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.
I turned the TV off after Denver tied the game and went to bed. Didn’t learn what happened until this morning. NFL is a corrupt and greedy sport. And they shouldn’t even be playing on Thursday nights.
Not necessarily disagreeing with your statement about the NFL, just wonder, are you tying it to the game (aside from, I guess, the Thursday night comment)?
No comment…would hate to get comments shut down again. :(
Another example of how lame the Star has gotten…….
Almost every day I get the paper there is no final coverage of the Royals’ game from the night before. Many scores, even in CDT, are not available, but instead labeled “Late”. So I have to go on line to get the info.
Sure enough though when the Chiefs’ game goes until 11, the Star was able to get coverage in the morning paper.
It hadn’t even dawned on me that they “held the presses” for the Chiefs. The Chiefs generate a lot of revenue for The Star, in ads and single-copy sales.
No correction to the error? Mr. Derek should have his knuckles rapped!
There was a correction today; it just wasn’t about the erroneous Chiefs headline. It was about a Theatre in the Park error in Wednesday’s “913” section. The sports section gets a pass, I guess, maybe because it’s been voted one of the top 10 sports sections in the country…Derek Donovan, the public editor, is not wholly to blame but mostly. It’s hard to believe he didn’t catch it himself or that someone didn’t call it to his attention…Rosen, on the other hand, had a responsibility to own up to the error and tell Derek a correction was coming. Obviously, he didn’t.