Tales From the Tweet: KU Livin’ Large, Albert Getting Fatter & Milwaukee’s New Kick to the Nuts

Posted on December 11, 2011 by admin

So unless you’ve been living trapped beneath Charlie Weis’ fleshy, ample backside, surviving on small pockets of trapped air and renegade Cheetos that were feared lost forever, you already know the big news of the past week: there’s a new head footballl coach at Kansas University.

And if you’re like me, you spent yesterday glued to your Twitter feed, as 10 different local sports talk personalities Tweeted the same lines from his lengthy press conference. Alright, so that’s only a half-truth. I went back afterwards and read them all, however, and managed to learn the same things over and over again.

@nate_bukaty  (810)
“Charlie Weis enters the room.”

I’m on the edge of my seat… my ever-so-slightly quaking seat.

@bobfescoe  (610)
“Weis has entered. Using a cane. Bad hip and knee #kufball”

Apparently, the “Rascal-Mobility-Scooter ramp request” was not met. Strike one, Dr. Zenger. He’s going to hold this against you when he rolls out of town in another year and a half.

@nate_bukaty 
“Zenger: "I set out to find the best, and I found Charlie Weis."

Yeah… I’m not sure how much searching that actually took. Kind of hard to miss. And then it got super-repetitive (sort of like my admittedly worn out "Weis-is-fat" jokes).

@bobfescoe 
“Weis: Yes, I need a hip replaced”

@Leabonics  (Todd Leabo, 810)
“Weis: "I need my hip replaced, still suffering from a sideline hit in 2008" #kufball”

@nate_bukaty 
“Weis opens with a smile, "Yes, yes, I need my hip replaced."

But THEN what happened?

@bobfescoe  (810)
“Weis: daughter has never been happier than in FLA”

@Leabonics  (810)
“#weis speaking about his special needs daughter… says she is very happy at her school in Florida. #kufball”

@nate_bukaty 
“Weis opens by talking about his special needs daughter, Hannah. Says it was in Florida, where Hannah was truly happy for the first time…”

@getnickwright  (610)
“A whole lot of info on Weis’ daughter. Culminating in finding out Weis’ wife and daughter will stay in Ocala endless flights back & forth”

So wait a minute: let me get this straight, 15 guys from two stations covering the exact same event and saying the exact same things—is his special needs daughter happy in Florida?

Look, I get it. This is a big deal. The one-time New England Patriots’ hero, Notre Dame goat and Kansas City Chief-and-Florida-deserter is a big-name get for KU football. The biggest that I ever remember, certainly. But does that really mean that we need multiple people from a very small number of outlets repeating one another? Can’t we impose some sort of moratorium on how many people get invited to press conferences or something? I know, I know… that’s not the way modern media coverage works. But it would be nice if someone simply strived for individuality in that setting. But I digress.

So, according to their Tweets, I also learned that:

Charlie Jr. (not really his name) is transferring to KU.
Daughter and wife will get unlimited private plane trips to visit papa.
Weis wants us all to remember that he was groomed under Parcels AND Belichick.
He talks to lunch ladies when he’s recruiting.
He hopes to be at KU until he’s done coaching.
Weis never got his coaching staff right at Notre Dame.
He ain’t mad at Matt Cassel.
His number one priority in Lawrence? Find an Old Country Buffet. Fix the record.

Ladies and Jayhawks, your new head football coach, Charles Weis. Oh, but wait: what did Danny “I’m a Completely Negative, Insufferable Asshole Who Never Has Anything Positive to Say Ever” Clinkscale think?

@dcwhb  (810)
“All in all, kind of contradictory, kind of awkward, sometimes OK, certainly nothing to be that enthused about #Weis”

You must be a real fucking blast to hang out with, Danny.

Oh, and it wouldn’t be a Tales from the Tweet without one really bad Bob Fescoe “joke”.

@bobfescoe  (610)
“There is NO TRUTH to the rumor that Todd Haley will be the OC at ku.”

To his credit, however—and believe me, it pains me to give him credit for ANYTHING other than being a nauseating hack—Bob-o was stating that Weis was the guy early on December 8th, a solid 6 or so hours before anyone else was reporting it. What’s that saying about the sun shining on a dog’s ass? Yeah, that one.

I don’t know if Weis is the right signing, or even a good signing, but I hope this works out for Kansas. The Big XXII—or the remnants thereof—is more entertaining when everyone’s firing on all cylinders and there’s competition to be had. If anything, it boosted KU season ticket sales and got people talking. Not always glowingly, but talking nonetheless. And as we at KCConfidential know, any publicity is good publicity (#Splitorff#Harman#Jardines). 
 

The other big story of the week—haha, “big”—was the gargantuan contract of Fort Osage’s own Albert Pujols. After intense negotiations with Jeffrey Loria—the suddenly bat-shit crazy, freewheeling owner of the Miami Marlins—Pujols elected to take his talents to Anaheim. Or Los Angeles. Or wherever the hell it is that the Angels play. He’ll make a little money for signing with the Halo’s, too, it would appear.

@darrenrovell (CNBC)
“With new contract, Pujols will make $68,493 per day. The average 6-person household in California makes $63,125 a year.”

@JeffEisenberg  (Yahoo! Sports blogger)
“Great stat from the LA Times: Pujols’ contract is worth almost $70 million more than the $183 million Arte Moreno paid for the team in 2003.”

@ESPNStatsInfo 
“Angels signed Wilson & Pujols for $327.5M. KC, TB, PIT, SD, CLE, ARI and FLA owed a combined $327.8M to their opening day rosters for 2011.”

$68,000 a day. I just… man. I don’t know. When millions and millions of Americans are scraping together spare change from their ashtray in order to buy their Grande Pumpkin latte from Starbucks, and the car behind them is honking because it’s taking too long, and they’re just now realizing that they left their flash drive with the earning-report presentation on the breakfast nook… it’s sickening. But I do not fault Pujols, nor will I spend too long laughing at the misery of St. Louis Cardinal fans. Royals blogger Rany Jazayerli makes a very astute point:

@jazayerli 
“Royals fans, don’t spend too much schadenfreude on the Cards right now. We’ll be going through the same thing with Eric Hosmer in Dec. 2017.”

And you know what? He’s right. But if between now and that cold, miserable offseason six years from now, I’ve been treated to two World Series Championships and a multitude of MVP caliber campaigns, I won’t bitch. Seriously.

This was a poor signing, though, in my opinion. And I know that sounds nuts, but all sorts of stat-machines and advanced metric calculations give good indication that Pujols is sliding downward as we speak. And yeah, he’s still one of the best players in baseball, but for how long? Will he be worth over $20,000,000 per year 5 years from now? I really, truly think it’s doubtful. You know, because of those baseball-science-wizards with their theorems and statistical-probability-calculations. I’m a man of science, goddamnit. Oh, and I also believe that Pujols is probably older than we think he is. Oops!

Elsewhere in the Hot Stove, things continued to cook. The Marlins landed a pitcher I wouldn’t have minded seeing the Royals go after, and the Diamondbacks landed a different pitcher who I would have given my left arm to see the Royals procure in a trade.

@jaysonst  (Jayson Stark, ESPN)
“#Marlins agree to 4-year $58 million deal with Mark Buehrle. More to come at RSPN.com”

@jcrasnick  (Jerry Crasnick, ESPN, Baseball America)
“Trevor Cahill has just received word he’s been traded to #Dbacks. Not sure about rest of trade yet”

Buehrle is old, but a workhorse, and despite last year’s uncharacteristically off campaign, I think he’s still got gas in his tank. $14.5 million per year is pretty pricy, but nothing’s coming cheap these days.

Cahill is young and outstanding. He’s 23, has a career record of 40-35 (40 wins at 23 in this day and age is pretty freaking amazing) and the owner of career 3.91 ERA. The Diamondbacks are going to be very happy with this kid for a number of years, and it’s a shame the Royals—who expressed interest, according to talk around the Winter Meetings—couldn’t put together a better package. The Athletics didn’t get a ton in return, which either means that A) general manger Billy Beane is losing his marbles or B) he knows something about Cahill that nobody else does.

Speculation had it that the A’s wanted can’t-miss-Royals-prospect Wil Myers as part of any potential deal. Honestly, I’m glad I’m not Dayton Moore in this situation. I think that’s an insanely tough call. My bowels are quivering and there’s a fine sheen or perspiration breaking out on my forehead just thinking about it.
 

Hey, speaking of Wil Myers:

@wilmyers 
“Last day being 20 years old!”

