I am a runner. That's not something I could have claimed as a younger man, when I dreaded those 1 mile runs in gym class. At the time, I thought the members of the cross country team were nuts. Why are you running so far, so often? It seemed like too much work to me, as I focused on sports I believed were more fun.

Then, I got old. Okay, I guess I'm still not very old, but after I graduated from college, I noticed that my body wasn't burning calories quite as quickly as it used to. When my wife started running, I decided maybe I should give it a try. It was one of the best decisions I ever made. Now, I couldn't live without my daily runs.

But this post isn't about my running. While I'm dedicated to it, I also run relatively short distances. In other words, I've never come close to running a marathon, which is -- pause for dramatic effect-- 26.2 miles. That's right... it's a long, long way.

Last weekend, I did a story near the finish line of the Kansas City marathon. It was an absolutely beautiful morning for the race and I watched runner after runner finish the course. And I was inspired.

Even if you're not a runner, I encourage you to go to a marathon sometime. Watch as friends and family members wait for their runner to jog by so they can yell encouragement. You can't help but smile when you see young kids with homemade T-shirts that say "Go Dad Go!"

Someday, I'll probably run a marathon. Maybe. When I left the KC Marathon Saturday, I swore to myself I would. I'm already hedging. But that doesn't change the great feeling I got watching everyday people like you and me accomplish something truly great. It's a great life lesson. One step at a time, with discipline and dedication, we can all do great things.

I don't mean for this to become a sports blog, but...

I give up. I can no longer try to figure out this season's edition of the Kansas City Chiefs. It's getting awfully tiring jumping on and off the Chiefs bandwagon.

One week, they look like a team that will never score a touchdown. A week later, they knock off a good team on the road. The next week, their highly-paid, superstar running back manages only 10 yards. Seven days later, he gets 100 yards in the first half. What gives?

There is plenty of good news. (I know this goes completely against my blog from just one short week ago, but that's the whole theme of this particular post.)

1. The AFC West is very weak this year. Or, if you want to be more kind, there's a lot of parody.

2. You can't help but watch the Chiefs the rest of the season, no matter what. The next week could be completely different. Just remember that as you celebrate Sunday's victory over the Bengals.

3. Larry Johnson may finally be shaking the rust off. The theory is now that missing most of training camp is the reason for the slow start. I hope so. We'll see next week.

Ah yes, next week. Which Chiefs team will show up? The potential AFC West Champ or the team who can't find the end zone with GPS? We'll all have to tune in to see.

Here's an update on two blogs I posted last week:

Well, I expected Garth Brooks to add another show at the Sprint Center, maybe even two or three, but 9 shows?? I didn't see that coming.

Sure enough, as predicted, minutes after the first concert sold out Saturday morning, another show was announced. Then another. Then another. And before we knew it, it's like Bruce Springsteen performing in New Jersey. 140,000 tickets were sold to see one of the biggest country music stars ever.

You've got to hand it to Garth. He's very good at publicity and hype, which he certainly created here. But more importantly, he's giving all of his fans a chance to see him. The fact that the concerts are in KC at our brand new arena makes it even better. I predicted Garth fans would be happy on Saturday, I just didn't know it would be 157,000 of them.

And now to a sad story...

That Chiefs bandwagon I talked about last week is now officially empty again. I chided KC fans a little bit for jumping on the wagon so quickly after a surprising win in San Diego, but I don't blame them one bit for jumping back off after Sunday's disaster.

Damon Huard is hurt now and Larry Johnson just doesn't look like the back we've seen the past two years. Yea, yea, I know: the offensive line isn't as good. No argument here. But LJ has to find a way to get more yards. Maybe he can't get 150 yards every game with this line, but he has to grind out more than 10. I promise I won't criticize Chiefs fans any more this season. The way the team is playing right now, they deserve to get the cold shoulder from some of the faithful.

I know there have been rumors about this for a long time, but...

I think there's a very good chance there will be more than one Garth Brooks show at the Sprint Center next month. Right now, only one show is scheduled for November 14th. It's a big deal for country music fans, who have waited for seven years to see one of the best-selling musicians of all time. I mean, this guy's sold more albums (do they still call them albums in this digital download age?) than the Beatles.

Yesterday, I was out at the Sprint Center as fans lined up early in the morning just to get wristbands so they could get BACK in line again on Saturday for tickets. As I stood there, I realized this was probably an exercise in futility for most of these Garth fans. Why? If this concert sells out as quickly as expected, only the first few people in line at the Sprint Center will get tickets. Remember, tickets are being sold on the Internet and by phone as well.

But here's where it gets interesting. I mentioned my concerns to a Sprint Center official, noting that I had talked to two women who had driven an hour and a half from rural Missouri to get the wristbands and then would be driving back into Kansas City again Saturday morning. If they end up not getting tickets, I'd feel very sorry for them. The Sprint Center official says to me: "They did the right thing."

What? How could that be? Their odds of getting tickets seem very low. The official then goes on to say that Garth Brooks "reserves the right" to add more shows. Okay. And... those shows could be added on Saturday morning. Now it's starting to all make sense.

A very important disclaimer now: This is not official. BUT... the person I talked to certainly lead me to believe another show (maybe more) will be added if there's enough demand. I don't think that will be a problem.

After all the controversy surrounding the Hannah Montana show, it would be great if Brooks adds enough shows so that all his fans could see him. And while I'm throwing rumors around... there's another one that the KC shows will be taped for a TV special.

We'll see what happens tomorrow morning. I think the first show will sell out quickly and then other shows will be added. My guess is that there will be a lot of happy Garth Brooks fans around here. I guess it really is good to have friends in (high) places.

Welcome back, everybody! Where have you been?

Man, the bandwagon's getting full again today. Just two weeks ago, it was nearly empty, but two straight wins changes everything. It's gone from lonely to loaded pretty quickly on the Chiefs Express.

Okay, I shouldn't be too hard on Chiefs fans. Hey.. the team didn't win a single game this season until last week and that included the preseason. And for some reason it's even worse when you not only lose, but you don't score any touchdowns. Being boring AND losing is just too much.

Now, all of the sudden, the Chiefs are tied for first place, they have a big play receiver for the first time in years and the defense is tearing peoples heads off. Sunday, Larry Johnson rushed for 100+ yards and Damon Huard looked impressive. At least in the second half. All is well at Arrowhead.

How long will it last? Six days at least. If the Chiefs stop scoring again and lose a few more, there might be some good seats available again on the bandwagon. But until then.. all aboard! Who else are we going to root for this time of year.. the Royals?