Duke skipping tournament, not induction

Ken Duke raises the trophy after winning the Travelers Championship golf tournament in Cromwell, Conn., Sunday, June 23, 2013. Duke won the tournament with a birdie on the second playoff hole. (AP Photo/Fred Beckham)

Ken Duke raises the trophy after winning the Travelers Championship golf tournament in Cromwell, Conn., Sunday, June 23, 2013. Duke won the tournament with a birdie on the second playoff hole. (AP Photo/Fred Beckham)

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Sunday’s announcement of the latest class of Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame inductees left no doubt this is another great class.

The banquet will be Feb. 28 at the Statehouse Convention Center and it is expected to be sold out, so if you want tickets or to be a sponsor and be part of all the festivities go to www.arksportshalloffame.com.

I received a lot of emails about the class Sunday and Monday, most of it heart-warming.

There was one that claimed as President of the Hall of Fame I had ruined the entire organization by putting one particular person in the Hall of Fame.

First, I didn’t put anyone in the Hall of Fame.

The membership votes and the top two vote-getters are automatics unless they have a conflict with the date.

The person the emailer was griping about was an automatic; he received an overwhelming amount of support from the membership, and he is very deserving.

I actually wasn’t needed to vote much as it went quickly and for the first time in a long time we were out fairly early.

There will be much to read and hear about this 11-man class, but one of the nicest early stories is golfer Ken Duke, who is from Arkadelphia, played at and still supports Henderson State University.

Duke got the votes to get in, but he was scheduled to play in a PGA event in California so we voted him in provisionally. But Steve Eddington, a Hall of Fame Board member, called and left him a message. Duke called back within an hour and said he was honored and count him in, that he would redo his golf schedule to be inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame.

It is the time of the season, and this time has nothing to do with Christmas.

Every year around this time there are stories about players transferring from one college to another, sometimes an unnamed school, and then comes the announcements this player or that player won’t be playing in a bowl game.

A lot of it has to do with grades, especially sitting out bowl games or as in the case of Notre Dame basketball, the entire second half of the season.

Coaches aren’t allowed to say a player is leaving because of grades, and the players are too embarrassed to admit it. But if you were wondering about defections all over the country, it might just be academic.

Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys quarterback, is a favorite target for blame when the Cowboys lose, and the criticism is usually justified. But Romo rallied Dallas to victory over the Washington Redskins,24-23, Sunday and now the Cowboys will close the season at home this Sunday with a winner-take-all showdown against the Philadelphia Eagles.

But now, it appears Romo might not be available because of a back injury suffered against the Redskins. Coach Jason Garrett has refuted reports that Romo has been ruled out, calling his quarterback’s status day to day. If Romo can’t go, it will be up to Kyle Orton to lead the Cowboys to the NFC East title against an Eagles team that is playing well under Chip Kelly.

The Arkansas Razorbacks are ranked No. 36 nationally in recruiting going into this dead period, which will end after the BCS Championship game.

A couple of things to note, though: The Hogs have six more scholarships to offer and seven of the schools ahead of them are over the limit of 25. Tennessee, which is currently No. 2 in the nation, but has 33 oral commitments.

That means the Volunteers are going to drop a little.

Currently six of the top 10 schools are from the SEC, headed - no surprise here - by Alabama and it still has two spots to offer.

Of the top 25, only South Carolina, Missouri, Arkansas and Mississippi State fall below that magical mark, all but Missouri have several openings, so the recruiting ratings are a long way from being finished.

Sports, Pages 17 on 12/24/2013