Next time you watch one of the Mizzou Football commercials, realize that you may be watching the best in the country. That was apparently the case with last year's "Speed" commercial, starring Gary Pinkel and Tony Temple. The National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators (NACMA) gave it a national award yesterday. Even national boards of directors are jumping on the Mizzou bandwagon!! PowerMizzou just released its PowerMizzou Top 20, the site's look at the top 20 players in Missouri. This isn't the official Rivals list that will come out later this summer, and I'm not totally sure what the point of this was, other than as a response to the bazillions of requests for a new list from PM readers. The most interesting things to note on the list are that Mizzou commit Kerwin Stricker has gone from the teens to #8, St. Louis ATH Bryant Allen (who has a Mizzou offer) has fallen to #14, and StL OL John Tabash (#16) and Ste. Genevieve QB Kory Faulkner (#20) are moving up the list. There is actually a piece of recruiting news as well--Strafford OL Tyler Evans, who quickly went from "looking at my options" to "I'll probably commit to Mizzou soon" recently, changed his tune once again. He got an offer from OU...and then, according to Gabe at PM, will soon accept it. Oh well, I guess. You knew some kid was going to accept an out-of-state offer, and while it stinks that it's still possible for MO kids to go "I'll probably end up at Miz...OOOH, AN OU OFFER??? I'LL TAKE IT!!", at least it happened with an O-lineman, and MU's already gotten 2-3 other OL commits from MO kids (depending on whether you see Darris Ford as an OL or DL). Moving to other sports...I like it when Vahe Gregorian uses his powers for good instead of evil--he wrote a really nice piece on Mizzou Track Coach (and Mizzou 25 Semifinalist!) Rick McGuire yesterday.
it's McGuire who's made the firmament firm by the way he treats his athletes: as souls to cultivate, not meat to sculpt.
"The most important win in Coach McGuire's life is winning the kid," MU assistant track coach Brett Halter said as McGuire was presented the Faurot award.
Winning the kid is reflected on the track and in the classroom, where McGuire's teams set the standard for all of MU athletics. It also is evident in what his protégés will take with them in every endeavor.
"You're faced with a lot of difficult choices in college," said heptathlete Fiona Asigbee, now a graduate research assistant to McGuire. "Having him as a role model and a father figure really helps ease those choices and helps mold you."
Part of the molding process comes by making points with enthusiastic but excruciating detail.
"He likes to take you around it and get you enveloped and then, bam, slam it home — it has more guts that way," said [Christian] Cantwell, who has learned to pick his spots on when to ask a question of McGuire. "If I have a (brief) question to ask him, I try to stay 30 yards away and keep walking while I ask it. Because I know if I stop and ask him, it will be 45 minutes later and I'll have missed my workout."
Be sure to check out trripleplay's Mizzou Baseball Tip of the Cap Awards. Some fun stuff in there. Finally, former Mizzou Baseball coach (and Mizzou 25 quarterfinalist!) Gene McArtor has been named NCAA National Coordinator for Baseball Umpires. Good for him, I guess. So that means we're going to get all the calls next year, right?