happy birthday to john buck (the all-star himself).

july 7, 1980, kemmerer, wyoming - greatness was born. and here we are, 30 years later, and greatness is traveling to his first all-star game.

let's be completely honest - none of us saw this coming. even the most devout fans had not considered mr. incredible to be a serious all-star game candidate. even when he was a member of the "we send one player because every team gets to send one player" royals.

who knew that when the royals traded him away to toronto he would receive the 3rd most votes among american league catchers? and sure, he's only getting to play because victor martinez is hurt and the AL needed a replacement. but the reality is that John Buck is traveling to Anaheim this weekend to play in the all-star game. the ALL-STAR GAME. WHAT.

can i add his American League jersey to my wedding registry? or can i start taking up donations so that i can get it? or you could just go buy it for me here? i simply must own it.

back on march 31, i put together a quick blog comparing buck and jason kendall's spring training statistics. for the most part, john was making kendall look like a joke (coincidentally his initials are JK - interesting). kendall was batting .139 to buck's .304. you can read more here.

lets look at their halfway point stats:

buck - .269 avg, .502 slg, 13 hr, 40 rbi.
kendall - .267 avg, .319 slg, 0 hr, 29 rbi.

not even a contest. also, can we look at my season predictions for JB?!

.268 avg, .524 slg, 18 hr, 84 rbi

could he be anymore on pace to NAIL those numbers? i mean literally, do i know my favorite player or what?!

also there are only two catchers on the AL roster. joe mauer and john buck. good company for sure - here's to hoping that john comes in for mauer for some late inning heroics. perhaps a walk-off dinger?! all-star mvp?! ooooooo man - the possibilities! i'll be tuning in for sure.*

enjoy your birthday john. hope your trip to anaheim didn't spoil any vacation plans you had for your birthday weekend. hopefully they added to the festivities.

-ap.

and ps: wikipedia has it listed that buck throws....switch!? i'm researching this

* - i can say things like this now that i have directv. holler.

kendall vs buck.

i realized today (and twittered) the following today:

"jason kendall: batting .139 with 0 homeruns for KC in spring training. john buck: .304 and 2 homers for toronto. feel the sting."

and here we see the espn player card widgets for the evil jason kendall and the incredible (or should i say, mr. incredible) john buck.


these are last years' stats, but starting on monday, these stats will morph into the 2010 regular season statistics. as you can see (unless you access this page after april 5th, then it will be the new stats), in 2009, buck led in AVG (.247 vs .241), triples (4 vs 2), homers (8 vs 2), and almost matched kendall in doubles (12 vs 19) in well less than HALF the number of at bats (186 vs 452) and games played (59 vs 134), due to splitting time with miguel olivo.

if you project buck's totals to match kendall's 452 at bats, bucks numbers for 2009 are .247 avg, 112 hits, 29 doubles, 10 triples, 19 homers, 88 rbis. not too shabby. i'm still baffled that he split time with anyone at all. anyway, looking forward...

my predictions for 2010:

buck: .268 avg, .524 slg, 18 hr, 84 rbi
kendall: .249 avg, .450 slg, 9 hr, 66 rbi

i will be keeping a close eye on john's production in toronto this season, and i will likely be referencing this post numerous times this season.

go relish.

-apc.

oh dear. this is just awful news.

we all knew this day would come at some point, but it appears to suddenly be upon us.

the royals have signed veteren catcher jason kendall to a two-year deal.

this is disastrous news for royals fans. why? well, because JOHN BUCK MAY BE OUT OF A JOB IN KANSAS CITY.

i mean, sure, kendall is legit. he's got a career .290 batting average and a .369 career OBP. but WHY WOULD THEY DO THIS TO ME?!

General manager Dayton Moore said: "Obviously John Buck's been a big part of our catching corps the last few years and we'll have to make that decision, but it's safe to say Jason Kendall was brought in to be our everyday catcher and he's expected to catch 120 to 130-plus games."

what he REALLY means is...

"John Buck's been the emotional cornerstone of not only our catching corps, but of our entire team over - not only the last few years - but over Big John's entire five year career. Jason Kendall may end up catchin 120 to 130-plus games, but everyone knows that when JB feels the pressure, he suddenly puts up seriously scary numbers. Obviously."

it's a good thing Dayton Moore's daughter goes Hillcrest and comes to all of our middle school events. perhaps i could send some subtle hints for her to take home to the dinner table. i mean cmon, there is a reason Mr. Incredible has been in blue for the last 5 years! he's a fan favorite! he sells tickets! he's the anchor to a Royals team that would undoubtedly spin out of control without him.

it could be a very sad week to be a royals fan. it also could be my last week as a royals fan.

just a heads up for what's likely to come: there isn't a #14 on the yankees. jorge posada eat your heart out. JB's got you in the sights of his crossbow.

-ap.

and fyi: the facebook group is THRIVING.

november sizzler: the blazin challenge.

last night the freshman, sophomore, and junior guys small groups went out to buffalo wild wings to participate in the BLAZIN CHALLENGE: 12 blazin wings, 6 minutes, no water, celery, ranch, napkins, wet naps etc. just your face and your fingers - to take the popular Pink lyric entirely out of context: "it's just you and your hand tonight."

of the 40-some fellas that came to bww, the freshman group had 5 dudes participating in the challenge, the sophomores had 8 and the juniors added one more, bringing the grand total to 14 dudes - which, as you know, is two times the number of perfection.*

fortunately, we had managed to time the beginning of the event with the beginning of Game 3 of the world series, so our challenge began as all other terrific american sporting events do: with the star-spangled banner. so all 40 guys were belting it out along with the thousands in citizens bank park in philadelphia. an epic beginning to an epic event.

here is the sophomore event in pictures (with captions...because we found out after my st. louis trip that i'm truly incapable of doing strictly picture posts):

this is my challenge batch. notice the two stickers on the left side: one says "blazin"...the other is a warning label.

the munching begins. bring it on.


caleb polishing off wing 2 of 12. although not participating, colin is equally fierce and even brought some chocolate milk to tease the contestants. cruel.


dave is well on his way as well. both dave and i rocked white t-shirts. rookie mistake? or savvy veteren confidence? we'll see...


braden is a beast! he's a freshman, so he doesn't fit the "sophomore event in pictures" category, but LOOK AT THAT FACE! i had to include it. for more, check out tj's blog with a video of the freshman event.


caleb is feelin the slow burn! jack is all business.


my co-leader and best friend dave records the best time: 2 minutes 10 seconds. atta boy.


second place! my time: 2 minutes, 32 seconds. and hark! the white tshirts proved to be a stroke of confidence for both dave and i - not a single drop of sauce ended up there!


the group is finishing up...this is when the endorphins all ran to my head apparently.


lip ice baths! caleb and kurtis enjoying a quick dip in their ice water following the event. hilarious.


the blazin' graveyard. those bones didn't stand a chance.

this may be the first of many blazin challenges i'll participate in - all in all, i had a great time. i liked it so much that i might actually walk in to bww sometime this week and purchase 12 blazin wings for dinner. they were truly delicious. in the meantime, i'll be practicing my technique and further increasing my spicy food tolerance. can't wait for a rematch. the first sunday in november might've just become a new holiday and the host of an annual event. we'll see.

welcome to november sizzler everybody. this just might be the best month ever.

-apc.

* - john buck reference.

happy john buck day.

happy #29 to johnny b.

the royals are expected to get him back in the line up for his big day. probably a good decision seeing that he has a history of late inning heroics on his birthday.

so here's to you, mr. incredible. may your day be filled with much joy and playing time.

-ap.

