Calling the Hogs

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Big Weekend on the Hill

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

FAYETTEVILLE — It’s going to be like a three-ring circus on campus Saturday with events at Walton Arena, Baum Stadium and the Tyson Indoor Track and Field Center.

Arkansas is hosting the SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships once again in the Tyson Center. The competition begins Friday and runs through Sunday. Events begin at 1 p.m. Friday, 1:30 p.m. Saturday and 12;35 p.m. Sunday.

Right next door, the Diamond Hogs will be hosting Troy in a three-game series at 3:05 p.m. Friday, 1:05 p.m. Saturday and 1:05 p.m. Sunday.

On Saturday, the Basketball Hogs play host to the Vanderbilt Commodores at 12;30 p.m. at Walton Arena in their second-to-last home game of the season.

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Great Razorbacks Victories

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

FAYETTEVILLE — Earlier in the week 93.3 FM The Eagle morning show host Jon Williams asked his Loyal and Royal Army which sports victories truly resonated with them to spark conversation on his show. Williams said the 30th anniversary of the U.S. hockey victory over the Soviet Union in 1980 — better known as the Miracle on Ice — prompted the question.

When I heard the question, I started thinking of big games, and really all of the ones that came to mind were Razorbacks victories. While I love sports in general, the only wins that have any emotional resonance with me involve the Hogs.

So here’s a list of the ones I thought of. Let us know what you think of the list and add any that stand out to you, particularly those prior to 1975, which is about as far back as my memory goes.

In their moment, all of these Razorbacks games were the greatest to me at that time:
1975 over Texas A&M (football)
1976 Cotton Bowl over Georgia
1978 Orange Bowl over Oklahoma
1978 over UCLA NCAA Tourney
1978 over Notre Dame NCAA Consolation Game
1979 over Texas (football)
1981 over Texas (football)
1981 over Louisville NCAA Tourney
1984 over North Carolina (basketball)
1984 over Houston (basketball)
1986 over Kansas (basketball)
1990 over North Carolina NCAA Tourney
1992 over Kentucky (basketball)
1992 over Tennessee (football)
1993 over Kentucky (basketball)
1994 over Michigan NCAA Tourney
1994 over Duke NCAA Championship
1995 over Kentucky (football)
1995 over Alabama (football)
1999 over Tennessee (football)
2000 All 4 games of SEC Basketball Tourney (Ga., Ky., LSU, Auburn)
2000 Cotton Bowl over Texas
2001 over Ole Miss (football)
2002 over LSU (football)
2003 over Texas (football)
2006 over Auburn (football)
2006 over Tennessee (football)
2008 SEC Tourney over Tennessee (basketball)

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Bigham Out 4 Weeks

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

FAYETTEVILLE —When Arkansas baseball coach Dave Van Horn announced that freshman Matt Reynolds had gotten the nod over sophomore Tim Carver for the starting role at shortstop last week, he said Carver would get plenty of playing time because of his infield versatility and the fact that injuries are part of the game.

That statement proved to be prophetic quicker than Van Horn would have liked.

Razorbacks sophomore second baseman Bo Bigham will be out of the lineup for an estimated four weeks after dislocating his left shoulder in the first game of the Hogs’ series with Ball State.

With Bigham out Carver filled the gap left at second base for the rest of the opening game and played there again on Saturday. On Sunday, Zack Cox got the start at second, moving over from his normal role at third. Some project Cox to play second when he moves on to professional baseball.

Van Horn meets with the media at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, and he certainly will be asked if musical chairs will continued to be played at second, but with two more practices prior to the Hogs’ series with Troy, the Head Hog might opt to wait.

The Razorbacks are scheduled to play Troy at 3:05 p.m. Friday and at 1:05 p.m. Saturday and Sunday in Baum Stadium.

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UA’s Monk Not Silent With His Bat

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

FAYETTEVILLE — At the first Swatter’s Club meeting of the season, Arkansas baseball coach Dave Van Horn said, “You’ll see,” when asked what type of hitter junior college transfer Monk Kreder would be for the Hogs.

Van Horn went on to say that Kreder would have an impact on the Hogs’ offense as a designated hitter.

The 6-1, 230-pound product of Howard Junior College and Keller (Texas) High backed up his skipper during the first weekend of the season. Kreder, who picked up his distinctive nickname as toddler for his proclivity to climb, leads the Razorbacks in batting average at .625, going five of eight at the plate with three walks in the Hogs’ series victory over Ball State.

However, Razorbacks catcher James McCann, whom Van Horn said he would not trade for any catcher in the nation, and first baseman Andy Wilkins have done the most damage at the plate. Each have accounted for six run.

McCann, batting .400, drove in five runs and scored once himself, while Wilkins, batting .400, has scored four runs and driven in two. McCann and Wilkins have the Razorbacks’ lone home runs, one apiece.

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Good But Not Great Start For Diamond Hogs

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

FAYETTEVILLE — The No. 17 Arkansas Razorbacks went 2-1 last weekend in their opening series with Mid-American Conference favorite Ball State and looked good but not great.

The Hogs pounded the Cardinals 10-2 on Friday and 9-3 on Sunday, but suffered a dispiriting loss 5-2 loss to Ball State on Saturday.

The Razorbacks slopped around in the field with four errors, struck out 11 times and stranded a dozen base runners. No matter how talented a team is, it would have a problematic time overcoming those numbers against anyone, much less a quality squad like Ball State.

It would seem the Hogs learned a lesson from their Saturday bumblings by their solid performance on Sunday.

While it is early and the Razorbacks have had precious little work outdoors this preseason, a team with its sight set on the College World Series should not play as poorly as the Razorbacks did last Saturday.

If the loss was an anomoly, it will be quickly forgotten as the Hogs move through the season. No one loss is worth dwelling upon in collegiate baseball. However, if such performances become a trend, the Hogs will have to lower their expectations for this season quite a bit.

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Gym’Back Magge ranked No. 2 in nation in all-around

Monday, February 22nd, 2010

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas gymnast Casey Jo Magge has proven to be one of the most versatile and best competitors in the nation this season.

In ranking released Monday, Magge is ranked No. 2 in the nation in the all-around and her teammate Jaime Pisani is ranked eighth.

In fact there is a strong showing by the SEC in the all-around with four of the top five gymnasts competing for SEC schools and six of the top 10.

LSU’s Susan Jackson occupies the No. 1 spots, followed by Magee at No. 2, Ashanee Dickerson of Florida at No. 3., Morgan Dennis of Alabama at No. 5 and Pisani at No. 8.

On vault, Pisani is tied for No. 7 and Magee tied for No. 25. On bars, Magee is tied for No. 12. On beam, Magee is tied for No. 2 and senior All-American Sarah Nagashima is tied for No. 13. On floor, Pisani is tied for No. 9.

The Razorbacks are ranked eighth in the nation and No. 2 in the South Central Regional rankings. Individually in the all-around, Magee is No. 1, Pisani No. 2 and Nagashima No. 11.

On vault, Pisani is No. 2, Magee No. 6, freshman Kelci Lewis tied for No. 15 and freshman Amanda Siebert No. 17. On bars, Magee is tied for No. 3, Nagashima is tied for No. 9 and Pisani is No. 11. On beam, Magee is tied for No. 2, Nagashima is tied for No. 5, Pisani is No. 13 and junior Stacy Bartlett is tied for No. 14. On floor, Pisani is tied for No. 2, Magee is No. 11 and Lewis is No. 14.

Arkansas is on the road this week, traveling to Washington for an 8 p.m. meet on Friday. Following the meet at Washington, Arkansas is at Minnesota before returning home for consecutive home meets against Pittsburgh and Oklahoma on March 12 and March 19, respectively.

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Tigers’ treys sink Razorbacks

Saturday, February 20th, 2010

FAYETTEVILLE — The Auburn Tigers buried the Arkansas Razorbacks Saturday night with a barrage of three-pointers to post a 92-83 at Beard-Eaves Coliseum.

