Like it is

Magazine disregards definition of SEC tough

Arkansas coach Bret Bielema talks to players prior to the Razorbacks' game against Kansas State on Saturday, Jan. 2, 2016, at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tenn.

Athlon Sports already has named its top 25 toughest schedules for the upcoming college football season, declaring Southern Cal's as the most difficult partly because it faces defending champion Alabama and closes with rival Notre Dame.

It said the Trojans also face the toughest Pac-12 Conference schedule, which sometimes can be an oxymoron.

More from WholeHogSports

http://www.wholehog…">Satellite camps, hoops, recruiting on docket at SEC spring meetings

No one ever knows how good the Pac-12 is until the bowls are played.

The rankings lost a lot of credibility when the first SEC team didn't show up until the No. 11 spot, and that was the very team that makes everyone else's schedule so hard -- Alabama.

SEC teams, which have to play eight conference opponents every year, have the toughest grind. The Big Ten might be a close second for best conference, but the SEC is king of the hill.

Athlon supported this by picking Auburn as having the 12th toughest schedule, which was based on playing Clemson and other SEC opponents.

The same with Texas A&M, which was voted No. 17, and conference games were cited as to why the Aggies were ranked along with playing UCLA, another Pac-12 team whose true strength is unknown.

Ole Miss was No. 19 and LSU No. 22; no other SEC teams made the list.

Well, someone might want to consider that the Arkansas Razorbacks play the SEC East champs, Florida, and the SEC West champs, Alabama. Also, nine of their opponents played in bowl games, including nonconference opponents TCU and Louisiana Tech. Both won their bowl games, and TCU overcame a 31-0 deficit in doing so.

Scheduling Texas State, 2-6 in Sun Belt play and 3-9 overall, didn't help the Hogs, and probably having Alcorn State didn't win any bonus points. The Braves won the SWAC East Division but would have been third in the West of their own conference, which is in the Football Championship Subdivision.

Still, when a team is in the SEC West, its schedule is automatically tough.

. . .

Before the conference championships, it seemed a foregone conclusion that defending champion Golden State would be taking on Cleveland for the NBA championship.

The only foregone conclusion now is the Warriors are in big trouble, trailing Oklahoma City 3-1.

Thunder rookie Coach Billy Donovan seems to have found a way to slow down Stephen Curry, the league's most dominant player and perhaps the best shooter ever in the NBA, while NBA Coach of the Year Steve Kerr doesn't seem to have a clue as to how to slow Russell Westbrook.

In the first four games, Westbrook has established himself as a great point guard who can score and rebound.

So far, neither divisional championship has been a model of typical NBA play. The first three quarters have been huge in victories by Toronto, down 3-2 in its series with Cleveland, and for Oklahoma City.

. . .

Justin Moore, the country music headliner from Poyen and apparent strong candidate for Father of the Year based on his commercials for Simmons Bank, will throw out the first pitch Friday at 6:30 p.m. for the 34th annual Wally Hall Tournament of Champions when the Bryant and Benton 6-year-olds square off at Bernard Holland Park in Benton.

More than 200 teams will play in the annual tournament, with 164 of them being baseball teams from around Arkansas and every state touching the Natural State.

The Wally Hall Invitational started in 1980 with the top 10 ranked softball teams in the state, grew to a Triple Crown and after a two-year hiatus was restarted by Shane and Lara Pique, who saw the need for a major tournament in Arkansas.

The event is sanctioned by the United States Specialty Sports Association.

Sports on 05/26/2016