Lefsetz: The Michael Wolff Book

Posted on January 6, 2018 by Bob Lefsetz

I bought it…

This was the breakthrough Kindle moment. Not that you’ve seen any press about it. I doubt there’s enough physical inventory in stores. They’re gonna run out…if they’re not reprinting right now.

This is the world we used to live in in music.

All that money wasted on printing and supply chain, shipping, returns, it’s gone with digital. Along with gatefold covers and credits, but you lose something in every revolution, the march forward is always imperfect.

And no one talks about record stores anymore.

For so long every magazine had an owner lamenting the passing of his dream. I remember a story in Newsweek, where the owner said selling records was the only thing he was good at. Better prepare for the future, because it involves change. And if you don’t adjust, you’re gonna be left behind. The truth is they’re making new people every day, and those people need jobs, and they’ve got fewer encumbrances and newer knowledge and the fact that you’ve got experience…doesn’t always trump them.

So I didn’t have to go to the store to buy Fire and Fury. Thank god. Do I really want to get in my car, fight the traffic, park, and then hopefully find the book in stock when I can just click to download it?

This is like when a musician dies. Most famously Elvis.

He was on the back nine, no one was paying attention,  He passes and there’s no inventory. Now when someone dies their tracks zoom up the Spotify chart. And I’d be stunned if this isn’t one of the best selling Kindle titles ever. Not that we can get that info. Funny how the music business is moving towards transparency – you can see the exact number of plays on Spotify – but the number of books sold?

Good luck. Continue reading →

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Glazer: Here Come the Ch Ch Ch Chiefs!

Posted on January 4, 2018 by Craig Glazer

Ready for an earth shattering confession?

I know I’ve been down on KC during the season owing to the long losing streak and poor play during that stretch. However, now they’ve won four in a row defeating two good teams, the Chargers and Raiders. So with better defensive play, Marcus Peters on fire, Alex Smith in touch with Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce and Kareem Hunt running the ball well…it looks like KC will handle the Tennessee Titans Saturday.

Now about that nine point spread…tough call, but I like KC for the win.

With a win the Chiefs likely will travel to New England and face the Super Bowl champs and Tom Brady again. And perhaps the Pats will look past KC to the Steelers, but I doubt it with the Chiefs big win in week one at New England.

Can KC win, yes will they? It would be an uphill battle as we all know.

Will Alex Smith return to Kansas City if he gets us to the AFC title game?

My opinion is not likely.

His value will be very high, and we can trade him for perhaps a No. 2 draft pick or say a 3 and 4 pick. We don’t have many picks due to the Pat Mahomes move up last year.

KC needs linebackers, a new left tackle, another back to go with Hunt, another wide out perhaps and defensive backfield help. An aging Alex is perhaps not in the cards barring a Super Bowl appearance.

Mahomes is this teams future and I believe his time is now.

This is a crazy season for sure. Most assume New England or the Steelers will be the AFC Champ, but in this offbeat year a KC run or perhaps a Jag’s run seems possible. Don’t count on it but we can all hope for the best. 

NOW THE PLAYOFF PICKS: AND COLLEGE TITLE GAME

PROS

CHIEFS -2 OVER THE TITANS IN A TEASE WITH ATLANTA +13.5 OVER THE RAMS

JAGS-3 OVER BILLS IN A TEASE WITH NEW ORLEANS EVEN OVER THE PANTHERS

COLLEGE

ALABAMA -3 OVER GEORGIA

Posted in Craig_Glazer | 16 Comments

Jack Goes Confidential: Aaron Sorkin Directs Poker Princess Crime Thriller

Posted on January 4, 2018 by Jürgen Poessiger

Screen writer Aaron Sorkin has quite a way with words…

His past writing has resulted in movies like THE SOCIAL NETWORK, A FEW GOOD MEN and THE WEST WING crackling onto the screen.

With MOLLY’S GAME Sorkin expands his talents to include directing his own screenplay.

And as made up as the basic story sounds, it’s based on Molly Bloom’s book entitled ‘MOLLY’S GAME: From Hollywood’s Elite To Wall Street’s Billionaire Boys Club, My High-Stakes Adventure In The World Of Underground Poker.’

Talk about a mouthful!

MOLLY’S GAME is the bio-thriller of Olympic skiing hopeful Molly Brown (Jessica Chastain) who rose to the top of her game—until an accident.

But Molly wouldn’t give up and instead climbed to the top of another sport—namely high-stakes underground poker.

Her players included Hollywood royalty, sports stars and business titans…

And before long the Russian mob.

Life was better than good for at least a decade.

Until one night when some 17 FBI agents came calling and shut her down. Continue reading →

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Glazer: Time for Chiefs to Bet the Farm on Patrick Mahomes

Posted on January 3, 2018 by Craig Glazer

Chiefs rookie Patrick Mahomes showed us everything we needed to know Sunday…

The young quarterback threw for just under 300 yards. More importantly, when he had third and long andwas in trouble with the pass rush, he threw downfield and hit his targets.

Near the end of the game head coach Andy Reid took Mahomes out to take a brief look at 3rd string quarterback Tyler Bray. What could go wrong, right? After all, we had a two touchdown lead. Then our little used fullback fumbled the first handoff and suddenly the Broncos were just one score back with five minutes left and they then drove the field to score again.

So with just over 2 minutes left, Reid put in the very confident Mahomes to save the day and the game. With the score tied 24 all, he drove deep, hit big 3rd down throws and put the Chiefs in easy field goal range for the game winning kick with no time left on the clock.

Chiefs WIN!

Now you can say, hey it was only lowly Denver and the game meant nothing but pride for the Broncos. Well, they still had the top defense in the AFC and the league; they played their starters all the way; and the Chiefs played 2nd and 3rd stringers all the way with Mahomes.

On top of which it was very cold, Mahome’s first regular season start and he not only won but shined.

OK, yes, Mahomes had one INT, but otherwise he was outstanding.

SO YES,  MAHOMES HAS THE IT FACTOR. Continue reading →

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Lefsetz: Disinformation & The Road Ahead

Posted on January 1, 2018 by Bob Lefsetz

Blame it on distribution…

This is the year we discovered that Facebook and Google were the enemy. We were taught for so long that content was king that we forgot he or she who presents the news is the ultimate arbiter.

And what we’ve got is a skewed picture.

Meanwhile, the traditional news organizations impacted society greatly after they were completely written off. The New York Times started the #MeToo movement by exposing Harvey Weinstein and the Washington Post prevented the election of Roy Moore by amplifiying of the stories of the women he abused.

Where does this leave us?

In a country where the will of the people does not prevail. Where 80% are for net neutrality yet it is scrapped. They want health care but it is decimated. Meanwhile, the fake news of those perpetrating these crimes against humanity are amplified.

That’s the story of Brexit. That’s the story of the United States. How falsehoods were given sunlight and the public was snookered.

Brexit was gonna save the NHS. Trump was gonna drain the swamp. Untruths have existed for all time, but in the Internet era the waters are muddied and what is not true is perceived to be.

We are in a crisis of truth.

Isn’t that funny? Wasn’t digital supposed to eliminate the fudge? Make it so we got accurate numbers? But it turns out paper ballots were more accurate than voting machines and the story of the coming year is this gap between truth and falsehood and who will arbiter it. Continue reading →

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New Jack City: Is Kansas City Really An INTERNATIONAL Airport?

Posted on December 29, 2017 by admin

Who says KCI isn’t an international airport?

After all, our MCI departure schedule lists non-stops (via American, Delta and Frontier) to Cancun.

Vacation Express takes us to Punta Cana. And Air Canada provides non-stop service to Toronto.

That’s four international destinations!

Question is, how does that compares to our big competition to the west –Denver?

No comparison whatsoever.

DIA lists roughly 25 international non-stop destinations out of the Mile High City. They include cities in South America, the Caribbean, Mexico and several in Canada. Continue reading →

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Glazer: Best Chiefs Playoff Team Since Marty?

Posted on December 29, 2017 by Craig Glazer

Dare I say it?

This 2017 Chiefs unit is arguably the best playoff team offered up by the team since the Marty Schottenheimer era.  Let’s be honest folks, none of our former playoff teams after the Elvis Grbac debacle in 1998  have been Super Bowl type teams.

We had the phony Dick Vermeil team in 2003 that went 9-0 to begin the season, then they found out they had a high school defense when they met the Colts in the post season. The Colts never had to punt, not once. We had the back- into-the-playoffs Herm Edwards joke after that one. We had the Todd Haley team led by Matt Cassel who were trounced in round one.  And then the Andy Reid teams which did win our one and only playoff game in the last 10 against the Texans on the road before getting clipped by New England.

Yes, not since the ’98 playoff loss to Denver – where had we started Rich Gannon we may have landed in a Super Bowl –  havewe had a great team with a 13-3 record.

Reid has now had four playoff teams for the Chiefs in his first five seasons, a first for KC.

But none of those past teams were considered a real threat to even get to a Super Bowl or an AFC title game and they didn’t.

So what makes this playoff team our best hope since 1993 and Joe Montana? Continue reading →

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Lefsetz: The United States of Christmas

Posted on December 27, 2017 by Bob Lefsetz

And the Trumpers are saying the holiday’s been stolen…

If you look at the Spotify Top Fifty your eyes will bug out. Nine of the top ten are Christmas songs, the only exception is #10, Post Malone‘s “rockstar.”

But the next 10, that’s right, from #11-20, are all Christmas songs.

And of the next 10, #21-30, only Lil Pump‘s “Gucci Gang” is non-Christmas.

There are four non-Christmas tracks in the bracket from #31-40.

And half of the last 10 of the 50 are Christmas cuts.

Meanwhile, if you look at the iTunes charts, you’ll see none of this reflected.

The people want Christmas music.

The move to streaming is an even bigger game changer than the move to SoundScan.

You see it’s all about consumption, that’s how you get paid. We want to know what people are listening to.

And we have no way of knowing consumption with sales. Did you buy it and file it or play it incessantly? Continue reading →

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Glazer: Scribe’s Game Day Analysis & Look Ahead

Posted on December 24, 2017 by Craig Glazer

Once again Marcus Peters is the star of the Chiefs defense…

With two strip fumbles and a recovery Peters stopped two likely scoring drives with his outstanding ability to take the ball away. Yes, Peters should be on the Pro bowl squad of course. He isn’t but might be added with an injury or someone who can’t play.

The Chiefs won their 1st back-to-back division titles in KC history.

Head coach Andy Reid takes his Chiefs to the fourth playoff  trip in four years, missing only once. They talk will soon begin as to if he is our second best all-time coach behind Hank Stram, passing Marty for the two spot soon. Reid could be THE MAN with a Super Bowl win of course. Or maybe we just get there.

The Chiefs beat an average Miami Dolphins team 29-16 today behind an offensive line giving Alex Smith time to throw. Kareem Hunt got a few short yard pick ups and a couple good runs, for  just under 100 yards rushing, Travis Kelce had a rare red zone 3rd down TD catch and of course the insane great play of All Pro, superstar, Tyreek Hill with one TD and a couple other athletic catches for over 100 yards. Continue reading →

Posted in Craig_Glazer | 6 Comments

Lefsetz: Sticky Fingers-The Jann Wenner/Rolling Stone Book

Posted on December 24, 2017 by Bob Lefsetz

“Rock and roll then was real, everything else was unreal.”

John Lennon

This is the most depressing book I’ve read all year.

There’s always been music. It’s not like the Top 40 was blank before the Beatles. A few good groups dominated the airwaves prior to 1964. Like the Four Seasons and the Beach Boys, but culturally, it was a vast wasteland.

Then the British Invasion began.

It wiped out everything that came before it. Oh, the Beach Boys Brian Wilson rose to the challenge – his band still had hits – but almost no one else did. Bobby Rydell? Fabian?

Everybody who sang before suddenly no longer had a career.

It’s kinda like Kodak, decimated by digital photography. Although in the case of the Rochester based company there was fair warning. Nobody saw the Beatles coming.

It was a revolution. We were invaded. Buzz was rampant. Radio jumped on board and when the Beatles appeared on Ed Sullivan three times in February, it was over. Just that fast, a new world existed.

And it wasn’t only the Beatles…

New bands followed in their wake. It was all you talked about, what was on the airwaves. Your records were precious and you spun them over and over.

Then came the San Francisco sound and underground FM radio and it was like the gods of music doubled-down. And just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, it did.

And Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner decided to chronicle this. Continue reading →

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Jack Goes Confidential: Santa Delivers—And Then Some!

Posted on December 24, 2017 by Jack Poessiger

I’m frequently asked, “What’s Good at the Movies?”

Here are my top four picks from among all the current Christmas offerings:

Please note that I’m taking STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI out of the equation since it’sin a class all of its own (and yes I’m recommending it).

Also not included are some earlier Thanksgiving releases which are playing through the holidays.

So here then my four recommendations:

* DARKEST HOUR, the terrific biographical war drama depicting Winston Churchill like we’ve never seen him before, facing crucial decisions against Hitler’s mighty army.

Think of it as the flip side of DUNKIRK!

Not only will Gary Oldman be nominated as Best Actor for his spot-on portrayal here, he most likely take home the Oscar.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Continue reading →

Posted in Jack Poessiger | 3 Comments

Chuck: Holiday Wishes to KCC Faithful

Posted on December 24, 2017 by Chuck Lowe

From the Christmas author who shaped this holiday season, more, in my opinion, than any other…

“Reflect upon your present blessings — of which every man has many — not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.”
― Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Writings

My work takes me into many homes here in the metro.

My customers and their families, as the days go by (and sometimes weeks and months as I work on remodels, new houses etc. etc.) reveal, to me in what I take as a privilege, their hopes, dreams and as time passes, the fears they have for the future.

The masks come off. My incessant presence, on a day to day basis, in a shared endeavor and consistent conversation turns, as one would expect, to confidential matters as the phatic surrenders to the personal.

Arguments are heard, kisses and hugs, some deserved, some not so much, are given to family members as I stand by, drill or hammer in hand, smiling and marveling at how similar we all are. A confidence here and there, a nod, a look, a smile, a frown, a secret knowledge that is entrusted to me, now, while yet still on the periphery, I come closer, I am accepted, I am now, a proud co conspirator in the hoped for success of my new friends, and, part time, temporary family.

It’s an honor, it really is.

Driving home, I hope for Jeff or Johnny to get that new bike, for Melissa or Terri to make better grades, for Max to win his tennis tournament, for Andy to stop being so mean to his sister, for parents all, to continue to be patient, to have success and for their beautiful families to survive sickness and never see the downside of advantage.

It doesn’t always work out.

Sometimes, those folks, who were originally customers, who became your friends, decades ago, leave, unexpectedly.

This year, a long, long time friend and benefactor was murdered on the Indian Creek Trail.

He was a singular individual whose character was an example to all, I mean ALL that knew him. His family, of course, was and is devastated. His legion of friends, will, as long as they live, me included, never forget his generosity, great humor and unfailing efforts to make all of our lives a better place.

This Christmas my prayers and the prayers of my family, go to his family and his memory.

As for our commenting cognoscenti – I wish you all, a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and a great Festivus.

To Glaze a Sabermetrics NFL chip implant. (Insert the appropriate jokes here about “implants”.) 🙂 Continue reading →

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Glazer: Scribes Waxes Poetic & Positive

Posted on December 24, 2017 by Craig Glazer

What was once a given is now finally about to happen…

The Kansas City Chiefs will win their second straight division title for the first time in their entire history. Yes, KC likely will defeat the Miami Dolphins at Arrowhead Sunday and secure the playoff spot with that win or a Chargers loss.

Maybe all that’s left in this regular season will be to wonder if will Pat Mahomes will play next week against Denver, should the Chiefs wrap it up this week.

