Like It Is

Hall of Fame gets new inductees, new leader

Front Left to Right: Ron Calcagni, Carlin Reeder, (accepting for father Leon Clements), Carmen Fleck, (accepting for husband Jack Fleck) Christy Smith, Mike Malham, Jr.; Back Left to Right: Stephen Jones, Stan Lee, Eldon Hawley, Carl Jackson, Dwight Adams, Floyd Goodson, (accepting for grandfather Bowden Wyatt), and Pat Bradley pose for a photo during the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame banquet at the State House Convention Center on Feb. 27, 2015.

When the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame board meets for the final time each year there is never a dull moment.

That is when the next induction class is voted on, and that meeting was yesterday. It was lively and highly contested, and on March 4 the ASHOF will induct 11 new worthy members. Those honorees will be named Sunday in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette sports section.

It is a great class, but there are always deserving candidates who get close.

Before that voting, the board voted unanimously to name Terri Johnson as the new executive director.

Johnson was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005. She played for UCA and was a three-time NAIA All-American. She also was named to the Kodak All-America team.

She once made 20 of 23 free throws in a game against Arkansas Tech.

At Rose Bud High School she was a standout in four sports, winning the pentathlon in 1981, and the school didn't have track facilities.

Since graduating from UCA with a BBA in accounting she has added a MS in operations management from the University of Arkansas.

Prior to accepting her new position with the Hall of Fame she was with American Management Corp. in Conway as the general ledger accounting manager. She also has served as Executive Director of UCA's Purple Circle and has been on the board and an executive committee member of the ASHOF.

The hiring process was detailed, starting with 29 applicants and four good interviews and after much discussion the Hall of Fame had a winner.

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Malik Monk's announcement that he was signing to play basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats was not surprising nor was it well received by Razorbacks Nation.

Monk, one of the top seniors in the country, had said he wasn't going to announce until after the basketball season, which made sense.

He could have enjoyed his senior season a lot more without people booing him when he is playing on the road.

Of course, after watching Kentucky beat Duke on Tuesday night it would be easy to understand if he got caught up in the moment.

He's a great player and he's wished nothing but the best as one of a class of standouts who will be a Wildcat next year. Now Kentucky has commitments from 5 five-star players.

He could have helped the Razorbacks, or any team in the country for that matter, but it would have been just for one year as he'll declare for the NBA Draft as soon as possible.

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In the wake of Arkansas 31-14 victory over LSU, Baton Rouge Advocate columnist Scott Rabalais penned that Les Miles might be coaching for his job when the Tigers face Ole Miss and Texas A&M.

Some of Miles' mistakes as well as some of his accomplishments were pointed out, including winning 78 percent of his games, but in 2009 after the Tigers won nine games, Athletic Director Joe Alleva wrote an open letter to fans apologizing for the record. LSU is 7-2 right now.

Miles has had a mind-boggling 64 players drafted by the NFL since 2007, but maybe that should mean more national championships and more victories over Alabama at critical times. Losing the national championship to the Crimson Tide in a rematch was bad enough, but Miles said after the game that he did absolutely nothing different for the game.

Nick Saban added several pass plays to get LSU in a height mismatch that night.

To add fuel to the Miles fire, former assistant Jimbo Fisher, who has had great success at Florida State, is rumored to be very unhappy in Tallahassee, Fla.

With 10 head coaching openings right now, Miles would land on his feet which is always better than on the head.

Sports on 11/19/2015