Raglan Road Closes in Power and Light District

Cordish Company strikes again, and today at 4pm it became official: Raglan Road Irish Pub at The Power and Light District is closing it's doors effective immediately.

The Irish Pub chain started it's journey in Ireland, then moved on with great success across the pond to Florida, and the buck literally stopped in Kansas City on Wednesday, August 31st after a lengthy legal battle with the Power and Light District. Raglan Road was last reported to have been over $700,000 in the hole on the rent due to Power and Light and despite having some of the highest priced drinks in the district, could not generate enough income to sustain and were forced to close today.

Although many were speculating that the Power and Light District was doing well, it turns out that they are in fact not doing well at all. It is sad to see Raglan Road go, as they were very enthusiastic and featured live Irish dancers and also many Kansas City bands on the weekends. It is always sad to see any live music venue go, as musicians need to eat too! They fought hard to the very end, but eventually the sky high rent in the Power and Light District proved to be too much for the Irish Pub. We wish them luck in their future endeavors and hope that they can find a city that won't charge them an arm and a leg to open a live music restaurant.

The Power and Light District has actually been very active with their legal department lately, going after everyone in sight, not seeming to care at all about smaller businesses in Kansas City. I suppose that is what we should have expected from a new business district that is being run by a conglomerate based in Baltimore Maryland. We will keep an eye on Cordish and see how many more small businesses they run out of Kansas City before this is all over.

In a statement issued to Kansas City News today from Raglan Road Irish Pub: "Raglan Road Irish Pub & Restaurant in Kansas City will no longer be open for business effective immediately. The company has been dealing with legal battles that have come to an conclusion today."

Madden 12 Tips Running Passing

Well, it's finally here! Madden 12 came out yesterday and we got our advance copy and have had some time to compile our updated list of Madden 12 tips for running, passing, offense and defense in this great new game. The new Madden NFL 12 continues the rich tradition of the storied franchise by delivering on all-new collision system, more than 100 improvements to Franchise and Superstar modes, online communities, and the most innovative presentation ever in Madden NFL History. The Wii version of Madden 12 is completely worthless so we're not even going to discuss that - Wii is good if you're a little kid and playing Sonic the Hedgehog. The only system you should be playing any EA sports games on is the PS3 - period.

Madden 12 Running Tips
As always in Madden, less is more. The right joystick is still the key to a successful running game. Use the right joystick to juke from left to right, and also to truck stick by moving the right joystick forward. As is typical of Madden games of the past, running outside is going to be tough against the computer on the higher level settings. It is best to run up the gut. HB inside out of the near formation is still a great play. Start your fullback in motion and then kick the play in gear as soon as the fullback gets behind your guard. Stay alert and don't start smashing all of the buttons, it is better to really watch for the holes and use the joysticks to navigate before using any of the buttons. The only button that we like while rushing is the X button. And actually you should always default to the X button for any position, offense or defense when playing Madden 12. The X button basically tells the computer to do what that player is supposed to do at that given moment. It's kind of a "catch-all" button. If in doubt, hit X. We have a sneaking suspicion that even though Madden 12 and EA Sports claim that there is no more turbo button, we still think that holding down R2 when it's time to boogie is the right move.

Madden 12 Passing Tips
Madden has once again made it very difficult to throw the ball to the outside wide receivers. There are a few tips that show that if you position your QB on the hash mark and throw to the outside wide out streaking up the sideline that he will be open. So, let's say you are in the Tight Slots formation, get your QB on the left hash mark and throw to the left wide out going down the left sideline. When executing this play, make sure that you have a receiver coming from the right side doing a shallow drag route just in case the receiver is blanketed, then you can dump the pass off short. This Madden 12 passing tip also works with the Trips Wide formation. Send your right receiver in motion and just when he gets started in motion, snap the ball, get your QB's feet on the left hash mark and hit the left wide out heading down the sideline. The biggest mistake that most QB's make in Madden 12 is making the wrong choice of when to throw a bullet pass (hold down button) or to make a lob pass (tap button), or do something in between (just feel it out). A common mistake is to throw a bullet pass across the middle because the linebackers will jump up and either knock the ball down or they will intercept the pass.

We hope that enjoyed our new Madden 12 tips for running and passing and we will see you online!

Helicopter Crash Patient Identified

The patient being transferred by the LifeNet helicopter that crashed near Mosby, Missouri has been identified as 58-year-old Terry Tacoronte. Terry's husband has gone on record as being "Mad about the situation" and lawsuits could follow soon pending a full investigation.

Xpressions Liquor License Revoked

It has been known by many names, "NV", "NRG", and in it's last incarnation, "Xpressions", but no matter what ebonic name they give the nightclub at 220 Admiral Boulevard, the ghetto folk show up...the ghetto folk fight...someone gets shot...and the club gets shut down. Now remember all of you who want to yell RACISM right now, it's not racist if the statement is TRUE...

Here at Kansas City News we're going to start by pointing out something that all of the other Kansas City news sources are afraid to talk about:

Is it possible to create a location or establishment where the black youth can party safely without disturbing surrounding businesses and residents, avoid confrontations and disturbance calls to the KCPD, and avoid shootings and other violence? So far, the answer is no.

Now, here is the million dollar question: Does the problem lie in the environment, i.e. the nightclub, the location, etc.? Or does the problem lie in the fact that young black people lack sophistication and are unable to gather in public without fighting and pulling out guns? Just like many things in life, the answer is probably BOTH. We are certain that a few bad apples can spoil it for the whole bunch, and for that we sympathize, but the fact remains that Kansas City has not been able to keep a black nightclub (age 21+) open not matter where they try to locate it, and no matter how many security guards and police they employ to secure it.

The only black nightclubs that seem to remain open for long periods of time are those who limit the age to 25 and over or in some cases even 35 and over. Now what does this say about what the older black people think about their own youth? They know the situation perfectly well, and that is why they limit their drinking and dancing establishments to 35 years old and over.

One thing that we have to point out here is that most of the altercations begin either inside or immediately outside the nightclub, then they escalate to violence and gun fights in the surrounding parking lots or a few blocks away from the nightclub. Such was the way it went for many of the incidents that allegedly involved Xpressions, NV, and NRG. The most recent problem that Xpressions faced was that new owners Eric and Natasha Union were unable to secure the help of off duty police officers and other security companies because they feared for their own safety. Eric and Natasha Union have not been officially notified of their liquor license revocation, and Xpressions continues to operate, but we don't know for how long.

Obviously, Xpressions owners and their legal staff pulled the race card in a suit against former Kansas City Police Major Gary Majors, claiming that they were discriminated against because they are black. Several black political figures including Councilman Jermaine Reed and Shalonn "Kiki" Curls attempted to get involved in the case, but were laughed off the stand when it was discovered that Xpressions nightclub was not even located in either of the black politician's districts.

Life Flight Helicopter Crash Mosby Missouri

Federal Aviation Administration investigators sorted through the wreckage from the LifeNet Helicopter crash that happened at NE 146th Street and Cameron Road in Clay County near Mosby, Missouri. The medical helicopter deployed from St. Joseph crashed in a field at that intersection on it's way to Liberty Hospital. There were four people aboard and there were no survivors. The name of the patient being transported has not yet been released, but the medical staff and pilot included Randy Bever, Chris Frakes and James Freudenberg. The helicopter pilot, James Freudenberg was a well trained pilot and had served in Afghanistan prior to working for the Air Methods Corporation.

The helicopter was headed for Liberty Hospital when the pilot announced that they would have to stop at the Midwest National Airport in Mosby, Missouri for fuel. A spokesman for Air Methods Corporation, the company that employed the helicopter, said that it was not a usual procedure to re-fuel with a patient on board. The crash occurred about a mile away from the airport. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board have stated that they will not complete a full investigation for up to 12 months and at this time they don't know if the helicopter ran out of fuel or not. The LifeNet helicopter was a Eurocopter AS-350.

The Eurocopter AS350 Ecureuil (Squirrel) is a single-engined light helicopter originally manufactured by Aérospatiale (now part of Eurocopter Group). The AS350 is marketed in North America as the AStar. The AS355 Ecureuil 2 (marketed in North America as the TwinStar.) is a twin-engined variant, while the Eurocopter EC130 is a derivative of the AS350 airframe.

Crypto Pool Closings in Johnson County

Once again this year there has been an outbreak of the disgusting protozoan organism cryptosporidium, otherwise known as "Crypto", and Johnson County has ordered the closing of several public swimming pools until they can be super chlorinated. Most swimming pools in Johnson County have already closed and reopened but a few are still closing as a precaution.

Crypto, or Cryptosporidiosis is typically an acute short-term infection but can become severe and non-resolving in children and immunocompromised individuals. In humans, it remains in the lower intestine and may remain for up to five weeks.^{[citation needed]} The parasite is transmitted by environmentally hardy cysts (oocysts) that, once ingested, excyst in the small intestine and result in an infection of intestinal epithelial tissue.

Life Time Fitness closed their pool today to super chlorinate but reopened at 12pm. The swimming pool at Indian Trails in Lenexa is closing as a precaution but will reopen soon.

Crypto is a nasty beast of an illness if you contract it, so our advice would be to stay out of the public Johnson County pools, or any public pools for that matter, until the warnings pass.

Chiefs Home Opener 2011 Bills

The Kansas City Chiefs preseason is a little different than other NFL team's preseason - if you haven't been able to tell that already. But that will all be over soon and September 11th, 2011 will be upon us and the Chiefs home opener against the Buffalo Bills will be happening at Arrowhead Stadium.

The anticipation level for the Kansas City Chiefs hasn't been this high since the 90's, and Jamaal Charles is being gobbled up by fantasy football owners in the first round. Even Madden NFL 12 has given the Chiefs an admirable boost in player ratings this season.

Although not as exciting as last year's Chiefs home opener on Monday night vs. the Chargers, the 2011 Chiefs home opener will be Kansas City's first look at the real 2011 Kansas City Chiefs and what game plan they have in store for their more difficult 2011 schedule. There is no doubt that the Chiefs plan to implement more of a dependable and productive passing game, drafting Jonathan Baldwin in the first round and picking up Steve Breaston in the off season. We're all hoping that Matt Cassel is up to the task and can keep the heat off the running game that should carry us deep into the playoffs this year.

The home opener at Arrowhead on Sunday September 11th will get us back in full football mode with an air force fly-by, The KC All Stars performing on the main stage, a great new stadium to enjoy, and most of all, a good day to be a Kansas City Chiefs fan. See you there!

Bat Hits Boy at Kauffman Stadium

Kansas City Royals fans are talking about safety nets at the K as 4 people have been hit by flying baseball bats at Kauffman Stadium already this year. Last night was a bad one as a 5 year old boy was hit by a bat that flew over the 3rd base dugout. Although the TV cameras didn't close in very close (probably by strict instruction), we could tell that the injury was bad because the TV announcers didn't even talk for a full 30 seconds of dead air while waiting to try and see some sign of "all clear" from the stands.

We were at the stadium in the lower level seats behind the Royals dugout and witnessed another of the 4 flying bats when a woman was struck in the head. She was only a few rows over from us in the Gold premier section and at first I don't even think that the woman knew that she had been struck. A brave fan in the row in front of her had tried very hard to catch the bat before it flew out of control behind him, but as anyone can imagine, it is nearly impossible to catch a spinning, flying baseball bat out of thin air without it striking you or someone around you. It's just not possible. The woman's injury was hard to surmise as head injuries can be very bloody, even if the injury is only a minor surface wound. But a'bleedin' she was, and they took her off up the ramp somewhere - not sure if they take them to their own medical facility or call an ambulance...and also not sure who would pay for the ambulance. I know that the stadium is not responsible for injuries, says so right on the back of your ticket.

