The Blog Hawgs

that doesn’t involve a suspension or a writer ripping them for the Nolan Richardson Stan Heath Dana Altman fiasco.

READ HERE

I should be back around, soon.

the Special Prosecutor assigned to investigate the case of an alleged rape involving three Razorback basketball players–Glenn Bryant, Marcus Britt and Nick Mason– has declined to file charges, just as the elected Prosecutor declined to do. 

Here is a blog post from Arkansas News with plenty of quotes.

have a real Razorback feel.

the Arkansas Razorbacks. Last night was a huge win for the Hogs, even if it came at the expense of a team that only has 1 conference win.  Georgia has played most everyone (including UK) tough, and to overcome a 15-point halftime deficit and some questionable officiating on the road showed some toughness, once again, from a team that appeared to be dead inthe water a few weeks ago and now could conceivably go on a real push for postseason play.

I would also like to take this opportunity to laud Stef Welsh.  I have been hard on the guy over the years, but he had one of the better games in his career last night–played under control, hit big shots, had good shot selection, played tremendous defense.  He was a very big part of the win.

While Arkansas’ Recruiting class is going to finish in the 30s or 40s nationally and somewhere in the lower half of the cutthroat SEC, they signed a ton of good defensive lineman (1 service has their DL class as the 3rd best in the nation).

But, they made some real hay in Oklahoma, signing 5 of the Sooner State’s Top 20 players.  Of those 5–Calvin Barnett, Eric Bennett, Jarrett Lake, Courtney Gaston & Denton Simek (in order of ranking) 3–Barnett, Bennett and Lake–are from Tulsa and had offers from Oklahoma. 

Four of the 5 bring some much-needed jelp to the defense. Simek is an offensive lineman.

Good job by Offensive coordinator and recruiting rainmaker Garrick McGee.

Follow the Hogs’ class here.  There is plenty of wailing and nation of the teeth about their team ranking (in the 40s and 50s per most sources) but Coach Petrino has a track record as an excellent evaluator. Time will tell. Public reports indicate they have gotten 3 of the best defensive players in Oklahoma, and a big defensive tackle–Bryan Jones–from Junction City.

James Cameron & Kathryn Bigelow is certainly one of the most intriguing stories to come out of today’s Oscar nominees announcement.

And it made me think–What other matchups of Exes would I like to see?

There are lots of possibilities.  

I’d also like to see:

Justin Timberlake vs. Britney Spears (or Rihanna vs. Chris Brown) for a Grammy (hey don’t rule it out if Taylor Freaking Swift can win one, Britney can lyp sync one ).

Houston Nutt vs. his Available Timeouts

Kobe Bryant vs A Shot He Didn’t Like and/or “any signature facial expression/display of emotion he didn’t steal from the now almost equally unlikeable Michael Jordan.

Blanche Lincoln vs. the Democratic Party

Glenn Beck vs. Rationality

I’m missing some obvious ones, right? Help me out.

after last night’s improbable win at Mississippi.

Oh, wouldn’t it be nice to have that 3-game Bud Walton Arena mid-major losing streak back with Courtney Fortson at point guard?

Arkansas would (probably) be sitting in a good spot, about 13-6 with some quality wins (OM, MSU, UAB, Missouri St.) and the POTENTIAL for a stretch the likes of which we haven’t seen for awhile in the SEC.  Here it is:

@ UGA
AU at BWA
LSU at BWA
@Bama
USC-E
@AU
@LSU
Vandy at BWA
@Tenn
Miss at BWA

Now, Arkansas isn’t going to run the table or anything, but other than Tennessee game, Arkansas should have a legitimate chance at winning it’s remaining games and none but the tilt with the Vols should be considered a tougher task than last night’s win.  

Vandy is good, but they have traditionally wilted down the stretch.  And, Arkansas would get them at BWA on a 8-game winning streak if it does what is required for that game to matter.   The key will be winning games on the road against so-so or bad teams (UGA, AU, LSU). 

Granted, Arkansas has won one road conference game the last two years, so winning 4 or 5 more this season is highly unlikely, but not outside the realm of possibility because of the teams the UA has left on the road–UGA, Bama, AU, LSU and Tenn (will the suspensions and dismissals get to the Vols’ legs, late?).

I think the crowds will be good at BWA and the Razorbacks will have a decent shot against AU, USC-E, Vandy and Mississippi.

