Big Week For Bowe

Dwayne Bowe has been an enigma if nothing else. He’s feuded with coaches, referred to his owner’s (Clark Hunt) family as “the Clarks”, been one of the best wide receivers in the league, looked completely disinterested in football, been one of the best wide receivers in the league again, and as of late, been made nearly irrelevant by a man named Palko. Even within 2011 he’s been maddening:
- In week 1 against a suspect Bills’ secondary Bowe caught two passes for 17 yards in a blowout loss
- Over the next 4 weeks he averaged 101 yards per game and scored 4 TDs
- Since then he’s not scored a touchdown, not topped 100 yards in a game, and only topped 80 yards twice
So if you’re like me and you have D-Bowe on your fantasy team, you’ve probably had him on your bench for the last three weeks. You can’t be blamed for completely falling asleep on Bowe, or the miserable Chiefs offense. However, if you’re still in the playoffs, it’s time to wake up. Bowe may be poised to have his biggest game of the season in Week 15 against the Packers. Why?
- If you believe the rumors coming out of KC, the last straw for HC Todd Haley came when he mocked Bowe for reporting some terrible things Haley had said to him to GM Scott Pioli. Bowe’s success has always been predicated on his level of buy-in. A week after Haley’s been fired, how hard do you think he’s going to play?
- The Chiefs and Bowe have been discussing extensions, and if he doesn’t get one Bowe knows he’s likely looking at the franchise tag next season. Think there’s any motivation there?
- The Packers pass defense has surrendered huge fantasy numbers this season, everybody knows that. Theirs is a risk/reward approach, and with all the passing the Chiefs will be doing on Sunday they will get burnt a couple of times, like they always do.
- Kyle Orton is starting. Orton threw for 273 yard and 3 TDs against this same defense in Week 4 this year. Sure he also threw three picks, but that’s irrelevant to Bowe’s performance. If there’s one thing we’ve seen from both Orton and Bowe it’s that they’re both willing to pad their stats in a blowout loss. They should have a full half of stat padding against the juggernaut Packers.
That’s 4 solid reasons to get Bowe off your bench and into your starting line up, you won’t regret it. Don’t have Bowe? Scrambling for a risk/reward play at WR? Here’ 4 more I think that could far outplay their rankings in Week 15(all rankings courtesy of footballguys.com):
Jabar Gaffney (ranked 31st on FBG) – Santana Moss has not been the same since returning from injury and the Giants pass defense has been terrible this season.
Eric Decker (ranked 50th)- Everyone should get in on the party in what should be a high scoring game vs the Pats. Decker is definitely high risk, but have you seen the Pats secondary?
Malcolm Floyd (ranked 53rd)- The only guy on this list with a bad match up, but Floyd can get behind the defense at any point for a score. You know the Ravens are going to focus heavily on Antonio Gates and Vincent Jackson.
Early Doucet (ranked 66th)- Joe Haden is going to be all over Larry Fitzgerald and Doucet has quietly put together a decent season.

Chiefs Need To Put Chargers In Poisiton To Fail

I wanted to continue what I started last week, with my top fantasy story lines for this week’s Chiefs game…and I will, tomorrow. But first, and more importantly:

How do the Chiefs beat the Chargers?

I’d never want to underestimate the ability of Norv Turner to coach this team down to our level, and the Chargers have a litany of injuries that could do that without Norv’s help. Still, the Chiefs will have to do a lot of things right to win this game…amongst them:
1. Keep it close early. This Chargers team is (and always has been) fragile. The crowd at Arrowhead, on Halloween no less, may be an all-time great. If the Chiefs can stake an early lead, who has confidence that Philip Rivers (especially 2011 Philip Rivers) won’t meltdown? Arrowhead has long been famous as one of the best atmospheres in the league…especially on Monday Night Football. Last year, these same teams played on MNF to start the season, and the Chiefs victory (inspired by the loudest crowd I’d heard out there in years) led to an improbable division title. The recipe is still the same. Falling down one score early (like they did last year) would not be disastrous but any more than that could be.
2. Shutdown Ryan Mathews. With Rivers’ struggles and the statement made by the Chiefs secondary last week the Chargers are going to lean on the running game even more. It’s looking more and more like Mike Tolbert won’t play meaning Mathews should see even more touches. Mathews leads the team in rushing yards, total yards, and is second in receptions. He’s averaging 137 total yards a game in victories and just 96 in losses. As much as Mathews was maligned last season for fumbles and injuries, he’s turned into the heart of this Chargers’ offense. Shutting him down puts the pressure on Rivers in a hostile environment...and that is a great start.
3. Contain Antonio Gates. When he’s healthy, you can’t stop Antonio Gates, he’s proven that. Even last week when he wasn’t really healthy one of the best pass defenses in the league couldn’t stop him. Still, the point is, the Chiefs need to make the Chargers beat them with their weakness (wide outs) against the Chiefs’ strength (corners). This strategy will probably result in Rivers completing a deep bomb or two, but it will also give the Chiefs more opportunities to make the kind of big plays they’ll need to win this game.
Simple enough right? Listen, if you’re looking for a rah-rah speech about how this game makes us a lock to win the division you’d probably be better served going here. Even with a win here, the Chiefs have a tremendous amount of work to do to be anywhere close to the playoffs. That being said, this game is absolutely winnable.
The fact is, San Diego is a pretty good representation of their city. Their used to perfect, comfortable conditions...and a laid back atmosphere. Make them uncomfortable and the Chiefs have a pretty good chance of being in a first place tie on Tuesday morning, no matter how unlikely that seemed a month ago.

Raider Week from a Fantasy Perspective

I'll admit it, I was a little disturbed when I first saw that I was assigned the Chiefs-Raiders game this week for Football Guys. No matter what Steve says, I am a true Chiefs fan...so of course, I'm also a Raider Hater. My first thought was "How am I going to be objective through this donnybrook?" I mean, let's be honest...journalistic integrity hasn't exactly been a focal point of this blog. Of course then it hit me...this isn't just Raiders Week...this is the most interesting NFL game this week from a fantasy football perspective. I'm lucky to have this game. Hence, I bring you my top 4 story lines from Chiefs-Raiders.
The debut of Carson Palmer?
I'll admit it, I'm not one of those people killing the Raiders for this trade. Did they give up too much? Absolutely....but isn't that exactly what you'd want your team to do in this situation? The Raiders are 4-2 with Kansas city (twice), Denver, Minnesota, Chicago, and Miami left on their schedule. With their roster, even an adequate QB wins 5 of those games, maybe 6. Steal one against San Diego and you're looking at a division title.
So the question becomes, is Carson Palmer still an adequate QB? I think we find out on Sunday even if he doesn't start. No matter how talented the Raiders are, I don't think they're good enough to beat the Chiefs with Kyle Boller at QB and if they have playoff aspirations, this is a must win. So even if Hue Jackson doesn't have the cajones to start Palmer, I think we'll see him in this game. How he performs may be the biggest storyline of Week 7.
Does Jackie Battle get the ball?
Todd Haley spent most of last year giving Thomas Jones far more carries than he deserved in light of Jamal Charles' dominance. Some argue that Charles' dominance was because of the small workload and not despite it, but even if he falls to 5 yards a carry, he's a much better play than the 3 yards and cloud of dust the 33 year old Jones produces. So, if Charles couldn't wrestle carries away from Jones why would Battle? Jamal Charles is the future of this franchise and he's undersized. Haley could legitimately argue(wrongly I'd say) that it's in the best interest of the franchise to limit Charles' carries. With Battle there is no such argument. He's big, he's 28 years old, and (assuming Charles comes back full strength next year) his future value to the franchise is negligible. If Battle is truly more effective than Jones (and if you've watched the Chiefs this year you know he is) Haley has no excuse to not give him 20 carries a game. If he does, there's no reason to think he couldn't become a solid RB2 for fantasy purposes.
Which Oakland WR emerges with a new QB?
The Raiders receivers have been teasing fantasy owners for years. If Carson Palmer is (still) better than Jason Campbell, it's conceivable that one of them could turn into a fantasy stud...but which one? Jacoby Ford is ridiculously fast, and equally athletic...but for some reason has never turned that promise into results. Darrius Heyward-Bey is also explosive and has the whole 3rd-year-breakout-WR thing going for him. Denarius Moore got all of the preseason pub and exploded onto the scene a little over a month ago, but has all but disappeared since. Is it possible that all three of these talents WRs remain fantasy disappointments? Yeah, but it's also possible that Carson Palmer makes one (or more) of them relevant, and that would be huge.
Is Matt Cassel to Dwayne Bowe once again turning into one of the most dominant QB-WR pairs in the league?
Last year these two hooked up for over 1100 yards an 15 TDs to make them the most prolific duo in the league. Throughout the off season (and the first two weeks of this season) the popular theory was that an inferior schedule was mostly responsible. But since week 2 Bowe has 16 catches for 302 yards and 4 TDs putting him back on pace to be one of the top fantasy WRs in the league. A lot has been made about how much more difficult the Chiefs' schedule is this season but, in terms of pass defense, it's really not lining up that way. The Chiefs remaining schedule includes 4 of the 5 worst pass defenses in the league this season and 8 of their last 12 games are against the bottom 3rd of the league. The Raiders are one of those bad pass defenses and another good showing could turn Cassel into a borderline fantasy QB1 and cements Bowe's spot in the elite WRs.