Imagine if you and I stood about 100 feet apart and I with my 6'1 / 190lb frame flung a 37 inch baseball bat at you at high velocity, there is no way that you are going to catch that bat cleanly and without some sort of minor or major injury - it just can't be done. Both the coaches and the players at Kauffman have voiced their concerns over putting up some extra netting near the 1st and 3rd base lines. The Royals front office, as they are well trained to say, will simply tell you that the fans should be "paying attention" during gameplay and thus avoiding such injuries. That's all well and good for baseballs, they are round, hand sized, and even though someone occasionally gets bonked on the head, the baseballs are pretty harmless, and 9 times out of 10 some skilled fan gets a hand on the baseballs before they do any harm to any fans. Bats, however, are a completely different animal; absolutely unpredictable in flight, spinning awkwardly and randomly into the stands - again, I was about 15 feet away from one that came flying at us and I would have had almost no chance of knocking that thing out of the air before it struck someone - and I used to be a professional athlete! If you come from an athletic background, and you are in shape and all, you would like to think that you could wrangle a flying bat out of the air, but you would be wrong - it's harder than it looks.

Ok, so if you're the Royals front office, what do you do about the flying bats and resulting fan injury? Well, at this point there is no plan to install more netting to catch the errant bats. There is a reason for this. If the Royals give in and install netting now, the fans who have been hit will likely sue the Royals because the fact that they installed new nets would indicate an admission of guilt or negligence on the Royals part. So basically it is a catch 22 for the Royals front office. Sure, a few ticket holders would complain about having to watch the game through the new netting, but I'm sure that if they or any of their friends or family suffered a serious injury from a flying baseball bat while watching a game on a Sunday afternoon that suddenly turned into a bloody panic, they would change their tune.

As it stands right now, the MLB is the only professional sports institution that has not completely solved it's fan safety issues.

Jonathan Baldwin Fight with Thomas Jones

An unusual situation for the newly polished Kansas City Chiefs broke out last week when rookie wide receiver Jonathan Baldwin had a few words with stand out running back Jamaal Charles. Baldwin and Charles did not escalate the argument into a physical confrontation, but the next day, Thomas Jones did. Coaches and players alike have been riding Jonathan Baldwin for weeks about getting better blocking done for Charles and Jones. On the Chiefs, if you're a receiver, your first job is to block for the run, your second job is to block for the run, and then MAYBE they will call a pass play.

Details are not completely in on the fight between Baldwin and Jones, but we would have to assume that it was initiated by Baldwin. Thomas Jones has a reputation of being quite a tough character on and off the field, proving himself in locker rooms from New York to Kansas City, and Baldwin has a reputation of talking smack, and selling out his coaches and teammates to the media. Let's put the two of those facts together and see what we come up with...well...we came up with a broken thumb for Jonathan Baldwin.

Baldwin was back on the practice field today as he was seen playing catch with his left hand, right hand / thumb heavily bandaged up, but participating none the less. So far the Chiefs injuries are:

Jared Gaither, Ryan O'Callaghan, Darryl Harris, Anthony Toribio, Eric Bakhtiari and Gabe Miller.

Fantasy Football 2011 Top Ten Players Drafted

It's that time of year again, where we get involved in fantasy football, which therefore makes us pay attention to teams from other cities that we normally could care less about. Today, we're going to break down the top ten fantasy draft picks for 2011 as they have occurred so far in fantasy drafts around the nation. Personally, I think that if you hold your fantasy draft any time before September 1st your fantasy league manager is an idiot, as you have no way of knowing who is going to get injured, suspended, arrested or cut. But hey, the world needs idiots too. Here is our take on the consensus top ten fantasy draft selections:

1. Adrian Peterson
Coming in at number 1 is Adrian Peterson. Arguably the best running back in the NFL, we do not doubt that. What we definitely doubt is the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikes are certainly a team on the decline. They are actually moving in the opposite direction that logic would lend itself to. Instead of drafting and hiring younger players to build for the future, they are buying old, washed up players like Donovan McNabb and watching their offensive line become old and weak. It's not that I wouldn't take Adrian Peterson, I'm just not sure that I would take him first.

2. Arian Foster
Once again, we don't doubt the player, we doubt the team. Yes, the Houston Texans are an exciting team, but they just don't win. Houston has had only ONE winning season in the history of the team and they are a complete joke. Last year's running stats on Foster were pretty much a one time thing. Defenses will key on him heavily and his stats won't even come close to last year's. Now, with that being said, I would still draft him, just not first.

3. Chris Johnson
Now here is a real running back. True, he shares the same fate as Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders in that he plays for one of the worst teams in the NFL, but Chris Johnson is still an easy first round safe pick.

4. Jamaal Charles
This is the most ridiculous positioning for a fantasy pick that I've ever seen. The NFL has put so much hype around Jamaal Charles that it is plain laughable. Obviously they don't live in Kansas City, and they don't understand the basics of Chiefs football. Number 1, Charles will never get 20 carries a game, number 2, the entire NFL is now acutely aware of his presence and opposing defenses will be ULTRA KEYING on Charles all season. His stats weren't that great in 2010, and they are certainly not going to improve in 2011 with everyone watching his every move. Sorry fantasy "experts", but you've got this one WAY wrong. The Chiefs aren't going to make a star out of ANYONE, especially not on offense. Take it from a 25 year Chiefs fan.

5. Maurice Jones-Drew
Take it from a fantasy owner who has owned this guy for at least 2 seasons. He's a complete bust in every way. Stay away from this idiot at all costs.

6. Ray Rice
Sheesh, have we got this desperate this early in the 1st round? Ray Rice? You've got to be kidding me. I would take a receiver in the first round before I would pick up this fool.

7. Aaron Rodgers
Now the list is starting to make a little bit of sense anyway, Rodgers is a stud who plays for a stud team. The only thing wrong with the Packers is that if they get out to a lead early (which they often do), they will abandon the passing game and run out the clock. Regardless, you still DO NOT take Rodgers before Michael Vick.

8. LeSean McCoy
LeSean McCoy fall under our curriculum of a good player, playing for a good team. The Eagles are going to kick some serious butt in 2011 with the signing of Nnamdi Asomugha on defense. The Eagles will be fierce this year and you would be safe to pick up any of their offensive players. Especially LeSean McCoy and heck, even Ronnie Brown because you know that the Eagles will end a lot of games running out the clock after putting up 35 points in the first half.

9. Andre Johnson
Too early to take a receiver, throw this one back. Andre is a great receiver and should be considered in the top 3 receivers to choose, but don't choose him in the first round. C'mon man!

