Mellinger Minutes For Your Ears: Recent Episodes
Sam Mellinger
Kansas City Star sports columnist Sam Mellinger writes stories, profiles, and the Mellinger Minutes every Tuesday. Now he’s starting a podcast, For Your Ears, that you can listen to whenever and wherever. Every week, Mellinger will answer listener questions, break down the local sports scene, and tell you exactly what's on his mind.
Kansas City sports on KC Chiefs, Andy Reid playcalling, Eric Berry ... and let’s face it: Sports here are better when KU and Mizzou play each other. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
We lead off with a Chiefs-Broncos point that a lot of people are missing, and also hit questions about Sporting Kansas City’s playoff struggles, Travis Kelce’s place in the Chiefs’ offense and the best teams to cover. The bonus section is the best we’ve ever had: Eric Berry, in his own words, in the first interview he’s done in years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chiefs-Cowboys is the biggest game of the season so far, and this podcast is here to tell you why. The questions are Chiefs heavy, focusing on whether they’re deserving of the current hype (and, actually, how much hype they’re getting), Mahomes’ decisions, Arrowhead Stadium’s homefield advantage, and your guy Daniel Sorensen. The bonus section is all about Sporting Kansas City and a playoff game that will go a LONG way toward steering narratives, one way or the other. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The top of the show is about my dear friend, Art Stewart, who died this week after 94 incredible years. I miss him, and I want you to know about him. The questions are about the Chiefs, including whether fans need to get used to ugly wins and whether the team’s current struggles might actually be remembered as a positive. The bonus section is a bit of a time machine, because I think you’ll enjoy hearing what some people were saying about the Chiefs two years ago, when they were “struggling” before their Super Bowl run to a league championship. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
We start with a point about how teams change, and about how the Chiefs are evolving. The questions hit the Chiefs hard — what’s going on behind the scenes, should they have re-signed Eric Fisher, and whether I’m finally ready to admit that WR2 is a problem. Then we talk about the Royals’ offseason, and whether a big trade might be part of their plan. The bonus section is about Oklahoma State basketball being wronged by the NCAA, and what it means not just for Kansas basketball but for the NCAA itself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This feels like a week where we need to talk. So the format is a bit different: a lead, and then twice as many questions as usual. The lead is sort of about Angie and Chris Long’s announcement that KC NWSL will soon play in a privately funded $70 million, 11,000-seat stadium at Berkely Park that will double as one of the city’s top concert venues and it’s sort of about the Royals’ exploration of a downtown ballpark but it’s more about life and other stuff and a point that’s been on my mind a lot lately. The questions hit on a lot of topics, starting with the best rant anyone’s left me on voicemail, continuing on with the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid and basketball memories and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
We start off with Chiefs-Titans, including some strategy and a way the Chiefs have been lucky. The questions hit on the Chiefs, Arrowhead Stadium’s atmosphere and Washington’s handling of the Sean Taylor tribute. We talk about Patrick Mahomes’ interceptions again, too. The bonus section is all about Kansas City’s bid to host 2026 World Cup games. Could this really happen? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week we’re worth your time with the best way to think of the rest of the Chiefs’ 2021 season. The questions hit on Andy Reid’s long-term trajectory, whether the coaching messages are going stale, the future of the Royals’ pitching and a journalism question off the blowback from Adam Schefter’s leaked email. The bonus section is a deep dive into the Royals’ exploration of the possibility of building and moving into a new downtown ballpark, which in itself is a tease to a VERY deep dive into the Royals’ exploration of a downtown ballpark. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week we start with two points about the Chiefs, hitting on the two of the people that Chiefs fans are thinking and talking about the most right now. The questions are about Chris Jones, the future of the Chiefs’ defense, whether this is an over-my-dead-body game for Patrick Mahomes and how changes in the media business affect how I’m able to communicate with you. The bonus section is with the coordinators, where I try to help translate what they’re saying into English. This is true service journalism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week we start with two important points about the Chiefs: one on Andy Reid, the other about where they are in the season. The questions are Chiefs-heavy. You ask about Josh Gordon, how much 1-2 stink this team really has and the future of defensive end Frank Clark. And we take our first question from a non-human. Seriously. The bonus section is with Royals general manager J.J. Picollo. It strikes me that he’s been in Kansas City 15 years, with a hand in everything the Royals do, and a lot of fans don’t know much about him. Between this and a column that’s on the website, maybe we can change that a little. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week we start with a point about the Chargers game suddenly becoming one of the most important and interesting of the Chiefs’ 2021 regular season. The questions are a bit spicy — the people are not happy with defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo or safety Daniel Sorensen. We also talk a little downtown baseball. The bonus section is on Spagnuolo. He was really interesting this week. We play some audio and provide some context. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week we go hard on the biggest news of the week: The Royals announced a new general manager and made public their exploration of the notion of building a new downtown ballpark. We offer insight on all of that and answer the question on many minds: If the Royals go downtown, what happens with the Chiefs and Arrowhead Stadium? The questions hit on Andy Reid’s decisions, Clyde Edwards-Helaire’s explosiveness and the Royals’ 2022 lineup. The bonus section is a conversation with Tony Gonzalez on stardom in Kansas City. There’s some interesting stuff in here, including a story about Johnny Manziel. Join us every Friday for behind-the-scenes access to interviews with Kansas City’s coaches, fans and reporters. We’ve talked with Patrick Mahomes, Mike Matheny, Brett Veach — and more. You can get . If you like our work, you can help support us by subscribing to the SportsPass. It’s the best deal in town: or, with a new promotion. Either way you get access to all our work, including the best and most Chiefs coverage anywhere. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
We start off with ways the Chiefs can be beaten, and thinking of the teams in the AFC that are best equipped to do it. The questions hit on the game plan against the Browns, Tony Gonzalez’s place in Chiefs history and whether John Dorsey will be in the Chiefs’ Ring of Honor. The bonus section is built around some audio that subtly and unintentionally tells you everything you need to know about where the Chiefs are right now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Royals are doing some real things that are showing up on the field and should create optimism for the future. That’s the top of the pod. Then we have questions on NFL roster cuts (and Covid), whether Salvy Perez is already the second best player in Royals history, and Kansas City’s World Cup bid. The bonus section is all Chiefs, with the best audio I heard all week and some analysis of the 53-man roster. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Thanks for finding us! We’re going to be worth your time this week with a look at which AFC teams are the Chiefs’ biggest threats, questions on roster cuts (especially at receiver and running back) and what I believe is the best audio you’ll hear all week — Salvador Perez telling you how he keeps his childhood at the front of his mind, and joy in everything he does. Here’s what we’re doing: We are constantly trying to think of new ways to deliver you information, entertainment or something else you won’t get anywhere else. Part of that is evaluating how you and I can connect. My hope is this can be one more way — a podcast you can listen to whenever and wherever you like. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
We’re all-in on the Chiefs this week. The top deals with questions surrounding Big 12 realignment, but then it’s all red and gold: What’s delaying a Tyrann Mathieu contract extension, how many Hall of Famers are currently with the Chiefs and more. The bonus section has audio you have not heard from Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid and Brett Veach. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
We start with three things to watch for when the Chiefs play their first preseason game against the 49ers on Saturday. We hit questions on the Chiefs and Royals, and the bonus section features Cliff Illig discussing a range of topics, including Kansas City’s World Cup bid and how Patrick Mahomes’ purchase into Sporting Kansas City’s ownership group came about. It’s a good show, and we hope you enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Lots to talk about this week, eh? First up on the Mellinger Minutes For Your Ears Podcast in this episode is Texas and Oklahoma and the Big 12 and SEC. The Longhorns and Sooners appear to be good as gone. What comes next for the conference that still includes KU, K-State and six other Power Five teams? Then we shift into other topics, including a conversation with Royals executive J.J. Picollo. The club’s vice president/assistant GM for player personnel is candid and informative and you won’t want to miss what he has to say. It’s a good show, and we hope you enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week we do a 180 on that silly Travis Kelce stuff this week, and answer questions about the Royals’ prospects, the Chiefs’ offensive line, and how college sports are changing with Name, Image and Likeness rights. The bonus section is different this week — we talk to Kansas City musician Samantha Fish about getting back on tour after the pandemic, pet peeves, and Kansas City. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Royals are a hot mess right now, so that’s where we lead the show. A lot of what’s going wrong can be told through Brad Keller, and by extension Cal Eldred. The questions hit on how much Kansas City’s World Cup chances depend on the Gold Cup atmosphere, following European soccer, whether it’s been better to be a Royals or Rays fan over the last 10 years, and the most important small town in Kansas City sports history. The bonus segment is very insightful and timely — college athlete rights advocate Ramogi Huma on Name, Image and Likeness rules and what will come next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week we start with a conversation about where the Royals really are — the good and the bad. The questions hit on surprising press conferences from the Royals and Chiefs, an improvement for the hot dog derby, some advice on long-term fandom, and a soccer cocktail. The bonus segment is with Angie and Chris Long, the Kansas City financial executives making an enormous and interesting bet with their purchase and vision for KC NWSL. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This may sound hyperbolic but I don’t think we’ve ever seen an athlete transform more completely in Kansas City than Travis Kelce. The top of the show explains why. Then we do questions on MLB’s weird plan on enforcing foreign substances, Hunter Dozier and Jorge Soler struggling, why crowds have been relatively small, and the weirdest place I’ve ever seen a fight. The bonus section is with someone I know a lot of you have wanted to hear from: Royals pitching coach Cal Eldred. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
We start off with two things to keep in mind while watching or talking to your friends about the 2021 Royals. Then we hit questions on the differences between John Sherman and David Glass, what the future of the Chiefs’ cap and Patrick Mahomes’ contract will be, and we even talk a little about the NBA and NHL in Kansas City. The bonus segment is a thorough explanation about the Royals’ player development process and bringing prospects into the big leagues from general manager Dayton Moore. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Adalberto Mondesi conversation needs a reset. A fresh perspective. That’s what the top of this week’s show is for. The questions are all over the place — one is the best question we’ve ever had on this show, another made my blood boil, and we also talked about Cam Gallagher’s defense and who the good guys are. The bonus section is a fun conversation with Salvador Perez. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
There’s a point about Tyrann Mathieu’s contract extension you should hear, and that helps shape the next few years of the Chiefs’ salary cap. We start the show off there, then answer questions about whether the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum is cheapening the Monarchs’ brand, when Kauffman Stadium will actually be full, whether vaccines will ever be required, and I hijack a question to promote this idea for barbecue at The K that is simply beyond reproach. The bonus section includes some reporting for a column about the NCAA and the name, image and likeness legislation making its way through various state legislatures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Somehow, we live in a world where the NFL announcing a schedule that we already know is the biggest sports news of the week. So we talk about that here at the top, including a prediction that is too homer-ish for my comfort, but also something I believe. So that’s something I’m going to have to think about. Anyway, the questions turned into a sort of airing of grievances this week — Kansas Citians need to chill out, Sinclair’s short-sightedness and the immediate future, the line at Joe’s — and something about the Chiefs’ offensive line that will make you smarter than your friends. The bonus section is with Royals manager Mike Matheny, who is open and honest about what he’s seeing and feeling during the Royals’ worst stretch in years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Tim Grunhard deserves all the flowers he’s getting, but we start the show with a plea for the Chiefs to correct a glaring omission to the Ring of Honor. The questions are about liars, Sam Ehlinger, the Royals bullpen, Angel Hernandez, and KU’s new athletics director. The bonus section is with new KU football coach Lance Leipold, and we breakdown what’s required for success and what that success would look like. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Can we make this deal? As long as the Royals are in first place, they will lead this show. In the questions we hit on Patrick Mahomes’ draft night, pitchers cheating, Brett Veach smokescreening the media, and recommendations for Kansas City’s beer scene. The bonus section is all about the Chiefs, including a breakdown of the first round from the Chiefs’ perspective, and we peel back some layers of something really important that Veach said late last night.