The Tigers hit 11-of-19 three-pointers (57 percent) and cashed in on 25-of-33 free throws (75.8 percent) in the high-scoring affair that was close until the final 1:39 of the game.

In contrast, the Hogs hit just 6-of-21 three-point attempts (28.6 percent), and while the Razorbacks shot 73.3 percent from the free-throw line, they only had 15 attempts and 11 makes.

Auburn’s Tay Waller came off the bench to hit 7-of-10 three-point shots to sparke the Tigers, whom Arkansas defeated 82-79 on Feb. 5 at Walton Arena.

The loss dropped the Razorbacks to 14-13 on the season and 7-5 in SEC play. The Hogs are now tied with Mississippi State (19-9, 7-5) for the lead in th SEC West. Auburn improve to 13-14 on the season and 4-8 in league play.

Marshawn Powell led the Hogs in scoring for the second game in a row with 23 points and grabbed 7, while backcourt mates Courtney Fortson and Rotnei Clarke each scored 16.

The Razorbacks are back on the road Wednesday when they face LSU(9-17, 0-12) at 7 p.m. at Baton Rouge, La.

Box Score

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Ball State tops No. 17 Diamond Hogs

Saturday, February 20th, 2010

FAYETEVILLE — The Ball State Cardinals bounced back from an opening day loss to upset the No. 17 Arkansas Razorbacks Saturday at Baum Stadium.

The Hogs (1-1) pounded the Cardinals, 10-2, Friday in both squads’ opener, but Arkansas started slow and never found its rhythm.

The Hogs had 8 hits but struggled to find the timely hit or manufacture runs, stranding 12. Arkansas appeared to be rallying in the seventh with the bases loaded, but Ball State worked out of the jam.

Arkansas catcher James McCann drove in both of the Razorbacks’ runs.

Ball State (1-1) took a 2-o lead in the first inning and the Hogs cut the lead to 2-1 in the second, but Ball State’s Zach Dygert hit a two-run home run in the sixth to extend the Cardinals’ lead to 4-1.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Hogs gained a run on a passed ball, but the Cardinals gt the run back in the eighth for the final margin.

Razorback pitcher Geoffrey Davenport and Jeremy Heatley struck out 14 Cardinals batters, but three Arkansas errors helped Ball State’s effort.

The Hogs are set to host the Cardinals for the final game of the series at 1:05 p.m. Sunday, but the forecast is calling for rain most of the day.

Brett Eibner is scheduled to start for the Hogs, while Kolbrin Vietek will open on the mound for the Cardinals.

If Sunday’s game is rained out, the Razorbacks will not play again until Friday when Troy State visits Fayetteville for a three-game series. Games are set for 3:05 Friday, 1:05, Feb. 27 and Feb. 28.

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National Title Already on Diamond Hogs’ Minds

Friday, February 19th, 2010

FAYETTEVILLE — The No. 17 Arkansas Razorbacks jumped out to a quick start on the season Friday, blasting Ball State, 10-2, in both squads’ season opener at Baum Stadium.

Though the month of June isn’t even on the horizon yet, the Razorbacks make no bones about where they plan to be when summer does arrive and what they plan to accomplish. The destination is Omaha, Neb. for the College World Series and the goal is to win a national championship.

Arkansas first baseman Andy Wilkins, who stung Ball State with a solo home run, put everyone on notice.

“We don’t just want to go to Omaha this year,” said Wilkins following Friday’s game. “We want to win a national championship.”

Weather permitting, the Razorbacks are scheduled to host Ball State at 1:05 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, but the forecast calls for percipitiation both days.

Drew Smyly is scheduled to start on the mound for the Hogs Saturday, while Brett Eibner will open Sunday’s contest.

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Author to Sign Richardson Bio at Sam’s today

Friday, February 19th, 2010

FAYETTEVILLE — If you have been intending to buy the biography “Forty Minutes of Hell: The Extraordinary Life of Nolan Richardson” and haven’t yet, today would be a good day to do it.

The book’s Rus Bradburd and Nolan Richardson, himself, will be signing copies of the book today from noon until 2 p.m. at the Sam’s Club in Fayetteville.

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