That's right...the country may be off today, but I am STILL WORKING for you....all 12 of my readers :-) So let's get to it!!
Football:
I was in attendance on Saturday, with some lovely seats compliments of the extra effort by the MU Ticket office (had to plug them there, they really hooked me up when I was simply late with my form). Most things have already been said about it, either by the Boy in his alarmingly long 2600+ word tour de force that was his live thoughts, or by his repeating what I said on the phone to him just after the game. To retract a bit, Chase was not MAD at his O-line, just frustrated, and deservedly so. The line looked nothing like what I would have expected in this game, even given the fact Illinois was supposed to have good LB's and a decent front four. In the end though, a game where we have a special teams TD, a defensive TD, 400+ yards of offense and a +3 turnover ratio is always going to be fine by me. I will also say I had relatively little problem with the play calling in this one, but a much bigger problem with the play execution, and that falls on the players. WR's....you boys need to catch first, then run.
As for next week, I will once again be in attendance as we head down to Oxford. In a quick look at the stats of Ole Miss's 23-21 win at Memphis shows the Rebs getting outgained by over 200 yards, and scoring on a blocked punt and a ZERO YARD Int return...I guess Memphis threw a screen in the endzone or something. Memphis had a shot to tie and missed a late 2pt conversion. Even with our play and our injuries going into this week, I am not too concerned....but I hope we get the crap kicked out of us in practice this week.
Soccer:
Well, I suppose it should surprise no one we come firing out of the gate, winning on the road at #20 Illinois 3-1 on Friday night before overcoming a terribly sloppy first half at home on Sunday before finally beating Western Michigan 5-2. The team with no seniors is getting good play from their juniors and their frosh, and while Western Michigan is picked to finish last in MAC soccer, the ladies showed some decent mettle to outscore them 3-0 in the 2nd half. This week, they play another road Big 10 game Friday at Iowa before returning home for another home Sunday matchup, this time against Eastern Illinois. I am sure they will get some additional love this week in the regional poll for their win against Illinois, and as always, it will be interesting to see if they can keep the momentum they typically build in the non-con through the conference season.
Volleyball:
I will let The Boy get into the stats of volleyball and trends you can gleam from them, but all I know is the team is a bit Jekyll and Hyde right now, crushing Notre Dame on Friday night in 3, then crushing Florida International in the first 2, before losing the next 3 and the match to them. Some how, by double-secret probation method of scoring, they were named tourney champs, but at 3-2, I don't think it will much matter to the Kreklows. The ladies are back on the road this coming weekend down in TX to take on CS-Fullerton, Texas State (FIGHTING ARMADILLOS!!) and Houston. Simply put, this team will need to learn how to close games out, these 5 setters early on (THREE in five games) is just going to be too much for them at some point.
Random Stuff:
Showing posts with label Random. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Random. Show all posts
Monday, September 3, 2007
Monday Musing
Monday, August 27, 2007
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Mizzou Links, 8-23-07
- I'll admit it: I didn't see this coming. Gettis? Yes. Lambert? Yes. Moye? Maybe. Gachkar?? Not a clue in the world. Mutigers.com covers the news too. With his speed, it's not altogether surprising that he'd be fantastic on kickoff coverage, but still...surprised me a bit. I never really gave him a chance...just figured he would need to put on about 15 pounds before having a chance. Pinkel's attitude toward redshirts definitely took a 180 beginning in 2005, and I'm not totally sure what to think. Guess it's okay as long as we recruit somebody just as good to replace them in 2011, and it really might be a sign that the program is in better shape--they don't have to hoard every resource as long as humanly possible. We'll see. Pinkel will decide on the other borderline players after today's scrimmage. Not surprisingly, Dave Matter has some pretty solid analysis.
- Got any questions for Lorenzo Williams?
- Today's feature stories: Dave Matter takes on giant and former walk-on Colin Brown, while the Missourian takes on Tommy Chavis. “Winning is No. 1 and if we are winning the sacks will come eventually." Maybe, Tommy, but if the sacks come, the winning might be easier. Meanwhile, Mike Dearmond goes after "The Chosen One," Mr. Temple. Can't decide...is he going for 'stoic' or 'regal' in that picture?
