Media Ethics and Race in American Sports Culture

This was my term paper for my journalism ethics class this semester.

Philadelphia quarterback Michael Vick is probably one of the more polarizing figures in the sports world today. After being convicted on federal dog fighting charges in 2007, he was sent to prison where he served a year and a half sentence before being released to a halfway house. Upon completing his term, he returned to the National Football League with the Philadelphia Eagles, where he backed up another high-profile quarterback, Donovan McNabb. McNabb was let go this past off-season with Eagles Coach Andy Reid citing that it was the best decision for the Eagles’ organization to let McNabb go. (Glazer, 2010)

Since then, Vick has taken charge of the Eagles and led them to become of the top teams in the NFC. They are even poised to make a Super Bowl run. But underneath the success and the redemption Vick likely feels for returning to glory on the gridiron, he fights everyday with the choices he made outside of football that led to his imprisonment. He faces them every day as the media constantly wants to bring it up, not letting it be ‘water under the bridge’ but rather making the story more about Vick’s character than his play on the field.

ESPN and other major sports networks, along with radio talk shows, bloggers, and magazine columnists have weighed on how they feel Vick should be depicted and have conceived their own judgments on the rise, downfall, and subsequent return of Vick. The coverage of Vick (and others like him) begs the question of whether or not African-American athletes or coaches in high stature are presented differently when they mess up as opposed to white athletes or coaches, and the ethics behind that coverage.

To fully answer this question, one has to look at the scope of American history and how things have evolved in terms of race in sports. Everyone is familiar with Jackie Robinson and his breaking the color barrier in 1947 with the Brooklyn Dodgers. What Robinson did changed the face of how African-Americans were looked at by the media in general, not just in sports.

Since segregation was pretty much the accepted practice until the mid-1960’s, many members of the media never reported on black athletes because it wouldn’t have been proper decorum with the majority of the mainstream media being white. As time progressed and race relations improved and African-Americans were given more opportunities, the media was forced to kind of do their homework on them without having much knowledge of their background or of their culture.

During the 1980’s, when blacks began to dominate football and basketball more and more, and stars like Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and Walter Payton were becoming household names in America, people of all origins wanted to find out more than simply how players of African-American descent performed on the court, but how they grew up and what they did to get to the point they were in as a professional athlete.

When the University of Miami began to rule college football with an iron fists in the late 1980’s, many people began to associate their supposed “thug” culture as being the norm for how African-Americans acted and conducted themselves off the field. Even though the Hurricanes were just one team, because of the strong presence of high-profile, flashy black athletes on their squad, they became the symbol of African-American culture for the media. Miami players termed it “swagger” (Corben, 2009) and some proclaimed that they invented swag. To many members of the media, that swag was what they saw as everything that was wrong with the direction sports were going, and wanted to put a stop to it.

As time progressed into the 1990’s, black athletes became cult figures among America’s youth. Everyone wanted to “be like Mike” and eat their Wheaties and “just do it” like they saw on Gatorade and Nike commercials. Meanwhile, it seemed like every time you turned on ESPN, an African-American athlete was getting arrested or was finding some kind of mischief to get in. Was it the media just reporting the facts and informing the public of what was really going on, or was it prodding and trying to uncover information on these athletes that wasn’t the business of the general public?

Just about the time these black athletes achieved rock star status in the American limelight, was the time that politicians and administrators began to lobby for more equal rights for blacks and attempted to put them on a more level playing field with whites. It wasn’t until the late 1980’s that a black quarterback won a Super Bowl, and that was Doug Williams with the Washington Redskins, a team in the Northeast portion of the United States. And there was not an African-American head coach in the NFL until 1989, when Art Shell took over for the Oakland Raiders. In a New York Times article chronicling the hiring of Shell, reporter Michael Janofsky mentioned that 60 years had passed before the first African-American coach was offered a job in the NFL. (Janofsky, 1989)Shell was quoted in the article as saying, “I don’t believe the color of my skin entered into this decision.” What Shell failed to mention was the owner of the Raiders, Al Davis, has always been one to make a rash decision or do something that he feels will get his organization talked about and put fans in the seats. His reasoning behind hiring Shell may not have been ethically strong, but instead was done for selfish interests or to create a ‘buzz’ in the NFL and get the Raiders talked about at water coolers and across the country.

One part of the United States that has never taken race relations well is the South, where slavery ruled with an iron fist for much of the country’s first century and where blacks have always felt isolated and under-appreciated. The worst racism also happened here as well. Today, the Southeastern Conference is looked at as the premier conference in college football, where the best football is played and the fastest players reside. Ironically, most of the star players and this speed that was mentioned come from African-American athletes on the 12 teams in the conference. That begs the question of why was the SEC the last conference to have an African-American head coach on its sideline? Sylvester Croom, who was also one of the conference’s first African-American players at Alabama in the early 1970’s, was hired by Mississippi State in December of 2003 to become the first African-American head coach in the SEC. (Weiss, 2003) At the time, he was only one of five African-American men to coach at college football’s highest level, Division I-A. Croom is no longer the coach there, but he set the stage for more African-American coaches to get opportunities and to be able to coach football in the SEC.

When Croom was hired, one of his top recruits, DeMario Bobo, was quoted in an ESPN article saying this, “When you’re having problems, when you have things going on at home or you’re struggling in class or people are giving you a hard time, he’ll [Croom] understand. A white coach doesn’t understand like a black coach would.” (Drehs, 2004) Bobo is trying to get the point across that he feels that he will grow more as a person and become a more exemplary student-athlete if he’s allowed to play in an environment where he knows his needs will be met and that he can relate to the person who is in a leadership role over him. It was a bold move by the Mississippi State athletic administration to take a chance on Croom when no other school in the conference would think twice about hiring an African-American head coach. It put that administration on the map as a school that was unafraid of outside opinion and made it out to be an administration that wanted to see student-athletes succeed in life and not do it to simply put fans in the seats or win championships and get more money. That happens too often in our culture today, where the easy route is taken by people who make a decision based on how it will look to other people instead of doing the right thing or doing the thing that will benefit the most people and not just a few.

Auburn University had the chance to do the same thing that Mississippi State had done following the 2008 football season. The university had just fired its coach, Tommy Tuberville, and one of the hotter coaches on the market was Buffalo Coach Turner Gill, who was black. Gill was interviewed and many felt he would be the front-runner for the job, but was eventually passed over for Gene Chizik, who had compiled a very pedestrian 5-19 record at Iowa State while Gill was taking a perennially poor Buffalo squad to bowl games the preceding two seasons. Upon Chizik being hired, Auburn was hounded with accusations of being racist and not giving a black head coach an opportunity simply because Croom had not fared as well as many hoped he would at Mississippi State. Charles Barkley, a famous NBA basketball player and Auburn alum, had this to say on Chizik’s hiring in an ESPN article. (Schlabach, 2008) “I think race was the No. 1 factor. You can say it’s not about race, but you can’t compare the two resumes and say [Chizik] deserved the job. Out of all the coaches they interviewed, Chizik probably had the worst resume.” Barkley went on to talk about how he had tried to get Auburn to hire a black head coach in basketball following the 2003-2004 and that they had removed him from the search committee and hired a white head coach, Jeff Lebo, who eventually was fired this past offseason. He also talked about how all Gill needed was an opportunity, because he mentioned that it’s tough to win consistently at a Kansas State or a New Mexico but that he could have recruited well and won at Auburn if he’d just been given a chance.

Barkley is a member of the media now, ironically, covering National Basketball Association games on TNT. Of course like any normal person, he feels pride in his alma mater and wants to see it flourish, but at the same time, he’s representing the media now and ethically, has to put his feelings for Auburn aside. This is something that he failed to do, and he gave the media a black eye for his comments on the Auburn hire. It was something that he could have avoided and he chose to lash out instead of looking at the facts, and if a journalist goes based off emotions instead of objectively looking at the situation, then he or she is probably looking at trouble. Even with it being 2010, race is still a hot-button issue in the public’s mind, and so journalists have to tread lightly in how they look at it and how they report on it, because the citizenry will also base their opinions on what they hear, read and see. If racism continues to be something that affects our culture, then
journalists will continue to give it coverage. The real challenge facing journalists is how they present the issue and to make sure to do it in an ethical manner.

