It was anything but a slow news day, but dissecting which way to start off links was difficult. We covered it all yesterday, but the news which likely got everyone in a tizzy was Michael Porter Jr getting cleared to play basketball again.

We’ll have more from Cuonzo Martin at his media availability today, but this is very big news. It does not mean Michael is ready to play. That question is the much bigger one to answer. Porter is clearly talented and we know he wants to play, but he also has to be ready to play, not just cleared to play. But at least Jontay’s excited:

In other semi important news, there was a semi major shift in Mizzou’s potential 2018 recruiting class when the news broke that Missouri had officially offered Webster Groves Courtney Ramey:

There’s been sort of a weird situation from the gitgo after Mizzou sent the entire staff to Webster once Ramey decommitted from Louisville post FBI scandal. Very quickly they fell off recruiting Ramey, barely even checking in. Now they’re offering him a scholarship which should mean something, right? For my full thoughts, I tweet stormed it last night.

Yesterday at Rock M

The whole South Carolina-Mizzou thing is just kinda embarrassing

Jim Sterk probably should have apologized by now, or walked back his comments a little bit AT LEAST. Dawn Staley probably shouldn’t be wasting everyone’s time with a defamation lawsuit. But here we are. I’m not sure anyone is going to think Staley is hurt or defamed by the comments. Vahe thinks its the SEC who messed up (so really everyone in this kinda sucks):

So Staley squawking about the very motivation of the officials after the game at MU, and that bit where she basically called Mizzou dirty two days before the Jan. 28 rematch in Columbia, S.C. (saying there were aspects of the previous meeting “that weren’t basketball”), that was all perfectly acceptable?

But Sterk complaining on KTGR that South Carolina fans had slurred and spit on MU players and that Staley had “promoted that kind of atmosphere” merited sanctions?

In fact, the punishment directed at Sterk to a degree is puzzling considering the seemingly contradictory corollary in the SEC’s disciplinary declaration that also “mandated a Conference office-led review of South Carolina’s game management procedures and visiting team security.”

Soooo …. the SEC is punishing Sterk even as it acknowledges there are potential issues to investigate at South Carolina that might not be getting scrutinized if Sterk hadn’t spoken up?

Not to say that Missouri is all good in this and South Carolina all bad.

Sterk certainly could have been more, or less, specific with his words to much better effect.

Yep, its all bad and dumb. But:

More Links:

• Mizzou Football’s 2019 recruiting class is officially kicked off, Shamar Nash is the highest rated football player to commit to Mizzou not from Missouri, Illinois or Kansas. Cool.
• Dave Matter’s chat is always interesting, Read it here
• The softball ladies went 1-1 dropping a game to Arizona, and toppling BYU.
• Former Tiger Tramaine Isabell went for 29 points and 12 rebounds in Drexel’s dramatic and historical 34 point comeback over Delaware.
• Listen to a podcast, Bill likes it when you listen to the podcast:

• Oh, and the governor was indicted as well.