As we talked about last week in this very column, there was only going to be one Mizzou sport competing this past week.  This coming week gets a little busier, but let's review the goings-on of the Christmas week before we get into that.

Men's Basketball:

Much (I am sure since I really did not read a whole lot after the game) has been said about the loud thud heard eminating from the Scottrade Center on Tuesday night.  Color me very disappointed that despite all the pre-game posturing and press quotes that we simply fell apart.  I will say we showed up, but after our first few key shots did not fall and the same did for Illinois, we completely fell apart and played no half-court offense or defense.  And when ESPN switches off of the game in the 2nd half, you know it has to be bad.

Saturday brought some redemption (I guess) and an on-the-go rest of sorts.  Demarre had a real nice game, as did Bowers.  I remain a little taken aback by the fouling of Taylor and the re-emergence of late of bad Leo.  I also have to admit I would have rather seen us shoot the lights out from the free throw line in a game we win by 5 than a game we won by 50, but oh well.  On to this week, with what should be another game where no starter plays more than 25 minutes at the most against the Gentlemen of Centernary, before we make our way down to Athens for a road showdown with the Bulldogs.  Get through the week 2-0 and some of the sting starts to go away from the Illinois game.

Up Next This Week:

Aside from the men's games, the ladies get back to the floor this afternoon at 3pm for a free match-up against SEMO before heading off to Pittsburgh to take on Duquesne.  The wrestling squad is in Chicao starting the very prestigious Midlands Tournament and I will aim to keep you up-to-date this morning and afternoon as results are posted.  Five Mizzou wrestlers earned pre-seeds, with the rest of the rankings coming out this morning.  Mike Chandler is a 3 seed at 157, with Nick Marable at 165, Raymond Jordan at 174, Max Askren at 197 and Mark Ellis at HWY all earning a #2 spot.

Oh yeah...and that one football game later this evening.

Random Thoughts:

• I tried to set a personal record for the most events and teams tagged in a Monday Musings...well done on my part
• My Jets completed what actually used to be a pretty predictable thing with their Decemeber swoon to miss the playoffs.  I was at the theatre yesterday afternoon and my DVR thought better of taping the game, so I did not get to see it...thanks DVR for protecting me like that.
• Good to hear Brad Smith completed a pass however, while he and CJ Mosley each had a tackle.
• Talk about the Cincinnati "Bungles".  They went ahead and won their last three games, playing themselves right out of a top-5 draft pick.  Oakland kind of does the same by winning their last two
• Equal chokes perpetrated by the Broncos and Bucs to be sure, as well as Chicago.  And who is scared of Indy at this point, winners of nine in a row?  GREAT game coming between them and the Chargers, though how the 8-8 Chargers get to host that is still a bit beyond me.
• Nice to see the Rams finishing their losing in style with their blowing a number of leads, including one after they came back to earn in the 4th quarter. 10 wins in two years between them and the Chiefs...just staggering.  I also love how the players want their head coach back...that's great...but who wants the players back?
• Matt Ryan is due to earn a sick amount of money in payment for shocking me and a number of other people this past season.  I believe the total is somewhere in the neighborhood of an additional 35 million or so over the life of his current contract thanks to escalators and bonuses.
• The week for my Devils did not turn out the way I was hoping, with them getting shut-out in back to back games before finally scoring (and winning) against the Rangers.  However, considering our crappy play of late against New York...I will take it.  And....I actually get to see my team in person tomorrow night, as they come to St. Louis for their one visit every three years.  Thanks for the unbalanced schedule NHL.
• Nice to see T Rucker catch 16 percent of the receptions for the Cleveland Browns.
• Happy New Year to all, and to Mizzou, a good night (tonight)