By Austin Ward

​Last night was really fun for Mizzou baseball. Not just because they tail-whipped Missouri State, even though that was really fun too, but because they're playing good baseball at a good time. Coming off a series win over then 10th ranked Vanderbilt this past weekend and in an SEC East where 2-6 is separated by 2 games, it's a crucial time of year. 

If Mizzou were to make the tournament this year, Mizzou athletics would achieve a feat that's never been done before. According to Kendall Rogers at D1Baseball.com, Mizzou is safely in if the season ended today. It would be their first tournament appearance since 2012. 

So where does the history come in? Mizzou football made a bowl game in this academic year and men's and women's basketball made the NCAA tournament. If Mizzou baseball makes the tournament, it would be the first time in Mizzou history that all four teams achieved that feat in the same academic year. 

They've come close in the past, three times since 2004. Women's basketball was the only team to come up short in 2011-2012 and men's basketball came up short in 03-04 and 05-06. 

It's just a cool tid bit to show that Mizzou athletics is in a really good place right now. Both basketball teams should still be pretty good next year, Baseball is always competitive in a really tough conference, and Drew Lock is obviously going to win the Heisman next year. 

Here's to hoping Mizzou baseball finishes strong and helps the school make some history. 

By Alex Haddon

J’Mon Moore is going to be Missouri’s best chance of seeing a NFL rookie this year.

We’ve heard it a lot from the NFL Combine: He’s fast…..he’s fast…..he benched well….he’s fast.

No one in the NFL draft media mentions the drops that made us pull our hair out for most of the last two seasons.

Despite what Collin might have you believe, “Fucking” is not J’Mon Moore’s middle name, as the talented yet frustrating receiver led us to fill our swear jar. The wide receiving speedster dropped the ball routinely when even the likes of Josh Henson could tell you that getting a first down or even a touchdown seemed like a better option.

One particular Washington Redskins SBNation post made it glaringly obvious the writer hadn’t seen any Tiger games all year. The headline? “J’Mon Moore is a tough, tenacious, red zone threat the Redskins could use."

Although the writer managed to post the stats, they weren’t exactly in-depth. Yes, he led the team in receiving yards, in touchdowns, and looked like a hero sometimes, but he only had three games in 2017 where he had over 100 yards receiving – and two of those were training-wheels FCS defenses, and the other one was Arkansas. That’s a step down from six 100-yard receiving games in 2016, including three in a row to end the season (and an amazing catch against Georgia).

As for strengths, the article says that Moore has “excellent size, strength and toughness, a great blocker, scared the hell out of defenses, and” (here’s the one we can only assume is comedy) “a natural hands catcher.”

But here were his weaknesses... and boy, there were some glaring ones. “Can get a step ahead of himself before completely hauling in a pass leading to drops”….”Ball security needs monitoring” and thirdly “Can he handle a complex workload?”

So if we’re to sum up him up in this article, he’s quick, but he drops the ball a ton because he overruns it, or perhaps because he has Trumpian hands. But the most stinging criticism: The SBNation writer questions whether he’s bright enough to take on a difficult workload.

Even the NFL scouts ask him about why he’s been so awful at catching a football. “I’ve just been asked about my eyes, and why I’m always taking them off the ball before the ball gets there,” he told the Kansas City Star at the Senior Ball. In other words, he was asked: “Hey, you’re really quick. How in the hell do you manage to drop the ball so many times, and why should we draft you when you’ll do it over and over again and you’ll be out of the league in two years?”

What’s so frustrating is that Moore can make some spectacular plays, and he definitely has the talent. If he can actually catch the ball, he could well make a difference in the NFL.

If he doesn’t, he won’t last training camp.

Basketball is over. It's football recruiting quiet time. Jontay is set to head to the NBA. The Black and Gold game is a week away. If you're a fan of Mizzou Sports, this time of year is just the worst. There are no games (apologies to the baseball team which is kicking ass right now BTW), and even off the field news is sparse.

It's time to look past the Spring which continues to be late in its arrival anyway, and take stock of where our beloved Tigers will be on September 1st when they march back in to what's left of Memorial Stadium mid-renovation. The good news is ... that there is actually good news.

Drew Lock's decision to return to Mizzou for his senior season, continues to be the most important off-season development for this team. The veteran QB will contribute a vital level of consistency for what has been a very potent offense, and gives Barry Odom an additional year to find the next great arm the Tigers and all college football teams are in constant search of.

There has been some concern about who Lock will be throwing to this season, but early reports are that the receiving corps is looking sharp. There are 12 wide receivers on the Tigers' and four tight ends on the spring roster. Emmanuel Hall and Johnathan Johnson are experienced and ready to become leaders, and Albert O has already become one. Along with that, the Mizzou coaches' annual tradition of telling us how good Nate Brown is looking and then refusing to play him, has begun. We're reasonably confident that Lock will find targets in 2018.

On the ground, the Tigers look equally primed for success. Damarea Crockett and Larry Rountree III have been giving SEC defenses fits, and now that Ish Witter has completed his 16 seasons on the Mizzou roster, they'll have even more opportunities to bulldoze linebackers.

Defensively, we are so happy to see Terry Beckner Jr. return. We still have no idea why he didn't bolt for the NFL, but he'll be as needed now as he's ever been. Barry Odom has never quite gotten it right on defense, but having an NFL caliber lineman leading the squad is a great place to start. The big question is who else on this defense will make a star of himself? The secondary was just awful last season so we don't lament the departures of our seniors as much as some. We have a lot of warm bodies, but will any of them stand out? Who the hell knows. Anybody who tells you they do is full of it. 

ESPN recently projected the Tigers to have seven wins this season, and honestly, that seems about right. We get to play Alabama in Tuscaloosa this year (whoopie) and Georgia looks to be as good as any Georgia team we've ever faced. We do get the opportunity to correct some unforced errors we made last season by taking on Purdue again, and hopefully by treating Kentucky like the doormat that they are, for once. But the Florida, Arkansas, Tennessee matchups are as much a crap shoot as they ever are. 

One interesting matchup on the schedule is Barry Odom's old employer, Memphis. They were a bit of a steamroller last year going 10-3 and winning the AAC. We've lost to much worse non-conference foes, so this one scares me a bit. Outperforming the ESPN expectations might just hinge on Barry sticking it to his old team. 

Until then, get yourself a warm parka and head up that big ass hill to Taylor Stadium to watch Steve Bieser's new and improved baseball team. They took two out of three from a very good Auburn team a week ago and if they can keep it rolling, may find themselves back in the post-season soon. God, let's hope so. September seems a long way away.