Fire Coach Stinkle, Coach Q, and The Man!

Does anyone remember why Mizzou Athletic Director Mike Alden fired head football coach Larry Smith? Remember Smith leading the Tigers to their first winning season in over 10 years? He led them to two bowl games. He led them to their first bowl win in almost 20 years. And then he lost the Homecoming game in 2000 to Kansas. He was fired at the end of the season. Many felt like Alden used losing to KU as an excuse to fire Smith so that he could hire his own man, Gary Pinkel. Smith may have only won 26 games in his five years here, but his predecessor Bob Stull only managed 15 wins in five years. In fact, he won more games than the previous two coaches. Prior to coming to Missouri, Smith was the head coach of the USC Trojans and led them to a victory in the Rose Bowl. That's not a bad resume. Gary Pinkel has accumulated only 22 wins in his five years here. If MU wins against Colorado, K-State, Baylor, and a bowl opponent he will only manage to tie Larry Smith statistically. He has never won a bowl game, much less the Grandaddy of them all, the Rose Bowl. So, to be fair to Coach Smith and the Mizzou fans, if Gary Pinkel loses one more game this year he should be fired. Pinkel's teams have lost three straight years to archrival Kansas. That is enough of an excuse to get rid of him. The following link is to a story that sums up the MU-KU story nicely. http://http://www.810whb.com/scripts/archives/getStory.asp?article=11160 Its hard to find a less inventive offense than Gary Pinkel's. Yes, he has won against Nebraska twice, but if you watched those games you know that Brad Smith played two of the greatest games in Mizzou history to win those games. Little credit can go to Pinkel for calling "Quarterback Scramble" 50 times a game.

As far as basketball is concerned, this will be the 100th year of MU hoops. Let the celebration begin. It will be another nightmare year for Coach Snyder. He has a team of nobodys, lingering effects from being placed on NCAA probation for rules violations, and a knack for missing the NCAA Tournement. As soon as this season is over, he will be fired. Alden forced legendary coach Norm Stewart out in order to bring in his own man. That strategy just doesn't seem to be working for the athletic director. If the MU Board of Curators is interested in improving the althletic department while raising ticket prices, parking pass prices, and tuition every year, then they will have to make a radical change. Mike Alden will have to pack his bags while helping Pinkel and Snyder pack theirs, too. Winning isn't everything, but when it costs more each year to attend the University and watch Mizzou sports, AND the University is in the middle of a fund-raising initiative to raise ONE BILLION DOLLARS from private contributions to improve the school, is it too much to ask for a winning program with real leadership?

Happy Halloween

The 2005 holiday season officially begins Monday night with Halloween. "Is Halloween really a part of the Holidays?" you ask. Just go to Wal-mart for your answer. When we looked at costumes for Alex, we found Christmas decorations FIRST! But I'm not complaining. I would keep our house decorated for Christmas all year if Bethany would let me. In our society, people wait for an excuse to act concerned for one another. Whether its reaction to a hurricane or the arrival of Christmas, we act nicer to each other and let our guard down a little during designated times of goodwill toward man. I include Halloween in that category. Parents go trick-or-treating with their kids, people have parties, mass quantities of seasonal treats are consumed. Most people consider Thanksgiving the official start of the holiday season. Not me. Its Halloween for sure. This year, Alex is going to be Batman. Last year he was a Spiderman Cowboy. He got a lot of points for originality. Because he toned it down this year, I will be taking up the slack for him. I will be Garth Raider (Darth Vader). Black cowboy hat, belt, and boots; Darth Vader mask, light saber, and cape; and Oakland Raiders shirt, pants, and jacket. Bethany will be masquerading as an embarrassed wife. We'll be sure to take lots of pictures!

Flying Pigs

Forgive me Father, it has been five days since my last blog entry. (I'm not Catholic, so that is as close to a confessional as I will get.) Since I last blogged, the Tigers beat Nebraska, the White Sox won the World Series, and pigs began to fly. Who would have bet that in back-to-back years, a "cursed" baseball team that hasn't won a World Series in decades and who has the word "Sox" in its name would sweep a team from the National League Central? What are the odds? What are the odds that the Missouri Tigers would beat the Nebraska Cornhuskers 41 to 24 the past two times the teams played at Faurot Field (the only two wins Mizzou has posted against the Huskers in decades)? Have we stepped into the Twilight Zone? What's next? Will the Chiefs win the Superbowl? Will the Democrats win the White House? Will I ever get a job?! Not likely, but it is the prospect of doing the improbable that makes life interesting. Afterall, if we know who will win or what the outcome will be, why would we bother to watch? Isn't that why you keep reading this blog?!

"The Journal" Resurrected

Bill "Mr. Technology" Herrin has done it! He has published The Journal of our 1993 road trip to Vegas on a weblog for all the world to enjoy. It is 47 pages long, so you may want to read a page or two per day, or you may become so enthralled by the drama that you will want to read it from start to finish. Just click on the link to the right of this blog called "Bill and Trav's Excellent Adventure". Click a page to enlarge the photo. Once it is loaded you can move the pointer to it and click on the enlarging tool that pops up to make it appear in its original size (much easier to read). Feel free to post comments and forward the link to everyone you know. "Wait'll they get a load of us...Wait'll!"

Bill and Trav's Excellent Adventure

For those of you who have followed "The Life and Times of Travis Naughton and Bill Herrin" over the past 20 or so years, you may remember an epic road trip that Bill and I went on back in 1993. We chronicled our adventures in a notebook that we called "The Journal". Over the years, the Journal has deteriorated (as have Bill and I), so we decided to preserve it in a permanent format. In the next few days, Bill will have scanned and published all 47 pages of the Journal to a new blog for all the world to enjoy. You will be able to click a link on my blog to access the site. So stay tuned for the launch of the "Virtual Journal" and be sure to tell your friends. They'll be glad you did.