SportsBeat KC

Sporting Kansas City’s playoff game against Minnesota United will have to wait an extra day. The game is now set for Thursday. But we couldn’t wait to talk about it on SportsBeat KC with beat writer Shaun Goodwin. Will the extra time have an impact? What role will Alan Pulido assume in this game? The star missed Sporting’s first playoff victory over San Jose that came down to goalkeeper Tim Melia’...

The Chiefs did it again. The played a game down to the wire. And they won, defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27-24 on Sunday. The quarterback dual between Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady lived up to the expectation, and the Chiefs defense played better than it has in recent games. Those topic and more are covered in the show that started as a SportsBeat Live and now presented as a SportsBeat KC pod...

Does the Chiefs’ defense have a problem or just a Raiders problem? Who gets the better of the latest Patrick Mahomes-Tom Brady matchup? What was the best thing you ate or drank on Thanksgiving? The Star’s A-Team of Herbie Teope, Sam McDowell, Sam Mellinger and Vahe Gregorian joined SportsBeat KC host Blair Kerkhoff to answer these questions and more. It started as a SportsBeat Live, and presto! It...

Who ends the season as Kansas’ leading scorer in men’s hoops? What the heck happened to Kansas State at Iowa State last weekend? Who is Missouri playing in football on Saturday? Let the speculation begin as The Star’s college beat writers drop by SportsBeat KC, our daily podcast, to discuss with host Blair Kerkhoff. Ok, we know the Tigers are playing Vanderbilt this weekend now. That wasn’t their...

When we left college basketball, the KC Roos were pretty stoked about their conference tournament chances. The women’s team under coach Jacie Hoyt had just clinched first place and was cutting down nets to celebrate the program’s first league title; the men’s team had won four straight to finish the season and clinch a winning record under first-year coach Billy Donlon. Then COVID-19 hit and the b...

The Chiefs took possession with 1:43 remaining and trailing by three points. That’s not always an enviable position. But only one team has Patrick Mahomes. With 28 seconds to spare, Mahomes zipped the Chiefs downfield and fired a touchdown pass to Travis Kelce that provided the winning points in a 35-31 triumph. There was plenty to discuss after the game, from Mahomes’ heroics, to the Chiefs’ poor...

The Missouri Tigers boarded their chartered flight to South Carolina, and that’s an accomplishment these days given the team’s recent COVID-19 scares. Mizzou is set to play for the first time in three weeks Saturday, and beat writer Souichi Terada breaks down the game with host Blair Kerkhoff on this episode of SportsBeat KC. After a break, we switch sports and set up Sporting Kansas City’s MLS Cu...

Just when it started to look like the Chiefs would sleepwalk their way to another AFC West title, the Raiders came to Arrowhead Stadium in Week 5 and punched the home team in the mouth. Then they took a victory lap around the stadium on their bus to celebrate. Just like that, the rivalry, which had grown one-sided during the Andy Reid era, regained its edge. The rematch is Sunday in a new city, La...

The NBA Draft is tonight and former Kansas players Udoka Azubuike and Devon Dotson are expected to hear their names called, although perhaps not until the second round. Beat writers Gary Bedore and Jesse Newell talk about Azubuike and Dotson as college stars and how their games may translate into the NBA. After a break, Kansas State beat writer Kellis Robinett previews the Wildcats’ big game on Sa...

The wheels on the Raiders’ bus went round, round, round — all around Arrowhead Stadium. So, that’s a topic, the Raiders’ victory lap around the stadium after their victory at Arrowhead last month. Andy Reid said that type of thing isn’t the Chiefs’ style, and Vegas coach Jon Gruden seems perturbed by the whole thing. This is but one topic on today’s episode of SportsBeat KC, The Star’s dailt podca...

College basketball season is set to make its entrance on Nov. 25, but it’s no ordinary run-up to the season. COVID-19 dominates the chatter and how it might impact the sport. Remember, college hoops paid the biggest price in the pandemic, losing the NCAA Tournament. Now, the next season is here and concerns remain. Area basketball coaches Bill Self of Kansas, Kansas State’s Bruce Weber and Missour...

The slate of college football games is getting thinner by the hour. By noon on Friday, 12 Division I games this week had been postponed or canceled, including contests involving top-ranked Alabama (at LSU), No. 3 Ohio State (at Maryland) and fifth-ranked Texas A&M (at Tennessee). Also on the postponed list: Missouri’s home game against No. 12 Georgia. Mizzou beat writer Souichi Terada joins Sp...

