I’m excited…seeing Billy Joel at Busch Stadium on Thursday…it was a bucket list item.  I’ll play my top 5 Billy Joel songs.  See if you agree with my list.

Zack Blackerby works for a sports radio station in Auburn.  I called him up to preview the Tigers-Tigers game.

Also, nobody had to guts to ask Barry Odom if he needed this win to keep the fans on his side.  I did…I asked him.  You’ll hear his answer.

Alex Gordon of the Royals helped break a major league record for home runs.  What happened to Moose?

Dexter Fowler coming up big for the Cardinals down the stretch.

The new cliche for college football head coaches is making sure their team plays well in all three phases of the game — offense, defense, special teams.  In my mind there is a fourth phase.  Coaching.

Barry Odom and his staff at Missouri have failed in the fourth phase.  They have not put their players in a position to be successful and I pinpoint one play in the first half of the Tigers 35-3 loss to Purdue to illustrate my point.  My one tip for the offense is simplistic, and could produce positive results.

I’ll explain the common sense fix on today’s podcast.

It came at halftime.  That was the moment it hit me that Barry Odom may be in over his head.  Odom went into the locker room with a timeout in his pocket and they ran one play from scrimmage in 12 seconds after a first and goal.  What happened to playing fast on offense?

Everyone can slump a couple of weeks…even me when it comes to my college football predictions.  How did I do?  Not very well.

Even my baseball expert told us the Cardinals would take two out of three from the Cubs!  That didn’t happen and with that weekend sweep you can kiss the playoffs goodbye.

After my horrible week of going 1-4 with my college football picks, I seek redemption and give you my picks on four key games this weekend including the hyped SEC matchup between #23 Tennessee and #24 Florida.

Look, I’m not sure what I was thinking but I went 8-4 for Mizzou this year.  I said Purdue was a no-brainer win back in August.  Now this game will be a little tighter, but I have faith that Barry Odom can rally the team for a much needed confidence boosting win.

Chiefs will go 11-5 this year…this is not one of the games they will lose.  Arrowhead, high temps, it’s all favorable for Kansas City.

My baseball expert Jeff Wilder, a confirmed Cubs homer, even thinks the Cardinals win this weekend’s series at Wrigley.  Can’t say I disagree with him.  Plus we look back on a memory when I tried to brand Jeff’s arm like he was cattle!

I was against the Chiefs drafting Patrick Mahomes.  They needed a player who could make an impact this year on defense, but the pick may actually work out.  Alex Smith looks like he’s playing with a point to prove.

Drew Lock has told us he’s matured, so has head coach Barry Odom and offensive coordinator Josh Heupel.  Conventional wisdom tells us the Tigers defense is going to be giving away points and yards to the South Carolina Gamecocks.  If Lock doesn’t force the issue and plays a clean game, Mizzou will win.  The game is squarely on the shoulders of the QB.

My wife may have asked one of the silliest sports questions ever and I give her a 7.5 out of 10 on sports smarts…this one blew me away and it led to an argument!

Former President Jimmy Carter looks great. I’m not sure why they marched out George H.W. Bush for a hurricane PSA.

I offer my college football predictions for the week and offer video evidence of why you should pay attention to what I say.  I kind of know what I’m talking about…sometimes.

Regardless of which side of the state you cheer for, the question is the same about our baseball teams?  Are the Royals and Cardinals like that basketball team that falls behind by 20 points in the first half, rallies to tie the game only to see the other team go on a 10-0 run to close out the game?

Will all of the grinding by our teams take a toll on their chances to actually get over the hump and make the playoffs?

Tom Brady is ridiculous at home.  That doesn’t bode well for the Chiefs tonight.  I’ll explain.

I interview a sports reporter that not only covered Mizzou football, but now covers the South Carolina Gamecocks.  Trust me when I say he’s good at his…I helped hire him!  I’ll explain and we’ll break down this first SEC game for the Tigers.

Seth Merenbloom from CampusPressbox.com talks Tiger fans off the ledge after Saturday’s poor performance by the defense in Mizzou’s win over Missouri State.  After we had a chance to let that game soak in, we both agree the defense is not that bad.  However, they still have issues that need to be corrected. You can listen to our conversation on week 2 for the Tigers, plus Seth thinks at some point, Mizzou will get their due respect from the rest of the SEC.

If Jason Vargas would have just been a little bit better in the second half of the season, the Royals would be in a better playoff position.  After going 12-2 with a 2.22 ERA, which let’s admit was way over his head, Vargas has gone 2-7 since with a 4.23 ERA.

I wasn’t leaving the Cardinals for dead at the start of September.  Only two teams to catch for both the division and wild card with ground that could be made up in a week’s time.  For much of the season, fans have been down on this club, but the newbies may breathe new life into the club at the right time.

My early pick for winning the World Series has always been Cleveland.  Talk about playing good baseball at the right time, the Indians just won their 13th in a row.  Plus, did you hear how the Red Sox cheated?  What is it about pro teams from Boston?

Mizzou safety Kaleb Prewett said the players were not happy at halftime against Missouri State and it had nothing to do with the Bears skill, but more the Tigers trying to do too much and not focusing on their assignments.  He says they’ll clean things up before the Carolina game.

Tony Buzbee created a buzz when he called for Kevin Sumlin to step down as head football coach at Texas A & M after the Aggies lost to UCLA in the second biggest comeback in FBS history.  Buzbee may have blown up A & M’s season before it really got started.

Kudos to Iowa Hawkeye fans…they started a new tradition on Saturday that had 70,000 people waving their hands at children.  You’ll hear what that’s all about on the show.

I am laboring away for you on this Labor Day holiday…eh, don’t feel sorry for me I get a comp day out of this.  So I thought, why not throw a podcast up on the sight.

After I’ve had a good day to digest what I saw at Faurot Field, I can offer my insights:

1)  As bad as the numbers were, I’m going to chalk up the defense’s ugly first half in part to taking Missouri State lightly.  However, I saw missed tackles, blown assignments and if this wasn’t a wake-up call then it truly will be a long season.

2)  I think the offense looked as good as you would expect against an FCS opponent.  I believe they can continue that against South Carolina

3)  I’m not concerned with this first SEC game as I am with the game the following week when the Tigers host Purdue.

What do you think?  You saw the game.  Talk to me on Twitter @Missourisports or better yet, I’ll put you on the podcast.  Call my comment line at 573-556-1212.  What did you see and what do you think Mizzou’s record is capable of this season?