Have I ever got some grizzled picks for you this week…
But they’re not just for the old-timers. Nope, we’ve also got a whole bunch of new, unsigned bands that are trying to make a name for themselves by playing the inaugural MidXMidwest Festival that’s happening at a variety of venues in KC and Lawrence.
Here’s the deal…
As we all now know the first man on the moon died Sunday…
Neil Armstrong was 82. He stayed out of the limelight, though he accomplished what many thought impossible. Some skeptics still do. He was the first man who landed on the moon and walked on its surface. Or so they tell us.
There are still those who believe it all was faked.
Some back that theory up with many things, including that we’ve never sent any explorer groups to other planets or even back to the moon more than another time or two. And it’s nearly half a century later.
Me, I think Armstrong walked on the Moon. Continue reading
At the very least, it won’t be easy…
It’s almost implausible, but somehow, someway, beleaguered cyclist Lance Armstrong needs to fall on his sword and divorce himself from the organization that bears his name, The Lance Armstrong Foundation. Continue reading
It was one of the biggest games of the season for Sporting Kansas City on Sunday at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park…
The visiting New York Red Bulls came to town a mere two points behind Eastern Conference leading KC. They were without their biggest name star, Thierry Henry, whose wife had a baby a few days ago, but they still brought plenty of firepower in the form of Sebastian LeToux, Kenny Cooper, Dax McCarty and new acquisition, Australian Tim Cahill.
KC came out looking as confident as I’ve seen them in quite some time, not over-pressing, but still aggressively challenging each and every New York passing attempt. Continue reading
Not so Great Scott!
Chief general manager Scott Pioli came to KC to replace Carl Peterson in 2009. Carl had slipped badly and the team never advanced further than a single playoff win in 1993. Carl’s five year plan for a Super Bowl had failed 4 times over 20 years. He’d become more than arrogant, downright hateful, mean and nasty and truly believed he was the face of Kansas City.
Know what? Maybe he was. Continue reading
The ever opportunistic Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority thrives on promotional hooks for Sin City…
And this time they’ve found the royal prize by tying its infamous What Happens in Vegas-Stays In Vegas moniker to the desert paradise’s latest scandalous cellphone photo published last week by TMZ.Com.
You’ve seen the picture.
A nude Prince Harry covering his royal jewels during a game of strip pool at Wynn’s Encore Resort.
Last Friday the Authority placed full page ads in major national newspapers denouncing this unforgiving breach of unspoken etiquette with the following in your face copy:
“For Shame! Continue reading
Well, what can anyone say now?
“Dude, it’s just preseason.” No it’s not. This is a team trying desperately to show us SOMETHING and so far they’ve showed us they have nothing. No offense and no defense. Sure, after they go 2-6, they’ll start showing us a defense…when it’s basically all over.
Our starting quarterback, Matt THE FRANCHISE Cassel, is awful. The man can’t throw the ball 25 yards without lofting it and is not accurate past 15 yards. I guess if every throw was under 15 yards he’d be an elite quarterback. Our wide outs dropped several throws, as usual. D-Bowe is back and he showed them how to do that, nice. Continue reading
By now you’ve all had the chance to read and digest what local Kansas City businessman Joseph Accurso had to say about the Royals.
In a strongly worded letter published in the form of a paid advertisement in the Kansas City Star, Accurso politely asked Royals President David Glass to sell the team. For the privilege of making his feelings known, Accurso and his team of financial backers are out a cool $5,100.
And for what, I wonder?
What difference did it make?
The unequivocal, simple answer is: none. It made “none” difference, that’s what. Continue reading
It’s been over a year since departing sports scribe Greg Hall made fun of my Fiat…
Imagine.
And what was that one dude’s name – Rogger – who wanted to bed my girlfriend on a losing bet he made about when Kansas City’s first Fiat dealership would open.
Then of course there were the Mini Cooper devotees who couldn’t get over that the new Fiat 500 got better mileage, had a better ride, sold for on average $4,000 less than similarly equipped Coopers and was seven inches shorter but still had a 50 percent larger trunk and substantially more backseat legroom.
The Cooper was a bit faster, they argued and they were right, but that was about it.
Well, now I’ve done the unthinkable and sold my limited Prima Edizione Fiat. Continue reading
Click to enlarge. Seriously.
