Well, I guess it's official: Sheldon Richardson did not qualify. We knew that was going to happen. Now here's the interesting part: who knows if he'll pull it off, but he's apparently going to attempt to go to summer school and become eligible by the start of 2010. This is VERY welcome news--we discussed Richardson in a roundtable a couple of weeks ago, and everybody agreed that while nobody expected much of him in 2009, he could be missed in 2010 when Jaron Baston and Brian Coulter leave. Well...we may not miss him after all...
Once baseball and softball are over, these Links posts rely steady content...in that context, thank you, Dave Matter, for doing the Case of the Mondays post and assuring that I'll have something interesting to link to on Tuesday mornings.
[The MU-Illinois cancellation] should come as no surprise from Missouri’s perspective, considering the Tigers are already on the hook for a neutral-site game in Kansas City with Kansas through 2012.
Discussing this topic last summer, Missouri Athletic Director Mike Alden mentioned to me Arkansas and Iowa as potential opponents if MU and Illinois can’t agree to an extension. Other candidates mentioned by sources over the last year include Indiana and Kentucky. According to MU’s Web site, for the 2011 season, it has openings for Sept. 3 and Sept. 10, with nonconference games scheduled against Wyoming (Sept. 17) and Western Illinois (Sept. 24).
I’d caution MU fans against expecting a splashy opponent to take the Illini’s place. As much as some would like to see Ohio State, Michigan or USC come marching onto Faurot Field, it just wouldn’t fit Gary Pinkel’s M.O.
Arkansas? Hell yeah. Kentucky? Hell yeah (that could be an underrated road trip). Indiana? Um...
The other main source for steady, linky summer content: recruiting! Mizzou camps have begun, and PowerMizzou's Pete Scantlebury headed down to Springfield yesterday for a report. Two years ago, 50 players attended the Springfield camp. This year: 184. Oh, and not to give away all the fun details, but signee Justin Britt is already up to 280 pounds and looks like he could add quite a bit more.
Also from PowerMizzou: a report on Potosi ATH Brandon Bourbon's unofficial visit over the weekend, and a profile on the most intriguing prospect at the Springfield camp, soon-to-be Springfield Hillcrest sophomore Dorial Green.
Actually, while we're on the PowerMizzou boat, be sure to read profiles and vote for Mizzou's best ever WRs and TEs.
Briefly back to Mizzou Baseball, where the Trib put together a nice write-up about outgoing senior Kyle Mach and his solid career.
And for those who stopped paying attention, here's how the eight Big 12 teams ended up faring in the NCAAs...they did not exactly reward the NCAA committee for the faith shown in giving the conference eight bids...
- #1 Texas: moved on to the Super Regional in a creative way, beating Boston College in the longest game in NCAA history, then falling behind to Army before coming back to tie and then winning on a walk-off grand slam. They'll host TCU this weekend. Lived up to their seed.
- #1 Oklahoma: Beat #4 Wichita State (5-4), lost to #2 Arkansas (17-6), beat #3 Washington State (7-2), lost to Arkansas (11-0). Did not live up to their seed.
- #2 Missouri: As we know, did not live up to their seed.
- #2 Texas A&M: Lost to #3 Oregon State (9-8), beat #4 Wright State (6-4) in 11 innings, lost to Oregon State (13-5). Did not live up to their seed.
- #2 Kansas State: Beat #3 Xavier (16-8), beat #1 Rice (7-6), lost to Rice (8-0), lost to Rice (13-4). Lived up to their seed.
- #3 Baylor: Beat #2 Minnesota (5-0), lost to #1 LSU (3-2) in 10 innings, lost to Minnesota (15-12). Lived up to their seed.
- #3 Kansas: Lost to #2 Coastal Carolina (11-3), beat #4 Dartmouth (16-0), beat Coastal Carolina (5-1), lost to #1 North Carolina (12-1). Lived up to their seed.
- #3 Oklahoma State (the most controversial of the Big 12 selections): Beat #2 Alabama (10-6), beat #1 Clemson (3-2), lost to Clemson (15-1), lost to Clemson (6-5). Lived up to their seed, and almost made the Super Regionals.
So in all, five of eight teams lived up to their seed, but none really exceeded them. OSU and KSU came the closest, starting 2-0 before eventually falling to the 1-seed. Oh well. And in case you didn't notice, Ole Miss beat WKU last night (4-1) to move on.
Finally...I'm not making any accusations or thinking too hard about this either way, but...how DID Tim Tebow get such good seats?