Razorbacks

After battling No. 2 Kansas the day before, California wasn't intimidated by the sight of Massachusetts' beefy front line. The unranked Bears outmuscled the Minutemen inside Wednesday night for a surprising 59-55 victory to earn third place in the Maui Invitational at Lahaina, Hawaii. "Our defense was excellent," Cal Coach Ben Braun said. "We corrected a big deficiency in the rebound margin. It was a big turnaround from yesterday [a 85-67 loss to Kansas]."

Opening Verse took command in the middle of the stretch and scored an easy two-length victory over Primal in the $150,000 Razorback Handicap on Saturday at Oaklawn Park. It was a replay of the 1989 Razorback when jockey Pat Day, owner Allen Paulson and trainer Richard Lundy combined to win the race with Blushing John. Opening Verse completed the 1 1/16-mile Razorback in 1:41 2/5 and returned $5.40, $3.20 and $2.60 as the second choice in the wagering. Favored Primal returned $3.00 and $2.40.

Beating Texas would have been good enough for Arkansas fans. Seeing the Razorbacks score often in the second half and pound Longhorn quarterbacks and running backs only made it better. Cedric Cobbs scored touchdowns on a 30-yard pass play and a 37-yard run and Michael Jenkins had a 42-yard touchdown run--all in the second half--as No. 24 Arkansas returned to the Cotton Bowl and beat No. 14 Texas, 27-6, Saturday.

Former Dallas Cowboys owner H. R. (Bum) Bright says he wanted to sack Tom Landry in 1987 but couldn't talk Tex Schramm into doing it. A year after selling the Cowboys to Jerry Jones, Bright said his one regret is that he didn't fire Landry himself. He didn't because Schramm, the team's general manager at the time, told him he didn't have a replacement ready.

Anderson Hunt scored 28 points, including five three-point baskets in the second half, to lead No. 12-ranked Nevada Las Vegas to a 101-93 victory over No. 11 Arkansas. UNLV (7-2) trailed, 48-44, at halftime, but the Rebels started the second half with a 9-2 run on baskets by Greg Anthony, Stacey Augmon and Larry Johnson and a three-point basket by Hunt. The Rebels led, 84-75, with six minutes to play after Hunt made four three-point baskets during an eight-minute span.

Jack Crowe, offensive coordinator at Arkansas for less than a year, was named the Razorbacks' football coach today, one day after Ken Hatfield resigned to take the job at Clemson. The 41-year-old Crowe, the school's 26th head coach, was introduced at a news conference by Arkansas athletic director Frank Broyles. Ironically, Crowe came to Arkansas from Clemson, where he was quarterback coach and offensive coordinator under Danny Ford.

What's faster, a Lion or a Razorback? The basketball world will find out today when Loyola Marymount faces Arkansas in the opening round of the NCAA Midwest Regionals at Indianapolis. The game will be telecast on Channel 2 and ESPN at 11:30 a.m. Fans who like their basketball at fast forward are expected to enjoy this match-up. Loyola is averaging a collegiate-record 112.8 points, and Arkansas is averaging 99.8 over its last seven games--all of which it has won by at least 10 points.

Nolan Richardson is still the coach at Arkansas, but he is speaking like a man who may be on the verge of a career change. As a report of Richardson's possible departure circulated, Mississippi State made a late spurt to defeat the Razorbacks, 89-83, Wednesday night at Starkville, Miss. After the game, Richardson spoke calmly about his legacy in Fayetteville, which includes a national championship in 1994. "So what can you take away from me?" Richardson asked.

THE COLLEGES Arkansas, which is fleeing the Southwest Conference in search of weaker competition, is 2-5 overall. But the Razorbacks rank even lower in the Bettors' Bottom Ten. In six of their seven games, they have failed to cover the point spread. The Bettors' BT, listed this week in place of the customary, incoherent Bottom Ten, is a useful standard because it illustrates which teams are playing below expectations--No. 7 Clemson, No. 8 Colorado, and No. 16 USC, for instance.