SportsBeat KC

Assuming the Kansas City Royals will soon change the tense on their season — from present to future — it’s time to begin thinking about what they could bring back in trades. And who are the team’s top candidates to deal? On today’s SportsBeat KC podcast, beat writer Lynn Worthy and columnists Sam McDowell and Vahe Gregorian discuss trade value of Royals players and what the return might bring. Als...

The end of the school year means a peek ahead to next football season. The Missouri Tigers will look to build on last season’s 6-7 finish and the first task for Coach Eli Drinkwitz is to find his starting quarterback. There are four candidates, two returning players and two newcomers, and the ideal scenario would have a starter in place for fall camp. Drinkwitz discussed the position and several o...

The Chiefs’ makeover at wide receiver is among the biggest story lines of the off-season and it’s the primary topic on today’s SportsBeat KC podcast with beat writers Herbie Teope and Jesse Newell. The departure of Tyreek Hill, Demarcus Robinson and Byron Pringle led to the addition of Marquez Valdes-Scantling, JuJu Smith-Schuster and draft pick SKyy Moore. Among the top four receivers from last s...

Allison Howard left her job with one of the world’s most recognizable professional sports brands in the Los Angeles Lakers to become president of a team that’s looking to create its identity, the Kansas City Current. On today’s SportsBeat KC, Howard sits down with host Blair Kerkhoff to discuss her move to the Heartland and the challenges she faces with the NWSL team in its second season. After a...

The Kansas City Royals have bottomed out, at least in the standings. They join the Cincinnati Reds as the owner of baseball’s worst record at 16-31 headed into Tuesday night’s game at Cleveland. The only way to go is up, right? But what does that look like, and when does the future become the present? We discussed the Royals season on SportsBeat Live with beat writer Lynn Worthy and columnists Sam...

OTAs are underway for the Chiefs, and on Thursday it was time to play catch-up with Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. On today’s episode of the SportsBeat KC podcast, you’ll hear from them all on a wide range of subjects, from newcomers to the roster, to Mahomes’ hosting of players in Texas, to the recent mass-shooting tragedies. You’ll also hear Mahomes talk some smack involving “The M...

The Catbackers Tour rolled into Kansas City, bringing Kansas State coaches and athletes into a pep-rally like setting at Children’s Mercy Park. New men’s basketball coach Jerome Tang, assistant head football coach Van Malone and women’s basketball coach Jeff Mittie were the headliners. On today’s SportsBeat KC, you’ll hear from some coaches and players. These events also serve as media opportuniti...

The first game of the MLB season’s second quarter ended like the final game of the first for the Royals: A loss after gaining a sizable lead. Sunday it happened against the Minnesota Twins, when the Royals lost 7-6, squandering a six-run lead after seven innings. On Monday, the Royals jumped on Arizona for four first-inning runs but couldn’t make it hold up in a 9-5 loss. So it’s five straight los...

The Chiefs begin OTAs this week, kicking off a final, month-long offseason program before a break. Veterans and rookies will be in camp, and although players won’t be in pads, the Chiefs should begin to see their starters and position rotations take shape. Perhaps the position group with the most uncertainty is defensive end. The Chiefs addressed it in the draft by selecting George Karlaftis. But...

The NCAA championship remains fresh in the memory for Kansas but the next season has arrived. The roster is taking shape with decisions by players to turn pro and others through the transfer portal. On today’s SportsBeat KC, KU beat writer Gary Bedore provides the updates on players like Christian Braun and Jalen Wilson, plus the status of transfer targets like Tyrese Hunter and Kevin McCullar. Sp...

Want to bet on Patrick Mahomes’ touchdown pass total in a game, or Kansas State-Oklahoma football, or Kansas basketball against Duke in the Champions Classic? You won’t have to leave Kansas to do that now that sports betting was signed into law last week by Gov. Laura Kelly. Now, Kansas is one of 30 states with legal sports wagering. It will take a few weeks, perhaps months to get it up and runnin...

The first big change from the Royals disappointing season came Monday when hitting coach Terry Bradshaw was fired and Alec Zumwalt took over the position. Are more moves on the horizon? Perhaps, if the Royals don’t show signs of improvement soon. On today’s SportsBeat KC, columnists Vahe Gregorian and Sam McDowell discuss the recent events with host Blair Kerkhoff and their impact. The show starte...

