Rock M Nation: FanPosts

A WAAAAAAAY too early request for Florida tickets

2013-05-13T15:08:30Z

The wife and I planned an autumn retreat to Missouri and we've got B&B reservations in Rocheport the weekend of the Florida game.

If anyone has a family wedding, hunting excursion or other take-you-away-from-Mid-MO that weekend plans I am willing to help you defray the cost of a pair of tickets.

I've got StubHub credit but I'm more than willing to deal with my fellow True Sons directly.

Thanks...

The wife and I planned an autumn retreat to Missouri and we've got B&B reservations in Rocheport the weekend of the Florida game.

If anyone has a family wedding, hunting excursion or other take-you-away-from-Mid-MO that weekend plans I am willing to help you defray the cost of a pair of tickets.

I've got StubHub credit but I'm more than willing to deal with my fellow True Sons directly.

Thanks...

Where Does Mizzou Basketball Fit in the SEC

2013-05-07T17:11:25Z

There's a legitimate chance that Mizzou will go through some real growing pains next season, as the program makes the final stage of the transition from Mike Anderson to Frank Haith's players. Gone are the final to holdovers from the Anderson era, Laurence Bowers and Phil Pressey. That of course is true as well for two of our one-year transfers, Keion Bell and Alex Oriakhi. This team will be talented, but it will be young, inexperienced talent, especially in the frontcourt.

I'm not sure that the timing is all that good for that right now. This past season would have been the perfect time for a rebuilding team to thrive in the SEC finish in the top half of the league. But I think we'll see that change now. Kentucky and Florida will be elite. Tennessee shouldn't be all that far behind, and teams like Alabama, Vanderbilt, LSU, and Ole Miss should be real tournament contenders. Ole Miss actually doesn't return that much, but I'm betting on the Auburn fan base's favorite guard to make something happen. So the question is where Mizzou fits in to all that.

Of course, we can't know that until the season starts. Much will ride on the development incoming talent. Jordan Clarkson is the most obvious candidate for a newcomer to break through, and he should do a solid job sharing the point guard spot with Wes Clark. But our greatest need is in the post. Whether Missouri can hang with good teams is going to depend on whether Tony Criswell can become a go-to post option, and whether Johnathan WIlliams III or Kenau Post can develop quickly enough to be major contributors. Everything I'm about to say hinges on that.

With that said, even in the best case scenario, I seriously doubt Missouri can be near the top of the league with Kentucky and Florida. In my mind, both enter the season as serious national title contenders, and if Mizzou couldn't be at that level last season, I don't see it happening now. The goal should be to stay solidly in that second tier, with Tennesee, Alabama, Ole Miss, and LSU.The SEC should be much better this coming season, and it seems very likely that this would be enough to put this team right in the heart of the tournament discussion. Missouri should have the opportunity to pick up plenty of quality wins in conference, and given the expected road struggles, they really must hold serve at home against everyone besides Kentucky and Florida. If you can do that, you'll take your chances that you can win a couple of road games.

It's impossible to predict what Mizzou's conference record could look like, without seeing a schedule. That is the world of a 14 team league and the corresponding unbalanced scheduling. We could get Florida and Kentucky twice each, or once each, or some combination, and you'd think that could drastically affect the final record. But by looking at the talent level, I am willing to guess where we might finish in comparison to the other teams in the league. I've already said that I think that Kentucky and Florida are all but out of reach. Tennessee should be awfully good as well, so I see them finishing ahead of Missouri. Missouri absolutely could leapfrog into fourth place at that point. But given what LSU, Ole Miss, and Alabama (even after the transfer of Trevor Lacy) return, I am going to predict Missouri to finish 7th in the league, and win anywhere from 8 to 10 conference games. That would not be remotely ideal, but you could do worse in a total rebuilding season.

So what do you think? Too pessimistic? To optimistic? Just plain stupid for writing something like this six months before the season?

Galveston Tuna Safari, May 2013 (Part Two: That's the Way [Tuna Fishing] Go)

2013-05-07T05:08:20Z

"Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off--then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can."

--Herman Melville Moby Dick

Herm was onto something there. Putting to sea can often be a success in and of itself. For instance, I have been trying, and failing to board one of these tuna boats since early March--and even this one was very nearly canceled. As a matter of fact, what was to be a 40 hour trip was truncated to 36 hours, and with that, an entire destination change. But I could not have cared less about any of that. I was just ready to shove off, put land to the stern, and just unplug for a couple of days. In fact, I almost saw actually catching fish as a nice little bonus. Good thing, too, or I'd be really dejected by the trip I just experienced. But I'll get to that.

