Sofa Awards 2000

Derrick Thomas’ vehicle slid off an icy highway last January, and his resulting death left fans and teammates shaken. Tamarick Vanover’s and Bam Morris’ arrests angered the city. Roy Williams flirted with his beloved North Carolina before painfully deciding to stay and coach the Jayhawks — his Jayhawks. Tony Muser’s Royals enjoyed one of the most prolific offensive years in the team’s history and still couldn’t win more than they lost. UMKC canned Bob Sundvold, Mizzou ousted Larry Smith, and K-State canceled Tom Asbury’s ticket.

These events have all been chronicled and debated. But the people who bring you these stories are rarely judged — except each January when I roll off my couch to present my annual SOFA (Sports media’s Outstanding and Forgettable Achievements) Awards. My 2000 edition of the SOFA Awards represents one guy’s opinion of the local sports media’s work over the past year. This is the sixth year for my SOFA Awards and the first time they have graced the pages of the Pitch. Dig in and enjoy.

Dave Stewart, KMBC Channel 9
Channel 9 has one of the weakest sports lineups in Kansas City, but Dave Stewart shines with his ability to understand what makes a good story and how to tell it. His monotone delivery has always bugged me, but the guy can write … and even read — something Len Dawson has trouble doing.

Honorable Mention: Jack Harry, KCTV Channel 5

Many people hate it when TV anchors include their own commentary with the news. Jack Harry has no qualms about stating his opinions as he reports the scores. Thumbs up to the management at Channel 5 for allowing Harry to have a personality in an industry where cloning became popular far before it was a hit with the sheep.

Len Dawson, Channel 9
Lenny the Cool is a local sports icon and has a hit show on HBO, but the guy was awful as the lead sports anchor at Channel 9 in 2000. He mispronounces more names than Les Nessman … or is it Nes Lessman?

Honorable Mention: Kansas City’s version of Charlie’s Angels

Karen Kornacki, Lisa Holbrook, and Ann Carroll make up Kansas City’s female sportscasting trifecta. Each has her own appeal to certain viewers, but none delivers what I want from my TV sportscasters: good work. With the quality of women sportscasters at an all-time high on the network level, it’s time Kansas City started producing more than just politically correct figures.

Metro Sports
Time Warner’s Metro Sports dedicates more time to covering the Kansas City sports scene than all four of the other local television channels combined. What it lacks in polish and presentation it more than makes up for in sheer volume, covering everything from the high school level to the professional ranks.

Honorable Mention: Channel 5

Over the past two years, WDAF Channel 4 has slipped as the local leader in covering area sports. This past year Channel 5 surpassed the Fox affiliate as the station to watch for your evening sports. Despite William Jackson’s screeching, used-car-salesman approach, Channel 5 has the best lineup of TV sports talent.

KSHB Channel 41
Channel 41 has sliced its sports staff to only two people, making it almost impossible to compete with the other stations. Todd Romero tries hard but doesn’t really have a feel for this city yet. Lisa Holbrook, Channel 41’s only other sports reporter, might have the most annoying television voice since Howard Cosell.

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William Jackson, Channel 5
I’ve been handing out these awards for six years, and Action Jackson has won this award for style every year. He is a clotheshorse who looks much better in the paddock than on the track.

Rich Baldinger, Metro Sports
With his 1970s haircut and his disdain for a coat and tie, Rich Baldinger has won this dubious award almost as many times as William Jackson has been named best-dressed sportscaster. But Baldinger makes up for his lack of panache with journalistic punch. He’s one of the better informed Chiefs analysts in Kansas City.

Metro Sports
The camera work and editing that goes on at Metro Sports borders on art. Whether they’re covering a high school highlight package or a Royals TV broadcast, these people understand how to package pictures and send them to your television set.

Metro Sports’ Total Access
Total Access takes its cameras and microphones where no other TV station has ever trodden when it comes to covering high school sports. For example, Metro Sports took a week and interviewed local businesspeople about the Rockhurst/Liberty playoff game, then shot video of both locker rooms before, during, and after the game, miked the coaches and some players, and produced an hourlong documentary that first aired December 2. It was great stuff that gave viewers a chance to see high school football from a perspective usually hidden from the public. I hope we see more risks like this from area TV stations.

Channel 4
Channel 4 eliminated sports segments from its early evening and 9 p.m. newscasts, leaving only its 10 p.m. sportscast. What was once the best sports news station in town is now on the verge of being branded inconsequential. Four minutes of sports news in a 24-hour day will do that.

