I Told You So!

There's nothing I like more than being right. And, there's nothing quite like predicting exactly what will happen. I direct you to the post below if you don't believe me. Within that purple box right after the top 10 things I love about Casey Dick you will see it... "When he comes in off the bench Friday afternoon in the Rock to lead a Razorback comeback for the ages - I told you so!"

Casey Dick threw a perfect strike on 4th and 1 to London Crawford with 21 seconds remaining to tie the game at 30-30. Alex Tejada's extra point was true and the Razorbacks completed a comeback for the ages at the Rock on Friday afternoon.


(Nice grab, London)


Scene 1:

Enter Nathan Dick. N. Dick looks lights out the first few possessions of the game and leads the Razorbacks (along with some outstanding running by Dennis Johnson) to an early 14-3 lead.

Second quarter: All LSU as the Razorbacks go in a hole and end up trailing 23-14 at the half.

Third quarter: LSU opens up the second half with a TD to go up 30-14 with 13 minutes to go in the third.

Enter Casey Dick in his final game as an Arkansas Razorback. Dick's perfect 46 yard strike to Jarius Wright brings the Razorbacks to within 30-21. End of the 3rd.

Fourth quarter: Alex Tejada makes a FG with 12:33 to go to make it 30-24.

The Razorback defense locks in and forces a LSU punt. The Razorbacks turn the ball over on downs and LSU has a chance to run out the clock with a few first downs.

After only one first down, the Hogs force a punt and get the ball back with just over 2 minutes remaining. Casey Dick makes one fourth down conversion on a completion to Carlton Salters and then faced with another fourth down, throws the winning strike to Crawford with 21 seconds to go.

Casey's final stat line of his career (in only one half of play):

18/29 197yds, 2 touchdowns 0 interceptions

When the final pass of your collegiate career is a 24 yard touchdown pass on fourth and one to beat LSU, I'd say that's one hell of a way to end your career. Big ups to you, Casey. Big ups.

Friday At The Rock

From the oh, just great department: Looks like Michael Smith will not be playing in the LSU game and both Antwain Robinson and Earnest Mitchell will be out for the second week in a row for violating team rules.

After a "successful" first game, it appears that Nathan Dick will get his second start of his career while big brother Casey comes off the bench. Casey is only 240 yards short of the all-time passing record at Arkansas, but that will be hard to get if Nathan plays even reasonably well. A roller coaster ride indeed it has been for Casey who suits up for the final time as an Arkansas Razorback.

Of course, the final game against LSU brings to an end what I had hoped was just the beginning of a "Dick Dynasty" back when I wrote about the two brothers battling for the starting job before the 2007 season. Casey will move on to wedded bliss and Nathan will return next year to battle Ryan Mallet for the starting spot.

In honor of this being Casey Dick's final game, I salute him with my own "10 Things I Love About Casey"...


(Don't think Casey was too worried about his quarterback rating in this picture)

Oh, and a Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours tomorrow. The Hog Tale will return on Friday morning with a preview of our ass-whippin' of LSU...

Because Friday After Thanksgiving 2007 Was Awesome

Let's relive the glory of a year ago, because frankly, that's all we have this year... last year...

Gay Elf Football Coaches on the Loose

Proof that all of the SEC West coaches (except Petrino) are gay...

Send your own eCards

The Return of Toby

If you watch "The Office," I felt like Michael Scott after learning of Toby's return (Toby, of course, being the mildy annoying and pathetic office HR rep who Michael hates with a passion) on Saturday afternoon listening to the end of the Razorbacks game at Mississippi State. There was a lot of 'No! No! Please God! No! No! God! No!' that happened when Tejada missed a game tying 46 yard field goal as the clock expired dooming the Razorbacks to their three point loss.

The Hogs are now 4-7 and host LSU in Little Rock on Friday where either a 5-7 or 4-8 season awaits. Either way, it appears that 20% of you were right with your pre-season prediction. I left the poll up to the right all season just to see how well The Hog Tale voting public would do and the 5-7 or worse was second highest among all voters.

All I have to say about that is: way to jinx the Hogs you pessimistic boobs! Obviously, the lack of support for a great year on this poll was the main reason for the Hogs' shortcomings so far. I can only hope you can cope with the blood on your hands for this travesty of a season you all have created! Thanks for nothing!

