HUGE, BREAKING CHIEFS/ROYALS NEWS

Fantastic! Incredible!!

Patrick Mahomes joins Kansas City Royals ownership group

GREAT, GREAT NEWS!!

He's definitely here to stay!!

GO CHIEFS!!!

GO ROYALS!!!

GO KANSAS CITY!!!

This Downtown Ballpark Idea Needs to Die

How many times is the Kansas City Star going to float this absurd, outrageously expensive, completely unnecessary idea that we need to somehow vacate our perfectly good, very usable ballpark for the Kansas City Royals and build a new one in the middle of our downtown?

For the love of God.

Let me quickly get to all the reasons is beyond not a good idea but a patently, thoroughly bad one.

--It would be outrageously expensive. It would cost hundreds of millions of dollars to do. Hundreds of millions.

--We already, obviously, have a very good, very state of the art, already-functioning ballpark, thanks very much.

--The parking for the new stadium, God forbid, downtown would be ridiculously difficult in and of itself.

--It would further complicate parking downtown.

--We just got finished, not that many years ago, paying for a renovation of the present ballpark to the tune of 250 million dollars. I don't even know if that is yet paid off. Paid or no, we just did this.

--Kansas City taxes are already high.

Kansas City sales tax tops in the nation

The Tax Burden in Kansas City Is High

Even the Star rightly recognizes how high our taxes already are--

Kansas City's tax burden is higher than its residents know

On the following list, we are the city with the 9th highest taxes of any other in the nation.

10 Cities That Pay Some of the Highest Taxes in America

We penalize everyone.

Kansas City serves up nation’s 12th-highest taxes on diners

Heck, taxes are high if you even just visit here. We even penalize visitors.

Travelers to Kansas City pay 

some of nation’s highest taxes

--As bad as parking already is downtown, again, a new, downtown ballpark would sit empty most of the year.

--Downtown already works. What, exactly, at this high a price, are we fixing here or trying to fix?

--We would WALK AWAY from a totally, completely functioning, attractive, successful baseball stadium now. 

You would think every Right Winger, Republican and Libertarian, all, at least, would be screaming bloody murder about this. More taxes, in whatever form we call them? To build another baseball stadium? When we have a good one lots of us love already? That's easy to access? That's easy to park at? That's easy to exit from and get home? Seriously?

And then, get this. Dave Helling down at the Star pointed out this week in our local paper that the old bi-state tax still exists, at least on paper. It's still available. Not only could we pay for a new baseball stadium WE DON'T NEED, downtown, where it would be difficult to get to, difficult to park at, then difficult to leave, WHEN WE ALREADY HAVE A FANTASTIC MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL STADIUM, but---get this--WE COULD GET JOHNSON COUNTIANS AND KANSANS TO HELP US PAY FOR IT!!

YES!!

By all means, LET'S BUILD A NEW, UNNECESSARY, VERY EXPENSIVE NEW BALLPARK DOWNTOWN THAT SOLVES NOT ONE PROBLEM WE HAVE NOW!!

SURE!!

LET'S!!

Or...

maybe not.

Please. For the love of God, common sense and all that is good.

It's difficult we have to even say this.

These people that want a new ballpark downtown---

Do you suppose they haven't driven down Wornall lately? Heck, Ward Parkway? 63rd Street.

Could we please, please be fiscally and yes, environmentally responsible and not further even explore this bonehead idea?

Please, Kansas City Star?

I mean, we know you need readers but get out and report on fascinating, accomplished, accomplishing area citizens.

Let this absurd idea die.

This is beautiful. It works. Leave it alone.

KC Vid

Fun, beautiful KC promotional video.

Nate Evans - Welcome To KC from nate evans on Vimeo.

With a last name like that, how could he go wrong?

Have a great week, y'all.

NYT Celebrates Our Kansas City Chiefs Today

Yes sir, the one and only New York Times has a very prominent, front sports page article on our own Kansas City Chiefs, our Patrick Mahomes and how we naturally, rightly like--love?--him.

‘He’s Ours. Patrick Mahomes Is Ours.’

Fans of the Kansas City Chiefs, accustomed to football disappointment, now have the most exciting player in the N.F.L. on their team, in their town.

