That Laurence Bowers dunk from last night? A SportsCenter Top 10 highlight.

"Mizzou's 13-2" Links!

• Mutigers.com: Tigers sink Eagles, 88-55
• CoppinStateSports.com: McKee Moves into Second Place on Career Scoring List; Tigers Beat Eagles
• PowerMizzou: Laurence, Lawrence highlight Tiger win
• The Trib (pre-game): Critics don't bother Lawrence (though he doesn't name mcboomofdoom directly)
• The Trib (post-game): Lawrence lights up Coppin State
• The Missourian: Lawrence lights up Coppin State (that's right--same highlight)
• KC Star: MU pops Coppin State 88-55

  DeMarre Carroll followed every word, nodding his head in apparent understanding.

  No matter that Terry Moore — a sportscaster from Shenzhen, near Hong Kong — was speaking Chinese.

  “I speak no Chinese,” Carroll said, “but I’m an active listener.”

  So ended Missouri’s nonconference basketball season, with the 13-2 Tigers accepting plaudits from all over following the Tigers’ 88-55 victory over Coppin State. Including flowery congratulations from the Chinese TV journalist visiting the Missouri School of Journalism.

  Through a translator, the Chinese journalist with the American-sounding name, asked Carroll, Keith Ramsey and Matt Lawrence: “What chance do you think you can get yourself into the NBA, thanks.”

  ...

  Later, in a hallway inside Mizzou Arena, Lawrence was still shaking his head but smiling over the exchange.

  “He started off speaking in English, and then I realized he switched to Chinese,” Lawrence said. “I didn’t realize he was going to have a translator.”

• Post-Dispatch: MU aces its final warm-up act

No idea why I'm linking to this (it's still waaaaay too early), but I just knew you needed some Bracketology in your life, so here you go.  Gonzaga-Missouri in the West Region 7-10 game.  Better than the Kansas-Davidson draw, I'll say that much.

NFL Draft or Mizzou?  Well, it might finally be coming to an end: in two days, Jeremy Maclin announces his intentions for 2009.

Finally, in recruiting news, hold your breath: Ronnie Wingo is visiting Arkansas, and let's just say I'm pretty sure he's going to be told exactly what he wants to hear about playing running back, his coach actually staying there for five years, et cetera.  Chances are, if Wingo hasn't committed to Arkansas by Monday, his odds of becoming a Tiger end up getting awfully high, even though Tennessee is trying to sneak in the back door...

Well...the winter break for the Monday Musings is coming to an end.  While there was only football and basketball (of both varieties) played this past week, the schedule blossoms next week into a full-on docket of Mizzou sports.  So, I suppose I am going to take this chance to speak a little longer about a couple of sports as I have the time to dedicate to it.  In the end though, any time I say I am going to keep it short, I go long and any time I decide to go long, it ends up being short, so who the hell knows how this will finish.

Football:

First off, it is rather strange to talk about a football game which happened just about a week ago already.  However, maybe this will be a blessing in disguise, as it should provide some additional perspective which Tuesday did not hold.

I did not have many parameters for the college I wanted to attend when I started looking back in high school.  They needed to have a good journalism program (as it was to be my intended major) and I wanted a big-time college atmosphere because I so enjoyed sports.  Mizzou had both (obviously) with the J-school...and basketball.  Football was different in 1995.  Few my age could tell you of the history of the 60's and 70's, all we knew was we were not good, but it was fun to go to games at Faurot six times a year.  Hell, for all of my well-documented spirit for the Tigers, my first game (against North Texas) saw me sport a navy blue Mizzou sweatshirt.  Football, for better or worse, was social more than anything.

Don't get me wrong...I cheered hard that season.  I always cheered hard, even back in high school when I lived through 10 wins in four years and never a win on homecoming....though we did tie twice.  But expectations in 1995 did not exist, so I was endoctrinated into big time college football by being able to simply go and enjoy everything else, since enjoying the game was not really a steadily viable option.

The years went on and brought the Corby/Olivo/West years of 96-98.  We tore down the goalposts in beating a 4-7 kU squad to end 1996 at 5-6.  I have a piece of that post with the words, "The Corner has been Turned" written on it.  Did I believe that when I wrote it?  Probably, but did I understand what needed to happen for that to actually be true?  Nope...but we went out there and tore them down anyway and I wrote it nonetheless.

I learned a great lesson in November of 1997.  You see, the game against Nebraska was the first time I had seen the Huskers thanks to the transition of schedules from the Big 8 to the Big 12.  The ultimate experience which I always wanted was at my feet.  The chance to take down #1 at home.  I really finally knew what it was to be at a big time college football program.  The lesson learned that night was one of how to stay in the moment and enjoy the game for what it was.  I was able to do that for about 57 mintues that night, but I faltered right at the end.  In the end, I poured my soul into what I was watching and it broke my heart...and still does every time I see that play.  The fact I have a physcial reaction to seeing something 11 years later speaks to that.

