LIKE IT IS

Current staff should do the right things

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/STEPHEN B. THORNTON -- Arkansas coach John L. Smith, left, and offensive coordinator Paul Petrino, right, before the start of their game with Lousiana-Monroe at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/STEPHEN B. THORNTON -- Arkansas coach John L. Smith, left, and offensive coordinator Paul Petrino, right, before the start of their game with Lousiana-Monroe at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.

— The NCAA limits how many official visits a school can have for recruits.

Would it be prudent for Arkansas’ current football staff to stop having recruits make official visits and save those until a new head coach has been named?

It has already been made clear in this space it is time get some younger players some SEC experience when a game is out of hand.

Most of the coaches won’t be back, but the players and program will be and it is time to do what is best for the future.

Obviously, that does not mean bench senior quarterback Tyler Wilson, but give him a breather a few times in the games. It is a common practice at most schools when a season is all but over and should have become the practice for Arkansas last week at South Carolina.

John L. Smith said Wilson has earned the right to decide if he wants to come out. No, it should be up to the guys making the money to make the right decisions for the UA.

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It was not a misprint. The Little Rock Hall Lady Warriors beat Little Rock Fair 88-0 on Monday night.

Fair’s girls team has not won a game since the 2008-2009 season.

The problem doesn’t end there either as athletics overall has struggled at Fair. The last victory the football team had was 2010, and that was a forfeit.

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Just a few seats remain for tonight’s Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame event honoring John McDonnell, the former great track and field coach at the UA.

The dinner is at the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock.

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It has been impressive this week to listen to Matt Jones, the former Razorbacks quarterback, on his new radio show Over Time, with Trey Schaap.

To be honest, Jones was not a great interview as a player. He seemed to not like the attention.

However, on Over Time, afternoons from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on KABZ-FM, 103.7, he is candid, analytical and very professional, and he has an humble politeness.

Jones, whose best play in college was the busted play because he had natural instincts and could make good things happen in a bad situation, may have found his calling.

He and Schaap seem to have that critical ingredient for a talk radio show, chemistry.

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This afternoon, Bill Ingram, founder of the ultra successful Real Deal in the Rock, will announce the Battle of the Border.

On Dec. 1, at Little Rock Hall High School, five central Arkansas high schools will take on five high schools from Memphis.

Games will start at 1:30 p.m., and the featured game is slated for 8:30 p.m. (Ingram’s tournaments always run on time) and will pit two-time defending state champion Hall against Memphis White Station.

Several national recruits will be playing.

If you can’t wait until the first Saturday in December for some good basketball, the annual Rumble on the Ridge in Forrest City is next week, Nov. 22-24.

This may be the best field of teams since 2003 when Tyler Hansbrough, Tazman Mitchell and Monte Ellis were on hand.

This tournament also has several D-1 recruits participating, including 6-10 Jonathan Williams from Memphis Southwind. Williams is ranked as the No. 10 power forward in the country.

Bobby Portis, from Little Rock Hall, is the No. 1-ranked center in the nation according to Rivals. He is expected to sign with Arkansas on Friday, and he will play in both the Rumble on the Ridge and the Battle of the Border.

Sports, Pages 19 on 11/15/2012

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