Mizzou News for Friday, July 23

We’ve Got Ourselves Some Real Star Power

The reviews are in from SEC Media Day y’all, and it appears our guys Eli Drinkwitz, Akial Byers and Case Cook earned rave reviews for their fits and their quotability. They looked the part and said all the right things, and it sounds like a great time was to be had by all. Here’s some highlights, and there were MANY:

The Style

• Let’s take a look at Drink’s retro Jordans, which BenFred said are the “Air Jordan 3 Retro Animal Instincts, which were originally sold for around $225, and are only available on resale sites nowadays. #Journalism”

• And Akial Byers was looking fresh in this suit. He even got a gif. And his coach’s approval. His mom helped him pick it out, FWIW.

• And let’s not forget about Case Cook, who debuted a nice mullet-free hairstyle. When asked why he got rid of party in the back, he gave this gem:

The Quotes

• Case Cook had what some were calling the quote of the day when talking about the possible additions of Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC.

• Who doesn’t love not-so-subtle Dan Mullen shade?

• On the playing in the SEC and what it has to offer:

• Tee hee.

• Drinkwitz impressed in his first SEC Media Day, oozing confidence, knowledge and charm, according to Kyle Jones of Trumans Tales.

“I don’t think there’s any trepidation or fear in who we are at Mizzou,” Drinkwitz said. “We have a lot of confidence in the preparation that we’ve put in. We have an edge about who we are, and we’re going to have an energy.”

The Media Reaction

• Love this. From a writer for the Tennessean:

• And so did Dave Matter, clearly.

• From CBS Sports’ Barrett Sallee, and a great response:

• From Saturday Down South writer, Adam Spencer, who loves his rankings:

You guys, I love this man. Drink is fiery and funny and determined and… all sorts of other positive adjectives. He’s the best. What a perfect leader for our program. Please never leave…

Onto the Links! They are super sized for a super sized football media day. Happy Opening Ceremonies!

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Yesterday at Rock M

• In a new fantastic BTBS pod, Nate & BK are joined by Michael Wayne Bratton of That SEC Podcast to chat about roster movement and realignment news. Have a listen!
• Kortay looked at how to replace Larry Three-Sticks, and attempted to figure out what will become of Tyler Badie’s role going forward. Really interesting stuff.
• IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Read Nate’s Florida Gators preview for the Dan Mullen takedown alone, but stay for the statistical analysis.
• COMING UP: BK writes about Connor Bazelak’s readiness to be QB1, and this weekend will have accompanying pieces talking about the possible conference realignment and its impact on football (by Parker, who is KILLING it) and hoops (by Sam).

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More Links:

Football

• Tyler Badie was named the AFCA Good Works Team Nominee, which “celebrates student-athletes with stories of exemplary community service, alongside their academic dedication and impact on and off the field.” In Tyler’s case, according to the MUTigers.com story, Tyler has totaled nearly 150 hours of community service during his time at Mizzou, spanning such activities as Mizzou Impact, Freshmen Move-In and the Susan G. Komen Race. WOW!
• Here’s a look at Case Cook’s media time, courtesy of 99.1 out of Nashville.

• St. Louis Post-Dispatch: In a new Eye on the Tigers podcast, Matter and BenFred chatted about how Mizzou (and SEC expansion) stole the SEC Media Days show. Matter wrote about how Drinkwitz shined on the SEC’s biggest stage, asked if the Sooners could replace the Hogs as the Tigers’ newest rival, and perhaps MOST IMPORTANTLY, shared Drinkwitz’s endorsement and encouragement of getting the Covid vaccine. BenFred said thanks to a smart move almost a decade ago, Mizzou gets to be a spectator in the conference realignment hoopla.
• KTRS, The Big Sports Show: Check out these interviews live from SEC Media Days with STL Today’s Ben Frederickson in hour 1 and with the man of the hour, Eliah Drinkwitz, in hour 2.

• Kansas City Star: Vahe Gregorian wrote about how Drink looked right at home, commanding the room at his first SEC Media Days. From the article, which is just a [chef’s kiss] beautifully stated piece of writing:

Then he seized the day as if he’d been here forever and had been formed out of this distinct culture, projecting a man entirely at ease in his own skin as he colorfully and nimbly addressed multiple issues of the day in his role as “a brand ambassador for the University of Missouri” … one who was clad in Tiger-styled Air Jordans to which SEC commissioner Greg Sankey referred in introducing him.

• Trumans Tales: In regards to the great “will they, won’t they (join the SEC)” debate, Kyle Jones told Texas they’ve got some nerve, blowing up the Big XII all those years ago, and now begging for admittance into the SEC.
• Saturday Down South: Adam Spencer told Lane Kiffin to move aside because Eli Drinkwitz is the new bad boy of the SEC. Michael Wayne Bratton wrote about the speculation of OU & UT joining the SEC, and Drink’s thoughts on “everybody wanting to play here,” while Keith Farner covered Drink’s statement on being “new money”, which keeps him from criticizing SEC refs.
• The Athletic ($$): Josh Kendall, G. Allan Taylor, Seth Emerson and Joe Rexrode participated in a Q&A about that whole Big XII debacle, asking who’s the biggest winner/loser, and how will divisions work?
• Columbia Tribune: Eric Blum wrote about vaccination rates and possible SEC expansion headline Mizzou’s appearance at SEC Media Days, as well sharing Drink’s super serious thoughts on a possible “Horns Down” penalty and about the rivalry with Arkansas. The site posted a video of Drink’s time in front of the camera, shared a photo gallery of the Tigers, and shared a video look at their schedule.
• Hmmm….. interesting.

Hoops

• It’s official! Men’s Hoops will be visiting Jacksonville in November! Perhaps my parents will plan a visit to see our mostly brand new squad in action. Click the link in the tweet for a bit more info.

• More BTS looks at Women’s Hoops video creation, coming to a scoreboard near you.

• Back to crootin!!!

Other Mizzou Sports, The Olympics

• Kyle Jones of Trumans Tales was back with a new post in his Summer of Swat series, looking at how Mizzou’s baseball team is doing in summer league.
• Way to go, Isabella!

• Men’s Golfer Jack Parker claimed the 2021 Missouri Stroke Play Championship. According to MUTigers.com, Parker shot a 12-under 272 to win the 24th Missouri Stroke Play Championship. Way to go, Jack!
• Best of luck to the four Tiger alums who will be competing in the Tokyo Olympics, which kick off this week. You can read all about Ian, Fabian, Mikel and Karissa at MUTigers.com.

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