SportsBeat KC

The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum is a Kansas City and baseball treasure ... and so is its, president Bob Kendrick. Fortunate are those whose tours through the building at 18th and Vine are led by this man. And now, Kendrick and the museum are bringing its history to the digital world. Negro Leagues 101 is a daily video collection that commemorates the 101st anniversary of the establishment of the...

Sporting Kansas City can’t seem to lose these days. And they’re winning dramatically with their tendency to fall behind early. It helps to have players like Gianluca Busio, who has been named to the national team that will play in the Gold Cup next week. On today’s SportsBeat KC, The Star’s soccer coverage team of Shaun Goodwin, Briar Napier and Cora Hall join host Blair Kerkhoff to discuss Busio...

The Chiefs are off running camps and playing charity basketball games in this time between mandatory mini-camp and training camp but the conversation never ends. On today’s SportsBeat KC, beat writer Sam McDowell and columnist Vahe Gregorian discuss Frank Clark and the defensive end position, and what is like to be the NFL favorite according to oddsmakers. Yes, the Chiefs are the top choice, and t...

Change has come to the Kansas City Royals. Nothing major, but manager Mike Matheny moved Jorge Soler to No. 2 in the batting order and created a hybrid responsibility for Danny Duffy. On today’s SportsBeat KC, beat writer Lynn Worthy and columnists Vahe Gregorian and Sam Mellinger break down the moves with host Blair Kerkhoff. Also, the championship round of the College World Series in Omaha, Nebr...

Every time he pulls on a USA shirt, U.S. Women’s National Team coach Vlatko Andonovksi feels pressure. He wouldn’t have it any other way. Andonovski is preparing the national women’s soccer team for the Olympics next month in Tokyo, a competition the U.S. is favored to win. That’s the case no matter the event, but the stakes are higher for the two-time defending World Cup champions. In the previou...

It was a 3-1 final-score week for Kansas City soccer teams. Sporting Kansas City came out on top, while KC NWSL did not. In this episode of SportsBeat KC, The Star’s daily sports podcast, we talk about both teams’ results with Shaun Goodwin, Cora Hall and Briar Napier. Once again, Daniel Salloi was the story for Sporting KC. He played one of his best games yet on Wednesday, befuddling the Colorado...

Name, image and likeness...expanded College Football Playoff...Supreme Court ruling, so many changes are coming to college sports. How will they impact the schools? Kansas State beat writer Kellis Robinett and SportsBeat KC host Blair Kerkhoff discuss the changes and how it affects the Wildcats on today’s show. K-State, like many schools, has been active in the transfer portal, and the odd path of...

Chiefs defensive end Frank Clark has been arrested twice in the off-season with similar circumstances. In March and last Sunday he was stopped while driving in California and both times a gun was visible in the vehicle. That’s a felony in California. Both times, Clark posted a $35,000 bond. Next is consideration of the incidents by the team and the NFL, which can suspend a player. Unlawful possess...

For a player who has only appeared in 10 games, we spend a lot of time talking about Adalberto Mondesi. But there’s always something to say. Royals beat writer Lynn Worthy and columnist Sam Mellinger join host Blair Kerkhoff and talking about the latest setback, another oblique injury. If the Royals can’t count on Mondesi, should they consider moving him from shortstop, or trading him? The convers...

Another Chiefs’ mini-camp in the books and little drama attached to this one. Oh, there were some camp surprises, newcomers to observe and one big contract extension—Tyrann Mathieu’s—unresolved. But mostly this seems like a team intent on keeping distractions to a minimum while working toward a third straight Super Bowl. Still, there’s plenty to discuss as beat writer Herbie Teope wraps up the Chi...

Sporting Kansas City and KC NWSL are about to become very busy. This weekend both teams start stretches of three games during a week. Sporting will look to keep alive its recent run of fortune and Woso looks for its first victory. The Star’s Shaun Goodwin and Aly Trost of WHB 810 AM and the new Sporting KC sideline reporter break it down on SportsBeat KC with host Blair Kerkhoff. Also, with the so...

These were the words that Chiefs fans wanted to hear: Tyrann Mathieu says he can’t see himself playing for any other team. The contract-extension talks between the team and its All-Pro safety may not have progressed as quickly as Mathieu (or fans) wanted, as he has suggested on Twitter, but during a Thursday interview he sounded like things will work out. You’ll hear that interview in this episode...

When last seen in a Chiefs uniform, guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif was celebrating a Super Bowl victory. After that, he put his medical degree to use battling the COVID-19 pandemic by serving at a long-term facility outside his native Montreal. “I think I was in the right place at the right moment, and I was able to put my medical training to use,” Duvernay-Tardif said this week. Duvernay-Tardif re...

