First things first: there's still time to vote for Ian Kinsler another 150 times.  Voting closes at 4pm.  Hop to it!

What's the latest on Derrion Thomas and his quest to walk on at Mizzou this season?  The Trib checks in...

Continuing the ongoing series, Gabe at PM takes a look at the Big 12 North's receiving units.  He also continues another enjoyable series: re-ranking old state of Missouri recruiting classes.  This time it's 2004.

Oh yeah, and while you're at PM, if you want to become infuriated, check out the latest on Rock Bridge TE/LB Trey Millard.  His favorites: Oklahoma, Iowa...and Syracuse.  Seriously, what the hell is going on with Rock Bridge kids??  What the hell else does Mizzou need to prove to local kids, much less tight ends?  Are the goal posts still moving?  First the thought was that we had to win, then we had to win more, and now we've been to five bowls in six years...we have to win more.  First, we had to produce NFL talent, then NFL talent at a specific position, and now that we've produced two NFL tight ends, what else do we have to do?  Hall of Famers?  A full NFL team made of only Mizzou players...winning the Super Bowl?  I don't get it.  But whatever...power to him.

Aaaaaan that's pretty much all of the directly MU-related links...on to other stuff!  First up...hey, big shocker: the Mountain West will sign the BCS agreement.  That news comes one day after it was revealed they were threatening to take their ball and go home if they didn't get their way.  Always an effective tactic.

Dr. Saturday takes a look at Texas Tech...

Finally, Dave Matter continues his Behind the Stripes 2009 preview...this time by taking a look at the Big Ten and Sun Belt conferences.  And in response, as always, here are my projected BTBS standings for those conferences:

Big Ten

Ohio State 8-0 (11-1, Rose Bowl)
Iowa 6-2 (10-2, Capital One Bowl)
Penn State 6-2 (10-2, Outback Bowl)
Michigan State 5-3 (8-4, Alamo Bowl)
Minnesota 5-3 (8-4, Champs Sports Bowl)
Illinois 5-3 (7-5, Insight Bowl)
Michigan 3-5 (7-5, Motor City Bowl)
Northwestern 2-6 (6-6, EagleBank Bowl)
Indiana 2-6 (5-7)
Wisconsin 1-7 (3-9???????)
Purdue 1-7 (3-9)

• No real explanation for the Wisconsin projection there.  The numbers REALLY did not like Wisconsin's defense last year, but still...
• I think most Mizzou fans and RMN readers are fans of the job Pat Fitzgerald is doing at Northwestern, but there's quite a bit of personnel turnover this year.  Getting back to a bowl and continuing to build for the future would be pretty good benchmarks for this year.  Plus, they should be able to beat UConn in the EagleBank Bowl and knock that monkey off their back.

Sun Belt

Troy 7-1 (9-3, New Orleans Bowl)
North Texas 7-1 (10-2???????, Texas Bowl)
Middle Tennessee 5-3 (7-5)
Florida Atlantic 4-4 (5-7)
UL-Lafayette 4-4 (5-7)
Western Kentucky 4-4 (5-7)
Florida International 4-4 (4-8)
UL-Monroe 1-7 (2-10)
Arkansas State 0-8 (1-11)

• North Texas?  Really?  Again, no idea.  I think the big thing going for them here is, outside of Troy, nobody's ranked very high, so the fact that they return a good majority of their personnel and have a good home schedule is enough to bump them pretty far upward.
  

Really, the major source of links today has nothing (directly) to do with Mizzou--yesterday was the latest Congressional waste of time hearing on the BCS, and a few people were brave enough to watch.  I was not.  Links!

• The Wiz of Odds: Will the WAC and Mountain West Say No to the BCS?

  [T]he attention now turns to the 18 presidents of WAC and Mountain West schools. Brian Murphy of the Idaho Statesman reports that the presidents must decide by Thursday afternoon whether to sign a new agreement between the BCS and television partner ESPN that goes into effect after the 2010 regular season and runs for four years.
  
