Chiefs have leaks in their ship

With the way the team started 2011, you would have guessed the Chiefs' bye-week would have been a blessing to those driving the ship.

Guess again.

It started Thursday, after a report by 610's Nick Wright surfaced that, according to team sources, had the Chiefs lost to Indianapolis Sunday, general manager Scott Pioli would have fired head coach Todd Haley. The team, of course, fought back from a 17-0 second quarter deficit and defeated the still-winless Colts 28-24.

Sports-talk radio listeners in Kansas City have been well-seasoned to take anything Wright says with a grain (or six) of salt, but the fact Pioli made it a point to adamantly deny Wright's claim does speak to the story's potential validity.

And also, if true, what in the world are we to make of Pioli's logic?

Forget about Haley's sideline-maturity issues for a moment. It's hard to imagine any head coach in the NFL today having these Chiefs sitting any prettier than 2-3 after five games. The wasted cap-space, the paper-thin roster... those are Pioli's shortcomings. Firing Haley would only bring more attention to the general manager's part in this mess.

Pioli's smarter than that, right?

But, even if Haley's ousting is justified (I'm not saying it isn't), why would a comeback win against the hapless Colts prove his worthiness?

There are leaks in this ship, no doubt.

What wasn't expected is yet another leak Friday, this time by "local blogger" Bob Gretz (formerly King Carl yes-man website blogger and radio-broadcast sideline reporter), who says the team is planning to sell the naming rights to Arrowhead Stadium for "big dollars".

"It appears (the Chiefs have) finally found a business entity to pony up for the right to put its name on the stadium, or the playing field. Word is that an announcement will likely come in conjunction with the Monday night game against San Diego on Halloween," Gretz writes.

That's right, Jackson County tax-payers. While the team floats through another year of mediocrity, the Chiefs have decided that Arrowhead Stadium — the stadium renovated mostly with YOUR hard-earned money and in-which may only be standing because of the financial risk YOU took on your beloved team — is getting a name change all in the name of the bottom-line and Clark Hunt's wallet.

I'm sorry, I must have missed the memo. When was the vote on this?

Of course, team president Mark Donovan quickly refuted Gretz's report via The Kansas City Star, but the consensus amongst the city's talking heads and those in-the-know seems to be that this thing has been in the works for years.

So, Kansas City... Welcome to Google Search-Engine Stadium, the loudest stadium in th...

I just hope they thought this through.

Look, the ship hasn't sunk yet, sure. But there are leaks everywhere you look, and the only cure (and ultimately the only thing we, as fans, care about) is winning. If this team starts playing more meaningful games in January, I could care less what they call the stadium.

A win next Sunday in Oakland would be a start.

Until then, a fun-filled Big 12 football weekend is in store. It's nice to know when you need a break from the ugly politics and greed of professional sports, you can look no further than clean, pure simplicity of the college game.

Oh, wait.