Arkansas
Stanford, Arkansas baseball teams look for redemption after heartbreak last season
Arkansas and Stanford, which meet in a Faculty World Collection opener Saturday, share extra in frequent than merely having pink and white as their college colours. Every group’s season resulted in heartbreaking trend final yr.
Within the CWS, the Cardinal led Vanderbilt 5-4 with two outs and the bases empty within the backside of the ninth earlier than the Commodores scored twice — with the profitable run approaching a wild pitch from Brendan Beck — to drag out a 6-5 thriller.
Returning to Charles Schwab Area in Omaha, Neb., provides the Cardinal an opportunity at redemption.
“You come again into the park and it’s the primary thought that hits your mind is the way you misplaced final yr and the way you ended up leaving that each one behind,” Stanford heart fielder Brock Jones mentioned. “So I believe that’s undoubtedly an enormous motivation.”
Mentioned pitcher Alex Williams: “There’s that thirst in our mouth from dropping final yr. It by no means left. I used to be counting down the times to get again right here.”
The Razorbacks didn’t get to Omaha final yr although they had been the No. 1 nationwide seed. They completed with a 50-13 report. Their fiftieth win was a 21-2 romp over N.C. State within the first sport of a brilliant regional in Fayetteville.
The Wolfpack answered with consecutive one-run wins, leaving Arkansas somewhat unfulfilled.
“It’s actually particular to be again right here, particularly the best way it ended final yr,” Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn mentioned. “Actually had an ideal season going. It was unbelievable. Gained all the pieces that was put in entrance of us. Gained each sequence on the weekend.
“After which to lose these final two video games by one run, it was robust.”
Jones, who’s hitting .327 with 20 homers and 15 stolen bases, mentioned he and his teammates had been “doing our walk-through (Wednesday) and we had been like, ‘It’s smaller than I keep in mind.’
“That tells me we’re proper the place we have to be. We’re not going to run from it. We’re right here to face all the pieces and we couldn’t be extra excited to be again.”
Steve Kroner is a San Francisco Chronicle employees author. E mail: skroner@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SteveKronerSF
Arkansas
Arkansas basketball drops back out of AP Top 25
The Arkansas Razorbacks (11-3, 0-1 SEC) fell back out of the AP College Basketball Top 25 on Monday.
The drop out of the rankings comes after Arkansas split its games last week. The Hogs took a 92-62 win over Oakland to finish the non-conference slate, but were thrashed 76-52 on the road by No. 1 Tennessee on Saturday to open conference play.
The Razorbacks did, however, receive the second-most votes of unranked teams.
This week isn’t much easier for the Hogs, who will face two teams ranked in the Top 25, though the two games come at home. No. 23 Ole Miss comes to Fayetteville on Wednesday and the Hogs will face No. 8 Florida on Saturday.
All told, there are nine SEC teams in the AP Poll: No. 1 Tennessee, No. 2 Auburn, No. 5 Alabama, No. 6 Kentucky, No. 8 Florida, No. 10 Texas A&M, No. 14 Mississippi State, No. 17 Oklahoma and No. 23 Ole Miss.
According to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index, the Razorbacks rank 40th overall (12.5 BPI, 11th in SEC) with a 5.6 offensive and 7.0 defensive rating. Arkansas is projected to finish with an 18.8-12.2 (7.8-10.2 SEC) overall record and it has a 0.2% chance to win the SEC.
Despite the blowout loss on Saturday, Arkansas’ NET ranking actually improved one spot from last Monday. The Razorbacks sit at No. 40, up from No. 43 last week. The Hogs are 1-3 in Quad 1 games, 1-0 in Quad 2, 2-0 in Quad 3 and 7-0 in Quad 4.
Here is the full AP Top 25 from Monday:
Arkansas
3 area athletes, 1 coach selected for All-Arkansas Preps football team
Arkansas
Texarkana, Arkansas, Board of Directors to appoint assistant mayor, consider runway project | Arkansas Democrat Gazette
TEXARKANA, Ark. — A long-serving city leader will be installed as assistant mayor Monday at the Board of Directors’ first regular meeting of 2025.
Ward 2 Director Laney Harris will take the oath of office in line with a 2023 ordinance that lays out the order directors are appointed to the one-year term of assistant mayor.
The rotation, which began in 2023, is Ward 1, Ward 6, Ward 2, Ward 4, Ward 5 and Ward 3.
Ward 6 Director Jeff Hart, who did not seek reelection in November, was the assistant mayor in 2024.
Harris represented Ward 2 for two terms until 2005 and has been re-elected every four years since 2008.
In other business, the board will consider a resolution authorizing Airport Executive Director Paul Mehrlich to enter a contract with McClelland Engineering for a runway strengthening project at Texarkana Regional Airport. The project is for the 6,602-foot asphalt runway designated as 4-22.
McClelland has given a cost of $502,203.20 for engineering and design. The state of Arkansas will cover $451,982.88 of the fee, with the city of Texarkana, Arkansas, absorbing $22,503.73. The city of Texarkana, Texas, will be left with the remaining $27,716.59.
The two Texarkanas jointly own the airport.
The Arkansas side’s share of the expense was part of its budget for fiscal year 2024, according to meeting documents.
In August 2024, the Arkansas Legislative Council approved $16.7 million for upgrades at the nearly 100-year-old airfield.
“The infrastructure improvements will include the expansion of the runway and taxiways that will enable the airport to take on cargo and maintenance repair overhaul work. The improvements will also equip the airport to support larger aircraft, including the Boeing 777,” according to a news release.
The Board of Directors meeting starts at 6 p.m. at the Municipal Building, 216 Walnut St.
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