- Inside Mizzou talks to Mizzou commit Steve Moore about...well, Mizzou commit Marcus Denmon. Meanwhile, Steve Walentik interviews Denmon.
- Mutigers.com has a nice preview of this weekend's volleyball season-opening Magnolia Classic.
- Also: "NCAA Taking Academic Reform Seriously."
- And finally, GOOD FREAKING LORD. I...wow. Pretty sure my Pirates didn't score 39 runs in June. By the way, Orioles...don't think I'm not noticing what you're doing. You will not steal the Pirates' claim to "Most Hopeless Franchise," so stop trying. Next thing you know, they'll be passing up a Ryan-Howard-for-Kris-Benson trade or something...
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Anybody out there...
...know of a good Colorado or Oklahoma State blog? I've added a small Big 12 Blogroll to the sidebar on the right, and I've found good blogs for everybody but those two.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
After two straight downer posts...
...I'd like to post some good news: two good guys (one of them a Friend of Sanity) got promoted today.
University of Missouri Director of Athletics Mike Alden announced the promotion of a pair of MU graduates on Tuesday, as he promoted Director of Football Operations Barry Odom and Director of Media Relations Chad Moller to Assistant Athletics Directors.Congrats to both!
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
So a little birdie told me...
...that Mizzou Sanity was given a shout-out in the latest StL Tiger Club newsletter/e-mail. Two thoughts:
1) That's awesome! Welcome, StL'ers! Thanks for the shoutout, Marv R.!
2) KC...where you at? Are you going to let StL get all the glory here?
Monday, August 6, 2007
One last shot at Bud Selig
So...I know The Boy is probably 2.5 hours or so from returning home, so this will be my last post before he takes back over the blog and then complains to me about why I never write more when he is around...
As it pertains to my thoughts on Selig...from Jim Caple on ESPN.com
""In his famous 12 labors, Hercules slew the Nemean Lion, cleaned the Augean Stables in a single day and killed the Lernaean Hydra -- all Bud did was go to some baseball games," said an MLB source who requested anonymity. "By our count, he went to 11 of 16 games -- and three of those games were in Milwaukee, where he always goes to the games anyway. Plus, he has a private jet to fly him around, so it's not like he has to deal with taking his shoes off at security or sitting in a middle seat having to watch 'You, Me and Dupree.'"
Further, the official noted, when Bonds tied Aaron's record, "Bud didn't even attempt an insincere smile or to clap unenthusiastically. He just stood up, stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked like he'd eaten a bad bratwurst. Quite frankly, Roger Goodell and David Stern looked more upbeat discussing Michael Vick's dogfighting charges and that referee who [allegedly] shaved points. Hell, for that matter, Bowie Kuhn looked more upbeat -- and he's been dead for five months."
ARTICLE
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Mizzou Links, 8-2-07
Only one link today, and it's nothing Mizzou-related...
- I'm off to Lollapalooza! The Beef will be filling in on the Mizzou Links front while I'm gone...I doubt you'll mind...
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Mizzou Links, 7-24-07
- The football commitments continue to roll in. Good-sized kid. Meanwhile, Jeff Ermann from InsideMizzou has more on last week's Mizzou commit, Drew Temple. Have we mentioned how much good, free stuff there is at InsideMizzou lately?
- Dave Matter has some notes from Media Days in San Antonio. Most interesting part: Mark Mangino is bigger than ever. When he suggests gastric bypass surgery to Mangino's face, he will become the bravest journalist ever.
- It seems that everything happens in Oklahoma City nowadays. This time it was the Central Section VIII Long Course Swimming Championships, and Mizzou swimmers represented well, winning 12 gold medals and 26 medals overall.
- Pretty neat series ESPN.com has going right now, examining great under-the-radar rivalries. Today: Williams-Amherst.
- And from that link I found this one: welcome to the big-time, Longwood. Having once attended a concert in the Longwood gym, I can only say...hope you're prepared to upgrade your facilities a smidge, guys. My high school gym was bigger, and my high school gym wasn't that big.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Paddy wins the British...
...some nice excitement in today's British Open finale...but most importantly, the Irishman's win is a huge victory for all the white American males out there who like to think they're more Irish than they actually are. Congrats to you all (myself included). Tip back a Guinness tonight.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Mizzou Links, 7-20-07
- Bring on the jinx talk!! Mizzou Football is picked #1 in the North by the Big 12 media. (See fan reaction here, here, and here.) I enjoy being the underdog, and that role served us relatively well last year, but as I've said before, I'm trying a new tactic this year--naive optimism! Bring on the high expectations! Meanwhile, Gabe at PM previews one of the division's toss-up teams, Colorado. So much personnel has changed for them between last year and this year that it's hard to get a read on how good they'll be--probably not very good, but you just don't know for sure.
- Graham Watson (friend of Mizzou Sanity!) has a nice story about Mike Anderson's rough summer in Columbia. Welcome to Mizzou Basketball, Mike.
- Lindsey Hunter helps Team USA to the Bronze at the Pan-Am Games in Rio. It's their third straight Pan Am Bronze. Cuba won gold for the first time since 1995; they had won seven in a row at that point before losing in 1999 and 2003.
- And finally, Chris Carpenter is looking at Tommy John surgery. Get used to it, Cardinal fans. Somebody sold their soul for the 2006 World Series, and the devil's collecting. Expect 26 torn labrums in your future. That said, I'd say it's a worthy trade-off. Let me know who your buyer was, and I'll get in touch. Hell, the price should be pretty cheap for my Pirates--they already lose every promising pitcher to Dr. James Andrews...
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Mizzou Links, 7-19-07
- Brian Smith and Mizzou Wrestling have put together the #2 recruiting class in the country according to intermat.com, a class that includes four high school All-Americans. First place? Ohio State. Really? Ohio State? Not Minnesota, Oklahoma State, et cetera? Weird. Oh, and speaking of wrestling, Ben Askren says thank you.
- Speaking of recruiting, here's Mizzou's Defensive Hot Board according to PowerMizzou.
- Very cool article about Roger Wehrli's August 4 College Football Hall of Fame induction. What's just as cool? Wehrli will also be Homecoming Grand Marshal this fall.
- Thomas Gardner scored 10 points on 3-of-9 shooting (over a team-high 31 minutes) at the Rocky Mountain Revue on Tuesday. It was his fourth double-digit output in five games, though I'm thinking he'd have to do a little more to merit a serious chance of making the Bulls in '07-08. Plus, the Bulls need outside scoring, and Gardner hasn't had much of a 3-point shot this summer.
- Dave Matter continues his look at the Top 25 for the upcoming football season...here's #19-17.
- Finally, since I haven't said it on this blog yet, Michael Vick is a disgusting human being. Jason Whitlock can say that Vick's problems are due to 'hip hop culture' if he really wants to, but I just say that, until proven otherwise, Vick is a disgusting human being.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Mizzou Links, 7-17-07
Woohoo, the "Read More" problem is fixed! And if you don't know what I'm talking about...then well...move along...nothing to see here...
- Rest in Peace, Mizzou Olympian Dick Ault.
- In football recruiting, PowerMizzou's broken out the Hot Board again.
- Bad week for Oklahoma State. First, possible starting WR Artrell Woods has a freak workout accident and is out for the season, then Marcus Dove becomes the third OSU basketball player to get a DUI in three months (after Terrel Harris and Obi Muonelo).
- Brian Burwell discusses inner-city athletes (including Kalen Grimes)...
- And finally...Cat Osterman has moved on from giving Big 12 opponents nightmares a year ago to striking out 13 in the World Cup Finals this year, in the softball mecca of Oklahoma City...good for her...
Monday, July 2, 2007
Mizzou Links, 7-2-07
- The Mizzou Women's Basketball team had 10 women make the "Big 12 Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll"...didn't know such a list existed, but I'd say getting 3/4 of your team on it is probably a good thing, no?
- R.I.P. Bus Entsminger.
- Isaac Miles flirted with Mizzou for quite a while, but when the girl's not flirting back, you eventually take the hint and look elsewhere...
- In his ongoing series, Dave Matter tackles the top Big 12 linemen...and at his blog, he looks further into Big 12 scheduling...
