A few must reads

I want to share a few links before I finally discuss the Leo Lyons saga: 

• This one's over a week old but it's the best article written on the class of '08 yet. The Tribune's Joe Walljasper compares and contrasts this year's seniors expectations that they had coming in as freshmen with what they actually accomplished. It includes quotes from coaches comparing Jason Horton to T.J. Ford and saying that no team will ever play a zone defense while Glen Dandridge is on the floor. As humorous as those quotes are, Walljasper does a great job of not condemning this year's seniors but actually telling their side of the story. Everyone forgets how these guys committed to a program that was under fire by the NCAA, but no quote shows how they were misled as much as this one from Marshall Brown:
  "They told me not to worry about it, and I’m not." Brown, after giving a verbal commitment to Missouri, when asked if MU’s coaches had mentioned the possibility of an NCAA investigation. 

• A decent column by Jason Whitlock following our lackadaisical performance in the Big 12 Tournament. I agreed with a lot of what Whitlock had to say. Anderson's play calling in the final two minutes of the game was just baffling and his decision to play Butterfield and Volkus at the same time (let alone during critical stretches of the game) was inexplicable. But you could tell Jason hadn't watched a lot of Mizzou basketball this season. The point of this column was to criticize Anderson for being too hard on Leo. But anyone who has followed Mizzou very closely this season realizes that Leo is prone to giving half-assed efforts on a fairly regular basis. Should Anderson play Leo even when he refuses to give his best effort? I don't think so. Even if it costs the Tigers a first round Big 12 Tournament game, you're trying to build a program here and Leo's (this year's Leo anyway) is not a player you turn a program around with.

• Another Walljasper piece, a eulogy for the season that was.

• Now that basketball season is finally over it's time to turn our attention to the no. 4-ranked baseball team. On Friday I saw Aaron Crow give one of the most dominating performances I have ever seen in person at any sporting event at any level. A complete game 15-strikeout performance. Sure he was only pitching against Toledo but it really doesn't matter when you're this good. When you throw 87 strikes on 107 pitches and strike out the side on 10 pitches IN THE EIGHTH INNING, it's impressive no matter who you're facing. Please get out to Taylor Stadium to watch this guy pitch sometime this season.

• And finally, the Fair Play Hornets finished fourth in the state this weekend. After their magical run to Mizzou Arena they lost both of their games in the Final Four by a considerable margin, but quite honestly, it didn't matter. Seeing them play on the Tigers' home floor has to rank as one of the proudest moments of my entire life. For more information on "The Brotherhood" check this piece by the Springfield News-Leader.