Mizzou Links, 3-26-12

Mizzou Football Links

• Berkstresser
  KC Star: Corbin Berkstresser gets opportunity to lead MU's offense
• Legacy Ray
  The Trib: After paying dues, Shane Ray shows growth
• New Assistant Coach
  PowerMizzou: Get to know Alex Grinch

  Q: I know you're in Georgia and doing a lot of recruiting in the Southeast. What has the overall reception been like so far?

  Grinch: "Are we on the tip of everyone's tongue down there like the old-school teams in the SEC? We're probably not. But on the same token, I don't think you get the sense that the kids don't know of Missouri. We're probably somewhere in the middle from being a well-known and a not-so-well-known. So from that standpoint, we've got to obviously market ourselves as well as we can to coaches, players, do a great job of building relationships is the name of the game, obviously. Ultimately, do you get positive feedback as you talk to kids? You absolutely do. You know, it's still going to be certainly a challenge because we're the new guys on the block type of deal. And we'll battle that, which is fine."

• 2013 Recruiting
  The Trib: Missouri accelerates offer process with online help PowerMizzou: Clay Rhodes returns to Columbia
  PowerMizzou: Ezekiel Elliott hits the road
  PowerMizzou: Trent Hosick hopes to decide soon
• Kansas City Is In Missouri
  The Trib: Battle for Kansas City continues

  Could Charlie Weis’ new Kansas staff, including offensive line coach and former Kansas City Chief Tim Grunhard, challenge Missouri’s stranglehold on the area?

  "Our goal is to shut Kansas City down," Grunhard told JayhawkSlant.com in February. "It is important for us to let" Kansas City recruits "know that the University of Kansas is their school."

  Kansas basketball Coach Bill Self fueled the notion that Kansas City belongs to KU and Kansas State when he said just that earlier this month.

  Royce Boehm isn’t buying that.

  "I don’t think it’s true at all," said Boehm, the football coach at Lee’s Summit West and father of 2012 MU signee Evan Boehm. "When Bill Self came out and made his comment about Kansas City being a Kansas and K-State town, that’s bullshit. Pardon my French. … Honestly, to each his own, but I think it’ll always be split three ways, because this is Kansas City, Missouri."

  Since 2006, Kansas has signed three players from the Kansas City area who also held offers from Missouri. Missouri signed 15 Kansas City area players over that time.

• Gabs
  The Trib (Dave Matter): Blaine Gabbert likely takes time to Tebow

Alex Grinch speaks some fine Pinkelese ... and Royce Boehm is awesome.

Other Football Links

• NERRRRRRRRRDS (sort of)
  SI.com (Andy Staples): Manny Diaz's defense has Texas on brink of Big 12 contention

Mizzou Basketball Links

• Miami
  Post-Dispatch: NCAA chief is mum about Haith probe

  Soon after Yahoo Sports released a report in August alleging rampant scandal at the University of Miami and included an allegation that incoming Mizzou basketball coach Frank Haith was complicitous in a $10,000 payment to an unnamed family member of a recruit, Missouri chancellor Brady Deaton said NCAA president Mark Emmert had told him the portion of the case involving Haith could be expedited.

  Nearly eight months later, though, no ruling about Haith has been made and none is in sight.

  "I can't give any details of an ongoing investigation other than to say we're working on it aggressively, (and) this case is very complicated and we're continuing to gather information," Emmert said Friday morning after speaking on a panel with Mizzou athletics director Mike Alden at the Conference on College Composition and Communication at the Convention Center.

  Asked about what happened to the idea of an expedited timeline, Emmert said: "Everyone hoped that we could expedite the whole case, but again, complicated case, lots of information to be gathered. And as you guys know but a lot of your readers don't, we don't have subpoena power."

• Year In Review
  The Trib: MU basketball's fantastic year finishes with shocking loss

SEC

So for those who haven't noticed, Dave Matter is writing a book called The Mizzou Fan's Survival Guide to the SEC. It has a Facebook page. You should Like it.

• The Move
  KC Star: Alden expands on SEC move

  [W]hen asked to provide the upside that would come with having Arkansas as a cross-division rival, Alden found no shortage of reasons, which have no doubt been communicated to the league’s presidents.

  "Our fanbase has a tremendous affinity for the University of Arkansas," Alden said, "They just do, especially south of I-70. There’s a lot of people in the southern part of the state that resonate with Arkansas. There’s a lot of commonalities between Fayetteville and Columbia."

  Alden also said Missouri is inching closer to announcing its new facilities initiative. Since the move to the SEC has been announced, Missouri football coach Gary Pinkel has lobbied hard to upgrade facilities as the school transitions to arguably the most competitive football conference in the country.

  "I want to make sure we don’t overpromise and underdeliver to our fanbase," Alden said.

• A Huge Slice, I'm Sure
  AL.com: With a slice of regret, Texas A&M AD Bill Byrne prepares for SEC move

  "You wouldn't believe how many Big 12 logos we have up around this campus because we were one of the original members," Byrne said.

  If there's a tinge of regret in Byrne's voice, it's because he felt invested in the Big 12. "I regret that it is coming to an end," he said. "On the other hand, looking at what's going on nationally, I think it was a brilliant move to go to the Southeastern Conference, which screams stability. No one is trying to get out of the Southeastern Conference. That's not true of the current conference we're in."

Mizzou Softball Links

So basically, Texas A&M got about two good swings on Chelsea Thomas over the course of the weekend ... and they won the series because of it.

• Texas A&M 2, Mizzou 1
  MUtigers.com: Mizzou Drops Opener to No. 19 Aggies, 2-1
• Mizzou 6, Texas A&M 5
  MUtigers.com: No. 10 Tigers Outlast No. 19 Aggies, 6-5
• Texas A&M 1, Mizzou 0
  MUtigers.com: Tigers Fall to Aggies in Extras, 1-0
  KBIA Sports Extra: Tigers forced to play Aggie ball, Texas A&M issues first series loss

Mizzou Baseball Links

Meanwhile, Mizzou was one good OSU swing (a late homerun in game one) away from a sweep. Nice start to conference play for Jamieson's guys.

• Oklahoma State 3, Mizzou 2
  Mizzou 4, Oklahoma State 1
  MUtigers.com: Tiger Pitching Shines in Split Double Header
  Mizzou Network: Gavin Stark Makes Ridiculous Catch
  The Trib: Missouri pitchers look sharp in doubleheader split
  KBIA Sports Extra: Mizzou baseball opens Big 12 season, splits a pair with Oklahoma State
  SimmonsField.com: HI NOTES: Double Header, Stark's Highlight
• Mizzou 4, Oklahoma State 2
  MUtigers.com: Tigers Rally Late to Pass Cowboys for Series Win
  SimmonsField.com: HI NOTES: MU vs. OSU, Max vs. NYY

Other Mizzou Links

Congrats to three-time All-American diver David Bonuchi!

• Mizzou Wrestling
  KC Star: Brian Smith talks Mizzou wrestling, looks ahead to future
• Mizzou Gymnastics
  MUtigers.com: Burke and Updike Receive Yearly Awards at Big 12 Championship
• Mizzou Men's Swimming & Diving
  MUtigers.com: David Bonuchi Earns Third Career All-America Honor
  MUtigers.com: Bonuchi Wins Bronze on 3 Meter
  MUtigers.com: Bonuchi Concludes NCAAs with Second Place Showing
• Mizzou Men's Golf
  MUtigers.com: Tigers Lead the Way at C&F Bank Intercollegiate
• Mizzou Women's Golf
  MUtigers.com: Mizzou Takes Ninth at Mountain View Collegiate
• Mizzou Track & Field
  MUtigers.com: Track & Field Wraps Up Day One at Missouri Relays
  MUtigers.com: Track & Field Wraps Up Missouri Relays
  The Trib: MU gets a jump on competition
• Mizzou Tennis
  MUtigers.com: No. 41 Oklahoma State Downs No. 71 Mizzou, 6-1
  MUtigers.com: No. 44 Oklahoma Defeats No. 71 Mizzou, 6-1

Other

• USMNT (Olympics Edition)
  Pro Soccer Talk: U.S. Olympic soccer dreams suddenly in grave danger; serious flaws now revealing themselves