Starbeams: Tornado Decorating, Socialism, Univsion, Al Queda & Angry Birds

Posted on May 8, 2012 by admin

Tornados were spotted in Olathe and Raymore Sunday.  Both tornados did over $30 worth of improvements.

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An 18 year old Blue Valley senior is building a hydrogen fuel cell that may eventually allow you to power your car with water.  When I was 18 I successfully used water….to remove stains from the back seat of my car.

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France just elected its first Socialist president in 20 years.  Some say it’s a giant step backward. I say, they’re just following our lead!

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ABC is now a sister network with Univision.  Or maybe it’s a cousin network.  Regardless, they will share the same social security numbers.

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Al Qaeda is reportedly trying to develop an underwear bomb.  Details are sketchy, but it secretly involves me drinking milk.

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This year I hung our bird feeder inside the window with hopes of creating more angry birds.

 

Kelly Urich hosts the morning show on The Point 99.7 FM

Posted in Starbeams | Tagged | 7 Comments

Hearne: City Market Concerts Reportedly to Relocate to Berkley Park in August

Posted on May 7, 2012 by admin

One local concert venue’s loss is another one’s gain…

So it is that the recently cancelled to save the Steamboat Arabia museum, "Buzz Under the Stars" concert series will magically reappear in August at the Richard L. Berkley Riverfront Park, sources say.

The word on the street being that the fest (August 9 or 10?) will feature a kickass bill thought to include headliners Fun and Garbage with Silversun Pickups and Alabama Shakes.

The Buzz fest will follow in the footsteps of the Dancefestopia Music Fesitval in June at Berkley Park, which incidentally will be going head-to-head with Entercom’s Buzz Beach Ball at Livestrong.

No word on whether Dancefestopia is being allowed to buy ads on The Buzz, which if you recall, last year hung KanRocksas out to dry by not allowing it to advertise because of a "competing" Buzz concert two weeks later.

The shows bring Berkley Park full circle from nine years back when it hosted one of the most cursed concerts in Kansas City history, the innaugural Kansas City Irish Fest. The three-day, $250,000 blowout took a shillelagh to the kilt on Day Two courtesy of an all-day drenching.

The Irish suffered mightily and never returned to the scene of Mother Nature‘s crime, opting instead for the tentable confines of Crown Center where its 10th go round will go down August 31st to September 2nd.

As for Buzz Under the Stars, the move from City Market will benefit not only Steamboat Arabia but be a vast improvement over what many consider the worst venue to see a concert in Kansas City.

Posted in Hearne_Christopher | Tagged | 3 Comments

Glazer: 610 Sports Nick Wright Escapes Gravitational Pull of the Cowtown

Posted on May 7, 2012 by admin

I began backing 610 Sports host Nick Wright two years ago…

Wrote several stories saying he’d be THE GUY in sports radio soon. However many commenters on this site didn’t agree. Some even said Nick’s career would be short lived in Kansas City. Meaning he’d be fired and replaced. Turns out I was right on the money.

Word today is that Nick may be headed to Houston.

That’s not confirmed, but if true, that’s a far bigger market than KC. Years ago Houston was after Johnny Dare. Johnny made a good call and stayed put because he’s from here like Nick and loves the city. Dare feels comfortable in KC.

Dare’s’s also is happy with the plum contract he got with 98.9 The Rock, so all is well with the other big gun at Entercom. But Nick’s a very young man still and undoubtedly wants to go out and spread his wings and find out what more is out there for him. At 28, that makes perfect sense. I think if Nick were older he might stay put.

Remember Wright has only been in his seat two years and is already THE GUY in sports in town.

Fast moves.

Hearne touched on why many people don’t like Nick on the air – they’re older usually and they just don’t get him.

Nick changes his positions quickly if he sees something wrong with them. And he’s high energy and on top of almost everything sports.

Nick’s competition at 810 WHB are the "down home" guys.

It’s highly unlikely K.K. or Soren Petro will ever leave this market for something bigger.

Hey, I don’t blame them. With all the crap we sling at high profile people in KC, those guys do work hard and are rock solid. Nick was the new rising star, the young gun, and that’s always fun. So he jacked with people on the air, but mostly just in a joking fashion. Nick was rarely mean spirited.

Kansas City is a very conservative town. The Star pointed that out – THE MOST RIGHT WING STATE – just this weekend. The fact that this city has accepted Johnny Dare as its radio guru might seem a bit odd, but he’s a homegrown star and does many nice things for the city. I’m sure Nick will do the same in Houston, if thats the spot.

It’s no secret that Kansas City has to sell the town to incoming star athletes or media people that matter.

The city has almost no national identity other than maybe being a cow town. I know that’s hard to swallow, but it’s true.

When I travel people always look at me when I say I’m from KC and say something lame like, "Oh, is it like Pittsburgh with all the smoking factories?" Or "Kansas City is mostly farms, right?" 

Of course they haven’t been here and our airport is in middle of nowhere.

Our leaders have gotten an F- in promoting this city.

Our sports teams are on the low side of importance and thus when growing up we always heard friends say, "Boy, I’m gonna get the hell outta this boring town."

I don’t agree with that. I think this city has much to offer. I moved back from LA and Arizona and I really don’t miss those cities much. KC has so many great areas and people. We just have nobody promoting this place which is so damn sad.

So yeah, Nick wants to get involved in a bigger market – who can blame him?

Posted in Craig_Glazer | Tagged | 26 Comments

New Jack City: ‘AVENGERS’ Shatters Records as New Premiere Weekend Champ!

Posted on May 6, 2012 by admin

Walt Disney‘s been dead some 45 years…

However this weekend he’s probably having a heavenly party up there somewhere with St. Peter and the gang. Matter of fact, I’ll bet they’re spiking the holy water for the occasion.
 
Why all the celebrating?
 
The company he founded with his brother (and a mouse) has just generated the biggest grossing movie opening weekend in the history of the Industry!

MARVEL’s-THE AVENGERS has sold an estimated $200.3 million in tickets domestically during its first three days out of the box.
 
You may recall I had predicted $160 million. So I was off by $40 million—but in a good way.
$18.7 million of this rather shocking three day gross came from the Thursday night/ Friday morning 12:01 a.m. midnight shows. Add to that the film’s wordwide performance and the total 12 day take to date stands at a shattering $641.8 million.