1)    Jesus Christ, I’m old.
2)    Happy birthday, sport.
 

And finally, thankfully, it’s totally, completely official:

@Buster_ESPN  (Buster Olney, ESPN)
“Manny Ramirez has officially been reinstated by MLB from the voluntary retirement list.”

Sweet beans and collard green, hallelujah and rejoice baseball fans! Dust off that dreadlock wig, your Tampa Bay Rays Ramirez jersey, your Mannywood sign and that poster you drew with the syringe going into a crudely rendered butt, Manny Freaking Ramirez is back. Fathers, lock up your daughters (he might hit them), and doctors, hide your prescription pads (he’ll probably use them to get weird, pregnancy drugs that make his muscles bigger).

Someone will probably take a flier on this washed-up, has-been. To that as-of-yet-unnamed team, I say: idiots.
 

Speaking of PEDs, upsetting news broke late on Saturday night:

@Buster_ESPN 
“Ryan Braun tests positive for PED.”

“If Braun is innocent, he suffers now because of all the lies that came before him. The court of public opinion has hardened on this subject.”

Let’s get real: he’s as guilty as a cock in the hen-house. We all know it. It’s just too bad. You root for the good-guys, the ones who don’t look like they’re living in a weight-room, gobbling up steroids (or HGH, or synthetic testosterone, or bull-sperm, or whatever) and concealing their bacne with copious amounts of Maybelline. I really, truly thought that Braun—last year’s NL MVP—was different.

Fuck me for being a baseball fan. You can’t win for losing these days. Everybody cheats, apparently. You’re taking steroids, I’m taking steroids… to be honest, Buster Olney’s post on this story came up *might-y* quick. I’m not saying anything… I’m just SAYING. This sucks.

Now I’m dissident.
 

Let’s close this out by thinking about better times. 1989, Joplin, MO, to be exact. A little bar called the Double Deuce.

@SSJ_WHB
“What was the best line from Road House?….Almost impossible to choose.”

No it’s not. Cinema has never produced a better line than Dalton’s declarative statement while being stitched up: “Pain don’t hurt.”

Well, unless you’re a Milwaukee Brewers’ fan, I guess.

I’m off to finish my Christmas shopping. First stop? Thrift store. I hope everyone in my family likes gently-used Hickory Farms gift sets and chipped porcelain angel figurines. Yep, it’s gonna be THAT kinda Christmas.
 

Posted in Sports | Tagged | 5 Comments

Glazer: Hats Off to KC Comic Mike Baldwin for Huge Comedy Competition Win

Posted on December 10, 2011 by admin

I was pleased to see my friend, Mike Baldwin‘s picture on the front page of the Kansas City Star today…

It was a preview to a front page FYI story about Baldwin winning the Seattle International Comedy Competition. One of the three biggest in America. Baldwin had also done well in the San Francisco contest. Besides winning five grand and some commercial dough, Baldwin is now an official big-time headliner. The story quotes Mike as having started with Stanford and Sons. Later it quotes me on a few issues as well.

Always cool to see your guys do well.

The FYI cover story also features a couple of other Stanford’s guys, AJ Finney who will be headlining Stanford’s for Xmas week and former Stanford’s guys Dustin Kaufman and Justin Leon. They’re all very talented young men. We also talked about our New Years Eve headline Nikki Glaser who started her comedy career with us. Today you see her today on the Tonight Show, she was a finalist on NBC’s Last Comic Standing as well and in the movie I Am Comic. She’s big talent today. There were others named that we’ve worked with all the way back to a Stanford’s regular, now deceased, named Bill Hicks. Bill even talked about Stanford’s in his book before he died. As did Darrell Hammond from Saturday Night Live in his new book out now.

Baldwin will be at Zona Rosa on Xmas weekend and we will have him back this Spring for a week. It’s hard to headline the guys from here like we want to because on the way up they emcee and co-star so often. Comedy fans here see them a bit too much sometimes, so even when they start to make it, they are often taken for granted by the local folks.

The one thing I tell all the comics is look, "We can start you off, send clips to agents (which I did for all these comics) but in the end you will have to move to LA or New York to go into TV and film. I have seen too many talented young comics fail to do that. They get frustrated too fast out there. Hey, I remember my early days in Hollywood. It’s tough, you have few friends, it’skinda lonely and it’s hard to get any work. It takes time.

So sometimes these people you build up resent the home club because we don’t make them stars and can’t book them as often as they want to work. Baldwin was always a good guy, loyal as possible and he appreciated all we did for him. I got Nikki to CAA and my agent there launched her career by pairing her with Pauly Shore to start. Kaufman and Steve Kramer have the manager I introduced them to also.

There just so many good comics out there today, it’s hard to even get an agent, especially in LA or New York.

AJ Finney got a nice DVD/CD deal and you hear him all the time on comedy radio. Nikki is on the verge of some major TV/Film deals. She was up for a full-time writing job on late night TV and those pay $500,000 to start – not bad.

All these comics are still young 28-35. It takes 5 to 10 years to really get the big money rolling in and they sure earn it. Comedy is a tough, lonely life. The travel from city to city every week, the hotels. It’s hard to have a long term relationship when you’re never home. And WHERE’S HOME? 

Baldwin has the chops to go to the top, so do the others.

I wish them the best and am glad we could all work together.

Posted in Craig_Glazer | Tagged | 3 Comments

Hearne: And Now, The Rest Of The Jardine’s Story…

Posted on December 9, 2011 by admin

It’s hard to be fair and balanced when you’ve only heard one side of the story…

Impossible, in fact. That said, there’s been no shortage of piling on in the soap opera surrounding vaunted Plaza jazz club Jardine’s going dark this past week. Especially with employees flooding the blogosphere with tales of being fired, wronged and any number of other sensational crimes against humanity.

And to a certain extent, that’s only fair.

People have every right to air their grievances and readers and television viewers have every right to draw whatever conclusions they want having heard those complaints. Unfortunately, in the absence of Jardine’s side of the story, clearly there’s been a rush to judgement based on but a single side side of the story having been told.

"There’s always more to a story than there appears to be," says Westport businessman Bill Nigro. "And nobody’s heard Beena’s side of it yet – there’s always two sides to every story. I just wish everybody luck on getting back in control of their future – everybody – both sides."

And so now, the rest of the story…

Let me start by saying that for most of the past week I’ve been pretty much as in the dark as anybody. I was able to speak at length with Jardine’s head bartender prior to my first post reporting that the club had closed. And in that conversation, many of the details that he gave me match those I got today after finally talking at length with Jardine’s owner Beena Raja.

My interest obviously – apart from the news – was and continues to be that KC Confidential had made a business deal to hold our Christmas party at Jardine’s, an event that was paid for up front. And while we can afford to take the hit, I wanted to know in advance, so we could move the party somewhere else if we had to.

While I was able to get those assurances, under the circumstances it was hardly comforting.

Now on with the story.

Without directly quoting the Jardine’s staffer or owner, here’s the way things went down.

For the past couple months, Jardine’s owner had decided to stay away from the club at night while she sorted out personal issues, away from the temptations that come with owning a nightclub. Working by day, Raja left things in the hands of the staff at night. However she began to notice certain irregularities such as larger than normal quantities of staff-ordered liquors like Jameson Irish Whiskey and Maker’s Mark Kentucky bourbon being taken into inventory then disappearing.

On the night before Thanksgiving – after Dave Stephens show earlier – Raja returned to the club at 4 a.m. with her stylist to retieve his car and discovered three members of Jardine’s serving staff locked in the club, drinking after hours. That’s 4 a.m. Thanksgiving morning, to be clear. This I also confirmed with Jardine’s bartender.

On top of that, Raja noticed that no money had been placed in the jar at the bar where employees are supposed to pay cash for their drinks.

As none of the servers were entrusted with door keys to lock up, she could only conclude that someone in management had given them the keys since they unlocked the door to let her in. Later that same day, on Thanksgiving, she quietly changed the locks without letting any of Jardine’s keyed employees know or giving them new keys.

That same day, Jardine’s manager/chef resigned as manager and asked to remain on as chef.

From that point on, Raja had trust issues.

Business continued as usual, except she started working nights again and keeping a closer watch on things and requiring the staff to leave at the end of their shift instead of allowing them to stay at the club for their customary free after work drink.

The storm clouds had begun to gather. The club continued on, business as usual through the weekend and the Karrin Allyson shows on Monday and Tuesday. Which brings us to D Day, Wednesday, November 30th.

That’s the day all heck broke out and Raja decided to call a spade a spade.

