SportsBeat KC

On Monday, Washington’s NFL team announced it was dropping the nickname “Redskins.” Other teams with Native American-related nicknames are examining their imagery and branding. The Kansas City Chiefs have made no statement about this, but Star columnist Vahe Gregorian spoke to college professors who are Native Americans about this topic. As one of the professors said “That’s probably the most hurt...

Soccer is the first professional team sport to return to action in the U.S., and Sporting KC gets back into action on Sunday against Minnesota. All Major League Soccer games are being played in Orlando, and re-starting competition isn’t the only message from the players. A group called Black Players for Change, which include’s Sporting’s Khiry Shelton, made its first public demonstration before We...

The Kansas City Royals are nearly one week into their restart, and they’ve hit a few snags along the way. Three front-line players have tested positive for COVID-19. But unlike other major league teams, there have been no opt-outs among the Royals, and new manager Mike Mathney said the team is taking the right approach into the season. Royals beat writer Lynn Worthy has attended this week’s scrimm...

A topic that had been bubbling nationally for the past week or so was disrupted in Kansas City when Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes signed a 10-year contract extension on Monday. But sports nicknames that are based in Native American heritage is back on the table. The Washington Redskins and Cleveland Indians are considering changes. What kind of conversation should the Chiefs be having? Star c...

On Monday, they bought champagne, posed for photographs and signed the paperwork. On Tuesday, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes talked about the richest contract in U.S. sports history, along with head coach Andy Reid and general manager Brett Veach. SportsBeat KC, The Kansas City Star’s daily sports podcast, has the entire conversation, including a few questions at the end posed by c...

He’s now the half-billion dollar athlete. The Kansas City Chiefs announced at contract extension for Patrick Mahomes on Monday, a new deal that folds in the final two years of his rookie contract and tacks on 10 more for a total of $503 million. This makes Mahomes the highest paid athlete in sports. What does this mean for the Chiefs going forward like the future of Andy Reid, the contract of Chri...

The Chris Jones story took another twist this week with his tweet that hints of his sitting out the 2020 season instead of playing on the franchise tag. Jones dropped the name Le’Veon Bell, the running back to sat out the 2018 season, declining to play for the Steelers when the used a franchise tag on him for a second straight year. On SportsBeat KC, Chiefs beat writers Herbie Teope and Sam McDowe...

Kansas State joined the growing list of college football programs to take a stand against racism when the team threatened a boycott in response to a crude social media post that mocked the killing of George Floyd by a white Minneapolis police officer. The university and the athletic department posted action plans on Thursday that include social justice programs. On Sportsbeat KC, K-State beat writ...

Last Saturday marked 37 years since the tragic death of former Chiefs running back Joe Delaney, who drowned trying to save kids who had gone under in a Louisiana pond. Delaney had completed two NFL seasons and had been named the 1981 AFC offensive player of the year. He was bound for stardom. On the anniversary of Delaney’s death, a memorial was erected in his honor in Monroe, the city where he di...

Monday was a day to tip your cap. To baseball teams like the Royals, for putting together rosters that number up to 60, and to the Negro Leagues. We talk about both on SportsBeat KC. Royals beat writer Lynn Worthy shares thoughts on the team’s roster that will open the summer training camp, and notes a surprise selection. We open with a conversation with former Star columnist Joe Posnanski, a driv...

A couple of weeks ago, Star columnist Vahe Gregorian and I started talking about hosting a video discussion around the subject of race in sports. We wondered if we could find some Kansas City-area sports leaders interested in joining us. Calls went out to a half-dozen people — six was our limit because of issues with technology and timing — and all six quickly responded in the affirmative. The sho...

Baseball didn’t settle its labor issues but that’s a story for another time. The game is returning, in a 60-game sprint to the postseason. Several other changes will mark the most unusual season in the game’s history, and we talk about them with Royals beat writer Lynn Worthy and Star columnist Sam Mellinger on SportsBeat KC. Are the Royals in a position to take advantage of the changes? Players l...

