Last week's column was probably the second most popular Cup Check of all time.

And if you consider that the most popular Cup Check of all time, dedicated to ESPN college football analyst turned US Senate candidate Craig James not killing five hookers, will never be touched - having shattered Weekly Volcano unique page view records like a steroids-era Mark McGwire - that's really saying something.

What was learned?

The Cup Check audience apparently likes the personal stuff.

Last week, as you'll surely recall, I wrote about being a passionate, questionably-stable, lifelong Broncos fan. I wrote about the difficulties this has caused in my life, especially when it comes to making friends and/or watching Broncos games in public. Specifically, I wrote about the father of a friend of my daughter - a Patriots fan - who, in the name of budding friendship, invited me to his home to watch last weekend's Broncos/Patriots playoff game.

I turned the offer down.

Judging by the response, bringing my personal life into the column really struck a chord with my Cup Check "base." Mainly, people I spoke to throughout the week wanted to know if my would-be friend ever returned my text message rejecting his offer.

He did. As was to be expected, he also took an opportunity (or several) to rub in the Patriots' dominant performance Saturday. We're pretty much cool now ... except some of the text messages he sent during the game did make me want to stab him in the face.

But that's my problem, not his.

This week, trying to emulate the success of last week, not only did I dedicate the first half of the column to mildly recapping all the touch-feely goodness that made my previous effort a winner, but I employ an intro to this week's sports-related blather that's undeniably personal in nature.

Yep, I'm bringing my wife into it.

First off, my wife is amazing and brilliant. That much is undeniable.

She's also a huge fan of spy novels - specifically John le Carré's spy novels. Long after I've passed out drooling on the pillow, she'll still be thumbing the pages of one of le Carré's tales of espionage and intrigue. During the day my wife spends her time devouring scholarly texts, but at night she can often be found buried in a weathered paperback version of The Spy Who Came In From the Cold or The Constant Gardner.

When I read, on the other hand, especially these days, it's predominantly Internet-based news and opinion pieces - almost exclusively journalistic in nature, and only a small percentage of it any good. In doing research for this column, or for the eleventy-seventy other things I write for the Volcano, I churn through thousands of words every day, but rarely stumble upon something of high quality or high entertainment value.

My reading is functional - not for enjoyment.

This week, however, Kent Babb of the Kansas City Star delivered a piece of epic journalism that compares favorably with any John le Carre novel.

According to a lengthy story by Babb in the Star published Jan. 14 (and subsequently highlighted by Peter King's Jan. 16 "Monday Morning Quarterback" column for SI.com), under the Scott Pioli regime - the Chiefs' general manager since arriving from the New England Patriots in January 2009 - several current and former employees (most of whom requested anonymity in the story) have accused the Chiefs of employing Watergate-esque tactics in the workplace, tapping phones and monitoring work interactions in a way that would make Homeland Security proud. Included in this is former Chiefs coach Todd Haley, who according to Babb's story was so paranoid about being spied on toward the end of his tenure with the team that he suspected even his personal cell phone had been bugged. Haley also reportedly believed many of the rooms at the Chiefs facility were bugged so administrators could listen in on conversations.

These are serious allegations, and have the distinct feeling of something bigger than simply disgruntled former employees airing grievances in the press.

At the very least, they'd make for a great sports-based spy novel.

Pioli was not available for comment for the story. Clark Hunt, the team's chairman and CEO, vigorously denied the allegations of spying and phone tapping, as did Chiefs president Mark Donovan. They attribute the claims to nothing more than the change of leadership since Pioli took over, and the organization moving toward a model that promotes accountability and pursues a culture of excellence. Clark and Donovan tell Babb change is never easy, and the ruffled feathers of a handful of former and current employees are simply a result of this fact.

However, as Babb reports, multiple past and present employees claim otherwise - painting a picture of a workplace consumed by fear, and one ruled by the iron fist of Pioli. In addition to the allegations of phone tapping by Haley, made public by Babb's story, three former department heads sued the Chiefs in 2011 claiming age discrimination. That case will soon be in court.

Needless to say, it will be interesting to see what comes of this situation. As Peter King and plenty of others since Babb's story published have pointed out, if Haley's fears are true, and Pioli and the Chiefs bugged personal phones, those actions would constitute federal crimes.

Or, as Pioli likes to call it, "the Patriot way."

BOX SCORES

As has become tradition, the World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals were welcomed to Washington, D.C. and the White House this week, with President Barrack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama greeting the team (minus first basemen Albert Pujols - who has since signed with the Los Angeles Angels, and manager Tony LaRussa - who has since retired). President Obama, in praising the team, dubbed the 2011 Cardinals the "greatest comeback team in the history of baseball," according to reports by the Associated Press. As you'll recall, the Cardinals came back from a 10 ½ game deficit just to make the playoffs as a wild card team, trailed in each playoff round, and were twice within a strike of elimination in Game 6 of the World Series with the Texas Rangers before ultimately winning the the Series in Game 7. No word on what Albert Pujols was doing while the Cardinals were meeting the President. It's widely assumed LaRussa was doing what he does on most Tuesday afternoons - drinking heavily. ... New Kansas Jayhawks head football coach Charlie Weiss is bringing a few things with him to Lawrence, specifically former Highline High School product Jake Heaps, who chose to attend BYU coming out of high school but announced his intention to transfer in mid-December thanks to a lack of playing time. Weiss recruited Heaps out of high school while he was still the coach at Notre Dame. Interestingly, former Notre Dame quarterback Dayne Crist, who played for Weiss during his time in South Bend, also announced this week that he'll be transferring to Kansas - meaning Weiss will have at least two signal-callers he's familiar with as he takes the reins of the Jayhawks. Weiss is also believed to have, at the very least, a six-pack of Barq's Root Beer and a package of raspberry-filled powdered-sugar Hostess donuts joining him in Kansas.