Stories by Wally Hall

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Aggies staff handled Hogs’ predictable offense One of the first things Sam Pittman said when he became the head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks was he was going to hire an assistant who had head coaching experience.He hired former Missouri Coach ... October 3, 2023

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Aggies didn’t need help, but Hogs gave it ARLINGTON, Texas — Texas A&M scored 13 points without Arkansas’ help and 21 with it.The assists came on a pick-six, a punt return for a touchdown, and needing only 39 yards for a touch... September 30, 2023

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Some may be correct for writing off SEC The season is just one-third gone and national pundits are writing the SEC off, and they may be right.The SEC has parity, but part of that is no team has yet proven to be greatly superior -- especiall... September 29, 2023

OPINION | WALLY HALL: There’s no questioning Robinson’s greatness Brooks Robinson was great.A great American, Arkansan, husband, father, man and, of course, baseball player.,In 1975 while working for UPI in New York, a discussion turned into an argument over who was... September 28, 2023

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Some comments hurting, not helping Hogs It is a little hard to believe a true fan of any college football program would take to social media and criticize a player who, even with NIL, is still a college student.A true fan is one who support... September 27, 2023

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Hogs’ best effort not enough vs. speedy LSU It was 6:06 a.m. and the sun was starting to rise on Baton Rouge.The handful of Arkansas Razorback fans looked sleepy but not particularly upset while the LSU Tiger fans looked sleepy and like they ha... September 26, 2023

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Sun sets on Hogs’ upset bid at Death Valley BATON ROUGE -- Doom and despair should have been replaced with dreams and hopes Saturday night in Death Valley, where no one wants to play LSU, especially after the sun sets.When it did go down, the A... September 24, 2023

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Thinking Kiffin still can’t solve Saban, Tide No doubt the game of the week in the SEC is at Tuscaloosa, where Ole Miss will take on the Crimson Tide of Alabama in one of five conference games.It is the fourth straight week, and will become five,... September 22, 2023

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Brooks has Pittman, Arkansas in his corner Former Arkansas Razorback defensive back turned LSU defensive back Greg Brooks is on the road to recovery after having a brain tumor removed last week, missing his first game as a Tiger.When Brooks an... September 21, 2023

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Pittman is still looking ahead, not behind By Monday, Sam Pittman was 100% Sam Pittman.He was being upbeat, positive and reinforcing the Arkansas Razorback football team.That's a good thing because a team always reflects its head coach and... September 20, 2023

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Bandwagon hoppers, be ready to work out For Arkansas Razorback fans who prefer to jump on and off the bandwagon, this may be a season when you get lots of exercise.Some jumped off after the Razorbacks lost to BYU on Saturday night, but many... September 19, 2023

Failed fourth down turns tide against Hogs FAYETTEVILLE -- A razzle dazzle attempt to tie the game faded under a flood of flags, all against Arkansas.A game it seemed to control until someone's analytics said go for it on fourth and 1 from... September 17, 2023

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Most SEC questions still left unanswered On a weekend when a few questions may be answered, but not many, the SEC opens its conference schedule with three games and two of those are significant.Tennessee goes to Florida -- where there is alr... September 15, 2023

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Arnett has brought new philosophy to MSU With 11 SEC teams winning last weekend, there are three riding a one-game losing streak and who would have ever thought they would be Alabama, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt?OK, Vanderbilt isn't a s... September 14, 2023

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Perhaps Pittman should listen to Sam-alytics A few random thoughts after two weeks of college football:Arkansas Razorback Coach Sam Pittman has chastised himself enough for going for it on fourth and 1 from his own 34 last Saturday.It was less t... September 13, 2023

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Oaklawn becomes Broyles Award sponsor It was like the announcement of a royal marriage.A large crowd gathered at the Little Rock Marriott yesterday to learn Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort will become the presenting sponsor for the Broyles A... September 12, 2023

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Rickety ride is good enough for Arkansas It was total role reversal.After looking like they had gotten their uniforms confused in the first half, the home team Arkansas Razorbacks came out in the second half looking more like an SEC team. Th... September 9, 2023

