First things first: Linker’s gone.

Link, a St. Louis native and former Mizzou player under former coach Norm Stewart from 1970-74, became Mike Kelly's radio sidekick in 1996 and has been by his side for the last 21 seasons. In 2000, Link joined the athletics department as special advisor to the AD and served as public relations ambassador for the department over the years. Link, a longtime Mizzou athletics fundraiser, saw his role within the department diminished after athletics director Jim Sterk took over in 2016 as Link no longer worked for the Tiger Scholarship Fund for the last year.

No idea the story behind that, but he seemed like a pretty good dude. Chris Gervino will evidently take over on the mic until a permanent replacement can be found.

Meanwhile ... I can get this story out of my head. The Porters eat ... what now?

Graham utilized a dehydrator for many of the dishes he cooked for the Porters. One of the family’s favorites was his cinnamon bun. It uses thinly sliced dehydrated bananas, still malleable but strong enough to withstand being rolled like a cinnamon bun, with cinnamon on the insides of the roll. There’s even a sweet sauce to cover the concoction, made from dates and raisins.

He also prepared a vegan pizza that Lisa Porter said she now makes about once per week.

“Depending on what kind of crust you want, if you want Chicago or New York … you can make a crust out of shredded vegetables,” Graham said. “You can make a crust out of zucchini slices.”

This is a tremendous piece from the KC Star’s Aaron Reiss. You should read it all. It’s interesting, and ... guys, I don’t think I’m destined to become an elite athlete if that’s what it takes. Like, I’ve actually gotten to where I enjoy tofu dishes and whatnot through the years, but ... raw vegan is like one step too far. Maybe a couple of steps too far.

More basketball

It appears that Jericole Hellems’ incredibly quiet recruitment will be coming to an end this evening.

And for some reason, Mizzou commit Torrence Watson chose last night to tweet this:

Time for some gratuitous self promotion:

• Hello there.
• Hi.

More Links:

• Larry Rountree III’s versatility (and mean running) are getting him on the field more.
• Want to read what Martin Rucker has to say about the Idaho game and Mizzou’s potential progress? Of course you do.
• Robin Pingeton’s Tigers are seen as a rising power within the SEC. That was a fun sentence to type. And is there anything Sophie Cunningham can’t do?

• No. 3 South Carolina made short work of Mizzou Soccer last night at Walton Stadium — the Gamecocks scored in the 15th and 34th minutes and cruised to a 2-0 win.

• Volleyball hype video? OKAY!

• No idea what level of competition we’re talking about here, but Mizzou Tennis had a dominant first day at the ITA Regionals in Lawrence. Tigers went 3-0 in doubles and 5-1 in singles.