Tigers Come From Behind to Beat Kansas

My beloved Missouri Tigers basketball team topped off one of the best weeks in Mizzou sports history I can remember. The #4 Tigers were down by eight points with 3:25 to go and came back to win. The Tigers ran off the last 11 points and held #8 Kansas scoreless down the stretch to win 74-71. Mizzou is now 21-2 and 8-2 in the Big XII conference. The Tiger win last night with the signed letter of intent earlier this week from Dorial Green Beckham made for one fine week. M-I-Z!

Spring Can't Be Too Far Away

The weather here this week has been wonderful. Daytime highs in the 60s and night time lows in the 40's. It's about 20 degrees warmer than normal for the first week of February. So, even though some little rat up in Pennsylvania saw his shadow yesterday, Spring can't be far away.

By the calendar it's about six weeks to the official start of Spring and to St. Patrick's Day. But, you know I found a six pack of Boulevard Brewing's Irish Ale yesterday afternoon. It always comes out a month before St. Patty's Day and the start of Spring. So there it is; yet another sign we are getting closer to warmer weather. And you also know what I will be tasting this afternoon after work. Cheers!

St. Louis TV Station Plagiarises Wikipedia

Former Southwest Missouri State and St. Louis University basketball coach Charlie Spoonhour passed away earlier this week. By all acounts of those who knew him he was a good man.

So, how did the local Fox TV affiliate write up his obituary? By, plagiarising a Wikipedia article onto it's own website. The "Fox 2 News" article appeared to have been copied and pasted onto the station's website. Apparently no one edits the website either, because the loser who copied it left Wikipedia's footnotes in the Fox "report". ("Son, lazy and stupid is no way to go through life") To make the matter worse KTVI put a "staff writer" byline on the article and then put it's copyright on the whole thing.

Charles Apple of the American Copy Editor's Society does a wonderful job of explaining the theft on the ACES website.

Red Letter Day for Mizzou Football

The Missouri Tigers have landed the top rated high school recruit in the United States (according to Rivals.com). Dorial Green-Beckham of Springfield, Mo has decided to stay home and become a Missouri University football player. Beckham was sought after by Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Alabama and 16 other schools. But, in the end Beckham chose Missouri because he reportedly was most comfortable around coach Gary Pinkel and his assistants.

Not only did DGB decide to become a Tiger so did Mr. Ohio football, Maty Mauk. Mauk was ranked by Rivals as the 8th best high school QB in the nation this year and in the top 16 of all players. Mauk was recruited by 21 D-1 schools and had offers from the likes of Penn State, Michigan, Notre Dame and Illinois. But Mauk has chosen to become Mizzou's next franchise QB. By my calculation if he redshirts for a year, he will take over the reigns in Columbia in the fall of 2014.

In the coming years I look forward to hearing Tiger Radio's Mike Kelly call the words "Mauk to DGB and he takes it to the house"!

Oh and by the way Happy New Year!

I am just a tad bit late with this...but Happy New Year! I did in fact observe the start of the New Year by sleeping right through it. New Years' Eve is, well, for amateurs. I no longer want to be out on the streets when a bunch of amateurs start drinking and driving two ton machines let alone texting their every drunken thought to their friends.

Nope I was in bed at 10:30 like a good boy and slept through what I am told was quite a fireworks display by the renters next door. (I did not hear any of it, but my proof is I had to pick up spent bottle rockets from the front yard on January 2nd).

Anyway, if you really care Happy New Years to you! May it be a healthy, happy and prosperous one for you and your family.