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Rent-a-wins likely to force ESPN’s hand The quality of games picks up a little this weekend, especially in Tuscaloosa where No. 3 Alabama hosts No. 11 Texas, but last weekend's slate was why ABC and ESPN want the SEC to go to a nine-gam... September 8, 2023

OPINION | WALLY HALL: It was going to be very difficult to be perfect OK, War Memorial Stadium workers could have done a better job last week before and during the Arkansas Razorbacks football game.There is no excuse for running out of water in the third quarter, especi... September 7, 2023

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Peyton the person is an even bigger superstar It took less than five hours to not just sell out, but forced Little Rock Touchdown Club founder David Bazzel to get a bigger venue to hear Peyton Manning.The previous attendance record was 700, and t... September 6, 2023

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Suddenly, college football is off and running With seven televised games Thursday night, college football is officially here and Saturday has a full slate of games from early morning to late night.Most of Saturday's SEC games are rent-a-win, ... September 1, 2023

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Catamounts look to get off the FBS snide Catamounts, basically cougars, are something to be feared.In a news conference this week, Western Carolina Coach Kerwin Bell showed no fear for his Catamounts when they come to The Rock to play Arkans... August 31, 2023

OPINION | WALLY HALL: For starters, opening with a victory is good As a rule, season-openers are supposed to be a win against unranked teams. That helps get fans' hopes up but not too much.In the past 15 years, the Arkansas Razorbacks have started the season agai... August 30, 2023

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Negro Leagues museum was mesmerizing KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A hot, heavy and loud drum line competition and assorted other festivities caused two blocks of historic 18th St. to be blockaded.The crowd and the noise were a minor nuisance as w... August 29, 2023

Here’s how the top 25 will turn out at season’s end This is the annual prediction of how the top 25 football teams will shake out at the end of the season.Preseason polls have some guess work, and so does this postseason one but is laced with history.W... August 27, 2023

OPINION | WALLY HALL: UA’s War Memorial history alive … for now Maybe it is because the Arkansas Razorbacks are opening their football season here for the first time since 2017, but there has been quite of bit of talk on radio and other places about the future of ... August 24, 2023

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Fans come in droves to see the head Hog By 8:30 Tuesday morning, they started arriving even though the doors didn't open until 11.When the doors opened, the parking deck below the DoubleTree Little Rock was already full and there was a ... August 23, 2023

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Always courteous, Duke battled way to top There is definitely not a friendlier person in golf, and maybe the world, than Ken Duke.He's truly humble, polite and courteous, whether on the golf course or off it.Duke is also a champion again ... August 22, 2023

Crystal ball places Hogs at 8-4 this season This part of the column is being written last.Did the game-by-game predictions for the Arkansas Razorbacks, then tallied up the record and 8-4 seems about right for a team that was 7-6 last year and r... August 20, 2023

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Realignment alters another rivalry: SMU-TCU Since they first faced each other on a football field in 1915, SMU and TCU have played every season except six. One of those was 2020 when covid-19 changed everyone's schedule.Now the last time th... August 17, 2023

OPINION | WALLY HALL: With time and money, feel-good story sours A few years ago on a cruise, one of our tablemates introduced himself and his wife and said they were from Memphis, and it took no time for him to add he was the real life gangster in the movie &ldquo... August 15, 2023

OPINION | WALLY HALL: A-State offering slew of promotions in ’23 Our friend Jerry Scott has informed us Arkansas State will have a couple of firsts in history this football season.Following the Sept. 2 season opener at Oklahoma, the Red Wolves return to Centennial ... August 15, 2023

Realignment isn’t over; here’s some ideas No one knows what will happen next in the crazy world of college athletic conferences, although it seems obvious realignment is mostly about football and the money it produces from TV.There will be mo... August 13, 2023

