Mike Nail will retire after this hoops season

Mike Nail, the radio play-by-play voice of the Arkansas Razorbacks men’s basketball program, will retire from that position following the 2009-10 season, the university announced on Thursday.

The 2010 season will be Nail’s 29th calling Arkansas basketball games.

“This is not a decision reached in haste, rather something I’ve given considerable thought and consideration and something I’ve talked extensively about with my wife and family,” Nail says. “I talked last spring with (Vice Chancellor of Director of Athletics) Jeff Long and Chris Ferris at ISP, and told them I would probably step down after the 2010-11 season, which would have been my 30th year and both gave me their blessing to stay in the position as long as I wanted. However, I finally decided doing another season for the sake of having done it for 30 years wasn’t reasonable or in anyone’s best interest, and informed Jeff and Chris of my intent to end my career at the conclusion of the 2009-10 season last Friday.

“I will forever be grateful to Frank Broyles, then-athletics director, and Eddie Sutton, then the Arkansas head coach, for giving me the opportunity to realize one of my life’s dreams which was inspired by my long-time friend Bob Cheyne, former Arkansas sports information director and the ‘Voice of the Razorbacks’ for many years.”

Nail’s first season was the 1981-82 campaign. Heading into his 29th season, he has called 906 games.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The Arkansas Activities Association has rejected a proposal that could have created separate state playoffs for private schools.

The AAA’s governing body voted against the measure Tuesday, but passed a rule limiting transfer eligibility at private schools.

The AAA’s board had recommended the latter proposal after advising members to oppose the more severe first measure.

In recent years, Arkansas schools have grappled with ways to handle private schools’ perceived advantages on the playing field.

This year, the Berryville and Harrison districts proposed that schools where varsity athletes can receive need-based financial aid compete for separate championships. The measure needed a two-thirds vote to pass, but fell short of even a simple majority. The final vote was 114-93.

Springdale High School Hall of Fame

Saturday night the Springdale High School Athletic Hall of Fame will welcome 9 new members. If you would like to attend, tickets are $10 at the door, and the event starts at 5:30 p.m. at George Junior High.

Hog hoops releases non-conference slate

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – A matchup against his former head coach at a neutral site, a home game against his former team and rematches against Texas and Oklahoma highlight the 2009-10 non-conference men’s basketball schedule for head coach John Pelphrey and the Arkansas Razorbacks.
The Southeastern Conference schedule, game times and television broadcasts will be announced at a later date.
Eight of Arkansas’ 15 regular-season non-conference opponents earned a post-season tournament bid last year.
Before conference play begins, Pelphrey will coach against his former coach, Rick Pitino, when Arkansas faces Louisville in St. Louis on Nov. 17. The school Pelphrey coached before coming to Arkansas two years ago, South Alabama, visits Bud Walton Arena on Nov. 29. The Razorbacks beat No. 4 Oklahoma and No. 7 Texas last season, and face both again this year. The Hogs travel to Oklahoma on Dec. 2 while Texas returns to Fayetteville on Jan. 5.
Counting two exhibition games, against Dillard on Nov. 2 and Lemoyne-Owen on Nov. 5, Arkansas has 17 non-conference contests with 14 in Fayetteville. The Razorbacks return to Alltel Arena in North Little Rock for a Dec. 30 contest against former Southwest Conference rival Baylor.
The Hogs open the regular season at home against Alcorn State on Nov. 13. Following the Louisville game, Arkansas has four straight at home against Appalachian State on Nov. 20, Morgan State on Nov. 24, East Tennessee State on Nov. 27 and South Alabama on Nov. 29.
Following the trip to Oklahoma, Arkansas is in Fayetteville for five straight against Mississippi Valley State on Dec. 5, Delaware State Dec. 7, Alabama State Dec. 16, Stephen F. Austin Dec. 19 and Missouri State Dec. 22. After the Baylor game, the Hogs close their non-conference schedule with home games against Alabama-Birmingham on Jan. 2 and Texas on Jan. 5.
Oklahoma (No. 5), Louisville (7), Texas (38), Baylor (44) and UAB (52) were among the top schools in the nation in the final RPI rankings last season. Louisville, Texas, Oklahoma, East Tennessee State, Stephen F. Austin and Morgan State all earned bids to the NCAA Tournament with Louisville and OU reaching the Elite Eight. Baylor and UAB earned spots in the National Invitation Tournament with Baylor advancing to the championship game.

