As often is the case, I started writing this on Sunday evening.  All I have to say is....wow...it gets dark early now

Anyway, this is likely to be another scaled down version.  To be honest, I got a lot going on these days and just not enough time to dedicate to this right now.  As always, MUTigers.com is going to have most/all of the information I share here.  I will do my best to get stuff here each Monday, but going forward and for the time being, consider this an apology/excuse for not doing so in the coming weeks/months.

But enough about that, let's get to it.

Football:

Didn't see it (obviously).  Listened to it, though I cannot say I paid a ton of attention to it.  We will see how well Chase,Chase, Jeremy and Jeff faired as it pertains to the records they were chasing later this afternoon, but it sure sounded like we had the offensive stats, but could not get out of our own way in penalties and turnovers.  Added to that, and this is saddest considering we wrote the blueprint, we could not figure out how to stop a supremely athletic QB with little else around him.  Oh well...a win is indeed a win and I just do not see how or why we should be tested in the coming weeks given what kSU and ISU are putting up these days.

And 6:00 p.m. start time?  Oy...not at all what I was hoping/looking for out of next weekend.  But...senior day is what it is and this one will never be bigger given the talent on the field.

Soccer:

Just the one game this past weekend, and Mizzou scored enough for two or three games in defeating kU 6-0.  Alysha Bonnick and Mo Redmond each had two goals and an assist.  Kristen Andrighetto added two assists while Mallory Stipetech and Michelle Collins added the other goals.  Tasha Dittamore helped get Mizzou their 11th shutout of the season.

Mizzou finishes 13-5, which is a school record for wins, and 7-3 in conference, which is another school record.  Sadly however, Mizzou was acually up in all three of their losses in the second half, but that should give them good hope for the upcoming Big XII Championships.  Mizzou will take on #6 seeded, but highly ranked UT on Wednesday at 1:30 following the CU/NU matchup and preceeding the Okie State (champ)/TTech and aTm/kU games.

Volleyball:

A split week for the Tigers, as they fell in a strange 5-set match earlier in the week against kU, but came back strong against lowly TTech on Saturday night, winning three matches to one.  Julianna Klein had a monster night for the Tigers, tallying 20 kills to just four errors while hitting .444 for the night.  Joining her in the high hitting percentage club was Megan Wilson with 13 kills at .550 and Wendy Wang with nine kills at .398.  The win moves the Tigers to 11-12 overall and 5-8 in the conference, which is good for a tie for 7th with aTm and OU.

Coming up this week will be just one game for the Tigers, as they are off during the week and will be at home on Saturday against OU.  A win will obviously get the team back to .500 overall.  After this, there will only be six matches left for the squad, with three each at home and away.

X-Country:

The women finished 12th in the Big XII Championship this past weekend.  Not much else needs to be said here, other than the team is pretty young and you have to hope/believe they will fare better in future years.

For the men, they finished an very decent 5th spot behind four ranked teams and in front of #30 UT to show their overall strength.  The team was paced by senior Garrett Jeffries, who finished 16th which is one spot out of All-conference honors.  The next four finishers (King, Pandolpho, Hedgecock and Quigley) are all underclassmen and took the next spots for the team.  Both squads will now get a couple of weeks off before travelling down to Stillwater, OK for the NCAA Regionals where the men can hope to make the NCAA Championships later in the month.

Women's Swimming:

The conclusion of the big Border War points weekend (which now see MU up 7.0-2.5) was a swimming battle where the #21 Tigers came out and dominated the Jayhawks and took them down with ease.  Freshman Jordan Morcom, fresh off of her Big XII weekly award, won for the third time in her young career in the diving well to help pace the Tigers.  Kendra Melnychuk, an All-American last season also won, showing the type of depth and talent the Tigers have on the diving side.  On the lap side, the winning list was littered with Tigers, and young ones at that.

Next up for the ladies will be a trip down to Louisville in two weeks.  The men will swim against SI-C next weekend in Carbondale.

Coming Up This Week:

Of the winter sports getting into action, men's and women's basketball will tip off their (exhibition) seasons, while wrestling will have their Black and Gold scrimmage this weekend.

Random Thoughts:

• Had the chance to go to a Rams game this weekend, and...well...oy.  I dont know quite where to start with the issues that franchise is experiencing.  Suffice it to say, the score should have actually been worse.  And good to know they hired the person to count attendance who the St. Louis Cardinals employed all year. 
• Gggh...the Jets losing that game agianst Oakland is going to annoy me more and more each week.  But, they had to have this one and got it.  They have the Rams next weekend in another must-win before a two-game spin with NE and Tenn.  But, first place is first place.
• Got nothing else to say other than good for you TTech...hell of a win.  Sorry you have yet to run most of your southern gauntlet, but you get to puff out your chest right now, that is for certain.
• The Devils are getting victimized by injuries with Rolston, Holik, Greene and now Marty going down.  Zach Parise has been impressive thus far, but it will be interesting to see how long the best keeper of all time is going to be out.
• I think it was interesting that Penn State got jumped pretty good by TTech in the polls, but with Bama having LSU and the SEC Champ game and TTech with OU and Okie State left, the Lions still have to like their overall position
• Carl Edwards....gutsy call to try to run to the end.  I still think he is probably out of it, but another win (in what is the richest purse in NASCAR evidently for no good reason) is another win.  Just stinks for him that he had literally one/two bad finishes that will keep him from winning it all.
• Speaking of NASCAR...crowds seems smaller of late...just an observation.
• I'll be glad when all the stuff from Tuesday is over.....whenever that is.