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Georgia going after a rare spot in history There is pressure on the Georgia Bulldogs.No one is talking about it, or admitting it, but there will be more eyes on the two-time defending national champions than perhaps any other team in the count... August 10, 2023

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Little Rock Touchdown Club roster of speakers another winner David Bazzel brings high-level energy to everything he does.Whether it is his highly-rated morning radio show, Morning Mayhem with Roger Scott on 103.7 The Buzz from 6-10 a.m., or the Little Rock Touc... August 9, 2023

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Georgia unsurprisingly tops preseason poll It was no surprise Georgia earned the No. 1 in the preseason Coaches Poll released Monday. Expect the same this coming Monday when The Associated Press poll is released.Being back-to-back national cha... August 8, 2023

Dear Tommy: Here’s some hints to fix NIL Dear Senator (Tommy) Tuberville:Thanks for the proposed bill that would get some kind of control over this Name, Image and Likeness fiasco.With no leadership, the NIL was a train wreck waiting to happ... August 6, 2023

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Broyles’ call still paying dividends for UA It isn't over and probably won't be for at least two more years, maybe even five, but the days of five power football conferences are about over.Where this all ends is anyone's guess, and ... August 3, 2023

Wallace learned not to tangle wth Big Joe Rasheed Wallace was a beast when it came to basketball.Yet, when he was interviewed recently on Twitter, or whatever it is called now, he thought of someone else as being a beast -- Joe Kleine.Wallace... August 2, 2023

Lovely Hot Springs hosts junior golf tourney HOT SPRINGS -- This beautiful city has long been accustomed to the glow of the national success. But this week it isn't about some of the best thoroughbred racing in the world, rather some of the ... August 1, 2023

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Sanders, Judkins set for another epic battle NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- It was a great competition mostly overshadowed last season by Georgia's great play, the surprise turnaround at LSU, a slippage at Alabama and Texas A&M losing to Appalachia... July 30, 2023

Tuberville, Congress work to fix NIL mess Greg Sankey, the SEC commissioner, knew something last week when he said it would take Congress to regulate Name, Likeness and Image.Within days a bill to do that was introduced in the U.S. Senate, an... July 27, 2023

OPINION | WALLY HALL: In the end, will Jimbo let Bobby be Bobby? NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- It was the most talked about subject on the first day of SEC football media days and ir still had life going into the last day.Is Jimbo Fisher capable of allowing Bobby Petrino to ... July 26, 2023

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Kelly recovered from early stumble at LSU NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Brian Kelly stumbled out of the gate last season long before he knew all the names of his new players at LSU.At media days Kelly, who had never lived south of the Mason Dixon line,... July 25, 2023

Jury remains out on if Saban has lost a step NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- He's still the greatest of all time, but the growing opinion seems to be that Alabama's Nick Saban is either slipping, or at least being outrun by Georgia's Kirby Smart... July 23, 2023

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Typically entertaining, Kiffin mailed it in NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Lane Kiffin, the brash, entertaining, know-it-all, wasn't.The Ole Miss football coach looked like he rolled out of bed Thursday, pulled on the first suit he could find and napp... July 21, 2023

OPINION | WALLY HALL: One thing stays the same: Sam is still Sam NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- It has long been said money and fame change people. If that is the case with Arkansas football Coach Sam Pittman, it is minimal.Sure, he bought Jamie, his wife, her dream home on L... July 20, 2023

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Freeze humbled by events of past seven years NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- It had been seven years since Hugh Freeze's last appearance at the SEC football media days.In 2016 he was flying high, having led Ole Miss to a 10-3 record with wins over Alaba... July 19, 2023

OPINION | WALLY HALL: SEC commish knows who his bosses are NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- There is simply no doubt the SEC and its future is in good hands.Commissioner Greg Sankey stood strong on the podium to kick off SEC football media days and covered a myriad of iss... July 18, 2023

Heat is on for several coaches this summer It is practically a reason for the slow season.During the dog days of summer, when football's shadow still hasn't appeared, columnists like to make lists of rankings, coaches on the hot seat, ... July 16, 2023