(Note that the film had a nine day foreign head start prior to its North American openings.)
 
 So who got kicked out of first place?
 
That honor goes to the final chapter of the Harry Potter franchise—specifically last summer’s HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS-PART 2 which enjoyed an opening weekend of $169.2 million.
 
Industry insiders are now revising their predictions for the tentpole blockbuster’s eventual all-in numbers to $1 billion.
 
In all fairness, it should be pointed out that 3-D and IMAX  up charges have certainly contributed mightily to THE AVENGERS phenomenal performance to date.

Can you imagine what THE DARK KNIGHT RISES could and WILL do beginning on ?????
 
So who’s going to see this super hero smorgasbord?
 
Looks like just about everyone. Exit polls indicate that 50% of the audience is made up of people under the age of 25 while the other half is 25-54 and beyond. And audiences seem to be split fairly even between men and women.
 
So from Walt to his descendants at the Mouse Factory in Burbank, hey all about JOHN CARTER is forgiven—for the time being. 

Posted in Jack_Poessiger | Tagged | 6 Comments

Hearne: Nick Wright Leaving Grumpy Naysayers, 610 Sports, Kansas City in the Dust

Posted on May 6, 2012 by admin

The days of the George Bretts and Johnny Dares are long gone…

If they ever existed in the first place. Nobody today really cares if the home team has any hometown heroes on it. Or if they bend the rules or cheat a little bit – long as they don’t get caught.

Just win, baby…am I wrong?

So maybe it was naive to think 610 Sports rising star Nick Wright would be a homegrown, hometown institution.

You know, like the Raven, forevermore.

Don’t forget, Wright vowed to topple WHB superstar Kevin Kietzman. All while infuriating aging Baby Boomer, AM band, sports radio listeners and comments section bottomfeeders. Sporty types who never really "got" Wright’s youthful, hip-hop ways.

To many of them, Nick Wright’s words, thoughts, voice and on-air music beds were finernails on the blackboard. Wright was like soccer – it was never enough mrely to ignore him and change the dial, they had to hate him. Yet truth be known, given Wright’s ratings success, they probably loved to hate him.

Though they would doubtless be loathe to admit it.

But now Wright’s going, going and soon-to-be-gone…

"This is true, leaving 610," Wright Tweeted Friday, later adding, "But it isn’t a bad thing, and I’m not leaving just yet. Got a great opportunity I couldn’t turn down. 610 has been absolutely great to me."

To which he added, "I’ll be here a little bit longer and will be able to give details on where I’m going down the road. But it’s all good things."

Good things for Kietzman and WHB perhaps, but even Wright’s long-in-the-tooth haters will probably miss bagging on him day in and day out.

So how did Wright’s leaving leak out?

"I heard somebody confronted him on the air and he sort of hemmed and hawed and finally admitted he was leaving but wouldn’t say where he was going," says one local radio insider. "I talked to somebody who heard him say it on the air."

With Wright’s destination unknown, there’s been chatter about his fill-in stint on Fox Sports.

"It wasn’t aired locally because there was a Royals game on," the insider says. "But I talked to two people who listened to it online and they said he did a great job on the network – that was about two weeks ago."

Kansas City’s loss will likely be a larger market’s gain.

A market with a younger, more vibrant, hipper sports radio listenership. One far less vanilla and Denny Matthews-like than Kansas City. And just maybe, one that airs their sports radio on FM band, not the stodgy-beyond-belief AM dial that we Cowtowners are stuck with.

Hey, good luck Nick – do Kansas City proud.

Posted in Hearne_Christopher | Tagged | 17 Comments

Donnelly: “We were not sharp enough,” says Vermes as Montreal Shuts Out Sporting

Posted on May 6, 2012 by admin

Sporting KC continued its mini-slide Saturday at home against the expansion Montreal Impact, losing to the visitors 2-0.

Let’s call it what it was, a poor effort from the boys in blue.

But judging from the immediate online reaction you would think that the sky was falling on the Eastern Conference leaders.

A few examples:

@Sporting_Times tweeted, "When plan b is the same as plan a that happens ………….. MLS has figured #SportingKC out."

Then there was this exchange:

‏@MtRoyalSoccer, a Montreal supporter, tweeted, "@TheDailyWizKC it does not take out anything from #SportingKC but #IMFC have been progressing every single game."

To which ‏@TheDailyWizKC replied, "@MtRoyalSoccer While we’ve been declining… #SMH."

A little knee jerk perhaps? Certainly there are some issues, as there always are with every team. But the sky is not falling… yet.

Sporting took the field in their dark blue tops and light blue bottoms, I think for the first time ever.  After the way they played the first half, my vote is that these kits never see the light of day again.  In fact, burn them.

LIVESTRONG was super packed and jacked for this game Saturday that saw former KC captain Davy Arnaud return for the first time with his new squad.  KC’s starting lineup was a little different than usual, with Michael Harrington getting his first start of the season in place of Seth Sinovic who is out with a hand injury.

In the first 20 minutes Harrington looked a bit out of place – to be expected from a guy who had played all of one minute prior to this game.  And it caused KC a bit of strain as they learned just what to expect from their fill-in left back.  Graham Zusi was one player who seemed to struggle particularly, trying to identify how he should play with this new piece of the puzzle added.  That is, until about the 25th minute when he uncorked a low blast from about 35 that barely missed the far post and forced a diving save from Montreal’s keeper.   

KC owned the possession early on (and all night long, really), knocking the ball around confidently and pressing maybe as high as I’ve ever seen them. And fairly consistently up to Montreal’s penalty area. 

In what has become quite a good trend for Sporting the last few games, they again won a bunch of corners, though a few of them self-destructed as the far post ball went too long over everyone’s heads.  At half KC owned the corner advantage 6-1 and possession 65%-35%.  But they were losing in the goal-scoring category, 1-0.    

Montreal squelched any of the momentum KC had gained with a 25 yard blast from Felipe Martins that found the back of the net in the 30th minute.  The play looked innocuous enough, but Martins just found a little space, ran up the gut, and his shot was perfectly placed. 

"That’s normally a shot I expect myself to save," admitted White Puma Jimmy Nielsen after the game.  "Of course it’s a big disappointment. My view was blocked for a split second and I couldn’t reach it."

