I work for a school that has one of the best journalism schools in the country, and I understand that there's a time and place where anonymous, unnamed sources can be used correctly and effectively, but is there any way we can set up a system where you're not allowed to use unnamed sources until you've earned it?  Or better yet, is there any way we can set up a black list where, if you use unnamed sources to report rumor as fact, and it turns out there are no facts involved whatsoever, you earn a permanent spot on the list, and your reporting is never taken seriously again?  This crap is ruining both political and sports reporting, and it's got to stop if it's not going to be used correctly.

I am, of course, speaking of the Scout.com report of Bob Stoops agreeing to contract principles with Notre Dame despite boatloads of evidence to the contrary.  Irisheyes' Jeff Baumhower reported this yesterday, and it spread like wildfire across the Internet yesterday even though there was no confirmation of any sort of agreement.  When it turned out his reporting was false, he apparently quietly changed the article to a "list of possible candidates" sort.  I realize there's a rush to break stories, and that being able to say you broke a story is apparently more important than actually reporting facts, but again, I want a blacklist.

(And while we're at it, can we stop the "gotcha" crap?  When Stoops says "I'm coaching at OU next year, and I can't be in two places at once," an acceptable response isn't to ask "Why didn't you just say no?" and report that he stopped short of an outright denial.  He didn't.  That was a denial.  And besides, coaches will ALWAYS deny deny deny, whether or not something is actually going on, and there is no news here.)

But I digress.

Mizzou Football Links

• The Trib: Tigers roll into postseason
• PowerMizzou: Coaches, Prospects Hit Recruiting Trails
• The Trib: Best-laid plans, even if they are sketchy, don't go astray
  KC Star (Campus Corner): Border War Wrap: Hey Biletnikoff Committee
  Mizzourah: Post-game Thoughts: The End of the Mangino-Reesing Era
  Atomic Teeth: Mizzou/KU Post Mortem: The Sweetest Victory of All
  Dr. Saturday: Todd Reesing goes out the hard way with fading Jayhawks

Big 12 Links

• Post-Dispatch: Mangino awaits Kansas' decision
  KC Star: KU assistants talk to recruits but don't have much information for them
  The Tribune: Last harumph for the big man?
  Lawrence Journal-World: If this is the end, how will Mangino be remembered?
  Lawrence Journal-World: Uncertainty surrounds Kansas football
  KC Star (Upon Further Review): With Mangino ... look not at the nature of the complaints, but that they exist at all
  Joe Posnanski: You say Mangini, I say Mangino

  I find myself going back and forth on all these arguments, just as I go back and forth on Mark Mangino. On the one hand, I admire him a great deal. He came from nothing, worked his way up the hard way, reached the top of his profession against the craziest odds. And along the way he coached up a lot of players — players who still swear by him.

  On the other hand, I don’t really know what happened behind closed doors. And there are a lot of people — not necessarily soft people either — who say Mangino bullied them. And I don’t like bullies.

  ...

  On the other hand, is a coach yelling obscenities at a player really so bad? I mean we’re asking these players to put their bodies at risk for a scholarship and our entertainment. We know they might break bones and tear muscles — is a coach yelling really going to scar them? I was talking today to an old college football offensive lineman who said that his intense coach screamed the most vile things at him … and also taught him more about life than just about anyone.

  On the other hand, as a college football coach you cannot yell at a kid that he’s in danger of becoming an alcoholic like his father.

• The Ralphie Report: Dan Hawkins Interviewed by AM1510 - Klatt and Kreckman Show
• Burnt Orange Nation: Anatomy of Momentum: Replying Against A&M
  Dallas Morning News: If steady wins the race, look out for Brown and Texas
• Daily Oklahoman: Cowboys appear bound for Cotton vs. Ole Miss
• Omaha World-Herald (Lee Barfknecht): A promising season broken with injuries

  I’m not one to look for excuses, but you can’t ignore the common denominator — injuries — that sullied a potentially super season.

  ...

  Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford, the reigning Heisman winner, played in 1¾ games before a throwing shoulder separation ended his year.

  ...

  At Oklahoma State, defending Big 12 rushing champion Kendall Hunter hurt his ankle in the second game and never came close to full speed again. He went from 1,555 yards and 16 touchdowns last season to 288 yards and one TD.

  ...

  Baylor’s hopes for ending a 15-year bowl drought vanished when quarterback Robert Griffin, one of the nation’s most electrifying players, went down with a torn ACL in the third game.

  ...

  Missouri started 4-0, then saw Nebraska defensive superman Ndamukong Suh whip quarterback Blaine Gabbert to the ground like a rag doll.

  It’s no coincidence that while Gabbert played on the high-ankle sprain inflicted by Suh, the Tigers lost four of five games and looked bad doing it.

  Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing, as suspected, played much of the Big 12 season injured (groin). His coach, Mark Mangino, left Reesing open for criticism by not acknowledging the injury until two days ago — a brutal injustice.

BASKETBALL

• The Trib: MU adjusts to reality as the hunted
• The Trib (Steve Walentik): Some things I think ... after getting back from SPI
  

  Neither team played a packed-in defense, as I've seen some people say. Richmond, in particular, was guarding the Tigers out beyond the 3-point line and gave them very few open looks. The ones it got, MU simply failed to knocked down, shooting 2 of 11 from 3-point range, including 0-for-3 efforts from Zaire Taylor and Kim English. We don't know if the Tigers are closer to the shooting team they were in South Padre Island or the one that made 31 of 60 3-pointers in back-to-back wins against Texas-Pan American and Chattanooga.

  But more glaring was how much Missouri struggled to get open looks. Senior guard J.T. Tiller and English finally started taking the ball to the basket and trying to get fouled, but the ball never moved as crisply as the Tigers almost always seemed to last season. I have to think the biggest reason is Missouri doesn't have forwards as skilled and talented as DeMarre Carroll and Leo Lyons. They both could generate their own shots and were feared enough to force double-teams. They also had exceptional hands, which helped make them good passers and, just as important, allowed them to save a lot of less than perfect throws.