  The WAC and Mountain West are the only Division I-A conferences that have not signed the deal. If they don't sign, the leagues risk millions in hopes of changing the system to improve access and payouts for their schools.

• Idaho Statesman: WAC, Mountain West face big decision on BCS
• Team Speed Kills: A Recap of the Senate BCS Hearing
• Team Speed Kills: The Economics of Why the BCS Doesn't Want Change
• Dr. Saturday: Orrin Hatch is taking you to Turkmenistan, and you will darn well like it

To football recruiting!  Grand Blanc (MI) WR Tony Jones very much enjoyed his visit to Columbia this week, while Moore (OK) ATH Julian Wilson, as expected, visited and committed to OU yesterday.

Staying at PowerMizzou, Gabe rates and ranks the North's RB units in order to come up with a set of overall North rankings.  What a great idea (ahem)!

GOLD JERSEYS!!!

Leo Lyons sees some action with the Pacers last night, scoring 7 points in 5 minutes

 The Maneater's back!  In it, we find a couple of solid articles about both how athletic success had led to ridiculously high application numbers, and how fan groups like ZouCrew, Tigers' Lair, and VolleyZou help freshmen acclimate.  Solid reads, both.

Another day, another Illinois write-up, this one from our SBN mates Maize N Brew.

Juice Williams does a lot of things, and does them fairly well. However, it is not a good sign when your QB leads the team in rushing as he did last year. I believe that Juice is a very good player; one who deserves a lot of respect from defenses. However, when he is asked to do too much - as was often done to him last year - he makes mistakes. Juice is a much better quarterback when he can actually set up, look for Benn, and scramble at the last possible second. I compare it to Kobe Bryant in a backwards kind of way. The less shots Kobe takes, the better the Lakers are. The less running around that Juice does, the better the Illini will be. Juice =/= Pat White. The media wants him to be, but the less he resembles Pat White, the better.

It's Summer Ball at SimmonsField.com!

Finally...nothing to do with nothing, but I think Chris Cooley is my new favorite (non-Mizzou) tight end.

Leo Lyons' time to impress the Indiana Pacers started yesterday...and while his team won, a "DNP -- Coach's Decision (pdf)" isn't really much of a good opportunity, huh?  Hopefully he gets an opportunity soon.

Yesterday was Monday, which meant two things: 1) How I Met Your Mother re-run last night, and 2) Case of the Mondays!

Looks like Mizzou has offered a new Texas RB--Angleton's Henry Josey, who has one pretty good trait for a running back: "I love to score."  Who doesn't?  Meanwhile, PM subscribers can check out the latest on a Michigan athlete who was on campus for an unofficial visit yesterday.

While at PowerMizzou, you can also check on Gabe's "Scouting the Big 12 North QBs" write-up.  I don't understand some of the ratings on the 1-10 scale, but it doesn't make it any less interesting to read, I guess.

Another day, another Columbia Trojans article, this one from our friends at the Missourian.

The Trojans are a newly-formed semi-professional football team in the North American Football League. Every Tuesday and Thursday, they practice at the Rock Bridge High School’s football field and play games on Saturdays. No one is paid to play for the Trojans. In fact, the players paid all start-up fees: $200 or more for pads, helmets and jerseys, willingly paid for the chance to suit up for a football team once more.

Continuing their position-by-position preview of our first 2009 opponent, it's time for Hail to the Orange to take a look at UI's linebackers.

Here's the reason SI's Stewart Mandel is one of my favorite mainstream college football writers: when something's stupid, or a big, fat waste of time, he calls it just that.

If the government were to actually pursue an antitrust case against the BCS -- and let's be honest; these hearings are mostly for show -- the bowls and the major conferences would presumably trot out all manner of evidence proving the system has actually promoted competition from the second-tier conferences. The Mountain West and WAC, for example, have placed four teams in BCS bowls over the past five seasons. Prior to that, no current member of either league had played in the Orange, Sugar, Fiesta or Rose bowls since BYU's 1974 Fiesta appearance. Nor did such leagues previously receive annual BCS financial handouts like they do today. The MWC, WAC, MAC, C-USA and Sun Belt shared a combined $19.3 million in BCS revenue last season.