That’s also the day the former manager/chef turned in his letter of resignation. Raja then decided to close that night and have the some of the senior staff clean and organize the kitchen and bar. She cancelled the band that was to have played that night earlier that day.

The next day, Thursday, the Sons of Brasil were scheduled to play and Raja had hired a new cook to replace the now-former chef/manager. Three other Jardine’s staffers who’d been hired by the former manager came in  and were asked where their loyalties lay. Based upon their answers, two of them were fired and the third quit.

That left Raja, her new cook and a server applicant to run the show. When another Jardine’s server showed up later, he was asked to train the new server but he refused. He then informed Raja that he would not leave the premises – even though he had not been asked to – and invited her to call the police. Which she did, but before the police could arrive, he walked out the back door.

From that point on nobody else was fired at Jardine’s – just the two staffers – a cook and a bartender.

When the Sons of Brasil arrived, Raja told them what had happened, including that one of the bandmembers’s son, the server, had just stormed out. She asked them what they wanted to do and offered to stay open with Raja tending the bar. They went outside to discuss matters and decided not to play that night.

Jardine’s remained open until 11 p.m. offering customers dinner and drinks but no customers elected to stay. That was the night Raja put the closed for repairs sign up before she went home.

Raja planned to be open for Dave Stephens holiday show the next day, Friday. The sound man was at the club and ready to put the show on. But when none of the servers showed up for work, she had no choice but to cancel Stephens show.

From there things spun wildly out of control with Raja unwisely chosing not to speak with any media, including KC Confidential. Her plan was to hire a new staff, reopen and move forward the following week if possible.

Unfortunately for the club, that’s when disgruntled staffers unloaded on local television news and sites like KC Confidential and dropped the hammer on her.

The rest is history. Almost.

At this stage of the game – Raja’s reputation smeared and her side of the story nowhere to be found – she was more-or-less hung out to dry. She freely admits, the wiser course would have been to speak to the press and try to straighten things out. But it was already too late – far too late.

The latest?

Raja has hired a new staff, which are being trained and she’s going about the task of mending fences with musicians shell shocked by the uncertainty and the stories being circulated on the Internet by unnamed sources.

"I do feel bad for the musicians," Raja says. "They didn’t do anything. With luck we’ll be back on track and open for business by sometime next week."

It won’t be easy losing 10 days revenue.

But Raja says that the staffers that were fired along with those who  resigned, walked out or failed to show up for work will be paid in full including tips. As will Dave Stephens’ $1,500 fee for his band’s two shows the night before Thanksgiving. Stephens check failed to clear – not because it was cancelled – but because Jardine’s account was restricted to avoid the possibility of checks being written by the former general manager.

Raja says she has since assured Stephens that he will be reissued a new check.

Posted in News_and_Views | Tagged | 92 Comments

Glazer: Scribe Licks His Wounds & Bounces Back With NFL Picks

Posted on December 9, 2011 by admin

Had my first losing week last week…

I was under .500 first time this year on a week so I need to bounce back. There is no college ball this week, then there are line nine million bowl games. Joy.

The NFL is winding down. Will the Chiefs win another game and drop their draft pick even further down? Uh, maybe one more, Oakland, but I doubt it. Let’s see just how good the Chiefs defense really is this week. I say the Jets are a lock to beat KC, but might not cover. This is a real team that is not wounded and on the road. A Chiefs loss Sunday gets your humble scribe’s magic number to ONE!!!!!

YES SIr….HERE IS THE PRO WEEKEND!

Saints -3 over Tenn. Titans

New England -2 over Washington (tease with Green Bay)

Green Bay -4 over Oakland (tease with Pats above)

Denver -3 over Bears

New York Jets -4 over KC (tease with Pats)

Pats – 2 over Redskins Yes, you can use them again as long as it’s two seperate picks…


See you at Jardines…Happy Holiday

Posted in Craig_Glazer | Tagged | 18 Comments

Matt & Katie: Matt & Kim @ The Buzz Christmas Show at The Midland 12/7/11

Posted on December 9, 2011 by admin

Having just two people in their band has served Matt & Kim pretty well thus far…

There are lots of benefits if you think about it.

First off, you only have to split the gig check with one other person. Second, less is more.  So the band’s stripped down dance punk doesn’t have to try and be complex or anything.

Which kinda takes the pressure off.

And in fact, this band seems to eschew any delusions of grandeur.  They are simply two people, one named Matt and one named Kim.  I know what you’re thinking, maybe their real names aren’t actually Matt and Kim. So their choice of moniker is actually an ironic hipster trick, ala Ben Folds Five (they only had three members, hahahahaha).

Well, you’re wrong – those are their real names.

Similarly, the duo’s music is simple, with Kim hammering the drum set and Matt synthing his skinny ass off and singing.

On Wednesday, they got bumped into the headliner slot for the final night of 96.5 the Buzz’s XXX-Mas show at the Midland after Flogging Molly canceled for personal reasons.  The Buzz did a pretty cool thing too, by making the show free for anyone to attend and refunding all the ticket money for tickets that were already sold.

KC Confidential photographer Katie Grogan seems like she might be into this sort of deal, so we dropped her off downtown with a camera, some Chuck Taylors, and enough cab money to get her halfway home. 

Hey, times are tough, even here at KCC…

Posted in Entertainment | Tagged | 4 Comments

Matt & Katie: The Night The Buzz Stole Christmas & 311 at Midland by AMC 12/6/11

Posted on December 9, 2011 by admin

Night two of 96.5 the Buzz’s XXX-Mas bash at the Midland featured headliner 311…

When confronted with 311, most people fall into one of two groups; the people who absolutely love the band, love their evolution from alternative to rap-rock, to funk, to pop rock and own at least two 311 T-shirts, one of which is dark blue with the band’s logo in silver on the chest.   

Then there’s the other group…

The people who kind of like some of 311’s more melodic songs, like a lot of the stuff off of Transistor, but feel like they will have to kill again if subjected to 311’s biggest commercial hit, 1995’s “Down.”

Those are the only two possibilities. 

No one really hates 311 and it’s easy to see why.  They make mostly mellow, unconfrontational music with just a tinge of an edge to it.  And they’ve been doing it for a loooong time, starting off in 1988 in Omaha – 1988! Can you believe it?!

 

 

We sent out KCC commando Katie Grogan to get the goods on these rockers that are old enough to be her dad, but still resonate with younger folks as well. 

Seriously, P-Nut would be the coolest dad ever…    

 

 

Photographs by Katie Grogan 

Posted in Entertainment | Tagged | 3 Comments

Glazer: 610 Sports Nick Wright Call New KU Football Coach a “Big Prick”

Posted on December 9, 2011 by admin

The man said he had to move to Florida for family reasons…

Last season Charlie Weiss quit the Kansas City Chiefs because his daughter had special needs and his son was going to play college ball at Florida (wanting to be a coach-like dad), so he moved to take over the offensive coordinators job at Florida. They stunk.

Now Weis is being rewarded by being named head coach at KU.

Once again, I love Nick Wright. He may not love me – that’s OK – his show has a national ring to it that 810 and tired-sounding Soren Petro doesn’t have. And Nick crushed it yesterday.

"Let me just say this, Weis lied to me and the media after the season as to why he really left the Chiefs and KC…He lied." 

It gets better.

"Charlie and Todd Haley did not get along…hated each other…everyone on the team knew that – everyone. It may be Haley’s fault as well, but I have to say it…CHARLIE WEIS IS A PRICK!"

Wow, wow! Guts football Nick.

You have set up the hate game with Charlie for years to come. Or until after he goes 4 and 7 twice and is fired.

I don’t know Charlie Weis, never met him. Wright has and calls him a BIG PRICK. Good one. I love it.

I met Haley, liked him, so does Nick. I hope Todd is not fired. He has, in my mind, earned one more shot. Weis has not. He has been below .500 since 2005. He sucked at Notre Dame and as Nick pointed out, "What 18 year old knows anything about Weis? He’s yesterdays good news." 

Charlie hasn’t been relevant since he was the Offensive coordinator at New England and they won the Super Bowl almost 10 years ago. Since then, he’s kinda sucked.

Just something I noticed; Weis is 55, younger than me. But he looks 25 years older than me! Enough said.

Nick, you are on it, brother. Well done again.

Posted in Craig_Glazer | Tagged | 18 Comments

Sounds Good: The Noise FM, Cowboy Indian Bear, and Hawley @ Bottleneck

Posted on December 8, 2011 by admin

So I got invited to a porch warming party that’s going down this weekend.

