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Tales From the Tweet: Gill’s Last Gasp, an Albino Lion & Lou Diamond’s Stolen Identity
‘Tis the season for cherishing what you’ve got. For some, this means a job, a home, a family, some food, a nice Sleep Number bed… whatever. Turner Gill—who was fired by KU on Sunday—has most of these things, I’m sure. Well, except the job. Oh, and plus $6,000,000.00. That’s right, the man who succeeded Mean Ol’ Mangino was given his walking papers after he managed an unbelievably horrid 1-16 record in the Big 12 over his two year reign of terror. But don’t cry for him, Argentine, Kansas, he’ll be just fine.
@KUNews
“Turner Gill has been relieved of his duties as Head Football Coach at the University of Kansas”
@mellinger (KC Star Sports Columnist)
“When Turner Gill lists his accomplishments on his resume for his next job, "halftime lead over #Mizzou" should make the top five. #KUfball”
@nate_bukaty (810 am)
“I never find joy in a person losin his job, and I believe Turner Gill to be a very good man, but Dr. Zenger did what needed to be done.”
People like to say that they hate it when people get fired; when it comes to sports, this is often nothing more than a ridiculous cliché. Simply put, sports dehumanize people. It rightfully puts team and organization above all else. Theoretically, all of the moveable parts grow into a giant, convulsing, hissing machine. And when a piece of that machinery breaks down, or fails to provide the function that it’s supposed to, you replace it. It’s that simple.
Edelman: Karrin Allyson Amazes at Jardine’s, Catch Her last Shows Tonight
The word “brilliant” gets thrown around alot these days…
But for an hour plus of the real thing, don’t miss Karrin Allyson’s gig at Jardine’s tonight (two shows Tuesday, Nov 29 at 6:30 and 8:30). Great music doesn’t get much better than this.
Joined by two of KC’s best sidemen– guitarist Rod Fleeman and bass player Gerald Spaits— Allyson plays Beena’s intimate room like she owns the place.
Today: The Sad, Desperate State of the Pitch & Alternative Publishing in KC
This is not good…
At the exact time of year when it should be cashing in and getting well, what’s left of alternative newsweekly the Pitch is hanging on by the skin of its teeth. Even in its hazy, early days when I ran the show, we’d turn out 56 page issues during the all-important fourth quarter. Now, instead of flirting with 80 to 100 pages issues, it’s barely choking out 40.
This during the time of the year retailers and media count on to make ends meet.
And while good things have been said about the Pitch Web site, print is where the paychecks come from.
Today: The Ridiculous State of College Athletics & KU Football
Money talks..
While the heinous child abuse coverups at Penn State and Syracuse are the best examples of how big bucks have corrupted big time college sports, there are others.
Take Lowly KU’s dealings in the hiring and firing of football coach Turner Gill.
KU athletics director Sheahon Zenger wasn’t the one who stepped in it by hiring Gill. That distinction goes to ousted, former KU AD Lew Perkins who laid a $10 million contract on the unproven, ex-Nebraska footballer. The obvious-but-overlooked question being, why cough up $10 million for an untested coach with a losing record?
Zenger is the dude who blithely agreed to cut Gill a $6 million farewell check like it was no big deal.
Glazer: Rising Star T.J. Miller Flies in to do Fundraiser for Fallen Glazer Brother
He’s already being compared to Tom Hanks…
TJ Miller has done about 17 films back-to-back for the last five years. He either stars or co-stars in almost all of them. And Miller just finished shooting ROCK OF AGES with Tom Cruise. His scenes in the movie are with Cruise.
Miller’s still best known as "Stainer" in She’s Out of Your League but in the past past year you’ve seen him in Yogi Bear (as Park Ranger Jones), Unstoppable with Denzel Washington, Train Your Dragon Two, Get Him to The Greek and more. He’s taking time off from his new film, "MY IDIOT BROTHER" to fly to KC on tonight for one special show at Stanford and Sons.
TJ was a regular on Chelsea Lately but was not well known as a stand-up comic. He wanted to headline clubs to get his comedy groove on and Stanford’s let him headline in what would be his first full week at an A club as the main guy.
And guess what? He killed.
Hearne: Costly, Dull, Freaky Michael Jackson Tribute Coming to KC
Fake Michael Jackson concert tix, anyone?
Visit the Star‘s main page and chances are you’ll get one of those delightful pop-up ads hawking $25 discounts on tickets to the upcoming MJ tribute show at Sprint Center.
That’s right, a tribute band headlining Sprint, and not just for one but for two nights, back-to-back. That’s a feat the creepy, gloved one himself might have have difficulty pulling off, were he not immortalized in death.
"That’s so lame," says one 30-something local MJ fan of the show. "And a little creepy."
