Arkansas

Your "Ad Watch" column of May 23 contained several factual errors about education in Arkansas in an analysis of one of Gov. Bill Clinton's campaign ads. "The state's schools ranked among the nation's worst . . . and they still do." The only areas in which Arkansas education ranks low are those related to spending. Arkansas is a historically poor state with limited resources; even so, we rank in the top two or three states in the percentage of our state budget dedicated to education and rank high in education spending compared to individual income.

Have you heard of John Wolfe? Chances are, voters in Arkansas haven't heard of him either. And yet, tens of thousands of Democrats cast a vote for him Tuesday's presidential primary in the state instead of the incumbent, President Obama. Wolfe, a Tennessee lawyer, won 42% of the vote statewide, and a majority of the vote in 36 of the 73 counties that had reported totals as of early Wednesday. Meanwhile, in Kentucky, just as big a percentage of Democrats voted for "Uncommitted" rather than Obama.

No. 23 Georgia 52, at Arkansas 41: Joe Cox threw for 375 yards and five touchdowns for the Bulldogs (2-1, 2-0), who overcame a 408-yard, five-touchdown effort by Ryan Mallett of the Razorbacks (1-1, 0-1). at No. 4 Alabama 53, North Texas 7: Greg McElroy passed for two touchdowns to lead the Crimson Tide (3-0). at No. 5 Mississippi 52, Southeastern Louisiana 6: Jevan Snead threw three touchdown passes for the Rebels (2-0). at No. 9 Louisiana State 31, Louisiana Lafayette 3: Chad Jones had two interceptions for the Tigers (3-0)

Eager to move on from the Bobby Petrino scandal, Arkansas announced Monday that popular former assistant John L. Smith will return as head coach of the Razorbacks next season. Smith, who left the Razorbacks after last season to become the head coach at Weber State, will be formally introduced Tuesday. The school said Smith signed a one-year, $850,000 contract and will also be eligible for other incentives. Smith's return caps a whirlwind three weeks for an Arkansas program reeling from revelations of an affair by Petrino with a woman, Jessica Dorrell , he later hired as his assistant.

Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln edged past her labor-backed Democratic rival Tuesday, withstanding an anti-incumbent tide that swept out Nevada's governor and nearly swamped a veteran Republican congressman in South Carolina. In Nevada, Republicans chose Sharron Angle, a favorite of the "tea party" movement, to face Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in November, giving the embattled Democrat his preferred opponent. Addressing supporters in Las Vegas, an exuberant Angle mocked Reid for depicting himself as "too big to fail."

TUESDAY'S BOWL GAME Sugar Bowl When: 5 p.m. PST. Where: Superdome, New Orleans. On the air: ESPN. About No. 7 Arkansas (10-2): Led by Ryan Mallett's arm ? which has the Razorbacks third nationally with 338 yards passing per game ? Arkansas has been one of the best teams in college football's toughest division. It finished second to unbeaten Auburn and has won six games in a row since losing to the Tigers in October. About No. 6 Ohio State (11-1)

GAMES TO WATCH No. 1 Alabama (3-0) at No. 10 Arkansas (3-0) Saturday, 12:30 p.m., CBS Alabama has yet to be challenged in three victories while Arkansas passed a key credibility test last week with a big Southeastern Conference victory at Georgia. Mark Ingram, Alabama's reigning Heisman Trophy winner, returned from a knee injury last week and rushed for 151 yards against Duke. The pick: Arkansas. No. 16 Stanford (3-0) at Notre Dame (1-2) Saturday, 12:30 p.m., NBC Notre Dame appears improved under first-year Coach Brian Kelly, but consecutive heartbreaking losses to Michigan and Michigan State make this game a fortitude test.

President Clinton plans to travel to his home state of Arkansas today for the funeral of Hilary Jones, a longtime friend and political supporter, White House officials said Wednesday.

Edison High's Shelley Taylor, the CIF State Division II cross-country champion last fall and the national leader at 1,600 meters for a brief period last spring, said Monday she made an oral commitment to attend Arkansas. Taylor had bests of 4 minutes 52.68 seconds for 1,600 meters and 2:12.68 for 800 last season.

Brittenum & Associates of Little Rock will be liquidated as part of the personal Chapter 11 filing by John. R. Brittenum, president and chairman of the company. Brittenum owes his company more than $2 million, according to the Chapter 11 petition. Both national and Arkansas regulatory authorities have taken disciplinary action against Brittenum & Associates for various violations in the past.

Levon Helm is most widely known for the songs he sang that found their way onto the pop charts during his long tenure as drummer and singer for the Band: "Up On Cripple Creek," "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" and "Don't Do It," earthy and infectious conglomerations of gospel, country, blues, folk and rock music. But the one that might crystallize his approach to music throughout his life was "The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show," an ode to the kind of freewheeling gatherings in which the musician, who died of cancer Thursday at 71 in New York, thoroughly reveled.

Bobby Petrino was dismissed as coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks on Tuesday for what athletic director Jeff Long described as "misleading and manipulative behavior. " It's hard to disagree with that assessment of the football coach's actions after hearing Long's lengthy list of Petrino's misdeeds -- including hiring a woman with whom he'd had an affair and intentionally misleading Long about the secret relationship. Petrino, a 51-year-old married father of four, maintained an inappropriate relationship with Jessica Dorrell, a 25-year-old former Razorbacks volleyball player, for a "significant" amount of time, according to Long.

Writers from around the Tribune Co. discuss who is the best choice to replace Bobby Petrino, who was fired as the Arkansas Razorbacks football coach Tuesday. Feel free to join the conversation by leaving a comment of your own. Chris Dufresne, Los Angeles Times First, Jeff Long deserves athletic director of the year consideration for firing Bobby Petrino instead of going the Ohio State route and saying something like "I hope he doesn't fire me. " Petrino is a good coach who always seemed the kind of crass guy who might crash his motorcycle with a mistress on board.

Arkansas fired football Coach Bobby Petrino on Tuesday, saying he engaged in reckless behavior that included hiring his mistress and then intentionally misleading his bosses about their relationship and her presence at the motorcycle accident that ultimately cost him his job. "He made the decision to mislead the public, [and it] adversely affected the university and the football program," Athletic Director Jeff Long said at an evening news conference, choking up at one point as he discussed telling players the news.

Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino was placed on leave after it was discovered that he had a 25-year-old woman on his motorcycle when he crashed Sunday. Petrino acknowledged that he had a "previous inappropriate relationship" with the passenger, Jessica Dorrell, who was was hired last month as the student-athlete development coordinator for football. Through a statement released by university officials, Petrino had initially claimed that he was alone when he had crashed. Petrino is married and has four children.

New Mexico This year, New Mexicans mark 100 years of statehood. But much of the state's appeal stems from its human history that goes back much further. (In 2010, Santa Fe celebrated 400 years of cityhood.) Explore here: the adobe architecture and art galleries of Santa Fe; the vintage signage along old Route 66; the lingering hippie vibe of Truth or Consequences. Don't forget the Lightning Field, an art installation outside Quemado where (for $150 to $250 a person) you spend a summer night in a wood cabin and wait to see if lightning will strike one of the 400 tall steel poles outside your door.

DeCori Birmingham scored on a 25-yard run in a record-tying seventh overtime, and Arkansas stopped Kentucky on a fourth-down play in a 71-63 victory Saturday night. The game was the longest in NCAA history, matching the seven overtimes in Arkansas' 58-56 victory at Mississippi in 2001. The game lasted four minutes shy of five hours. Arkansas (5-3, 2-3 Southeastern Conference) also played a six-overtime game last year, losing to Tennessee, and beat Alabama this season in a two-overtime game.

Defensive end Judson Boehmer, taking advantage of a new rule that allows fumbles behind the line of scrimmage to be advanced, had a 34-yard fumble-return touchdown for The Citadel in a 10-3 victory over Arkansas Saturday at Fayetteville, Ark., in the Razorbacks' first game as a member of the Southeastern Conference. With The Citadel trailing 3-0 in the fourth quarter and the ball on the Arkansas 37, Garrett Sizer stripped the ball from running back E.D.

Break out the chips and cold drinks, but let Chris Dufresne handle the remote. Each Friday, The Times' national college football writer handicaps what's worth watching, and skipping, on the weekend's menu of games: Friday EARLY No. 8 Houston (11-0) at Tulsa (8-3) 9 a.m., FS West Brilliant scheduling, as thousands waking from a post-turkey, tryptophan coma should get an adrenaline jolt from this Conference USA matchup of scoring machines. Houston leads the nation in total offense and scoring, and the teams combined are averaging 1,083 yards and 88 points per game.

Several people phoned the cyber police Sunday to report an apparent hacking into the website of the Bowl Championship Series standings. Some merry pranksters, probably eggheads at Caltech, must have infiltrated the hard drive and changed BCS to SCS (Southeastern Championship Series). Caltech used to pull stuff like this with halftime card shows. These phony-baloney "SCS" standings came out with three schools from the SEC West — Louisiana State, Alabama and Arkansas — ranked in the top three spots.