– First and foremost, congratulations to former Razorback women’s basketball coach Gary Blair for directing his Texas A&M Aggies to the 2011 National Championship.  Blair’s defensive-minded bunch of scrappers upended Notre Dame 76-70 on Tuesday night.  It was the first women’s basketball title for A&M, as Blair became the oldest coach (65) to cut down the women’s nets.

Going into to the Tuesday night game, one of our favorite guys Chris Bahn weighed in and admonished Razorback fans a little for bashing former Chancellor John White and current Associate Athletic Director Bev Lewis for running Blair out of Fayetteville.  While we usually think Chris is spot-on, we’ll have to agree to disagree on this one.

Chris mentions how White and Lewis take the hit for Blair’s departure, but get no credit for “envisioning what the gymnastics program could be.”  While we applaud the decision to bring in Mark and Rene Cook to start a gymnastics program from scratch, John White and visionary in the same sentence?  Eeesh!

As we remember it…White and Lewis needed a sport — with as many scholarships (14) as possible — that could improve Arkansas’ Title IX standing.  Not sure that qualifies as visionary.  Count us in the ‘beating the dead horse’ camp when it comes to ‘Mr. Golden Handcuffs.’

– The rumblings over the past week that star wide receiver Quinta Funderburk may be homesick and having second thoughts about staying in Fayetteville are disappointing.  Funderburk has missed the last four spring practices, and coaches will not comment on his status.

Funderburk appears to have all the physical tools — the 6-4 frame, the 4.4 time, the hands, the moves after the catch.

Here’s hoping he’ll tough it out and stay in the fold.  With a little seasoning this year, Funderburk could be ready for primetime after Greg Childs, Joe Adams and Jarius Wright head to the NFL.

– Marshawn Powell should be banned from playing pickup games.  According to Matt Jones over at The Slophouse, Powell is in a boot again after injuring his foot playing in a pickup game.  Powell injured the same foot late last summer, and was hampered most of the year after surgery.

– Great news to see quarterback recruit Zeke Pike had a good visit to Fayetteville last weekend.  Pike (6-6, 230, 4.7), from Edgewood, Kentucky, is the top pro-style quarterback in the country for 2012.  By all accounts, he could be the next franchise quarterback for the Hogs.

Richard Davenport reports the Hogs rolled out the red carpet, including a 30 minute visit with Chancellor Dave Gearhart.  Pike’s time on The Hill with Coach Petrino and Coach McGee sounded like quality time.

– After three straight losing weekends, the Diamond Hogs have their work cut out for them as LSU visits Fayetteville this weekend.  Regardless of the bats, if you can’t hit and score runs, you can’t win in this league.

The Hogs have only managed 14 runs in their last six SEC games.  Slump or cause for concern?  We’ll see…starting Friday night.

– The guys over at the Roll ‘Bama Roll blog have issued an early warning to Crimson Tide fans: Expect war in Fayetteville on September 25th.

“[...] Rest assured that the Hogs can smell the proverbial blood in the water at the thought of Alabama having to travel to Fayetteville to attempt to use a thin and inexperienced secondary to stop Bobby Petrino’s complex aerial assault.”

As you might expect, the fan reaction to the post in the comments section is the typical Alabama mixture of either acknowledgement or arrogance.

But blogger Outsidethelines also makes an interesting point that Razorback fans are likely to “feel very confident about their chances against LSU, Auburn, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State.”

Of course, an argument could be made that there’s a little too much fan confidence when it comes to the outcome of those games in 2010.  The record does show, however, that the Hogs have played very competitively against those teams in recent years.  And with a veteran Razorback team returning, it’s hard to imagine this season being any different.

– As for the wars waged in Little Rock — at War Memorial Stadium, of course – what should’ve been an nice opportunity to announce a new sponsorship with a global telecommunications provider on Wednesday turned into another public example of why the WMS Commission is still clueless.

After announcing a “big” new naming rights deal with AT&T, surely one of the commissioners realized that the gathered media might actually ask for the exact amount of the deal?  “Uh…no comment.”  And so now the banner headline screams:  “War Memorial strikes secret deal with AT&T!”

