It’s Official: Cassel Will Wear No. 7

New Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassesl will be wearing No. 7 this season for the Chiefs.

During his time with the Patriots he wore No. 16, but that number is retired in red and gold since it belonged to Hall of Famer Len Dawson.

So Cassel went with No. 7.

The last Chiefs player to wear the numer was kicker Justin Medlock in 2007.  Other quarterbacks who have worn the number were John Huarte (1969-71), Mike Nott (1976), Ron Jaworski (1989), Ted White (1999), Joe Germaine (2001) and Casey Printers (2006).  Only Huarte, Nott and Jaworski got on the field.

Readers Speak Again: It’s Curry or Trade Down

A month later, the temperature of Chiefs fans remains pretty much the same when it comes to the third choice of the first round in the 2009 NFL Draft.

The favored route for Chiefs fans at the end of March matches that of our first vote back in February.

No. 1 choice among Chiefs fans was drafting Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry.

The second choice among the fans was trading down and out of the No. 3 pick, in hopes of picking up more draft choices.

The newest name that popped up in March was Florida State defensive end Everette Brown. He wasn’t mentioned in February, but got three votes this month.

Ten votes in February went to quarterbacks Matt Stafford and Mark Sanchez. Remember that poll was taken before the trade that brought Matt Cassel from the New England Patriots. Even with that trade, one fan still wanted to select Mark Sanchez at No. 3.

Here’s how the numbers broke down in the votes in both February and March:

Bottom of the Bird Cage 3/31

This is the 90th day of the year and a tip of the hat to No. 90s in Chiefs history, led by DE Neil Smith.

Born on this day in 1928 was one of the greatest hockey players in history, Gordie Howe. Born in 1935 was trumpeter Herb Alpert and in 1945 brought the birth of Gabe “Mr. Kotter” Kaplan.

It was on this day in 1968 that President Lyndon Johnson announced he would not run for re-election. That decision ended up bringing us Richard Nixon. In 1985, the first Wrestlemania was held at Madison Square Garden in New York.

And on this day in 1931, a legend died in a Kansas wheat field. Knute Rockne was on an airplane that had taken off from Kansas City. The legendary head coach at Notre Dame had stopped off to see his sons Bill and Knute Jr. who were in boarding school at Pembroke-Country Day School. The Fokker F.10 Trimotor aircraft took off as a regularly scheduled flight from what was a new airline, Transcontinental & Western Air, known as TWA. It was TWA flight 599.

The plane was in the air for less than an hour when it crashed near Bazaar, Kansas, about 10 miles south of Cottonwood Falls. All six passengers and two crew members were killed. At first, investigators thought the crash was weather related, but later it was learned that the crash came because of problems with the aircraft itself.

At the site of the crash stands a monument (right) to those who died.

Rockne’s coaching record at Notre Dame was 105-12-5, with five undefeated seasons in his 13 years leading the Irish. He had resigned after the ’30 season and was flying to Los Angeles to serve as an advisor for the filming of the movie The Spirit of Notre Dame.

On March 31, 1931, Knute Rockne was just 43 years old. …Read More!

Tuesday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

It wasn’t perfect attendance for the first day of the Pioli/Haley Era at Arrowhead.

Right now, they have 65 players under contract. The head coach said Monday afternoon some 60 players were there for the team meeting and the strength and conditioning sessions.

That’s not 100 percent when all the heads were counted. But 92 percent ain’t bad.

Of course all anybody wanted to know was the eight percent who were not in the building. It was not a surprise that Todd Haley wasn’t going to provide a roll call. Who could blame him? Not many coaches would talk negatives when asked to summarize the first team meeting of their tenure.

“To have my coaches and the team together in one room was exciting stuff for me,” Haley said Monday afternoon. “It was exciting to get in front of the team, talk to them and kind of lay it out there what my expectations were and what was going to be asked of them over the next 12 weeks of the off-season.”

Larry Johnson was spotted in the building, but it’s not known if he took part in any activities.  There was no word on Brian Waters and Tony Gonzalez.