However, at 10-11 overall and 3-3 in the SEC currently, realistic goals at this point are winning the SEC West and going to the NIT. I think the only way to have a legitimate shot at the NCAAT is to win 9 of the remaining 10 games. That’s a real long shot.  If they did that, the Hogs could point to having a solid non-conference schedule,  winning 11 of their last 12 and being 12-5 with its (almost)  full squad. 

If Arkansas can win Saturday at UGA, then I will start to think about the possibility, because the Hogs will then have 3 of 4 games at home followed by a 2-game road trip to play two very beatable teams–AU and LSU.

I just wish they had the non-conference losses against those 3 mid-majors at home back. It would have made an enjoyable win last night against Mississippi a lot more meaningful.

and moved to Sunday at 6 p.m. Because of the change, the game will not be televised.

This is really good stuff. Thank you, Jimmy, for pointing out that Leno is remarkbly unfunny.

This is really cool.  I hope that the guy who is doing this can add some Hogs in Junction City, AR and Olive Branch, MS, soon. There has never been a year with so few Arkansas recruits, and I would imagine there won’t be another one anytime, soon.

preseason Top 25 poll.  I suspect they are wary of Arkansas’ pitching, or this would be a little bit higher.  Look out for true freshman D.J. Baxendale of Sylvan Hills. He reportedly has filthy stuff and could be the closer.

Jim Gooch sent me this and asked that I post it as an addendum to his now much-criticized Movie List regarding the Teabaggers, and his reply to PapaJ. Apparently, it is a ridiculious Teabagger Rally poster.

“Arkansas, will you make the Final Four in those whacky uniforms with the pigs with horns…………..yeah, those pigs may be Hogs but they’re kosher to me.”

(if report regarding its content are true) regardless of which side you are on in the never-ending abortion debate.

Really….. *I* am a Jerk for Calling Tim Tebow College Football Baby Jesus, but the anti-abortion Super Bowl commercial he is starring in is going to center around his “miraculious” birth?  Here is a particularly interesting portion of this article in the Gainesville Sun :

Focus on the Family announced last week that the commercial will share a personal story from the Tebows centered on the theme of “Celebrate Family, Celebrate Life.” The group has declined to provide specific details about the ad, but speculation has centered on the story of Tebow’s birth.

After getting seriously ill during a mission trip to the Philippines, Pam Tebow ignored a recommendation by doctors to have an abortion and ended up giving birth. Tim Tebow himself said the story was the reason that he decided to participate in the ad.

“That’s the reason I’m here, because my mom is a really courageous woman,” he said Monday.

Tom Krattenmaker, author of the book “Onward Christian Athletes,” questioned whether the ad’s focus on the “miraculous birth narrative” might turn off even Christians for being idolatrous. Krattenmaker, whose book is critical of mixing religion and sports, said Tebow is moving beyond simply espousing his faith to being a flash point in the culture wars.

“He’s either naive or incredibly gutsy and principled,” Krattenmaker said. “I expect there’s some of both.”

The controversy is growing regarding this, and, if the ad contains such a focus, I can understand why.  It’s one thing to be anti-abortion.  It’s another to tell people faced with a Hobson’s choice regarding the most excruciating of life (and death) experiences that they did the wrong thing.

Let me explain.  In 2005, Amber, my wife, was pregnant with what would have been our first child.  Unfortunately, at about the 3-4 month mark, there were extreme complications.  We were advised by the doctors, that under no scenario would the baby live to term, be born, and survive. 

The doctors said it was highly likely the baby would be stillborn in the womb, and possibly present some serious risks for Amber’s health, but that even if the baby survived to term, she would then die.  The doctors strongly suggested we induce labor. We did.

To the staunchest Pro-Life people, this was, I am sure, an abortion, even though I cannot imagine how bringing a baby into the world with extreme birth defects, to live for a second, and then die could ever be considered a Pro-Life decision (not to mention the further toll it would have added to an already devastating experience).

Nevertheless, that’s essentially the message Tebow is sending.  Not that we should find a loving home for “unwanted” babies and avoid abortion at all cost.  But, that everything is black and white, and no matter the circumstances an abortion is an abortion is an abortion…..and you just never know…..that baby you didn’t want may grow up to win the Heisman Trophy and, at 22, tell the rest of the World how it should live it’s life.