SportsBeat KC

Last season, the Chiefs owned the best record in football, but not all phases of the game worked as well as they could have. The team finished last in the NFL in red-zone defense, surrendering touchdowns on nearly 73 percent of opponents’ drives that reached the 20-yard line. Why is this significant in May? Safety Tyrann Mathieu and linebacker Anthony Hitchens said lowering that percentage has bee...

College sports stands at the doorstep of one of the biggest changes in its history. Soon, athletes will be able to cash in on their name, image and likeness. The roll out for this change is messy. The NCAA has wanted Congress to pass legislation. But states are taking the initiative and five that have passed laws could enter this new world on July 1. Recruiting is a big concern, if some states get...

The on/off Royals are on again, having won six of nine and the latest one in dramatic fashion. Carlos Santana’s walk-off two-run homer beat the Detroit Tigers on Sunday and moved the Royals to one game below .500. But look out. Next up is a trip to Tampa Bay where the Rays have won 11 straight. On today’s SportsBeat KC, Star columnists Sam Mellinger and Vahe Gregorian break down the latest stretch...

Patrick Mahomes’ turf toe injury that figures to limit his availability during organized teams activities that begin on Tuesday will be a national storyline for the Chiefs, but the real news will be found on the offensive and defensive lines. We’ll start to get a sense of how those stack up over the next few weeks. This is the spring football time for NFL teams, and no AFC team will be more intere...

Sporting Kansas City is coming off its most impressive victory of the season, 3-0 against Vancouver, and looks to carry some momentum into Saturday’s game at San Jose. Beat writer Shaun Goodwin tells us what to expect as Sporting hovers near the top of the MLS Western Conference standings. Also, KC NWSL seeks its first victory on Sunday at Houston, where it previously dropped a Challenge Cup game....

We’re deep into spring sports season and it’s … basketball recruiting season? Yes, with the transfer portal spinning, players continue to find new homes and Kansas landed a pair of high scoring transfers this week. Jalen Coleman-Lands averaged 14 points for Iowa State last season. Remy Martin led the Pac-12 in scoring, averaging 19 points for Arizona State. Both have committed to KU for their fina...

On today’s SportsBeat KC, we catch up with Missouri Tigers coaches and administrators...in person. The occasion was the annual Tiger Takeover, a meet-and-greet with fans that happens in different corners of the state. Chicken N Pickle in North Kansas City was the local stop and for the first time in more than a year, football coach Eli Drinkwitz, men’s basketball coach Cuonzon Martin, women’s bask...

They’ve been the best of teams, they’ve been the worst of teams. And in just 40 games. After delivering a memorable April with baseball’s base record, the Royals managed to lose 11 straight in May. But that’s over now, and it’s fair to ask which of the Royals will we see more of going forward. Beat writer Lynn Worthy and columnist Sam Mellinger answer that question and more in this episode of The...

The Chiefs’ rookies got their first taste of the NFL during a weekend mini-camp. There weren’t as many first-year players as in previous offseasons, and there wasn’t contact. But coach Andy Reid said he was happy with the event, and we hear from him and the Chiefs’ first draft pick, second-rounder Nick Bolton from Mizzou, in this episode of The Star’s daily SportsBeat KC podcast. You’ll also hear...

Sporting Kansas City followed perhaps its most inspired effort of the season, a 2-1 victory over Austin FC, with a listless 1-0 loss at Houston. But the team gets a chance to win the week with a home match Sunday. On today’s episode of SportsBeat KC, Aly Trost of SportsRadio 810 joins Shaun Goodwin in breaking down Sporting’s week and looking ahead to Saturday’s regular-season opener for KC NWSL....

You knew the opponents. Now you know the dates and kickoff times for the Chiefs’ 2021 schedule. Any surprises? On today’s episode of The Star’s daily sports podcast, SportsBeat KC, Chiefs beat writers Herbie Teope and Sam McDowell break down 17 games’ worth of an NFL schedule. One take: The Chiefs are favored to win a third straight AFC title and sixth straight division crown. They don’t look at t...

Spring football is over and roster building is all but finished. Next stop for college football is the 2021 season. On today’s SportsBeat KC, Kansas State beat writer Kellis Robinett looks ahead at the Wildcats and Big 12 season with host Blair Kerkhoff. Can this team, which lost its final five games last season after a 4-1 start, push to the top half of the Big 12? After a break, we switch to bas...

