SportsBeat KC

College basketball ended much too soon because of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic but the business of roster shaping continues. It’s player transfer season, and our part of the country has had its share. On SportsBeat KC, we talk with beat writers Kellis Robinett, Taylor Eldridge and Souichi Terada to get the latest on early departures at Kansas State, Wichita State and Missouri. The Shockers ha...

When the baseball season starts after a delay for the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the Kansas City Royals will being their 52nd season. Play-by-play man Denny Matthews has been behind the mic for every one of them. So how is the Hall of Fame broadcaster handling the delay? Star columnist Vahe Gregorian and me, Blair Kerkhoff, asked Matthews this and covered many other topics on SportsBeat KC, th...

The Chiefs have a new quarterback. No, there’s nothing wrong with Patrick Mahomes. Ta’amu Jordan was added for position depth. He was off to a terrific start with the St. Louis Battle Hawks of the XFL before that league shut down for the COVID-19 coronavirus. Now, he’s a member of the Chiefs, and beat writer Herbie Teope joins Blair Kerkhoff on SportsBeat KC to break down the acquisition, and talk...

The Chiefs were down by 10 midway through the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl? Remember when the Royals trailed the Astros by four in the eighth inning of a playoff elimination game? Or Kansas being down nine with about two minutes remaining in the 2008 NCAA title game. The teams overcame huge challenges to prevail. Teams and the region face a different challenge today. The COVID-19 coronavirus p...

We’ve lost the action of the NCAA Tournament with its cancellation and we’ve also lost the event’s voices. Kevin Harlan brings energy and excitement to every event he covers but he gets especially stoked for March Madness. Without a tournament to call, Harlan found time from his Kansas City home this week to talk about the games, some career highlights and just how the heck perhaps the nation’s bu...

Free agency opened this week with plenty of movement around the NFL, especially at quarterbacks. But one of the quieter teams was the Kansas City Chiefs. There are a few reasons for that and beat writer Sam McDowell and columnist Vahe Gregorian break them down on SportsBeat KC, The Star’s daily sports podcast. The biggest news this was the Chiefs restructuring of Frank Clark’s contract, converting...

The college basketball season isn’t quite over. The games are finished but the final Associated Press poll was released on Wednesday and more All-America teams will be announced. Kansas figures prominently in all of it. The Jayhawks are the final top-ranked team for the shortened 2019-20 season and players like Udoka Azubuike and Devon Dotson are sure to pick up more honors. Also, is there a way f...

The start of baseball season has been delayed by strikes and lockouts. A pandemic? This will be a first. Spring training facilities have closed down two weeks before opening day and the new start has been pushed back until at least May. KC Star Royals beat writer Lynn Worthy discusses how spring training was unfolding in Surprise, Ariz., and how some veteran talent provided encouraging signs in th...

Sports on the court or field? Not happening. Sports over the phone? You bet. Coronavirus has shut down competition in prettu much all sports, but NFL free agency opened on schedule Monday and the Chiefs were heavily involved. Their franchise tag was applied to defensive lineman Chris Jones. Now what? KC Star columnists Sam Mellinger and Vahe Gregorian join Blair Kerkhoff to discuss the Chiefs on t...

A headline in The Kansas City Star in the days after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorists attacks read: Sports, ppd. As NFL, college football and baseball games were being called off the sports world came to a halt. So it is today because of COVID-19 coronavirus. NCAA championships — including men’s and women’s basketball — have been canceled. It’s a remarkable moment in American sports, and we talk abou...

In a remarkable announcements, the NCAA and Big 12 said no spectators would be allowed to attend its men’s and women’s tournament games this year because of the coronavirus. Wow. The Big 12 ban begins on Thursday. That’s the second day of the men’s event at Sprint Center and first day for the women at Municipal Auditorium More than 650,000 fans attended last year’s men’s NCAA tournament, including...

The Big 12 Tournament begins Wednesday and as of early afternoon there were no plans to alter event’s schedule or play games in a Sprint Center without fans because of coronavirus. But Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby did not rule out any possibility when he met with a small group of reporters on Tuesday afternoon. Hear the entire conversation with Bowlsby on SportsBeat KC. Also, Missouri is off to...

What’s new with the Chiefs? No more Mahomes Magic Crunch, players taking to social media to make their free agent statements, and the collective bargaining agreement voting this week. The NFL off-season is about to get busy with free agency and franchise tagging dates approaching. Chiefs beat writer Sam McDowell helps break it down on SportsBeat KC. Also, Kansas State floundered for most of the re...

