A Texas woman has made “Fatal Attraction” look like (extra) marital bliss after allegedly serving up a menu that included Common Law Husband’s Fried Pet Goldfish.
Archive for September, 2009
Take That, Glenn Close!
Posted by Adam Butler on September 30, 2009
Posted in Pop Culture | Leave a Comment »
What? A Reporter From Outside the State of Arkansas Who Doesn’t Think Bobby Petrino
Posted by Adam Butler on September 30, 2009
is the Anti-Christ?
Someone get Sean Salisbury on the phone (OK, given his alleged use of his cell phone, maybe it would be better to write him a letter.) Apparently he has some time on his hands.
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SEC Links
Posted by Brett Kincaid on September 30, 2009
Lots of blame to go ’round at practice yesterday in Fayetteville.
Cutting down on penalties is key for Arkansas moving forward.
The state of Alabama is all abuzz over the double 4-0 starts at Auburn and Alabama.
The Tennessee Vols have a banged up defense heading into Auburn week.
Mississippi’s head coach calls this squad a “tight end oriented team” while the state of Arkansas breaks into laughter.
Gary Laney nails it: It’s not pretty, but it’s still 4-0.
Spurrier is wisely managing expectations for this week’s game against South Carolina State.
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Morning News
Posted by Brett Kincaid on September 30, 2009
New traffic laws regarding text messaging and teen cell phone use take affect tomorrow.
AG Dustin McDaniel says APERS is responsible for deciding whether or not to release the names of those infamous double-dippers.
We may have another Jim Holt sighting. Oh PLEASE let this be true!
What the heck is going on at L.R. Mills High School?
It sounds like people need to read our lottery etiquette item.
If you are in Fayetteville, avoid Township for the next two days.
A tsunami rocked the South Pacific overnight, killing at least 13 thus far.
President Obama has announced $5 billion in research grants.
Important political lesson: When in trouble, wrap yourself around your family.
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Former Hog All-American Felix Jones is Developing a Reputation
Posted by Adam Butler on September 29, 2009
as an explosive playmaker in the NFL…..who can’t stay on the field.
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Arkansas Lottery Ticket Sales Exceeded
Posted by Adam Butler on September 29, 2009
$1.2 million on the first day. Cha-Ching.
Posted in News | 1 Comment »
SEC Links
Posted by Brett Kincaid on September 29, 2009
Saturday’s Southwest Classic is shaping up as a must win game for the Razorbacks.
Arkansas hopes to regain its confidence this weekend.
Texas A&M Aggies an offensive juggernaut?
Alabama looking for answers in Hightower’s absence.
Auburn’s attitude is simple: DWWD
Here is a take on LSU from a Georgia perspective.
Jevan Sneed still trusts his offensive line at Mississippi…allegedly.
The offense needs to help the defense in Baton Rouge.
Is Georgia Tech the most difficult non-conference opponent to face?
Stephen Garcia should be ready for Saturday.
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Morning News
Posted by Brett Kincaid on September 29, 2009
Arkansas lottery ticket sales were brisk on opening day. Final total should be available later today.
New education chief Tom Kimbrell has big plans for pre-K programs in Arkansas.
Dassault Falcon expects to layoff six dozen employees.
While you should not be doing it anyway, texting while driving because illegal on Thursday.
A Craighead County standoff leaves one person dead and one in jail.
Chase Dugger has been named the new Executive Director of the Arkansas Republican Party.
Thirty-nine seems like a reasonable number of arrests at a biker rally.
The gap between “haves” and “have nots” has widened during the Great Recession.
It’s been too long since we had an item about Sarah Palin.
Senate Democrats plan to force the issue on the public option.
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Select 17 Returns
Posted by Brett Kincaid on September 28, 2009
After a week off thanks to probems with logistics and travel, we are back with this week’s poll. The top 3 remain the same, although Florida is not a unanimous pick for the first time as the #1 team. Also, we cannot as a group differentiate between the second and third-best teams. Both Texas and Alabama tied for the #2 spot this week.
