I'm not really sure where the controversy is regarding Coach Anderson's decision to suspend half the team for team rules violations. I know some believe that the wayward players are a reflection of their coach. I don't really think so.

Compare this to the Quin Snyder era. (Uh oh, he's bringing up Quin.) It wasn't so much that Quin had player issues so much as Quin had Quin issues. His responses to problems were anything from weird to really weird. My problem with Quin was he was flakey when it came to running the program.

Contrast that with Mike Anderson. Coach Anderson, that is. I'm not saying he's a great or even a good coach. I don't know, yet. But I'm pretty comfortable with the idea that he's a principled, no b.s. kind of man. I think it's a rare and admirable thing that he would put his record (and thus his job) on the line by taking such dramatic action. How many coaches would have swept this under the rug?

Coach, all of the staff here at missouritigers.com, our vast empire of t-shirts, coffee mugs and trucker hats applaude you.

I would so play tonight. I'll pay my way to get to the arena. Here are my stats in Rec League Glory basketball:

5'11"
41 years old
200 lbs (inclusive)
7 inch vertical
I once made a three point shot in a game

At a minimum, I can be the guy on the end of the bench whose shorts are a little too tight and has a mustache.

Thank you for the memories, Coach Smith. My thoughts and prayers go out to the Smith family.

I'm hearing word that Larry Smith's health is failing. I really like Larry and credit him for pulling Missouri football out of the ashes.

I remember very well listening to Missouri become bowl eligible on the radio as I sat in a parking lot after dominating Colorado in Boulder. It was a typical overcast, dreary day in Missouri, but the feeling was pure magic. I remember the music (Step by Step, or something like that), Mike Kelley being overcome with emotion and just sitting there in disbelief that we had actually done it. I remember the full house, the old gold pants, Brock Olivo's crazy leg scamper versus Nebraska, Corby Jones' bloody nose, Larry Smith's tear, time of possession at Boulder, Devin West destroying KU and so many other things that were all so special after years of failure.

Godspeed, Coach.

I have to clear something up. By the way, this is one of those really rare serious posts. When I mentioned Mike Alden's name below, it was simply with respect to the timeline of events. Since the little media blitz last week, he's taken a beating. Mike was simply the fortuitous (un-fortuitous) recipient of my inquiry. I have no idea what his role is at this point with the domain name saga if any at all. What I do know is he wasn't part of the demand letter sent to me and wasn't aware that it even went out.

I realize that I'm sacrificing field position here, but it's not and has never been my desire to get in a tiff with Mizzou and I find this sequence of events unfortunate. Now go away or I'll taunt you a second time.

It needs cheap crap to wear and put on their walls. Do you know how long it takes a working man to save thirteen dollars? Just remember this, Mizzou, that this rabble you're talking about... they do most of the working and paying and living and dying in this community. Well, is it too much to have them work and pay and live and die in a classic thong and a trucker hat? Anyway, I don't think so. People are human beings to me. But to you, a warped, frustrated old university, they're cattle. This town needs this measly, one-horse institution if only to have someplace where people can come without crawling to Potter...er...Brady Commons.

Okay, enough of this nonsense. Mizzou has dropped their claim and I'm dropping my prices. I'm having a $70,000 off sale on all merchandise.

The following have been used by bloggers, reporters, etc.:

Lazano
Fazano
Lazono
Lorazo
Ladano
Ladoro

Read the article here!

In an effort to further distinguish this website from the official mutigers.com, I have re-designed the missouritigers.com logo to make it different from the official Mizzou logo beyond all conceivable doubt. I'm not sure what the third ear is about. I'll leave that to the philosophers and poets. I also misspelled the domain name just to illustrate my own self-loathing.

Since I reopened the store, I know that they are huddling together in Atlanta and in Columbia trying to figure out how much I'm diverting from the Mizzou coffers. As of 4 hours back into the t-shirt and trincket business, I'm still without a single sale. Sure, I've marked up all items $70,000 and some might see that as a poor public relations and business move. On the other hand, I operate under two conflicting theories: 1. dumber people have made more money than me; and 2. I can make a living if I sell just one thing that's really overpriced. I have a third theory that says conflicting theories are compatible.

Listen here.

I'm hearing through reporters that I agreed to take down the missouritigers.com cafepress store permanently and Mizzou is satisfied with it. The only problem is it's not true. I agreed to take it down pending a resolution. The other weird thing is aside from the initial letter and subsequent short phone conversation, I haven't heard from CLC or Mizzou, but I'm reading about our agreement in the paper.

