Josh Kingsley

I sat down without any real ideas for this column. The first 5-10 minutes went directly to the “it’s hard to write in the offseason” pool of thoughts. Around the 10 minute mark a thought emerged. Then I immersed in a combination spreadsheets (they run my life) and OneNote outlines (they organize and/or data dump). Finally, I looked at it all and asked myself who needs to know any of this.

The answer to my question is probably no one, but I did all this prep work so I’ll just get to it. That’s the long and short of where these 2000 words columns come from. Not helpful information, but now you know my a bit more via my process. What did the process concoct this week?

Let’s talk stadiums.

Back to that Chicago Weekend

The first weekend of April featured a trip to Chicago and Wrigley. I got into it last week when discussing my love for the speed up rules. My slope started slipping when I recalled a short conversation about stadiums I’ve seen. I have had the fortune of work travel over my career. Fortune is a literal word. I love to travel and love to travel for work. Work travel provides a structure and purpose, but also a company funded ability to see the country and in some cases the world. To date my travel has been primarily domestic, but I’ve also seen much of Canada. The current position is adding some international quite soon. I’ll actually be missing the draft in K.C. for a trip to Norway.

The other thing I love is live sports and music. Sports schedules are always a cross check when putting together trips. The result is me seeing a ton of venues. That statement is both true and unquantified nonsense, so I had to fix it. Enter the spreadsheet. I assembled a spreadsheet to track something I have mentally archived. Here is what I’ve done in the sports venue world:

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More Attendance Notes

In total, I have been to 55 of the 124 big four league home games, which is 44%. The spreadsheet didn’t stop there as I also added the 2 current and 2 former MLS spots, 5 NASCAR tracks and 11 minor league baseball parks. In an effort to make sure the spreadsheet to another step I added a tab for the American Association of Professional Baseball, which is a minor league organization of 12 teams. This tab added for a few reasons:

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Additionally, I have attended games in three of the stadiums (Milwaukee, K.C., and Lincoln). I fully intend to get deep into this league this year and will prioritize seeing all parks over the next couple. This is another excellent sports bigamy opportunity for me in rooting for K.C. and MKE. I do stuff like this all the time. A simple thought spiraled into a massive evaluation of my personal stats and ultimately created a task.

Welcome to the next revolution of how my brain works.

Oh yeah, this all started with a simple thought. That simple thought came from a simple question. One of my guests in Chicago asked me: Where do I rank Wrigley Field?

My Favorite Stadiums and Arenas

Kevin, who is my franchise business coach for Complete, asked my thoughts on Wrigley thinking I’d been to a handful of parks. I have a ton of opinions of ballparks given my depth in seeing them. Kevin was not quite ready for my answer, which is always evolving, but at this point fairly canned. My favorite park somewhat depends on my mood when asked. If I am feeling nostalgic and historical… it Wrigley and Fenway, if I’m in a modern beauty mood… it’s Oracle and PNC, and then some preference brings in… Camden and Coors. When forced to rank them, it goes like this:

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I could go on all day about these parks, and also about things I love about other parks. Most parks boast something I enjoy in a major way. However, I have to admit I also enjoy talking about the places I don’t enjoy, and that really comes down to one notable entry. Look away A’s fans.

The Worst

The Oakland Coliseum is the single worst building in pro sports. Most of my career revolves around industrial things that go into buildings. I love buildings. My job takes me to pristine new builds and also condemned places, merely days away from a wrecking ball. Oakland Coliseum is one of the 5-10 worst buildings I have ever stepped foot in. I can make peace with the fact it’s a truck stop bathroom that hosts baseball games. The walk from the Bart train through a razor wire covered, graffiti laden tunnel is forgivable too. I can even give a pass for the fact that the place smells like a backed up sewer. The overall lack of hospitality in addition is the cardinal sin of that place. I went to one game there. The final pitch barely hit the final out recording glove and the “hospitality” staff was telling us to leave.

I mentioned half a beer (which took 15 minutes to get, and why not, there were 2 others in line) and they suggested finishing it as a great activity during my walk to the exit. Nothing but hate from me for that place. My buddy Adam (from Boys of Summer) has hit every park except the new Rangers, and he swears the Rays park is worse. Our BOS trip is Tampa (actually St. Pete) this year, so I will see it. It’s a tall mountain, but I have an open mind.

One Final Oakland Slam

The A’s are moving from Oakland, and it’s almost certain they join the Raiders in Vegas. I believe some of this as comments in last week’s suggestions: John J. Fisher (A’s owner) is simply angling for the city to drown him in money for a new stadium. The bigger question is this: why would anyone invest in Oakland? Stadium taxes don’t bother me, but I fully endorse anyone believing they shouldn’t exist. There is not a good argument for why someone who can own a team cannot finance a stadium. Oakland is not a place to build something right now. Maybe they once were, maybe they will be again, but not now. The Raiders and Warriors both recognized that and bounced. Plus, there are plenty of cities, such as Vegas, that want a team bad enough to cut a check.

What I think is most unfortunate is that the team belongs in San Jose. It keeps them local-ish, but definitely around a core group of fans. However, it also interferes with the Giants TV market. MLB doesn’t have enough of a TV deal to actually fight over, but here we are. Mark Cuban is a great owner. He wants to win and invests in his team doing so. Someone once asked him to acquire his hometown Pittsburgh Pirates. His answer was that he has zero interest based on baseball’s economic situation and team disparity. He specifically pointed out that the Dodgers make more money on parking than the Pirates do on TV rights. I doubt the A’s make much on either.

I fully expect A’s fans that make the move to Vegas to get a better product across the board.

Final Stadium Sidebars

I will quickly go through other stadiums I enjoy. In the NFL world the Cowboys, Packers and CHIEFS have the atmospheres and spots. The Bucks new arena is an NBA gem. Bulls and Nuggets games are a blast and in a nice place. Toronto is a personal favorite as well… that place is electric when the Raptors are decent and on fire when they are good. Speaking of Toronto that is and always will be a Maple Leafs town. Hockey rocks in Canada. My favorite Canadian hockey game was in Winnipeg. I caught a Jets game their second year as the current team. That place was buzzing with joy that hickey was back in MB.

I also want to reiterate how hospitality and viewing experience can season a visit. One of my all time favorite games was the Islanders at their old Nassau County Arena. That place was a hole, and not a big one. The concourses at Fort Hays State’s (yes, the D2 school I attended) basketball arena were bigger than that NHL stadium. Most bathroom facilities were port-a-johns outside the arena in a fenced in area. There were few and far between concessions. It was a total mess of humanity to navigate. Then you walk into the arena. Four title banners hung prominently reminding everyone of the Isles history. All the seats were right on top of the ice. The hockey experience was incredible. That place was a dump, but it was Isles fan’s dump. Nassau’s soul was incredible.

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NFL Draft: Mocking it Out

I checked in on some notable first round mock drafts again this week: PFF, CBS, Draft Network, USA Today, ESPN. Last week there was some alignment toward the Chiefs taking WR Jalin Hyatt. This week? Not so much. The mocks are all over the place this week. This means one of two things: no one knows how this draft will unfold, or… no one knows what Veach will do. I find both quite true. There are so many moving parts to get to the end of round one that speculation is the game. Here is what jumped out for each one.

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PFF

This one has KC trading with the Vikings to get up to #23. The pick is Darnell Wright – OT from Tennessee. PFF positions the move as KC looking for a day one starting tackle. Four OT went earlier, and a trade was necessary for a starter. This mock has OT, TE, Edge and CB runs after the top QBs at the beginning.

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CBS

Kansas City gets into the TE game in this mock. CBS sends Darnell Washington – TE from Georgia our way. The intel on this guy says a day one value add as a blocker and a bit raw in the passing game. I cannot picture a better fit for a TE needing to develop as a pass catcher. If Washington lands in KC he gets Kelce as a mentor, Mahomes as a QB and Reid’s offense.

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Draft Network

These folks have KC picking a weapon for Mahomes in Jordan Addison – WR from USC. NLF.com ranks him the WR in terms of production. His draft profile calls out the typical stuff: great at routes, great hands, not big enough. He will need to bulk up.

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USA Today

We have more TE action with this pick by Charles Goldman from Chiefs Wire. His selection is Dalton Kincaid – TE from Utah. The interesting thing about this mock is Kincaid being the first TE off the board for the final pick. This has Clyde Edwards-Helaire vibes for that reason. His draft profile reads as a Kelce protégé: excellent receiver, suspicious blocker. Goldman writes that he was targeting a WR or Edge and willing to trade up. Ultimately the draft came to him and he picked the top TE.

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This was a multi-round draft with the CHIEFS taking Derick Hall – Edge from Auburn at #63. Speed, high character and locker room leader are the key notes on him.