Now that I have vented, I will move on to LSU. Thank you for listening.

And if it makes any of you die-hards happier, you can get a free poster on Friday if you are one of the first 20,000 through the gates at War Memorial.

Why? Why?

(Why Hogs? Why Hogs?)

Not to go all Nancy Kerrigan on you today, but whyyyy? whyyyy? Why did the Hogs start out with a 14-0 lead, blow it, comeback, recover an onside kick, and then miss a game tying field goal as the clock expired?

Well, there are numerous answers and reasons for it, non of which I really care to even go into after that embarassment yesterday in Starkhell, Mississippi.
Instead, let's talk about the Hog basketball team which... aw, hell, even that didn't go good at Missouri State last night.

Hey, Nathan Dick was pretty good, huh?

Bobby Petrino and the Temple of Croom: The Arkansas - Mississippi State Preview

(He no nuts! He crazy!




















Arkansas 4-6 (1-5) at Mississippi State 3-7 (1-5)

Kickoff: 1:30 pm
Line: pick 'em
(Horrible photo shop brought to you at no additional charge today)


It's the Hogs once every two years trip to Starkhell, Mississippi to take on Croom and the Dogs in a game of little national importance tomorrow. I'll even go out on a limb and say no national importance. The big cameras and all the talking heads will be in Norman, Oklahoma, tomorrow to see three Heisman Trophy candidates take the field in a crucial BCS and Big 12 matchup.

If you take out the screw-job that was the Ole Miss game and the total meltdown that was the Kentucky game then this Razorback squad is 6-4 instead of 4-6 and trying to play it's way somewhere other than Shreveport.

No use crying over spilled referee guts at this point as the Hogs make their last true road trip of the year to take on Ninja Croom.


The Final Analysis:

Look, I'm not going to sugarcoat this. Mississippi State is bad. Terrible. Tennessee-awful. The Hogs should win this one. Hey Croom, you call him Dr. Petrino! I'm sticking with my original 31-30 preseason pick in favor of the Hogs.

Gloom and Croom: The Hog Tale Interviews Sylvester Croom

Once again, The Hog Tale is proud to bring you Mississippi State head football coach / part-time ninja, Sylvester Croom.

Hog Tale: Coach, thanks for stopping by and taking some time to be with us. I see you are still perfecting your ninja skills.

HT: What do you make of your first SEC matchup with Coach Petrino?

HT: There are a lot of restless fans in Starville calling for your head. How does that affect you?

HT: Still, Coach Croom, it must get old having to deal with unhappy fans and unhappy boosters and losing week in and week out?

HT: Wow. You're really not holding anything back. Do you think it's wise to call your doubters "racist, redneck crackers?"

HT: Well coach, you seem supremely confident in both your coaching and your ninja skills. It doesn't seem that you fear anything or anyone.

HT: Coach, I know your time is valuable, and we really appreciate you stopping by again this year. We wish you the best of luck in finishing the season and in your future endeavour as a first class ninja.

Once again our thanks to one of the most interesting figures in the SEC - MSU coach Sylvester Croom.


Tomorrow: The Arkansas - Mississippi State Preview

Mississippi State Week - Bulldogs Are Boring

The one thing with Mississippi State is that they have the worst blogs and/or websites in the SEC. I can barely find any MSU websites and can't really find any blogs other than the updated-every-so-often Mississippi State Sports Blog which does a decent job. But for me, I'm too frantic and I need some pretty pictures or some video to occupy my sight line on occasion, and that blog doesn't have any so I don't spend any time there at all.

MSU just plain makes it hard to hate them, because there are not enough stupid sites out there with people writing idiotic things about others, and MSU usually sucks at the big sports in general. There are always exceptions from year to year, but in general we all know that MSU is no power player in the collegiate sports world.

Now, if you've read this site any, then you know that it is pretty much 100% truth and completely impartial when it comes to the Razorbacks and their opponents.
I say all of this because it just makes for a really boring week leading up to the MSU game. In fact, I'd like to trade MSU to some other conference for somebody else that will liven up the SEC West some more.

The SEC West has Petrino, Nutt, Miles, Saban, Tuberville, and... Croom? All five of the other coaches on this side either lead with bigger than life egos, crazy personalities, or have polarizing histories that drive endless hours of debate on the radio and this crazy passing phase known as the internet.


(It's pretty much gloom and Croom once again in Starkville this season)

Like I did last year, I'll be giving head coach Sylvester Croom a chance to liven things up a bit here in the Hog Tale when I get him for an interview via the magical web satellite powers we possess here. Check back tomorrow sometime for the amazing Hog Tale interview with the Croomer.

A Few Odds and Ends

Congrats to the Hog basketball team on their season opening win over Southeastern Louisiana. Although it was a tough, hard fought, overtime win, we all know the Hogs are young and expectations around these parts are relatively low (except for here, where I just got through predicting a 29-0 season).

A quick summary of the game Friday night:

The good:
Michael Washington's 30 points and 14 rebounds
Rotnei Clarke's 5-8 3pt. shooting
Courtney Fortson's 7 assists
Michael Sanchez' 12 rebounds

The bad:
Courtney Fortson's 6 turnovers
Stefan Welsh's 2-9 shooting

The ugly:
Michael Washington and Courtney Fortson's combined 15-29 from the Freethrow line
The Hogs' overall 57% FT shooting
The Hogs' 2nd half defense which allowed SE Louisiana to shoot 53% from the field

But the ugly could have been worse, we could have been these guys...


(Nooooo! Not again!)

Last year, Gardner-Webb. This year, VMI.



Finally, a belated congratulations to former Arkansas pitcher and current Little Rock resident Cliff Lee on a well deserved AL Cy Young. Lee went from last year's "I think Cliff Lee gave up baseball and is living on some remote desert island far away from Arkansas, which he was never from anyway" to this year's "That's our boy right there! Cliff Lee is from, and lives in Arkansas and is the best damn pitcher in the American league! Suck on that high cheese!"



(Atta boy, Cliffy)

To The Hoop, Ya'll - The 2008-09 Razorback Basketball Preview

Feeling fairly confident with the Razorback football team being a solid two touchdown favorite over Bye Week tomorrow, I am choosing instead to focus on Razorback basketball today as Pelphrey's crew opens up the season tonight at home against Southeastern Louisiana.

I promised you a basketball preview, and if nothing else, I don't let my faithful readers down (very often anyway). In similar fashion to my football previews, I am giving you a game by game breakdown of the upcoming basketball season for the new-look Razorbacks. My totally 100% realistic preview is as follows:


November

14th - Southeastern Lousiana
Led by President-elect Barack Obama’s inspirational pre-game talk, the Razorbacks begin the season 1-0. In disguise, President-elect Obama watches the game and entertains the crowd as the new Razorback mascot known as "Razorbarack"


(Is it "Big Red" or is it "Razorbarack?")

20th - California-Davis
The Cali boys surf into Fayetteville and then are promptly wiped out of the building by the young Razorbacks. Michael Washington records 20 blocked shots in the win.

22nd at Missouri State
The first road test of the season is a success as freshman Rotnei Clark rains three pointers from 25 feet and beyond. In all, the mad bomber drills 14 threes for the now 3-0 Razorbacks.

26th at South Alabama
Coach Pelphrey returns to his former team and is greeted with boos and lobs of batteries from the crowd. Pelphrey switches places with Stephen Cox and suits up and scores 36 by himself against some of his former players and then stares down the crowd as he leaves with a big Razorback victory. Cox is now 1-0 as head coach.

29th - Florida A&M
The Rattlers come to town. Student section throws rubber snakes on the floor after every Razorback dunk. In all, 112 fake snakes are collected by the end of the game and despite the six technical fouls the crowd picked up, the Hogs still win this one by 50. The event inspires Samuel L. Jackson to write and star in his new movie, "Snakes At a Game."

November record: 5-0

December

3rd – Texas Southern
In order to draw fans to this massacre, Coach Pelphrey emulates Will Ferrell and promises to wrestle a bear in a cage at halftime.



(Coach Pelphrey defeats the bear just like the Hogs whip up on Texas Southern)

10th – North Carolina Central
Stephan Welsh goes for 15 points and 15 assists in this easy win. Welsh remarks after the game that since the Hogs don’t actually get to revenge the humiliating loss to UNC in last year’s NCAA second round game that this game will have to do. Tells North Carolina Central players to go back to North Carolina and warn the rest of the state.

17th – Austin Peay
Coach Pelphrey instructs the team to let Austin Peay score the first three baskets of the game so that the fans that traveled to support the team will initiate the “Let’s Go Peay! Let’s Go Peay!” chant. It makes Pelphrey giggle some before he gets the team refocused and the Hogs put on 30 unanswered points on way to a dominating win.

20th – Stephen F. Austin
Stephen F. Austin shows up to play resembling a small high school team...



(Razorbacks win easily over Stephen F. Austin)

27th – Northwestern State

Just two days after Christmas, Coach Pelphrey elects to let his players remain on Christmas vacation with their families and instead recruits some local YMCA talent to suit up instead. Thanks to superior coaching, the Hogs get 28 points and 16 rebounds from Joe the Plummer and beat Northwestern State by 20.

30th – Oklahoma

Blake Griffin comes to town for the Spooners who are one of the favorites this season in the Big 12 conference, also known as the SEC's red-headed stepchild. Michael Sanchez punches Griffin in the face in the game's first minute knocking both players out of the game. After the game Sanchez remarks that "Griffin looks much better now with that crooked nose." Arkansas wins going away 105-75.

December record: 6-0

January

3rd at North Texas
Coach Pelphrey and the team wonder why they were ever scheduled to play at North Texas, because Texas sucks. Another easy Razorback win. "I don't know why we had to come play here, because I hate this state," said Coach Pelphrey after the game, "But I love any five star recruits that want to come play here!"

6th – Texas
Matthew McConaughey shows up drunk to the game to cheer on UT. He gets a technical foul for puking on the floor midway through the first half. Just returning from his one game suspension for punching Oklahoma's Blake Griffin, Michael Sanchez punches McConaughey in the face for throwing up on our floor.



(McConaughey brings his loud Texas attitude and metrosexual looks with him to Bud Walton arena to see his Horns get it handed to them)

10th – Mississippi State
"Free Taco night" at Bud Walton arena turns messy (literally). A horrible officiating call just two minutes into the game ends up resulting in hundreds of tacos being lobbed onto the floor and a 10 minute ciesta follows.

14th – at Ole Miss
Houston Nutt shows up to the game, and gets into pre-game fist fight with Coach Pelphrey for no apparent reason. When asked after the Razorback win about the altercation, Coach Pelphrey just says, "He knows why I beat his ass, and he knows he had it comin'."

17th – at Florida
Tim Tebow shows up to the game carrying his bogus Heisman Trophy with him. Tebow sits in one seat and his trophy has its own seat. Former Florida Gator Joakim Noah also shows up after receiving a leave of absence from his current team the Chicago Bulls, who admit that they wasted their draft choice on him. Hogs 120 Gators 60.

24th – Auburn
Warhogs. Coach Petrino makes an appearance at the game and sits on the bench next to Coach Pelphrey diagramming plays all night long. Every play works and Petrino automatically receives a pay raise.

29th – Alabama
No Nick Saban. No problem. On a gut feeling, Pelphrey starts Stephen Cox who had only played about 10 minutes all year. Cox goes 10 for 10 from 3 point land and finishes with 40 points in a 10 point win over the Bammers. The Bama cheerleaders and Razorback cheerleaders get in a huge fight at halftime making for the best halftime show in the history of basketball.

31st at LSU
LSU sucks this year. Most of the Razorback players on the bench choose to watch movies on their ipods during the game and eat popcorn.

January record: 8-0

February

4th – Tennessee
On "Frank Broyles Bobblehead giveaway night," nearly 20,000 fans get their bobbleheads moving simultaneously during the final minutes of a close contest. The sight of Frank's bobbling head freaks out the Tennessee players as they cannot focus enough to overcome the Razorback crowd and the Broyles bobbleheads. Another Hog win.

7th at Mississippi State
Sylvester Croom shows up and gives the Mississippi State basketball team a pep talk before the game, and just like his football team it does little to help. Razorbacks win this one 140-18.

11th at Auburn
Coach Pel is kicked out of the game after arguing with an official that Auburn does indeed pay referees more than anywhere else in the SEC. Assistant coach Rob Evans takes over. The Razorbacks break out the picket fence offense and make sure not to stand around watching the paint dry.

14th – Kentucky
The sea of blue invades undefeated Razorback territory only to get the hell beat out of them. Praising John Pelphrey as "the best coach in the history of coaching" Billy Gilispie is thankful to leave Arkansas was only a 25 point loss. Montrell McDonald scores 35 for the undefeated Hogs.

18th – LSU
No more Coach John Brady. Not nearly as much fun for opposing fans. The Razorback band relocates right behind the LSU bench for this game. And when I say right behind, I mean on the floor one row behind the bench. The band rips through renditions of "It's Raining Men" and "YMCA" over and over during every time out making it near impossible for Coach Trent Johnson to communicate with his team.


("It's damn tough to win at Arkansas with that band sitting right behind the bench," said a rattled Coach Johnson following the loss)

21st at South Carolina
Winning at South Carolina is always a tough chore, but the Hogs are on such a roll that it doesn't bother anyone on the team when everyone fouls out except for Andre Clark, Michael Sanchez, and Brandon Moore. The three dominate the final five minutes of the game taking down South Carolina.

25th at Alabama
Alabama native Courtney Fortson returns to his home state and scores 15 points, hands out 20 assists, grabs 12 steals, and makes out with half the Alabama cheerleadeing squad during halftime as the Hogs cruise to victory.

February record: 7-0

March

1st – Georgia (Celebration of the 1994 Nat’l Championship; reunion)
In tribute, Coach Pelphrey sits in the stands, and lets Nolan coach. The Hogs roll up 150 points in 40 minutes of Hell in an easy win over the Dawgs. Nolan instructs the team to run out to midcourt and dance on the halfcourt logo after first basket of the game.


(The return of 40 minutes of hell occurs on March 1st)


4th – Ole Miss
The Razorback faithful continue their booing of Houston Nutt and the official who made the worst call ever from the end of the football game in October even though neither one are at the game. They boo the whole game. Every possession. It's the first ever basketball game in history where the fans booed for all 40 minutes of the game and all 20 minutes during halftime. Despite all the boos, Michael Washington manages to score 30 points in the win.

8th at Vanderbilt
Pelphrey refuses to sit on the baseline where the teams have their benches. He picks up two quick technicals for being out of the coaches' box and receives a fine by the SEC after he paints his own coaches box on the floor near midcourt. It doesn't matter, because Vandy sucks this year and the Razorbacks dominate.

March record: 3-0



Summary: The Hog Tale is high on the hogs, and an undefeated 29-0 regular season is very likely just a few months away.

Razorback Basketball: Where Undefeated Seasons Happen

Bye Week Boredom

Slow in The Hog Tale this week. I should have the season basketball preview for you on Friday corresponding with the Hogs' first game of the season, but otherwise, it is a pretty boring week as the football team gets ready to take on Bye Week followed by The Croomer and Mississippi State next week.

Here are a few links to entertain and waste your time:

My favorite Razorback thread of the week comes from Woopig.net, and doesn't even have to do with Arkansas. It's about Texas.

Like I mentioned before, the basketball season is just days away and the Razorback Expats hop into a time machine to revisit past glory.

And a little SEC/Arkansas basketball previewing going on over at the Razorbloggers Network. Why I wasn't invited to pick games I'll never know.

Kickers Gone Wild

This is what happens when kickers and booze get together.



Charges

PUBLIC INTOXICATION
MINOR IN POSS ALCOHOL

Former Razorback place kicker Shay Haddock was arrested early Sunday morning on public intox and minor in possession just about five days after quitting the team. Haddock took over the kicking duties earlier in the year when Alex Tejada struggled. Instead of getting drunk and quitting, Tejada battled back and eventually won back his job.

So, Haddock, obviously frustrated at being a back-up kicker once again, quit and went out and got himself hammered. Atta boy.

Without being too judgemental, there could be a myriad of reasons behind Haddock's retirement from U of A kicking chores. For instance, maybe Haddock was pissed at the holder, because holders can drive you nuts. Just ask these two kickers...



