Dribbling Ink

Bye weeks are fickle monsters. A week that should be neutral in theory never quite works that way. The bye week always creates collateral damage. Sometimes the fallout helps your team and sometimes it hurts your team. That’s because college football is dynamic—everything changes from week to week, which is why the BCS will continue to thrive no matter how many playoff games are added at the end of the season. Bye weeks also provide clarity. When the hectic race from fall camp to the beginning of the season to winning or losing games finally reaches a respite, players, coaches, and fans get a chance to reflect on months of preparation, expectations, and execution. Thus, after a week of washing my hands of Arkansas’s dreadful start to 2012 and watching other SEC teams more closely, I had an epiphany: Arka-Tenne-Burn-y. What is Arka-Tenne-Burn-y? Exactly what it sounds like: the shared state of four programs—Arkansas, Tennessee, Auburn, and Kentucky—that aren’t as different as their f...

(Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) It’s finally that week, the one that rolls around once a season in college and professional football: the bye week. Coming off a 49-7 beat down of Kentucky, the Arkansas Razorbacks have a free week to get healthy and prepare for a critical stretch of games. (If the Hogs want to salvage 2012, they have to win their next two games against Ole Miss and Tulsa. Assuming they win those games, the Hogs would have to beat one of three top-12 ranked teams remaining on the schedule—at #7 South Carolina, at #12 Mississippi State, and home against #6 LSU—to be bowl eligible.) Usually during bye weeks I pay special attention to my secondary team, Arkansas State. This year, however, provides Arkansans with a special twist: the dreaded double-bye weekend. A quick thought: Maybe ASU should schedule a game at War Memorial during Arkansas’s bye week each year. I’m not trying to be facetious; I actually think this is a good idea. There are a lot of football f...

I left Northeast Arkansas over four years ago and a lot has changed around the Jonesboro-Paragould area. However, one thing has been consistent for my entire life: Arkansas State University football has been drowning in mediocrity. In the last couple of years, though, ASU has made a real push to improve its football program. In 2011 ASU took a chance on its new head coach by promoting its young offensive coordinator, Hugh Freeze, who eventually led them to a 10-2 record in the regular season, a conference championship, and a bowl game. Of course, Freeze didn’t waste any time turning his success at ASU into a new contract in the SEC at Ole Miss. I can’t blame the guy, but once again ASU was just a stepping stone. The Red Wolves could have easily been happy with 2011 and faded back into Sun Belt mediocrity; it’s what I expected my alma mater to do. However, ASU replaced one offensive guru with another, this time one with a national championship under his belt as an offensiv...

(I'm typing this blog on my phone, so forgive me for any nonsense that follows.) (Caption: Photo by Mark Wagner) A quick recap of the Arkansas-Auburn game: there's why I don't gamble on sports. I knew the first time I bet on Arkansas or merely mentioned it, they'd win. Sure enough, I'd be in the hole. Never take gambling advice from a man without a job. Reasons not to get excited about the Hogs' 24-7 win: Auburn. I can sum up the Tigers' success the last couple of years in two names: Cam Newton and Gus Malzahn. Gene Chizik is who we thought he was: a younger version of John L. Smith. Irony: Arkansas beating Auburn might be the loss that forces the Tigers to fire Gene...and hire Bobby Petrino. If you knew that coming in, would you rather Arkansas had lost? Reasons to be excited: The Hogs could have easily given up on the season. They haven't yet. It may happen eventually, but they continued fighting for John L. for another week. Good...

Today has been one of those uninspired writing days: Instead of writing, I’ve gone to the post office, paid all the bills, washed dishes, checked Facebook and Twitter (much like any day, I guess), read ESPN.com, checked my fantasy football team, talked to my dad on the phone, worked on a project that I will probably never complete, chased mail that I left for the mailman down the road because he broke my clothespin clip last week, and used some hair treatment that is supposed to help stop balding (not that I know for sure that I’m going bald—it’s just a fear of mine, and I will do anything to prevent it). Oh the days of pursuing creative endeavors. This is my official employment status. Speaking of pursuing other endeavors, how about John L. Smith? Seeing as he is now $40 million in debt (I’m guessing this number will go up again at some point), it sounds like he’s pursued a lot of creative endeavors. At least BP’s creative endeavors only cost him a car and some spending money—un...

(Skip this part if you don’t care about my life:) Recently I finished a project that I’ve been working on for the last year. In the last few months, I’ve moved a couple of times and been busy readjusting to not being a student and attempting to settle on a career. Now that my mind has had sufficient time to recuperate (i.e. I’ve been lazy), it’s time to start writing again. Or, more precisely, writing on a daily basis. I have written some sports-related pieces and edited some fiction the last month or so, but it’s all been spontaneous. Despite what many people may think, writing has little to do with being inspired or those fleeting moments of genius—good writing is created through dedication, perseverance, and the constant revision of junk (all those times you aren’t inspired). Therefore, for the next thirty days, I’m going to write a blog a day. Most of it will be junk no doubt. However, I’m sure I’ll have fun and hopefully you’ll enjoy yourself a few times. (I got interrupte...

(The video is of Colt David's hopeless, last-second field goal attempt and the celebration that ensued.) First off, thanks to my wife for buying me a ticket to the Arkansas-LSU game. (She just felt guilty because she is always leaving me for days at a time to go on basketball trips.) Next, what a game. Besides being rained on for a few hours, everything was great, from the Whole Hog Cafe BBQ to Casey Dick's last throw as a Razorback. The worst part was the contingency of LSU fans. Oh well, the purple-and-gold hush after London Crawford's catch was beautiful. Anyway, since this post is going nowhere, too bad the Hogs didn't take care of business the week before against Miss. St.; however, hopefully they can carry this win over into next year and build on it. There's plenty of talent for Bobby Petrino to exceed expectations next year: D.J. Williams, Joe Adams, Dennis Johnson, etc. Woo Pig Sooie for the football Hogs one last time. Now it's basketball season. ...