Good morning. Is it still morning? Appears it is Nope. The site's been down most of the morning so I'm posting now. Lots of Kansas City Chiefs news. Enjoy.
The Chiefs can hardly afford disasters from their draft picks because they’re depending on immediate help from most of them. Eric Berry, their top pick, finished offseason practice as one starting safety, while fifth-round selection Kendrick Lewis shared the other safety position with veteran Jon McGraw.
Moeaki and second-round picks Dexter McCluster and Javier Arenas were filling prominent roles. Moeaki received plenty of work at tight end, McCluster lined up from a variety of spots as a receiver or running back, and Arenas was the third cornerback.
Only third-round guard Jon Asamoah and fifth-round linebacker Cameron Sheffield were mere backups as practice concluded.
Chiefs’ rookies have made progress in offseason from KC Star
“It was a great experience to be able to visit with individuals that do so much for us,” said WR Dexter McCluster. “Everyone was telling us what big Chiefs fans they are. To us though, it’s the Chiefs that are big fans of what they do every day. Having been inside those tanks and seeing how tight the working quarters are, I can’t imagine having to be inside one of them to protect our country.”
The trip to Ft. Riley was the third for the Chiefs in their partnership with the VFW and the “Return the Favor” program. Previously they visited Ft. Leavenworth in Kansas and Whiteman Air Force Base in Knob Knoster, Missouri.
Chiefs Visit Big Red One At Ft. Riley from Bob Gretz
Beyond athletic abilities, fallen coal miner William “Rosie” Roosevelt Lynch and NFL Kansas City Chiefs running back Thomas Jones share a common heritage: both are part of the deep-rooted African-American history in Appalachian coal mines.
Jones is a legendary tailback at Powell Valley High School in Big Stone Gap and at The University of Virginia before moving on to the NFL. Jones will be the keynote speaker at a unique event in West Virginia to honor Roosevelt Lynch and Joel “Jody” Price, two black miners who lost their lives along with 27 other coal miners in the April 5 mining disaster at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch mine.
'Soul of Coal' features local gridiron star Thomas Jones from timesnews.net
Now that the on-field work is done around the Chiefs and they are about to shut it down for a month or so when it comes to football, it seems a good time to open up for questions.
So fire away between now and and the end of the day on Saturday. Any subject involving the Chiefs, the NFL and the sport of football is fair game. Actually, just about anything is fair game, so do not hesitate to ask.
It’s Time For Another Ask Bob from Bob Gretz
The NFL Players Association has been advised that federal authorities are preparing to interview employees in an investigation into whether former union leaders attempted to collude with the NFL, a person familiar with an e-mail sent to union staff has told The Associated Press.
The e-mail, sent by the union on Friday, also states the NFLPA has been advised that it "may have been the victim of violations of federal laws," the person said. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is considered extremely sensitive.
NFLPA employees to be interviewed in federal probe from KC Star
Long before he was an All-Pro running back with the Kansas City Chiefs, Priest Holmes played in sandlot football games as a kid at Miller’s Pond Community Park in his northwest San Antonio neighborhood.
“In terms of growing up, that’s what I remember – Miller’s Pond on Old Pearsall Road,” Holmes said this week. “It was really exciting.”From Marshall High School to Texas to the NFL, the game would get bigger for Holmes through the years.Now retired and living in San Antonio, where he owns a restaurant and spearheads the Priest Holmes Foundation, a nonprofit organization committed to encouraging education and enhancing the lives of children in the San Antonio community, Holmes has adjusted well to life after football.But the game always will be part of his life.
The one thing the four different sports leagues hold in common is the value of their drafts. Look at the best players in football, baseball, basketball and hockey and they were all draft choices. Hockey’s Sidney Crosby, baseball’s Albert Pujols and LeBron James and Kobe Bryant in the NBA were all drafted as teenagers. In the NFL Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Larry Fitzgerald and Charles Woodson – all were draft choices.
So for the sake of a summertime discussion, we did some research. We went five years back to the drafts of 2005 and looked at the top 10 players selected in the four drafts. Those are 40 names who in the half-decade since being drafted are established all over the sporting road.
Comparing Drafts … Weekend Cup O’Chiefs from Bob Gretz
And because many today have access to the same information, including knowing a majority of websites are plugging the same players, the “sleeper” isn’t sleeping.
