Another great read, Mark. Even before seeing this piece, I have long thought that when it comes to the conundrum in major college sports of schools that has suffered the most heartbreaks, unfulfilled hopes and strange occurrences related to inexplicable losses, Missouri has to take the cake. Not just for football but for men's basketball as well.
You certainly know how in golf, writers and fans have long toyed at any given time with the storyline of best golfer never to win a major, I would put Norm Stewart in the final four of best Division I coaches never able to get his team to the Final Four. That includes something like 17 or 18 seasons where his teams won 20 or more games --usually playing a max total of 35 games overall in a season, where teams now routinely play 35 or more as long as they make it to the post season -- and yet no Final Fours and, in his case, too many first-round losses. A bunch of them.
Your mention of Sam Horn brought to my mind at least (I'm a lifelong Red Sox fan -- albeit quietly while a sportswriter to include a few years covering the Texas Rangers) another Sam Horn (a Dallas native, no less, Mark) arguably one of the top-five balleyhooed players ever drafted by the Red Sox. I wonder if Mizzou's Sam Horn is any relation. Anyway, that Sam Horn's ultimately brief MLB career was besieged by defensive flaws and other bad tidings, although he managed to club an eye-opening 62 career homers in 1,040 AB's. Not exactly to be confused with Aaron Judge, but still a footnote-worthy mention in my little corner of your world.
One last quick aside about "my" Sam Horn. He will (hopefully) celebrate his 60th birthday, which is coming up on Nov. 2. I mention that because two days later, on Nov. 4, your Tigers will play current No. 1 Georgia., and I have a new nickname ready to bestow on your OC should Mizzou do the possibly thinkable and not only beat the 'Dawgs, but roll up some decent numbers on offense in the game: Kirby "Moore-Smart".
By the way, note my use of the verb "clubbed" to describe Horn's hitting of home runs. I have always loved the various terms and cliches sportswriters -- especially 50-plus years ago -- have used in their stories to shoehorn a little variety into their pieces. One of my favorites is exactly what I just mentioned, verbs to describe hitting HR's, giving us descriptions such as "the Bash Brothers." But my favorite of all time was on the back of a Topps baseball card, circa 1968. I'm talking about Pete Ward, primarily a corner INF during his 9-year MLB career, mostly with the White Sox. I'll never forget this: the back of Ward;'s card that year included the observation: "Pete walloped 18 home runs for the Chisox last season," maybe not quite verbatim, but I know "walloped" was included. Pretty dramatic way to describe a 18-HR season for a guy who hit fewer than 100 total in his career (98 actually). This has nothing to do with Mizzou, but I've always wanted to use "wallop" somehow, someplace in retelling that story.
Terrific summation. Your headline can apply to so many different aspects of that game. For me, the disgusting treatment of Cook before he took a snap, and his heartbreaking comments about it afterwards, really took some of the shine off the win. Students ought to be rallying on campus today and raising NIL money to apologize to a kid who, on one leg, won a game his classmates didn't even want him to play.
Another great read, Mark. Even before seeing this piece, I have long thought that when it comes to the conundrum in major college sports of schools that has suffered the most heartbreaks, unfulfilled hopes and strange occurrences related to inexplicable losses, Missouri has to take the cake. Not just for football but for men's basketball as well.
You certainly know how in golf, writers and fans have long toyed at any given time with the storyline of best golfer never to win a major, I would put Norm Stewart in the final four of best Division I coaches never able to get his team to the Final Four. That includes something like 17 or 18 seasons where his teams won 20 or more games --usually playing a max total of 35 games overall in a season, where teams now routinely play 35 or more as long as they make it to the post season -- and yet no Final Fours and, in his case, too many first-round losses. A bunch of them.
Your mention of Sam Horn brought to my mind at least (I'm a lifelong Red Sox fan -- albeit quietly while a sportswriter to include a few years covering the Texas Rangers) another Sam Horn (a Dallas native, no less, Mark) arguably one of the top-five balleyhooed players ever drafted by the Red Sox. I wonder if Mizzou's Sam Horn is any relation. Anyway, that Sam Horn's ultimately brief MLB career was besieged by defensive flaws and other bad tidings, although he managed to club an eye-opening 62 career homers in 1,040 AB's. Not exactly to be confused with Aaron Judge, but still a footnote-worthy mention in my little corner of your world.
One last quick aside about "my" Sam Horn. He will (hopefully) celebrate his 60th birthday, which is coming up on Nov. 2. I mention that because two days later, on Nov. 4, your Tigers will play current No. 1 Georgia., and I have a new nickname ready to bestow on your OC should Mizzou do the possibly thinkable and not only beat the 'Dawgs, but roll up some decent numbers on offense in the game: Kirby "Moore-Smart".
By the way, note my use of the verb "clubbed" to describe Horn's hitting of home runs. I have always loved the various terms and cliches sportswriters -- especially 50-plus years ago -- have used in their stories to shoehorn a little variety into their pieces. One of my favorites is exactly what I just mentioned, verbs to describe hitting HR's, giving us descriptions such as "the Bash Brothers." But my favorite of all time was on the back of a Topps baseball card, circa 1968. I'm talking about Pete Ward, primarily a corner INF during his 9-year MLB career, mostly with the White Sox. I'll never forget this: the back of Ward;'s card that year included the observation: "Pete walloped 18 home runs for the Chisox last season," maybe not quite verbatim, but I know "walloped" was included. Pretty dramatic way to describe a 18-HR season for a guy who hit fewer than 100 total in his career (98 actually). This has nothing to do with Mizzou, but I've always wanted to use "wallop" somehow, someplace in retelling that story.
Terrific summation. Your headline can apply to so many different aspects of that game. For me, the disgusting treatment of Cook before he took a snap, and his heartbreaking comments about it afterwards, really took some of the shine off the win. Students ought to be rallying on campus today and raising NIL money to apologize to a kid who, on one leg, won a game his classmates didn't even want him to play.
seems like a good time to be a tiger! MIZ
Great read 👌👌