Further Review
“This bullcrap that we’ve got the best fans is the biggest crock going. If you win, sure, but lose a little bit and they’re gone. This city can barely support one professional sports franchise. If things are good, people jump on it. These people are content with what they have. No owner in their right mind would bring any of those [NBA or NHL] franchises here.”
— Bill Maas, WHB 810
GH: No fan in his right mind would pay major-league prices to watch minor-league talent. What’s bullcrap is the NFL’s, the NBA’s, the NHL’s and MLB’s categorizing a city’s fanbase by how well it supports poorly run franchises.
“I haven’t talked to Don [Fortune] since his last day mostly because I haven’t been around much. I am just so thrilled for him that he had such a long career here and that he was such an icon here for so many years. Fortune will go down as one of the legendary figures in Kansas City broadcasting, and I considered it an honor to work for him.”
— Jim Rose, 810
GH: Rose’s comments are also an excellent example of bullcrap.
“There will be no reason for the Big 12 basketball tournament to come back to Kemper once they see the new state-of-the-art arena in Dallas. There is nowhere to go once you leave Kemper after you’ve had your fiftieth meal at the Golden Ox. I think the chances of building a new arena [in KC] are better than ever.”
— Bill Nelson, 810
GH: Nelson, a former Boatmen’s Bank president and the current chairman of asset management for George K. Baum and Co., headed a group that did a feasibility study a few years back that stated an NBA or NHL franchise had to be tied to a new downtown arena. That obstacle appears to have mysteriously dissolved or is being conveniently ignored.
“ESPN Plus just decided not to do [the Roy Williams TV show] this year. In their minds, they didn’t feel like enough people were watching it. In fairness to them, evidentially the ratings weren’t as good as they felt they needed to have. And whether we like to admit it or not, college athletics is a business.”
— Roy Williams, on why his television show was not renewed this season, Hawk Talk
GH: The problem with college coaches’ shows is that they are puff pieces that interest few viewers. Let KU journalism students ask Williams questions, and it will sell.
