It was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. And I’d like to move to Australia.

I don’t much like it when one of my favorite childhood books resembles real life. Not at all. Not when Mizzou Football, Baseball, and Softball have what could be catastrophic issues to deal with, and then, to a much lesser extent, hoops appears to have some of its own issues to work out. The book clearly is there to remind you that yeah, things may get bad— you may get gum in your hair, your mom may forget to pack your dessert in your lunchbox, and you have to eat lima beans for dinner— but you’ll get over it. But not before contemplating a move to another country, such as Australia. I hear it’s nice this time of year.

Since I don’t much feeling like writing about this, here’s some gifs for you, as suggested by my Rock M colleagues and our commentariat. Perhaps one of these accurately represents your feelings on The Series of Unfortunate Events (also an excellent book) that took place Tuesday. Thank you to those that submitted ideas.

But first, from our own Twitter account...

And this one...

My first thought. Sarcasm is an excellent defense mechanism...

It’s okay to go through the many stages of grief, as ElMedico27 suggested.

When the last thing you want is for someone to ask if you’d heard the news and encourages you to lighten up, as suggested by my mother.

Maybe you’re feeling depressed like Dirk 98-02.... Winnie the Pooh is always a good choice.

Anger is okay too, guys. Let it out, FBR. We agree with you... (this one time).

Kinda what I wanted to do to my workstation when I saw the news, so this is accurate, kristina. (side note- couldn’t find a non f-bomb based cat knocking things off the counter, so thanks for the alternate one)

Is the curse real? Is this, as MIZ_DBH says, the Bad Place?

This feels a bit drastic, and I recommend seeing someone if you feel this way, but I can’t fault Producer Mitch for his choice.

And finally, realizing this is what you come to expect as a Mizzou fan. Acceptance, as offered by RunMizzou11.

Now, on to the links we go. They’re super-sized, as unfortunately, there was a lot of unpleasantness to talk about.

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Yesterday at Rock M

• Nate presented us with a new Beyond the Box Score, the “man in the mirror” edition. As always, Nate’s pieces are a delight.
• Ryan had his piece on the NCAA decision ready to go very quickly. Excellent reporting.
• Josh called the NCAA a clown show, and it was amazing. As someone who despises clowns, I find this to be an apt comparison.
• Josh, continuing to do valiant work while on vacation, previewed the Oklahoma game. (sigh)
• Leader of Men (and me), Site Manager Sam, posted a Study Hall for the Butler game. I suggest you check it out.
• Ryan also provided us with a recap for the Oklahoma game. Hello Darkness/15-3 lead, my old friend. So, yeah... going winless while basically playing at home in KC is not ideal, y’all.

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More Links:

Football

• KC Star: Vahe Gregorian countered that at least it’s over now, and maybe Mizzou can find closure.
• Columbia-Missourian: Liam Quinn took a look at the financial ramifications of the NCAA’s unfair decision. Newsflash: it ain’t good, guys. Nick Kelly examined why the Infractions Appeals Committee did not overturn the Committee on Infraction’s initial ruling. Joseph Hernandez shared some MU fan reactions to the news. Nick Kelly wrote about needing better cornerback play on Black Friday. It starts with health of the starters, of course.
• MUTigers.com posted a press release on the decision.
• SEC Commisioner Greg Sankey’s thoughts:

• St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Matter previewed the Arkansas game and recapped the press conference held at the Sprint Center before the hoops game.
• STL Today: Jeff Gordon posted another Tipsheet, this time about the possible SEC coaching carousel, twirling around at alarming speeds.
• Assorted NCAA ruling coverage: Souichi Terada (KC Star). Emily Leiker (The Maneater). Dave Matter (STL Today). Peter Baugh (The Athletic- $$).
• PowerMizzou (free): Lots of news from them today from Mitch & Gabe, including a recap of the decision, Missouri players/admin/lawmakers’ reactions, a plan for Mizzou leadership who understandably blasted the NCAA, an audio recording of the press conference at Sprint Center featuring AD Jim Sterk and Chancellor Alexander Cartwright, a commentary on what went wrong, AND what the penalties mean for HCBO’s future.
• The Athletic ($$): Peter Baugh published a really cool All-Decade Football team, surely featuring some of your favorites: Josey, Shane, Markus, etc. Check it out... if you’re a subscriber. If you haven’t tried out The Athletic yet, here’s a link to a seven day free trial— http://theathletic.com/freetrial. I highly recommend it, and NO, I don’t get a kickback. If I wanted that, I’d give you my subscriber link ;).

Hoops

• Certainly not how the team was looking to walk out of the Hall of Fame Classic, but at least we found Tilly! One of the better moments:

• St. Louis Post-Dispatch: BenFred countered that the deflating loss to Butler showed that Mizzou hoops still has a long way to go. Dave Matter wrote a recap of the game, citing yet another early deficit in determining Mizzou’s fate.
• Power Mizzou (free): Gabe published a Tiger Tipoff preview for Oklahoma, identifying some important keys to the game: Pack the paint, win the glass, and get “good JT” to show up. Post-game, Gabe stated that Tuesday night looked an awful lot like Monday night.
• In nice news, the women’s team is off to Cancun!

• Mizzou target Josh Christopher got to hang out with the likes of Scottie Pippen in LA.

Other Mizzou Sports

• Softball: Twitter reactions from current softball players/coaches: Eli Daniel. Emma Raabe. Cayla Kessinger. Kendyll Bailey. Head Coach Larissa Anderson.
• Anderson Kimball (Columbia Missourian) catalogued the reactions from the current baseball and softball programs.

Former Mizzou Player News

• ABC 17’s Tyler Murry interviewed former softball star, Madi Norman.

• More former player reactions: Jarrett Sutton, Sam’s podcasting co-host at times, had an appropriate reaction to the news via Twitter. Jon Sunvold continues to be the best. Lucas Vincent told it like it was.
• L’Damian Washington is excited to get back to St. Louis with his XFL team.

• Sheldon Richardson’s position versatility is working out great for Cleveland, says 247 Sports.
• Drew Lock’s head coach told SI’s Mile High Huddle that after his injury exile, Drew has seen better mental “comfortability.” (side note- is that a word?)
• Kellen Winslow, Sr. is suing his former employer, the NFL, for workers’ compensation, after he’s struggled with brain and nervous system issues due to repeated head trauma, reported ESPN.
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