Not a house warming mind you, a porch warming.

And I think it might be a little chilly, but no matter, I’m going to rock it. I’m going to rock it in preparation for the wilding that is the KCC Christmas Party at Jardine’s on Monday.

What in the hell is a wilding you ask? Well… I don’t really know, but it will feature Glazer, Hearne, some controversy, some (a lot of) booze, and a live band. And me and Leftridge drinking quietly in a corner.

And despite all the venom and speculation that’s been circulating around here lately, trust me, it’ll be a good time that all of you should come out and experience. Don’t believe the hype, people.

So for this weekend, I’m putting all my stock into one show that’s happening in Lawrence Saturday night. It’s a Toys for Tots benefit. It’ll feature some truly kick ass performances from a couple local bands and a couple of former local bands that now take up shop in the Windy City and are likely about to bust through to the national scene.

If you’re a hipster (and I know that most of you reading this are) it’ll be a must see.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s some good local and smaller acts playing around this weekend, but if you have to focus your energies somewhere, focus them in Lawrence at the Bottleneck this Saturday, and bring your ugly holiday best…

Saturday, December 10th

 

The Noise FM, Cowboy Indian Bear, and others at the Bottleneck in Lawrence

 

The Noise boys are back in town again for their annual Toys for Tots benefit at the Bottleneck.  Last year they moved from Lawrence to Chicago for more musical opportunities, and they’ve been doing pretty well so far.  Their music is guitar heavy, but in a dancey pop kind of way, always reminding me a little bit of Muse. 

Second on the bill is Cowboy Indian Bear, and if you don’t know these guys (and gal) yet, then that’s on you because they play all over all the time.  Their sound is certainly pop, with a hint of a disco beat and floaty vocals.  They just got done playing the first night of 96.5 the Buzz’s XXX-Mas with Florence and the Machine, and word is they did a nice job in front of the sold out Midland crowd. 

Also performing is Making Movies, and there will be DJs courtesy of Team Bear Club.  Oh, and also local cutester (now Chicagoan) Hawley will be performing her brand of bedroom folk that is cuter than you’ll ever be.  Seriously, Google her and you’ll be impressed and maybe fall in love. 

Bring an unopened toy to donate and they’ll knock a few bucks off the cover, which is $6. And of course, as if it’s still funny and hasn’t been beaten to death by the ironic hipster crowd already, wear an ugly Christmas sweater, OK? 

It’s for the kids.

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Star Search: Bogus Lindsay Lohan Playboy Cover Tops Most Read Hit Parade on KC Star

Posted on December 8, 2011 by admin

For nearly THE ENTIRE DAY a mere link to a story about child-star-turned-trainwreck Lindsay Lohan topped the "most read" news stories on the Kansas City Star‘s Web site…

I kid you not.

Let’s do the math monkey; the newspaper fields a 700-person staff, boasts a reach of more than one million local readers a week and has a virtual monopoly on what passes for news in KC. Yet the best it can do tease with a weak link to a purloined People Magazine story reporting Lohan’s upcoming Playboy cover has been "leaked."

Unfortunately for Star readers who "bit" on the tease, the link turned out to be entirely bogus.

That’s right, not a single drop of skin. Not even the actual Lohan Playboy cover. Just a stock photo of Lohan in an evening dress and another publication’s barebones rehash of what the issue plans to offer.

Naturally, everybody but the Star had the cover shot in question.

You can even catch the cover poromised by the Star and used to lure readers here!

Most interesting though, is for all of its might and resources, the Star‘s top-rated story for nearly a full day was a nothing story about Lindsay Lohan that didn’t even deliver on its basic premise and promise.

Oh yeah, the local story that finally toppled Lohan from atop the Star’s most-read list:

"Charlie Weis to be KU’s new football coach"

However the buzz in K-State Land yesterday centered on Weiss’ Mangino-like girth, not his football-coaching skills.

"They were saying he has a front butt," says one Manhattanite. "He’s not just fat and big around, he’s got this paunch that looks like a butt in front."

Posted in Hearne_Christopher | Tagged | 3 Comments

Jack Goes Confidential: Star-Studded Vignettes Can’t Rescue ‘NEW YEAR’S EVE’

Posted on December 8, 2011 by admin

The formula is a simple one…

A.- Pick a major holiday—hopefully one that lends itself to ‘light’ love stories.
 
B.- Write a series of basically everyday Lifetime-like boy-girl episodes that can be tied together at the end.
 
C.- Hire a name cast with mucho chick appeal for a fast shoot.
 
D.- Release the finished film right around the time of its namesake holiday.

That’s what director Garry Marshall did not so long ago with VALENTINE’S DAY. And guess what? IT WORKED!

Matter of fact, it worked so well in terms of ticket sales he and his filmmaking team immediately sought out their next target: New Year’s Eve. Surely there’d be plenty of back stories to fill an overlong, 2 hour follow-up flick!

And I guess there are.

Especially if you’re not very demanding or judgemental in your servings of extra-light laughs—you know the kind that are usually interrupted by commercials every 10 minutes or so.

Hard hitting stuff like PR person Hilary Swank’s agony of the crystal ball gatting stuck on Times Square just prior to the midnight countdown.

Ashton Kutcher being stuck in elevator with a babe.

Competing couples trying to deliver their babies for big bucks as the first born of the new year.

Robert DeNiro wanting to experience it all just one more time from his hospital deathbed.

I could go on and on, but I won’t bore you beyond quoting one meaningful line from the movie that pretty well sums it all up: "It’s like Facebook—except it’s real."

For the record, NEW YEAR’S EVE is an intertwining romantic ensemble comedy of a group of New York couples and singles as they navigate their way through a series of vignettes of love, hope, forgiveness, second chances and fresh starts. All coming together of course for the big payoff at the end.

Does it work?

Oh, I guess it does in its own Oxygen Network-like way—especially if you’re a female between the ages of 25 and 49, the film’s target audience.

As for the guest lineup, the filmmakers probably had to back up a Brink’s truck for the payroll. Then again many of the name cast members probably filmed their vignettes in a day or two and did it for much less than their normal paychecks.

And profit ‘points’ could’ve been another consideration.

The list of willing participants is impressive as they include such heavyweights as Robert DeNiro, Hilary Swank, Halle Berry, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sarah Jessica Parker and Ashton Kutcher. Also on board for this NEW YEAR’S EVE blowout: Jessica Biel, Zac Efron, Katherine Heigl, Ludacris, Seth Meyers, Abigail Breslin, Sofia Vergara, Sienne Miller, Jon Bon Jovi, Sara Paxton, Josh Duhamel, Hector Elizando—and you guessed it—Ryan Seacrest as himself.

If there’s one tip of the hat I can give here, it’s to the filmmaker’s almost seamless blending of actual New Year’s Eve footage shot on location at Times Square on December 31, 2010 and all the additional scenes filmed after the Big Apple’s big night. (Even though a few ‘Happy 2011’s’ can be spotted in the crowd on the close ups, it’s all 2012.)

Has schmaltz director Garry Marshall done better during his storied career in Hollywood?

That depends on one’s taste since his contribution to our elightment has included everything from HAPPY DAYS and LAVERNE & SHIRLEY to RUNAWAY BRIDE, THE PRINCESS DIARIES and the ultimate whore-to-princess fairytale, PRETTY WOMAN.

So maybe NEW YEAR’S EVE is but another band-aid on his glory days in Hollywood. Let’s pray that there won’t be a Thanksgiving-centered followup in the near future.

It could prove to be a turkey.

Being the kind soul that I am, and it’s the holidays and all,  I’m celebrating 2-1/2 out of 5 fingers for NEW YEAR’S EVE.

JACK GOES TO THE MOVIES: Kansas City’s Radio Movie-Magazine airs Friday morning’s at 6:40 a.m. on NewsRadio KMBZ Am & Fm and at 8:20 a.m. on 1660 Radio Bach. Also anytime on Time-Warner Cable’s K.C. ON DEMAND, Channel 411.

Posted in Jack_Poessiger | Tagged | 7 Comments

Glazer: The Sad Reality of Employee Theft in the Nightclub Game & Jardine’s

Posted on December 8, 2011 by admin

First off, I know Jardine’s owner Beena through Hearne…

I met her about 10 years back at his home for a Super Bowl Party. It was a Who’s Who of KC. Even the Mayor and Star publisher Art Brisbane were there. Beena was married at the time. But it wasn’t long before she remarried and moved back to India. Hard to run a tight ship when the owner is gone that much.