There is a huge drop off after the top 3, and the rest of the teams are pretty well bunched. I think it is safe to say that no one really has a clear idea about who the best teams are at this point. That’s not too uncommon, though, at this point in the season. We’ll have a great idea in a couple of weeks and certainly know who is really in the running for the National Championship by Halloween.
| 1 | Florida (6) |
| 2 | Alabama (1) |
| 2 | Texas |
| 4 | Boise St. |
| 5 | LSU |
| 6 | Virginia Tech |
| 7 | Cincinnati |
| 8 | TCU |
| 9 | Oklahoma |
| 10 | Ohio St. |
| 11 | USC |
| 12 | Houston |
| 13 | Georgia |
| 14 | Iowa |
| 15 | Oklahoma St. |
| 16 | Penn St. |
| 17 | Miami |
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SEC Links
Posted by Brett Kincaid on September 28, 2009
The Arkansas offense was humbled by the Tide. Now the question is whether or not they can rebound.
It’s a matter of confidence for these Hogs.
The Alabama defense showed why the Tide is a serious national championship contender.
Auburn peeled the redshirts off two freshmen on Saturday, showing that Gene Chizik is not satisfiedwith his team despite a 4-0 start.
The Georgia Bulldogs escaped on Saturday, proving that this team is still a great mystery.
Mississippi goes back to work after the predicatbly embarrassing performance last Thursday.
Thanks to upsets around the country, LSU has jumped to the #4 spot in both major polls.
Mississippi State is six inches away from being the darlings of college football.
The open week comes at the right time for the Florida Gators.
Rich Brooks is shouldering the load for his team’s flat performance on Saturday.
The Ol’ Ball Coach is happy to have won, but he is not elated with his team’s victory over Mississippi.
The Volunteers will be without their starting middle linebacker this weekend — and likely the rest of the season.
Vanderbilt stopped their 2-game slide with a win over Rice this weekend. Now they turn their attention to the team from Oxford.
Posted in Sports | 1 Comment »
Morning News
Posted by Brett Kincaid on September 28, 2009
My retirement plan has finally arrived.
The Family Counci’ls Jerry Cox was on KTHV this morning, telling Arkansans how they should live their lives.
A Texarkana 6-year-old is the latest H1N1 victim in Arkansas.
Little Rock police are on the hunt for 2 suspects wanted for the murder of a 19-year-old.
Volunteers and paid workers completed a remarkable cleanup early Sunday morning after the Bikes, Blues, and BBQ rally.
Iran tested a long-range missile early Monday, further pushing the envelope with the international community.
Roman Polanski is in custody, facing a 31 year charge of having sex with a minor.
Remember that vast right-wing conspiracy? Big Willy says it still exists.
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The Butler Did It–Change Willy Needs
Posted by Adam Butler on September 27, 2009
I expected Arkansas to lose yesterday, and it did just that, falling 35-7 in Tuscaloosa in a game that didn’t seem to be that close.
Alabama may have the best team in the country, and could very well be improved at QB despite losing 3-year starter, Sarah Jessica John Parker Wilson. I am impressed with the Crimson Tide to the point that in the preseason I picked them to go undefeated in the regular season and meet up with College Football Baby Jesus, Tim Tebow, and the defending national champion Florida Gators in a SEC Championship/Game of the Centuryish showdown.
But, that said, I didn’t expect to see an Arkansas offense that seemed to be vastly improved rendered pretty much helpless throughout the day by Alabama’s stout defense.
And, while it is easy, and understandable for me to expect the Razorbacks to lose to Bama, the most disappointing aspect of the debacle at Bryant-Denny Stadium Saturday was that the Razorbacks, themselves, clearly harbored very little hope off winning.
Whether it was Alabama freshman phenom Trent Richardson’s 53-yard touchdown run featuring a handful of missed kill-shot tackles by Arkansas’ best (alleged) tacklers, the Hogs WR corps’ deluge of drops and ducks (from imminent contact) or the weekly Keystone Kops routine in the hapless Razorback defensive backfield, it was clear that this game was one that the guys with the boars on their hats just wanted to get behind them.
That approach won’t do for a fan base that has ponied up the resources to try and make the jump on the national (and frankly, SEC conference) scene from stepchild to prodigal son status.
Instead, Arkansas is going to have to make significant strides, sooner than later, in a number of key (mostly defensive) areas to give its fans, players, and, most importantly, recruits, something to believe in as the season moves forward.
It will not be easy. If the Arkansas defensive cupboard isn’t bare, it’s just a few packages of Top Ramen from it. Offseason optimists, like myself, looked at the fact Arkansas was bringing most everyone back on the defensive side of the ball, along with an injection of talented newcomers in the secondary, and expected the Hogs’ defense would have to be improved.
We were wrong, at least thus far. Junior college transfer and headhunter Anthony Leon, who was expected to help at safety, has been largely ineffective, thanks in no small part to a steep learning curve after missing offseason workouts in his efforts to complete enough coursework to become eligible.
Leon is a top-notch talent, but he doesn’t yet have the knowledge of Arkansas’ system that is necessary for him to go full-throttle. Meanwhile, the prize recruit of the last recruiting class–5-star cornerback Darius Winson of Helena, Arkansas– is languishing on the bench while his secondary mates have been putting on a clinic in incompetence.
The rationale for Winston’s lack of playing time appears to be that he is neither physically, nor mentally, ready for the rigors of SEC football. Guess what? The guys that are playing ahead of him clearly aren’t either. But, unlike Winston, they are at least getting some of the unavoidable growing pains of playing cornerback in the SEC behind them.
It’s time for Winston and Leon to get their chances. They simply cannot do much worse than they guys who are playing, and they would immediately provide some much-needed physical talent, and swagger to the defense.
However, it isn’t quite time to throw the baby out with the bath water, just yet. I have never thought Willy Robinson was the answer as the defensive coordinator, but I also think that it is hard to completely blame a guy for losing a gun fight when he is only armed with cap guns.
I don’t think he will be able to save his job, but if he has any hope of doing so, his squad will have to give the fans, and themselves, hope. A win over an undefeated, but untested Texas A&M squad at JerryWorld next Saturday could be a step in the right direction.
One does not have to look back very far into Razorback history to find an example of a wholly unexpected defensive uprising. In 2005, Arkansas was embarrassed 70-17 in L.A. by the USC Trojans on the way to a miserable 4-7 campaign.
The following season, defensive coordinator Reggie Herring must have had flashbacks when the Razorbacks were whipped 50-14 by USC in the season opener. The Hogs rebounded by winning 10 straight games and coming a muffed punt away from playing in the BCS, and possibly for a national title.
Unfortunately, though, at this point, I don’t see any first-round NFL draft pick caliber talent on this Arkansas defense.
That’s why it’s incumbent upon the UA brain trust to coach up the gifted players they do have on the defensive side of the ball, and make some personnel changes by throwing them into the fire.
Otherwise, another puny defensive effort in the Lone Star State on Saturday by the Razorbacks might just mean change will come from near the top–at the defensive coordinator position.
Posted in Commentary | 6 Comments »
Game Day Links
Posted by Brett Kincaid on September 26, 2009
The Hogs are determined to get their act together in the run game, especially in the Red Zone.
Despite its poor effort last week, the defense remains confident that they will be better.
Things to watch in this game, from the Bama point of view.
Alabama hopes to get some takeaways from the Razorback offense.
College Football News likes Alabama in this one. Click here for all their Week 4 predictions.
What will happen: Mallett will get his shots in with a few big plays, but Alabama will grind out close to 300 rushing yards and McElroy will be nearly perfect.
CFN Prediction: Alabama 40 … Arkansas 21 … Line: Alabama -17
Stewart Mandel at Sports Illustrated also likes Bama to win big today.
Razorbacks QB Ryan Mallett, the nation’s top-rated passer, will provide the toughest test to date for Alabama’s third-ranked defense. He’ll rack up some yards. But Arkansas’ D lacks the athletes to slow down the Crimson Tide’s balanced attack. Expect a big game for Alabama QB Greg McElroy, who will burn the Hogs with play-action.
Chris Low at ESPN.com has a wonderful feature on former UA quarterback Quinn Grovey, one of the most electrifying players ever to wear the Razorbacks uniform.
Posted in Sports | 3 Comments »
Saturday Links
Posted by Brett Kincaid on September 26, 2009
Officials received the go-ahead yesterday to build the decidedly un-green Turk Power Plant in Hempstead County.
Clinton School alums seem a little concerned about the direction of the school under its current leadership.
An arrest has been made in the shooting death of a Magnolia teen.
Not exactly breaking news here: Arkansas among the lowest paying states in the country.
Change we can believe in?
If only Big Willy was still in charge.
The judge who saved baseball will throw out the first pitch today before the Yanks/Sox game in the Bronx.
The Yankees knocked off the Red Sox last night and knocked out Jon Lester with a batted ball.
St. Louis and Los Angeles were both forced to wait another day to celebrate.
Tiger has the 36-hole lead at The Tour Championship.
Preview all of today’s Top 25 action here.
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I’m Back!
Posted by Brett Kincaid on September 25, 2009
After a week in Boston and away from the family and my Hogs, I am back and ready to roll. Many thanks to AB for picking up the slack. We’ll be back to a regular schedule next week.
One sports-related note from the week that was: You would have thought the world came to an end the way New England fans freaked out after their loss to New York last Sunday. The Pats have been spoiled by success, obviously forgetting about the 1-15 season and the Scott Zolak experience before the Tuna arrive to change the culture. It reminded me that fans are fans, no matter where you live. We have short memories and no patience.
Last week did not pan out like I imagined, underlining my point that Week 2 is the most difficult week to handicap. I still managed to finish at 8-8 on the week, and we’re back ready to make money this Sunday.
As always… Don’t blame me if you end up cashing out the kid’s scholarship fund to pay Vinny.
Cleveland v. BALTIMORE (-13.5)
It’s not a good sign for the AFC when the team with the best defense in the league now has one of the most explosive offenses. This could easily end up 42-10.
NY GIANTS (-7) v. Tampa Bay
I don’t love laying a touchdown on the road…unless it’s against Tampa.
Green Bay v. ST. LOUIS (+7)
Beware The Obvious Game
Kansas City (+9.5) v. Philadelphia
Lots of distractions in Philly this week. Not enough for KC to win, but enough for them to cover.
ATLANTA (+4.5) v. New England
Vegas still loves New England and is still skeptical of Atlanta. This could be a good moneyline wager on Atlanta, too.
SAN FRANCISCO (+7) v. Minnesota
I’m 2-0 while taking San Fran, so let’s go with it until it bucks us. I think we learn a ton about both teams this weekend.
Jacksonville v. HOUSTON (-3.5)
This line has actually moved down towards the Jags. It baffles me.
Washington v. DETROIT (+6.5)
I will take Detroit until they cover. Mark it down.
Tennessee v. NY JETS (-2.5)
I stick to my guns on Tennessee as the 3rd place team in the AFC South. Eventually folks will understand that the Jets are for real.
NEW ORLEANS (-6) v. Buffalo
You don’t get this line in November. New Orleans also doesn’t cover in November. The thing is … it’s September.
CHICAGO (-1.5) v. Seattle
I like Seattle a lot less without Hasselbeck.
PITTSBURGH (-4) v. Cincinnati
Yet another road pick, but I just cannot take the Bengals. Maybe Pittsburgh isn’t as good as we thought?
