1 - So...how many years did MU-KU take off of your life?  And can we just go ahead and agree to a nice, easy 41-6 Mizzou win next year?  Would be less stress for everybody involved.

2 - Since this is the question going around this week...knowing obviously that there is a bowl game still ahead, are you viewing Mizzou's 8-4 season as a successful one, or a bit of a disappointment?

3 - Picks!

Nebraska vs Texas

Missouri vs Vanderbilt

See what I did there?  I mixed sports!

4 - Just so we can spoil all the fun of Atch's (and his buddy's) Top 100 list, give me your favorite album of the 2000s.

RPT: 1 - 4 years, 7 months, 14 days and 10 hours. And trying to explain how I came to this number would take another month off my life.

2 - It's a success, no doubt about it. Yes, it can be viewed as a missed opportunity because of the opening in the North this season, but the program remains on the right trajectory and the pieces seem to be in place for contention into the future.

3 - Picks:

Nebraska <<< Texas
Missouri < Vanderbilt

4 - I don't know that I could narrow it down, but I will say that I was pleasantly surprised to click the link and find Justin Townes Earle on the list.

Michael Atchison: 1 - It took just one year off my life, but the conversion chart says that if we go for two next year, I’ll get it back.

And, sure, on some level, it would have been better if it were a blowout, and if every coaching move by our staff possessed the sweet aroma of genius, and if Briscoe and company hadn’t roamed the field with impunity, but there is no greater feeling in sport than the last-second win.  That.  Was.  Fun.

2 - I think most folks, at the beginning of the season, would have predicted that this would be the low point in a five-year run (not as good as the past two years, and likely not to be as good as the next two years).  And if 8-4 is the low point, I’m all in.  Was 10-2 within reach?  Sure, Baylor was a disaster, and the Nebraska game was, well, you saw it.  But we weren’t so far from 6-6 either (Bowling Green and Kansas).  So let’s call it a success.

3 - Nebraska vs Texas  I think Texas will win by three touchdowns, but if Nebraska can get to +2 in turnovers, watch out.

Missouri vs Vanderbilt  This could be a lot of fun.  Going up against a center as big and good as AJ Ogilvy is a real test.  I’m going to guess that the shooting form comes back, and that the Tigers force the pace more en route to a four-point win.

4 - The Hold Steady, Boys and Girls in America.

The Beef: 1 - I am not sure the game took off so much life as did the amount I drank.  Damn Mizzou pimp chalice really screwed me over.  Thing is big enough to pour two beers into…so I did…all afternoon.  By the time we went out to the bar after the MU/Richmond game, I believe I was already down 7 chalices…and as most of us know…I don’t drink light beer J  But yes, 41-6 next season would be lovely.

2 - I go back to the beginning of the season and all the questions we thought we would have, and I am fine with 8-4.  Could we have gone 10-2 without much changing?  Sure…but as I have so often talked about, expectations are important to take from the point at which they were initially created, which for me, was about August.  Yes…take away the ankle injury and I think we beat NU.  I will continue to say that the Baylor game will prove to be worth more in time than it was this season because of the lessons learned by the younger players (and the fact that there would be little difference in our potential bowl spot had we been 9-3 instead of 8-4).  So, short answer long, yes.  I think 8-4 (and don’t get me wrong, I want to and we SHOULD beat whatever Big 10 team we play in the Insight Bowl unless NU gets it done) is just fine for me.

3 - Nebraska vs Texas
Great segue by me…I like UT here to prove a point.  I think NU can keep this close…for a bit.

Missouri vs Vanderbilt
I just don’t like MU’s chances tonight down in that funky place.  Tough place to play and REALLY tough place to shoot if you are not accustomed to it because of the awesomely strange site lines.

4 - I don’t know that I could name ANY albums from the 2000’s.  I am guessing the only ones I have purchased in this decade were either live shows or the couple of Dave Matthews Band CD’s, so go with those.