(Aaugh! I am going to jam a knife in your eye!)



(Laces Out!)









(Maybe he missed his chance and never got his Martin Grammatica moment?)



(Or maybe, he's more of a Vanderjagt fan?)










(Maybe he was demoted behind Tejada AND our new second string kicker who recently transferred from Texas State)

Whatever it may have been, all I know is that the kiddies out there should take note - nothing good ever happens when you quit your team.

Chalk One Up for the Ol' Smelly Ball Coach

Not much to say about this one. Other than all of the obvious cheating done by South Carolina and the horrible officiating, the Hogs turned the ball over too much and now get the week off to prepare for Sylvester Croom and company down in Starkhell.

Hopefully the week off will give Michael Smith's shoulder and Casey Dick's head time to heal. The Razorbacks will have to win at Mississippi State and in Little Rock against LSU to finish Petrino's inaugural season at .500.





(Andrew Davie slams Casey Dick into the turf after another interception. Dick left with a concussion and little brother Nathan took over for the rest of the game.)

Offensive Genius vs. Offensive Genius: The Arkansas - South Carolina Preview

Arkansas 4-5 (1-4) vs. South Carolina 6-3 (3-3)
Kickoff: Noon CST
TV: ESPN Gameplan
Line: South Carolina favored by 12


Before there was Bobby Petrino, offensive mastermind, there was Steve Spurrier, offensive mastermind. The ol' ball coach brought his geniusness to the ACC and rejuvenated a historically bad Duke program, even winning an ACC Title in 1989. Spurrier then went on to win a national championship at Florida University before taking over the helm of the Washington Redskins briefly. He then bolted the NFL back to SEC country when he took over the Gamecocks in 2005. Spurrier helped to pave the way for acts like Nick Saban and Bobby Petrino (of course, Granny Lou Holtz did it many years before it became vogue).

These two offensive masterminds will play X's and O's Saturday afternoon in what may be a Deep Blue vs. Gary Kasparov type chess game. The Razorbacks will also be up against the best defense in the SEC statistically. It'll be a tough match up, and even further hindering the Razorback chances will be this totally useless stat that I calculated all by myself:

Razorback Football Record in the next game after a Presidential Election since 1900: 11-12-2
Razorback Football Record in the next game following the election of a Democrat: 5-6-1

So, as you can see, the odds are enormously stacked against us as we head to Columbia for a showdown with the Cocks.


Speaking of Presidential elections, our 44th President of the United States was kind enough to respond to a quick question from the Hog Tale:



The Hog Tale: I realize there are some issues with the economy and Iraq and such, but most of Arkansas and South Carolina only care about one thing since John McCain got all the electoral votes in both of our states: What's your prediction for this weekend's game?


President Obama:

"Listen. I don't like Arkansas, because Arkansas does not like me. 59 percent of you Bible-thumping morons voted for my opponent. Expect me to implement a state by state tax increase based upon which states did not vote for me and by how much.
Look. I don't like South Carolina either, though it wasn't as bad because only 54% of you backwards hillbillies voted for my opponent there. I will reserve the right to turn Hilton Head into a naval port in the near future.
As far as my prediction for this pathetic excuse of collegiate athletic event, I predict that Bobby Petrino and Steve Spurrier will be paying more taxes next year due to their excessive contracts with their respective universities. Only because my beloved Hilary Clinton once resided in the Governor's mansion in Little Rock, I am picking the Arkansas Razorbacks to win 21-20. So sayeth your new Commander in Chief."

The Final Analysis:

Last year's shredding of the South Carolina defense was so much fun to watch. Darren McFadden and Felix Jones each sliced through the Gamecock defense for about four miles each in rushing as the Razorbacks won their final home game of the season.

This year, we might not run for four miles on this South Carolina defense, which ranks #1 in overall defense in the SEC. But, can the Hogs win? Yes we can! The Hogs' offense, with great confidence, rolls to a 49-13 win.

You Can't Win!

