Sportsbeat Kc

We’re getting used to this in Kansas City: The top-rated men’s basketball conference is the Big 12. The best conference tournament? Also the Big 12.The annual show comes to T-Mobile Center for the men starting on Wednesday and the women’s tournament begins at Municipal Auditorium on Sunday.On today’s SportsBeat KC, beat writer Kellis Robinett breaks down the men’s tournament, a even in which nearly every game will match teams that will be playing in the NCAA Tournament the following week.Kansas is the top seed, followed by Texas, Kansas State and Baylor. Seven Big 12 teams should be in the NCAA field, and it’s possible an eighth team could get there.There could be two teams that reach the NCAA playing in Wednesday’s opening round. And for planning purposes, the tournaments will remain in Kansas City through at least 2027.Story link:Here’s the schedule for the Big 12 men’s tournamenthttps://www.kansascity.com/sports/college/big-12/kansas-state/article272753360.html#storylink=mainstage_cardHere’s the schedule f

For its excellent regular season Missouri’s men’s basketball team was rewarded with two days off. For the first time since joining the SEC, the Tigers played their way to the double-bye, and advance straight to Friday’s quarterfinal round.On today’s SportsBeat KC podcast, Mizzou beat writer Matt Stahl, breaks down the TIgers latest conquest–a tight triumph over Ole Miss in Columbia on Saturday–and looks ahead to the SEC Tournament in Nashville, where Missouri is the No. 4 seed.It’s been a remarkable season for the program in Coach Dennis Gates’ first season. Can MIssouri keep it going in the postseason?After a break, you’ll hear from Star sports reporter Pete Grathoff, who for this show doubles as a television critic. We discuss Travis Kelce’s performance as host for the most recent Saturday Night Live, and maybe it’s regional bias, but we both give him a thumb’s up for his performance.Story link:Mizzou locks up double-bye in SEC Tournament with victory over Ole Misshttps://www.kansascity.com/sports/college/s

In the first year of free agency for the National Women’s Soccer League, the Kansas City Current came away the big winner. The club that nearly turned in a worst-to-first season by playing in the NWSL championship game, landed several big name players, including Debinha.On today’s SportsBeat KC podcast, Star soccer beat writer Daniel Sperry breaks down the acquisitions and details how they’ll look to help put the Current over the top..Will it be enough to push the Current ahead of the Portland Thorns, the defending NWSL champion?Story links:Kansas City Current have built 2023 team around positive culture: “We find the joy.”https://www.kansascity.com/sports/soccer/kc-current/article272627134.html#storylink=mainstage_leadKansas City Current add star power, World Cup experience with addition of Debinhahttps://www.kansascity.com/sports/soccer/kc-current/article270935762.html#storylink=mainstage_card Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The NFL scouting combine rolls on from Indianapolis where teams are getting a look at college players who could be part of the NFL Draft on April 27-29 in Kansas City.It’s also where coaches and team officials speak with reporters, and for the first time since their Super Bowl LVII victory, Chiefs coach Andy Reid and general manager Brett Veach addressed the team’s needs in the off-season.You’ll hear their entire interviews on today’s SportsBeat KC. They talk about the afterglow of a Super Bowl victory, the contract decisions that have to be made on playes like Orlando Brown Jr., and Frank Clark and more.Story link:The Chiefs need pass rushers. These prospects have talked with Chiefs, Andy Reidhttps://www.kansascity.com/sports/nfl/kansas-city-chiefs/article272633512.html#storylink=mainstage_lead Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Another season, another Big 12 men’s basketball championship for Kansas. The Jayhawks clinched at least a share for the title with Tuesday’s victory over Texas Tech. KU didn’t trail in the second half but never got comfortable in the four-point outcome on Senior Day.On today’s SportsBeat KC podcast, beat writers Gary Bedore and Shreyas Laddha discuss the big moments and turning points in the game and draw a bigger picture of this season for KU, which wasn’t picked to win the league.Also, with one goal achieved, it’s time to begin looking forward toward the postseason. Yes, one regular season game remains, a showdown at Texas on Saturday, but now it’s all about March for the defending NCAA champion. Can KU become the first team in more than 15 years to repeat?Story link:Three takeaways from KU’s basketball win over Texas Tech that clinched the Big 12 titlehttps://www.kansascity.com/sports/college/big-12/university-of-kansas/article272628830.html#subtopper Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/ad

Didn’t the Chiefs just conduct a Super Bowl parade? Yes, but the business of the NFL rolls on. The league’s scouting Combine has started in Indianapolis and teams begin to plot their course for next season.On today’s SportsBeat KC, we talk NFL and Chiefs with Joe DeLeone and Herbie Teope.DeLeone is an executive producer of the Bleav Podcast Newtork, who also produces daily college football and NFL Draft video content to YouTube. He provides a Combine lesson and gets specific about quarterback prospects and Chiefs needs.After a break, Teope, who covers the Chiefs for The Star, drills down on the Super Bowl champs, and projects who could and might not be back next season.Ten draft picks from last year were part of the Super Bowl winning roster. That’s why the combine matters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Kansas State men’s basketball team was far from full strength during its last two trips to the NCAA Tournament.Dean Wade, one of the best players in school history, broke his foot days before the postseason arrived in both 2018 and 2019. Talk about bad luck. It was a cruel twist of fate that severely limited the Wildcats not once but twice during March Madness.For that reason, K-State fans still ask hypothetical questions about those two seasons. The main one: What if Wade stayed healthy?Kamau Stokes, who played point guard for those teams, is happy to provide an answer.“We definitely would have won the NCAA Tournament,” Stokes said during a wide-ranging interview you can listen to on the SportsBeat KC podcast. “For sure. Absolutely, no question.”K-State came close to winning it all even without Wade in 2018. That season, Barry Brown and Stokes led the Wildcats to wins over Creighton, UMBC and Kentucky on their way to the Elite Eight before bowing out against Loyola-Chicago.With a healthy Wade back in the