Doug: 1 - Probably not as many as last year's game did. I was more enraged to see KU run about 15 seconds off the clock and then try a quarterback draw out of the endzone. Yeah, that worked well. On a side note, this is the third straight game between KU and MU where one team scored a safety, that's gotta be some kind of record, right? (This is code for, "Someone else look it up.")

2 - Really?

3 - Uh, yeah... Texas by a lot.
I know the Missouri offense has slowed down the past couple of games, but I'll still go with the Tigers.
Wait... are we not picking Alcorn St - KU?

4 - Here's the issue with this exercise: iTunes allows me to buy the songs I want, and not spend additional money on the rest of, what could be, a terrible album. I guess my point is, if you're still buying albums... why? That said, I do like O.A.R.'s release this year, All Sides and Jimmy Eat World's Chase this Light. Yes, I'm still college, what of it?

Michael Atchison: Because awesome albums continue to be awesome – they have logic and flow and pacing, and songs that work their way under your skin even if they don’t appeal to you at first.  And they look better on the shelf than mp3 files.

Doug: Yeah, I tried that shelf argument with DVDs, for some reason my wife didn't want our living room looking like a bachelor pad.

ZouDave: 1 - Are you kidding?  That game ADDED years to my life!  That was almost exactly what the doctor ordered.  Those beakers went from the euphoria of thinking "We're going to beat Mizzou again and have bragging rights for a year, we're going to be bowl eligible and save our sham of a season, and Reesing is going to go out a winner." to "Well, we're just completely giving up on football now." in the span of about 10 seconds.  How are you going to get a better feeling than that from a Mizzou victory over kansas?  The margin of victory for these 2 teams is unimportant.  When we pasted their asses in 2006 it didn't feel any better than it does right now.
 
I'll take breaking their hearts any day of the week.
 
2 - It's a successful season.  I had picked us 9-3 and finishing 2nd in the North.  We were one game off of my expectation and still finished 2nd in the North.  This is just about what I thought this team should accomplish this year.  The running game was FAR WORSE than I thought it would be, but the passing game was FAR BETTER.  The defense at times looked great, at other times it looked lost.  But regardless, this was a successful season.  It could have been better, but it could have been A LOT worse (see:  kansas).  The young players on this team learned how to press on through hard times (3 game losing streak, overcoming some bad performances to win games from behind) and they also got to see shining examples of what hard work can do (Weatherspoon and Alexander).
 
3 - Texas by their zip code.
Missouri by...oh, let's say 7.
 
4 - Christ...I have no idea.  I'm completely out of my element trying to talk music with this crowd.  And I don't think I've purchased more than 5 albums in this entire decade that weren't either soundtracks or greatest hits collections.
 
I'll say Blue Man Group "The Complex".

Michael Atchison: Bill, with this crowd, you may as well have asked then to name their favorite single-celled organism of the decade.

Doug: I'll go with the H1N1 virion. Never has a virus captured our hearts, minds and respiratory systems as much as this little fella.

Michael Atchison: The CDs don’t go in the living room, they go in the custom shelves that you build in your office, and then when you run out of space, they go in drawers in the basement (with a few littering your car for good measure).  Everybody knows that.

If anyone needs to get into the holiday music spirit, this blog comes highly recommended.

ZouDave:

ghtd36: Today is a perfect example of why sports are better than politics. Everyone's bickering about President Obama's speech last night, ranging from reasoned to irrational. Meanwhile, Mizzou fans are bickering about the Mizzou-Kansas game, ranging from reasoned to irrational.

Go sports. Boo politics. Everyone sucks but me.

1- I was at the ghtd36gf's house for the game, and as soon as Reesing got sacked for the safety, I was feeling a little giddy about our chances. When D-Wash broke the big run, I think I scarred her dog by screaming, "RUN, DUDE!" But by far, my favorite exchange came from the timeout before Ressel's game-winning field goal.

ghtd36GF: "Oh my gosh, if he makes this, we win!"
ghtd36: "Stop talking about it."
ghtd36GF: "Is there going to be any time left after he makes it?"
ghtd36: "Seriously, don't even talk about the kick."
ghtd36GF: "Oh, but what if he misses it? He's GOT to make it."
ghtd36: "Do NOT talk about the kick."
ghtd36GF: "It's right in the middle of the field! He's CAN'T miss it."
ghtd36: "SHUT UP!"

