Some Odds, Ends and Assorted April Nuggets

Spring Football Game in the Can

Wintry temperatures in the upper '30s kept the turnout pretty low for the Red/White football game on Saturday, but the ones who were there at Razorback Stadium got to see some solid play from some of the younger players on the roster. RB Michael Smith capped a strong spring with an assortment of moves on runs and receptions to further solidify his stock as the heir apparent to McFadden and Jones. FB Peyton Hillis looked healthy again---finally---and displayed the versatility that was lacking from last year's offense down the stretch. WR London Crawford made an acrobatic touchdown grab that caught some eyes, while DE Malcolm Sheppard wreaked enough havoc in the backfield to make folks believe he could be an impact player next year. You don't want to overblow the performance of anyone in a spring football game, but I certainly liked what I saw as far as overall team depth on Saturday. Now all these guys have to do is get in the weight room and stay there until early August.

Diamond Hogs Sweep Gators Away

It's not football or basketball, but three straight wins versus the Florida Gators is always something to be savored. The Razorbacks' baseball team played a feisty three game series with Florida over the weekend and came away with the upper hand in all three contests. Staff ace Nick Schmidt set the tone in the first of a doubleheader on Saturday, dominating the Gators en route to another win without a loss---still perfect on the year. He also became Arkansas' all-time strikeout king. Then in the nightcap, the Arkansas offense finally provided Duke Welker with some run support and the Hogs had won the first two of the three game set. The finishing touches were provided on Sunday, when Arkansas came from behind late to sweep the series out from under Florida. At the midway point now in SEC play, Arkansas is best in the conference with an 11-4 mark. Throw in a 29-10 overall record, and it's no doubt the Razorbacks are right on course for a trip back to Omaha.

Arkansas Basketball Gets Its Man . . . Finally

The Razorbacks have hired a new basketball coach and this one appears to be sticking around for a while. John Pelphrey was a player at Kentucky under Rick Pitino in the early '90s and later coached under Billy Donovan at Florida. He spent five years as the head coach at South Alabama in the Sun Belt Conference; the last two of those five saw his teams win 24 and 20 games respectively. Only time will tell whether or not he's the right fit for the job, but you've got to like the enthusiasm and excitement he brings to the table right out the gates. I'm pulling for him, but with seven seniors returning and high expectations for next year's team (22-25 wins?), Pelphrey doesn't have much time before he must show results. It won't take long for his sheen to wear off with Razorback fans if he's not winning.

Oaklawn Park Has a New Star

When this year's horse racing season began back in January, the talk at Oaklawn Park was all about a thoroughbred who's all but forgotten now. Most folks in the know figured that Hard Spun would be next in the line of Afleet Alex, Smarty Jones and Lawyer Ron to emerge from Hot Springs as a bona fide star. Yet, for whatever reason, he didn't like the track surface at Oaklawn and left for pastures elsewhere. Fast forward to right now: it's all about Curlin. After not running so much as a single race as a two-year-old, Curlin has left the rest of his class in a haze of dust at the age of three. Undefeated in all his races this season, the feisty horse destroyed the field at this past weekend's Arkansas Derby in record fashion. Winning by ten lengths, Curlin set a new track mark in the Derby, and now looms as a likely favorite for next month's Kentucky Derby. Whether or not his success at Oaklawn translates to Churchill Downs remains to be seen, but already Curlin has set himself up as the heavy rooting interest of choice for those here in the Natural State.

Don Imus Talks His Way Off the Air

Don Imus is a radio host who has walked a fine line with his comments for a long time on his morning talk show on WFAN out of New York. Growing up listening to Imus, there were many times when I'd do a double-take, as if to ask, "Did he really just say that?" Of course, that was part of his appeal. But finally, it appears, Imus went too far with his labeling of Rutgers' women's basketball team as a "bunch of nappy-headed hos." Despite similar terminology being spewed all over urban radio these days, the fact of the matter is that Imus is a white man in a very public position, and he just wasn't sensitive enough to what he was saying ahead of the fact. That it took MSNBC and CBS Radio a week to announce his dismissals from TV and radio goes to show you conclusively that the pulling out of major advertisers was the real impetus for his firing. Was the decision appropriate given the circumstances? Probably. But the fact remains that Imus' show had become a great forum for political personalities who otherwise may not have had a chance to reach the masses. Someone now will have to pick up that slack for WFAN, while my guess would be Imus likely has a future somewhere in satellite radio.

60th Anniversary of Robinson's Breaking the Barrier

No doubt Major League Baseball once again did a fine job in honoring the memory and significance of Jackie Robinson's playing career last night. With Jackie's widow Rachel on hand at the Dodgers/Padres' game, along with Hall of Famers Vin Scully, Hank Aaron and Frank Robinson, even much-maligned (and rightfully so) commish Bud Selig made a good showing, highlighted by some remarks about the continued relevance of Robinson's achievement. It really is amazing to think that only 60 years ago, African-Americans were not allowed to play the game at its highest level. Sixty years = my grandparents were my age. Really not that long a time frame when you sit down and think about it, folks. Baseball is to be commended for the way in which it still honors the import of what Robinson did. I only wish that other professional leagues would show a little more concern for their own histories.

The Passing of a Great American Writer

I don't know how many of you have read any of Kurt Vonnegut's novels, but if you haven't, you're missing out. Vonnegut passed away in New York earlier this week at the age of 84, leaving a mark on American literature several miles long. Books like "Cat's Cradle" and "Sirens of Titan" mix humor, sarcasm and political wit into a swirl of engaging science fiction. But the best of his works is unquestionably "Slaughterhouse Five." In that all-time great American novel, Vonnegut uses fictional main character Billy Pilgrim to tell the story of his own World War II experiences as a P.O.W. in Dresden, Germany. The book is a blend of history, humanity and spiritual truths, and should absolutely be taught to students in every high school around this country for as long as our nation exists. It's always sad to see a great one go, but in Vonnegut's case, at least there remains a published body of work that will stand the test of time.

Sopranos Starts Strong in Final Slate

For a television show to dominate the public conciousness for the better part of a decade is a tremendous accomplishment, let alone when it airs exclusively on a cable channel. But that's exactly what creator David Chase's Sopranos have done on HBO. The long-running mob drama---based in northern New Jersey---concludes this spring with nine hour-long episodes airing Sunday nights at 8:00 (CST). Watching James Gandolfini play Tony Soprano is still a dramatic pleasure, and the first two episodes have opened up some intriguing story arcs for the rest of the season. In the first episode, Tony and wife Carmela took a weekend getaway in the Adirondacks with Tony's sister Janis and her husband Bobby. The family dynamics at play in and after a game of Monopoly were utterly engrossing, while the second episode tidied up some loose ends with Johnny Sack. The scene is now set for a charge to the finish with an all-out war likely to be waged between the two opposing families . . . Bada bing!


-JAB