2009-10 Razorback Non-Conference Basketball Schedule
Date Opponent Location
Monday, Nov. 2 Dillard (exhibition) Fayetteville, Ark.
Thursday, Nov. 5 Lemoyne-Owen (exhibition) Fayetteville, Ark.
Friday, Nov. 13 Alcorn St. Fayetteville, Ark.
Tuesday, Nov. 17 vs. Louisville St. Louis, Mo.
Friday, Nov. 20 Appalachian St. Fayetteville, Ark.
Tuesday, Nov. 24 Morgan St. Fayetteville, Ark.
Friday, Nov. 27 East Tennessee St. Fayetteville, Ark.
Sunday, Nov. 29 South Alabama Fayetteville, Ark.
Wednesday, Dec. 2 at Oklahoma Norman, Okla.
Saturday, Dec. 5 Mississippi Valley St. Fayetteville, Ark.
Monday, Dec. 7 Delaware St. Fayetteville, Ark.
Wednesday, Dec. 16 Alabama St. Fayetteville, Ark.
Saturday, Dec. 19 Stephen F. Austin Fayetteville, Ark.
Tuesday, Dec. 22 Missouri St. Fayetteville, Ark.
Wednesday, Dec. 30 #vs. Baylor North Little Rock, Ark.
Saturday, Jan. 2 Alabama-Birmingham Fayetteville, Ark.
Tuesday, Jan. 5 Texas Fayetteville, Ark.

Fayetteville games in bold
# – game played in Alltel Arena
SEC games, game times and television will be announced later

Hogs vs. Missouri State on PPV

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas Razorback 2009 football season opener against Missouri State, scheduled for 6 p.m. CT, on Sept. 5 in Little Rock, Ark., will be televised on a pay-per-view basis in Arkansas and Southwest Missouri as announced by the University of Arkansas and Razorback Sports Properties Wednesday.

Per the new Southeastern Conference television agreements, the Arkansas-Missouri State contest will be the only Razorback football game shown on pay-per-view in 2009. The remaining games will air on either CBS or the ESPN family of networks.

KATV anchor Scott Inman will handle the play-by-play call while Jimmy Dykes will provide color commentary. Dykes has worked with ESPN for 16 years, including six seasons broadcasting college football. Former Razorback quarterback Clint Stoerner will serve as the sideline reporter for the broadcast.

Per SEC television regulations, the game will be made available to cable systems in Arkansas and Southwest Missouri and to small dish owners who subscribe to DirecTV or Dish Network in the two areas. The cost of the pay per view broadcast is $34.99. Cable and small dish owners can contact their service provider for ordering information. Cable providers in the state of Arkansas should have broadcast details by Aug. 1.

Fans in Arkansas and Southwest Missouri may also purchase the pay-per-view for viewing on their computer through ArkansasRazorbacks.com. Per league guidelines, the pay-per-view broadcast on computer is not a part of the RazorVision subscription and must be purchased separately.

The game will also be made available outside Arkansas and Southwest Missouri via ESPN GamePlan. The game will also be streamed on ESPN360.com. Due to restrictions, the game will not be part of the ESPN GamePlan package within Arkansas and Southwest Missouri.

Zack Cox named a Cape Cod All-Star

Freshman Zack Cox got a late start to his summer baseball campaign with the Cotuit Kettleers of the prestigious Cape Cod League, but that hasn’t prevented him from making a huge impact as he was named to the Cape Cod League West All-Stars as the starting third baseman.

Cox is currently batting a stunning .387 in the premier wood bat collegiate summer baseball league and could be leading the league in hitting if he had more plate appearances, but is currently 15 shy of meeting the league minimum. He is one of three Cotuit players to be named to the West starting lineup and one of three Southeastern Conference players as Auburn’s Brian Fletcher and Georgia’s Zach Cone were also named to the squad.

The naming of Cox to the West All-Stars is the second time in as many years that an Arkansas player has earned a spot in the game. Last season left-handed pitcher and now Houston Astros farmhand Dallas Keuchel played as a member of the Wareham Gatemen.

Taking a look at all the current and former Arkansas Razorbacks playing baseball, Cox was one of three Razorbacks to be named to an All-Star team this season. While Cox is the only current Razorback, former Hogs Jess Todd and Logan Forsythe were also named to Minor League Baseball All-Star teams. Todd participated in the Triple-A All-Star contest and pitched a perfect 0.2 innings for the Pacific Coast League in a tough 6-5 loss. Forsythe came off the bench for the California All-Stars and went 0-2 in a pitcher’s duel that was won by the former Razorback’s team. Forsythe made the California All-Star game as a member of the Lake Elsinore Storm, and has since been promoted to the Padres’ Double-A affiliate, the San Antonio Missions of the Texas League.

4 Hogs make coaches’ All-SEC list

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Michael Smith, D.J. Williams, Malcolm Sheppard and Mitch Petrus of the Arkansas football team were named to the Southeastern Conference’s Coaches Pre-Season All-SEC teams as voted on by the league’s coaches and released by the SEC office Thursday.

Smith represented the Razorbacks on the first-team offense, while Williams was a second-team selection and Petrus was named to the third team. Sheppard was chosen for the second-team defense.

Smith is considered by many as the top running back in the SEC. He has played in 31 career games with nine starts, all of which came in 2008. Last year, he carried the ball 207 times for 1,072 yards and eight touchdowns. By doing so, he became the ninth player in school history to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season. He had 509 rushing yards against Top 25 teams, which was the sixth-highest total by any running back in the nation. He also had 32 receptions for 298 yards and two touchdowns.

Williams has been called the best catch-passing tight end in the nation. In 2008, he was the first Mackey Award semifinalist in school history. He is the only 2008 award semifinalist returning to college football this year who led his team in receptions (61), receiving yards (723) and receiving touchdowns (3) a season ago. His 61 receptions as a sophomore ranked as the second-highest single-season total in school history and the most by a tight end.

According to the UA coaching staff, Sheppard has the best work ethic on the team. Sheppard returns to anchor the Arkansas defensive line after having 65 tackles in 2008. He ranked second in the SEC in tackles for loss (13.5) last year and was third in sacks (6). He also led the Razorbacks with 11 quarterback hurries.

After redshirting last season, Petrus returns to the offensive line. He has seen action in 36 career games and has had 12 starts. He was a second-team pre-season selection by the league coaches in 2008.

This marks the sixth-straight year of the SEC Coaches Pre-Season All-SEC Team. The team is announced each year in advance of the SEC Football Media Days. This year, the event will be held next week, Wednesday through Friday, at the Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Ala.

Update on Stefan Welsh report

There has been no official response from Arkansas head coach John Pelphrey on a story that 40/29tv.com first told you about on Thursday. Sources tell me that senior guard Stefan Welsh was suspended by Pelphrey for the rest of the summer, and is not on the UA campus.
The university has confirmed that Welsh is not enrolled in summer school and not on campus, but remains a member of the Hog basketball team.
We are following this story and will keep you updated.

UA Basketball Guard Welsh Suspended Indefinitely

40/29 Sports Director Mark Lericos confirmed through multiple sources Thursday afternoon Arkansas head coach John Pelphrey has suspended guard Stefan Welsh indefinitely from the team. The reason for Welsh’s suspension is not confirmed at this time.

When contacted for a response, the University of Arkansas confirmed Welsh is not on campus this summer but is a still of the Razorback Basketball team.

While Welsh’s future with the team is still uncertain, the potential loss of the senior-to-be would be disastrous to Arkansas’ sagging Academic Progress Rate (APR). Last season, Welsh played 29.5 minutes per game while averaging 11.4 points and 2.9 rebounds.

World Football League Schedule for July 11th

World Youth Football League – Arkansas Jr War Cats vs Texas Jr Bulldogs Kick off 4pm

World Football League – Arkansas War Cats vs Oklahoma City Gunners Kick Off 7pm