10. Michael Vick
This may be the first year that a quarterback is selected first by fantasy captains who have numbers 1-5. I'm a man who believes firmly in selecting a stud running back with your first round pick, but if you draw pick 5-10 and Vick is still on the board, grab his ass up.

Chiefs Ravens Preseason Week 2

Well we definitely saw more action in week two of the Kansas City Chiefs preseason when they met up with the Baltimore Ravens, the team who ended the season for Kansas City last season. The Chiefs looked like they were poking their head out of the turtle shell of Haley's secrets just a tad more this week, and actually testing out some plays.

Just as many have predicted, it appears that the secret of Jamaal Charles is out of the bag and that every team facing the Chiefs this year will be keying on him. The football nation as a whole is WAY too excited about Jamaal Charles, and that's putting too much focus on him. For one example, fantasy league owners are choosing Charles an average of 4th pick overall and that is just rediculous. Charles is a great running back, but he is not going to be a secret any more, and since he doesn't exactly break tackles, he is going to have an uphill battle ahead of him in 2011. Fantasy owners who choose Charles in the first round are going to be sorry. In Friday night's game Charles stumped along for 12 yards on 4 carries, which is a much more realistic scenario of what is to come for the young running back.

Here at Kansas City News, we are still not sold on Matt Cassel, but at least he did get the ball into the air this week to go 6/14 with 73 yards. In our minds he is still a very highly paid back up quarterback. Tyler Palko made another great showing, going 8/13, 95 yards and a touchdown to Terrance Copper. This left handed gunslinger looks good to us, and he should be our number 2 guy.

Rookie Justin Houston had a great game with 2 sacks, honoring the #50 jersey that was worn by veteran Mike Vrabel. The defense continued to fall for the old short pass up the middle that is Baltimore's staple play, the same play they beat us over the head with over and over in last year's playoff game. The Chiefs defense needs to work on sealing up the middle or we're going to face real trouble when we meet teams with marquis running backs and shifty slot receivers. Other than that, the Chiefs starting defense did fairly well overall, matching blows with the Ravens starters all the way through the second half.

The Ravens left their starters in longer than the Chiefs and went on to win the game, but there is really no such thing as "winning" a preseason game, and I'm certain that Haley and Pioli do not care about the preseason scoreboard - and rightly so. The Chiefs came out with swagger and confidence and held their own against the Ravens, and that is a good sign of things to come.

Plaza Teen Gatherings Warrent Curfew

We were just down on the plaza picking up some food from Cafe Brio, and it is official, the plaza has turned almost 50% ghetto. I don't know why the urbanites have crawled out of the hood and descended upon the plaza of all places, but I guess they got tired of terrorizing and trashing up Westport. At any rate, the minority gatherings continue and have caused the city of Kansas City to authorize a curfew of 9pm for anyone under the age of 18.

This should solve most of the problem, as long as they have enough police officers on staff to enforce the new plaza curfew. I'm sure that the response that police will get when they try to question any of the thugs will be something like "man, I ain't got my I.D. on me Homie, shit, I'm 22 muthafucka". I'm not sure how the police are going to enforce the curfew if the ghetto folks don't have any I.D. to prove their age. It is definitely hard to tell how old these people are, there are 17 year olds with full beards, etc. It's probably not that big of a deal to most upper class Kansas Citians as they have long moved to Leawood and enjoy the shopping districts of Town Center Plaza and Park Place. The plaza has officially graduated into the Westport status of completely ghetto and should be avoided at all costs on weekend nights, unless of course you want to end up in the middle of another thug brawl like the one that happened a few months ago in front of the movie theater on the Plaza.

They're doing their best to keep this politically correct on the local news stations, but it's funny that all of the clips and footage they show on TV of the plaza are of blacks wandering around not buying anything, and they even send the token black girl reporters out to cover the story now - pretty funny. In other news, multitudes of cars are being broken into on the plaza all of the sudden and they are mainly stealing car batteries and catalytic converters (for the platinum to make "grills" for their teeth) - I'm sure that the recent rise in thefts don't have anything to do with the new crowd at the plaza - haha.

And before any of you idiots out there that want to pull out your race card and call this a "racist" article, go down to the plaza and look around, or watch the news stations send their black reporters down there - that's not a coincidence, it's not racist if it's TRUE dumb asses.

Madden 12 Chiefs Player Ratings Released

With the release of the country's most popular game, Madden 12 just around the corner (August 30th), EA Sports has released the Madden 12 Chiefs player ratings. As Chiefs fans, it was definitely the consensus that our ratings should be considerably higher after the great season that we had in 2010, and Madden 12 delivered.

The Chiefs are now rated a stately 84 overall as a team and the Madden 12 Chiefs player ratings (marquis players only), are as follows:

Matt Cassel - 86
Jamaal Charles - 95 (with a 98 speed to boot)
Thomas Jones - 84 (speed 86)
Dwayne Bowe - 91
Steve Breaston - 78
J. Baldwin - 71
D. McCluster - 74 (rightly deserved demotion, he played like ASS last year)
T. Moeaki - 76
Ryan Lilja - 86 (well deserved raise)
Tamba Hali - 91
Brandon Flowers - 91
Eric Berry - 88
Derrick Johnson - 86
Brandon Carr - 81 - HAHA! Dallas Cowboys are FOOLS! 50 MILLION for this guy? I want some of whatever the Dallas management is smoking. Brandon Carr is NOT worth anywhere NEAR 50 million dollars. What morons. It's a good thing that Dallas sucks, they can have Brandon Carr AND Kyle Orton - what idiots. Hey Dallas fans, did you know that Brandon Carr has only had 8 interceptions in his ENTIRE CAREER? Now that's talent....NOT. More on how stupid the Cowboys are HERE...
G. Dorsey - 81
Andy Studebaker - 75 (not a fair rating)
J. McGraw - 74
J. Arenas - 73 (definitely sucked last year)

Some of the rookies are not on the list yet as we don't know who is actually going to make the cut, but so far we think that the Madden 12 Chiefs player ratings are pretty accurate.