EDIT: buck didn't play. consequently, the royals lost on his birthday for the first time in 4 years.

a Fun thought.

i really like this dave and buster's commercial. the idea is that everyone has a little part of them that's reserved for having fun, and D&B externalizes this fun as a lil munchkin - a half-sized version of each person dressed in some sort of extreme apparel. the guy's Fun is a dirt biker. the girl's Fun is a lightweight boxing champ.

if i had a Fun, he would be dressed as relish.

but the point isn't Fun's attire. the point is this: willie bloomquist could very well be john buck's Fun.

i'm not the first to mention their resemblance. at a quick glance - and after a long stare sometimes - you can really get the two mixed up. the only real difference: 5 inches and 30 pounds. i just like to picture willie out there bouncin around at john's side, giggling and playing skee-ball and pop-a-shot with Big John. just look at willie's face! scary resemblance.

also consider: mike aviles as vin diesel's Fun.

-ap.

municipal stadium.

with the 40th anniversary of the kansas city royals happening this year i decided to look into their history a little more intentionally. i was sort of confused - i knew that kauffman stadium (then royals stadium) was built in 1973, and with all the renovations happening this year i thought the big 40th anniversary hooplah was because of the stadium. but 2009 - 1973 ≠ 40. i'd forgotten that the royals played at municipal stadium for 3 years before first taking the field on the turf at royals stadium in 1973.

municipal stadium was primarily the home of the negro league's kansas city monarchs from 1923-1955. it also hosted the the kc blues during the same time as the monarchs, the kc athletics from 1955-67 before moving to oakland, and the chiefs for 8 incredible years until 1971. buck o'neil played there from 1938-1955 and jackie robinson called municipal stadium home for two years before he broke the color barrier in the major leagues in 1947.

the ballpark was demolished in 1976 and replaced by a public garden, but today it is being replaced with a housing development. for some reason this really saddens me. there was a terrific history at municipal stadium, and it sure would've been an awesome attraction to add to the 18th and vine district around kansas city missouri. now there's just a lame sign that's meant to remember the great history there. it seems like a disgrace to me. i haven't actually been there, read the sign and explored the surrounding area, but just the fact that i haven't heard much of anything about municipal stadium in my 23 years of calling kansas city home doesn't say much for how well the old stadium is being remembered. (also check out old downtown kc in the distance of the pic to the left.)

maybe i'm just a sucker for baseball stadiums. actually, that's exactly what it is. it's an incredible blend of architecture and recreation that you don't get in any other sports. there is no other sport that features asymmetry and different dimensions between ballparks. one could possibly argue that golf offers this, but in terms of building architecture there is no comparison. basketball, football, soccer, hockey - they all have specific dimensions. baseball stadiums all have their special quirks and unique feels to them. shorter fences, longer fences, higher fences and smaller ones, a small hill in center field, brick walls or ivy in the outfield, tough angles and nooks in the left and right field corners, etc.

i just find it astonishing that they demolished it and have replaced it with a bunch of houses. it seems disrespectful for some reason - especially to a stadium with the extensive negro leagues history as municipal had. obviously we can't get it back, but it's fun to wish it was still around.

in other news: john buck just hit a triple...just wanted to show billy butler how to do it.
EDIT: john buck just hit ANOTHER triple.

-ap.

photo in need of caption...

here we see john buck shamelessly taunting the chicago white sucks, but what exactly has mr. incredible said to make carlos quentin so distraught?

you decide...gosh this is going to be hilarious. i can't wait.

-ap.

some advice to trey hillman regarding john buck.

the royals are 2-0 with john buck in the line-up. they are 1-3 without him.

john buck leads the team in batting avg, home runs and runs batted in...in 1/3 as many at bats.

john buck is batting .500 and slugging 1.000

billy butler is batting .059 and slugging .118.

my advice to trey hillman is this: bench billy butler and start john buck as DH.

and if the stats don't influence you enough, allow me to submit my own personal opinion:
john buck is the best.
billy butler is the worst.
john buck is harder, better, faster, stronger.
billy butler is a tub of Land O' Lakes.
john buck has a history of saving small children named Timmy from wells.
billy butler has a history of forgetting about the peanut butter sandwich in his back pocket and accidentally sitting on it.
john buck has a history of uprooting sequoias with his bare hands.
billy butler has a history of stealing bo jackson's number and rendering it despicable.

i will add that if you do this you are certain to make at least $100 more for your franchise through ticket, parking and concession sales to me alone. not to mention the countless other john buck enthusiasts i have created since you drafted mr. incedible 5 years ago.

thanks for your time, trey. i trust you will do the right thing.

-ap.

sports bit.

i haven't talked about sports in a while. let's do that today.

1. john buck is batting .434 with a .525 OBP in spring training. mike macfarlane eat your heart out.

2. it's looking very likely that the chiefs will do one of two things in this year's nfl draft: with the third overall pick they will either take linebacker aaron curry from wake forest (#1 ranked player overall) or - if the lions really take OT jason smith over QB matthew stafford - they may trade down with a team like the 49ers for a later round pick and pull someone totally different. i have a feeling the chiefs may be looking to simply draft the best player available - curry, michael crabtree, eugene monroe, brian orakpo, etc. we'll see.

3. my bracket is decently intact. 12/16 isn't bad. especially when my elite 8 are all still around. pitt looks like a bum pick to win it though. favorite games so far: siena over ohio state and oklahoma state over tennessee. also i'm proud of my WKU pick. i'm also proud of my VCU and NDSU picks even though they couldn't pull it off.


4. have you guys seen how josh freeman has rocketed up the QB prospects list? he's jumped pat white and graham harrell and is now listed #3 in QBs behind stafford and mark sanchez (who's draft stock is slowly sliding). it's fun to say that i hung out with him in my Wealth, Power and Privilege class just three months ago.

just a couple quick thoughts. i'll quit blogging now. i have a life you know.

-ap.

in other news.

probably the most important news of the day:

john buck signs with royals.

also we have a new president. more on that soon.

-ap.

the best royals game ever.

let's review the two things i love most about the royals:

1. john buck.
2. relish.

now that we're all on the same page, i'll begin my tale which i have appropriately titled "the best royals game ever."

it was "go the the royals game if you're a hillcrest highschooler" night at "the K". after collecting money from every student and paying for parking we went to purchase fifty-eight $7 tickets. amazing moment number 1: we went to the ticket window and our total was $406. we counted the cash we'd collected...$408. so we gave Kathy a $2 tip for smiling and handing us the large wad of tickets. they look more like chuck e. cheese tickets in bulk like that.

we got to our seats (secion 323 rows K-N) and were delighted to see that the royals were already up 2-0 in the second inning. i hadn't been sitting in my seat for more than 10 minutes and i suddenly received a multitude of text messages. you see, i had chosen to wear my relish hat to the game. it is essentially a giant hot dog with green condimentation* along the top. amazing moment number 2: apparently i had been on FSN KC and former royals' pitcher Paul Splittorff said something to the effect of, "you can always tell when it's college night at the K cause people show up with hotdogs on their head."

the game progressed quickly to the bottom of the 4th inning when amazing moment number three happened: mr. incredible himself dropped a homer over jermaine dye's head in right center to make the game 6-2. john buck goes yard for the second time in two starts. and the crowd goes wild.

this game was already thrilling. at this point i was fully confident that nothing could go wrong. anything and everything was going to go my way tonight. so when the Heinz Hot Dog Derby began - i was extremely confident that Relish would pull it out for me. amazing moment number 4: in come-from-behind fashion, Relish takes win number 17 on the year, and is currently dominating the standings where ketchup and mustard have 13 and 12 wins respectively. they quickly went straight to me celebrating in section 323 after the race. i pointed at the condimentation on my hat to notify the masses of my loyalty. and the $5 i had riding on relish quickly turned into $15. pleasure doing business with you gents.

the game slowly went south, however, my morale was as high as ever. the chicago white sox clawed back into it, and actually took the lead on a balk. as we entered the 9th inning, we were down 1 run, but all eyes went to the Mass-o-tron** to watch the royals' highlights from the night. amazing moment number 5: clip 3. immediately proceeding the plethora of royals hits and put outs to come...there i was. I WAS IN THE HIGHLIGHT REEL. i was laughing and talking with the individuals around me in my Relish hat and white shades. i couldn't believe it. i was one of the game's highlights. what an honor.

anyway. that's a quick synopsis of the most fun i've ever had at the K. hopefully i can add pictures to this post soon. i'm counting on others for that though.
oh. but the royals ended up losing. details.

-ap.

* - condimentation: the act or process of adding an item to an entree in order to enhance it's original flavor. ex: ketchup, mustard, Relish.
** - i named the new video board tonight. the old one was the Jumbo-tron. this one is clearly more majestic and larger than that one. i like Mass-o-tron.

a 6 minute blog cause i have the time.

i've been drinking a lot of gatorade lately.
i had a moment while i was on the way to colorado when i got super tired and worn out.
and then i had some gatorade tiger and suddenly felt like i could control the universe.
so i've been chasing that feeling.

i sat in a church service on sunday afternoon with no agenda apart from myself.
that's something that doesn't happen very often in full time ministry i've discovered.
i'm always taking notes for another discussion or trying to gain knowledge so i can answer questions from certain middle schoolers that may or may not change the world someday.
7th graders who ask things like "if God loves us so much how come he lets some of us go to hell?"
or "do you think Christ's pain and suffering was derived from the sins of mankind or his separation from the Father?"
but it was nice to just sit there and take in a sermon with no agenda. it was peaceful i guess.

yesterday was john buck day.
he turned 28 years old and celebrated by hitting a 3-run shot off the foul pole in the 10th.
eat your heart out jason larue.
i'll be at the K a few times this week.
i've got 5 bucks on Relish in wednesday's HDD.

-ap.

ps. watch the video below this post. hilarious.

sooner or later.

i feel like i have a ton of thoughts, but none that i can successfully form into a handful of interesting-to-read paragraphs for the general public. things like "watching golf on tv rules" and "it's interesting that Kansas City Christian graduated seniors had never discussed the topic of doubting before."

sometimes i feel a requirement to blog. and thats when i start to dislike blogging. which is somewhat lame because it is obviously completely voluntary. i've just been skimming through my recent blogs and discovering that if i were you i'd be absolutely bored to tears reading what i have to say. then again i have higher standards of myself than most.

that having been said - i apologize for my lack of effort. from this point forward i'm putting a greater emphasis in my blogs or i'm not blogging at all. cause this half-a business has gotta go. messy games were WAY better than that blog expressed.

john buck even hit a three run homer yesterday and i was too lazy to inform the frequenters of the World Wide Web. thats how lackadaisical i'm becoming. i'm probably just too busy. eh. no. probably just out of cleverness.

either way. i apologize. i'll do better in the near future.
i've just got a plethora of convoluted thoughts pouring through my brain simultaneously and its hard to set them all straight. i'll try my best and get back to it soon though.

-ap.

wrigley.

highlight of my trip to chicago: wrigley field.

baseball in chicago is like an illness that you’re just bound to catch. i got to experience it in full force on thursday night: cubs vs rockies. it was a back-and-forth game, but ultimately errors ruined it for colorado as the cubs put up a few unearned runs to seal the victory, thus convoluting my baseball loyalty even more than had already been done.

you must know that i was raised a st. louis cardinals fan. my father’s father’s father was a fan and the fandom was passed on to me. due to the fact that I was a fetus when the royals beat the cardinals in the 1985 series, I have no understanding of the I-70 rivalry. cardinals fans dispute a bad call at first base and royals fans have nothing else to brag about and no one else to hate but the cards. i’m stuck naively in the midst of a tentative fued already.

