KC Confidential.com

“It could be a one and done. I doubt it.”
Soren Petro, discussing Turner Gill’s staying power at Kansas after losing 3-6 to North Dakota State in his debut in Lawrence, 810 AM
GH: If there has been a bigger opening day thud in these parts, I cannot recall it. Has anybody seen Lew Perkins since Saturday night?

“I wonder if the North Dakota State’s athletic director flew down in a private jet to the game?”
Voices section, in Sports Daily, Kansas City Star

“Just how laid back he is. He’s a pretty like lenient coach.”
Ryan Murphy, KU cornerback, when asked what is most surprising about first-year head coach Turner Gill, KUSports.com
GH: Murphy was one of three KU players who described Gill as laid back. A number of others called him a “players coach.” None of these traits are negative – until you lose 3-6 to Fargo in your home opener. Once Lew leaves, how long will Gill’s next AD want to ride the no-cuss, no-win Turner train? 

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“This was a huge game. We don’t have an NFL team in Fargo and football is huge. These (fans) are here for us, and we brought them home a nice victory.”
Jose Mohler, Bison quarterback, Bismarck Tribune
GH: I’m not sure Fargo has a summer or fall, but what they do have is a win over a Big 12 football team. One of those embarrassing losses that has everyone talking, tweeting and guffawing. Read on.

“Is it basketball season at Kansas already?”
Mike DeArmond, MU beat writer for KC Star, Twitter

“Kansas held Bison RB McNorton to 58 yards. The SAME McNorton who racked up 66 on Wagner last year.”
Derek Samson, formerly of The Star, Twitter

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“I’m projecting now that the Kansas Jayhawks are gonna win seven games this year. Nobody’s giving them much of a chance at all. I think they will win seven games.”
Jack Harry, TV 41
GH: There are good reasons many are skeptical of Gill’s Jayhawks – and one of the biggest is Gill himself. Swell guy but he’s no Mangino – in a number of ways. The Hawks will struggle mightily to win four games this season.

“With a straight face on Tuesday, (Turner) Gill made it sound like the (North Dakota State) Bison are legit – just like Tom Osborne taught him.”
Dave Stewart, Metro Sports
GH: When Osborne was scheduling Lesser-Than State U’s, he was riding a whole different pony than Gill will be shepherding on Saturday. I expect this to be a dogfight and I’m not so sure NoDak State doesn’t spoil Gill’s debut.

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“People are buying tickets and Arrowhead Stadium is being (re)built to watch people win. Not to watch people give great effort.”
Tim Grunhard, 810 AM

“Packers hardly bother”
Headline to game story of the Chiefs’ 17-13 win over the Packers at Arrowhead Thursday night, Milwaukee Journal Sentinal

“I would say the biggest thing in the (Chiefs’) preseason is Tyson Jackson. He looked awful once again tonight.”
Jason Anderson, on the Chiefs second-year defensive lineman’s effort against the Eagles, 810 AM

“I think we’re better (on offense). We clearly have more speed and more flexibility. I think we are a better football team.”
Brian Waters, in an interview Monday with Bob Fescoe, 610 AM

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“Missouri is issuing its own justice here in an unnecessary and possibly irresponsible rush to judgment, effectively convicting a man before he’s able to defend himself in court. Washington’s legal team may have a case that Mizzou is polluting the potential jury pool. And if he’s found not guilty, he’ll have a much bigger case than that.”
Sam Mellinger, columnist, Kansas City Star
GH: I have heard a number of voices on radio and in print calling Mizzou’s “permanent suspension” of Washington a rash and unfair rush to judgment. It is my opinion that anyone condemning MU’s decision to boot the former senior captain from the team is just as guilty of reacting without all the facts. Read on.

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“This city is ready to turn on Matt Cassel. I’m not sure I know why.”
Kevin Kietzman, 810 AM
GH: Season two for the Chiefs’ quarterback has yet to begin but yet there is a growing concern among the media and fans that Scott Pioli’s $60-million man is not the man to return Arrowhead and the Chiefs to greatness. Read on.

