OHMYGOD WHY COULDN'T THAT SHOT GO IN
First ... in case you haven't seen it ... One Shining Moment.
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SI.com (Joe Posnanski): Plucky Duke earns greatness by outlasting Butler in magical bout
And now, the buzzer sounds, the crowd is standing, America is watching, and the basketball is in the air -- Hayward's not-quite desperation 45-foot shot that will decide this game is in the air.
"It had a chance," Butler coach Brad Stevens would say.
"It looked good," Duke's Kyle Singler would say.
"I was just praying it would not go in," Duke's Nolan Smith would say.
"I thought it was going in," Butler's Matt Howard would say.
But you already know. The basketball is not in the air. The basketball hits the backboard a touch hard. The basketball hits the front rim. And the basketball falls away. It could have fallen. It did not fall. And Duke wins the national championship.
"I still can't believe we won," Krzyzewski said after it ended, and his voice sounded hoarse, and he had been crying. Four Duke championships -- this was easily the most emotional Krzyzewski had ever looked. He stared out.
"I don't think we were lucky," he said. "Because we earned it. But there is some ..."
He paused. There is some ... some what?
"But there is some ... yeah," he said.
- SI.com (Andy Staples): Kyle Singler shows his toughness while winning Final Four MOP
- The Dagger: Hayward's two near-misses deny Butler an upset for the ages
- ESPN.com (Blog): How Duke did it
- Basketball Prospectus: Reality Intrudes
- ESPN.com (Pat Forde): An epic title game was nearly the best ever
FOOTBALL
- PowerMizzou: Spring ball: What have we learned?
- Sporting News (Matt Hayes): College football's next great stars: Missouri QB Gabbert shines the brightest
- PowerMizzou: 2011 offensive recruiting hot board
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Rolando McClain, Sean Weatherspoon to visit this week
Big 12 (and Other) Football Links
- Statistically Speaking: Big 12 Recap: 2005-2009
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Colorado
ESPN.com: Colorado RB Stewart taking control of backfield -
Kansas
Topeka Capital-Journal: Three lead for KU QB job - National Championship Issue: The Effect of the NFL Draft on College Teams
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Mocking the Draft: Top of the first round in NFL Draft looks set
[I]t would be a shock if the first four picks didn't break like this:
1. St. Louis Rams - Sam Bradford | Quarterback | Oklahoma
2. Detroit Lions - Ndamukong Suh | Defensive tackle | Nebraska
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Gerald McCoy | Defensive tackle | Oklahoma
4. Washington Redskins - Russell Okung | Offensive tackle | Oklahoma StateUnless I'm mistaken and/or illiterate, that would be the first time in the history of the NFL Draft that the first four picks have come from the same conference. In 1967, four of the first five picks came from the Big Ten.
Other Mizzou Links
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Mizzou Baseball
MUtigers.com (Blog): Mizzou Baseball Player & Pitcher of the Week - April 5
The Trib: Tigers come to life after explosion
SimmonsField.com: Game Day: "Scrappy"
SimmonsField.com: Game Day: SIU-Edwardsville @ Simmons Field
SimmonsField.com: Mizzou Recruits
SimmonsField.com: Mizzou Baseball Quotes & Notes -
Mizzou Women's Basketball
The Trib: MU interviews coaching candidates in St. LouisThree years ago, when the economy was stronger and buying out an underperforming coach’s contract was easier to justify financially, 15 of the 73 BCS conference schools were on the market for a women’s basketball coach. This year, only four BCS schools dismissed coaches — MU, Colorado, Seton Hall and Clemson. Only MU and Colorado, which fired Kathy McConnell-Miller after five seasons, are still looking.
After Joann Rutherford retired as Missouri’s coach in 1998, then-Louisiana Tech Coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson, Butler’s June Olkowski and Drake’s Lisa Bluder all publicly said no thanks to former AD Joe Castiglione before MU hired Stein on April 29.
Moller said MU will interview five or fewer coaches in St. Louis. Two likely candidates include TCU’s Jeff Mittie and Illinois State’s Robin Pingeton.
Mittie, 43, a Blue Springs native, led the Lady Frogs to the NCAA Tournament this year for the ninth time in 10 seasons, and his father, Larry, has said he believes his son would consider returning to Missouri if the school called.
Pingeton, 41, a former Iowa State assistant, has guided Illinois State to three straight 25-win seasons.
Other
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Super Duper Big Ten
College Football Talk: Big Ten 'super conference' talk gaining momentum?
SB Nation: Big Ten Seriously Considering 16 Team MechaGodzillaVoltron Conference
Dr. Saturday: Today's hypothetical Big Ten expansion scenario: Bring on the Big 16 -
Just Because
EDSBS: LUTHER CAMPBELL: THE EDSBS INTERVIEW