Steve-(N)O!

"I don't get you Suck for Luckers. I truly don't. I probably should, because you should be the mascot for the greater Kansas City region. You think we're inferior. You think we can't aspire to greatness."
This pearl of wisdom from "Steve-O's" latest blog post...apparently I really got under his skin. I always love when someone goes with the 'you're not a true fan' blast when people don't see things the same way as them. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, I think King Carl used the same blast towards the end of his reign.
Now, I'm ready to fully admit that Suck4Luck was ignorant. I had this epiphany about 20 minutes into the Dolphins/Jets pukefest on MNF*. What I'm not ready to do is accept Steve's castration of those fans that were behind the movement from the beginning.
*Seriously, has there been a worse season of MNF than 2011? Rams-Giants? Dolphins-Jets? Colts-Bucs? Unfortunately, I'm afraid the worst may be yet to come. Jags-Ravens this week is a snoozefest. Chiefs-Pats later this year will be interesting only if Todd Haley has a 6 inch beard by then and goes postal on Belichick.
Steve, the reason people were on the Suck4Luck bandwagon is exactly because they "aspire to greatness". Sure, maybe a QB at #1 overall is 50/50 (it's more like 70/30) but do you think there is a 50/50 shot that Matt Cassel is leading us to greatness? Is there a 50/50 shot that the Chiefs make the playoffs without their best offensive and defensive players? We want greatness more than anything because it's been so damn long since we've seen it. Frankly, if our owner seemed a little more interested in greatness and a little less interested in padding his pockets maybe fans wouldn't be grasping at straws. But that proposition is much less than 50/50.
Now, the wheels have clearly fallen off the Suck4Luck bandwagon...and that's fine. I'm not (nor was I ever) actively rooting against the Chiefs. I do, however, think it needs to be pointed out that by putting your heart and soul into this team, you aren't striving for greatness...you're striving for mediocrity. I for one have seen plenty of that over the past 25 years.

Suck4Luck was never meant to be

A good friend and one of the biggest supporters of the blog sent me a text 3 weeks ago with a fantastic idea for a blog. The basic idea was that we could never pull off Suck4Luck because we're the Chiefs, and we couldn't even suck right. Yeah, well, that was prophetic...and if it hadn't been for an even better opportunity I would have jumped all over it.


I could have written about how the most likely result was the Chiefs working their way into a 1-13 mess before miraculously winning out and missing out on Luck. To take it step further I could have found the best (worst) LSU defensive lineman available and projected that the Chiefs would take him withe the number 3 pick. 3-13, that would have almost been symbolic wouldn't it? After those disastrous 13-3 letdowns we experienced?


2003 when we couldn't force a single punt against the Colts


1997 when the Chiefs inexplicably went back to Grbac after Gannon led us to a 5-1 record down the stretch


1995 EFF YOU Lin Elliott


After looking at that list I guess it's even more symbolic that the Colts were the team to ruin Kansas City's Luck dreams. Now that the dream is over, where do we go from here? Obscurity, that's where...which is pretty much where this franchise has existed ever since we ran Marty out of town.


Oh, back to that better opportunity: I've been writing recaps for footballguys.com, the most comprehensive fantasy football site on the planet. It is subscription based ($27.95 a year I think) but if you're playing fantasy football for money (or pride) it's worth every penny. They give more information than you could ever get through and great contests. One of them is their semi-high roller Footballguys Player Championship with a $125,000 grand prize. I'm telling you, awesome stuff over there.

It's Only September

September has turned into the Matt Cassell of months, what with all the pundits so quick to make excuses for his results. The Bills and Lions at 2-0? It's only September, there's still a long ways to go. The Royals absolutely crushing the ball while winning 9 of their last 11? It's only September, everyone else is mailing it in. The NBA lockout forcing the cancellation of preseason games? It's only September, no one will notice if we miss the first couple of months of the season. I'm sick of it and in terms of KC sports, I don't buy it.
The Chiefs are terrible, maybe historically bad. Back to back annihilations prove that...September or not. Their two best players are out for the year. Their coach and GM (allegedly) hate each other. This has all the markings of the worst Chiefs team in my lifetime. Are the Chiefs bad enough to #SuckforLuck? We'll have to wait on that one (at least until my post next week) but September has shown us enough.
The Royals youth movement is for real, and this team is a legitimate top of the rotation starter away from competing next year. Eric Hosmer's OPS (1.085 in September) is not meaningless. Mike Moustakas is learning to hit at this level (.914 OPS in September), regardless of the month. Sure, you can point to Hiram (Kyle) Davies...but that isn't the same. Davies had long established his sucktitude before his September heroics.
Does this September point to a larger trend? Are the Royals getting ready to surpass the Chiefs in terms of success (and in turn, support)? Over the last five years, even including their gift of a playoff appearance last year, the Chiefs winning % is .303 (20-46). They'd need to win 5 games this year to top that. The Royals meanwhile are poised to post their 2nd highest winning % (.439 currently) in the last 8 years. In case you'd like to argue that a bad baseball team will always win a higher % than a bad football team (generally true), let's go back to September:
Royals- 5.9 runs per game
Chiefs- 5.0 points per game

Starstruck 2/20

Guillen makes presence felt on first day in Royals’ camp

I can’t tell you how excited I was by this article. You all know, I’m a bit of a Royals homer (or at least the Kool Aid Drinker is)…but I spent the off-season defending Dayton and this move, just like I did last year with the Gil Meche signing. Here’s why I think this could work:

Kansas City needs a big shot and Jose Guillen needs somewhere that he can be the big shot. He can make his demands, go off on a tangent every once in a while…whatever. I think we have just the right mix of guys here to say “Okay, that’s just Jose being Jose” and laugh it off. I mean, Emil’s gone, someone has to make ridiculous statements.

From reading this article, and everything else I’ve read, it sounds like the team is really reaching out to Jose, maybe even coddling him a little…fantastic. There aren’t any egos too big on this team, which to me means there’s plenty of room for Guillen’s…kind of like how the Red Sox treat Man Ram…Yeah, I know, Guillen’s no Man Ram…the talent in our locker room isn’t the same as the Red Sox either…I really think this could work…

Progress in Allen negotiations may be problem with Peterson

Okay, a lot of you are probably thinking “Surprise, surprise another Whitlock Anti-Carl column”. Yeah, you’re right…and so is Whitlock. King Carl’s reign of terror is almost over, everyone knows that. Whether Carl decides to leave on his own or Clark Hunt finally fires him I doubt there’s anyone that expects Carl to be with the Chiefs in three years. So as a parting gift he’s going to chase off yet another great Chief? Shocking!

How much of Donnie Edwards prime did we miss? Think we’re getting ready think the same thing about Kawika Mitchell? How about John Tait? Think we could have used him this season? Now I know you can’t sign everyone, but Carl has made a habit of alienating players that we as fans really end up missing.

Bottom line, Jared Allen is bigger than Edwards, Mitchell or Tait…Jared Allen is the face of the Chiefs right now. You think fans relate to LJ? Please. Brodie? Most of them want him gone. It’s Jared Allen, and besides that, he’s a stud. If Carl blows this it’ll be a fitting black eye for him to leave on the organization.

Starstruck

Olivo disappointed that Buck enters camp as Royals’ starting catcher

I love reading this story. As long as Olivo isn't cancerous about this, it's exactly what we want. You really want someone on your team that's okay with being a backup? Did you see Jason LaBOOOOOO last year? I said earlier this year that Buck would be the starter, regardless of the Oliva acquisition, but the competition can't hurt.

Chiefs put franchise tag on defensive end Allen

I don't love reading this. Like so many things that have happened at Arrowhead...WHY?!?! Why didn't we get a long term deal done long before this? Why spend 8.9 million on Allen this year, when no one thinks we'll be competitive, if it pretty much assures that he won't be back next year? Allen is easily the most popular guy on the team, maybe in the city and everyone is going to take his side. Surely Carl has a better plan than this to keep him in KC, right?

Call this the Rodney blog

Rodney Dangerfield coined the phrase "I get no respect" and made several great jokes off of it. Seems like a few of them may apply to our local sports teams:

The Kansas State Wildcats- "Oh, when I was kid, I got no respect. I was kidnapped; they sent back a piece of my finger. My old man said he wanted more proof."- R.D.

I said on Saturday that I thought the Cats would be ranked in the vicinity of 21st, turns out they aren't ranked at all. Well, I think that's wrong, but that's not what really earns this quote. Last year we spent the entire year hearing about Greg Oden and Kevin Durant, the greatest thing since sliced bread. Now, we have Michael Beasley playing as well as either one of them but because he's in Manhatten, KS we don't hear near as much about him. Beasley will have his chance on a national stage against Kansas on January 30, but ESPN should already be pumping this kid up more than they are.

Carl Peterson-" I don't get no respect. One night I fell asleep with a cigarette in my hand - my wife lit it!"- R.D.

Maybe it isn't his wife, but it seems like the entire organization is turning against Carl. Clark Hunt's statement that the team must be considerably better next year is the kiss of death for Carl. There is no way they can be considerably better next year. What irks me? Hunt has given Carl every excuse he needs to scrap the youth movement and sign a couple of aging veterans like Chad Pennington and Laverneus Coles to try and scrap together a 9-7 team. Why won't Clark just fire him now?

And wouldn't you know it, I can't find anymore good jokes...well it's not really funny anyways, the Memphis Tigers being ranked ahead of Kansas in this week's poll. Sure they're both undefeated and the Tigers played a tough non-con schedule...but we're talking about the Kansas Jayhawks and a Conference USA team...seriously. You want to find out who should be ranked higher? Call your bookie, tell him Memphis and Kansas are playing in St Louis and ask him what the spread would be...

Friday Funnies Faceoff

In a face off between drunk Chiefs "writers" who wins?

If you've followed this site at all, you know from time to time I like to reference fellow blogger Steve (pictured on the right) and if you've ever clicked on the link, chances are you've read about his anger towards Bob (pictured on the left). It seems Steve and Bob don't get along about much anything, so I thought I'd contrast the two of them.

Some of you may suspect that this will be slanted towards Steve because I once made reference to making a Christmas Pinata in Bob's likeness, or because Steve is a fellow blogger. I can't argue the pinata point, but Steve's not exactly my alter ego, for one thing he's a liberal ninny who trashes Bush, while I'm a reasonable conservative. For another he's a Herm backer...which is unbelievable...but anyways, this isn't a face off between Steve and I....on with the comparison...

Bob likes to drink (allegedly) large amounts of alcohol...Steve likes to drink large amounts of alcohol.

Bob works for a website that is anything but legitimate (see Rufus Dawes)... Steve "works" for a his own blog.

Bob defends Carl even when nobody could...Steve defends Herm even when nobody could.

They're both Chiefs homers that get drunk and trash the team and then later trash people who are trashing the team.

They both lament the 80s and fear that we're headed back in that direction.

You know what this is? This article is for Steve that moment in the cheesy movie where the father and son realize the reason they've been fighting for the last 5 years is because they're exactly the same. They hug, go have a beer and all past transgressions are forgiven. Steve is a young Bob Gretz, passionate about his Chiefs...drunk most of the time... ready to set the world on fire...but if Carl offered Steve a job paying six figures to report on the sidelines and write "articles" on the Chiefs home page? You don't think Steve would sit down with Carl, a glass of brandy and a lap top?

The Season We'd Better Remember

I'll be honest, when it came time to write this today I really didn't want to. Who really wants to think about this Chiefs season anyways? Not me...and maybe not you. Here's the problem with that line of thinking: It's exactly what Carl wants. It's a lot better for him if we all forget just how painful this last year was. Much better than being as angry as we should be about it.

It's hard to even remember that at one point the Chiefs stood 4-3, in first place in AFC West. What happened? For one, the Brodie Croyle experiment. Honestly, I'm not upset that Croyle was given the chance that he was. I've always wanted the Chiefs to develop a QB and you can't do that without seeing what you have. What's upsetting is that the Chiefs plan on starting Brodie next year as well. I don't think the kid will go winless like he did last year but it does ensure another losing season. When was the last time a reasonable Chiefs fan felt like they had no chance to win? Before Carl got here.

That's what scares me the most - Carl wanting to sell tickets. The worst thing this team can do is try to patch together a wild card team around Brodie Croyle. If we want to start Brodie next year, it needs to be a complete rebuild project. Draft a couple of lineman, a couple of corners, maybe a wide receiver or two. Then start them all year long, take another 3-13 or 4-12 and improve with draft picks again...save all of our free agent money for 2009. If by some chance Brodie improves next year then maybe we can build a playoff team around him but there are very few, if any, teams that could have won with him this year. Adding a couple of free agents to current debacle of a team will not help.

The other bonus of going 3-13 or 4-12 next year? It may give us an opportunity to go a new direction with our GM and head coach. I understand Carl rebuilt this franchise (with help from Marty), but the time has come for him to hand over personnel decisions, if he won't do it then he needs to be fired. My feelings on Herm are well documented, he needs to go.

The other major negative form this year? Larry Johnson is still a Chief. If you read my year in review, you know my thoughts on LJ. If you didn't I'll say it again...he's always been at his best when he has something to prove. At Penn State he felt jilted by not playing as underclassman, with the Chiefs it was first Priest Holmes and then working for a contract. Well, now he has a fat contract and a firm lock on a starting job...all that adds up to him being the most overpaid player in the NFL for as long as he's with the Chiefs in my estimation.

So yeah, that's how bad it is...our best player is a fraud, our quarterback of the future has no future and my plan to save the Chiefs is more losing and lots of it. Seems silly, but if one 4-12 debacle isn't enough for Clark to can Carl and Herm we can only hope that two is. If not, apathy may be the only way for this Chiefs' fan to stay sane.

On a more positive note, my list of the ten players that can help the Chiefs in the future:

1. Jared Allen
2. Dwayne Bowe
3. Tamba Hali
4. Derrick Johnson
5. Benny Sapp
6. Bernard Pollard
7. Jarrad Page
8. Kolby Smith


Okay, so I only go to eight...think I missed someone? Tell me about it in the comments section, just don't tell me I forgot LJ...

Let me try one more time to finish on a high note....Tony Gonzalez. Amidst all of the Chiefs struggles this season, I'm afraid Gonzo's accomplishments went mostly overlooked. 99 catches for 1172 yards and 5 TDs is impressive enough, but that's the least of it. This season he broke the record for all-time touchdowns by a tight end and receptions by a tight end. The one good thing you can say Carl has done is make sure this guy will retire a Chief...maybe the best one ever.

2007

From the second I decided to do this I've struggled with it. I couldn't decide whether to do it on a team-by-team basis, chronologically or just completely random. Random seemed like the best plan since that's pretty much the direction of the Sports Report, but then I tried to write it and it sucked.

*sidebar* I'm sure at least one of you just said to yourself "Wait don't they all suck?" To you I say, "Thanks for reading!" *end of sidebar*

So instead, I decided go with the awards format...now I just need a name for the awards... Herbstreit calls his the Herbie's but I don't think the Cummi's are near as catchy...then it hit me, I'll just individually name each award...Brilliant!


George Brett Award (Best Performance by a Professional Athlete)


Nominees
Gil Meche
Eddie Johnson
Brian Bannister
Jared Allen

...and the #5 goes to....
Jared Allen. This was by far the easiest choice of all the awards. Gil Meche and Brian Bannister had nice years for the Royals. Eddie Johnson was MLS comeback player of the year for the Wizards. But no one can compare to the kind of year Jared Allen had on an atrociously bad Chiefs team. Like everyone else I was not very enamored with Allen coming into the season. I can never understand how rich professional athletes continue to get DUIs but that's another article. Besides, articles like this one from Joe Posnanski have been around all year talking about how Allen has cleaned up his act. That coupled with an amazing season (Leading the league with 15.5 sacks in only 14 games) and an even more amazing mullet gives him the award.

Danny Manning Award (Best Performance by a College Athlete)

Nominees
Chase Daniel
Todd Reesing
Michael Beasley
Jeremy Maclin



I know I'll probably catch a lot of crap for someone I missed, and for putting Beasley in there...but he's been pretty amazing so far averaging 25 and 13 as a freshman. Maclin, also a freshman was the most electric of the players but I think it has to come down to the quarterbacks. If this were an MVP award I think it goes to Reesing, in fact I think he'd be the MVP nationally, but there is no MVP award in college football and this won't be the first. You can't argue with Chase Daniel here, he was a Heisman finalist as a QB at Mizzou. He's made people almost completely forget what an amazing athlete Brad Smith was, and he led the Tigers to the Big 12 Championship game. For that he wins the award.



Dick Howser Award (Coach of the Year)

Nominees
Mark Mangino
Gary Pinkel
Kevin Ross
Curt Onalfo

Everyone knows what the top two on this list did, but let's not forget Onalfo and Ross. Onalfo led a sub .500 Wizards team to the brink of an MLS title (more on this later). Ross led the Brigade to a 7 game turnaround and their first playoff appearance. He was also named Coach of the Year in the AFL. But we all know this award comes down to Pinkel and The Fat Man. Like everyone else, I have to go with Mangino here simply because he did it with less talent. Pinkel gets his props later in the article, but Mangino gets the award.

Team of the Year

Nominees
Kansas City Wizards
Kansas Jayhawks Football
Missouri Tigers Football
Kansas Jayhawks Basketball

It may seem odd to have a team that went 11-12-7 in this argument, but the Wizards came just one game shy of a Championship, closer than any other KC team. Not even that is enough to upstage the season had by Gary Pinkel and his Tigers. There was no bigger story this year (maybe this decade) than MU/KU at Arrowhead and the Tigers won that game with relative ease. Honorable mention to the Kansas basketball team who has gone 35-3 in the calendar year with a Big 12 regular season and tournament title. A win vs. UCLA in the elite 8 probably wins them this award.


The rest of these are really pretty easy, so we'll skip the big introduction.
The OJ Simpson Biggest Story of the Year Award goes to KU/MU at Arrowhead for the Big 12 North. I'm amazed we didn't jinx this one with all of the hype...Game Day at Arrowhead for KU/MU football? This story may never be matched. The Isiah Thomas Worst Job in an Executive Role goes to King Carl hands down...which is nice in a way. Remember when Carl was the good executive in town? The Britney Spears Trainwreck Award goes to the entire Kansas City Chiefs organization, and I don't even think I need to elaborate. The Milli Vanilli Worst Impersonation Award goes to Brodie Croyle for his impersonation of an NFL quarterback. The Foot-in-Mouth Disease Award goes to Gil Meche for shutting up the national media and pitching like a pitcher that gets paid $11 Million a year. Don't let the win loss record fool you, Meche is worth it.

And finally, the Ice Cube Biggest Letdown in a Starring Role Award goes to Larry Johnson. Johnson laid such a turd this year that I wrote a rap song for him...since he bombed at that as well...

LJ LJ gotta get paid
But now LJ don't wanna play
Hangin out at the clubs with Jay-Z
You know big pimpin ain't easy
I ain't half as good as LT
Didn't stop Carl from payin me
Now I can make clothes with Jay-Z
Don't care if you call me lazy

Yeah, that may be awful...which makes it the perfect ode to piece crap year put together by LJ.

Old News and New Features

The Chiefs finish their miserable season today and any reasonable fan is cheering for a loss. The problem? They're facing the equally miserable J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets. Both teams would benefit with a loss and so I got to thinking, what could the Chiefs do to ensure a loss?

Resting their starters wouldn't really work since their starters are responsible for their last 8 losses...

Herm could make some really bad coaching decisions...but I'm afraid if he thought they were bad they may actually work out...

They could put in old washed up corners and let them get burnt by receivers...but again, they've done that all year...

Yeah, it seems the Chiefs don't really need to worry about throwing this game. Maybe the only way they could win is if they tried to lose. For some reason Steve has decided to do a running blog of today's game...I'd say he'll be drunk, so it should be entertaining. You can follow it here starting at approximately 3 PM.

I promised new features starting today, and we've got them. I'll go in order of how excited I am about them...

1. The newest member of KC Sports Report is Sarah, from Shutters Photography, our new Photobloggrapher...That's right Photobloggrapher...How cool is that? Obviously, anyone who wears the aviators while taking pictures is someone that belongs on the KC Sports Report team.

2. KC Sports Report has invaded My Space. Check us out here, send us a friend request and you'll be notified every time a new article is posted. We've also got a photo album up with pictures of the staff, pictures from Sarah, and other cool stuff.

3. Polls! Surveys! Whatever you want to call them, we've got them. Like everything else, I want your input....both in voting and determining what the polls are about.