In a fanpost that I wrote a while ago -- that I can't seem to find anywhere -- I lauded Mike Alden for hiring coaches with character. At the time, Anderson had just kicked some players off the team who had been trouble, and the team was not doing well. But I remembered when both Gary Pinkel and Brian Smith had gone through tough times, but because Mizzou had stuck by them, we were rewarded with some great teams. I had hoped that we would do the same with Mike Anderson and basketball, because in the long run, it doesn't matter if a coach has the best record in the world if the program has no character.

I bring this up today because the payoff has started to come our way. In just a few seasons as coach, Anderson has turned the team into the playing machine he envisioned. It took some bumps, and shedding some players along the way, but now, we are Big 12 Champs. Not only that, our players graduate from college, and have good grades. They are, by all accounts, good kids.

I'd like to see Mizzou win it all. I'd like to see us win a national championship, and I'd like to dance in the streets of Chicago if it happens, laughing at all the Big Ten apologizers. But if it doesn't, I will still be proud and wear my Mizzou gear. Why? Because our coaches and athletes have character, and that, more than any other reason, is why it's a great time to be a Tiger.

In Vegas this past weekend, one of our very own became an Olympian. Ben Askren, sporting corn rows, beat Tyrone Lewis in two matches, giving up only one period on the way to becoming the first Tiger wrestling Olympian, ever. As the seconds ticked down in the final match, my eyes welled up with tears. Everyone knows how far the wrestling program has come, but having an Olympian launches us into elite company. Just to give you an idea of the elite company that we are in: the rest of the freestyle team has two Iowa Hawkeyes, two Oklahoma State Cowboys, and a Michigan Wolverine. Ben Askren has brought us to a whole new level, and I can't wait to see what he does in Beijing!

The last time NCAAs were in St. Louis, Missouri wrestling was starting to experience an upswing, led by some sophomore from Wisconsin by the name of Ben Askren. This year, when we return to the Lou, the Tigers are looking to repeat their third place finish. They are coming off a season filled with adversity, but they managed to qualify seven wrestlers for the NCAA Championship. Tyler McCormick, Josh Wagner, Michael Chandler, Nick Marable, Ray Jordan, Max Askren and Mark Ellis will lead the Tigers into the Scottrade Center, hoping to improve on last year's third place finish.

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The NCAA wrestling committee announced the seeds for this weekend's NCAA championship, to be held later this week in St. Louis. Not to take anything away from Beef, but here are the seeds...

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Over the past few weeks, Missouri fans have been rightfully unhappy about the actions of some of the basketball players. One thing that most Tigers are happy about is that Coach Anderson handled it well, and showed that winning a game is not more important than teaching young men. The great thing about this is that Anderson is following the same script as two other men who have turned their programs into national players: Brian Smith and Gary Pinkel. Smith took over the cellar dweller wrestling program, cleaned the house of athletes who were constantly getting in trouble, suffered through some really tough years, and this past year, celebrated MU's best placing ever at NCAA's. Pinkel helped his team through the unimaginable tragedy of losing a teammate, faced his own doubters, and, well, we all know how this season turned out. In both cases, the men showed unbelievable character, and understood their role as shaping the young men they coached. Seeing Anderson follow in those footsteps makes me proud to be a Tiger, and excited to see the future of Missouri men's basketball.