“I think (the fans) have already turned on the guy. I think they are going to have to go look for another quarterback at some point.”
Nate Bukaty, 810 AM

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“According to the report, the alleged victim’s female roommate said she let (Derrick) Washington into the apartment at approximately 2:30 a.m. on June 19. The roommate said Washington was there to see her and was the only male in the apartment during the time of the incident. She stated Washington was in her room for a brief period of time before he told her he would be right back. She said he returned approximately three minutes later, during which time she did not hear any noises such as a toilet flushing, water running or a door closing. She said after Washington returned, he stayed until approximately 3 a.m., when she escorted him out.”
Joe Walljasper, writer, Columbia Tribune
GH: So where was Washington during the unaccounted for three minutes? It appears he went uninvited into the bedroom of the roommate/victim, who happens to also beWashington’s former tutor. What happened then? Read on.

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“I think they are still skeptical about Jamaal (Charles).  I don’t know why they are. I think he’s the best player on the team.”
Nick Wright, on the Chiefs’ reluctance to name Charles as their starting running back, TV 5

“Trend or no trend, I think it comes down to coaches, instincts and feel.”
Todd Haley, when asked about rotating Thomas Jones and Jamaal Charles in the Chiefs’ backfield and on which player is the starter, 810 AM
GH: Does it matter which running back starts? Probably to the guy who doesn’t get the nod. Read on.

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“If you want to hear me bag on the other station or the other people at the other station, this segment is not a bad one to listen to. But then after that, you’re gonna have to follow me on Twitter because I won’t do it on the radio anymore because we don’t need to.”
Nick Wright, 610 AM
GH: Earlier this week Wright went off on a couple of 810 employees for what he perceived as a cowardly two-faced attack from them on Twitter and beyond. Read on.

“Before we address the fair criticism of The Explanation, let me quickly address the unfair criticisms. Which were from absolutely cowardly, two-faced liars! Such as the producer for Soren Petro’s show, Doug Stewart. Such as a guy I thought I had a good relationship with in Jason Anderson. And that being the idea that we could have taken phone calls but we didn’t because no one was listening and we weren’t getting any phone calls. That is laughable.”
Nick Wright, 610 AM
GH: Wright had the stones to name names and he did – a road few members of the media dare to tread. A day later, though, Wright had calmed considerably and withdrew most of his poison-tipped arrows. Read on.

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Headed home after work Wednesday night and found myself near the Truman Sports Complex around 6:30 PM. “What the hell,” I thought. “Why not go check out the new Arrowhead during the free open house and practice.” Here are my notes and a link to my photos below.

• Walking through the massive Hall of Honor – easily the most impressive new addition to the stadium – is humbling, nostalgic, moving, inspiring and also depressing. It was fun to soak in all that rich Chiefs’ history and relive many of those great moments through video, photos, and artifacts that I lived through in the ‘60s and again in the ‘90s. You could see it on the collective faces of the old and young who shared my glow. But the reality of where this franchise has been the past decade was a stark reminder of how far removed from those glory years we now are. 
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“I’ve met Michael Coleman (Channel 5’s sports anchor and CTN’s sideline reporter). I like him very much. But they’ve got some work to do. I felt bad for the Chiefs, they had a bad performance. I felt worse for Channel 5.”
Kevin Kietzman, following the Chiefs’ opener in Atlanta, 810 AM
GH: Kietzman originally blasted TV 5 for hiring Coleman over Frank Boal. KK was very critical of Coleman because he was coming from New York and hadn’t worked in the KC area for decades. Now that KK’s met Coleman, he likes him “very much” but he wasn’t any less critical of Coleman and Channel 5’s broadcast after the Chiefs/Bucs game. And for good reason – Michael Coleman is quickly becoming TV 5’s Trezelle Jenkins. Read on.

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“Rick Vacek hated me. The guy hates me. They made me and him go to lunch every Friday at Chili’s. And for five straight Fridays, he sat across from me and told me no one read Jason Whitlock. Every Friday my boss is telling me no one reads me and I suck.”
Jason Whitlock, referring to his sports editor at The Star in the late ‘90s, The Explanation
GH: Rick Vacek was Whitlock’s third sports editor at The Star. I worked under Vacek as well in the late ‘90s but his time at The Star was short. I knew him for about a year before I left for my not-so-memorable time in radio. Vacek emailed me after listening to The Explanation online. He wanted to give his side of the story. Since Jason spent a great deal of time opining about the plight of ethics in journalism, I thought it best to allow Vacek’s voice here to add some balance. You should make the determination if it also adds a whiff of common sense. Read on for Vacek’s takes. 

“I’m probably out of my mind to respond to this nonsense, but then, I’ve been told I’m nuts more than a few times. I was incredulous (Friday) when I heard Jason’s accusation that, soon after arriving at The Star in 1998, I took him to lunch and told him his column ‘sucked’ and no one read it. (Frankly, I was equally incredulous that anyone even remembers my brief stay in K.C.) Maybe it was just Jason’s attempt at humor, because it sure isn’t an attempt at the truth. I had an infant daughter at home at the time, so sleep deprivation was part of life, but my memory of those days isn’t THAT foggy. First of all, I would never use such vulgar language with an employee. Anyone who’s ever known me knows that.”
Rick Vacek, former sports editor at The Kansas City Star
GH: I would hazard a guess that no one listening or watching The Explanation thought Whitlock’s attack on Vacek or any of his former editors was an attempt at humor.  

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“I thought it was maybe a bit of a missed opportunity for Jason.”
Nick Wright, when asked his opinion of Whitlock’s ‘The Explanation,” TV 5
GH: Nick Wright appeared as a guest on Michael Coleman’s “Off the Bench” show Sunday evening, along with Randy Covitz, the long-time Kansas City Star sports writer. This duo may have been an even odder pairing than Sonny & Cher – and we know what that union gave us – Chaz Bono. Wright was dressed in a casual-but-cool Italia warm-up jacket while Covitz spent the 10-minute segment with a transfixed stare at something on the floor of the studio. Even when answering questions, Covitz continued to stare at the floor near Coleman’s chair. If this had been an episode of “Lie To Me,” Covitz would have been tased for refusing to make eye contact. Why did Wright think Whitlock dropped the ball during his Explanation? Read on.

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“I don’t make threats. That’s not the way I operate. I said, ‘Look, if this Yahoo thing doesn’t run, I’m not writing any more sports columns for The Kansas City Star.’ I’ve had enough.”
Jason Whitlock, getting to the meat of why his “vacation” from The Star lasted three months and ultimately led to his departure from the daily newspaper, The Explanation
GH: Whitlock had made a written reference to YahooSports.com as the source for the Kansas basketball ticket scandal story in his final Star column back in May. His sports editor, Holly Lawton, communicated to him the night before it ran that she was going to remove that reference. “We can’t reference YahooSports in The Kansas City Star,” Lawton told him. It was this impasse that ended JW’s 16-year career with The Star and gave us one hour and ten minutes of the best radio maybe ever in Kansas City —  followed by two hours of a muddled mess that had me longing for more solo Whitlock. Here’s my OTC on The Explanation.

“Some Kansas City Star employees and (Sport Editor Mike) Fannin are at the Caddyshack Bar in the River Market. The guy (Fannin) gets so liquored up, he’s kissing all over the neck of one male employee –  not in a sexual way but he’s… (immediate DEAD AIR at 4:13 PM).”
Jason Whitlock, The Explanation
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“The reason he has always moved in the past is to get back at the place he was moving from. So will he try and get back at The Star? He will. I know this about Jason, if he can think of a way to get back at The Star – he will do it.”
Frank Boal, 810 AM
GH: With Whitlock’s much anticipated “The Explanation” scheduled for today at 3:00 PM (broadcast live on 610 Sports and Time Warner’s Metro Sports), expectations are that Jason will lay an ass-clown suit on his former employer of 16 years, The Kansas City Star. If he chooses this route, I believe he is making a rare PR mistake that will spiral his now precarious career.

“You can leave (a job), you just don’t have to dynamite the bridge behind you. You can leave, you can just leave in a different way! If I’m (Jason Whitlock), I’d kinda look behind and say, ‘Yo man, it just doesn’t work this way. The bridges aren’t all in front of me anymore. One of these days he’s gonna hit a roadblock and not go anywhere.’ There’s no one who is gonna help you. There is no one who is gonna be in your corner and be your friend or give you a job.”
Frank Boal, recounting the numbers of bridges Whitlock has torched in his wake, with the most recent about to be the Kansas City Star, 810 AM
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