Mellinger Minutes For Your Ears

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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?

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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.

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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.

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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.

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