SportsBeat KC

The Kansas City Royals figure to be an active participant in the final week before the Aug. 2 MLB trade deadline, which would continue a makeover for a team that’s getting younger by the week. Also, the Royals are winning. They’re an AL Central-best 19-16 over their last 35 games. So what happens when Salvador Perez returns to the lineup? We cover these topics and plenty more on SportsBeat KC, The...

Buck O’Neil had his day in the sun. Then again, when did it ever feel like anything but a sunny day when you were around baseball’s greatest ambassador? O’Neil was enshrined in Baseball Hall of Fame. On Sunday, and Star columnist Vahe Gregorian was on hand to cover the event. On today’s show you’ll hear a conversation between Gregorian and filmmaker Ken Burns, whose 1994 documentary mini-series “B...

The college sports realignment adventure continued this week as commissioners from the SEC and ACC spoke at their respective football media days events, the Big 12 reportedly said it wasn’t interested in a merger with the Pac-12 (but was linked to an NBC deal with Notre Dame), and California Gov. Gavin Newsom demanded an explanation of why UCLA is leaving the Pac-12 with USC for the Big Ten. Whew....

Football’s off-season is about to end. The Chiefs’ training camp opens this week at Missouri Western in St. Joseph, where players and coaches will gather to see the building process of a team seeking to make it five straight trips to the AFC Championship Game. Quarterbacks and rookies only for the first few days. The rest of the squad is scheduled to begin on Wednesday. One of the early questions:...

Missouri had its day at SEC Kickoff in Atlanta this week with head coach Eli Drinkwitz, defensive back Martez Manuel, defensive lineman Isaiah McGuire and wide receiver Barrett Banister taking the stage. You’ll hear from the players today on SportsBeat KC. Manuel and McGuire spoke about a defense that looks to make big strides this season despite having a third coordinator in three years. After po...

Baseball resumes Friday after the All-Star Break, and the Royals likely will soon make some roster decisions. They’re not a contending team, so who will and won’t be part of the club as the second half unfolds? And will the recent news of players not having vaccinations and unable to travel to Toronto factor into decisions? Those are the primary topics on SportsBeat KC, The Star’s sports podcast....

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For the first time, Big 12 Media Days opened with two commissioners at the podium. Brett Yormark, who starts the job on Aug. 1, shared the stage with outgoing boss Bob Bowlsby. On today’s SportsBeat KC, you’ll hear from both. Yormark provides his vision for the Big 12, and obviously the outlook is changing with the recent realgnment shuffle that is sending USC and UCLA from the Pac-12 to the Big T...

Not a bad day for the Kansas City Royals on Monday. The team picked up two victories against the Detroit Tigers and three players from the Atlanta Braves. We discuss the haul and more on today’s SportsBeat KC podcast with beat writer Lynn Worthy. The Royals didn’t surrender a player in the trade, giving up a competitive balance round draft pick, No. 35 overall, in exchange for three minor league p...

The Big 12 isn’t exactly sitting out this round of realignment but the league didn’t take a direct hit this time. The latest move, USC and UCLA leaving the Pac-12 for the Big Ten, has thrown the college landscape into another period of uncertainty. What are the Big 12 options here? The league expanded after last year’s announcement of Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC, and the conference could do the...

Four years from now, the World Cup will be winding down in North America, and Kansas City will have been a part of it. On today’s SportsBeat KC, we continue to examine how our selection as one of the host cities came to be. Star columnist Sam McDowell breaks down the role of Sporting Kansas City and principal owner Cliff Illig in the World Cup process. The city’s soccer culture, which undoubtedly...

Two innings have cost the Royals a five-game winning streak. Relievers surrendered walk-off home runs in two of the past three games to prevent the perfect stretch. But they’ve been playing better baseball lately, especially the starting pitching. On today’s SportsBeat KC hosted by Vahe Gregorian, KC Star writers break down the good and bad about the week and look ahead as the season closes in on...

Kansas State has some momentum on the football recruiting trail. Last weeks, Coach Chris Klieman’s program picked up a commitment from standout running back Dylan Edwards from Derby and soon hope to be the landing spot from another Wichita-area product, quarterback Avery Johnson from Maize. On today’s SportsBeat KC, Kansas State beat writer Kellis Robinett talks all things Wildcats, including how...

