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Get Well Norm!

From the COU Daily Trib:

Former Missouri basketball Coach Norm Stewart underwent heart surgery Friday and is recovering at Boone Hospital Center.

Virginia Stewart said today that her husband had aortic valve replacement.

"They originally thought he might be able to go home by this weekend, but things are going a little slower than expected," she said. "The operation went very successfully. If you’ve ever had surgery, a lot of times the recovery is worse than the surgery."

She said there wasn’t a definitive target date for the 73-year-old former coach’s release. The couple had to cancel a previously scheduled trip to Europe.

Last year, Stewart had a pacemaker implanted. Friday’s surgery was prompted when Stewart suffered from shortness of breath.

Stewart was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in November. He won 731 games in his career, including 634 in 32 years at Missouri.

Paragraph of the Day

Rocky Long of New Mexico:

“I mean, who did Kansas play last year? I think Missouri got as screwed as you can get screwed,” Long said. “Missouri was a better football team. Much better football team. But you look at who Kansas played in preseason. If they lost one of those games, they ought to ship them out of there... So a Kansas, who's just establishing a program now, they've got to make sure they win all four of their preseason games so they make sure they play teams they can beat. That's a lot better for a coach's security. Everybody” complains “about who you play, but you say, 'I'm 4-0.' ”

Rocky, this InBev beverage is for you! 

Husker Fans Focus on Mizzou

My, have times changed.  The Tigers get 7 players on the All Big XII team (for 8 different positions - Jeremy Maclin was selected as one of the best WR's and one of the best PR's) and the Huskers get 1.  But to show you how far the Tigers have come in the eyes of the Husker fans, check out the comments to this Lincoln Journal Star article on the All Big XII team.  Here are a few in the early part of the thread.

HA, the tigers are getting all the praise, I love it, it
sets up for disaster, how often has this happened in the
past, Iowa St. was supposed to be getting good in the early
2000's, kansas in the mid 90's, texas tech is talked about
every year, there are certain teams that will have little
spurts of talent and success, and Mizzou needs to be
thanking the good lord for their moment in the sun, cause it
won't last long, when's the last time they won in lincoln?

And

1978 is the last time Mizzou won in Lincoln.

Preseason picks mean little.  But it is fun to talk about.
I hope that this serves as one more piece of motivation for
us to play like hungry wolves and destroy Mizzou when they
come to town.

and

i did know what year, I was just being a smart a$$

Mizzou won't win in lincoln once again, and their title
hopes will be crushed as the husker nation celebrates the
return of the nebraska/missouri bell

and lastly

I could totally see Mizzou fall to earth real quick this
season.  They have no proven running back, and their O-line
is probably the most suspect unit of the whole team.  Not to
mention...THE PINKEL FACTOR.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T.  Sock it to me.  Sock it to me.  Sock it to me.  Sock it to me.  Sock it to me.  Sock it to me.  Sock it to me.  Sock it to me. 

Fox Sports Mizzou Preview

Here.

Best Offensive Player: Senior QB Chase Daniel. Technically, Maclin is the team's best all-around weapon, and possibly its best pro prospect, but Daniel is the signature star who makes the machine go. His emergence as a steadier all-around passer, and his ability to use his weapons more took the offense from good to unreal. He makes everyone around him better.

Like I said earlier, he's the heart and soul.

Best Defensive Player: Senior FS William Moore. With 6-foot-1, 230-pound size, cornerback speed, and an uncanny nose for the ball in both the running and passing games, Moore is a tremendous pro prospect who'll be one of the Big 12's signature defensive stars. He's a do-it-all playmaker who has to be accounted for on every play.

ESPN Mizzou Preview

Here.  Here's their grades:

Offense:  A-
Special Teams: A
Defense: B+
Intangibles: A

The Tigers are loaded on offense, putting 4 players on the All Big XII team (Chase Daniel, Chase Coffman, Jeremy Maclin, and beast-man Colin Brown).  I'd give them an A even with the rebuilding of the line.

