Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs season came to a stumbling, stuttering end on Saturday, January 4th. Everyone knew it would not be an easy game, but watching a 28-point lead turn into a one-point loss – the second-biggest playoff choke by any team in NFL history.  It was also the Chiefs' 8th playoff loss in a row that some might say was a fitting end to a season that started as hopefully as any season could and then went into something of a tailspin.

We’ve heard the statistics: Over the next two days, some 44 million of us will pack ourselves into trains, planes, and automobiles for Thanksgiving—and perhaps a few more for Hanukkah. Nearly all of us will be headed home. Why? Because even in this age when “contact” is for lists, “touch” is for screens, and “FaceTime” is an app, it’s being at home, together with family, that still brings out the best, or at least, the most emotional, in all of us. Home is where the heart is.

Sports fans know the importance of home, too.

In Kansas City, 1969 is remembered as the Chiefs’ last Super Bowl season. It’s also the last time when two stalwarts, one undefeated and the other with only one loss, butted heads this late in the season. The Minnesota Vikings were 10-and-1 when they squared off against the unbeaten Los Angeles Rams.

Sunday night’s game between the Chiefs and the Denver Broncos pits the league’s best defense against the most prolific offense. Taking the rivalry between the two teams to a different level.

Kansas City Chiefs star wide receiver, Dwayne Bowe, was arrested Sunday in Riverside, Mo. 

Riverside police pulled over a black Audi A8 for going 48 mph in a 35 mph zone. When the officer approached the vehicle he said he could smell marijuana.

A release from the Riverside Police Department says the officer was part of a K-9 unit and a dog was able to lead the officer to a black backpack that contained a substance that looked like marijuana. Along with the substance was the wallet of vehicle owner and Chiefs player, Dwayne Bowe.

A loss by the Denver Broncos Sunday night leaves the Kansas City Chiefs as the NFL’s only undefeated team. But, the Chiefs had a difficult time securing their seventh straight win.

Covering sports in Kansas City can be a real rollercoaster. Often, you’re reporting on a losing season, but sometimes you hit a high point, like the current Chiefs’ season. 

On Thursday's Up to Date, we talk with Kansas City Star sports columnist Sam Mellinger about what it’s like to write about sports in this town.

Guest:

• Sam Mellinger is a sports columnist for the Kansas City Star.

Kansas City Chiefs executives and players distributed frozen dinners Tuesday at Arrowhead Stadium to agencies representing low-income families.

The Chiefs are celebrating their 10-year partnership with Tyson Foods and the Lift-Up America organization. 

"Twenty-five thousand families will be blessed with a meal as a result of the giveaway," said chairman of the board, Clark Hunt, who spearheaded the program 10 years ago.

On Sunday, the still-undefeated Kansas City Chiefs will take the field to face their mortal enemy: the Oakland Raiders. In this month’s “A Fan’s Notes,” commentator Victor Wishna tells us why it feels so good... to be a Raider-Hater. 

The Kansas City Chiefs had the worst record in the NFL last year with just two wins and 14 losses. Now, they are sitting pretty with a perfect 5-0 record. But how did we get here and how long can we keep it going?

Joel Thorman, editor of Arrowhead Pride, is just as shocked as everyone else in Kansas City. "The Chiefs have set an NFL record for the best start after winning two or less games from the year before. It's really just shocking."

The Kansas City Chiefs are 3-0 so far this season, and with that kind of record comes more attention and fan interest. As a result, the Chiefs are dealing with ancillary issues as they prepare for Sunday’s home game at Arrowhead Stadium against the New York Giants.

In the preseason, some Kansas City Chiefs employees feverishly worked behind the scenes on a separate issue: traffic and parking. But, it may not have been enough.

"Operationally, we had some significant missteps," says Chiefs president Mark Donovan, who suggests fans leave early to avoid traffic gridlock.

The Kansas City Chiefs are gearing up to play in Philadelphia tonight.  It’s an awkward homecoming for the Chiefs' new coach Andy Reid, who was with the Eagles for 14 years and was fired last December.

But there’s at least one spot, in the heart of South Philadelphia, where Reid won’t get booed when he walks into the stadium.  That’s Big Charlie’s Saloon, the home for Chiefs fans in Philadelphia.  And most of those fans aren’t Kansas City ex-pats.

The Kansas City Chiefs are now 2-0 in the young NFL season after a 17-16 win over the Dallas Cowboys Sunday in the home opener.

Only two weeks into the 2013 season, the Chief's record is equal to last year's entire victory total. They grabbed the lead for good late in the third quarter, and the fans at Arrowhead Stadium sniffed a chance to bask in the Chiefs' second win of the season under new head coach Andy Reid.

"When our fans are going, you can feel that field," said Reid. "It just rumbles a little bit. It's crazy but an awesome feeling."

The Kansas City Chiefs open the 2013 NFL season with a road game Sunday in Jacksonville, Fla. With general manager and coaching changes this year, hopes are not just resting on a reversal from last year’s 2-14 record. It’s more about ending a drought that has now lasted 20 years.

Ironically, at the Kansas City Chamber of Commerce luncheon last week for the Kansas City Chiefs everyone there enjoyed a full plate, while eight-year veteran linebacker Derrick Johnson shared with the event’s emcee, Mitch Holthus, a rather desperate feeling.

The Kansas City Chiefs suffered a number of challenges last season both on field, finishing last place in the NFL, and off the field, with the murder suicide of Kasandra Perkins and Jovan Belcher.  Management has turned a new page hiring coach Andy Reid to set a new tone.  But, can a team who has seen such hardship transform itself in one season?  

Kansas City Chiefs President, Mark Donovan, believes the expectation is very high from the fan base, but right now he just wants to focus on Jacksonville and coming back 1-0. 

The Kansas City Chiefs officially introduced their new starting quarterback, Alex Smith, on Wednesday. But the Chiefs also stirred up some memories with the signing of Chase Daniel as their back-up quarterback.

It wasn't Will Shields or Otis Taylor, but another former member of the Kansas City Chiefs will enter Pro Football Hall of Fame this summer.

With the hiring of General Manager John Dorsey and head coach Andy Reid, the Kansas City Chiefs are ushering in what they hope will be more successful days ahead.  The changes officially close the curtain on the tumultuous, four-year Scott Pioli era.

John Dorsey was introduced on Monday as the new general manager of the Kansas City Chiefs.  Though Dorsey has worked with the Green Bay Packers through most of his professional life, he's excited to be in Kansas City for his first general manager's job in the NFL.

A week after presenting their new head coach, the Kansas City Chiefs will introduce their new general manager, John Dorsey, Monday afternoon.

The Kansas City Chiefs introduced Andy Reid yesterday as the new head coach. Reid has hit the ground running since he arrived in Kansas City.

There's still no word from Arrowhead officially announcing that Andy Reid is the new head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs have a contract agreement, according to several media reports.

The Kansas City Chiefs have announced that general manager Scott Pioli is no longer with the football team. 

The organization that is the Kansas City Chiefs is operating in such uncertainty only the owner may know how the repair work will appear.

One week short of a year from being hired as the Kansas City Chiefs head coach, Romeo Crennel today learned he’d been fired.

The Kansas City Chiefs announced today that Romeo Crennel, the team's 12th coach, has been "relieved of his duties as head coach" after a 2-14 season. This record matches the team's worst in its 53-year history.

As the year comes to close, A Fan’s Notes commentator Victor Wishna looks back on “the year that was” in the world of Kansas City sports… with a glimmer of hope at what could be.

The Kansas City Chiefs broke their eight-game losing streak yesterday, beating the Carolina Panthers  27-21. The win comes in the wake of Chiefs linebacker, Jovan Belcher's death.

Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher shot his girlfriend multiple times around 8 a.m. Saturday, drove to the team's training facility, thanked coaches for supporting him, walked away and shot himself in the head, police said.