The Chiefs wrapped up their organized team activities last week, and it was an OTAs unlike any other. Players on the team didn’t work out together because of the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, and on this episode of The Star’s daily SportsBeat KC podcast we try to determine what that means for the Super Bowl champions in a conversation between beat writers Herbie Teope and Sam McDowell and...

You could almost feel the virtual fist pumps from Kansas fans when news broke last week that basketball coach Bill Self has threatened a lawsuit against the NCAA. KU and the NCAA haven’t held anything back in their dueling public statements involving the NCAA’s investigation into the basketball program. But on today’s SportsBeat KC, KU beat writer Jesse Newell provides a deeper explanation into th...

College football workouts are under way, and it hasn’t gone well in some places. A handful of schools have reported a high number of positive tests for COVID-19, including Kansas State and Clemson. Workouts have been suspended at K-State. Beat writers Kellis Robinett of the Wichita Eagle and Kansas City Star and Matt Connolly of The State in Columbia, S.C., talk about how the programs are dealing...

We waited all week to talk about baseball’s return, but MLB and its union have run out of week. On this episode of The Star’s daily SportsBeat KC podcast, columnist Sam Mellinger checks in to discuss where the owners and players stand at the moment and how the players made a winning public relations move this week. Sam also wonders if the Royals can be a model franchise once — or if — a settlement...

Through protests and a pandemic preparation for the 2020-21 sports calendar continues at Missouri. On SportsBeat KC, Tigers beat writer Souichi Terada joins host Blair Kerkhoff to provide updates on football and sports plans after hearing from coaches, including Eli Drinkwitz, and athletic director Jim Sterk. The tone is optimistic even if Mizzou, like all other schools, can’t make specific plans...

Kansas is facing potential trouble with its men’s basketball program, and the Jayhawks’ football team just completed a decade of futility. But generally speaking, KU fans feel good about their teams and coaches, according to a survey conducted by The Star. In this episode of our daily Kansas City sports podcast, beat writer Jesse Newell breaks down the findings and survey process itself with Sport...

The voices of college athletes are being heard. This week, one of the nation’s top running backs, Oklahoma State’s Chuba Hubbard, expressed anger at Cowboys coach Mike Gundy for wearing a T-shirt touting a news outlet that’s labeled the Black Lives Matter movement as a farce. And some Black football players at Texas have called on the school to drop its “Eyes of Texas” song because of historically...

Baseball wrapped up the strangest of drafts and undrafted free agent signings over the past few days and the Royals like where they stand. College pitching again was the emphasis, as three of the six drafted players and three of the undrafted free agents were college pitchers. Also, the Royals appeared to have benefitted from their position announced last month that all minor leaguers would be pai...

We’ve seen auto racing, mixed-martial arts and golf return to action in the U.S. Now we have a definitive date for the first return of a team-sports league in America. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, Major League Soccer will open the MLS is Back Tournament on July 8, with all games played, minus fans, at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex — Disney World — in Orlando. Teams have been placed...

Let’s talk baseball, and not the feud between players and owners about when to start the season. Major League Baseball is holding its draft and the Royals had two picks on the first day. They selected Texas A&M left-handed pitcher Asa Lacy and Baylor shortstop Nick Loftin. Royals beat writer Lynn Worthy breaks down the picks, and describes how Lacy, believed to be off the board when the Royals...

It was a Chiefs press conference unlike any other. Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes and Tyrann Mathieu used nearly all of their time talking to Kansas City reporters about race and social injustice. You’ll hear all of them, and everything they had to say, here on SportsBeat KC. These folks were thrilled after winning the Super Bowl four months ago. They were just as passionate on the topics on this day....

Some of college basketball’s most prominent coaches got together last week for a forum called “Using Your Platform as a Coach During This Critical Time.” Coaches like Kentucky’s John Calipari, Houston’s Kelvin Sampson and South Carolina’s Frank Martin spoke to that. But also much more. They each addressed how they felt when seeing the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police offi...

Recently, The Star has use the pause in sports action to review and rank the greatest sports moments and people in the Kansas City sports scene, events and personalities that helps shape the area’s history. Opinions and contributions came from several sources, including sportswriters. One, Randy Covitz, covered it all at The Star from 1981 until he retired in 2015. Hear what he had to say about th...