Michael S Thornton's Kansas City Royals fan blog

Well, we got a coach--Todd Haley. Did you know that he is the son of Dick Haley, long-time Pittsburgh Steelers personnel director? Dick Haley was personnel director from 1975 to 1990, I think. Now, that is some impressive pedigree...Todd also worked as receivers coach and passing coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys when Bill Parcells was head coach. He was also receivers coach for the New York Jets in the late 90s when they went from 1-15 in 1996 to 12-4 two years later. In other words, this guy is a winner, and he has impressive credentials. He was not hired just because of his success the last 2 years with the Arizona Cardinals. I am encouraged by the hiring.

Larry Johnson has been spouting off in the local media over here, trashing the Kansas City fans and how we don't understand him. Um....Larry, when you have been arrested for assaulting women 4 times since you've been here, you never smile, you are rude to people including children, and you still can't block on pass plays...yep, we don't understand you. I think he was offended because he went to a basketball game at the Sprint Center with his dad, and the scoreboard operator flashed his face on the screen during the game. There were people in the crowd that booed him. I admit, totally classless by some of the fans, but Larry has brought a lot of that on himself, especially when he is the highest paid player on the team. Correct me if I'm wrong, but he is the only athlete from one of the KC teams I have ever heard since I have lived here who has expressed any dislike for Kansas City or the fans.

Continue reading "Excellent Choice - Todd Haley Named Head Coach of the Kansas City Chiefs"

All of us Chiefs fans have our opinions about Carl Peterson-- mostly negative, but he did have a stretch of Chiefs history (1989-2008) that was considerably better than the prior stretch (1974-1988). Those lean years in between Hank Stram and Marty Schottenheimer produced only 2 winning years and 1 playoff appearance. The King Carl Era brought division titles and many playoff appearances, but brought no Super Bowl appearances. We can all agree that the Hank Stram era of 1960 to 1973 is still the greatest era of Chiefs football (1 AFL title, 2 Super Bowl appearances, 1 Super Bowl victory). Carl's era would be a distant second, but the most recent, of course, so a buddy and I began discussing which team was the best of Carl's era. We narrowed it down to 4:

1993     11-5 record; AFC West title; AFC Championship game appearance

Continue reading "Good Bye, Carl -- Which Kansas City Chiefs Team was the Best in the Carl Peterson Era?"

I am REALLY looking forward to the coming Royals season--call it blind optimism, but I think this team has a shot this year. Moore is putting together a team with a little more pop, while still building a pitching staff that will continue to improve....

Hey, did anybody hear the hot stove show on 610 Sports locally here in KC a couple of weeks ago? Denny Matthews and Ryan Lefebvre hosted the show, discussing the 2009 Royals. Interesting stuff-- what surprised me the most was both of them are true Mark Teahen fans. Yep, you heard me-- Denny and Ryan both like Mark Teahen as a ballplayer, and see a very bright future in who I consider the most disappointing player on the team. Why do they like the kid, you ask? Well, they see him as the next Michael Cuddyer. Cuddyer, of course, has turned into a pretty fair 4-hole or 5-hole hitter for the Minnesota Twins, and Teahen's numbers matchup to Cuddyer's stats in his first few years in the bigs, prior to his breakout years. They also think that it may be time to put Teahen back at 3rd base, where he was the most comfortable last season, in their view. I cannot say that I disagree with them--Teahen did play very well at 3rd while Alex Gordon was out with an injury, and we all know that Gordon is a pretty fair 1st baseman. Apparently Teahen's shoulder is completely healed from the surgery a couple of years back. Gordon moving over to 1st would solve a LOT of issues, such as the Billy Butler Experiment, and the Ryan Shealy Hoax. It would also slot Mike Jacobs to a more productive spot in the lineup-- DH (we KC Royals fans know all about where former catchers need to be in the lineup!).

Continue reading "Are We Pumped about the 2009 Kansas City Royals yet?"

I admit-- I started rooting for the Clippers back in the 80s because I felt sorry for them. C'mon, I know I am not the only one....some of you felt sorry for the rag-tag bunch who showed up from San Diego to play in that ancient LA Sports Arena, hoping to leverage off of the successful Lakers franchise. Sure, we knew that Sterling was a cheap jerk, but hey, our very own Bill Walton used to play for them, he of UCLA fame and that improbable Blazers championship, and well, Norm Nixon was a favorite of mine when he was on the Lakers. Forget the fact that after the Lakers got rid of him that the Lakers got better, you still had to feel for the guys in those vintage 60s design unis that lost all of the time...

I am a homer for the UCLA Bruins, so the fact that Marques Johnson was on the team back then did help. Blowing out his knee early in the season didn't help. It didn't help that Benoit Benjamin was not a very good savior either, and the Lakers beat the snot out of them often. I did pull for them, even as I cheered the Lakers on to more championships. Hey, we SoCal sports fans need to support our local teams, right?

Continue reading "Why I am a Clippers Fan"

Cotton Bowl: 

What an impressive win for Ole Miss over Texas Tech. The Rebels finished the season with a flurry, winning their last 6 games. I think they pretty much served notice to the rest of the SEC that they are going to be formidable next season.

Texas Tech clearly was struggling to deal with the loss to Okie and missing out on a National Championship. I see it as a coaching issue--Mizzou had the same thing happen to them last season and ended up at the Cotton Bowl, but Gary Pinkel said nothing but positive things about going to that bowl game. The result was much different-- the Tigers took care of business against Arkansas. Ironically, the coach of Arkansas at that game is now the current coach of Ole Miss-- Houston Nutt. I do admit, however that Ole Miss is better team than Arkansas was last year, although the resume was similar.

Continue reading "2008-2009 College Football - What I Saw in the Dec 2008 thru Jan 2, 2008 Bowl Games"