Of course, this is a

huge sports

weekend with No. 22 Auburn coming to town to face the Football Hogs in a do-or-die SEC Western Division showdown. ESPN will be in town to telecast the 6: 45 p. m. clash, but the athletic action actually begins earlier with the annual Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival at Arkansas’ cross country course at the Agri Park. John McDonnell’s Razorbacks and Lance Harter’s Lady Razorbacks will be running, along with a host of other college and high school teams in what has become the one of the finest cross country events in the nation.

The races begin at 8 a. m. and conclude around 2: 45 p. m. Arkansas’ men run at 9: 45 a. m., followed by the Lady’Backs at 10: 30 a. m.

The Chile Pepper Festival is one of Northwest Arkansas’ signature events, and if you are in town it’s worth checking out just to see McDonnell and his Hogs in action.

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Watching the legendary coach maneuver across the landscape to be in position to encourage and cajole his runners throughout the race is a sight in and of itself.

If ESPN wanted a great story for one of its magazine shows, one of its producers should drop by Walton Arena and interview McDonnell, whose track and cross country teams have won 42 national titles.

From running a sub-four minute mile back in the day when that was flying to immigrating from Ireland to the U. S., to being a cameraman for the “ Soupy Sales Show, ” to teaching shop at Greenland High to becoming the winningest coach in NCAA history, McDonnell embodies the American Dream. He has lived and continues to live a colorful and wonderful life.

Of course, most everyone in Northwest Arkansas and many around the state are well aquatinted with his story, but it still strikes me funny at how the national media has overlooked McDonnell to the degree it has.

Terry J. Wood is the sports editor of the Northwest Arkansas Times.