Three games remain in the Big 12’s regular season and there is plenty left to be determined.Kansas and Texas are tied for first with a final game showdown set for next week in Austin. Player and coach of the year, all-conference selections, NCAA Tournament seeding...all on the line over the next few games.On today’s episode of The Star’s SportsBeat KC podcast, Kellis Robinett, who covers Kansas State and the Big 12, breaks down the race, the awards and the bracketology. It’s been an amazing year for the conference, which will enter the NCAA Tournament in two weeks with a majority of its teams in the field.Four months of tight regular-season play has built toward a dramatic finish. After that, March Madness awaits for Kansas, K-State and other Big 12 programs.How does KU win a conference championship? A closer look at the Big 12 standing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

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

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

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

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

The interviews for players and coaches at Super Bowl LVII have ended but the conversation continues on SportsBeat KC, The Star’s daily sports podcast. Columnists Vahe Gregorian and Sam McDowell plus beat writers Jesse Newell and Herbie Teope broke down the game and discussed the storylines for the Chiefs’ third Super Bowl appearance in the past four years.We made the case for the Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles in a game that matches top seeds from the AFC and NFC for the first time since 2017, when the Eagles defeated the Patriots. Who needs to come up big for the Chiefs in this one? We identify a few candidates.It’s the Andy Reid game, the Kelce family contest, the first Super Bowl to match black quarterbacks (and Big 12 quarterbacks). And Patrick Mahomes looks to become the first to follow winning the NFL MVP with a Super Bowl title since the Rams’ Kurt Warner in 1999. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Whew! The Super Bowl media sessions are over. Chiefs and Eagles spent part of the past four days chatting it up with reporters and now that obligation is out of the way. It will soon be about playing Super Bowl LVII instead of talking about it.On today’s SportsBeat KC we caught up with a handful of Chiefs, starting with Travis Kelce. He spoke about redefining the tight end position and how his brother Jason, the Eagles center, was his lifeline in college.Next up is defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. He speaks to the difficulty in defending Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and the RPO.We leave the field for the front office. Chiefs president Mark Donovan comments on the meaning of the NFL Draft coming to Kansas City in April. It be the biggest fan event in the city’s history.Chris Jones brings it home. He was asked about his Super Bowl experience and compared he range of emotions in winning and losing a Super Bowl in consecutive years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Chiefs CEO and owner Clark Hunt said he learned some big lessons some 12-15 years ago, when things weren’t going well for the Chiefs, that led him to make some philosophical changes that led to the success the organization now enjoys.“I think about that period frequently,” Hunt said. “I knew we were going to have a tough time. When I took over we have a very old roster and had not drafted well.”Hunt shared that idea and many others on Tuesday at the Super Bowl with a small group of reporters. You’ll hear the entire interview on today’s SportsBeat KC, The Kansas City Star’s daily sports podcast originating this week from the Super Bowl.Hunt recalled details about hiring Andy Reid and general manager Brett Veach, shared his ideas on changing revenue streams and how that can impact decisions on a future stadium, and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Like the Kelce family, with brothers competing on each side of Super Bowl LVII, former Chiefs offensive lineman Joe Valerio has flags planted in both Kansas City and Philadelphia.Valerio spent five of his six NFL seasons playing center with the Chiefs. Among his claims to fame: He caught four touchdown passes.Valerio grew up in Philly, was the Chiefs’ second-round draft pick in 1991 and now lives in Philadelphia. He also co-hosts the Bleav in Chiefs podcast. Few have better perspective on both teams than Valerio, who once owned a fantasy football team called the “Kans-adelphia Chee-gals.”As a former lineman, Valerio looks at strategies from the trenches and breaks down how the Chiefs’ offensive line play has specifically helped Patrick Mahomes, who Valerio said has mastered finding “the pocket within the pocket” as linemen hold their blocks.In defending the Eagles and quarterback Jalen Hurts, a key for the Chiefs is discipline against the run-pass-option.“The RPO is dangerous,” Valerio said. “You have to feel

The Chiefs have been here before and recently. They’re preparing to play in the third Super Bowl in three years when they take on the Philadelphia Eagles on Feb. 12 in Glendale, Ariz. So, this week, and not next, is the heavy lifting with the game plan.We talk about what the Chiefs looked to get done this week and several other topics on today’s SportsBeat KC, the Star’s daily sports podcast, with columnist Sam McDowell and beat writers Jesse Newell and Herbie Teope.Also discussed: Does either team have an edge on Super Bowl path? The Chiefs played two one-possession games and survived an emotional nail-biter over the Cincinnati Bengals for the AFC crown. The Eagles? They walloped the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers by a combined 69-14 score. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Chiefs spoke to reporters for the first time since qualifying for Super Bowl LVII, which means they’re speaking to you on SportsBeat KC. You’ll hear from Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid, Frank Clark and Nick Bolton on today’s show.Reid provided the update on injuries. The Chiefs had to deal with several during the game against the Bengals. Who does Reid expect to play against the Philadelphia EaglesMahomes provided an update on his high ankle sprain. Clark spoke about his special relationship with Reid, and Bolton said he doesn’t take for granted that he plays for a team that been to a Super Bowl and AFC title game in his first two years.. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices