KANSAS CITY IN DANGER OF LOSING CHIEFS?

Problems with state and local budgets are having significant impacts throughout the country.

In Kansas City, it could result in the departure of the Chiefs.

A proposed budget from Mayor Mark Funkhouser (I would have voted for that dude just based on his name) eliminates $2 million to be devoted to the Truman Sports Complex, which houses the stadiums in which the Chief and baseball's Royals play.

Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders thinks that the absence of the money will constitute a violation of the leases with both teams.

"The money would be the violation," Sanders said. "But the fact that we would have violated a substantive provision would mean those leases are now gone. . . . We would be on a tightrope or a high wire with no safety net.

"The teams would then be, to use the sports phrase, free agents to do whatever they wanted to do," Sanders said. "Re-negotiate the deal or to not honor any of the provisions of the lease they did not want to honor."

Of course, none of this means that the Chiefs would opt to leave. But, apparently, it would give them to ability to at least try.