We are No. 1!
That is so exciting to be the best at something.
I am not taking about the University of Arkansas baseball. Who is ranked No. 1 in most college baseball polls. There appears to be more baseball polls than I have underwear and I have a lot of underwear.
No, the No. 1 is not Yellville-Summit or Kingston who's girls teams both won state track titles this week.
The No. 1 belongs to the University of Arkansas in a non-sporting entity, but one that is very important to sports.
This week the University of Arkansas and LSU are tied for having the most athletes in the now famous "portal."
Long story very short, when a collegiate athlete is not happy where they are because of playing time, coaching changes, new recruits are better, etc., then they place their name into a collection of athletes looking for new schools.
Currently, there are 1,293 athletes in the portal. Wait, there is now 1,294 and from the time this column is composed to the time it is printed, there may be more than 1,300.
The portal was introduced in 2018 and it has been the source of interest for anyone.
Arkansas basketball fans are very thankful for the portal.
That portal along with the coaching took us to the Elite Eight. Arkansas basketball has three players leaving us, but I am sure that the Muss Bus is riding into the portal to attempt to improve upon this year's finish.
I guess it is tough to be No. 1, but we can lose athletes that can't cut it at the University of Arkansas.
Let's go Hogs. Hit that portal hard and replace our departing athletes with those that are bigger, stronger, faster. Jeff Brasel is the sports editor for the Newton County Times. E-mail him at sports@newtoncountytimes.com or follow him at twitter.com/jeffbrasel.
