What's more fun than us giving you a chance to mock us every single week? In our new feature, Blowin' Smoke presented by Weston Tobacco, we will do that each and every Thursday. Gabe DeArmond and Mitchell Forde will make five predictions almost sure to go wrong every week in this space. These will range from big games to big picture predictions with a bit of the comedic and absurd mixed in most weeks as well. On to this week's predictions.
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1) Who is the next player to commit to Mizzou football?
Gabe: I saw Tyler Hibbler set a commitment date for June 23 and I feel pretty confident Mizzou gets him, but there's going to be someone that will commit before then. I don't really know who. I'll say Daylan Carnell. I have no real basis for that.
Mitchell: I agree with you that Mizzou will likely pick up a commitment before June 23, although there’s no one guy I feel supremely confident they get sooner. But I will go with Florida running back Raheim Sanders, who tweeted last weekend that he will announce his decision June 8. I think Mizzou has a real shot to land Sanders, but I don’t get the sense that it’s a done deal, either.
2) How many four stars does Mizzou get in this class?
Gabe: They're at one right now. Without going through the list or picking out specific players, I'll say they get two more and one of their current commitments is bumped from three stars to four so I'll go with four total.
Mitchell: That sounds pretty reasonable to me, but just for the sake of disagreement, I’ll say they end up with three four-stars. I think they’ll keep Travion Ford and add Dominic Lovett and Kyran Montgomery, both of whom are four-stars right now. Maybe someone who is currently at three stars then gets bumped up, but if that happens I think it’s just as likely one of those four-stars gets bumped back down.
3) This is not a prediction, but if you were playing an event like The Match, nationally televised on a PGA course with Tiger Woods as your partner, what would you shoot?
Mitchell: I mean, 200 isn’t out of the question. (I’m joking, I think. I’m not a great golfer, but on the average public course around here I’m generally around 100.) The pressure of playing next to Tiger Woods would absolutely ruin me. I mean, I’m not sure I could hold it together long enough to shake the guy’s hand, much less hit the fairway, without overthinking everything about my swing and collapsing into a heap. And you know Tiger would have no patience or encouragement for me. And we haven’t even talked about how much harder whatever course we’d be playing would be compared to The Links in Columbia. I’d probably be best off just hitting like a 6 iron down the middle every time, but assuming I actually try to play a real round, I’ll say something like 135.
Gabe: There's no way I'd break 120 if I were just playing my own ball every single time. Just no way. First off, I'm not that good. Second, those courses are long as hell. Third, the greens are ridiculous. Fourth (and really second) I'd be pissing myself with nerves before every shot. So no way I break 120 and honestly 120 is probably being way too kind to myself.
4) Are they playing major league baseball this year?
Mitchell: I admit I really have not been following the news about the negotiations between the owners and players super closely. I’ve generally been more concerned with college sports. But I think I’ll say yes. Ultimately, I believe the demand will be high enough that enough people on both sides will be willing to take a step toward the middle and compromise and make it happen (if it’s deemed safe, of course).
Gabe: I am saying yes more out of hope and a disbelief that they could be so stupid not to. I understand the players want to make what they're worth and I understand the owners didn't get rich by willfully losing money, but at some point both sides have to understand how stupid they look fighting about which multimillionaire is getting the worse end of the deal. I think they'll find a way to play a half season.
5) Does Missouri play Central Arkansas on September 5?
Gabe: For right now, I'll say yes. I don't think everybody's going to start on day one, but I think Missouri will. Again, the great unanswered question here is what happens when someone tests positive and how many positive tests it takes to shut a program down, but I'll say Mizzou plays the opener as scheduled.
Mitchell: Sure, why not. I too have several unanswered questions, including the one you bring up and also how long it would take for players who test positive to be able to play again without possibly infecting more people, and until we know the answers to those I can’t really feel confident about any predictions. But most people around Missouri seem to be planning on a normal fall timeline, so I will do the same until I have a reason not to.
