A lot of you are probably already regular readers of Chris Low's SEC blog over on ESPN.com, but in case you don't check his site often, he's posted lots of great Razorback-related content recently. Here's a sampling:

* Bobby Petrino is notorious for not particularly loving the interview process or the media in general, so when he sits down for some "kicking it" with Low, it's definitely worth reading. Lots of good stuff for his expectations for next year (among other things) in this post.

* Somewhat amazingly, spring practice is only a few weeks away (or in LSU's case, less than one week away) and Low breaks down the things to watch for Arkansas and the rest of the SEC West.

* Lots of marquee players have moved on from the SEC, so Low takes a look at the conference next year and pegs the Razorbacks as one of the "new faces" who could potentially make some noise in the new competitive environment. If you need another reason to look forward to next fall, he's bullish on the Hogs.

* This is old news by Internet standards (i.e., it's from last week), but Low ranked Ryan Mallett as the 6th best player in the SEC last season. Worth a read, for sure.

*Special Bonus Non-Chris Low Item*

* AS360's Jim Harris shares some notes about Scotty Thurman's recent induction to the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, and his post includes some fascinating tidbits about one of the all-time Razorback greats. For example, did you know Davor Rimacs was scheduled to start over Thurman in the famous 1995 Kentucky game? And, speaking of Thurman we should probably plug the in-depth (5 parts!) interview we did with him a little over year ago...if you missed it the first time around, here's part 1.

Four quick links for your reading pleasure:

* I'll admit that I'm obsessing over Joe Adams' situation a bit...the thought of a 19-year old having a stroke is just totally crazy to me. Brandon Marcello has posted some info about Adams and how his situation was diagnosed from today's Petrino's press conference.

* The folks at the Dr. Saturday blog (one of our favorite sites) have shared their take on the top college football scandals of the decade and the Hogs/Petrino figure in two of the final four. Woo Pig Sooie!!

* SI.com's Stuart Mandel breaks down the Arkansas-Florida game (scroll down about halfway). Bottom line is that he sees it as a potential trap game for the Gators, but also thinks Urban Meyer will use the opportunity to open up his offense a bit.

* Lastly, I'm guessing the general appetite for basketball news is pretty low these days, but Dudley Dawson has posted a very interesting look at some 2010 recruiting possibilities over on Hawgs Illustrated. If you're interested in finding out who John Pelphrey will be suspending next year, definitely check it out.

The pace of Razorback news is definitely picking up as we inch closer and closer to the start of the season. Here are some links that have caught my eye recently:

Can't We All Just Not Get Along? I was intrigued to see that ESPN.com had an entire day of themed content around hated teams and individuals earlier this week (clearly we're a huge influence on their editorial process), and when I noticed that none other than Pat Forde had written a column about the 40 greatest villains in college sports my immediate reaction was to wonder if he'd listed Bobby Petrino 1st or 2nd on the list. After all, Forde has earned his reputation as the #1 Petrino-hater in all the land.

But, imagine my surprise that Mr. Blank Shark Eyes couldn't even crack the top 40, which apparently makes him a less hateable figure than St. Tim Tebow and the mild-mannered Jim Tressel (not to mention Houston Nutt). Either Forde has gone soft or Petrino has slipped way down the hate scale...whatever it is, I'm not comfortable with this new world order.

More Preseason Prognostications The good people at the Fayetteville Flyer have weighed in with their predictions of how the 2009 season will go, and it's an entertaining read. Plus, bonus points to them for their use of the groovy old-school Razorback illustration.

Free D-Mac! In the latest chapter of the ongoing Oakland soap opera that surely makes Darren McFadden long for the peaceful, quiet days of his time as a Hog, Raiders head coach Tom Cable is in hot water for allegedly breaking an assistant's jaw (and putting him in the hospital) with a mighty punch. Meanwhile, D-Mac is still trying to find his role on a team that's overstuffed with running backs.

Irony is Not Dead As if playing four top ten teams on the road wasn't enough, Petrino has a new worry for his Razorbacks: swine flu.

A few choice links from around the web to carry you through the weekend:

* The "Razorbacks as a Trap Game" meme continues, as Dr. Saturday himself singles the Hogs out as the most likely contender to fill the Ole Miss '08 role on Florida's fall schedule. Of course, saying we're a trap game for the elite teams is really just damning us with faint praise...it'll be nice when people are talking about other guys potentially trapping us.

* As we've noted countless times by now, we're big fans of Jerry Hinnen's Auburn blog, the Joe Cribbs Car Wash. His 2009 Arkansas-Auburn preview is up...if you only read one super-long, very humorous analysis of Hogs by an Auburn fan this year, make sure it's this one

* Rivals.com has posted their top-to-bottom conference rankings broken down by unit. Sneak preview: our offense fares better than our defense or special teams.

* ArkansasSports 360 is all over it as usual, with reports from today's football kickoff luncheon and preseason practice #11.

Razorback news and notes from around the web (warning: some of these links aren't exactly timely, but then again you probably already knew not to count on us for hot-off-the-presses info):

* Nate Allen rips Jeff Long a new one (he even busts out the Y-word).

* We've been known to give Wally Hall a little grief every now and then. But, in the interest of fairness we also have to note that his column on Sunday was very informative and well worth reading.

* In addition to Jonathan Luigs joining the Bengals, five other Hogs have signed on with NFL teams as free agents (although most still face long odds against making the final cut). Casey Dick will be trying out for the Jets...remember, he beat out Mitch Mustain for the Hogs' QB job, so watch out Mark Sanchez.

* Speaking of Mustain, he's now the 3rd string QB at USC. Ouch.

* Brandon Moore quits the basketball Hogs, and Delvon Johnson joins the team.

* Incoming footballers David Gordon and Ronnie Wingo are fast. Like, really fast.

* Lastly but definitely not leastly, the Slophouse's Brandon Marcello tipped us off to an amazing ongoing series by blogger Clay Travis. It's ostensibly about the decidedly unathletic Travis' often-hilarious efforts trying to hold his own with various elite prospects while "training" for the 2008 NFL Draft, but he also had numerous interactions with Peyton Hillis and Marcus Monk. Marcello's post has a few highlights, but be sure to read Travis' articles for much, much more (for example, don't miss the anecdote about Monk and the swimming pool). The whole thing is long, but very well-written and is consistently interesting and entertaining throughout.

* Today's Wally Hall column probably deserves a full Wally Watch, but I don't have time. Instead, I'll just leave you with the image of Matt Jones mooning the Ol' Greybeard:
"Later in his career, Matt would, among other things, turn his back on a reporter, bend over and pull down his pants. In most places that childish game is called mooning."

* Our comrades in the HogBlogosphere, the Razorbloggers, have an interesting comment about Ryan Mallett up on their site today. Seems to be alluding to some troubling behavior on his part. Anyone want to weigh in further?
"Media relations aside, I hear he’s otherwise been following pretty close to MJ’s footsteps. The fact that Petrino is taking a fairly stern approach to Mallett makes me a little more hopeful than I was previously that we will see him on the field this fall."

* After leading his team to a dominant 2-14 SEC record, Michael Washington is apparently pondering the idea of going pro. (The Morning News says "the situation still seems unresolved."). Great.

* And in further uplifting news, here are the words no Razorback fan wants to hear: "The NCAA is looking into the recruiting practices of the University of Arkansas men's basketball program."

A lot of stuff has been building up in J. Hawg's pending file as items that might be of some interest to Razorback Expats readers. All five of us. Four of whom post. In any event, a few notes as we prepare for the Hogs traveling to Mississippi State this weekend, and the Showdown in Nashvegas, Vols versus Dores. (In the entire history of that series, have the Dores ever been favored? They are this week. I'm not sure that's a good sign. For either team.)

*The SEC Stinks: Orson Swindle makes the point, somewhere in this post, which also jabs at LSU for managing to fall behind to Troy by 31-3 going into the fourth quarter, that the SEC is really not very good this year. This is not a very controversial thesis. Look at the Razorback Expats SEC Power Ranking: there's Florida, and Alabama, and then a lot of meh. In contrast, the Big 12 South alone has four teams that are really, really superlative: Texas Tech, Texas, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. Here's the difference in my mind: quarterbacks. The Big 12 has at least six bona fide contenders. The SEC has about one decent quarterback, Tim Tebow, and he's really a fullback. John Parker Wilson? A caretaker. Matt Stafford? Slightly better, except in games that count. You have Jevon Snead with a chance to be good, but utter trainwrecks at Tennessee, LSU, Arkansas, Vanderbilt and South Carolina. I should go look this up, but I'm just gonna say it like it was a fact: the SEC leads all conferences in giving up pick-sixes. I feel safe in saying this because I think that, on their own, Jarrett Lee and Casey Dick could lead a conference in this stat.

*More evidence regarding the state of SEC football: Vanderbilt, yes, Vanderbilt, is speculating on where it might go bowling. All they need is a little help from Arkansas, and it's hey hey, ho ho, Vanderbilt in the Cotton Bowl!

*College football needs a New Deal: The reason that college basketball is the ultimate sporting event in America (It is! Go away ye fans of the Super Bowl) is that the teams actually play down to a real champion. As opposed to the utter silliness of the BCS. Well, sports fans, we finally have a president who wants to take this issue on. Okay, it's probably a few notches down the priority ladder from "save the economy" and "fix health care," but it's a start.

* Steel Magnolias: Oh my. In the great scheme of stupid made-up "rivalry" trophies, this one stands out. So to speak. As it were. Nudge nudge, wink wink. This almost makes "The Boot" look reasonable.

* Did I miss something?: Okay, I have a host of reasons to hate Tennessee basketball, most of which date all the way back to Bernard King and Ernie Grundfeld, but this takes the cake. Excuse me? Did these guys win something last year? A national championship? An SEC championship? A road game at Arkansas? That's what I thought. Save the over-the-top self-congratulatory pap for when you do something that counts.

* Jayhawks Never Forget: Even after the new coach wins a national championship, they can't forgive Roy Williams. Guys, give it a rest.

* The Evinrude-Wrangler Real America Bowl: No one compiles a list of spot-on, foul-mouthed hilarity like Orson Swindle. I give you...Bowl Games That Ought to Be. Some of these should happen. Seriously.

J. Hawg 3 here, licking my wounds from another week of being WRONG! So, to make me feel better, I am visiting other sites where other people feel even worse.

* Best Achievement in Graphic Animation: Over at Every Day Should Be Saturday they employ a graphic artist who goes by the name "LSUfreek." The man is a genius at animated GIFs. Start with his tasty portrayal of Mark Richt's Halloween Nightmare. Nice with a young gewurztraminer. Move on to his heartier fare, displaying how Will Muschamp felt Sunday morning. Boom M-Fer, indeed. You'll want to pair that with a great big full-bodied cab from Howell Mountain.

* I Got One Word For Ya: The Dean of SEC Coaches is gone. In the end, Spurrier did it to him one more, painful, final time. This peice from Clay Travis, who happens to have one of those all-access-I'm-writing-a-book things going on in Knoxville, almost makes you feel sorry for Fulmer.

Which reminds me of my favorite Phil Fulmer/Tennessee fan/War Memorial latrine story. Okay, it's my only Phil Fulmer/Tennessee fan/ War Memorial latrine story. So Tennessee is at Little Rock, I think it's 1993. Peyton Manning is in the running for the Heisman, but he's not having a good first half, and the heavily favored Vols are only up a little bit. I go to the restroom at War Memorial (you know, the giant metal troughs) and I am in a huge crowd of Vol Orange. Some brave Hog fan hollers out in the midst of all that Orange: "Your boy Peyton sure don't look like he's gonna win a Heisman today." Vol guy next to me yells out: "I got one word for ya: Philfulmer."

Between that story and now, Fulmer won back-to-back SEC titles and a national championship. Coaching is a tough business.

* Michelob Ultra Tuscan Orange Grapefruit: Really, I don't think Arkansas Football or its fans have ever participated in anything remotely on a level with the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. I think this may be a good thing. Also, despite the fact that they don't even have grapefruit in Tuscany, isn't "Tuscan Orange Grapefruit" a great name for a rock band?

* Sleeping Wide Awake: For most of us, being unconscious with eyes open is a sign of, like, death. But not for our man Big John Daly when he's chillin' at the Hooters. Favorite quote: "Anybody who knows me . . . when I'm tired, I sleep with my eyes open." This explains several recent results on the PGA Tour. Buy some shades, John.