The crowd that is Missouri's offensive backfield has become a little less dense.
Running back Gilbert Moye has left the team and will transfer from the university upon completion of the current semester, school officials confirmed to the Columbia Daily Tribune on Monday.
According to MU beat writer Dave Matter, a source close to Moye confirmed the news, as did team spokesman Chad Moeller, who told the paper Monday evening that the running back has, indeed, parted ways with the team.
Matter reported that Moye intends to transfer to a program from either the Southwestern Athletic Conference or Southland Conference—both of which are part of college football's Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA—where he hopes to play his old high school position of quarterback.
Missouri will now enter next month's spring practices with three scholarship running backs on its roster, but that number may very well double entering preseason workouts. The trio of senior Derrick Washington , junior De'Vion Moore , and sophomore Kendial Lawrence will be joined in the fall by freshmen Marcus Murphy (DeSoto, Tx.), Henry Josey (Angleton, Tx.), and Greg White (DeQueen, Ark.), all of whom were part of MU's recent recruiting class.
Considering Moye's past in the MU program—which was laden with variety but light on production—his decision to leave should not be all together surprising.
A former standout quarterback from Diboll High School in Texas, Moye was quickly converted to the safety position upon his arrival in Columbia in 2007 as one of the country's top-rated "athletes." After a redshirt season, he played in 11 games in 2008, with a significant portion of his time spent on MU's kickoff return unit. All the while, Moye was receiving plenty of reps in practice while learning from one of the best safeties in MU history—current Atlanta Falcon William Moore .
But along with the 2009 season came yet another position switch . In an attempt to utilize Moye's coveted blend of size, speed, and athleticism, the Missouri staff moved him to running back, where the 6'2", 220-pound native of Jasper, Texas, figured to challenge for a backup role.
However, with Washington and Moore entrenched as the team's top two backs, Moye struggled at times with inconsistency and fumbles during preseason workouts in August, resulting in him losing his No. 3 role to Lawrence.
Buried on the depth chart as MU's fourth option at running back, Moye was nearly invisible this past season, rushing for only 35 yards on six carries, all of which came versus Furman on Sept. 19.
Photo courtesy of Columbia Daily Tribune.
You can find this article and more at my page at Examiner.com .
The Chicago Bears have a long and proud history on defense and have had some of the best defenders in NFL history on the team. Players like Dan Hampton, Dick Butkus, Mike Singletary and Doug Plank are revered by many long time Bears fans and are considered to be some of the best defensive players in Chicago football history.
In this slideshow, we will take a look at the best Chicago Bears player at each position on defense in Bears history. We will also have some honorable mention players at each position to go along with the top player at each position.
I remember watching the 2004 NBA Draft and wondering who the Orlando Magic were going to take with the top pick.
Was it going to be Emeka Okafor, the defensive-minded big man, who had led the University of Connecticut to a national championship just a few months prior?
Or would the Magic take a gamble on the promising high-schooler from Atlanta, Dwight Howard?
It was a tough decision to make since whoever the Magic drafted was going to be the centerpiece of their latest rebuilding project.
The team wound up selecting Howard, and Okafor was chosen by the expansion Charlotte Bobcats with the second overall pick.
Howard went on to become the league's best center. "Superman" has made four All-Star teams, won a Defensive Player of the Year Award, and has led the Magic to the playoffs three consecutive years, including a trip to the finals.
Okafor, on the other hand, has never quite turned into a superstar. He's not a bust by any means—with career averages of nearly 14 points, 10 rebounds, and two blocks per game—but I'm sure Bobcats fans would have rather had Howard instead.
The Bobcats are yet to qualify for the playoffs.
So what if Orlando did pass up Howard in favor of Okafor? Today, Magic fans would probably be upset, while Bobcats fans would likely be content.
However, if Howard hadn't landed in Orlando, the Magic might still have become one of the Eastern Conference's top teams. There's no telling what kind of talent the team may have acquired.
