SportsBeat KC

The Chiefs are AFC West champs again, but three weeks remain in the regular season, starting with Sunday’s home game against Denver. With one goal down, the Chiefs can’t begin to pursue their second — playoff success — until next month. How will the Chiefs play it? And look who is leading the Broncos’ offense: former Missouri and Lee’s Summit High quarterback Drew Lock. He’s making his third NFL s...

Kansas State is going to a bowl game, as expected, but not the one the program had hoped for. What’s the reaction from the school and its fans? Kellis Robinett checks in from Manhattan to give us the latest on SportsBeat KC presented by Big O Tires. Also, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes stepped to the podium to provide his thoughts on the Broncos, Missouri and Lee’s Summit product Drew Lock, an...

Nothing short of winning the AFC Championship will wipe away the disappointment of last season’s ending for the Chiefs, but on Sunday they got a measure of revenge on the team that knocked them from the playoffs, the New England Patriots. The Chiefs won in 23-16, and The Star’s Herbie Teope, Vahe Gregorian, Sam McDowell and Sam Mellinger talked about it from the Gillette Stadium press box after th...

Eliah Drinkwitz is the new head football coach at the University of Missouri. He came on the Tigers’ radar screen late in the process but Mizzou believes it’s found the right person for the job after Drinkwitz compiled a 12-1 record and Sun Belt Conference championship at Appalachian State. Star columnists Vahe Gregorian and Sam Mellinger joined MU beat writer Souichi Terada and SportsBeat KC host...

It’s a college sports Friday on SportsBeat KC, and The Star’s college beat writers weigh in with the latest at Missouri, Kansas State and Kansas. Souichi Terada provides the update on Mizzou’s football coaching search. There are names. Is an announcement near? The WIldcats know they’re going bowling. But where? Kellis Robinett runs down the possibilities. Les Miles completed his first year as the...

It’s Chiefs-Patriots week, and this is a game the Chiefs have thought about since dropping the AFC Championship Game to New England in January. Young gun quarterback Patrick Mahomes faces six-time Super Bowl championship quarterback Tom Brady. The Patriots have excelled defensively, the Chiefs have looked better in recent weeks with most of their starters healthy. Herbie Teope, Sam McDowell, Sam M...

Jesse Newell stops by to discuss the Jayhawks’ next game, against ranked Colorado, and reviews Kansas’ impressive performance in the Maui Invitational. Of note: how one play late in the title game against Dayton, which didn’t involve a shot or pass, helped KU win the tournament. Also, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes met the media and the primary topic was Sunday’s game against the New England P...

Missouri is in the hunt for a new football coach and that’s the topic on SportsBeat KC. Star columnists Vahe Gregorian and Sam Mellinger discuss why Barry Odom was fired and join host Blair Kerkhoff in breaking down what Mizzou athletic director Jim Sterk may be seeking in a replacement. We come up with a favorite candidate. Also, the group assigns grades to the football seasons of Kansas State an...

The Chiefs walloped the Oakland Raiders 40-9 at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday to take command of the AFC West race. The defense and special teams were terrific, the offense was good enough to post the decisive victory. The A-team of Herbie Teope, Sam McDowell, Sam Mellinger, Vahe Gregorian and Blair Kerkhoff broke down the game on Facebook Live now presented as a SportsBeat KC presented by Big O Tir...

Some call today Black Friday. Around here, though, it’s still Red Friday, with the Chiefs involved in a division showdown Sunday against the Oakland Raiders at Arrowhead Stadium. On SportsBeat KC, we talked Chiefs-Raiders with national sports talk show host JT the Brick, who hosts a Raiders podcast. Also, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes met with the media for the first time since the aftermath...

The Kansas City Royals formally introduced new owner John Sherman this week, and as Star columnist Sam Mellinger wrote that he made “one hell of a first impression.” Sherman spoke to his call from David Glass informing him that the Royals were for sale, the team’s payroll and the prospects for a downtown stadium. Today’s SportsBeat KC podcast is Sherman’s press conference, moderated by Royals broa...

The impact of the NCAA’s decision not to grant an appeal of sanctions will be felt in the short and long term. The Tigers can’t go a bowl game this season, even they defeat Arkansas on Friday and qualify for the postseason with a sixth victory. And it will cost the program millions in bowl revenue from the Southeastern Conference. Also, will Friday mark Barry Odom’s final game as Mizzou’s football...

The weekly custom of SportsBeat KC originating as a FaceBook Live continued Tuesday. What what differed was the location and cast. Chiefs talk took to the road ... to Big O Tires in Wichita. Chiefs beat writers Herbie Teope and Sam McDowell along with host Blair Kerkhoff were joined by Taylor Eldridge of the Wichita Eagle. Chiefs were the main course but in the spirit of Thanksgiving, side dishes...