Now, several people were really upset about the change in plans. Seems the whole point of the 40 hour run was to head to this monstrous oil rig somewhere out there that takes 11 hour to reach. This old timer showed up with a cooler full of cut blackfin tuna that he intended to use for bait. I have no idea what he intended to catch once he got there. He told me that this mystical rig is "the second tallest free standing structure in the Western hemisphere." Seems like I've heard about ten different buildings referred to as such over the years, but it made for a good story anyway. A few guys got their refunds and went back home. Apparently they have tried to make this trip on four separate occasions and each one has been canceled. I might take that as a hint.

Nevertheless, a more traditional trip was planned in place of whatever that was, and most of us went along for the ride. They let us board at 5:30. I got a bunk all to myself. Scoreboard! Usually I'm sharing a bench with a stranger and trying to sleep in a seated position hunched over my backpack + pillow. This might as well have been the Ritz.

It may look awful, and it kind of was, but I loved every minute of it. I took a lower bunk that was nice and dark. This meant when I wasn't fishing, I could get real sleep. I also took a DVD player, and worked my way through The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly and half of For a Few Dollars More. Awesome. The food, however: Not awesome. I have never used this boat before, and I really liked it. Nice, friendly people. But, wow. They won't let you bring on your own food or drinks (which most other boats do), and then you find out they don't even have a grill! For the next 36 hours it's chips, candy, and whatever they can microwave. The 7-11 style microwave cheeseburger--not so excellent as a best option.

So, the fishing. During the day we made several stops looking for vermilion snapper (AKA beeliners), grouper, and other reef fish. This is exactly what we do on 12-hour boats. I wasn't all that excited about these stops, but I should've been. We were each rigged up with two hooks and cut squid, like so:

On my very first cast, I caught a keeper red snapper (if it were red snapper season, which it isn't) on one hook and a nice Atlantic sharpnose shark on the other. This would be my most successful moment over the entire 36 hours.

Side note: There is currently a urine-dispensing competition between state and federal authorities over red snapper fishing. In fact, TX, LA and FL have filed a joint suit; we'll see were that goes pretty soon. Here's the issue: The states won't close their red snapper season to recreational fishermen, so the Feds are fighting back by cutting their season down to 12 DAYS TOTAL (June 1-June 12). Oddly enough, the boats I use ONLY have federal permits (no idea how that works), so that puts a serious crunch on their entire operation. Don't get me wrong: I'm all in favor of sustainable fishing quotas. My son will likely see the day that the great bluefin is finally fished into extinction, and that breaks my heart (totally different conversation). However, the red snapper is the most ubiquitous fish in the Gulf of Mexico. They are like carp or bluegill on Tablerock. Friggin' EVERYWHERE. You seriously have a harder time avoiding them than you do catching them. On Saturday, I accidentally caught 20. 15 will be considered keepers one month from now--when I will be allowed to keep two. No one can convince any Gulf fisherman that this is a species in decline.

I did keep 4 beeliners and the shark, which is pretty decent. Then we moved to the tuna grounds. First up: The Nasen Spar. We got there at 8:00 PM or so.

You know, here's the good news: I can finally cross the yellowfin tuna off my bucket list! Well, sort of. If you would've told me that I would catch ZERO blackfin on this trip, but I would catch TWO yellowfin, I would've done a cartwheel. Because I would not have instantly remembered that (unlike blackfin) yellowfin have to be 27" long fron the mouth to the fork in the tail. Mine weren't. They were the perfect size for blackfin, and they went right back into the ocean. I actually made a 9 second Windows Movie Maker clip of one of them, but I got severe Tired Head trying to figure out how to include it here. So try this: Think blackfin, but with yellow fins. There. We also went to the Boomvang Spar.