The attention was on strength and conditioning on the first day, other than Haley speaking to the group for the first time. That’s how it will stay for the first several weeks; Haley says the physical end is most important right now.

“The coaches and the players are chomping at the bit,” Haley said. “It is a tough deal because it is a new staff, new system, some new terminology and other things. Guys get a little anxious but we have a camp coming up here the weekend before the draft and that week we will probably spend a little classroom time so they can get a feel for what will be going on to help them through the camp.”

I think it’s safe to say that if there were 60 players in the house and there were five players who did not show up … well, if they had not cleared their absence ahead of time, those five names will be burned in the brains of Haley and Scott Pioli. Heck, even if the players provided prior notice, it’s something this pair will remember. …Read More!

Excited Haley Welcomes Back Chiefs

From the Truman Sports Complex

On his first day in front of his team as head coach, Todd Haley welcomed approximately 60 players back for the start  of the team’s off-season conditioning program.

And right off the bat, he said he would not provide information on who was there and who was not there.  But obviously, with 60 players that’s not quite the Chiefs whole roster, which stands at 65 as of Monday afternoon.

 ”I thought we had a great turnout,” said Haley.  “After two months of non-football business, and moving and getting settled, it was nice to get the players back in the building and see what the team looked  like.”

Haley spoke with the players and coaching staff as a group on Monday and outlined his expectations for them over this 12-week program.

Right now, the emphasis is on the physical end of football.  The mental end will come in the following weeks.

“The coaches and the players are chomping at the bit,” Haley said of getting to the classroom.  “That’s one of the fights you get into.  This is the time to get your body ready.  It’s a tough deal. It’s a new staff and new system and new terminology and guys get a little anxious.

“We’ve got a camp coming up here the weekend before the draft, that week we’ll probably spend a little class room time.”

Chiefs Learn Pre-Season Foes

The NFL has announced pre-season opponents for the 2009 season.

The Chiefs will open their pre-season schedule at home against Houston on the weekend of August 14-15-16.

They will play on the road at Minnesota on the weekend of August 21-22-23.

Seattle will visit Arrowhead Stadium on the weekend of August 28-29-30.

And the Chiefs will finish up the pre-season with their Governor’s Cup game against St. Louis on September 3 or 4.

Exact dates and times have not been determined and there’s always the possibility that some of the games could move to a Monday or Thursday night for TV or stadium purposes.  Right now, there are 11 national TV games scheduled in the pre-season and the Chiefs are not part of any of those broadcasts.

If the past is any indication, the NFL regular season schedule should be released sometime in the next two weeks.  The Chiefs already know they will host games against San Diego, Denver, Oakland, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Dallas, New York Giants and Buffalo, while traveling to games in San Diego, Denver, Oakland, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Washington and Jacksonville.

Bottom of the Bird Cage 3/30

So this is the 89th day of the year, and we must honor one of the greatest Chiefs players who wore the No. 89, wide receiver Otis Taylor. Other 89s include Henry Marshall, Keith Cash, Andre Rison and Jason Dunn.

Born on March 30, 1945 was one of the greatest guitarists in history, Eric Clapton. In 1986, actor James Cagney passed away at the age of 86.

And on March 30, 1867, Alaska was purchased by the United States from Russia, thanks to the work of Secretary of State William Seward. The purchase was 586,412 square miles at a cost of $7.2 million, or about two cents an acre. Even in today’s money, it would be a good deal. Based on 2009 dollars, the same purchase would cost $108 million.

Before we get started, you must visit this link. The folks at Guitar Hero have outdone themselves this time. If you thought Alex Rodriquez, Kobe Bryant, Michael Phelps and some guy wearing a helmet were great in that TV ad, you’ve got to see this one. Just watch the looks on Roy Williams face! I’m not sure how much Guitar Hero paid for this one, but it had to be a lot to get these four guys together.

Here’s the link to You Tube.

From the Baltimore Sun:
March 29, 1984, remains the most infamous day in Baltimore sports history. Ask longtime residents about it and they’ll practically spit the words “Irsay” and “Mayflower.”

