College Football

Looking at Mizzou's New Offensive Coordinator

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. Or pretty close to the same, anyway. So it goes in Columbia, where Gary Pinkel, following the resignation of Dave Yost as offensive coordinator after a very, very disappointing season for the formerly high-flying Missouri offense, has decided to promote ... More >>

The Future of James Franklin -- And the Tigers

So this past weekend, the Missouri Tigers lost a football game. Again. It's become kind of rote this season; Tigers play SEC team, Tigers lose to SEC team. To say the program simply wasn't ready for the level of competition in the nation's toughest conference may be partially accurate, but also over ... More >>

Are the Missouri Tigers Good Enough for the SEC?

This weekend, the Missouri Tigers will travel to South Florida, to take on the Knights of Central Florida. It will be a tough test for Mizzou on the road, as UCF is by no means a pushover team. In fact, they're exactly the sort of non-conference team the Tigers should be playing as they attempt to m ... More >>

The Tigers Fall to the Bulldogs -- And to the Tigers

It was the beginning of a new era in Missouri Tigers football on Saturday, and for awhile it looked as if it was going to be a bright start to the future. For roughly 40 minutes -- maybe even 45 -- the Tigers played the Georgia Bulldogs close. Last year's SEC East champions looked every bit as fast ... More >>

Three Keys to Victory: Missouri Tigers vs Georgia Bulldogs, 8th September 2012

The new age of Mizzou football is very nearly upon us; in just a couple hours the Tigers will take on the Georgia Bulldogs for just the second time in school history as they officially open up their very first Southeastern Conference schedule. On the surface, this game looks like a mismatch: th ... More >>

Lessons From the Tigers' Opening Game

Over the weekend, the Missouri Tigers opened their 2012 season by beating up the Southeastern Louisiana Sacrificial- er, um, Lions 62-10. It was pretty much everything you could have hoped for out of an opening night performance: the Tigers won and nobody got hurt. The problem with trying to re ... More >>

Missouri Tigers: Five Names to Watch This Fall

The Missouri Tigers will open their 2012 season Saturday evening, hosting Southeastern Louisiana in Columbia. (Always exciting to open the season with such a tough opponent.) While I personally won't be plunking down any of my hard earned money for the opportunity to see the Tigers play what should ... More >>

Temple Set to Leave Atlantic 10 Conference

Were this the 2013-14 season, the St. Louis University Billikens would hold the No. 1 ranking in the Atlantic 10 tournament that's currently being staged. Securing top seeds in future A-10 tournies isn't an outrageous concept now that perennial Temple University has announced it's heading back to t ... More >>

The Tiger Offense Gets a Huge Boost On the Recruiting Trail

​Yesterday was national signing day, the day when thousands of high school football players put their names to paper and signed letters of intent to universities across the country. Alabama, somewhat unsurprisingly, came away with what most analysts believe to be the best recruiting class ove ... More >>

What To Do While Awaiting Details of St. Louis' Proposal to Rams

Can't Stan the suspense? Here's what to do.​Today is the big day. St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission will offer the St. Louis Rams their proposal to keep the team in town. At this early stage of negotiations, it's unclear what kind of bells and whistles the CVC is dangling in front of Ra ... More >>

Mizzou Ready for SEC in Rout of Tar Heels

The half-page welcome ad from the LSU Tigers to the Missouri Tigers this past week. Quite a change from the Texas and Oklahoma Mafia family antics of the Big XII. ​I really thought the Independence Bowl held a tough matchup for Mizzou. North Carolina had talent to burn, not to mention one of the s ... More >>

Bowling for Chumps: All set for your trip to fabulous Shreveport to watch Mizzou in the Independence Bowl? You may as well go -- either way, you're paying for it.

Mizzou Quarterback James Franklin: What Works, What Doesn't

​The Missouri Tigers enter the final stretch run of their season this weekend, traveling to Baylor to take on the Bears and their ultra-talented young quarterback, Robert Griffin. (I know, it's actually Robert Griffin III, but that's a real pain in the ass to type.) The Tigers are coming off their ... More >>

Why Mizzou Should Stay Put in the Big 12

​The University of Missouri Board of Curators emerged from a four-hour, closed-door meeting last night to announce that they'd unanimously approved a decision to allow the school to shop around for a new athletic conference. Speculation is rife that the university will now leave the Big 12 for the ... More >>