Hmmm…we’ve already rehashed the old “Arkansas to Big 12″ argument this offseason.  Maybe it’s time to once again food fight over playing more games on “Frank Broyles Field” instead of “AT&T Field?”

What Competition? — As good as Tyler Wilson and Jim Youngblood have done this spring, there really is no contest as to who the starting quarterback will be in the fall.  Those that say there is a competition are either a) just trying to be nice, or b) hoping that if they say it enough, Wilson and Youngblood will choose to stay around and wait, rather than leave to find playing time right away.

Don’t get us wrong…we think Wilson and Youngblood are going to be good quarterbacks eventually, but Ryan Mallett is clearly (and literally) head and shoulders above the pack.  With his arm strength and leadership qualities, he should give Bobby Petrino the trigger man he needs to have a super offense.  Mallett’s accuracy needs improvement, as he has finished with a below 50% completion percentage in two of the scrimmages.

There’s No “D” in “Razorbacks” — Normally at this stage of the year across the country, defenses are dominating offenses…unless you’re at Arkansas.  If the second scrimmage held on April 4th is any indication, we’ll have to outscore most everyone this fall.

In the 165 plays that day (the equivalent of roughly two games), the Hogs defense allowed 14 touchdowns.  Doing the math, that’s 40+ points/game…troubling stats to say the least.  Now granted, that was both the first and second team defense giving up those points.  But the 1′s were always going against the 1′s, and the 2′s vs. the 2′s.  Is the offense really that good, or is the defense going to struggle again?

Newcomers like defensive tackle DeQuinta “D.D.” Jones (6-4, 305), cornerbacks Darius Winston (6-0, 180), and David Gordon (5-11, 170), along with safties Anthony Leon (6-4, 230) and Rudell Crim (6-0, 190) will have to help shore up this unit in the fall.

Finding Their Way — In the wake of losing starters Jonathan Luigs and Jose Valdez from the O-line, Coach Mike Summers’ group looks to still be searching for the right chemistry.  Even with the two senior stalwarts, the Hogs gave up a staggering 46 sacks last year, ranking them 117th (next to last, Hawaii – 57) in the nation.

Despite having six lineman back that have started a game, this continues to be an area of concern.  Several players, including returning senior Mitch Petrus, have been shuffled around in an effort to get the right players in the right spots.  They are still searching.  Save for an 80-yard jaunt by fullback Mitchell Bailey in the second scrimmage, the rushing lanes have not been plentiful.

Assistant Coach of Everything — One of the fun sidebars of attending practices this spring has to be getting the chance to watch new assistant coach John L. Smith.  The 60 year-old Smith is all over the practice field, and has been highly visible during scrimmages.

It’s obvious that Coach Petrino has told Smith not to limit himself to just outside linebackers and special teams — the two areas he “officially” coaches.  He’s in the middle of everything…on both sides of the ball.  Admonishing at times and encouraging at times, Smith has the energy of 24 year-old GA, but the experience of a head coach who has 218 games on his ledger.  What an incredible resource for Coach Petrino.

All in all, the coaches have to be pretty pleased with the work they’ve gotten in this spring.  And with few major injuries so far (knock on wood), they should be at full strength come August.  RazorFest activities start around noon Saturday and run until 5:30, with the Red-White game following at 6:00.  Should be a fun time on The Hill this weekend.

* Billy Gillispie was fired at Kentucky because he was apparently not the “right fit.”  And if “fit” was really what Kentucky wanted right now, then maybe Rick Pitino’s recommendation of John Pelphrey or Travis Ford might be more relevant.

But the truth is, as a scathing editorial by the Lexington Herald-Leader’s Mark Story suggests, “fit” has nothing to do with the courting of John Calipari.  More like the desperate attempt of a school’s administration to sacrifice all (again) to win big (again).

Then, in 2007, Kentucky was seeking to fill it’s men’s basketball head coaching position. Which only happens to be one of the most high-profile jobs in all of American sports.

In filling this vital public relations-oriented job, UK’s background check failed to identify that it was offering the position to a prickly introvert (Billy Gillispie) prone to extreme mood swings.

Given the past performance, Dr. Todd, you’ll forgive me for being skeptical that the background check UK will run on John Calipari will actually ask the questions that need to be raised.

* Chris Low of ESPN.com has a nice write-up about D.J. Williams and his efforts during the offseason to become a more complete player.  With Andrew Davie gone, Williams has bulked back up from 235 pounds to nearly 250 in order to become a better blocker.  (Low reported previously that Williams was over 260 pounds at the end of the 2007 season.)

An interesting comment at the end of the article:

“It’s going to be very fun to watch next year,” Williams said. “Now we’re able to get into the meeting rooms and go over stuff, and it doesn’t sound like Chinese anymore. We’re able to add more complex things and get out there on the field and execute them. Everybody sees how well they’re working. Coach Petrino’s a great coach. The way he can break down a defense and build up an offense is amazing.”

– Last spring, we mentioned how injured Razorback football players were kept involved during practice:

One noticeable change from practice in previous years is that there are drill periods followed by scrimmage periods…followed by drill periods followed by scrimmage periods.  No resting…no group water breaks…no sympathy if you tweak something.

If you’re an injured player, you were on an exercise bike over in a corner of the field.  No one was just ‘hanging around’ on the sidelines.

Alex Abrams of The Morning News wrote a interesting article over the weekend about how those injured player workouts can also involve wailing away on a punching bag or dragging a tackling sled uphill with a rope.

Hmmm…still think being a college athlete is the glamorous life?

– Believe it or not, this Razorback team predicted by many (but not us!) to finish last in the SEC West received 14 votes when the preseason AP poll was released on Saturday.

Technically, that means the Hogs are ranked 37th in the poll (tied with North Carolina).  By comparison, that’s only six spots lower than they were ranked before a 10-win season in 2006.  Just sayin’…

– The stories this offseason about NBA players leaving for greener ($$) pastures overseas now have a Razorback connection.  Former Hog guard Jannero Pargo signed on Friday with Dynamo Moscow, a Russian club team.  The deal is said to be for one year, $3.5 million.

No word yet on whether Patrick Beverley will be one of Pargo’s teammates. 

– The Hogs reported on Sunday and, we have to admit, we were impressed with the short video coverage (subscription required) by RazorVision on ArkansasRazorbacks.com.  While only a few minutes long, the professionally edited player interviews were introduced by former local sportscaster (and now the Hogs ‘Director of New Media’) Blair Cartwright.  It’s quite a contrast from the ‘thrown together’ raw video footage that the former RazorZone used to produce.

– We’re also digging the official site’s new weekly previews and podcasts.  This week’s preview lets us know that those new “tight” uniforms we’ve been hearing about will debut on Tuesday during Media Day.  (Wow…us saying some nice things about the former ‘Hogwired’ site…now there’s a shocker.)

– Speaking of uniforms, Harry King plays a little ‘jersey number lotto‘ in his latest column about some of the incoming freshman Hogs.  It’s pretty apparent that King doesn’t think the bar is set very high for a freshman to come in and take over at the wide receiver position:

Suspended for the first two games of the season, Marques Wade did not catch a pass as a freshman.  Rod Coleman has caught one pass in two years.  Carlton Salters caught four last year.  Lucas Miller has started four games in two years and has caught 13 passes.  London Crawford has the same number of receptions while starting two more games.  Reggie Fish has started two games in three years and has caught 10 passes.

Those with rose-colored glasses will say the numbers are slim because the Razorbacks rarely threw.  My money is on Joe Adams, Jarius Wright, Chris Gragg, and Greg Childs, “Come on down.”

Ouch…but we can’t disagree.  For his part, Casey Dick says the freshman receivers have shown “some real speed” during summer workouts.

– Finally, it’s good to see that ESPN.com and reporter Chris Low have started up a new SEC Blog.  (We’ve added the link to our sidebar blogroll.)  Low, formerly a writer for The Tennessean, is a good fit as someone who has covered the SEC for years and knows the conference well.

And hopefully the freely accessible blog (with full RSS feed) is a sign that ESPN might be changing their ways about blogs from their reporters being ‘premium’ content for paid subscribers only.