I'm not exactly an Illini fan, but the spine-challenged at the University of Illinois are circling the wagons after a small, but vocal group has protested the use of Chief Illiniwek. Apparently he offends some native Americans. I guess I'd understand if the Chief were mocking Indian tradition, but he is actually a tribute to the heritage in Illinois which, by the way, is named after the Illini tribe. So I guess my point is the mere reference to someone's ethnicity is not racism and certainly a tribute to their ethnicity isn't, either. Someone, somewhere will always be offended by something, no matter how innoncuous. If they're the litmus test, then let's just all get neutered and get it over with.

She wears earrings in both ears, stands 6'7"/187 pounds, made second team all state and won the Miss Washington pageant with a butt-shaking rendition of "It's Raining Men". Welcome to the Big 12, Ms. Downs.

Send your favorite beak this Bucknell wallpaper. Click for larger image:

Thanks for your support in my endeavor to jinx the beaks by donning a KU icon the past two weeks. As the days wore on, my resolve was at times shakey. But I've never felt such a sense of satisfaction as when Simien's shot clanked off the front of the rim and I collapsed into my easy chair. I reflected for a moment, then peeled off the KU logo like a soiled diaper. I then passed out from exhaustion on the floor amid cheetoes and empty cans of diet Coke. The Curse of Kitty Caverns will haunt KU forever or until I can think of some dramatic, unlikely series of events.

Kitty Caverns is open for business. A permanent link is at the bottom of the page.

After a few games of smart ball that resulted in some success, Quin's Tigers once again resorted to YMCA ball, chucking up 25 threes. Quin's response? "We're not tough enough." This has nothing to do with toughness. Thomas Gardner, Jimmy McKinney, Jason Conley, Linas Kleiza, et al are all competitors. They don't lack heart. What they lack is leadership from their coach.

For obvious reasons.

Well, I've been pretty hard on Quin and still have plenty of things to say about his tenure at Mizzou. But, I have to tip my hat to their performance at the end of the season. The Tigers finally started playing smart basketball, getting to the hole and moving the ball effectively. A few weeks ago I said that Horton was the key to the rest of this season. Unfortunately, it appears that was true, only the key was to not play him. This summer Horton needs to learn that the role of the point guard is simple: create opportunities for your teammates. Oh, and never ever ever EVER turn the ball over, take a bad shot or dribble for no good reason. Essentially Horton needs focus and discipline. In his few minutes on the floor today, he got a technical which led to another technical. Keep in mind Mizzou lost by just a few.

We will miss Jason Conley who I think never flourished under Quin. He was underutilized and never became the leader he could have been. That showed at the end of this season where he finally stepped up. Next year, Gardner and McKinney have to take that role from day one. Quin needs to keep his bench short until his team gels. I think part of the problem the last couple of years is he wants to play 10 players. Play 6 or at most 7 until they are seasoned, then ease in the new guys. While I think next year's team will lack a lot of talent, the Tigers showed recently they can compete with what they have.

Forget about the blown 17 point lead. You can expect that with a shaky team like the Tigers. What I liked about the game today is that Gardner and Conley took the ball inside. Mizzou had 20 points in the paint. Nebraska had 8. NU played a much larger lineup, but no matter, Mizzou simply has to take the ball to the hole and create high percentage shots. Once that starts clicking, the wide open threes will follow. With 17 three point attempts, the Tigers seem to be getting the idea.

That about does it for this update.

Just in time for the tournament. As usual. Check the Choke Risk Advisory for updates.

Okay, here are some links that I get asked about CONSTANTLY:

Dooling Dunks (it was not a charge)
Mizzou goes 14-0 vs. Nebraska (a big download, 11 megs)
Roy Williams doesn't give a ...
Paulding tea bags a K-State player
Paulding's tomahawk versus Ohio State

One of the all time best Big 12 tournament moments thus far came in 2003 when Kansas State's Pervis Pasco intercepted a Colorado inbounds pass with 1.8 seconds to go in the game and Colorado down. Thinking he had sealed the victory, Pervis took off running with the ball tucked under his arm, pumping his fist. Unfortunately, that's called travelling in basketball. CU got the ball back and banked in a miraculous, game winning shot. Long live Pervis Pasco.

Without question, this year's team, like every Quin Snyder team before it, underachieved. Undisciplined street ball, wild three pointers, turnovers and disappearing players are the norm under Snyder. But like Mizzou's run to the Elite Eight a few years ago, this team has a chance to run the Big 12 tournament and get into the NCAA tournament and prove something. Mizzou proved yesterday that it has the talent to compete at a high level. Where has McKinney, Gardner and Conley been all season? Why has it taken Quin Snyder this long to figure out that Jason Horton doesn't have a grasp of what it means to be a point guard?

No matter, Mizzou's season begins Thursday. Harsh as it sounds, Snyder has too long of a track record of just this type of season to be patient and forgiving. Without a 4-0 run this weekend, this season gets a solid F. Make a 4 game run and win 2 or 3 in the tournament and it moves up to the D+/C- range and Quin has a straight faced argument that he should keep his job. The key is to shorten the bench and demand more out of his key players. McKinney, Gardner and Conley all have the talent to dominate a game, but not from the three point line.

Yesterday, Mizzou went 0-8 in the second half from three. We mercifully limited the three point attempts to 18 versus the usual 26+. Nearly half of the shot attempts in the second half were three pointers. Thus, we blew a huge lead in a very Quin-like fashion. However, we got to the line 34 times. Despite being thin down low, Snyder needs to realize we are not going to win jacking up 26+ threes per game. Ever. It's about breaking down the defense with guard play and creating high percentage shots and getting to the line.

Kevin Slaten of KFNS dramatically announced on air yesterday that Quin Snyder would be resigning at the end of the season and taking a job as an assistant with the Denver Nuggets. This news attracted so much attention he wound up being interviewed on air by Kevin Keitzman in Kansas City on 810 am. Slaten wouldn't name his sources, but said he had three and that they were all coaches.

That was yesterday. I also predicted that he would eventually deny ever saying this. Not quite 24 hours that's precisely what has happened. Slaten is nuancing what he said as not a report, but a possible scenario. Interesting. Why that scenario and not, say, a scenario where Snyder sprouts wings and flys in circles? Slaten can call it whatever he wants. The fact is he went public with what he believed was good information on Snyder's future and backed it up with his anonymous sources. Now he doesn't have the nads to stand behind his statement. Can you say pathological?