Between the Lines, 2-6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, WHB 810
Kevin Kietzman has put together the best starting lineup in Kansas City sports talk radio. With Todd Leabo doing the behind-the-scenes dirty work and a gaggle of “Dream Team” experts phoning in (Bill Maas and Lynn Dickey are my favorites), KK owns the afternoon drive.

Honorable Mention: The Steven St. John Show, 6:30 to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 810

No show made me laugh harder than Steven St. John’s. The kid’s style isn’t for everybody, but he is building an audience with the high school and college crowd that few (if any) programs on the AM dial can match. As Jason Whitlock’s new morning cohost, he’ll only get bigger — in more ways than one.

Fortune & Petro, KMBZ 980
Entercom finally admitted its mistake and blew up this odd couple in August. The movie duo this couple most resembled was Harold and Maude. Soren Petro mimicked the suicidal Harold with frequent on-air attempts at destroying his career, first by professing his admiration and respect for Don Fortune and later treating his cohost like a urinal — or possibly a Don Fortunato carpet. The doddering Fortune not only resembles Maude but he also may have followed her occasionally lawless lead: The people who bought his JoCo house have accused him of hiding pee stains on the carpet and sued him for $25,000. Unfortunately, Fortune and Petro’s radio show was never able to match the movie’s cult appeal.

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Steven St. John, 6-9 a.m., 810
No one combines sports knowledge and entertainment as well as Steven St. John. If you haven’t caught his act, try him out in small morning doses on 810. If 980 wants to put a dent in Kietzman’s afternoon ratings, it should hijack SSJ, pair him with Jim Rose, and watch the demographics grow.

Don Fortune, Fortune & Rose, 3-6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 980
Don Fortune’s radio popularity peaked in early 1994 after KMBZ bought out its AM competition, leaving Fortune’s show as the only serious game in town. Competitor Pete Enich started eroding Fortune’s popularity that year by going head-to-head with Fortune’s show, exposing Fortune’s lack of sports knowledge and tummy. Six years later, Fortune has been reduced to little more than a rotating sidekick for young talent and an ad pitchman with pee-stained credibility. So much for any plans Don might have had for going out on top.

Todd Leabo, 810
Todd Leabo is the unsung hero who makes Kevin Kietzman’s show sing. He’s the guy working the phones all hours of the day to break stories and provide quality sound for 810. If 980 could steal one person from WHB’s stable it wouldn’t be KK, it would be Leabo. So far, he’s resisted the big bucks Entercom has tossed his way.

Kurtis Seaboldt, 980
Kurtis Seaboldt produces the Fortune & Rose show on 980 but he is best known for his dead-on impersonations of Kansas City’s most famous voices. If you haven’t heard his Marty Schottenheimer, Gunther Cunningham, or Roy Williams bits, you’re missing out on some of the funniest stuff on talk radio. In the past two months, Fortune and Rose have started leaning more on Seaboldt’s talents to bring some humor to a once-dour show. I’d go even further and replace Fortune with Seaboldt. Competitor 810 doesn’t have anyone with Seaboldt’s abilities.

Jim Rose, 980
In August, Entercom brought in Jim Rose from Lincoln, Nebraska, in an attempt to stop the bleeding caused by its pairing of Fortune and Petro. Rose’s professional sound and depth of knowledge when it comes to local sports history has been impressive. But being tied to Fortune is a no-win situation for even the brightest talents.

Honorable Mention: Nick McCabe, 810

Nick McCabe was 810’s play-by-play voice for its Friday-night high school football broadcasts this fall. His preparation and enthusiasm for the games made the broadcasts a great addition to WHB’s already strong lineup.

Jim Rome Show, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday through Friday, 810
Since Johnny Renshaw left One-on-One Sports for a gig in Miami, Rome rules as the best national sports talk show. No one in the media attracts more quality guests and gets them to speak more frankly than the Pimp in the Box.

Honorable Mention: “Sunday Sports Talk,” One-on-One Sports Radio, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Sundays, 980

Bob Berger and Bruce Murray put on the most entertaining, information-rich show on the radio. Whether it’s scores, interviews, or opinions you seek, Bob and Bruce have them all in abundance. Thanks to 980 for returning this weekend mainstay to the Kansas City airwaves.

The Sports Guys (a.k.a. Scott and Sid), KCTE 1510
Calling this show “national” is a stretch, considering it was syndicated to only a handful of markets outside of New York. It was just our bad luck that Kansas City was one of those markets. What was funny and bold when Scott Kaplan and Sid Rosenburg were in Florida turned stale and forced after their move to NYC. Maybe it was all that damn Yankees talk that turned me off. Now 1510 has done the same.

