JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC

I turned on the Chiefs-Broncos game last night just in time to see the Chiefs snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in the game’s last two and a half minutes.

Following the last minutes of the game on espn.com’s “gamecast,” I succumbed to watching the very end on TV mostly out of curiosity, to see if Peyton Manning could lead yet another successful two-minute touchdown drive to tie the game. Not only could he, he did.

And then, of course…well, you know what happened.

…All I can say is it’s a good thing I gave up following the Chiefs before last season (primarily because the pro game was exposed as a brain diminisher) or I would have been pretty upset about the last-second loss.

As it was, I just handed the remote to Brooks — who wanted to watch something else — and with total equanimity walked back to my office.

I was pretty pleased about the equanimity part because it doesn’t take much to shatter my equanimity — like watching a golf ball drop in a pond after thinking I’ve hit a good shot.

When I got back to the computer, I wanted to see how KC Star reporters and editors had reacted to the startling conclusion. On Chiefs’ and Royals’ games, the sports department posts “live updates” — tweets by reporters, editors and sometimes others. If you have never taken a look at the live updates, I suggest you give it a try; it’s a fun way to track the emotional ups and downs of the games. And you feel like you’ve got company, both in the misery of the “downs” and the exhilaration of the “ups.”

Kerkhoff

The two main tweeters last night were Jeff Rosen, sports editor, and Blair Kerkhoff, whose primary beat is college athletics.

Here are the last five tweets:

Rosen: “The Chiefs out-Chiefed themselves here tonight, lost 31-24. Catatonic locker room, here we come.”

Kerkhoff: “Death, taxes, Peyton Manning over Chiefs (14-1). Broncos win 7th straight over KC, set NFL mark 13 consec division road W’s.”

Rosen: “This and the (January 2014) playoff game against the Colts…soul crushers.”

Rosen: “Last time Jamaal Charles had two bigger fumbles in a game? Not sure he ever has.”

Kerkhoff: “That fifth turnover will get you beat every time.”

**

Rosen

Speaking of Rosen and the Chiefs, The Star had an egregious headline error in Wednesday’s paper. “Jah Reid continuing as starter on defense,” the headline said.

Now, as much as the Chiefs are written about and talked about around here, you don’t have to be paying close attention to know Reid is an offensive lineman.

On Wednesday morning, I sent Rosen an email, saying:

“How did this happen? Doesn’t the sports desk still do its own copy reading? I can’t imagine a sports person not knowing Reid plays offense.”

Rosen wrote back: “That person certainly should. Embarrassing mistake.”

For all of Rosen’s candor, which I commended him on, it’s the kind of error people cite when they say The Star has become a shell of its former self.

…And another thing that shows The Star is an organization in steep decline:  There was no correction for that error in Thursday’s paper.

Not owning up to errors is a sure sign of not caring about your credibility…That applies in life, too, of course.