Hearne: Bill Self Sticks It to Missouri…Again

9f288fa9dc23012b4afe44e5f25a2730The headline in today’s Lawrence Journal World that went missing in the Star: “Self: KU still won’t play MU”

“As long as the Big 12/SEC Challenge goes on in men’s basketball, Kansas will not be facing the Missouri Tigers,” the story begins. “KU coach Bill Self reiterated that point Tuesday during a Big 12 teleconference.”

Raising the question of if it’s time for KU to stop sulking.

“Yeah, I think maybe KU should punish Missouri this year and next year let them off the hook,” says sportaholic Craig Glazer. “Bill needs to consider the fans. I mean, we don’t have another sports rivalry that still matters. The Chiefs-Raiders is dead. The Royals and St. Louis still draws, but most of the fans that go to the game are Cardinals fans. It’s a three-day weekend for people to come to Kansas City from St. Louis and laugh at us, but it’s the only other rivalry we have.” Continue reading

Posted in Hearne_Christopher | 29 Comments

Hearne: The Trouble With ‘Studies’ Like The Sprint Center’s

sprint_center_lrWill they ever learn?

Time and again, the mainstream media falls prey to some of the dumbest hoaxes in the business and political universes. I’m talking about those commissioned feasibility studies paid for by vested interests and used to con politicians, editors and reporters into helping schmooze taxpayers into granting tax breaks.

The latest: a “study” showing the Sprint Center added more than $660 million to Missouri’s economy the past five years.

The unbiased, public-minded think tank behind this revelatory news:

Would you believe, the Sprint Center? Continue reading

Posted in Hearne_Christopher | 18 Comments

Starbeams: New American Restaurant Chef, IKEA Ground Break, R-Rated Sprint

ikea-horseIkea will break ground for the new Merriam store on July 9.  Ironically, MISSION police are already scouting ways to ticket people for parking.

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Sprint shareholders approved a $26 billion deal with SoftBank of Japan.  I call it SoftBank because it’s not a bank where you can deposit sperm.

Continue reading

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Paul Wilson: The (Mid) Week Review

paula-deen-storyI know, I know – it’s only Tuesday but there’s Just too much going on…

Paula Deen, Racist Baroness of Butter

Deen and her brother “Bubba” are being sued for 1.2 million carbs in a racial and sexual hot mess gumbo.

While your well-coiffed scribe is no fan, a Facebook page sticking up for Deen picked up 225,000 “LIKES” in just two days. I’m assuming the “LIKES” are also Imus in the Morning listeners and fans who hate nappy headed ho’s but love deep fried Crisco on a stick, extra crispy.

Digging into Deen’s dark past they found she used the N-word when a black man held a gun in her face at a bank where she was employed. Kudos to her, that took huge balls. Put a gun in my face and I’ll call you anything I choose; that’s a FREE PASS in my mind.

Deen is also accused of thinking that a slavery-themed wedding was a cute idea. I’m not sure that’s racist, but it’s not very creative and totally redundant. There’s a groom at all weddings a mere five minute ceremony away from becoming a slave.

Apparently Paula’s grease doesn’t fall too far from the pan either. Her brother “Bubba” is charged with showing pornography to unwilling female employees. No word on the the willing one’s takes.

(I don’t mean to offend anyone with this story; consider it a side benefit) Continue reading

Posted in Paul Wilson | 60 Comments

New Jack City: Melissa McCarthy—What You See is What You Get

o-MELISSA-MCCARTHY-THE-HEAT-facebookMelissa McCarthy can’t seem to do anything wrong these days…

Ever since hitting it big with BRIDESMAIDS two years ago McCarthy’s career has been skyrocketing. Earlier this year she surprised the industry when IDENTITY THIEF – which she co-starred in with Jason Bateman – grossed an impressive $ 137.5 million in North American ticket sales.

Her MIKE & MOLLY television sitcom gets consistently high ratings in the Nielsen’s. And beginning this weekend she’ll be at it again. This time as a crusty, foul-mouthed Boston cop taking on tightass F.B.I. agent Sandra Bullock in THE HEAT.

So what’s McCarthy REALLY like? Continue reading

Posted in Jack Poessiger | 5 Comments

Donnelly: Two Last Second Goals Stun Sporting in Dallas

Despite leading 2-0 into the 88th minute of a game at league-leading Dallas, Sporting KC found a way to concede twice before the final whistle, escaping the Lone Star state with only a disappointing point for the draw.

