Twin Peaks Sports Bar opened Monday in Olathe. It’s sort of like a Hooter’s, but with more of a sports theme. What could possibly go wrong there?
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North Kansas City is trying to figure out how to get the downtown street cars across the river for northland commuters. I’m no expert, but who’s in for gondolas? Continue reading
Round and round and round they go and…
Who the heck knows why KC Mayor Sly James son Kyle is doing 30 days under the sanction of the Johnson County Department of Corrections. It’s certainly not at all clear in a story filed last week by Kansas City Star reporter Tony Rizzo.
“Kyle James, the son of Kansas City Mayor Sly James, was booked into the Johnson County Jail today to begin serving a 30-day sentence for a probation violation,” read Rizzo’s March 25th story.
I just want to take a moment to welcome all of you to what I hope will be an even more exciting website for Kansas City…
As Hearne explained, I will be taking over the ownership of this site starting next week. And I want to assure all of you readers that the quality and basic concept will remain the same. Continue reading
This just in…
After more than four years, thousands of columns and tens of thousands of comments, I have agreed to sell KC Confidential to Craig Glazer of Stanford & Sons. Continue reading
The cost of a visitor’s daily living expenses speaks volumes about the current state of economy in KC…
I’m talking about the per diems companies hold their employees expenses to when traveling on business. Generally speaking the per diems were up marginally for 2012. Hotel rates increased while car rentals and meal expenses decreased slightly.
However, per diems going down doesn’t necessarily speak well for a given market like Kansas City. It can mean that economic pressures are forcing the local hospitality industry to lower its pricing structure. So it’s really more about what a market can and WILL bear.
And it’s all very competitive between cities. Especially when it comes to attracting conventions. Continue reading
MLS best, the Montreal Impact came to Sporting Park a perfect 4-0 for a Saturday night
match-up in front of a sellout crowd.
But they left with their tail between their legs, as Sporting Kansas City finally linked together all the elements that up until this point had only appeared intermittently.
Yes, the defense has been stellar at times over 5 games this season. Indeed, the White Puma‘s back line hasn’t conceded a goal in three games now. But in two of those shutouts KC also failed to find the back of the net, resulting in two straight 0-0 draws.
Not exactly exciting or inspiring stuff. Continue reading
Suppose they gave a barbecue fest and nobody came, starting with the organizers…
Last year was to have been the 8th running of The Great American Barbecue Festival. The sponsors were on board, a distinguished body that included Fox 4, Garmin and Chinet. A new location at the Overland Park International Trade Center had been selected, the event having previously gone down at the Woodlands and Sandstone.
A “Grand Champion” purse of $5,000 was touted.
Then – poof – it was gone! Continue reading
The game is afoot…
All Union Station head George Gustello said he wanted was a shot. A chance to prove the station’s new state-of-the-art Extreme Screen deserved to show first run movies, not just the standard issue “fin and feather” nature flicks for school kids.
To that end, Guastello made a deal with Dickinson Theatres and Walt Disney to screen Wizard of Oz prequel Oz the Great and Powerful.
Mission accomplished.
Next up: Jurassic Park 3D this Friday. Continue reading
All dressed up, nowhere to go…
Living in Lawrence these past six months I’ve come to know what a sub par newspaper sports section looks like. It’s one thing for the Lawrence Journal World to practice the fine art of homerism ad nauseam, quite another to take it the levels it does. Continue reading
Seems like only yesterday…
It was New Year’s Eve eve just one year ago when the Pitch reported that Joseph Fulgenzi and Robert McCain were the new owners of Jardine’s jazz club.
Remember that waiter dude in the comments section who gave me a hard time for getting scooped on that one?
Somewhat obviously that deal never went down. Continue reading
BREAKING NEWS: We just learned the Missouri based B-2 Bomber that flew over North Korea Thursday, was delivering METH.
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Hundreds of American businesses in China have been targeted by Chinese hackers, who are stealing information. “Tell us about it” said AMC Theaters. Continue reading
Although Mother Nature’s grand witchery seems to indicate otherwise, it is officially Spring which means that trees are (theoretically) in full bloom, the grass is (supposed to be) turning green and baseball—that grand, old tradition that perfectly embodies the spirit of the season—is less than a week away from kicking off.
In Kansas City, where we’ve been battered about the chest and head with perennially terrible ball clubs for decades, this is the best time of year to be a fan. The Royals have looked amazing in spring training and have officially won the Cactus League thanks to an influx of new faces. The pitching has been great, the offense has been stellar and, well… okay, it’s still just Spring Training.
But still, the excitement is palatably infectious.
All of this chicanery is moot on Monday, however, when the team heads to Chicago to take on the hated White Sox in a very real, very consequential game. (Bo Jackson will be throwing out the first pitch. Real cool, Vincent.) So what can we expect from this squad when things actually matter? I’ve made seven predictions that will assuredly come true. Let’s have a look-see. Continue reading
Think of this weekend as the calm before the storm…
The storm being next weekend’s Middle of the Map Fest that’s going down at a handful of venues in KC and features a ton of local and national bands like Deerhoof, Grizzly Bear, The Joy Formidable, Tennis, Cowboy Indian Bear, Quiet Corral, and about a hundred more.
Here’s the kicker – a ticket for all three days of music at all the venues is $45. That’s a pretty damn good deal in my book.
So this weekend we can take it a little easy…
Continue reading
He may be old, he may cranky, he’s definitely self-absorbed, but every once in a while…
Music industry maven Bob Lefsetz cranks one out of the park in the Food for Thought arena. One of his more interesting recent efforts – very Tom Leathers like for those of you keeping score at home – goes the “Then” versus “Now” route.
A few of the highlights:
THEN
MTV was our national jukebox.
NOW
There is no national jukebox. There is no universality. Want everyone to know your name? Then KILL someone. Making music doesn’t lead to ubiquity.
THEN
Being on the cover of “Rolling Stone” meant you made it.
NOW
Being on the cover of “Rolling Stone” means you’ve already made it and the magazine is kissing your butt. Your PR person negotiated (the) interview parameters, all so they could sell more copies on the newsstand. Continue reading
“We have met the enemy…and he is us.”
The G.I. Joes are no more. Pretty hefty stuff, huh?
Well, don’t let it fool you. This sequel to 2009’s international box office hit G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA doesn’t really take itself that seriously.
Lotsa winks. Continue reading
Former Pope Benedict XVI says he’s picking Dorothy Hamill for Dancing with the Stars.
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After hours of hearing arguments, the Supreme Court has ruled that Anderson Cooper is ADORABLE!
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For only the second time ever, the US Men’s National Team went down to one of the 
biggest, baddest, toughest places in the world to play, and left with a point to show for it.
Azteca Stadium is the 5th largest stadium in the world, and home base to Mexico’s national squad. Until the US won a match last year, the Yanks hadn’t won at Azteca in over 75 years. So playing to a scoreless draw and walking away with one point is fantastic, and it puts the US into a tie for second in qualifying, one point back of group leader Panama.
Plus, a tandem of Sporting players got the start and both performed well. Continue reading
Being in management is no walk in the park…
Sometimes you have to make difficult decisions based on your opinion of what’s right or wrong, and you need to have the courage of conviction to stick with those decisions when the going gets tough.
So says, longtime Kansas City radio chieftain Bob Zuroweste.
Not only has Zuroweste borne witness to some of the toughest calls in KC media history – like when former general manager Herndon Hasty blew up KY102 – he’s been smack in the middle of some of the biggest, baddest, most controversial radio controversies here of all time. Continue reading
By some measure it was the oldest college sports rivalry west of the Mississippi…
Missouri versus Kansas in football, basketball, you-name-it was a lifetime avocation for many sports-minded locals. And while MU dropped out of the formal proceedings this past year by leaving the so-called Big 12 for the SEC, the hatred continues to drip.
Remember the story about the owners of the Black & Gold Tavern wanting to bus Tiger fans to Lawrence this summer to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Quantrill’s Raid?
So it is that the Tigers’ poor performances in football and basketball its first year away from the Big 12 did not go unnoticed.
“MU who?” reads the headline in a Lawrence Journal World editorial this past week. Continue reading
Just how relevant was the Walt Bodine of the past 30 years?
Outside of a handful of aging Boomers and NPR listeners from the arts and academia worlds – not very, says Stanford & Sons main man Craig Glazer.
“I was never a fan of his,” Glazer says. “I never thought he was cool or sharp or anything – he just existed. I only cared about him because I got to be on his show.” Continue reading
