What better way to get ready for the 2008-2009 Mizzou season (which will start this next weekend with Soccer) than to FINALLY get the wrestling wrap-up down. I will save the year to year review until next week (as I am going to need something to write about and school will start on the 25th....nice way to start the year) Soccer is underway in exhibition and I will cover those two games, along with a few thoughts on football from the 2nd of three weeks of practice. Of course, there will likely be some random thougnhts at the end, as I appear to be contractually obligated to mention Brett Favre at some point in this post.
And I am not going to lie to you...I had much of the wrestling post written out when my computer freaked and I lost it. Consider that message received that this wrap up was just never meant to be. So the football thoughts (also lost) and the wrestling recap are going to be VERY short, since I just have no desire to type them out again. I ask for Chitown and other wrestling fans to feel free to jump on in and add any and ALL the information I am bound to skip.
Soccer:
Two exhibition games came and went for the Mizzou Women's Soccer team, picked 3rd in the pre-season Big XII poll this past week. Earlier, they travelled up to Omaha, NE to take on Creighton, and while they absolutely peppered the Jays with 32 shots (to just 5 from Creighton), they came away with a come from behind 1-1 tie. Stars Alysha Bonnick and Kristen Andrighetto sat out the action, but both came back strong yesterday, as the Tigers beat down the Cardinals of Illinois State 5-0. Andrighetto went 70 minutes and tallied an assist, while Bonnick spent 73 minutes on the field and scored 3 straight goals. Senior defender Kat Tarr started the scoring, while freshman Kendra Collins scored the 2nd goal from the midfield position. Bonnick tallied her 1st to start the second half, and her last with but a minute to go.
Mizzou will now have the week off and start their season at home on Saturday against Illinois at 6:30 p.m.
Football:
I am pleased that Chase Daniel is not happy.
I believe ONE frosh WR will play
Thursday scrimmage will be about depth I am guessing
Am happy to see Chase Patton doing so well (save maybe for the scrimmage)
I don't expect a true frosh to break the two-deep on the D-end depth chart
Wrestling:
125: Tony Pescaglia, who will be an RS sophomore, was doing quite well last year before his injury. I expect him to step right back up and pick up where he left off in what should be a weaker division in the Big XII with the recent loss of Paul Donahoe from Neb. Troy Dolan is another name to keep an eye on as he becomes an RS frosh. Pescaglia could be very good within the Big XII as Donahoe is gone from Neb.
133: Two-time All-American Tyler McCormick has moved on, leaving a spot open for either RS soph Nick Velliquette (who subbed in a lot last year when McCormick was injured), RS frosh KC Pescaglia or soph AZ St. transfer Todd Schavrien who was highly acclaimed coming out of Poway, CA. This class is also somewhat open in the Big XII as Coleman Scott is gone from Okie State.
141: Senior Marcus Hoehn occupied this spot last season, and did not provide the Tigers with much in the grand scheme of things. He will return, along wth RS Sophs Willie Saxton and Vince Hannon, and RS frosh Patrick Mosley and Brandon Wiest. Also entering the mix will be a couple of skilled true frosh with local wrestling product Taylor Crane and Wisconsin product Nick Hucke (who I actually saw wrestle in the state finals at 141 and was VERY impressed). The spot is WIDE open needless to say. Yet another division where someone could step up and be very good as Nathan Morgan is gone from Okie State.
149: Very up and down senior Josh Wagner has completed his eligibility, but returning to the mat will be RS soph Ashtin Primus. Primus wrestled as a true frosh two years ago and had some big wins at 141 before running out of gas just a bit at the end of the season (as is common in true frosh). Primus will return to the mat after a RS year and is likely to hold down this spot. Primus will have his work cut out for him in the Big XII, as three other wrestlers from the conference return in 2009 to this weight class. He will have true frosh Cody Farinella and RS frosh Rudy Galarza and Daniel Hewitt (from St. Charles, MO) to battle with for the position.
157: With three national wrestlers graduating from this class, senior to be Mike Chandler could definitely be looking at a top 10 ranking to start the season. Seniors Andrew Sherry and Emanuel Brooks (who had the unlikely run at the Big XII's at 174) are here in case Chandler needs a rest, but clearly this will be a spot with a lot of turnover....next season, but the Tigers do have true frosh Nicholas Gregoris coming in from North Carolina. Chandler will continue his battles with junior Cyler Sanderson from Iowa State and RS senior NEWLY MCSPADDEN!! from Okie State.
165: Having been there in person last year to see the semis between junior-to-be Nick Marable and Eric Tannenbaum from Michigan, I am still a little disappointed for Marable and that late call that sent him to the 3rd place match. Marable will start the season almost definietely in the top 3 nationally, as actually the top 2 graduate in front of him. Sophomore Mack Lewnes from Cornell will certainly be someone who Marable spars with in the rankings this season, and this really is a loaded division for the Big XII with junior Stephen Dwyer from Nebraska, RS Soph Jon Reader from Iowa State and RS Sr. Jake Dieffenbach (at least I think that is right) from Okie State, all of whom are likely to be in the top 10.
174: This was something of a lost class last year for the Tigers, as they were all over the place, even all the way down to using a 157 lb'er in Emanuel Brooks at the Big XII Championships. This season, a lot of names will be vying for the spot, and I am hoping one in particular will be the winner. Seniors Joey Garrity and John Andrews will complete their Tiger careers while RS frosh Garrett Jones and Dorian Henderson will be beginning theirs. Personally, I recall hearing big things about Henderson and hope this is his time to step up and take the class. Of course I have also previously mentioned Raymond Jordan and Max Askren each coming down a weight class, but I doubt that happens at this point. If Henderson can take the spot, he will be facing some tough conference competition in seniors Brandon Browne from Nebraska and Brandon Mason from Okie State.
184: Senior-to-be Raymond Jordan finally realized his three-year journey as he was able to obtain his first All-American honor. Nationally, this continues to be a stacked class, as only 2 of the top 10 will graduate. Jordan will continue to battle with national #1 junior Jake Varner from Iowa State and RS Senior Josh Weitzel from OU. Senior Vince Jones from Nebraska will also be a very tough out for the Tigers. RS Soph Josh Skurnik and true frosh Brent Haynes will serve as the depth here, but look for Jordan to wrestle quite a bit in his senior campaign.
197: Nationally, we go from a stacked division to one where 10 of the top 18 wrestlers will be moving on, including the top 4. This means that junior Max Askren likely returns in the top 5 this coming season, and will do battle with RS junior Craig Brester of Nebraska in what should be a pretty thin group inside the Big XII. This is a good sign for Askren as he will strive for his 3rd conference championship and return to the NCAA's in search of his 2nd All-America honor. RS frosh Trevor Collins will serve as the depth here.
275: Saving the most interesting class for last, I am so curious to see how this works out. On one hand, you have junior-to-be Mark Ellis, who has made the NCAA's both years, and thanks to heavy national graduation, will likely enter the season a top-10 wrestler. He has been up and down, sometimes losing matches he likely should not, but other times, he will put Gorrarian-worthy efforts at various tournaments. On the other hand, you have RS Frosh Dom Bradley, who entered Mizzou as highly acclaimed as any wrestler the program has ever seen, earning the #1 HS ranking in some publications. I believed Bradley would supplant Ellis last season, and I was incorrect. I will hold off on making any guesses here again and just wait and see how it turns out. Whoever earns the position will have some tough conference foes in front of them, with RS junior Jared Rosholt from Okie State and junior David Zabriskie from Iowa State to battle.
Random Thoughts:
- So, while checking scores on my phone on Saturday night through ESPN.com, I was told it was BREAKING NEWS about Favre's performance....in a preseason game. Oy.
- Nothing left to be said about Michael Phelps except to see if he chooses to head to London in 2012 and tries to break the all-time medal record (which I believe is 19 to his 16)
- Speaking of Phelps and all-time athletes, I am a bit torn on Usain Bolt. I have NEVER seen a race like his in the finals, but why not just shallack the field and run through? Dominant athletes like Phelps and Tiger and people in individual sports knew when to hold back and win, and then knew when to just throttle people to make a point. The finals of the 100 meters at the Olympics is time to throttle people, and Bolt passed on it. I just shudder and feel a little robbed that we might not know what he could have put down for a record.
- Ben Askren will get going on Wednesday this week, and what a great effort by Christian Cantwell to come back from the pack to take the silver on his last throw. Cantwell is still pretty young as it pertains to the sport and should still be very much a factor when it comes to the next Olympics in 2012.
- Nice to see the Mets take advantage of playing teams they are supposed to beat (Nats and Bucs) this past week (on the road no less) and that the Phillies took up sniffing glue and the Mets landed back in first place. Santana continues to lower that ERA (going CG shutout yesterday) and Pedro even went SEVEN innings (I still cannot believe that.) If they can get Wagner back healthy somewhat soon and get the rest of their walking wounded (Maine, Church and Castillo) back into the mix, they could finally be ready to be as high level as they should have been all season.
- Happy 29th birthday to Carl Edwards who celebrated by sweeping the races in Michigan this past weekend.
- This made me laugh...a lot
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The St. Louis Rams' first-team offense has yet to score a preseason touchdown in three years under coach Scott Linehan.
Seriously? I mean, yes...I realize the first team is often only on the field for a series or two...but multiply that by 4 games a year (and I thought it may have been five at some point not that long ago, but could certainly be wrong about that) and then multiply that by 2+ years, and....wow....ouch.