Graham Watson: Chat was supposed to be at 11, it's noon, and I'm late. I apologize. I'm still going to field the questions in the queue.

tgraves707: hey graham, how come this castine bridges guy isnt getting any recognition?

ive watched a couple of old games where quarter backs would hesitate to throw to his side because of his coverage...and he completely shut down malcolm kelly during the ou game,is it me or have anyone else besides myself noticed him? How do you feel about him?

Vahe Gregorian: I think Castine Bridges is a great player. I said that toward the middle of last season when he started to get increased playing time. This spring he's been great. He reminds me of William Moore because of his ability to read the game and his jump on the ball. That's no surprise since they're good friends. He will be a key player for the secondary this season and I have no doubt he'll be getting more recognition.

jim: Graham,


One I would like to say that you are doing a great job and I hope to see you at the Post for a long time. Now on to my issue I keep reading and hearing how Mike Anderson didn’t do the right thing and how he unlike Coach Pinkle (since he kicked Brown off the team) doesn’t know what a Zero Tolerance policy means. Well it is easy to say that and think it but we all need to remember that there’s a big difference between the two teams where Coach Pinkle has what 100 players and had more leeway then Coach Anderson who has maybe 15 tops and only 12-13 this year do to losing few scholarships because of the former coaching staff. I may be wrong but the Basketball team was already close to the APR minimum this year as it was. What if Coach Anderson had kicked Butterfield and Horton of the team also and then lost 2 more scholarships I wonder how people would have felt then. I didn’t like what happened either but when you are “between a rock and a hard place” as the old saying goes you have to do what is best for the team and players. I don’t think losing more scholarships and having to call up two kids and tell them sorry so sad but those scholarships we told you had for next year well I did what the people wanted and then because I let the team drop below the 926 APR you just lost your scholarships. Not a good way to keep doors open at high schools for our coaches to come in and talk to future tigers. And other schools would use that against MU for years. Yes I know it might not have happened but it could have and I believe coaches now days some times can’t do what they want to do to NCAA rules and we also know that coaches who can’t keep scholarships don’t keep their jobs. We might not like what happen but we need to understand that there was more on the line then what we all think about. It sure is easy to stand around talk about complain that Coach didn’t do what he said he would but he has more to think about when he punishes a player then we do. If this has been addressed already sorry for bringing it up again. But it is something I have been thinking about for a few weeks now and I maybe wrong about this but I would like to get your opinion about it. Thanks and once again great work.

Vahe Gregorian: I totally agree with you on this one. Marquis Booker was not a starter and he probably would not have played. Stefhon Hannah was Missouri's best defender. I think it takes more guts to kick the starter off the team than a backup. And that kind of decision takes some thought. CMA essentially putting his season in the hands of a couple unseasoned sophomores. They did a good job, but who knows what the team would have been like with Hannah down the stretch. It could have been better, could have been worse. No telling. But I guarantee you it would have been worse had he kicked Butterfield and Horton off, too.

I hope Pinkel never has a starter do something stupid off the field, but it would be interesting to see what kind of move he makes when that happens.

MizzouMarv: Graham, do you think moving the 3 pt. line back will help M-Law next year? Do we have anyone coming in who is a marksman from that range? What effect will that have on the college game?

Vahe Gregorian: I don't know if that will help or hurt MLaw. I think his biggest problem is getting squared up to the basket and reading his screens. He did a much better job of it toward the end of the season, which gives me hope for next year.

Mizzou does have a corps of scorers coming in next season, but I don't think there's a 3-point specialist in the bunch. Mostly a core of guys who can hit jumpers anywhere on the floor.

I think moving the 3-point line back will keep scores down, but like anything else, guys will adjust. I do think it's good because that's where the NBA has it and if guys want to play at the next level, they should probably learn to shoot with the big boys.

Mike: Graham, thank you for the year round in depth coverage of the Tigers football team. Just like the rest of the country I find this team immensely entertaining. However, I also see an opportunity for you and other reporters to build on this attention to garner more coverage for other sports and athletes as well. You mentioned more than once how much you like baseball and the Tigers team in particular, yet it seems almost impossible to find any regularity in the coverage unless someone throws a shutout. This team is ranked at or higher than the football team. Also, with the problems experienced by the basketball team you would think other winter sports, such as wrestling, would get some regular coverage. How many wrestlers were arrested and/or kicked off the team this past season? Graham, I know football and basketball are the "big 2" when it comes to revenue for the school from attendance and tv, but I just feel other sports would benefit from increased coverage or any coverage for that matter. Many fans might prefer to read about a Mizzou win in wrestling rather than a Mizzou loss in basketball, at least once in a while.

Vahe Gregorian: I beg to differ on baseball. We have a story - sometimes a small summary - after each baseball game, home and away. I'll be at the Oklahoma State series this weekend, and probably won't miss many Big 12 series this year. Baseball plays a lot of games and combined with spring football, it's hard to get it all in the paper, but we're trying and I think we're doing a better job than past years.

And wrestling? Did you see our coverage of the wrestling championships? It was awesome and very heavy on local guys. Yes, it was the national championships, but again, more coverage than we've given in the past.

The "Big 2" as you call it, not only make money for the school, they also make money for us. We don't get nearly as many calls for not covering softball as we would if we didn't cover football. That's just the way it works for almost all major papers in this country. We just don't have the resources to devote to every sport on campus.

MizzouMarv: Do you think we can sustain this level in football and ever attain it in basketball? With not that many D-1 players coming out of Missouri and we can't ever keep the top ones (J. White, Carrawell, Hanbrough, Suggs) it seems like a long road.

Vahe Gregorian: I don't know if Missouri can sustain this level in football after Chase Daniel leaves because the fate of this team is then placed in the hands of a couple freshman quarterbacks. I hope - hope - Blaine Gabbert and Blaine Dalton learn enough from Daniel, and the other guys that have made Missouri football relevant, to understand and appreciate the level of success this program wants to maintain. If not, Missouri football might be a two-year wonder.

As for basketball, I think it's harder to sustain a high level of success over time, but it's not impossible. Look at UCLA, North Carolina, Kansas, Texas. Those schools have done it despite attrition to the NBA. Missouri will be good again. I have no doubt in my mind, but it's not going to be overnight. I do think we'll see the beginning of success next year.

MU 12-2, MU 14-0: Missouri won't have anymore numbers left to wear after they hang 82, 10, 45, 1... and of course, 9 if he stays. Agree or disagree that they should all be retired?
1- is for William Moore, not JJ.

Vahe Gregorian: Really? You wouldn't retire Jimmy Jackson's number?

No, I don't think they should all be retired (I didn't think Olivo's name should be on the wall either). This is a tough one because of the criteria it takes to have a jersey retired. I don't think Maclin will stay long enough to meet the criteria, which I believe is graduation. William Moore's number will not be retired unless he is just unbelievable next year and is a true difference maker on this team. Daniel and Rucker probably have the best chance of being retired because one is an consensus All-American, the other has broken nearly every quarterback record in Missouri's books. However, I think Daniel would probably have to be an All-American this year to seal the deal. Coffman's in the same boat. He could break the single-season reception record this year and become an All-American, but I'm not sure that's going to be enough to get his jersey retired either because it's just one year.

David Medlock: I live in Atlanta and have a hard time keeping up with the tigers, so I really appreciate your blog and reports. Could you tell us a little bit about Connell Davis, the linebacker who quit this week? Also, for those of us who haven't been here since the beginning of your career, would you tell us a little more about your own background? Thanks.

Vahe Gregorian: Connell Davis came to Mizzou as a running back, but couldn't hold on to the ball. That coupled with the fact that Mizzou tends to prefer scat backs forced Davis into a position change to LB. He didn't play much LB last year, but made huge contributions on special teams. I believe (and I'm not looking at a box score) that he forced the Oklahoma fumble after Missouri punted after their first series of the first meeting. Missouri scored on the next drive. He probably would have gotten significant playing time this year. It's a shame that he left.

As for me... I'm from a little town on California called Redlands. Born and raised, family still lives there, all good people. I went to Mizzou, played soccer here three years, graduated from the J-school and went to work for the Dallas Morning News. I was a general assignment reporter for awhile before I was given the college football recruiting beat. After a year of that, I was offered the job at the P-D. I'm about to finish my fourth year here. That's pretty much it.

Snake: Graham, thanks again for the help and it's good to see you back. Cloudson is wondering about the Chase Daniel-Jeremy Maclin Opening Pitch at Busch from Monday. Are you more offended by the choice to throw a football to start baseball season in Baseball Heaven or by the throw itself?

Vahe Gregorian: Well, the choice to throw a football was kinda lame, but then to throw it in the dirt was just sad. You know, the whole reason Chase and his family moved to Southlake was so that he could play baseball with a better team. Nice to see that paid off. Chase was a pitcher in high school (he also ran track) and he thought he was awesome. I saw him play maybe three times, and to me, he had two pitches: medium fast and not so fast. He thought he had a change-up, it was just a slower fast ball. No curve, no slide, no knuckle. Medium and slow.

MizzouMarv: Will the new Chaifetz Arena bring SLU the same success that the Mizzou (Paige) brought us? Didn't Ohio St. move to a larger off-campus city owned building to bring their program "to the next level"? Seems like SLU is going the other direction.

Vahe Gregorian: Well, Mizzou actually has a pretty nice record in Mizzou Arena even though no one is there to see it. As long as SLU stays in the A-10, it will have some sort of success against all teams not starting with an X. Missouri doesn't have that luxury.

Mike: So it sounds as if Michael Keck is having a nice spring. Are there any plans to move him around (hide blitzes) and line him up with the backers or will he always be in a three point stance rushing from the end?

Vahe Gregorian: Well, since he's a backup and only recently achieved that distinction, I don't think there are any strategic plans for Keck at this time. He's still learning the position and getting into DE shape. My guess is that he'll do the same types of things Tommy Chavis and Stryker Sulak do, but we won't see him get any significant playing time until at least 2009.

Dick Vitale's gotta go: I can't imagine a worse basketball fate than the last 4 years. Go from 2 in the nation to not invited tourney (NIT). 2pre-season all-americans to no post season honors (still feel bad for Paulding and Johnson). Now we have to watch KU in the final 4!!!!

Maybe self will at least leave for OSU.

Vahe Gregorian: Yeah, it's hard to appreciate Missouri basketball right now, but the good news is that it probably can;t get much worse. So only one way to go. And yeah, watching KU in the Final Four is awesome... Yeah... Awesome... There's no way Kansas let's self leave. If OSU offers $5 mill, KU will offer $5.1 mil and all the Sheridans he can handle.

Brett G.: Ok first thing, I had to cringe and STRONGLY disagree when you stated the Cardinals season was already going downhill before it even started........
Anyways, off my soapbox, how is the atmosphere around the football team? I know they have a lot of will-be senior leaders, but any hangover? Alot of younger guys ready to step up and contribue to make this a "lasting" era for football?

Vahe Gregorian: Hahahaha! Cardinal Nation might be sleeping, but it's always within ear's reach. I am a long-suffering Texas Rangers fan, so I like to bring my misery to fans of other teams when I have the chance. I'll try and keep it down even though the Cards are only going to win 70 games this year.

I think the atmosphere around the football team is great. these guys are competing like its fall camp and I have no doubt that will carry over through the summer. When you have guys staying on campus to work out during spring break, that's a sign that the mode has changed. There is a lot of focus in Missouri football. I don't think next year will be a disappointment.

alrammer: Next year is a huge year for the basketball program as from what I'm reading SLU is going to have a good recruiting class. If Mizzou is not compettitive I think a large group of basketball fans in St louis might change alliances and become SLU fans. Your thoughts?

Also Chase looked a little hefty throwing out the first pitch, is this a concern?

Vahe Gregorian: OK. Mizzou basketball fans won't ever be SLU basketball fans because the quality of the two conferences are so different. Does SLU have a game like MU/KU? Or anything even close? Can the A-10 boast the nation's best freshman two years running? If you're a fan of good basketball, you'll still watch Mizzou just to watch the team they're playing.

Chase is a big kid. That's just his deal. He's a big boy. During the Cotton Bowl, there was a story about him and one of the lines said that he weighed 120 pounds as a 12-year-old. He's big by nature. As long as it doesn't affect his ability to hit Coffman on a fade or Maclin on a slant, I don't think it's a concern. Plus I think Dairy Queen and Fudruckers appreciate Chase's frame.

MizzouMarv: Hate to monopolize, but I can’t play golf with this wonderful weather we’re having. I know it was before your time, but maybe some of your comrades know: Is there any truth to the rumors that I’ve heard for years about all the coaches that “we could of had”? (Dan Reeves, Joe Gibbs, Andy Reid, Barnett, Self etc.)

Vahe Gregorian: Yes, it's before my time, but yes, most of the rumors are true. But most of those coaches weren't the coaches you know now when Mizzou was looking at them. Kinda like Quin...

Graham Watson: Thanks all. We'll do it again next week.