Let’s see, over the past five days, Kansas announced its 307-page response to the NCAA Notice of Allegations, won at Texas Tech to capture the outright Big 12 championship, and had players honored by the conference, including center Udoka Azubuike as player of the year. Quite a stretch for the Jayhawks, and Kansas City Star columnists Sam Mellinger and Vahe Gregorian break down what it all means o...

Kansas issued its response to the NCAA’s Notice of Allegations issued in September and it was forceful. No spirit of cooperation here. KU will fight each of the five Level I allegations against the men’s basketball program, including head coach Bill Self and assistant Kurtis Townsend. KU beat writer Jesse Newell helps us make sense of the Kansas response on SportsBeat KC. Also, the KC Roos women’s...

Udoka Azubuike was a beast. The Kansas senior center finished with 31 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots in his final game at Allen Fieldhouse as the Jayhawks defeated TCU to capture no worse than a share of the Big 12 championship. Kansas had trouble pulling away from the hot-shooting Horned Frogs and needed all of Azubuike’s production. Does KU have what it takes to make a deep run in th...

On SportsBeat KC, college basketball leads off with a conversation with the winningest men’s coach over the previous four years. Ben McCollum speaks to what has made his Northwest Missouri State program, the NCAA Division II champion in two of the past three years and the current top-ranked team, so successful. What makes NFL prospects successful? To those who play safety or linebacker it’s emulat...

The Chiefs could be forced to make some difficult decisions regarding free agents for 2020 because of the salary cap. But what if the NFL cap spikes the following year? Could that change the Chiefs approach with such players as defensive lineman Chris Jones? Star columnist Sam Mellinger speaks to this and other Chiefs issues on SportsBeat KC. Also, Sam weighs in on Kansas, the nation’s unanimously...

The NFL Combine is over and it’s on to the next NFL off-season thing, free agency. Star beat writers Herbie Teope and Sam McDowell spent last week in Indianapolis talking to prospects, team personnel and agents and share their thoughts on SportsBeat KC. Also, Kansas City hosted the annual Committee of 101 Awards on Saturday. It’s the city’s salute to pro football and brought such stars as Lamar Ja...

The nation’s top-ranked team returns to action on Saturday when Kansas visits Kansas State in the 293rd Sunflower Showdown. Although KU is tied for first in the Big 12 and the Wildcats are buried in last place, emotions run high for this game, evidenced by the brawl that punctuated their meeting last month in Lawrence. KU beat writers Jesse Newel and Gary Bedore talk about the contest and other to...

It’s a busy SportsBeat KC episode. Star columnist Sam Mellinger joins host Blair Kerkhoff to look ahead of Saturday’s Sunflower Showdown from a Kansas State perspective. The WIldcats are in last place a year after winning the Big 12. What does that mean for K-State Coach Bruce Weber. Mellinger is fresh off a trip to spring training, where he scored an exclusive interview with Royals catcher Salvad...

The NFL Combine is underway and that means Chiefs are stepping to the podium. General manager Brett Veach addressed the contract decisions involving Chris Jones, Sammy Watkins and others. Also, with a handful of spring training games in the books, the Royals have gotten looks from former star reliever Greg Holland and outfield prospect Khalil Lee. How did they perform? Beat writer Lynn Worthy chec...

Missouri has steadied the ship in basketball. The Tigers are 3-2 in their past five games, a run that includes their first successive SEC triumphs. Is it enough for Mizzou to begin thinking about a postseason appearance? Beat writer Souichi Terada and columnists Vahe Gregorian discuss coach Cuonzo Martin’s group and take an early look ahead to spring football, which begins in less than two weeks,...

The NFL Scouting Combine is like speed dating. Teams get to know prospects quickly through scouting and interviews and have to make a decision about a relationship over the next few weeks. The Super Bowl champion Chiefs join 31 other teams at the event in Indianapolis, some of which will be televised by the NFL in primetime, and covering the combine are The Star’s Herbie Teope and Sam McDowell. Be...

Third-ranked Kansas has won 11 straight games and stands 12-1 in the Big 12. But that’s not good enough to lead the league. Top-ranked Baylor rides a 23-game winning streak into Saturday’s game against the Jayhawks in Waco, Texas. They’re two of the nation’s top defensive teams, and Baylor has already won in Lawrence. What are the factors that will decide this college basketball game of the year?...