As the moving trucks rolled out in the snow that morning, they carried away the blue-and-white Colts gear that had meant so much to Baltimoreans in the John Unitas era. Surely, that legacy had no place in Indianapolis. Worse still, the departure left city residents to confront their fears that Baltimore was a third-rate town.

With 25 years of perspective, however, it’s possible to argue that March 29, 1984, was actually a good day for Baltimore sports. It allowed the city to cut ties with a desperately flawed franchise and a deeply unpopular owner. It spurred elected officials to get serious about plans that would keep the Orioles in Baltimore and attract a new NFL team. Those plans bore fruit in Camden Yards and M&T Bank Stadium, beloved facilities that are now as intrinsic to downtown as the Inner Harbor. The Ravens arrived in 1996 and won a Super Bowl six years before the Colts brought Indianapolis its first Lombardi Trophy.

So, perhaps, crazy as it might sound, Bob Irsay did everyone a favor when he suddenly ordered his franchise packed into green, yellow and red trucks.

MORE

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Monday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

As the Chiefs begin their off-season conditioning program on Monday, there will be two different views of the same issue.

Scott Pioli and Todd Haley will be watching to see who shows up. The Kansas City and national media will be looking to see whose shadow does not cross the door of the team’s facilities.

The fact is those outside the locker room and second floor at Chiefs headquarters are unlikely to find out just who showed up and who did not for the start of the “voluntary” program.

The media has already been warned they can only be in the media workroom. They cannot sit in the parking lot and count heads as they walk into the building. The locker room will be off-limits and given the way Pioli has structured things during his time in control of the franchise, the team won’t be providing attendance figures.

Eventually, we will all find out. Will the unhappy three amigos find their way to the locker room? Will Tony Gonzalez, Larry Johnson and Brian Waters be there for the first meeting and the first sessions in the weight room?

At best, I peg the chances as 33 percent that the trio will be there together. More than likely one of the three will be around. Anything more than one of the three and it’s a pretty good indication the team’s three stars have gotten the message that things are very different around the team with the new regime.

Over the last few years, these three guys seldom if ever, showed up for the first day of the off-season program. But things are very different now. Just about everything involving the players is going to be different around the Chiefs this year and Monday is when they start finding that out. …Read More!

What Should Chiefs Do At No. 3/Volume #2

It was just over a month ago we asked you what you wanted the Chiefs to do with the third pick in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft. This was in late February, before the start of free agency and before the trade that brought Matt Cassel and Mike Vrabel to Kansas City for the club’s second-round choice.

At that time the vote was centered on two choices: Wake Forest LB Aaron Curry and trading down.  Curry had 27 votes, trading down had 26 and a very distant third was QB Matt Stafford with 6.5 votes.

OK, it’s more than a month later and we are a month away from the draft, so it’s a good time to take your temperature again.

In 25 words or less, let us know what the Chiefs should do at No. 3.  If you’ve changed your mind since last time, let us know that as well.  Keep it to the name of a player, a trade down or a trade up and reasons why.

Please, no long disertations and chatter here.  Save that for the results when you guys can go at each other on your decisions.

Polls are open now through noon on Monday morning.  Unlike Chicago however, where they say vote early and vote often, how about one vote each.

Bottom of the Bird Cage 3/29

While Traveling America’s Highways & Byways

It’s the 88th day of the year and we honk our horn for all the men who have work No. 88 for the Chiefs, including of course, the current resident of that number, Tony Gonzalez. Or, at least he’s wearing it as of today. Other 88s include Chris Burford, Walter White, J.J. Birden and Carlos Carson.

On this day in 1896, in the backyard of his home in Atlanta, Dr. John Pemberton brewed up the first batch of what would eventually become known as Coca-Cola. Born on March 29, 1917 was Man o’ War, one of the greatest race horses in American history. Next time you happen to be in Lexington, Kentucky, take a drive on Man o’ War Boulevard.

And on March 29, 1806, Congress authorized construction on the Great National Pike, known as the Cumberland Road. It became the first federal highway.

Let me tell you after spending the past week putting in a lot of miles on federal highways, the Cumberland Road 203 years ago was in better shape that most of the interstates in Michigan.