An interesting new feature for Madden 12 will be that players will have week to week personality ups and downs, similar to the old Tecmo Bowl game where sometimes a player would be red hot and sometimes he would be cold. Players ratings are affected by the mood of the player and these moods can change during games. Pretty cool stuff.

KU Kickoff Corinth Square Prairie Village

Football is officially back in season, and with that brings the KU Kickoff set to be held at Corinth Square in Prairie Village (right at 83rd and Mission) this Friday night from 6:30pm - 10pm. KU football will kick off it's season with a concert by The KC All Stars, a few words from Turner Gill and Bill Self, and other various activities.

Card carrying members of the KU Alumni Association, or the KU Medical Center Alumni Association will receive a $5 coupon for Johnny's Tavern and a $5 coupon to BRGR Kitchen and Bar. KU football will continue the festivities with Family Fun Fest at Memorial Stadium on Saturday at 9:30am. Family Fun Fest will feature an open scrimmage for the fans at 11:30am.

All fans in attendance will receive a free Jayhawk license plate. In addition, the first 500 fans in attendance will receive a free hot dog and popcorn.

Following KU's scrimmage, players and coaches will sign autographs on Kivisto Field inside Memorial Stadium. Fans should note video cameras will be prohibited from being taken into Memorial Stadium for Saturday's open scrimmage.

The KU Football season begins on Saturday, September 3 with a 6 pm kickoff against McNeese St. Season tickets are still available for as low as $199. In addition, mini plans and single-game tickets are now on sale to the general public, including the $99 single-game Family 4-pack. Fans can reserve their tickets by calling Kansas Athletics at 800-34-HAWKS or visiting kuathletics.com.

Chiefs Preseason Home Opener 2011

No surprises here, just as last year, The Kansas City Chiefs aren't going to give away any secrets during the preseason. Arrowhead filled up about half way on Friday night with fans eager to see the first NFL action since our playoff debacle last season vs. the Ravens. The pregame show was lackluster, with a rag-tag little tribute to the troops (done before often?), and then the torture began. Almost like a boxer taking a dive in the 1st round, The Kansas City Chiefs showed no signs of running any real plays, or even starting most of the top players that the fans came out to see. Matt Cassel, who the fans in our V.I.P. section have dubbed "the league's highest paid back up quarterback" didn't throw a single pass - not that Matt can exactly WOW us with his passing skill, but it would have been nice to see at least one ball get up into the air. No such luck, it was run for 1 yard, punt, watch the other team score, run for another 3 yards, fumble, watch the other team score, then...they took out the starters.

This is typical Chiefs preseason football under it's new leadership regime, and though last year's preseason shocked many Chiefs fans into a deep depression, this year we were ready. We know that coach Haley and Pioli have no intention of revealing any of the Chiefs real playbook to the public until the Chiefs home opener on September 11th, 2011. While other teams in the NFL took to the air and put up touchdowns and defensive sacks, the Chiefs gave all of their bench players ample playing time and seemed to have no game plan whatsoever. Which is fine!

One thing that was fun to watch was backup QB Tyler Palko's performance. There is something very unpredictable and exciting about the play of any left handed quarterback. Left handed people are more intelligent as a whole and much more crafty. Palko is ranked in the top 3 quarterbacks of all time at Pittsburgh where he attended college - another member of the top 3 at Pitt is none other than Dan Marino - and Palko finished only 254 yards behind Marino in passing yards at Pitt. On Friday night Palko gave an athletic performance, scrambling to buy time, and winging the ball with skill and purpose.

Madden 2012 Release Date Delayed

The release date for Madden 2012 was delayed in 2011 because of the lockout with NFL players that began on March 11th, 2011 and ended on July 21st, 2011. Due to the lockout, NFL teams were unable to sign free agents, hold practices or make any roster moves during the lockout period. As a result, the Madden 2012 design team at EA Sports were forced to delay the release of Madden 2012 until August 30th, 2011.

In previous years the release dates for Madden football were:

Madden 2010 release date - August 14th, 2009
Madden 2011 release date - August 10th, 2010

As you can see, the Madden game usually comes out in the second week in August because in previous years the designers had enough information about the NFL team rosters to build the teams accurately and release the games on time. The 2011 NFL lockout prevented Madden 2012 designers from obtaining pertinent information regarding the NFL team rosters in time for their usual release period. Although Madden 2012 will not be 100% correct upon it's release with regard to the official NFL team rosters, they will follow up the release with online updates that will allow Madden 2012 users to upload the updated rosters as NFL teams make changes. It was also announced that Peyton Hillis of the Cleveland Browns (RB) will be featured on the cover of Madden 2012.

Kyle Davies Released by Royals

Our Long, Local Nightmare is over. Kyle Davies was released today in order to make room for Salvador Perez. Perez is thought to be Kansas City's brightest catching prospect. Matt Treanor is unavailable due to injury, and Brayan Pena is on paternity leave. That left the Royals short a catcher on their roster, hastening Davies release.

Davies, with his 1-9 record and 6.75 ERA for the season will not be missed by Royals fans. Now, calling him the worst pitcher ever is probably not fair, but he has been horrendous ever since coming to Kansas City in 2007. All the while, Royals management has sung his praises hoping for a turnaround that never came. Who knows, maybe another team will pick him up and rejuvenate his career. God knows this has happened to former Royals in the past.

Bubba Starling, Football or Baseball?

Bubba Starling and his family are nearing a decision on his future. We know that, because he has a deadline. The Royals have until Monday at Midnight to sign the two sport phenom or their draft pick is nullified. Starling has also signed a letter of intent and is enrolled a t the University of Nebraska. They want him to be their new starting Quarterback. Most likely Bubba could excel in either situation. Many, including his High School Coaches, say he is the best athelete they have ever seen.

I think it's an easy decision. Starling will play baseball for the Royals organization without a doubt. Bubba has agent Scott Boras on his team, and he knows what he is doing. This thing will go down to the last minute on Monday, and Starling (as well as Boras) will take the huge payday. We are talking in the $9-10 million neighborhood. Nobody turns down that kind of money to get pummeled by Linebackers for free.

Sure, the Royals suck, and probably always will, but if he gets to the Bigs and becomes the star everyone thinks he can be, all he has to do is play out his contract, become a Free Agent, make more money to play for a winner. This scenario has worked wonders for players over the years in the Royals organization. Besides, who would want to play for this group of dumb ass fans?

Breaking Down the Chiefs' WR Position

The Kansas City Chiefs have made an effort to surround QB Matt Cassel with more weapons to work with, including an upgraded receiving corps. The Chiefs already boast one of the top rushing attacks in the league, and if the team can find some consistency and explosiveness with its wideouts, Kansas City will likely have one of the best offenses in the NFL.

Dwayne Bowe finally delivered the type of performance Kansas City fans thought he was capable of last year, earning a pro bowl bid after a monster regular season. While Bowe produced like a bona fide top WR, Kansas City struggled to find other receivers to take some of the heat off him and spread the field. The Chiefs upgraded their receiver corps this offseason by signing Steve Breaston, who has been productive in his first few seasons in the league. If Breaston can stay healthy, he should have a strong first season in Kansas City.

Since Breaston will likely be used more as a slot receiver, the attention now turns to who will start on the outside opposite of Bowe. The Chiefs selected Jonathan Baldwin in the first round of the draft, and by all accounts, the rookie has been impressive so far in camp. However, Kansas City currently has Jerheme Urban listed as the starter opposite of Bowe. Urban showed a lot of promise in Arizona before missing last season with a broken hand, and his experience could help him get the nod over Baldwin early in the season. No matter who starts, expect both to be mixed into the passing game with Bowe, Breaston and tight end Tony Moeaki.

Kansas City will likely keep Terrance Copper as the team's fifth receiver due to his ability on special teams and may keep Jeremy Horne as a sixth receiver. Horne, who signed with the Chiefs as an rookie free agent in 2010, spent last season on the team's practice squad.

Royals Fall To Rays

A dominant pitching performance by Luke Hochevar wasn't enough, as the Royals' offense couldn't get anything going all night against Rays starter Jeremy Hellickson. Kansas City ended up on the wrong end of a pitchers' dual, losing 2-1.

Hochevar, who had won his previous three starts, certainly pitched well enough to earn another victory last night. He pitched seven strong innings, only giving up one run and five hits while striking out seven. After falling to 4-8 earlier in the year, Hochevar has been downright dominant for the Royals lately. It appears the light may have finally come on for the former top overall pick.

Early in the game, it appeared that Kansas City's offense was poised to put up some big numbers against Hellickson. Alex Gordon lead off the game with a double, and scored on Eric Hosmer's bloop single. The Royals would have plenty of chances to add to their lead later in the game, but failed to drive in several runners in scoring position.

Kansas City faces Tampa Bay again tonight at 6:10 p.m. Jeff Francis (4-11) will get the start for Kansas City, while James Shields (10-9) gets the start for the Rays.

Chiefs Sign Amon Gordon

In an effort to add some much-needed depth to its defensive line, the Kansas City Chiefs have signed free agent Amon Gordon. Gordon has been a bit of a journeyman in his NFL career, having played with the Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos, Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee Titans and Seattle Seahawks.

Gordon has made four starts and seen action in 17 games in his pro career. The former fifth round pick out of Stanford has 36 career tackles and a forced fumble.

The 6'2, 305 lb. lineman should provide some good competition for Tyson Jackson, who has had some motivational issues in the past. By all accounts, Jackson has showed up for camp this season in great shape and could be poised to live up to the hype that surrounded him when the Chiefs selected him third overall in the 2009 draft. This is a make or break season for Jackson, and the Chiefs were smart to pick up a little insurance should the former LSU star once again fail to live up to expectations.

Representative Cleaver Calls Debt Deal a "Satan Sandwich"

The dumbest member of Congress has weighed in on the Debt Deal calling it a "Satan Sandwich". Emanuel Cleaver tweeted excessively last week after the deal was made to raise the country's debt ceiling. According to his tweets, The good Reverend is upset that there are spending cuts with no "Revenue Enhancements", you know, tax increases. He tweeted that "this deal is antithetical to everything the great religions of the world teach, which is take care of the poor, aged, vulnerable".

It's not the Federal Government's job to take care of the poor, aged, and vulnerable. What do the great religions of the world have to say about abortion. Last time I checked, they were all against it.

When asked about his "Satan Sandwich" comment by Joe Scarborough on MSNBC, the Congressman gave a ridiculous, rambling explanation involving sourdough and onions. WTF? Then he goes on to blame the voters for sending those who spew divisive rhetoric to Washington. Guess what Mr Cleaver, it's the stupid voters of my district that keep sending your dumb ass to Washington so we can watch you make stupid comments, praise dictators, and race bait. You had better hope the voters don't wise up too much.

Johnny Giavotella, Bruce Chen Lead Royals To Win Over Tigers

It appears that the Kansas City Royals may have found their second baseman of the future. Johnny Giavotella, who was recently called up from triple A ball, had a monster game today against Detroit, leading the Royals to a 4-3 victory.

Giavotella's start to his big league career has been stunning; since being called up, he has gone 5 for 11 from the plate with a .909 slugging percentage. He has also played very solid defense and has not been intimidated by some of the best pitchers in the American League. Giavotella put up very impressive numbers at Omaha, boasting a .338 batting average, suggesting that his fast start in the big leagues isn't a fluke.

While Giavotella got the Royals' offense going with a homer and a double, Bruce Chen made sure his efforts were not in vain. Chen finally displayed a glimpse of the stuff that made him so effective earlier this season, striking out five over five plus innings while allowing only three runs. Not the most dominating performance, but a significant improvement over his last several outings.

Alex Gordon picked up his 18th outfield assist for the season, breaking the club record shared by Jermaine Dye and Mark Teahen. Kansas City now has 40 outfield assists this season, which leads the major leagues. Jeff Francoeur also picked up an outfield assist in the seventh inning, and has the most assists in MLB since he debuted in 2005.

Kansas City Mayor's Son Handcuffed in P&L Incident

Kyle James, the 22 year-old son of Kansas City, Mo Mayor Sly James was handcuffed during an incident in Power and Light District on Saturday morning. According to the Police report, the young Mr James was causing a disturbance, using profanity, and annoying other customers at Fran's Restaurant around 4AM. The officer noted a strong odor of alcohol on Mr James and behavior that was consistent with being intoxicated. Kyle also refused to pay for his meal.

Apparently, this is not the first incident for Kyle James at this establishment. In the incident report, the officer, who works security at Fran's, stated that he had run ins with the subject on previous occasions. On Saturday however, he really got wound up. He pulled the ol' "do you know who I am" and told the officer he would have him fired the next day. Of course, he also pulled the race card.

While being escorted out of the restaurant, he was involved in a verbal altercation with three men waiting for a cab telling them he would "fuck them like that sweet sixth grade pussy on the playground" - WTF? He also stated that if they met him at 39th & Troost he would "fuck them up". I doubt Kyle hangs out much at 39th and Troost. Sounds like an idiot and a spoiled brat. He was not arrested, but probably should have been.

Kanrocksas Music Festival Lineup Tickets

Let the carnage begin, the Kanrocksas Music Festival starts today! Hide the women and lock up your daughters. The festival is set to kick off at the Kansas Speedway today. The turnout is not as high as once expected, looking now to be around 25,000, but that is still an impressive number. The two day camping concert has been highly anticipated by Kansas City and surrounding rural small towns, boasting one of the biggest concert lineups of the year. Hopefully everyone packs accordingly, stays hydrated, and proves that Kansas City is capable of having an incident-free festival of this size.

Kanrocksas Tickets

Tickets are still on sale; G.A. 2 day passes are $179.00 and include free parking and free camping. No service charges or facility fees on tickets, but subject to all credit card fees and charges.

V.I.P. Tickets - 2 day pass
This is a VIP ticket valid for two-day admission. VIP tickets include G.A. admission, plus upgraded VIP parking, exclusive access to the Kanrocksas VIP area, and premium food and beverage purchase options. Two-day G.A. tickets are $359 and include free parking and free camping. No service charges or facility fees on tickets, but subject to all credit card fees and charges.

Single Day Tickets are also still available.

Friday Kanrocksas Lineup:

Eminem, The Flaming Lips, Bassnectar, Ween, Kid Cudi, Ellie Goulding, Primus, Arctic Monkeys, Jack's Mannequin, Major Lazer, D12, Fitz & The Tantrums, The Joy Formidable, Kaskade, 12th Planet, Paper Diamond, R/D, UME

Saturday Kanrocksas Lineup:

Muse, The Black Keys, A Perfect Circle, Girl Talk, STS9, Flogging Molly, Cage the Elephant, Tinie Tempah, OK GO, Best Coast, John Digweed, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, The Black Angels, Kerli, Rival Sons, Krafty Kuts, Gardens and Villa, Bag Raiders

Chiefs Signed Brandon Carr And Justin Houstin

After signing OLB Tamba Hali to a five year deal, Kansas City only had two key free agents left to sign and get into camp. The Chiefs have now reached terms with cornerback Brandon Carr and rookie LB Justin Houston, putting Kansas City at full strength on the defensive side of the ball.

Carr has started every game at corner for the Chiefs over the past three seasons, pairing with Brandon Flowers to form one of the best cornerback tandums in the league. Yesterday, Carr signed his restricted free agent tender, and will join the team in camp shortly. After agreeing to terms with Carr, Kansas City added more depth to its defensive backfield, signing safety Sabby Piscitelli.

Kansas City finally came to terms with rookie Justin Houston, making the former Georgia star the last rookie to sign with the team. Houston's four year deal is worth around 2.8 million dollars, a bargain for a player many thought was talented enough to be drafted in the first round. Kansas City is counting on Houston to provide a much-needed pass rush opposite of Hali, who has been the team's only consistent threat to opposing quarterbacks.

Kansas City MO School District Bombs MAP Test

It's just another year in the steaming cesspool that we call the KCMO School District. Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) test scores were released this week, and once again KCMSD ranked last in the area. No small feat when you consider that Hickman Mills, Center, and Grandview are all in the area.

The tests rated 29.4% of KC School District students proficient in Communication Arts. I guess Ebonics wasn't tested, and no bonus points for felonies committed or sagging pants. 29.4% - are you kidding me? That is down from last year's 31.3%. Math scores were even worse. Only 27.9% of Kansas City students were at least proficient on Math. That is also down from 30.8% last year.

The Kansas City School District remains a laughing stock, and is virtually forgotten about by the white liberals and black race baiters who caused many of the district's problems going back to the desegregation mess that started in the mid 1980s. After 14 years and $2 billion the district did nothing to improve students learning, or integrate the district (from 1984 to 1997, roughly the time frame of the desegregation case, the percentage of black student population in the district rose from 73% to 80%). Almost 15 years later, we are still trying to figure out how to educate the children of this district. KCMSD now is working with a small percentage of the funds they had 15 years ago, and frantically trying to slash the budget just to get the district in the black. Who has time to figure out how to teach anyone?

But let's not forget the real problem, PC or not. The students come from homes that are, in many cases, a shambles. Education is not seen as important. If you speak proper English, you are "acting white" and homes without fathers are more prevalent than ones with fathers. Until black leaders stop placing blame elsewhere, things are unlikely to change.

Chiefs Sign Tamba Hali To Five Year Deal

The Chiefs have signed OLB Tamba Hali to a new five year deal worth 60 million, making the Chiefs star one of the highest paid pass rushers in the league. According to sources, 35 million of the contract will be guaranteed.

This has been a long time coming for Hali, who has quietly developed into one of the best pass rushers in the league. Hali led the AFC with 14.5 sacks last season, and has been extremely consistent since being drafted 20th overall from Penn State in 2006.

The deal was absolutely necessary for Kansas City, and the Chiefs were smart to lock up Hali for the rest of his prime. The team doesn't have much of a pass rush without Hali - Wallace Gilberry placed second on the team in sacks last season with seven. As we learned last season, teams cannot reach the Superbowl without a strong pass rush, and a player like Hali makes the entire defense better.

Hali could join the team's practice today, as could Gilberry, who also recently signed. Kansas City has signed all of its top defensive players but two - CB Brandon Carr and rookie LB Justin Houston.