Meanwhile, one couldn't help but laugh at Rep. Barton during that House hearing in May when he waved his big, scary trump card at stone-faced BCS coordinator John Swofford. Barton threatened to pass a piece of legislation that "will prohibit the marketing, promotion, and advertising of a postseason game as a 'national championship' football game, unless it is the result of a playoff system." That's it? A name-change? I'm sure House leaders will clear their calendars for that vote.

Quickly to baseball, where the Missourian checks in on former Tiger Evan Frey.

Finally, this has nothing to do with Mizzou, but Rocky Top Talk has an outstanding recap of one of the craziest Saturdays in recent football history--conference championship week, 1998.  Three teams--K-State, UCLA, Tennessee--entered the week undefeated and with a legitimate shot at the BCS title game.  Two blew second-half leads, while the other faced a surprising deficit halfway through the fourth quarter.  And Ohio State, who had choked away a loss to Michigan State a few weeks earlier, almost managed to squeeze back into the title game.

For some strange reason, Fox Sports Midwest showed the 2007 Mizzou-Oklahoma game late Saturday night.  I watched it again (turned it off just as the ball fell into Pig's hands early in the fourth quarter...then I closed my eyes and pretended), and it prepared me nicely for yesterday's Wimbledon final.  "Holy crap, does Roddick really have a chance to win this?  Oh.  Guess not."  Granted, Roddick responded a lot better to his main error (losing the second-set tie-breaker) than Mizzou did to theirs, but regardless.

We start with football, where Mizzou is starting to show up in preseason countdowns.  And naturally, their placement is arranged just to tease me.  For instance, Rivals.com has Mizzou at #42...and Colorado at #41 ("Colorado appears equipped to finish in the upper half of the North Division.").

Meanwhile, Dave Matter throws together a pretty respectable countdown of the Big 12's top offensive backs.  I'd flip #1 and #2, but that's just me.

Not a ton of recruiting news at the moment, but PowerMizzou did its best in throwing together some decent news for last Friday's Chamber.

To basketball, where Mizzou's camp attendance is soaring, and Mizzou's interest in Trevor Releford continues to grow.  Trevor is the younger brother of Travis Releford, the KU guard, and his stock has risen considerably this summer.

Meanwhile, YouTube highlight's of the recent DJ All-Star Game have emerged.

In the first of what I assume will be a pretty interesting series of off-season posts, Trrip at SimmonsField.com takes a look at the catcher position.  Not the catcher position as it pertains to Mizzou...just the catcher position in general.

Finally, Dave Matter continues his football previews with looks at the Big East and MAC...and as I did last time, I'll pass along my own BTBS projections for those conferences as well.

Big East

Rutgers 7-0 (12-0, Orange Bowl)
Cincinnati 4-3 (8-4, PapaJohns.com Bowl)
Pittsburgh 4-3 (8-4, Meineke Car Care Bowl)
South Florida 4-3 (8-4, St. Petersburg Bowl)
West Virginia 4-3 (8-4, International Bowl)
UConn 3-4 (6-6, EagleBank Bowl)
Louisville 2-5 (6-6)
Syracuse 0-7 (2-10)

• When you preview this conference, you quickly come to realize that each of the Big East's top six (or maybe even seven) teams have unique strengths and fatal flaws.  I certainly didn't expect one of the teams to be projected to go undefeated in conference (or overall), and I don't think it will happen, but if nothing else this shows that the Rutgers schedule does them quite a few favors.  They get Cincinnati (projected win: +6.8), Pittsburgh (+5.9), South Florida (+6.9) and West Virginia (+5.1)--the four teams projected to tie for second place--all at home.  Meanwhile, they're just good enough to get by their road opponents, Syracuse (+8.3), UConn (+2.7), and Louisville (+0.6).  As you can see, they're projected to go 7-0 while only winning one game by more than a TD.  Not bloody likely.
  