The visitors’ goal stunned the LIVESTRONG crowd momentarily, but a few minutes later the shock turned to resolve. 

KC, it seemed, was fighting for its life. 

And why wouldn’t they be?  They’re tops in MLS playing one of the weakest teams, at home, after a weeklong break.  Maybe going down a goal is just what this team needed to wake back up and remember what it means to fight. 

And fight they did, nearly equalizing off a classy set piece in the 51st minute that saw Matt Besler’s header sail just high and wide.  From then on the boys in blue continued to dominate possession and create some decent chances for themselves, though they still were relying far too heavily on crosses and set pieces to generate their offense.  Rarely dos a KC player crack off a legit shot from in front of the goal during the run of play. 

But everything unraveled in the 62nd minute when KC was caught napping on a routine throw in and a speedy Montreal attacker got in behind the back line, forcing the contact that would lead to a penalty kick for the visitors. 

"From the beginning of the game, we made some simple mistakes that we haven’t done before: losing the ball in dangerous areas, sloppy passes," explained Nielsen. 

Up 2-0, Montreal was able to bunker even more than they had been, conceding possession and simply clearing out anything that came remotely close to their penalty area.

There were few, if any, bright spots on this night for Sporting. And none duller than Jekyll and Hyde second year striker CJ Sapong. 

Sapong had another one of his ghost games and was subbed out in favor of Teal Bunbury in the 65th minute.  Teal came on and looked snappy until he unleashed a 25 yard, left footed dribbler that I’ll call a shot only out of generosity. 

In the end, Montreal was the tougher team.  They matched KC’s physicality and handled the pressure better than anyone has so far this season.  Which is kind of troubling if you’re looking at the two teams on paper. 

Kei Kamara may have summed it up best, saying, "They kind of play our game, but they played it better."

Going forward KC will have to figure out how to create legitimate chances from the run of play if they want to continue earning points at a good pace.  They need to insert a forward who is a real threat to hold the ball in the middle of the pitch and take on a defender, because right now their attack is too predictable and relies too heavily on their athleticism and winning head balls sent in from long crosses. 

**All photos by Alex Jinks**

Posted in Sporting_Kansas_City | Tagged | Leave a comment

Glazer: The Death of Boxing As We Knew It

Posted on May 6, 2012 by admin

There was a time, not long ago, that THE title in sports was…HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION OF THE WORLD!

The title was held by the world’s best known men – men like Rocky Marciano and Muhammad Ali. Today it’s over. Boxing is nearly dead.

Sure, there’s still Floyd Mayweather and Manny Paciauo, but that’s nearly all there is. Not to forget the not very popular Klitschko Brothers who have held the heavyweight belts for more than a decade and are even older than Floyd or Pacuiauo. 

Clearly Floyd and Manny are now far past their prime – both in their mid 30’s. Neither have had much competition so they have slowed down, gotten a bit fat, sloppy and happy. Floyd is headed to jail for three months for beating up a girl…again. And Manny is too busy being a political leader. The two household name fighters have made well over $200 million each as champs…of what we don’t really much know.

Mixed Martial Arts is the rage today, but there are no real superstars, and nobody lasts very long. The money is much smaller than boxing. However today if you are not Floyd, Manny or even Klitschko, there is almost no money in boxing. In fact guys like Evander Holyfield, who was in his prime in the late 80’s, still fights for more dough than young, up-and-coming fighters. Why? Because someone’s heard of the former champ evern though he’s 50 an still fighting. Evander gets show up money to fight for ESPN 2 at about $50,000 a fight today. Hell, George Foreman went until he was nearly 50 as well.

Boxing was brutal, but it was replaced really by the NFL and NBA.

Big men, like Lebron James, who could have been a heavyweight champ in boxing today, pass it by for the bigger bucks in the far less dangerous NBA. As the money has died in boxing so has the attendance and TV revenue. Only Manny and Floyd mean anything and both are at or near the end of their careers. If they fight each other, and that may not happen, each could get 100 plus million bucks.

Then it’s over. Nobody else really matters.

When the Wladimer Klitschko fights, nobody much cares. The money is way down, maybe under $1 million dollars for his Championship fights on live HBO at best. There’s not enough interest for Pay Per View anymore.

This is all very painful to me, since I made much of my Hollywood living doing Sports Films, like Champions Forever with Ali, George Foreman, Joe Frazier, Ken Norton and Larry Holmes – the greatest set of champs ever. I did two focused on the world’s most famous man, Ali. This is the job I got right out of prison, so it was quite an honor for me. Ali was my hero.

I went on to do four more on boxing and racing, but none were as exciting as the first.

Last night Floyd Mayweather just got by Miguel Cotto for a super welterweight title, almost nobody even asked me about it or cared.

Remember this one?

"Hey, where you gonna watch the Tyson fight?"

Those days are gone. Soon boxing will be gone. Some are happy, "it was too brutal!"

Now we hear that about the NFL. There will always be a brutal sport for Americans…we love it. That’s why NASCAR stories focus on the CRASHES…those are the photos on TV, right?

Remember when Michael Buffer would say loudly into the mic, "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, LETS GET READY TO RUMBLEEEEEEE…."

Well, now he says it at Arrowhead Stadium before a football game.

Those were the days – where have you gone, Joe Lewis?

Posted in Craig_Glazer | Tagged | 15 Comments

Whinery: R.I.P. Beastie Boys MCA

Posted on May 4, 2012 by admin

Tragic news from the music world, Adam Yauch – or as he was known, MCA from the Beastie Boys – passed away today after a long bout with cancer…

Like most white kids from the burbs, I dabbled some with Run-DMC and LL Cool J but never really gave up “Hair Metal” for rap music until Licensed to ILL was released in ’86. And after seeing their video- back when MTV still played music- for  their song Fight for Your Right (To Party) I went to Metro North Mall the next day, picked up the cassette and have been a huge fan of the Beasties ever since….

 First saw them live at the Uptown with my good friend Anthony Turner in 87’, or thereabouts, and WOW!

