Best wishes to Gary Pinkel, who is stepping down at the end of the season at Missouri after 15 years in charge in Columbia. Pinkel was diagnosed with lymphoma earlier this year, and said he will be devoting his time to fighting the disease and spending time with his family.
Gary Pinkel’s resignation adds to Mizzou’s completely abnormal week
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“I want to make very clear that I’m not doing poorly, and that this is a manageable disease, but it’s one that will never go away,” he said. “So many people have bigger struggles with other forms of cancer and other serious diseases, and I feel blessed that I’ve got something I can fight and still enjoy a good quality of life. I don’t know how many years I have left, but I want to turn my focus to life outside of the daily grind of football.”
The two-time defending SEC East champion head coach is extremely well-liked and respected across the college football community, and there was an outpouring of well-wishes from former Missouri players. Our own Bill Connelly had an in-depth Q&A with Pinkel prior to this season that’s worth a read as well. There will be more, but right now, about all Mizzou fans can say is thank you.
With the nation’s eyes already on Mizzou due to on-campus unrest, the Tigers still have to play a football game against a good team at Arrowhead Stadium today. It’s impossible to know where the team’s head is at right now.
Here’s Pinkel’s career at Mizzou in photos, and yes, he smiles more than you remember.
Take a look at your viewing schedule. Make sure you've got a plan before you sit down for today's games.
In last night’s action: USC escaped from Boulder with a 27-24 win over Colorado. Trojan fans weren’t exactly thrilled with how their team looked, despite the win, and Colorado fans are getting fed up with “close, but not quite.”
Northwestern next? Student protesters interrupted an athletics facility ceremony to declare solidarity with Missouri.
Finally? North Carolina is 8-1 and looking great, which yet again begs the question: Have the Tar Heels finally turned the corner as a program?
Mascot fights was only 3-4 last week, but still 27-22 on the season. It’s a highly scientific system, so make sure to closely study this week’s picks.
Nebraska loses a commit to SMU, but nobody’s mad about it.
This could only happen in Louisiana. “Meat art” is a real phrase that means something, until Mike the tiger finishes up with lunch, anyway.
BONE FROG. UCLA will honor Navy SEALs by wearing their bone frog emblem on the side of their helmet.
Jokes! Longhorns players are apparently dealing with a teammate with a really stinky locker, and they let the world know.
Elsewhere, former Texas QB Chris Simms would get it if Charlie Strong were to leave Austin for Miami.
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