I expect the Rapture to begin any second now. Or a meteor to smash into Earth. Or maybe the Cubs will finally win the World Series.

What has me feeling this way? The Atlanta Hawks — sporting the worst record of any of this year’s NBA playoff teams and arguably the most pitiful professional sports franchise over the last decade — beat top-seeded Boston last night, 97-92, to even their first-round series against the Celtics at two games apiece. Boston won 66 games during the regular season, the Hawks 37.

What does this have to do with a Razorback blog? Well, former Hog and current Hawk Joe Johnson had the game of his life last night, scoring 35 points — including 20 in the fourth quarter, when he looked virtually unstoppable and uncorked several Jordanesque drives to the basket.

I live in Atlanta, and the sports-talk-radio rap on Joe is that he is an immensely talented player who doesn’t have enough alpha male in him to be The Man in crunch time. For one night, at least, it was nice to see him prove his critics wrong.

We’ve been a little slack in discussing this, but, per Brandon Marcello of The Slophouse, Patrick Beverley will be returning to Fayetteville for his junior season. Marcello’s report, which is based on a TBO.com blog post, says Patrick wanted to transfer to the University of South Florida to reunite with ex-Hog coach Stan Heath, but Beverley’s mom talked him out of the move. (We could get snarky and say that perhaps Patrick missed being part of a team that routinely blew double-digit leads and that couldn’t get past the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but we’re much classier than that.)

We originally thought that the hard-charging Beverley would mesh well with the hard-ass Pelphrey, but there’s obviously been some difficulties in the relationship. Considering the lack of proven SEC-caliber talent that the Razorbacks currently have on their roster, though, we’re very happy that Beverley Beverley’s mom feels that Pelphrey and Fayetteville are worth another look.

* Bye-Bye Beverley? - That’s the jarring headline of Brandon Marcello’s latest Slophouse blog entry. According to the post, Patrick has been making some comments on his Facebook page that could lead some to believe that he won’t be with the Hogs next season, including “I’m leaving.” Apparently, though, the page doesn’t make it clear exactly what he will be leaving. But … Marcello says he ran into Patrick at this weekend’s Real Deal on the Hill AAU Tournament, and Beverley wouldn’t comment on the matter. That doesn’t sound good.

* More Hoops News: Pelphrey continues to add to his 2008 recruiting class by inking 6-7 forward John Henry, who played high school ball in West Memphis and spent last season at Cincinnati Harmony Prep School. And, scroll down about halfway through this story, and you’ll see that the Hogs could also add 6-5 shooting guard Nick Williams of Mobile, Ala., this week. He might come in extra handy if indeed Patrick decides to take his act elsewhere.

* Draft Talk: Next Saturday marks the arrival of what I find to be the sporting world’s most obnoxious event: the NFL Draft. I usually avoid this like the plague. This year, however, there are two obvious reasons to tune in: McFadden and Jones, and I’m sure that a hefty percentage of this week’s postings will deal with speculation concerning the two. Here’s some material that’s sure to be a conversation starter: Fox NFL Analyst Brian Baldinger is no fan of D-Mac:

“I think he’s the colossal bust in this draft. He doesn’t run with patience. He’s a very incomplete back who tries to run you over. If he gets a crease, he can take it to the house. But he doesn’t break tackles and he fumbles. I’m not impressed.”

And add this unnamed scout to the list of those not overly enamored with No. 5:

“I can’t believe how skinny his calves and his shins are. It’s almost scary. It’s like a skinny wide receiver. At the running back position, you want a guy who’s a little wider on his base. is built on top, but he’s got a very skinny base. I think that’s a little bit of a concern.”

* Practice Makes Perfect - To stay on top of the football team’s spring practice, be sure to check out the Razorbloggers’ top-notch and highly detailed daily reports.

* I’m in Charge Here - Houston Nutt is back to doing what many Razorback fans think he does worst: calling plays.

Someday we’ll all look back at the University of San Francisco’s Eddie Sutton era - all six wins and 13 losses of it - with nostalgic fondness, but today the only word is that it’s officially over. The Dons hired former Kansas player Rex Walters, and it sounds like Eddie wasn’t exactly an integral part of the search process:

“Rex Walters? I thought perhaps they’d want someone from the West Coast to be able to recruit,” Sutton said over the phone. “I gave them suggestions to help the basketball program … evidently he made a big impression.”

Personally, I was hoping they’d continue to go the ex-Razorback coach route and hire Nolan Richardson. That nitpick aside, here’s wishing Eddie a happy and peaceful retirement.

Somebody tell John Pelphrey that he can take a nice long vacation until, say, April 2009. ESPN’s all-knowing bracketologist Joe Lunardi has already peered into his crystal ball and determined the field of 64 for next year’s tournament.

Unfortunately, the freshman-filled Hogs didn’t make the cut. Better luck next year the year after next, guys.

Bird-Magic. Chamberlain-Russell. Kleine-Koncak.

OK, so maybe the last pair doesn’t belong on the list of all-time great player rivalries. But in the mid-1980s, few of college basketball’s individual rivalries were more prominent or more heated than the one between Joe Kleine of Arkansas and Jon Koncak of SMU.

For those of you who weren’t around then or who know the two only as the quintessential NBA journeymen, we know that statement sounds kind of crazy. But, it’s true. That was the Era of the Shaggy-Haired Hulking White Center, and Kleine and Koncak were considered the crème de la crème of the breed. (Other notable examples include Bill Wennington of St. John’s and Uwe Blab of Indiana, both of whom, incredibly, were drafted by the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the 1985 NBA draft.)

We were reminded of the Kleine-Koncack battles recently while digging through the SI Vault, Sports Illustrated’s online archive of all of its issues. (To see the articles we found on Alvin Robertson, click here.) “A Double Helping of Very Special K”appeared in the Jan. 14, 1985, edition of Sports Illustrated and was written just after SMU’s 63-60 overtime victory over the Hogs nine days earlier. The article notes that the win was Koncak’s first in five tries against Kleine. “Arkansas is like that mosquito in my bedroom,” Koncak told the writer, Jack McCallum, before the game. “The one I could never swat dead.”

(Arkansas would defeat SMU in the regular season rematch and then again in the conference tournament, meaning that Smokin’ Joe from Slater, Mo., finished his Razorback career with a 6-1 record against Koncak and the Ponies. Take that, Jon.)

Some items of interest from the article:

*  At the 1984 Olympic trials, Michigan State Jud Heathcote, apparently confused by the various similarities between the two, introduced Koncak to a group of fellow hopefuls by saying, “Fellas, I’d like you to meet Joe Kleine of Arkansas.”

* McCallum writes, Kleine and Koncack “are likely to be high first-round picks who may not ‘make’ an NBA franchise but who will get one back on its feet.” Well, at least he got the part about the high first-round pick right.

* Like all good rivals, they didn’t much like each other. Koncak on Kleine’s demonstrative on-court persona: “Why does he have to do that stuff?” Kleine on Koncak: “Early in his career he said some really ignorant things.” Trash talk like that is truly not for the faint of heart.

* Eddie Sutton recruited both Koncak and Kleine out of high school, meaning that, had things turned out differently, the 1981-82 Hogs could have featured Koncak, Kleine and Scott Hastings. Wow. That team would have been the Traveling Wilburys of slow white centers.

Alas, that didn’t happen … and the rest is mid-1980s college basketball history.

Sorry about our slacker posting habits lately. Real life occasionally interferes with blogging, but we’ll get back on track soon. In the meantime, a quick rundown of some recent Hog links:

* The football Hogs have opened their first spring practices under Bobby Petrino, and there have already been some changes from the old regime. Nobody covers this sort of thing better than the RazorBloggers, so be sure to check out their most recent reports here and here.

* Nolan is heading to the Hall of Fame (but someone should make sure he’s not seated next to his old buddy Billy Packer at the induction dinner…that could get awkward).

* What do the Razorback Expats and Darren McFadden have in common? Aside from blazing speed and a nose for the end zone, we’re both Arkansas bloggers. The difference is, D-Mac has been posting a lot more than we have lately…here’s one where he breaks down his famous tattoos.

* Remember that guy who played QB before the Casey Dick era? Mitch somebody? If you do, Arkansas Sports 360 has clued us in to a radio interview he did in in New York or Seattle or wherever it is that we heard he’s playing now.

* Ever since Wally clued us in to the possibility that the Oklahoma State job opening could leave to John Pelphrey’s departure, we’ve been keeping tabs on that situation. Our Kentucky friends at A Sea of Blue have a good report on what’s what.

* News flash: Bobby Petrino is the 10th best coach in the SEC.

