tuesday thoughts

There were a few other things I wanted to mention in the celebratory Sunday post, but forgot to. So ...

* I gotta ask: where the hell’s the “pizza” we were promised for the postgame on Sunday? I’m still waiting dammit!

(Inside joke that’s pretty damned funny if you were there).

* A ton, and I mean a ton, of credit for this amazing season has to go to the most overlooked guy in the previous regime. Bill Kuharick, take a bow sir. Because this season has no shot of happening without your presence.

Kuharick arrived in 2000 after being relieved of his duties as the Saints general manager. He was given control of the scouting department after the 2004 season. The results speak for themselves.

Key Picks Still with Chiefs:

2005:
Round 1: Derrick Johnson, LB, Texas.
Round 3: Dustin Colquitt, P, Tennessee.

2006:
Round 1: Tamba Hali, DE / LB, Penn State.
Round 3: Brodie Croyle, QB, Alabama.

2007:
Round 1: Dwayne Bowe, WR, LSU.

2008:
Round 1: Glenn Dorsey, DT, LSU.
Round 1: Brandon Albert, OT, Virginia.
Round 2: Brandon Flowers, DB, Virginia Tech.
Round 3: Jamaal Charles, RB, Texas.
Round 5: Brandon Carr, DB, Grand Valley State.
Round 6: Barry Richardson, OT, Clemson.

That's 8 starters, the punter, a backup QB, and a valuable backup OL picked in four years. Also, I did not include other picks and trades that worked for awhile, or filled a specific need at the time, but who are no longer with the team. A couple examples of these would be trading a 2nd rounder for Patrick Surtain, and drafting Boomer Grigsby in the 5th round. Both were valuable contributors on the 2005 10 win team, and the 2006 wildcard team, but have moved on due to age or injury.

Scott Pioli deserves the credit he's getting for helping get this team from 2-14 to a division championship in two short seasons. But he doesn't get there without Bill Kuharick's contributions, particularly his final draft in 2008.

* There were so many moments that led to where we are today in this season. But there's 10 plays in particular I think fueled the drive to a division championship.

In chronological order:

1. Jamaal Charles' 60 yard touchdown run to tie the Chargers game, week one. Yes, it was the win that made all of this possible, and even I still smile remember 70,000 folks screaming in the elements ... but the Chargers dominated this game up until Charles' run. They were already up 7-0. They were throwing the ball all over the field. Worse yet, the Chiefs could do nothing with the football.

This run changed everything.

2. The goalline stand to win the Chargers game, week one. A young, unproven defense, knocked on its heels, facing Philip Rivers for four straight downs inside the five yard line. And they held, capping off this incredible stand by rattling Rivers on 4th down, forcing a horrible pass that fell incomplete to get the Chiefs above .500 for the first time since Week 9 2007.

3. Brandon Flowers' TaINT in Cleveland, week two. For the second week in a row, the Chiefs started poorly, and were trailing 6-0 in the 2nd quarter. Then Seneca Wallace threw a poor pass, Brandon Flowers stepped in front of it, and ran untouched for the touchdown. Flowers' interception was the Chiefs only touchdown, but it was enough, as Ryan Succup hit all three of his field goal attempts, and Thomas Jones picked up a huge 4th down conversion with 1:30 to play, to get the Chiefs to 2-0.

4. Matt Cassel's reverse touchdown pass to Dwayne Bowe opens the floodgates vs San Francisco, week three. Another game in which the Chiefs got off to a horrendous start. (In hindsight, be honest -- the onside kick to open the Colts game makes more sense, doesn't it? The Chiefs offense was horrendous in the first quarter against our first three opponents. Why not try to jump-start things?)

Leading 10-3, the Chiefs tried some trickery. The direct snap to Thomas Jones, who pitched the ball to Dexter McCluster, who handed the ball off to Matt Cassel ... who threw a perfect 45 yard strike to Dwayne Bowe, who hauled it in despite double coverage by the 49ers. Ballgame.

5. Derrick Johnson's interception and return for a touchdown vs Jaguars, week seven. The Chiefs came home after two crushing road defeats to Indianapolis and Houston. And the Jaguars, playing Todd Bouman at quarterback, were surprisingly competitive. With the Chiefs leading 21-20 midway through the third quarter, Bouman dropped back to pass ... and DJ swept in, picked the pass, and ran untouched to the end zone. A huge momentum-changer that helped the Chiefs get to 3-0 at home, and 4-2 overall.

6. Ryan Succup's "what the hell is he thinking?!?!" kick sails through the uprights to defeat the Bills in overtime, week eight. Admit it, when Succup first kicked the ball, you thought he'd shanked it right. A complete pull job. Only ... Succup had learned from his earlier miss in overtime. He played the wind perfectly. And delivered a hard-fought victory that really was the nail in the coffin to win me over this year. After this one, it was all in for me. I thought we'd lose this game, because let's be honest -- every year in seasons past, no matter how good this team was, they ALWAYS lost one to a league doormat that wound up hurting or severely screwing us come playoff time. This year? They won that game.

7. Dwayne Bowe revives the corpse that was the Chiefs offense, vs Cardinals week eleven. Again, hindsight people. Think back to this moment six weeks ago. The Chiefs are coming off back-to-back divisional defeats, by blowing a game in overtime at oakland, and getting their asses kicked in denver. Now, the lowly Arizona "Super" Cardinals have rolled into Arrowhead, on a five game losing streak, and immediately grab a 3-0 lead. The Chiefs go three and out their first three possessions. However, a poor punt coupled with a solid return sets the Chiefs up on the Cardinals 38 for the final play of the first quarter.

Cassel drops back to pass, and hits a beautiful bomb to Dwayne Bowe, who ultimately is forced out at the one yard line. Bowe would score three plays later. But the play that got the Chiefs to the goalline, is as big of a play as Dwayne Bowe would deliver all season. It stopped the negative momentum of the last month, and helped open the floodgates for a much-needed blowout victory over the Cardinals.

8. Matt Cassel draws up a first down play in the dirt, at Seahawks week twelve. The Chiefs lead 21-17 late in the third quarter. Despite dominating the Seahawks in every statistical category save for return yardage, the Chiefs are only up four in a vital road contest. The Chiefs take over at their own 30, and after a couple solid runs and gaining a first down, now face a 3rd and 6 at their own 45. Cassel improvises when the play call is unclear. He scrambles around, avoids the rush, steps up in the pocket ... and hits Dwayne Bowe, who reaches behind his body to haul in the pass, gain 8 yards, and keep the drive alive. The Chiefs would go on to score to go up 11, and then open the floodgates a few minutes later to push the lead to an insurmountable 18, en route to a 42-24 win.

But what if Cassel doesn't think on his feet, so to speak? What if he panics because there's no discernable play called? What if Bowe doesn't break off his route to give Cassel a receiving option? What if Bowe drops the pass? The way the game was unraveling (Seahawks had scored on their last two possessions to cut the lead from 14 to 4), do you really want to punt the ball back to Seattle at that point? I didn't. A huge underrated play from a very underrated victory in this anything-but-underrated season.

9. Jamaal Charles explodes for 80, at Rams week fifteen. Another game that the Chiefs dominated statistically ... and yet, midway through the 4th quarter, it's a touchdown game, and the Chiefs are starting at their own 20. Again, in years past, this is when we brace for the hammer to fall, for a three and out or a crushing turnover that leads to the tying score.

This year? Charles takes a handoff and runs untouched to the Rams one yard line. Ballgame. The win kept the Chiefs one ahead of San Diego, and kept all the pressure on the Chargers, pressure they eventually couldn't handle.

10. The best opening drive of the season, vs Titans week sixteen. Do you realize the Chiefs have scored on their first possession only three times this season? At Houston, at Seattle ... and this past week against Tennessee. It was as near perfect of a drive as you can have. 7 plays, none for negative yardage, all but one for more than 6 yards, capped with a 14 yard screen to Charles for the touchdown to establish momentum in (arguably) the biggest game Arrowhead had hosted since the 2003 playoff game against the Colts. It set the tone -- the Chiefs scored on their first four possessions, and the Titans never recovered from the early beatdown.

Those are my 10 biggest plays of the season. I'm sure some will disagree, and that's cool. Really, it is. Because for once, we have more than 10 big plays to choose from!

(And at least two more games to add to the list of great moments. Freaking awesome).

* A few other Chiefs thoughts before going off-tangent for a while:

1. I hate to accuse a NFL team of quitting ... but the Titans looked like they quit on Sunday. Granted, the Chiefs came out of the gates firing, and were up 24-0 in the first 20 minutes. But Tennessee never mounted a serious threat at any point in that game.

2. I still have no idea what in the hell Coach Haley was thinking in yanking Matt Cassel for two plays. I also was not surprised in the least that Brodie Croyle's two snaps resulted in a pass for no gain, and an interception. Coach, buddy, you've almost completely won me over -- but do NOT do stupid sh*t like inserting Brodie Croyle into an undecided ballgame, ok?

3. The Star's article focusing on folks who bought playoff tickets yesterday ... ugh. I'll refrain from stating all of my thoughts, for fear of getting lynched by my fellow fans, but here's a brief glimpse into them. Anyone who calls themself a "great Chiefs fan", and notes in the same f*cking sentence that the only reason you're going to a game this year is because it's a playoff game? You are NOT a "great Chiefs fan". You are a fan, but you are not a "great" fan. And there is a difference -- that adjective does make a difference.

* On to other topics! Beginning with the Greinke trade. Of which I had no problems with.

Look it, the guy clearly didn't want to be here anymore. If a player wants out, what good does it do to force them to stick around? You're only going to hack off the player even more than they already are, and create an issue in the locker room. So a trade was the best solution for all involved parties here.

And judging from the reviews of the talent we got back, we did pretty good in this trade. So we've got that going for us.

(And as a side note: I know some Royals fans were concerned because one of these guys has tested positive for weed twice in the minors. Here's the thing -- weed is not covered under the CBA in major league baseball. It is not a prohibited drug. So once the kid hits the majors, he's free to toke away, so to me, that's a non-issue. To say nothing of the fact that weed is not a dangerous drug, is far less damaging to a person's health and to society at large than alcohol is, and should be legalized ASAFP to get the tax revenue desperately needed by our local and state municipalities).

* I used to be a huge baseball fan. I used to live for Opening Day. But as I've noted before, 2004 was just too much. 2004 killed me as a baseball fan. I still try to go to 10 or so games a year, but I'm there for the tailgating, for the sun, for the washers, for the drinking – basically everything other than the game itself. That 2004 season was so soul-crushing, it just destroyed baseball for me. So I am in no way an expert when it comes to the Royals and the talent on the way. I'm not even knowledgable enough to name ten prospects we have.

So I have to take the experts at their word, and believe that 2012 is going to be a breakthrough season, and 2013 is the beginning of something special. And at that point, I'll become a bandwagon fan, and get back on board. Until the Royals prove it on the field though, I honestly don't care.

Which is the difference between me, and the type of Chiefs fans I despise. I admit I'm a knowledge-less tool when it comes to baseball. Again, I'm there for the beer, the sun, and losing for the 1,983,546th time in a row at washers to DJ (approximate; actual figure likely higher). If a good ballgame breaks out, wonderful.

But I have no clue as to what the Royals are building to, or how these prospects fit into that building job. Hence the lack of an opinion on the Greinke trade until now.

* Larry Brown, out as Bobcats head coach. I'll call it now -- Larry Brown will be coaching the Lakers next fall. It's the perfect fit for him -- a veteran team in need of a coach (Phil Jackson has announced this is his last season), that still has a solid 2-3 year window of opportunity to win it all before a rebuild-on-the-fly has to be attempted (which is when LB would step aside). This is a match made in NBA heaven. Assuming there is a 2011-2012 season, of course.

* I see LeBron James thinks the league might be better off with contraction. I don’t share his conviction, but …

There’s really only two “unstable” markets in the NBA right now – New Orleans and Sacramento. (I’m aware Memphis and Charlotte are also at best “shaky situations”, but both those teams have new arenas, somewhat stable ownership, and a core fan base that shows up every night. They’re far better off than the Hornets and Kings).

The Kings problem is simple: they need a new arena, and there’s no public money to build one. The Hornets is a bigger issue: they need an owner, they need an arena, and there just isn’t the fan base anymore in the Crescent City to justify keeping the team there.

If you’re going to contract, these two franchises make the most sense to fold. Only … there’s viable alternatives for each. The Kings easily can move to Vegas. Their owners already live there. You’d have to take Kings games off the sports books I would assume, but that’s a small price to pay for landing a professional team, and the professional athletes who’d hit up your tables and night clubs when out there to face the Kings.

The Hornets? There’s at least three viable moving options for them, if not four or five. Anaheim makes sense. Ditto right here in Kansas City. And of course, Seattle has shown they can more than support a NBA team when it’s not owned by a sleazebag.

So no LeBron, the NBA doesn’t need to contract. It needs to do exactly what ownership is about to do this summer: get its financial house in order, by firming up the salary cap, reducing max contract limits, instituting revenue sharing, and continuing to market the incredible amount of young talent the league is enjoying right now. I mean really, when your two most unstable franchises feature a pretty solid nucleus of young guys who will probably reach the postseason (Memphis), and one of the two or three best guards in the league, with a roster talented enough to at least challenge for the eight seed (New Orleans), you really aren’t in that bad of shape. This isn’t Major League Baseball, where only 3 teams have any short of chance at winning the World Series this upcoming season (Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies).

Some other random thoughts floating around in this merlot-clogged brain of mine:

* Congratulations to the Senate, for voting 65-31 to end institutionalized discrimination in our armed forces, and ditching the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. Whatever your personal feelings about homosexuality, the bottom line is that the only racism embedded into our nation’s founding and governing documents concerns people of color, who were counted as 3/5 of a person for Congressional apportionment, and then later found to be pieces of property to be used however their masters saw fit (Dred Scott decision). I’d like to think that in the 225 some odd years since the Declaration of Independence was authored, that we do hold these truths to be self evident, that ALL are created equal, that ALL are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. Glad to see at least a few Republicans joined with my side in ensuring any American citizen of legal age who meets the physical requirements can defend this nation’s freedom.

* Not sure how I feel about some of the “Idol” changes coming this year. I don’t mind the judges being shaken up, to be honest. Once Pauler left last year, you quickly realized that she was just as important to that panel as Simon was, so without one, you might as well try it without them both. I also like that there’s some “modernized” changes to the Hollywood and Top 24 rounds (making a music video, for instance). Moving it to Wednesday and Thursday though, ouch. I bowl on Wednesdays. And I usually watch the NBA on Thursdays. Oh well. I’ll start tuning in once they get to Hollywood. I refuse to watch the train-wreck auditions. They’re not funny, they’re not entertaining – they’re pathetic losers seeking 15 minutes they sure as all hell are not entitled to.

* Entertainment Weekly posted their 20 best “Idol” performances earlier today. Can’t really disagree with the group as a whole, but I sure as all hell can b*tch about where “Alone” by Carrie Underwood was placed. There isn’t a shot in hell that was only the 13th best performance. I’d rate it number one, and nobody even comes close to catching her. My top 10:

1. Carrie Underwood, “Alone”, season four. The defining “Idol” moment for me. She vaulted from middle-of-the-packer to front-runner in 90 amazing seconds.

2. Blake Lewis, “You Give Love a Bad Name”, season six. The most original, creative, jaw-droppingly awesome performance in “Idol” history.

3. Jason Castro, “Hallelujah”, season seven. Chillingly good.

4. David Cook, “Hello”, season seven. Performed immediately before Castro did “Hallelujah” that night. Possibly the best ten minutes “Idol” has ever aired.

5. LaKisha Jones, “This Ain’t a Love Song”, season six. I still think Season Six’s Bon Jovi night is “Idol”’s finest hour. I couldn’t stand LaKisha … but she absolutely nailed this performance.

6. Kris Allen, “Heartless”, season eight. Went from “likely to finish third” to “front runner” in a little over two minutes, by stripping Kanye’s smash hit down to just the barest chord. Awesome stuff.

7. Carly Smithson, “Here You Come Again”, season seven. The only decent performance on Dolly Parton night, and man, she nailed it.

8. Chris Daughtry, “Hemorrhage (In My Hands)”, season five. Good God was season five a disaster. The two best contestants went out third (Elliott Yamin) and fourth (Daughtry).

9. Kimberley Locke, “Band of Gold”, season two. She’s since released this as a pretty solid single.

10. Jordin Sparks, “With a Broken Wing”, season six. The song that launched her from “oh yeah, that girl whose dad was a pretty good NFL player” to “uuh, guys, this might be our front runner …”

* It’s been three weeks, and still no definitive explanation has been given for the debacle that was the attempted KU Athletic Director hire. Judging by how everything has gone to hell since she arrived, I lean towards the “Chancellor Gray-Little f*cked it up by revising the proposed contract” theory. That woman isn’t qualified to teach a group of eighth graders basic common sense, let alone run a major public university.

* If you haven’t seen the “ALF Drops the N Bomb” videos floating around out there, you have to. They’re absolutely hysterical. I nearly put ALF into my “10 Worst Shows of All Time” a couple years ago; he got spared because the last Hulu episode I pulled up actually made me laugh a couple times. But I mean seriously, lighten up people. It’s a friggin puppet. If you want to go after the dude who actually voiced the character, that’s one thing. But spare the puppet. He’s an inanimate object for Christ’s sake.

* Hang on, let me check something real quick … yup, the Chiefs are still the 2010 AFC Western Division Champions. I keep finding myself shaking my head in disbelief at least once an hour. Really? This happened? Miracle turnarounds happen for everyone but us. Until now!

* Haven’t seen much college hoops yet. Thought the MU / Georgetown game was one of the best games I’ve seen in a few years. Not really surprised KU is struggling early on – we don’t really have a go-to guy when it’s clutch time. Maybe Selby becomes that guy. As improved as the Morris twins are, they ain’t that guy.

And KSU … ugh. Still plenty of time to right the ship, but something’s missing on that team.

* And Jacob Pullen getting a three game suspension for getting comped for a couple hundred dollars worth of clothes … is an absolute outrage. The NCAA should be disbanded. There isn’t a more corrupt, pathetic, outdated institution in this country than the NCAA.

You know, the organization that pimped itself out 20 years ago in a pathetic cash grab to “find a new home”. The organization that refuses to suspend 5 Ohio State football players for the Sugar Bowl, who knowingly violated NCAA rules regarding profiting off of merchancise. The organization that refuses to suspend Auburn QB Cam Newton for selling himself to the highest bidder. You pimp yourself out for $200,000, that’s all good in the NCAA’s eyes. You accept a couple t-shirts that are comped to you? Three games pal.

The NCAA is a f*cking joke. How anyone can claim otherwise, I have no idea.

* Speaking of freaking jokes, NBC Sunday Night Football everyone! Silly me. I thought the whole point of flex-scheduling was to put the best non-protected game into the prime time slot! How stupid and naïve of me to think that way. Because why flex a game with huge postseason ramifications, like the Colts at raiders, or the Giants at Packers (neither of which were protected) into the national TV slot, when we can put Michael Vick (gag me) and the already-clinched Eagles in there against a “maybe, possibly, there’s a .0000002 percent chance he’ll play, so let’s flex it in!” Brett Favre led Vikings team. This only two weeks after NBC opted to pass on a potential AFC West championship game (KC at San Diego), and opted instead to leave a horrendous Cowboys team in there, hosting (you guessed it) the Vick led Eagles.

I’m glad to see more and more readers are calling out this bullsh*t in Peter King’s emails and tweets every week. If you’re going to have flex scheduling, you HAVE to flex in THE best game possible, that isn’t network protected. Period. Keeping a 4-8 team, and flexing in a 4-10 team, is utterly ridiculous.

* Also, kudos to the NFL for dictating which game NBC will air this Sunday. NBC was not given the choice. (Because God knows they’d have chosen 5-10 Dallas at “playing for nothing” Philadelphia). St Louis / Seattle might be ugly, but it’s the best game on the board, because literally, the winner is in the playoffs, the loser is sitting at home. That’s what SHOULD be aired in Week 17 in prime time, a playoff game for all intents and purposes. Congrats to the NFL for telling NBC to f*ck itself, you’re airing this game like it or not.

* I see Pat Robertson has once again inserted himself into a national argument that doesn’t concern him … only this time, I’m shockingly in agreement with the wacky Reverend. Seems Pat thinks our marijuana laws are “outdated” and “don’t accomplish anything other than clogging the court system with needless cases”. While Pat stopped short of what he and every thinking American should advocate (legalization now), this is still huge. Pat Robertson calling for the decriminalization of weed. When even Pat Robertson is on the right side of an issue, and that guy finds himself on the correct side of the issue about as often as I turn down a glass of merlot, I think the issue has been decided.

* Finally, congrats to Brian Waters, Dwayne Bowe, and Jamaal Charles for making the 2010 Pro Bowl team. Hitting on my first point way back 10 some odd pages ago – NONE of those three were drafted by the current regime. Yes, Pioli deserves a boatload of credit for this season. But it’s not like he walked into a talentless situation.

I’d expect to see a few Chiefs possibly named as replacements (Derrick Johnson, Tamba Hali, and Brandon Flowers) as the playoffs roll along, and the inevitable drop-outs from the game begin. Still, to go from no Pro Bowlers for three years now, to multiple candidates, is pretty sweet. That’s how this whole season has been, pretty sweet. And it’s about to get a whole lot sweeter …