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OPINION | WALLY HALL: Etch returning UA seniors' names in history

Someway, somehow, the University of Arkansas needs to honor the nine -- and there may be more -- who have chosen to be RazorBACKS for another season.

Grant Morgan.

Maybe a block of granite with their names etched in it forever.

Hayden Henry.

Nine seniors who already have spilled their blood, sweat and tears for the program but are willing to donate one more year to return the football program to a place of respect.

T.J. Hammonds.

Players willing to put their futures on hold because they believe not just in Sam Pittman but also in the program they want to put back on course.

Deon Edwards.

Young men who endured the trials and tribulations of covid-19 to help the Hogs end a 20-game SEC losing streak.

Myron Cunningham.

They are believers who know the program is not healed but want to continue to aid the healing.

Ty Clary.

Coming back for another year is a courageous and unselfish move made possible by the NCAA allowing an extra year for those who had to suffer through the season of coronavirus.

Dorian Gerald.

This is not about building stats or making their names bigger.

Blake Kern.

Their decision was based on team. The Razorbacks team and its head coach.

De'Vion Warren.

Place that foundational block of granite with their names on it where future players will see it before they take the field. Let it be a monument to what unselfishness and teamwork can accomplish.

RazorBACKS.

* * *

For 10 months, yours truly has been firm in the belief that we need to wear masks, socially distance and wash our hands frequently.

Thanks has come, and so has criticism.

I can't imagine anyone has been more cautious than myself.

Not once have I left the house without a mask and a bottle of sanitizer.

Thanksgiving and Christmas were limited to less than 10. New Year's Eve was a quiet evening at home.

Any get-togethers with a few friends were outdoors and 6 feet apart, or they weren't attended.

When my sister was dying of cancer in the hospital all those months, our only contact was by phone.

A recent sinus infection sent me to the doctor, who insisted on giving me a test for covid-19.

I laughed. No way could I test positive. No one has feared this virus more than your trusty scribe.

Well, I have it.

Apparently the number one transmitter of the virus now is family members, and in my home I have a 5-year-old grandson who I pick up at school every day.

I have an 18-year-old stepson who plays high school soccer.

Not blaming them because our lives are interlocked as a family. I would not change anything about being with them, if that's where it came from.

The point is, the fight against this virus is not over. We may be sick of it, but it is not sick of us.

So far, my symptoms are not bad, but I did get the first of my two shots before I tested positive.

Make your appointment, get the shots and please keep taking all precautions. This virus is still among us.

* * *

On a night when Florida beat Tennessee, Alabama made another statement by going into Baton Rouge and beating LSU 105-75.

The Tide, who this week made the Top 25 for the first time in three years, hit an SEC record 23 three-pointers on 43 attempts.

Alabama led 60-32 at the half.

The Tide are riding an eight-game winning streak and are 7-0 in SEC play.

The win over LSU boosted the Tide from No. 18 in the NCAA Net rankings to No. 11, five spots behind Tennessee, who Bama beat 71-63 in Knoxville on Jan. 2.

Unless they meet in postseason play, that was their only meeting this season.

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