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You probably guessed we’d start the show with the first-place Royals, but hopefully you didn’t guess what we’d say about them. The questions hit on sports and politics, how we put the show together, who the Chiefs should draft, and a weird story from Canada. The third section is a look into what makes Tyrann Mathieu go. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Maybe this sounds weird, but we’re starting this week with a Greg Holland appreciation. We’ve seen this guy for nearly a decade now — same as always on the mound, but not much different off. The questions are an eclectic mix of Jackie Robinson, creative ways to use the DH, and a nice listener named Mark sending me down a rabbit hole I did not know existed. The bonus segment is with Mike Matheny, with clips that show who he is (and how he’s different than the manager he replaced) and where the organization is. He also helps me articulate a pet peeve. Please listen to new episodes every Friday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. New to the show? Here’s what we’re doing We are constantly trying to think of new ways to deliver you information, entertainment or something else you won’t get anywhere else. Part of that is evaluating how you and I can connect. My hope is this can be one more way — a podcast you can listen to whenever and wherever you like. Join us every Friday for behind-the-scenes access to interviews with Kansas City’s coaches, fans and reporters. We’ve talked with Patrick Mahomes, Mike Matheny, Brett Veach — and more. You can get all the episodes in one place right here. If you like our work, you can help support us by subscribing to the SportsPass. It’s the best deal in town: $30 for a year or, with a new promotion, $1 per month for the first three months. Either way you get access to all our work, including the best and most Chiefs coverage anywhere. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
You already know this week’s show is built around the Royals playing a real baseball game in front of real humans. The show leads off with a perspective on what’s really driving this year’s roster, then we get questions on how the show is put together, KU and K-State’s basketball programs, how the Royals spend their money, and journalism. The bonus section begins with the best audio we’ve ever had on this show, and continues going through opening day and what it might mean going forward. Please listen to new episodes every Friday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. New to the show? Here’s what we’re doingWe are constantly trying to think of new ways to deliver you information, entertainment or something else you won’t get anywhere else. Part of that is evaluating how you and I can connect. My hope is this can be one more way — a podcast you can listen to whenever and wherever you like. Join us every Friday for behind-the-scenes access to interviews with Kansas City’s coaches, fans and reporters. We’ve talked with Patrick Mahomes, Mike Matheny, Brett Veach — and more. You can get all the episodes in one place right here. If you like our work, you can help support us by subscribing to the SportsPass. It’s the best deal in town: $30 for a year or, with a new promotion, $1 per month for the first three months. Either way you get access to all our work, including the best and most Chiefs coverage anywhere. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week we start with something I hear a lot of you doing: freaking out about the Chiefs. Questions hit on KU’s blowout loss to USC, the potential of Eric Fisher returning to the Chiefs, and the Royals’ usage of extensions to keep guys like Salvador Perez and Hunter Dozier in Kansas City. The bonus segment is with David Carter, executive director of the Sports Business Institute at USC, a great person to talk about this trend of fans being able to watch their favorite teams in local markets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Fair warning, this week’s lead is essentially me drooling over the fact that you and I and everyone else can watch actual, real, NCAA Tournament games. Then we do questions on who the heck I think I am, whether gambling is good for sports, what Ballly’s Kansas City will be like, and whether KU screwed up its infractions case. The bonus segment is a good one — Sporting Kansas City CEO Jake Reid on the current reality that a significant chunk of Kansas Citians are shut out from watching the Royals and Sporting on their TVs. This is a big story, and something we’ll continue to do more on. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Believe it or not, there’s a point about Jeff Long and Kansas that I haven’t made yet this week and an analogy that will help make sense of the mess, especially if you’re a Chiefs fan. The questions hit on weird press conferences, the Chiefs’ salary cap, the chance of Alex Smith rejoining as a backup, and getting kids in school. The bonus section is built around something Brett Veach said a few weeks ago. With the cuts of Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz some are saying Veach lied. I’m going to tell you why it’s not that simple. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
You guys, I’m back from spring training and it was all of the following: weird, not the same as normal, and incredibly satisfying to watch baseball games played with humans in the stands. We talk about that, picking up some joy, when we might be able to watch games without masks, maximizing the spring training experience and some audio that tells you everything you need to know about who the Royals want to be and how they believe they can compete in a division with teams that have more money, more talent, or both. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Now’s as good a time as ever for the wonder of sports. All that stuff we fell in love with, it’s coming back. Slowly, but it’s coming back. Plus we hit questions on why Andrew Benintendi changes the Royals, the work they still have to do, the Chiefs’ offseason and whether their future will ever look like the quarterback angst we now see in Seattle and Houston. The bonus segment — all about the Royals, who are doing actual baseball things this week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The only show I had it in me to do this week is a show about our dear friend Terez Paylor. We talk here about telling people we love them, listeners share stories, and Chiefs general manager Brett Veach gives his memories of Terez — from the other side of the notebook. Promise we’ll get to actual sports next week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
So I guess we’re talking about the Chiefs in the Super Bowl every year now, huh? Here we go, about the importance of not taking this for granted, questions on everything from the defense to the most important parts of the game to the offensive line and who is the worst member of the A-Team to travel with. We finish with a conversation with the man who knows more about the Bucs than anyone who doesn’t work for them.
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It wouldn’t be Super Bowl hype week without a show, right? We give you a breakdown of three main points from this game, questions about Mahomes and the national media and the best way to watch this game and have a driveway tailgate, and one of my favorite bonus segments we’ve had. Because Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes told us a lot about where they are this week, even if they did it unintentionally. You’ve got to hear this clip from Mahomes, too, admitting the Chiefs are not disrespected while SAYING THEY ARE DISRESPECTED. A tour de force, indeed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Packed with Chiefs stuff. We give you a full(ish) breakdown of the AFC Championship Game between the Chiefs and the Bills, including what I’m looking for when each team is on offense. We have another great batch of questions from around the country, and we talk to Kevin Van Valkenburg, who recently did a deep dive on Josh Allen, who fooled a lot of us and this weekend will be trying to end the Chiefs’ season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Well, obviously we’re all Chiefs this week. We start with the weekend’s games, some quick Chiefs-Browns analysis, and a look at what might be an incredible future of the AFC. The questions hit on the confidence of Chiefs fans, betting lines, the defense’s improvement and killing wolves (seriously). Then we talk with someone who knows more about the Browns than just about anyone who doesn’t work for them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Back-to-back NFL playoff tripleheaders make this weekend one of the best for sports all season. Here, for your listening pleasure, is a viewing guide for Chiefs fans. The questions hit on Zoom backgrounds, the Chiefs, whether this year’s Super Bowl champion will be viewed differently and the saddest example of timing I can imagine. You’ll hear audio you haven’t heard before from Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid and Tyrann Mathieu, and also Herbie Teope asks a question I’ve been laughing about all week. Thanks as always for giving us your time. If you like what you hear, please subscribe and give us a rating and review. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Telling 2020 to not let the door hit ‘em feels good, right? This week we’re talking about what the next year of sports might look like, and the importance of not letting a screwed-up year go to waste. The questions are about the Chiefs’ luck, that play where Mahomes ran a go-route, a potential NFL playoff realignment and the value of letting players chase records or milestones in otherwise meaningless Week 17 games. The bonus section focuses on a low-key awesome football weekend for Chiefs fans. Thanks as always for giving us your time. If you like what you hear, please subscribe and give us a rating and review. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This is one more week we don’t lead the show with the Chiefs, but you’ll have to forgive me. The second and third segments are loaded with Chiefs stuff, but I had to yell at capital B Baseball first. The questions hit on Patrick Mahomes and the MVP race, Brett Veach’s vision for the next few seasons, how Carlos Santana might change the Royals, and what sports rivalries will look like on the other side of the pandemic. We finish with Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid, in their words, addressing the only question that matters right now: How close are the Chiefs to being themselves for the playoffs? Thanks as always for giving us your time. If you like what you hear, please subscribe and give us a rating and review. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
We usually start the show with the Chiefs, especially during football season. But not this week, because one of the most consequential Kansas City sports careers in recent history just broke up. We have another great run of questions — THANK YOU! — including shame-wearing your team’s gear, the Chiefs’ run defense, the effect of empty stadiums on officiating, and a comparison I had not considered before about Andy Reid and Ted Lasso. We finish with a dive into Kansas City’s new NWSL team, including clips from a conversation with owners Angie and Chris Long. Thanks as always for giving us your time. If you like what you hear, please subscribe and give us a rating and review. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Everybody’s talking about Black Pearl, but the process behind it is about a lot more than a fun play. Another great run of questions hits on how aggressive the Chiefs should be, what they need from their pass rush, Eric Bieniemy’s role and my weird last name. We finish with the smartest thing I heard all week, and it came from a high school wrestling coach. Thanks as always for giving us your time. If you like what you hear, please subscribe and give us a rating and review. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Patrick Mahomes is the focus of most things Chiefs. And that’s deserved. That’s how it should be. But particularly this week I’m thinking of someone else whose impact cannot be overstated. We’ve got questions on the Raiders revenge game, a long-term trend to look for the rest of this season, why it’s so hard to win consecutive championships, and the easy-to-miss part of Mahomes’ game. Then we finish with some insight from Peter Vermes, who led Sporting KC to the biggest one-year turnaround in MLS history. Sporting’s first playoff game is Sunday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Let’s think positively, for once. What are you looking forward to on the other side of COVID-19? The Chiefs are off this week so we opened it up to more questions than usual, and you came through. Also, some reporting and unique perspectives from high school sports as the games go on despite surging cases and the advice of public health officials. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The news of the week is Chris Jones landing on the NFL’s COVID-19/reserve list. I’m told it’s because of contact tracing, not a positive test, but we can talk about that and everything else that’s going on with the Chiefs here. Fair warning: The questions go completely off the rails, but then we rally with audio of the best thing I heard all week. Thanks as always for giving us your time. If you like what you hear, please subscribe and give us a rating and review. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Chiefs are 6-1, again the Super Bowl favorites so we start this show with ... NBA? Well, yes. Because the Chiefs are playing the Jets. And Kansas City has been tripping over its potholes trying to get the Raptors to shack up here for the 2020-21 season. There are reasons to be excited. And reasons to be skeptical. We get into both here, plus questions and answers about the Chiefs and voting, Andy Reid’s brain, and how the A-Team coordinates Chiefs coverage. You can also hear my conversation with Kansas City mayor Quinton Lucas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Let’s get right to it. Le’Veon Bell signing with the Chiefs is the news of the last two weeks. This podcast will tell you everything you need to know: a point that’s being missed about what the Chiefs see in Bell, and a point that Bell is hitting about what he sees in the Chiefs. His word choice the other day was really interesting. Also, we examine questions about Andy Reid’s future, Mizzou and Nebraska football, and covering sports in 2020. Thanks as always for giving us your time. If you like what you hear, please subscribe and give us a rating and review. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Busy week, busy show. We start with a point we’ve made before about the Chiefs, and one that will become more apparent after the Bills game Monday. Then we do questions on a fact about No. 1 picks that I didn’t know before, Le’Veon Bell, and the learned skill of ignoring nonsense. Then Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News joins to break down the Chiefs’ next opponent. Vic is a legend in this business and knows the Bills as well as any writer knows a team. Thanks as always for giving us your time. If you like what you hear, please subscribe and give us a rating and review. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This show is going to be a little different every week, and this week we’re starting off with, basically, a column on the disconnect between how COVID-19 cases are being discussed publicly in the NFL vs. college football. It doesn’t make sense. Then we get to the questions: Harrison Butker’s misses, the next man up after Eric Bieniemy gets a head coaching job, the Chiefs’ biggest rival and how to get into this weird business. The last section is built around a point Patrick Mahomes made this week, and expanding it more broadly in a way that highlights who he is. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
There’s a point about the Chiefs that’s becoming clearer and clearer all the time. We get to that, questions about the Royals and Chiefs, and we breakdown Chiefs-Patriots with Tom Curran of NBC Sports Boston, who covers the Patriots as closely as anyone. Listen every Friday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Lots to get to this week. Alex Gordon is retiring, and the Chiefs are playing the Ravens. Gordon debuted during the first full season I covered the Royals full-time. I can’t say I know him incredibly well — who can? — but I can say I’ve known him a long time. Wanted to share some thoughts on him as a man, and then we go heavy on Chiefs at Baltimore, including an enlightening conversation with the voice of the Ravens. Listen every Friday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
We will have plenty of time to drool over the Chiefs’ offense this season. Today, let’s talk about the defense, and a point some are missing. Also: questions about Chiefs ticket prices, modern media and Alex Gordon. The conversation this week is with Royals GM Dayton Moore, who talks openly about a critical point of his franchise’s rebuild. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Yes, there were boos. And cheers! And “CHIEEEEEFS!” So this isn’t as simple as the headlines. Let’s talk about that here, including with a die hard Chiefs fan who was in the stands. Also: we will talk about real, actual football. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