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ESPN

ESPN calling for the homecoming. Todd McShay has KCMO born, Felix Anudike-Uzomah – DE from K-State getting the nod. McShay sees Edge and consistent pressure as key for KC. He does hedge a bit mentioning Jalin Hyatt as a potential as well calling him a “fun deep-thread” in the KC offense.

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McShay closes his two round mock with KC grabbing Jonathan Mingo – WR from Ole Miss at #63. He and the draft notes call out a big route runner with limited speed. The other thing that jumps out is work ethic.

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My Draft Takes

All five mocks follow sound progressive logic… but all end up on different paths. My main takeaway is, this draft will be wild. I expect a ton of trades and the order to look significantly different than the end. Veach will be either super aggressive or extra patient in round one. All the experts seem aligned on the CHIEFS priority of: OT, Edge and pass catcher. Each position has room to run quickly or have quality fall in favor of another position. Draft war rooms depict plans by position and player. Each of the 200+ picks carries a formulaic value.

Veach undoubtedly has this.

Veach wants a top 5 player in each of his first three targets. That’s the ideal situation. Reality dictates a more reasonable scenario where he gets one, but draft cadence may offer two. Look no further than last year: Veach was able to navigate round one taking McDuffie and Karlaftis, both top five in their positions. The first required a trade. In 2021, #31 went to the Ravens for Orlando Brown, and 2020 was patience for the first RB off the list.

I see four contributing starters via multiple methods.

Who Deserves the Ups

Veach clearly has a working winning formula for player valuation. I have a feeling the combination for K.C., of tons of trades and a wild first round, presents a move up scenario. There are paths to K.C. leaving round one with a steal. I will formulate mine with Todd McShay’s rankings as a guide to produce scenarios and players worth moving up to capitalize.

Todd grades all players up to 100. He has 100 prospects with 70+ grades, which is his threshold for solid NFL starter. I have a wine buying philosophy: 90+ points for <$20. That is my value sweet spot. For the 2023 draft it’s similar: 90+ grade (McShay’s 21 players in the top three tiers) for a mid to late first round pick.

This McShay list looks right in line with the collective pre draft expertise, which should most align with the league. Here are the pass catchers, OT and edge on the list and their overall ranks and grades:

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90+ Prospects

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The above list is the ten players worth moving up to nab. Here are the 85-89 grades that round out the top 45:

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85+ Prospects

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Another nine solid targets. Here is the positional breakdown with 90+, 85+ and total:

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I expect a repeat of last year’s draft and what I mean by that is, I’m referring to the two first round picks. Veach has a deep pool of targeted talent. According to McShay it’s 45 worthy players with 19 in the targeted positions. I want to see a player from the 90+ and a player from the 85+ list in round one. The 90+, much like McDuffie in last draft, most likely requires a trade up into the 16-23 range. That means dealing with these teams:

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Outside of the L.A. Chargers, most of these teams probably deal with Veach. Wilson and Van Ness are not falling anywhere close, so the target is OT or a pass catcher. Dalton Kincaid, Darnell Wright and Michael Mayer are my focus names. Ideally Veach makes the move up while keeping #31. There is where he most likely targets Edge from the 85+ group. A Felix Anudike-Uzomah homecoming looks great here.

One Final Draft Take

Veach essentially drafted a WR already this past week by signing Richie James, a former Giants and 49ers player. James enters his 5th season (he did not play in 2021) with a shot at catching passes from Patrick Mahomes. Let’s be honest, he is a prospect for this team. I checked out his draft profile and stats. His draft profile said small but aggressive, and his stats say he’s depth. The stats also say he can flash with 13.2 yards per reception. Last season was his best catching: 81.4% of his targets for 569 yards and 4 TD. However, that was from Daniel Jones.

This one has Veach upside written all over it –> the world also doesn’t end if it doesn’t work out.

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Movie of the Week

This one is super simple. The Super Mario Bros. Movie is excellent. It hits best for people who grew up playing the games on NES, SNES and beyond, and also for parents of small children who are into Mario. I fit both of those targets.

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My kids’ eyes glued to the screen, I relished in every reference and Misty enjoyed watching us enjoy ourselves. It was exactly why you hit the theater.

And now… I end this journey from no clue to almost 3,000 words.

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Josh Kingsley — ArrowheadOne and Arrowhead Kingdom

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