Beena was kind and generous to me and my friends and family. I didn’t go to her club often, but when I did she was all over the table, Jardine’s guests and seemed to be a very hard worker. Beena loved her Jardine’s. When Hearne got divorced, he dated Beena for a while. So we saw each other fairly often then.

All I can tell you is this, bars, restaurants and nightclubs are a tough ticket – most don’t stay open more than a year or two.

One of the main reasons is people tire of a new place quickly. Another big problem is employee theft.

It just happens. The staff is handling alot of cash, especially behind a bar or the door money. You can count on some theft. If the owner is gone too much, then it becomes big time stealing.

The staff sees the club owner in his or her new car, nice clothes, nobody seems to be their boss, and in short order the owner is often seen as the BAD GUY. "He or She owes me"……if they don’t give it to me, I’ll take it. We earned it. WE DO ALL THE WORK."

This is a common battle cry. Why do you think restaurants and clubs are on computers? To slow down theft mostly.

No, the staff never will admit guilt. Never. Well, almost never.

Case in point: Actor Arliss Howard a very successful movie actor today who is married to Academy Award nominee Debra Winger, worked at Stanford’s in Westport from the mid 70’s to the early 80’s before going to Hollywood.

After several years of making big money and doing well (he co-starred in Full Metal Jacket and Jurassic Park) he came back to Stanford’s to see my dad, Stan. Arliss had always been a trusted and honest bartender back in the day. But when he returned, he gave my dad an envelope and said he was sorry for being broke and taking extra money when he worked at Stanford’s. 

My Dad was shocked. "If Les stole, my God, the other guys must have been 10 times worse," Stan said.

The envelope had a couple grand in it. Damn. Lesson learned. Even honest people will take money if its easy and "everyone else is doing it."  By the way what a kind act by Howard.

So in Beena’s case, I’m sure that theft was everywhere. The club got a bit out of control with Beena going through a divorce, battle with ex-husbands and bills, the tough economy in the entertainment world, and just being a single woman in a man’s business. That’s not easy. Give the girl some credit, she ran that spot for more than 10 years. It’s a well known club and the tops in jazz in KC.

Again, I have only been there a few times in the last couple years. I work on Friday and Saturday nights, so I am not out much to other clubs. But I never had a bad time at Jardine’s when I brought in people like Dave Coulier(Star of TV hit show Full House) and Tommy Chong (Cheech and Chong). We loved it there.

It’s my understanding that she owes her staff under $1,000. That makes sense in light of the fact the place had few employees and most were tipped employee’s so their hourly would be low.

She says she is going to pay them all and I believe her.

She is just pissed off over the theft stories brought to her by other staff and customers. Hey, when we closed American Chrome (right after changing the name from Johnny Dare’s) we had this happen. A ton of theft because I was barely there.

When you take federal bankruptcy which that club did, you are not allowed to pay anyone. It’s a crime if you do! All the people you owe would then need to be paid and you can’t be selective. It’s a tough deal for everyone. The stealing goes way up when the staff thinks its a sinking ship. It’s every man for themselves and then let’s move to the next club.

Stealing was rampant at American Chrome the last two months when word got out we were leaving.

Even a couple managers and trusted bartenders were taking big bucks. My brother Jeff and I were well trained against theft but we were too tied up legally to make a move until it was too late. There are always a couple honest people like Big Eric, who was loyal and a great guy. He was about the only one who we think didn’t steal from us. We lost like 30 grand in 60 days to theft.

Sad but true.

I hope Beena can keep the club open. I’m sure a few of those staffers were honest, but some weren’t.

Most will have other jobs in a week or two, but if Beena closes what will she do? Do they care? I doubt it, she is now the evil one. Knowing Beena, I’m sure she did many nice things for these guys and girls at times. She is not a mean person. I hope it all works out for everyone involved. Again I don’t know her staff, the ones I met seemed nice, but it’s the way of the world.

Everyone is out for themselves.

Posted in Craig_Glazer | Tagged | 35 Comments

Hearne: Jardine’s Owner Goes Public, Says Everyone Will Be Paid

Posted on December 8, 2011 by admin

I doubt Kansas City Jazz has seen this kinda media feeding frenzy since Prohibition bought the farm…

At this point you all probably know what I’m talking about; the sudden and unexpected housecleaning at Jardine’s jazz club just off the Plaza. Suspicious of improprieties, owner Beena Raja changed the locks two weeks ago, then let the entire staff go after Karrin Allyson‘s shows early last week. The club’s been dark since.

And to date, for the most part, mum’s been the word.

Which of course didn’t stop local television news channels from lining up nameless ex-staffers to air their beefs.

That KC Confidential was scheduled to have its Christmas Party there this coming Monday only added to the circus-like atmosphere. And to be honest, I’ve been as up in the air as anybody as to how things might or might not go down.

Meanwhile all throughout this Jazz Soap Opera, Raja has remained mostly silent. Until now.

For starters, she offers her assurances that all of the wait staff that are owed money will get paid.

And for TV dudes milking the story, Raja thinks it’s probably in the neighborhood of only $700 to $800 total.

"I’m going to make this right with everybody, the money aspect," Raja says. "All of the employees will get paid what’s owed them."

Then there’s the matter of certain bounced checks, including one for Jardine’s regular Dave Stephens…

Not a problem, Raja says.

"All of the checks coming into the account have to be reissued," she explains. "I had to put a restriction on my account because I had another employee authorized to write checks and I couldn’t hold just one check. I had to put a restriction on the entire account. I’ll make everything right and within the next two weeks all of the employees will be paid."

That’s all folks! See you Monday at Jardine’s for the KC Confidential holiday wilding.

Meanwhile, cross those fingers and keep thinking those good thoughts!

Posted in News_and_Views | Tagged | 43 Comments

Hearne: Overland Park Mom, Others Uncomfortable With How Don Harman Treated

Posted on December 8, 2011 by admin

"They won’t have Don Harman to kick around anymore."

That’s how a Facebook message to me began from Overland Park mom and former school teacher Dena LeeAnne Campbell. They being some of Harman’s on-air co-hosts at Channel 4. Having watched Fox 4’s early morning show for years, "Something about him resonated with me," Campbell says of Harman.

And something about the interplay between Harman and some of the other anchors didn’t seem quite right to her.

"I just remember sometimes turning the TV off because it was so uncomfortable," Campbell says. "Particularly Mark Alford, but sometimes they would go too far with needling him. They’d make fun of what he was wearing, what he said. They used to needle him about his car. I don’t think it was malicious, but when they got on a roll teasing and needling him, it just didn’t stop. Isn’t that bullying?

"I don’t think he killed himself because of that. He killed himself because he suffered from depression, but I don’t think that helped. I don’t think he liked it. He joked around at some point but there was a point that you could see that he didn’t lke it. He was always the butt of everyone’s joke."

Campbell points to a weepy on-camera discussion last week between co-anchors Alford, Loren Halifax and Nick Vasos following Harman’s death as evidence of teasing gone too far.

"We always knew how to push his buttons," Alford said.

"You were a pro," Halifax added.

"You walked him right up to the edge, didn’t you?" Vasos concluded.

Was Harman’s on-air teasing mean-spirited?

"I don’t know, I can’t say that," Campbell says. "It might have been simply to get ratings. I’m no psycologist but I’m a very empathetic person. But yeah, I think it would have aggrivated his depression. I don’t know, maybe Fox should do a show on workplace bullying."

Campbell could be onto something…

"There is a lot of off the record stuff, Hearne," says one local television broadcast journalist. "I just know his work relationships were not good, except for his with Joe Lauria where they were good friends."

"I saw some tension when they going back and forth," says one local businessman who asked not to be named. "Don said something about not wanting to be on probation and he said to Alford, ‘Maybe you and I just shouldn’t be talking to each other.’ I saw that a couple days before he died – there was a little tension there – and Mark didn’t say anything. He just stared straight ahead and there was silence and then they went right into the weather. It felt uncomfortable to watch."

"Maybe I’m wrong – I’m no psychologist – but I’ve had a few dodge balls thrown at me and if I was looking for a reason to live, that wouldn’t have helped," Campbell says. "Here’s the bottom line; the way you treat people, the way you talk to them – I believe it has an impact and it can hurt."

Posted in Hearne_Christopher | Tagged | 50 Comments

Today: The Truth & Nothing But the Truth About The Don Harman Reporting

Posted on December 7, 2011 by admin

Let’s take it from the top, good, bad and ugly…

As reported first last week on KC Confidential, deceased Fox 4 meteorologist Don Harman suffered from depression. And he took his own life.