A conversation with Andy Reid turns into a story Pat Mahomes once told me about Brett Favre. Also on the Mellinger Minutes For Your Ears podcast: the biggest point about how Adalberto Mondesi can get out of this slump, a way to watch the 2020 Chiefs, questions about KC’s team owners, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Chiefs only allowed four of us to watch all of their training camp practices, so I owe you some insight. There’s a lot that stuck out, from Andy Reid to Patrick Mahomes to Jody Fortson. Also, Brett Veach answers the question a lot of you have been asking: How the heck did the Chiefs sign all these stars to contract extensions when the salary cap is going down next year? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Chiefs’ decision to let fans attend games at Arrowhead Stadium this fall generated strong reactions on both sides — some who think the plan is dangerous, others who welcome the chance for something closer to normalcy. But there’s also a plain point that both sides are missing, and we explore that here in the 20th episode of Mellinger Minutes For Your Ears. Plus, we tackle questions about kids going back to school and playing sports, Super Bowl repeats and whether the Chiefs had the perfect offseason. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Every week we give you some audio you can’t hear anywhere else, and this one is especially insightful: Royals chairman and CEO John Sherman on the decisions that shape his new team, how he sees success happening, and how he’ll judge the process of getting there. And you might think high school football should play this fall, and you might think it’s crazy. Either way, there’s a point that’s not being talked about enough. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Royals have undertaken their most drastic year-to-year shift and most people are missing it. You won’t if you listen here. Also, we talk to Chiefs GM Brett Veach and Emory University epidemiologist Zach Binney about how the NFL is attempting to navigate COVID-19 this season. The perspective is, well, it’s not the most encouraging thing you’ll hear today. But it’s honest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Remember when Chiefs cornerback Charvarius Ward said his vision was so bad he couldn’t see the football? He calls in to tell us what he did to fix it.
And depending on when you listen to this, I’m in various stages of traveling to and then back from Cleveland, covering the Royals. With mixed feelings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week on Mellinger Minutes For Your Ears Chiefs president Mark Donovan explains how the team has been handling its issues around Native American imagery since long before Washington changed its name. Also: We get into why college football is probably gone until at least next year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
We’ve heard some of you say Patrick Mahomes is making too much money, in terms of the salary cap or general life. This week’s Mellinger Minutes For Your Ears explains why that’s not true. Also, a point about sports returning through positive test results for the coronavirus. We also talk about the Chiefs potentially changing their name, and get the Royals’ plan for handling their pitchers directly from a team executive. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week on Mellinger Minutes For Your Ears: As coronavirus cases rise in the Kansas City area and across the country, the Royals are starting “summer camp” — a huge step in the return to play this year. We talked with Nick Kenney, head athletic trainer for the Royals, Kurt Andrews, director of sports medicine for Sporting Kansas City, and Zach Binney, an epidemiologist from Emory University about how and if sports can safely return. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
We’re so excited about the return of baseball that we made a whole podcast on it. This week’s Mellinger Minutes For Your Ears hits the Royals’ side of baseball’s restart, answers questions about the Royals, Kansas City nemeses, and MLS’ own restart. We’ll take you inside a conversation with Mike Matheny interrupted by Salvador Perez asking for a Chiefs meeting. Or shift meeting. Just listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week we talk with Kansas City native Bryndon Minter, a 27-year-old creative producer with the NFL who was behind the push for last week’s video showing players — including Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Tyrann Mathieu — calling for change and supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. It became a viral social media hit. We also talk about the NFL’s team owners needing to treat fans better and answer questions about whether Mahomes should take less money in his looming mega-contract with the Chiefs, and whether the Royals have a competitive advantage in the way they’re treating their minor-leaguers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The newest Mellinger Minutes For Your Ears talks about baseball’s tone deaf mistakes, the protests happening around the country, and a story about Sporting Kansas City coach Peter Vermes we’d never heard before. Sam is also answering questions about the Royals ownership’s willingness to raise pay , and he spitballs the question: Would Patrick Mahomes be just as good without Andy Reid? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week on Mellinger Minutes For Your Ears, we're talking about baseball’s mistakes, answering questions about the NFL’s return and Patrick Mahomes becoming the highest paid athlete in the league — then we talk to his dad about it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week’s show features the best interview we’ve had so far, and it’s going to be tough to top. Ryan Lefebvre and I drafted Royals players from this century, which originally was going to be a show. But then I mentioned it to Royals general manager Dayton Moore, asking if he’d choose who had the better team. Moore did more than that. He sent the teams to his analytics department and top scouts, asking their feedback, and his assistant — the tremendous Emily Penning — set up a Zoom call so I could sit in as Moore, senior director of pro scouting Gene Watson and assistant GM for research and development Daniel Mack debated the teams the way they do real-life player