  After a stop a Speedy’s Liquor in the “Hood” – where I bought a 12 pack of Old Milwaukee Light using dubious forms of ID – we drank in the parking lot before going into the show. Murphy’s Law and Fishbone warmed up the crowd, then the curtain parted. After hearing lots of commotion from behind it, the theater went black, spotlights hit the stage and from behind the curtain came one of the craziest stage setups I’ve ever seen. 

There was a girl dancing in a cage and a hydraulic dildo and a giant can of Bud on lifters. And for the next hour and a half, three guys ran around in a circle spitting beer on the crowd and throwing beer cans everywhere. And the mosh pit was total chaos.

Saw them again at Kemper about a year later, when they opened for Run-DMC and the Beasties were out of control again. I was working as a doorman at the Hyatt Regency at Crown Center at the time and that’s where they were staying after the show- and proceeded to tear up two floors so bad that they got banned from all Hyatt Properties. According to housekeeping, they picked up at least 24 cases of beer cans, furniture was ruined, naked groupies running between rooms…

Rappers with a punk rock attitude.

Caught their act one more time at Memorial Hall in KCK on the Check Your Head Tour which was awful. They were playing instruments! The Beasties had no business at that time deviating from having Mix Master Mike playing all the music. They seemed to think that if the volume was high enough, no one would notice their remedial skill levels.

 It’s sad that there will never be another Beasties show to go to.

Been listening to Paul’s Boutique while writing this…which I think is their greatest recording.  The legalities of  song sampling were changed after that record and nothing like it will probably ever be made again.

 Good Luck and G-dspeed to MCA on the other side… and thanks for the music.

Posted in News_and_Views | Tagged | 5 Comments

Hearne: Lawrence Busts Orscheln for Trafficking in Baby Chicks, Duckies

Posted on May 4, 2012 by admin

Talk about going Daffy Duck…

Lawrence officials have put the kibosh on "Chick Days" at the Kansas City-based Orscheln Farm and Home. Something about it being a violation of a city code intended to regulate raising of chickens in the city limits.

"Oh my god, are you kidding me?" says Kansas City attorney / Orschlen owner Phil Orschlen. "That’s just crazy. I mean, we’ve sold chickens and ducks from our stores since the 1960s. We call it ‘Chick Days’ and it’s one of our best sellers. It’s amazing."

Among other things, the ordinance requires Orschlen to maintain a minimum living space of 10 square feet per peep. In other words, 1,000 square feet of store space for every hundred chicks. That’s a lot.

Practically converting Orschlen’s farm fowls into "free range," if you will.

Here’s the deal…

Somebody apparently threw Orschlen under the bus recently after a local "artist" got busted for trying to off a bunch of chicks as part of an upcoming exhibit. Which is kinda gross and pretty out there when you think about it.

"I don’t know what to say about that, except that’s absolutely crazy," Orschlen says. "Orschlen’s not into that.

"It’s amazing," he adds. "There should be an ordinance that people aren’t supposed to raise farm animals within the city. But a lot of people buy them for pets for Easter and then they give them away later to someone who lives on a farm. It sounds like we’re going to have to do our job and get the ordinance changed."

Until then Orschelin’s "Chick Days" are history…at least in Lawrence.

Posted in Hearne_Christopher | Tagged | 7 Comments

Leftridge: Royals April Recap

Posted on May 4, 2012 by admin

At this juncture, there’s no point in discussing just how abysmal this year’s Royals team is shaping up to be; everyone knows how unbearably awful they are and almost everything that is worth saying has already been said.

The starting pitching is uniformly poor.
The offense—teeming with youngsters full of promise and talent—has looked overmatched and been ineffective.
The bullpen has been inconsistent and riddled with injuries.
Ned Yost is a complete jackass ill-equipped to manage a t-ball game.
Yes, pontificating on the sorry state of your Kansas City Royals is akin to beating a dead horse—and then repeatedly raping that horse while the young horse’s son looks on, crying.
That’s why I thought it might be beneficial to take a look at the good—and it’s an admittedly short list—that transpired over the first month of the season. With bad, surely there must come good, right? Anyone…?
Let’s start with the obvious:
 
Hitting for Power.
Since the dawn of Billy Butler, we’ve been promised the rise of a chubby lad capable of busting out stadium lighting with one fell swoop of his maple. Ditto Alex Gordon. And Eric Hosmer, and Mike Moustakas. Power develops over time, however, and rare is the hot young prospect who immediately begins crushing towering shots fresh out of the gate. It seems that now, however, the boys have started piecing it together. Butler and Hosmer have five a piece, which puts them on track to knock in around 30. Gordon and Moose have a respectable four each. Though pickings grow slim the further you move down the stat sheet, it’s encouraging to see our supple young power-potential guys, well, hitting for power.
 
Playing His Way Out.
When not having his ankles busted with wicked line drives back to the mound, Luke Hochevar is either pitching lights out or getting his shit rocked harder than your douchebag hipster friend at a Jeff Mangum concert. There seems to be no in between, and for the “ace” of a pitching staff, this is COMPLETELY unacceptable. Fun stats with Hoch time, everyone!
–      Hochevar’s 2012 ERA of 7.36 is third worst in the American League!
–      His career ERA of 5.37 compares “favorably” with other Royals’ pitching legends like BRANDON DUCKWORTH and former staff ace (LOLZ) RUNELVYS HERNANDEZ!
–      He’s making $3.5 million this year!
–      He’ll turn 29 this season, the magical age at which statisticians say a pitcher is entering their peak!
With any hope, his schizophrenic April is beginning to spell the end of Luke. And no, we don’t need him to spend some time in the minors, and no, he doesn’t need to work some things out mechanically. He’s a terrible pitcher and a complete bust. With any luck, his gigantic, Dumbo-like ears will fly him back to Colorado so that Kansas City sports fans will no longer be saddled with the stink of his failure.
 
Jonathan Broxton Settles In.
After a blown save in early April against the mighty Oakland Athletics (.500 record!), Big Butter Broxton has “gutted” out some saves and looked “well-rounded” in doing so. His previously “rotund” ERA has dropped to a respectable 1.86, and the shoulder injury that precipitated the Dodgers’ willingness to part with him seems to be a non-issue. Broxton appears ready to carry a “hefty” workload.
Fat jokes, everyone.
But seriously, Broxton looks good which means we can flip him to a contender in July. And though the cities purveyors of fine barbecue may weep, it’s simply a necessitation.
 
