Mizzou Links, 6-20-14: Tiger Athletics and a memorable 2013-14

For all reasons good and bad, it's been a pretty incredible, weird year for Missouri athletics. Also: the new softball stadium is approved, Mizzou wins a sportsmanship award, and we check in on Danario Alexander and Ricardo Ratliffe.

By Bill Connelly@SBN_BillC Jun 20, 2014, 5:12am CDT

1. It's been a year

The Trib: University of Missouri athletics has a year like no other

I knew it had been one hell of a year when I started realizing all of the stuff this piece didn't mention...

6. NERRRRRRRDS

So a while back I announced that Athlon had asked me to contribute to its 2014 preview magazines. Here's one of the things I did for them. It got posted online yesterday.

Athlon: Everything You Need to Know About College Football Analytics

(There's still time to buy the mag!)

7. O'Bannon

SI.com (Andy Staples): Judge poses key questions to Mark Emmert in O'Bannon v. NCAA
SB Nation: Mark Emmert 'not personally comfortable' with college sports commercialism
SB Nation: Emmert: 'Most Division I schools don't make money' off athletics
SB Nation: NCAA's Emmert claims schools will go Division III if players are paid
SB Nation: The fall of amateurism as the NCAA knows it

And while we're talking about people who need to stop talking...
ESPN.com: West Virginia AD Oliver Luck says playoff committee will look at schedule, analytics
Senator Blutarsky: Who wants to be a selection committee member?

Luck admitted it would be impossible for every committee member to watch every game of college football this season. That’s why Luck said the committee also would be leaning heavily on analytics and technology to help differentiate teams.

"I’m not sure this committee could do this without the technology that exists today," he said. "All the stuff these analytics guys are going to provide us is going to be extraordinarily helpful. We’ll be able to call up any game, in whatever sequence we’d like. For example, all third downs for Missouri when they were playing Texas A&M. We’ll have all that access, which will be really helpful.

"But we’re also going to use our eyeballs. Everyone also has their friends, their former teammates or former coaches or whatever. We’ll all use our support systems a little bit differently. But ultimately, with only one goal: to make the best decision we can."

Dear Mr. Luck,

"All third downs for Missouri when they were playing Texas A&M" is in no way, shape, or form the kind of "analytics" you need to be looking at for playoff determination. Thanks.

- Bill