Denver v. OAKLAND (+2.5)
This line has swung 4 points towards Denver. Unreal. People are dumb, trust Vegas.
Miami v. SAN DIEGO (-6.5)
The Fins choked away a sure win on Monday. That’s a tough turnaround on a short week, traveling to the West Coast to play a team with something to prove. This one is close to a lock.
INDIANAPOLIS (+1.5) v. Arizona
I am not sure either of these teams are great, but I’ll take Manning in a close one.
CAROLINA (+9.5) v. Dallas
Jake, I’m giving you one more chance.
——————————————————————————————————————————-
Record ATS– Week 2: 8-8, Overall: 20-12
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Sports Page
Posted by Adam Butler on September 25, 2009
The honeymoon is over in Mississippi for Mississippi Head Coach Houston Nutt.
Arkansas’ Defense will have to put pressure on Greg McElroy to have a shot at beating Alabama tomorrow.
The Chicago Cubs delayed the inevitable last night with some late heriocs that kept the St. Louis Cardinals’ magic number for clinching the NL Central at 1.
Danica Patrick is NOT going to Nascar.
Alabama is realizing Ryan Mallett is good. Now, if we could just work on them realizing it’s preferable to occasionally not breathe through their mouths.
Kentucky has a tall order Saturday versus Florida’s stout defense.
Posted in Sports | 1 Comment »
A Quick, Snarky “Mississippi, I Told You So” and National Reactions to another Houston Nutt Meltdown
Posted by Adam Butler on September 25, 2009
Why are they suprised? I called this classic HDN loss in July, brotha! From my preview:
Ole Miss, despite the fact its gameday traditions include a “Walk of Champions” has not won a conference championship since the passage of the Civil Rights Act. That is a long, 4 ½ decade walk (but it has featured the best tailgating of any stroll you have ever seen–just ask any Rebels fan).
And, its current leader, Nutt, has shown that he is what he is–a skilled, yet flawed coach that can invigorate a moribund program and bring notable success–but one who cannot lead the pack and finish with a kick.
He has earned SEC Coach of the Year honors twice (2001 and 2006) and has Ole Miss on the college football map, but he has never had a team finish in the Top 10 nationally, and was 2-6 in bowl games at Arkansas.
That is the kind of evidence that suggests looks are deceiving and the Ole Miss Rebels’ Great Expectations will end in great disappointment in 2009.
Now, CBS’ Gregg Doyel rips Mississippi and national media group think (you know, like the kind that led to Bobby Petrino being villified like a common criminal) and The Bleacher Report calls it like it is.
Posted in Commentary | 6 Comments »
Morning Links
Posted by Adam Butler on September 25, 2009
President Obama says Iran “has been building a covert uranium enrichment facility”. Yikes.
Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel is pondering the thorny issue of improperly paid retirement benefits to elected officials.
The city of Gravette is mourning the loss of a high school football player who died Wednesday after a staph infection and surgery.
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was released from the hospital today after spending the night there as a precaution.
I thought there wasn’t any crime in northwest Arkansas.
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Alabama Math: 3+1=12
Posted by Adam Butler on September 24, 2009
This Never gets old….especially not this week. And yeah, I know we only have 1, and it requires some Bama math….but I think they have us beaten on the prententious scale by about 4:1…at least.
Posted in Commentary | 1 Comment »
Lottery Etiquette
Posted by Brett Kincaid on September 28, 2009
To My Fellow Degenerates:
Thank you for sponsoring the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery. My daughter and Adam’s son will certainly put your money to good use in about 18 years while going to college, where they will learn to be your kids’ bosses. While we sincerely appreciate your help, let’s be sure to do it right.
The most important rule: Do not scratch of your ticket at the counter while other folks are in line.
The second most important rule: Do not overreact to your $7 win. Remember, you probably spent $10 to “win” your $7 thus resulting in a net loss. That’s what GM did, and look how far it got them.
Kindest regards,
The BlogHawgs
Posted in Commentary | 2 Comments »