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Kevin Kietzman, 810
Love him or hate him, Kevin Kietzman knows how to do an interview. He has been guilty of hammering people one day and playing kissy-face with them on the air the next, but he shines when he attacks without worrying what his subject will think of him in the morning.

Don Fortune and Soren Petro
These two ass-kissers teamed up for some of the worst interviews this side of the comatose Bill Snyder’s TV show. Whether it was Tony Muser, Gunther Cunningham, or Carl Peterson, Don Fortune and Soren Petro swallowed every bit of pride they possessed as journalists and lobbed almost nothing but belt-high cheese balls in the guise of questions.

Honorable mention: Jason Whitlock

Jason Whitlock might be the most ill-prepared interviewer in Kansas City. He rarely exhibits any knowledge about the person he is interviewing unless it’s a friend or colleague. His greatest fault is that he doesn’t react to what his subject says. He merely reads another question off his sheet of paper, between mumbles.

Bill Maas
Bill Maas rarely disappoints. He knows more about what’s going on inside the Chiefs’ locker room than Gunther, Carl, and Lamar combined. The fact that he’s not afraid to share his inside skinny with the listeners is what separates him from other so-called Chiefs experts.

Honorable Mention: Mitch Holthus and Lynn Dickey

Mitch Holthus has a lot more opinions when he’s interviewed by Bruce Steinbrock of Topeka’s WIBW 580 than he does as a member of the Chiefs Radio booth. Lynn Dickey is one of the best, most opinionated sources for football information this town has ever seen or heard.

Carl Peterson
Sees no evil, hears no evil and speaks no evil … unless he’s discussing the local media. Every draft pick is a good one, and every coaching decision is the right one, according to Carl Peterson.

Honorable Mention: Adam Teicher, The Kansas City Star

If Adam Teicher knows anything about the Chiefs, he’s not about to share it with the radio audience. His weekly (or is that weakly?) guest appearances on 810 were little more than an invitation for WHB listeners to try out Chris Baker’s show from 2 to 6 p.m. weekdays on KCMO 710.

Bob Davis, Kansas basketball, 980
Bob Davis exudes more emotion and more passion in his play-by-play work than anybody wearing a headset. Even Mizzou fans have to love it when Davis makes their skin crawl as he describes a Kenny Gregory breakaway dunk or a Jeff Boschee 3-point bomb. Davis is as good as it gets when it comes to translating the excitement of college basketball through a microphone. We are privileged to have him working in Kansas City.

Ryan Lefebvre, Kansas City Royals, 980
My disdain for Ryan Lefebvre has nothing to do with Fred White’s getting whacked. It has to do with Leave-It-to-Beaver’s lack of talent. Beaver’s a nice kid and has a wonderful “golly-gee” attitude, but the guy has no feel for how to tell stories over the radio. The baseball picture Beaver paints is about as interesting as a Joe Posnanski sports column. Any chance these two are the same guy?

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Honorable Mention: Warren Swain, Nebraska Football, 810 and 1510

Since Kent Pavelka was handed the job years ago, Nebraska has had a long tradition of bad play-by-play talent. Warren Swain sounds more like a cheerleader than a broadcaster … and not a very bright one. He’s the kind you’d want to hide in the back row.

Stan Weber, Kansas State football, 810
Stan Weber isn’t the most exciting guy on the radio, but he has a rare ability to make his listeners understand the game of football beyond the obvious. What he lacks in style he more than makes up for with his substance.

Honorable Mention: Adrian Fiala, Nebraska football, 810 and 1510

Adrian Fiala has a comfortable country style that has almost disappeared from today’s screamers in the booth.

John Kadlec, Missouri football, 710
Kellon Winslow was awful as Mizzou’s radio analyst, but former MU coach Kadlec is worse. If he has any insight into what’s happening on the field, he is unable to convey it to the listeners. MU’s decision to remove the talented and opinionated Vic Faust from its football radio booth was a poor one.

Honorable Mention: Steven St. John, 810

Steven St. John’s comedic shtick as a talk show host just didn’t translate when it came to doing color for WHB’s high school football games. He doesn’t seem to be able to dial back his one-liners, no matter how good the ballgame is. St. John’s on-air goofiness ruined the radio broadcast during Rockhurst’s overtime playoff win at Liberty — one of the best games of the year.

Chiefs Radio Network, KCFX 101.1
Bob Gretz plays ringmaster on this three-hour marathon that has something for everybody — especially commercials. You can skip the entire week of sports radio talk and newspaper articles and be brought up to date by this smorgasbord of interviews, commentary, and news. The taped pregame interview with Coach Cunningham that Gretz airs 30 minutes prior to the game is a must-listen for any hardcore Chiefs fans or aspiring comics.

Royals Radio, 980
Today’s sports fans complain that Major League Baseball is too slow and too boring. The same can be said for the Royals Radio pregame show. Denny Matthews’ palsy-walsy pregame interviews with Tony Muser and Ryan Lefebvre’s dull guest interviews are perfect reasons for baseball fans to listen to their latest Faith Hill CDs on their way to The K.

Chiefs Postgame, 980
Ever since Soren Petro was lanced as Don Fortune’s afternoon cohost and moved to his own slot in the evenings on 980, he’s become a much more enjoyable talk-show host. Petro, along with Theotis Brown and Pete Enich, hosts the most entertaining postgame show on local radio. Enich is as irreverent as ever, and Brown continues with his impressive willingness to say what he thinks about his former team — good or bad. Nate Bukaty’s work in the Chiefs’ locker room provides the timely interviews and sound that make the show stand out in the crowded Chiefs postgame lot.

Chiefs Postgame, 810
WHB handed Danny Clinkscale a lemon, and he managed to make sauerkraut out of it. Stuck doing the Chiefs’ postgame show by himself most Sundays, Clinkscale is unable to create an entertaining or even interesting show when compared with his competitors. The guy needs somebody in the studio to talk to besides frequent caller Kenny Kenny.

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Between the Lines, 810
Kevin Kietzman and his right-hand man, Todd Leabo, broke the story that ended both Tamarick Vanover’s and Bam Morris’ NFL careers. But as with many of his scoops, Kietzman handled it like Jerry Springer and went for ratings over accuracy. Kietzman boasted that at least four Chiefs players would be arrested in the Vanover bust and that additional NFL players throughout the league would be charged. We’re still waiting.

Honorable Mention: Bill Maas, 810

Bill Maas broke the story that Chiefs Coach Gunther Cunningham told his team he had to be talked out of quitting after only the second game. Chiefs’ apologists chastised Maas for airing this story and tried to downplay its effect on the team. But I have a feeling plenty more surreal locker-room stories about Herr Gunther will be leaked to the media during the off-season.

Duke Frye, 810
Duke Frye posted a column on 810’s Web site that claimed Coach Gunther had issued a memo to his staff citing Tim Grunhard, Dave Szott, and Will Shields as “troublemakers.” Cunningham and the Chiefs denied that the memo existed, and Frye and 810 never produced any evidence that it did. WHB let the story ferment for more than three weeks before addressing it by letting Frye discuss it on the air. Frye was forced out as an active member of 810 management later in the year after refusing to accept a buyout proposal from his fellow owners at Union Broadcasting.

Chad Boeger leaves AM Mayhem on his own accord
A few weeks after being quoted as saying he planned to stay on as Jason Whitlock’s morning cohost, Chad Boeger was booted off the morning show to make room for Jason Whitlock’s Neighborhood. WHB honchos claim the move was to let Boeger devote more time to his duties as Union Broadcasting’s president. Sure, and Duke Frye is officing at home because there isn’t room at the station. All of this proves once again that the media will “tell it like it is,” just as long as it’s not about them.

Bob Davis, 980
Listening to Bob Davis call a Kansas basketball game is almost as good as sitting at my mom’s kitchen table as a boy and listening to the guy on the radio announce school closings during a snowstorm. Almost.

Soren Petro, 980
I guess this is what happens to the human voice when you jam your foot into your mouth too often.

Steve Rock, The Kansas City Star
Steve Rock doesn’t mind shining a light into the eyes of Kansas City’s more sacred sports cows — or into the other end. His best work in 2000 was tracking the progress (or lack of it) of David Glass’ Royals. Let’s hope The Star turns him loose to uncover what ails Lamar Hunt’s Chiefs.

Joe Posnanski, The Kansas City Star
Isn’t it a shame we don’t all live in JoPo’s world, where everything is good and nice and a Frank Sinatra tune plays constantly in the background? I understand wanting to find the good in all things, but I don’t have to like it. In a town where the Chiefs, Royals, Jayhawks, Tigers, Wildcats, and Kangaroos have perennially underachieved, you would think Joe Posnanski could occasionally find some stories to get his nose dirty. His refusal to tackle the tough stories has made him almost irrelevant in the Kansas City sports media scene.

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Bill Althaus, The Examiner
Bill Althaus has mastered the art of storytelling along with finding out what stories need to be told. Sounds simple, but it’s not. If you don’t make it to Independence often, you can always read Althaus and his underrated colleagues online at www.examiner.net.

