By popular demand, this feature has survived to see week two:
1. So, rough weekend for Mizzou softball. The Tigers needed one win over Florida to qualify for the SEC Tournament (and bolster an eligible but shaky NCAA Tournament resume). They didn’t get it. They had a 4-3 lead in the final inning of the final game and gave up four runs. Ooooffff. So Missouri now hosts the SEC Tournament…and is the only team not playing in it. That stings. The league is very, very good at softball…but until a couple of years ago, so was Missouri. The popular theme here is “Why did Jim Sterk fire Ehren Earleywine and screw everything up?” I get that sentiment…but I don’t think it’s fair. First of all, Earleywine had pretty clear paramaters he needed to stick to to keep his job. Apparently he didn’t do it. Second, Missouri finished 29-26 and 11th in the SEC (one game ahead of 13th—last) a season ago. Let’s not pretend Missouri was in really good shape coming into this season (a big part of the reason is that every decent pitcher Earleywine landed took off, in no small part due to their relationship with him). I doubt Gina Fogue gets the full-time job (though I’m not going to pretend to have asked anyone). But we’ll see. Either way, the Tigers are in rebuilding mode now, NCAA Tournament bid or not.
2. Speaking of NCAA Tournament bids, one that seemed certain for Mizzou baseball suddenly seems less certain. The Tigers were swept by Georgia this weekend by a combined score of 22-10. They’ve lost five of their last seven (thank goodness for a miracle 17-16 comeback at Iowa). The RPI is still 31. The Tigers still rank among the nation’s leaders in RPI top 25 wins. They have seven games left. They can’t lose to Indiana State. They’ve got three at South Carolina and three at home against Tennessee. I’d suggest 4-2 in those would be a good idea. That would put the Tigers 13-17 in the league. It’s not beautiful, but in the SEC, it’s likely good enough to get you in the tournament. Whether it would be good enough to get you in the SEC Tournament is questionable. That series against Tennessee may very well turn into a play-in for the 12th and final spot. Maybe an NCAA Tournament bid in year two is a lofty expectation, but given that the Tigers were a top 25 team midway through the season, not getting one would be a disappointment. The pitching has fallen apart. The Tigers have given up 60 runs in their last five games.
3. Mizzou alum Peter Malnati had a great end of the week…and a terrible weekend. Malnati led the Wells Fargo Championship after two rounds at 7-under par. He then went 7-over on Saturday and Sunday to finish in a tie for 34th, 12 shots behind Jason Day. He still earned a little more than $37,000 and is somewhere near two million bucks over the last four years. I played my first round of golf in about 12 months on Friday. I shot a 96. On the bright side, I drank approximately $37,000 worth of Bud Light and Coors Light.
4. Sports Illustrated has forever changed for me. Peter King announced last week he was moving to NBC Sports. He explained the decision on Monday morning in one of his final MMQB columns.
I subscribed to SI for a long time. I’d generally have it read cover to cover within about 24 hours. Peter King was at SI for 29 years. I’m not sure I ever read an issue of the magazine when he wasn’t part of the staff. I’ve read less and less of him over the years simply because I care less and less about the National Football League, but Peter King is a goliath in sports media and June 1st is going to mark the end of an era.
5. Speaking of changes, on a more personal note, the Mizzou School of Journalism lost a giant recently.
Kent Collins is an institution at the J-school. You didn’t go through there in the last quarter century without getting to know Kent and being impacted by him. If you did something that earned a compliment from Kent, it was a proud day. I graduated from the J-school with his son Justin, who is still a friend. I had lunch with Kent about a year ago. Earning that man’s respect in this field is something of which I’m very proud. Kent will not be easily replaced.
6. On the retirement front, I don’t know when it’s coming for Albert Pujols, but when it does he will walk into Cooperstown five years later. He is now one of four players in MLB history with 3,000 hits and 600 home runs. The others? Mays, Aaron and A-Rod. Not bad company. For a decade, Pujols was probably the most feared hitter in baseball. For the Cardinal fans on here, this is obviously his most famous swing, right?
7. Apropos of nothing really, we’ve talked a lot about how critical this year is for Barry Odom and Missouri football. The reasons are obvious, but here’s one we maybe haven’t talked about much: Missouri’s three geographic competitors are at lows not seen for quite some time. Illinois and kansas might be the two worst Power Five teams in America. Arkansas was 4-8 last year and has a new coach. If there’s a time for Mizzou to capitalize, this seems like it would be a pretty good time. Sure, the goal is not to just be better than those three teams, but the fact is, if those teams stay down and Missouri creates some distance, it can only be good for the Tigers.
8. Scott Frost has earned my respect this week…and it has nothing to do with the job he’s done as a head coach. Frost said this week that he wouldn’t support UCF’s claim for a national championship last year even if he was still at the school.
Bravo, Coach. The Knights had a hell of a season. What they did should be admired. But they didn’t win the national title. Alabama did. Be proud of your season without cheapening it with bogus banners and parades. Oh, too late.
9. This spot is always going to be reserved for my favorite thing I read this week. This week, it’s Sports Illustrated’s oral history of The Karate Kid. That movie came out when I was eight. Sometime thereafter, I got a VHS tape to play in our newfangled movie machine, with The Karate Kid and The Last Starfighter. I watched those movies dozens of times. I’ll still check out a few minutes of The Karate Kid if it’s on TV. And let’s have a moment to recognize Elisabeth Shue in that movie as the female character that made thousands of young 1980’s boys fall head over heels in love.
Also worth reading: The Man who Cracked the Lottery in The New York Times Magazine
10. We wrap up with listening and viewing recommendations.
This week’s podcast: Revisionist History by Malcolm Gladwell. Season three launches on May 17th. If you haven’t listened to the first two seasons, catch up before this one begins.
This week’s show: Evil Genius. Netflix will release the entire series on Friday. It is billed as “the true story behind America’s most diabolical bank heist.”
11. As a bonus, watch this. Just do it. Your day will be better for it.
1. So, rough weekend for Mizzou softball. The Tigers needed one win over Florida to qualify for the SEC Tournament (and bolster an eligible but shaky NCAA Tournament resume). They didn’t get it. They had a 4-3 lead in the final inning of the final game and gave up four runs. Ooooffff. So Missouri now hosts the SEC Tournament…and is the only team not playing in it. That stings. The league is very, very good at softball…but until a couple of years ago, so was Missouri. The popular theme here is “Why did Jim Sterk fire Ehren Earleywine and screw everything up?” I get that sentiment…but I don’t think it’s fair. First of all, Earleywine had pretty clear paramaters he needed to stick to to keep his job. Apparently he didn’t do it. Second, Missouri finished 29-26 and 11th in the SEC (one game ahead of 13th—last) a season ago. Let’s not pretend Missouri was in really good shape coming into this season (a big part of the reason is that every decent pitcher Earleywine landed took off, in no small part due to their relationship with him). I doubt Gina Fogue gets the full-time job (though I’m not going to pretend to have asked anyone). But we’ll see. Either way, the Tigers are in rebuilding mode now, NCAA Tournament bid or not.
2. Speaking of NCAA Tournament bids, one that seemed certain for Mizzou baseball suddenly seems less certain. The Tigers were swept by Georgia this weekend by a combined score of 22-10. They’ve lost five of their last seven (thank goodness for a miracle 17-16 comeback at Iowa). The RPI is still 31. The Tigers still rank among the nation’s leaders in RPI top 25 wins. They have seven games left. They can’t lose to Indiana State. They’ve got three at South Carolina and three at home against Tennessee. I’d suggest 4-2 in those would be a good idea. That would put the Tigers 13-17 in the league. It’s not beautiful, but in the SEC, it’s likely good enough to get you in the tournament. Whether it would be good enough to get you in the SEC Tournament is questionable. That series against Tennessee may very well turn into a play-in for the 12th and final spot. Maybe an NCAA Tournament bid in year two is a lofty expectation, but given that the Tigers were a top 25 team midway through the season, not getting one would be a disappointment. The pitching has fallen apart. The Tigers have given up 60 runs in their last five games.
3. Mizzou alum Peter Malnati had a great end of the week…and a terrible weekend. Malnati led the Wells Fargo Championship after two rounds at 7-under par. He then went 7-over on Saturday and Sunday to finish in a tie for 34th, 12 shots behind Jason Day. He still earned a little more than $37,000 and is somewhere near two million bucks over the last four years. I played my first round of golf in about 12 months on Friday. I shot a 96. On the bright side, I drank approximately $37,000 worth of Bud Light and Coors Light.
4. Sports Illustrated has forever changed for me. Peter King announced last week he was moving to NBC Sports. He explained the decision on Monday morning in one of his final MMQB columns.
I subscribed to SI for a long time. I’d generally have it read cover to cover within about 24 hours. Peter King was at SI for 29 years. I’m not sure I ever read an issue of the magazine when he wasn’t part of the staff. I’ve read less and less of him over the years simply because I care less and less about the National Football League, but Peter King is a goliath in sports media and June 1st is going to mark the end of an era.
5. Speaking of changes, on a more personal note, the Mizzou School of Journalism lost a giant recently.
Kent Collins is an institution at the J-school. You didn’t go through there in the last quarter century without getting to know Kent and being impacted by him. If you did something that earned a compliment from Kent, it was a proud day. I graduated from the J-school with his son Justin, who is still a friend. I had lunch with Kent about a year ago. Earning that man’s respect in this field is something of which I’m very proud. Kent will not be easily replaced.
6. On the retirement front, I don’t know when it’s coming for Albert Pujols, but when it does he will walk into Cooperstown five years later. He is now one of four players in MLB history with 3,000 hits and 600 home runs. The others? Mays, Aaron and A-Rod. Not bad company. For a decade, Pujols was probably the most feared hitter in baseball. For the Cardinal fans on here, this is obviously his most famous swing, right?
7. Apropos of nothing really, we’ve talked a lot about how critical this year is for Barry Odom and Missouri football. The reasons are obvious, but here’s one we maybe haven’t talked about much: Missouri’s three geographic competitors are at lows not seen for quite some time. Illinois and kansas might be the two worst Power Five teams in America. Arkansas was 4-8 last year and has a new coach. If there’s a time for Mizzou to capitalize, this seems like it would be a pretty good time. Sure, the goal is not to just be better than those three teams, but the fact is, if those teams stay down and Missouri creates some distance, it can only be good for the Tigers.
8. Scott Frost has earned my respect this week…and it has nothing to do with the job he’s done as a head coach. Frost said this week that he wouldn’t support UCF’s claim for a national championship last year even if he was still at the school.
Bravo, Coach. The Knights had a hell of a season. What they did should be admired. But they didn’t win the national title. Alabama did. Be proud of your season without cheapening it with bogus banners and parades. Oh, too late.
9. This spot is always going to be reserved for my favorite thing I read this week. This week, it’s Sports Illustrated’s oral history of The Karate Kid. That movie came out when I was eight. Sometime thereafter, I got a VHS tape to play in our newfangled movie machine, with The Karate Kid and The Last Starfighter. I watched those movies dozens of times. I’ll still check out a few minutes of The Karate Kid if it’s on TV. And let’s have a moment to recognize Elisabeth Shue in that movie as the female character that made thousands of young 1980’s boys fall head over heels in love.
Also worth reading: The Man who Cracked the Lottery in The New York Times Magazine
10. We wrap up with listening and viewing recommendations.
This week’s podcast: Revisionist History by Malcolm Gladwell. Season three launches on May 17th. If you haven’t listened to the first two seasons, catch up before this one begins.
This week’s show: Evil Genius. Netflix will release the entire series on Friday. It is billed as “the true story behind America’s most diabolical bank heist.”
11. As a bonus, watch this. Just do it. Your day will be better for it.
