Yearly Archives: 2011
Glazer: Dancing on Carl Peterson’s Grave @ Arrowhead Stadium
It’s been a lifetime since I’ve been welcome at Arrowhead…
Carl Peterson and I were mortal enemies for the last l5 years, so my being invited there was rare to say the least. But now Peterson’s gone and I’m still alive and kicking. So my pal, former Chiefs running back Ted McKnight invited me to the kickoff Alumni Party at Arrowhead Saturday Night. I went. Ted felt it was time to mend fences. I’ve never had any issues with players or coaches, just Carl.
But when you get right down to it, who didn’t have a problem with Carl Peterson?
So I’m glad I went. I took the Mermaid, Debbie – she loves the Chiefs – and she looked great!
Donnelly: LIVESTRONG Crowd Lifts Sporting To Last-Second Tie
With only 10 minutes left in the game, the sold out crowd at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park decided enough was enough. 
Despite dominating possession for the first 80 minutes, Sporting KC had eeked its way through the match against Chivas USA, looking uninterested and un-energetic. Not to mention a lack of offensive creativity, which was blatantly obvious after Chivas scored a goal and decided to pack men in front of its goal.
"I thought that we were pretty unorganized in the first half," said SKC coach Peter Vermes after the game. "During halftime, I said to the guys that in the last 11 games that we’ve played, it is probably the worst half of soccer that I’ve seen us play."
Glazer: Johnny Dare Co-Host Carrie Coogan to Leave Top-Rated A.M. Show
Good-bye Norma Jean, though we hardly knew you at all…
You had the grace to hold yourself, while those around you crawled. And I knew I would have loved you, but I was just a kid – the candle burned out long before THE LEGEND EVER DID.
So it is that Kansas City’s No. 1 radio personality Johnny Dare announced this morning that co-host Carrie Coogan is leaving the show on 98.9 FM The Rock.
"Carrie Coogan and I are like brother and sister, we really are," Dare says. "She will always be welcome back if she chooses. Carrie is moving home to Denver to take care of her ill mother as well as be involved in nonprofit organizations back home. She came to Kansas City to be a TV News Show personality (which she was on Fox 4). And she’s been a wonderful addition to the program for six great years. I love her – we all do – and we’ll miss her deeply."
Dare really is saddened by Coogan’s leaving. But the show must go on.
Starbeams: Great Mall’s Hot Air; Smokey & the Bandit to KC? Pulling Funk’s Junk
Hot air balloons will be in the air this weekend as the Great Midwest Balloon Festival comes to the Great Mall of the Great Plains. But that’s the backstory. Our top story – that The Great Mall of the Great Plains is still open.
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Facebook has teamed with Skype to create a giant video chat feature for Facebook users.
This is a breakthrough for Hearne Christopher because he’s not used to actually seeing the person who’s poking him.
New Jack City: Jack Loosens a Screw, Charts Career Path for Casey Anthony
Memo to Casey Anthony:
I see you finally let your hair down again, and I have to say, you’re still looking fine. But have you given any thought to what you’re going to do come Monday, July 18th?
A Charlie Sheen Victory Tour is out of the question. Unlike Charlie, most Americans probably detest you. So nobody would show up. We’re talking boxoffice disaster.
So what WILL you do?
First off, you’ll need a top notch personal manager to act as your agent. I know just the guy – ME!
Here’s my 5-point plan guaranteed to maximize your future earnings. I’ll do it for the standard 10% of gross.
Glazer: The Real Casey Anthony Tragedy Lies Just Ahead
There’s no doubt – none – that the Casey Anthony case was a horrible tragedy…
The death of an innocent little girl – Caylee – because her mother was at best reckless or much worse. But we cannot bring her back, so we must accept the three years Casey Anthony did in county jail (which is a very bad place) as her punishment.
It may not be enough, but that’s it.
The unfair and sad news though is that what comes from these cases is not good for the rest of us.
Donnelly: The Streak Stays Alive, Sporting Still unbeaten At LIVESTRONG
A game that should’ve ended with Sporting Kansas City collecting the full three points, ended instead with the home squad keeping their unbeaten streak alive and gaining just one point for a draw with the Colorado Rapids.
A couple questions, right off the bat.
Why did Teal Bunbury and Michael Harrington get the start?
Why hasn’t Roger Espinoza gotten time at midfielder before now?
Is this team for real? With the potential to make a deep playoff run?…
Hearne: Looking For Real Deal Media Bloodbath? Try The Pitch v. Ink
Forget trivial Tweets by second string radio flunkies, we’re talking survival of the fittest…
The death dance between three decade-old alt weekly the Pitch and three year-old, ad rag Ink is as serious as it gets. The battle lines are drawn, no slap fights here. These two publications are fighting for their lives
In no small part because both are mired in the money-losing world of newsprint – which Tony likes to remind us is a dinosaur industry. And neither may actually be in the black – not if a hardcore breakdown of costs, expenses and revenues were laid bare. The Pitch has been a money-loser and up for sale at a fire sale price for years, its founding publisher revealed earlier this year on KC Confidential.
Starbeams: The Top 5 Cool Things About Being 1,000 Years-Old ( Really)
According to a scientist in California, the first person who’ll live to the age of 150 is alive right now. And because of medical advances to control aging, the first person to live to be 1,000 will be born in the next 20 years.
THE TOP 5 COOL THINGS ABOUT BEING 1,000 YEARS OLD:
#5. At 900 A-Rod starts taking an interest in you.
#4. When 1,000 years old you reach, look as good you will not.
#3. It takes 3 months to click LIKE on all your Facebook birthday wishes.
#2. You live to tell future generations about the time the Royals beat the Cardinals in the World Series.
And the No. 1 cool thing about choking it out to Age 1,000 is…
Sounds Good: Matisyahu@Crossroads, Gomez@Crossroads, Sporting KC@LIVESTRONG
Okay guys. 
I know you have your gripes about the Crossroads. From some of your comments after the Elvis Costello story, I’ve learned that the Crossroads venue is a horse pen. It makes KC look bad.
It has port-a-potties. Beers are pricey. Stretch is a douche.
Okay, I get it.
But it also has some really good music.
You know, sometimes you have to sacrifice a little comfort to catch a really killer show. And personally, I love outdoor shows in the summertime. It’s one of the things that gets me through the cold, dark Kansas winters…
Today: Infamous Red Light Cam @ 39th & S.W. Trafficway Claims Another Victim…Me
I never should have read Crime and Punishment….
Then again, I was in high school and had little choice. The Dostoevsky classic wrestles with lead character Raskolnikov‘s belief that some people are above the law and have the right to commit crimes.
What god-fearing American motorist hasn’t come to terms with that concept as they race along 10 mph over the speed limit? There’s a word for it – scofflaw – a person who flouts the law, rules & accepted practices.
But here’s a downside to playing Raskolnikov…
Glazer: Life After Lockout; Chiefs Need Backup QB & Wide Receiver
With the lock-out almost certain to end in the week or so, the NFL season will begin…
General managers will be signing draft picks and the Chiefs will be trying to fill two huge needs; a back up quarterback and veteran wide receiver.
We have none at this time.
Yes, we have D-Bowe and THE FRANCHISE, Matt Cassel. But both have issues, especially Bowe. Even though D-Bowe was an All Pro (as I said he would be and as was Matt) both players have not proven themselves to be consistent stars.
Bowe takes too many games off – he’s not there in the big games. And any good cornerback can – and has – shut him down. His final two games last season were horrible. Matt had a good year, is tough and wants to lead. But he still hasn’t shown much if any greatness.
Jack Goes Confidential:’HORRIBLE BOSSES’— So Wrong. So FUNNY!
Is this what THE HANGOVER 2 could’ve/should’ve been?
HORRIBLE BOSSES is on a laugh out loud level! Let’s just say that if your boss is a slave driving, incompetent, crazy psycho HORRIBLE BOSSES is your kinda movie.
And if your boss is sane, caring and warm, you may appreciate this raunch-filled comedy even more!
Hearne: Jerry Mazer Taking Medical Marijuana Vacation in San Francisco
Cancel the Jerry Mazer memorial statue fund raising drive…
For now, anyway. The Plaza panhandler is alive and well and holed up in California as had been rumored. However, most staffers at Barnes & Noble on the Plaza and fellow panhandlers outside thought Mazer had succumbed to cancer and gone to Cheeseburger Paradise, no record of his death could be found.
Was the down payment-on-a-cheeseburger seeking vagabond be alive somewhere, reduced to roadkill or lying in an unmarked grave?
Nobody knew for sure….
That is not until Scooters Coffeehouse manager Kait Reynolds launched her own private investigation.
New Jack City: Better Get Your Popcorn Refills; Summer Isn’t Done!
At summer movies’ midpoint we’ve pretty well seen what Hollywood considers to be its ‘tentpole’ offerings…
With one exception.
The tentpole season began with Vin Diesel’s FAST FIVE which led into THOR, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES, THE HANGOVER 2, KUNG-FU PANDA 2, X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, CARS 2 and TRANSFORMERS: DARK SIDE OF THE MOON.
And let’s not forget producer Judd Apatow‘s bone fide summer sleeper- BRIDESMAIDS, written by and starring Kristen Wigg. It overcame its total chick-flick title to build and sustain by great word-of-mouth.
So is your movie summer all but history?
Not by a long shot! I’ve counted 18 new movies yet to open from the major studios by Labor Day.
And that’s not including independent releases. To my way of thinking 10 of them will have a good to excellent chance to hit at the boxoffice. Two of them in blockbuster fashion.
So here they are:
Today: No Royals, No Chiefs – Sports Talk Radio War or Afghanistan?
With the Royals in the tank, the Chiefs in limbo, there aren’t a lot of sexy sports topics to kick around…
So why not drum up a sports radio war? Despite the Royals poor play 610 Sports has had a few upticks. And there’s always the listeners who love to hate WHB superstar Kevin Kietzman.
So you know, let there be war!
But apart from making Cowtowners’ water cooler lives a bit more interesting, is there really a sports radio war being waged in Kansas City?
Yes and no – emphasis on the latter.
Donnelly: Elvis Costello at the Crossroads, June 30, 2011
When you’re an iconic performer that blurs lines between generations as well as genres – not to mention one that has played everywhere
with everyone – it’s understandable that it might be hard to get pumped up for an outdoor show in a scorching mulch pit in Middle America.
Indeed, I wondered aloud to a couple hardcore Elvis fans about the choice of venue.
Doesn’t Starlight seem more appropriate for this Boomer God? A few years ago that’s where Elvis Costello and his band went when they came through KC. So my assumption is his draw isn’t quite as strong anymore…
Donnelly: Sporting KC’s Confidence Growing With Huge Win At Portland
With a huge win on the road over the weekend at the Portland Timbers, Sporting Kansas City increased their unbeaten streak to 10 games.
Yes, 10 games!
Things are quite different right now for the squad that saw themselves in the cellar of the Eastern Conference every week early on this season, while enduring that horrendous road trip.
Donnelly: Elvis Costello at Crossroads KC, June 30, 2011
When you’re an iconic performer that blurs lines between generations as well as genres – not to mention one that has played everywhere with everyone – it’s understandable that it might be hard to get pumped up for an outdoor show in a scorching mulch pit in Middle America.
Indeed, I wondered aloud to a couple hardcore Elvis fans about the choice of venue.
Doesn’t Starlight seem more appropriate for this boomer god? A few years ago that’s where Elvis Costello and his band went when they came through KC. So my assumption is his draw isn’t quite as strong anymore…
Back Talk:
Once upon a time there were comments…
Clever, surly, outlandish ones – disgusting ones even. You know who you are. And unlike some local media / entertainment sites, KC Confidential – against our better judgement at times – greenlights readers to deliver the good, the bad and the ugly.
Most of the time.
Several months back we started Back Talk. Kind of a "greatest hits" compilation from KCC‘s gifted-at-times, always ardent comment-ributors. Unfortunately, no sooner did we debut it, than a spate of difficulties with the new Web site slowed the comments section to a trickle.
That was then – today, I re-gift to you, Back Talk…