Drafters no longer ask when a player’s name is called out, “Who is that and how do you know about him?”
It’s now replaced with muttered expletives and a compliment of, “Good pick.”
The edge is gone and sleepers are wide awake.
Thankfully, readers and viewers know I’ll hardly, if ever, use that label during the summer months in copy or on-air. I prefer “under the radar” and use two criteria: 1. Value based on Average Draft Position (ADP), and 2. A player’s potential to out produce the ADP.
Using those two factors, what follows is a look at players currently representing strong and questionable value based on ADP as of June 16, courtesy of FantasyFootballCalculator.com.
Assessing those 'under-the-radar' players from KC Star
Sports rivalries have also shifted. The Kansas City Chiefs-Denver Broncos game isn't quite as big as it once was, supplanted by rivalries with the Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers. Granted, some of that is due to shifting fortunes among teams and the personalities involved. Colorado baseball fans, too, measure the Rockies against the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants, their division rivals in the National League West.
Not that the changing relationship between Colorado and California is akin to the fall of the Berlin Wall, spurring wild celebration and a mass group hug.
"The whole thing reminds me of the bumper stickers I used to see when I lived in Oregon: 'Don't Californicate,' " Horvath said with a laugh.
Still, Colorado business leaders like what they see.
Colorado in a California state of mind — and vice versa from The Denver Post
But [Herm] Edwards, who had scored an inside-the-ropes armband from his employers at ESPN, was still a captivated observer watching Lee Westwood survey a buried lie in a fairway bunker. After Westwood took an unplayable lie and dropped in the sand, Edwards cracked, "It's still better than getting tackled."
Can't wait to read his blog from Golf Digest
Greg Meisner, FB, Kentucky: Greg Meisner played 11 seasons in the NFL as a defensive tackle with the Los Angeles Rams, Kansas City Chiefs and New York Giants. Meisner played collegiately at Pittsburgh and was a senior on that talent-laden 1980 team that produced seven first-round draft choices and three Pro Football Hall of Famers.Happy (early) Father's Day from ESPN
On living in Kansas City: “The people from Kansas City couldn’t have received us any better. If I’ve talked to 1,000 people, 999 of them have come up and said, “Welcome to Kansas City. We’re so glad you’re here.’ And that feels even better when you’re coming from a place where a number of people are saying, ‘We’re so glad you’re gone.’ ”Charlie Weis talks football, favorite charity from WSBT.com
“If I’m a teammate like that, I’m probably pretty [ticked], because that’s a pretty lucrative contract,” Allen said. “I’m all for everybody getting the most money they can get, and getting paid, because our career is brutal and doesn’t last very long. But I’m also a man of my word and integrity. When I sign a contract, I’m going to show up and I’m going to play it out.”
I like Jared Allen just as much as the last guy, but if that last self-righteous portion of his quote were true, then he probably wouldn’t be a Viking as he wouldn’t have been threatening a hold out during the final year of his contract with the Chiefs thus forcing a trade.
Also, he didn’t exactly play every game he was contracted to play when he was in Kansas City, because his multiple drunk-driving episodes didn’t allow him to.
Vikings Outspoken Allen Speaks on Favre, Haynesworth, and Himself from NFL Gridiron Gab
Americus native Leonard Pope wanted to do something different this year for his annual event for kids in his hometown.
So on June 26, Pope, along with the C.H.A.M.P. foundation (Creating Hope And Making Progress), will partner with Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in an effort to create awareness about the dangers of childhood obesity with a Kids Day at the Sumter County Fairgrounds.Pope's Kids Day set for June 26 from The Americus Times-Recorder
Wednesday’s show was being recorded in case anyone in the place wanted access to a download after the show. With that in mind, Jewel and Poltz co-wrote an exclusive song about the drinking water in Kansas City. (In her research, she said, she read that Kansas City has the cleanest tap water in the U.S.) The song was filled with all the usual references that make a local crowd get rowdy: Chiefs, Royals, fountains, barbecue. And its money line: “KC water tastes like champagne/Kansas City, Paris of the Plains.”
Review | Jewel sparkles with acoustic flair and KC-themed wit from KC Star