Pinkel Could Wind Up In Line for Carousel

The Tigers have been good. Almost too good. Maybe too good for their own good.

Good enough to enter the discussion as a dark horse to play for the national championship. So good, their quarterback is throwing his name into the Heisman Trophy candidacy discussion. So good, their head coach is having his name bandied about as a nominee for national coach of the year awards.

Goodness.

One bad part to all these good vibes is the consequences of such good actions. Several prominent programs could be looking for new head coaches this off-season: Nebraska, Texas A&M, Auburn (should Tommy Tuberville take the Aggies' job), Iowa and Michigan all could be jockeying for position on this season's college football coaching carousel, a ride that gets started earlier and earlier every season.

This forecast is coming far, far, in advance: think looking 12-days ahead for weather on an upcoming vacation. The forecast, nonetheless, is not without a bit of foreboding context. Callahan is all but out at Nebraska, and Monday's report of Dennis Franchione's contract being bought out by the Aggies has spelled out the end of his tenure in College Station. Lloyd Carr has been on the brink of retirement for seemingly 5 seasons, now, and Kirk Ferentz is treading on thin ice in Iowa City.

*Cue carousel music*

Let's say the Tigers do the unimaginable and run the table the rest of the season. A Big 12 Championship is going to put Coach Gary Pinkel's name in many a pundit's column for all these revolving spots. Offensive coordinator Dave Christensen also could be performing his way into a job interview or two. It's difficult to imagine Coach Pinkel fleeing to Lincoln after the mass exodus of Husker recruits this fall changing their minds and deciding on Columbia, but it isn't inconcievable to think Christensen could be a candidate for the position. Aggieland is seeking a big name (think Tuberville), but should Auburn need a new head coach, would Coach Pinkel think about heading for a pay raise in the SEC?

What about Ann Arbor? This could be Lloyd Carr's swan song as the Wolverines' head coach, and Big Blue could throw big green at Gary Pinkel to lead their program. The Hawkeyes could, too.

Just some food for thought.

Food that doesn't sound so good.

Ending the Folsom Field Blues, With Authority

How impressive was that?

A quick glance at the luminosity that was Saturday night's performance in Boulder...

Chase Coffman re-asserts self as your future NFL fantasy football team's tight end:

Here's a line pulled directly from the AP story about Saturday's game that basically says it all: "Chase Coffman turned No. 9 Missouri's trip to Colorado into his own personal pro tryout, displaying the talent that has NFL scouts drooling over the 6-foot-6, 245-pound touchdown machine."

I'll say.

Highlight-reel after-the-catch physical prowess makes it any wonder how any team in the country could cover CC with anything less than the entirety of their linebacking core. With three more TD receptions Saturday night, he's got 19 for his career, already passing Justin Gage's old school record of 18. But, he arguably was not the best offensive player named Chase on Saturday night.

Chase Daniel re-asserts self as dark horse to fly to NY for the Heisman ceremony:

How about 26-for-44, and personal highs of 422 yards and 5 touchdowns? The 55 points MU racked up Saturday was the most Colorado has allowed at home since a 59-20 loss on October 8, 1983 to...Mizzou. He is engineering an offense that has scored 30 or more points in all nine of their games this season, which is a school record. The Tigers are now the 6th-ranked scoring offense in the country, 7th-ranked total offense, and 5th in passing. If the Tigers win out, you may be seeing Chase Daniel at Radio City Music Hall in December. But, the best story of the day was easily...

Tigers D bringing home the bacon without Pig:

Let's highlight some key figures here. The Buffs managed a meager 196 yards of total offense. They were a horrific 3-for-17 on 3rd downs, and forced into 3 turnovers. The 8th-best defense IN THE CONFERENCE lost their best player and on-field leader the week before, and may have just painted their best picture of the season.

The 8-1 start is the best for MU since 1969, and I need not tell you that the #6 BCS ranking is the new high water mark for Tiger football.

Whoa.

Truman Cranks Dat Soulja Boy

The song is awful, and has completely run its course, but that doesn't hurt the replay value of Truman getting down.

ESPNU - NEVER GRADUATE!

Deja Vu All Over Again

Saturday's win over a struggling ISU Cyclones team wasn't sparkling, or noisy, like the W's over Nebraska and Texas Tech, but was a win nonetheless in a season of convention going the way of the T-Rex in college football. Regardless, the Tigers were 7-1 overall, 3-1 in the Big 12, and found out Sunday afternoon they had vaulted to #9 in the Coaches', AP, and BCS polls.

And we left the game feeling like we got kicked in the stomach.

We frantically sent text messages and made calls describing what had happened. We listened for Gervino to relay the news on the post-game show. We scoured the interwebs upon arrival at the house looking for an update. An update on our injured star defensive player.

