SportsBeat KC The Kansas City Star

There’s less rest for the Super Bowl champion, which plays the final game of the previous season and the first of the next. But no complaints from the Chiefs, who squeezed in a White House visit and ring ceremony around their off-season workouts.
On SportsBeat KC, The Star’s sports podcast, beat writer Jesse Newell puts a bow on the off-season and tackles the impending decisions at such positions as wide receiver and left tackle. And which rookies could make an immediate impact.
How do the two-time Super Bowl champion Chiefs set up for the three-peat quest? It begins next month when training camp begins at Missouri Western State.
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Has Sporting Kansas City reached a pivot point similar to last year? The club can only hope said. After an awful start in 2023, Sporting rallied with a super second half that continued with a spirited playoff run.
This season? After a somewhat encouraging start, Sporting dropped seven straight to drop into last place. Like last year, Sporting ended its woes with a victory over Seattle, and now we’ll see if history can repeat itself.
Star columnist Sam McDowell breaks down the season, projects what changes may be coming and the status of manager Peter Vermes.
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Only 16 teams remain in the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship, and one of them is Kansas State. For the second time in program history the Wildcats have reached the Super Regional. Find a way to win twice at Virginia this weekend and K-State’s Bat Cats will play at the College World Series in Omaha, Neb., for the first time.
On SportsBeat KC, The Star’s sports podcast, beat writer Kellis Robinett discusses how Kansas State reached this point Hint: It started when Coach Pete Hughes started putting together this season’s schedule.
Also on the show, a first look at the college football season and the Big 12 without Texas and Oklahoma, and the implications for schools that will now share revenue with its athletes.
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Often when a baseball record is set, it occurs during game with fanfare. Not this time. The integration of Negro Leagues statistics into Major League Baseball that has resulted in new leaders atop some lists, happened decades later, and determined by a committee.
A Negro Leagues slugger, Josh Gibson, has surpassed Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb in a couple of batting categories, and some who started their career in the Negro Leagues before moving to MLB -- Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays and others -- had numbers added to their stats.
On SportsBeat KC, The Star’s sports podcast, columnists Sam McDowell and Vahe Gregorian discuss baseball’s move and its impact. You’ll also hear from Negro Leagues Baseball Museum President Bob Kendrick, who shared his thoughts on the development and answers questions at a news conference.
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In 2014, the Royals were scuffling around the All-Star break, falling a couple of games under .500 and looking like the postseason drought, nearing three decades, would continue. But the Royals put together a sizzling second half and qualified for the playoffs.
There, they made history, becoming the first team to win the first eight games of a postseason. The quest reached Game 7 of the World Series, where the Royals fell short to the San Francisco Giants and Madison Bumgarner.
Last week, many of the players and coaches from 2014 returned to Kansas City for a reunion and celebration, and on SportsBeat KC, The Star’s sports podcast, you’ll hear from manager Ned Yost, first baseman Eric Hosmer, third baseman Mike Moustakas and outfielder Alex Gordon. All played major roles in the team’s success that year and the next when they finished the job by capturing the World Series.
On this episode, the conversations stay mostly with the 2014 season and team, as Yost, Hoz, Moose and Gordo relive one of the Royals’ greatest seasons.
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Only the NFL could turn its schedule announcement into an event. And we even know the opponents.
On SportsBeat KC, The Star’s sports podcast, Chiefs beat writer Jesse Newell previews the unveiling, and what’s known so far. The Chiefs first’ two games have been identified: home contests against the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals. What does that mean for the rest of the slate?
Also discussed: What move can the Chiefs made at wide receiver now that free agent Zay Jones has signed with the Arizona Cardinals; an appreciation for Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who has signed with the Buffalo Bills; impact of new kickoff rules; and do you prefer game shows or horror shows? Travis Kelce is involved with both.
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