Category Archives: Sports
OTC: Players & Media Turn To Twits On Whether Cutler Quit
Jason Whitlock, who compares Cutler to Lebron James quitting on the Cavs, FoxSports.com
GH: Whitlock isn’t alone in crucifying Cutler on a subject he admits having no facts. Whitlock doesn’t need an MRI to defame Cutler to the masses. It is why today’s media is more powerful than ever and more wrong than ever. Read on.
Mike Golic, on the numerous people in the NFL and media (himself included) who condemned the Bears’ QB for quitting on his team, ESPN Radio
GH: The one thing in common with all those current and former players, Whitlock, Golic is that just like you and I, they weren’t there. They watched on television like you and I and then made maybe career-damaging comments about a player’s courage, heart and competitiveness that they could not have known. It is simply too high a price for Cutler to have to pay so these people can be controversial or add another twit to their Twitter account.
OTC: Texas Stabs Big 12’s Future With A $300-Million TV Deal
Kirk Bohls, columnist, Austin American-Statesman
GH: The jaw-dropping news hit this week – and the money was far more than any of us imagined. So what does this mean to the other nine schools in the new Big 12? Read on.
Blair Kerkhoff, columnist, Kansas City Star
GH: I read Kerkhoff’s comments in The Star on Thursday morning and then revisited them Thursday evening. He could not have meant what he wrote, could he? Obviously, Kerkhoff is either delusional or poorly informed – or maybe just Pollyanna. This ain’t gonna work out well for anyone except Texas – and maybe not even the haughty Horns. Read on.
OTC: KK Makes Meche Of Pitcher’s Retirement
Kevin Kietzman, after the Royals announced Tuesday that their former ace will retire from MLB immediately, 810 AM
GH: Kietzman began his rant on Meche by saying his comments were not personal. That is not how they came off to this listener. KK sounded bitter, jealous and flat angry that Meche would choose to end his career instead of struggling through another season or two. Almost no one else in the media whom I read or heard agreed with Kietzman. Read on.
Jeff Montgomery, former Royals’ reliever, 810 AM
Nick Wright, 610 AM
“I don’t think he walked away cheap. I don’t think you’re owed $12.4 million and you’re three weeks away from spring training and you walk away with (only) a million.”
Kevin Kietzman, 810 AM
GH: This is where KK screwed up. He did no research or reporting on this topic. He simply went KK on it – which can be defined as passionately making a point that uses copious amounts of bitterness and untruths. It makes for good radio but it’s damn hard on your credibility. He was quickly corrected by members of his staff. Read on.
OTC: Mizzou Pressleys K-State Into Panic Mode / KU Rocks Baylor
Gary Link, after Mizzou’s 75-59 win over the Wildcats, 810 AM
Shan Shariff, 610 AM
“Losing (at Mizzou) is no bad mark. But playing this way is. They looked soft. They gave up offensive rebounds on free throws, let the ball be ripped out of their hands, and only Jordan Henriquez-Roberts played with consistent energy. … At least four times (Martin) called his team young or otherwise referred to a need for the players to get tougher. For a team that starts two seniors in a program built on toughness, there aren’t many bigger insults.”
Sam Mellinger, Kansas City Star
OTC: Is Nick Right For KC Or Simply Niche Wright?
Nick Wright, 610 AM
GH: Some would say Wright might want to put in the same effort as Charles at improving his interview technique. I would be one of those. Wright’s radio work comes off at times as lazy. He meanders from topic to topic, even in midsentence. He often relishes dissing his 610 cohorts or faceless production crew in place of humor. It’s train-wreck radio that draws a niche audience but is sliding into irrelevance in the Kansas City market.
OTC: Is K-State Hoops Ready To Rebound?
Kevin Kietzman, 810 AM
GH: That is a mighty bold prediction when you consider KSU has shown almost no awareness of the hole they are digging for themselves. Read on.
“Now come five games that the college basketball world will use to judge their talent, resiliency and potential. Respond well, and nothing is out of reach. But continue to fail, and this could be the beginning of an awfully ugly ending. …Things are bad right now, but what if K-State is 2-6 halfway through the league season? … His teams have always played better when they felt doubted, so it would be in character to start winning now. The alternative could get ugly. There’s a lot more than one season’s results depending on it.”
Sam Mellinger, as K-State prepares to play Texas Tech, @ Mizzou, @TAMU, Baylor and @KU, Kansas City Star
GH: KK predicts a 25-point win over hapless Texas Tech this Saturday in Manhattan. It would be a nice respite from the plunge.
OTC: Is K-State’s Swoon Pullen Wildcats Toward NIT?
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.
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.
OTC: Mario Little Returns In Selfish Move
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
OTC: Pizza Bob Fescoe’s Reporting Is Thin Crusted
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.
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.
OTC: Ravens Slap Chiefs Back To Reality
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.
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
Take 1993: The Last Time The Chiefs Won A Playoff Game…
OTC: Is Haley Hated? Can Gabbert Be Replaced? Is Sheahon For Real?
Todd Leabo, 810 AM
GH: A lot of successful football coaches do not have a friendly or even civil relationship with their players. Watch Lombardi’s documentary on HBO and you get the feeling his players feared him but didn’t love him while they played for him. That kind of respect comes well after the winning. Some of my favorite coaches were bastards when I played for them. Football cannot be compared to real life.
Danny Clinkscale, 810 AM
“This (AFC West) division next year could be amongst the best in football.”
Kevin Harlan, 810 AM
OTC: National & Local Media Weigh In On Chiefs’ Playoff Chances
Len Dawson, on the Chiefs chances in the playoffs against Baltimore this Sunday at noon, 810 AM
Howie Long, NFL studio analyst for Fox, Jim Rome
Soren Petro, 810 AM
GH: Not even all that cute to some…more of a charity act. Read on.
OTC: Whitlock Calls Haley A Fraud & Exposes Himself
Jason Whitlock, FoxSports.com
GH: There are few things quite like the love Whitlock showers on his subjects. Who else can call an NFL head coach “quite possibly the biggest fraud in football” and yet state he personally likes the guy? You just know that personally, Haley appreciates the nod.
“Unfortunately, he’s a fatally flawed head football coach. He’s insecure, mean-spirited, emotional and irrational.”
Jason Whitlock, FoxSports.com
OTC: Raiders Dominate Chiefs / Weis Bolts To Florida
Dan Patrick, after the Raiders ended KC’s 7-game unbeaten streak at Arrowhead with a 31-10 thumping, NBC
Michael Bush, Raiders’ running back, Twitter
Quentin Groves, Oakland Linebacker, Twitter
Glenn Dorsey, Twitter
GH: I am sure you do, Glenn. But don’t bag on the fair-weather Chiefs fans. Those are typically the only ones who can afford those cushy suite seats.
OTC: KSU’s Salute Will Become Famous For Right Reasons
Wyatt Thompson, play-by-play voice for K-State’s radio broadcast, on why K-State was being penalized 15-yards for excessive celebration following Hilburn’s touchdown to pull the Cats within two points of Syracuse, K-State Sports Network
GH: With that penalty flag – and two different referees tossed flags on Hilburn’s salute – we have a controversy that I believe will become bigger than anyone imagines. This will prove to be far more than just whether or not K-State got jobbed out of a realistic two-point conversation attempt. This one is going Tea-Party viral. Read on.
OTC: Gabbert’s Pick 6 Deep Sixes Mizzou Against Iowa
Kevin Kietzman, on the Pick 6 Blaine Gabbert tossed to Iowa’s Micah Hyde late in the fourth quarter to give the Hawkeyes a 27-24 lead, Twitter
GH: We have all witnessed Old Man Momentum turn around a game. But I do not recall OMM ever jamming his tranny into reverse with more ferocity than during Mizzou’s seemingly game-clinching fourth-quarter drive. Tyus-Edney devastating is not too strong of a description for what we witnessed.
Todd Leabo, Twitter
Blaine Gabbert, via @Dave_Matter on Twitter
OTC: Chiefs Conquer Doubt & AFC West
Sam Mellinger, columnist, Kansas City Star
GH: There was a time when winning the AFC West was routine for our Kansas City Chiefs. That "time" was almost a generation ago. My 16-year-old son (and yours) has never known the Chiefs or Royals to be anything more than a disappointment. This triumph too may prove to be nothing more than a blip caused by fortuitous scheduling and a putrid division. But not today. Not this week. Not this year. Today we breathe the winter winds as champions. Champions of the NFL’s American Football Conference West. Champions do not apologize. Champions simply reign.
Headline, Omaha World Herald
OTC: NFL Agains Threatens Backward Blackout For Chiefs
Mark Donovan, Chiefs COO, 810 AM
GH: The NFL was supposed to announce Thursday at noon (or grant an extension) whether or not the Titans/Chiefs game would be blacked out on television in the Kansas City viewing area. It appears the Chiefs have been granted another 24 hours to sell enough tix to avoid Sunday’s game being blacked out. Read on.
“I just think it’s really important that the Chiefs’ fans come out. If we all get to the stadium together, those guys will stick their chests out a little further and play a little harder. If you’re a Chiefs’ fan at all, come on out! Jump on board! Something great could come out of this.”
Bill Maas, 610 AM
GH: I am uneasy with the members of the media who use their voice to influence fans to buying tickets. Maas is an ex-Chief but he doesn’t get a pass on this sin. Being a fan has nothing – NOTHING – to do with buying a ticket.
OTC: Frank Martin Acting More Clown Than Coach
Frank Martin, in official statement regarding the suspensions of Jacob Pullen and Curtis Kelly
GH: This bombshell hit the news only an hour before the game. No media outlets I know of had even a whiff that there were any issues with K-State’s best two players. This is a story that should have been broken earlier by good reporting but was not. It appears everyone in the media got caught overlooking what is going on in Manhattan, KS yet again.
“These two young men did not make a ‘mistake.’ They knew what the rules are and they did what they did. I think too often people try to use that word to get out of what they did. … Don’t try to pretend that it happened by accident.”
Mike DeCourcy, in an interview with Steven St. John on Wednesday morning, 810 AM