Hostage Crisis Continues: Kittens Milk it For All it's Worth

Yesterday, after the Big 12 conference broke, I poured myself a drink, sat down in front of the television, turned to ESPN, and turned on my computer -- anxiously awaiting  the announcement that was going to change the entire football landscape forever. It is not that I care what Missouri does because, let’s face it, they are a non-factor where national titles are concerned. What I was waiting on was to see what would happen with  West Virginia and Louisville.   You know?  Teams that matter.  Teams that have earned national attention and focus because of on the field merit. As I watched the “Great Missouri Bluff” part II unfold I thought to myself, "I have seen this before." I am not talking about the Big Ten debacle.  No, it runs deeper than that. Then it hit me.  Shawn Hammond. Shawn was a non-athletic kid and maybe the worst basketball player I have ever seen. He was nice enough -- just not real popular with the cool kids.  (Most of you reading from Missouri can identify). Anyway, every day after school we played basketball and Shawn would show up ready to play.  He would always get picked, not because of his basketball prowess, but because his parents were rich and he always had a brand new basketball that we wanted to use.  If we did not pick Shawn, he would simply take his new ball and go home. Simply put, Missouri is located in a better market then Boise, Louisville, and West Virginia.  That is all. The SEC and the Big 12 don’t want the team  -- they want the equipment. Hell, Missouri doesn’t even want to to go to the SEC, they simply want the Big 12 to say "Hey Missouri, we love you for who you are and not your brand new basketball."  After all that’s all Shawn wanted. Like it or not Mountaineer fans, this will not end anytime soon because Missouri has a brand new basketball.