How the times have changed

The fortunes of high school athletic teams rise and fall with the times.

Just a few short years ago, the highly dominant girls basketball teams from Prairie Grove, Huntsville and Shiloh ruled the 4A roost in northwest Arkansas. Then times changed and those teams have been bottom dwellers the past few seasons. The Tigers of Prairie Grove finished in last this season, but then got on a roll and made the state’s final four in the playoffs.

Now for the past several seasons, first the local girls, then the boys, began a streak of title winning, state championship teams in track and field. They are keeping that tradition alive again in 2022.

The great thing about track and field is that there is no bench. Only five players at a time can take the basketball court with only 11 at a time taking the field in football. Track can train and put into competition way more participants with dozens and dozens of athletes getting a chance to score and make a difference.

The recent track titles won by the Blackhawks on both senior high and junior high levels, were fueled by depth more than anything else. It’s great to have athletes who can score 50 or 60 points to help win championships. However, those types of athletes don’t come around that often. If you have enough athletes to grab lots of fifth-, or sixth- or even eighth-place finishes, those points mount.

The more students participate in an organized spot, the better it will be for them and for their school. It takes a lot of athletes to win most track meets.

The school’s motto has been “Good to Great.” It’s been sitting in the “great” mode for a while now in track.

does the nCaa have a handle on directions?

I found it kind of odd that Arkansas was selected for the 2022 NCAA basketball playoffs (March Madness) and paired up with Vermont to play a game in Buffalo, N.Y., in the West Regional. The last I checked, New York can in no way be considered a part of the West.

Also in the West regional is Georgia State, Connecticut and Duke, all teams not that far from the Atlantic Ocean.

In the South Region, we have Michigan, Illinois, Villanova and Ohio. In the East Region, teams include UCLA, Baylor, Texas and San Francisco. The Midwest has Providence, Richmond and Miami, all east coast hugging areas.

Of course, the big thing driving the whole thing is money — as in billions of dollars. All the extra time outs imposed during the game are in order to give TV stations more time to run commercials. College sports is big money, especially considering the stars of the shows are not paid for their sporting abilities other than a scholarship, keeping overhead especially low.

I’m not complaining, as I have watched a few games of teams I have never seen before. With the Razorbacks still in the hunt, I’m still going to tune in and be one of the hundreds of millions of eyeballs glued to events happening thousands of miles away.

The Hogs are playing Thursday against the No. 1 team in the nation in the Gonzaga Zags. Gonzaga University is a Catholic school started in 1887 named for a Jesuit saint Aloysius Gonzaga. It is located in Spokane, Wash.

Can Arkansas beat the

Zags? Their offense was pretty awful in their first two games, shooting just 29% in their last outing, which they won anyway. They are incredible free throw shooters and very tough defensively. They always have a chance to win, if they can shoot straight.

Baseball Hawgs blast out of the gate

The Razorback diamond men were almost ranked No. 1 in the country to begin the season. Then, a few poorly played games against average opponents have convinced some naysayers that the Hogs don’t have it this year.

Then a highly Kentucky team comes to town with a sterling record to begin SEC play. The result? An Arkansas sweep by the scores of 6-2, 9-3 and 3-1 and now the Hogs set atop the Western Division of the SEC with the only perfect record. They travel this week to Columbia, Mo., to play the Tigers who were themselves swept by Vanderbilt in their opener.

Perhaps the Hogs can get their offense ignited enough to build up a lead in the SEC and ultimately get back to the College World Series. Time will tell.

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Editor’s note: John McGee, an award-winning columnist, sports writer and art teacher at Pea Ridge elementary schools, writes a regular sports column for The Times. The opinions expressed are those of the writer. He can be contacted through The Times at prtnews@nwadg.com.