From the Bench

First Prediction for Razorback Football Season is Wildly Positive

Robert Shields

Taking a break from watching NCAA girls softball (I’m sorry I prefer it over many other sports running right now including the NBA), it is time to write something about football. As I do every year, I lay down two predictions. The first follows the end of spring practice. The second comes after two-a-days in the fall and is a refinement after a visit to the beach and a beer at the Hangout.

I like the appraisal from SEC fans during my late-summer stay at Gulf Shores, and this year should be interesting with the Razorbacks breaking in a new coach in Bret Bielema and his entertaining Twitter habit. Tip to Bielema, Twitter is a good form to spread rumors but an awful format for personal communication and slinging digs at other people.

I am a believer that last season was not indicative of anything the Razorback football team was capable of accomplishing, and should not reflect on what it is capable of doing in the coming season. Last year’s team played without a coach as determined by the athletic director, and the results should not have been surprising to anyone. This season, the team has a coach and he already won his first game in the Red-White game held in the spring. So, he’s off to a good start.

I look back to last season and see several games that a horrible Arkansas team could have won even without a coach. The Razorbacks had enough talent to win. In particular, the Hogs definitely should have beaten Louisiana-Monroe and would have with some adequate coaching. I feel the same about the Rutgers game and the Ole Miss game.

With just a little better luck, the Razorbacks had LSU last year also, but the mistakes were just too costly in Fayetteville.

So that’s a potential four more wins that I feel certain Bobby Petrino would have gotten and ended the season at least 8-4 or better. Again, the results of last year are not indicative of what the team was capable of doing. The national media had enough faith in the team to rank them in the preseason Top 10 even without a coach.

Bielema’s first team definitely lost some contributors from last season, but the team still has some quality talent returning and some depth in some areas. This coaching staff seems capable of making players better. The guy coaching the linebackers seems capable of turning anyone into a linebacker. Houston Nutt would have loved him.

I hear time and again that the schedule next year is the toughest ever. Maybe, but I like the way it shapes up for the Razorbacks. I like the fact that LSU, Florida, and Alabama are on the road. In this rebuilding and transition year, a victory over those teams is unlikely so it is better to play them on the road and instead bring someone beatable into Razorback stadium.

This puts maybe a beatable South Carolina, Auburn, Texas A&M, or Mississippi State at home.

The Razorbacks should beat the four non-conference opponents of Louisiana-Monroe, Rutgers, Samford, and Southern Mississippi. If Bielema loses to any of those teams, that means he is probably off to a rocky start in his first season. And I promise you, it will be the first opportunity for some to point out that “Petrino would not have lost that game.”

Mind you, I do not think those games will be easy, but they are games in which Razorback fans expect the high-priced coaching staff to be able to outmaneuver the competition as Petrino always did.

If there is one road game in the SEC that is winnable for the Razorbacks, it’s Ole Miss. I think the Razorbacks can win the four non-conference games, three home SEC games, and Ole Miss to end up with eight wins much like was possible last season. They will need good coaching and some luck to pull out that record. Bielema has worked hard on limiting the penalties and turnovers, which is where the luck will come into play. If this team has many mistakes, it will lose.

So until I have a beer at the Hangout in Gulf Shores, I’m going with a surprising eight wins. But if Michael Dyer shows up or Bielema sends an inappropriate picture over Instagram, I may revise the wildly positive prediction up or down.



Send your predictions to fromthebench@yahoo.com

From the Bench

Loss of Quarterback Could Haunt Bielema Next Season

Robert Shields

Bret Bielema made his first visible calculated risk since becoming the Razorback football coach when he put Brandon Allen as first team quarterback.

The decision was nearly academic after Allen played quarterback last season and his challenger in spring, Brandon Mitchell, played receiver last season. Bielema was not a in a position where he could have ranked them 1a and 1b as some coaches in the past did. One former coach seemed to always try to create the perception that there was a quarterback controversy when the talent was really far from it.

Throughout the scrimmages in spring, Allen was typically working with the first team and was getting most of the snaps. It was apparent who was leading in the race. Allen now waits for fall practice when his brother Austin will be one of his prime competitors.

The loss of Mitchell is important, as was the loss of Austin Flynn, Defonta Lowe, and Keante Minor. These players added depth to a team that is not extremely deep, and in the SEC depth is what the better teams all have. In the meat grinder of the SEC, players get injured all the time, including quarterback.

The Razorbacks just lost their second-best quarterback and are now just one rough sack away from having to play a quarterback with no game experience.

The fact Mitchell has left to go play somewhere else comes with its risks for Bielema. Without doubt, Bielema did everything in his power to keep Mitchell. Still, in the end, Bielema will pay the price.

We can call it the Tarvaris Jackson effect. Flashback: Houston Nutt had Matt Jones, who was not a natural quarterback but such a freak phenomenon that he could play the position. He had the ability to score on every play, so the coaches wanted every play to start with the ball in his hands.

The guy behind him was Tarvaris Jackson, who was a good quarterback but saw little playing time. Nutt oddly inserted him in a very competitive Tennessee game in Knoxville on fourth and one and split Jones out wide. The play was a quarterback sneak. Jackson was stuffed and the Razorbacks turned the ball over on downs.

Jackson later transferred to Alabama State and then went on to a successful career in the NFL and is still playing for the Buffalo Bills. This didn’t help Nutt’s reputation for being a quarterback killer, though some might argue that Nutt developed Mike Cherry, Clint Stoerner, and Jones into successful quarterbacks. Regardless, Jackson was the beginning of the end for him when it came to quarterbacks.

Fast forward: Bielema could face the same risk with Mitchell. Anyone who can play basketball and football in the SEC is a great athlete and an asset to have on the team.

Fans will pay attention over the season to his progress wherever he transfers. At Western Kentucky under Bobby Petrino’s tutelage or at UAB under Garrick McGee, Mitchell could become an overnight success and end up getting drafted in the NFL.

Bielema will want Mitchell to excel, but if he does it could come back to bite him with fans at some point if next season tanks. Some will start to question why he was not the number one quarterback to begin with, which will be compounded if Allen struggles next season in the SEC -- and with this team that is a real possibility.

Of course, it will pale in comparison to losing a quarterback like Mitch Mustain.


Send your quarterback hopes to fromthebench@yahoo.com.

From the Bench

Fish’s Fumbled Punt Led to Darkest Timeline for Razorback Football

Robert Shields

Clay Travis of OutkicktheCoverage.com wrote a massive piece a few days ago titled, “How the SEC’s rise and Big Ten’s Fall Started With a Fumbled Arkansas Punt.” Go read it. The piece is masterful and I’m jealous that I did not write it. If imitation is the highest form of flattery, then I hope the idea for this column is flattering to Clay Travis.

In a similar vein, the question for this column is, what happens to Arkansas football if Reggie Fish had not fumbled that punt in the 2006 SEC Championship game?

For starters, if Fish does not fumble the punt, the Razorbacks go on to win the SEC Championship game. No one can argue that point. The fumbled punt catapulted the Florida Gators into the BCS national championship game where the Gators pummeled Ohio State 41-14.

Since that game, the SEC has been to every BCS national championship game and won them all. Travis speculates that if Arkansas wins that game, the current history does not exist and that the national championship game that year would have been an all-Big Ten matchup of Michigan and Ohio State.

So that’s what would have happened in the national picture and to the SEC, but what about the impact to just Arkansas?

Consider this the college version of the “Butterfly Effect” or the Razorback machinations of “It’s A Wonderful Life.” You can decide who plays the role of George Bailey and the ever-evil Mr. Potter.

If Fish properly fields that punt in the Florida game and does not fumble it into the end zone or even better the coaches tell Fish if he even tries to field it they will water board him Dick Cheney style, the Razorbacks would not be starting next season with its sixth coach in as many years (Nutt, Herring, Petrino, Johnson, Smith, and now Bielema).

Sure, some of those coaches were interim, but nonetheless they were the leader of the team for a period of time and had an impact on the state of the program in one way or another. The current players are enduring their fourth leader in a year’s time span. Players love operating under uncertainty -- just look at last season.

Let’s create the timeline as we all know timing is important in life. You must have the chicken before the egg unless an alternate universe appears and the egg really did happen first. Let this column be that alternate universe where the egg happened first.

The SEC Championship Game was played on Dec. 2, 2006. The next important date is seared into my memory as it’s also probably stuck in Frank Broyles’ memory as well. It’s Dec. 7, Pearl Harbor Day. On the darkest timeline, it’s also a day that will live in Razorback infamy.

It’s the day of the Little League parents meeting so dubbed by some members in the national media. It is very significant in Razorback football history -- maybe not the meeting itself but the events orbiting around it.

Parents of some of the freshmen from Springdale wanted and had an audience with then Athletic Director Frank Broyles (who deserved a better title like vice chancellor of athletics and universal development).

That meeting was the beginning of the end of the Broyles era.

Broyles was quoted as declaring that the spread offense will not work in the SEC. Not to rehash history too much, but some claim he was quoted out of context because he said it would not succeed in the SEC unless you had a quarterback that could carry the ball 20 or more times a game.

Who would have known just a few years later Auburn would “find” that quarterback who would actually lead the SEC in rushing and win the SEC with the spread offense as designed by Gus Malzahn, Arkansas’ offensive coordinator at the time Broyles made the comments.

Broyles was right, by the way, and if you need proof just look at Auburn’s offense post-Cam Newton.

So if Fish fields the punt, maybe the Little League parent meeting does not occur. Maybe Broyles does not make the quote about the spread offense. Maybe Broyles survives a little while longer in his post. Maybe if the Razorbacks win the SEC championship everyone is happy and those who are not wouldn’t have dared to complain as it may have fallen on deaf ears.

Fans and administrators tend to be tone deaf when winning. Again, just look at what was going on at Auburn while they were winning that ultimately led to the collapse of the program and firing of the coach.

On this same day, Dec. 7, the “Mr. Interception King” email was sent to Mitch Mustain by a family friend of the Nutt entourage. If you care about timing, the email was sent after the Little League parents meeting began. How do I know this? Because the Mr. Interception King email spread by word of mouth and by forwarding and was part of the UA being hit with a flurry of FOI requests by fans and others that turned up a treasure trove of information.

Unfortunately, this did not all happen when Facebook and Twitter was full blown or this could have played out in real time in social media. That would have been awesome. Instead it played out on message boards, FOI requests, emails, radio talk shows, listing of texts, and most of it in veiled lingo.

It also needs to be said in the timeline of that Dec. 7 day that someone in Nutt’s entourage made a call to the emailer before the Little League Parents meeting. One can start to put together the triangulation of the preponderance of the evidence.

In message board world, the fan base became more and more fractured as the darkest timeline played out. Poor old Scott Cain came on Drive Time Sports every day and had to field a battery of questions about the Mustain/Nutt embroil.

One guy put together a humongous count of texts from Nutt to a news anchor in Fort Smith. One text was minutes before the Citrus Bowl in Orlando (I know it’s the Capital One Bowl) against Wisconsin. Oddly, Bret Bielema was the coach of the Badgers – funny how things play out. This guy then sent a letter to the UofA Board of Trustees about this matter.

Many fans became unhinged over all this news. Nutt threatened to file suit against this man for libel. They all met in Little Rock. Nutt shows his phone and the opposing attorney asks to see it, but Nutt does not share it. I will avoid the parts of this drama that involve Nutt’s wife.

As proof, in case you have forgotten how volatile things got, the guy who sent the letter to the UofA board ended up getting threatening hate messages and his flowerbed stomped. Chancellor John White tried to stop the madness of the fracturing fan base after the 2007 season by freeing Nutt of his “golden handcuffs.”

White later departed and today basically nobody is left standing in this game of mutually assured destruction.

Back to Fish catching that punt. The Razorbacks beat Florida. This starts possibly a different chain of events on a different timeline.

The fans are happy to win their only SEC championship in football and go to their first BCS game. Maybe Frank Broyles does not have to hold a meeting with the Little League Parents. Maybe the call from Nutt’s phone to the friend that sends the Mr. Interception King email does not happen. Maybe the Mr. Interception King e-mail is never sent.

Damian Williams sees a brighter side and does not transfer to USC. Mitch Mustain also sees better days ahead at Arkansas and does not transfer. Maybe after the win in the SEC championship game, Malzahn sees things differently also. Maybe David Lee never comes to Arkansas. Maybe without the turmoil, the Razorbacks actually win their BCS game and they never have to play and lose to that horrible Bret Bielema Badger team.

Maybe if the Little League parents meeting and Mr. Interception King email never occur, then the FOIs never happen. Maybe then, no text timeline is ever seen. Maybe then, if the man never sends his letters to the UofA Board of Trustees, his flowerbed is still intact. And maybe then, the Fort Smith newswoman never gets embarrassed as collateral damage.

Maybe then, if the turmoil does not exist, Gus never goes to Tulsa and thus doesn’t lead the nation in offense and thus never makes it to Auburn. Maybe then, if Gus is not at Auburn, Cam Newton never gets developed and never wins a national championship.

Maybe then, Nutt stays longer at Arkansas. Maybe, he would still be here. Maybe, Nutt is the new AD. Maybe John White stays. Maybe then, Bobby Petrino is never hired or he is hired by Nutt when Nutt becomes AD and maybe then the Jessica Dorrell thing is not so blown up and Petrino is still your coach with all of them playing volleyball at the Hangout in Gulf Shores this coming summer. Maybe then...

Plot spoiler alert: If you have not seen “It’s a Wonderful Life,” at the end, George Bailey, as played by the always awesome Jimmy Stewart, realizes that by not existing, he was not there to save his brother Harry from drowning and thus Harry was not there to save all those men in a troop transport. Clarence the angel says to George Bailey that it’s funny how one man’s life touches so many. The above is a testament to that fact in so many ways.

But to Reggie Fish I say, remember that no one is a failure who has friends.


Send your Monte Carlo simulations of Razorback futures to fromthebench@yahoo.com.

Boobs talk about C Cups

That’s what the kids call an SEO friendly web head.

Yet, it is also a perfectly appropriate way to describe the NFL Draft.

Yes, the NFL draft — pro football’s version of the slave market on Game of Thrones, but here the Unsullied still have all their parts.

While the merits of keeping the draft around are better left to the likes of Patrick Hruby over at Sports on Earth, this is more about the non-stop coverage of the draft by ESPN and the NFL Network.

Much has been made recently about the non-stop coverage of breaking news on CNN, NBC and the other broadcast networks.

How much of that coverage, in the relentless push to fill air space, turns out to be wrong.

That is also true for the NFL draft coverage.

Most of the player evaluations, most of the speculation, most of the mock drafts all turn out to be wrong when viewed from three or four years in the future.

Remember when the NFL engaged in a serious debate on the strengths of Ryan Leaf and how he needed to be picked ahead of Peyton Manning?

That is but one example of how all the experts got it wrong but those same experts keep getting called back to say all the same things, and say all the same things that will be proven wrong.

It is the sports equivalent of rolling a rock up the mountain.

In some ways, the NFL Network can be excused. They are, after all, the house organ of the league and if the league wants NFL draft coverage, the NFL Network will provide draft coverage.

ESPN is a little bit more problematic.

The network is a broadcast partner of the NFL, so they have a vested interest in providing NFL coverage. But they are also supposed to provide journalism, and that gets us to C Cups, even when it doesn’t appear anything like journalism.

On the second day of the NFL draft, at the start of the fourth round, quarterbacks began to get picked by teams.

Quarterback is the league’s glamour position, and leading the fourth round was Matt Barkley, who played at Southern California, and before an injury-riddled senior year, was considered amongst the best players in the country.

Then more quarterbacks began getting picked. And that’s when the discussion went off the rails.

Trent Dilfer and Ron Jaworski, both former NFL quarterbacks got into a spirited discussion on the merits of C Cup and U Cup quarterbacks.

If those aren’t familiar terms, don’t be surprised; they almost seem invented on the fly. Or at quick production meeting before the second day’s coverage began.

In previous years, U Cup and C Cup would have been called “grip” as in how the quarterback grips the ball before he throws it.

The letters are how the quarterback grips the ball. Hold your hand out, form a “C.” That’s a C Cup. Now hold your hand out, bend at the wrist and form a “U.” That’s the U Cup.

Dilfer said a C Cup quarterback was more likely to be successful in the NFL because having your wrist flexible would be able to put touch on the throw. A U Cup quarterback was only able to throw at one velocity — fast, because they would be unable to turn the wrist meaning they would be unsuccessful in the league where precision was needed.

Jaworski countered with Tom Brady, a U Cup quarterback who has been amazingly successful in the NFL.

And at that point my eyes glazed over and I drifted off into a comfortable nap with my dog in my lap.

If they said more, I didn't hear it.

It is worth noting that Brady was one of the more remarkable missed by NFL scouts. A starter at a top-flight school in Michigan and who fell to the draft’s sixth round when he turned pro.

What’s the point of U Cup and C Cup conversations?

None. This is what you call filling airtime.

It also has the side benefit of making anyone watching just a little dumber about football.

From the Bench

Petrino Firing Cost Wilson Millions and Maybe a Career

Robert Shields

Saturday delivered the final blow (we hope) from the firing of Bobby Petrino by the University of Arkansas. There is little doubt after the firing of Petrino everyone lost except maybe Bret Bielema who got to tell his overbearing athletic director to stick it, brother. But time will tell if he turns out to be a winner at Arkansas. If he loses here, it cost him a plum job at Wisconsin where he was winning.

There is little doubt that the firing of Petrino wrecked the team for the 2012 football season and two recruiting classes. It ruined coaches and players. It became more apparent after the season was over some players had quit. Tyler Wilson told us as much after the Alabama game, but for some the season had to play out to see the full effect.

On Saturday, Wilson was picked in the fourth round of the NFL draft. Some thought he might go in the first round, especially prior to his senior season. After Petrino was fired, the team went to pieces and apparently so did Wilson’s stock. His fortunes slipped as did the team. He got injured and a team that was mentioned in the national title hunt finished with only four wins. It’s hard to think of a team that fell so far.

The Razorback version of Chappaquiddick being Petrino’s awesome motorbike ride on April fools day and Jeff Long’s subsequent decision to fire him as a result probably cost Wilson millions and maybe a career. Maybe, this will be the end of others paying for the sins of the father.

The mentioning of Bobby Petrino now allows me to respond to some readers who have taken issue with my continued stance that Petrino should not have been fired. I like to respond to reader feedback if for nothing else to prove that I actually do read what you send me. Take this column as my algorithmic approach in attempting to answer reader comments.


Reader Feedback: “Your worship of Bobby Petrino is sickening.”

My Answer: I don’t worship Petrino, but I did love his winning ways. It was fun having great quarterbacks and finishing in the Top 10 nationally. I simply write how I think a coach is doing. I complained when I thought Bielema was keeping the public too much in the dark with closed practices (you would think the UA marketing arm would have hyped it more but instead it was a much-muted spring practice maybe with purpose). I railed on Petrino when he was cussing out LSU on national television. Oddly, after railing on Petrino about his inappropriate actions, I got a lot of feedback from fans defending him at that time.


Reader Feedback: “You must not like Bret Bielema.”

Response: I would categorize myself as indifferent to Bielema, which for a Razorback fan may come off as not liking him. He seems like an affable man. Just because I criticize something he has done does not mean that I do not like him or think he is a bad coach. We will find out soon enough if he is a bad or good coach. If the Razorbacks make any sort of bowl next season, he is a good coach.


Reader Feedback: “How are we going to do next season?”

Response: This question comes in a lot of forms, but it boils down to essentially someone wanting to talk about what they think is going to happen with the season. They usually finish their diatribe in polite fashion asking what I think. I’m always very curious what other people think. As others can attest, I can carry on a debate with a rock, which I often do with Slabby. Yet in my response, I avoid going into debate mode. My typical response is something like, “I appreciate you reading my column. I can see your point of view. I find your breakdown of the team intriguing.” Nonetheless, I love to hear your prognosis.


Reader Feedback: “The Razorback baseball team has epically tanked this season. Why don’t you get off the football and basketball teams and talk about baseball?”

Response: The Razorback baseball team is still good and can beat any team. I know that sounds cliché, but they really are probably better than most teams that they are playing. It’s just not coming together right now, but better to peak later than early. They’re still in second place in the SEC West. They could easily rally and finish strong. So I don't want to go out on a limb say they have epically tanked as did the football team. I do agree a fall from first to No. 60 in one poll is very dramatic.


Reader Feedback: “Your comments come off as glib.”

Response: I had to go look up that word. As you probably are aware, a lot of people think that I am an idiot so don’t use big words when talking to me. Glib in this sense means that you think my writing is performed with a natural offhand ease maybe with a touch of insincerity according to the American Heritage Dictionary. Yeah, that’s a pretty good assessment.



Send how the firing of Bobby Petrino affected you to fromthebench@yahoo.com

From the Bench

Razorback Coaching Staff Has Work to Do With This Team

Robert Shields

What do we know after spring practice about this Razorback football team? Very little that’s worth taking to the bank other than the fan-favorite running game.

One thing we know is that the team will be better than last year. It has a full-time coach this season and by the laws of the universe it has to be better. I think the defense will be better, but maybe that’s just hope after years of a second-class defense in a defensive conference.

As for now, this football team will not run over people, but that’s not news playing in the SEC as very few teams are able to lock up and just move forward other than Alabama and LSU. They are going to try it anyway.

The Razorback coaches will work hard to toughen the team, but having played the role of undersized center in grade school, I can attest that sometimes it does not matter when the wall in front of you is resolute.

The interior offensive line will hold its own, and the tackles are just going to have to find ways to create a tie. I expect the coaches to run power to one side with a guard pulling and Kiero Small leading for whichever tailback is brave enough to stick his head into that meat grinder. Right now that person is Patrick Arinze. It can give you a warm feeling to have a walk-on making good, but I doubt other SEC schools in their intra-squad games had a walk-on as their leading rusher.

Brandon Allen is your quarterback coming out of spring. This will certainly carry over into fall, but things happen on the way there, such as I remember one running back kicking off his toe. Brandon Mitchell has proven to be a close equal to Allen. The drop-off between the two is minimal and this is good because Allen is going to need protection or he is going to get killed.

What else can I tell you about this team besides it won’t be running over people in the SEC? It also won’t be the type of team that plays well from behind. Unless something changes such as a Cam Newton deal going down, it won’t be a team that can rally, which was a trademark of Bobby Petrino teams that always seemed to start slow and build momentum.

It’s understandable that Coach Bret Bielema has stressed minimalizing penalties. This team cannot have them to have any chance because mistakes put you behind and this team will not play well from behind. So it should be a relief that the team made few mistakes in the Red-White game in penalties or turnovers. There was one interception at the goal line, which if such a thing happens in an SEC game will be disastrous for this team. Right now, it’s just not an explosive team or maybe I grew too accustomed to Petrino’s jail-break offense.

This team will need to play well out of the gate. It won’t be able to take quarters off or the season will start to look more and more like last year. Part of this problem stems from the team lacking a great playmaker such as a Joe Adams or Darren McFadden or Matt Jones or anybody. Maybe one will materialize or one is in the coming freshman class. Right now, all you have is a lot of guys trying really hard.

I’m sure some loved it, but there had to be a lot in the announced crowd of “50,000” that showed up for the Red-White game that were absolutely bored out of their skull.

The team is a long way from the days of yore when you watched Ryan Mallett wind up knowing the receiver better keep running because Mallett was not going to under throw him. As Mallet wound up his throw, the fans’ hearts raced knowing that an imminent touchdown was at hand. This is not the case as of today. For now there is no Greg Childs, Cobi Hamilton, or Jarius Wright to run it down.

Right now there is also no Knile Davis or Dennis Johnson to take it the distance.

Back to defense and my hope of it being better. The reality is that I would not argue with anyone who says the strength of the defense is the play of its linebackers. Give the linebackers coach immense credit. It was one of the weaknesses last year having been decimated and having to play two true freshmen extensively. This spring, the freshmen were injured and played sparingly but will add much needed depth and talent at the position come August.

Others stepped up to fill the void at linebacker this spring, but that also has to give you pause if that is the strength of the defense.

In some good news, the new coach has fixed the kicker. Last season after my blockbuster column on how the interim coaching staff even broke the always dependable kicker in Zach Hocker, it was a relief to know next season the kicking game may be solid. In the SEC, a solid kicking game wins you games.

For a realist, the Red-White game should have been sobering. The coaching staff has their work cut out for them, and they clearly know it. But its teams like this that surprise – but what will be the surprise?



Send your first impression of the team to fromthebench@yahoo.com

From the Bench

The Benchies

Robert Shields

In the spirit of the “Hogspy Awards” that the University of Arkansas athletic department is poised to hand out to recognize the best in athletics, academics, leadership, and community service, From the Bench will now award its own version, the “Benchies,” to recognize the same kind of things.

The UofA says the Hogspy Awards will be hosted by former Razorback and current ESPN college basketball analyst Jimmy Dykes, who “will lead us through a memorable year in Razorback Athletics.”

They either have a very different memory than I do or they use the term “memorable” more flexibly than I do.

In terms of “memorable,” I think of events like the birth of your first child, getting married, and winning the national championship. I consider a 4-8 football season, getting hammered by Ole Miss in all spectator sports, and missing postseason play in basketball again more as “nightmarish.”

But never underestimate the UA’s ability to get another $20 out of you.

If you’re familiar with the Hogspy Awards, then you know the athletes are given the red-carpet treatment like they are at the Oscars, which is brilliant in this day and age with children who already think they are famous with their Twitter followers and posting their next awesome photo to Instagram.

I feel for today’s youth who are so watched and allow their lives to be played out in public like they are famous. I’m just glad for me that mine did not. Whatever happened behind the McIlroy House while listening to the Thrill Kill Kult will die with me. And while I’m at it, sorry, Ms. Brickhouse.

So let’s award some Benchies because I have a feeling the Hogspy Awards will gloss over some of the more “memorable” moments of the last 12 months.

“The Brickhouse Award aka The Wrecker” – Jessica Dorrell
The motorcycle wreck she was involved in with former national champion (see last week’s column if you don’t keep up) coach Bobby Petrino was devastating. Everyone lost coming out of that event. It was a wreck both literally and figuratively. Why didn’t Petrino keep that bike on the road? Dorrell should have walked off and left him for dead and everything would have been fine.

“The Newbie Award” – Bret Bielema
He’s the new coach of what will be a new Razorback offense and hopefully improved defense. He’s still learning, though. Just like fight club, when you’re in the SEC you don’t talk about the other SEC teams, ever, as he did about Alabama. This isn’t the Big Ten, and just like Mike Price who left Washington State in the Pac 10 and went to a Pensacola strip club thinking it would be safe – no. In the SEC, everything you say and do will be monitored in Google like fashion. You have to understand that there is nothing else in some people’s lives in the South but football.

“Mike Price Award” – Bobby Petrino
What was he thinking hiring his ex-interest? You have got to have a little self-awareness. It shows you just how big these guys ego gets just for winning some college football games, which if you haven’t noticed doesn’t exactly require the most smarts of any profession.

“Road Kill Award’ – Razorback basketball team
I really like Mike Anderson and believe he will get it done at Fayetteville. But come on, you have to win more on the road. This is the one area he will have to improve next season. And beating Auburn does not count. The basketball program has looked like it lost a casket match to the Undertaker ever since the misguided firing of Nolan Richardson, and we are still not seeing much of a pulse. If Anderson can’t get it done, it might be time for the UA to consider dropping basketball and adding men’s soccer instead. Did I really just write that, come Anderson get it done.

“Tweeter Award” – Jeff Long
Love or hate him, this guy knows how to work Twitter. Maybe he should teach a class for student athletes and famous people (like the Pope) how to do it appropriately. He has about 35,000 loyal followers and has composed about 4,500 tweets. That’s awesome. I notice some recruits and athletes even retweet his tweets. I find this creepy like going over to your boss’s house and taking out the trash for him.

“New Jack City Award” – Dakota Mosley
“Are you my brother’s keeper?” It’s OK if you don’t get the early 1990s reference. If you have not read it yet, go read the ESPN story on Mosley’s descent and drug use at Auburn. It’s truly a fascinating read and tragic story that ends up with his arrest and being charged – From the Bench gives it four stars. The story gets bizarre when you read about his father’s trial run at synthetic marijuana in his pursuit to understand the demise of his son. The court hearing still looms.

“Reggie Herring Award” – Whoever made the Razorbacks wear black also known as anthracite to the UofA marketing department
Former defensive coordinator Reggie Herring made some players wear pink during a spring practice. He got lambasted from a group that apparently thinks they own the patent on that color. The black uniforms worn for the Smile era went over about as well for Razorback fans. Sell whatever colors you need to in the stores, but just keep the players wearing red and white.

“Hero Award” – Alex Collins
After his bizarre signing to the UofA, this kid will be legendary if he lives up to just some of the hype. He endeared himself to Razorback fans in how he handled the ordeal. If he can now just rack up a few 100-yard games, he will be a hero. If not, his coach will eventually be fired.


What are your awards? Send them to fromthebench@yahoo.com.

From the Bench

Turns Out the Razorbacks Were Actually the 2010 National Champions

Robert Shields

Bad things happen when an athletic department locks the public out and the media plays cheerleader rather than watchdog. This is why I railed for two weeks about Razorback football practices being closed and that they should be open as much as possible.

Exhibit A for why it’s a good idea to be open is the Rutgers video of the coach beaning his players with a basketball and yelling slurs at them. I hated it when my basketball coach hit me in the head with the ball and called me “Nancy.” I still go by his graveside and bounce a ball off his tombstone every now and then, but hey, I’m over it.

When people are allowed to do whatever they want, guess what? They do whatever they want. Just like they do at Auburn based on a story by Selena Roberts, a former New York Times and Sports Illustrated reporter who somehow rose to those positions following an education at Auburn, and a subsequent report from ESPN.

Roberts’ blockbuster piece was damning of the Auburn football program leading up to its improbably national title. The ESPN headline summed it up, “Report: Auburn bribed players.” For the college football fan outside of Auburn, if these revelations hold true, it’s like the scene out of “Casablanca” where the inspector is shocked that there is gambling going on inside the club.

Auburn fans are always quick to point out the NCAA found nothing. But so what? For the rest of the college football world, the NCAA is Sergeant Schultz from “Hogan’s Heroes.” The NCAA is not the world’s best policeman as it has punished innocent people like Sunday Adebayo while being oblivious to the Penn State pedophile case. It’s an organization of members policing themselves, so it is what it is.

This is the same NCAA investigative body that when confronted with the allegations against Ohio State and Jim Tressel still allowed all its illegal players to play in the Allstate Sugar Bowl against Arkansas. Remember this as it comes into play later.

So all that leads up to my premise of this column -- the Razorbacks won the national football championship in 2010.

Remember, the NCAA does not crown an official college football Div. I champion as it does in almost all other sports (I know it’s called something else now, but I like the old term better and it’s one of the perks of doing whatever I want in my mom’s basement while eating Cheetos).

The NCAA’s football national championship is nothing but mythical. As a matter of fact, Arkansas won a mythical national title in football in 1977 by a group called Rothman (FACT). Go look it up. I can’t make this stuff up.

As Mark Twain said, truth is stranger than fiction because fiction has to make sense. The NCAA does not when it comes to national championships in major college football.

1977 was the year the Razorbacks humiliated Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl and actually deserved the vote from the AP and UPI polls. I have no problem claiming it just as Alabama sure doesn’t have a problem claiming any national title awarded to them in football.

