Now you’ve gone and taken Homecoming and the rivalry from us, Covid?!?

This news is just... upsetting. I was SO excited, like many of you, for return of the Border War this season, and was counting the days to snag some tickets to the game at T-Mobile Center this year (side note: when did it change from Sprint Center?) for December 12. But nope, because 2020 sucks, that is no longer something to look forward to.

In case you didn’t see the news, it was announced that the Border War game, scheduled to be played at a neutral site to re-kick off the series is pushed back to 2026. 2021 will be played at Allen Fieldhouse, where we can expect fully impartial officiating (cough-cough), and 2022 will be at Mizzou Arena.

According to Dave Matter’s article in the Post-Dispatch, Mizzou was trying to make this work, while kansas.... wasn’t. I know. You’re as surprised as me. Shocked like Bill Self when Snoop Dogg brought “props”to the Late Night at The Phog event last year.

A source indicated Mizzou officials were willing to play this year’s game on a different date but the sides couldn’t come to an agreement. The T-Mobile Center’s capacity would have certainly been reduced for this year’s game because of the coronavirus.

Well, at least we are safe with Braggin Rights, right? Not so fast.

The rest of Missouri’s nonconference schedule is still up in the air, including the Braggin’ Rights Game against Illinois in St. Louis, originally scheduled for late December. Big Ten school officials have been so consumed with adjusting football schedules, it’s unclear when and how they’ll restructure nonconference basketball games, a source said.

We can’t lose Braggin Rights, guys. I can’t handle it. It is the sports highlight of my year.

However, if there’s any consolation to this terrible news, according to Jeff Goodman from WatchStadium, Mizzou is still part of the field for this MTE presented by ESPN in Orlando running from Nov. 25- Dec. 6, which looks to include teams like San Diego State, Saint Mary’s, Tennessee, VCU, SLU, Loyola of Chicago, and Belmont, among others. That’s some good competition, and I’m excited to hear more.

Now, on to the links!

---

Yesterday at Rock M

• Nate channeled his inner Bill C with his Beyond the Boxscore “Anatomy of an Upset.”
• Jacob covered the newest MIZ-Zoom event, where Drink talked about the unexpected bye week, practice performances, and what he’s going to do during the off weekend.
• COMING UP AT ROCK M: BK talks about a position battle brewing later this morning, and I have a mental health in a sports context piece coming Thursday

---

More Links:

Football

• St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Dave and Ben Fred got together for a new episode of their Eye on the Tigers podcast,chatting about the big LSU win and the surprising Vandy loss (of game). BenFred wrote about the unintended bye week as a tremendous blessing for Drink, who can work to make improvements and (hopefully) heal some of the injured.
• Columbia Tribune: Eric Blum wrote about Jim Sterk’s confidence in finishing the season.
• The Maneater: Kyle Pinnell posted his five takeaways from Missouri’s win over LSU.
• The Athletic ($$): Peter Baugh wrote a lengthy piece featuring 34 (!!!) thoughts after the LSU game. Wow. Well worth the read, as always.
• Saturday Down South: Keith Farner covered how the LSU win changes Mizzou’s recruiting pitch.
• PowerMizzou: Gabe covered Drink’s press conference and posted a video.
• PowerMizzou ($$): Sean Williams, Rivals Recruiting Analyst, continued his piece, “Following the Future,” where he checked in the on progress of Mizzou commit performances at their respective high schools, some of whom just took the field the first time this week.
• Nick Bolton was named FWAA Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week! (more info on MUTigers.com)
• Interesting note from Drinkwitz during his teleconference on Connor Bazelak’s familiarity with Mizzou’s lesser-known receivers.

• Possible issues with Mizzou’s next game against Florida? Maybe. Looks like they won’t be packing that stadium anytime soon, Dan Mullen. (via FloridaGators.com)
• Love this!

• Glad to listen to nice things being said about Missouri (via SEC Network)

• High praise from former Georgia QB, Andy Murray, on SiriusXM College.

Other Mizzou Sports

• Columbia Tribune: Eric Blum wrote about postponement of this year’s Border War.
• KC Star: Souichi Terada also covered the game’s postponement due to Covid schedule restrictions.
• Yahoo: Pat Forde and Ross Dellenger wrote about the NCAA proposal that transfers will be granted immediate eligibility.
• Welcome aboard, Aiden!

• Love this from Mizzou Athletics!

• Dru! And Drew!

Mizzou in the Pros/Non-Mizzou News

• Andy Kimball of the Missourian checked in on Mizzou players in the pros’ performances over the wekeend.
• Benjamin Hochman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote a wonderful piece on LeBron James, who is reaching levels of “GOAT-ness” for his work on the court, but also for his heroics off it.
• Shameless plug! I will be on Platform Sports Talk Show this evening at 7pm CST to talk about Mizzou sports and all sorts of other stuff. Don’t be too hard on me; this is my first time doing something like this. If you miss it or want to watch it later, it’ll be available on their YouTube channel.

• Greg Sullivan, head of MU’s Positive Coaching Program conducted a YouTube interview with with 3 up and coming college basketball coaches— all of whom share the same last name, Sullivan. Pretty cool!

If you’re looking to sign up for ESPN+, Rock M Nation now has an affiliate link: click Here for ESPN+ Now!

If you’re looking to sign up for a new streaming service, you can try FuboTV: click HERE for FuboTV access — FuboTV now has ESPN, CBS, FS1 and more sports channels.

(** RockMNation has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though RockMNation may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links.**)