This is it for me and Behind the Lights, folks. As you might have read in this morning's paper, I'm leaving the Globe for a position at the Bakersfield Californian.
It was a tough decision; certainly nothing against the Globe or the Joplin area, which I've learned to call home in the past year and a half. But I'm not ready to settle down yet, and the paper in Bakersfield offers a great opportunity for me to advance my career.
I appreciate all the faithful readers of this blog and of the Globe's sports section. If you'd like to continue to keep in contact, you can e-mail me at zachewing@hotmail.com or check out my blog over at bakersfield.com that should be up and running within the next couple of weeks.
It's been fun, everyone. Enjoy your holidays and your sports scene.

Well, well, I guess my pick for the Big 12 Championship makes me look pretty stupid. Oklahoma 38, Missouri 17 and the Sooners really were that dominant, at least in the second half. The Tigers couldn't afford to earn a first-and-goal and end up kicking field goals in the first half (they did it twice and then again in the second half). Oklahoma's running game is too good, and the Sooners were too dominant up front. Missouri needed to get out to a lead in the first half and it wasn't able to.
Anyway, I'm not sure I look as stupid as the folks over at the Orange Bowl, who chose Kansas over Missouri and Arizona State to face Virginia Tech on Jan. 3 in Miami. I'm not saying Kansas didn't have a fine season — the Jayhawks were 11-1 and exceeded anyone's wildest expectations, but the rules are that no more than two teams can reach the BCS from any one conference. Oklahoma and Missouri were clearly the two best teams in the Big 12 this season. The Tigers, in fact, proved that a couple of weeks ago at Arrowhead Stadium. But Missouri finds itself in the Cotton Bowl instead, and though that's not a bad bowl, it's inexplicable that KU should get a better bid.
Orange Bowl CEO Eric Poms has gone on record saying, in essence, that Kansas was chosen because it has only one loss and because Missouri didn't look good against Oklahoma. Neither is a good reason in my book, but then I'm not paid to decide such I'm also not the only one who's upset about this

Anyway, here is a complete list of Big 12 bowl matchups, in chronological order:

Holiday Bowl: No. 11 Arizona State vs. No. 19 Texas, 7 p.m. Dec. 27
Alamo Bowl: Texas A&M vs. Penn State, 7 p.m. Dec. 29
Independence Bowl: Colorado vs. Alabama, 7 p.m. Dec. 30
Insight Bowl: Oklahoma State vs. Indiana, 4:30 p.m. Dec. 31
Cotton Bowl: No. 6 Missouri vs. No. 25 Arkansas, 10:30 a.m., Jan. 1
Gator Bowl: No. 20 Virginia vs. Texas Tech, noon, Jan. 1
Fiesta Bowl: No. 4 Oklahoma vs. No. 9 West Virginia, 7 p.m. Jan. 2
Orange Bowl: No. 3 Virginia Tech vs. No. 8 Kansas, 7 p.m. Jan. 3

A win in the biggest game in school history (at least since 1960) has given Missouri the newest biggest game in school history tonight against Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship in San Antonio.
Because there are plenty of places you can get an x's and o's take on the game, I won't waste your time. Basically, I think those saying Missouri threw away the teams' first meeting (a 41-31 OU victory that the Sooners won by dominating the fourth quarter) aren't looking at the whole picture. Oklahoma had that game in had early in the third quarter, lost it, and then got it back again. Yes, Mizzou made mistakes, but you tend to do that when you play a more talented team.
Still, the Tigers are much improved from that point, mostly from a confidence standpoint (and they understand how to use their personnel better now, too.) Also, starting running back Tony Temple is back, OU defensive end Auston English is out, the game is in a dome to fit MU's lightning-fast offense and the Sooners have struggled every game they've played away from home this season.
My pick? Missouri 37-34, with a big field goal from the underrated Jeff Wolfert the difference.
Anybody else have thoughts?