All told, I had two tuna break my line, and I caught two undersized yellowfin. And that was fishing non stop from 8:00 PM to 3:00 AM. Four bites total, over all those hours. I finally just retired to my bunk and gave up the whole idea. Oh, and the boat landed 156 blackfin. Yeah. This guy next to me got blanked also. It's never happened to me before, but it always happens to several people each trip. I mean, I always knew when I caught 3 and 20+ people each took multiple fish, but the boat only took 65--for 40 people.. Well, that had to mean several people got nothing at all. My turn, I guess. But dang. 0 for 156? Those are Josh Hamilton numbers. I learned something new that night: If you aren't catching tuna, overnight tuna fishing SUCKS! It's exhausting, and way past my bedtime. My back was killing me. You have to jig for tuna, which means you are in constant motion. I nearly injured myself while failing at fishing. Not just anyone can say that.

This guy at the starboard/stern corner caught 22 by himself. Using exactly the same jig I was using (and the guy next to me, for that matter). To paraphrase Rangers manager Ron Washington: That's the way [tuna fishing] go. A deckhand told me that guy comes on every trip. If he's that hot every trip, then Greenpeace needs to pay him a visit. Maybe even the Sea Shepherds. I went from being happy for him, to trying not to look in his direction at all. By 1:00, I was seriously considering finding his bunk and throwing all of his dry clothes off the bow. He was an absolute machine. The jerk.

We started fishing again on Sunday around 1:00, and more failure was headed my way--but this time I kind of liked it. Maybe I have a syndrome or something. I think I was just glad my old-man back felt better.

Sunday Failure #1: Let me introduce you to the ling (AKA cobia, and not to be confused with the lingcod over in the Pacific):

Never caught one, but they too are on my bucket list. I am told they are the best table fair the sea has to offer. I had one on that dwarfed this fine specimen. It was a full five feet in length. And I lost it because the deckhands took their time to gaff it. Here is a transcript of the actual conversation (while my 5' ling splashes around against the hull of the boat):

Deckhand One: "Hey [Deckhand Two], you gonna get that?"

Deckhand Two: "No, you can."

Deckhand One: "But I'm like, untangling these knots and stuff."

Deckhand Two: "Oh, my bad. Okay. Hang on."

[Snap!]

The entire starboard side of the boat let out a collective moan on my behalf. Even The Jerk said, "That fish was crazy big! Sorry, dude!" It would have easily been the biggest fish landed on the trip. I looked up at the end of my rod, the little tassel of frayed line flapping in the wind. Deckhand One brought me some more hooks and a sinker, and he was gone. He didn't even stick around to retie it for me. I think they were afraid I was going to lose it, and they all headed to the port side waiting for my storm to blow over. But I didn't lose it. I just rigged the pole again and kept fishing. Things happen. But I've got to tell you: That one hurt. Hurts.

Sunday failure #2: This one doesn't bother me nearly as bad, for some reason. Maybe it was because I didn't lose this fish through the indifference of someone who would eventually expect a tip from me. Maybe that was why. No, this was just a beautiful thing to watch.

I was fishing with a whole threadfin herring that my neighbor gave me. I left the spool open so any would-be takers could run off with it before I set the hook. Line started to leave; I engaged the spool. In no time this fish was on the move! I had to go down the rail to the corner, displacing The Jerk (who was a really nice guy, actually). I stood on the corner and line continued to strip off my spool faster than anything I have ever seen. As I neared the end of the spool, I began to come to terms with the fact that I had no way to slow this...whatever it was down. I think I began to say goodbye right then. But the interesting thing was, a guy on the stern had a different fish doing the exact same thing--stripping line against the drag and swimming out to sea at an incomprehensible speed. Our lines were parallel for about 10 seconds. And then, almost on cue, the two fish crossed paths with each other and broke both lines in one single motion. Random or not, I had to admire it. It was like watching kids fighting with kites. I would've liked to at least known what it was. Probably a huge yellowfin or an amberjack, I guess. But it was mighty fast and strong, whatever it was.

And that was it. Trip over. Reel in and get ready for 5 1/2 hours of ride back to shore. I actually caught about 35 fish, but I ended up with 7 vermilion snapper, a dumb old trigger fish, and that shark--absolutely nothing I couldn't catch on a 12 hour trip. The boat in general, did just fine.

Oh, and by the way: Barracuda have no sympathy for fish in distress.

Who knows. Maybe this was a karma purge to set up for an awesome 2014? During this trip I discovered that the old adage "Good things come to those who wait" is a mathematical certainty. Why? Because either "something good has come" or you're "still waiting." I had a really good time, tuna or no tuna. I did happen to get this one picture of Boomvang Spar that I think may come in handy during some of our more heated debates here at Rock M, and that has to count for something, doesn't it? So this one is up for grabs, should anyone find it useful for some reason. I guess it pretty well summed up my mood by about 3:00 AM. Sorry.

