Whiners of the Week: Richard Adler and the Kansas City Outlaws

This evening, Kansas City Outlaws Team President Richard Adler went on Metro Sports to whine about Kansas City's failing to support his hockey franchise. Earlier today, the team announced it was up for sale, and, in all likelihood, on its way out of KC after only one season. The franchise's announcement came last July, putting hockey back in the KC scene for the first time since the Blades left in 2001.

Adler used Mick Schaffer and the appearance (who was at his absolute worst during the interview - no surprise to Metro Sports viewers) to talk about the limitations of Kemper Arena. He then continued his day long whining, directed mostly at Kansas Citians for not paying to see his lackluster product.

"The fans didn't support us," Richard Adler said. "We did not get the numbers to make it work or come close enough to make it work."

Let me be the first to say: WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Boo friggin’ hoo Richard....errr...Dick. Cry me a river........and then freeze it and use it as home ice for the next hockey team to fail at the Sprint Center.

The Outlaws office at Kemper deserves exactly what it got. The operation was rushed and sloppy from day one.

"Kansas City sports and entertainment fans never gave us the opportunity to become a part of their lives, and that is very disappointing," Adler said.

I'll tell you what's disappointing. These so-called capitalists no longer have the balls to admit their enterprise has failed. Instead, commu-capitalists like Adler in the sports-entertainment world prefer to pass the buck on to taxpayers. Rather than saying thanks to the fans that did show up, Adler has taken the day to lay a guilt trip on us. Luckily, most of KC has tax filings on their mind and not waste their time with Trick Dick's lectures on his life-long disappointments.

The other big loser in all of this is Global Spectrum, the sports-entertainment firm contracted by the city to run Kemper. Global Spectrum already lost the Knights earlier this year when their shady operation moved south to Johnson County Community College. This leaves the Comets as the only full-time/seasonal tenant for the building. Their future at Kemper, and in Kansas City in general, isn't very sunny either. The team's attendance has plummeted and limited resources have prevented them from TV and radio contracts. Their advertising is extremely rare, leaving the Star and others to offer little coverage.

Sure, the Neil Smith-lead arena football team says it will move in next spring for a season or two before heading to the Sprint Center. We'll believe that when we see it.

The Outlaws legacy seems to be shaping up to be little more than a 'fly-by-night' minor league team that never connected.....with fans....or with area businesses. Seems the hockey folks at Kemper have taken an economics lesson or two from the Kansas City Knights.

A graphics company is suing the Outlaws, claiming breach of contract for failing to pay nearly $46,000. Superior Color Graphics was stiffed by Adler's regime after providing print advertising services to the start-up club.

Safe to say, a lot of these 'failure to pay...' suits could be showing up in the press to coincide with the Outlaws looking to escape the Midwest.

On the topic of Mick Schaffer again... Once this guy is asked to perform an honest interview or impersonate some sort of an objective journalist, he completely falls to pieces. That shit face grin just never lets up, and his happy-go-lucky vocal range just doesn't cut it when trying to go face-to-face with a guy whose team has just announced its closing shop. Mick is beginning to make me yearn for the days of Danielle Sargeant (which is kind of like a Royals fan growing sick of Pena and transforming into a Tony Muser apologist).