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We're hitting the time of year where we're going to have to branch out beyond Mizzou to get to ten every week. So it's a mix of a few things:
1) Let's start with a quick rundown of the highlights of the year at Mizzou. We're going to do this more in depth on the podcast, but some quick hitters:
*Team of the year: Softball. Wrestling had a better finish, but they were supposed to be good. Softball wasn't. Heck of a year for the Tigers.
*Coach of the year: Larissa Anderson. To me, it isn't particularly close
*Female athlete of the year: Sophie Cunningham. Again, no real question here.
*Male athlete of the year: TJ Sikkema. Should hear his name called today in the MLB Draft.
*Game of the year: Football beats Florida. No other game had the impact for a team at Mizzou this one had. Especially coming off the hideous loss at Kentucky (which would be my game of the year if we were doing a worst stories).
2) As mentioned, the MLB Draft starts today. The first two rounds are tonight at 6 p.m. on MLB Network. It's possible Sikkema and Kameron Misner could go this high. MLB.com has Misner as the No. 18 prospect and Sikkema as No. 57. No other Tigers are in the top 200. Rounds 3-10 are tomorrow and rounds 11-40, yes, 40) are on Wednesday.
3) Speaking of college baseball, moments don't get any better than this.
The Aggies were eliminated by Duke in the next game, but still...
4) Missouri picked up a commitment on Sunday from Texas RB Dominique Johnson. A source told me last night "we stole one." To be fair, pretty much every coach will say that about every kid who isn't a four- or a five-star. But with Mizzou's track record at running back, you've got to start to believe them. This staff has gotten Damarea Crockett, Larry Rountree and Tyler Badie, all of whom have produced. Simi Bakare and Anthony Watkins are guys the team is high on. Going back further, Kendial Lawrence, Henry Josey, Marcus Murphy. Not a single one of them was a four-star prospect. Every single one of them has been a good to great running back. Mizzou built a reputation for producing defensive linemen and when people think of the offense they think of the passing game. But I could make a very, very strong argument that as far as value, running back has been Missouri's best position over the last two decades (maybe that's a series worth doing at some point). We expect Mizzou to take a second running back in the class.
5) Chances are very good that Johnson isn't the only commitment this week.
That's Missouri's offensive line coach. Missouri hosted an offensive lineman this weekend.
You do the math.
6) After today, the NCAA baseball super regionals will be set. There will be 16 teams alive. Six of them (Arkansas, Mississippi State, Auburn, LSU, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss) are from the SEC. That's ridiculous. 3/8 of the Sweet Sixteen come from the SEC. 60% of the teams that made it from the league are moving on. You can make an argument that this says Missouri should have been in the tournament, based on being decent in that league, but regardless, the SEC's strength in baseball continues to amaze me. The SEC is known for its dominance in football, but it's every bit as good in baseball, gymnastics, women's basketball and softball.
7) You may have heard the SEC said its schools could sell alcohol at football games starting this season. We fully expect Mizzou to do so.
I don't think alcohol sales will boost attendance all that much. I truly don't think a large number of people who want to go to games are not going because they can't drink. But it definitely should impact revenue.
Those who are against this, and there are some, will mostly say they don't want to deal with drunken idiots at a college football game. I'm not sure if you've been to a college football game lately, but there are already plenty of drunken idiots in attendance. And being drunk is hardly a prerequisite for being an idiot at a game. Plenty of people achieve that stone cold sober. I don't really care one way or the other if a school chooses to sell booze at the games. But to me, you're just giving up money if you don't.
8) I wrote about my grandmother in this space last week. The Joplin Globe did the same. Sharing this because I think it's pretty cool.
9) What to watch this week:
We watched the first episode of Sneaky Pete on Amazon last night. Looks like a good show. Quite a few on here have recommended it.
What to listen to:
Good question. I'm between podcasts right now. So we'll see.
10) Reading recommendations this week:
All American Despair in Rolling Stone
My Grandfather's Secret D-Day Journal in Washington Post Magazine
The Bane of My Existence: The UK's Sportswriting Access Crisis
Project Phenom in Sports Illustrated
Lakers 2.0: The Failed Reboot of the NBA's Crown Jewel on ESPN.com
