“Most Missouri fans that I know watched that [Ole Miss] game and were frustrated. Where is this all the time? This is just a real problem now with what’s going on with Missouri on the road. I think that was emphasized again on 
Saturday and it’s absolutely maddening!”
Doug Stewart, on Missouri’s blowout win at home Saturday over Ole Miss, 810 AM
GH: Was it Einstein who said the whole is greater than the sum of its parts? For Frank Haith’s team the exact opposite appears to be true. The parts all too often are far greater than the whole. Talent oozes about this Tiger basketball team like potential brides parading in Ole Miss’ Grove. It’s everywhere – except on the road.
“Going forward if I’m the opponent, I’m going after Oriakhi to try to get under his skin.”
Bob Fescoe, on the near brawl during the second half of the Ole Miss/MU game, Twitter
GH: Ole Miss’ Buckner was ejected after the near fight and MU’s Oriakhi and Bowers were assessed intentional fouls. It was not made clear by the referees, but Oriakhi’s most damaging move may have been his pre-fight stance. As someone on Twitter wrote, he looked like he was channeling Fred Sanford with his crouch and backpedaling footwork. Read on.
“This is embarrassing by Haith. There is no way Oriakhi should play in this game again after the crap he has pulled the last 2 games.”
Aaron Fritz, @Coach_Fritz, after the Tigers’ big man intentionally tripped Buckner by grabbing his ankle, Twitter
GH: Oriakhi put up 22 points against the Rebs and grabbed 18 rebounds. This is the same Ole Miss team that destroyed MU in Oxford a month ago. Haith is paid to win basketball games first, second and probably third. Haith understands that and he understands Oriakhi is a necessary part of him keeping his job. It is called big-time SEC sports.
“I know Mizzou fans love Oriakhi’s physical presence. But let’s be honest…he plays a bit dirty. The intentional trip triggers a brew-ha-ha.”
Lance Veeser, @lanceveeser, Twitter
“Nobody likes this! Missouri doesn’t like this, Mississippi doesn’t like this, CBS doesn’t like this… You hate to have anything like this ever happen in a game.”
Gary Link, on the near fracas between Ole Miss and MU, Tiger Radio Network
GH: I am not so sure Frank Haith is all that upset with Oriakhi getting down and dirty on the court. The score was 80-59 in MU’s favor with 7:28 left in the game when the game was stopped by the referees to sort out the guilty parties. There is some bad blood between MU and Ole Miss dating back to the Rebel fans chanting, “Big 12 rejects” at the Tigers in Oxford. MU has been viewed by most of the SEC as the new kid to be made fun of and ridiculed. How does the new kid gain the respect of the bullies? He fights back – and sometimes he fights dirty. Oriakhi is taking it beyond the limits of sportsmanship but sometimes a goon is good for what ails an underperforming team like Mizzou.
“Everybody in Connecticut said that too – where’s that all the time?”
Soren Petro, on the wild disparity of play of Oriakhi at home and on the road, 810 AM
GH: Oriakhi’s stats at home are All-SEC worthy and his stats on the road are All-Worthless. Oriakhi obviously has some issues – most transfers arrived with a dent or three. But that’s one of the reasons Haith makes the big bucks. Time to earn your lettuce, Frank.
“They’re in my family. That’s going to be the hardest part about it, when you talk about competition, guys that you brought in and you’ve seen them have some tremendous success.”
Mike Anderson, on facing his former players Phil Pressey and Laurence Bowers on Saturday in Fayetteville, Columbia Tribune
GH: Not much remains of Anderson’s Tigers. But the two that do could cause him to become very, very homesick for some of that old time Columbia patronizing.
“It has hardly been a smashing debut in the Southeastern Conference for Missouri’s two high-profile teams, football and men’s basketball. Luckily for suffering fans of the black and gold, the former enemy to the west is supplying enough ineptitude to ease the pain.”
Dave Matter, columnist, Columbia Daily Tribune
GH: Kansas and Missouri might not meet on the gridiron or court but that has done little to slow the rivalry between these two. Read on.
“MU fans with a serious thirst for schadenfreude have especially delighted in Kansas basketball. Which explains why one of the Antlers at Missouri’s game on Saturday held up a sign featuring the TCU logo. For Tiger fans, sometimes only the pleasure of hating Kansas can ease the burden of loving Missouri. Truman just can’t quit that strange blue bird.”
Dave Matter, columnist, Columbia Daily Tribune
“Maybe I’m just a silly #Mizzou & #kubball romantic, but I believe those 2 dates on the sked brought out the best in each team.”
Jeff Rosen, @jeff_rosen88, Twitter
“It’s much harder for me to watch a Missouri basketball game than it’s ever been in my life. It’s work. It’s not relevant to a lot of the people I come in contact with.”
Kevin Kietzman, 810 AM
GH: I understand that many Kansas and Missouri fans say they now never pay attention to the team in the other conference. I don’t believe it but I understand why they so loudly declare their apathy. But KK isn’t just some fan. He owns WHB and hosts the station’s most popular sports talk show. When MU moved to the SEC, it simply doubled my pleasure in following the local teams. Nebraska folks are weird in that way.
“It’s solely about them [Missouri]. It’s solely about one slice of the audience. ”
Kevin Kietzman, on why his interest in following Mizzou basketball in the SEC has waned, 810 AM
GH: This from the guy who force feeds his audience slices of the Cookie Diet, the Grilling Show, the Racin’ Boys and enough soccer talk the past week to get me through Hilary Clinton’s term as president.
“What if the Big 12 came to Missouri and said, ‘We’d much rather have you than Clemson or Florida State. We want you back.’ Should Missouri walk [from the SEC] and come back?”
Kevin Kietzman, who posed this question to Jack Harry, 810 AM
GH: Kietzman needs to take a trip to Columbia, MO and walk around their campus, the downtown area and just about any place else within the city limits. Signs of Mizzou joining the SEC are EVERYWHERE and worn on almost every piece of student apparel. The University of Missouri hasn’t been this excited about burning a bridge since Quantrill got back to town.
GregHall24@yahoo.com and Twitter / greghall24
KK just can’t quit Mizzou. Last time I looked, Texas is still running the
show. They are never going back to the Big 12.
Haith should have sat Oriakhi for the rest of the Mississippi game, which was well in hand anyway. Oriakhi’s lack of controlling emotions was a highly contributing factor in our loss to Texas A&M. I was disappointed in Haith’s discipline.
Mizzou haters, and that definitely includes KK, can’t get past the fact that the move to the SEC was not impulsively made. This was a 100 year decision by the University. Yes, Mizzou has struggled in football and on the road in basketball, but it hasn’t even been a full year yet. I doubt Missouri regrets anything about the move
+1
+1? + $1Billion!
Ok, I’ll say it, the move to the SEC hasn’t exactly gone real smooth, but would I trade it for the Big 12? Good God no! Football, even with getting our butts kicked was fantastic. The atmosphere was great and I look forward to making road trips to several other SEC venues. I’ve been pleased with the passion for SEC basketball too. I really thought this was where I’d miss the Big 12, but no, I’ve really been surprised. Arkansas yes, but who’d have guess that I’d have already developed a deep dislike for Ole Miss basketball? No the SEC doesn’t put the emphasis on basketball, but the gyms have comparable crowds to Big 12 venues.
It really seems like KK is trying to downplay Mizzou and make them disappear. The Mizzou fans I know in KC couldn’t be happier either. Will, like the rest of us, they would have liked a better football season. KK will eventually figure out that it’s not too smart to dismiss a significant portion of his stations listeners.
I think KK will have no choice but talk SEC. At least around Football season. I don’t care what anyone says. A Vandy/Vol or GA/Ole Miss game is a lot more interesting them a KU/Iowa St or TCU/ Tech game.
Agreed. And I’m a huge KU homer. Unfortunately (or, depending on how you look at it, fortunately), KK’s audience is local and not national and people around here will care a lot more about a KU-Iowa State game than they will a Vandy-Tennessee game. And he will go where his audience will go. Yeah, he has to devote time to Mizzou, but to go too deeply into the SEC and he loses his audience. If he had a national audience, you’d be absolutely right, though.
Eastern Missouri interests always pushed the embarrassing and failed Big 10 drive and then ultimately the SEC jump at MU. Most of us in Western MO never wanted any of that. But we were outnumbered. So be it. Must say, my level of emotional involvement (and the extent of my wallet’s contributions) to said MU and its sports results have hugely waned in this new “SEC ERA!” Not that old pieces of work like me make much difference, but just sayin’.
Bull. The desire for the move to the SEC was coming from the western Mizzou fans too. There were very few dissenting voices on the western side. And this is from a KC northlander. The only people that didn’t want it, were ones that were afraid of change.
Sorry boys…you’re both wrong. It was all mizzou fans. And especially the guys who count the money. SEC money is huge. MU will not only
benefit from direct financial windfalls but with trust funds/research dollars/
grants/cash revenues/licensing increases/enrollment increases/
benefactor dollars (they just got 5 million dollars to the vet school from
2 dogs and their owners)….broadcast rights////seat surcharges..
increased gate total….increased national brading revenue (mu is now
the 20th ranked fan base in pure numbers in the nation..incredible)…
future market rights….additional revenues from a network…planned
and futre gifts from corps and alumni…a major upcoming gift for the
business school to make it the wharton of the midwest…
plus millions of addiitional dollars flowing into missouri coffers from
additional revenue sources (major fund now being used to expand
capitalization program)…major upgrades in stadium at QUARTER
BILLION DOLLARS….and an expanding standing in line enrollment
at the university…
addd to that increase in national exposure on tv/media as part of
the sec…additional broadcast revenues…national branding that
neighter ku/kstate could ever dream of…additional revenue sources
pouring in from new devlopement projects…
and lets add to that
FOOTBALL…injuries hurt mu this year…but with a good recruiting
class based on big 12 standards they will compete in the sec
if they can avoijd key injuries.