acquisitions. These are hypothetical teams, obviously, but the shape and details of the debate are representative of the Royals’ process. Big thanks to everyone involved for doing this. New to the show? Here’s what we’re doing: We are constantly trying to think of new ways to deliver you information, entertainment or something else you won’t get anywhere else. Part of that is evaluating how you and I can connect. My hope is this can be one more way — a podcast you can listen to whenever and wherever you like. Join us every Friday for behind-the-scenes access to interviews with Kansas City’s coaches, fans and reporters. We’ve talked with Bill Self, Mike Matheny and Mayor Quinton Lucas — and more. You can get all the episodes in one place right here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week, baseball’s return-to-play proposal has us thinking about the 10 best things about the sport’s return, we take listener questions on the Chiefs and talk to Mike Jirschele about his part in two of the most important plays in Royals history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mellinger Minutes For Your Ears continues to roll this week with listener questions on the Chiefs and Royals, some reaction to a strange NFL schedule release and former Mizzou basketball coach Norm Stewart’s thoughts on everything from the Border War’s return to the state of college basketball today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The newest Mellinger Minutes For Your Ears podcast is Chiefs-focused, including reaction to the first round of players talking publicly during this virtual offseason. We have some great questions, including whether sports fans have it better or worse than they used to, and one that goes deep on how to mourn a lost loved one. Special bonus segment, too: Terez Paylor of Yahoo! Sports stops by for a very specific and silly Chiefs draft. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week, the Mellinger Minutes For Your Ears podcast is all about gratitude for some actual sports-ish stuff to talk about and a conversation with Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas. We did the interview with the mayor for a recent column about why he gave the world his cell phone number, and obviously I hope you read that, but we ended up talking a little about the Kansas City stay-at-home order lockdown and what he expects, too. I thought his answers were interesting, — and enlightening. We also catch up about last night’s NFL Draft picks — including the Chiefs’ surprising choice in the first round of LSU running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire. As always, thanks for listening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
We can’t watch sports, but we don’t have to stop loving them. This week on Mellinger Minutes for Your Ears, The Star’s subscriber-exclusive podcast, is an ode to sports memories, as well as and a conversation with two Kansas Citians trying to land an NBA team for the Sprint Center. Have a question for me? I’ll answer it on the podcast. Just give me a call at 816-234-4365. Thank you for supporting us in this experiment. Let us know how we’re doing and how we can better reach you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Welcome to the third iteration of our experiment: Mellinger Minutes For Your Ears, where I get to talk directly to you about the wild times we’re living in and Kansas City sports. This week, we’s Mellinger Minutes For Your Ears podcast welcome Gary Woodland, the reigning US Open champion and Kansas graduate. Woodland would be at the Masters during normal times, but talked to us about why he hasn’t touched a club since the postponements, when he thinks the PGA might be able to return, and what would be required between now and then. And I answer your questions about Kansas basketball and how to bring young people to the baseball fandom. And as always, thanks for listening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mellinger Minutes For Your Ears is back for a second episode, this time with a conversation with Kansas basketball coach Bill Self. Thanks to all of you who tuned in last week. We got a lot of feedback and great new questions. I hope you enjoy what we have for you today. This week, we’ll update some recent coronavirus stories, take questions on everything from sports to barbecue, and chat with Self about how he’s spending his days, his Twitter comeback and the eventual return of college sports more. As always, call 816-234-4365 to participate. Thanks for listening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Welcome to our new experiment. We are constantly trying to think of new ways to deliver you information, entertainment or something else you won’t get anywhere else. Part of that is evaluating how you and I can connect. We’ve had great luck with columns, profiles, the Minutes every Tuesday, and on social media. My hope is this can be one more way — a podcast you can listen to whenever and wherever you like. The hope is to post these most Fridays, but we need your help. So if you’d like to participate with a question please call 816-234-4365 and leave your first name and city. If you have a way we can make this better please let me know that, too. This week, I’m answering your questions about The Peanut, the uncertainty of this year’s baseball season and how the coronavirus pandemic has shifted the rhythm of sports. We’ll finish up with an exclusive interview with Royals manager Mike Matheny, where we talk about life, family and baseball. Thanks as always for your time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices