Dribbling Ink

Forget the election. Forget 10-14 days from now when Arkansas AD Jeff Long is supposed to announce the next head football coach of the Razorbacks. The most important revelation of 2012 came on Monday, November 26: There is going to be a Boy Meets World sequel… Girl Meets World . Two shows defined my adolescence: Saved by the Bell and Boy Meets World . The SbtB sequel has already been done, so I guess it was only a matter of time for Cory and Topanga. Of course, my heart is torn. Will it live up to the original? I don’t have children, so how will I justify watching this show? Will Shawn be on the show? (I haven’t seen him tweet anything yet—although he hosts an entertaining podcast, “Literary Disco.”) What about Eric? The little sister (I don't think I ever knew her name. Talk about a storyline that was underdeveloped; SbtB  had nothing on sister Matthews)? Here’s what we know—yes, I actually did some research. Cory and Topanga will be back as parents. Their...

I’ve spent my life wasting things. Part of this is because I’ve always lacked the ability to focus on a single purpose. (Forgive me for the high school examples, but they are the easiest.) When I played football, I wanted to be playing basketball—so I quit football. When I was playing basketball, I was thinking about girls—so I was always distracted. When I was dating a girl, I was thinking about another girl—so I made a mess of a lot of relationships. But I’ve always justified my decisions because they eventually work out well enough. After all, I watched my cousin get his femur snapped in half playing football a couple of years later, I was an All-State basketball player and our team made the state tournament, and I married a beautiful, intelligent, driven woman (who has helped me realize and correct my weaknesses, for which I am grateful). My decisions couldn’t have been too bad, right? However, now I wish that I would have never quit football, that I had actually given ...

(My wife and brother-in-law carved this. I don't touch the inside of pumpkins.) (I'm not big on Halloween, but I enjoy autumn. We planted four  mums to celebrate.) (I made a homemade chocolate chip pizza. Too bad I can't serve this to trick-or-treaters.)

Somehow I got behind and missed the first two episodes of The Walking Dead Season 3. Last night I decided to catch up and watch the newest episode, “Walk with Me.” Like everyone else in the world, I’m glad the crew finally left Hershel’s farm, the prison looks promising (although it could turn into The Farm 2.0), and it’s nice to see a little more action after last season bogged down—although I am a fan of an in-depth exploration of the philosophical questions raised by a zombie apocalypse. Episode 3 summary (not really any spoilers): A new villain, The Governor, and a new location, Woodburry, are introduced. Both are hiding something that the audience will learn in time. Andrea is into The Governor, Michonne just wants her weapons back, and Merle finally makes his long foreshadowed return. There are a few more details, but this covers the essentials. It was kind of a boring episode that was essential for setting up the rest of the season. However, instead of offering an a...

Arkansas football has bottomed out for 2012. After a last-second 30-27 loss at the hands of the Ole Miss Rebels—the perennial whipping dogs of the SEC West—the Razorbacks truly can’t achieve a lower level of ineptitude this season. Of course, Jeff Long could always rehire John L. Smith as the next head coach. Anyway, let’s just get right to the good part. Ten observations from the Arkansas-Ole Miss game at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, Arkansas: 10. The music selection still sucks. Apparently so do the speakers now. Except for “Go DJ” when Dennis Johnson was about to return a kickoff, which is almost too easy to even be considered clever, the music was predictably outdated and lifeless. Might as well play “Cotton-Eye Joe.” 9. None of the technology at WMS is ever checked before the game. I have never been to a game in Little Rock in which everything worked properly. This time the video board was glitching the entire time and, predictably—there’s that word again—there...

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...

Welcome to your Tuesday viewing update—better known as the night after baseball died in Arkansas for 2012 (the Cardinals got beat down by the Giants in Game 7), the night after the final presidential debate (this election can’t be resolved quickly enough), and the night of crappy singing and dancing shows like The X-Factor , Dancing with the Stars , and The Voice . Without Sons of Anarchy and Pretty Little Liars , Tuesdays would be a lost cause. However, don’t fret; it’s Arkansas State’s night to be on primetime on ESPN . The Red Wolves (4-3 overall, 2-1 conference) travel to Cajun Field to take on LA-Lafayette (4-2, 2-1) for a key matchup in the Sun Belt. Both teams are chasing those mighty Warhawks of ULM, who are undefeated in Sun Belt play. The game will be aired on ESPN2 , beginning at 8 PM ET. I believe I read that ULL is a 4.5 point favorite. I hope my alma mater has a solid showing—it’s very important to take advantage of these situations. With that being said, I expect ...