UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Thursday, October 12, 1995
5B
THE CHIEFS
Sobriety checkpoint after Chiefs game slows traffic
Fans in Kansas suburbs irritated with delays stopping cars on I-435
The Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Police wanted to make a point about drinking and driving
—and thousands of Kansas City Chiefs fans caught in a massive post-game traffic jam got the message.
Motorists had their own message Tuesday about the sobriety checkpoint run by police and the Missouri State Highway Patrol on westbound Interstate 435 near Arrowhead Stadium — it was not a very good idea.
"We've had two (phone calls) saying
"good job," and several complaining," said Kansas City Police Officer Roger Brown Tuesday afternoon.
How many were complaining?
"I've lost count." Brown said
Some callers cursed, while others left their names and phone numbers and received a call back from Capt. Gary Majors or a sergeant explaining the checkpoint.
"We certainly apologize for any inconvenience we've caused anybody," Majors said. "Our intent was not to delay their travel home, but was twofold — to take off the road any people who had too much to drink and prevent anybody getting hurt, and to get our message out about the dangers of drinking and driving."
Within only seven miles of leaving the stadium after Monday night's 29-23 overtime Chiefs' victory, thousands of fans ran
From there, they inched forward another mile until reaching the checkpoint.
into a sea of brake lights on I-435, the main conduit from the stadium to the Kansas-side suburbs.
With the game ending at 11:42 p.m., the delay was not welcome. Motorists reported spending an hour to 90 minutes in the traffic jam. Some people did not arrive home until 2:30 a.m.
Officers stopped 4,680 vehicles and arrested 21 people on drunken driving charges and two on drug possession charges.
Fans fumed about the checkpoint on a local sports-talk radio program.
"It was really an inconvenience," said Chiefs season ticketholder Jeff Smith of Olathe. "I'd like to know who the idiot was who thought of the idea to have the
"They had a bus off the side of the road that they were using to board all the drunks. It was unbelievable," Smith told the Oatle Daily News.
Smith's group spent 75 minutes getting through the checkpoint.
The Chiefs' organization distanced itself from the checkpoint.
"The Chiefs had nothing to do with what happened on I-435," said Chiefs' representative Bob Moore.
checkpoint there."
"Everyone was stopped," Smith said. "We didn't get home until 2 a.m. I thought it was ridiculous to have a checkpoint set up after a game like that. The checkpoint should have been set up closer to the stadium."
The checkpoint was prompted by two recent traffic deaths involving fans who had been drinking at Arrowhead or the
The site on I-435 was chosen because police did not want to check every person leaving the stadium. Moore said.
adjacent Kauffman Stadium, where the Kansas City Royals play.
About 40 officers were in place at 10:30 p.m., and orange cones were placed on the highway to funnel five lanes of traffic into two. The checkpoint ended at 2 a.m., and six hours later the phones started ringing at the police department and at the Highway Patrol Lee's Summit, Mo., office.
Lt. W.E. Benitz of the patrol said he found drivers to be understanding once they were told the purpose of the checkpoint.
"I'd much rather go out and do another DUI spot check than go to a home and tell a mother her 17-year-old son is not coming back and listen to those kinds of screams," Benitz said.
Chiefs' Bono has no problem filling hole left by Montana
New quarterback, new attitude and new defense leave team sitting pretty atop AFC West
The Associated Press
Here's something that's not such a surprise.
Here's something that's not such a surprise. A lot of people in Kansas City are happy Joe Montana retired and Steve Bono is now the quarterback for the Chiefs.
Here's something else that's not a surprise.
Here's something else that's not a surprise.
If the Chiefs had lost their three overtime games instead of won them and were 2-4 instead of 5-1, those people would be cursing Montana's retirement.
In any sport, you're only as good as your last victory.
Still, there is something magical about Bono's
Chiefs, whom most people figured might finish ahead of Seattle and nobody else in the AFC West instead of sitting atop the league with Dallas and Oakland at 5-1.
"I've never had a group like this," Marty Schottonheuser said. "It's
tenheimer said. "It's nothing tangible, you can't really put your finger on it, but there's something deep inside this team that wants to win."
On Monday night it was a little easier for Schottenheimer to find reasons for the Chiefs'
One reason was Bono, who did a Montana impression with a 79-yard, 8-play drive with no timeouts left to tie the Chargers with 15 seconds
overtime win over San Diego.
left. The other reason was Tamarick Vanover, the Canadian League refugee from Florida State who returned a punt 86 yards for the winning touchdown in overtime.
But there really is more to it than that.
"There's something to the fact that Joe retired," said backup offensive lineman Valerio.
"Last year, if Joe had an off day and we lost, we'd all say 'Well, we couldn't have won that game because Joe didn't play well.' Now we know we have to play together as a team and it helps us to win."
There is defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham, who came over from the Raiders and has Derrick Thomas and Neil Smith playing more aggressively. The old coordinator, Dave Adolph, often was criticized for his soft zones, and some Chiefs were chortling after Monday night's game because it was the prevent defense played by
There still is more to it than that.
Adolph, now the Chargers' defensive coordinator that prevented San Diego from winning on Monday night.
And, of course, there's Bono, whose numbers for six games are as good as any that Montana put up in his prime — he's completed 63 percent of his passes and is tied with Cincinnati's Jeff Blake for the league lead in touchdown passes with 12. Just as important, he's done what Montana was
Just as important, he's done what Montana was revered for — brought the Chiefs from behind.
Against the Giants, Bono brought the Chiefs back from a 17-3 deficit with two long drives in the last seven minutes to tie a game they won in overtime. Against the Raiders, he drove them to 10 points in the fourth quarter to tie that game before James Hasty's interception return won in overtime. Then there were Monday night's heroics.
