Listen Now

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The first report on Patrick Mahomes’ high ankle sprain and availability for the AFC Championship Game on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals came from Mahomes himself through Andy Reid, who referred to a Mahomes’ line after the Chiefs defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Divisional Round. “He told you guys, I mean, he mentioned to you that’s he’s going to play,” Reid said. “That’s his mindset, and then we’ll just take it day by day and see how he does.” But Reid cautioned that he wouldn’t know for certain until the team’s first practice on Wednesday. “I’ve got to see how he feels when we get ready to practice,” Reid said. On today’s SportsBeat KC, Star columnists Sam McDowell and Vahe Gregorian explore the Mahomes topic from all angles, and how the Chiefs are impacted by a less than 100 percent Mahomes against a team they haven’t beaten in three attempts over the past two years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The AFC Championship Game is set and it’s on repeat. The Chiefs will play host to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday with the winner headed to the Super Bowl. The meetings between these teams over the past two seasons have been close, all decided by a field goal. The problem for the Chiefs is they’ve lost all of them, even after holding a lead in the fourth quarter in every game. Patrick Mahomes vs. Joe Burrow is the headliner, but there are plenty of other intriguing matchups in this one, and we spend the rest of the week talking about them. But today’s show is dedicated to the Chiefs’ Divisional Round playoff victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Chiefs have won 18 playoff games in 63 seasons as a franchise. We’re not about to overlook one. After the Chiefs’ 27-20 victory, beat writers Jesse Newell and Herbie Teope discussed the game and the big news that emerged from it, Mahomes’ ankle injury. He missed a series–Chad Henne drove the Chiefs 98 yards for a touchdown–but returned to lead the victory. All signs appear good for Mahomes to play against the Bengals and we’ll learn more about his health this week. Story link: Kansas City Chiefs vs. Cincinnati Bengals, AFC Championship Game, TV, game time, odds https://www.kansascity.com/sports/nfl/kansas-city-chiefs/article271499837.html#subtopper Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From a roster standpoint, it had been a mostly quiet off-season for the Royals, but the team made a splash by signing left-handed relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman to a 1-year deal. Maybe the change of scenery will serve Chapman well. He had been a dominant closer for much of his time with the Yankees and the Reds, Blue Jays and Cubs before that, winning a World Series ring in Chicago. But he missed a mandatory team workout before a playoff series and was left off the team’s roster. On today’s show, Royals beat writer Lynn Worthy doesn’t exactly break down the move–the show was taped before it became official–but speculated on what it might mean for the Royals. Also discussed: Brady Singer’s arbitration case, what position Aldaberto Mondesi will play this year and the importance of aquiring Jordan Lyles. Story link: KC Royals roll the dice on high-risk, high-reward free-agent reliever Aroldis Chapman https://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article271392042.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Some players are in line for firsts when the Chiefs meet the Jaguars in the AFC Divisional Round on Saturday at GEHA Field at Arrowhead. Chris Jones seeks his first playoff sack. Trevor Lawrence has never lost a Saturday game, in high school, college or pro football (37-0), Isiah Pacheco has never won a postseason football game. We discuss all of that and much more on SportsBeat KC, the Star’s daily sports podcast, with Chiefs beat writers Jesse Newell and Herbie Teope. More talking points: The Chiefs are an 8 1/2-point favorite in a rematch of a regular-season game in which Kansas City won by 10. The weather could be a factor with a rain-snow mix in the forecast. And under Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs haven’t lost a playoff game in this round. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Playoff time has arrived in Kansas City. It’s Chiefs vs. Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Divisional Round on Saturday in GEHA Field at Arrowhead, 3:30 p.m., kickoff. Plan accordingly. On today’s SportsBeat KC, we get perspective from both sides. Clay Harbor is a former NFL tight end, who started his career with Andy Reid’s Philadelphia Eagles and played four seasons with the Jags. He co-hosts the Bleav In Jaguars podcast and broke down Jacksonville’s amazing run to finish the regular season and team record-setting comeback victory in the Wild Card Round over the L.A. Chargers. The Jags stormed back from a 27-0 deficit. Harbor, who played at Missouri State, also discussed his years playing for the Eagles staff that included Reid and current Jags coach Doug Pederson. After a break, you’ll hear from Patrick Mahomes and Nick Bolton from the Chiefs’ weekly meeting with reporters. They’re in playoff mode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Sunflower Showdown, Part I, is tonight when Kansas visits Kansas State and it’s everything you’d want in a Big 12 game: a pair of ranked teams–KU is No. 2, K-State No. 13–ESPN coverage, what should be incredible atmosphere. Speaking of atmosphere, first-year Wildcats Coach Jerome Tang would like to see things toned down a bit at Bramlage Coliseum. Show love for Kansas State more than hate for Kansas, is the message. You’ll hear that suggestion on today’s SportsBeat KC with beat writer Kellis Robinett. We also discuss a game that could loom large in rankings and seeding. After a break, you’ll hear from KU star Jalen Wilson and Coach Bill Self from their meeting with reporters before the game. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Chiefs know their playoff opponent and it’s time to gear up for the game. Chiefs vs. Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Kickoff is 3:30 p.m., and it’s a rematch of a regular-season meeting. On today’s SportsBeat KC, we look ahead to the game and back at the Chiefs’ 27-17 victory in Week 10 with beat writers Herbie Teope and Jesse Newell along with columnists Sam McDowell at Vahe Gregorian. How have Coach Doug Pederson’s Jaguars improved since the game, when they left Kansas City with a 3-7 record? We also break down the Jaguars’ remarkable comeback victory over the L.A. Chargers in the Wild Card round and talk about the other games of the first weekend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s a TV remote weekend for the Chiefs as the NFL playoffs commence. As the top seed in the AFC bracket, the Chiefs will watch games instead of playing in one. That happens in the Divisional Round the following weekend. So as the Chiefs flip around the games, who would they want to play next week? That’s our primary topic on today’s SportsBeat KC with beat writers Herbie Teope and Jesse Newell, along with columnists Vahe Gregorian. We also discuss the rise of running back Jerick McKinnon and what that means for Clyde Edwards-Helaire, and with 10 regular seasons in the books for Andy Reid as the head coach, we chat about the best players to suit up for Big Red. Who are your top five Chiefs of the past decade? Also, we now know if it’s Chiefs-Bills in the AFC Championship Game, the contest will be played at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Jan. 29 at 6 p.m. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

About the College Football Playoff Championship Game on Monday...oof. On today’s SportsBeat KC, beat writer Kellis Robinett discusses Georgia’s dominance over TCU and how the Big 12’s first appearance in the title game became a debacle. Before the game there was other college football news. Announced as College Football Hall of Fame members were former Kansas State quarterback Michael Bishop and Missouri wide receiver Jeremy Maclin. Joining Maclin in the Hall will be fellow former Chiefs Eric Berry and Derrick Johnson. After a break, you’ll hear a few minutes from an interview with Tulane head coach Willie Fritz. The former Central Missouri coach led the Green Wave to an improbable victory over Southern California in the Cotton Bowl last week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The NFL playoff field is set, the games are scheduled and the Chiefs get a week off. Those developments were set in motion when the Chiefs defeated the Las Vegas Raiders 31-13 on Saturday. By winning, the Chiefs clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC and the first-round bye. Because the Buffalo Bills won on Sunday, the road to the AFC Championship won’t necessarily run through Kansas City. if the Chiefs and Bills meet for the AFC title, the game will be played at a neutral site. Those topics and other possibilities drove the conversation with Star columnist Sam McDowell and beat writers Herbie Teope and Jesse Newell after the victory over the Raiders. The outcome gave the Chiefs a 14-victory regular season for the second time in team history and made them undefeated against AFC West opponents this season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The final seconds tick away in a close game against Kansas. The opponent it taking the ball to the basket, and there’s contact with the defender. Foul or no? For the past two games the answer has been no, and the Jayhawks survived both times. On today’s episode of The Star’s SportsBeat KC podcast, college basketball beat writers Gary Bedore, Kellis Robinett and Shreyas Laddha discuss the late no-calls and whether KU gets more than its share of those calls, or non-calls. Also, we discuss the arrival of what might be the most emotional game on the Kansas State schedule for first-year Wildcats coach Jerome Tang: at Baylor. Tang spent 19 years in Waco, working with Bears head coach Scott Drew and helping Baylor build its way up from the bottom of the Big 12 to a national championship. Missouri’s fast start, the next Texas head coach and other topics are also part of this podcast conversation. Story links: Big 12 refs will try to “eliminate” some physical play, per memo. Bill Self’s reaction How Scott Drew and Jerome Tang are adjusting to live as Big 12 coaching rivals Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s a regular-season finish like no other in the NFL. As the Chiefs prepare to kick off Week 18 with a Saturday afternoon game at the Las Vegas Raiders, there is uncertainty about how to end the season. The Bills at Bengals game on Monday was suspended after Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest in the first quarter. On today’s SportsBeat