Not that their 2-0 lead was all that deserving.  The first goal came on a questionable penalty call, and the second was an own goal. Continue reading

Posted in Matthew_Donnelly | 5 Comments

Hearne: Crawl for Cancer Sets Record But at What Cost?

c4c-306.jpg.640x640_q85As drunken expeditions go, this year’s Crawl for Cancer was a humdinger…

A record setter, in fact. After years of going down in Westport, this year’s for profit “charity” event scooted down to the Power & Light District, who swiped the event, in the interest of making a few more bucks and landing in the Guinness Book of Records.

Which it did.

This year’s Crawl reportedly had 4,885 participants, breaking the previous record of 4,718 in Australia.

Just one problem -or maybe two – or three… Continue reading

Posted in Hearne_Christopher | 73 Comments

Star Search: Star Mag Death Watch Hoax?

star0307Ah the power of suggestion…

A couple weeks back movie man Jack Poessiger read somewhere that Star Magazine was going away. Something about getting folded into the Kansas City Star’s mundane millennial mind-number Ink.

Next thing Man Jack knew, the prophecy had come true. Half of it anyway. No Star Mag last Sunday and none for a buddy who also didn’t get a copy of the venerable local weekly.

Hey, that Tony dude must have been right, Poessiger thought – until… Continue reading

Posted in Hearne_Christopher | 10 Comments

Paul Wilson: Scribe Tugs Rug, Unleashes Weak in Review

belcher-7Jovan Belcher Baby Daddy Custody Determined

Two fine families stepped forward in an attempt to claim the byproduct of Chiefs loser Jovan Belcher and his blasted to hell girlfriend Kasandra Perkins life of love. In defending who was best to take over the guardianship of the child and its substantial assets ($$$), we heard about 30 police calls to the Belcher mom’s home, coke and alcohol issues in  Perkin’s dad’s home and in the end, a Perkins cousin was the closest, viable relative they could find to raise bouncing baby Belcher.

The NFL trust will be managed by a qualified 3rd party. Which likely means the cousins won’t be buying any blingy new rims any time soon. Continue reading

Posted in Paul Wilson | 35 Comments

Starbeams: Date Rape, IRS Trekies, MJ in Bed With a Woman?

Screen shot 2013-06-21 at 10.05.34 AMA Florida man was beaten, robbed and stripped naked on a first date.  Or as Chris Brown calls it…a first date.

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The IRS is about to hand out $70 million in bonuses.  Today is a great day to invest in Star Trek props.

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Sutherland: ‘Compromised’ by Not-So-Precious Moments

jj-hunsecker I’m delighted that the 1998 incident at the Precious Moments Park & Exhibition Center in Carthage, Missouri still has so much interest for KC Confidential’s audience…

I’m particularly touched that so many are interested enough to post comments to say the subject has no interest for them (and it shouldn’t for me either, if I know what’s good for me!). Continue reading

Posted in Dwight D. Sutherland, Jr. | 16 Comments

Whinery: Spy vs. Spy? There’s Something Fishy About Edward Snowden

Copy+of+Spy_vs_Spy_WallPaper_2560X1024_by_ZariousSomething about NSA leaker Edward Snowden doesn’t add up…

There are serious questions into how a high school dropout with a GED gets access to the entire inner workings of “Big Brother.”

Does anyone else think that there is more than meets the eye here?

What if I told you that we are not witnessing the work of a “rogue agent” but something much more? Like a war between the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). And that Mr. Snowden worked for CIA first before he “quit” and does anyone really “quit” the CIA?

The Motive: The CIA owes the NSA. Continue reading

Posted in David Scott Whinery | 17 Comments

Leftridge: Royals Resume Winning Ways, Despite Ned Yost’s Continual Efforts to Ruin Them

mlb_kansas_city_royals_neon_sign_3Imagine a carpenter. He’s working on a new home with a crew of other guys, but it’s not going so hot. He’s been on this job for months now—much longer than anyone ever anticipated—and mostly, he’s getting nothing done.

Part of the problem is in the tools. The head of his hammer is loose, and always threatening to fall off. Some of his nails are bent. His tape measure is junk. The cord on his circular saw is frayed, and the damned thing only works half of the time.

The other part of the problem is that he’s too quiet. He won’t communicate. All of these material issues—the hammer, the nails, the saw—they could all be fixed, but he won’t demand it. He’s too afraid of losing his job to go to the foreman and ask for some adequate replacement tools, the things that he could use to get the job done in an efficient manner.

So he sits idly by, scratching his chin and waiting for his lunch break when he can hit up the taco truck. He keeps banging on shit, but it’s mostly for show. There’s a good chance the house will never be built—at least not while he’s dicking around—so he bides his time, collecting his paycheck and waiting for the inevitable pink slip.