Ron Aiken has spoken. I, for one, am giving up. Columnist Ron Aiken somewhere over in the lesser Carolina is convinced of a dominating, come to the whipping post you little piglets victory over Arkansas on Saturday. After his compelling argument (you have to read it first obviously), I think it best if Petrino and the boys just save the state and university the embarassment, and remain at home in the comfy confines of the majestic ozark mountains. Just email the loss in. No one will think any lesser of you (probably).

Ah, but I jest! That's just silly and one thing my readers know is that this blog is anything but silly! You, Mr. Ron Aiken, lover of Clay, shall get the mighty Razorbacks in your raucous Lesser Carolina SEC atmosphere on Saturday afternoon! And, yes, that mighty, nationally ranked Gamecock defense will have its' chance at payback from last year's horribly, disfiguring humiliation in Fayetteville.

And, though, I will acknowledge that it is possible that this Gamecock defense might be better than last year's, this is why we play the game. That, and the hundreds of Petrino versus Spurrier angles we'll get.


















(The witty, obligatory and never-before-thought-of Clay Aiken reference that I just made in today's retaliating post of Ron Aiken was at no extra cost to you good readers)


Even if their is some measure of revenge on Saturday, and the Cocks somehow come away with a hard fought win (due to horrendous officiating and/or cheating), it can and will never erase the 520+ yards the '07 Gamecock defense gave up. It's like trying to drink away a past lover or moving to another city after being fired from a job for watching porn on the internet at work. It's only a temporary band-aid on the pain and suffering of the past. Until your running game actually shreds an Arkansas defense for 500+ yards, nothing you can do on Saturday will even come close to erasing that ultimate humiliation that will live on in Razorback lore, and will continue to be brought up every year when the Cocks and Hogs get together on the gridiron until you and I and the 70,000 plus in attendance at last year's game are long gone from this planet.

Best of luck to you Gamecockers come Saturday, and may the memory of '07 live on forever.


Tomorrow: The Arkansas - South Carolina Preview

Bringin' Tha Thunder!

Since Steven Hill's picture still adorns The Hog Tale logo above with that majestic turn around jumper to take down Tennessee in last year's SEC Tourney, I had to mention on here that Hill has signed on with the NBA's OKC Thunder. Hill will be in uniform and on the bench tonight when the Thunder take on the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics.

The article quotes OKC coach PJ Carlisimo as saying that their 15th man (which is what Hill is right now) may be there for "two months or two days" depending upon the team's needs at that time. Here's hoping big Steven gets a little run while he's there, and swats a few shots off the heads of some unsuspecting OKC fans in the first few rows.


This also reminds me that Razorback basketball is underway and I am due for a 2008-09 preview of the new look Hogs. I'll try to get around to that within the next few days and have something up on here before the first official game of the season on November 14th against SE Lousiana. I know you can barely contain your excitement.

Getting Ready for South Carolina

Next to the 3-OT win at LSU last season, the final home game in Fayetteville against South Carolina was my favorite. D-Mac and Felix Jones just shredded the Gamecock defense. And when I say "shredded", I mean totally obliterated the USC run defense which looked like a high school defense instead of a SEC defense. Even the interview at halftime with the Ol' ball coach below is funny when he gets asked how they are going to stop D-Mac and Felix. Uh, well, uh, try not to get blocked... enjoy 10 minutes of fun and let's hope we get some more big plays this weekend.

Happy New President Day

By tomorrow morning sometime, we will most likely have a new president. If you haven't already, then make sure you carry out your civic duty/privelege, and go out and vote.

T-Town Beat Down

Another non-BCS school with pipe dreams of crashing the big boys' party came to end Saturday in Fayetteville and you all can thank the Arkansas Razorbacks for keeping Tulsa out of any BCS scenarios.

"Tulsa sucks," said most of the Arkansas team after the game, "Way over-rated."

The last undefeated team in Oklahoma fell as Casey Dick threw for 385 yards and a touchdown and the Razorback defense held Tulsa without any points the final quarter (the first quarter this season that Tulsa has not scored in) in a 30-23 win. Dennis Johnson's 96 yard kickoff return for a touchdown late in the third quarter was the difference. Alex Tejada made all three of his kicks Saturday.

The Hogs are now 1-0 in November. Up next is a date with the visor in Columbia, South Carolina.




(Coach Spurrier's new lucky visor)