End Of An Era… Or Is It?

This is my obligatory "boo, we lost" entry. This afternoon was a spirited game that certainly proved the conventional thinking: KU's a tough team and Mizzou still resorts to shooting behind the arc more times than the sun rises in the east.

And along with that comes the chatter about whether the rivalry, rooted in the Civil War and the border skirmishes years prior, should continue. Tiger fans overwhelmingly support it despite the overwhelming disadvantage in the wins and national championships columns, while Jayhawkers would rather find a new conference rival around the corner in the Octogon of Doom and from a far-flung, insulated state notorious for shaving down entire mountains. And while the end of the Border War (excuse me, Border Showdown) will hopefully decrease the vitriol between the two fan bases (and the cross-border job poaching too), the rivalry could easily be replaced from the same history book. While it won't have the same ingrained lore and appeal, it has the same roots from 150 years ago.

Enter March 8-10, 1862:

Image from Library of Congress

Just south of the Missouri border, outside the bustling town of Leetown, was the largest battle west of the Mississippi: The Battle of Pea Ridge. Or Elkhorn Tavern, if you prefer the South's name (which might make more sense, as Pea Ridge was just a ridge at the time and not the current town four miles west of the brilliantly preserved battle site).

Eager to keep the southern-minded General Assembly and their Confederate backers out of Missouri permanently, a Union army led by Brigader General Samuel Curtis invaded Northern Arkansas and pushed Southern armies deep into the Boston Mountains. (Interestingly, the Union took positions that required Confederate Major General Earl Van Dorn to attack from the north.) While the Union armies were outnumbered, their positions around the tavern and superior artillery caused larger casualties among the Confederates, forcing their armies to scatter.

Although marauders and raiding parties would threaten the western half of the state the remainder of the war, the Confederates were never able to seriously threaten Union control of Missouri after Pea Ridge. And although militia were able to make a push up to Cane Hill & Prairie Grove later in 1862, the Union had free reign over Arkansas when the Confederate government opted to focus on protecting states that produced their precious cash crop cotton.

Union armies consisted of volunteers from Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, and Missouri (Too bad Jim Delaney wasn't paying attention), while Confederates relied on troops from Arkansas, Missouri and the Cherokee Braves from the neighboring Indian Territory. Today, areas of Southwest Missouri are practically Razorback territory; the principal newspaper in McDonald County is owned by Little Rock-based Stephens Media, whose Morning News is now grouped with the Northwest edition of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Go driving through Seligman or Thayer on game day, and chances are they're watching Bobby Petrino's gridiron warriors instead of Gary Pinkel's.

But for anyone worried about Hogs and Tigers turning into fire and gasoline, Pea Ridge also provides some historical closure. The 25-year anniversary was marked not just with a reunion, but a unified remembrance, with both sides present for memorials to the dead on each side. A candlelight memorial planned for the 150th anniversary of the battle will not differentiate between Union and Confederate losses. And although Leetown was obliterated in the battle, the city of Pea Ridge was organized years later, and Union generals continue to cross their Confederate counterparts daily by way of the city's street names.

While the majority of critics will try and label an Arkansas/Missouri rivalry as the "Hillbilly Bowl" or anything involving a certain Sooner State transplant who attended both schools and from both states began his vast retail empire that turns 50 this July, the Battle of Pea Ridge can provide a good historical context for a sensible, spirited yet friendly rivalry between the Hogs and Tigers.

Sure the Hogs will join KU in reminding Mizzou that they're about as successful in the championship department as Arsenal (which happens to be majority-owned by a Mizzou alumnus), and Mizzou will look at their southern neighbor as their little sister (we did snip the bootheel out of their turf before becoming a state). And while keeping a 105-year tradition going would be nice, perhaps a new one with less rabidness and bitterness will be fruitful to everyone's sanity. It'd certainly reduce the need to rush after an AED.

A Refresher Course For Mike

A Primer From Someone Who Pretty Much Did The Same Thing Mike's Doing:
Left Missouri To Return To An Old Job Just Outside The State

Things have changed rapidly in Northwest Arkansas since the last time Mike Anderson held a job here. Heck, even some things changed since I was last employed south of the border some 22 months ago. But now, since I've been here the last five weeks re-acquainting myself with the turf that formed my initial status as The Missouri Expatriate, I'm going to relay some refreshers to the newest escapee from The Shear-Me State.

1. There are a lot more people here than there were when Nolan was chased out of town with pitchforks.
   Yep, Northwest Arkansas remains one of the fastest growing places in the nation. Two of the fastest growing counties in the 2010 Census were Washington and Benton counties, the two that make up the core of the region. In fact, Benton's rapid growth allowed them to surpass Washington (whose county seat is Fayetteville) as the second-most populous county in the Natural State, with Pulaski still in the top spot. With that in mind…
   
2. Ojala que haya aprendido español, laosiano o aún marshalesa.
   The rapid growth of population and commerce in the area also includes a large influx of migrant workers from Latin America, Southeast Asia, and the Marshall Islands. Most of them are employed by the poultry behemoth Tyson and their competitors George's, Cargill and Cobb-Vantress. This influx has added a unique character to their places of residence. Be ready to translate to English several signs, especially along 8th Street in Rogers and the east end of Springdale.
   
3. Forget Hy-Vee, QuikTrip, and Shakespeare's. They're still not here.
   Although the area has a plethora of independent pizza joints (Jim's Razorback, Eureka, Tim's), there's nothing like the unique feel of Shakespeare's. Also, it's going to be hit-or-miss finding Boulevard on tap (though I confess I don't know if Mike's the kind of guy who'll down a pint) or toasted ravioli.
   
   Despite Iowa-based Kum and Go making an aggressive push into the market (and fellow Hawkeye chain Casey's building its first store in Arkansas at Bella Vista's Highland Crossing) Hyvee still hasn't set designs on the area, with Walmart and Harps remaining the main game. (Yes, that means no Schnuks either!) And although QuikTrip is headquartered 90 miles to the west in Tulsa, they haven't touched the area either.
   
4. There's still no Bella Vista bypass, either.
   Get used to stopping at lights in Jane and stop-and-go traffic between Lancashire Drive and Lowe's, because the Bella Vista Bypass remains nowhere near completion. It's the critical cog that's keeping MoDOT from having US-71 south of Joplin labelled I-49. And if we're lucky, a two-lane bypass will open in four years that'll just provide a shortcut to Hiwasse. Worse, MoDOT's had the funding ready for years, but now as Arkansas's getting their act together to bypass what is now the state's ninth-largest city, MoDOT sits at risk of a massive budget shortfall.
   
5. Get ready to elect a congressman from Texarkana. Or Helena-West Helena.
   In spite of civic leaders and members of both parties saying how flagrant a gerrymander it is, members of Arkansas' re-districting committees are seriously considering a plan that would gerrymander Fayetteville out of the Third District (which reaches to Harrison, Fort Smith and Russellville) and into the last-remaining Democrat district, the fourth district in the southern half of the state. Supporters contend that Fayetteville's majority-Democrat population believe their votes are being wasted in a district that's been reliably Republican for 30-plus years. However, this gerrymander would be achieved by a "pig tail" through the Ozark National Forest in eastern Sebastian County, entirely surrounded by the Third District. And really, what does a college town surrounded by Walmart, Tyson, and J.B. Hunt have in common with the likes of DeQueen, Crossett and Lake Village?
   
   And yes, Helena consolidated with West Helena, and the city is in fact called "Helena-West Helena".
   
6. Didn't like paying to see the Columbia Tribune online? It's worse with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
   While the Columbia Tribune allows you to view ten articles online before making you pay (and you can get around it by reading the Missourian or any other paper in Missouri), you only get an abstract with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette before they insist you pay to view. Good luck finding any other daily to get freebie views; the closest is Neosho and Joplin, and they're owned by the same people who run the Kirksville Daily Express. Yeah.
   
7. Politics and planes aren't a problem here.
   No need to worry about fans from either side of the aisle taking "damn planes" to see the Hogs play. Democrat Mike Beebe's well liked here despite Arkansas becoming increasingly red, and he rarely leaves the Little Rock area.
   
8. Unfortunately, fluoridated water is.
   Despite the EPA advising polities to hold off on increasing the amount of fluoride in their drinking water, Beebe already signed legislation essentially overriding local standards and setting a statewide minimum. So once locating a dentist that's either in the Third or Fourth District that's going to charge a wee bit extra so the office staff can read entire articles online, check to make sure that iconic smile isn't getting scarred by streaks of fluoride.
   
9. On the bright side, once the euphoric homecoming passes and Arkansas is still languishing in the just-as-lousy SEC West, XNA has plenty of flights to choose from to escape the throngs of fans that still have Houston Nutt's scalp on the end of their pitchforks.
   The only thing missing is Southwest, but sooner or later they'll come here. Heck, Southwest already has an in at Branson's airport once the acquisition of AirTran is complete.
   

So there's my refresher course. Good luck Mike, because we're both going to need it.

So 103 years of tradition is bunk?

With the eleven universities in the Big Ten Conference likely to agree to a plan to add one or three more members in the near future, speculation in the media is turning widely to the prospect of Mizzou defecting from the Big 12. If such discussions transpire to where Mizzou does make the move to a Big Ten+2, they will leave behind a conference whose predecessor the Big Eight (formerly Big Seven, Big Six, and Missouri Valley) they helped form in 1907, along with Kansas, Nebraska, and Washington University in St. Louis.