And it's a great and of course, true article, we love our Patrick Mahomes and all this winning he's doing but in the print edition of the paper, the headline reads: "Kansas City finally found something to love."

Excuse me?

Excuse me, New York Times.....  Excuse us??

We have LOTS to love around here, make no mistake.

We love our Kansas City Chiefs, for starters. And that's all the time, not just when we're having a stellar season, like right this moment. Sure, we prefer winning them all, including the Super Bowl, like anyone and everyone else but we love our team ALL THE TIME.

Going on, we love our Kansas City Royals. For sure. Absolutely. And that's all the time, too. Sure, we prefer "going all the way" seasons like 1985 and 2015 but we love our team, let there be no doubt.

Going on from there, things we Kansas Citians love:

Our barbecue

The

Country Club Plaza 

All our fountains

Being the "Paris of the Plains"

Ward Parkway and our boulevard system

4 seasons--especially now that winters are milder

Mostly clean air, nearly all the time

Low traffic

Having and being two cities, not just one

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art

Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art

Union Station

American Jazz Museum

National WWI Museum and Memorial

Kansas City Museum

The Arabia Steamboat Museum

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

Arthur Bryant's Barbeque Restaurant

Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que

And a lot more, to be sure.

So thanks, New York Times for the article and coverage but please, ladies and gentlemen, give us more credit than this.

Please.

One of the Best Promotions of Our City

There are a lot of good to great things about and in Kansas City, as we know, and the world seems to be learning of them and that's great, of course. One of the best ways our city is getting promoted, though, from within and without is the fairly new, annual "Big Slick" fund raiser. Here's some about this year's event from our own Kansas City Star.

Want to play a game of softball with the Big Slick celebs at the K? 

Here’s your chance.

Big Slick KC is kicking off this year’s fundraising campaign with an online raffle for the chance to participate in the softball game June 23 at Kauffman Stadium with hosts Rob Riggle, Paul Rudd, Jason Sudeikis, Eric Stonestreet David Koechner and their celeb friends.

The winner will also take in the Royals game afterward from the swanky Hall of Fame suite and get VIP tickets for two to the next day’s events: watching the bowling tournament in Prairiefire and attending the sold-out evening party and auction at Arvest Bank Theatre at the Midland.

Big Slick partnered with the website Omaze (omaze.com/bigslick) for the raffle, which, like all Big Slick events, will benefit Children’s Mercy hospital.

Donations can range from $10 (good for 100 raffle entries) to $2,500 (25,000 entries) and, depending on the amount, also can include an iron-on “Slick” decal, a custom Charlie Hustle Big Slick tee and autographed poster.

Prizes include airfare and hotel in case the winner lives outside Kansas City.

Over the years the event has generated more than $4.5 million to help Children’s Mercy cancer center expand research, provide new hospital amenities and purchase medical equipment.

Details at bigslickkc.org.

It's gotten great coverage, too, on national TV.

Here's the all-important link:

Play Softball with Rob Riggle, Paul Rudd, Jason Sudeikis, Eric Stonestreet & David Koechner

Rob Riggle, Paul Rudd, Jason Sudeikis, Eric Stonestreet & David Koechner are inviting you to join them for a game of softball at Big Slick Celebrity Weekend 2017. 

No really. 

Enter to win: http://bit.ly/Big-Slick-Epic-Weekend

You and a friend will:

• Play in the Big Slick Celebrity Softball Tournament with Rob Riggle, Paul Rudd, Jason Sudeikis, Eric Stonestreet and David Koechner
• Watch a Kansas City Royals game from the Hall of Fame suite
• Score VIP access to two days of exciting events at Big Slick Celebrity Weekend
• Get flown out and put up in a 4-star hotel

Yes sir. (and ma'am).

A fantastic fund raiser for a great cause with lots of fun and gets the city some terrific national coverage, all.

It doesn't get much better than that.

So what are you waiting for? Git on over there and make your contribution!

And good luck!

Fun in Kansas City Today

This is apparently National Orange Popsicle Week, according to my trip across Kansas City today, to Mill Creek Park and the JC Nichols fountain on the Plaza.

And our buddy Slugger, of the Kansas City Royals showed, too.

I've no idea what it's about or why Slugger, of all people (people?), would be there, along with a table for KU Med Center but the fountain was flowing orange, as you can see. It was fun, if not nearly completely unexplained.

