KC Confidential

Not all “exclusive” interviews are created equal…

A couple weeks back Star features columnist Jenee Osterheldt gave a hearty clap on the back to Oprah for putting Lance Armstrong on the hotseat and not letting up with the tough questions.

“She pulled no punches,” Osterhedlt wrote. “She started with yes and no questions first, making him admit what he did, and then she cornered him into specifics.”

Would that Osterheldt done the same given her chance to corner former KCUR FM host Jabulani Leffall. Continue reading →

Two sports columnists, one big book and movie deal for one of them and a case of mistaken identity for the other…

We’re talking Joe Posnanski and Jason Whitlock, the former twin towers in the Kansas City Star sports section.

For years – from the mid 1990s until three years ago – the rival sports scribes battled quietly behind the scenes for top sports columnist and paycheck honors. When Whitlock got a radio gig Posnanski wanted and got one (ever briefly). When Whitlock got offers to move to another market and pyramided them into  hefty pay hikes, Posnanski followed suit.

Not that they were anything approaching two peas in a sports pod. Continue reading →

This may seem a little cold, but you pretty much know you’re on your last legs when Charles Gusewelle comes after your butt…

The ever-cranky, senior Star scribe sank his bona fides into longtime Union Station and Light Rail advocate Clay Chastain last Sunday. And in the process, former Star columnist, editor and publisher Art Brisbane. Continue reading →

Now that Kanrocksas appears to be well on its way…

Inquiring minds want to know – and entertainment biz sources are speculating on – whether the local music fest will swing for the fences again and land Las Vegas-based band The Killers for its second coming June 28 and 29 at the Kansas Speedway. Continue reading →

Things are starting to get interesting…

The latest on the rock festival known as Kanrocksas: the fest just rocked one outta the park with the acquisition of the New York-based indie band Fun.

The Nate Ruess lead alt rock, power pop trio is the latest addition to a previously announced lineup that includes Kendrick Lamar, the Avett Brothers and hottest DJ on the planet Tiesto.

How big a score is Fun? Huge. Continue reading →

What’s that line?

Suppose they gave a war and nobody came. Such was the case at 5 p.m. sharp tonight outside the Beaumont Club in Westport.

That’s where former KCC scribe Craig Glazer was supposed to throw down with the comments section personality known as smartman.

So who won?

“Me,” Glazer says. “He no-showed.” Continue reading →

In the game of life big shots come and big shots go…

They’re really a dime a dozen if you know what I mean. As often as not it’s somebody who played their cards or the office politics right, cut a few corners and was in the right place at the right time. Oh yeah, and never got caught.

Kansas City civic leader Adele Hall was none of those. Continue reading →

What did I tell you guys?

That self-excommunicated KCUR FM host Jabulani Leffall would come out of hiding eventually and likely choose the safe harbor of The Pitch to do so.

No tough questions, just a ton of references to yesterday’s KC Confidential headline challenging Leffall “to come out of hiding.”

Leffall says he went to Party Arty Saturday at the Nelson Atkins Museum, therefore “No, man, I’m not hiding at all,” he said.

Hey wildman, it doesn’t matter how many parties you go to, when you quit on the air after two years then duck multiple reporter’s calls for a week, that’s hiding. Continue reading →

He went to school with Simon & Garfunkle and Joey Ramone, was an expert witness in the O.J. Simpson trial and worked with Oliver Stone…

Now author / conspiracy theorist Robert Groden is in Kansas City preparing to blow the lid off the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Again.

“Some years ago I worked for a company in New York and Life Magazine wanted to see if they could blow the Zapruder Film up from 8mm to 35mm for theatrical release,” Groden says. “And we had done work on Woodstock so they brought it to us and an extra copy was made and I ended up with it. And that’s what I released on national television on Geraldo Rivera‘s show.”

It was the first time the film was shown on TV, Groden says.

Now he’s working with Uptown Theater main man Larry Sells to unleash another Kennedy Assassination first. Continue reading →

In another life, Fox 4 meteorologist Mike Thompson might have had any number of careers…

Flat Earth Cartologist, Witch Doc, Bloodletter, Turner of Gay People to Straight – you get the picture.  Whatever entailed ignoring science and clinging to antiquated beliefs.

After all, we do live in Kansas – many of us anyway. You know, where the earth was created in seven days and some chick named Eve turned us all into pervs by chomping into an apple.

Forget what the vast majority of scientists say, Thompson says climate change is hocus pocus.

The latest: KSHB TV weather wonk Gary Lezak plans to clear things up February 13th. Continue reading →

Don’t look now, but the Liberty Memorial‘s eternal flame is poised for a comeback…

It’s been nearly a year since the once proud flame flickered mightily high atop the downtown landmark. The fake flame went dark last March as part of museum efforts to reduce costs and save energy. Continue reading →

Don’t shed any tears for Joe Posnanski…

Sure the former Kansas City Star sports scribe took it up the you-know-what last year for giving disgraced Penn State football coach Joe Paterno kid glove treatment in his book “Paterno.”

That after holing up with the Paterno family in State College, Pa. in the months leading up to and at the time the Jerry Sandusky scandal broke in late 2011. The rest is history as Paterno’s statue was taken down by Penn State as his sterling reputation lay in tatters.

Try finding a review that doesn’t bag on Posnanski for whitewashing Paterno’s role in covering up the scandal.

But forget all of that now…

Because movie director Brian DePalma has inked a deal for a movie about Paterno based on Posnaski’s book starring Al Pacino. Continue reading →

Do us all a favor and just bring it…

Enough with lame headlines like the Pitch‘s speculating on whether now former KCUR FM host Jabulani Leffall was on drugs. He was not the alt weekly “reported,” according to an anonymous friend.

It’s time for Leffall to come out of hiding and come clean to local listeners as to why he pulled the plug on his radio show with no warning, no explanation.

Leffall owes them that, seeing as how they wrote his paychecks the past two years. Continue reading →