Thoughts from a Mizzou Fan on the 2015 Football Season

I have never seen anything like this in the 50 plus years I've been watching Mizzou play football. From a season in which the Quarterback was suspended and then kicked off the team to the team boycotting practice and demanding the resignation of the University President...to the Head Coach saying he was resigning because of his health, it certainly made for a unique year.

I am sorry QB Maty Mauk has been through such a pressure filled time in his life.  His father is battling cancer and I personally know that is a major mental challenge.  Maty Mauk also felt the pressure of a huge fan base dis-satisfied with his offense's inability to the move the ball.  Some of it was Mauk's fault but a large portion of the failure rested squarely on the shoulders of the offensive line.  This is more pressure than most 21 year old kids can handle and ultimately Mauk succumbed to it.  Apparently he also made a poor decision by placing himself in a position where he would get into trouble.  You know the result.  Head coach Gary Pinkel removed him from the team permanently.  I certainly wish Maty Mauk well and hope he can get some help and land on his feet somewhere he can contribute.  Mauk is a gifted athlete.

I have mixed emotions about the President of the University retiring.  I understand the frustration with the way minorities have been treated at times in Columbia.  I am white but I get it.  Keep in mind though that Columbia is probably the most liberal city in the state of Missouri.  But, it is in a region known as "LittleDixie".  I was not there to witness any of the insults but my belief is the insults and epithets were hurled by non-University of Missouri students in an effort to create racial disharmony.  The motivation is difficult to comprehend but the world is full of stupid ignorant people.  As far as TimWolfe resigning I believe it should not have happened.  As one much wiser than me put it..."how is one man supposed to stop racism in an entire state".  Wolfe could have been more transparent when approached by African American students but he should not have been terminated.  The Chancellor of the Columbia campus also resigned under fire.  R. Bowen Loftin had been the object of African American wrath for several months until the day of the University's Homecoming parade.  At that time an incident involving Wolfe and his car in the parade turned the wrath to him.  I do believe Loftin's resignation should have happened sooner.

This post is getting long so I will cut to the chase.  I am sorry that Gary Pinkel is resigning after restoring pride to a program that had been a laughing stock of the nation until this millennium.  Pinkel never got to a BCS game or won a Conference Title but he took Mizzou to the next level when he won divisional titles on four occasions in the Big 12 and SEC Conferences.  While I am sad to see Coach Pinkel go, I applaud his looking after his health and spending time with his family. Gary Pinkel you will be missed.

And finally while the Tigers could have played in a bowl game with a mediocre 5-7 record, I am glad they chose not to seek the NCAA's approval to play in one as did Minnesota and Nebraska. Missouri stated its reason as focusing on a new head coach and staff and recruiting for the future.  I am pleased with the selection of Barry Odom as the new head coach.  Odom is a former Tiger player and has distinguished himself as a top level Defensive Coordinator.  His players are glad he is going to be the boss. I'm pleased with him bringing in new staff for the 2016 season.  I hope the changes will take the Tigers to the next level.  But I know as a season ticket holder, alum and Tiger fan Odom will have his hands full in 2016 when he has road games at West Virginia, LSU, Florida, SouthCarolina, and Tennessee.  I am optimistic about the 2016 season.  But to wrap this up I hope I never see events at my beloved Alma Mater as I lived through this past season.  M-I-Z!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have been so richly blessed by God Almighty I sometimes take those things for granted. I cannot express my thanks for the love shown to me by my family and friends. I live in a nation where I am free to worship as I wish; a nation where I am free to come and go wherever I wish whenever I want. I have a warm roof over my head and a comfortable bed to sleep in each night. This is made possible by the sacrifices of others who put their lives on the line to protect me 24 hours a day. When I open the fridge there is way more in it than I have ever done anything to deserve. If I want for anything I have been given the means to buy it by the work I've been given at a great organization. For all of these and all past blessings I say thank you Lord!! Happy Thanksgiving!

My take on Baseball's Post Season

It's taken me about three weeks to get past the Cardinals being eliminated from the MLB playoffs to be able to write about their demise and this post-season.