But like many sudden, dramatic news events, Harman’s death was shrouded in secrecy and rumors abounded as to why and how he killed himself. Was there a note? Concerned, interested viewers and fans wanted to know more.

In the good, old days at the Kansas City Star, the newspaper could sit on breaking news stories too complex for television news to scoop them on. Pretty much anything besides murder, fires and petty consumer fraud.

And that’s exactly what the Star‘s Aaron Barnhart did in Harman’s case. Barnhart didn’t slide across home plate with a War & Peace version of what had happened until nearly 10 p.m. after the stadium had emptied.

That’s still how the Star prefers to play the game when they can get away with it.

Get the details hashed out – checked and rechecked – then spit out a buttoned down narrative, taking every precaution not to offend or incite…anyone. They call it news reporting and it is, but it’s reporting at a snail’s pace which is not the pace today’s world tends to operate at.

But Barnhart’s lengthy Star story was still missing the answers to two questions everybody wanted to know. He was late but OK with the depression angle, but the questions of how and was there a note went unanswered.

Now let’s look how stories like this often play on the national stage.

Say Anna Nicole Smith or Michael Jackson checks out – Joplin gets shmushed by a tornado or something – instantly CNN and other news outlets are pounding on the story, detail by detail. Nevermind that the first wave – or two or three – of news is to whatever extent inaccurate and maybe misleading. They’re on it – no 10 to 12 hour news lags allowed.

The stories are corrected revised and re-reported as they unfold – no harm, no foul. Viewers see the sausage as it’s being made.

Bear in mind, we’re talking about huge news organizations with hundreds of ready, willing and able staffers.

Not just me.

When Don Harman died last week, the news came to me from a source in Manhattan, Kansas. My first response was to confirm it so I placed some calls, checked on Facebook and dug into the Star library for past Harman columns to offer readers a taste of better times.

Harman’s suicide was all over Facebook and a source close to him confirmed his suicide to me as well. Fellow weather wonk Gary Lezak then said a few kind words and spoke briefly of Harman’s battle with depression.

Case closed, right? Not in the public’s mind.

Before I could quilt together a fun, breezy flashback on Harman, a high level news media source emailed: "Hearing rumors in law enforcement circles that Harman was talked to last week by police about a cold case murder of a woman in the city from where he came to KC."

I was flying low at that point. It was late at night, so there was no checking with police then and I was facing aday of closed meetings starting the next morning. So I decided to share what I was hearing with readers – plus more reporting.

My headline teased that a "shocker" could be in the works. However I started the story off with a long reminder that Harman had serious depression issues, a discussion of depression, then touched on other possible causes as to eliminate them. Harman lived in a normal neighborhood – nothing fancy – was well paid – six-figures, according to TV news sources. And his show had good ratings so he appeared to have job security.

Only then did I write…

"I’m not going to go into it here, but the talk in law enforcement is that Harman was spoken to by police very recently about the possible reopening a cold case crime in another city," I then added vaguely. "If true, count on the news breaking fairly fast. I’ll be looking into it later today and try and report back as to whether there’s any truth to that rumor."

Later that night I was contacted by a named source, not an anonymous person – with ties to the Harman household..

"That weather guy hung himself in my friend’s old house," he told me. "In South KC, Woodbridge. From what I know the kid was at home."

Meanwhile another commenter weighed in on the story I’d just posted about the cold case crime I’d alluded to, saying it may have been about missing Mason City, Iowa anchor Jodi Huisentruit. 

Wanting to share what information I had with readers before going into the all-day meeting, my headline the next morning asked; "Was Don Harman Involved in Missing Iowa Anchor Jodi Huisentruit?"

That was the question I hoped to answer.

I referenced the Huisentruit mention from the comments section and reported I’d confirmed that Harman worked at the station at the time she disappeared. Immediately I added, "To be fair, while that may be true, it certainly doesn’t mean that Harman was a suspect in that case."

Then I laid out the Huisentruit story, with no mention whatsoever of Harman.

Let’s review; I reported police sources were saying Harman had been interviewed, that it may have nothing to do with him, then I told the Huisentruit story.That’s it.

How much thinner could I have written it? Not very. This was a window into how the news evolving and I wanted to carefully share it with readers. I will take the hit on the hanging part though – the rumor was out there – but it should have been attributed to the source or just skipped. Still it was part of the news process.

Since then sources close to the family have told me that Harmon asphyxiated himself (with a bag but no helium) and that he left both a note and a video. The latter seemingly indicating some level of premeditation.

I’ve also been told Harman’s family can’t get the house listed for sale fast enough and want to get out of KC.

Hey, so that’s the way news evolves sometimes and this story was a whirlwind tale.

Had any of you been working behind the scenes at the Star or a local news station, chances are you’d have been privy to much of this. You’d have experienced and learned pretty much what I experienced and learned as it all unfolded. Remember when the Star‘s Joyce Smith asked her Facebook friends to tell her what they knew about the owner of Starker’s suicide? Remember when Bottomline Communications declared Star foodie Lauren Chapin dead while she was still very much alive and in the hospital?

By the time the Mason City police investigator Frank Stearns finally returned my calls several days after the fact, he’d been besieged by other KC reporters wanting to follow up on my story a possible Husientruit connection. It’s not like they where about to leave that stone unturned.

Instead of shielding you from that news process, I shared it and took readers along for the ride. For better and for worse. And, as you can now see, finally brought the story full circle. Almost.

There is one more twist coming later tomorrow.

Posted in Hearne_Christopher | Tagged | 31 Comments

Glazer: Uh, Make That Professor Scribe if You Don’t Mind, Son

Posted on December 7, 2011 by admin

It was an honor yesterday to be asked to speak to a History Class at California State University, Fresno…

Professor Rice contacted me last week and set up the event. It would have been nice to be there in person, but with such short notice and the long distance a speaker phone speech was the best I could manage. It worked out fine.

The professor explained that each semester his class is given a book to read and review. When they are finished he tries to get the author to speak to the class. In this case the book was THE KING OF STING and I was the author. Professor Rice explained that several well known authors had spoken to his classes over the years including Walter Cronkite.

So yes I was honored to follow Cronkite.

I asked him how he picked my book. The Henry Madden Library on campus has over one million books, and it turns out the King of Sting was one of them. He said the cover caught his eye. The professor explained he had once worked in Wichita, Kansas as a reporter for the Wichita Eagle from 1970-73. He followed the career of then Attorney General Vern Miller, my boss when I was an agent in 1974. So when he saw the back of the book, he noticed the articles from the Kansas City Star. The subject matter attracted his interest, he read the book, enjoyed it and thus it became the class project. Kinda cool.

I asked him if his class had many women, as I felt they wouldn’t have been as excited as the young men. He told me it was over half women and they loved the book. So we set up a speech and question/answer period on the King of Sting yesterday afternoon. I did it from my office at Stanford’s.

Lots of good questions:

"Did your relationship with your father cause much of this to happen?"  My abreviated answer: "Yes, of course, but its no excuse to my actions. My Dad and I had our moments but we love each other. It was harder on my younger brothers. Today, most of the past is forgiven."

Did movies and books push you in the direction of becoming an OUTLAW? "Of course. I dreamed of a life similar to John Dillinger, Jesse James, Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday. And boy, did that come true. Of course, I explained that this was not a great choice in life. Today my chances of survival would be even worse. Laws have changed and getting an outlaw like me convicted for my actions in Arizona in the 70’s would be a lot easier today. The Feds don’t need any real evidence anymore, just someone saying…..THATS HIM!

End of game.

I didn’t get deep into all the why it happened, just that people like me and my partner Don Woodbeck effectively played a modern day version of a role in part of what built America….the gunslinger or outlaw. The ingredients of which were, romance, a sense of adventure and guts – that’s all.

There was a time when our adventures would have been front-page news daily instead of once in while. Those days are gone. Today it’s about guys in the NFL and Reality TV. They laughed. Again, I stressed what I did was wrong. I was lucky to survive and many of my friends, including Woodbeck were shot and killed. Others got long prison sentences, and it took a great toll on my friends and family over the years.

For me it ended with a seven-year prison sentence, that in a way saved my life. I did a pretty rare thing, I quit.

Most outlaws never do. So if that’s a win, I got one.

We had a ton of fun. They had some more great questions, like "What’s your favorite movie and why?" I said, "Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid," of course….Then I said you do know who Robert Redford and Paul Newman are?  Silence.