SEE KK AND THE REST OF YOUR LOSERS..IN LIFE YOU SOMETIMESHAVE TO STEP UP AND TAKE THE CHALLENGE
TO IMPORVE YOURSLEF. SURE MU COULD HAVE STAYED
WITH THE STAGNANT AND SOON TO BE “BROKE” SCHOOLS
LIKE KU AND KSTATE…BUT WHY…OPPRTUNITY KNOCKS
JUST ONCE…GO FOR IT…FOOTBALL TEAM WILL GROW TO
COMPETE..IF NOT PINKEL WILL BE REPLACED BY A BIG
BIG BIG NAME COACH…HAITH THE SAME THING…SOME PROBLEMS WITH INJURIES BUT IF HE DOESN’T ELEVATE
THE TEAM…HE’LL BE GONE ALSO.
no more playing around..MU IS FIRED UP AND READY TO GO.
They are on a path that no other midwest university can compete
with. Give it time. Give some patience.
OUr alma mater made one incredible decision to move. It’s paying
off by the millions…and will be recorded as one of the most
brilliant moves any mu adinstration has ever made.
While ku and kstate will face the financial axe under brownback.
while ku and kstate are cutting programs and costs…mu is
growing to be one of the top universities in the entire nation.
AND NO MATTER WHAT THE FOOLS AT WHB/610 SAY
harley knows the inside story…BRILLIANT MOVE…EDUCATIONALLY/
FINANCIALLY/ACADEMICALLY…
in other word they leave ku/kstate in the trash bin of the big 12.
thanks.
think i was kidding about donation of 5 million to vet school mat
mu.????
family gave 5 million to vet school to study cancer in animals.
Appartently cancer cures used in animals can also be used
in fighting cancer in humans…
wow….the family put the donation in the family name along
with their two dogs…
thats whats happening in columbia…money…money…money..
while bill self cries that the athletic department can’t get
enough money since bball is maxed out…
kstate and ku are in tough positions…especially once espn
tries to break the texas netwrok up!!!!
Good stuff here today Greg. And that last line of the whole thing is pure gold!
Dodds still can’t get over Missouri leaving and is still taking pot shots at them http://www.statesman.com/news/sports/bohls-state-of-ut-athletics-dodds-promises-good-ye/nWL99/
There is no way Missouri is going back to the Big 12 – KK is an idiot for even talking about it. Missouri doesn’t want to go back, and I’m not sure the Big 12 would even want them back – you know, because TCU has a much better athletic program.
Haith is not the right coach for this program. All the proof you need is to look at Miami this year.
KU and MU playing each other in hoops or football is like sex with the ex. Good at the time but leaves you with more regret, not less. Let it go.
To be sure following MU without KU in the mix is like watching Seinfeld, without Seinfeld. Gonna take some time, a long time, for them to rebuild rivalries and story lines that interest outsiders. All part of the growing pains everyone knew existed when they made the move. Should they regret the move? HELL NO!
Dear KK, Mizzou’s not coming back. Mizzou and it’s fans as a whole, have no DESIRE to come back. Get over it. Everything you thought or have said about realignment has been dead wrong. No one at Mizzou regrets a damn thing. The only people left with regret, are the jerkoffs down in Austin who are now only just beginning to realize how badly they f-ed up. Imagine the Big 12 with everyone on equal footing, rowing in the same direction, and looking to add Florida State and Clemson to the conference to round out at 14 teams. Then sneaking in and taking VaTech and NC State. You’d have a conference footprint from Colorado to the east coast!
Those silly tiggers still live vicariously through the Jayhawks. How sad.
your comment proves that you don’t care about mizzou too! the more ku fans talk about mizzou, the more it shows you are over them! the big 12 is stronger than ever!!!
I could care less if mu wins or loses any more. They are dead to me. I just find it amusing that you can’t quit KU!
It is clear that MU does indeed regret the move to SEC, as their obsession with everything KU is apparent. I also like how Greg thought Thomas Robinson was the most evil thug last year, for his poses and elbows to opponents, but Oriakhi’s punkness is good for Missouri in SEC games. Huh? Way to show some objectivity there…
BlackJ, I don’t know when or if I ever called TRob a thug or even wrote disparagingly about his rough play. On the contrary, I’ve always understood the role he played for Self’s teams and enjoyed watching him exert his manliness on the game. I like to have an enforcer like TRob or Ndamukong Suh on my team. Always have.