KC Confidential.com

“Like my mother always says, there’s too many roosters in the hen house. …I guess it was only a matter of time.”
Larry Johnson, explaining why he thinks Gailey got canned, 810 AM
GH: Roosters…offensive coordinators, what’s the diff? Sad to think that Todd Haley made it through only three exhibition games working with an OC.

“It’s always been one of the golden rules in coaching: surround yourself with as many good people as possible then delegate, let them do their jobs. That’s why Todd Haley committed his first major sin as head coach of the Chiefs on Monday. He fired an offensive coordinator who’s resume’ he’ll never be able to match. …Haley’s dead wrong when he said this gives the Chiefs the best chance to win. Less than two weeks before the season opener, it’s a major setback in continuity. There is none.”
Dave Stewart, kcondemand.com
GH: I fielded emails and calls Monday from friends around the country who are all asking; “What the hell is going on with your Chiefs?” My answer is simple. “I have no earthly idea.”

Continue reading

Count “Full House” funny guy Dave Coulier among those celebrating Count Basie’s birthday this past weekend…

“He went down to the Mutual Musicians Foundation after his sold out show here and played the harmonica in one their jams,” says Stanford & Sons main man Craig Glazer. “He hung out at Kelly’s in Westport first and you know his other favorite place here was Jardine’s and he was going to go there and try to play. Remember, you and I took him there that one time.” Continue reading

“A source within the otherwise impenetrable walls of One Arrowhead Drive advises that the Chiefs have fired this morning offensive coordinator Chan Gailey. Gailey survived the initial purge of assistant coaches after Todd Haley was hired in February. It’s unclear what has changed between then and now.”
Mike Florio, NFL insider, profootballtalk.com
GH: What the hell happened? Here are my top five guesses.

Top 5 Reasons Why Chan Got Chucked

5) Chan continued to shave on game day despite numerous memos

4) Gailey and Haley sound too damn much alike and it was confusing the linemen

3) The O-Line has a secret pact to rid the team of all QBs and coaches

2) Gaily invented the ThigBone – ‘nuff said

1) It was an early Christmas from present for Gailey

Add your top 5 reasons in the Comments section below. This means you, Uncle Dick.

greghall24@yahoo.com and www.Twitter.com @ greghall24

“ESPN Radio’s senior NFL reporter, John Clayton speculated on Freddie Coleman’s Sunday afternoon radio show that Kansas City Chiefs quarterback, Matt Cassel, may have suffered a medial collateral ligament (MCL) sprain in Saturday night’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks.”
Dan Rose, columnist, Examiner.com
GH: No official word from the Chiefs has surfaced on Cassel’s injury but plenty of sources are now speculating that Cassel will miss at least the month of September. Who do the Chiefs play in September? At Baltimore, the Raiders here, at Philly and then home against the New York Giants’ football club. That is a 1-3 start WITH Cassel on the field. Without? Who the hell knows?

Continue reading

I recently met a young woman whose story of perseverance and growing independence as a participant in the parent-run Mission Project inspired me. I hope it inspires you, too.

This piece was originally written for spectrumconnection.org, a bi-state resource for families living with autism.

*******       *******       *******       *******       *******       *******       *******

The young woman plants her hands on her hips and peers affectionately at the dozen small dogs barking and frolicking around her.

“Annie! Annie-ba-nannie!” she calls to a black miniature poodle hanging out with Bubby, a black-and-silver Silky Terrier.

“Who loves Bubby? Is that your boyfriend, Annie?” she says, before the feisty yip of another of her furry charges demands notice.

“I know mommy and daddy,” she assures the attention grabber, a black-and-white Chihuahua named Noura that she scoops up and snuggles in her arms. “They’ll be here later this afternoon.”

Noura quickly calms down, as if the little dog understands that her owners will soon return to take her home. The woman smiles with satisfaction.

Several days a week, Lauren Stern (above) is devoted to the play, exercise and socialization of her animal pals at Doggie Day Camp at the PetSmart store in Merriam, Kan.

“I care about them,” says Lauren, who has Asperger’s Syndrome. Continue reading

There’s no excuse now for not taking a MIDWEEK movie break.

Beginning this week DICKINSON THEATRES seven greater Kansas City complexes are offering terrific new midweek movie and concession deals.

The most unique one has to be B.Y.O.B. TUESDAYS!

No, it’s not what you think it is. Continue reading

Former KC mayoral aid Joe Miller’s long-awaited tale of a love affair gone sour is about to be unleashed…

“It’s supposed to come out on Salon.com on Tuesday,” Miller says. “They’re telling me it’s going to run. We’ve been going through a lot of legal stuff, but you never know.”

Translation: there’s still an outside chance that it could be delayed.

What to expect?

“It’s about my experience in the mayor’s office,” Miller says. “It’s over 3,000 words – or at least it was when I turned it in. And all we’ve done since is add stuff to make sure we’re okay legally.”

As to the general content: “I kind of spin it as a cautionary tale of what politics will do to you,” Miller says. “It doesn’t so much corrupt, but it exposes your humanness and often it’s the ugliest part of your humanness.” Continue reading

Ameristar Casino Hotel Executive Chef Albert Tash is all about putting together the right ingredients – whether leading a team of cooks to culinary heights, meeting the special dining requests of guests or just getting jiggy with the piggy at this Saturday’s Bacon Fest in the West Bottoms.

Visiting with Tash – as I recently did at Ameristar’s Falcon Diner, a recreation of an old-fashioned cafe that is one of seven diverse eateries he oversees on site – it’s easy being impressed by both his professionalism and giving personality, which he amply demonstrated in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. More on that later.

Sure, he’s got his secret recipes. Good luck getting him to dish on his curried frog legs. But he might tell you how to grill the perfect burger – or at least how not to. More on that later, too. Continue reading

If all those 40th anniversary Woodstock pieces on TV have worn you thin, here’s one final look-back to those 3 days of  peace, love–or was it sex, drugs– and rock ’n’ roll in 1969.

And this one’s worth checking out!

But hold on! TAKING WOODSTOCK is NOT Continue reading

“I think they should be pretty concerned.”
Will Shields, when asked if he thought the Chiefs should be concerned about the play of their offensive line, 810 AM
GH: When one of the best offensive linemen in the Chiefs’ 50-year history speaks about O-line play – I listen. Read on.

“You’ll get to know (Ikechuku Ndukwe). He’s a really nice guy. Nothing personal but he’s a very mediocre player. He’s nothing more than a backup. You’ll probably have to try and hide him inside (the tackles). (Andy) Alleman is probably the guy who is of value of the two guys.”
Orlando Alzugaray, Miami reporter at WQAM, on the Chiefs’ offensive line acquisitions from the Dolphins, 610 AM

“These are two guys (from the Dolphins) who were fighting for their positions down in Miami and they get the opportunity to come up here and be a starter from day one. I think it’s a pretty big concern.”
Will Shields, 810 AM
Continue reading

Hard to imagine a non profit screwing over its supporters much worse than KCPT Channel 19 did last year…

In its seventh year the local public television station’s vaunted TV Dinner – the outdoor black tie blowout at Liberty Memorial – took a bullet via a last minute rainout. To make matters worse not only did the station not have a backup plan in place, sources say they decided to try and keep the cash.

What kind of cash?

Serious, as in $150 per person or $300 per couple. Factor in tuxedo purchase or rental, designer dresses and it can hit some decent digits.

Here’s what KCPT told last year’s ticket holders on its Web site post implosion: Continue reading

“Pioli definitely shed a different light as far as we didn’t get guys off the street. We actually got guys who played in the league and were successful in this league and guys that wanted to play. That’s what I take my hats off as far as what Todd Haley and Pioli are doing. They’re not settling for 2-14 and a group of guys who was okay and comfortable with being 2-14. They got guys who want to be 16-0.”
Larry Johnson, when asked if he felt the former Chiefs’ regime led by Carl Peterson and Herm Edwards were not committed to doing things the right way, 610 AM
GH: Last February Larry Johnson went on Chris & Cowboy’s show and expressed his desire to end his time with the Chiefs and move on with another team and city. We haven’t heard much from LJ about those comments until Thursday, when Cowboy reminded him of his words and asked him to explain them. Read on.  

Continue reading

Obviously, the weekend is on its way. Obviously, where you go with it is your call. Obviously, I’m the guy who wants to get in your head about it, anyway.

So at the risk of injecting a less than obvious option or two, allow me to offer my hit list of weekend stuff to do.

You can also hear me trespass through your Friday to Sunday state of mind on “Up to Date” with Steve Kraske at 11:50 a.m. Thursday on KCUR-FM (89.3), or just click on the show’s archive at kcur.org.

Hey, I appreciate it. Obviously.

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Obama

They got together for the 1969 Woodstock Festival and it seems like they’ve been on the concert trail ever since with hand-in-hand trademark harmonies and liberal ideas.

Rest assured that Crosby, Stills & Nash – the first “supergroup” created from members of the Byrds (David Crosby), Buffalo Springfield (Stephen Stills) and the Hollies (Graham Nash) – will both sound pretty and be pro-Obama at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Starlight Theatre. Continue reading

Hello friends. I do hope you’ve missed me. I’ve returned this week with a mammoth of a book, Greg Grandin’s Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford’s Forgotten Jungle City. It’s a work of non-fiction about literally transplanting Americana to a section of land in the Brazilian Amazon.

Here’s your history lesson for the day (I’ll try to make it brief): Enter 1925—Great Britain and its colonies dominate the rubber trade. Winston Churchill is at the helm, pushing a new plan to control the rubber trade. Churchil, the U.K.’s then “Chancellor of Exchequer” and former Secretary of State, oversees all of the Empire’s economic and financial matters. He is thought to control a so-called rubber cartel. Men in Churchill’s own parliament call his rubber plan an “international swindle,” a “hold up.” And because of the new and booming automotive industry, the U.S. has to figure out a way to get a piece of the action. Continue reading