Weekly Report

By Tiger Fan

Tiger notes:
-Let's start with the good news. While most Tiger fans were matching the men lose on Wednesday, the women pulled off a remarkable win in Manhattan, Kan. After trailing by as many as 22 points in the first half, the Tigers sent the game to overtime and LaToya Bond hit a jumper with 3.6 seconds remaining to win it. The Tigers (16-4, 6-2) will now be in sole possession of second place in the Big XII when conference leader Oklahoma comes calling on Saturday. The game will be televised state-wide on the Mizzou Sports Network.

-The gymnastics team continues to have an excellent season, achieving the highest ranking in Mizzou history this week when they reached No. 7 in the poles. The Tigers take on No. 9 ISU Friday night and I will be on-hand to give a full report.

-Baseball season is only a week away. The Tigers open the season on Feb. 9 against East Tennessee State.

-Now for the bad news: The men's team is spiraling out of control. They have lost four straight games by an average of 16.3 points, scoring a mere 57 points/game in each of those contests.

-Football signing day was Wednesday and things don't look great for the Tigers. I know rankings don't really matter as much as performance on the field, but I get a little worried when I see teams like kU and Kentucky ahead of us... this isn't basketball, after all. It also concerns me that some of the best players in the state ended up at other schools. But I'll reserve judgment until the players actually take the field.

-Speaking of football, Brad Smith will be going to the NFL combine as quarterback. I wish Brad all the best, but I have to think this is a mistake. He'd be better suited for wide receiver in the NFL. Other players I think could get a look:
Tony Palmer: being a solid offensive lineman in the Big XII goes a long way
Sean Coffey: he never lived up to his potential, but his size and speed might be hard for scouts to ignore. I never thought Pinkel used him correctly and with the right coaching, he could make an NFL roster. The question will be exactly how badly he was injured in the last game of the regular season.
Marcus King: he may have turned some heads with his play in the Independence and Hula bowls.
Jason Simpson: another player who never lived up to the hype, but he could get a late-round shot

-I'd like to weigh in on all the coaching rumors that have been circulating about the basketball team:
Matt Doherty: Wouldn't this be Quin Snyder, Part II? Younger guy who can recruit, but can't coach? No thanks.
Bobby Knight: I think this is hilarious. No way this happens. Period. If he ends up coaching the Tigers, I will eat a stapler.
Bob Huggins: Is that really the best way to rehabilitate a program with image problems? I think not. The scary thing is that this rumor might actually have some teeth.
John Calipari: Again, this is crazy. He's got a good gig at Memphis. I just don't see it.
Kim Anderson: By all accounts, he is a great guy. But I'm not sure CMSU is the best place for the Tigers to go looking for a coach.
The coach of every recent NCAA Cinderella team: If I were a betting man, I'd guess the new coach will come from this group.

Quick-hit non-Mizzou thoughts:
Remember a couple weeks ago when everyone was questioning LeBron’s killer instinct and wondering if he had what it took to be a winner? Since then, the Cavs have won 7 in a row and LeBron wound up averaging 32.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.5 assists in January... I smell a war in Iran and that's not a good smell... Should we even play the rest of the NBA season? Can anyone really win four games in a seven-game series against the Pistons? I doubt it... Did anyone know it was Groundhog Day? Did anyone care? Was Bill Murray involved?... I’m all for Nate Robinson competing in the slam dunk contest, but he better not win just because he is 5’9” and can dunk. Same would be true if he was a girl. I call this the Candace Parker corollary... I find it fascinating that Alito split with the other conservatives in his first court decision. Is it just posturing?... Lindsay Lohan was injured when she fell down the stairs and cut her leg on the teacup she was carrying. I can't make this stuff up… The new Speaker of the House, John Boehner, is from my home district in Ohio. I once tried to sell band candy at his home. The voice on the intercom declined my offer... The rumors are true. My roommate Shawn did recently drop the 2-hunge in a game of NCAA '06 against kU. Yes, 200 points. It was epic. For those who are curious, EA Sports did not have Brad Nessler record "200", so he announced the postgame score as "Mizzou zero, kansas 17"...

Special Edition: Super Bowl Thoughts
-General predictions: Seattle will win the coin toss, with Hasselback declaring that he wants the ball and he’s going to score… but they won’t. I pick the Steelers to score first in this one, on a field goal… I predict that Hasselback will throw for more yards than Rothlstkhalsdkjltburger, but Pittsburgh’s D will hold Alexander under 100 yards… I predict that the commercials will be mediocre, as they have been in recent years… I pick me to hit the bathroom during the Rolling Stones performance… and I pick the Steelers to win, 24-21.

-By the way, if you have made the ill-advised decision to bet based on my uneducated predictions, that means you take Seattle plus the points, assuming the line is still at 4.

-Thanks to my buddy Keegs, I get most of my Super Bowl info here (fair warning: some strong language)

-It seems that I will never achieve my dream of playing in the Super Bowl in my hometown like Jerome Bettis. Not because I’m not a football player, but because Cincinnati is too cheap to build a dome.

-As many of you know, I grew up as a die-hard Aggie fan. That’s why you’ll be surprised by how I come down on the Texas A&M-Seattle 12^th Man debate. When I first saw Seattle fans waving towels and raising a “12” flag, my first thought was that it was an A&M rip-off – and it clearly is. But A&M needs to realize imitation is the greatest form of flattery and let it go. Seattle isn’t using the trademarked “12^th Man” terminology and this does nothing to tarnish A&M’s tradition. They’ve done enough of that on the field over the last few year