Sigh. You won't find any Derrick Washington links in this post, as the one shared last night (and the resulting conversation with t&c fan below) is all we know and all we need to know at this point. Odds are rather good that this becomes a he-said-she-said situation, where both sides share their side of the story, and in the end the legal verdict is based more on who argued their side better than who is telling the truth. No matter the verdict, some will continue to believe he's lying, and some will continue to believe she's lying. All I hope for at this point is that there is some sort of reasonably legitimate proof one way or another, and that justice is served, whatever that may be.
All I can also hope is that the team is able to put this behind them and stay motivated, whether Washington is part of the team or not. Between Washington and the Munir Prince incident linked below, everybody interviewed on KOMU yesterday evening were rather visibly shaken up. How the team responds over the next couple of days is beyond important to how they perform this fall.
Scrimmage / Munir Prince Reports
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KC Star (Campus Corner): MU Defender Prince Taken Off Field on Stretcher
Prince, a 5-10 and 185-pound senior from DeSmet High School in St. Louis who sat out the 2008 season after transferring to Mizzou from Notre Dame, was injured blocking on a punt return.
The returner, Jasper Simmons, had reversed field and Prince was caught in a blindside situation, knocked off his feet by the block of Marcus Malbrough, a 6-5 and 250 pound defensive end playing on the punt return unit.
At first, with Prince being attended to near the west sideline, practice continued. But as the stretcher was called for, every player and coach came over to join Pinkel, who stood over his injured player as medical personnel attended to Prince.
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The Trib (Dave Matter): Somber scrimmage for Tigers
At 6:10 p.m., Pinkel relayed from the hosptial to team spokesman Chad Moller that Prince has feeling in all of his limbs and that the medical team is still treating and assessing the injury.
"That’s one of our brothers out there, man," tailback Kendial Lawrence said. "We can only keep him in our prayers and hope for the best for him. … He was moving. He’s a strong player. He’ll make it through."
- PowerMizzou: Prince injury throws shadow over final scrimmage
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Post-Dispatch: Mizzou's Prince resting comfortably in intensive care after injury
Team physician Dr. Pat Smith said Prince had gone through a battery of tests and was doing well after being diagnosed with transient quadriplegia, a temporary loss of sensation in the upper and lower extremities.
"Munir's neurological status is improving and will continue to be monitored closely over several days," Smith said. "We believe at this time that his prognosis is favorable."
- MUtigers.com: Mizzou Football Scrimmage Statistics
Other Mizzou Football Links
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The Trib: Has it been 10 years? Pinkel survives, thrives (I was really looking forward to sharing this link and discussing it before the D-Wash news came down. Still, a really good look at a flawed-but-strong coach.)
On the field, you know what you’re going to get. You may not understand the lack of a short-yardage offense — and you may have a point — but if you’re out of junior high school, you remember when the Tigers had a hell of a lot more problems than the lack of a fullback on third-and-1.
He will find and develop good quarterbacks, and that is half the battle. His teams rarely will beat themselves with penalties or turnovers. He will luck into great kickers. His defenses will break your heart. Has he mentioned there was only one cornerback on scholarship when he arrived? Has he mentioned Don James? He will refer to Chase Daniel as Chase Daniels. He won’t beat Oklahoma or Texas. He will beat eight other teams on the schedule in a pretty good year. He will get his team to No. 1 in the nation in a great year.
This should be one of the pretty good years.
Pinkel is 58 years old. He is not a perfect coach, but he might be the perfect coach for Missouri. If he had a more meteoric rise, someone with national championships in the trophy case would have made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. Instead, he had a few flirtations, most notably with Washington, but never seriously considered leaving.
- The Trib: Aldon Smith is left holding the bag ... often
- The Trib: Offensive linemen learn to live on the edge
- The Trib: Candidates campaign to be go-to receiver
- The Trib: Special teams snapper hurt
- PowerMizzou: Sliding protection
- KC Star (Campus Corner): Andrew Jones: The Rest of the Story
- PowerMizzou: Freshman Q&A: Kony Ealy
- Big12Sports.com: Skywriters Tour Visits Missouri
Big 12 (and Illinois) Links
- The Trib: It's the end of the Big 12 as we know it
- Houston Chronicle: Six freshmen to watch in Big 12 football
- Dr. Saturday: Final takes: Big 12 leaves its fate to the young guns
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Illinois
College Football Talk: Achilles tear ends season for starting Illini DB -
Colorado
Boulder Daily Camera: Hawk floats extension idea
Dr. Saturday: Dan Hawkins' answer to Colorado's woes: Extend Dan Hawkins' contract -
Kansas
Topeka Capital-Journal: Jayhawks tough to figure -
Kansas State
Topeka Capital-Journal: Cats need bowl bid -
Oklahoma
SI.com (Andy Staples): Landry Jones, Oklahoma Sooners aim to rebound from hard-luck 2009 -
Texas
Houston Chronicle: Texas freshmen don't act like kids, aim for starting spots
Other Mizzou Links
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Mizzou Volleyball
The Missourian: Missouri volleyball eager to start season
The Trib: Tigers' other freshman
MUtigers.com: Tiger Invitational Live Blog - Day One (starts tonight)