The Chiefs-Raiders rivalry is one of the NFL’s most intense, and nobody enjoyed those games more than Bell. In the final years of the American Football League, the teams battled for division supremacy and the teams combined for three of the AFL’s four Super Bowl appearances. Bell, perhaps the greatest player in Chiefs history, played a major role in those battles and joined The Star’s Vahe Gregori...

Recently, Kansas Coach Bill Self said he wanted to watch a game from home but couldn’t. He did hadn’t subscribed to Big 12 NOW, the league’s new streaming network through ESPN Plus. Streaming sports events and programs have been around for a while, but for the first time, it takes a subscription to view some KU, Kansas State and other Big 12 football and basketball games. Big 12 commissioner Bob B...

Mexico City in the NFL future, Chiefs issues in the red zone, the Philip Rivers question and famous sports figures named Sam are among the topics on SportsBeat KC, The Star’s daily sports podcast presented by Big O Tires. The Chiefs have a bye week ahead of their AFC West showdown with the Oakland Raiders on Dec 1. But Facebook Live rolled on on Big O Tires in Lee’s Summit with Vahe Gregorian, Her...

Fifty years ago, the Chiefs won Super Bowl IV with one of the most dominant teams in pro football history. Author Michael MacCambridge captured the remarkable season and what it meant to Kansas City in his new book “69 Chiefs: A Team, a Season and the Birth of Modern Kansas City.” On Oct. 27, the day the Chiefs met the Green Bay Packers at Arrowhead, MacCambridge participated in a Rainy Day Books...

 The Chiefs needed this one. They had to go international to get it, but they returned from Mexico City with a victory over the Los Angeles Chargers that keeps them in first place in the AFC West. The outcome also sets up a showdown with the surprise team of the division, the Oakland Raiders, on Dec. 1. The A-team of Sam Mellinger, Vahe Gregorian, Herbie Teope and Sam McDowell covered the game and...

A preseason Super Bowl pick by many, the Kansas City Chiefs are in a dogfight for the division lead heading into the Monday Night Football against the LA Chargers in Mexico City. Offensive tackle Mitchell Schwartz and linebacker Anthony Hitchens provide their takes on the team’s current state heading into tonight. And KU beat writer Jesse Newell explains how the final field goal scored in the Jayh...

Patrick Mahomes met the media at the Chiefs training facility for the first time since dislocating his kneecap a month ago. He talked about the injury, the Chiefs’ upcoming game against the Los Angeles Chargers in Mexico City and on being compared to Steph Curry. Also, Missouri, Kansas State and Kansas are all in action on the gridiron Saturday. Beat writers Souichi Tereda, Kellis Robinett and Jes...

Big O Tires in Olathe was the site of a Facebook Live conversation about the Chiefs with beat writers Herbie Teope and Sam McDowell and columnists Sam Mellinger and Vahe Gregorian. The problems at Tennessee, especially with special teams, penalties and fumbles, are covered, as is Patrick Mahomes’ amazing first game back from the kneecap injury. The crew looks ahead at the Chiefs’ trip to Mexico Ci...

For the only time during the regular season Chiefs co-owner, CEO and chair Clark Hunt met with reporters. He covered a range of topics from Patrick Mahomes’ future with the Chiefs to how NFL schedules could include fewer preseason games and additional regular season games. Star columnists Sam Mellinger and Vahe Gregorian join SportsBeat KC host Blair Kerkhoff in a discussion of Hunt’s talking poin...

Phil Snowden was a three-year starting quarterback for Missouri and capped his senior season with a Big Eight championship and Orange Bowl trip. His career at Mizzou might not have been as successful without the treatment he received early in his career, aid provided by … legendary KU basketball coach Dr. Phog Allen. Having attended the Central College of Osteopathy in Kansas City, Allen treated a...

Patrick Mahomes was back at quarterback, and the Chiefs were cruising early at Tennessee. Then the mistakes started piling up. Penalties, a costly turnover, special teams problems, and the Chiefs found themselves in a dogfight with the Titans, one they lost 35-32. Chiefs beat writers Herbie Teope and Sam McDowell were joined by columnist Vahe Gregorian in a Red Zone Extra postgame Facebook Live, n...

 Oddmakers have made Kansas State and Missouri underdogs on Saturday in road games against Texas and Georgia. What are the prospects for a surprise or two? K-State beat writer Kellis Robinett and Mizzou beat writer Souichi Terada tell us how that can happen. Also, Chiefs safety Juan Thornhill spent some time with the Star’s Sam McDowell and talked about his climb to becoming an NFL player. Read th...