so i’m an I-70 fan. when the kc/stl interleague series happens i’m not sure who i’m for. my heart pulls me toward kc, but my roots run deep with the cardinals.

cardinals fans,have bigger fish to fry than the guppies in kcmo. the cubs/cardinals rivalry is the only one in the majors that can even hold a candle to the yankees/red sox. and it isn’t one-sided like the cards dispute with the royals – this rivalry is decades old. these are two baseball cities. their fans are die hard and don’t go to the games for hot dog races or chunky DH replica jersey giveaways. they go for the baseball. there is no need for any special promotions or gimmicks to draw a crowd; both cities sell out their games regularly with nothing but the game. they love baseball, and i love that. kansas city doesn’t love baseball; they don’t understand and I don’t resonate with the kc baseball mindset. there is passion and energy and camaraderie in chi-town that kauffman stadium just doesn’t possess. it’s also very contagious.

so here i am rooting for the home team at wrigley field and just lapping up the excitement in the place. Everyone comes together all up and down Clark to celebrate cubs baseball. all of wrigleyville is blue and white flying huge “W” flags to celebrate a cubs win over a less than terrific rockies squad. i can’t imagine what things would be like against the cards. I’d be thoroughly shaken. the cubs have clever memorabilia, tradition, and Old Style draft. it is classic baseball at its finest. everyone is into the game – people STAND AND CHEER without the assistance of a flashy “NOISE” or bogus “FAN-O-METER” graphic. kansas city folk don’t understand baseball. they just don’t get it. it goes beyond the game. It’s the atmosphere.

am i a cubs fan after thursday’s game? not necessarily. but i respect their fans and wish i could be apart of their environment. kauffman stadium is weaksauce. royals games typically contain 5 highlights for me: the condiment race (1) and each time john buck comes to the plate (2 through 5). but those aren’t things i’m on board with 40.000 people with – heck the condiment race even creates disagreement amongst like-minded fans – and although jb-fever is sweeping the nation and explodes for 4 at bats each game, it doesn’t make the other 23 outs in the game any more exciting*.

my loyalties are so messed up nowadays, but I’m fine with that. Hate if you want, i’m just a fan of baseball and the atmosphere it creates. and if you share my excitement for the game then i’m a fan of yours too. so here’s to you north side chicago – you do it right and I hope I can be a bigger part of that atmosphere in the years to come.

-ap.

* - this is an incredibly subtle jab at the royals and jb. harsh really.

cooper buck.

john buck did not travel with the team to miami to play the marlins this weekend because his wife gave birth to twins.

they named one of them COOPER.

hi-ohhhhh.

-ap.

into the fountains.

just want to make sure everyone notices the addition to mr. incred's stat tracker to the right.
it landed in the fountains in left center. what a bomb.
first of many big flies for johnny b.

and tomorrow night is buck night.
and we all know why they call it that.

-ap.

#14 in your scorecard, #1 in your heart.

you may notice that i've included a john buck stat tracker on my sidebar to the right. that way we can all follow the greatness together.

my likely-to-be conservative preseason predictions:

Avg: .304
RBI: 94
HR: 27

two hits and a run scored on opening day. just another day at the office for mr. incredible.

-ap.

ps. i also have a goal of 20 royals games this summer. thats a quarter of the home games. let me know if you want to go. i always will.

crushes.

one thing that i have going for me in this whole sex-crazed world we live in today is that i am much more inclined to have two types of crushes instead of your typical guy/girl crush.

1) man-crushes: the list includes - billy walker, michael cera, kanye west, lebron james, john buck, justin timberlake, vince young, chris brown, jared allen, dwayne bowe, jamaal tinsley, will smith, nick welch, so taguchi, relish, adrian peterson, danger mouse, john mayer, kevin durant, jeremiah johnson.

there are probably many more on the list, but for times sake i'll move on.

2) fictional-female-characters-crushes: the list includes - hermione granger.

thats pretty much the story. some might argue that i've had my fair share of celebrity crushes in the past (mandy moore, kelly clarkson, serena williams), but those are only half serious (well, kelly and serena are anyway). i think somewhere in my mind i know that those are COMPLETELY irrational though.

how's that for making no sense at all? i think what i mean is that i can't dream of those. i can always dream of hermione and no one can ever think i'm shallow and no one can ever be jealous or think i'm being dumb. cause they all THINK its a joke.

and as far as the man-crushes go - guys are just too awesome. and no one can deny that the list i've layed out above is made up entirely of awesome individuals. (possibly with the exception of relish - there is the occasional ketchup and mustard loser out there).

anyway. thats that.

-ap.

not much hope in kc.

so the chiefs ended 4-12.

i remember back in october they were 4-3 and going into a home game against the green bay packers. chiefs led in the 4th quarter and i really thought we had a shot at being a great team. our offense was clicking. our defense looked unbelievable. players were smiling.

but it turned out that we really shouldn't've believed in their defense. and the offense was a disaster from that point out. and there have only been two real moments of joy since that game: both of jared allen's td receptions. we proceded to lose 9 straight and end the season as proably the nfl's worst team. yeah miami went 1-15, but at least they've won a game since october. and at least they had no hope to begin with - there was no disappointment. just shame. at the halfway point the chiefs thought they had a chance - but then disappointed the world (sans oakland and bronco fans).

and anyone who thought to put hope in damon huard and brodie croyle is out of their minds.

three years ago my friend dan and i went to the chiefs pre-season meet-the-team scrimmage at arrowhead. we watched players take snaps for the first time and we got to follow along on a nifty little sheet that had all the prospects names and info on it.

then some guy 3 rows behind us said the following:
"yeah damon huard!"

and dan and i started laughing hysterically. WHO? damon huard? third string damon? mr. back up sensation damon huard? mr. might lose his spot on the team to casey printers?
and yes. this is the same damon huard who has been taking snaps for the chiefs this year. what he is missing in his arm strength he clearly makes up for with his lack of mobility. just get a pinky on his ankle and he'll tuck the ball and timber right into the ground. what a dope.

and i'm sorry, the guy might have a good arm, but trying to develop brodie croyle as a franchise quarterback is like trying to usurp john buck from behind the plate: it just isn't going to happen. ESPECIALLY behind that o-line.

jason whitlock said it nicely in the kc star today: "tony gonzalez and jared allen are two of the best players at their position. everything else is a mystery."

i'll agree - but i'll also add that dwayne bowe is and will be a stud reciever for a long time in the nfl. and larry johnson is still the centaur.

the only hope i see: a couple years down the road we've picked up a few dece linemen out of the draft that we can run LJ behind. we can't expect much more out of carl peterson and herm edwards (who we found out after the jets game on sunday are both going to be back next year - celebration will ensue i'm sure of it).

it is sad to reach january and not have any excitement about the chiefs. kansas city kinda feels like it had the wind knocked out of it. any excitement left belongs to ku and mu fans who are likely to be silenced in the upcoming days - i'll take arkansas by 10 and virginia tech by 17 - and then from there our excitement turns to the always promising kansas city royals.

espn.com had a poll on its home page a few days back:
who will win the AL Central?
- Minnesota Twins
- Chicago White Sox
- Detroit Tigers
- Cleveland Indians

.........yeah. those were the four options. seems like not only kc has no hope in the royals. not even in the running as far as espn is concerned. not shocking news. but still disappointing.

maybe we'll inherit a terrific expansion basketball or hockey team to fill the sprint center. cause right now i'm not seeing much hope in kc sports. and not much in the near future either. we'll see where we're at in 5 years - otherwise i might be moving on to another city's sports teams.

as far as the playoffs go: i pretty much dont care. jsut give me a bunch of great games and maybe a cinderella into the champ games.

whatever. i'm over sports. i'm sticking to board games. who cares if you're better than me at scrabble? at least i control my own fate instead of watching herm edwards run it for me.

-ap.