A TON of links to share today...busy weekend in the links-based world, I guess. So without further adieu...
We start on YouTube, where Burnt Orange Nation unearthed a recent Mizzou video I didn't know existed.
Everybody's saying the right thing in terms of Blaine Gabbert and the leadership he's showing thus far.
DISRESPECT!!! There have been quite a few great "DISRESPECT!!!" links recently. The most recent: PowerMizzou says this team is on a mission. Meanwhile, doubters are fueling Chase Daniel as well, apparently.
D-Wash! One of the keys to 2009 is the man sharing the backfield with Blaine Gabbert. The Trib checks in on Mr. Washington (and Danario Alexander) in a mending Tigers piece, while PowerMizzou says Washington is ready to run.
Camps! Lorenzo Williams' kids camp was a rousing success, apparently, as was Chase Daniel's camp, at least according to Mr. Daniel himself. Meanwhile, not exactly a camp, but the Missouri 7-on-7 tournament was this weekend. Ray-Pec beat Hazelwood East in the finals, and apparently HE's Don Shumpert looked outstanding. No offer from Mizzou yet, but we'll see.
Recruiting! Two nice prospects--3-star Texas OL Zach Bolton and 4-star Illinois DB Corey Cooper (a UI soft commit) both have nice things to say about Mizzou. MU might be leading for Bolton (he won't reveal), and Cooper's giving Mizzou a chance to knock him out in the fall even though he likes Illinois a lot.
Rankings! No team rankings this weekend, but Sean Weatherspoon tops Dave Matter's Big 12 Defenders list.
Illinois! Rivals ranks Illinois 35th heading into the season, while Hail to the Orange takes a look at the Illini's 300-man RB corps.
Basketball! Marcus Denmon is healing, Rock Bridge's Ricky Kreklow is taking his time with recruiting (he better not wait too long), and it's Summer League time in Vegas! Through one game (stats here), DeMarre Carroll is looking good, putting up 11 points in 4-for-6 shooting and grabbing 5 rebounds in 21 minutes. Meanwhile, with the Cavs (stats here), Leo Lyons has gotten more of an opportunity to shine, and he is doing so thus far. Coming off the bench for 19.5 minutes per game, Good Leo is averaging 13.5 points on 12-for-17 shooting (70.6%), and as importantly has grabbed 9 rebounds (meanwhile, Bad Leo has committed four turnovers).
Et cetera! None of these links are Mizzou-related, but I felt the need to pass them along anyway.
- If Tennessee succeeds in 2009, I think I know why. Let's not forget that their defensive coordinator is a complete and total badass.
- Sorry, Beefy, but the blogosphere is not a fan of the Mets' Jeff Francoeur trade. (I include that link just for the "One thing we like about this giant rock is the amount of time he plays" quote.) It actually distracted somewhat from the Royals' atrocious Yuniesky Betancourt trade (it was actually rather entertaining watching Mariners fans come over to Royals Review to apologize).
- There have been quite a few "How good a coach is Mark Richt?" posts from various blogs recently, and...good lord...he's a great coach. Don't know what's hard to understand here. How many times do we have to overvalue (in the short-term) national titles? Tom Osborne was a disappointment and underachiever...until he wasn't. Same with Mack Brown. Richt almost immediately brought a national title to Athens in 2002, but UGa was unlucky enough to lose one game in a season in which Ohio State and Miami lost zero. They're the only 1-loss SEC team not to win a national title this decade (of course, Auburn lost zero and also got unlucky). He's a great coach (as was, really, Tommy Tuberville, but that's another debate for another time).
- Finally...RIBBONS!!!!
See? Told you it was a massive amount of linky goodness...