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Mizzou Links, 4-23-10

By Bill Connelly

SPOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!

  • MUtigers.com: Spoon Goes to Atlanta in 1st Round of 2010 NFL Draft
  • The Trib: Falcons draft MU's Weatherspoon
    The Trib (Dave Matter): Falcons select MU's Weatherspoon

    Throughout the draft process the last few months, Weatherspoon has had the most contact with the Falcons, Broncos, Chiefs and Saints. Earlier this month he spent two days visiting with Falcons Owner Arthur Blank, General Manager Thomas Dimitroff, Coach Mike White and other members of the staff and organization.

    Earlier this week, Weatherspoon told me, "I told Mr. Dimitroff when he asked me what they should expect when I come in, I said, 'You should expect me to come in and fly around to the ball, make plays, be loud and have a good time out there. Because football is something that’s fun for me, and it’s pretty much all I have. When I’m out there, it’s like my playground.’ I’ll just be a young guy coming in and making plays and making the defense better and trying to be a good leader."

  • KC Star: In MU's Weatherspon, Falcons hit their target
  • The Missourian: MU's Weatherspoon 19th pick of NFL Draft
  • The Falcoholic: Atlanta Falcons Pick LB Sean Weatherspoon in First Round
  • Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Falcons select Missouri linebacker Sean Weatherspoon
  • NY Times (The Quad): The impact: Linebacker Sean Weatherspoon

    What they lose:

    A force in the Missouri linebacking corps since his freshman season, Weatherspoon had his most successful season with the Tigers as a junior in 2008, with 155 tackles (second-most in team history) and 18.5 tackles for loss. As a senior, Weatherspoon’s production tailed slightly, but he still led the team with 111 tackles and 14.5 tackles for loss.

    Where they stand:

    The Tigers expect their linebacking corps to be one of the deepest units on the team, despite losing their best player. They return outside linebacker Andrew Gachkar, who was second on the team behind Weatherspoon with 80 tackles last season. Zaviar Gooden, who saw time in all 13 games last season and recorded 30 tackles, has moved comfortably into the starting spot opposite Gachkar.

  • Houston Chronicle: Local stars hear names called in first round of NFL draft
  • The Trib: Sean Weatherspoon's lifelong plan takes shape

Other Mizzou Football Links

Other Football Links

Gymnastics at Nationals

  • MUtigers.com: Shire Earns All-America Honors at Nationals
  • The Missourian: Missouri gymnasts fall short of qualifying for NCAA finals
    The Missourian: Nationals bittersweet for Missouri gymnasts (just an OUTSTANDING column ... be sure to read the whole thing)

    Now, the Tigers are in striking distance of the final mile-marker in the life a sports program. It takes many teams years to qualify for nationals and years to qualify for the Super Six and the Tigers are about to do both within three weeks.

    So here comes the final rotation. Stanford has already finished the meet with a 196.3. The Missouri Tigers need a 49.15 on beam to tie, something the Tigers have done a number of times this season.

    But, things happen when the pressure is on. Beam had been a tough event for most of the teams Thursday evening. Arkansas counted two falls and Michigan counted one. And scores were tight. A slight bobble here and there, deductions. A step, a bent leg ... deductions.

    So here they are. In the meet of their lives. They’ve already done more than any other Missouri gymnastics team. Now, the next monumental obstacle for the program is within reach.

    Imagine balancing on 4-inch wide beam in the final rotation of the biggest competition of your life. The pressure makes your arms and legs heavy, but the noise from the screaming fans seems to subside until the only thing you hear is your breath. You're alone on a balance beam with yourself. You’ve done it a thousand times, but none of that matters. The only thing that matters is the next minute and a half. A minute and a half that will finish a season, perhaps a career. Nervous doesn’t begin to describe it.

    The Missouri Tigers didn’t make it to the Super Six finals. They had to count two falls on beam and they finished the meet with a 194.6 for 12th place. But, this final beam rotation doesn’t define their record breaking-season. The Missouri gymnastics team made a step toward greatness Thursday night. It’s heartbreaking and disappointing and sad and hard to take, but the Tigers got there. They qualified to a meet that was always slightly out of reach in previous seasons.

  • KC Star: Missouri gymnast Shire wins All-American honors

Tourney Expansion

  • The Trib (Steve Walentik): NCAA hoping to expand tournament to 68 teams
  • ESPN.com Blog: 68 teams? 68 teams!
    ESPN.com Blog: Bracketologist reacts to 68
    ESPN.com Blog: NCAA proves itself either savvy or receptive
    ESPN.com Blog: Expansion: What we know (and don't know)
  • The Dagger: A joyous day: The NCAA tournament will expand, but to 68, not 96
    The Dagger: The big winner in all of this? The regular season.
    The Dagger: The four play-in games should be between at-large hopefuls
  • Rush the Court: A Look At The Future Of The NCAA Tournament (For Now)
    To be honest the NCAA has not provided many details about this including who will play in the four play-in games. Will it be the eight lowest seeded teams (who are now the 15- and 16-seeds) or the eight bubble teams? I think I can speak for the rest of the RTC brain trust in saying that I hope it is the latter because we might actually watch the game instead of putting the "little guys" against each other. At the very least they should move the play-in games to the actual first round sites instead of shipping them all off to Dayton (not that there’s anything wrong with Dayton. . .). Interestingly, the NCAA left the possibility of expanding to the dreaded 96-team monstrosity saying that they were moving to 68 teams "for now." Opinion on the expansion to 68 teams was mixed but much more muted than it would have been had they expanded to 96 teams.

Other Basketball Links

  • The Dagger: Now that Burks is back, can Colorado make the NCAA tourney?

Other Mizzou Links

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