The opening of college basketball season is less than two weeks ago, so there’s plenty to talk about on SportsBeat KC, The Star’s daily sports podcast. Today’s subject: Hoops in the Sunflower State. Beat writers Jesse Newell and Gary Bedore (Kansas), Kellis Robinett (Kansas State) and Taylor Eldridge (Wichita State) preview their teams and tackle other topics. And there are some other topics: Will...

The Royals’ quest for the 2021 playoffs is well under way. The shaping of next season’s team has started and general manager Dayton Moore shared his thoughts on the organization’s approach and philosophy with reporters on Wednesday. His comments are part of today’s SportsBeat KC, The Star’s daily sports podcast. Moore called the Royals “one of the least transactional teams in baseball.” Will the t...

To win the MLS Western Conference, Sporting Kansas City had to beat the opponent on the road and the elements. Both happened. Sporting pitched a 2-0 shutout at Real Salt Lake on Sunday in a game played in a snowstorm. The triumph also meant that Sporting became the best turnaround team in MLS history, improving 10 places over last season. Beat writer Shaun Goodwin joins SportsBeat KC host Blair Ke...

The Chiefs got outgained in yardage and crushed in time of possession against the Carolina Panthers. But Kansas City managed to survive 33-31 Sunday because they have the best quarterback in the league. At least that’s the opinion of those who cover the team for The Star Sam Mellinger, Vahe Gregorian, Herbie Teope and Sam McDowell discuss the game in general and Mahomes in particular on this espis...

The Kansas schools in the BIg 12 take on their Oklahoma counterparts Saturday, and based on betting lines, the Sunflower State programs could be in trouble. According to Vegasinsider.com, the Wildcats are 12 1/2-point underdogs at home to Oklahoma State and the Jayhawks are 38-point underdogs at Oklahoma. Beat writers Kellis Robinett and Gary Bedore talk K-State and KU on this episode of SportsBea...

The Chiefs are in the middle of their regular season at the end of the political season. They’ve handled both well. The A-Team of Sam Mellinger, Vahe Gregorian, Sam McDowell and Herbie Teope discuss with host Blair Kerkhoff on SportsBeat KC, The Star’s daily sports podcast. Also, the Chiefs are getting contributions from several rookies, and that was perhaps a bit unexpected given all the returnin...

Missouri is coming off a 41-17 loss at Florida, ending the Tigers’ two game winning streak. But the game action was only part of the story. Mizzou and the Gators engaged in benches-clearing fisticuffs. Three players, one from Missouri, were ejected and Florida coach Dan Mullen was fined $25,000 for his part in the scene. Three other Missouri players will serve a half-game suspension for their role...

Kansas City Star sportswriter Jesse Newell assumed a temporary assignment covering the local political landscape through the elections. And he’s heard from the “stick to sports” crowd. When he eventually returns to sports journalism, covering the Kansas Jayhawks, he figures he’ll get a few “stick to politics” suggestions. For this Election Day show, Newell talks politics and sports with Blair Kerk...

The expected blowout was delivered. The Chiefs knocked out the New York Jets 35-9 on Sunday and just about everything was humming, starting with Patrick Mahomes. His five touchdown passes and 414 passing yards ranking among his career best. But he wasn’t the only Chiefs player to complete a pass. Two others did, including punter Tommy Townsend. The Star’s A-Team of Herbie Teope, Sam McDowell, Vahe...

Kansas State has won four straight, stands undefeated in the Big 12 and is ranked No. 16 in the polls. So why are the Wildcats an underdog at unranked West Virginia? Beat writer Kellis Robinett breaks down the game on SportsBeat KC with host Blair Kerkhoff. After a break, Gary Bedore discusses KU athletic director Jeff Long’s plea for patience with football on coach Les Miles radio show. Also, for...

On the Halloween edition of SportsBeat KC, the masks come on for some of the members of The Star’s A-Team of Vahe Gregorian, Herbie Teope, Sam Mellinger and Sam McDowell, along with host Blair Kerkhoff. And the Chiefs game on Sunday against the winless New York Jets could become a frightening matter. The group covers several topics, from Eric Bieniemy’s prospects of becoming the Jets next head coa...

As of Wednesday, the Missouri at Florida game is on. Enough COVID-19 positive cases kept the Gators off the practice field for nearly two weeks since their last game on Oct. 10, but Coach Dan Mullen, who also tested positive during that stretch, has said Florida will have enough players to field a team for Saturday’s game in Gainesville. That’s college football in 2020. The game should be a good o...

Sporting KC is 4-1-1 in October and has moved into first place in the Western Conference of Major League Soccer. Three games remain in the regular season with the playoffs looming. In this episode of The Star’s daily podcast, SKC beat writer Shaun Goodwin chats with SportsBeat KC host Blair Kerkhoff about Sporting and standout Alan Pulido, who makes a difference every time he steps on the field. S...