It would be easy to think the Chiefs might let down a bit after two big wins over the Raiders and Chargers, but they all know this is a must win game. If KC plays anything close the game they did last week, they win. Miami has nothing to play for but pride and it’s COLD  here so that should help as well.

I have to take KC over Miami but I don’t like the 10 points you have to give up.

***       ***       ***       ***       ***       ***       *

Isn’t it a big strange that perhaps the Chiefs biggest star, Tyreek Hill, is almost never interviewed by the media? Continue reading →

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Hearne: KU Cries Foul on GOP Tax Plan

Posted on December 23, 2017 by Hearne Christopher Jr.

Turns out fat cat basketball boosters @ KU may not be getting any fatter after the new GOP tax bill kicks in next year…

That’s because the controversial points system excommunicated former athletics head Lew Perkins implemented to extort big bucks from donors is about to take a hit.

Under the current tax law, Jayhawk donors wanting to buy primo seats for basketball or football can deduct 80 percent of their donations from their taxes. At present, they’re choking out $17 million to $20 million a year for the right to purchases topnotch tix.

No mas.

Come January 1st they’re gonna have to make the required donations in after tax dollars.

There’s more…

Also starting January 1, basketball deity Bill Self‘s $5 million paycheck is going to start costing the athletics department an additional 21 percent excise tax. In other words, it will cost those noble Jayhawks another million plus bucks.

To which – incredibly I might add – new KU chancellor Douglas Girod is “arguing” is going to do “significant harm to higher education.”

Seriously, he actually said that. Continue reading →

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Boom Boom: And to all, a Goodnight!

Posted on December 22, 2017 by admin

Merry Christmas to all my gentile friends and Happy Hanukahh to my Jewish friends…

Now here’s what I wish for my friends on KC Confidential:

1. Paul Wilson (aka “Wislon”):  A new personality. Where did you go?

2. Dwight Sutherland (aka “Suthy”): A book on english lit to read by the firelite of your fireplace because no one else wants to read it and it bores the hell out of 95% of the world.

3. Chuck: A new hardhat to protect you at work.

4. David Nelson: Just keep on keeping on in showing the Glaze he doesn’t know anything about sports.

5. Kerowacky: Another year of life. New medicines are on the way. And we all would
miss your long gibberish outdated, outmoded form of journalism that once caught
the fancy of the reading public and the hope that you don’t pick against the
Chiefs every week because you look like an old fool in your 80’s!

6. Hearne: more exciting nights counting lights on holiday homes. What a wonderful
read it would be to have you count the lights strung downtown or to guess the
attendance at Jazzoo or any of the city’s social events. Hey hey, how about guessing
the attendance at the Chiefs game which the idiots on KCC believe is decreasing.
And of course holy matrimony with your new girl friend and significant other.

AND NOW FOR THE GLAZE:
Continue reading →

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Lefsetz: The New, (Finally) Improved Grammy’s

Posted on December 22, 2017 by Bob Lefsetz

This is not about diversity, this is about a CHANGING OF THE GUARD!

The Grammys have been out of touch since day one.

They missed the Beatles and they missed Led Zeppelin. Hell, the New Artist award is considered the kiss of death. So if they got it so wrong for so long how did they get it so right this time?

I DON’T KNOW!

This opacity leads to the question of ultimate winners to boot. Will Jay Z eclipse Kendrick for Album of the Year? Will Jay Z also beat out “Despacito” as Record of the Year? If so, we’ll know the same Grammy organization exists, one wherein members vote upon name recognition as opposed to intrinsic value.

That’s right, the Grammys are a joke.

Anybody who believes in them is delusional. The wrong people win and even worse, now the winners don’t even see a bump in consumption.

BUT THAT MAY CHANGE!

Amazing how a little dose of truth pays dividends. Continue reading →

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Glazer: Don’t Look Now, Stanford’s is Back!

Posted on December 22, 2017 by Craig Glazer

After a long wait Stanford’s 813 is now open at 813 Walnut downtown…

The club is much more like our old Westport location. We have comedy seven nights a week with shows that start at 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and Sunday with an open mic starting at 6 p.m. We will have entertainment nightly from 9 p.m.to 3 a.m. with different guest entertainers, DJ’s and Facebook Live star Will Kidd live nightly at the club.

