(MIZFB)—A frustrating day for the Missouri Tigers in Norman Oklahoma means Missouri must win at Arkansas next weekend to have the chance for a nine-win season when much more was anticipated.
Missouri is now 7-4 after its 17-6 loss in Norman, a game the defense saved for Missouri but the offense could not claim. Missouri took an early lead on a Robert Meyer field goal and had a chance to make it a six-point lead when Meyer’s kick from inside the red zone in the second quarter was blocked.
Oklahoma seized the lead on the only big play of the game—an 87 yard pass from John Mateer to Isaiah Sategna, who’d gotten a step ahead of Tiger safety Marvin Burks Jr. Mateer hit Javonnie Gibson for a second touchdown after Missouri went three-and=out on its next drive.
Bo Pribula was back from his ankle injury and went 20/35 for 231 yards but had two interceptions and the Sooner sacked him four times. Playing on the ankle injured a month ago, Pribula did not show the mobility that had helped open the Tiger offense in previous games.
Missouri has become a team that cannot beat a top-10 team. It’s the fourth time this year they have failed and Coach Drinkwitz drop to 0-7 against top-25 SEC teams in the last two years.
The loss drops Missouri to 29th in the coaches poll; 28th in the AP.
(MIZBB)—-The Missouri Tigers are undefeated through their first six games but have yet to dent the top 25 in either major poll. The Tigers are 33rd in the top 25 rankings by the AP and in the Coaches poll. The Tigers play South Carolina State at the Mizzou Arena tonight. State has yet to win after six games this year.
(MIZTHICKER)— Jushua Karty is still on the Los Angeles Rams roster as a place kicker and former Tiger Harrison Mevis is doing his best to make sure he stays there. Mevis kicked four more extra points this weekend to run his consecutive string to 13 and then was two for two on field goals—from 42 and 50 yards—in the Rams win over Tampa Bay. (ZOU)
(CHIEFS)—They were down by eleven with only the last quarter ahead of them and the Indianapolis Colts were ready to hammer the nails into their playoff coffins. The hometown fans had been watching the Kansas City Chiefs once again with a sluggish offense, a disappointing defense, a team crippled by penalties at wrong times and unable to put a coherent offense together.
And the Chiefs stopped the Colts in their tracks and played a fourth quarter out of the past to win the game in overtime 23-20 on a Harrison Butker field goal.
Rashee Rice was a key figure in the comeback. The Chiefs were pinned close to their end zone line, Patrick Mahomes found Rice for 47 yards. His fourth and 3 grab that went for 19 yards kept the final drive going before the game-winning field goal.
If Rice was the lightning, Kareen Rush was the thunder in the second half. He finished the day with 30 carries for 104 yards, giving KC a 100-yard rusher and a 100-yard receive in a game for the first time this year.
The defense stopped Colts cold in the second half, giving up only five first downs and giving up first downs on only two of seven Colts chances. They dominated the fourth quarter, holding the ball for 10:39 of the quarter’s fifteen minutes and stopping the Indianapolis passing game as well as its rushing attack.
Patrick Mahomes set a new passing record in the game. His 352 yards (but no touchdowns) put him past the 35,000 yard mark for his career. It was his 123rd game, breaking Matthew Stafford’s record of 126.
The Chiefs avoided falling below .500 with the win. The loss was only the third of the season for Indianapolis. They lead the AFC South by a game over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Chiefs have a short week before their Thanksgiving game in their original home town against the Cowboys, who have struggled to a 5-5-1 season. The Cowboys had won their last two games but they’re giving up a lot of points—314 so far. The Chiefs have given up only 201.
CARDINALS)—The Cardinals are laying the groundwork for free agent signings, trades, or promotions from the minors in coming weeks. They’ve decided not to offer contracts to four players, including Yohel Pozo, who finished second in all of the major leagues with seven pinch-hit runs batted in. They’ve also non-tendered reliever John King and minor league pitcher Sem Robberse. They’ve DFA’s reliever Jorge Alcala. It’s thought Pozo could come back with a minor league contracts next year.
There are three guaranteed contracts: William Contrares, Sonny Gray, and Noen Aranado. Seven more are eligible for new contracts—Nolan Gorman and Alex Burleson, Brendan Donovan, Lars Nootbar, Matthew Liberatore, Andre Pallante, and JoJo Romero.
Three players have guaranteed contracts==Nolen Aranado, Sonny Gray, and Willson Contrerras. The list of players eligible for new contracts stands at seven: JoJo Romero, Brendan Donovan, Lars Nootbar, Andre Pallante, Matthew Liberatore, Nolan Gorman, and Alex Burleson. Pre-arbitration contracts have been offered to 27 other guys.
Two top minor leaguers are hoping to head north with the team after spring training next year—J. J. Wetherholt and Brycen Mautz.
Wetherholt has been named the Cardinals’ Minor LeaguePlayer of the Year. He’s considered the fifth overall prospect in the majors. A left=handed batter, he hit .306 in 109 games last year, one of six minor leaguers to exceed .300/400/510 last year with 17 homers, 28 doubles, a pair of triples, 23 steals, and 59 RBIs playing for Springfield (double A) and Memphis (triple A). The last player to do that in the Cardinals system was Ted Savage, fifty-nine years ago. Savage bounced around among eight teams in his ten-year major league career.
Mautz was a second-round draft pick in ’22 and was the Cardinals Minor League Pitcher of the year this year. He was in double-A last summer, started 25 games, went 8-3 with a 2.98 ERA in 25 starts. He fanned 135 and walked only 33 in 114.2 innings as he led Springfield to a Texas League championship.
(ROYALS)—Catcher Salvador Perez has been named he captain of the Venezuelan team in the World Baseball Classic that will be played in March.
The Royals have are gambling that reliever Alex Lange can return to major league level after he missed most of last season. Lange’s deal is worth $900,000 in 2026 with $100,000 in performance bonuses, a source told MLB.com. He will make $2.5 million in his two-year contract and will be under Royals control through 2028. Lange was DFA’s by the Tigers on November 12. He was in one game for the Tigers last season before going on the injured last season after surgery on a right lat injury. When he returned, he was sent to Toledo in triple-A. He was released after posting a 4.64 ERA.
With the Tigers in 2022-23 when he was in 138 games with a 3.55 ERA, and rang up 26 saves in 32 opportunities. He’s a home town boy who went to Lee’s Summit West High School before going to LSU and becoming a first-round pick by the Cubs.
The Royals have signed infielder Jonathan India to a new deal after his first season with the team. He came over from the Reds. He’d been considered a possible non-tender player after hitting .233 last season. His deal is worth $8 million, a million dollar raise from 2025.
But the Royals are cutting loose J. J. Melendez and pitcher Taylor Clarke. Melendez didn’t seem to match his promise although showing good power. He was a second-round pick in 2017 who made his major league debut in 2022. Last year, he was in just 23 games and hit .083 with five hits in sixty at-bats before being sent down to Omaha. He had 20 homers and 64 RBIs at Omaha and hit .261 last season.
Clarke was in 51 games for Kansas City last year, posted a 3.25 ERA, had one save, and was 1-1. He’ll be 33 next year.
The Royals have offered contracts to their arbitration-eligible players: outfielder Kyle Isbel, infielders Vinnie Pasquantino, Maikel Garcia, and Michael Massey, and pitchers Kris Bubic, Angel Zerpa, John Schrieber, Daniel Lynch IV, and Bailey Falter.
Now, the speedy stuff:
(INDYCAR)—Immortality, at least as long as sterling silver lasts, has come to Alex Palou, the winner of this year’s Indianapolis 500 as well as his fourth IndyCar championship. His image joins the images of all of other 500 winners of the race on the Borg-Warner Trophy.
He had never won a race on an oval until last May when he got past former winner Marcus Ericsson and led the last thirteen laps. He’s the first driver from Spain to make it to the trophy.
Seeing his image on the big trophy provoke emotions that other winners have felt when they saw their images for the first time. “I know that it’s always going to be there forever, if I race one more year or if I race 50 more years. And whatever the history of INDYCAR is going to be, it’s always going to be there. So, it’s great to be part of all those amazing drivers. And, yeah, I feel that now. I want to get that face again on that trophy. Try and be part again of the history of our sport.”
Palou’s image joins that of 2024 winner Josef Newgarden and 110 other images on the trophy created in 1936.
(Roger Penske and Josef Newgarden with their Baby Borgs after Newgarden’s 2024 win)
The trophy has the image of only one non-winner of the race. Long-time track owner Tony Hulman, who rescued the Indianapolis Speedway from destruction after World War II, and owned it until his death in 1977, is portrayed by a gold image.
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Another former Formula One driver is moving to IndyCar—Mick Schumacher, who has signed with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. He’s the son of Michael Schumacher, a seven-time world champion. He’s part of a team that includes veteran Graham Rahal and IndyCar Rookie of the Year Louis Foster.
It’s a new chapter in Schumacher’s life after a career in F1 and in endurance races. He’s never raced on an oval. Six of next year’s races are on ovals. He’ll run his first race for RLL on the St. Petersburg, Florida street circuit on March 1.
(FORMULA 1)—Max Verstappen repeated his victory on the glitzy streets of Las Vegas, taking a first lap lead over points-leader Lando Norris and running away from any challenges. It was the third F1 race in the States this year as the series hopes to build its constituency in this country.
Norris crossed the finish line in second place twenty seconds behind Verstappen with George Russell third and Norris teammate Oliver Piastri fourth.
But Norris and Piastri were disqualified because the skid plates under their car were short of specifications, relegating them top 19th and 20th place in the race and allowing Verstappen to take a bite out of Norris’ points lead.
The results put Verstappen and Piastri 24 points behind Norris with two races to go.
(Photo Credits: Mahomes—KC Chiefs; Mevis: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images © Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images; Palou—Indycar; Penske and New Garden—Detroit News)