So as you can see below, the store is back up and better than ever. Since Mizzou agrees that this domain name is mine, then I'll do whatever I please. After all, this is still America, land of opportunity and profits.

Now that I have your attention, I can return to exploiting. Go to the store!

According to an article in the Columbia Tribune, Mizzou is satisfied that I have removed the cafepress.com store and considers the matter closed. I think this makes me angrier than any conceivable thing they could have said or done. I was prepared to take a stand against the university...to make a stand for the little guy and to carve out my legacy forever. For the past week I have imagined my wikipedia page chronicling my defiance. Now they just want to walk away and deny me martyr status? I say not so fast. I won't be denied my gold star. Developing...

Read the article here.

Read it here.

Listen here at 3:30 today!

I alluded to some of the history of missouritigers.com. Here's a more thorough review.

Back in 2001, I registered missouritigers.com when the previous owner let it lapse. I can't remember who it was, but it wasn't the University of Missouri. On June 27, 2001, I sent the following email to Missouri Athletic Director Mike Alden:

Dear Mike:

I wasn't sure who to contact, but I noticed that the domain name
'missouritigers.com' had recently lapsed and registered it. I'd like to
transfer it to the University. Do you know who should I contact?
Thanks.

[my signature block]

On June 28, 2001, he responded as follows:

You will need to contact Lori Croy of our Public Affairs area at Mizzou.
Thanks.

That same day, I sent the following email to Ms. Croy:

Dear Lori:

I own 'missouritigers.com', which came available recently. I registered it and want to transfer it to the University. I'd just like my out of pocket expenses covered (registration fee, transfer fee). That should be around $50 total. Thanks.

[my signature block]

Ms. Croy never responded.

Over the next 7 years, I blogged at this domain name and occasionally received feedback directly from the Athletic Department. It was primarily satire and some commentary. The layout and graphics have always been comically crude and ridiculous. The Kitty logo is the product of me pretending to have an early draft of the then new Mizzou logo...the very definition of satire.

Back during the Bill Laurie donation controversy, I made a freedom of information request for the contract itself and published it along with commentary (negative). My brother who was a significant Tiger Scholarship Fund donor at the time received a phone call from the AD's office asking him to ask me to back off. Apparently my commentary was riling up donors. I had occasional contact with both Mike Alden and Mike Kelly over the years and sometimes used 'missouritigers.com' in my signature, including an October 19, 2001 email exchange I had with Alden regarding a television contract.

In other words, Mike Alden was more than aware of missouritigers.com. He was offered it for free, blew that off and was apparently even a reader of this website.

Fast forward seven years. Mizzou finally gets around to trademarking the phrase 'Missouri Tigers', several years after I registered the domain name. They then sent their trademark enforcement work to The Collegiate Licensing Company who promptly sends me this letter accusing me of violating Mizzou's trademark, diluting their name, etc. and threatening legal action if I don't release the domain name to them immediately. That's a heck of a way to treat a guy who proactively tried to give the school the domain name seven years earlier and a heck of a way to start discussions. Shoot first, ask questions later.

I won't bore you with legalities, but suffice it to say I feel pretty comfortable. But let's look at just one legal issue: consumer confusion. Mizzou argues that I'm confusing consumers into thinking they're buying official University of Missouri merchandise through this website. Take a look at this place. It's a blank white background with some text. Take a look at the Kitty logo. Find me the person who thinks this is the official Mizzou website. I'd like to have a beer with him.

However, legal arguments aren't the issue. The issue here is intimidation. It's about shock and awe. Mizzou's tactic is to bully me into acquiescence. That's a shame, because I don't respond very well to intimidation. I wish I were more of a pushover. It would save me a lot of time, money and aggravation, but I'm not.

And since when did Mizzou get tough? Maybe they should outsource their tough guy work the next time a coach needs firing so they won't wait three years too long.

How about Mizzou's donors? How would they feel about their donation dollars going to shake down a guy who tried to give Mizzou a domain name without so much as the courtesy of a phone call? They might believe the name is theirs, but I have my own strong legal arguments to say it's mine. That doesn't mean that had they approached me, I wouldn't have found a way to get them the name. After all, Mizzou is my alma mater and I'm a big enough fan that I have a Mizzou fan blog. I love Mizzou. Not so much the current regime, though.

You see, this isn't about legalities. Mizzou didn't have the decency or courtesy to start a dialogue. They shoved me up against the locker and demanded my milk money. They're treating me like a criminal when I'm the one who approached them. Acting indignant seven years after the fact is unpersuasive.

My suggestion to the decision makers reading this blog is to deescalate things. Your m.o. is unproductive. In fact, as a measure of good faith, (thanks to a friend who made me aware), I'm going to point out to Mizzou that you fellas let mizzouarena.com lapse back in November. I certainly would hate to see it fall into the hands of a Beaker like paigearena.com did.

Labels: missouritigers.com

So if you read below and you read the letter, you'll see that the University of I Can't Say Their Name for Fear of Violating Something wants me to hand over missouritigers.com. If I do so, they won't sue me out of existence. Their reasoning? This website is diluting their good name. I can kind of see that. I often embarrass myself and wish at times I could stand away from me.

That being said, I'm not all that adverse to negotiating a settlement. Here are my terms:

• Every February 5th is Iam4Mizzou Day at the University of Missouri. This will be recognized officially and an email will be sent out from the chancellor's office wishing everyone Happy Iam4Mizzou Day with adequate enthusiasm. When asked about the meaning of this day, officials are to defensively respond "no comment" and change the subject.
  
  
• New president Gary Forsee will use the word "thunderdome" in his next press conference in a confusing, inappropriate way.
  
  
• The three university amigos cc'd on the cease and desist letter will be photographed together wearing missouritigers.com Kitty logo shirts. I said Kitty™ logo All Rights Reserved Property of ME.
  
  
• I get to take a half court shot at a men's basketball game for absolutely no reason.
  
  
• I get to drive the Mizzou helmet car through campus recklessly and will run over a variety of bushes in a wanton fashion.
  
  
• I will get a gold star with Iam4Mizzou on it on a bathroom stall at Faurot.
  
  

Read the actual letter I received here.

There are a few funny things to note in their letter. Notice the Mangino picture. He's rounder than the Orange Bowl mascot. Second, CLC accuses me of operating a commercial website. However, notice the cafepress.com printout that says "wholesale prices". Whoops. It's hard to make a profit when you're not marking up merchandise.

"People ask us how we make money. The answer: volume." --Citiwide Bank of Change

Well, I did a little legal research. After all, I am a lawyer. There's some good stuff in those books. Lanham Act non-commercial use exemption, laches, lack of consumer confusion, etc. Some really interesting stuff in those books. By books, I mean my laptop.

I'm a Missouri fan. I have a Missouri blog. You're reading it. Around 8 years ago I noticed that this domain name had expired and the previous owner hadn't picked it up. So I registered it. In good faith, I emailed Mike Alden and offered it to the University for free. He referred me to some woman in public relations who never responded to me. With a clear conscience, I began using it solely as a point of amusement for me and tens of my closest friends. The Kitty logo you see is an inside joke that stems from the rampant speculation regarding what the new Mizzou logo would look like. I created the Kitty after 12 minutes of grueling work and the rest is history.

Today I received a letter from Mizzou demanding that I give them missouritigers.com and to cease and desist sales of Kitty merchandise. No one called. No one sent a letter raising the issue. They just fired this salvo at me, a Mizzou fan with a blog.

A lot of people have enjoyed missouritigers.com. At one time back in 2001-2002, it got quite a bit of traffic. For about 5 years, it sat mostly unused. I started blogging again just recently and briefly in the fall during football season. missouritigers.com content got sent all over the internet because it was original and funny (if I should say so myself). Fans of other schools ate it up. I'm not saying I'm the best ambassador for Mizzou, but I'm a guy you won't mind having on your side.

So what about actual commercial sites? I won't mention other fan sites because I don't want to be seen as drawing attention, but do a Google search for 'Mizzou', 'Missouri Tigers', etc. and you'll find plenty of activity regarding Missouri athletics. Seems like the University would see that as a mostly positive thing.

Now I can start researching trademark law, get familiar with the various aspects of laches, fair use, parody, etc., but I'm not interested in any of that. If Mizzou wants this domain name, it's theirs. I really don't care. But I'm making this information public so you know a little bit more about who's running the show at Mizzou. Missouri has a history of cannibalism. They ran Spider off of the sidelines. They yanked the 'MU' from the smokestacks. They changed the name to UMC. They threw Norm under the bus. This isn't a surprising move.

Congratulations, Missouri, on defeating a friend to the University.