Around the Kingdom: Justin Houston, Alex Smith, Zimmer, Valencia, Mueller

January 25, 2014; Honolulu, HI, USA; Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Justin Houston (50) and cornerback Brandon Flowers (24) during the 2014 Pro Bowl Ohana Day at Aloha Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Around the Kingdom, the Chiefs will face the Bengals tomorrow at Arrowhead Stadium. While it’s hard to get excited about preseason, at least we will get to see the Chiefs line up on the field and get a few ideas about what we might see in the upcoming season. We all know that preseason results rarely have anything to do with regular-season performance, but you can pick up trends, or spot unexpected talent from rookies or new acquisitions.

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I guess we have to find some reason to justify paying regular-season prices for practice games.

The Royals returned to action Tuesday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks by slamming 3 home runs out of Chase Field in Phoenix, capped by Nori Aoki‘s grand slam. Kansas City hung 8 runs on the board in the 5th inning to break open the game on their way to a 12-2 win.

Gosh, maybe the thin air of the desert was just the tonic Kansas City’s bats needed to get untracked.

Knowing the Royals, they will go back to scoring 2 runs tomorrow.

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS

• Pro Football Talk– Justin Houston isn’t anywhere close to a new contract with the Chiefs:

"The Chiefs rewarded Houston for honoring his current obligations by offering a new contract.  Houston didn’t like it.  Per a league source, a “huge” gap current exists between the team’s offer and Houston’s demands."

• Arrowhead Addict – Alex Smith is seeking something that doesn’t exist in the NFL, security:

"The problem here is stability doesn’t exist in the NFL in terms of contracts. How many times have we seen players cut one or two years into a mega deal or a player hold out of more money halfway through their contract? NFL contracts are so fungible that locking down long term security in terms of years basically doesn’t exist."

KANSAS CITY ROYALS

• Kings of Kauffman – pitching prospect Kyle Zimmer could still have an impact on the big club this year:

"When/if Kyle Zimmer does get into minor league games this season, it would reportedly be as a reliever. Given how late the minor league teams are into their season, there just is not enough time to allow Zimmer to build up his pitch count and start this year. That does not mean that his future in the organization is to be a reliever; the Royals plan on having him start in the Arizona Fall League and in one of the winter leagues."

• Royals Review – Danny Valencia takes out full page ad in the Kansas City Star to thank fans:

"The Royals were quiet at the trade deadline, but earlier in the week had already made a move sending third baseman Danny Valencia to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for catcher Erik Kratz and pitcher Liam Hendriks. Not to be outdone, Valencia recently took to the pages of the Kansas City Star to express his thanks to Royals fans for a magical ride."

• Royals Authority – Go figure. The Royals do nothing at the deadline and still take 2 of 3 from the best team in basesball:

"I think it is okay to be excited about the playoff race and simultaneously disgusted by 80% of what this organization does (or doesn’t) do. That’s pretty much what following the Royals is all about."

KANSAS STATE WILDCATS

• KStateSports.com – DE Ryan Mueller added to preseason Ted Hendricks Award watch list

There you have it KC fans—the news Around the Kingdom.