KC Replay: Recapping another wild week of Kansas City sports, starting with the Chiefs

The Chiefs opened the NFL playoffs with a victory, celebrated for about 9 seconds, and then got to work in anticipation of the next one.

That next one is Sunday’s AFC Divisional Round clash with the Buffalo Bills in a rematch of the Chiefs’ Week 5 loss, also at Arrowhead Stadium.

The pundits had predicted last Sunday night’s victory over the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers would be lopsided in favor of the Chiefs. They were right.

What they could not have predicted was the adversity the organization would be dealing with several days later, when second-year linebacker Willie Gay Jr. would spend a night in jail after an arrest for allegedly damaging property — a charge that Gay denied Thursday afternoon in an appearance before a judge.

Let’s start there for this week’s recap of sports news in and around Kansas City.

Chiefs weeks: never dull

If retirement is next on Ben Roethlisberger’s agenda, who could blame him? The Chiefs made life utterly miserable for the veteran Steelers QB, beating Pittsburgh 42-21 on Wild Card Weekend.

After a scoreless first quarter for the Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes threw for five touchdowns and eclipsed 400 yards Jerick McKinnon, the backup to the backup running back pressed into duty due to injuries, went over 100 total yards.

The Chiefs destroyed the Steelers in every phase of the game. It was a fun night to be a Chief or Chiefs fan.

Then came Thursday, and the early-morning jolt that Gay had been arrested overnight and remained in jail until a hearing later that day. Questions swirled about Gay’s availability for Sunday’s Bills game, as well as why someone would be held in jail overnight for a misdemeanor crime.

Those questions, and others related to Gay’s case, will be answered in due time, but NFL fans are not known for their patience, especially not when a player is arrested four days before their team’s next playoff game.

SKC building out roster

Sporting KC on Wednesday announced the signing of Robert Voloder, a 20-year-old German center-back from Slovenian powerhouse NK Maribor.

Voloder had played every minute of Maribor’s 2021-22 season, helping post 10 clean sheets in 20 matches. He signed an MLS contract with Sporting through 2024 with an option for 2025 and will occupy an international roster spot, pending receipt of his visa and other paperwork.

Meet the new boss(es)

The Kansas City Current held an introductory news conference on Wednesday for new general manager Camille Levin and coach Matt Potter.

The decisions to hire Levin, 31, and Potter, 51, are the latest examples of the player-driven ethos that husband-wife ownership team Angie and Chris Long have espoused since taking over the franchise and setting up shop in Kansas City.

The Current went 3-14-7 in their inaugural season here, so suffice to say that Levin and Potter have their work cut out for them.

Hitting the trifecta

There was a time not so long ago when this was commonplace. Now, at least in recent seasons, it’s far from given.

All three area Division I men’s basketball teams — KU, K-State and Mizzou — posted league victories on the road Tuesday. Kansas won a close one at Oklahoma, K-State took down a ranked Longhorns squad in Austin and Mizzou beat SEC foe Ole Miss in Oxford.