SportsBeat KC

Latest Episodes:

On Chiefs’ playoff victory, Mahomes’ injury and Henne-thing can happen Jan 18, 2021

Show notes

The Chiefs have now won playoff games in three consecutive years, but it wasn’t easy to get No. 3 on Sunday. After taking a 16-point lead over the Cleveland Browns, the Chiefs hung on to post a 22-17 triumph in the AFC Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs and will now face the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.

The Star’s coverage team of columnists Sam Mellinger and Vahe Gregorian and beat writers Herbie Teope and Sam McDowell joined host Blair Kerkhoff to break down the wild Chiefs-Browns contest on SportsBeat Live, presented here as a SportsBeat KC podcast.

The Patrick Mahomes injury, Chad Henne’s relief appearance, Andy Reid’s play-calls, the play of the defense ... plus your questions and comments. It’s all covered here.

Story links:

The Chiefs won without Patrick Mahomes. Is this what exorcising demons looks like?

Even with Mahomes out, Chiefs showed #HenneThingIsPossible in beating Browns

Give defense its due following Chiefs’ 22-17 playoff victory over Cleveland Browns

What we learned as Chiefs lost Mahomes to head injury in beating Browns

“In good spirits:” Here’s what Chiefs players are saying about Mahomes’ head injury

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Should KU play for March now? Reasons for moving K-State-Stanford game Jan 15, 2021

Show notes

Kansas goes into Saturday’s game against Iowa State two games back in the loss column in the Big 12 race. Have the Jayhawks reached the point where playing for the league championship could become a secondary consideration as they spend the rest of the season preparing for the NCAA Tournament?

Beat writers Jesse Newell and Gary Bedore break down that notion on SportsBeat KC, The Star’s daily sports podcast with host Blair Kerkhoff.

Also, Kansas State sent its 2021 football home opener to Arlington, Texas. Good move? And who’s next from K-State in the College Football Hall of Fame after Darren Sproles got the call this week? Kellis Robinett has the answers.

Story links:

Why KU basketball—just this year—should shift its focus away from Big 12 title

KU’s Bryce Thompson has surgery on right index finger. He’ll be out several weeks

Money was a factor: Why K-State moved Stanford game off campus to AT&T Stadium

K-State Q&A: Why legendary QB Michael Bishop belongs in the college Hall of Fame

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What areas can Chiefs, Browns exploit in AFC playoff encounter? Jan 14, 2021

Show notes

The broader topics of the Chiefs-Browns Divisional Round playoff game were discussed earlier in the week on SportsBeat KC. Today’s program drills down into the game itself. How will the teams’ defend each other? Where can they take advantage?

Star columnists Sam Mellinger and Vahe Gregorian joined beat writer Sam McDowell and host Blair Kerkhoff to break down the game at Arrowhead Stadium. It’s the fourth time in five years the Chiefs have reached this round of the playoffs and they’re attempting to advance to the AFC Championship for the third straight year.

Story links:

How AFC playoffs became Andy Reid Invitational and what that says about his career

Travis Kelce knows what it’s like to be a Cleveland sports fan, but not on Sunday

How and why Patrick Mahomes layered his preparation for the playoffs

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Checking in with Mahomes, Hill, Kelce ahead of playoff game vs. Browns Jan 14, 2021

Show notes

What was Patrick Mahomes doing while waiting to learn the identity of the Chiefs’ first playoff opponent? What play did Tyreek Hill regret most from the 2020 regular season? How is Travis Kelce handling the attention from friends in his Cleveland hometown as the Chiefs prepare to meet the Browns Sunday in the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs?

Those questions — and many more — were asked and answered Wednesday when Chiefs players met the media for the first time during playoff week. The entire interviews are presented on today’s episode of the daily SportsBeat KC podcast.

Story links:

Mahomes and the young guys: Nothing like AFC playoff quarterbacks to make the rest of us feel older

The Chiefs can make AFC playoff history with a victory over the Browns

Chiefs keys vs. Browns: Bottle up Browns’ backfield and go after Cleveland’s secondary

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chiefs entering playoffs from position of strength, says author Michael MacCambridge Jan 12, 2021

Show notes

Author Michael MacCambridge comes by his Chiefs fandom naturally. He grew up in Kansas City and worked at Arrowhead Stadium for a couple of years. He’s written several books, among them a biography of Chiefs founder Lamar Hunt and ‘69 Chiefs: A Team, a Season and the Birth of Modern Kansas City.

Also, Chiefs Kingdom: The Official Story of the 2019 Championship Season.

Who better to break down the current and past Chiefs teams than MacCambridge? He chatted with Star columnist Vahe Gregorian and SportsBeat KC host Blair Kerkhoff about previous playoff seasons, this weekend’s Division Round game against the Browns and several more topics.