• Without looking at schedules or anything else, I'd be inclined to agree with Matter's pick of West Virginia at #1, but their schedule (@Rutgers, @USF, @Cincy) doesn't do them a lot of favors.
• For Steve Kragthorpe's sake, Louisville had better go at LEAST 6-6.

MAC

East

Bowling Green 6-2 (6-6)
Akron 4-4 (5-7)
Ohio 4-4 (5-7)
Temple 3-5 (5-7)
Kent State 3-5 (4-8)
Buffalo 2-6 (3-9)
Miami-OH 2-6 (2-10)

West

Central Michigan 7-1 (8-4, Motor City Bowl)
Toledo 7-1 (9-3, GMAC Bowl)
Northern Illinois 4-4 (6-6, Internatioanl Bowl)
Eastern Michigan 4-4 (5-7)
Ball State 3-5 (5-7)
Western Michigan 3-5 (4-8)

MAC Title Game

Central Michigan > Bowling Green

• The power resides in the West, apparently.
• Clearly Central Michigan, with 17th-year starter Dan Lefevour, is the most proven team, but the projections like Toledo for some reason.  CMU, Toledo and Bowling Green are the only three teams predicted to go over .500.  Everybody else falls between 2-6 and 4-4.  This is to be expected in statistical projections for a conference with teams that just aren't that distinguishable talent-wise.
• Um, my projections VERY MUCH disagree with Dave Matter's predicted champions.  I do fear that Turner Gill missed his best opportunity for a big-time job, as his team loses a lot of talent from last year, and they could fall.  Then again, being super well-coached could account for an extra handful of points a game, and that could make a difference (as it did last year).  All six of their projected conference losses are by less than 5 points.

Anyhoo, happy Monday.

More photos » by Lance Murphey - AP

Who will average more points next season?

Browse more photos »

A reader sent this one in (and by all means, if you find something, feel free to e-mail it along): the Memphis Commercial Appeal takes a look at our own Mr. JYD.

Carroll was the lone first-round selection from the Portsmouth Invitational, where he was named the MVP after averaging 16.3 points and 10.3 rebounds in three games. Acra, his coach, said Carroll helped build chemistry among his teammates in a matter of hours.

"NBA scouts aren't necessarily looking for scorers to come out of here," Acra said. "They want guys who can fill roles and be professional. DeMarre had that ability to get all the guys together, to make them mesh."

He had arrived with a reputation as a "high-energy" player, code for guys who are athletic and raw -- and can't shoot. It was a misconception that bothered Carroll and could be traced, at least in his mind, to his nickname at Missouri: "Junkyard Dog."

"You think of somebody who just plays defense," he said. "The beauty of it is that I can put the ball in the basket and do other things."

Sticking with basketball, ESPN's (and Mizzou's own) Pat Forde takes a look at red-hot basketball rivalries for 2009-10.  I hate the UNC-Duke hype, and even I'm a bit appalled that it's listed below State-Purdue.  But hey, as long as MU-KU is back in the top ten, I'm cool.

Check this out: the perfect segway from basketball to football.  The Trib's Dave Matter recently checked in with Columbia's amateur football team, the Trojans.  The stars?  Former Mizzou safety Jason Simpson...and former Mizzou guard Jason Sutherland.  Makes sense--he played basketball like he was playing football.

Following up on their previous defensive line preview, Hail to the Orange now takes a look at the Illinois offensive line.

Now that we're to football...well, there's not a lot to report, but PowerMizzou does have an interesting piece re-ranking Rivals' State of Missouri rankings from the class of 2003.  It's nice to see MotherRucker getting his due, but #1 was pretty obvious.  Oh, if only Damien Nash (RIP) hadn't (allegedly) scared off Maroney by telling him there was only room for one star RB in these parts.

Because I'm pressed for content today, I'll shamelessly whore myself for the second time in two days.  My latest column at Football Outsiders is a takeoff of a series of posts I wrote last December--it's called The Perfect Playoff.  And now's a fun time to remember how Mizzou would have been the #1 seed in 2007.  Good times.

Finally, nothing says Fourth of July Eve to me like...cute, begging kittens.  (Via)

Dennis Dodd, you've messed up.  This is a downright sane, rational Big 12 North preview you've put together...now we know that you really can be a decent writer when you want to be...which will be all the more frustrating the next time you write an insane piece of drivel.

Gabe Dearmond's Powered Up column returns, and he brings up a pretty interesting point:

To be honest—and if Blaine is reading this I don't think it's going to be much of a surprise to him—Gabbert is the biggest reason most are predicting the Tigers to have a down year. It's not really offensive to him. He just has one problem: He's not Chase Daniel.

Now, first of all, that's kind of ironic. I mean, Chase Daniel was downgraded his entire life because he wasn't Blaine Gabbert. By that, I mean he wasn't 6-foot-5, 230 pounds with a rifle attached to his right shoulder. Now, the Tigers have that guy that you look at and think, "NFL quarterback," and he's the reason Missouri isn't supposed to be any good.

And while we're talking PowerMizzou, here are a couple of basketball recruiting links.  First, Chaminade's Bradley Beal is tiring of recruiting and would like to make a decision, but considering how he's been rumored a heavy Kansas (or maybe Florida) lean for a while, the longer he drags this out, the better it is for Mizzou's slim chances.  Beal's kinda like a big deal, having just been ranked #7 in the Rivals 2011 rankings.  Oh yeah, and for PM subscribers, be sure to check on the big-time visitor Mizzou secretly hostd this week...

The esteemed Senator Blutarsky has put together a solid set of quotes on the latest BCS hearings and rumblings...which, even though I'm all for a playoff, has gotten pretty damn tiresome knowing that not even the pro-playoff people have anybody's true best interests in mind...

Dave Matter has begun his previews of the rest of the country...first up, ACC and Conference USA.  For the record, here are my BTBS projections for those two conferences...

ACC

Atlantic

Clemson 9-3 (6-2) - Gator Bowl
Boston College 9-3 (6-2) - Champs Sports Bowl
Florida State 8-4 (6-2) - Emerald Bowl
Wake Forest 8-4 (4-4) - Music City Bowl
N.C. State 7-5 (3-5) - Meineke Car Care Bowl
Maryland 4-8 (2-6)

Coastal

Georgia Tech 10-2 (7-1) - Orange Bowl
Virginia Tech 10-2 (7-1) - Chick-Fil-A Bowl
Miami-FL 6-6 (4-4) - GMAC Bowl
North Carolina 5-7 (2-6)
Virginia 3-9 (1-7)
Duke 2-10 (0-8)

ACC Championship

Georgia Tech > Clemson

Conference USA

East

Southern Miss 10-2 (8-0) - Liberty Bowl
Marshall 7-5 (5-3) - New Orleans Bowl
Central Florida 6-6 (4-4)
East Carolina 5-7 (4-4)
Memphis 1-11 (0-8)

West

Tulsa 9-3 (7-1) - Armed Forces Bowl
UTEP 8-4 (6-2) - Hawaii Bowl
Houston 6-6 (5-3) - St. Petersburg Bowl
SMU 6-6 (4-4) - Papajohns.com Bowl
Rice 2-10 (1-7)
Tulane 2-10 (0-8)

CUSA Championship

Southern Miss > Tulsa

Finally, a hearty congrats to Mike Alden, this year's Kiwanis Don Faurot Sports Person of the Year Award winner.

How the hell is it July already???  Not complaining, mind you...just amazed...

Talk about agonizing...it seems like Mizzou signee Keith Dewitt has been waiting for his ACT score for about 12 months now (okay, three weeks).  The Trib checks in on both how he's doing and how much longer he (and we) have to wait.

Thanks again, PowerMizzou, for the summer content.  We've got three new recruiting articles to look at--one for an old name, one for a new, and one for a Missouri DE who just became a lot more important to the class with the commitment of Matt Hoch to Iowa.

• New Madrid Co's Kony Ealy leaves Columbia impressed
• Houston OL Zach Bolton (old name) has Mizzou in his top five
• Cedar Hill DB Elisha Olabode picks up a Mizzou offer

It's no longer Illinois week, but Hail to the Orange still has a pretty nice breakdown of the Illini Defensive Line...

