Bobby Petrino released the post spring depth chart today at the post spring press conference. He touched on Freddie Fairchilds arrest, a suprise starter at Defensive End, and Jerell Norton’s Injury…
Some Former Hogs are having a big impact on the NBA Playoffs. Although they were eliminated Tuesday, Former Hog Joe Johnson and the Atlanta Hawks gave the Boston Celtics all they could handle. Former Hog Jannero Pargo’s play was key in New Orleans’s series win over Dallas and they lead the Spurs 2-0 in their western conference semifinal match up.
Sonny Weems and Stacy Lewis were among the athletes honored at the UA’s Senior Banquet. Arkansas Lady Razorback Katie Stripling set a school record in the pole vault at Friday night’s Arkansas Twilight at John McDonnell Field with a height of 14-2. Stripling and Dacia Barr were name SEC Athlete of the Week Tuesday. Starkitsha Luellen has become the eighth signee of the Lady Backs 08 basketball recruiting class. And finally, the Men’s Golf team is headed to the NCAA Central Regional while the Lady Backs are headed to the NCAA West Regional.
The Diamond Hogs paid tribute to former PA announcer Larry Shank this past Sunday. He died last year after a two year battle with cancer and was the PA man from 1989 to 2007. Despite losing this weekends series to the Tide (look below) the Hogs are being forecast to make an NCAA regional and have a RPI of 26 (as I write this). Here’s the Razorbloggers roundup of the past weeks games…
4/30 UA-14 Missouri St.-6
And finally, former Hogs Jess Todd and Casey Rowlett, and their Springfield Cardinals, will swing thru both of Arkansas’ minor league teams in the coming weeks. Todd will face the NWA Naturals 0n 5/7 and will possibly start against the Ark. Travelers during a 4 game set at Dickey-Stephens 5/12-5/15.
Ryan Mallett’s appeal to the NCAA to play this season was denied. AOL thinks that it was the right decision for the NCAA. Former Razorback Head Coach Lou Holtz has been elected to the College Football Hall of Fame. Casey Dick is gaining attention…the expats are kinda intrigued. Razorblogger HogBlogger recaps what he saw this spring. College Football News looks at the SEC’s Spring Games. Here’s a list of former hogs that have signed with NFL clubs as undrafted free agents…Weston Dacus-Kansas City Chiefs, Robert Felton-Buffalo Bills, Michael Grant-Jacksonville Jaguars , Matterral Richardson-Washington Redskins, Fred Bledsoe-Green Bay Packers. Marcus Monk and Felix Jones are gaining attention in their rookie camps. Speaking of Jones, He and Darren McFadden have chosen their jersey #’s. Also, D-Mac is getting paid and one of the expats welcome him to the neighborhood. Houston Nutt recommended Monk to the Bears. Speaking of Nutt…the expats check in on him. And Finally The Hog Blogger was drawn back into blogging by the expats…welcome back we missed you!
This week from the bench…
Spring football practice for the Arkansas Razorbacks is over and many pundits are already giving their preseason predictions mostly because they have nothing else to talk about. I will wait a little longer before going out on that limb because the results of spring practice offered no certainties for the success of next season.
So in the down time, I will jump on one of my favorite subjects since it’s been a few months since I have written about it. The subject of course is: Great Stadium Debate for 200, Alex.
This Week From the Bench…
A surprisingly good crowd appeared in Fayetteville for the Red-White game and the unveiling of the forward pass for the Hog faithful. It was also good to see the introduction of the tight-end eligible play. Maybe after an extended period of time with no passing game the Hogs can finally put somebody in the NFL who can play receiver, which hasn’t happened since Derek Russell, a product of Little Rock Central High.
Mr. Shields also touches on the NFL Draft.
I almost feel guilty. After throwing in a plug for my beloved Chicago Bears yesterday, the team went out and drafted two Hogs. It brings a tear to my eye.
Anyway, four more hogs were drafted on day two of the NFL Draft…
DT Marcus Harrison was the 90th overall pick, going in the third round to the Chicago Bears.
OT Nate Garner was the 211th overall pick, going in the seventh round to the New York Jets.
FB Peyton Hillis was the 227th overall pick, going in the seventh round to the Denver Broncos.
WR Marcus Monk was the 248th overall pick, going in the seventh round to the Chicago Bears.
Good Luck to all the drafted, and undrafted, Hogs!
As most of you know by now, Darren McFadden was selected 4th overall by the Oakland Raiders in the first round of Saturday’s NFL Draft. Arkansas’ “Other” RB Felix Jones was selected 22nd overall in the first round of the NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys. I wish them both the best of luck (except against my Bears).
The Diamond Hogs won their third consecutive SEC series this weekend, taking 2 of 3 from Ole Miss. The team lost the opener on Friday Night…UA 4-UM 12. Due to a forecast of bad weather for Sunday they played 2 on Saturday with the Hogs taking both. The first game went into extra innings with a final in 10 of UA 13-UM 11. The Hogs won the rubber match by a score of UA 12-UM 4. The win places the Hogs 2nd in the division and tied for 8th overall in the SEC. Only the top 8 records in the conference get into the SEC Tournament. The team has also won 7 of their last 9 games overall.
Over 40,000 came out for the Spring Game according to Arkansas’ Sports Information Office, setting a record. The crowd saw Casey Dick pass for 404 yards and two touchdowns, while RB Michael Smith ran for 157 yards and a TD on 13 carries. Red won 45-14.
Mid-Morning Update: The Razorbloggers have their wrapups from the spring game and Diamond Hog Doubleheader posted. John Pelphrey announced that Daniel Payne, one of his 2008 recruits, will not be attending the University….
Payne, a 6-foot-7 small forward who played at Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College, “is no longer eligible to participate at the Univerisoty of Arkansas and will be given his immediate release,” the e-mail said.
I’ve got some catching up to do since I was on a business trip to NWA this week. Although that trip did allow me to catch the first of the two game set against N. Colorado at Baum Tuesday. I have some mediocre pictures from my point and shoot I’ll be posting at my flickr account that I’ll link to in a post this weekend. On to the news…
Don’t forget that EAS Razorfest and the Spring Red-White game are tomorrow. The NFL Draft is also this weekend. Here is a look at all the hogs most likely to be drafted…I’ll get back to McFadden in a moment.
Hog LB Freddie Fairchild pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges of third degree battery and second degree false imprisonment stemming from an arrest earlier this month. Here’s the final practice wrapups from the Razorbloggers…4/17, 4/18, 4/19, 4/22, 4/24. Here’s a good article on Defensive Coordinator Willy Robinson and outtakes from the article touching on his major off-season knee surgery.
Since I last did a trough the Diamond Hogs have been on somewhat of a hot streak, winning 5 out of their last 6. First they bounced back over the loss to ORU with a 9-1 win over Alcorn St.. They then won their second consecutive SEC series against then #30 Tennessee…UA 5-UT 4, UA 5- UT 4, UT 7-UA 6. They then took both games of a two game set midweek against Northern Colorado…UA 9- UNCo 2, and UA 7-UNCo 1. I Just want to take a sec and say that the daily spring practice and the post game wrap ups that the Razorbloggers do are fantastic. Those posts are a somewhat thankless job and I just wanted to point out the great work they do. Thanks again.
While I was gone I also missed the Patrick Beverley “I’m Leaving” mania. Beverley apparently updated the status on his facebook.com page to “I’m Leaving”. During last weekend’s Real Deal on the Hill Beverley also told reporters that he had “No Comment” on the reports. Rumors started swirling that he was headed to USF, reuniting with former Head Hog Stan Heath. Finally, during an interview with a Tampa Bay paper, Beverley’s Mom stated he was staying at Arkansas (She apparently talked him out of it).