The Tigers Hang Tough in Norman

The empty backfield makes Truman sad. ​It wasn't supposed to be a fair fight. After all, the Oklahoma Sooners were favored by more than three touchdowns going into Saturday's game against the Tigers. A combination of a number one ranking, a Mizzou team in a transition year, and homefield advantage ... More >>

Evaluating Mizzou's New QB, Two Weeks In

commons.wikimedia.orgGary Pinkel has enjoyed a run of remarkable quarterback play during his tenure as head coach. Can James Franklin step in and keep that standard alive?​The Missouri Tigers play a bit of a cupcake opponent this weekend in Columbia, taking on Western Illinois after two relatively ... More >>

Rams Add Former Mizzou Tiger, Tim Barnes, to Practice Squad

Tim Barnes, newest member of the St. Louis Rams. Now tell me that doesn't just LOOK like an offensive lineman. ​In trying to deal with the potentially devastating loss of Ron Bartell for the season (as well as some other, somewhat lesser concerns), the Rams have begun making what will surely be a ... More >>

Rams Notes: Leasing a Cadillac, Umenyiora off the Market, and a Camp Surprise

We should all pray to whatever gods there may be that the Rams' new Cadillac is half as sweet as this one. ​The Rams put what will probably be their finishing touches on the offseason yesterday, signing Cadillac Williams to what appears to be a one-year deal. By adding Williams, the Rams went from ... More >>

5 Keys to Free Agency for the Rams

Aren't you ready for some football?​It's 120 degrees outside, maybe more. I saw a bird burst into flames a little while ago as it flew past the window, and the soles of my shoes are gummy, sticking to the pavement with every step. So, of course, the thing at the very top of my mind is America's fa ... More >>

Best On the Board For the Rams, Day Three

​The third and final day of the 2011 NFL Draft will be kicking off today at eleven central. Four more rounds to go, four more chances for the Rams to try and add talent as they continue their rebuilding effort. There is still plenty of talent on the board, plenty of useful players who could h ... More >>

Missouri's Tim Barnes Getting NFL Draft Hype

The Union Buster, preparing to take a swipe at the NFLPA Game and, possibly, Tim Barnes' future.​Tim Barnes, former center for the Missouri Tigers, is garnering some attention this week as he plays in the NFLPA Game. That's the National Football League Players' Association, better known as the Pla ... More >>

Rams Draft 2011: Looking for Linebackers

commons.wikimedia.orgJames Laurinaitis is the man in the middle for the Rams, but he needs help on the outside.​Whereas the wide receiver class of 2011 has taken some serious hits as players chose to return to school rather than go pro, the linebacker contingent has seen no such attrition. Even so ... More >>

Looking Ahead to Missouri at Nebraska

​So the Tigers won their biggest game of the season, their biggest game in years, and knocked off the number one ranked Oklahoma Sooners last week. Their prize? A number six BCS ranking and the opportunity to travel to Lincoln, Nebraska to play their new biggest game of the season against the Corn ... More >>

Oklahoma Favored by Three Points Over Missouri; Forecast Calls for Rain

Image ViaMizzou lost a heartbreaker last October when Nebraska (and a monsoon) visited Faurot Field.​The early line on Saturday's face off between No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 11 Missouri favors the Sooners by a field goal. The over-under on the game is 53 points. At first glance, I thought the bookies ... More >>

Bradford Dazzles in Surprisingly Exciting Pre-Season Game

stlouisrams.com​For a moment last night I thought I was watching the 2008 Big 12 Championship game -- the one in which the soon-to-be Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford led his Oklahoma Sooners to 63-21 trouncing over Mizzou. Okay, so perhaps Bradford wasn't quite as dominating last night in his f ... More >>

U.S. News College Rankings Put Wash. U. at Lucky 13

Wikimedia Commons​Hooray! This year's U.S. News and World Report college rankings are out! This is a chance for all college students, both current and former, to look through the rankings and claim bragging rights for their schools. These bragging rights are only good, of course, until college ... More >>

University of Missouri Makes Two of ESPN's Top 50 Football Heartbreakers -- and It Ain't Over Yet

​In the words of the immortal Hank Williams Jr.: "Are your ready for some football!?" We here at Daily RFT are, especially college football which starts in just one month's time. Speaking of which, ESPN.com is running a fun little feature called House of Pain recalling the  50 "most painful o ... More >>

Nebraska Announces Move to Big 10 as Mizzou Tries to Save Face

Mizzou Tigers -- like this kitty -- are on the outside looking in.​The University of Nebraska board of regents voted 8-0 today to leave the Big 12 Conference for the Big Ten. The move will go into effect in time for the 2011 football season. Meanwhile, University of Missouri officials were holding ... More >>

Kroenke to Son: You'll Have Nuggets and Like It!

Josh Kroenke played hoops for Mizzou from '99 to '03.​Call it a late birthday gift. Exactly one month after turning 29, Josh Kroenke was tapped yesterday as heir apparent to take over the Denver NBA franchise owned by his father, Stan Kroenke. The move comes as the elder Kroenke attempts to divest ... More >>

BCS Bowls: Cause for a Fiesta or Just the Same BCS Bunk?

Will more dissapointments be churned in this year's bowls?​The college football regular season is at its end, with the exception of an Army-Navy game next weekend, now we wait for the plethora of meaningless bowls in coming weeks.The Bowl Championship Series relies on a combination of polls and ca ... More >>

7 Coaches Who Should Replace Charlie Weis at Notre Dame

Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis could be out at the end of the season. But should replace him?​As we near the end of another college football season, one of America's favorite subjects rises again: What happens to Notre Dame? Why is this non-story a story? Yu don't have to look far -- whether i ... More >>

College Football Fans Make Asses of Themselves on Internet to Win Game Tickets

There are few easier ways to make an ass of yourself in public than by being a college football fan. The face-painting, the (usually off-key) singing, the shouting, the chanting, the marshmallow-throwing, the growling, the grunting, the hooting, the horns-hooking. The only redeeming factor is that w ... More >>

Will Statue Synonymous with Rejection Help Sell Cars?

Back off! I'm just here for the trophy.​As everyone has heard by now, times are tough on the auto lot.Even after the incredibly popular "Cash for Clunkers" incentive in August, sales of new cars this year are trailing last year's numbers by 11 percent. As such, auto dealers are trying anythin ... More >>

Rams Snatch Defeat From the Jaws Of Victory Against Vikings

Wikimedia Commons​As miserable as the past seven days have been in the St. Louis sporting world, local fans can take solace in the fact that it could be a hell of a lot worse.Take Seattle and their unfathomably depressing 2008: the Mariners lost 101 games, the Seahawks went 4-12, the once-proud Un ... More >>

Grading the Rams Draft

It's been over a week now since the NFL draft, specifically since the Rams' draft. I suppose you're wondering at this point, is this guy just really lazy, or a little slow on the uptake? Well, I freely admit to being both of those things, but I also have a reason for writing my draft grades this lon ... More >>

2009 St. Louis Rams Draft Preview: Offensive Linemen

I gotta tell you, I think that the NFL draft may be my favorite thing about the NFL. Seems a little weird, I know; one would think that I might prefer, oh, you know, actual games and things like that, but nope. I love the draft in just about every sport, but the NFL draft is the granddaddy of them a ... More >>

Unreal takes back the Big Red, talks to a Steeler, and dances the inaugural night away

What to Watch for Tonight as We Remember the Alamo

Tonight, our beloved Missouri Tigers will take on Northwestern University in the prestigious Alamo Bowl. Well, okay, not "prestigious" in the typical sense. But definitely prestigious in the way that, um, well, um, huh. Maybe prestigious isn't the best word in any sense of it. At any rate, they ... More >>

The Ballad of Turner Gill

You know, at heart, I'm really an optimistic person. It's hard to spot, I know, as there is this very thick, crusty layer of bitterness and hatred for mankind slathered over that gooey center, but it is there.And then something happens that really shakes that optimism, that makes me think that maybe ... More >>

Pinkel's Sportsmanship Has No Place in BCS Universe

Mizzou Football Has Arrived

Cleveland Rocks! Week on A to Z

News to Muse

The Year in Review: A Quiz

Schuss, Little Darling

Skiing in the dark

Best College Athlete

Brad Smith
University of Missouri

No Dancing

The climate for modern dance in St. Louis is especially chill

Best Ram

Aeneas Williams

AND NOW, SOME SUPERFICIAL QUESTIONS

Hit Parade

Goal-Line Stand

At the finish of a 28-year career that includes 248 victories and four state titles, Sumner Bulldogs coach Larry Walls takes some parting shots at deseg -- which he claims has decimated the city's once-mighty Public High League