SB Nation Kansas City - Jason Whitlock Appears On The BS Report With Bill Simmonshttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48935/kc-fave.png2010-08-24T17:56:30-05:00http://kansascity.sbnation.com/rss/stream/13954792010-08-24T17:56:30-05:002010-08-24T17:56:30-05:00Jason Whitlock Appears On The BS Report With Bill Simmons
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<p>Former Kansas City Star columnist Jason Whitlock appeared on The B.S. Report with Bill Simmons on ESPN.com.</p>
<p>Here's what Whitlock, a former ESPN employee, had to say:</p>
<ul>
<li>He's getting a place in L.A. but will keep his place in Kansas City to "get some sanity here in the good 'ol midwest."</li>
<li>He said he'd be doing columns, online video, chats and others things for FOXSports.com. "Hopefully I'll get some of my personality out there."</li>
<li>Says he'll have a "traveling entourage" when he comes to L.A.<br>
</li>
<li>On the Chiefs: "I don't see them as an improved team but I see them with an improved record." Says there aren't enough playmakers on both sides of the ball.</li>
<li>He says there will be attendance problems at Arrowhead this year and they've sold less than 40,000 season tickets when it used to be closer to 70,000.</li>
<li>On the Royals in Kansas City: "They're treated like a charity or a kid with a disability."</li>
<li>He says he used to write about the Royals but then they complained he "played too rough" and he quit writing about them.</li>
<li>No regrets about The Explanation. Says once people really digest what he says, "I'll be on the right side of history."</li>
</ul>
<p>It's a pretty good listen. <a href="http://espn.go.com/espnradio/player?rd=1#/podcenter/?id=5493660&autoplay=1&callsign=ESPNRADIO">Click here to check it out</a>. I'll be coming back on Wednesday with some final thoughts on Whitlock.</p>
https://kansascity.sbnation.com/2010/8/24/1648707/jason-whitlock-bill-simmons-bs-reportJoel Thorman2010-08-21T08:35:22-05:002010-08-21T08:35:22-05:00Review Of Jason Whitlock's 'The Explanation'
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<p>In the end, 'The Explanation' wasn't nearly as bad as some thought it might be. After talking to some folks in the industry over the last week, I was waiting for Jason Whitlock to take down a lot more people than he did on Friday afternoon.</p>
<p>The two biggest targets from Whitlock were his sports editor and the KC Star editor. Let's just say that it's going to be an awkward Monday morning for those two.</p>
<p>The first hour was more of him recapping his career in Kansas City and at the Star. He had trouble with a few former editors in the 90s and then a few more in the 00s.</p>
<p><b>How it all went down with the Star<br></b></p>
<p>On May 26, the day of his final column, he had written about the KU ticket scandal. In the column, he referenced the Yahoo! Sports report that broke the story open. His editors didn't want that refernece to Yahoo! Sports because, as Whitlock explained, it wouldn't put them in the running for certain awards. Whiltlock accused the Star of being obsessed with awards and said the "awards culture is on steroids".</p>
<p>So Whitlock, feeling strongly about this, told his editor that he would not write any more sports columns for the Star if that Yahoo! reference did not run.</p>
<p>It didn't run.</p>
<p><b>What I'm taking away from The Explanation</b></p>
<p>Whitlock will never have a boss he gets along with for a long period of time. Every boss, it seems, he's had an issue with and I don't see why that will change moving forward. He seems like a very difficult person to work with -- or, to work above, rather.</p>
<p>I also realize that this is a big, big deal to him and he does care about all this. He broke down emotionally several times and didn't take his three-hour forum as a chance to bash everyone in the business. You can tell he really wanted to talk to folks (and the attention probably didn't hurt) about why he left.</p>
<p><b>Other nuggets</b></p>
<ul>
<li>He's going to have a home in L.A. and Kansas City</li>
<li>Claims Carl Peterson called the police and kicked him out of the hospital after Derrick Thomas' accident</li>
<li>He thinks the Star is unfairly portraying KU athletic director Lew Perkins</li>
<li>He talked and referenced often about how much money he made</li>
<li>At one point, he was talking to the Star about becoming sports editor.</li>
<li>While talking graphic details about the Star's editor and, getting "drunk and high", he was cutoff for about 10 minutes. The station apparently claimed it was a mistake.<br>
</li>
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https://kansascity.sbnation.com/2010/8/21/1634804/jason-whitlock-fox-sports-kansas-city-star-the-explanationJoel Thorman2010-08-20T11:02:05-05:002010-08-20T11:02:05-05:00Jason Whitlock Gets Over $2 Million At FOX
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<p>Jason Whitlock used to cover the Kansas City Chiefs while with the <i>Kansas City Star.</i></p>
