Mizzou Links, 7-5-10

Alright, I've got to ask: what's the difference between Stephen A. Smith and Chip Brown?  I ask simply because I'm not sure I know the answer.  Both of them found themselves in the middle of a ridiculously rumor-heavy story, and both breathlessly reported exactly what they thought they knew.  In Brown's case, it was that the Pac-10 was offering six Big 12 schools (correct), then Baylor was trying to get ahead of Colorado (maybe), then everybody hated Mizzou (doubtful), then Texas was a lock for the Pac-16 (false), then Texas A&M had decided to go to the SEC (false), then Texas regents would decide on Tuesday to officially join the Pac-16 (false), then ... the Big 12 is staying together (true)!!  Because he started and finished with something true, people were saying that he "dominated" this story from start to finish, even though he went about 2-for-7.  And hey, a .285 batting average certainly isn't bad, especially considering that first hit was absolutely a home run.

Meanwhile, Stephen A. Smith, former employee of ... well ... just about everybody at this point, breathlessly reported that Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh and LeBron James had met and agreed to all sign with the Miami Heat.  When that turned out to be false, he stated that "I stand by that reporting," and he got mocked incessantly for it.

Actually, no, it was Brown who said he stood by his reporting, saying it was correct at the time.  Smith, meanwhile, tweeted that "When I reported LeBron & Bosh going to Miami, that was going to happen."  In other words, it was correct at the time.  And yet, he got somewhat massacred (correctly) for it.  What's the difference?  Everybody who meets Chip Brown says he's a great guy, while Stephen A. has, to say the least, turned some people off over the years.  Is that it?

There is reporting, and there is gossip, and with Twitter, the line between them has officially disappeared (again, I say Twitter is the Internet of the Internet).  If you're a member of the club, you can get away with being wrong as long as you're eventually right.  (And if you just keep throwing things at the wall, eventually you will be right.)  If you turn people off, you're a revisionist journalist.  Either way, I just want to know what happens.  I don't want to know what might happen if things break right.  Tell me that after everything has died down.

Mizzou (and Big 12) Football Links

• The Trib: Exodus has Big 12 asking, 'Where's the beef?'
• KC Star (Campus Corner): Mizzou Safety Suspended Indefinitely
• Kansas
  Lawrence Journal-World: KU offensive lineman Thorson breaks foot
• Colorado
  Denver Post: CU's Hagan says Buffs will surprise

Mizzou (and Big 12) Basketball Links

• PowerMizzou: Summer Sessions: Mike Dixon
• PowerMizzou: Summer Sessions: Marcus Denmon
  
• The Trib: Steve Moore raising money to play on team in Europe
• The Missourian: Kids learn basketball fundamentals at Mizzou Arena
• Kansas State
  KC Star (Campus Corner): Dominique Sutton to transfer (Dammit ... I have to redo the damn projections again...)
  Big 12 Hoops: Dominique Sutton to Transfer from Kansas St.
  

"New Big 12" Links

• Post-Dispatch: MU chancellor discusses Big 12's future
• Tulsa World (Dandy Dave Sittler): Fireworks show set for Big 12 Media Days (because I can't help but pass along what Dandy Dave has to say...)
  
• College Football Talk: Lee Corso thinks Big 12 will survive (so ... we have ... THAT ... going for us)
• Big 12 Sports: Big 12 Conference Reprimands Texas Tech Football Coach Tommy Tuberville (and on the official website, no less ... sigh)
• Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Big 12 reprimands Tech coach Tuberville
• The Trib: Tuberville has Big 12 figured out

  Speaking for the skeptics, though, Tuberville blasted away at the hubris that oozed from the league’s salvation narrative.

  On Friday, Beebe answered Tuberville’s jab with a slap on the wrist. In a statement posted on the league’s website, the commissioner reprimanded Tuberville for violating what the Big 12 calls its Principles and Standards of Sportsmanship, which prohibit public criticism of league members.

  My guess is, though, if we polled Big 12 fans and asked them whether Tuberville or Beebe is more in touch with reality, the coach would win in a landslide. For being a rookie in the conference, Tuberville seems to understand the lay of the land. The Big 12 is still the unhappy marriage that stays together only for the joint coverage.

  ...

  Still, the revenue-sharing grievance has the fins of a red herring. The shuffling of a million bucks here or there is not the real divisive issue — it’s the unbalanced power and prestige that flows from the uneven distribution of money.

  But if a rising tide indeed lifts all ships in the Big 12 fleet, you better have a sturdy boat to handle the choppy waters. Otherwise, Tommy, tread lightly.

• Omaha World-Herald: Devaney had idea for Big Ten move in 1992

  One other interesting note from going over old files is a question about the conditions Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Baylor would require to join the Big Eight.

  Bill Byrne, Nebraska's A.D. at the time, said the four Texas schools had agreed to accept the Big Eight handbook of rules, which covered eligibility, tournament play and finances.

  That lasted about six months.

Oh yeah, and never forget that Dan Beebe is Terrible...

Other Mizzou Links

• Mizzou Track & Field
  The Trib: Is Cantwell the best 'clean' thrower ever?