Pig Brown writhed in pain on the turf of Faurot Saturday, with the game hovering in garbage time. His leg was de-mobilized, and he was carried and carted off the field, towel-over-dome, defeated and in obvious pain.

For those of you who haven't heard, Pig Brown, he of two Big XII Defensive Player of the Week awards, has been lost for the season with a ruptured achilles tendon. Brown would have been a top contender for conference defensive player of the year.

Sound familiar?

October 21, 2006. The Tigers had just knocked off Kansas State at home, rebounding from a loss in College Station the week before, to go 7-1 overall, 3-1 in the Big XII. The win, though, was horribly tempered by the loss of Missouri's all-time sacks king and the biggest playmaker on their defense, defensive end Brian Smith. A broken hip had ended his playing career.

The Tigers lost their next three games, and four of their last five.

The vibe was not of the jovial manner it could have been Saturday night in CoMo. It's because we've seen this all before - promise, build-up, even the unwarranted air of expectation surrounding the ballclub. And then the other shoe drops... or the broken hip, or ruptured achilles.

So where from here? Mizzou has lost, arguably, their most irreplacable piece besides Chase Daniel. Justin Garrett and Del Howard are part of a secondary that has been free-wheelingly rotated throughout 2007, so at least they aren't completely green. The litmus test won't come this weekend in Boulder against the Buffs' offense, which is a modest 10th in the Big XII, though any game in the thin air is tough goings. Mizzou has lost their last 4 contests in Boulder, and only won once (1997) there since anyone on their roster has been on earth (1983).

The defense will look to the Sean Weatherspoons, Darnell Terrells, Stryker Sulaks, Brock Christophers and Ziggy Hoods of the world to elevate their games. Garrett and Howard know the shoes they will try to collectively fill are colossal in nature. That D that looked stout against Nebraska, and downright impressive against T-Tech, knows they have a whole new challenge on their hands.

And we'll just try to shake that familiar sinking feeling.

-Note: this post also appears on the new ESPNU@MIZZOU blog... and I think you should give it a look.

Right Where They Should Be

Note - this post appears on our new ESPNU @ MIZZOU blog, as well.

This is a homer post. An unabashed, uncompromising piece of pro-Tiger propoganda from myself as a Tiger fan and MU student. Why a homer post to inaugurate this blog? Because that's how I feel right now; I'm about as pleased as I have ever been as a Tiger football backer, and it couldn't have come at a more welcome time.

You see, I didn't grow up following the Tigers. I'm one of those out-of-state J-school students who has his Apple laptop and out-of-state liscense plates and non-Cardinals baseball cap. I don't engage in those "Which St. Louis high school are you from" conversations that permeate the social culture of MU. Sometimes I'd like to - even if I was lying throughout the convo - I'd probably have made more friends here.

So my fandom spans ALL the way BACK to 2004. I know, such long suffering. I've been familiar with the fifth down, and the kicked ball touchdown against Nebraska, and the other painful letdowns of Mizzou lore, but not like the long-term Tiger fans. Still, my tenure here has been marred with negativity and bad news while I tried to immerse myself in my future alma mater's athletic program.

There was the Aaron O'Neal tragedy, the blown 2nd half leads at home in the '04 season, the unceremonious end to Quin's reign, that baseball player who assaulted someone with a bat a few years back, getting close and blowing big chances to advance to the College World Series, our basketball team's off-court issues this year, the blown lead in the Sun Bowl last year, and so on. All just my rite of passage as an MU fan.

This football season has been such a welcome break from that disappointment - so far. God knows they could very well break our hearts later on. That being said, I love where the Tigers are at this moment at 6-1: good enough to have a healthy buzz at home, not flashy enough to catch the ire of the national media. Beating OU would have put us directly into the national title conversation, which would have been fun, but completely unrealistic. Mizzou is not one of the top 5 teams in the country. Top 10? Possibly. The rest of MU's schedule will tell.

The Tigers have some difficult tests remaining on their schedule, but should be favored to win the remainder of their currently scheduled games. Games everyone have pointed to are the trip to Kansas State, and of course the big game at Arrowhead. The lone exception to this favorite theory could be if Kansas were to get to November 23rd undefeated - the line may favor kU if that happens, though I wouldn't make them the bet to win that game. An undefeated mark for the Jayhawks would be owed as much to their cupcake out-of-conference and fortunate Big XII skeds as their on-field acumen.

A trip to the Big XII title game would mean two bowl possibilities for Mizzou: a shocking win against (most likely) Oklahoma, and we would be BCS bound, playing in the Fiesta Bowl in Arizona. Lose? We're headed to Dallas to play in the Cotton Bowl. Would you have taken THAT going into 2007? Of course you would. Dallas is a much nicer city than El Paso (site of last year's Sun Bowl); I know this, I'm from Texas.

