Mizzou Links, 7-14-11

Mizzou Football Links

Every year, I maintain a spreadsheet that projects Mizzou's roster through the next few years ... I keep track of which recruits I think are coming here, and I make note of which current Mizzou players are most likely to transfer. The criteria are simple really: if you're a sophomore or junior, on the third string or worse, with younger players (or multiple players in the same class) above you, you're a transfer risk. If you're from out of state, you're double the transfer risk.

So basically, Marcus Malbrough has been at the very top of my Flight Risk list for two years now; I don't publish this sort of thing because it's pure guesswork and I don't want to accidentally start rumors, but needless to say, yesterday's news that Malbrough is transferring to Lamar did not exactly surprise me. I wish him luck; he just wasn't ever going to find the playing time he probably felt he deserved here because we're quite deep at defensive end.

• MUtigers.com: Mizzou Football Announces Mini Plans
• Malbrough
  The Trib: Backup MU lineman leaves for Lamar
  The Missourian: Missouri defensive end Marcus Malbrough to leave football program
• More Watch Lists
  MUtigers.com: Jacquies Smith, Brad Madison Named to Lombardi Watch List
• Sleeper!
  SI.com (Stewart Mandel): Mailbag

  So you said in last week's Mailbag that with Mack Brown and Bob Stoops in the Big 12, any other team only had a 20 percent chance of winning the conference. Which means you're giving the Ags (and anyone else) 5-1 odds at best. I'll gladly take those odds this year Stewart. I'll put my $20 against your $100. Or, just be sure and print this e-mail in December when the Ags are sitting at the top of the Big 12 standings. Whooop!!
  -- Brett, Fairplay, Texas

  Jeez. I haven't seen this much confidence emanating from Aggieland since right before Dennis Franchione switched up the offense on poor Reggie McNeal. We don't condone gambling in these parts, but sure, feel free to rub this in my face if A&M wins the Big 12. Let me say this, though: Don't sleep on Missouri. The Tigers are being overlooked almost as much as the Ags are being overhyped.

• PowerMizzou: PowerMizzou Podcast: Episode 9

Other Football Links

Every time I think Twitter is a blight on the overall enjoyment of sports, something happens to change my mind. Eric LeGrand and his Twitter account have been that "something" about 20 times now. He just casually posts something like this or this, and it makes you feel good. He posts something like this, and it makes you feel great. He posts something like this, and it makes you stand up and do a Tiger Woods Fist Pump™.

• The Trib (Dave Matter): BTS Preseason Countdown: 13, 12, 11
• 4-2-5
  Double-T Nation: Multiplicity But Simplicity | The Five Spoke Secondary
• LeGrand
  USA Today: Eric LeGrand releases photo of himself standing
  EDSBS: Standing ovations and air horns and all manner of celebratory noise in the direction of Eric LeGrand...
• Auburn
  NY Times: NCAA's Investigation of Auburn Isn't Over Yet

Mizzou Basketball Links

The "checking in on the basketball team" profiles have begun at PowerMizzou and, evidently, The Trib. Nice to see that everybody is saying the right things about Haith so far. I mean, of course they're going to be saying the right things, but it's still nice.

• Ratliffe
  PowerMizzou: Summer Sessions: Ricardo Ratliffe

  PM: Do you like what you've heard from the new coaches and do you think there are certain things they do that might fit you better than what coach Anderson did?
  
  RR: "I talked to coach Haith and he told me, just basically, to look to get the ball more and be more aggressive than I was last year. Cause last year, our offense was kind of like a guard offense and me and Laurence had to find our place in certain games. But he basically told us that he's going to have plays run for me and Laurence, as are Marcus, Kimmie and Mike. He's got plays to run for everybody. He just basically told me, get ready to have the ball. We're going to stretch the game out, we want you to shoot the mid-range, shoot the three because we know you can do that. He sees me working on that. Basically, he just told me to get the ball and be ready to do something with it when I get it."

• STEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVE
  The Trib (Steve Walentik): Steve Moore happy to have 'fresh, clean slate'
  

Other Mizzou Links

• Mizzou Baseball
  KC Star: Baseball is a tie that binds Kevin and Aaron Crow
  SimmonsField.com: 9 Reasons to Follow College Baseball: Friday Night Lights
• Mizzou Softball
  MUtigers.com: Tigers Help USA to Pair of Wins
  MUtigers.com: Two Future Tigers Picked to All-America Game
• Mizzou Soccer
  The Trib: MU players part of 1999 soccer boom

Other

I remember watching that Fed-Sampras match ... even if he still looks as snooty as snooty gets, it's still infinitely easier to like Federer now that he's cut his hair. Just saying.

• Music
  Rolling Stone: My Morning Jacket Achieves 'Muppet Glory' with 'Our World'
• Soccer
  Dirty Tackle: FIFA 11 refs seem to be extremely racist (Not going to lie: I laughed at this quite hard)
• Tennis
  Busted Racquet: YouTube Classics: Federer dethrones Sampras at Wimbledon
• Good Writing
  Grantland: A look back at Tony Kornheiser's 1980 profile of Nolan Ryan for Inside Sports magazine