A few quick thoughts from the wrestling mats in Webb City, where I spent a good five hours tonight watching a Joplin-Webb City-Carl Junction triangular.
I came away impressed in some respects with all three teams, but it's obvious that each has a few flaws. Joplin was wrestling without a couple of varsity guys, and because of weight issues, nearly the entire team bumped up a weight class to wrestle a heavier guy in each dual. The Eagles handled it a lot better in a 36-30 win against Webb City than a 41-41 tie against CJ (one that goes into the record books as a 42-41 Carl Junction victory because the Bulldogs won more total matches).
Carl Junction has some talented individuals and some incoming freshmen who'll make some noise, but I don't think the Bulldogs are strong enough up and down the lineup to make a top-10 type impact at Class 2 state. Then again, they have almost a full lineup, which a lot of Class 2 teams can't boast. I'd say, though, Monett and Nevada are the Class 2 teams to beat this year in the area.
I probably came away most impressed with Webb City, mostly because I didn't expect much from the Cardinals. They've got several wrestlers who should qualify for state and actually filled out all 14 weight classes, which is something the school has struggled to do in the past. Congratulations to first-year coach Brent Divine and previous head man Don Roy, who left Divine a program on the upswing.
Top four wrestlers I saw tonight, regardless of team or weight class (keep in mind, these are first impressions):

Patrick Grigsby, Webb City 112-pounder
Caleb Friend, Joplin 125/130-pounder
Chase Philpot, Webb City 215-pounder
Travis Green, Carl Junction 160-pounder

The reason I didn't pick a top five is because that spot could go to a number of guys: Freshman 103-pounder Jake Garretson from CJ, 135-pounder Austin Karns or 140-pounder Spencer Pittman from Joplin or 145-pounder Robert Roy or 189-pounder Johnathan Dahlman from Webb City.

Let's shift our focus to basketball, where post-Thanksgiving tournament week is in full swing. The Carthage boys tournament and Carl Junction girls tourney started last night, and the Joplin boys get going tonight. The Eagles are seeded second and play No. 7 seed Neosho.
We'll probably find out a lot about the Eagles in this first week. Carthage plays Nevada in that tournament tonight also and the winner will provide a stiff test for the Eagles, assuming they get by the Wildcats. Joplin went 6-20 last season, 0-9 in the Ozark Conference, but coach Tim Spiers is optimistic his team will show a great deal of improvement. They'll have to in order to compete in the Ozark, which appears loaded again this season.
As for the girls, Webb City starts four freshmen or sophomores with no starting experience, plus junior Nicole Hudson, but the Cardinals didn't seem to slow down much from last year's pace. They blew past Seneca by 11 last night in Carl Junction. The host team also looked impressive, crushing overmatched Liberal from the get-go.
I think CJ and Carthage, which finished last in the Southwest Conference a year ago but is picked first this season, are the girls teams to watch. For boys, I like Webb City, Carl Junction (which lost in triple overtime to Hillcrest last night) and among small schools, McAuley Catholic.

Also, on the wrestling mat, a big triangular tonight in Columbus, Kan., with Miami, Okla., and Carthage visiting. Good test for all three teams early. Best team there? Probably Carthage. Best individual? Columbus junior C.J. Napier, hands down. He's ranked first in the nation for 140-pound juniors — and he wrestles at 135.
Also, Joplin and Carl Junction visit Webb City for another important triangular Thursday night. And we'll get a good early look at plenty of area teams in the Neosho Tournament on Saturday.

And finally, some links to enjoy:
— I guess not everybody had a good time at Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday night. I will say the traffic inside the parking lot was horrendous, especially considering I needed the bathroom for two solid hours. But don't you expect those sort of problems when you go to a major sporting event?
— As we see now, that team Joplin High lost to in its football opener turned out to pretty good. As in, state-champion good.
— Big-time tragedy in the NFL. I've never been a huge Sean Taylor fan, but this story shows he was trying to improve his life. That process was cut short in the most horrific way.