The Big XII Championship is in San Antonio. I'd love to watch my boys play just ONE game in my home state this season.

My Pictures Have Words

The View From Bristol, Part 2

The cosmos chose me to work here during a fascinating summer in sports.

Baseball will reflect on this as the year of the milestone: I worked during Trevor's 500th save, Craig's 3,000th hit, and Tom's 300th win. I was here when Griffey passed Frank Robinson, The Big Hurt hit his 500th, Sammy slugged 600, and Barry went by the Hammer. My in-person interview came the morning after one no-hitter (Buehrle), and I built pushback graphics for another (Verlander).

I was on the set of Outside the Lines, minutes before the show started, when news broke that Bill Walsh had died, thus altering the entire show and giving me a real-world experience in live TV. I was at the ESPN News desk when news passed that Rod Beck had died, sending me scrambling to put his career in perspective for viewers, instantly.

I saw Houston Oiler Bruce Matthews and Missouri Tiger Roger Wehrli join the hall of fame with a Mo City native (Thurman Thomas) and a Texas football icon (Michael Irvin). As people ranted and raved about the sanctity of sport collapsing, I watched two members of a dying breed, Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken, classily take their place among baseball's immortals.

I remember the news wire crossing that described the Tim Donaghy scandal - something that we know neither the depth nor horrific effect of yet on the integrity of sport. Tim Donaghy's name will take it's place with that of Pete Rose, the Black Sox, and Boston College basketball.

I saw the unraveling of the Mike Vick case - something that is quickly and unfortunately deteriorating into a divisive racial battle reminiscent of the OJ Simpson trial. Whatever rational, adult thought is shared by knowledgable people is soon to be smothered by the screaming of the moronic as this case exponentially expands. Few things incite Americans more than racial discussions. Few things impassion Americans like their pets. Fuse elemental pieces of the two, and watch the mad sociological experiment begin.

I already lament my defense of due process that I will have to make in the face of a racist comment that has nothing to do with the case.

I was present when the network was bashed, and rightfully so, for the escapade that was the 'Who's Now' tournament. The concept of this wasn't what I totally dispised, but the sickening presentation of it. The occasional pandering to idiots is tolerable to an extent, but this fiasco took the cake. Want to know how fake it really was? A certain actress during one of the tapings didn't know who Dwyane Wade was. She was then fed what to say by co-workers of mine. Many people inside the company liked the whole thing as little as I did.

I was here as a living broadcasting legend left his post at the company. When people have asked me about my career aspirations, I sometimes said, "I want to be Dan Patrick." It seems fitting to me that he would walk away while I was employed at his company. I don't pretend to think I'll ever be some titan of media, but it would be cool if I look back in 30 years and remember I got my foot in this business the same time a personality I admire pulled his away.

I have walked the hallways and parking lot and studio sets where the famed 'This is Sportscenter' ads were filmed. I have eaten at the Caf far too many times, standing in line to pay for my salad alongside Trey Wingo and Buster Olney. (I have learned to always go with the omelet bar when presented the chance.) I have had friendly conversations with The Schwab, Steve Bunin and Dari Nowkwah. I have been humbled by the depth of sports knowledge people in the research room have. I have had Neil Everett, John Anderson and Scott Van Pelt express their admiration for a horse-related, hand-drawn sign at a basketball game that may or may not have been key to getting me this job.

I have eaten at what is likely the Outback Steakhouse where events transpired that led to the termination of sport blog martyr Harold Reynolds. Sometimes I wonder if Harold realizes that he may be one day remembered more for being a subculture's cult hero than an All-Star second baseman. Speaking of blogs, I admired the step Goliath took when it invited David (Will Leitch from Deadspin) to discuss criticism of ESPN in open dialogue on air. I think sites like Deadspin serve as an unfiltered ombudsman that when used correctly, can greatly benefit the company. Scott Van Pelt told me he thought the fall out from his conversation with Leitch was pretty fascinating.

I met and worked with basically every on-air personality you can imagine, and 99.99% of my experiences were overwhelmingly positive. There's a reason why this place is so successful: the building is filled with obscenely talented individuals. It's also filled with hilarious, sharp people, too. That being said, everyone respects hard work and professionalism, which I guess I tried to pull off. I'll just say this - If you can't enjoy yourself at work doing what I did this summer, you just ain't like me.

I'll wrap it up by saying this: I got to work for the biggest sports media organization in the world, immersed in their day-to-day studio production, during a fascinating, tumultuous period.

What did you do this summer?