Sorry for the lack of links yesterday...just really didn't feel like reading 13 different versions of "K-State crushes Mizzou." There really wasn't that much to think about--K-State would have beaten anybody in the country with the way Walker and Beasley played on Saturday, and it seemed like we completely folded up shop when we realized this. At 19-18, I actually remember thinking "Man, we're doing a really good job of keeping things close despite how well KSU is playing." And then we were stuck on 18 for a really long time.
The one KSU-MU link I'll share is from the Trib. I like the way Steve Walentik set the table on this one.
MANHATTAN, Kan. - Leo Lyons threw his arms in the air and stared at the Missouri basketball team’s bench after the latest fruitless voyage into the Kansas State-controlled paint resulted in yet another turnover.
Lyons’ face wore a look that said, "There’s nothing I can do."
That’s because there wasn’t. Not Lyons. Not anyone else in a black and gold uniform, either.
So we've got QUITE a logjam in the conference standings at the moment. Looking at the loss column, there's a 3-way tie for first, and overall there are still 6 teams within 1.5 games of 5th. (Try not to let that Phillips 66 ad give you a seizure. Good god.) There are lots of interesting games this week (ATM @ UT, BU @ OU, OU @ UT, KU @ OSU), and I think the best news of all is that we only play once, hosting CU on Saturday. The Missourian has more on that.
Certainly the most in-depth story on today's links list is this KC Star look at athletes and the draw of nightclubs. It's a very well-written piece, looking at everything from the Athena incident, to JR Giddens getting stabbed in '05, to former Jayhawk Greg Gurley's going-out tendencies, to Bill Self's sleazy "adjustable curfew depending on when my players are seen out" policy. However, the ending pisses me off.
Hannah exchanged text messages last week with The Star but would not agree to be interviewed. He would not answer questions about his career at MU or the incident that led to his dismissal. For now, he has let others speak for him. He has few defenders, one of whom is a nervous woman in Chicago who insists her son is not a bad man.
"The truth will come out later," says Hannah’s mother, Stephanie. "Everybody that knows Stefhon knows he’s a very good kid, knows he’s not a troublemaker."
Then she pauses.
"Only Columbia thinks that," she says.
What a freaking cop-out. Yes, it's Columbia's fault that he got pissed about his service (after curfew) and picked a fight. Nobody's saying he's a bad kid, but he did something really stupid, then holed up in Chicago instead of trying to get back to school. But it's Columbia's fault. Just like it's Columbia's fault that Jason Horton has done some stupid things too.
(Knowing how much Chicago kids were paying attention to Hannah's exploits, though, I guess we should just go ahead and give up on recruiting any future kids from Chi-town...since, you know, Columbia has it out for them and all...)
Mike Dearmond points out that there are now infinity postseason slots now, and Mizzou could look pretty attractive to the inaugural College Basketball Invitational, a.k.a. basketball's version of the New Mexico Bowl.
Today's recruiting links: PowerMizzou catches up with Ray-Pec LB Andrew Wilson, who just received a Mizzou offer. You have to like our chances. Also, don't miss #8 in PowerMizzou's ongoing Top 10 questions for 2009. Meanwhile, if basketball's your thing, Inside Mizzou checks in on 2009 prospect Richard Anderson of Nashville (via StL and KC).
So after a horrid day on Friday (losing to UCLA and BYU by identical 4-0 scores), Mizzou Softball rebounded to salvage a decent weekend, sweeping UC Davis, Cal Poly, and Portland State at the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic in Vegas...ahh, Vegas...
Finally, don't miss mutigers.com's ongoing Mizzou Baseball season preview. Part 1: 2007 in review. Part II: Pitching. Parts III-V are due up between today and Wednesday.