SportsBeat KC

Just another ho-hum victory for the Chiefs on Sunday? Uh, no. Playing the Los Angeles Chargers in the team’s first game in its new home, the $5 billion SoFi Stadium, the Chiefs got off a slow start and fell behind by 11 points in the second half. But as they did throughout last season’s Super Bowl run they battled back. This time, forcing overtime before taking the 23-20 triumph. Quarterback Patri...

The Royals are rolling. Probably too late to climb back into the playoff picture but this feels different than taking on victories at the end of a losing season. The starting pitching has been superb, led by rookie Brady Singer, and the development of young arms are an encouraging sign for the future. Beat writer Lynn Worthy talks about the recent stretch and what lies ahead for the Royals in thei...

SportsBeat KC originated as a video program on Thursday, when beat writers Herbie Teope and Sam McDowell joined columnists Sam Mellinger and Vahe Gregorian in breaking down the Chiefs’ opening game victory and looking ahead to Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers. Also, operating the Chiefs offense without big plays, having a defense that’s ahead of the pace compared to last year’s unit,...

Patrick Mahomes averaged 301 passing yards per game in his career. So when he delivered 211 through the air against the Houston Texans in the opener, that had to be marked as a sub-standard effort, right? Wrong. Mahomes’ passer rating (123.3), completion percentage (75.0) and three touchdowns in a game that wasn’t in doubt after halftime showed an ability to win a game without an eye-popping yarda...

It was a rough start for Kansas State and other Big 12 programs as college football, battling through COVID-19, opened around the conference last weekend. Beat writer Kellis Robinett joins SportsBeat KC host Blair Kerkhoff to break down what went wrong in the Wildcats’ 35-31 loss to Arkansas State, and talk about how their issues can be fixed. The Wildcats weren’t alone. Kansas and Iowa State were...

If you didn’t find sports to watch this weekend, you weren’t trying. The NFL, college football, baseball, NBA playoffs, Stanley Cup playoffs, U.S. Open tennis, MLS soccer and more were all in action. Late summer is always a busy time on the sports calendar. The coronavirus has made it even more so. That made for plenty of discussion topics for columnists Vahe Gregorian and Sam Mellinger, starting...

What night at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs gave the 16,000 fans plenty to cheer for in a 34-20 victory over the Houston Texans. And some boos were heard during the pregame statement by players from both teams displaying unity. Today’s SportsBeat KC originated as a SportBeat Live, a discussion of all things Chiefs, among The Star’s coverage team of Sam McDowell, Vahe Gregorian, Sam McDowell and Sa...

Game day has arrived, so let’s talk Chiefs. In this episode of SportsBeat KC, The Kansas City Star’s daily sports podcast, rookie running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire discusses the anticipation of his NFL debut. It’s interesting to hear what he expects from himself against the Houston Texans. After a break, NFL Network talent checks in and talks about the Chiefs and the NFL’s opening weekend. Michae...

How many games will the Chiefs win? How many touchdown passes with Patrick Mahomes throw? The NFL opener between the Chiefs and Houston Texans is the ideal time to pose those questions on SportsBeat Live with The Kansas City Star’s A-Team of Herbie Teope, Sam McDowell, Sam Mellinger, Vahe Gregorian and host Blair Kerkhoff. Hopes are high for a Super Bowl repeat, although that hasn’t happened in th...

By Tuesday, two games had been removed from this Saturday’s Big 12 football schedule because of COVID-19. But they didn’t involved Kansas State or Kansas. Their seasons are set, for now, to open this weekend against non-conference opponents. It’s unlikely that the Wildcats and Jayhawks — and nearly every college football team that takes the field this season — will be at full strength because of t...

Game week has arrived for the Super Bowl champion Chiefs, who take on the Houston Texans Thursday to open the NFL’s Kickoff Weekend. Quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and DeShaun Watson square off for the first time as the NFL’s two richest quarterbacks by virtue of summer contract extensions. Like all NFL teams, the Chiefs and Texans had to pare their rosters to 53 players Saturday, but with a Thursda...

Conferences playing college football in the fall will have started by Sept. 12, except for the SEC. The nation’s top football conference is waiting until Sept. 26 to kick off. That means more time for Missouri to get work under new head coach Eli Drinkwitz. What can the Tigers get done in the next three weeks? Polish up the offense, for starters. Mizzou beat writer Souichi Terada talks Tigers on t...