- This has nothing to do with Mizzou Athletics (though would it surprise you if No Limit Hold 'Em became a scholarship sport with its current popularity?), but here's a Sunday Q&A with the best poker player at Mizzou...well...the highest-earning one, anyway...he wants no part of me...
- And meanwhile, I want no part of this!
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Mizzou Links, 6-26-07
How in the world is it already June 26???
- Ben Askren has been nominated for the "Best Male College Athlete" ESPY. I've never even once watched the ESPYs, and there's no way in hell he beats out Oden, Durant, or Troy Smith (not if fans are voting online), but that's pretty awesome if you ask me. Vote here.
- Not surprisingly, Chase Daniel has made the Maxwell Award Watch List. He and half the QB's in Division 1.
- Dave Matter peers a little further into Big XII nonconference schedules.
- In case you were wondering (and I'm sure you were), Martin Rucker is faster than Chase Coffman.
- Bill Simmons takes a day off from calling the Blazers chickens to write an epically (yes, I just made that word up) good and for-the-hell-of-it NHL Draft Diary. My favorite entry: "5:54: Bettman announces another trade: Anaheim deals the No. 16 to Minnesota for the No. 19 and No. 42. Also, he announces new corporate sponsorships for the NHL with Enron, Betamax, CMGI, Conseco, Free FM, Pan Am Airlines and ESPN Mobile."
- I took yesterday off as a sort of "high school reunion recovery day", and can I just say...Wimbledon looks amazing in HD. Now if only the US had more than 2 good tennis players...
- And finally, I feel weird mentioning pro wrestling here, but I should note that a decade ago, when I was entering college at Mizzou, I bonded with some dormmates by watching WCW Nitro each week...we even ordered some Pay-Per-Views and attended a Nitro in Kansas City. It was fun. I haven't watched a wrestling event in probably 7 years, but the one wrestler who still stands out in my memory is Chris Benoit. He was amazing. He wrestled like it was real. He lacked the Hogan-esque charisma, but he was just so technically sound and dedicated to his craft that he enjoyed top-notch success in WCW, ECW, and WWF/WWE. He was great to watch, but it's sounding like he succumbed to the same thing that so many other pro wrestlers and former pro wrestlers have. The more you injure yourself to further your career, and the more pain-killers you end up having to take to get through the day, the less you find yourself relating to reality, and eventually you revolt against it. My condolences to his family.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Mizzou Links, 6-20-07
I post this from beautiful Oklahoma City...got in super-late last night...apparently when the Weather Channel predicted "partly cloudy" yesterday, they meant 55-mph winds and 5-inches-an-hour rain. If I'd known that were coming, we'd have left this morning. Boo. But we made it.
- Looks like the good recruiting news of the last couple of weeks couldn't sway Travis Releford from the dark side. Congrats for getting the commit, KU. And by 'congrats', I mean 'screw you.'
- The preseason football rankings are rolling in...Phil Steele has Mizzou #19, and now Street & Smith has them #18. One of these years, we'll learn to live up to expectations, right? Ri...right?
- In his latest blog post, Dave Matter discusses Terry Hoeppner's death and its strange proximity to the 2006 death of another Big Ten coach, Randy Walker.
- Here's a nice Missourian story about former Mizzou track stud, Derrick Peterson.
- And finally, it's an annual tradition...the Bill Simmons Vegas column. This one's shorter than most. Honestly, now that I've actually been to Vegas and can picture where everything is, I should go back and read the others again...
Friday, June 15, 2007
Summertime, and the reading is lengthy
If you're reading this, odds are good that you're a baseball fan in addition to a Mizzou supporter. And if you enjoy the kind of minutiae that can provoke never-ending arguments, you need to be reading Kansas City Star sports columnist Joe Posnanski's blog, The Soul of Baseball, which ostensibly exists to promote Joe's book of the same name, but really serves as a jumping-off point for the author's wide-ranging thoughts on America's pastime.