KC podcast, Star beat writers and columnists break down not only the Chiefs-Raiders game but the NFL’s options for the regular-season and playoff schedule. Will the league have Buffalo and Cincinnati resume their game? The issue has a major impact on the Chiefs, who would clinch the top seed in the AFC playoffs if they win Saturday and the Bills and Bengals don’t resume their game. There was also team news with injuries and updates. The conversation started as a SportsBeat Live broadcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sure, we could have rolled out a SportsBeat KC podcast review of 2022 sports in and round Kansas City in, you know, 2022. But what if Kansas State had won the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Eve? That would have made anyone’s yearly sports highlight list. So Star columnists Vahe Gregorian and Sam McDowell joined host Blair Kerkhoff and did the prudent thing by waiting. The Wildcats did not reward our patience, but their winning the Big 12 championship was one of the area’s biggest stories in a year full of them. A Chiefs victory for the ages, quickly followed by its most crushing defeat in the Patrick Mahomes era; the Tyreek Hill trade; Royals moves and a big decision about their future home; Kansas’ men’s basketball season ending winning streak that continued into football season; Missouri’s hot start in basketball with a new coach. And perhaps the biggest news of all...landing a piece of the planet’s biggest sporting event, the World Cup. We discuss all of those events and more plus look ahead to the moments that will shape Kansas City’s sports landscape in 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With their 27-24 victory over the Denver Broncos, the Chiefs made it 15 straight over their AFC West rival, improved to 5-0 in the division and 13-3 overall. What’s not to like about the outcome? Well, if the Super Bowl is the objective, it was a bit discomforting to see the Chiefs continue their special teams problems and for Patrick Mahomes to be off his game early in the second half. We discuss those issues on SportsBeat KC, The Star’s first sports podcast of 2023. The show with columnists Vahe Gregorian and Sam McDowell along with beat writers Jesse Newell and Herbie Teope. The show began as a postgame SportsBeat Live and we discussed what the Chiefs need to accomplish to get back on a Super Bowl path, which continues on Saturday at the Las Vegas Raiders in the final regular season game. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s Chiefs vs. Broncos on Sunday and Denver has a new coach: Jerry Rosburg, a longtime special teams coach in the NFL and the team’s director of game management operations, was elevated earlier this week when Nathaniel Hackett was fired. What should the Chiefs expect from an interim regime? That’s a topic on today’s SportsBeat KC podcast with Star columnists Vahe Gregorian and Sam McDowell and beat writers Herbie Teope and Jesse Newell. The Broncos aren’t the only AFC West team that made a big change this week. The Las Vegas Raiders have changed quarterbacks, moving on from longtime starter Derek Carr. The Raiders are the Chiefs’ Week 18 opponent. We also talk wide receivers with Mecole Hardman’s likely return, and how the Chiefs might handle the position group. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A little chilly, some broken water pipes and hotel issues, Kansas and its fans are working through the problems of the program’s first bowl game in 14 years. But they’re happy to be at the AutoZone LIberty Bowl in Memphis to meet the Arkansas Razorbacks. On today’s SportsBeat KC, beat writer Sheryas Laddha breaks down the bowl experience and the game that matches a pair of 6-6 teams that were ranked during the season. The Jayhawks are ahead of schedule in Coach Lance Leipold’s second season, and Arkansas is in its second straight bowl game under Sam Pittman after missing a bowl game for four straight season. After a break, you’ll hear from the coaches from their press conferences in Memphis. By the way, this marks Kansas’ second Liberty Bowl appearance. Led by quarterback David Jaynes, KU played in the 1973 game and fell to North Carolina State 31-18. A few months later, the schools’ basketball teams reached the Final Four. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Better late than never on our Chiefs postgame conversation. The Chiefs beat the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday 24-10 and beat writers Herbie Teope and Jesse Newell discussed the game before leaving the press box to enjoy Christmas the next day. That chat is today’s SportsBeat KC podcast. It holds up. Not much has happened since we talked Chiefs. Well, there is one thing: The next opponent, the Denver Broncos, fired head coach Nathaniel Hackett on Monday. The new ownership group had seen enough with the Broncos, who started the year with new quarterback Russell Wilson, coming to Arrowhead with a 4-11 record. Jerry Rosberg, who had been a senior assistant coach and was a longtime Baltimore Ravens assistant, will lead Denver for its final two games. The Chiefs, played well against the Seahawks, and we focus on a super effort by the defense, especially the rookies the Patrick Mahomes touchdown run, and the touchdown machine that Jerick McKinnon has become. So, excuse the Christmas delay and enjoy our Chiefs takes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices