As America's preeminent columnist Jim Anchower might say, "Hola, amigos. It's been a long time since I rapped at ya."

Work and other duties have kept us Expat staffers away from the blog for a while, but the site should be more frequently updated in the days and weeks ahead. Now that our apology is out of the way, let's talk tattoos — specifically, those that adorn Darren McFadden.

If you lie awake at night wondering exactly what the seemingly countless tattoos on DMac are, the video clip below is for you. Regardless of whether you approve of such markings or not, it's at least nice to see that Darren has so much pride in his home state. And it makes me less embarrassed about my tattoos celebrating Crowley's Ridge and Dinosaur World.

If you're going to be in Little Rock tomorrow night (May 15th), you should definitely consider heading over to Hall High.

That's because Hall is the site of the "Hoopin' for Health" charity basketball game. The game starts at 7:30 and will feature Corliss Williamson, Scotty Thurman, Dwight Stewart(!), Alex Dillard, Pat Bradley, Clint McDaniel, Corey Beck and former Kansas Jayhawk and Little Rock native Richard Scott, among others.

Tickets are $8 for adults, $5 for students ($4 with student ID) and $2 for children under 12. Tickets can be purchased at the door or by calling (501) 374-5000 or (877) 374-5630.

Proceeds will benefit the Little Rock School District's Coordinated School Health program and the Let Our Violence End organization.

Check it out if you can!

That's because I met Dwight Stewart - perhaps my all-time favorite Razorback - and have the photo above to prove it. (OK, so "met" might be a generous term - I basically cornered him after Saturday night's dinner honoring the 1994 championship team and asked him if he had a second to take a picture with me.) One look at the photo and you'll know the moment was every bit as thrilling for Dwight as it was for me.

I've just returned from a fantastic trip to Fayetteville to attend the dinner and Sunday's battle for 11th-place bragging rights. The various championship celebration ceremonies were extremely well-done and very moving. I'll be posting photos and writing a post or two (or three) in the days ahead.

In the meantime, I'm left to ask, "Now that I've shaken hands with Dwight, what else is there?" Looks like a serious reading of this book is in order.

-- Dribbling Optional at Duke: There's the rest of college hoops, and then there's Duke. I know, I know, there is much to admire about Duke's program. But really, now and again, the basketball gods hand you too much ammo to ignore.

I give you this, the most awesome non-traveling call in the history of the college game. If Courtney Fortson did this in the SEC, the refs would have called five travelling calls and a couple of flagrant fouls on him.

-- Kansas v. Oklahoma: Tonight, 8:00pm. ESPN. Yeah, Blake Griffin is out with a concussion (and if you can give Blake Griffin a concussion with an open-hand on a blockout, you are one mean dude, Dexter Pittman), but this game should give you a taste of what really good college hoops looks like. I mean in case you forgot or something.

-- The Return of Siddhartha: I like Tiger as much as the next man (maybe not as much as my mother-in-law), but this little gem from Samuel L. Jackson , courtesy of Deadspin, and Pulp Fiction, is over the top. Really.

-- Farewell, Brave Warrior: This is sad. Anyone who saw the play will tell you it was really one of the nastiest Hog injuries in memory. Crosby Tuck hangs 'em up, his horribly destroyed elbow having refused to cooperate.

Dear Coach Pelphrey,

This has been a dreary month for Razorback basketball. The last few days have been particularly depressing. However, there is one thing that would lift the spirits of Hog fans everywhere and would certainly give us more than a puncher's chance against the Wildcats. It worked the last time we saw it.

Be bold, John: Tap into its awesome powers - and let the healing begin.

Yes, it's time to break out the red jacket.

By the way, we're investigating rumors that Jim McMahon was the creative genuis behind Paul's Boutique.

As we go through a week with 0-3 in the conference on our minds and have to wait until Saturday and Auburn to get things hopefully back on track, I thought I would take the opportunity to show the Razorbackexpat community a favorite piece of my Razorback collection and share some words about our wonderful mascot.

I have Hog logo ball caps, shirts, sweats, a newer version of the Hog hat, a Razorback bookend, a towel that says "Cuddle Up With A Razorback," a framed edition of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette's sports page when the Hogs beat the Horns in the Cotton Bowl, a Hog doll that plays the fight song when you squeeze his hoove, and a Razorback pen that lights up red when you push the top in. Oh, yeah, I also have a Hog embossed window scrapper for those cold mornings when garage envy sets in. But that is not the oddest or, haha, by no means the coolest part of my collection.

The most unique piece of Hawgbilia that I have was created over two thousand years before the Hogs took the field in any sport. I give you the obverse of a coin minted in the 3rd century BC (insert your even older than Frank Broyles joke here) in what was then a Greek colony of Italy. An image of Zeus is on the other side.

This is the Calydonian boar that ravaged the hills and hollers of ancient Greece until Hercules finally subdued it. And only Hercules could! My prompt for purchasing it was how much the boar on the coin resembled our hog that jumps through the "A," one of my favorite Razorback logos.

During televised games I have put the coin up to the tv wishing for some luck, but results have only been mixed thus far. There seems to be too many teams in the SEC with more than one Hercules on the roster.

I think it is a well known story how Hugo Bezdek gave us the mascot of the Razorback, and how before we were known as the Cardinals. I think we owe Hugo a big Woo Pig Sooie for that change. A wild hog is a much better match to the state than a cardinal could ever be. A brief counting of the ways:

1.) There is no other state exactly like Arkansas. So it is befitting that we should have an unique mascot. Cardinals are way too common as mascots go.

2.) Arkansas is a blue collar, still largely rural, working class state. An animal that doesn't mind the dirt seems fitting to be our mascot.

3.) People don't first associate the word "intelligent" when they think of hogs, but they are mistaken, for a hog is one of nature's more intelligent animals. Unfortunately, people don't naturally associate intelligence with the state of Arkansas. But many Arkansans have proven that line of thinking wrong.

4.) Related to number three, the outside world going back to before statehood to present day Jay Leno monologues rather looks down on the state for backwardness. The wild hog is not a New York or Connecticut type of mascot. But by adopting the Razorback as our own, it seems like we have taken ownership of sorts of the "backwardness" charge and have made the image of the hog a source of pride. Suffice-to-say, I just don't think we Arkansans would have hooked atoms with the cardinal like we have with the hog.

I hope you will tell about your favorite Hog related items in the comment section, or where you might have found an image of our mascot in a strange place. And I would welcome reading your take on Arkansas and its ties with the Razorback mascot.

But before I go, I leave you with one more Hog related connection to the ancient world as part of this Show and Tell. I took this picture inside Vatican City of Eddie Sutton (the hair) back from when he was a Roman basketball coach. The story is that his teams inside the Coliseum literally beat the lions, the bears, and the tigers, haha.

A few links for you to enjoy while I try to find the strength to write a Wally Watch:

* Yes, John Pelphrey is having a tough week, and yes, his team got its butt kicked by Ole Miss, but at least his wife isn't filing lawsuits claiming that accusations that he assaulted and shouted racial slurs at a cab driver have ruined their sex life. Because that's what the wife of Rebels coach Andy Kennedy just did. Seriously, you can't make this stuff up.

* In the latest episode of "As Mitch Mustain's World Turns", USC starter Mark Sanchez decides to go pro early, giving Mitch a golden opportunity to finally win the QB job. Only problem is that he has to beat out two other blue-chippers to do so. Will he become a Trojan hero at last? Will his mom offer her carefully considered opinion to coach Pete Carroll? And what of the rumor that Nathan Dick is going to transfer to SoCal so he can be the 2nd Dick brother to wrest the job away from Mustain? Stay tuned to find out...

* Occasionally during troubled times such as these a fresh new voice will emerge from the wilderness...a voice that eloquently expresses the hopes, dreams and heartaches of regular people from coast to coast. That voice has indeed emerged, my friends, and it belongs to YouTube legend/psycho Alabama fan Cowboyintn1979. Seriously...if his videos aren't the best thing on the internet then I don't know what is. His wife even is involved now! (His "show 'em what yer drinkin'" advice to her is an instant classic.) If you doubt his power, just watch his evisceration of sportswriter Paul Finebaum: