Tons of stuff to get to, so no delay
1. Ben Askren is one tough SOB. He ended up not only surviving this, but WINNING the match
Related: If I knew anyone who thought he wanted to make a living in UFC or something similar, I would show him this clip.
2. Basketball broke its four game losing streak. It's neither here nor there really because they're locked into playing on Wednesday in the SEC Tournament at this point. It's just a matter of whether they're the 11, 12 or 13 seed, who they play and which color uniforms (the most likely opponent is Georgia, though Vanderbilt is also possible). The big takeaway for me was a career-best 20 points for Torrence Watson. I expected to see a lot more of that this season. People around the program will tell you it's just a matter of confidence with him. Hopefully he will have a good dose of it prior to next season.
3. The hoops news, really, was the women's team this weekend. The Tigers beat the hell out of Alabama, 82-47, to finish 10-6 in SEC play. It's the third straight year Mizzou has won ten games or more which is nothing to sneeze at in this league. They locked up the five seed in the SEC Tournament. While it doesn't get the double bye, I actually think it's the best case scenario. The Tigers will get their feet wet with a Thursday game against the winner of Ole Miss/Florida (teams they SHOULD be able to beat). Sometimes getting that first one is a big deal, especially for a team that hasn't played well in this event historically. If the Tigers get past that one, they get four seed Kentucky. Here is the entire bracket.
4. Senior Days always get me. There's just something special about saying goodbye to the home crowd. Especially when you've been as good as Lauren Aldridge, Cierra Porter and Sophie Cunningham have been.
Later this morning, @mitchell4d will have a story from yesterday. I'm looking forward to it. Think you guys will enjoy.
5. I don't want to spend too much time on the NFL Combine because that's been discussed for the last five days here. But some quick thoughts:
*Emanuel Hall made himself some money with a 4.39 40 and an 11'9" broad jump. He can't answer the biggest question, which is his durability, but if he does well at pro day on March 21, I think he could sneak into round two
*Terez Hall injured a pectoral muscle doing the bench press. Hope he's good to go at pro day. He'll need a good workout to get taken in the late rounds
*Drew Lock did well as would be expected. I'm confident he'll go in the first half of the first round.
*I don't think Terry Beckner, Paul Adams or Kendall Blanton probably substantially hurt or helped themselves with results based on what I've seen. My guess is Beckner goes in the fourth round, Blanton in the seventh and Adams is an undrafted free agent.
6. A number of people have commented on the poise and personality of Kelly Bryant. We talked to him after practice yesterday. That's the second time I've spoken to him as I talked to him at a basketball game shortly after he committed. He's definitely a guy that you can tell has been through this before. He's comfortable in front of the cameras and recorders and I think he's a guy that will command instant respect in the locker room. Ultimately, it will be about his play. The only things I can say after seeing him in one practice is that he's got a good enough arm to throw the deep ball and he's faster than Missouri's linebackers that chased him when he got out of the pocket a couple of times.
7. A couple of guys that are "off the radar" a little bit that I think could be big pieces this fall: Messiah Swinson and Chris Daniels. That's based more on talking to people than anything I saw yesterday, but I think both will be on the two deep and play big roles.
8. One guy I wanted to talk to and didn't get a chance to yesterday is new cornerbacks coach David Gibbs. I've heard good things from people who have covered him. I asked DeMarkus Acy about him and he said it's a coaching style that's different than what he's used to, but he thinks will be good for him. He said Gibbs is a perfectionist. He started to say he was more "in your face" than Acy was used to, but backed off that a little bit. I get the idea he's demanding and not afraid to get on guys. That's not saying Ryan Walters wasn't, but he probably expressed it in a little different way. I'll catch up with Gibbs this week, hopefully tomorrow.
9. What to watch this week:
Netflix released an eight part documentary series called "Losers." It's about athletes that famously didn't win on the biggest stage, but went on to find success. I've watched half of them. Some of the stories many of us know, most of them we don't. Good stuff, though.
What to Listen to:
I haven't started this one yet, but the next podcast I'm going to check out is Legal Wars. If anybody's listened, I'll take feedback.
10. Reading recommendations:
The Minnesota Murderess by The Atavist
When does an accident become a crime? by Texas Monthly
Out in the Cold by the Sacramento Bee
How a black man outsmarted a Neo-Nazi group and became its leader in the Washington Post
If you want good sports stories, here is a link to every story that was honored with an APSE top ten award in the individual writing categories last week (Personally, I think Joe Walljasper was robbed as there's no way there are ten better columnists than him in our division)
1. Ben Askren is one tough SOB. He ended up not only surviving this, but WINNING the match
Related: If I knew anyone who thought he wanted to make a living in UFC or something similar, I would show him this clip.
2. Basketball broke its four game losing streak. It's neither here nor there really because they're locked into playing on Wednesday in the SEC Tournament at this point. It's just a matter of whether they're the 11, 12 or 13 seed, who they play and which color uniforms (the most likely opponent is Georgia, though Vanderbilt is also possible). The big takeaway for me was a career-best 20 points for Torrence Watson. I expected to see a lot more of that this season. People around the program will tell you it's just a matter of confidence with him. Hopefully he will have a good dose of it prior to next season.
3. The hoops news, really, was the women's team this weekend. The Tigers beat the hell out of Alabama, 82-47, to finish 10-6 in SEC play. It's the third straight year Mizzou has won ten games or more which is nothing to sneeze at in this league. They locked up the five seed in the SEC Tournament. While it doesn't get the double bye, I actually think it's the best case scenario. The Tigers will get their feet wet with a Thursday game against the winner of Ole Miss/Florida (teams they SHOULD be able to beat). Sometimes getting that first one is a big deal, especially for a team that hasn't played well in this event historically. If the Tigers get past that one, they get four seed Kentucky. Here is the entire bracket.
4. Senior Days always get me. There's just something special about saying goodbye to the home crowd. Especially when you've been as good as Lauren Aldridge, Cierra Porter and Sophie Cunningham have been.
Later this morning, @mitchell4d will have a story from yesterday. I'm looking forward to it. Think you guys will enjoy.
5. I don't want to spend too much time on the NFL Combine because that's been discussed for the last five days here. But some quick thoughts:
*Emanuel Hall made himself some money with a 4.39 40 and an 11'9" broad jump. He can't answer the biggest question, which is his durability, but if he does well at pro day on March 21, I think he could sneak into round two
*Terez Hall injured a pectoral muscle doing the bench press. Hope he's good to go at pro day. He'll need a good workout to get taken in the late rounds
*Drew Lock did well as would be expected. I'm confident he'll go in the first half of the first round.
*I don't think Terry Beckner, Paul Adams or Kendall Blanton probably substantially hurt or helped themselves with results based on what I've seen. My guess is Beckner goes in the fourth round, Blanton in the seventh and Adams is an undrafted free agent.
6. A number of people have commented on the poise and personality of Kelly Bryant. We talked to him after practice yesterday. That's the second time I've spoken to him as I talked to him at a basketball game shortly after he committed. He's definitely a guy that you can tell has been through this before. He's comfortable in front of the cameras and recorders and I think he's a guy that will command instant respect in the locker room. Ultimately, it will be about his play. The only things I can say after seeing him in one practice is that he's got a good enough arm to throw the deep ball and he's faster than Missouri's linebackers that chased him when he got out of the pocket a couple of times.
7. A couple of guys that are "off the radar" a little bit that I think could be big pieces this fall: Messiah Swinson and Chris Daniels. That's based more on talking to people than anything I saw yesterday, but I think both will be on the two deep and play big roles.
8. One guy I wanted to talk to and didn't get a chance to yesterday is new cornerbacks coach David Gibbs. I've heard good things from people who have covered him. I asked DeMarkus Acy about him and he said it's a coaching style that's different than what he's used to, but he thinks will be good for him. He said Gibbs is a perfectionist. He started to say he was more "in your face" than Acy was used to, but backed off that a little bit. I get the idea he's demanding and not afraid to get on guys. That's not saying Ryan Walters wasn't, but he probably expressed it in a little different way. I'll catch up with Gibbs this week, hopefully tomorrow.
9. What to watch this week:
Netflix released an eight part documentary series called "Losers." It's about athletes that famously didn't win on the biggest stage, but went on to find success. I've watched half of them. Some of the stories many of us know, most of them we don't. Good stuff, though.
What to Listen to:
I haven't started this one yet, but the next podcast I'm going to check out is Legal Wars. If anybody's listened, I'll take feedback.
10. Reading recommendations:
The Minnesota Murderess by The Atavist
When does an accident become a crime? by Texas Monthly
Out in the Cold by the Sacramento Bee
How a black man outsmarted a Neo-Nazi group and became its leader in the Washington Post
If you want good sports stories, here is a link to every story that was honored with an APSE top ten award in the individual writing categories last week (Personally, I think Joe Walljasper was robbed as there's no way there are ten better columnists than him in our division)