Speaking of Mothers…Darren McFadden’s Mom had some choice comments regarding her son playing in either New York, for the Jets, or Oakland. In the article in the LA Times an Arkansas Coach is quoted as saying D-Mac will be bringing the whole family to where ever he’s drafted. One thing he won’t be bringing to NYC is a Dress for the Draft. He’s also been in talks with the Patriots and talks about his most recent ESPN the Magazine photo shoot. The expats also mention his honest and open policy about his family and past.
And Finally…
Sophomores Michelle Stout and Casey Jo Magee became the first Lady Razorbacks gymnasts to earn All-America honors Thursday, leading 11th-ranked Arkansas to a fifth-place finish in Session 1 of the NCAA Championships
Arkansas Track and Field Coach John McDonnell announced his retirement today. He will continue to coach thru the rest of this season. He currently has 42 national titles and 83 conference titles. We’ll miss him!
With the main sports seasons drawing to a close, along with my work life speeding up, I won’t be posting as often as I’d like. I’ll try to get a trough up tonight after I (hopefully) attend my first game at Baum Stadium. I’ll have pics to post if I get to go. Have a great week!
This Week From The Bench…
The interview with Mitch Mustain on the radio out in Southern California last week was very telling.
Many will e-mail me after this column telling me to let it go, but Mustain for better or worse will be a player forever etched in Razorback history. If it’s OK to discuss former players, then Mustain is still fair game especially considering the circumstances in which he left.
Plus it’s not fair to deny some fans the cross they bear for the mess that was created.
Here’s The practice wrapups from the razorbloggers….4/11, 4/15. Michael Smith got a hip pointer friday before the scrimmage, but returned tuesday. Ryan Mallett is out for the rest of the spring with a thumb injury. The Traveler says it’s a fracture. FYI…USC Trojan Mitch Mustain lost the competition for the team’s starting spot…ha ha ha. McFadden maina is hitting a fever pitch.
The Diamond Hogs won their first SEC series of the year with a couple of wins over #21 Florida. The scores were UA-2 UF-1, UA-1 UF-6, UA-10 UF-4. Then promptly went out and lost at Oral Roberts, UA-2 ORU-12. They face Alcorn St. at Baum tonight. Sunday’s game time against Tennessee has been changed.
Eddie Sutton’s carrer at USF is officially over. The Expats dig into the SI archives to find an article on Joe Kline. Pelphrey is looking to improve this fall’s recruiting class. Finally, the tennis hogs are going to face Vandy in the first round of the SEC Championships.
This Week From The Bench…
Last week, The Sporting News ran a story rating the football coaches in the SEC. I have given annual report cards to UofA basketball and football coaches going on 10 years now, so why not grade out their competition. I will offer what I believe to be the best half-dozen in the SEC (does the order of the second six really matter?).
I don’t have much time so I’ll hit the high points (like I don’t already do that)….
Here’s this week’s Practice Wrapups 4/5, 4/6, 4/8, 4/10. They’ll Scrimmage today. The Sporting News ranks Petrino 10th best coach in the SEC. The Razorbloggers Recap what they’ve seen so far. DMac has some videos about the Wildhog and last year’s Hog Backfield up on his blog. Speaking of Darren, He’s on the cover of ESPN the magazine’s Draft Special.
Nolan Richardson was elected to the College Basketball Hall of Fame, along w/Billy Packer. Which leads to another sign the relationship between Richardson and the UA is on the mend. Guard Ben Hansbrough, UNC Tarheel Tyler Hansbrough’s little brother, has been granted his release from Mississippi St. and is interested in the Hogs. Former Lady’back Lauren Ervin was selected in the 3rd round of the WNBA Draft by the Connecticut Sun. The Diamond Hogs Continue to struggle. After winning Last Saturday, 5-4, to tie the series with Auburn, they lost it in heartbreaking fashion 12-10 in 10 innings. Then Oral Roberts came in and thumped the hogs 9-4 at Baum. They head to Florida this weekend.