"With due deference to No. 19," center Tim Grunhard said in reference to Montana, "I don't think he could have done what Steve did."
Lions see light leading to victory
The Associated Press
PONTIAC, Mich. — Detroit coach Wayne Fontes agreed with his players that they needed to keep things simple after the Lions lost their first three games.
The Lions still are a game under .500, but the improved play of quarterback Scott Mitchell has helped the team win two games in a row.
During the disappointing start, Mitchell completed just 62 of 105 passes for four touchdowns, with two interceptions. His rating was 83.4.
During a meeting, the players suggested Fontes simplify the offense.
"The best thing happening now is his confidence," quarterbacks coach Greg Landry said of Mitchell. "He's an accurate passer, and I think we're doing things he likes to do."
With the passing game finally beginning to click, running lanes have begun to open for Barry Sanders.
In the next two games, Mitchell completed 52 of 80 passes for 564 yards. The Lions defeated the San Francisco 49ers and Cleveland Browns.
Cleveland often had as many as eight men near the line of scrimmage. Teams had been doing that to the Lions all season.
As a result, Sanders had nowhere to run. He was held to 35 yards in Minnesota and 24 yards by San Francisco. During the first four games, the most electrifying runner in the NFL had rushed for just 314 yards.
Little wonder the Lions lost three of those four games.
But when the Brown's brought half their secondary up to stop the run, Mitchell was able to complete some passes. Herman Moore caught nine for
125 yards. Brett Perriman caught six for 78 yards.
The Browns finally had to back off and defend against Mitchell's passing attack. When they did, he handed the ball to Sanders. Sanders ran for 157 yards and three touchdowns, one a 75-yard sprint.
"You ride him (Mitchell) when he's hot for as long as you can," Moore said. "It feels really good to go out and score some points like we did, but we can still improve a lot."
"I think we have good balance because our quarterback is playing much better and we have good receivers," Fontes said. "If we keep proving we can throw the ball, I think you'll see Barry's production improve even more."
Sanders won his second NFL rushing title in 1994 with 1,883 yards, the fourth-highest total in NFL history. If he can come anywhere close to numbers like that this season, the Lions might be able to make it to the NFC playoffs.
Overcoming an 0-3 start will be difficult, but not impossible. San Diego once got off to an 0-4 start and still got into the playoffs. And the Lions historically have been strong finishers.
"My whole approach is that we're going to go after people and not take a passive approach, not let the game come to us," Mitchell said. "I don't know if it's being more comfortable with a situation," he said. "I'm not a screamer or a yeller, but I like a good tempo.
"I think we've upped our tempo the last couple of weeks. That's what I'm trying to focus on: Get into the huddle, call the play, get to the line of scrimmage and run it. Then start over," he said.
"I think the difference is the attitude," Mitchell said. "We're not sitting back and feeling our way through a game."
It all sounds so simple. So what took so long?
Maxwell aims to drop 'mad' image
NEWARK, Del. — Vernon Maxwell probably could have made $500,000 more to play somewhere else. But the Philadelphia 76ers offered John Lucas, a very important fringe benefit no one else could match.
The Associated Press
"I just want to get some kind of stability in my life outside, off the court, and I feel that John is the right guy to help me out with that, too." Maxwell said.
Lucas, the 76ers coach, general manager and reclaimer of souls, has taken a gamble on Maxwell, who he hopes can man the point guard position vacated when Dana Barros signed with the Boston Celtics.
"It ain't going to be easy," Lucas said on Tuesday at the 76ers training camp at the University of Delaware. "It's easy here, but it's not Joe Dumars, and it's not Mark Price that Maxwell is going against.
"I'm not saying he can't handle it," Lucas continued. "I don't have any desire for him to be average."
Maxwell said he's determined to do well, if only to repay Lucas, and not just for signing him as a free agent.
"When I first got to Houston, he's the guy that took me under his wing," Maxwell said. "I stayed in his house for practically nothing for over a year and a half. Nobody really wanted anything to do with me but him and Don Chaney."
Nobody really wanted much to do with Maxwell by the time he left the Rockets, either.
Maxwell was released by Houston on June 30. He was placed on indefinite leave of absence after he left the team following their first playoff game. His
slide with the Rockets probably began Feb. 6 in Portland.
Angered at what he says were taunts concerning his stillborn daughter, Maxwell charged into the stands and struck the fan he believed said them.
"I did it, and at the time, I thought it was right, but then at the end, I knew it was wrong," he said.
The NBA reacted by fining Maxwell $20,000 and suspending him for 10 games. While he was serving the suspension, the Rockets traded Otis Thorpe to Portland for Clyde Drexler, who eventually took Maxwell's starting job.
The run-in with the fan, the trade that cost him his job and a bout with anemia at the end of the regular season sapped a lot of the spirit from Maxwell. He feels playing for Lucas will help restore it.
“It’s definitely a breath of fresh air for me after all I went through last year,” he said. “I’m definitely glad to be starting a new slate. I’m just so happy to be playing here with John.”
Lucas doesn't want Maxwell to lose too much of his competitiveness, but from the sound of things, he shouldn't worry.
"We ain't going to back down, I don't care who we're playing against, because I'm not going to allow it," Maxwell said. "That's the kind of player I am."
The fire is still there, but Maxwell hopes to be more selective in stoking it this season. Hence the dropping of the nickname "Mad Max."
"People perceive you that way, and I guess they had a right to feel that way because of the stuff I've done over the past year," he said. "But I just feel like it gets me in a lot of trouble on and off the court. I don't mind being called V-Max, just not Mad Max."
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