Gloat ‘Em If You Got ‘Em.
You know who has a worse team ERA than the Royals? The BASTAN FACKIN’ RED SOX and the MINNESOTA TWINS. That’s right, suck it, you bean-eating racists and… nice people with mostly pleasant dispositions. Again, this may seem petty, or insignificant, but when you’re a Kansas City sports fan, you take the small victories and act like they’re a really big deal. If you don’t, you’re liable to vomit yourself to death and/or abuse prescription pain medication.
 
Alright, so I was only able to come up with four. Four, measly (though exciting!!!) things to take away from the first month of the season. Be sure to tune in for next month’s installment where I hope to share the following:
–      Ned Yost’s dismissal.
–      Yuniesky’s Player of the Month honors (don’t ask).
–      Luke Hochevar’s demotion (they won’t release him, unfortunately, but at least it’s a start).
–      A THREE GAME WINNING STREAK, YO.
–      Hosmer raises his season average to something north of .200.
–      Jarrod Dyson uses his speed for something good (triples, stolen bases) instead of evil (hilarious miscues in centerfield).
Until then, we’ll see you in the cellar, sports fans!
Posted in Sports | Tagged | 13 Comments

Sounds Good: Damn Yankees, Til Willis, Hank III, Allison Olassa & Hearts of Darkness

Posted on May 3, 2012 by admin

We’ve got lots and lots going on this weekend.

There’s plenty of music to go around, which I’ll get to in a sec.  But there’s also some other stuff to keep you out of trouble. Or get you into it.

For example, starting Thursday the team everyone loves to hate- the New York Yankees- roll into town to throttle our young Royals. 

Sporting KC plays Saturday at home against expansion Montreal after their much needed week off. 

Then there’s First Friday in the Crossroads, which is featuring free music and some art by a pro skateboarder.

And by the time Sunday rolls around I suggest you get your ass to Lawrence’s Burcham Park (it’s by the river) for a free show from some hipster bands like Robocopter, Johnny Booth, Ask an Adult, and Bloody Knives.  It’s BYOD (dog) and it’s also BYOB (beverages?) so long as it’s not in glass bottles.  Starts at 4:00.

Now on to my awesome and well-informed picks… 


Thursday, May 3rd
 
Til Willis with Mr. & Mrs. Dodge @ The Taproom in Lawrence
 
I’d never heard of Til Willis until a few minutes ago, but I listened to some of his stuff and it’s actually pretty rad in that bare and scratchy sort of way.  So what better venue than the sweaty low-ceilinged basement of the Tap Room?
 
Plus, you get to see which plaid flannel shirt Arthur Dodge will bust out for his opening set with female vocalist Mrs. Dodge.  I caught them a few months ago at the Lawrence Arts Center and thought that Mrs. Dodge kind of stole the show, in a non-flannel kind of way.   
 
Friday, May 4th
 
Hank 3 @ The Granada in Lawrence
 
Rather than take an easy Nashville career based upon his grandpa’s name and crank out pop country radio hits, Hank Williams III decided to do his own thing, dabbling in punk, metal, hillbilly, and of course some straight up country music, too.  His shows are usually a clashing of all these styles, performed in epic fashion.  And he always starts right on time, I’m told, so make sure you arrive early.
 
Normally, Hank plays an opening set of country tunes, followed by a set of hellbilly hellfire, and then ends with a full set of heavy and fast material taken from one of his other projects, the punk metal band Assjack.   
 
 
 
Saturday, May 5th
 
Hearts of Darkness, the Good Foot, and the Grisly Hand @ Crossroads in KC
 
This show is billed as a “Spring Dance” so… From what I can remember of the dances I attended growing up, there should be a bunch of dudes with way too much cologne on drunkenly macking it to the super drunk hot chicks that would normally never give them the time of day if they weren’t totally destroyed.  And maybe some vomiting in the corner of the gymnasium.  
 
Also, isn’t it kinda weird that all the bands have body parts in their names?  Creepy…
 
The Grisly Hand starts out the night pretty early at 7:30 with their roots alt-country thing, followed by the soul sounds of the Good Foot at about 9.  Then KC jewel HOD closes it out with their genre-smashing afrobeat world hip hop stuff.  If you haven’t caught HOD yet, you seriously owe it to yourself to check them out sooner than later. 
 

 

 
Olassa, Smile High Club @ the Barnyard in Lawrence

Haven’t tried the Barnyard Beer yet? C’mon folks! Admittedly, it’s kinda hard to find the secret underground bluegrass jam space. But if you’re cruising around Biemer’s Barbecue, near tha backside of the Merc, look for the big red barn doors and you’re good to go.

Allison Olassa is headlining this Saturday’s show, which I’m told could feature a little accordion, some pump organ, and songs about things other than “dudes.” In an interview with the LJWorld’s Richard Gintowt, Olassa said, “I try not to write about dudes. A lot of musicians write about their lovers, and sometimes I think that can get old. There is a good way to put it, I think, but it’s hard to capture.”

Allison plays with a handful of rotating local musicians, so this won’t just be a one woman show.

Posted in Entertainment | Tagged | 5 Comments

Whinery: The Death of Privacy- Part 2- Surveillance Systems

Posted on May 3, 2012 by admin

OK Everyone, get out your tin foil hats and prepare to be briefed on the latest surveillance systems.

Straight from the battlefields and to an airbase near you come unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones.  Drones soon to be deployed from 45 airbases across the United States, according to the FAA. The closest to the Kansas City Metropolitan area will be located in Manhattan, KS. They won’t be armed like those over Afghanistan- not for now anyway – but they are quite sophisticated.

And according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) the drones can collect huge amounts of data. Some are equipped with gigapixel cameras that can track people and vehicles from over 20,000 feet and can zoom in on what they’re doing with great detail. Some need no runway for take off or landing, can fly more than 12 hours without refueling, and have the capability of monitoring up to 65 targets simultaneously.

Others may be equipped with live-feed video cameras, infrared cameras, heat sensors and radar which will be able to track people inside buildings or homes. And all this data can be run through a variety of databases. For instance if you’re at a political rally hostile to the State –  the info can be added to your file.

And if that’s not scary enough, are you ready for “Smart Appliances?”