Have a great weekend, y'all.

And maybe have an orange popsicle.

NYT Today on Baseball---And Our Royals

Today's New York Times has an article on the upcoming Major League Baseball season. The author, Tyler Kepner, proposes that teams have opening, closing and closed times in their baseball lives and projects on all the teams, including, of course, our own Kansas City Royals.

As Spring Training Nears, a Look 

at Baseball's Window Treatment

It’s such an inviting word: window. Just look at those first three letters. Everyone wants to win, right? As spring training opens this week, in Florida and Arizona, there’s powerful symbolism in opening a window to a new season, drinking in the blue sky and dreaming of the best.

Executives are more realistic. Under the last collective bargaining agreement, and the new one reached last fall, Major League Baseball is designed for teams to win and lose in cycles. Only the savviest organizations find a way to contend every year. Most understand that they have a distinct window to win — and that once it closes, it’s time to nail boards over the glass and remodel.

Free agency looms after 2018 for so many star players — Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Josh Donaldson, Zach Britton, Andrew Miller, Andrew McCutchen, Matt Harvey and possibly Clayton Kershaw and David Price. More than ever, perhaps, teams feel urgency to win now or risk a long wait for another legitimate shot.

With that in mind, let’s take a spin around the majors to see which teams’ windows are open, opening, closing or closed.

What he has to say on our boys in blue:

Royals: CLOSING

The Royals have always known when to strike and when to hold back. Their discipline to cultivate a certain style of play — and their patience to grow the right players to implement it — led to a title in 2015, boosted by bold deadline deals. They’re clinging to contention now, trading veterans (Wade Davis, Jarrod Dyson) but getting major leaguers, not prospects, in return. The death of Yordano Ventura in a car crash last month was devastating, but this is a resilient group that wants to win again before Lorenzo Cain, Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas test free agency next winter.

"Wait 'til next year!"?

Play ball!

Additional NYT/baseball link:

Baseball’s Newest Hall of Fame Class Links to the Past

Kansas City's Connection to Today's Super Game

All hail, George Toma.

George Toma, 88, to help prepare 

Super Bowl field for 51st time

What a guy.

A bit from the article.

Super Bowl LI will be played on artificial turf in Houston, the birthplace of fake grass, but there's still work to be done for George Toma, the veteran groundskeeper who has helped prepare the field for each of the first 50 Super Bowls.

Toma, who turns 88 on Feb. 2 but continues to work as a consultant for the NFL, watched from the sidelines as an all-star crew of groundskeepers from other NFL teams applied logo designs to the stadium end zones, one of the many tasks that will occupy hundreds of workers leading up to the game Feb. 5.

"This is one of the best artificial fields that we've played on," Toma said of NRG Stadium's new field, which was manufactured by TurfNation of Dalton, Ga., 90 miles northwest of Atlanta.

While discussing some of the innovations he has helped bring to field preparation, such as using lasers to ensure straight lines and splash guards for use by field painters, Toma also took a moment to recall the first Super Bowl in 1967 between the Chiefs and Packers.

He said he stood next to two Packers equipment managers, a father and son, speculating on what Green Bay coach Vince Lombardi would do the next day to beat Kansas City.

And what a history he has not just in his industry but with this biggest of all NFL games.

This man has helped prepare every 

Super Bowl field 

Everyone should have work they do they enjoy, they love, like this and this man. It's not wonder he's still going strong at 88.

Thanks for all you do, Mr. Toma! And thanks for representing Kansas City and doing it so well!

Links:

Did You Know There Is A MLB 

Groundskeepers Hall Of Fame?

George Toma inducted in the Major League 

Baseball Groundskeeper Hall of Fame

KC legend Toma earns groundskeeping honor 

| Minnesota Twins

Kansas City Makes Another Great List

Yeah, check this out from Forbes Magazine. Look who's number 19.

The 20 Happiest Cities 
To Work In Right Now

A Pretty Terrific Kansas City Sports Year

Thank you, Ewing and Muriel Kauffman

Thank you, Ewing. Thank you, Muriel. Thank you so much. We'll never forget.

We'll never forget you. We're forever grateful.

Former Kansas City Royals owner Ewing Kauffman and his wife, Muriel, before the start of a 1985, October World Series game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Kansas City Royals at Royals Stadium.

