Mizzou Links, 5-23-13

1. Tonight, 8:00 p.m. CT.

MUtigers.com: Super Regional Time at University Field

FOLLOW THE ACTION AT THE COLUMBIA REGIONAL

• Mizzou and Washington's best-of-three series in the Columbia Super Regional will be shown live on ESPN and ESPNU with Mark Neely (play-by-play) and Amanda Freed (analysis) on the call. Thursday's Game One is scheduled for an 8 p.m. CDT start on ESPN, with Friday's games set for 5 p.m. on ESPNU and 8 p.m. on ESPN (if necessary).

• Live radio coverage will come from KTGR (100.5 FM, 103.1 FM, 1580 AM, KTGR.com and Mizzou Network) for the entire best-of-three series.

• The Columbia Super Regional will have continual updates to the official Twitter account of Mizzou Softball, @MizzouSoftball. Live statistics will be available at MUTigers.com, as well as post-game coverage of recaps, notes and quotes.

The Missourian: Missouri softball can't slack off for NCAA Super Regionals
KC Star: MU softball team opens NCAA super regional vs. Washington on Thursday
Post-Dispatch: MU softball ready for national stage

2. How's Chelsea's arm? We'll find out

The Trib: Ace's arm will be put to the test

"I hate to jump the gun. I hope she is pain-free," Earleywine said yesterday. "I hope I'm not running her out there and placing expectations on her that aren't realistic. But from all indications, from everybody that's treating her, she feels pretty good." [...]

Thomas said her outing last weekend — she one-hit Hofstra on Sunday a day after pitching a complete game — was "huge mentally" for her confidence. She said she did have some symptoms of her arm injury afterward.

"Had some fullness, a little bit of numbness, but nothing like it has been, so that means we're getting a grip on what's working and what's managing the symptoms," she said.

James Stannard, Thomas' doctor, said last week he hoped Thomas would improve because of the last month of rest Earleywine has given her, the new treatments and Thomas' relief that the condition has no likelihood of long-term damage. Thomas also began visiting with a physical therapist last week.

PowerMizzou: Tigers will ride with Thomas

I'm very confident in saying that Missouri's A-game is better than Washington's A-game. If Chelsea's healthy enough, and if the bats are actually relaxed now, I feel very good about this series. But the execution has to be there.

Mizzou got away with basically three good pitching games, two good defensive games, and one good offensive game last weekend. They'll need at least that tonight and tomorrow.

3. Baseball's fatal flaw

SimmonsField.com: Same Song, Final Verse
Post-Dispatch: Tigers lose marathon opener in SEC baseball tourney
SimmonsField.com: A Tip of the Cap 2013: Season Interrupted

4. 2014 Football recruiting, position-by-position

PowerMizzou: Tiger Watch: Safety

5. SPOOOOOOOOOOOOOON

PowerMizzou: Recruiting Rewind: Sean Weatherspoon

"Not many people knew but I was committed to Houston," he said. "Next month I had visits set to Houston, Iowa State, and TCU. But since I committed to Missouri I am going to cancel all of them."

Legend has it--and Spoon told the story himself--that he chose Missouri because he was walking around the mall in Jasper and saw a Mizzou sweatshirt. Not exactly a common occurrence, Weatherspoon said he took it as a sign he was supposed to play at Missouri. […]

Weatherspoon was not ranked in the top 100 players in the Class of 2006...in his own state. After his college career came to a close, Orangebloods.com reranked that Lone Star State class. They had Spoon ranked seventh.

"This one really makes me mad because a former employee of mine was high on Weatherspoon after seeing him as a senior and I should have had him somewhere on the list," read the report. "Totally a blown call on my part and it kept me from looking smart five years later. Only TCU and Houston offered among in-state schools."

If anyone needed proof that ranking recruits was an inexact science (you shouldn't), Sean Weatherspoon busted that myth years ago.

(Side note: How freaking good was Bill Carter's 2009 MU-KSU gallery???)