Honorable Mention: Tom Leathers, The Squire

I probably disagree with Tom Leathers as often as I agree with him — but I always enjoy reading what he has to say.

Rick Dean, Topeka Capital-Journal
Rick Dean covers the Chiefs beat for the Capital-Journal, and I rarely miss what he has to say. Every beat writer I know works hard, but Dean seems to be able to make his daily stories fresher than the average ink-stained wretch.

Honorable Mention: Tom Shatel, Omaha World-Herald

Tom Shatel is a very good storyteller who always seems to use the right words. I hate guys like him.

Columnist for The Kansas City Star and 810 sports-talk host
Jason Whitlock double dips as the lead sports columnist in The Kansas City Star and as 810’s morning sports-talk host. No sports media person has caused the kind of tremors felt around Kansas City’s sports franchises like Big Sexy has in his six years here. His writing, though, has lost a lot of its punch because of his increased exposure on radio. His show is what his column used to be: fresh, funny, and entertaining. But he can still change a team’s course faster than anyone with a keyboard or a microphone. Carl Peterson has single-handedly made Whitlock king of the local sports media by paying so much attention to his words.

Sports editor of The Kansas City Star
Mike Fannin is the guy who ultimately decides how The Star treats the local sports teams — and The Star still carries a Big Bertha-size driver when it comes to forming public opinion among Kansas City’s sports faithful. Over the past five years, sports editors have gone through revolving doors trying to breathe life into the Sports Daily and keep a myriad of egos happy while doing it. But Fannin appears to be fighting the good fight. Is he winning? Only his readers know for sure.

Part owner and sports talk host at 810
Sports purists love to knock sports talk radio, but even its most ardent critics are aware of the power four daily hours of opinionated talk radio can have over a fanbase. Kevin Kietzman’s afternoon sports talk show came from nowhere to topple Don Fortune’s empire on highly respected 980. Kietzman knows how to stretch the truth and walks that fine line between tabloid journalist and respected sports reporter about as well as anyone. His listeners are many, and in numbers he wields the power of public opinion.

Sports director for Channel 4
Frank Boal is probably the most respected local television sportscaster in Kansas City. Like Whitlock, he can be found in multiple media formats. When big sports news breaks, Boal is the first sportscaster many people look to for the real story. Channel 4 has diminished the time it allots for local sportscasts, but Boal’s reputation remains.

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Sports columnist for The Kansas City Star
Jeffrey Flanagan’s “Top of the Mornin'” column in The Star is a point of destination for many readers. Being published in the newspaper is one thing, but getting people to read what you write is an entirely different matter. Flanagan’s bulleted format lends itself to an easy, quick read — which is half the battle in today’s hyper-linked world. Flanagan wasted much of his space this past year on wire stories or inconsequential drivel about the Attack and the Blades, two teams that few Kansas Citians have ever seen in action. I expect much more from him and his column in 2001.

Fox Sports broadcaster
Bill Maas has rocketed up the ladder at Fox Sports and could be John Madden’s replacement when Madden retires. His increased national exposure makes his inside reports about the Chiefs all the more powerful.

Sports anchor for Channel 9
Len Dawson is a local sports hero, and no matter how far he has fallen when it comes to delivering the nightly sportscast, he has a legion of fans who believe his every word. As radio analyst for the Chiefs and host of HBO’s popular Inside the NFL show, Dawson has more than his share of exposure.

Sports talk host 980
Don Fortune has spent as much time in this town as Len Dawson. He was once one of the most respected sports-media personalities in Kansas City. His star has faded greatly over the past three years, overshadowed by Kevin Kietzman’s. But the excitement that 1510 and now 810 have brought to sports talk radio has made Fortune’s show a popular respite for those weary of Kietzman’s constant hyperbole.

Sports director at Channel 9 and sports commentator for KQRC 98.9
Dave Stewart is most recognizable because of his exposure on the tube, but his three-times-a-week stint with Johnny Dare and Murphy Wells are why he rates this high on my sports media power chart. Johnny and Murphy host the most popular morning radio show in Kansas City — by far. It’s this vast listening audience that Stewart reaches with his wit and whimsy.

980 sportscaster, the play-by-play voice of KU football and basketball, and Royals TV broadcaster
Bob Davis handles sports on the highly rated KMBZ morning show. He is also the voice of Kansas Jayhawk football and basketball. He teams with Paul Splittorff to do the Royals TV games. His audiences are some of the most affluent in the area. And he’s well liked and respected by other members of the media in this town.