As the year comes to an end, SportsBeat KC, the sports podcast of The Kansas City Star and KCUR, is breaking down Kansas City’s most influential figures from 2025.

Star columnists Sam McDowell and Vahe Gregorian discuss five people — two players, two administrators and a coach — who helped shape the region’s sports landscape and tell the story of our teams.

Who made the list? It starts with Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt, who last week announced the franchise would leave its home of more than a half-century, Arrowhead Stadium, and relocate to Wyandotte County, Kansas, for the 2031 season.

Also, Chiefs Insider Pete Sweeney breaks down the Chiefs’ Week 18 road game vs. the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday. What’s at stake for the Chiefs, beside draft position?

Check out this week’s podcast.

SportsBeat KC is the sports podcast of The Kansas City Star and KCUR, hosted by Blair Kerkhoff. It’s produced by Randy Mason, Monty Davis, Irvin Zhang, Suzanne Hogan, and Gabriella Lacey, and edited by Jeff Rosen and Scott Chasen.   

It’s the biggest Kansas City professional sports franchise move in more than five decades. The Chiefs are moving to Kansas.

The team and state made the major announcement Monday in Topeka, and on SportsBeat KC, the sports podcast of The Star and KCUR, columnist Sam McDowell breaks down why the decision to relocate was made and what it means to the team and metropolitan area.

After a break, Royals beat writer Jaylon Thompson provides an update on the latest moves by the Royals. They’ve added outfield help but is it enough?

SportsBeat KC is the sports podcast of The Kansas City Star and KCUR, hosted by Blair Kerkhoff. It’s produced by Randy Mason, Monty Davis, Irvin Zhang, Suzanne Hogan, and Gabriella Lacey, and edited by Jeff Rosen and Scott Chasen.   

The Chiefs have reached a stopping point. 

They won’t be in the playoffs thanks to last weekend’s loss to the LA Chargers, ending Kansas City’s 10-year run of postseason appearances, the second longest in NFL history.

But the biggest news was Patrick Mahomes suffering a season-ending knee injury. He underwent surgery Monday and the recovery has started — but his timetable to return is uncertain. 

On SportsBeat KC, the sports podcast of The Kansas City Star and KCUR, Chiefs Insider Pete Sweeney and Star columnist Sam McDowell discuss this new reality for the Chiefs and what it means as the team closes out 2025.

SportsBeat KC is the sports podcast of The Kansas City Star and KCUR, hosted by Blair Kerkhoff. It’s produced by Monty Davis, Irvin Zhang, Suzanne Hogan, and Gabriella Lacey, and edited by Jeff Rosen and Scott Chasen

Another week, another painful loss for the Chiefs. 

This time to the Houston Texans at home, resulting in serious damage to their playoff chances. 

On SportsBeat KC, the sports podcast of The Kansas City Star and KCUR, Chiefs Insider Pete Sweeney and columnist Sam McDowell explain how the Chiefs fell for the fourth time in five games. 

Then, we talked Kansas City’s draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Star reporter Pete Grathoff breaks down the group stage games coming to KC, starting with the opening game for defending champion Argentina.

In a whirlwind of events at Kansas State, the Wildcats had a football coach resign, hired a popular replacement and turned down an invitation to a bowl game. Beat writer Kellis Robinett catches his breath to share his thoughts on the developments.

SportsBeat KC is the sports podcast of The Kansas City Star and KCUR, hosted by Blair Kerkhoff. It’s produced by Monty Davis, Irvin Zhang, Suzanne Hogan, and Gabriella Lacey, and edited by Jeff Rosen and Scott Chasen

Another week, another huge game for the Chiefs and their playoff chances. 

This time, the Houston Texans visit Kansas City on “Sunday Night Football,” and the teams are headed in different directions. The Chiefs have dropped three of four; the Texans have won four straight.

On SportsBeat KC, the sports podcast of The Kansas City Star and KCUR, Chiefs Insider Pete Sweeney breaks down the keys for a Chiefs win, KC’s playoff chances and the latest troubling issue: injuries on the offensive line.

Then, we look ahead at the upcoming draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. That’s when teams will assigned positions for the group stage games.

SportsBeat KC is the sports podcast of The Kansas City Star and KCUR, hosted by Blair Kerkhoff. It’s produced by Monty Davis, Irvin Zhang, Suzanne Hogan, and Gabriella Lacey, and edited by Jeff Rosen and Scott Chasen.   