From the St. Petersburg Times:
The small boat rocked wildly in 6-foot waves. More than 30 miles from shore, the four men knew it was time to go back, time to pull up anchor. But it wouldn’t budge. By turns, former Tampa Bay Buccaneers Marquis Cooper and Corey Smith and former University of South Florida football players Will Bleakley and Nick Schuyler all heaved mightily to no avail. They decided to retie the anchor line from the bow of the 21-foot boat to the stern, then gun the engine to jerk the anchor out of the gulf’s bottom.

It only made matters worse. The thrust pushed the anchor deeper, tightening the anchor line and pulling down the stern of the boat, exposing it to sloshing seas. In one swift moment, the boat became swamped, overturned and dumped the four men into 62-degree seas.

…Read More!

Weekend Cup O’Chiefs

While Traveling America’s Highways and Byways

Now the Chiefs and Larry Johnson wait to see what the Commissioner has to say.

And what an arbitrator has to say about his contract in a grievance proceeding filed by the NFL Players Association.

And yes, it’s another Chiefs soap opera that has little to do with football.

Let’s start with the judicial end. On Friday, Johnson pleaded guilty to a pair of disturbing the peace charges in a plea arrangement with Kansas City prosecutors from two separate incidents involving women at K.C. nightclubs. The first happened last February at the Grand Emporium; the second incident came in October at Club Blonde.

Johnson was sentenced to two years probation by Kansas City Municipal Court Judge Joseph Locascio, but if he follows all the court’s orders and gets through two years without further problems, the guilty pleas will be removed from his record.

What everyone waits to see is whether Johnson’s ability to play in the NFL will be removed for a game or two. Johnson was suspended by the league last November for one game after he was charged with the October incident.

At that time, Commissioner Roger Goodell was very clear in what he told both Johnson and the Chiefs. The suspension was one game, but there could be additional sanctions based on the outcome of legal proceedings.

The legal outcome is not good for Johnson in the eyes of the league. By pleading guilty to the lesser charges without going through any type of trial or presentation of evidence, that’s a pretty good indicator that Johnson and his legal eagles were not especially confident about winning in court as they knew the evidence was not in their favor. In fact, when asked by Judge Locascio whether he would be found guilty of the charges in a trial, Johnson replied in the affirmative.

Based on how Goodell has handled things during his reign as Commissioner, there seems little doubt that Johnson will receiver further league discipline. What Goodell looks for in these incidents is a pattern of behavior and there’s no question there’s a pattern with L.J. These two incidents bring to four the number of times law enforcement was called because of problems involving Johnson and women. …Read More!

Bottom of the Bird Cage 3/27

While Traveling America’s Highways and Byways

It’s Day No. 86 on the year and we must raise our glass in toast to one of the greatest athletes to wear the number, Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive tackle Buck Buchanan.

It was on this day in 1963 that movie director Quentin Tarantino was born. And it was on this day in 2002 that the entertainment world suffered a triple-header of untimely passing as actor Dudley Moore went at the age of 66, comedian Milton Berle died at the age of 93 and movie director Billy Wilder left us at the age of 95.

And it was on this day in 1998 that the Food & Drug Administration approved public use of sildenafil citrate, otherwise known as the little blue pill. Viagra.

Things haven’t been the same since.

From FOXSports.com columnist Mark Kriegel: At the base of a grand staircase, the exhibit was installed to commemorate the American Football League, conceived half a century ago by a gang of renegade rich men who called themselves “The Foolish Club.” But the photograph that catches my eye features Al Davis, newly appointed as the commissioner, sandwiched between Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson and Jack Kemp, then a handsome young quarterback. Davis wears a skinny tie, a toothy grin and just enough pompadour to announce his contempt for the standards and practices of company men. He’s in his early thirties, just beginning to feel the possibilities of his power.

And now, as the owners adjourn from their morning meetings here at the St. Regis resort, the man himself comes into view.

Almost half a century later, the pompadour has been decimated, a matted wisp in its place. Davis’ eyes are red-rimmed and damp. His hands are purplish and papery with age. But never — ever — has Al Davis looked more defiant, even heroic, than he does right now, pushing a walker across the marble floor

MORE …Read More!