Maybe the day off is what the Royals need. They return to action tonight at Detroit in hopes of ending a losing streak made more painful because of where the team stood before the skid: In first place in the AL Central and with baseball’s top winning percentage. On today’s SportsBeat KC, Star columnist Vahe Gregorian breaks down the malaise with host Blair Kerkhoff in a show that started as a Spor...

Every May, Kansas City sports icons George Brett and Tom Watson get together for an event that they wished would go away. It’s the Joe McGuff ALS Golf Classic at LionsGate in Overland Park. And they want it to end because that means enough funds will have been raised to stamp out the disease. But Brett and Watson always answer the call to headline the annual event, and they discussed their relatio...

One of the greatest players to wear a Sporting KC uniform, Matt Besler, returns to Kansas City this weekend....as a member of Austin Football Club. What kind of reception will he receive? Also, Sporting stands at the forefront of developing and advancing homegrown talent. The Star’s Shaun Goodwin and Aly Trost of 810 WHB explain why. We also take look back at KC NWSL’s first game at Legend’s Field...

The Kansas football program now belongs to Lance Leipold. He’s the fifth head coach in a dozen year and his task is a daunting one, turning around a program that hasn’t won more than three games in a season since 2009. On today’s SportsBeat KC, you’ll hear from Leipold at his introductory news conference and from KU beat writer Gary Bedore, who has covered the Jayhawks for more than three decades....

It will take some time to properly evaluate the Chiefs’ draft haul. It always does. But if they can find a couple of immediate starters from the six they selected, and at least get contributions from the others, history tells us that 2021 will have been a successful draft. Last year, the draft produced starters Clyde Edwards-Helaire and cornerback L’Jarius Sneed. Two years ago, it was wide receive...

The Royals remain in first place in the AL Central and Daniel Lynch was encouraging in his debut in Monday’s loss to Cleveland. But the Royals have lost three of four. Have they cooled off the hot April? That’s the topic on SportsBeat KC, a conversation with beat writer Lynn Worthy and columnists Sam Mellinger and Vahe Gregorian. The show started as a SportsBeat Live with host Blair Kerkhoff. Also...

The NFL Draft is in the books and six have joined the Chiefs. On today’s SportsBeat KC, we hear from some and about all of them. Missouri linebacker Nick Bolton and Oklahoma center Creed Humphrey were the team’s top two selections, both in the second round. Joining the draft class after that were Florida State defensive end Josh Kaindoh, Duke tight end Noah Gray, Clemson wide receiver Cornell Powe...

Kansas has a new football coach. Again. Lance Leipold faces the considerable challenge of turning around a program coming off a winless season that hasn’t won more than three games in any year since 2009. Leipold comes from the University of Buffalo, where he took the program to three straight bowl games. Before that, he won six NCAA Division III championships at Wisconsin-Whitewater. Beat writer...

Gianluca Busio scored Sporting Kansas City’s lone goal in a 1-1 draw with Orlando City in last weekend’s home opener, and it was a beauty. On today’s SportsBeat KC with Star beat writer Shaun Goodwin and Aly Trost of WHB 810, we talk Busio and his potential this season. KC NWSL approaches its fourth and final game in the Challenge Cup looking for its first victory of the season. What needs to happ...

With the 58th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Kansas City Chiefs select... Doesn’t have the same ring to it as, say, a single-digit number. But it’s a good thing for the Chiefs. They traded out of the first round to the Baltimore Ravens to land their left tackle in Orlando Brown Jr. So unless the Chiefs trade back into the first round, Thursday they’ll sit on the sidelines and watch the others to...

Best. Record. In baseball. And not after three or four games. The Royals are 14-7, giving them a winning percentage just ahead of the Dodgers, Giants and A’s. Party like it’s 2015. On today’s SportsBeat show, KC Star columnist Sam Mellinger breaks down what’s going right and what could be better about Mike Matheny’s club, and how the second-year Royals manager is pushing all the right buttons. Als...

The makeover of the Chiefs’ offensive line is complete. They filled their biggest need — left tackle — on Friday with a blockbuster trade with the Baltimore Ravens. The Chiefs got Orlando Brown Jr., a Pro Bowl player, in exchange for draft picks. The Chiefs are set to start next season with an entirely new offensive line than started the 2020 season and will have at least four new starters from th...

No wonder the Chiefs’ media opportunity with general manager Brett Veach was delayed several times. On Friday, about 90 minutes after Veach spoke in generalities about the NFL Draft, work got out that the Chiefs had acquired offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr., from the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for their first-round draft pick, No. 31 overall. Several other draft picks were involved. It’s a won...