* We’ll take Whit E. Knight’s three part retrospective of the 1978 Final Four season over anyone else’s, but if you want more of Eddie & the Triplets, check out Bob Holt’s recent article in the Dem-Gaz.

Tonight, of course, is the NCAA championship, and for only the 68th time in the 70-game history of the event, the title bout will not feature the Arkansas Razorbacks. I know, I know: it will be oh-so-strange to not see the Hogs out there, but we’ll just have to get used to it, I guess.

Some random championship thoughts:

* The CBS broadcast of the game has always struck me as pretty hilarious. First off, there’s the ridiculous and pompous title of the pre-game show: “Prelude to a Championship.” And, then, there’s the song that plays over the closing credits.

* Watching the post-game interviews on Saturday, I couldn’t help but think of Billy Packer’s interview with Nolan Richardson just after the Hogs defeated Arizona in the 1994 national semifinals. Packer mentioned to Nolan that he thought the turning point of the game was when Corey Beck re-entered the second half after sitting out much of it with foul trouble. Nolan snarled something like, “Wow. What insight, Billy. I mean, a blind man could have seen that.”

Packer responded, “I think that’s a slam at me.” To which Richardson replied, “I guarantee that it is.”

As much as I loved Nolan, I thought at the time that he was being a little harsh on Packer. Having heard more about Packer over the years, though, I’ve changed my mind.

* Question time: What’s your favorite non-Razorback championship game memory? And your least favorite?

(Read on …)

I’ve been enjoying the commentary following my recent post about who not to root for in the Final Four. To answer commenter Chris Iafolla’s question, in the end, I had to go with Memphis. As I texted Stephen (we Expats are oh-so-modern in our communication methods), I never would have believed this 10-15 years ago but in the end I had to go with Memphis.

My reasons were pretty much the same as Stephen’s: lots of affection for the city from the years we lived there as well as general admiration/fear of Justin Baker’s technical abilities.

I’m currently visiting family in Southern California and my (at least temporary) Memphis fandom was confirmed when I picked up the newspaper today and read all the obnoxious local sports columnists in the LA Times. You could tell they were shocked that a team from a backwater (in their minds) like Memphis would so thoroughly dominate their mighty Bruins. That brought back all sorts of memories of the “no respect” days, when the national media constantly criticized Nolan’s whining - how could a team ranked #1 most of the season be disrespected, they thought - but anyone from Arkansas understood his point.

Anyway, now I’m really digressing. Here’s hoping the Tigers finish what they started, and may the Hogs challenge them at that level soon.

(P.S. If Kansas wins, I won’t really be that sad. I’d take them or Memphis over UCLA or UNC any day.)

This year’s Final Four features the consensus best four teams in all of the land, so it should be a highly competitive and entertaining weekend of basketball. However, as Stephen already noted Kansas, Memphis, North Carolina and UCLA each have NCAA tournament histories with Arkansas, and I’m having a very difficult time deciding who to root for. In fact, it’s much easier for me to decide who to root against, so allow me to put on my hater hat for a minute and elaborate:

Kansas: I probably have the fewest tangible reasons to root against the Jayhawks, yet I can’t think of a good reason to root for them either. They just don’t inspire much passion either way, which might be the worst thing of all. Plus, I think their fans need to grow up and get over the whole Roy Williams thing.

Memphis: When Stephen and I lived in the Bluff City back in the mid-90s we literally almost came to basketball-related blows with some friends who happened to be Tigers fans. We’ve all grown up since then, thankfully, but I still can’t bring myself to actively root for Memphis. Also, to be quite frank, John Calipari just seems like kind of a dick.

North Carolina: It might be their baby blue uniforms, the years of constant hype or the fact that they’re just so damn good, but to me UNC ranks only slightly ahead of Duke on the likability scale…both teams come across as arrogant, annoying, elitist ACC snobs. Sorry, but I’m sick of the Tar Heels.

UCLA: Ever since a certain fateful day in April 1995, I’ve fervently rooted against UCLA in any sport and at every available opportunity, and I plan on doing that for the rest of my days. Call me an irrational grudge holder, but hey, I’m a Razorback fan - that’s how I roll.

Now that I’ve exposed the darker and more malevolent side of my sports fandom, it’s your turn to tell us what you think. Who are you guys rooting for? Rooting against? What’s a Razorback fan to do?