With Mizzou camp officially set to start in a few days, the players have spoken up about what they can do within the team confines to make sure they play football, and I’m happy to hear it. As we are all well aware, one of the biggest roadblocks to playing football is not an athletics problem, per se. It’s the, “there’s a boatload of other students on campus now who may not be concerned with my safety” problem. So how is the team going to combat the evil “regulars” (kidding) and maintain focus on their goals so they can still play?

Well, Eric Blum of the Columbia Tribune wrote about a recent Zoom call with several of the players, and it was full of good stuff that I sincerely hope they keep up on.

Mizzou linebacker Jamal Brooks said the accountability of being safe and smart is an important one. The team must weigh what is most important to them in college. Is it partying? Going to Silverball and 10 Below? He said:

We have to put things that are going to harm the team away. And that’s just been a constant conversation daily to remind each other to wear your mask and do the little things because in the long run, the little things are going to add up.”

And from former walk-on Barret Bannister:

You’ve just got to weigh what means more to you. I mean, if guys on the team think that going out to parties and going to bars is more important than the season, then there’ll probably be a spike in cases. But if we all do what we’re supposed to do, and do our job, then I think we can keep it, how it’s been, keep this virus under control.”

As I have previously mentioned, I have my doubts as to this working out (AS MUCH AS I WANT IT TO), so I really do hope that they will abstain from going to the bars, to house parties, etc. and keep the focus on football. It sure sounds like they want to. We were reminded earlier this week that the team’s positive test rate is only 3%, and while the team has been back together for voluntary workouts since early June, there have been no positive tests.

On to the Links! And remember...

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Yesterday at Rock M

• Aaron evaluated the East St. Louis pipeline.
• Sam shared the newest SBNation Reacts post, covering the fans’ opinions of if CFB will be played, and if they approve of a players association.
• Coming up: The 20 for 20 continues! Check back later this morning.

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More Links:

Football

• St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Dave was back with a new weekly chat. A lot more calm this time around than last week; I’m sure Dave was happy. Ben Fred wrote a great piece about how the pandemic is exposing college football’s fault lines. It’s excellent.
• PowerMizzou (free): Gabe checked in on LSU, the defending National Champions, and one of our opponents this season (assuming we play). Gabe & Mitch were back with new football hot taeks in their Blowing Smoke Presented by Weston Tobacco series, which focused on some football-related topics.
• Rivals.com ($$): Josh Hemholdt wrote about the continual postponement of East St Louis target, Dominic Lovett, who’s finding it hard to make a decision when the dead period keeps moving.
• Columbia Missourian: Andy Kimball wrote about how the Tigers are gearing up for challenges on and off the field.
• KC Star: Souichi Terada and Blair Kerkhoff chatted about the current madness in CFB in their new episode of SportsBeat KC.
• The Athletic ($$): Josh Kendall wrote a great piece about how the silence of the SEC’s medical advisors is unacceptable.
• The News & Observer: Andrew Carter wrote that planning football is like scheduling the band on the Titanic, NCAA medical adviser says.
• From Dave Matter, on some of the changes to the routine that I hadn’t thought about previously:

Other Mizzou Sports

• A video from NCAA leader, Mark Emmert, on the cancellation of all NCAA-controlled fall championships.

• Columbia Tribune: Eric Blum covered the NCAA news about the cancellation.
• Welcome, women’s hoops newbies!

• Trey Pettigrew picked up a Mizzou offer after a Zoom call with the coaching staff.

Mizzou in the Pros

• Rob Schaefer from NBC Sports wrote about how for Bulls fans, Michael Porter Jr.’s breakout stings, but comes with silver lining.
• ESPN shared their votes for NBA Bubble Awards. Mike’s name appears a few times throughout! I did miss seeing JC’s name for 6th Man of the Year.
• Moving on up, Michael Plassmeyer!

Interesting/Non-Mizzou News

These are some of the best sports stories & tidbits I found regarding some goings-on in sports and the world— Enjoy!

• Former Rock M writer, Tramel Raggs wrote about the NBA’s virtual fan experience in the Bubble.
• According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, the Dodgers are the first MLB team to team up with LeBron and his More than a Vote initiative to say they will utilize Dodger Stadium for voting. Why is this important and awesome? From ProPublica’s Jessica Huseman:

Let’s talk abt how amazing stadiums are for voting in a pandemic: They have ventilation. They are gigantic. Multiple polling stations can be set up. Hundreds of people can vote at once with no lines. There is parking for busses. There is cleaning staff.

• Ben Fred of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch welcomed in the The Lou’s new MLS team— ST. LOUIS CITY FC. I love it.

• According to KMBC, Kansas City, MO has extended their mask mandate to January 2021 due to the spike in Covid cases.
• JJ Redick’s newest Old Man and the Three podcast featured St. Louis native and Imo’s lover, Jayson Tatum. It featured some talk about St. Louis hoops and was highly enjoyable. The other episode this week was with Joel Embiid, and was quite funny. Coming up Monday is DWade!
• Thanks for the laugh, Rex Chapman.

• If you’re looking to sign up for ESPN+, Rock M Nation now has an affiliate link: click Here for ESPN+ Now! (** RockMNation has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though RockMNation may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links.**)