Wally Watch: Where we read Wally Hall so you don’t have to.

Sept. 13, 2007: UA can expect some changes under new AD

Primary Theme: The daring assertion that, under new AD Jeff Long, “it is more than likely there will be some changes or very strong tweaking” to the athletic department. Hard to disagree with that, we guess.

Choice Analogy: “From the day of [Broyles’ retirement] announcement until last Friday, the lid on information was tighter than the doors on a new submarine.” Knowing a good thing when he sees it, Wally later writes, “Last Friday information about Long was leaking like, well, bad doors on an old submarine.”

God Watch: No overt references to matters of faith. However, at one point, after describing Broyles’ success in building new athletic facilities, he says of Frank, “One might think he had some carpenter’s blood in him.” Hmm … might Wally be ascribing divine qualities to Broyles? If nothing else, we now have an idea for “The Da Vinci Code” sequel.

Delusion of Grandeur: His statement that his column on Tulane Athletic Director Rick Dickson’s candidacy for the UA job “did seem to jolt the UA power players into action.”

Our Analysis: Not a terrible effort, but, ultimately, you have to ask yourself, “Yeah, so?” Some speculation or informed opinion about what specific changes the new AD may have in store would have been interesting. Alas, there’s none of that to be found.

Let’s hope Pittsburgh Athletic Director Jeff Long takes it easy during any New Year’s Eve celebrations he might attend. That’s because he’s slated to replace Frank Broyles as Arkansas’ AD on Jan. 1., meaning his first official act as AD may be to watch the Hogs receive their annual bowl game ass-kicking. He may end up wishing he’d spent that time filling out insurance and other HR forms.

We’re not opinionated one way or another about the hire, but we wish Long well. We were amused, however, by Wally Hall’s minor fit about the lack of the lack of serious AD candidates with a Razorback background. “Maybe the new tradition is to hire folks for athletic positions who have never called the Hogs,” he huffed in Sunday’s column. “No offense to either [Long or Tulane AD Rick Dickson], but do they know anything about the history of the Hogs? Or the passion that once seized almost an entire state every Saturday in the fall?”

Don’t worry, Mr. Long: Just publicly utter a few verses of Scripture, and Wally will be in your back pocket in no time.