Kansas City Chiefs - Denver Broncos Preview

The Chiefs’ disaster of a season will keep rolling along on Sunday, as Kansas City will host its arch rival, the Denver Broncos. Kickoff for the game is 12:00 p.m.

This game will feature two teams headed in completely opposite directions. The Broncos had a shaky start, but have since caught fire and sit atop the AFC West with a 7-3 record. Peyton Manning has turned into his old self, enjoying a fantastic season that has him in the NFL MVP discussion, and the defense is playing well led by linebacker Von Miller. The only thing that might slow Denver down is the loss of running back Willis McGahee, however the Broncos have several other capable backs on the roster.

The Chiefs offense is only averaging 15 points per game, and they face a tough matchup on Sunday against a Bronco defense that has become one of the better units in the league. Miller has 7 sacks in his last three games, and the team leads the NFL with 35 sacks this season. This is all bad news for Brady Quinn, who was recently named the Chiefs starter. The Chiefs have given up 10 sacks in their last four games, and injuries to Kansas City’s offensive line means Miller and company might be living in the Chiefs backfield on Sunday.

The only way the Chiefs will have a shot in this one is if they can force some turnovers from Manning and sustain some long drives with their run game. Jamaal Charles is quietly having a very good season, and he will have to play lights out for the Chiefs to have a chance. With Manning in a groove and Denver’s defense playing well, this has all the makings of a blowout. Still, you never know what will happen in a rivalry game.

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2012 Plaza Lighting Ceremony Guide

The 83rd annual KCPL Plaza Lighting Ceremony will take place tonight at a new Plaza location – on Nichols Road and Pennsylvania near the Brio Tuscan Grille and Burberry. The stage will be located on Nichols Road, west of Pennsylvania facing east. The weather is going to be nice and warm this year for a change, as long as it stays dry.

This new location will feature a larger gathering area, allowing more Kansas City residents to get a great view of the stage and the flip of the switch. There will still be the normal celebrations in other areas of the plaza, including the fireworks on the roof of The Intercontinental Hotel which is always incredible. They will also be doing a remote broadcast of the action on the main stage from the pool area at The Intercontinental on the plaza.

Sporting Kansas City players Kei Kamara, Jimmy Nielsen and Matt Besler will flip the switch at 6:50 p.m. from the ceremony stage.

Below is the full schedule of events:

5:00 – 6:00 p.m.: Pre-show performances and prizes.

6:00 - 7:00 p.m.: KCPL Plaza Lighting Ceremony.

6:50 p.m.: Flip of the switch by Sporting Kansas City players followed by fireworks over Nichols & Broadway.

7:00 – 8:00 p.m.: Post-Ceremony Concert featuring Kansas City Band - The Elders.

For those who are unable to attend the festivities down at the Plaza, 41 Action News will be broadcasting the ceremony live.

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Royals Sign Guthrie, Make Other Roster Moves

The Royals have already made several moves this offseason, but recently the team has made some big decisions that will significantly shape next year’s roster. The biggest deal came yesterday, when the Royals resigned pitcher Jeremy Guthrie to a three year, $25 million deal.

Guthrie resurrected his career with the Royals last season after the club acquired him via a trade with the Colorado Rockies. After struggling a bit early on, Guthrie absolutely caught fire in the second half of the season and became one of the better pitchers in the American League. After joining the Royals, Guthrie posted a 5-3 record with a 3.16 ERA in 16 starts.

While many are concerned with Guthrie’s age (he is 33) and struggles in Colorado, the Royals resigned him for a decent price and showed its fan base that they are serious about contending for a playoff spot next season. Kansas City needed to upgrade its starting pitching, and with deals to Guthrie and Ervin Santana, as well as the return of Felipe Paulino and Danny Duffy from injury, the Royals suddenly have what appears to be a solid starting rotation. This rotation, paired with several key offensive players entering the prime of their career, should have Royals fans somewhat optimistic about next season.