Another slump for the Royals has them losers of nine of 10 and the latest setback was especially painful. In Monday’s 10-3 to the Detroit Tigers, the Royals went 1 for 14 with runners in scoring position and left 13 runners on base. In all, they had 18 base runners. Beat writer Lynn Worthy and columnist Sam Mellinger join Blair Kerkhoff in breaking down the Royals and what’s going wrong like the l...

Quin Snyder led the Utah Jazz to the NBA’s best record this season and now has them in the Western Conference semifinals. Who’d have seen this coming after the way his tenure at Missouri ended 15 years ago? Star columnist Vahe Gregorian joined host Blair Kerkhoff to discuss the Snyder years at Missouri and how he reconstructed his career after he was ousted from Mizzou. The coaching road less trav...

The Chiefs wrapped up OTAs this week. Next stop: mandatory minicamp next week. Andy Reid and a handful of players addressed the media on Thursday and you’ll hear their comments in this episode of SportsBeat KC, The Kansas City Star’s daily sports podcast hosted by Blair Kerkhoff. Reid provides an update on Kyle Long’s knee injury and elaborates on vaccinations for players. Second-year linebacker W...

Last month, Sporting Kansas City fell behind 1-0 to Austin FC and about 10 minutes remained in regulation. But Sporting got goals from Ilie Sanchez and Gadi Kinda to pull out the victory and they’ve been on fire since, climbing to second place in the MLS Western Division. Austin FC is the opponent on Saturday and beat writer Shaun Goodwin and Aly Trost of WHB 810 AM—and new sideline reporter for S...

Another vague Tyrann Mathieu tweet hit Twitter feeds Wednesday, and Chiefs fans could be getting nervous. This one read: “If they make me choose imma I choose to take it back to where it all started.” Mathieu tweet 0609 Is he quoting a lyric, talking about a uniform number, or about his negotiations toward a new contract? The Chiefs are believed to be working on an extension for Mathieu. Last mont...

In his major league debut, Jackson Kowar got a out on his second pitch. After that? Oof. Kowar didn’t make out of the first inning on Monday night against the Angels, and the discouraging first start is the primary topic on today’s SportsBeat KC, The Star’s daily sports podcast. The show, which started as a SportsBeat Live with beat writer Lynn Worthy and columnists Sam Mellinger and Vahe Gregoria...

The Kansas City area has a pair of highly ranked basketball prospects in the Class of 2022, and Bishop Miege’s Mark Mitchell is ranked in the Rivals.com top 10, and Blue Valley’s Aiden Shaw is in the top 60. Both have Kansas and Missouri listed for visits, and Mitchell appears to be headed to Sunrise Christian Academy next season. Will Shaw also head to a prep school? Gary Bedore brings us up to d...

Kansas City’s professional soccer teams, Sporting KC and KC NWSL, are moving in opposite directions. Sporting is on fire, the winner of three straight and climbing into second place in the MLS Western Division standings. KC NWSL is struggling. Winless in its four regular-season games, the expansion team has been held without a goal in three. Two draws means they’re only one victory away from movin...

The Chiefs are now in Phase 3 of their offseason program. There’s no live contact, so this is a time for the quarterbacks, wide receivers and defensive backs to make plays. It’s also a time for in-person meetings and classroom instruction, which makes it vital for rookies and other newcomers, including coaches. The Chiefs provided updates with reporters Thursday. Coach Andy Reid, defensive coordin...

So, 20-0? What an accomplishment that would be, the greatest season in NFL history. Patrick Mahomes tossed it out there last weekend in an interview at his charity golf tournament in Hawaii. Not a bold statement or declaration, but in the context of wanting to set a team and not a personal record. On today’s SportsBeat KC, beat writers Herbie Teope and Sam McDowell join host Blair Kerkhoff in disc...

Monday provided the full Adalberto Mondesi experience. He blasted a long home run, turned in a web gem. And suffered an injury. The Royals won the series opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates to maintain their current pace. Can they keep it up if Mondesi’s hamstring requires down time? Beat writer Lynn Worthy and columnist Vahe Gregorian discuss the Monedsi and all things Royals on today’s SportsB...

Sporting Kansas City announced this week that former goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen is a Sporting Legend and will be honored as such at a game next month. The team has a current player who is playing like a legend lately. And SKC striker Alan Pulido is on an amazing run. In the past two games, he’s scored three goals, assisted on another and had something to do with the other two. Sporting won both matc...