It was fun, it was an honor. I hope to do more of these over the years.

Posted in Craig_Glazer | Tagged | 12 Comments

Starbeams: Obama Be Smokin’ Herman Cain Style in Osawatomie

Posted on December 7, 2011 by admin

The president visited Osawatomie Tuesday.  Air Force one landed around  11:00 at KCI and was greeted by several bomb sniffing cattle.  After his speech he went lunch at We B Smokin’ BBQ in Osawatomie.  Ironically, We B Smokin’ is the phrase embroidered in Herman Cain‘s underwear.

*******

The President initially told Secret Service to stop at We B Smokin’ because he thought he could buy cigarettes there.

Kelly Urich hosts the morning show on 99.7 The Point

 

Posted in Starbeams | Tagged | Leave a comment

Leftridge: Tales from the Tweet: Orton’s Ouchy, Goldilocks’ Woes & Emotional Gourd

Posted on December 7, 2011 by admin

Dateline: Southside Chicago. Home to rampant murder, rape, robbery, drugs, thick mustaches and ‘da Bears. With Chicago taking on the lowly Kansas City Chiefs, the fans didn’t take long to make the Windy City proud:

@mellinger (Sam, KC Star sports columnist)
“11:15 am…first gratuitous use of a taser witnessed outside Soldier Field.”

I love Chicago—even lived there for a spell—but man, the Southside of that fine city is a wreck. If you’re not going to a Bears game (you can get tased anywhere, to be fair) or a Sox game (you probably WILL get tased here—by a fan, or a player, or an ump), you have no business venturing south of about 15th street. Nothing good happens there.

Oh, and then there was the game. The quarterback play was abysmal:

@SSJ_WHB (Steven St.John, 810 am)
“I want Palko and Hanie to fight….Loser leaves the NFL….Winner leaves, too….#Chiefs”

But that’s why we went out and picked up Kyle Orton, right?

@getnickwright (610 am)
“I THINK ORTON BROKE HIS THUMB ON THE FIRST PLAY! #CHIEFS”

Oops! Thankfully, our defense was ready to dominate.

@theprogramkc (The Program, 810 am sports)
“Justin Houston continues to become more and more a factor. Nice pick in the third round.”

@getnickwright
“GOOD GOD! THAT’S TYSON JACKSON’S MUSIC!”

That’s right, Houston looked good, Tyson Jackson showed up and even Sabby Piscitelli was… well, mentioned.

@theprogramkc
“Has Piscitelli contributed anything to this team #Chiefs?”

Aside from a haunting aroma of Axe Body Spray that is sure to linger in his locker years after he’s been shown the door? No, not really.

All in all, the result is the only thing that matters.

@mellinger 
“This is insane. It’s a shame only one team can lose this game. #Chiefs #Bears”

@Leabonics  (Todd Leabo, 810 am)
“I’m sure there’s been a more poorly-played game in the NFL this year…. But I’m not positive. #chiefs # bears”

@theprogramkc 
“This Chiefs-Bears game is setting football back 10 years!”

But the thing is, the 2001 Chiefs were fun to watch. Sure they ended up 6-10, and in 4th place, but it was a definite preview of things to come with Priest Holmes, Trent Green, Tony Gonzalez and company. If I see Tyler Palko ANYWHERE next year, he’d better be working the register at Burger King and NOT fucking up when I tell him “no pickles on my Whopper.”

And so they soldier on, mindful of Kyle Orton’s $2 million dollar thumb, and hope for a better tomorrow. You know, a better tomorrow featuring a healthy, productive Jamaal Charles. So how’s this long, sad offseason treating him? Well, he’s got an appetite, apparently:

 @jcharles25 
“On my way to cici’s pizza #sogood”

and later…

“I tell u is something about that cici’s pizza it was so good is bedtime now”

So I made fun of Royals outfield prospect Wil Myers last week for getting excited about Olive Garden, but this is much, much worse. See, Charles HAS money, way more than Myers, and frankly? If I’ve gotta eat at one of those places, it ain’t CiCi’s Pizza.

Oh, and p.s. Jamaal, I think Ozzie Guillen might be using your Twitter. “Is bedtime now”? Come on, man. Read it twice before hitting the post button. 

Elsewhere around the NFL, former Missouri Tiger Blaine Gabbert continues to suck.

@RichGannon12 (former NFL quarterback, CBS analyst)
“Hard to watch Gabbert and this JAX offense. Kid needs to learn to sit in there with ‘balls of a burglar’ and not worry about the rush.”

1) This is one of the funnier things I’ve heard an analyst say in a long while.

2) It’s completely true.

3) How long to you give the former Mizzou star before you pull the plug? He’s been miserable this year and really hasn’t shown any signs of improvement. I was surprised that he was drafted as high as he was, to be honest. And I get it, the Jaguars are a bad team and blah blah blah, but Blaine Gabbert looks like he’d flounder just about anywhere at this point.

With baseball’s Winter Meetings underway in Dallas, and the morning temps in the high teens, let’s move right along to a little Hot Stove action. First up, the Royals are getting all kind of active. 

@jazayerli  (Rany Jazayerli, writer, Royals fan, dermatologist)
“Yes please. Pretty please. RT @jcrasnick: Roy Oswalt’s agent Bob Garber expected to meet with #Royals people today or tomorrow in Milwaukee”

This Tweet was initially made back in the middle of November. I never heard anymore about the meeting, but I suppose the fact that Oswalt’s not standing at a Royals podium holding up a jersey says something. So far this offseason, the Royals have supposedly expressed interest in Oswalt, young stud Athletics pitcher Gio Gonzalez and a utility man. Yeah, teams need those, too.

@Buster_ESPN  (Buster Olney, ESPN writer)
“KC looking for a utilityman, preferably someone who can hit LHed. KC in a unusual place: Royals’ everyday lineup is set. Much improvement.”

Well, you heard it there, folks: dust off that Willie Bloomquist jersey. You just may need it. Elsewhere, former Royals are making moves:

@jazayerli  (Rany Jazayerli)
“Happy for David DeJesus that he still got paid after a disappointing season, think he’ll help the Cubs. And I’d rather have Jeff Francoeur.”

Agreed. Francoeur has more pop, a better arm and is four years younger. No brainer.

The biggest news around baseball this young offseason is the ongoing saga of Albert Pujols, and whether or not the new-look Miami Marlins will make him an offer he can’t refuse.

@Buster_ESPN
“Reports from South Florida are that Marlins can build $100 payroll. If they sign Pujols for $25m a year, they’d be at $90m for six players.”

The Miami Marlins are spending irresponsibly. I REPEAT: THE MIAMI MARLINS ARE SPENDING IRRESPONSIBLY. After paying shortstop Jose Reyes $830 billion a few days ago (and reliever Heath Bell a truckload of money, too), they’re stopping just short of giving Albert Pujols his own island. They don’t even seem to care that no one seems to really know his true age, either. Reports from various sources peg the St. Louis Cardinals’ hero as somewhere between 31 and 34. Good stuff for a guy to whom they supposedly offered a 10 year contract.

In any case, this sort of frivolous spending rarely seems to work. Los Marlins would do well to review recent endeavors made by the Eagles of Philadelphia and their own backyard-brethren, the Heat. It takes a team to win, not a collective of dudes making as much money as the Gross National Product of Myanmar.

Legendary steroid-monster Manny Ramirez has made his intention known to return to baseball, after a brief retirement full of denial and spousal abuse. BREAKING NEWS: Nobody cares. He’s a shell of his former self—it’s amazing how much of his latter-year success was apparently fueled by drugs—and must face a 50 game suspension IF anyone wants him… and it doesn’t sound like anyone’s all that interested.

@Buster_ESPN (Buster Olney, ESPN baseball writer)
“Ramirez has been working out in south Florida. Teams have been contacted and made aware of the fact he’s ready to talk to teams.”

“The list of AL teams that almost certainly won’t consider Manny: Boston, Yankees, KC, DET, CWS, CLE, MINN, TEX, LAA.”

“Count Oakland among the teams that has no interest in signing Manny Ramirez.”

“Source: Mariners "probably not" interested in signing Manny. Hearing some teams aren’t thrilled with likely production/distraction equation.”

So wait… that leaves… who exactly? The Platte County Melon-Pumpers? The Smithville Danglers? Attention, Manny: you are one of professional sports’ greatest cancers. You are average without pumping yourself full of drugs. Stop it. Seriously.