Friday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

While Traveling America’s Highways and Byways

The NFL meetings this week in California wrapped up with little fanfare. As they met in the middle of southern California opulence, we thankfully did not hear much from the league and ownership about tough financial times.

That doesn’t mean there was not a bit of hypocrisy in the air.

During the meetings, the owners voted in a handful of rules provisions that were supposedly based on player safety. Thanks to the Bernard Pollard rule they’ve now made the quarterback all but untouchable and they’ve legislated out some of the game’s most physical plays.

Again, all of these tweaks of the rules were done in the name of player safety.

But then Commissioner Roger Goodell wrapped up the meetings talking about extending the NFL regular season, making it 17 or 18 games, rather than the current 16. The 20-game pre and regular season would continue, it would just no longer be broken up into segments of four and 16.

Now, how does playing more regular season games exist with this theme of player safety?

Legislate the football out of football, but then play more games, thus exposing players to more hits and more potential injuries? Sorry, the league talking out of both sides of its mouth. …Read More!

Bottom of Bird Cage 3/26

While Traveling America’s Highways & Byways

This is the 85th day of the year and we flash our headlights in honor of No. 85 in Chiefs history, led by Bill Hull, Chuck Hurston, Ed Beckman and Jonathon Hayes among others.

It was on this day in 1953 that Jonas Salk announced his polio vaccine, one of the great medical discoveries/inventions in history. March 26 is a day for poets. On this day in 1874, Robert Frost was born and on this day in 1892 Walt Whitman passed away.

Also born on March 26, 1919 was actor Strother Martin, who may have summed up the situation involving the Chiefs and Tony Gonzalez best when he uttered this line from the great movie Cool Hand Luke:

“What we have here is … failure to communicate.”

The same can be said for some of what follows.

From the Dallas Morning News: As he rushed his family to the hospital, 26-year-old NFL running back Ryan Moats rolled through a red light. A Dallas police officer pulled their SUV over outside the emergency room. Moats and his wife explained that her mother was dying inside the hospital.

“You really want to go through this right now?” Moats pleaded. “My mother-in-law is dying. Right now!” The officer, 25-year-old Robert Powell, was unmoved. He spent long minutes writing Moats a ticket and threatened him with arrest. “I can screw you over,” the officer told Moats. “I’d rather not do that.”

The scene last week, captured by a dashboard video camera, prompted apologies and the promise of an investigation from Dallas police officials Wednesday. “There were some things that were said that were disturbing, to say the least,” said Lt. Andy Harvey, a police spokesman.

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The Circus Guy With A Broom

While Traveling America’s Highways and Byways

I promised myself when this website was born that I would not spend an inordinate amount of time writing about the media. The media loves to talk and write about the media. Frankly, I think it’s boring for most people; it’s inside information important only to ink-stained wretches, tin-throats and hairdos.

There was no way I wanted to be the guy who works at the circus and follows the elephants around with a broom. Elephants eat every day, and they leave evidence of that behind them every day. Cleaning up messes involving the media is the equivalent of the same thing, every single day.

But crossing over the Illinois/Indiana state line on Wednesday came word that Chicken Little was at it again.

Chicken Little? You remember the character from the children’s fable who constantly goes around screaming the sky is falling, the sky is falling. But the sky doesn’t fall. His screaming just causes hysteria at first, before people just stop paying attention.

Well the Kansas City sports radio world has its own Chicken Little. His credibility has been worn away from years of screaming the sky is falling. He knows that fact and it makes him even more shrill when he says another sky is falling.

Wednesday, Chicken Little reported there was a chance of a strike by workers at the Truman Sports Complex, where renovations are going on at both Kauffman Stadium and Arrowhead. That fact is true.

But then Chicken Little had to add this fact: the Chiefs had petitioned the NFL to play all their home games on the road in the 2009 season.

No source was given on this information. That’s not hard to believe because it’s made-up. Chicken Little created the information. If he didn’t, he got suckered by somebody on the union side of these negotiations.

So Chicken Little is either a liar, or a fool. …Read More!