Links:

Michael MacCambridge books via Amazon

Vahe Gregorian: Here’s hoping Kareem Hunt’s ‘personal’ quip doesn’t mean he’s in denial about his behavior.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kareem Hunt, John Dorsey, Mahomes-Mayfield ... let’s talk Chiefs-Browns Jan 11, 2021

Show notes

Kareem Hunt ... John Dorsey ... Mahomes-Mayfield ... The storylines are rich for Sunday’s Division Round playoff game between the Chiefs and Cleveland Browns at Arrowhead Stadium.

SportsBeat KC takes a comprehensive first look at the matchup with Star columnists Sam Mellinger and Vahe Gregorian, beat writer Sam McDowell and host Blair Kerkhoff. The discussion started as a Monday morning SportsBeat Live session, with questions and comments from viewers.

Should Hunt hold a grudge against the Chiefs? What talent did Dorsey acquire during his tenure as general manager for the Chiefs, and now the Browns? And did you see how punts came back to haunt some teams and coaches during Wild Card weekend?

All this and much more with the A-Team on SportsBeat KC.

Story links:

Here’s a first look at Chiefs-Browns Divisional Round matchup

Celebrating Browns’ win, Kareem Hunt says of facing Chiefs, “Next week (is) personal.”

Home field was no advantage in NFL this season. Will it be for Chiefs in the playoffs?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Huge turnarounds by game — and in game — for Kansas, K-State, Mizzou Jan 08, 2021

Show notes

This week, Kansas made a 54-point turnaround between Big 12 games. Missouri had a 29-point reversal in the same game.

Kansas State? Just looking for a victory.

College basketball is the topic on this episode of the daily SportsBeat KC podcast with host Blair Kerkhoff. Beat writers Gary Bedore and Jesse Newell (Kansas), Souichi Terada (Missouri) and Kellis Robinett (Kansas State) share updates and analysis about the teams.

Story links:

KU’s Bill Self pleased with fluid offense in TCU game. “I thought we shared it.”

Self found a Devon Dodson clone in KU’s victory TCU. It’s not who you think

Where it went wrong for Mizzou in puzzling loss at Mississippi State

Lack of experience, depth shows during Kansas State’s road loss at Texas Tech

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who should Chiefs want to emerge from Wild Card Round? Jan 07, 2021

Show notes

The NFL playoffs start this weekend without the Chiefs, a reward for being the AFC’s top seed. The Chiefs will watch games between the Bills-Colts, Titans-Ravens and Browns-Steelers. What’s the best matchup for the Chiefs? Beat writer Herbie Teope and columnist Vahe Gregorian join SportsBeat KC host Blair Kerkhoff to discuss.

Also, covered: the MVP race and Patrick Mahomes’ place in it; Eric Bieniemy’s future; who will and won’t play for the Chiefs when their playoff chase begins the following week, and more.

Story links:

If ‘deserve’ means anything, Eric Bieniemy must get chance at NFL head coaching job

Chiefs place rookie defensive end Mike Danna on reserve/COVID-19 list

The Chiefs’ best moments of the season, ranked, before this year’s NFL playoffs begin

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The dream’s always been real for broadcaster-turned-author Bob Davis Jan 06, 2021

Show notes

Bob Davis was the Voice of the Jayhawks from 1984-2016, so you know he’s got some stories to tell. And he’s told them, in a book, “The Dream is Real, My Life on the Airwaves. The collaboration between Davis and Jeff Bollig is available online and through Dillion’s stores.

Davis spoke with SportsBeat KC host Blair Kerkhoff about his years at KU and his career that started in Hays, Kan., included a 13-year run with the Royals. Davis was on the call for some of the biggest moments in Kansas’ sports history, and you’ll hear a couple of them here.

Story link:

“The Dream is Real:” Bob Davis, former voice of Jayhawks (and Royals) has a new book

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is this the year Eric Bieniemy lands head coaching job? Jan 05, 2021

Show notes

The interview process once again has started for Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy. On Monday, he interviewed virtually for the head coaching positions with the Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions. The Jets also plan to interview him. With four other openings in the NFL, the coaching carousel has begun.

This is Bieniemy’s third year interviewing for a top job. Will he follow the paths of former Chiefs offensive coordinators Doug Pederson and Matt Nagy, now head coaches? Andy Reid thinks so and shared his feeling with reporters on Monday. You’ll hear them and other thoughts from Reid on SportsBeat KC with host Blair Kerkhoff.

After a break, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and safety Tyrann Mathieu describe the challenges of playing through the COVID-19 pandemic season.

Story links:

Chiefs corner DeAndre Baker has successful surgery on broken femur, Andy Reid says

AFC Playoff primer: A quick look at the seven teams vying for Super Bowl LV berth

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected