Mizzou Links, 3-20-12

Mizzou Basketball Links

Last week, my mother was asking me when the national coach of the year award is announced. I said there are about 16 different "national" awards (coach of the year awards are like football national titles from the 1930s -- you end up with 13 different parties celebrating a win) and that as long as Haith won one of them, all was well. Well ... congrats, Coach Haith, for winning the only one that matters (as of this moment). Frank Haith: National Coach Of The Year.

• C.O.Y.
  MUtigers.com: Frank Haith Named USBWA National Coach of the Year
  Big 12 Sports: MU's Haith Wins Henry Iba Award
  The Trib: Haith is national coach of the year
  KC Star: Mizzou's Haith wins Iba coach of year award
• Still Sighing
  PowerMizzou: Powered Up: An end far too early

Other Basketball Links

As I mentioned last week, Duquesne is on my long list of St. Bonaventures, the teams I root for for no apparent reason. Well ... now I have a reason.

• Nice
  The Dagger: One of the NCAA Tournament's best assists came off the court

Mizzou Football Links

As long as -- AS LONG AS -- James Franklin is healthy for the start of the 2012 football season, then I have no problem with yesterday's announcement that he is out for the rest of spring with shoulder surgery. It seems like awful news, but we kind of know what Franklin can deliver at this point. Reps would have been nice, but getting high-leverage reps for the backup, really, are just as nice. Corbin Berkstresser will get a lot of attention and opportunity over the next four weeks, and that's a perfectly good thing. AS LONG AS Franklin is back and healthy in five months. Obviously shoulder surgery could be a concern for a quarterback already not exactly known for having a hand cannon, but I have no reason to worry about that just yet, so I'm not going to.

(That said ... good lord has it been a stupid 12 months for Mizzou football injuries...)

• QB No. 1
  MUtigers.com: James Franklin to Have Surgery on Shoulder
  The Trib: Tigers call an audible: Franklin to have shoulder surgery
  KC Star: Franklin to undergo surgery
  Post-Dispatch: Mizzou QB Franklin to have surgery, is done for this spring
  Hank's Sports Blog: Mizzou quarterback James Franklin out for remainder of spring camp
  Saturday Blitz: James Franklin Injury Latest Bump In Missouri's Road To SEC
• More From Saturday's Scrimmage
  We Are Mizzou: First Spring Scrimmage
• 2013 Recruiting
  PowerMizzou: Top group coming for Eric Beisel
  PowerMizzou: Beginning of the end for Andy Bauer?

Other Football Links

Part 1 of 124 is in the books at SB Nation. I shouldn't be as giddy about taking on this overwhelming project as I am, but I am.

• 2012
  Football Study Hall: The 2012 College Football Previews Are Underway At SBNation.com
  SB Nation (Self-Share): 2012 South Alabama Football Preview: The Jaguars And Odd Paths
• PLAYoff?
  College Football Talk: Former CBS Sports prez proposed eight-team playoff to NCAA

SEC, Etc.

Congrats to The Trib's David Briggs for taking a job with the Toledo Blade. He is now part of the Ohio State beat, and the Trib loses a quality writer. But what appears to be his last story with the Trib (Sunday's SEC-Big 12 e-mails story) was a good one.

• Big 12
  The Trib: Key to Big 12 survival is ancient history

Other Mizzou Links

There are some struggling Big 12 baseball teams this year...

• Mizzou Baseball
  MUtigers.com: Mizzou Baseball Offers Ticket Specials This Weekend
  SimmonsField.com: HI NOTES: Looking back at High Point, Looking ahead at Big 12 in '12