That marks just the second time in our lengthy relationship that I've told her to "shut up." Best part: she totally understood it, and wasn't even mad. The ghtd36gf is awesome. And so is Mizzou.

2- Let's see...new offensive coordinator, new defensive coordinator, new quarterback, new No. 1 receiver, new No. 2 receiver, new safeties, almost new defensive line, new tight end, new kicker...yeah, 8-4 is pretty darn good. And right where I expected them to be. Granted, I expected to beat Baylor and Nebraska, and lose to Illinois and Kansas, but regardless, I'll take it.

3- I'm very proud of you, Bill, for mixing the sports. You're truly the master of your craft.

Nebraska vs. Texas -- Texas. Last I checked, the spread was Texas -14. So, you know, FREE MONEY.

Mizzou vs. Vanderbilt -- Mizzou. Hopefully the Richmond game was a learning curve adjustment and nothing more, but the shooting's got to get better...just by a regression to the mean, right? Back me up on this, Numbers Boy.

4- I'll give out three awards.

Favorite Album: Ben Folds Live, by Ben Folds. Rockin' The Suburbs was, to me, an atrocity, simply because it got away from everything that Ben Folds (and subsequently, Ben Folds Five) is/was. The live album reminded me that yeah, he's pretty much my favorite artist of all time. (Honorable mention: Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor, by Lupe Fiasco.)

Most Underrated Album: Rollercoaster, by Randy Rogers Band. RRB has recently gained a little bit of fame for songs like "One More Goodbye" and "Kiss Me In The Dark," but for my money, their 2004 release is, top to bottom, their finest work.

Most Overrated Album: All That You Can't Leave Behind, by U2. God, this album beats me down to no end. "Elevation" sucks. "Stuck In A Moment" sucks. "Beautiful Day" sucks. This entire album sucks. It's the suckiest bunch of suck that ever sucked. Just because they were a great band doesn't mean that everything they did was wonderful, people. This is a perfect example of that.

The Beef: Does anyone want to talk about how the mom from Family Ties came out of the closet today?  Isn’t that pop culturish enough to make the roundtable?

ghtd36: What's Family Ties?

[/ducks]

ZouDave: it'd be far more newsworthy if Tina Yothers had a sex change and actually became a woman.

Doug: Meredith Baxter Birney? Holy crap.

Name me a better looking mom on a 1980's sitcom.

ZouDave: Joanna Kerns as Maggie Seaver on "Growing Pains" for one.

ZouDave: Judith Light as Angela Bower on "Who's the Boss" for two.

Michael Atchison: Phylicia Ayers-Allen-Rashad

Sadly, Charlotte Rae (Mrs. Garrett on Diff’rent Strokes and The Facts of Life) doesn’t technically qualify, as she was a housekeeper and a dorm adviser, not a mom.

Doug: Sorry, she loses points for acting opposite Tony Danza.

ZouDave: hey, anybody that can inspire Elton John to write a song about them should never be held in anything but the highest regard.

Michael Atchison: I can’t believe that we’re avoiding the real elephant in the room.  Grant Ressel was hardly the most famous Tiger to make news over the weekend.

The Beef: Lots of new news on that one Tiger…getting more and more interesting by the minute it seems

Doug: Did you guys see this from China?

It's amazingly life-like, and it's completely representative of what happened. Totally. Except for Tiger driving a mini-van.

Michael Atchison: I love that he’s now accused of having an affair with one of the stars of Tool Academy.  If you’re ever going to discreetly have an affair, you can’t go wrong sleeping with someone from a VH1 reality show.  There’s no way that she’d humiliate you for fame.

Doug: Well, if anything, VH1 now has a new reality show: T School, Do you qualify for the Tiger Tour?