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Before we get to the subject of that awesome pic above, I've got a few football-based links to share.  First, we've got this nice Dave Matter look at the ten plays that sculpted Mizzou's 2008 season.

4. Adios, Wildcats: A listless start against Northwestern at the Alamo Bowl picked up steam on Maclin’s 75-yard punt return a minute before halftime. "I swear," Daniel later said, "when that punt went up into the air … I said, ‘Mistake. Mistake. You all are going to pay for it.’ " Six points later, the Wildcats paid dearly.

And then he takes a more numbers-based look at everything.  And if that's not enough for you, the KC Star decides now's the time to do its season wrap-up as well.

Okay, now to basketball...Georgia wrap-up links!

• The Trib: Big swat, no sweat
• PowerMizzou: Tiller happy with homecoming win
• The Trib: All bad things must end
• The Missourian: Tigers win at Georgia to end road drought
• KC Star: Missouri earns rare road victory over Georgia
• Post-Dispatch: MU gains rare nonleague road win
• Athens Banner Herald: Late sloppiness does in Dogs
• Marietta Daily Journal: Tiller's Tigers down 'Dogs

Finally, last night during the Under Armour All-America Game, they were making a big deal about Nick Montana (Joe's son) committing to play in next year's UA Game...and I had a flash on how football recruiting and all-star games are about to get more political.  You have to figure now that both the UA game and the US Army All-American game will start getting commits from lots of big-time recruits well in advance of the game now...and guys like Sheldon Richardson (who acquitted himself very well in San Antonio this week), whose status as a big-time recruit wasn't solidified until much later in the recruiting process (when, late in his senior season, Rivals realized "Wait, he's 6'4/290 and he returns kicks??"), won't get a chance to prove themselves because most of the slots on the team have been filled for months before senior season even begins.

And maybe this isn't actually a big deal--I guess it depends on whether you think going to these events (and getting the week of practice against big-time peers) is valuable to a player's development.  If it is valuable...then, well, I guess the rich just got richer again, as the guys who are considered "big-time" before their senior years are either a) guys with big-time last names (like "Montana") or b) guys with early offers from the USC's and Florida's of the world.

Oh yeah, and you remember how grossed out you were the first time you realized that websites already had "Top Prospects" lists for 8th-grade basketball players?  Football just took a gigantic step in that same direction.

1 - With the 2008 season in the books for Mizzou, what's the single lingering image you take away from this Tiger season?  Doug, I bet I know what your answer is going to be...

2 - What would have been a better finish for Missouri this season--beating OSU or Kansas and losing the Holiday Bowl to finish 10-4, or losing to OSU and Kansas, but winning the Alamo Bowl (albeit it in uninspiring fashion) to finish 10-4?  Which one would have felt more satisfying/disappointing now that all is said and done?

3 - Disappointment or no, Missouri has gone 22-6 in the last two seasons and 30-11 in the last three.  Is this the high point of the Pinkel era, or can he bring Missouri back to this level again now that this batch of seniors (and at least one stud underclassman) have played their last game in Missouri uniforms?

4 - Mizzou plays Georgia on a basketball court in Athens this Saturday.  Georgia needed a buzzer-beater 3 to beat Wofford and has already lost to Loyola-IL and Texas A&M-CC (the A&M cross-country team?  Oh...A&M-Corpus Christi...).  What % chance does Missouri have of losing this game on Saturday?

5 - New Year's Eve plans?

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Disclaimer: Rather than the typical bullet point analysis, this post will be a long and meandering string of thoughts I forced into prose. Hang with me here as I give you a summation of my thoughts from four rows up in the Alamodome end zone.

Having been what appears to be one of the select few of RMN regulars who made it down to San Antonio for the Alamo Bowl, there's not much that hasn't been said here that I can add. More than anything, for as disappointing as the season was, it seemed like a season of moderate disappointment was bookended in similar fashion. Missouri began the season with a shootout with a Big Ten team that was fueled by a Maclin return in the first half and Sean Weatherspoon's dominance in the second half. Substitute "shootout" with "slugfest," and you have the exact recipe of Mizzou's Alamo Bowl victory.

Before I delve too deeply into Missouri's end of the equation, I first want to send some love the way of Evanston, Ill. As the 2008 campaign progressed, I was highly enamored with the coaching jobs done by the men in charge of two of Missouri's opponents: Buffalo's Turner Gill and Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy. You can now add Pat Fitzgerald to that list. I've always loved his fire, but after last night, I now respect the man's ability. It should have come as no surprise to me how disciplined NU was defensively and how solid the unit was in pursuit and in wrapping up ballcarriers.

Secondly, I think this game swings far more in favor of Missouri had Tyrell Sutton not been able to go. Before the game, it was clear from highlights that Sutton added a different dynamic to the NU offense, one I asked Lake the Posts to try and quantify last Thursday. Between outstanding balance, great hands (despite one being in a cast), a never-ending motor, and some quick burst, Sutton proved himself as the perfect scat back for NU's style of offense.

The atmosphere at the game seemed very reflective of the attitudes of each school entering the game. The Northwestern players and fans looked absolutely thrilled to be in San Antonio, while the Missouri players and fans looked somewhat determined to redefine the word "complacency." The warmups seemed uninspired, the drills seemed rusty. As ghtd36 passed on in the game thread, the team found motivation from the one man we knew we could count on to try to light a fire: Tommy Saunders (love that kid).

More rambling after the jump.

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It's been real fun to cover this all season...how did Mizzou and all these amazing athletes finish up after the Alamo Bowl?  And how many players can I link in one post?

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And six hours later, I'm back up to work on the Links...thank god we won that game last night...it took me about an hour and a half to get my heart rate down enough to go to sleep, and I'm going to need to buy a couple extra cups of coffee from Lakota this morning, but...winner winner, chicken dinner.

First of all, if you haven't checked out last night's open thread and live blog, you should do so.  It's worth your time.  Ahh, the ups-and-downs of sporting events.

(I still hate Mediacom, by the way.)

And now to the real links...

2008 Alamo Bowl Champions Links!

• Mutigers.com: official recap and box score.
• NUsports.com: official recap.
• The Trib: Tigers survive Alamo thriller
• The Missourian: Maclin shines (Loved the "I’m his roommate.  I can probably get him to stay." quote from 'Spoon)
• Post-Dispatch: Missouri's Maclin shows why Tigers will miss him
• The Missourian: For the Tigers, the final feeling is victory
• The Missourian: Sack saves Tigers
• KC Star: Missouri pulls out OT win in Alamo Bowl.
• KC Star: Upon Further Review live blog.
• Post-Dispatch: Missouri squeaks past Northwestern to win Alamo Bowl.
• Post-Dispatch: In the end, 'D' comes up big for Mizzou.
• ESPN's Tim Griffin: Daniel overcomes struggles in Missouri's OT win
• PowerMizzou: Escaping the Alamo.
• The Maneater: Tigers victorious in Alamo Bowl cat fight.
• Chicago Tribune: 'Cats can't scratch bowl game itch
• Chicago Tribune: Despite loss, Pat Fitzgerald should be at Northwestern for life
• Chicago Sun-Times: No moral victory for NU
• Chicago Sun-Times: Northwestern notes

Alamo Photo galleries!

• The Trib
• The Missourian
• Post-Dispatch
• Chicago Tribune

Are you serious, Jason Whitlock?  Is that Ball State loss to Buffalo still sticking in your craw?  Nothing you said was technically incorrect, but...we won!  We could have lost the Alamo Bowl like CU did to Wisconsin, or KSU did to Purdue, but we didn't.  We won.

And..."The Tigers have mastered the art of beating weak teams and sneaking past decent ones. We’ll call the Wildcats decent."  Really?  This year, we officially "snuck by" a whole two "decent" teams--Baylor and Northwestern...NW'ern being comfortably better than Baylor.  We beat a "decent" Nebraska team by 35 (was 42 until the final play of the game).  A "decent" Nevada team by 52.  A "decent" Buffalo team (that ruined your beloved Cardinals' dream season) by 21.  A "decent" Illinois team by 10 (was 17 until the final play of the game).  They've "snuck by" teams to the tune of 22 wins in two years--30 in three. That's so terrible--you're absolutely right.  Pinkel needs to accomplish more before he thinks about celebrating.

They might not have been as good as they were supposed to be this year--okay, they definitely weren't--but...they could have lost this game 26 different ways, and they didn't.  They shouldn't celebrate that?  They should have just refused the trophy, showered in shame, and gone home?  Really?  Enjoy the GMAC Bowl there, bud.

Finally, quickly to basketball to wash the taste of that lame column out of our mouths...all hail Jarrett Sutton, pick-up gamer extraordinaire...

1 - Who will miss All-Americans Chase Coffman and Jeremy Maclin more next year--the team or the fans?

2 - Lots of stories are coming out Blaine Gabbert's positive development from August through the bowl practices.  What should Mizzou legitimately expect from him in 2008?

3 - Missouri is ranked ahead of Kansas in basketball for the first time in at least five years.  What do you see from these two teams the rest of the season?

4 - Does anybody have a cooler nickname than the Stetson Hatters?

5 - How are you planning on celebrating Christm...uhh, Hanuk...uhh, Kwanz...uhh, Festivus...uhh, your chosen religious winter holiday?

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I'm not gonna lie...the links are pretty barren today...it's mid-week, and it's still almost two weeks until the bowl game, so...yeah...slim pickins here...

The KC Star and Post-Dispatch both have quick articles about the AP All-American awards for Jeremy Maclin and Chase Coffman...we've been so spoiled the last couple of years...playing without these two next year (and I'm going to continue to assume that Jeremy Maclin's gone) is going to be as big an adjustment for the fans as it is for the team.

As part of what will be an ongoing "Redshirt report" series, PowerMizzou has posted a decent interview with freshman WR Rolandis Woodland.

PM.com: How big is the next couple of weeks for a guy like you to kind of make a statement to the coaches before some of the younger guys might get to campus?

RW: "Oh yeah, it's really big. Coaches are telling me every day just to keep working hard. Just play the game and everything will come. The transition may be hard because some players may not know all the plays right now, but you go out and give it your all and things will fall into place."

Looking to score some knowledge on Mizzou Basketball's next opponent?  I know you are!  Check out the write-ups for Stetson's three games against major-conference competition:

• Texas 68, Stetson 38 ("Stetson showed why it has the potential to be one of the top defensive programs in the nation this season by holding the 7th ranked University of Texas to 68 points Friday night in Austin.")
  
• Florida State 79, Stetson 77 ("[A.J.] Smith made a layup with 42 seconds left in the game to get the Hatters to within two points. After a defensive stop at the other end Stetson had one last opportunity with nine seconds left to tie the game or win it with a 3-pointer. After driving the length of the floor Smith made a move for the basket and a layup in an attempt to draw a foul. There was plenty of contact yet as was the case most of the night the Hatters could not get a call from the ACC officials and the game ended.")
• Miami 79, Stetson 65 ("Stetson shot a disappointing 33.8% from the field in a game where 50% or better would be necessary to pull an upset. It is a statistic that the Hatters will look to improve upon heading into the A-Sun conference schedule that begins this week. So far this season is averaging 34.2% from the field. ")

Finally, we go to the YouTubes to scour for a video of Mizzou's most recent football commitment, Jarrell Harrison:

Oh baby...8 degrees...20 mph winds...a layer of sleet/snow/frozen rain on the roads...this is gonna be fun...

So it was a big weekend for Mizzou Football Recruiting...not necessarily in the "hosting uncommitted recruits" sense, but in the "hosting mostly committed recruits and solidifying everybody's commitments" sense (it seems to have worked).  The only big-name, uncommitted kid in town was Ronnie Wingo, who had a "perfect" trip.  He's insisting on taking five visits, but I think there's at least a small chance that doesn't happen.  His family's on-board with Mizzou, and I'm quite optimistic about our chances whenever he decides to pull the trigger.

Chase Coffman may not get his name on the wall, but he is indeed getting a mural...

Mizzou Back to Practice links!

• Dave Matter: Tigers get back to practice

  "The coaches will give significant reps to younger players during the pre-bowl practices in Columbia. Nobody took advantage of the extended time more on Saturday than freshman quarterback Blaine Gabbert. This was really the first substantial practice time I’ve seen from Gabbert since preseason camp back in August, and other than his No. 11, not much looked the same. He zipped some fastballs downfield during 11-on-11 drills, something we didn’t see much from Gabbert during two-a-days. On one, he fired a 30-yard rope to Wes Kemp between defenders that would have gone for a touchdown."

• PowerMizzou: Gabbert takes over
• Post-Dispatch: Maclin says jump to NFL isn't a done deal yet (of course...what else is he going to say?)

Carl Gettis: future leader.

Another day, another "What a disappointing season" article from Vahe Gregorian at the Post-Dispatch, this one on Chase Daniel and the Heisman...and yes, he's not the only one writing them...but I always notice when it's him...

To basketball.  Here is a handful of Murray State wrap-up links for you...

• The Trib: A little more than they bargained for
• The Trib: [Isaac] Miles lives the dream
• The Missourian: Missouri frontcourt held in check
• The Missourian: Tigers find a way to win
• KC Star: Mizzou wins sixth straight
• Post-Dispatch: Lyons leads Missouri past pesky Murray State

Finally, for those who don't keep up with stat-nerd Ken Pomeroy and his basketball rankings, you may want to check them out.  He's sooo over the RPI, he's come up with something better, and Mizzou's #9.  Fun.  It's too early to take that too seriously, but it does show that while Mizzou has beaten up on mostly cupcakes (USC's #33, Cal #46, and Mizzou's SOS is #6 in the Big 12), they've done it in a pretty statistically sound way, which is encouraging.  Now we just need DeMarre Carroll and Leo Lyons to hold onto the ball, and we're really in business...