KC’s Next Play: A sports week of Chiefs (in Pro Bowl), running in undies (!) and more
It’s hard to get too jazzed about the Pro Bowl when your team has set the bar at conference championships and Super Bowls, but this is where the Chiefs find themselves today.
Literally, today.
Last weekend’s AFC title-game loss to the Cincinnati Bengals means select Chiefs players will be playing in this year’s Pro Bowl in Las Vegas this afternoon. Judging from their lighthearted interactions with fans at late-week practices in the city of sin, they’re doing their best to move past the disappointment of falling short of a third straight Super Bowl.
So we’ll begin our weekly preview of events to come right there. And with any luck, what happens in Vegas will stay in Vegas, and the Chiefs will be back to playing in the Super Bowl in 2023.
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Chiefs’ star power at Pro Bowl
The Pro Bowl always boasts marquee talent. It’s a show for fans across the league.
This year, the Mike Vrabel-coached AFC roster will include Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes, tight end Travis Kelce, wide receiver Tyreek Hill, left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., safety Tyrann Mathieu and, as a fill-in for Chris Jones (who declined the invitation in order to heal up), defensive end Frank Clark.
Contested at the Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium, the 2022 Pro Bowl kicks off at 2 p.m. on ESPN. Maybe seeing the Chiefs’ contingent have a good time in Vegas will ease some lingering hurt in KC and help folks look forward to another run this fall.
Crunch time for basketball
How’s this for a happy thought: We’re just a month away from the conference tournaments. March Madness won’t be far behind.
On the men’s side, KU is at No. 23 Texas on Monday at 8 p.m. and gets Oklahoma at Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday at noon; Kansas State plays host to Baylor at 7 p.m. Wednesday and travels to Iowa State for a Saturday game at 3 p.m.; and Mizzou is at Vanderbilt on Tuesday at 8 p.m. and plays host to Ole Miss on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Multiple local women’s programs could make the NCAA Tournament this year. K-State entered the weekend 16-6 (6-4 Big 12). KU was 14-5 (5-4). And in the SEC, the typically formidable Mizzou Tigers were 16-7 (5-5 in conference).
The Kansas City Roos’ women’s team took a 17-5 record into the weekend, good for third in the Summit League at 7-4. The Dakota schools have been hooping at a torrid pace — South Dakota was 18-4 (11-0 Summit) and South Dakota State was 14-8 (10-1). The Roos’ men’s squad entered the weekend tied for third in the Summit at 7-4 (14-9 overall).
Spring training ... for soccer
While Major League Baseball’s lockout continues, there’s spring training happening in Arizona and Florida ... for soccer.
Sporting KC is in the Grand Canyon State warming up for its Feb. 27 Major League Soccer opener at Atlanta. In the coming week, Sporting plays El Paso Locomotive on Wednesday and Phoenix Rising on Saturday — both games start at noon.
The KC Current, thanks to a newly forged collective-bargaining agreement between the National Women’s Soccer League and its players, also recently began training. The Current’s NWSL season begins in May; before then, the team will play three Challenge Cup matches in April (plus a fourth in early May).
Finally, and briefly, a fundraiser
Every so often, we use this space to highlight something offbeat. The Cupid’s Undie Run qualifies.
Yes, this is a real thing, and it’s happening at noon Saturday in Kansas City’s Power & Light District. McFadden’s, which has played host to countless Royals and Chiefs victory celebrations and many other clothed events through the years, is local headquarters as runners across the country strip down for a good cause.
The event’s website explains: “Every February, thousands of undie runners in cities all across the U.S. come together, whether it be in-person or virtually, to support those affected by neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder that causes tumors to grow on nerves throughout the body and affects 1 in every 3,000 births. Cupid’s Undie Run kicks off with drinking and dancing, then we jog it out with a mile(ish) run and end it all with an epic dance party!”
Make sure to wear your good drawers.