Anyone have a recipe for shark steak teriyaki?

--Herman Melville Moby Dick

I did keep 4 beeliners and the shark, which is pretty decent. Then we moved to the tuna grounds. First up: The Nasen Spar. We got there at 8:00 PM or so.

Sunday Failure #1: Let me introduce you to the ling (AKA cobia, and not to be confused with the lingcod over in the Pacific):

Deckhand One: "Hey [Deckhand Two], you gonna get that?"

Deckhand Two: "No, you can."

Deckhand One: "But I'm like, untangling these knots and stuff."

Deckhand Two: "Oh, my bad. Okay. Hang on."

[Snap!]

Oh, and by the way: Barracuda have no sympathy for fish in distress.

Anyone have a recipe for shark steak teriyaki?

Missouri to play in Las Vegas Invitational

2013-05-02T23:53:06Z

Missouri is scheduled to play in the Las Vegas Invitational, an 8-team tournament/event Nov. 29-30.

The way this tournament works is there are four hosts and four "visitors". The four hosts are mid majors or high majors, with the four visitors usually being cupcakes. Each of the four hosts plays a game in its home arena against two of the visitors. Those "home games" have no bearing on the bracket in Vegas, but they do count as part of the four games you can exempt as part of the event.

Then, all eight teams head to Las Vegas in two four-team brackets -- the hosts and the visitors. Winners play winners and losers play losers in each bracket.

The four hosts, currently, for the 2013 event are Missouri, Nevada, Northwestern and UCLA. The same UCLA we are scheduled to play a home game against, as well. The four cupcake "visitors" haven't been announced yet.

If that field remains as is, the only way we would avoid playing UCLA is if we were matched up against the other two hosts in the semifinals and then either Mizzou or UCLA lost, of course.

Note: I corrected the headline as someone has posted in PowerMizzou that the format, at least for this year, would be changed so Missouri and UCLA would not play each other. That would involve not having a four-team bracket, as I illustrated, but simply by having Missouri and UCLA both play Nevada and Northwestern, but not each other. In my view, that makes the event totally lame, but thought I'd pass it along.

Missouri is scheduled to play in the Las Vegas Invitational, an 8-team tournament/event Nov. 29-30.

Then, all eight teams head to Las Vegas in two four-team brackets -- the hosts and the visitors. Winners play winners and losers play losers in each bracket.

2013 Football and Moderating Expectations

2013-05-01T18:18:28Z

Hey, y'all, I'm not exactly new to this blog, I'm just new to having an account and posting things. Basically, I got tired of standing on the sidelines watching commenters have fun making things green. But now I've taken the plunge, so here goes nothin'. I'm all in.

I think it's a pretty commonly accepted fact that Mizzou didn't have a good year in 2012. We saw good things, like a red-zone INT to seal a win vs a Pac-12 team, we saw what I consider one of the most exciting games I've seen in my short 20 years end with an SEC road W at Rocky Top and we saw potential from the youth in DGB and Boehm. Overall however, only 5 wins was a disappointment. With what this program has been building on in the last 8 years or so, 5 wins made me shake my head. I was there for every home game, and I feel pretty confident in saying that Mizzou was 5-10 plays from us singing a different tune this offseason. With that being said, you are what your record is. And 5 wins isn't good.

With the 2013 season not too far off, there's still time to whip yourself up into a frenzy of "Why, with that home schedule we'll win 10 games easy!" or you may want to spend your time building a bomb shelter to protect yourself from the nuclear fallout when the team scrapes together 3 victories.

For me personally, I always have optimism when it comes to my sports team. I believe that's the whole point. Believing your team can win. However, I don't know what to expect from this team. They have to improve offensively, which I think they will. Defensively, they can't have any games like against South Carolina. That's just unacceptable for myriad reasons. The collapse against Syracuse is something that will happen from time to time. Happened to LSU against Alabama, so it sucks, but it happens to the best, too.

Since the Spring Game I've seen several polls with the majority of answers believing 8 wins is the mark for this team. That's what my dad believes, that's what my friends tend to think and apparently it's what everybody on RMN believes, too. When I look at the Missouri Tigers schedule I see a 4-0 start. Anything less than that is shake your head worthy. On the road against Indiana SHOULD be a two-score victory for a team that wants to be taken seriously in the SEC. If Mizzou went there and won something like 27-10 I'd be ecstatic and expecting a victory two weeks later against Vandy, too. Vandy is a good team, but Missouri needs to beat the teams that Bama, LSU, Georgia and Florida beat in the SEC if they want to move towards becoming that. Even after the season, when Vandy had turned in a solid year, I was embarrassed Mizzou dropped that game at home.

Not sure anybody is giving the team a chance @ Georgia. Fair, but I've seen stranger things.

The three game home stretch is nerve-wracking. If the attitude going into this game is the same as it would be for a similar Big 12 home-stretch of Baylor, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State they'll drop all 3 games. I'm very worried that as a whole, the team, school and fans haven't quite adapted to the SEC being a different level of intense on Saturday. I believe this part of the schedule could make or break the season as a whole. Beat any combination of 2 of those 3 and I'll be an extremely pleased fan. Drop all 3 and now the team will have its back against the wall going into Oxford clawing to make a bowl game.

Whereas, in a perfect world, AKA 2007, the Tigers would be 8-2 going down to Oxford. Which at that point, they should beat the Rebs, which would make for one hell of a finale against A&M. A finale showdown against A&M that could very well decide if Mizzou is playing in Atlanta for a championship, (Note: this is a highly unlikely scenario, but the wins are there, and I've watched Gary Pinkel-coached teams play in back to back conference championship games.)

This is the best part about being a fan. I commend Pinkel for bringing the program to this point. I see 3 games that I'm fairly sure the Tigers will lose, but I also see 9 games where Mizzou has the talent to put themselves in a position to win. I'm expecting less injuries, an improved Franklin and hopefully a defense that turns teams over and can get off the field on third down.

It's okay to think this team can only win 3 games, haters have been around forever. But it's also rational to demand 8 wins from this team. I'm demanding 8 wins. That's my expectation. Of course, 10 is possible, and so is 5. With a favorable home schedule, 8 is solid ground for me. Those are my expectations in moderation. Always expect in moderation.

Not sure anybody is giving the team a chance @ Georgia. Fair, but I've seen stranger things.

YouTube Account & New Videos

2013-04-27T19:26:08Z

Hello everybody! Im sure some of you remember me posting about a month ago with that basketball highlights video I made! Well, I haven't stopped producing videos! I launched a new series called "Player Profile" and have made these two videos so far--->

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jzQdad6iTc (Johnathon Williams III)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4A9b80R680 (Wes Clark)

I plan on making more of these in the future, not only for basketball but for football as well. I don't NEED subscribers to create these, because I love producing content like this for fellow Mizzou fans! I have a Facebook page where I will be posting edited Mizzou backgrounds, more videos, and even more! Its here-->https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mizzou-Tube/170296099787206

Have a great day, and GO TIGERS!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jzQdad6iTc (Johnathon Williams III)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4A9b80R680 (Wes Clark)

Have a great day, and GO TIGERS!

2013 Football Schedule Breakdown

2013-04-09T23:42:23Z

Week 1: vs. Murray State

Missouri WIN 44-7

Week 2: vs. Toledo

Missouri WIN 33-16

Week 3: @ Indiana

Missouri WIN 38-14

Week 4: vs. Arkansas State

Missouri WIN 31-10

Week 5: @ Vanderbilt

Missouri WIN 28-17

Week 6: @ Georgia

Georgia WIN 27-13

Week 7: vs. Florida

Florida WIN 14-10

Week 8: vs. South Carolina

South Carolina WIN 30-7

Week 9: vs. Tennessee

Missouri WIN 42-17

Week 10: @ Kentucky

Missouri WIN 27-6

Week 11: @ Ole Miss

Missouri WIN 17-10

Week 12: vs. Texas A&M

Texas A&M WIN 42-24

The Tigers can realistically finish 8-4 (4-4 in SEC) and can possibly finish 9-3 (5-3 in SEC) if they beat the Gators in Columbia which is a winnable game. A game to not overlook though is in Oxford at Ole Miss they have great freshman but I don't think they can dominate yet, a loss there would put us at 7-5. However I don't see the Tigers dropping below .500 this year and the non-conference schedule is an almost guaranteed 4 wins.

Week 1: vs. Murray State

Missouri WIN 44-7

Week 2: vs. Toledo

Missouri WIN 33-16

Week 3: @ Indiana

Missouri WIN 38-14

Week 4: vs. Arkansas State

Missouri WIN 31-10

Week 5: @ Vanderbilt

Missouri WIN 28-17

Week 6: @ Georgia

Georgia WIN 27-13

Week 7: vs. Florida

Florida WIN 14-10

Week 8: vs. South Carolina

South Carolina WIN 30-7

Week 9: vs. Tennessee

Missouri WIN 42-17

Week 10: @ Kentucky

Missouri WIN 27-6

Week 11: @ Ole Miss

Missouri WIN 17-10

Week 12: vs. Texas A&M

Texas A&M WIN 42-24

Poll

How many football games will the Tigers win in the 2013 regular season?

10 games or more

8 votes

9 games

10 votes

8 games

29 votes

7 games

25 votes

6 games

10 votes

5 games or less

2 votes

84 votes | Poll has closed

NCAA Wrestling Tournament Day 3 Live Thread

2013-03-23T14:18:30Z

Well, yesterday was very much a good news/bad news sort of day at the nationals. Good news is we tied our team record from 2009 and qualified 5 wrestlers for the All American round. The bad news is our two top ranked wrestlers both fell in the semifinals and will now have to wrestle another match just to get into the 3rd place match.

Here is a breakdown of where each of our 5 guys is at the moment:

Waters is wrestling against #9 ranked Sprenkle of NDSU. Winner gets to move onto the 3rd place match, loser wrestles for 5th.

McCormick is already in the 7th place match against #8 ranked Brewer of Oklahoma.

Houdashelt is wrestling against #6 ranked Ness of Minnesota to get into the 3rd place match, loser wrestles for 5th.

Larson is already in the 7th place match against #6 ranked Loder of UNI.

Dom Bradley is wrestling against #10 ranked Trice of CMU. Dom has beaten trice I think twice already this year but its still an interesting match up because Trice did not Dom out of the olympic qualifier last year. Winner advances to the 3rd place match.

There you have, 3 guys still wrestling for 3rd place. 2 guys looking to finish the season with a win and give the team valuable points we head towards the end of tourny.

Here is a breakdown of where each of our 5 guys is at the moment:

Waters is wrestling against #9 ranked Sprenkle of NDSU. Winner gets to move onto the 3rd place match, loser wrestles for 5th.

McCormick is already in the 7th place match against #8 ranked Brewer of Oklahoma.

Houdashelt is wrestling against #6 ranked Ness of Minnesota to get into the 3rd place match, loser wrestles for 5th.

Larson is already in the 7th place match against #6 ranked Loder of UNI.

There you have, 3 guys still wrestling for 3rd place. 2 guys looking to finish the season with a win and give the team valuable points we head towards the end of tourny.

I love Mizzou

2013-03-22T17:18:38Z

I love Mizzou.

I feel like it needs to be said. I love Faurot Field and Mizzou Arena. I love Francis Quadrangle, each of the six columns, Jesse Hall, and Memorial Union. I love our football, basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, wrestling, swimming, diving, track & field, cross country, and all the other teams. I'll support them with a big M-I-Z Z-O-U all day every day. Mizzou Arena sold out for a rivalry game is the best place in the world.

I love being an SEC member. I love playing against the indisputably best college teams in the country. I love Marching Mizzou, I love Every True Son, Fight Tigers, The Missouri Waltz, and of course the Alma Mater, Old Missouri. I love Truman the Tiger. I love the gold bleachers at Faurot Field and the black ones at Mizzou Arena. I love the Rock M on the hill. I love the Tiger logo. I love the diamonds in the end zone and I love "The Norm".

I love my fellow students and our professors. I love One Mizzou. I love the great things that this University does. And even more I love the great things the students at this great University do. I love all the students who went out in massive amounts of snow to help people move their cars.

I love Mizzou. Sure, the much anticipated Inaugural SEC season didn't go as planned for football and basketball. But you're lying if you didn't enjoy the ride. The Georgia game was amazing, it didn't fall our way at the end, but in my mind, we proved that we belong on the field with great teams. And then Kenronte's interception in the end zone to beat Arizona State! It sucked not making a bowl game, but we got to see some great plays anyways. We've got DGB coming back and of course SUPER AWESOME DEMIGOD OF A RUNNING BACK OF GREATNESS HENRY F'ING JOSEY is returning, 162 days and counting ladies and gents.

Maybe we didn't win the SEC in basketball, or even dominate it. But remember Keion dunking over six people at Mizzou Madness? Remember taking down Illinois and retaining Braggin Rights AGAIN? Remember knocking off a top five team in Florida with an awe inspiring comeback? Remember throwing Mike Anderson out of Mizzou Arena in 30 point victory style? Even though South Carolina was bad, it's never a bad thing to beat Frank Martin twice in a season. Remember our fans doing the impossible and shutting Marshal Henderson up for 40 minutes? Remember the good times you had with friends and family tailgating and watching games?

I want as much as anybody for next year to be better. I want to go back to a bowl game, winning eight or nine games in the process. I want the regular season and tournament SEC crowns. And I want a deep tournament run. But just because those things didn't happen this year, doesn't mean I'm turning my back on Mizzou, or even saying I didn't enjoy it.

I love Mizzou. M-I-Z!

I love Mizzou.

I love Mizzou. M-I-Z!

NCAA Wrestling Tournament Day 2 Live Thread!

2013-03-22T13:40:24Z

Once again guys please rec this so it stays at the top of the fant posts.

What a turn around from last years tournament for these Tigers! All 10 wrestlers thru to the 2nd day of wrestling. 4 wrestlers still undefeated and in the quarterfinals. Those quarterfinals will be on espnU this morning and then wrestle backs will go back onto espn3.com I believe.Here is a link or two I found this morning to get you all caught up:

Updated Brackets after Day 1

Track Wrestling Live Results

So, lets all get set for another awesome day of rastlin and kickin butt #TigerStyle !!!

Once again guys please rec this so it stays at the top of the fant posts.

Updated Brackets after Day 1

Track Wrestling Live Results

So, lets all get set for another awesome day of rastlin and kickin butt #TigerStyle !!!

NCAA Wrestling Tournament Day 1 Live Thread

2013-03-21T13:30:15Z

Hey guys, Beef and I will be around today, tomorrow and Saturday to keep track of everything thats going on with our Mizzou wrestlers at the national championships up in Des Moines. We will try to keep some updated links in the fan post and will have results in the comments below. You can follow along as well with THE WRESTLING TRACKER or thru espn3.com which did a really good job last year of showing a lot of wrestling. Mizzou wrestling on twitter also does a really good job of fairly close to live updates on matches as well, follow them @mizzouwrestling

Dont forget to check out the write ups Beef did in preparation for the tourny as well:

125-157

165-HWY

Brackets to start the day

Dont forget to check out the write ups Beef did in preparation for the tourny as well:

125-157

165-HWY

Brackets to start the day

After the success of the video, Facebook page will be launched!

2013-03-19T08:16:35Z

Hello everybody, thanks for watching my video! I knew you would enjoy it!

I love making videos connecting with other tigers and I want to take it to the next level!

By creating this facebook page, it should connect tiger fans in a unique way.

This page will let me view requests for videos and, if big enough, have contests frequently with prizes!

I cant do this without YOU GUYS!!

Heres the link to the page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mizzou-Tube/170296099787206

I plan on making videos for my fellow tigers for a long time, because I love spreading my passion and love for the school onto others! Please make this dream a reality!

From a fellow Tiger FANATIC,
THANK YOU!

...and heres that video I promised!

2013-03-18T01:08:23Z

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdtCzL8XIFQ

Heres that video I promised was on its way! I hope you guys enjoy it!

It would really mean a lot if you guys could subscribe! I really look forward to putting more videos like this up!

Anything helps!

If anyone has any requests for a video, just shoot me a message over YouTube!

I didnt know batman and mizzou basketball would mix so well.... :)

Have a good week everybody!

J Shea

..heres that link again.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdtCzL8XIFQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdtCzL8XIFQ

Heres that video I promised was on its way! I hope you guys enjoy it!

It would really mean a lot if you guys could subscribe! I really look forward to putting more videos like this up!

Anything helps!

If anyone has any requests for a video, just shoot me a message over YouTube!

I didnt know batman and mizzou basketball would mix so well.... :)

Have a good week everybody!

J Shea

..heres that link again.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdtCzL8XIFQ

MIZZOU YouTube Channel!

2013-03-17T21:31:09Z

Hey guys!

I have created a YouTube channel and im putting up a NEW VIDEO today! Im trying to get as many views and

subscribers as possible, and i'm sure you guys would love it!

Ive made other videos for mizzou, which you can check out here!

http://www.youtube.com/user/JoeDownShea/videos

The video I will be putting up in a matter of 2 hours will be a highlight reel of the season.

HINT: Its batman themed!

From a fellow Mizzou fan,
THANK YOU

Hey guys!

I have created a YouTube channel and im putting up a NEW VIDEO today! Im trying to get as many views and

subscribers as possible, and i'm sure you guys would love it!

Ive made other videos for mizzou, which you can check out here!

http://www.youtube.com/user/JoeDownShea/videos

The video I will be putting up in a matter of 2 hours will be a highlight reel of the season.

HINT: Its batman themed!

From a fellow Mizzou fan,
THANK YOU

The Birth of a Rivalry

2013-03-08T21:27:28Z

Hello cyber friends. Long time reader sometimes (not very often in reality) commenter. Unemployment finds me with a lot of time on my hands. TigerBartender suggested I try writing to keep my mind busy. Aa a large portion of every day, even when I am employed, is filled with keeping up on news and developments of my favorite sports teams it was a natural connection for me to make that the focus of my writing. As a result you might be stuck with my random musings about Tiger athletics for the foreseeable future. That is unless anyone out there wants to hire a Mizzou grad. All I require is $55-60K, vision, dental, and a corner office with a view. Not too much to ask I don't think. Any who, on to today's topic. The birth of a rivalry.

On July 1 of last year I found myself ecstatic as our journey into the best football conference had officially began. The whole package drew me in. Along side the institutional benefits of conference stability and money, the social aspect of the SEC probably enticed me more. The tailgates, passionate fan bases, year round football, and a high volume of pretty girls in sundresses. I drank the Kool-Aid hard. I was all in on the SEC from day one. I felt no remorse about leaving our former mates in the Big XII behind and even had myself convinced that not playing those damn beakers meant I wouldn't have to give them so much as a second thought. I loved that I felt a sense of community within conference and was fine not having a rival that made my blood boil. Sure there would be teams I got more fired up about than others, but I had accepted the fact that kU levels of hate may never be reached again. Even suffering through what was a less than spectacular football season I was still basking in my SEC glow. And then a shot was fired across the bow by a kU fan after the aTm loss. I responded and soon found myself tangled in a lengthy Facebook thread argument about which school was at fault for the Border War coming to an end. I was immediately reminded what I had been missing from the conference move. It's fun to have a rival that you hate to your core. Where every conversation that involves the two schools turns into a heated quarrel. I had found my first negative about switching conferences. The lack of a bitter rival. Sure the big wigs in Birmingham told us that Arkansas was supposed to fill that void, but they aren't going to schedule the two in football until 2014 at the earliest and after the first basketball I found my self seething hatred in the direction of the officiating crew, not our "rival" school.

Enter Suitcase Mike. I certainly held ill feelings about the way he exited his tenure as the Tigers head man and had heard he had a reputation as a jerk from the media even when he was here. I somehow still couldn't turn that into hate fuel. Not to worry, Mike was determined to make this a rivalry all by himself. He took credit for last years success and even went so far as to claim he likely would have made a final four run with that team. He conveniently forgot that he had faltered down the stretch with a similarly disappointing first round exit with much the same team the year before. He cracked wise about no questions regarding the officials in his post game press conference. A clear shot at Haith's comments following the first meeting. He was just generally way too smug for my tastes. His comments and attitude were the straw that broke the camels back. He'd goaded me one too many times. My blood was now boiling. I finally had the rival I had been longing for. I loved looking at twitter all day leading up to tip off. I loved seeing the atmosphere at Mizzou Arena. I loved seeing Frank get so fired up he almost took a swing at Anderson. I was all in baby. Pushed my chips to the middle. That the game turned into a savage beating was just icing on the cake. I feel much better now knowing that from now on twice each hoops season and at some point eventually during football season I can let the hate flow forth freely and dedicate energies toward ill will to those bumpkins to the south.My life is complete once again.

Now if you'll excuse me, I see that an ever rare, never before seen by me episode of HIMYM is about to come on FX. I suppose I should put on pants soon as well. I mean it is 3 o'clock in the afternoon. But seriously someone hire me.