Now while the Big Ten has a plenty of tradition as America's oldest collegiate athletic conference and serious academic acumen, Mizzou would be getting all this for the sake of milking more out of the St. Louis market:

• No guaranteed Border Showdown with KU. The MU-KU rivalry has its roots in the run-up to the U.S. Civil War and was one of the many spawns of a great American university tradition, Homecoming. In its place would be Mizzou's only current rivalry with a Big Ten school, Illinois, whose roots is exclusively in the fact that the biggest city on the Missouri-Illinois border is St. Louis. In football, this game is already set to expire after next season. Aside from this, Mizzou has no significant rivalry with any other Big Ten school, except Northwestern in the contest for best journalism school.
  
• Longer travel times. Instead of being the easternmost member of the Big 12 Conference, Mizzou would become the southernmost and westernmost of a larger Big Ten. Also, its longest trip won't be a 695-mile sojourn to Boulder to take on a so-so Buffalo squad, but an 800-mile odyssey to challenge Joe Paterno's vaunted Penn State Nittany Lions.
  
• One heck of a tougher schedule just to get into a BCS bowl. Instead of playing perennial powerhouses Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas, Mizzou instead goes up against Iowa, Penn State, Ohio State and Wisconsin. While a Big Ten+2 western conference might result in Mizzou often rising to the top for a new championship game, winning that championship game would have Mizzou going to Pasadena with a likelihood of getting speared by USC in the Rose Bowl.
  

But of course, this isn't happening tomorrow, and that's only from the football perspective. When factoring in all sports, the Big Ten offer more (12 men's, 13 women's) than the Big 12 (10 men's, 11 women's). In men's basketball, Mizzou would have to put up quite a fight against Tom Izzo's Spartans of Michigan State and typically tough teams at Wisconsin and Ohio State, of which only Wisconsin would be in a western division.

Unfortunate for Missouri tourism revenue, especially Kansas City, leaving the Big 12 for a Big Ten+2 would cause the state to lose its pivot point in attracting conference tournaments (because why would KU host such tournaments in Missouri?) and instead become a fringe area. Chicago's central location would be reinforced, with St. Louis likely to be seen as a bone thrown to the west when Minneapolis/St. Paul and Milwaukee won't do. It would be imperative for Mizzou officials, and by extension state lawmakers, to consider this when making statements regarding the prospect of Mizzou jumping conferences.

But this is all speculation. For starters, the Big Ten have to agree whether or not to seek a 12th school, or go further and expand to 14 or even 16. And then there are other schools they are destined to consider, likely Big East schools like Syracuse, Rutgers and Pittsburgh. And they just could find a way for Notre Dame to shrug off its staunch independent mentality and embrace a place in a historic conference (then again, I've been dreaming of a Notre Dame-Mizzou game for years now.)

Before I call it a night,

suppose I need to post something pertaining to mainland China's first confirmed case of Swine Flu as a 30-year-old man pursuing a doctorate at Mizzou. (Story from St. Louis Post-Dispatch) Apparently, the state-run media in China confirmed the guy's name as Mr. Bao, while Mizzou officials would only confirm what China said and not release any additional information, citing privacy laws. (In this case it'd be FERPA, but possibly HIPAA as well.)

At around the time the news broke (roughly 1 p.m. this afternoon), one state newswriter Twittered a comment about Mizzou for being outed by, of all people, the totalitarian megalith of the East, saying: "It's a sad day in American when Communist China is more transparent & open than a major university."

This begs the question: isn't that why the Feds passed HIPAA in the first place? Certainly journalists and the public have a right to know what's necessary to help them better their lives and serve the public interest. Hence why China's taken drastic steps like texting all citizens with cell phones advising those who flew on the same flights Bao took to essentially submit themselves for quarantine. But at the same time, many of the Founding Fathers desired to craft a society where the collective good wasn't paramount, but that of individual freedom. As a result, we have the Bill of Rights, we have universal suffrage, we have Coke, Pepsi, RC, Dr. Pepper, and Sam's Choice.

And our laws do that, in both ways. For journalists, Shield Laws protect journalists who seek to protect their sources and individual sources who choose to remain anonymous. Conversely, several states are seeking to put under lock and key registration lists of gun permits. In this instance, I can understand the rationale behind protecting the list itself, as gun owners who don't hunt regularly, likely paranoid about violent crime in general, would find access to their phone book-type information, especially when it's summarily published afterward, an affront to their security.

Releasing the full name of Mr. Bao would not do a whole lot of good in Missouri, as it's not even been determined where he contracted the H1N1 virus. His itinerary, according to news sources, was four-legged, originating in St. Louis, with stops in Minneapolis, Tokyo and Beijing before finishing in southwestern Sichuan Province (interestingly on the first anniversary of their disastrous earthquake.) Certainly those who might know him on the Columbia campus should have an idea by now who Mr. Bao is. (FERPA does make directory listings of students public, but allows the student to hide the information.)

The right to know is an important tool, and must be utilized responsibly. Certainly the media can find out through multiple means, but we must be respectful and careful in how we do it, as to preserve the dignity of those affected and the sanity of our readers and viewers. Purell can't make hand sanitizer fast enough.