE AND DONE. The Chiefs have earned it. SEVEN STRAIGHT POSTSEASON LOSSES IN 20 YEARS, A RECORD. Boy, do we have records. Let’s be honest, other than the Len Dawson era and the Royals era with George Brett, we basically stink in pro sports.
Let’s just accept the fact that we’re losers.
The big mystery: What happened to Dwayne Bowe?
New Jack City: ALICE & JACK–New FM Bedfellows?
It’s one thing to send your competitor a Christmas card. Quite another a New Year’s gift.
That’s going the extra mile.
But that’s exactly what happened on the local radio scene. It’s been a week since Wilks Broadcasting’s KCKC-FM dropped its (somewhat) popular STAR 102 adult contemporary format in favor of ALICE 102.
The industry calls the new sound an Active Adult Hit format which has done well in other markets.
Yet probably nobody in K.C. is happier about the switch then the folks at Wilks’ rival Entercom—specifically the gang at KUDL-FM.
Why?
Today: Quoth the Ravens, Nevermore!
There’s good news and bad news where the playoffs stricken Kansas City Chiefs are concerned…
First the bad.
Not unexpectedly, the Chiefs got murdered by Murderland’s Baltimore Ravens, a team named after celebrated Baltimore poet Edgar Allan Poe. To sooth that macabre mauling, I offer an Eddy quote that may serve fans well.
"If you wish to forget anything on the spot, make a note that this thing is to be remembered."
Now the good:
The good news is there’s no more bad news!
OTC: Ravens Slap Chiefs Back To Reality
“We’re going to do something really special here and I think it’s going to happen sooner rather than later. … Again, our goal is to be great and we’re going to do that.”Todd Haley, in a postgame interview with Len Dawson after the Chiefs were drilled 30-7 by the Ravens, Chiefs Radio Network
GH: Haley was maybe the only upbeat voice following yet another embarrassing Chiefs’ opening-round playoff loss. On the heels of the Oakland beating last week inside Arrowhead, not everyone was as optimistic. Read on.
“Really, this was just a distasteful and disgusting performance where really the entire season just imploded on the Chiefs.”
Kevin Kietzman, 810 AM
Kevin Kietzman, 810 AM
“This sure isn’t the way you want to end up.”
Len Dawson, after listening to Holthus praise the way the Chiefs played the final two months of the season, Chiefs Radio Network
Review: Music Hall Gets Make Ogre with SHREK
.jpg)
With all the talk on Broadway about SPIDERMAN’s mega-budget problems, it’s refreshing (and fun) to see what the second biggest payout in Broadway history hath wrought.
That would be Dreamworks’terrific new musical SHREK
. You’re in luck, Kansas City– the big green one is Music Hall bound. And whereas the Spidey show sounds like it’s full of angst, U2-ie important messages and actors breaking bones, SHREK is a musical comedy gas— and actors breaking wind.
Donnelly: Dumptruck Butterlips at the Jackpot Saloon, January 7, 2011
OK, let’s do a little mind experiment. First, think of any kind of conveyance… Got it?
Now, think of a condiment/ topping you would put on food.
Finally, think of a part of the human body. Put them all together and what did you come up with? Mine is Rickshaw Salsagroin. So that’s what we’ll call our band, Rickshaw Salsagroin. Pretty catchy, eh? I can see it now: “Did you catch that Salsagroin show last week? It was epic!”
I’m assuming this is exactly how the Lawrence based folk/soul/grass outfit Dumptruck Butterlips decided on their weird-ass moniker…
Today: William Allen White Stubs Toe, Raveonettes & KU vs. K-State
.jpg)
True or false? The dude KU named its journalism school after nearly murdered the mayor of Kansas City..
Answer: Who the F knows? Revered journalist William Allen White may have cast a big shadow in his day, but when it comes to the reporting of this alleged incident, he clearly dropped the ball. Every KU journalism freshmen knows you’re supposed to cover the 5 W’s when reporting a story.
Who, followed by What, Where, When & Why.
But when White sat down to pen his autobiography prior to his death in 1944, he spit out up a silly sounding story about rescuing Kansas City Star publisher William Rockhill Nelson by throwing a mayor down a flight of stairs.
That’s right, a flight of stairs.
The question is, which mayor. Celebrated journalist that he was, White messed up and left out the mayor’s name. Along with what city he was mayor of. Oh and the date it happened.
And they named a journalism school after him?