Meanwhile, with Howard anchoring the defense and teaming up with new-All-Star Gerald Wallace, the Bobcats definitely would have reached the playoffs by now.
But oh well, Howard ended up with the Magic and Okafor became a Bobcat (now New Orleans Hornet).
This is only an excerpt from the actual story. You can read the full article at the BEV. Enjoy.
Another reason the Cardinals don't have a stacked farm: they don't trade their most expensive talent for young, top prospects.
The Texas Rangers have the top system in the game for this reason. They convinced the Atlanta Braves to trade Elvis Andrus, among others, for Mark Teixeira. In return, the Rangers filled their system out with top talents*.
And it helped that the Rangers pretty much sucked for several years and had top pick after top pick in the draft.
*The Braves actually dealt Teixeira for Casey Kotchman, who was dealt to the Boston Red Sox for Adam LaRoche and was not offered arbitration either, and Steve Marek. Oh, the Braves also received Ron Mahay in the deal. So, if you're following, the Rangers added five top prospects; the Angels received two draft picks for Kotchman and half-a-season from Teixeira; the Braves received close to a full season of Teixeira, half-a-season from Mahay, one draft pick, half-a-season from LaRoche (and no compensation)...all for five top prospects.
Balanced? I think not. Oh, the Braves did it again in the Javier Vazquez swap that sent more top prospects to the Chicago White Sox, and then flipped Vazquez to the New York Yankees for a decent prospect and Melky Cabrerra.
I totally lost myself here.
Ummmm, Cardinals don't trade expensive talent for prized prospects, don't suck, play it safe...
Oh yeah. I remember now. Final reason. Right here.
They actually win.
Yes, it is the same as not losing, but the Cardinals actually win. They play it safe in the draft and receive the role players that help ascend the team to success. Who needs top-tier talent when you win?
When the Cardinals start losing, worry then about the no prized prospects.
On Thursday Night, September 2, 2010, the University of Utah will host Dion Lewis and the Pittsburgh Panthers on ESPN. A showdown between two likely top 20 teams.
The elite of the Big East versus the premier of the Mountain West.
Or...will it be a classic Big Ten versus Pac-10 September clash featuring the conferences' newest faces?
Anyone attuned to message board chatter the last few days wouldn't be the least bit surprised. While the Pitt to the Big Ten rumors have been swirling onward and upward for the past few weeks, the latest buzz has the Pac-10 poaching Colorado from the Big 12 and Utah from the MWC to form the Pac-12.
This rumor has legs. For starters, it makes perfect sense. So does the timing. These two teams have been widely held as the most likely targets for Pac-10 expansion. The Pac-10 would penetrate two high-growth western markets without cannibalizing any present strongholds. It keeps the conference up to speed with its long-established partner, the Big Ten, who has made no qualms about their desire to expand to 12.
And it also drives revenue by adding a conference championship and enhancing the opportunity for a second BCS berth; something that seems completely foreign to the Pac-10 today.
The new commissioner, Larry Brown, was brought in to think out of the box and to create new ideas, particularly those centered on generating revenue. The Pac-10's national TV contract with Fox expires for the 2011-12 and the conference has been aggressively pursuing would-be suitors.
Regarding expansion, Larry Scott said Monday , "We're looking at it very seriously...But it’s very natural as you look at the value of the conference from a media standpoint. If we were ever going to look at expansion, this would be the logical time."
Just today, Larry Scott announced the hiring of former Big 12 Commissioner Kevin Weiberg as deputy commissioner. That's a pretty bold move to hire a deputy with such a strong resume. Clearly, Mr. Scott has something big planned in the works.
Why It Makes Sense
The Pac-10 presidents have been consistent in their collective stance regarding expansion. Unanimously content with the status quo but guardedly open to anything that might increase revenue per program.
In short, new invitees would have to contribute more than they would consume. Out west, outside the Pac-10, that's not easy to come by.
At the same time, Larry Scott has made several overtures displaying his envy over the new billion dollar deal the SEC recently landed with CBS. With that kind of coin on the table for college football, the "conference of champions" would be foolish not to explore their options. Especially with their current contract with Fox expiring in 2012.
A recent report by Janson Media ranks Denver as the fifth largest TV market out West and 18th overall in the U.S., coming ahead of St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Portland, OR. Janson also rates Salt Lake City amongst the top ten TV markets in the west and 36th overall across the nation, just trailing Cincinnati, OH, Columbus, OH, and Milwaukee, WI.
Adding these two markets to the mix could instantly increase dramatically household reach by millions.
Not to mention the augmented national appeal and prestige of adding two compelling programs. Poaching the Big 12 for the storied Buffaloes could add public prestige to the Pac-10.
Over the last decade Utah has quickly emerged as one of the most respected and most accomplished programs in the west. Two undefeated seasons, two BCS Bowl wins and a nine-game bowl winning streak which includes victories over the like of USC, Cal, Georgia Tech, Navy, Pitt and Alabama.
Current Head Coach Kyle Whittingham would become the only Head Coach with a BCS Bowl victory on his resume and the Utes could be the only Pac team better known for its defensive prowess.
Conference Championship Game
The appeal of the conference championship game is two-fold. It provides the conference champion with a marquee win on the last and most impressionable weekend of the season while delivering a sell out crowd, a nationwide audience and millions of dollars of revenue.
Second BCS Berth
Adding a second BCS berth on a consistent basis should be a primary goal for any BCS conference. In many cases, it defines the BCS haves, from the BCS have nots. In 2005, when the BCS announced a fifth BCS bowl. Many figured the Pac-10 to be one of the primary benefactors. Yet the Pac-10 has failed miserably. Here is a breakdown of total BCS berths by conference since 2005-07:
SEC - eight
Big Ten - eight
Big 12 - six
Big East - four
ACC - four
Pac 10 - four
Not quite the company the Pac-10 likes to be keeping.
Scheduling More Conducive to the BCS
The real challenge with the Pac-10 however, has little to do with its ability to compete with the elite conferences. It's problem is the round robin schedule. While most coaches, players, fans and football purists love the round robin. It is the most exciting and most effective way to determine a champion. Unfortunately, in a ten team, well-balanced conference, it is not conducive to success in the new BCS realm.
The flaw of the round robin schedule is that it requires every team to travel to each Pac-10 state every season. That equates to as many as five out-of-state, intra-conference road games; making it nearly impossible to achieve an undefeated season.
How many times has a USC team stocked with NFL-caliber talent been denied entry to the BCS National Championship game because of a small, forgivable slip-up on the road during conference play?
Sticking a Fork in the MWC
An oft-overlooked advantage to expansion has as much to do with eliminating threats as it does direct benefits. Since TCU arrived in 2005, the MWC has steadily taken off and seems well on their way towards BCS acceptance. This could create several problems for the Pac-10. The Pac gets very little attention to begin with.
A second BCS conference in the west would force the Pac to share the spotlight. It would dilute current BCS revenues and make it nearly impossible to for the Pac-10 to secure a second BCS Bowl berth. In addition, it could have a significant impact on recruiting, where BYU, TCU, and Utah are already making noteworthy in-roads.
Eliminating Utah would cut the face of the MWC and stunt their progression towards the BCS. In addition, BYU would make a very attractive replacement for Colorado in the Big 12 North. TCU might be worthy of consideration for the Big East as they attempt to replace Pitt.
Uprooting the Conference Landscape
If all there is truth to the rumors, here is you might expect to see the conference landscape change throughout the country:
Pac-10
In: Utah and Colorado Out: None
Big Ten
In: Pitt Out: None
Big East
In: TCU, UCF Out: Pitt
Big 12
In: BYU (a much better fit in the North Division than TCU with a strong national fan base.) Out: Colorado