New Jack City: Jack Back from Europe Despite Getting Poisoned & Condom Scare
Plans for crisp roasted goose on Thanksgiving Day though went awry…
That’s because three days prior to my planned feast I came down with a severe case of food poisoning. Bad enough that my Frankfurt hotel had to change my room. I guess my Exorcist-like activities didn’t go well with housekeeping.
With prices sky high across the pond these days, they say that getting there is the cheapest part of a European vacation. Unless, of course, you treat yourself to a free first class roundtrip ticket as I did. More about that later.
As for today’s living costs in places like Germany, at an average exchange rate of $1.40 to the Euro plus inflation, costs are high in just about every imagineable catagory. For example:
A gallon of gasoline – make that a liter – goes for between 1.50 and 1.75 Euros. Now multiply that x 4 for dollars and you’re paying in the unbelievable neighborhood of $8.50 per gallon!
It doesn’t stop there.
Hearne: Karen Pletz Suicide Update, Florida Cops Await Preliminary Autopsy Results
The jury’s still out on exactly what went down in the unexpected death of Karen Pletz…
The one-time, high-flying, former head of the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences was found dead last week in the Ft. Lauderdale condo she was holed up in shortly after midnight.
That after Pletz late 2009 ouster amid accusations she had embezzled more than $1.5 million, falsely claimed deductions of $65,000 in charitable contributions she did not make, got $50,291 in bogus travel reimbursements used for personal travel and entertainment, and using university monies to pay for cosmetic surgery.
In short, Pletz fell from the penthouse to the outhouse, and faced up to seven figures or more in legal fees and slam time, on top of public humiliation.
Raising the obvious question of whether Pletz took her own life.
Even George Washington University professor Margaret Soltan weighed to that effect.
Grogan / Donnelly: American Idol’s David Cook of Blue Springs Does the Midland
Hometown product David Cook returned to KC over the Thanksgiving weekend for his first local show in over two years at the Midland…
You do remember Cook, right?
He won American Idol in 2008 and released an album that did pretty well shortly after that. Since then he’s been kind of flying under the radar (as in fading), as evidenced by the lackluster attendance at the Midland, which was reported in the KC Star as being just around 1,100 bodies, less than half-a-house.
Ouch.
Glazer: Haley’s Last Stand Insures More Mediocrity, Poor Draft Pick
The clown show paused for a few moments to show off a great defense against a superior team.
Even though the his team lost 13-9, Chiefs coach Todd Haley made another move in the direction of NOT being fired. He did everything he could to keep the Chiefs in the game. By far it was the team’s best game of the year. They have little offense so it’s hard to compete, but Haley found a way to, so he has earned another shot.
Hearne: Money. Power, Sex Rule Bigtime College Athletics & It’s Time For a Change
The Syracuse child molestation situation is just the tip of the college athletics moeny-go-round…
When I was a little kid, all I knew about college football was that people like Fred McMurray drove to the games in really old cars with racoon tails, in really old black and white movies.
The fans yelled super silly cheers and it wasn’t about whether the teams won or lost but how they played the game.
That was then…
Today it’s every man, woman and child for his or herself and the Almighty Buck is King of Kings.
Who cares how the game is played? Just win, baby!
Hearne: Midnight @ The Oasis; Occupy @ Wal Mart & Oak Park Mall Pulls Up Short
So you hung with the fam, got hammered and did the zombie thing…
More power to ya, but now you’re feeling a bit blue cause you missed out on those 46-inch Westinghouse LCD TVs at Target and didn’t even make it to Oak Park Mall for Midnight Madness, The Thanksgiving Edition.
Dude, that’s tough. But fortunately I did your dirty work for you and am here to tell the tale.
Wine, women, song – debauchery beyond belief – none were in evidence when I embarked with 14 year-old daughters Liza and Savannah for the Target store on Metcalf near Johnson Drive. We arrived at 11:54 p.m. Thanksgiving night to see a sea of people – hundreds – flooding and snaking around Target’s massive parking lot.
Car: The Myth of Fiat’s Slow Start & Possible Sex Scandal
This just in, the sky is not falling on the new Fiat 500...
"Fiat’s U.S. chief ousted after poor Fiat 500 sales start," reads the Nov. 21 USA Today headline.
Unfortunately, as often is the case, the reporting on Fiat’s slower than hoped for re-entry into the North American market has been accompanied with precious little perspective. With more than 20,000 Fiat 500 sales in the US and Canada, there’s no arguing it will not achieve its overly-optimistic goal of selling 50,000 units this year.
Now let’s put that and the controversial ouster of Fiat ‘s North American head Laura Soave in proper perspective.
Glazer: KC Comedy Kingpin David Naster Calls it Quits
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Without a doubt, David Naster, as much as my family, started big time comedy in Kansas City…
It was David who came to me in late 1979 with idea of doing comedy upstairs in the Tree-House lounge on the weekend nights. So on a Sunday night with Grandpa Bennie and Jeff Glazer it all began.
David Naster was the star. He killed every weekend night.
In fact, because of how good the shows were Stanford’s became the focus of the then popular PM Magazine television show. David brought in his pals to co-star including Jeff Tamblin, Elliot Threat, Tom Burgeon and many more who started with Stanford’s because of David. In fact it was David who brought in Sinbad and Louie Anderson. Those two went on to huge TV and film stardom and to this day they are household names.
Last night David ended his final show on Saturday Night around midnight.
Today: T’was the Night Before Black Friday & All Through the Cowtown…
Let’s get right to the heart of the matter…
Greed is good – within reason. Face it, it’s the American Way. Without avarice – and its partner-in-crime marketing – we’d still be chiseling football scores onto cave walls. Flabby dudes would be stuck wearing loincloths at the beach instead of Speedos. And McRib would be the part of the Saber Tooth Tiger everyone threw away.
Which brings us to the Midnight Madness inflicted on KC consumers Thanksgiving night.
The mall and store openings born to a marraige of hype and tripe, greed versus need. Think about it. From a retailing standpoint, what’s the difference between dragging folks out of bed for a 6 a.m. sale the Friday after Thanksgiving and convincing them to bail on their families six hours earlier in the middle of the holiday?
For what? To do battle over a handful of cheap ass LCD television "doorbusters"?
Glazer: Scribe Readies for Rip Snorting Weekend of Pigskin Debauchery
Last week I had a nice pro day but a poor college day…
Let’s see if I can even that up this week. My numbers for the season have gone down a bit to 81% but are still very good. So let’s get on with it, shall we?
Another game of the year, already is LSU at home vs. Arkansas. No.1 against No. 3. If it were at Arkansas I would still like LSU. They have a pro set defense as they proved in Alabama. As for MU/KU….lots of points for MU but I still kinda like them over KU even with the points. Houston is the new hot dog out there – they are on the road at Tulsa – but I still like Houston.
In the pros, slim pickens. Steelers should shut down KC, with or without Kyle Schmo Dog. I agree with Brandon, all this can do is add a win or two to KC’s horrible year and take us out of the running for a franchise college quarterback. I think we still end up 4-12 or 5-11. And we all want to see Ricky at least once! Why not?
Now on to this week’s pics…
Glazer: The Fall and Rise of Westport & the Impending Demise of the P&L
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You heard it right, Westport is on baby, back on big time…
Hey, I’ve even pissed on them the last few years. NO WAY, NO HOW. But now Nigro and company are winning big time. For the following reasons.
First of all the crime is way, way down. Westport security is doing an outstanding job. KC Police have helped but with the ending of hip-hop in Westport and nationwide, its crowds are growing again.
Leftridge: Say Goodnight to the Border War
Without rivalries, football would be little more than (mostly) fit men scampering around a well-manicured lawn in tight pants chasing a ball no bigger than an obese Chihuahua. Dubious, at best.
Rivalries, however, give us conflict, lend intrigue and substantiate purpose.
Who were the Hatfield’s without the McCoy’s? Dirty hillbillies, that’s who.
The 2004 Red Sox World Series win wouldn’t have been nearly as memorable if the road to the championship hadn’t included a historic run through the New York Yankees and a bloody, sweat-soaked sock.
Ricky “the Dragon” Steamboat fought epic, timeless battles against Ric Flair in the days of the NWA, back when it was acceptable to have a wrestler embrace the persona of a dragon.
You get the idea.
Edelman: Giving Thanks for Kansas City Jazz
Kansas City, say thank you for jazz…
The Chiefs may suck, Royals disappoint, politicians irritate, the economy drags us down— but then there’s jazz. Seven nights a week, fifty-two weeks a year, our town boasts a fine line-up of musicians and the dedicated (and daft) club owners who keep the lights on, booze flowing and stages lit.
I don’t know about you, but I’m thankful for that.
Jazz makes our town special. It’s what KC contributed to world culture, where we left our mark, what we’ll be remembered (and celebrated) for long after the Plaza becomes an outlet mall.
Leftridge: A Thanksgiving Blessing for That Which We Do Not Deserve
It’s important to remember what we’re thankful for right?
Isn’t that what this Indian-murdering holiday is all about? Well, first I suppose I’m thankful for my forefathers who murdered all of those Indians. Without their noble efforts, who knows where we’d be (and since I’ve got a good-bit of Indian blood in me as well, I’d like to say, "Patience, brothers. Our time will come once again.