Speaking of people who need to stop it:

@JoseCanseco (utter disgrace)
“Home plate grill and bar in Vegas is awesome great food”

“Come to home plate grill and bar in las Vegas off of diamond road for some great food I eat here all the time”

In a previous Twitter-piece, I shared Jose’s new work schedule—signing autographs in the lobby of a Vegas hotel for four hours a day—and recently, he’s added “poorly crafted advertorial Tweets” to his repertoire. I’m serious, Jose: if you knock this shit off immediately, I’ll double whatever it is that they’re paying you to do this. That’s right, I’ll give you EIGHT chicken fingers AND not up-charge you for the honey mustard. Think about it, buddy.

And finally, some heartwarming baseball news. It was announced on Monday that legendary Chicago Cub Ron Santo would be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2012, a year after passing away due to complications from diabetes and bladder cancer. The third baseman turned broadcaster was a nine-time-All-Star and a five-time-Gold-Glover. Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins turned into a ball-baby at the news:

@Billy
“I’ve got tears in my eyes writing this: congrats to the Santo family on Ron’s election to MLB Hall of Fame. A good day to be a Cub fan”

I’m glad that Santo got in; it’s just too bad he couldn’t be here to enjoy it. If I were his ghost, I’d haunt the shit out of the election committee for taking so long to make it happen.

Finally, I’d like to close this installment with one of the NFL’s most prolific Tweeters, a man who hasn’t let his abysmal first year with the Patriots affect his ability to clown around (a fact which I’m sure thrills Bill Belichick to no end).

@ochocinco (Chad Ochocinco, WR, 12 Receptions in 11 games, 213 yards, no TDs)
“You ever had a fly or small bug land on your computer screen and your first reaction is to try and scare it with the cursor?”

All the time, Chad… all the time.
 

Posted in Sports | Tagged | 5 Comments

Today: Iowa Police Say Deceased Fox 4 Meteorologist Not Involved, Not Interviewed

Posted on December 6, 2011 by admin

Scratch one local law enforcement rumor…

The rumor that deceased Fox 4 meteorologist Don Harman was interviewed recently by Mason City, Iowa police and/or the FBI about the case of long-missing TV news anchor Jodi Huisentruit: Bogus.

That according to Mason City Investigations Supervisor Lt. Frank Stearns.

"That’s not true," Sterns says. "He was not interviewed. Don Harman has never been a person of interest."

Nor, as noted it the orginal reporting here, merely a source in a stepped-up investigation.

Huisentruit’s case may have gone "cool" but it’s never gone "cold," Stearns says.

"It’s been actively pursued since Day One," Stearns says. "We still have one investigator working on it."

Huisentruit dissapeared from Mason City in 1995 after not showing up for work at KMIT where she was the morning anchor at the time Harman was the station’s main weather guy. And she hasn’t been seen or heard from since.

Mason City police did find a palm print in Huisentruit’s red Mazda Miata.

Police say they still have the print, the question is, could it be mined for DNA evidence with today’s technology?

"We still aren’t sure of that," Stearns says. "We ‘re still looking into that and what we could do. You’re always hoping that there’s some new technology that will come along.  I’m not going to give you any specifics, but there’s still hope."

According to biometrics.gov, "Palm print recognition inherently implements many of the same matching characteristics that have allowed fingerprint recognition to be one of the most well-known and best publicized biometrics."

However the technology is still evovling, it goes on to say, adding that, "there are still significant challenges in balancing accuracy with system cost."

Posted in Hearne_Christopher | Tagged | 14 Comments

Glazer: It’s The End Of The World As We Know It and We Feel…

Posted on December 6, 2011 by admin

Black Friday has gone from a very busy shopping day to THE SUPER BOWL OF SHOPPING DAYS…

Addto that Cyber Monday, where Americans spend close to 20 billion on stuff they mostly don’t need or will ever use. Most of the crap we buy is for gifts, largely for ourselves. Gifts for ME, YEAH THATS GREAT! After all we earned them.

The stock market is back up over 12,000. Unemployment is around 9% most of the time. And we keep hearing things are better, but are they? The fast answer is NO, they’re just different. The world has been rocked by iPhones, iPads, computers and online madness. Everyone is on Facebook and too busy screwing with it daily. Everyone surfs the net for God knows what, and if you shop, go to a movie or restaurant, it seems everyone is sitting around texting about nothing.

My theory is simple: we’re in a modern depression-recession for one reason mostly, THE INTERNET AND SOCIAL MEDIA…

It has taken our jobs away. Just like in that movie 2001 long ago, the robots are here and they’re winning.

We don’t need your kid to work for extra money at Macy’s this Xmas because we have ONLINE SALES and ONLINE DEALS. The stores have not been that busy except for BLACK FRIDAY and maybe a day ot two before Christmas. Car salesmen have felt it as well. Many people go online to buy their next car. Who really needs to lock horns with a sales guy? Moving to LA, Miami or Chicago? The dream home you desire is right there online.

There are few really big name bands in rock or anywhere else anymore.

All the big concerts are mostly older bands and singers from the 80’s and 90’s, before the robots and social media took its toll on that industry. With over 1,000 TV channels, who knows who anyone is anymore, except for Snookie?

And the reality TV Shows, boy are they well done, huh?

They’re cheap to make and fast – no acting required. Kinda like YouTube where anyone and everyone is a star…for a minute. Who needs real actors or singers, they’ve got them on Reality TV for next to nothing?

Hollywood is fighting to stay alive against the robots they helped build to kill themselves with. For example THERE ARE NO BIG NAME NEW MOVIE STARS. No new Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, Ben Stiller, Adam Sandler or Eddie Murphy. Ain’t happening.

Sure, there are some new names, new baby stars, but their paydays are way lower than the superstars of the past. It’s over. Notice I didn’t mention women stars, because outside of Brad’s wife, Angelina, there are none. And she’s only a biggy in action films anymore.

It’s sad, those were the days. Before Bush, Obama and Wall Street set us back to brokesville.

But face it, it’s the computers that are the real villains.

Here’s some good news; most of us are still working and living our lives – those that read kcconfidential. But what about the kids coming out of or still in college?  The future looks to be a cube office, with computers, tech support, tech advice, tech whatever. How boring. The money isn’t as good either.

A boring, lame world lies ahead, created by that invention I’ve just spoken about.

Thank God we can text and tell each other just how much food we ate at Taco Bell. We really need that.

Posted in Craig_Glazer | Tagged | 11 Comments

Star Search: No Layoffs But Holiday Cheer MIA at KC Star

Posted on December 6, 2011 by admin

Without question, things are looking up at the Kansas City Star heading into the holidays….

New publisher Mi-Ai Parrish has been all over the newsroom and able to weather the bad financial numbers from corporate without going the layoffs route. In part because of the recent wave of optimism on the economy and advertiser’s anticipation of better holiday sales.

That’s a good thing.

However, sources say the atmosphere among the 700 or so Star survivors (there were more than 2,000 prior to the dot com recession of the early 2000s) is still grim.

"It used to be full of life here, now it’s just empty," says one Star staffer. "Now it’s devoid of life."

In no small part because of the vast sea of empty desks that serve of as constant reminders of better times.

"I think people are still sad for what was and they know it’s not coming back," the staffer says. "And we have no idea what the future holds  – no idea."

The Star’s ghost town effect may be cured if plans to consolidate sports and FYI into the main newsroom bear fruit.

For those familiar with the Star‘s office layout prior to the past three years, it’s hard to imagine the entire third and fourth floor FYI area and the sports section evacuating their longtime homes. However the ranks are so thinned they’ll likely fit right into the half-empty main newsroom which should improve morale.

How bad are things?

"You should see the place at night," the source says. "It was always somewhat busy at night but now it’s empty – maybe four or five people. There’s so much empty space in the second floor newsroom and up in features too, you could play ball up there and never hit anybody."

Depressing as that is, people’s work spirits are strong.

"Actually, yes," the source says. "They still believe in what they do and they still do it. That’s one of the things the Star has going for it. And they’re happy that they still have a job."

The flip side of that equation:

"If you look at the paper every day you still see a lot of errors. For a paper that had so much pride in accuracy and used to have verification workshops – which you went to once – it’s a major fall from grace. Or let’s say, a come down. The typos online can be fixed in five minutes but not the ones in print."

Why then so few corrections? Is it because the readers rep’s wearing four hats?

"Well, for one thing there are a lot less stories in then paper, so there’s less chance of making errors. Think about that. There are fewer reporters, fewer stories, fewer errors but less news."

And – knock on wood – less layoffs.

Posted in Hearne_Christopher | Tagged | 14 Comments