The new Stanford’s has a game room with pool, video and of course, food and drinks.

Should be fun.

You know I can’t wait to be back out at a club til 3 A.M. Ha.

We also have some hot female bartenders and servers.

Parking is free on the street out front and we have our own parking garage next door. You can also enter from Grand. So we are back in midtown in Missouri after a 15 year absence while we did our Kansas thing in Overland Park and at Legends. Continue reading →

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Glazer: Scribe Ends Chiefs Boycott, Waxes Euphoric

Posted on December 17, 2017 by Craig Glazer

So that’s how the West was won…

All i can say is, WOW!

Perhaps the greatest regular season win of modern times for the Kansas City Chiefs. Yes, with their backs to the wall facing one of the hottest teams in the NFL, Kansas City showed heart, guts, brains and got the monster win, upsetting the Chargers 30-13 in front of a sold out Arrowhead to more than likely win their division.

As one of the many down on our Chiefs for weeks – and rightfully so given their losing 6 of 7 after a 5 and 0 start and playing near the bottom on so many areas – they showed they ain’t done yet.

Not by a long shot.

Every key player and the entire team played out of their minds to bring home the title and make the playoffs. I have to salute Andy Reid, the coaching staff, Alex Smith, Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce, Marcus Peters and especially Kareem Hunt….HE’S BACK!

And how about that offensive line play…outstanding.

With the line blocking for Hunt he had his best day of the season, running for well over 100 yards and pass receiving like an all pro. Hunt looked like the running back we met in New England in game one.

Hunt was the key to the Chiefs offense holding onto the ball, moving it when needed, picking up that huge 4th down play near the end of game. The death blow was the touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

Just fantastic. Continue reading →

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New Jack City: ‘Jedi’ Delivers—Especially for Luke and Rey

Posted on December 13, 2017 by Jack Poessiger

It’s difficult to write a STAR WARS perspective when you’re asked by the studio to pretty well stay away from the story line direction and—god forgive—spoilers…

So I’ll oblige those studio-directed no-no’s and just say that STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI delivers for millions of fans on various levels.

About 10 minutes into the epic space opera the film asks the question:

‘Where is Rey?’

We find her confronting Luke Skywalker with: “We NEED Luke Skywalker!”

And I just bet that Mark Hamill in the role couldn’t agree more as we last saw him only briefly at the conclusion of THE FORCE AWAKENS two years back.

Ah, but as they say, the story continues in Episode VIII which vastly expands Rey’s (Daisy Ridley) role all the while injecting her newly discovered abilities while taking the adventure  into even more and extremely visual directions.

“This is not going to go the way you think,” Luke tells Rey.

And that’s a solid hint at what to expect from the movie.  Continue reading →

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Hearne: The Story Behind Billy’s Belly

Posted on December 12, 2017 by Hearne Christopher Jr.

Nobody steps on the big Bill Self’s cape…

Nope. That goes without saying, that in the wilds of Lawrence, Kansas – home to Self’s basketball Jayhawks – he gets a pass on anything short of maybe daylight bank robbery or doing bad stuff to kids.

Example: No one’s ever said diddly – other than behind his back – about that itchy critter that hovers over Self’s bald noggin. Let alone the extramarital affair he allegedly had with one of my former neighbors that resulted in Wild Bill moving from his Taj Mahal-like home in the burbs to an upscale condo for however many months.

Which is not to say the entire town of Lawrence isn’t obsessed with Self’s every move – each and every detail of his life inside the local fish bowl.

The latest?

Local tongues are wagging about Self’s sudden weight gain.

“I first noticed it last year,” says one prominent KU fan. “I noticed it on TV; I noticed it with the suit he was wearing that didn’t fit; and I noticed it in person.”

How noticeable was it?

“Very,” says the source. “He’s gotta be 250 to 300 pounds now. I’ll bet he’s gained 50 pounds.”

Why? How? Continue reading →

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