Kansas City also was forced to remove several players from its 40 man roster, and a few have surprised Royals fans. Bryan Pena was let go after spending the last four seasons as the team’s backup catcher. The backup catching job now belongs to Brett Hayes, whom the Royals claimed off of waivers on November 2. Hayes is only 28 and is known to be a good defensive catcher who also calls a good game.

The Royals also designated pitchers Vin Mazzaro, Chris Volstad and Ryan Verdugo for assignment, as well as first baseman Clint Robinson and outfielder Derrick Robinson.

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How Does The Recent Conference Realignment Affect The Big 12?

Just when it seemed like everything had settled down, conference realignment is happening again. Yesterday, the University of Maryland declared for the Big Ten, and Rutgers has now officially announced that they will also be joining the Big Ten – which now consists of 14 teams. These moves have made many Big 12 fans wonder if their league should also consider expansion, and if the Big 10’s expansion will once again threaten a Big 12 that barely survived the last round of conference realignment.

A lot of talk is surfacing that North Carolina and Virginia Tech may depart the ACC as well and join the SEC, which would kick-start the race towards super conferences and lead to the end of the ACC. While the Big 12 has a great new TV contract and ten teams, many feel that the league will have to add teams to keep up.

With the ACC’s existence in question, Florida State and Clemson have become the two most talked-about schools in regards to potential targets of the Big 12. Louisville, Cincinnati, BYU and Georgia Tech have also been mention as possibilities.

The biggest issue the Big 12 is facing is more is not necessarily better in terms of revenue. Many feel that the teams the Big 12 is targeting don’t bring much added value to the conference and media consultants have speculated that more teams and the return of a league championship game in football would not guarantee more revenue for the league.

The Big 12 will have to monitor the ACC’s current situation closely, as they will surely look to replace Maryland and Rutgers to help ensure the league’s survival. Should the Big 12 get proactive and try to poach teams to ensure its own survival, even if it comes at the expense of the ACC? That seems to be the difficult question the league will have to answer in the near future.

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Chiefs Lose To Bengals

The Chiefs only fueled their reputation as the worst team in the NFL on Sunday, getting hammered by the Cincinnati Bengals, 28-6. The loss drops Kansas City to 1-9 on the season, and the team keeps moving closer towards acquiring the top draft pick in next year’s NFL draft.

Arrowhead stadium was only about half-full for this one, and many fans dressed in all black in attempts to send a message to ownership to clean house in the front office and coaching staff. Chiefs fans are right on the money – Scott Pioli has completely failed as the Chiefs GM and Romeo Crennel is a failed NFL coach who should have never been given another opportunity to lead an NFL franchise. Kudos to Kansas City fans for taking strong measures to voice their displeasure and making a stand.

The game itself was pretty much what most expected – Kansas City’s passing offense completely bombed and failed to complement another strong game from Jamaal Charles. Matt Cassel put up poor stats in the first half, and Brady Quinn failed to do any better in the second half. The Chiefs only committed one turnover all game – a Peyton Hillis fumble that didn’t cost the team any points when the Bengals missed a long field goal. The problem was Kansas City didn’t force any turnovers, and this team simply cannot be competitive when it loses the turnover battle.

Defensively, the Chiefs let Andy Dalton pick the secondary apart all game, consistently moving the chains with quick throws to his talented receivers. A.J. Green had a big day receiving, and running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis had his best game of the season. Kansas City’s special teams even let the team down, as the Bengals converted a fake punt early in the game that lead to their go-ahead touchdown.

Kansas City is getting closer and closer to the top pick in the 2013 NFL draft. Not only are the Chiefs bad, they are banged up – both wide receiver Dwayne Bowe and left tackle Branden Albert left Sunday’s game with an injury. It looks like Chiefs fans now need to be concerned with three things: who will coach the team next year, who will be the team’s GM and which quarterback will the team select early in the draft?

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