I'm an unabashed Posnanski fan. He's an elegant technician who never resorts to the easy, cheap ridicule and half-analysis that plagues so much sports writing. He's also, quite clearly, insane. Joe Po's posts, to put it mildly, are long. My last post here was 23 words. The one before that was 84 words. Posnanski's most recent effort: 6,032 words. It came four days after a post that checked in at 2,621 words, which, in turn, followed by three days a 5,272-word offering.
To put this in perspective, the typical newspaper sports column runs 900 words. My book, which chronicled an entire century of Missouri basketball, year by year, checked in at around 107,000 words. I forwarded Posanski's blog to a good friend who is a sportswriter at a major daily paper (and who was with Joe in a McDonald's in Turin when an international curling incident was narrowly averted). His response was hilarious and unprintable, except for the observation that Posnanski's posts aren't just ramblings; they're remarkably coherent and meticulously researched ramblings. In essence, Joe Po is writing a book every eight weeks in his spare time. If you can spare the time, you should read it.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Mizzou Links, 6-14-07
Earlier in the week, I mentioned that it was going to be harder to produce actual Mizzou-related links on a daily basis, but recruiting seems to have bailed me out every day this week...not too shabby...
- Mizzou Basketball has its first commitment for 2008...and he's a Truman Patriot?? I had some friends that went there...I was under the impression that they didn't actually produce athletes...just debaters and substitute teachers. Anyway, let Gabe tell you all about it...and then, let Gabe's dad tell you about Isaac Miles' visit to Columbia...
- Meanwhile, football has its first 2009 commit, a mere 19 months before Signing Day.
- And then in non-Mizzou related links...my favorite golf tournament of the year begins today! Nothing makes me happier than watching highly-paid professionals struggle horribly...I realize the winning score probably won't be +5 like last year, but still...love it. Being a lefty myself, Mickelson's been my favorite golfer for a decade (knowing my history of picking favorites, it figures...though he has won 3 majors now...you just wouldn't know from hearing the coverage of him...Winged Foot Winged Foot Winged Foot Winged Foot), but I can't imagine he's able to compete well this weekend with his arm injury...the rough at the US Open is so thick that it seems like you could break your wrist swinging through it anyway...
- And finally, Bill Simmons says it's time to fix the NBA playoffs. While I agree with him that the offseason seems to be more exciting than the playoffs (my favorite NBA moment is the lottery, followed by #2, the draft), I'm hesitant to blow up the whole Western/Eastern conference thing. Yes, the West has been better every year since Jordan retired (the second time), but that's not geography's fault. I dunno...having read tons about the Blazers for 15 years now, I understand how much their fans dislike the Jazz, Sonics, and Lakers--that's 30% because of geography and 70% because of previous playoff series...which is indirectly about geography. Plus, seeing the reaction from Portland and Seattle fans about the potential for Oden/Durant playoff matchups (at least until the Sonics move to OKC...or KC...or Vegas) was impressive...and it was mostly because of geography.
Then again, Big XII teams don't start off the NCAA Tournament by playing each other, so maybe Portland playing New Jersey in the playoffs instead of Utah wouldn't be that big a deal...maybe I just don't know what I'm talking about. Like most arguments (just wait until you see what I have to say about the College Football Playoff idea), I talk a big game, but if the change is made I won't cry one bit.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Fathers Day
Wright Thompson, a Mizzou alum and one of the truly gifted young sportswriters working today, offers this remembrance of his father at espn.com.
Mizzou Links, 6-13-07
- Interesting thread over at Dave Matter's blog. Not interesting for the post itself, but interesting for the comments to the post and for Dave's responses. Dave tackles the issue of recruiting and why Mizzou is still lacking much success in StL, among other topics.
- Mizzou wrestler Tyler McCormick picked up his second Academic All-American award this week...congrats!
- In non-Mizzou news...Greg Oden blogs!
- And in non-NCAA news...US Soccer wins again! They move to the next round of the 2007 Gold Cup. I'm sure this interests only me, but they've been doing pretty well lately under Bob Bradley, the former interim coach who was recently given the job full-time. If they're ever going to move to the next level at the World Cup, it's looking like 2010 is going to be the year. Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley, and Oguchi Onyewu will be 28, Eddie Johnson 26, Tim Howard 31, et cetera. They'll all be at peak age, so hopefully they'll put it together.
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