It’s not a happy Thanksgiving for the Chiefs. 

Playing on the holiday for the first time in nearly two decades, the Chiefs dropped a 31-28 decision to the Dallas Cowboys and damaged their playoff chances.

How much? On SportsBeat KC, the sports podcast of The Kansas City Star and KCUR, beat writer Pete Sweeney and columnist Sam McDowell share their thoughts on what went wrong and how the outcome impacts the season.

Patrick Mahomes threw four touchdown passes in his NFL debut at the stadium near where he grew up, but it wasn’t enough to overcome poor defense, penalties and other problems.

Check out our full coverage of the Kansas City Chiefs: https://www.kansascity.com/sports/nfl/kansas-city-chiefs/ 

Things were looking bleak for the Chiefs in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts. A drive ended with Kareem Hunt’s fumble — was that really his first lost fumble since 2017? — and the Chiefs trailed by 11 points.

But the defense held, Patrick Mahomes, Rashee Rice and Kareem Hunt put the offense in gear and the Chiefs rallied for a 23-20 overtime victory at Arrowhead Stadium in a game that may have saved their season.

On SportsBeat KC, the sports podcast of The Kansas City Star and KCUR, Star columnists Sam McDowell and Vahe Gregorian along with Chiefs Insider Pete Sweeney break down the biggest moments from the win, what it means for the Chiefs’ playoff chances and look ahead to the Thanksgiving Day showdown against the Dallas Cowboys.

SportsBeat KC is the sports podcast of The Kansas City Star and KCUR, hosted by Blair Kerkhoff. It’s produced by Monty Davis, Irvin Zhang, Suzanne Hogan, and Gabriella Lacey, and edited by Jeff Rosen and Scott Chasen.   

With consecutive losses, the Chiefs have hit a rough patch. Can they work free or are they stuck? Chiefs Insider Pete Sweeney breaks down where things stand with a Chiefs team, coming off the loss in Denver and having to face another division leader this weekend in the Indianapolis Colts.

Also, a shakeup at the Current since falling in their NWSL playoff opener included Vlatko Andonovski the coach who guided the organization’s most successful regular season. Where did he land? 

Soccer correspondent Daniel Sperry discusses Current’s moves, plus how Sporting KC can benefit from the MLS’s decision to switch its playing calendar to align with major European leagues.

SportsBeat KC is the sports podcast of The Kansas City Star and KCUR, hosted by Blair Kerkhoff. It’s produced by Randy Mason, Monty Davis, Irvin Zhang, Suzanne Hogan, and Gabriella Lacey, and edited by Jeff Rosen and Scott Chasen.   

Not often in the Patrick Mahomes era have the Chiefs looked up in the AFC West standing this late in the season. But here they are in third place with a 5-4 record, making Sunday’s game at the first-place Denver Broncos critical to their division chances.

On SportsBeat KC, Chiefs Insider Pete Sweeney and Star columnist Sam McDowell discuss the game and what it will take for the Chiefs to capture a 10th straight AFC West title — and if rookie left tackle Josh Simmons returns this week, how much should he play?

Also, Star soccer correspondent Daniel Sperry breaks down the crushing end to the KC Current’s playoff run, a loss to Gotham FC in the NWSL quarterfinals.

Sports Beat KC is the sports podcast of The Kansas City Star and KCUR, hosted by Blair Kerkhoff. It’s produced by Randy Mason, Irvin Zhang, Suzanne Hogan, and Gabriella Lacey, and edited by Jeff Rosen and Scott Chasen.   

The Chiefs have crossed the halfway point of their schedule, and if the season ended today they wouldn’t be in the playoffs. It’s a strange place to be for the team that’s played in five of the last six Super Bowls.

On SportsBeat KC, the sports podcast of The Kansas City Star and KCUR, Star columnist Sam McDowell shares his thoughts on where thing stand with the Chiefs, starting with Sunday’s loss to the Buffalo Bills. The sequence at the end of the first half in which the Chiefs settled for a field goal from the 1, was critical in the outcome, according to McDowell.

As the Chiefs head into a bye week, we look at the second half of the season and speculate what it’s going to take to make the postseason for an 11th straight year.

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