Special teams gets the A- mainly because of the weakness at punting and because of the weakness in the kick return game that always seems to crop up.  But Mizzou has two of the best in the business in All Big XII kicker Jeff Wolfert and return many Jeremy Maclin.

Defense:  A-, the only reason for the minus is because of the loss of Lorenzo Williams.  Zo was the onfield and offield leader of the defense.  It's hard to replace a man with so many qualities.  But the rest of the defense is stacked, and I pity the fool who runs a crossing route against William Moore or who runs wide on Spoon.

Intangibles:  A... Mostly held and pushed by Chase Daniel

Can I go to St. Louis now?  I can't wait for the beginning of this season.

The Heart of a Tiger

A 38-7 victory over a disinterested Arkansas team in the Cotton Bowl wrapped up a glorious 12-2 season, but a hunger pang persists. It's all about advancing a program that last season won its first Big 12 North title and got its first New Year's Day bowl victory since a Sugar Bowl triumph over Florida after the 1965 season.

For that, Daniel was showered with accolades. He finished fourth in Heisman voting, the highest for a Missouri player since Paul Christman finished third in 1939. Daniel also was the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year after throwing for 4,306 yards and 33 touchdowns. A cherry on top this summer was the Big 12 Male Athlete of the Year Award.

Despite Daniel's lofty statistics, the Missouri quarterback still believes he has plenty to improve on.

That brings us here, to the long, hot summer of 2008. What could Daniel possibly have left to work on? There are three things.

• Improve his footwork

• Hone his accuracy

• Harness his deep pass

 

"I can get better throwing deep and improve my accuracy with repetition, doing stuff like this seven-on-seven work," Daniel said. "I am trying to improve my footwork by working with a Bosu Ball. It's difficult. I stand on it, trying to keep my balance. It works on strengthening your feet and ankles, too."

From GameCock central.  The reason the Tigers will be so good is because of the talent that they have on both sides of the ball and the drive and leadership of Chase Daniel.  He is the heart and soul of the Tigers.

Happy Anniversary, Mike Alden

Mike Alden has been the Mizzou Athletic Director for 10 years. 

Lots of folks still see him as the reason that Norm Stewart stepped down, and there may be some truth to that.  But what has followed, save for both basketball teams, has been success like Mizzou hasn't seen for awhile, if ever.

Cross posted at the ZooRahBlog

RIP: Missouri "All Sports Pass"

The Missouri Athletic Department has retired the venerable All Sports Pass and is replacing it with a Student Season Ticket Combo, according to the Columbia Missourian.  For those not familiar with the All Sports Pass, purchasing one gave students access to all home sporting events at the University, including all home basketball games and all home football games.  The student season ticket combo only gives access to the football and basketball games.  Students will be admitted to for free to all other sporting events regardless of whether they buy the combo.

Except for baseball, volleyball, a few women's basketball games, and a few special gymnastic events, the other sports had very few students (or anybody else for that matter) in attendance.  The hope is that the change will draw more students to these games and events (the Missouri athletic department acknowledges the law of demand). 

But let's be real.  There's a reason that these sports are called non-revenue sports:  the demand for them is very small.  My expectation is that most of the students willing to come to those other games are also the ones willing to shell out the cash for the all sports pass.  And if they're like me, they are willing to shell out the cash because they want to go to football and men's basketball games.  In fact, the prices tell you exactly that.  Last year's All Sports Pass went for $200 and this year's Student Season Ticket Combo sells for $220, solely on the strength of last year's football team.

So, overall, there may be a small bump in non-revenue student attendance, but I wouldn't bet the farm on it.

Sarah Becking - RIP

Sarah Becking, a photographer from Columbia, Mo. whose pictures can be seen here has died from complications arising from cancer surgery.  Her husband's blog that, sadly, details her final days can be found here. 

HT Tigerboard.

Congratualtions, Christian Cantwell

Former Mizzou track and field standout Christian Cantwell is going to the Olympics to compete in the shot put competition.