<p>Now he'll be paid like a Chief.</p>
<p>I've learned that Whitlock's contract with FOX will pay him a whopping $2.1 million over three years.</p>
<p>Unconfirmed rumors in Kansas City had Whitlock's salary at the <i>Kansas City Star</i> in the neighborhood of $150,000 - $200,000 plus his previous part-time deal with FOX so the $700,000 per year average is likely a nice bump for him.</p>
<p>For a reference, Rick Reilly has one of the biggest contracts I can remember at $17 million over five years at ESPN.</p>
<p>Whitlock will be writing more columns for the website and it's believed he'll be part of, in some fashion, FOX's increasing focus on online video content. There's also a possibility he does some radio work for FOX as well.</p>
<p>There are also rumors making the rounds that Whitlock may be making a permanent move to Los Angeles. Kansas City -- for better or worse -- won't be the same without Whitlock, if he does indeed make the permanent move to L.A.</p>
<p>We'll be listening this afternoon at 3:00 p.m. (CDT) on 610 Sports to hear 'The Explanation'. I've got the feeling quite a few folks who know Whitlock will be listening. I've also got the feeling quite a few folks are shaking in their boots wondering what he'll say.</p>
<p><i>[Editor's Note: On Friday night, Whitlock on 'The Explanation' called this report "exaggerated".]</i></p>
https://kansascity.sbnation.com/2010/8/20/1633398/jason-whitlock-fox-sports-contract-kansas-city-starJoel Thorman2010-08-19T23:36:48-05:002010-08-19T23:36:48-05:00Jason Whitlock's Next Move: FOXSports.com Full-Time
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<p>Jason Whitlock was previously writing full-time for the Kansas City Star and doing some work for FOXSports.com as well.</p>
<p>This week the Star announced that Whitlock has left the paper.</p>
<p>Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports that Whitlock will take his talents to FOXSports.com on a full-time basis.</p>
<p>The move doesn't come as a huge surprise since he previously worked there and it seems that many of the top columnists are heading to dot com outlets.</p>
<p>While Whitlock's next move will be FOX, his immediate next move will be <a href="http://kansascity.sbnation.com/2010/8/19/1631438/jason-whitlock-leaves-kansas-city-star-radio-show">'The Explanation' on Friday afternoon</a> at 3:00 p.m. (CDT) on 610 Sports with Nick Wright.</p>
https://kansascity.sbnation.com/2010/8/19/1632874/jason-whitlocks-fox-sports-kansas-city-starJoel Thorman2010-08-19T10:12:39-05:002010-08-19T10:12:39-05:00Jason Whitlock's 'The Explanation' Coming Friday Afternoon
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<p>On Wednesday the <i>Kansas City Star</i> announced that long-time columnist Jason Whitlock would be leaving the newspaper.</p>
<p>Whitlock hadn't filed a sports column since the end of May and leading up to Wednesday, plenty of folks had their take on what was going on. The rumors ranged from contract disputes to editor problems and everything and anything in between.</p>
<p>Whitlock has been relatively silent throughout the ordeal -- a feat in itself -- but that silence will end on Friday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. on 610 Sports radio, where Whitlock will offer up what he's dubbed 'The Explanation'.</p>
<p>(Get it? Like LeBron's 'The Decision'? .... )</p>
<p>Starting at 3:00 p.m. on Nick Wright's show on 610 Sports, Whitlock will have three full hours to explain his absence from the <i>Star </i>and his ultimate decision to leave.</p>
<p>The first hour will be Whitlock by himself on the radio for one, commercial-free hour. The second hour will be him along with Wright doing an interview. The final hour will be taking calls.</p>
<p>That was just the first part of his "demands" to local media. He also requested $300 of Gates Barbecue and, the best part of it all, it will be simulcast live on Metro Sports, Kansas City's local sports station.</p>
<p>If you've ever crossed Whitlock's path, you should probably be afraid. Very afraid. I imagine this will be a no-holds-barred three hours of can't-miss radio.</p>
<p>Some have called him irrelevant over the past few years but if that was the case every sports talk radio show in Kansas City wouldn't have led their show talking about his departure.</p>
<p>For sports fans, there wasn't a more divisive character in Kansas City sports media history. People loved him, they hated him but, most importantly for the <i>Star</i>, they read him.</p>
<p>His first love was the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.arrowheadpride.com/">Chiefs</a>. As a former player himself, he did understand the game even if he had his own way of talking about it. He dubbed the name "King Carl" for Carl Peterson, which has stuck to this day.</p>
<p>'The Explanation' ... Coming soon.</p>
https://kansascity.sbnation.com/2010/8/19/2319569/jason-whitlocks-the-explanation-coming-friday-afternoonJoel Thorman