The Cardinals were beaten by a better Chicago Cubs team three weeks ago.  The Cubs pitching and timely hitting for power was more than the worn out Birds pitching staff could handle.  I am a fan of Cardinals manager Mike Matheny but also think he may have over worked his staff during the regular season.  But, then who am I to argue with his success.  The Cards won 100 games this year, more than any other club in Major League Baseball.  Matheny did a great job of running the Cards even when the club was torn up with injuries.  I will remember this season because of all the lost games to key players all season long.

As far as the rest of the Playoffs:

-I was surprised at how easily the Mets swept the Cubs in the NLCS.  I thought the Cubs had their best chance in years to make it to the World Series.  But the Mets' pitching was even better than the Cubbies.  And pitching and defense win championships.  As I write this the Mets are down three games to one in the Series.  The Mets' defense has cost them two games already and I would not be surprised to see the Kansas City Royals clinch the Series tonight.

-Royals and Blue Jays players showing up the other team after hitting home runs is disgusting.  José Bautista's flipping his bat after his home run in the final game of the Blue Jay - Rangers' series was sickening.  Bautista had better be looking for a fastball in his back the first game they meet in 2016.  Likewise, Kendrys Morales' behavior after jacking a homer against the Astros was also immature.  His skipping around the bases like a six year old girl will also be welcomed with a fastball to the back the first time those two teams meet next year.

I am looking forward to the 2016 MLB season and watching my beloved Cardinals play in the NL Central, the toughest division in baseball.  The Cubs are going to be good for a while, the Pirates are good and the Brewers and Reds should also get better.  And it all starts in just 155 days! Woo-Hoo!

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Stupid TV Ads

If you've watched any post season baseball or NFL Football you've probably seen several ads repeated over and over and over until you just want to hurl.

The commercial for Viagra with the bimbo spouting off at the mouth about erectile dysfunction must have been written by a moron.  Seriously, does the ad agency and the pharmaceutical company that makes Viagra think this broad in the Cowboys jersey knows anything about football or ED?  And she just isn't that hot.  If this is selling product for big Pharma then the American Public must be even dumber than I give it credit.  But, then Will Rogers once said you will never go broke under estimating the intelligence of the American Public.

Another obnoxious TV add is for "Fan Duel".  Based on the number of times this ad has popped up in Post-Season and on the NFL there must be a ton of money in the "Fantasy Sports" business.  (And  it's not fantasy sports, it's legalized gambling).  But, it gets repeated over and over just like the Viagra spot.  Enough is enough.  I find it interesting these ads are being shown in prime time and on Sunday afternoons when young kids are watching.  Can you imagine some kid asking his old man "Daddy what is erectile dysfunction"?  (I sure am glad I don't have small children while this crap runs on my TV).

Maybe I'm wrong but I have to think the people watching sports on TV aren't all gambling addicts who can't get an erection.  What is this country coming to?

Congratulations Cardinals!

As I write this my beloved St. Louis Cardinals are playing their final day of the 2015 Major League Baseball season.  The Cards have clinched the toughest division in baseball; the National League Central and have won 100 games with two left to play.  That has guaranteed the Birds home field advantage throughout the playoffs. (Except for the World Series in which home field advantage is decided by MLB's inane policy of which league wins the All-Star Game).

The Cards lost their best pitcher at the start of the season, were without an all star catcher for several months, lost their best outfielder on two occasions of more than a month each and had each player on the infield each miss several weeks of playing time.  Still, they were resilient and never quit coming after their opponent game after game after game.

My thought is the glue that held this team together throughout the year was manager Mike Matheny.  Matheny is in his fourth year with the Cardinals and each year has gotten the club into the post season.  Without Matheny's leadership and the strength of the Redbirds farm system they would have been hard pressed to be a contender.  Yet, here they are on the final day of the regular season with 100 wins.  I don't have a vote for manager of the year but if I did it would go to Matheny.

Good luck to Mike Matheny and the Redbirds as they start their playoff hunt this Friday against the winner of the Cubs and Pirates wild card game.