In case the headline didn’t give it away, Ned Yost is the carpenter, obviously, and despite the short-sighted nature of baseball—a team is only as good as their last 10 games or so—he’s just aimlessly poking around the shit-shack, waiting to get canned. Continue reading

Posted in Brandon Leftridge, Sports | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Sounds Good: Snowden @ Granada, Widespread Panic @ Starlight, Benefit @ Gaslight Gardens

Well, Friday’s the Summer Solstice, you know what that means…  

Strip naked, rub yourself down with natural oils, fashion that flower-wreath headband thing, and bathe in the healing waters of the Kaw.

At least that’s what I’ll be doing.  Oh, did I mention booze?  Crap, I almost forgot the booze!  None of that other stuff really works without the booze… Continue reading

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Jack Goes Confidential: ‘World War Z’—Fresh Meat for Zombie Crowd

world_war_z-1920x1200Can there be a bloodless, family-friendly zombie flick?

That may be hard to imagine, but it’s what we get with the PG-13 rated WORLD WAR Z.

It’s no secret that the long-delayed disaster epic has faced a troubled path to the screen. And that it included some of the most expensive re-shoots in recent memory.

But guess what? The payoff is in the final product.

WORLD WAR Z is one of the rare instances where the tinkering actually paid off. Continue reading

Posted in Jack_Poessiger | 3 Comments

Paul Wilson: Tedeschi Trucks & Revivalists Sum Greater Than Parts

photoSitting at home two hours before the Tedeschi Trucks Band at the Crossroads, I wondered if this 11 course musical feast would even take place…

Dark skies and rain. Still I put my faith in weather God, Bryan Busby and, just as he said, the clouds parted, the rain stopped and I headed for the Crossroads to see what one of my favorite bands.

I arrived five minutes before the 8 p.m. show, in time to watch The Revivalists stroll on stage to the applause of a half capacity crowd. Normally I don’t invest much time in an opening act I know nothing about, but The Revivalists put on one of the finest performances I’ve ever seen.

Two songs into the band’s set I thought, Tedeschi Trucks must be pretty secure to have these guys OPEN for them. Continue reading

Posted in Paul Wilson | 16 Comments

Sutherland: The Letter to the Editor That Sparked a Decades’ Long Feud

420110616155454003_t607Here’s the letter I wrote to the Kansas City Star in 1998 after its hatchet job on me…

It predictably created a firestorm because I dared to criticize the Star, one of my law firm – Lathrop & Gage’s – clients:

       July 27, 1998

Letters Department

ATTENTION: Rich Hood

The Kansas City Star

Dear Mr. Hood:

I was very disturbed by the tone of The Kansas City Star‘s article about the American Heritage Festival and Expo held in Carthage, Missouri the weekend of July 17-19.

The Star’s writer, Judy Thomas, quoted an out-of-state source who described the event, sight unseen, before it had even occurred, as a gathering of “white separatists.”

In the admittedly brief time I was at the festival, I saw absolutely no indication that those that were in attendance were white separatists, racists, neo-Nazis, or members of any other hate group. I did see many people wearing T-shirts honoring American POW’s and MIA’s and bearing the names of U.S. Navy vessels on which the wearers served. In fact, the crowd seemed to be comprised to a large degree of veterans and their families, which should not be surprising for an event celebrating American patriotism. Continue reading

Posted in Dwight D. Sutherland, Jr. | 47 Comments

Sutherland: Piling On at the Kansas City Star

1364993628372.cachedOne could argue that it isn’t sporting to heap further abuse on the Kansas City Star, circling the drain as they are…

However, their violation of every known standard of fairness over the years when they had a monopoly here means, to me at least, that they deserve every sling and arrow they get.

In 1978, I got into an argument with Laura Scott of the Star over the paper’s coverage of a U.S. Senate candidate in Kansas.  I may have won the argument, but not the war.  The Star editorial page, initially under Ms. Scott’s direction, has now waged a vendetta against me for THIRTY-FIVE YEARS! Continue reading

Posted in Dwight D. Sutherland, Jr. | 14 Comments

New Jack City: JoCo’s New Bus Shelters—Uh, WHY?

mtc_renderI’ve been noticing all those modern, new bus shelters popping up in Johnson County

Transit Stops, I guess, if you want to be politically correct. Flashy, new covered bus stops for The Jo, including a spiffy new terminal at 5251 Johnson Drive in traffic ticket-hungry Mission.

It doesn’t get any better…or does it? Continue reading

Posted in Jack Poessiger | 21 Comments

Starbeams: Hooters Dads, Disc Golf @ Swope & BBQ Flavored ice Cream

Overland Park is the #1 city in the country to pick up single dads.  I knew putting that Hooters on Metcalf was a bad idea.

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The Disc Golf circuit came through Kansas City over the weekend.  Players competed in Swope Park for a $27,000 prize.  It was refreshing to see guys in Swope Park playing with something other than their balls.

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