My inner “paranoia” stops me from owning anything smarter than a smart phone-which is a big enough invasion of privacy. But there are a lot of you who may think its “neat” to buy appliances that can be hooked up to the Internet and be remotely operated.

And that provide real time data on your whereabouts and day-to-day activities. Samsung is even bringing us “Orwell’s TV” with a camera mounted on it pointed at you, the viewer! It’s supposed to be operated by you to converse with people over SKYPE. Supposedly it can’t be remotely turned on or anything- so move along, nothing to see here.

This is just the tip of the iceberg where surveillance technologies are concerned, and it’s only gonna get worse. There’s legislation already passed by the Senate that mandates a “black box”, like those in airplanes, to be put in automobiles manufactured after 2015. And it will record everything you do behind the wheel.

Where does it end?

Once again we must hope that the Courts save us from these invasions of privacy. And if the Courts don’t – we can always pray that the Sun sends a Coronal Mass Ejection that fries out the power grids and disables all the spy satellites…

Posted in News_and_Views | Tagged | 6 Comments

Glazer: Suicide Shocker! Junior Seau Dead at Age 43

Posted on May 2, 2012 by admin

He was an NFL idol…

One of the all-time, best football players ever. Players were in awe of the man who dominated defenses for 20 seasons. And now it appears that Junior Seau, age 43 and sure Hall of Fame football star, took his own life.

His girlfriend called the police and they could not help Seau when they arrived. Junior was gone. Shot himself in the chest with his own gun. The gun was in the room by his lifeless body. The man many consider the best linebacker of all time was dead. Only two years after he left the game.

All this today in Oceanside, California not far from where Seau’s 15 year career with the San Diego Chargers went down.

It’s one of the most surprising suicides in modern sports.

Junior was loved by everyone. He was the face of the Chargers even today after he played for New England at the end of his career, including one more Super Bowl. He had it all – loving fans, children, a foundation, his own show. And we would think, plenty of money. He was still handsome and young at age 43.

Why?

So many players leave the game broke, but not this guy. Many NFL players can’t live without the cheers, but they still cheered Junior.

Pro’s need people to know who they are and trust me everyone knew who Junior Seau was. All the way up until he took his life.

One of his best friends and teammate, Marcellus Wiley was interviewed shortly after Junior was found dead. Wiley said he and almost every player looked up to Seau. Nobody suspected he was in trouble or had mental problems. In fact, they would go to Junior for advice – even recently.

He was the BIG DOG. nobody could hurt Junior Seau.

Many feel Seau was leaving a message to the NFL because he shot himself in the chest, not a normal way to go. It’s thought he may have done this  so doctors could examine his head and brain for post career problems due to constant hits and head Trauma.

They call it CTE. There have been a few other recent suicides where a player shot himself in the chest for possibly the same reasons, like Chicago Bear Dave Duerson. The odd thing to me is there doesn’t appear to be a note left. If Junior was so far gone with mental pain and anguish but wanted to help after his death, why no note, no explanation?

Here was a man who worked hard, grabbed the brass ring and held it his entire adult life.

Nobody seems to have a bad word to say about the man. Yet with his career ending on the field, at a time he should have been happy and enjoying life…he ends it all. Again, why?

Personally I think Junior was one of the greatest players ever to put on a helmet and Ihate to see this happen.

Posted in Craig_Glazer | Tagged | 22 Comments

Jack Goes Confidential: ‘The Avengers’ a Feast for Geeks And Everyone!

Posted on May 2, 2012 by admin

If you’re going to kick-off what’s predicted to become the biggest movie summer EVER, you’d best do it in a mighty big way…

And Disney does just that with MARVELS-THE AVENGERS.
 
Walt would’ve been proud.
 
What we’ve got here is Hollywood’s ultimate superhuman good guy team set against an epic scope of production wizardry that would’ve been impossible to achieve just a handful of years ago.
 
I should mention that I’m not a comic book geek. Never was into super heroes and there are no little blue pills in the Poessiger bedroom. That said, planting the entire team of Marvel’s good guys—a.k.a. the Avengers Initiative—into a single mega-production was pure genius.
 
As for the storyline, there’s really nothing much new here.

It’s basically sinister Loki (Tom Middleston), bad brother of Thor, who’s in possession of a powerful substance of unlimited sustainable energy and threatening the global safety and security of the universe.
 
Your basic bad versus good.
 
Enter Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, head of the International Peace Keeping Agency S.H.I.E.L.D.  to pull the world back from disaster and Loki’s army of alien spaceships. So one by one the Marvel good guys assemble for what seems like an impossible task.
 
And what a line up!
 
Chris Hemsworth as Thor. Scarlett Johansson is sexy Natasha Romanoff—a.k.a. the Black Widow. Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man. Jeremy Renner plays Hawkeye. Chris Evans is Steve Rogers/Captain America. Mark Ruffalo pumps up Bruce Banner to The Hulk. Stellan Skarsgard turns Professor Erik Selvig and Gwyneth Paltrow is Pepper Pots.
 
What makes this first summer tentpole production so much fun is that much of its super-hero dialogue is uttered completely tongue-in-cheek. And it’s definitely Robert Downey, Jr. who ends up with the best lines.
 
While the scope of this massive production is awe inspiring, the movie’s two-hour and 22 minutes running time could have been trimmed by at least 10 to 15 minutes. That’s especially true for the midsection of the film.
But once all hell breaks loose during the approximately 45 minutes of the film’s third act, I defy anyone who’s into humongous battle footage from not getting into this action.
 
Hats off to director Joss Whedon from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Serenity for pulling it all off. And his excellent use of 3-D here really adds to the proceedings.
 
In other words the 3-D and IMAX up charges are worth it here.
 
It’s a fan-feast of immense proportions guaranteed to get the summer movie season off to a record breaking start. I’m predicting a 3-day opening weekend gross of $160 million in domestic ticket sales.
 
Caution! Try to avoid sitting next to a comic book geek like I did while watching this movie. It could be dangerous to your sanity and their reactions may cause popcorn spillage…or worse!
 
And whatever you do, don’t get up from your chair when the end credits begin to roll. There’s a special scene embedded about 30 seconds into the credits you won’t want to miss. And if you can make it until the very last credit has rolled by, you’ll be rewarded with one last funny scene involving all the super heroes.
 