Pretty neat opportunity for a couple of Mizzou Soccer players: seniors Meghan Pfeiffer and Crystal Wagner were invited to join the US's <23 national squad in England.

So after all of the Henry Family drama of the last couple of days, I guess this settles everything?

Finally...funny stuff from Nunes Magician...

78-0, USA? Jesus Christ, don't we have mercy rules?  It's the French, for God's sake.  They're dainty and full of pastries.  Oh, and then there's this:

America's Team racked up 610 total offensive yards against France's 7...

SWEET MOTHER!  The French team averaged 0.1 yard-per-play!  We are the worst hosts ever.

Dave Matter's back from Vegas and back to blogging!  Here's his recent Case of the Mondays.

For whatever reason — inexperience probably leading the list — [Derrion] Thomas went unsigned during the spring, but from what I’ve gathered, the chances are good that Thomas will soon enroll at MU as a walk-on. Thomas played just one full season of varsity football at Blue Springs South after spending his first few seasons there in the pool, where he became an all-state swimmer. With much fanfare, he developed into a pass-rushing menace for the BSS defense last fall, including a five-sack game in a Class 6 quarterfinals victory over Rockhurst.

Meanwhile, Dave brings back another strange tidbit from his Vegas trip.

[T]he Tigers’ recent success is proving to be the gift that keeps on giving. In a less prestigious poll, the streak endures. According to odds set last week by BetUS.com, an online gambling site, MU is No. 21 among schools most likely to be the next caught having committed an NCAA violation. The opening line is 18-1.

Let's face facts: Mizzou is striking out with little brothers.  First, Little Gabbert spurned his brother's school for Nebraska.  Now, Little Hoch is choosing Iowa.  Dan Hoch's brother, Matt, a defensive end, decided to stay in-state.  Hoch wasn't #1 on Mizzou's recruiting board by any means, but this one's at least a little disappointing.  But then, for whatever reason Gary PInkel has not recruited tremendously well against Kirk Ferentz.  Ferentz isn't quite in the Houston Nutt category (we never beat that guy for a recruit), but with guys like Adrian Clayborn and Marvin McNutt on the roster, this isn't the first time we've lost out to the Iowa coach.  Luckily, Pinkel owns (more or less) Mark Mangino and Bill Snyder.

Sticking with recruiting, Mizzou has offered another big offensive lineman, this one from Louisiana.  Meanwhile, the KC Star takes a look at what looks to be a pretty strong position in the 2011 recruiting class: quarterback.

To basketball. Steve Walentik "empties the notebook" from his trip to Harris-Stowe over the weekend for the DJ All-Star Game.

Defense is where Underwood takes the most pride, particularly when he's swatting away shots.

"That's my specialty. That's what I do," he said. "I'm still No. 1 in Arizona for blocked shots."

He moves fluidly, particularly for a player his size, but he's the first to admit his offensive skills need a lot of polish, and he also needs to bulk up a thin frame to be able to mix it up under the basket in the Big 12 Conference. Underwood was briefly winded in Saturday night's game after catching an elbow to the chest from Rockwood Summit's 610 center Will Clark, who coincidentally is signed to play for former Missouri assistant Tony Harvey at Texas Southern.

"I've got to get bigger," Underwood said. "You see how that dude elbowed me. Get bigger. But I'm going to do that. I could always do better on defense but my defense is tacked down right now. I just need to work on weaknesses -- dribbling, passing, just all-around play. Anything to help Missouri out, I'll do."

Meanwhile, speaking of little brothers, PowerMizzou checks in with Travis Releford's sibling, Trevor.   Not completely sure how much interest Mizzou is showing here (the article doesn't mention much), but they've been linked to him in the past.

DeMarre Carroll meets his new city...

SimmonsField.com checks in on a couple of MU recruits...

In order to maybe prevent some stars from jumping to MMA, USA Wrestling is now offering a lot more money for winning Olympic medals...

Finally...this is just awesome.  Not at all Mizzou-related, but awesome.