Royals Fall To Orioles In Hottest Game In Team History

After an impressive series victory over Cleveland, Kansas City fell flat on its face last night. The Royals got hammered at home by the Orioles, 8-2, and fell to 28-30 at home for the season.

Kansas City had no answer for Baltimore's Mark Reynolds, who drove in five runs and outscored the Royals by himself. Kansas City cut the lead to two runs in the eighth inning when Alex Gordon scored on Billy Butler's sacrifice fly, only to watch Reynolds blast a three run homer in the ninth to put the game out of reach.

Bruce Chen picked up the loss for Kansas City, dropping his record to 5-5 on the season. Chen has now lost three of his last four decisions, and appears to have lost the magic he had earlier in the year. Chen has pitched past the fifth inning only once since the All-Star break, and Kansas City may need to sit him or send him down to the minors for a week or two to get it together.

The game time temperature was 107 degrees, which allegedly is a record for a game at Kauffman Stadium. With a record heat wave heating the area, tonight and tomorrow's games will likely be just as hot, and fans at the K are encouraged to stay hydrated and avoid the sun as much as possible.

Record High Temperatures hit KC Area Tuesday

"Is it hot enough for ya?!?!" What kind of asshole says that. No, it's not hot enough for me, I like to have my balls actually melt to the inside of my leg. Geez, what a dickhead.

Record highs were recorded all around the metro today. Officially, the high temperature was 107 at the airport breaking the old record of 104. Those of us south of the river know that it reached 110 plus in some areas. Olathe's official reading was 110. That was the hottest recorded temperature there since the 1950s.

The heat caused problems with electricity in some areas. The prolonged heat wave really puts stress on the system. Shawnee Mission Medical Center reported a power outage at the hottest part of the afternoon on Tuesday. You can check for outages 24/7 on KCPL's website. Of course, that does you a lot of good if you're the one without power.

Today, and the rest of the week, it should be considerably cooler, like 96. Enjoy your cool weather Kansas City!! On the bright side, the sexy ladies tend to wear a little less on those really hot days.

Breaking Down the Chiefs' Schedule

Kansas City surprised the NFL last season with a remarkable turnaround, transforming from one of the league's worst teams into the AFC West champions. Kansas City has made a lot of good moves this offseason, and its younger players will be more experienced when the 2011 season starts. Despite all the signs that this could be a special year for Kansas City, many NFL pundits think the Chiefs won't even be back in the postseason, and for good reason: the Chiefs face a brutal schedule.

Many NFL coaches like to break down their teams' schedule into four segments, so that is what we will do here. In the first segment, Kansas City has two winnable home games against the Bills and the Vikings, and two tough road games against the Chargers and Lions. If the Chiefs want another shot at a playoff run, the team likely needs to win three of these games (since the later portion of the schedule is chalked full of playoff teams). Kansas City should take care of Minnesota and Buffalo at Arrowhead, and a split of San Diego and Detroit doesn't seem that far-fetched.

In Kansas City's second schedule segment, the team faces three AFC opponents it hasn't had very much luck against recently. Apart from a bye week, the Chiefs play the Colts and Raiders on the road, and San Diego at home. Kansas City will likely need to win two of these games to sniff the postseason, which could be asking a lot. The team finishes this portion with a home game against Miami, who will have one of the best defenses in the league. A winnable game, but the Dolphins will be a tough out next season.

Kansas City opens its third schedule segment hosting Denver, a game the Chiefs should win. However, things get a lot tougher, as the team then travels to New England to face the Patriots and hosts last season's AFC champion, Pittsburgh. Next, Kansas City travels to Chicago to take on the NFC runner-up Bears. The Bears have had a poor offseason and were a lucky team last year, and the game in Chicago should be one Kansas City can steal. If it can split between New England and Pittsburgh, the Chiefs could be in great shape. That is a gigantic"if" though.

The final portion of the Chiefs schedule could be even tougher than the third segment, as Kansas City opens with a trip to New York to face the Jets. You may not like all the talking New York does, but the team will have one of the best defenses in the league, and there is a reason why they have made the last two AFC championship games despite starting one of the worst QBs in the league. After the Jets, Kansas City hosts last year's Super Bowl champion. Being in Kansas City gives the Chiefs a better shot at knocking off Green Bay, but the Packers could very well be even better next season. The Chiefs final two games are both winnable, which is good because Kansas City could very likely need to win both to qualify for the playoffs. The team hosts Oakland before wrapping up the regular season on the road in Denver.

The Chiefs will likely be a better team next season, however the team's win-loss record may not reflect that. On paper, Kansas City's schedule looks like one of the toughest in the league, and the team will likely need to pull a few upsets for another shot at a postseason run.

Chiefs Sign First Round Pick Jonathan Baldwin, Several Free Agents

Kansas City has signed its first round pick from the 2011 draft. The Chiefs reached terms with WR Jonathan Baldwin, inking the former Pittsburgh star to a four year deal with an option for a fifth season.

While the news was expected, the Chiefs can breath a sigh of relief now that the team doesn't have to suffer through a messy holdout from its top draft selection. Despite being a rookie, Baldwin is expected to be an immediate contributor to Kansas City's offense, pairing with pro bowler Dwayne Bowe and the newly acquired Steve Breaston to give the Chiefs one of the strongest WR corps it has had in years.

Signing Baldwin means that Kansas City has now come to terms with every one of its draft picks except Justin Houston. Houston, a defensive end selected in the third round out of Georgia, was expected to contend for some serious playing time this season, and should be a priority for the Chiefs now that Baldwin is signed.

Apart from Breaston, the Chiefs also announced several other roster additions - all players who played for Kansas City last year. The team will be bringing back center Casey Wiegmann, tight end Leonard Pope, wide receiver Terrance Copper, running back Jackie Battle, safety Jon McGraw, cornerback Travis Daniels and tackle Ryan O'Callaghan. Fullback Mike Cox signed his restricted free agent tender, while safety Reshard Langford signed an exclusive rights free agent tender. The team released 2008 third round pick Brad Cottam, who was unable to recover from a serious vertebra injury sustained in 2009.