Media, however, has a say in how these decisions are scrutinized and sometimes even carried out. For example, former Arkansas basketball coach Nolan Richardson had a nasty exit from the University of Arkansas where he feuded publicly with then-athletic director Frank Broyles and subsequently was fired in 2002. A lot of things that Richardson would say after games in statements in press conferences would tick Broyles off, and Broyles wanted a way to paint Richardson in a negative light in the media since Richardson was, in Broyles’ mind, putting Arkansas in a negative light in his comments. Rus Bradburd’s book, “Forty Minutes of Hell: The Extraordinary Life of Nolan Richardson,” explores how a media member handled a request from Broyles to equate the word ‘nigger’ the same way Richardson used ‘redneck.’ (Bradburd, 2010)

Obviously the reporter faced an ethical dilemma. There are two vastly different backgrounds represented with Broyles and Richardson. On one hand, Broyles is a revered figure in the state of Arkansas for winning a national championship in football and all of the fundraising he had done for the University of Arkansas. Then there’s Richardson, who won a national championship in basketball and was a trail blazer of his own accord by becoming the first African-American head coach in the SEC. The reporter, if he honors Broyles’ request, would face immense pressure from the African-American community and it would also be very unethical for a journalist to allow someone to try and advance their own agenda through that journalist’s reporting. Even if he considered Broyles a friend and a trusted source, I don’t think he would have been able to weather the hit his credibility as a journalist would have undoubtedly taken. Journalists aren’t employed to pay favors to people or try and paint someone in a negative light in order to ensure that person’s firing or land a major blow on that person’s image. Journalists, as stated in the Society of Professional Journalists’ code, are to seek truth and report it, minimize harm, act independently and be accountable for what they report. (SPJ Code of Ethics) They aren’t there to start rumors, display their own personal beliefs, intentionally embarrass someone, or advance someone’s agenda. The fact that some journalists are letting those things become a part of their daily routine is the reason why a lot of the mainstream public is becoming more wary and cautious of reporters and the journalism sector as a whole.

Years from now, people will look at the Michael Vick saga and be able to judge it more effectively because time will have passed and it won’t be fresh in everyone’s minds anymore. The thing is, people will likely judge their opinions based on the coverage of Vick before and during his imprisonment, and then his return to football. What journalists say about Vick will have a large impact on how his legacy is viewed by the American public. If what they say isn’t ethically sound and ethically based, but rather their own personal opinion or advancing the agenda of an organization, then journalists are doing a disservice to their readership and failing as journalists. The fairer and more accurate that journalists present the Michael Vick story and other ones similar to it, the more credibility journalism will earn back.


Bibliography

Bradburd, R. (2010). Forty Minutes of Hell: The Extraordinary Life of Nolan Richardson. New York: HarperCollins.
Corben, B. (Director). (2009). The U [Motion Picture].
Drehs, W. (2004, February 10). Black History Month. Retrieved from espn.com: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blackhistory/news/story?id=1728831
Glazer, J. (2010, April 5). Fox Sports. Retrieved from FoxSports.com: http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/Glazer-Philadelphia-Eagles-trade-Donovan-McNabb-to-Washington-Redskins
Janofsky, M. (1989, October 4). Sports. Retrieved from NYTimes.Com: http://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/04/sports/shell-is-first-black-coach-in-nfl-since-20-s.html
Schlabach, M. (2008, December 16). Lobbying for Gill, alum Barkley says Auburn should have hired black coach. Retrieved from espn.com: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3770769
SPJ Code of Ethics. (n.d.). Retrieved December 9, 2010, from Society of Professional Journalists: http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp
Weiss, D. (2003, December 4). Sports. Retrieved from NYDailyNews.com: http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/sports/2003/12/04/2003-12-04_croom_s_task_won_t_be_easy.html

2011 Season Prognostications (Already?)

Arkansas awaits its bowl destination capping the 2010 campaign but it's never too early to pull out the crystal ball and see what awaits for the 2011 Razorbacks in what should be a much-hyped season if one Ryan Mallett doesn't forgo his final year of eligibility.

Sept. 3, 2011 vs Missouri State

Arkansas opened 2009 with a convincing 48-10 walloping of the Bears in Little Rock, and it will be in Fayetteville this time. Expect more points and the defense to do its job as well.

Arkansas 56, Missouri State 6

Sept. 10, 2011 vs TBA

The Razorbacks have not announced an opponent for this date yet. The general consensus among Razorback fans is that Jeff Long is looking for a decent opponent, maybe a TCU, for Little Rock.

Sept. 17, 2011 vs Troy

Arkansas has dominated Troy over the last decade and it shouldn't be any different this time, as the Razorbacks coast to a victory in preparation for the SEC opener.