Many of the Chiefs’ big roster decisions were made in the form of contract extensions or restructuring, plus a draft the team counted as successful. But cut down day arrives on Saturday and the Super Bowl champion will have to let go of some candidates to trim the roster from 80 to 53. The opener is only five days later, against the Houston Texans. Who’s on the bubble? The Chiefs have some interes...

Six days after releasing a fall football schedule, the Big Ten announced it wouldn’t have a season. That was three weeks ago and there has been plenty of blowback since, especially from Nebraska. A group of eight Huskers football players filed a lawsuit claiming the Big Ten’s decision was invalid. On this episode of SportsBeat KC, The Star’s daily sports podcast, Omaha World-Herald columnist Tom S...

The question last week — would the Royals move any major pieces before baseball’s trade deadline? — was answered in the affirmative. Closer Trevor Rosenthal, who had regained the form that made him an All-Star in St. Louis, was traded to the Padres. The Royals, it seems, have 2021 and beyond in mind. Rosenthal’s gone, but the KC bullpen, perhaps the most improved part of this year’s team, still tu...

The strangest of training camps has ended for the Chiefs and focus turns to Saturday’s cut down date and the season opener the following Thursday against the Houston Texans. Before looking ahead, beat writers Herbie Teope and Sam McDowell join SportsBeat KC host Blair Kerkhoff and gaze back at the camp that took place for the first time at the team’s practice facility at the Truman Sports Complex...

The second half of the shortened baseball season got off to a lousy start for the Royals, that 6-5 loss in St. Louis on Wednesday when the Royals blew a three-run lead in the ninth. It doesn’t get easier as the team begins a three-game series tonight in Chicago against a White Sox team that has won nine of 10. Beat writer Lynn Worthy joins host Blair Kerkhoff on SportsBeat KC to talk Royals, the u...

The Chiefs are one of a handful of NFL teams that is opening its gates to fans for games, at least in the early part of the season. The team also is making moves regarding its Native American imagery and the organization is getting behind a get-out-the-vote initiative. All that while holding the Super Bowl favorite’s role. Team president Mark Donovan spoke to reporters about the off-field issues a...

Fans clicked through the turnstiles for Kansas City’s first pro sports game since March Tuesday night, as Sporting KC played host to the Houston Dynamo at Children’s Mercy Park. Seating was limited to about 2,300 spectators, but they were loud, energetic and appreciated by coach Peter Vermes and the players. If only they were rewarded with a better result. Sporting KC fell to the Dynamo 5-2 in a g...

The 2020 college football was supposed to start this weekend with a handful of games followed by the traditional full slate of games over Labor Day weekend. There won’t be a grand opening for the sport this season. But a staggered beginning with Big 12, ACC and other conferences starting Sept. 12 and SEC schools on Sept. 26. But every day there’s more news about COVID-19 on campus that makes you t...

Fans in the stands - the Chiefs were the first in the NFL to make that happen in a preseason practice. It wasn’t the same as a training camp morning at Missouri Western in St. Joseph, where up to 5,000 would attend. But Chiefs players said they enjoyed having the energy of some 2,000 fans in the stands on Satruday. But were they practicing safety measures in the COVID-19 pandemic? Several fans wer...

As you’d expect, reaction has been swift and full-throated from Chiefs fans and others about the team’s announcement it’s banning headdresses and Native American-style face-painting at Arrowhead Stadium. The team said it made the decision after years of consulting with local leaders from Native American backgrounds. Those discussions have been happening since 2014. Some fans say the team has gone...

For a pair of teams chasing. .500 records, plenty happened in the Royals split of a double header with the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday. In the opener, Brad Keller was dazzling again. He ran his shutout total to open the season to 17 2/3 innings, and is having the best start by a Royals pitcher since Zack Greinke won the Cy Young Award in 2009. In the second game, Matt Harvey made his Royals debut...

Sporting KC is on the verge of a season restart ... for the second time. Every Major League Soccer team was inactive for COVID-19 until the MLS is Back Tournament reopened the season last month. Once the knockout round started, losing teams were finished at the Orlando site and returned home to await the regular season re-start. For Sporting KC, that will have been more than three weeks between ga...

Fans are returning to Arrowhead Stadium this season. The Chiefs announced earlier this week that about 16,000 fans will be allowed to attend home games, at least the first three. Tickets will be sold in “pods,” with up to six seats in each pod. The pods will be spread throughout the stadium. It will be a different fan experience, as it as it is for every sport in the COVID-19 world. Star columnist...