The future is now for the Royals. With the call up of first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, the Royals are likely to have three rookies in the lineup, along with infielder Bobby Witt Jr., and catcher MJ Melendez, for many games the remaining of the season. To get young, the Royals had to bid farewell to a veteran, and that’s what happened with the trade of 36-year-old Carlos Santana to the Seattle Mar...

You’ve got questions, we’ve got answers. Actually, the questions were ours, too. On today’s SportsBeat KC, Chiefs beat writer Jesse Newell and host Blair Kerkhoff batted around some reponses to such questions as: *What Chiefs player has the most to prove this season? *Who fills the leadership role left by safety Tyrann Mathieu? *Which wide reciever leads the Chiefs in receptions? And more. We didn...

With team owners, the league commissioner, some players on hand, the Kansas City Current cut the ribbon and opened their new training facility in Riverside, Mo. The $18 million structure includes the essentials except one, according to veteran midfielder Kristen Edmonds. “A time machine,” Edmonds said, “for me to get five years younger so I could play a little bit longer.” The facility is believed...

The NBA Draft has arrived and there’s a good chance you’ll hear a pair of Kanasas Jayhawks who played high school basketball in the Kansas City area hear their names called. Ochai Agbaji and Christian Braun helped KU win the NCAA championship in April. They take center stage once again in Thursday’s draft Agbaji is widely seen as a first-round selection, Braun a late first-round/second round pick....

Thanks to some success on the current road trip, the Kansas City Royals no longer have baseball’s worst record. But is winning four of the last five enough to change the way fans should feel about the season and this team’s potential? On today’s SportsBeat KC podcast, beat writer Lynn Worthy and columnists Sam McDowell and Vahe Gregorian discuss the Royals’ mini-run, what it might mean and the imp...

It’s vacation time for the Chiefs. What, amounts to an off-season, five weeks between the end of organized team activities and the beginning of training camp, has arrived. The Chiefs wrapped up their Arrowhead practices last week. On today’s SportsBeat KC, beat writers Herbie Teope and Jesse Newell wrap up the workouts and break down what some Chiefs veterans like Chris Jones and Juan Thornhill ha...

Kansas City will host games in the world’s largest sporting event, the World Cup. Amazing. Dozens of U.S. cities wanted in, 11 were selected. With three in Mexico and two in Canada as part of the joint North American event, Kansas City is the smallest of the 16, in terms of metropolitan-area population. But no city worked longer and harder to land these World Cup matches. On today’s episode of the...

As FIFA prepares to announce the U.S. cities that will be the site of 2026 World Cup games, Kansas City has its fingers crossed. We’re one of 16 spots in the running to be host cities. Ten or 11 will be selected. Will Kansas City make the cut? On today’s SportsBeat KC podcast, columnist Vahe Gregorian and soccer writer Daniel Sperry break down the strengths and weaknesses of Kansas City as a bid c...

Oh, those base on balls. The line originated from Frankie Frisch, then manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates as he watched his pitcher pile up walks. Frisch later repeated it often as a broadcaster with the New York Giants. Royals manager Mike Matheny can relate. The Royals issued nine walks in their series opening loss at the San Francisco Giants on Monday, and bases on balls have been a problem all...

The final week of the Kansas City Chiefs’ offseason workouts have arrived and mandatory minicamp means players like defensive linemen Chris Jones and Frank Clark should be in town this week. On today’s SportsBeat KC podcast, beat writers Herbie Teope and Jesse Newell preview the week ahead. Also, 2022 looms as an important season for players like running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire and linebacker N...

Chiefs wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling considers himself fortunate to be a pass catching connection with two of the game’s great quarterbacks. He spent four seasons in Green Bay piling up numbers while working with Aaron Rodgers. Now, he’s in the first few weeks of getting to know Patrick Mahomes. Valdes-Scantling spoke about working with both quarterbacks when he met with reporters this we...

When Matt Nagy was last with the Chiefs, he was the offensive coordinator on a team with Patrick Mahomes as the reserve quarterback. After four years as head coach of the Chicago Bears, Nagy is back as the quarterbacks coach and now gets to work with one of the NFL’s top players. On today’s SportsBeat KC podcast, Nagy shares thoughts about his return to Andy Reid’s staff and working with a more fu...