MARVELS-THE AVENGERS raising 4 out of 5 robust fingers beginning this Thursday night/Friday morning at 12:01 a.m.–EVERYWHERE.
 
JACK GOES TO THE MOVIES Friday mornings at 6:40 a.m. on NewsRadio KMBZ Am & Fm–And anytime on Time-Warner Cable’s K.C. ON DEMAND, Channel 411.
 
 

Posted in Jack_Poessiger | Tagged | 4 Comments

Hearne: Star’s Mellinger Obliterates Memory of Past Sports Columnists

Posted on May 2, 2012 by admin

Who doesn’t love a good, I told you so?

So allow me to take just a moment to congratulate myself and remind you guys what I told you in 2010 about Kansas City Star sports scribe Sam Mellinger:

"The Star Sports Kings – Jason Whitlock and Joe Posnanski – are dead," I wrote. "Long live new King, Sam Mellinger…Rome wasn’t tacked together overnight and rookie columnists don’t always hit full stride the first few steps out of the blocks. But Sam started out good and is attaining critical mass. He’s been kicking some pretty high quality journalistic butt. And dishing out corporal punishment when called for."

Some readers probably wondered at first how Sam might shake out. Would he be a bombastic Jason-ator? A painfully passionate Posnaski? Something inbetween?

And after more than a decade of W and P, did any other form of sports column writing even exist? Well, Sam has now proven that indeed that is the case. He’s totally his own man and Kansas City is the better for it.

A prime example being today’s column about the sorry state of the Chiefs quarterback situation.

The headline: "Chiefs dream big, except at quarterback."

"The first dichotomy of the Chiefs’ grand-ish experiment is that it depends upon Matt Cassel while the team tries to make sure it doesn’t," Mellinger begins. "The second dichotomy is that they are now very clearly trying to win a Super Bowl without a great quarterback at a time when great quarterbacks have never been more important in the NFL."

The column’s a little long (like Posnanski) and it definitely has some edge (like Whitlock), but what really distinguishes it from both former sports scribes is it’s way too brainy for Whitlock and way too well-reported and succinct for JoePo.

In other words, it’s excellent.

Mellinger’s thesis: "(That) for the most part, we know what their competition will look like, and we know that the Chiefs will try to win games with a very promising roster around an ordinary quarterback as the rest of the league shifts to find star passers."

Mellinger then proceeds to do a top notch job of supporting his contention that the path the Chiefs are now on is a risky and unlikely one.

"Look around the league," he writes. "With the help of a league scout, I came up with no fewer than 26 teams that are either thrilled with the quarterback they have (like the Packers and Patriots) or recently spent big resources on a new quarterback (the Seahawks and Colts, for instance).

"That leaves six teams: the Chiefs, 49ers, Bills, Ravens, Jets and Bears (who, the scout pointed out, could have been in the bigger list after Jay Cutler won seven of 10 starts before a season-ending thumb injury). We talked about the 49ers and Ravens already, and the Jets made two AFC Championship games with Mark Sanchez.

"And so looking at it this way, there is an argument that the Chiefs — with Cassel starting and Brady Quinn backing up — have one of the very least promising quarterback situations in a league largely driven by quarterbacks."

Mellinger backs his contention with a blizzard of interesting facts and stats. When was the last time someone remembers Whitlock pulling off anything like that? Posnanski? Maybe. But by the time you waded through the flowery prose, could anybody remember the supporting stats?

Check out this factoid by Mellinger: "Cassel is now the worst quarterback in the AFC West, meaning the Chiefs need to make up for it across the rest of the roster."

Boldly raising the question of how slim are the Chiefs chances of going anywhere excellent with Cassell at the helm? 

Mellinger’s answer: it’s something "no team in the last five years of the quarterback-centric NFL has managed."

 

There are no more imaginary shoes for Mellinger to fill; it’s down to a simple case of Joe, who? Jason, who?

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/05/01/3588043/chiefs-dream-big-except-at-quarterback.html#storylink=cpy
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/05/01/3588043/chiefs-dream-big-except-at-quarterback.html#storylink=cpy
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/05/01/3588043/chiefs-dream-big-except-at-quarterback.html#storylink=cpy
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/05/01/3588043/chiefs-dream-big-except-at-quarterback.html#storylink=cp
Posted in Hearne_Christopher | Tagged | 9 Comments

Hearne: Who Gives a Dam? Local Metal Station Dies Quiet Death

Posted on May 2, 2012 by admin

 

You know that line about a tree falling in the forest?

Ditto for last week’s pulling of the plug by Cumulus on its local HD Translator station The Dam at 103.7 FM. The heavy metal radio station which debuted just two years ago with a Metallica song, is now simulcasting the somnambulant slate of boring right wingsters from KCMO 710 AM that range from Sean Hannity to Laura Ingraham to Mike Huckabee.

How boring does that sound?

As a hard rock refuge, The Dam was good for about a one share point in the ratings, which ain’t much. Or in the words on one local radio exec is "nothing but a pea shooter" and "one of the weakest signals in the market."

And since The Dam’s largest listenership was in morning drive opposite The Rock 98.9 FM strongman Johnny Dare, it might make sense that Dare would be in line to pick up a ratings point.

Except for one thing.

Since The Dam only played music, chances are it was listened to by people who live to rock and don’t like Johnny. Meaning that chances are the primary beneficiary of The Dam’s demise will likely be MP3 players.

Remember what I said about that tree falling?

Posted in Hearne_Christopher | Tagged | 2 Comments

Hearne: Landlord Spruces Up Jardine’s in Preparation for ???

Posted on May 1, 2012 by admin

Not to belabor the subject but…

Inquiring minds want to know…what’s the latest on Plaza area jazz club Jardine’s? It’s been five long months since the you-know-what hit the fan and owner Beena Raja found herself on the wrong end of a mini staff revolt that grew into a musician boycott and a tabloid TV news feeding franzy.

Since then Jardine’s doors have remained dark while owner-candidate after owner-candidate strode in (and then out) of the media limelight. And while sundry former and prospective owners and managers watched their fortunes rise and then fall.

In other words, it’s been one big, fat mess.

Which brings us to the here and now, and the buzz on the down-for-the-count jazz club about workers being spotted hard at it in Jardine’s space. 