I have my own mythical national championship trophy in my backyard that is named Slabby, which I force about 150 college football junkies in the College Football Prognosticators Association (CFPA) to vote on every year. It’s a gigantic stone tablet with each winner’s name attached. In 2010, the group voted for Auburn.

Actually, it’s not the first time the group awarded Slabby to Auburn. It also occurred in 2004 when Auburn went undefeated and shared Slabby with USC. Oddly, it was a tie vote, the only tie vote in the CFPA history. But hey, if the Football Writers Association and Rothman (FACT) can declare a national championship, so can the CFPA in Slabby.

For those not paying attention, the winner of the Discover BCS championship game is not necessarily the national champion depending on who you ask. The fact that the game has a corporate sponsor as part of the name should clue you in that this isn’t really about determining the best team in football.

The AP long ago abandoned its servitude to the BCS and names its champion on the basis of its voting membership. In 2003, the AP did just that in contrast to the BCS. The AP named the USC team that won the Rose Bowl as No. 1 while LSU won the glass egg and coaches poll that year.

Back to 2004, Auburn won Slabby, and in typical Auburn arrogance, the Auburn athletic director at that time, Meredith Jenkins, ignored the award. Conversely, the athletic director at USC, Tim Tessalone, was magnanimous in accepting it. In 2004, although Auburn went undefeated, all of the major awards went to USC, which was found later to be cheating and reprimanded.

Only Auburn could go undefeated in the SEC and not win most awards for the national championship. They did win an award called something like the “People’s National Football Champion,” which sounds like something the Soviet Union from its Politburo would have awarded to Ivan Drago. Oh by the way, the guy who invented the award was from Opelika, Alabama. It bears mentioning that Tommy Tubberville, the coach at Auburn at the time, thinks he deserves the mention of being the real national champion in 2004.

All this is to say that anyone can award a national championship in major college football to anyone. For SpongeBob SquarePants, it’s Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen. “He was number one.”

The Razorbacks famed national championship under Frank Broyles in 1964 was actually awarded by the Football Writers Association of America and several other minor groups. The Football Writers bestow upon their winner the Grantland Rice Trophy, and that’s what the Razorbacks have for 1964. We have all seen that picture of the 1964 team celebrating it. I love that picture. The Football Writers to this day still award it just like the CFPA does with Slabby, although I will freely admit Slabby is a little less known but way cooler.

I am starting to fear that Auburn’s winning of Slabby is ill gotten with the latest accusations against Auburn.

What is fact is that the Razorbacks got a bogus fumble call against Broderick Green in that Auburn game, which was pivotal. What is also fact is that Cam Newton’s father was shopping his son to Mississippi State. The NCAA waived their hands over it and continued to let him play at Auburn, and I am paraphrasing, because they could not prove that Cam knew what his father was doing. Most educated people can see through his major loophole the NCAA created in this interpretation.

In 2010, Arkansas lost three games in the midst of their 10 wins. I’m about to erase two of those losses and award them to the Razorbacks to make their season record 13-1. The 20-24 loss to Alabama, then ranked No. 1, in Fayetteville after a fourth-quarter collapse stays on the books against the Hogs. The Razorbacks get the Auburn game as a win.

Cheaters lose when they get caught. It’s universal everywhere except with the NCAA. They have created a term in where the cheater has to erase the win by “vacating” it. But the loser still loses. Only the NCAA could come up with such a creature. I say bogus. Cheaters lose.

So, Kevin Trainor, in the next media guide for football, please put all those cheating wins by Alabama, USC, and Ohio State that they had to “vacate” in the winning column for the Razorbacks.

And now with the Razorback victory over Auburn in 2010, the Razorbacks win the SEC West. They get to go to the SEC Championship game where they would have killed South Carolina again. They beat them that year in Columbia 41-20.

The loss to Ohio State never happens for several reasons. One, the Hogs don’t play them and instead play Oregon in the BCS national championship game. Second, Terrelle Pryor, Boom Heron, and a slew of others never get to play in the Sugar Bowl. The Razorbacks dismantle them against that depleted lineup. The Razorbacks almost won anyway if the scoop-up of the blocked punt is returned for a touchdown or the defensive end that was not supposed to play in that game because he was one of the cheaters is not there to intercept Ryan Mallett’s ball.

The Razorbacks would have played in the 2010 BCS national championship game against Oregon. And we all know how a BCS game turns out when an SEC team is playing in it. So based on the preponderance of the evidence, I think I’m going to award Slabby to the Razorbacks. You will see it reflected on Wikipedia when Auburn vacates victories and I give the Razorbacks the win.

And as a side note, we then fired yet another coach who brought the school a national championship.




Send your favorite part of the Auburn cheating scandal to fromthebench@yahoo.com.

From the Bench

First Glimpse of Football Team Was Reminder of How Far They Have to Go

Robert Shields

So, you got to see your new edition of Razorback football for the first time, and if you’re a realist then you know the team has some weaknesses. I have a new theory that the coaches kept practices closed so you would not know how bad this team is in order to present them in the most positive light possible.

This is not the coaches’ fault because they got what they inherited after the train wreck of one year ago. Maybe, they should keep all the scrimmages closed.

The team ran 74 plays, struggling to amass more than 300 yards. You take away the long touchdown strike to Javontee Herndon, and the numbers get even a little more depressing. Sure, it’s a new offense and new scheme and they have practiced very little to this point. It’s not going to be perfect.

Right now, though, you have no playmakers on offense. When the best rusher only has 34 yards on eight carries and was a walk-on moved from fullback to tailback, you have some problems. Yes, many of the plays were situational and limited the possibilities, and the indoor facility used because of rain also creates more limitations. But there seemed to be no running back that has the ability bust it open. They’re all new so it’s going to take time.

The fact the team is searching for some help at running back should not come as a surprise to anyone. Saturday was just a reminder.

The search for help has demonstrated the coaches’ flexibility as they have moved receiver Keante Minor to running back. Time will tell if the move was a good one, but if nothing else the move is telling of the situation faced by the team. Nobody is mistaking the Razorbacks of having a stable with guys named Yeldon and Lacy.

The move for Minor may be brilliant. It worked for Notre Dame when they moved Theo Riddick from receiver to running back. Riddick became a great back. Minor has the size and ability to play the spot. Hopefully, he steps into the new position quickly.

The lack of sure-thing running backs makes you wonder if Altee Tenpenny of North Little Rock missed out on a great opportunity to start as a freshman. On the other hand, if the patchwork offensive line does not materialize, he missed nothing but getting killed.

My gut tells me the offensive line coach that got the big raise will get the job done to turn the offensive line into an adequate group to save the skill positions from getting killed. Right now, the interior line may be shored up more than the tackles. Again, this is no surprise with Travis Swanson anchoring the interior at center.

The arrival of Alex Collins from Miami cannot happen soon enough. He will have the chance to immediately seize the opportunity that Tenpenny did not take. Collins may arrive and be the next Darren McFadden. No matter how anemic the running game appears now, I promise by the first game the Hogs will have a great running back either in Collins, Minor, Williams, Holmes, or the walk-on. Somebody will step into it. And who knows, maybe Tenpenny did not want to step into the limelight so quickly as will be the case for Collins.

Beyond a doubt when freshmen arrive in August, Collins will be the most watched and most talked about newcomer regardless of whether he performs well or poorly. The spotlight on him will be enormous because the team needs a playmaker on offense and right now there isn’t one.



Send your solution to finding a running back to fromthebench@yahoo.com.

From the Bench

Resurgent Ole Miss Athletics Must Be Put Back in the Basement

Robert Shields

Since we have no reports from Razorback football practice and I don’t feel much like filling out the WNIT bracket to fill the void, I’ll naturally talk Ole Miss athletics this week.

When did Ole Miss athletics get better than the sports-industrial complex at the University of Arkansas? With its new high-school coach, Ole Miss crossed the border and beat the Razorbacks at home in football and then in basketball continued its dominance and beat down of the Hogs. Just last week, Ole Miss, then ranked No. 2 (if you know what I mean), won the baseball series in Fayetteville against the Razorbacks.

If Ole Miss is truly the measuring stick to see if you’re out of the basement in the SEC, the past six months show that the athletic program in the major spectator sports at the UA is at rock bottom. Sure, I expect the baseball team to rebound and fight its way back to the College World Series sweeping the Gamecocks, but as of the end of last week, things are bad for Razorbacks Inc.

The Rebels are crushing the Razorbacks, and this should never happen. First, Ole Miss has to compete against three other major college teams in its state for resources. Second, the state of Mississippi has been historically below Arkansas in many categories. As the joke is usually told in Arkansas, “Thank goodness for Mississippi.” That is a great saying unless you’re talking about sports this past year.

So next season, the most important game for new football coach Bret Bielema is Ole Miss.

The Razorbacks are not at the level of LSU or Alabama right now after the train wreck of last season. According to the expert recruiting services, this past Razorback football recruiting class in February was near the bottom. Therefore, the Hogs must first put Ole Miss back in the basement and reestablish its dominance in football over the Bears (I think that’s what they are called now).

It will be a difficult win on the road in Oxford, but one that Bielema must get to put the Program on the right trajectory. Ole Miss is the game of the year and very well may determine if the Razorbacks go bowling and where they stand in the pecking order of bowl games.

How is Ole Miss doing it? It has to compete against two other teams in its impoverished state, including one in the same conference. If Ole Miss can do it, the Razorbacks should be able to do it consistently.

After last week’s blockbuster column engaging in the ASU/UA showdown game, I received plenty of responses informing me that other teams play their in-state rival because they share the same conference such as Ole Miss and Mississippi State.

Never, and I mean eeeeever, use this as your defense in preventing the Razorback vs. Red Wolves game. One, Ole Miss has fared quite well against the Razorbacks especially this past season, so the in-state competition has not harmed Ole Miss. Maybe it has actually made them more competitive.

Secondly, you’re going to get even crazier comebacks from ASU fans saying that well ASU then needs to be in the SEC. Sure, as a Razorback fan you understand the fallacy of that statement. Yet, you would have started the craziness with your comeback about in-state rivals playing each other because they are in the same conference.

Third, who said anything about the two schools being rivals anyway? Arkansas and Arkansas State are simply the two largest football programs in the state. That is why they should play.

The only argument against the ASU versus UA is an economic one. Or in other words, “the Razorbacks have nothing to gain and everything to lose.” There is no economic incentive in any way, shape, or form.

So for the ASU fans to bridge that gap, you have to make up the difference. I believe in the free market and no team should be forced by law to play another team. But here is my proposal, and I’d like to think of it as an offer neither side should refuse.

ASU should offer a contract to the UofA to play the game for 24 years in Fayetteville with the UofA keeping all revenue from the event. In addition, ASU would pay the UofA $5 million per year for the right to play the game.

If for some reason ASU won a game, it would have to pay an extra $10 million, which would help the UofA in its contract buyout of the coach that it will have to fire. Also, after a loss, the UofA could break the 24-year contract without penalty.

The $5 million per year payment for the right to play the game is escalated yearly to keep up with inflation using the greater of the GDP Implicit Price Deflator or the M2 money supply (I don’t trust the CPI-W or CPI-U). If ASU wants to break the contract, it must pay the net present value of the remaining years of the contract as calculated by Robert Shields or his representatives.

In the end, after 24 years, if the Red Wolves have never won a single meeting, the UofA in the 25th game must make a trip to Jonesboro to end the contract, but the yearly escalated $5 million payment and all game revenue still goes to the UofA.

Something similar to the above, maybe even more, may be needed to get the UofA to play ASU. If ASU is not willing to offer something similar, it needs to stop talking about the game.


Send your solutions of beating Ole Miss to fromthebench@yahoo.com

From the Bench

Every College Plays Home Games on Campus?
They Also Play Their In-State Rivals Every Year

Robert Shields

House Bill 2274 was recently introduced by two enterprising state representatives to require the Arkansas Razorbacks and ASU Red Wolves to play a football game at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.

They say the game will encourage economic activity, statewide interest in “intra-collegiate” athletics (correct term would be “intercollegiate” in this instance), and philanthropic support.

I guess all they had to do was mention “philanthropic support” to wake up the Razorback Foundation, which wants to make sure such a game doesn’t take away any of its philanthropic booty.

In response to the proposed bill, the Razorback Foundation sent out an email to donors that state the UA’s position on the game, which it has held since I was born: Under no circumstances should the two teams ever meet unless it’s under the order of law or the NIT tournament if you’re trying to get your coached fired.

In what is perhaps a flubbed public relations attempt, the Razorback Foundation included in the email a link to the state reps’ website promoting the game and suggested that its donors let their voices be heard.

Well, either the donors like the idea of the game or treated the Foundation email as spam because at press time 52 percent of people voting in the website’s poll said they would like to see the game played with 71 percent voting Arkansas Children’s Hospital – ironically an affiliate of the University of Arkansas system – as the beneficiary.

And it is at this point that I would like to offer a special thanks to our esteemed state Legislature and the Razorback Foundation for providing column material like the days of yore.

I wrote just two weeks ago that people shouldn’t worry about the Arkansas-ASU matchup because your Legislature takes up the issue about every two years to reignite the debate. Then on cue, this bill gets filed. I guess they were waiting for me to write that column first.

The debate continues to recur because the match-up has already delivered historic results.

If Cannon Whitby doesn’t hammer home some three-point bank shots and Stephan Moore doesn’t jack up some kid named Goshen back when these two schools played each other in the NIT in 1987, does Nolan keep his job and do the Razorbacks then ever win a national championship?

That game was arguably one of the most exciting Razorback basketball games ever played in the state, ranking right up there with games such as Charles Ballentine’s jumper to beat Jordan’s North Carolina team and Smoking Joe Kleine beating Phi Slamma Jamma.

Why would the state ever want to rob itself of such drama each year by precluding this game?
The reality my “Outstanding Student in Economics” certificate tells me is that it’s all about money.

There is no economic incentive in the world for the Razorbacks to play the Red Wolves, and it is viewed as a huge disincentive unless you’re trying to get your coach fired. Mark this down now – if the teams ever do meet again, the first Razorback coach to lose to an ASU team will be fired on spot if not shot.

The one part the authors of the proposed bill got right is that the game should be played in Central Arkansas and at War Memorial Stadium. The UofA has tried in piecemeal fashion since Feb. 11, 2000, to extricate itself from playing more games in Little Rock and is actually playing fewer and fewer over time against lesser and lesser opponents.

I will let you figure out for yourself what message that sends to Stephens.

In all my Great Stadium Debate columns for over a decade explaining why games needed to stay in Little Rock, the most common argument against that thought was that home games should be played on campus because that is what every other team does.

I won’t go into the fallacy of that point, but playing along as though it is an absolute truth, every other team also plays its in-state rival.

It would only make sense that the matchup be played at the crossroads of Arkansas in Little Rock -- the place that separates the hills from the Delta, the farmer from the rancher, the old part of the state from the new part, and the place where the legislation passed that mandated this game.

-

Transparency in Football Program Includes Open Practices
and History Tells Us There Are Reasons to Keep Tabs on Coaches

“The UofA has a whole department that does a great job putting out the propaganda. It's the media's job to challenge it and not take it as gospel. This program has gotten into a lot of trouble over the years because the media has not been there to provide the check or the balance.”

Just two weeks ago, that quote was written in this space. Last week, I protested the UofA essentially closing off practices more so than even Bobby Petrino did, and he was not exactly a model of transparency. Believe it or not, the responses that I received back after that column were heated.

To paraphrase, the responses went pretty much like this, “It’s none of your business what the UofA does. Coach Bret Bielema should do whatever is in the best interest of the team to help them win.”

For better or worse makes little difference to me. I did not write the column last week hoping to get more access for me. I’m not a beat reporter and do not watch the football Program on a daily basis.

I wrote the column for you. It’s your program and you have the right to know.

Further, it’s the state’s leading education institution that is subsidized in the millions of taxpayer dollars plus a constant flow of supporter donations that it takes to operate. The coach is the highest-paid state employee. You have some right to know what he is doing with your school and team.

You have a right to know how he is treating the players.

One stated reason for practices to be closed, according to some reports by our media apologists, is because Coach Bielema doesn’t want the dress down of players by coaches or failed execution on the field to be made public because it might embarrass a player. I paraphrased that, but it the gist of the stated reason to close practices.

Not that I don’t trust Coach Bielema, as there is every reason to trust him, but if even recent history is any indication, it’s important to keep tabs on your coach.

I’m sure the fans at Kansas trusted Mark Mangino, Texas Tech trusted Mike Leach, and South Florida trusted Jim Leavitt to do whatever in practice because there was the promise of wins on the scoreboard.

Even last year with Petrino, you have to wonder if someone would have been watching closer or was able to have reported sooner that the whole catastrophe with the volleyball player could have been avoided.

Instead, the result was borne out of the fact Petrino was winning and you didn’t question him.

Transparency is important because a coach can’t do whatever he wants just because he wins. The greatest example is Penn State.

When the media turns a blind eye and the public doesn’t care, bad things happen. And that’s the opening monologue.


Send your secrets to fromthebench@yahoo.com.

From the Bench

In Protest of Closing Razorback Football Practices

Robert Shields

In protest, there will be no column by me today as a result of Razorback football coach Bret Bielema’s policy to close practices to the public and the media. Comically, the University of Arkansas issued a few stock photos for the media to use, but I’m not even sure that they are from a current practice since one of the players appears to be David Bazzel.

Closing practice to the public is essentially the same as conducting a media blackout, kind of like when the command module goes around to the dark side of the moon. So in essence, Bielema has just moved the football program to the dark side of the moon, although some may argue that happened when the big-money cronies ran off Ken Hatfield.

This is nothing new to me. I railed against Houston Nutt when he put up the black tarps to keep people out of practice and stop them from taking photos. Who would have known that Nutt was so far out on the leading edge of coaching philosophies when it comes to overzealously worrying about the “secret plans” getting out to the opponent? At the time, Nutt caught a lot of flak from all over the state about his media blackout.

This time, there has hardly been a grumble about Bielema taking it to the extreme, which is to be expected because this is how our Incestuous Razorback Press Clique operates. These guys would certainly never challenge the popular new coach and get on the UA Sports Complex’s bad side or be labeled by the homers as “a bad fan.” Bielema’s honeymoon as the new head coach lives, for now.

In this day and age, I understand the concern of some recruiting nerd Skyping from your practice with the hope that he will be viewed as an Internet insider of the program just like the paid media guys, or some teenager putting photos on Instagram after he is uploading all his Kate Upton photos, or Scott Faldon tweeting about practice. (“Who’s Scott Faldon?” Rick Schaeffer just asked himself.)

I get that the thinking is Bielema’s Big Ten offense will be new in the SEC since none of the defensive coordinators will have seen it in person (even though Razorback offensive coordinator Jim Chaney, not to be confused with Tim Chaney, came straight from Tennessee). Nick Saban and Les Miles have seen this coordinator’s work before, but I understand the delusion, I mean illusion, of secrecy.

Having seen Wisconsin in the past, any observer might conclude that there was nothing exactly secret or innovative about that offense or any Big Ten offense for that matter. I have never viewed the conference where Bielema cut his teeth as the bastion of new ideas. If anything, it is more like a Hall of Fame tribute to old one. Whatever works.

I will give Bobby Petrino some limited accolades beyond the volleyball player because he met the media part of the way even though he had nothing but disdain for the process. For the most part, his practices were closed. But more often than not, he allowed the very beginning of practice to be open for the media to get a quote, footage, or a picture and then he would have his people run everybody out.

At least Petrino gave some appearance of allowing limited access to the state’s favorite team by the media and public. Petrino also held some open practices occasionally to appease Wally and even was gracious enough to sign autographs from time to time judging from all those pictures.

It seems if you want to see your pigskin Razorbacks this spring, you’re going to have to make a trip to the Red-White game. I’m guessing cameras may not be allowed so get that credit card out and sign up for RAZORVISION.

I’m sure the UA will also grant you the privilege of bidding on an actual football used in the Red-White game for that up-close-and-personal feeling for being at the game. It might even be signed by Jeff Long (your receipt of winning bid, that is)!



Send your practice schedule to fromthebench@yahoo.com.

From the Bench

Answering the Call, or in My Case, Mail

Robert Shields

The responses to recent columns keep flowing in, so it’s time for me to empty the old mail bag since it’s been some time since the last time that I responded openly. For sure, I respond personally to all emails that are sent to me every week, but here are some catch-all questions that I want to respond to publicly since I have to field them all the time. Consider this a public service announcement.

Q) You're a moron.

A) I appreciate you reading my column. I enjoy critical thought and I can take criticism unlike many in the media who are staunch defenders of the Program. But I just don't get the drive-by insult. If you’re going to take the time to write me, at least tell me why I am a moron. Economic markets work more efficiently with feedback. This moron could work more efficiently if you tell him why he is a moron. I always promise to write back. (These responses to me come in many different forms but typically come in the form above or “get lost,” “stop writing,” or “your terrible” without me responding to tell them it’s “you’re.”)


Q) Who will start at quarterback this year?

A) I appreciate you reading my column. I have no clue. I seriously doubt even Bret Bielema knows for sure right now. Coming out of spring practice, it will be telling who has taken the most snaps. I do think with the implementation of a new offense, the starter will be found this spring. Or, they are in trouble.


Q) How will the Hogs do next season?

A) I appreciate you reading my column. Right now I will go with 7-5 in the regular season and a bowl trip to some place like Nashville. I reserve the right to amend my prediction from the point after two-a-days to prior to the season starting. I also predict a bowl victory. There are so many factors such as all the new coaches, new offense, the schedule, injuries, and we are still months out. I usually like to make my final projection after going to the beach and sitting in deep thought at the Flora-Bama, so don’t hold me to 7-5.


Q) Why are you so stuck on games being played in Little Rock?

A) I appreciate you reading my column. This has been my staked-out position for the first 12 years of the Great Stadium Debate. As Frank Broyles once said during this great debate, “things change.” I wrote a column this past year titled “The Razorback Football Tradition in Little Rock is Over.” Things have changed. Often in the statewide paper that has important events coming up for the weekend, the Razorback game is not at the top and often down toward No. 9 on the list. One time, I believe it was beaten by the model trains at the North Little Rock library. In the past, people never would have scheduled other events to compete with the Razorback game in Little Rock much less consider going to them. Now it happens all the time, which is kind of sad to me. People in Central Arkansas are still fans, but it’s not the same as it used to be. Time doesn’t stop when the Razorbacks come to town anymore. The denigration has been slow over a decade. I’m not sure if games were pulled out of Little Rock that anyone would scream that much. People have moved on to other things – even the tailgating outside the stadium is bigger than the game itself in Little Rock. I grew up going to four games a year in Little Rock. It was tradition, indoctrination, and tied me to the Program. After the LSU game was pulled out of Little Rock, this thing is done. Now kids in Central Arkansas go to very few as compared to the past and see terrible opponents. Children know no different since 14 years have passed. This was always my fear, but it’s happened. It’s time to move the games, and I’m not sure Central Arkansas cares.


Q) I feel sorry for you because you are so negative.

A. I appreciate your reading my column. No reason to feel sorry for me, but I appreciate the concern. I do not view myself as negative, but as critical, kind of like when you tell your kid to stop watching “Ridiculousness” and get to the homework. It is not negative but trying to get a change in behavior. But I get it, some like different behaviors than I do.


Q) You never bring up ASU versus Arkansas?

A. I appreciate you reading my column. True, it has been a very long time. I want to think the last time that I brought it up was around February 11, 2000, which is the date the UA board of trustees voted on the Great Stadium Debate. I contended then that since the UofA wanted to pull out of Little Rock that the Razorbacks did not want to be the state’s team so maybe time had come for them to play the ASU Indians (Runnin and Jumpin Joe) now the Red Wolves. As Frank Broyles once said, “Things change.” This will not happen until there is a huge economic incentive for the Hogs to do it. I’m not sure when that will occur, so until that time comes there is no point in talking about it. There is always something else to talk about like responding to mail. Of course, you will get to hear about it every two years when the Legislature meets.


Q) You're a bad fan.

A) I appreciate you reading my column. I wish I had a dollar for every time I get that message. I am a University of Arkansas graduate, love my alma mater, and want nothing but success for my school. But, I am not a fan when it comes to writing this column, and I think too many in the media covering the Hogs are just that – fans. And so you get no critical thought but instead mostly propaganda from what I call the Incestuous Razorback Press Clique. They are the ones telling you it’s going to be fine even after you lose your head coach because the quarterback can run the team. You cannot be a fan and do this job. The UofA has a whole department that does a great job putting out the propaganda. It's the media's job to challenge it and not take it as gospel. This program has gotten into a lot of trouble over the years because the media has not been there to provide the check or the balance.



Send more questions and critiques to fromthebench@yahoo.com.

From the Bench

Fans Euphoric for Bielema But Love is Fickle

Robert Shields

Sure, I’m negative, and many have leveled that accusation at me. But I just call it being pragmatic, and it leads me to not being so disappointed with Razorback athletics very often. The downside is that I don’t get to enjoy the unrealistic euphoria others do.

Razorback fans are euphoric about new football coach Bret Bielema, as they should be. On paper, he had the best resume of any of the new SEC coaches that were hired, hands down. He will be bringing two things that fans have lacked seeing over the last few years -- defense and better offensive-line play.

Or so that is the story being pushed based on his days in the North because his old team has traditionally been known as a team with a gritty defense and punishing rushing attack.

One year ago, I was writing after the Razorbacks finished in the top five, winning 11 games, winning its bowl game, and Petrino being more popular than ever, that things could only go one way – down. But I never imagined that it would go south as badly as it did.

So now after a 4-8 season, two head coaches being fired, Don Tyson stepping down from the board of trustees, and a UA fund-raising department running a several-million-dollar deficit, things surely can only go up after those calamities.

Fans are looking for something positive out of their Programs, and they should be. Enter Coach Bielema. He’s popular as all Razorback coaches are. It’s just part of the job, and his salary reflects it, and I hope he is savoring his popularity now.

Bielema is on a trajectory that will move him from just being popular to being loved. Love, though, is fickle as human beings vacillate from loving something to hating something in a matter of minutes. In the world of Razorback fandom, it happens in a matter of seconds and goes from nuclear heat to zero Kelvin.

Petrino was aloof. Some would even call him arrogant, mean, or just too business like. He did not make it easy for anyone to love him without his winning ways. It was easy for the athletic director (I’m not going to list his long glossing associate chancellor title or whatever it is) to turn the bulk of uncertain fans into the angry mob against their previous head coach in a matter of minutes.

In a different way, Bielema suffers from this in the hate he gets from Wisconsin, which on at least one occasion he has battled on Twitter. It’s what happens when you go from loved to jilted.

Bielema is becoming loved in Arkansas for a host of reasons. He goes to Oaklawn Park and hangs out down with the ordinary gamblers. He visits dying diehard Razorback fans in the hospital. He is warm while Petrino was cold. Bielema talks like he grew up on a pig farm and his colloquialisms fit, which makes him fit.

Petrino visited Razorback clubs, but if you were ever there at one, you left with two impressions -- 1) it was all business, and 2) he was there out of obligation and because he was getting paid.

Reports from the trips Bielema is making around the state to Razorback clubs is different. He is engaging. He jokes that the only blonde you will find on the back of his bike is his wife. He doesn’t come off as though he is on a business trip. Instead, he makes you believe that he wants to break bread with you and that he’s humbled being invited – maybe something others at the UofA should take note.

Bielema also sealed the deal with Alex Collins, and regardless if the kid pans out, it was good for Razorback fans that it ended positively. Most bizarre episodes in recruiting tend not to break the Arkansas’ way, and this did because of Bielema. It makes fans love him. He was able to keep the kid engaged. A question to ask yourself -- would have Petrino have been able to close that deal?

The reality is that you can see Bielema showing up at your oyster supper or crawdad festival. Again, it makes people love him, and the fans right now are looking for someone to love.

But in the end, love is fickle and he better win.



Send your wonderful encounters with Bielema to fromthebench@yahoo.com.

From the Bench

Meaningful Missouri Win Shows Basketball Program Returning to Glory

Robert Shields

Of course the Mr. Hyde version of the Razorback basketball team showed up for the game against Missouri. Why? Because it was at home where the team has been mostly tenacious. On the road, well – they have been road kill. The passive and less threatening Dr. Jekyll version is ever present on the road.

Life on the road is difficult no matter the teams or the conference. Even in the Razorbacks’ best years when they were heading to the Final Four and national championship games, the team struggled on the road. The Razorbacks were No. 1 in the nation when they went down to Tuscaloosa and lost 66-64. They climbed back to No. 3 in the polls and went to Starkville and lost 72-71.

Initially after entering the SEC, I thought the Razorbacks were never going to win at Tennessee or Vanderbilt. It took the greatest clutch shooter in Razorback history in Scotty Thurman to finally put those teams down on the road in the last few seconds of the game.

Teams often play different on the road because the officiating changes. The Razorbacks are allowed to implement their 40 minutes of whacking the other teams with tree trunks at home. On the road it changes as officiating goes the home team’s way, and that’s how Marshawn Powell ends up on the bench after just a few minutes of play.

The Razorbacks got favorable calls down the stretch against Missouri. Sure, the calls were judgment calls, but they all seemed to go the Razorbacks’ way. It takes a very good team to overcome this deficit.

Mike Anderson is getting it done the right way, though. The progress has been slow for some fans because the road play has been tragic and the team does not even seem competitive at times. However, the progress is seen at home and defending the home turf is where you have to start. Starting this year, good teams just can’t come into Fayetteville and expect to win like they do in football. They come into Bud Walton Arena and lose. Superior teams have even entered and lost.

Nolan started the same way. His Hogs struggled mightily on the road. Yet in his second season, the Razorbacks found a way inside Barnhill Arena to beat the much superior Kansas team led by Danny Manning and coached by Larry Brown, which was coming off a Final Four trip and one season away from winning the national championship. A team of Andrew Lang, Ron Huery, Keith Wilson, and “old man” Tim Scott drilled the Jayhawks.

The win over Missouri was meaningful and a sign the team is still heading in the right direction and that the win over Florida was not a fluke. You also know that it felt good for Mike Anderson having coached at Missouri. Even though Anderson is his own man, you can tell he is following the path of his mentor at Arkansas, and as a fan that should make you feel good about your team’s future.

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Football Schedule Favorable for Return to Bowl Game

Now onto football and next season with your new coach, Bret Bielema. I like the schedule set before him even though it’s a very difficult schedule on the surface.

Last year before Bobby Petrino was fired, Arkansas was hoping it could run the table, and the schedule was favorable for that to happen with all the tough teams, including Alabama and LSU, having to come to Fayetteville.

Next season, this team’s goal needs to be just getting back to bowling, and this schedule sets up for a 7-5 or 8-4 season depending on the breaks. Alabama and LSU are on the road along with Florida, and all three of those teams are much better than the Razorbacks right now.

If you’re going to lose a game, it’s better to do it on the road anyway. It’s much better to get the weaker sister at home for next season to pick up the needed six wins to go bowling. Mississippi State, Auburn, and South Carolina are better teams to draw for the home SEC swing.

And you never know, the Razorbacks may pick up an SEC road win against one of the giants or Ole Miss. So Arkansas only needs to win the four non-conference games and those three SEC home games to go 7-5. Really there is no excuse for a program one season removed from national title aspirations.


Send you scheduling strategy to fromthebench@yahoo.com.