Defensive end was already a position of need for the Chiefs. Now that Melvin Ingram has signed with the Dolphins, the heat is turned up on general manager Brett Veach to solidify the position and address the team’s pass rushing needs. On today’s SportsBeat KC podcast, beat writers Herbie Teope and Jesse Newell discuss defensive end and other positions the Chiefs could target before next season. Al...

The full NFL schedule was released on Thursday, putting an end to the hype, leaks and misinformation preceding the announcement. For the Chiefs, the back end appears more manageable than the first half. According to Elias Sports, the Chiefs’ slate in an NFL first. They’re the first two meet teams that finished with winning records over the previous season in their first eight games. Sked tweet 051...

It’s racing weekend in Kansas City, and Kansas Speedway will be the site of three races: the Dutch Boy 150 ARCA race and Heart of America 200 trucks run on Saturday and NASCAR Cup Series AdventHealth 400 on Sunday. It’s the first time since 2019 that a scheduled spring-racing event at Kansas Speedway will not be directly affected by the pandemic. On today’s episode of The Star’s SportsBeat KC podc...

The Royals can’t find any momentum. Last week, after a 7-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals, they were hammered 10-0 the next day. After taking the first game of a doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday, the Royals dropped the second game and lost the series on Monday. Lack of clutch hitting continues to be the biggest issue. Slugger Salvador Perez seems to be coming out of his m...

Chiefs rookie mini-camp came to a conclusion on Monday and we got to know the team’s draft class and first-year players a little better. On today’s SportsBeat KC, we’ll hear from drafted players Jaylen Watson, a cornerback from Washington State, running back Isiah Pacheco from Rutgers and wide receiver Skyy Moore from Western Michigan. They flashed their personalities, especially when discussing t...

In only its second season the Kansas City Current faced a competition elimination game. It didn’t turn out as hoped as the Current fell to the North Carolina Courage in the semifinals of the Challenge Cup, but the four victories in the event’s pool play marked one more than the team achieved throughout the entire inaugural season. On today’s SportsBeat KC, soccer beat writer Daniel Sperry discusse...

During last weekend’s NFL Draft, Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt took questions from reporters about a range of topics like where he and the Chiefs stand on stadium issues, the 2023 NFL Draft coming to Kansas City, the prospect of legalized sports wagering in Missouri and Kansas, and the chance of Kansas City and Arrowhead Stadium landing World Cup games. You’ll hear his session with reporters...

On Monday, the Royals got an excellent outing from Zach Greinke, and there won’t be many better defensive plays than the home run robbing grab by center fielder Michael A. Taylor. But they didn’t add up to a Royals victory. The 1-0 loss at St. Louis was the Royals’ fourth straight and dropped them seven games below .500. Three times this year, the Royals have lost at least four straight, and the s...

That wasn’t a draft but a full gust of wind that blew over the Chiefs last weekend. At least that’s the take from beat writer Herbie Teope and several NFL writers who covered the NFL Draft. By nearly all accounts the draft couldn’t have gone much better for the Chiefs. On today’s SportsBeat KC podcast, Teope discusses what general manager Brett Veach and the Chiefs staff accomplished and when the...

One round of the NFL Draft, six to go, and if the rest are like the first for the Chiefs they’ll feel good when the draft wraps up Saturday. Two first-round spots produced Washington cornerback Trent McDuffie at No. 21 and Purdue rush end George Karlaftis at No. 30. Both met positions of need and were players not believed to be available based on pre-draft speculation. On today’s SportsBeat KC, wh...

New Kansas State basketball coach Jerome Tang has been busy hiring a staff and putting together a roster. There’s plenty of work to do for a program that’s experienced three straight losing seasons, but the early returns are positive. One that got away is guard Nijel Pack, the sophomore guard who transferred to Miami, Fla. That wasn’t a huge surprise. There are about 1,500 basketball players in th...

Plenty went wrong for the Royals last weekend in Seattle, where the Mariners swept a three-game series and extended the Royals’ losing streak to four. On today’s SportsBeat KC podcast, beat writer Lynn Worthy and columnists Sam McDowell and Vahe Gregorian discuss how the Royals can alter the course. You’ll also hear from right fielder Whit Merrifield, who had a frank discussion about his slump and...

It’s a busy week in sports with the NBA Playoffs, the end of hockey’s regular season, baseball, golf, tennis, auto racing. And the biggest event of them all — the NFL Draft. The three-day event begins Thursday and the Chiefs enter as one of the busiest teams with 12 selections. Will they use them all, trade up for position, trade down for more picks? The draft also signals something of a pivot poi...