Like It Is

Arkansas faces difficult road, even at home

Arkansas coach Bret Bielema, right, talks with LSU coach Les Miles prior to a game Friday, Nov. 29, 2013 at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.

At least one preseason college football magazine has the Arkansas Razorbacks playing the nation's ninth-toughest schedule.

All seven teams in the SEC West made the top 30 in that category, which is really no surprise since that division is almost like a super conference of its own.

The Razorbacks play five teams that finished last season ranked in the Associated Press top 25, including three in the top 10. The Hogs will face Alabama (1), TCU (7) and Ole Miss (10), plus they play LSU (16) and Florida (25).

All five of those teams are expected to be ranked when the AP preseason poll comes out next month.

The silver lining is all of those games but TCU are at home. Alabama and LSU are already sold out and ticket sales will increase, especially for the Oct. 15 game with Ole Miss, if the Hogs get out of the gate with some quick victories.

The dubious honor of having the easiest schedule in the SEC goes to Kentucky, which has nonconference games with Southern Miss (which has the country's easiest schedule), New Mexico State, Austin Peay and Louisville.

The Wildcats do play at Alabama, which won't be easy.

Georgia has the next-to-the-easiest schedule with nonconference opponents of North Carolina, Nicholls State, Louisiana-Lafayette and Georgia Tech. From the West, the Bulldogs play at Ole Miss and get Auburn at home.

Everything in the preseason is subjective, of course, but when you are playing in the SEC West you are naturally going to have a difficult road, and the Hogs' game with the Horned Frogs will be big for both.

TCU is picked to finish second behind Oklahoma in the Big 12, but the Horned Frogs return only 11 starters from last season's 11-2 team, with three of those on offense.

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Some in the media have tried to label Kevin Durant as some sort of villain since he announced he was leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder for the Golden State Warriors.

All Durant did was play the game.

He's not the first to jump teams in hopes of winning an NBA championship ring, and he won't be the last.

Durant is currently part of the United States Olympic basketball team preparing to fly to Brazil and bring home the gold medal, something many other NBA stars refused to do.

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Speaking of the U.S. Olympic basketball team, which has won three exhibition games by more than 50 points each, Coach Mike Krzyzewski has warned the players they may be having too much fun.

These Olympic Games could be some of the worst ever: There is the Zika virus, local policemen haven't been paid in months, bad water and high crime.

Having some fun may be all these guys get out of this trip, well, and a gold medal. Besides, Krzyzewski went on the Dan Patrick Show hours before Tuesday's exhibition game with China, and that could be construed as taking an opponent lightly.

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Ezekiel Elliott, No. 1 draft pick of the Dallas Cowboys, is being investigated by the city attorney's office in Columbus, Ohio, over allegations of an assault against a woman. But there seems to be enough witnesses saying Elliott did not hit the woman that this might be wrapped up before the former Ohio State Buckeye reports to the Cowboys on Saturday.

It was all supposed to have happened in a car, but one of the witnesses was in the car and said Elliott didn't hit the woman.

Three others who were there say Elliott didn't strike the woman.

Not enough attention was paid to the problem of men (not just athletes) hitting women until the last year. But what no one needs is claims that fall apart, especially by someone who refused medical treatment but within hours posted pictures of herself on a social media site.

Sports on 07/28/2016