by Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports. This column is a Tour De Force, although I am sure Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe and, (in some respects) Big 10 Commissioner Jim Delany, disagree.  See, if you want to win me over on the Playoff System, facts, realism and logic (and not the hyperbole that a Playoff system results in a more “true” champion) is the way to do it.

That said, this paragraph, made me pucker up a little until I realized that Bobby Petrino is the UA football Coach and the Mississippi Coach isn’t.

Conference expansion is about to forever alter college athletics: destroying traditions, hammering taxpayers and increasing competition. It will leave once-major programs out of the loop, consolidate power and extend the gap between haves and have nots – even within leagues such as the Big Ten.

And, wannabe shock jock sportswriter Paul Finebaum isn’t helping my heartburn with his usual drivel about Arkansas and USC-E being a “waste of space” for the SEC. It’s agenda-driven and historically inaccurate, and for those reasons, I hesitate to link  it.  But, I do so to point out that, particularly with regard to football–by the standard Finebaum applies to Arkansas and USC-E, Tennessee (his alma mater) should be considered a waste of space, too. 

Then again, we are talking about a guy who rose to SEC sportswriter/radio guy prominence with a schtick that would make “Michael From Stuttgart” (AKA blowhard radio guy who calls into 15 sports radio shows a day and does everything he can to offend anyone with which he speaks) blush.

But, I digress.  My point is, I can be sold on the Playoff System if people start speaking Wetzel’s language and the SEC makes sure that Arkansas at least has the opportunity to be a “have” instead of a “have not”.

and advance to play National Number 1 seed Arizona State (47-8) in Tempe next weekeend. Two of (the real) ASU’s 8 losses this season came at the hands of Washington State–the team Arkansas just beat for the 6th time in 7 games over the last 2 seasons.

But, with it’s two superstars–Zack Cox and Brett Eibner–far from 100% healthy, an already tough task will be all but impossible next weekend for the Hogs.

By my St. Louis Cardinals. Woo Hoo!.

Arkansas Needs a Kirk Gibsonian Effort From Brett Eibner, tonight.

The Washington State Cougars rallied from 6-1 down against Kansas State yesterday,and then forced a do-or die showdown with Arkansas at 7pm at Baum Stadium tonight after taking advantage of the Razorbacks’ atrocious defense to take a 10-7 win in Sunday’s late game at the NCAA Fayetteville Regional.

Arkansas did something I have never seen a HIGH SCHOOL team,  much less a College World Series-caliber college team do–fail to get even  ONE out on FOUR different WSU bunts, drop an Infield Fly Rule popup allowing two runners to advance, and then boot a tailor-made double play that could have kept the Hogs in the game.

Call me crazy, but it seems like the Cougars feel they have this one in the bag.  Both teams will take a Johnny Wholestaff approach on the mound, but one would think Arkansas still has the advantage after WSU was forced to play an extra game and use a lot of pitchers, including James Wise, who started BOTH games yesterday, and it’s No. 1 starter, Chad Arnold, who threw 113 pitches Friday and 50+ in his four inning relief stint late last night.

Arkansas may counter with reliever Jeremy Heatley to start, and given some of the epic implosions he has had under pressure this season, that frightens the bejesus out of me.

Up-and-down freshman D.J. Baxendale will also almost certainly be prominently involved, and I wouldn’t be shocked to see Brett Eibner (who didn’t play last night because of wrist and leg injuries) not only play CF, but also be called on to pitch for the first time in several weeks.

Eibner should also be drafted in the 1st or 2nd round of the MLB draft, which starts today, but he should still have UA 3b Zack Cox (who is dubbed by some as the best pure hitter in the draft) pick up the dinner tab (I hope it’s a celebratory one) as Cox is expected to be a Top 10 overall pick.

I have a bad feeling about this game. I think the UA season will come to an end, tonight. It’s too bad because Cox and Eibner may be the best tandem to ever play baseball at Arkansas.