First, this: Never has Kansas City’s cultural/economic divide been so colorfully illustrated than with Google Fiber’s map of the “Haves and Have-nots.” Look at that line! The greens are in—they’ve had enough Fiber pre-registrants that they now count as “Fiberhoods,” or something. The yellow—the color of sour milk, a giraffe’s tears (I made that one up) and psychiatric hospital walls—covers the east side like a fine, urine soaked blanket.
It’s not like I’m SURPRISED, really, but… wow.
Look at that perfect line! Continue reading
A group of Kansas City Royals fans bought a half-page ad in the Kansas City Star thanking David Glass for keeping the team in town…and asking him to sell it to someone who wants to win. I’d be happy enough if he’s just would bring back the dozen Krispy Kreme donuts when the team gets a dozen hits promotion.
******* Continue reading
Hard as it is imagine, I had an epiphany while watching Expendables 2…
It came to me at the Alamo Drafthouse Mainstreet downtown during the theater’s Van Dammage promotion. The Alamo gang wheeled out four cheesy Jean-Claude Van Damme action films as foreplay for the new Expendables.
Suffice it to say, it was a total dude fest. Continue reading
Remember the Nine Great American Companies that will never recover a few weeks back?
Well, Best Buy is way too nouveau to qualify as a “great American company,” but it’s big enough and bad enough off to join Sprint, JC Penney and the seven others on the endangered species list.
Not to mention that the fur’s been flying in the business press where Best Buy’s concerned.
Take the headline in Business Week a couple days back: “Analysts take skeptical view of Best Buy.”
Or the dust up over Best Buy’s hiring of a French dude with a hospitality pedigree and no retail experience to head the company. Continue reading
I had heard about KILLER JOE but didn’t give it much thought until receiving a press screening invite the other day at the Alamo Drafthouse…
What would I be in for? WOW! Where do I BEGIN?
KILLER JOE is basically a poor-white, Texas trash splatterfest featuring one of the most hard to describe sex/torture scenes that’s ever come across on the big screen. Suffice it to say I’ll never look at a chicken drumstick the same way again.
But these are not little league filmmakers we’re dealing with both in front and behind the camera. Continue reading
It’s official, former Chiefs star Curley Culp is a finalist for the NFL Hall of Fame…
A senior finalist. Hey, Culp totally deserves the honor. I believe he’ll be elected and into the Hall because he was one of the better defenders on what I still believe was, in its day, the BEST DEFENSE in pro football.
But the crime continues because the best player on the team was Otis Taylor. Continue reading
I walked through the grass parking area looking for Shakedown Street…
I was wondering what kinds of treats and trinkets I might find. I stepped around a group of laughing people with balloons and a guy sitting on the ground selling “dank beers” out of a cooler.
“How are you, friends?” asked a mid-20s girl in a long, flowy sun dress.
I snagged a dank beer and strolled toward some white, pop-up tents where burritos and grilled cheese where the specials of the day. Lots of people were looking to get rid of tickets to the sold out show, but it looked like few were having any success. Several dudes ended up giving away handfuls of tickets, not wanting to remain in the lot as Phish’s first set crept closer and closer.
Around 8:05, the legendary Vermont band came out swinging. Continue reading
It all went HOT last night!
My LA business partner took me – dragged me, pulled me – to see Phish at Starlight. And now I’m so glad Jake Ryan made me go to the show. It was crazy fun! Hey, thanks to him, I met a smoking hot new babe.
Yes, I know who Phish is, but was never a big fan. I am now. TIGHT!
Maybe it was just the atmosphere, but man it brought me back 20 years or more. Sold out show, all white, toasted, baked, moving and swaying with the sounds.
Everyone was either on shrooms, baked, boozed or all three.
Lots of smiling faces. Continue reading
Even by today’s standards Bobcat Goldthwait is a genius stand up comedy act…
When he did Johnny Dare last year, even Johnny – who sees them all – said, “You blew me away dude, you are one of the all-time best.”
The guy is much more than just one of the stars from Police Academy 2,3 and 4.
The man has had a fantastic career. Continue reading
Todd Akin and Clay Aiken both…
#5. Were voted out before completely destroying America.
#4. Sing better than William Hung.
#3. Don’t want to be seen on Piers Morgan. Continue reading
End of summer for movie studios usually means rolling out movies that may have been in the can for awhile…
Translation: Not necessarily their A-titles.
Take this week’s action-comedy HIT AND RUN, written, co-directed and starring Dax Shepard. You may know him from TV’s Punk’d and Parenthood.
Here he’s Charlie Bronson,get it? Continue reading