Arkansas 49, Troy 14

Sept. 24, 2011 at Alabama

Bobby Petrino has not beaten Alabama since taking over at Arkansas, with his best chance coming this past year and the Hogs were unable to finish in the 4th quarter. I think Arkansas developed a pattern of getting off to a fast start and controlling the line of scrimmage near the end of 2010 on the road and they will do this against Alabama and pull out a win.

Arkansas 41, Alabama 31

Oct. 1, 2011 vs Texas A&M in Dallas

The Aggies have been bested by Arkansas twice in a row and are looking to finally eke out a win in the Southwest Classic, but I don't think it will happen this time around either. Arkansas will run rampant through the Aggie defense and also hit for some big plays.

Arkansas 38, Texas A&M 20

Oct. 8, 2011 vs Auburn

I think this is the game Arkansas will most want to win in 2011. Arkansas was embarrased by the Tigers this past year and will have revenge on its mind. The Hogs dismantled Auburn in Fayetteville two years ago and look for something similar but not quite that good this time around.

Arkansas 42, Auburn 29

Oct. 22, 2011 at Ole Miss

Whether Houston Nutt is the coach of the Rebels or not, Arkansas will win this game. The Rebels will struggle mightily again next season and Arkansas should be clicking on all cylinders again at this point. Look for plenty of offensive firepower displayed.

Arkansas 45, Ole Miss 17

Oct. 29, 2011 at Vanderbilt.

Vanderbilt. Enough said. New coach and still worst team in the conference.

Arkansas 59, Vanderbilt 10

Nov. 5, 2011 vs South Carolina

The defending Eastern Division champs will look to avenge a beatdown from a year ago in Fayetteville but it won't happen. Marcus Lattimore will get shut down again and the Razorback offense will put up points.

Arkansas 43, South Carolina 22

Nov. 12, 2011 vs Tennessee

Derek Dooley's Volunteers come to town for the first time since 2006, and the Hogs, who will likely be in the Top 5 or maybe No. 1 at this point, should have their way with UT.

Arkansas 38, Tennessee 27

Nov. 19, 2011 vs Mississippi State (LR)

War Memorial Stadium, where Bobby Petrino is undefeated. Don't see any reason why this will change against Dan Mullen's Bulldogs.

Arkansas 34, Mississippi State 24

Nov. 26, 2011 at LSU

Arkansas finishes its first undefeated season in 47 years with a 40-36 win over the Tigers to advance to Atlanta and put itself in a position to win an SEC and BCS title. Petrino will be hailed as the greatest coach in school history.

Arkansas 40, LSU 36

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Season Review

Well, my predictions for the Razorbacks were a little too optimistic, and I was definitely wrong on the U making a comeback and returning to the national championship game.

All in all, I predicted 9 of the 12 games correctly--I had Arkansas finishing 11-1 and in reality they went 10-2...I picked the Hogs to beat Alabama and Auburn and they didn't, but picked them to lose to South Carolina and they ended up winning.

Sept. 4 Tenn Tech Prediction: W 51-13. Actual W 44-3.
Sept. 11 ULM (LR) Prediction: W 47-15. Actual W 31-7.
Sept. 18 at Georgia Prediction: W 39-28. Actual W 31-24.
Sept. 25 Alabama Prediction W: 30-27. Actual L 24-20.
Oct. 9 Texas A&M (Dallas) Prediction: W 45-24. Actual W 24-17.
Oct. 16 at Auburn Prediction: W 41-34 (OT). Actual L 65-43.
Oct. 23 Ole Miss Prediction: W 35-20. Actual W 38-24.
Oct. 30 Vanderbilt Prediction: W 49-14. Actual W 49-14.
Nov. 6 at South Carolina Prediction: L 22-20. Actual W 41-20.
Nov. 13 UTEP Prediction: W 48-9. Actual W 58-21.
Nov. 20 at Miss. State Prediction: W 34-21. Actual W 38-31 (2 OT).
Nov. 27 LSU (LR) Prediction: W 28-25. Actual W 31-23.

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What's wrong with Big D?

I've been a Dallas Cowboys fan since roughly 1993, when I watched them maul Buffalo 52-17 in Super Bowl XXVII as a three-year old.

Growing up in the Aikman/Smith/Irvin era, I developed a deep love for the Cowboys as they consistently won games and were in the playoff hunt every year from 1993-1997.

After that, it all began to change thanks to some smart general managing and ownership by one Jerry Jones.

Chan Gailey was brought in before 1998 and limped to a 18-14 record and playoff losses before being fired and thus beginning the Dave Campo era.

This "era" lasted all of three years, in which Dallas went 5-11 in each season.

Finally Jones woke up in 2003 and hired a Super Bowl winning coach in Bill Parcells, who had won a pair of championships with the New York Giants, had gone to a Super Bowl with the Patriots, and woke up the Jets franchise.

He woke Dallas up but eventually grew tired of Jerry's antics and was let go following a 9-7 season in 2006 that saw Dallas lose its wild-card game.

Wade Phillips was then hired and posted a remarkable 13-3 season in 2007 only to lose the divisional round game at home to New York, who went on to win the Super Bowl.

Now Phillips, in his fourth year, is 1-6 and it looks as if the season is thundering towards all-time low levels, circa 1-15 in 1989.

A lot of people are asking, "What's wrong with Dallas? They have all this talent? Why can't they win?"

This blog post will serve as a preview of a series of blog posts forthcoming entitled "It's a trap: The Death Star," that will attempt to be an explanation of why everything is so wrong with the Dallas Cowboys, and what can be done to fix it.

Photo by Brendan Sullivan/ The Dallas Morning News

Instant Replay

After watching the Braves lose 1-0 last night and witnessing an absolute pitching gem from Tim Lincecum a day after Roy Halladay's, I have one major observation.

MLB needs INSTANT REPLAY!!!

Photo owned by Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

Euless Trinity (TX) 80, Shiloh Christian 26

I woke up Monday morning and forgot that Euless Trinity and Shiloh Christian were playing at 10:30, but quickly I settled down and watched the carnage unfold for the next three hours.

Granted, Euless Trinity has a student enrollment of 3,000 compared to Shiloh's, which is in the 190's, but still it was remarkable to see the No. 1 team from Texas just throw the rushing gauntlet at will versus Shiloh, and there was nothing the Saints could do about it.

I will say this, Shiloh can be proud of the fact that they put 26 points on the board. They scored 20 of that on two big pass plays and a kickoff return from Garrett Harper, and the 26 points may be the most Trinity will give up in a game this season.

A lot of people think that Shiloh embarrassed the state with their play, but I don't think many teams in the country would have fared better against that rushing attack today.

It is a humbling experience for the Saints, however, but they will likely rebound and win out and win another state championship. Trinity should do the same.

*disclaimer: Photo courtesy of Sharon Ellman, Special to the Star-Telegram

Playoff Push

If I had to pick my two favorite baseball teams, it would be the two teams I've followed since I was a youngster, which are the Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals.

Up until about a month ago, both teams were solidified with leads in the NL East and NL Central, respectively.

Lately though, the Cardinals have been on a slide, while the Braves have been doing just enough to hold onto their lead.

It will be interesting to see how the Cincinnati Reds do with the division lead in September, seeing as they haven't come close to even SNIFFING the postseason since 1999, where they lost a one-game playoff to the Mets.

And maybe the Braves are back on top, who knows.

My bet is that unless they meet in the NLDS, they meet in the NLCS.

2010 Season Prognostications

Sept. 4 vs. Tennessee Tech

In the season opener to this much-hyped season, Arkansas will rout the Golden Eagles in Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Ryan Mallett kicks off a Heisman campaign with 374 yards and four touchdowns, while Dennis Johnson is the star running back with 156 yards on the ground. The Razorback defense holds Tech to 13 points.

Arkansas 51, Tennessee Tech 13

Sept. 11 vs. Louisiana-Monroe

Two years ago the Warhawks gave Arkansas all it wanted and more in War Memorial Stadium, but this is a different Razorback team now. The Razorbacks drop 24 points in the opening quarter and never look back as Mallett goes for 350-plus again and Ronnie Wingo busts loose for an 87 yard touchdown in another rout that christens the new press box at WMS.

Arkansas 47, Louisiana-Monroe 15

Sept. 18 at Georgia

The SEC opener is the same as last year, except this time it's between the hedges at Georgia, and hopefully a Razorback defense shows up this time. It will, as Isaac Madison returns an interception for a touchdown and Tenarius Wright forces a fumble at a critical juncture in the game to preserve a Hog win.

Arkansas 39, Georgia 28

Sept. 25 vs. Alabama

What might be the Game of the 2010's could happen on this very day in Fayetteville as the likely No. 1 defending national champion Crimson Tide storm into the Ozark Mountains. A 3-0 vs. 3-0 for SEC West supremacy might make College Gameday, and if Arkansas pulls off the upset then Dickson Street may burn. Mallett is impressive and Jake Bequette has a number of sacks on Greg McElroy in a game eerily similar to 2006. It comes down to field goals and true freshman Zack Hocker gets the job done.

Arkansas 30, Alabama 27

Oct. 9 vs. Texas A&M

Another rendition of the Southwest Classic in Cowboys Stadium ends in another Hog victory as Mallett lights up Big D for 422 yards and five td's, with Greg Childs receiving three of those.

Arkansas 45, Texas A&M 24

October 16 at Auburn

A number of interesting storylines await this game as Gus Malzahn looks to right the ship against the team he coached for a season, while Hog fans get to watch how true freshman five-star RB Michael Dyer does after he spurned his home state for the Plains. For the third straight time, Arkansas steals one on the road versus War Eagle, with Broderick Green rumbling 11 yards in overtime for the Hog win.

Arkansas 41, Auburn 34 (OT)

October 23 vs. Ole Miss

Bobby Petrino must want a victory against nemesis Houston Nutt. The former Hog coach is 2-0 vs. the helmet he loves, but there won't be a pass interference call on London Crawford this time around. Mallett has a field day against a green Ole Miss secondary and Dennis Johnson runs wild to keep the Hogs undefeated.

Arkansas 35, Ole Miss 20

October 30 vs. Vanderbilt

Homecoming is easy money for the Hogs as Mallett throws for 300 yards in the first half and Joe Adams takes a punt to the house in a landslide victory for the Razorbacks.

Arkansas 49, Vanderbilt 14

November 6 at South Carolina

All good things must come to an end, and the dream season ends for some reason in Columbia, as the ol' ball coach gets the best of the Razorbacks thanks to a big day by Stephen Garcia against a Razorback defense that is injury-plagued.

South Carolina 24, Arkansas 22

November 13 vs. UTEP

Arkansas takes out their frustrations on UTEP in the Fayetteville closer, as Mallett again re-assures Heisman voters with 400-plus through the air. D.J. Williams hauls in three touchdowns.

Arkansas 48, UTEP 9

November 20 at Mississippi State

Dan Mullen's bunch is much improved, but Arkansas plays well in Starkville, and Ronnie Wingo steals the show with 182 yards and three td's, while Jerry Franklin comes up huge on defense in a Hog victory.

Arkansas 34, Mississippi State 21

November 27 vs. LSU

Arkansas wins the SEC West with yet another heart-stopping finish against LSU in the Rock. Mallett throws the game-winning TD pass to Jarius Wright with 1:13 remaining and the Hog defense holds back a Bayou Bengal charge to go to Atlanta.

Arkansas 28, LSU 25

December 3 vs. Florida

Arkansas and Florida in Atlanta for the third time finally ends with the Razorbacks winning their first SEC championship with Mallett making the clutch TD pass to Greg Childs with 3:26 to go. The Hog defense again forces turnovers in bunches, with three forced fumbles and three interceptions.

Arkansas 36, Florida 27

January 10, 2011, BCS National Championship Game

Arkansas vs. Miami (Fla.)

The Canes and Hogs meet in University of Phoenix Stadium for the national championship, and the SEC again reigns supreme as the Hogs win their first national title in 46 years thanks to a superb effort from Heisman Trophy winner Ryan Mallett. Dennis Johnson's kick return sets the tone in the second half and Mallett's TD pass to D.J. Williams with 5 minutes remaining sets off a party on Dickson Street until the end of the spring semester.

Arkansas 40, Miami (Fla.) 27

About time for an update...

For over two years, I've attempted to keep up with this blog and I've failed miserably.

However, my resolution for my final year of college is to update it almost daily if possible, with stories and information about sports that people care about in this area and around the state of Arkansas.

With it being mid-July and we're currently under the dog days of summer, all anyone can think about is the beginning of football season.

I'll start the blog full-steam ahead tomorrow with a game-by-game preview of Arkansas' upcoming football season.

After that, I'll do the Dallas Cowboys.

Once we get those two heavyweights out of the way, I'll start doing some junior high and high school stuff.

There's a possibility I'll be doing an internship with Vype Magazine this year, so anything I do for them, I'll try to put on here as well.

Hope everyone is excited about the new-and-improved blog.