"Looks like the story is over," emailed propsepective Jardine’s buyer Paul Wilson. "I drove by (Friday), there is some kind of construction going on inside."

That same day Jardine’s founder Greg Halstead – unleashed an email that he ended with the following admonition; "Feel free to share this with anyone you like."

Halstead wrote that,"it looks like Jardine’s is history. Needless to say. Kathy and I are heartbroken. Lots of memories, lots of fun, lots of good times etc.."

Hold it right there…

Jardine’s owner Raja says she’s still holding out hope that one of two interested parties will come through and buy the name and 3 a.m. liquor license from her and reopen the space as a jazz club.

They’d best hurry.

Three am.m liquor licenses don’t grow on trees and are all but impossible to get these days. If Raja’s expires, woe be to whomever doesn’t pull the trigger in time if indeed the club is to be saved.

As for the "construction" everybody seems so curious and/or worried about, no biggie, Raja says.

"Yeah, they’re just doing inventory and cleaning it up a little bit," she says. ‘I don’t think they’re doing much more than that."

A peek inside Jardine’s confirms Raja’s suspicions.

The lights are all on, the joint appears to be in tip top shape and the tables and chairs are all neatly stacked and out of the way. In other words it looks ready, willing and able to be shown to prospective tenants.

Posted in Hearne_Christopher | Tagged | 52 Comments

Hearne: Don’t Believe Everything You Read, Digital Movie Conversion Costs Plummet

Posted on May 1, 2012 by admin

About the effort to save the tiny town of Higginsville, Missouri‘s local movieplex…

"Digital update costs $70,000," shouts an incorrect headline atop a front page story today in the Star‘s FYI section.

With movie studios rapidly switching from 35 mm to digital projection, small theaters nationwide – like Higginsville’s Davis – have been scambling to convert.

With the days of film being numbered, the conventional wisdom has been that the cost of conversion to digital was $70,000 per screen. Or $300,000 for Higginsville’s four-holer.

Thus the $25,000 prize the Davis won from a Readers Digest contest would only cover a fraction of the switchover cost, the story states.

Au contraire, says KCC movie man Jack Poessiger.

"What I found out last week at CinemaCon in Las Vegas is you can buy a far cheaper system now," Poessiger reports. "I asked some manufacturers what the cheapest system you can convert to digital with costs and they told me you can do it now for about $25,000 a screen."

As opposed to the $70,000 figure reported in today’s Star.

"A year ago it was $70,000," Poessiger says. "And before that it was $100,000 a screen. It’s pretty obvious that there’s still a lot of theaters that have not converted yet and they’ll have to convert or get out of the business."

However there’s a big difference between a $300,000 conversion cost and a $100,000 one. Meaning that with $40,000-plus in the bank, Higginsville’s plight is a far less desperate one than reported today.

Raising the question, where’s Bob Butler when you need him?

Posted in Hearne_Christopher | Tagged | 8 Comments

Glazer: Johnson County Evolving Rapidly into Police State

Posted on May 1, 2012 by admin

Most readers don’t realize Johnson County is THE biggest money maker in the nation regarding ARRESTS…

Or that Johnson County puts almost all misdemeanor charges on pre trial probation or supervision. No, not for simple parking or speeding tickets, but almost anything and everything else. Examples include, trespassing, destruction of private property, any assault case, even yelling at your girlfriend or wife – you don’t need to hit them – just yelling and someone calling the cops is enough.

And no priors are needed.

Even for driving on a suspended license, or even an outdated one – pretty much anything.

YOU NOW HAVE DRUG DROPS, A CODE COLOR, A PROBATION OFFICER – YOU MUST SEE THEM WEEKLY – OR EVEN DO DROPS WEEKLY ALL AT DIFFERENT LOCATIONS.

Or else go to jail.

Your first hearing will likely be with you in custody at Gardner. It’s the hot new prison/jail and it’s more maxed out than most prisons. Why, you ask? To protect us from all those black criminals?

No, it’s all about MONEY, BABY AND  ONLY MONEY.

The entire system has thousands of people on PRE TRIAL PROBATION. THATS RIGHT, NOBODY IS EVEN GUILTY OF ANYTHING YET…and they own your ass!!!

It’s not in the constitution but who cares? Thousands of lawyers are making a mint on it. And the Kansas cops,  courts, probation offices and drug drop stations are so busy now that many are now located in MISSOURI. And by the way, Jackson county for the most part doesn’t have time for all of this because they have REAL CRIME.

More than half these so-called "dangerous criminals" are kids caught with a beer or at a party that had beer and they get their school records jacked as well. And they get stuck with the drug drops and booze rehab programs which their parents then have topm pay thousands of dollars to.

And this is all real…

God help you if you get a DUI, thats like a murder charge in Johnson County now.

And don’t let your wife or girlfriend say you pushed her that’s DOUBLE MURDER. I kid you not, it’s kinda not legal but hey they’re just looking out for YOUR BEST INTEREST.

You say won’t happen to me or my kids….REALLY?

This program is a little over the top folks. People in Germany thought those original places to house Jews was for everyone’s own good as well.

This is sick and very, very wrong, but nobody much cares until it affects them and most families will have it happen to them eventually.

Posted in Craig_Glazer | Tagged | 48 Comments

Starbeams: Dial ‘M’ for Murder in KC, NYC Cattle Call & Kissing Royals

Posted on May 1, 2012 by admin

New signs along Main Street in midtown feature the letter "M" inside a red circle.  The signs are symbolic because the red stands for blood and the "M" stands for murder.

*******

One World Trade Center officially became the tallest building on the New York skyline this week.  A 408 ft. needle will eventually be placed on the roof, but  New York still won’t be cool until they get a giant cow statue  overlooking Manhattan.

*******

The average woman applies 12 beauty products to her body every day that contain up to 120 chemicals. Now there’s a move in Congress to pass a bill regulating cosmetics that would require labeling all ingredients and prohibit chemicals linked to cancer or reproductive problems.  Experts say when it comes to ingredients, if you can’t pronounce the name…don’t put it on your lips.  That’s why I don’t kiss most Royals players.

Kelly Urich hosts the morning show on The Point 99.7 FM

Posted in Starbeams | Tagged | Leave a comment