Recruiting is the lifeblood of college football

Of course the title of this post is obvious.  Like saying water is wet.  Without a steady stream of talent, no college football program will continue to succeed.  In the last 4 years, Missouri has won 40 football games despite not having classes that were considered to be the best.  This year the Tigers took a small class of 17, which would have been smaller without the early departures of their two most visible prospects, Blaine Gabbert and Aldon Smith.  Tiger nation has been bemoaning this class since Rivals ranked it 47th among FBS schools, behind such powers as Boston College, The University of Central Florida and kansas for God's sake.  However, I believe that once we take a look back in three years or so we'll find that this class was better than we thought, and I have some historical evidence to prove that as SI.com re-rated the 2008 class that was ranked 25th by Rivals that year.  We've got to remember that the services give higher marks for teams that sign more players, and well, sometimes they just miss it on how highly a player is rated.  A 3 star quarterback that was considered a little too short to be successful in D1 football named Chase Daniel ring a bell with anyone? 

This year the Tigers obtained a commitment from only one 4 start player, Sheldon Richardson who was a 5 star when he originally signed two years ago.  Sheldon had to detour to junior college in California, and flirt with USC before finally coming to his senses and re-signing with the Tigers after much soul searching and his mother threatening him with a cast iron skillet.  Everyone agrees that if he does in fact make it and is on the team this fall, that he's the kind of player that can make a huge impact on the defensive line, an area that improved greatly last year but still could always use depth.  Some guys that don't seem to be getting as much attention that I think will be very successful for Mizzou are Gerrand Johnson, a 270 lb defensive tackle from Rayville, LA and Kentrell Brothers, an undersized linebacker from Oklahoma that was voted the defensive player of the year in that state.  Yes, he's coming in at only 207 lbs, which is about 10 pounds heavier than an unknown kid from Texas named Weatherspoon and he seemed to turn out ok.  If Pat Ivey says he can grow them, I tend to believe him.  With 8 offers from BCS conference teams, offensive lineman Taylor Chappell may turn out to be quite a find also, as well as Shane Ray, a defensive end from the KC area who passed on offers from Wisconsin and Notre Dame, among others to sign with the Tigers.  

Depth on the offensive line was addressed with 4 signees, they got the quarterback they wanted as well as defensive players to replace guys like J. Smith, Lambert, Ebner and company after they graduate this year.  This simply wasn't a year they had anything they were desperate to address.  Coach Pinkel has depth across the board now and players that would have gotten offers 5 years ago just aren't getting them today.  This is evidenced by Darrien Miller, who some considered to be the best player in the state, not receiving an offer.  However, next year is huge and the staff will need to get a jump.  It's one of the best classes in Missouri high school football we've seen in the past 5 years, which is saying a lot considering some of the talent we've seen in 2008 and 2009.  But, I'm going to give Pinkel and company some credit.  At least until next season starts.  But we need to get a jump on a great class.  Maty Mauk from Ohio would be a great start.

2011 Missouri Tigers baseball. Bounce back year?

Last season was a rough year for the Missouri Tigers baseball team.  After qualifying for post season play after the 2003-2009 seasons the Tigers fell to 29-26 last season, failing to reach the NCAA tournament.  Manager Tim Jamieson hasn't been the most popular coach in CoMO despite a record of 480-329-2 and 8 trips to post season play during his tenure that began in 1995.  Expectations are low for the Tigers this year as they've been picked to finish 8th in the conference.  (Iowa State and Colorado don't field teams) The Tigers return 6 starters from last years squad, which was poor by Missouri standards.  The pitching figures to be decent, but offense was a real problem for the Tigers last year and the only returner that hit over .300 last year is Ryan Gebhart who only played in 20 games last year.

Despite what Missouri fans think of Jamieson, he's obviously well thought of as he's been selected to manage Team USA this spring, but has suffered by the recent success of softball manager Ehren Earleywine, especially the last 2 seasons.  The Tigers haven't won a conference crown since the 1980 season, and considering the success they had from 1952 to 1965 when they won 7 conference titles and made 6 trips to the college world series, finishing 2nd three times and winning it all in 1954.  An interesting member of that team was former basketball coach Norm Stewart, who was a pitcher on the team.  Norm was a true 2 sport athlete at Mizzou, good enough to be drafted by the St Louis Hawks of the NBA and the Baltimore Orioles in major league baseball.  If Jamieson could achieve half the popularity "Stormin' Norman" did, he'd probably retire from Missouri whenever he wanted to.

I have no idea how the baseball team will do this season.  My heart tells me someone will come through and they'll be competitive again this season.  Taylor stadium is a great place to watch a game and I usually try to hit a couple of games, one which traditionally falls on the same day as the spring game of the football Tigers.  More than likely however, it's going to be another disappointing season for the Black & Gold and TJ will be facing a lot of heat.  Now that Cindy Stein is no longer patrolling the sidelines for the women's basketball team, he's a very likely target.  Hopefully, and I doubt this is likely, he could talk former Tiger Phil Bradley into working with the baseball team as he has with softball the last couple of years.  If you're looking to follow Tigers baseball a little closer, may I recommend you visit SimmonsField.com for a complete look at your Tiger team.  It's an excellent read. 

Missouri Tigers softball opens the season ranked 7th in the nation.

I realize that softball isn't one of the sports that gets many fans pulse racing.  It's way down the list from football, men's basketball, or baseball for that matter.  However, head coach Ehren Earleywine has built quite a successful program since his hiring in 2006.  Last season the Tigers won a school record 51 games and went to their 2nd consecutive college world series.  They finished ranked 8th in the nation.   This season the Tigers open the season with a # 7 national ranking and picked to finish 2nd in the Big XII behind defending champion Oklahoma.  Once again, 1981 graduate Phil Bradley returns as a volunteer assistant.  Nothing wrong with getting a guy that spent 8 years in the major leagues, including being voted to the all star team to work with the ladies for free.

Star pitcher Chelsae Thomas returns this year following a medical red shirt to give Mizzou a great 1-2 punch on the mound with junior Kristin Nottelmann who won 24 games last year while striking out 165 and an ERA of 1.25 in league play.  The offense is led by catcher Megan Christopher, Ashley Fleming, Marla Schweisberger and Rhea Taylor.  The recruiting class looks strong adding such players as Brianna Corwin from Kansas City, Taylor Duplechain from Pearland, TX, Maddison Ruggesberg from Davenport, IA and Mackenzie Sykes from Blue Springs.

The Lady Tigers opener is just around the corner as the Black & Gold game will be played on February 12th.  They'll travel to a warmer venue on February 18th when they travel to San Diego for the San Diego Classic tournament, followed by another trip to Tampa for the USF tournament.  The home opener is March 2nd with a double header against Drake University and the conference season begins on March 23rd when they travel to lawrence to face the lady beaks.  I'm not trying to sell anyone on this being the same sort of experience as Saturday afternoons at Faurot, but this is a team that can absolutely challenge for a national championship this year and they deserve some support.  I know I plan on making it out for a game or two and hope to see you there.

                                

The NCAA. Antiquated, useless and obsolete.

Well, it's finally official, Tony Mitchell will never play basketball at the University of Missouri.  Once again the NCAA has determined that the Tigers weren't worthy of a player like TM, and refused to rule him eligible to participate in their pristine and above board treatment of member institutions.  He joins players like Uche Okafor, Keith Dewitt and Chris Freeman who had their college careers derailed or at least delayed by this corrupt organization.  The NCAA started out with good intentions in 1905 by President Theodore Roosevelt and his concern for the large number of injuries and deaths that had resulted from athletes playing college football.  However, it branched out and gained power, eventually controlling such aspects as recruiting, championships, and television rights for member institutions.  As has been said for years: "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely".
This is going to sound like your typical Mizzou fan whining and persecution complex, but lets take a look at some of the decisions made by the NCAA over the past few years, and actually many that were made in just the past few months.
Darrell Arthur. 

Darrell Arthur is currently a member of the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA.  Previously he was a member of the kansas jayhawks and a vital cog of their 2008 national championship team.  In high school he was a McDonald's All American while attending, and I use the word attending lightly, South Oak Cliff high school in Dallas, Texas.  South Oak Cliff won back to back state championships in 2005 and 2006 and Arthur was named the tournament MVP in both years.  However, the school was forced to forfeit both titles after it was determined that his grades were altered in order for him to remain eligible, and in fact he had never graduated high school.  Apparently the standards are higher in Texas than by the NCAA as no such action was taken against ku, including asking how a student that was unable to make grades in high school was suddenly able to remain eligible during the 2 years he spent in college.  Considering the beaks history of a lack of institutional control and academic fraud, you'd think it might be a pertinent question.  However, kansas is a basketball darling of the NCAA and therefore held to a lower standard than other institutions.
Cam Newton.

Cam Newton was the quarterback and star for the Auburn Tigers during their just completed undefeated season and win over Oregon in the national championship game.  However, he was originally recruited by SEC rival Florida and was with the Gators during the 2007 and 2008 seasons.  In November of 2008 he was arrested for the alleged theft of a laptop computer from a fellow UF student.  He left the university after the laptop was discovered in his possession and he was reportedly facing suspension or expulsion from the university because of three instances of academic cheating.  He transferred to Blinn College in Texas in January of 2009 and led them to the NCJAA national football championship that year.  He signed with Auburn following that season and things were going swimmingly for him until accusations arose from Mississippi State officials that Cam's father Cecil was using his sons recruitment to broker cash for himself and his church.  He was originally deemed ineligible by the NCAA, but this was reversed after Auburn appealed.  He not only was ruled eligible for the remainder of the season but was rewarded by winning the 2010 Heisman Trophy.
Terrelle Pryor.

Terrelle Pryor was the quarterback of the Ohio State Buckeyes.  He's had a good career and led the Buckeyes to numerous wins, conference and bowl trophys.  On December 23rd, Pryor and 4 teammates were ruled ineligible for receiving "improper benefits". (receiving free tattoos in exchange for signing memorabilia)  It was originally determined that all 5 would not be able to participate in their Sugar Bowl game against the University of Arkansas.  However, after petitioning by both OSU and Sugar Bowl officials, the NCAA reversed that decision and decided the players could play in that game and serve a 5 game suspension in the 2011 season instead.  After all, we couldn't risk the NCAA's partner in crime, the BCS to lose ratings for one of it's 5 big paydays during the holiday season could we?
I have no idea what can be done to remove or replace the NCAA, but there's simply not doubt that as long as they remain in power, college athletics won't be about what's best for the athletes, the universities, or sports fans.  What is important to the NCAA is $$$$ and how they can keep it coming in and keep their corrupt stranglehold and maintain their power.  It was a good idea when it started, as was the BCS for that matter, but they've both fallen victim to greed and the original intent to make things better for student athletes and member institutions has long since been thrown out the window.  I'm hoping some day to see a revolt against them and their corrupt leaders.  In the meantime, I'm not going to hold my breath waiting. 
That's all I have for today.  I know I'm getting sick of winter here in KC, and where ever you are, stay warm.     
   

Tigers basketball...

I'll admit up front that I'm not a huge basketball fan.  I'm fairly certain that I haven't watched an NBA game since Larry Bird and Magic Johnson were still playing.  I don't really watch much college basketball unless the Tigers are involved, and rarely will sit for an entire game.  I think a part of that is I've never been able to understand how people that tall are able to do some of the things they do with such grace.   Football I can understand.  It involves hitting people with reckless abandon and no regard for your personal safety.  Besides which, I really fell out of love with Tigers basketball during the Quin Snyder era.  It was a bitter pill to swallow after watching a lot of exciting teams that were sent out during the 30 years Norm Stewart was patrolling the sidelines.

But then 2006 finally brought an end to the Snyder era when Mike Alden hired Mike Anderson from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.  The news conference the day he was to be announced was surreal as it was held up for almost 2 hours for a board of curators meeting being held on whether or not to fire Alden.  His first 2 years were some really rocky times for Anderson until they caught fire early during the conference race in 2009, and continued all the way to the elite 8 where they fell to UConn, failing to reach the school's first final 4. Despite losing their 2 leading scorers from that team, the Tigers won 23 games last year and won their opening NCAA contest before falling to West Virginia in the 2nd round.

This year the Tigers opened with lofty expectations and a top 20 ranking and have added big man Ricardo Ratliff and the Pressey brothers to go with such returning players as Kim English, Marcus Denmon and Laurence Bowers.  After yesterdays 87-54 win over Iowa State the Tigers stand 17-3 and 3-2 in conference play.  A huge game lurks next Saturday as they travel to Austin to take on the 16-3 and 4-0 in conference play Texas Longwhorns, coming off a 74-63 win in lawrence over the previously undefeated kansas jayhawks.  Anderson's teams have been noted for improving as the year goes along and a win next Saturday would propel them into serious discussion as a possible Final 4 candidate.
As a shameless plug to my new store, as well as an excellent book written by an acquaintance of mine, I urge you to visit my site at www.merlinsedge.com  Just hit the link "The Outpost" and go to page 4 to find "True Sons:A Century of Missouri Tigers Basketball" written by Michael Atchinson.  If I do say so myself it's a great book, loaded with photos that you'll never find together at one spot.

Reporters or infobabes?

Welcome back, it's good to see you again!  It's been a while since I've been here.  I've only been sick about 4 times this winter, I've been working on my website and still am hoping to have that up and running within the next few weeks, but have decided to try to keep this blog running for the foreseeable future.  However, it's going to be a little less Missouri Tiger-centric than it has been so far.  There is just too much to talk about that doesn't involve Gary Pinkel and Mike Anderson.  Tiger sports will always be a passion of mine, but there are other things I enjoy talking about also.  Something you probably know that I enjoy talking about is women, and that's what I plan to talk about today.  While I enjoy beautiful women, I'm not just interested in beautiful women that have no talents other than being beautiful.  I don't believe I'd find Michelle Pfeiffer to be nearly as interesting if she didn't have the talent to go with that incredible beauty.  But today we're going to talk about something that's been bugging the shit out of me.  Exactly when did being beautiful become a pre-requisite for being a television news or sports reporter?  Now some of these ladies have some degree of talent but lets be honest, if they didn't look the way they do, they wouldn't be on television.
Jenn Sterger:

Never has anyone milked more face time from her 15 minutes of fame than Jenn.  She first burst on the scene during a random fan shot during the 2005 Florida State vs Miami football game after which Brent Musburger commented that "1,500 red blooded Americans just decided to apply to Florida State".  Using the 2 attributes that the plastic surgeon gave her she worked her way from the head of the FSU Cowgirls to photo shoots for Maxim as well as Playboy.  She contributed a couple of articles to Sports Illustrated and has a role as a segment host on ABC's show, "Race to March Madness".  She also had a 7 month gig as the host of a Versus show, "The Daily Line".  Most recently she's been known for the receiver of several text and photo messages from Brett Favre while both were working for the New York Jets.  At least we can be grateful that she finally got the gunslinger to retire.
Kiran Chetry:

You can find a lot of people that wouldn't believe that Kiran belongs on a list like this since they believe she is a legitimate talent.  She first appeared nationally in 2001 on Fox News as a reporter.  In 2007 she left Fox after they failed to meet some of her demands for a contract renewal, one of which reportedly was the network fire her co-host Gretchen Carlson, a former Miss America and info-bimbo in her own right.  While Kiran may have more talent than the others written about here, let's make no mistake, Barbara Walters she ain't.
Ines Sainz:

Ok, let's take this to another level.  Ines Sainz works for TV Azteca as host of a sports interview program that was created by she and her husband.  Reportedly she proposed to Tom Brady before the 2010 Super Bowl and she's done more swimsuit photo shoots than Kathy Ireland.  Ines doesn't really make any attempt to hide the fact she's using her sexuality to promote her career, basically she embraces it.  Frankly, she makes Jenn Sterger look like Diane Sawyer.
The weather here in Kansas City has been brutal so far this month and it doesn't sound like it's going to get better anytime soon.  It does however give me some more time to write, and hopefully I'll have something else for you this weekend.  Stay warm folks.

So just how weird are things getting?

It's been quite a while since my last post.  The holidays just got on top of me, and frankly, even though it was a great football season, I've found that some things have really been grabbing my interest lately that have nothing to do with college athletics.  Have you been reading that it appears the north pole is shifting toward Russia?  It sounds like something out of a science fiction movie, but it is indeed happening and this week it caused the closing of the Tampa International Airport.  The shutdown is just temporary and will be reopening on the 13th, but this is the stuff that great 3D movies are made of.  Now the magnetic pole apparently moves around constantly, but I've never heard of airports being shut down so they can compensate for it.  And with the December 21st, 2012 date drawing closer, if nothing else, it makes for some interesting speculation.  Now while I love a good conspiracy theory as much as anyone, man has predicted the end of time since, well, the beginning of time.  That being said, there have been some fairly odd and spooky thing occurring.

Now since 2007 there has been talk about honey bee colonies disappearing.  In fact, it was given it's own fancy name; "Colony collapse disorder".  I remember reading something about it but just assumed that we humans, in our own stupidity were poisoning them with pesticides, which may very well be the case.  Unfortunately, in addition to losing honey, these bees as you probably know, are responsible for pollinating all plant life, which of course allows it to continue.  Albert Einstein once stated that if the bees disappeared that mankind would cease to exist within 4 years.

On December 31st of 2010, more than 1,000 blackbirds fell dead in and around the city of Beebe, Arkansas.  Now at first, you'd be tempted to think this happened simply because they couldn't stand living in Arkansas anymore.    However, in Italy, over 8,000 turtle doves fell to earth.  The birds had a peculiar blue beak stain that indicated a possibility of a lack of oxygen or poisoning.  Similar reports of birds suddenly dropping also occurred in Sweden.

Now just to add to this are reports of over 2 million fish washed up dead on shore in Chesapeake Bay, over 100 tons of dead fish washing up on the coast of Brazil, and over 40,000 on English shores. 
So what does all of this mean?  Hell, I have no idea, It may mean that the Mayans were right and it's time we all started getting right with God, or that possibly we've poisoned our planet to the point that it's turning against us.  It might not mean anything, but I believe it's something worth talking about more than college football.  Don't be surprised if this blog begins to change direction in the future.  Meanwhile, enjoy the rest of your weekend and don't go outside without your hard hat on.