Chiefs

SportsBeat KC looks ahead to ’21: Will Chiefs repeat? Royals on rise? A KU-MU Sweet 16?

Fans filled Kauffman Stadium in July, 2019.
Fans filled Kauffman Stadium in July, 2019. The Star

The finish line for 2020 here. What will 2021 bring in sports?

At least initially, more of the same when it comes to navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, with empty or mostly empty stadiums and arenas and altered schedules in some sports, like college basketball.

But familiar also means more Chiefs success, Royals optimism, Kansas basketball winning ... and how about those Missouri Tigers? Star columnists Sam Mellinger and Vahe Gregorian don their forecasting caps and look ahead to a year that comes with hope that sports can do the sort of silly things — make us care about games and laundry, for instance, and keep us up at night with anticipation — when we’re living in a healthy environment.

Oh, and will the Chiefs win the Super Bowl? We project that one, too.

Story links:

Mellinger Minutes: Chiefs deserve (need) rest, Mahomes stuggles (?), and a 14-1 team

Ramifications of who plays this week loom large, but Chiefs’ Reid gets benefit of doubt

This story was originally published December 30, 2020 at 12:57 PM with the headline "SportsBeat KC looks ahead to ’21: Will Chiefs repeat? Royals on rise? A KU-MU Sweet 16?."

Blair Kerkhoff
The Kansas City Star
Blair Kerkhoff has covered sports for The Kansas City Star since 1989. He was elected to the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2023.
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