Arkansas Sports 360 - ArkansasSports360.com

In the past three years the Little Rock Razorback Club has moved its “Signing Day in the Rock” spectacular from one large ballroom, to a bigger one, and now to Verizon Arena, where Thursday night's visit by Arkansas football coach Bobby Petrino and his staff turned into part rock show/part religious revival. The religion, of course, is Razorback football, where more than 1,200 folks paid the price of a Southeastern Conference football ticket in Little Rock's War Memorial Stadium, $65, to hear Petrino and the other coaches go into full detail — with video — of the latest, 24-man signing class. The arena darkened and AC/DC's “Hell's Bells” rang in the assistant coaches to the main stage, each one entering from the opposite side to the stage and almost sprinting down the middle aisle where “Voice of the Razorbacks” Chuck Barrett welcomed them in. Then came Bobby Petrino's rock-star entrance, complete with a fog machine. read more >

The buzz surrounding Gus Malzahn's first recruiting class as Arkansas State's head football coach was spelled out by the large crowd streaming into the Fowler Center on ASU's campus late Wednesday afternoon, anxious to hear Malzahn's assessment of his 27-player haul on national signing day. Last year, with fans excited about new head coach Hugh Freeze, about 600 booster club members with free admission overflowed the Cooper Alumni Center. This year, Red Wolf Club director and ASU associate athletic director Doug Doggett said, a ticket was required for admission as the event moved into the more spacious Fowler Center, which can seat more than 900 people. ASU already had sold 750 tickets by Wednesday, according to Doggett. read more >

Vanderbilt began the 2011-12 season with its highest preseason national ranking ever, and the proceeded to throw it all away with four bad losses. Now, barely back in the rankings at No. 25, it's as if hardly anyone outside of the Southeastern Conference has noticed that Vanderbilt has begun showing the form everyone else expected before this season — the Commodores enter Tuesday night's game at Arkansas having won 10 of their last 11 games. The only lost was a 78-77 overtime setback at the hands of talented but up-and-down Mississippi State. Part of the improvement has been due to the return of 7-foot post Festus Ezeli, a preseason All-SEC pick who missed some of the nonconference slate with a knee injury. With Ezeli's post presence, the Commodores' defense has improved, and it's also taken some of the offensive pressure off All-SEC picks Jeff Taylor and John Jenkins. read more >

Gary Blair is the personification of the adage that life begins at 40. He's won 610 basketball games, all since the age of 40. He won a national championship with Texas A&M last year at 65, when most people have considered retiring. Blair won't be retiring anytime soon, he insisted Monday after speaking at the Downtown Tip Off Club at North Little Rock's Wyndham Riverfront ballroom. He'll coach, and he'll continue to maintain a commuter marriage between College Station, Texas, and Fayetteville, Arkansas. read more >

A pattern becomes evident with just a quick glance at the brief but illustrious history of the Little Rock Touchdown Club's annual awards. Something's in the water in Greenwood. Daniel Stegall, a former Bulldog quarterback who went on to try professional baseball, was honored as his classification's (4A) player of the year in 2005. Tyler Wilson, who just completed his junior season in leading Arkansas to an 11-2 season, was this year's Southeastern Conference offensive player of the year as chosen by the club. And Drew Morgan, a junior who led Greenwood to yet another Class 5A state crown, was the 5A player of the year. read more >