Mizzou Links, 10-28-11

Sheesh. We just aren't wanting for links these days, are we? The Missourian unleashes a cool "48 Hours of Football" series (SEC fans: note the RV and tailgating articles, ahem) ... basketball links are picking up ... conference realignment rumors (mostly Big East-related) are still kicking around ... oh yeah, and the SEC accidentally announced Missouri as its 14th member last night for about half an hour. I pulled awkward-looking PDFs of all the pages below, but Clay Travis (at the link Dave provided last night) pulled all the text, which is probably much more user-friendly. No idea why I didn't think of that.

MIZZOU TO THE SEC PDFs
Missouri Joins The SEC
Missouri -- What You Need To Know
Mizzou's SEC Connections
Homecoming Tradition Traced To Missouri
Missouri: The Dortch Report
Missouri: Barnhart's Take

So these articles were saved on Saturday and referenced a Monday announcement. I'm pretty sure that was supposed to be this past Monday; remember that Gabe Dearmond was getting leads about potentially the same Monday announcement on Sunday. It was delayed for one reason or another -- putting together the pieces, it appears that the Big 12 has offered a bit more resistance than anticipated to the idea of Mizzou pulling out for next year -- but I guess whoever delayed the publishing of the pages just picked an arbitrary date in the future ... and it happened to be late on Thursday night? Maybe?

Regardless of how this (incredibly funny) error took place, it was, if nothing else, a sign that both Missouri and the SEC think this is a done deal. The official announcement is being delayed, and we think we know why, but they wouldn't have taken the time to put these pages together if they didn't think this was happening. Now we just go back to waiting for it to become official. As others have pointed out, Brady Deaton leaves to go do academic things in India next week, so if it doesn't happen between today and Monday night, we could be waiting another couple of weeks (at which point moving by next year becomes less of a possibility). We'll see. It was certainly an entertaining glitch, at least for everybody who didn't accidentally publish news of such significance.

Mizzou Football Links

I have followed recruiting for long enough that it is hard to give me starry eyes about a particular recruit. For one thing, recruits don't always work out. For another, it is a bad idea to get your hopes up too much about a particular kid until they actually a) commit, then b) sign. So many things change, and it can be an emotional whirlwind. That said ... I'm struggling to keep my imagination in check when it comes to the thought of the nation's all-time high school passing yardage leader (Maty Mauk) throwing to the nation's all-time high school receiving yardage leader (Dorial Green-Beckham). I realize high school success doesn't translate perfectly to college success, but damn would that be fun.

Oh yeah, and I like that we got a little more hopeful James Franklin article today.

And one quibble about the fun Missourian series: Oklahoma State in no way "packed" the stands. I was quite disappointed with their showing, actually.

• A&M
  KC Star: While SEC move is on hold, Missouri will try to make one on the field
  The Missourian: Texas A&M a changed team after loss to Missouri last season
  The Missourian: Noise simulator prepares Missouri for rowdy away games
  PowerMizzou: Man-to-Man: Mizzou vs A&M
• QB No. 1
  Post-Dispatch: Mizzou QB Franklin looks past his mistakes

  He is known for his resilience and poise, but Yost acknowledged that Franklin's self-assurance is a concern.

  "You put so much into it, and (if) you don't play as well as you want or you're not as successful as you want to be, it hurts on the inside and everything, but that's what a competitor has to deal with. ... It's all part of the learning curve," Yost said. "You're constantly working on the confidence deal. It's really easy to lose confidence and it's not always as easy to get confidence, so it's a never-ending process."

  There are plenty of ways to foster it, though.

  To Yost, it probably starts with steeping him in a game plan that identifies what MU believes it can exploit against A&M and reminding him of all he's done well, including largely making good decisions and a vertical passing game in which Franklin is "really ahead of where I'd ever thought he'd be at this point."

  It also includes working more directly on some specifics.

  For instance, two of Franklin's interceptions against OSU were on balls tipped at the line of scrimmage.

  "I've got to do a better job coaching it," said Yost, referring to correcting Franklin even if a pass succeeds in practice when he tries to throw it over a lineman instead of in a passing lane.

• Gaines
  PowerMizzou: High risk, high reward
• 48 Hours Of Football (From The Missourian)
  The Missourian: Hearnes Center parking lot transforms into RV land
  The Missourian: Game day for Marching Mizzou starts early
  The Missourian: Lifelong fan gives hugs at every Tiger Walk
  The Missourian: What it takes to be a baton twirler
  The Missourian: Truman the Tiger outshines MU cheerleaders on game day
  The Missourian: Shuttle rides to Faurot Field are hectic, yet convenient
  The Missourian: Tailgating more about atmosphere than game
  The Missourian: Oklahoma State fans pack stands, stick around to celebrate
  The Missourian: Football Saturday proves to be good time for ice cream
  The Missourian: Shakespeare's Pizza reaches capacity on football Saturdays
  The Missourian: Regulars flock to Stadium Grill on NFL Sundays
• Recruiting
  ESPN HS: Rewriting History: Record books under assault

  According to ESPNU, Green-Beckham, the No. 3 player in the ESPNU 150, has not announced a list of five final colleges he’s considering, but the University of Missouri is believed to be in the running.
  
  Missouri already has a commitment from Mauk to be its future signal-caller, so there is the possibility that one national record holder could one day be throwing passes to another national record holder.

  ESPN HS: Dorial Green-Beckham breaks prep receiving record

Other Football Links

With all of these other things going on, I almost missed this rather significant move by the NCAA. It is about the only "pay the athletes" move it could take, I think, but they appear to have taken it.

• Full-Cost Scholarships
  NCAA.org: DI Board of Directors adopt changes to academic and student-athlete welfare
  Dr. Saturday: Full-cost scholarships could be tough on smaller schools
  

MIZZOUEXPANSIONAPALOOZA™ 2011

If Missouri doesn't end up in the SEC, this really would be the ultimate Lucy-and-Charlie-Brown moment, wouldn't it?

• Oopsie
  The Trib (Dave Matter): Oops: SEC site briefly "announces" Missouri as new member
  The Missourian: SEC post saying Missouri to join league appears then disappears
  Post-Dispatch: Apparent SEC statement on Mizzou admission surfaces, disappears
  College Football Talk: SEC website posts Missouri as 14th member
  CBS Sports: Leaked SEC statement welcomes Missouri to league
  Team Speed Kills: The SEC Announces Missouri as 14th Member, But Not Really
• Rush the Court: State of the Tiger Nation: Where Missouri Currently Stands in Conference
• CBS Sports: Slive: SEC 'working on' 13 and 14-team schedules
• For Those Who Are "LOL @ B12" Inclined
  Outkick The Coverage: The Big 12 and Big East = Two Drunks at a Bar Trying to Hook Up
  Daily Oklahoman (Berry Tramel): More madness in conference realignment
• Probably The Biggest Issue On The Table To Me
  KBIA Sports Extra: Move to SEC could jeopardize one of Mizzou's top teams
• Self-Share
  SB Nation: Conference Realignment Gets Political Time For Advanced Senator Stats
• Oh, Big East...
  Big East Coast Bias: Big East Officials Meet with Air Force & Boise, Houston & UCF Have Board Meetings Scheduled
  College Football Talk: Boise State confirms meeting with Big East
• They Would Certainly Be Available...
  NOLA.com: Tommy Tuberville says Big 12 should go after Tulane according to a report
  

Mizzou Basketball Links

• MUtigers.com: Senior Interview: Steve Moore
• Post-Dispatch: Haith standing firm at Mizzou
• The Maneater: Phil Pressey takes charge

Other Basketball Links

I'm sure I will give this more time in the future -- Parkinson's runs in the family -- but for now I'll just say good luck to Billy Kennedy and the A&M family. This diagnosis is far from the end of the world, but it will certainly be a challenge.

• Kennedy
  The Dagger: Texas A&M coach Billy Kennedy diagnosed with Parkinson's
  Big 12 Hoops: Texas A&M Coach Billy Kennedy Diagnosed with Early Stages of Parkinson's Disease
  CBS Sports: Texas A&M's Kennedy battling Parkinson's
  

Other Mizzou Links

So I guess it would be a bit too opportunistic to try to call David Freese a "former Tiger" just because he attended school here for a little while, right?

• Askren
  The Trib: Askren returns to MMA ring for championship defense
• Mizzou Soccer
  MUtigers.com: Mizzou Closes Regular Season Friday
  Big 12 Sports: Big 12 Digital Network to Stream Six Soccer Championship Matches
• Mizzou Wrestling
  MUtigers.com: Wrestling Hosts Black and Gold Sunday

Other

• #OccupyBristol
  Twitpic: How does Craig James have a job, and we don't?