ROYALS WIN THE 2015 WORLD SERIES!!!

To any and all Kansas City bloggers--and anyone else--who didn't believe and who thought we couldn't and/or wouldn't take it all.

Good Article on Kansas City, Charlie Parker, Count Basie and More in NYT Today

Interesting article in Sunday's New York Times about Kansas City, Charlie Parker, Count Basie, New York and a whole lot more today.

Count Basie, right, playing baseball in 1947. CreditAfro American Newspapers/Gado, via Getty Images

The Mets, the Royals and Charlie Parker, 

Linked by Autumn

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — After the Mets and the Royals had secured spots in the World Series, observers searched for connections between the teams. There seemed to be few.

But as the Series shifted from Kansas City to New York, it followed a well-trodden path, forged decades ago with the migration of some of the most influential musicians of the 20th century.

Just as Kansas City once effectively served as a feeder system of ballplayers to New York, Kansas City’s hopping nightclub scene was the fertile ground that produced some of New York’s top musical acts, and baseball was a cherished pastime for many of them....

It goes on.

...jazz, baseball, Kansas City and New York are closely intertwined in American culture.

“There was a time when everybody went to Kansas City,” said Phil Schaap, a prominent jazz historian and archivist. “Many of them eventually moved on to New York and made it there. But Kansas City, along with New York, Chicago and New Orleans, is one of the citadels of jazz. And during the swing era, all the bands had teams.”

Great stuff. Interesting article. You might want to check it out.

There's certainly more here than just our Royals to get attention from the Big Apple and world.

AND IT'S THE ROYALS!!!

To all the non-believers and haters out there!!

In Which We Give David Glass His Due

A few years ago, when the Kansas City Royals were continually losing at baseball and the owner, David Glass, was spending very little on the team and being ranked one of the 3 worst Major League Baseball owners, I and a lot of others spoke ill of Mr. Glass and his ownership and managerial skills.

That was then.

Since that time, Mr. Glass has begun spending more on the the team and putting the right people in place to make things happen, in positive ways, for those same Royals, our own Kansas City Royals.

So here we are, the 2nd time the team is in the playoffs for the World Series--and won. So Tuesday, as the entire city and state and region and heck, the nation, knows, the Kansas City Royals are World Series bound.

So here's to you, Mr. Glass. We disparaged both your spending and managerial work. It's only fitting that we now, when they're winning, honestly praise him for getting the team where they are now.

Kudos to you, Mr. Glass.

And thank you.

Now, please keep it going, long as possible.

To Any and All Kansas City Sports Naysayers!

Suck it, haters!

Royals clinch second straight AL pennant, beat Blue Jays 4-3 to advance to World Series

Kansas City Royals 2015 Postseason Video

"People will come, Ray. People will most definitely come."



I would have left out the part where he said "People will just hand over their money without even thinking about it." 

That was tacky. Extremely tacky. Otherwise....

Go Royals!

Kansas City All Over Late Night Last Evening

Kansas City, through Eric Stonestreet  and our own Kansas City Royals  figured rather prominently on Jimmy Kimmel Live  last evening:


LET'S GO ROYALS!!

Fantastic KC Video

Fantastic.   From local videographer Dan Wood. 

KC Royals Continuing to Get Major Coverage

Our own Kansas City Royals keep getting more and more local, regional and national coverage. The following was in none other than Sunday's New York Times.

What Davis is doing for the Kansas City Royals almost defies explanation. From the time he became a full-time reliever in September 2013 through the All-Star break, Davis had pitched in 117 regular-season and postseason games. His E.R.A. was 0.80, with 180 strikeouts in 1351/3 innings with no home runs allowed.

“I’ve been in awe of him since he picked up a ball,” said Chris Sale, the overpowering starter for the Chicago White Sox. “He went into that bullpen, and he has been lights out. I’m pretty sure nobody likes facing him. What, has he not given up a home run in two years or something? I can’t even go two starts without giving up a home run.”

Then, in the much larger picture, check this out from Yahoo Sports a few days ago:

The Kansas City Royals are your new World 

Series favorite

And this from our own Kansas City Star 4 days ago:

                Oddsmakers now say Royals are 

               favorites to win the World Series

Here's hoping, KC Royals fans.