THE BEST
TD pass by a lineman
Arkansas guard Sebastian Tretola, 6-5, 340 pounds, took a direct snap from center on a fake field goal and tossed a 6-yard touchdown pass to snapper Alan DAppollonio in a 45-17 victory over Alabama-Birmingham. Tretola’s pass was documented on film, but the pose, well, we haven’t seen it.
Advice from mom
Mary Tretola, ahem, suggested that media and fans might want to stop referring to her son, Arkansas offensive lineman Sebastian Tretola, as “fat” and stop referring to his touchdown pass as a “fatboy touchdown” because “the only thing meaner than a 340-pound O-lineman is a 340-pound O-lineman’s mom.”
Foreign film star
Punter Sam Irwin-Hill, an Australia native, put his Australian rules football skills to good use with a 51-yard tackle-breaking touchdown run against Texas A&M and a 23-yard run to convert a fourthand-9 play against Missouri.
Game-ending play
Arkansas forward Michael Qualls’ putback dunk beat Kentucky 87-85 and got tons of national play.
Third-place finish
Bayern, trained by Bob Baffert, disappointed as the favorite in the Arkansas Derby in Hot Springs in April, but went on to win 4 graded races — two Grade 1s and two Grade 2s, including the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic in November.
Christmas gift
Arkansas fourth-year junior running back Jonathan Williams announced on Christmas Eve that he will return for his senior season. Williams has rushed for more than 2,216 yards and ranks 11th, 104 yards below No. 10 Oscar Malone, on Arkansas’ all-time rushing list.
Performance by a Grable
Arkansas gymnast Katherine Grable brought home two individual national titles, winning the floor exercise outright and sharing first in the vault at the NCAA Championships. The titles were the first in the history of the Razorbacks program.
Homecoming queen
Former Arkansas golfer Stacy Lewis returned to Northwest Arkansas as the No. 1 women’s golfer in the world and won the LPGA Wal-Mart Northwest Arkansas Championship, birdieing three of her final four holes for a one-shot victory in front of a thrilled crowd at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers.
Show of support
The high school baseball teams from Mayflower and Vilonia played each other in front of 8,014 fans at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock to raise money for relief efforts after an EF4 tornado ripped through both communities, damaging 3,000 homes and killing 16 people.
Incognito ride
Disgraced Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong was greeted warmly by local cyclists at the Little Rock Gran Fondo, one of a handful of cycling-related appearances since his final Tour de France race in 2010 and the fallout that followed after Armstrong was stripped of his seven tour victories and banned from professional cycling for using performance-enhancing drugs.
Act of defiance
Former Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and, in typical Nolan Richardson fashion, ignored a request that inductees limit their speeches to five minutes and instead treated the crowd to an entertaining 30-minute speech that had everyone laughing along with his colorful stories.
Continuing Storey
Quarterback Ty Storey led Charleston to its second consecutive state championship, accounting for all five of his team’s touchdowns in the Class 3A championship game against Smackover. Storey completed 24 of 38 passes for 218 yards and 3 touchdowns and rushed 35 times for 153 yards and 2 touchdowns. He ran the ball or passed it on 73 of Charleston’s 79 plays in the title game.
Natural phenomenon
The Kansas City Royals, led by a nucleus of former Northwest Arkansas Naturals, put together a remarkable postseason run to advance to the World Series for the first time in 29 years, where they lost to the San Francisco Giants in seven games.
Passing performance
Henderson State quarterback Kevin Rodgers set the state’s all-time passing record for college quarterbacks with 13,678 yards.
Yogi-ism
The Arkansas baseball team did its best it-ain’t-overuntil-it’s-over imitation when it beat Ole Miss 8-7 in the SEC Tournament, rallying from a 6-0 deficit through three innings. It was the Razorbacks’ largest comeback victory since 2008 when they beat South Carolina 12-11 after trailing 9-3.
Point zero
Arkansas sophomore guard Manny Watkins didn’t attempt a shot in the Razorbacks’ 83-53 victory over Wake Forest this season, but his five steals helped fuel the rout. He had four steals in a 15-0 first-half run.
THE MOST DIFFICULT
Conference schedule
The Arkansas Razorbacks became the first team in college football history to play all of its conference games against ranked opponents. Rankings of the Razorbacks’ SEC opponents on game days were: No. 6 Auburn, No. 6 Texas A&M, No. 7 Alabama, No. 10 Georgia, No. 1 Mississippi State, No. 17 LSU, No. 8 Ole Miss, and No. 17 Missouri. The rankings were from The Associated Press through the Georgia game, and from the College Football Playoff selection committee beginning with the Mississippi State game. Every one of Arkansas’ SEC opponents was in the top 10 at some point in the season with the exception of Missouri.
THE WORST
Elevator ride
The Arkansas coaches who work from the press box had to alter their halftime plans after getting stuck in an elevator during the Razorbacks’ season-opening game at Auburn. The coaches ended up staying upstairs and communicating with the rest of the team by cellphones.
Channel surfers
The long-awaited SEC Network made its debut, filling the coffers of conference schools and clogging the telephone lines in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette sports department as college football fans tried to figure out where it was located on their cable systems.
Fake punt
Arkansas State’s football team turned what should have been an embarrassment into a publicity coup after a botched fake punt, called The Feinting Goat, became a national sensation with more than 17 million Internet views. ASU receiver Booker Mays was the star of the video, standing straight up after the snap, crossing his arms over his chest and falling back onto his back before ultimately getting plowed over by a Miami linebacker on an interception return.
Mascot named Otey
The Arkansas Travelers unveiled two new mascots, including Otey the swamp possum, which drew mixed reviews from the team’s fans, many of whom said the mascot perpetuates a hillbilly, backwoods image of the state. The minor league baseball team in North Little Rock also introduced Ace the Horse.
THE MOST SURPRISING
Coach hiring
Jimmy Dykes was hired as Arkansas’ women’s basketball coach. Dykes, a noted ESPN analyst, took over the Arkansas program from Tom Collen despite no college coaching of any kind for more than 20 years.
Trophy presentation
Arkansas senior defensive end Trey Flowers said he didn’t realize how heavy the 175-pound Golden Boot Trophy was until he tried to lift it after the Razorbacks beat LSU 17-0 to end a 17-game SEC losing streak. Flowers had never gotten to lift the trophy because the Tigers had beaten the Hogs three years in a row.
THE HEAVIEST CATCH
Safe and found
Pro bass angler Kevin Short and his brother David hauled in a whopper when they managed to fish their father’s steel safe out of Lake Conway after an EF4 tornado went through Mayflower, destroying Louie Short’s house and depositing the 1,000-pound safe in the lake. The contents of the safe, which included 20 guns, personal papers, titles to cars and boats and Louie’s entire life savings, were still in the safe.
THE MOST REDUNDANT TRIP
GoDaddy Bowl 4.0
The Arkansas State Red Wolves will be making their fourth consecutive trip to the GoDaddy Bowl in Mobile, Ala., after a 7-5 season. ASU players like the trip and all, but how many times can you roam around the USS Alabama without qualifying as a candidate to be a tour guide.
THE ROWDIEST
Job interview
Robb Smith was still living in Tampa after serving one season on the just-released Greg Schiano coaching staff with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema flew into town during recruiting to conduct an interview for his vacant defensive coordinator’s post. As late night moved into early morning, the two men shuffled furniture around in Bielema’s hotel room to give Smith room to demonstrate and describe the tackling philosophy that originated with Schiano’s defensive staff at Rutgers. The conversation got loud, hotel security showed up to quiet the scene and Bielema was duly impressed, hiring Smith to coordinate the Arkansas defense on Feb. 8.