March 2000

Otus the Head Cat: Preparations near closure for Otus' 20th anniversary The excitement is building as preparations are under way for the big celebration April 1.     That Saturday marks the 20th anniversary of the very first Otus the Head Cat column and will also be the day that the Head Cat exhibit opens at the Museum of Discovery in Little Rock's River Market District.     I can't tell you how thrilled I am to be recognized, as Gov. Mike Huckabee recently put it, as "Arkansas' funniest feline, a state treasure, and a role model for children and grown-ups alike."     The exhibit will open promptly at 9 a.m. with a ribbon cutting by Mayor Jim Dailey and his good friend, KARN talk show host Pat Lynch.     Jennings Osborne will be serving barbecue and "catnip" (actually Grape Nuts) on the "Dinosaur Dig Plaza." There will also be free Osborne ballcaps, Osborne T-shirts and Osborne UnderRoos to the first 1,000 kids.     Be sure to register for the Grand Prize giveaway -- $23,000 worth of "Commit a Random Act of Clothing" to be given away at 5 p.m.     If you can't make it down April 1, don't worry. The Head Cat exhibit will be on display through April 16, when selected portions will move to their permanent location in the basement of the renovated Old State House.     The Old State House will also have an interactive computer database system that allows researchers and academics to access the Head Cat archives.     Sorry, this service is for serious students only, such as those working on master's theses or doctorate dissertations.     And speaking of archives, here is one of the columns that will be featured in the display. It was first printed April 2, 1994, under the headline "Heaven offers a perspective not afforded the earthbound." It ran the week after my column moved to the then- Features section after 15 years on the Voices page. Enjoy.     ------------------------------------------------------------------------     Since moving over to Features last week, I have been inundated with letters from new readers not among the Head Cat cognoscenti. Most have questions about two things: my halo and Kalaka.     First the halo. Well, I'm dead. No way around it. I passed on to the Great Litter Box in the Sky almost two years ago after a long and fruitful life. I was 17. That's about 74 in human terms according to the revised feline formula (year one = 21 human years; year two = seven; three years for every human year thereafter).     I was born "Ralph" in Fay etteville in 1975 while Owner was in graduate school. He took me in when I was about 4 months old. In '76 I received my calling in a blinding epiphany on the road to Goshen and changed my name to Otus (a minor Greek god; look it up).     When Owner moved back to Little Rock in '77, I began the Head Cat correspondence course from the Electoral College in Des Moines. Running the instructional program (there's a Head Cat in every state except Alaska and Hawaii) was Kalaka -- "He Who Shares the Ride."     Kalaka is the personal intermediary for "He Whose Name Is Never Spoken." Trust me: You don't know. You don't want to know.     CAN'T TELL: I finally got to meet Kalaka when I got up here. He's best explained as a sort of Master Po to a Head Cat's Kwai Chang Caine. ("Is not the humble hairball but a part of the whole, Grasshopper?") Kalaka knows ... everything.     I thought I, too, would get to know all once I reached these lofty heights. I do, but I can't talk about it.     They have this big reference tome over in the Celestial Lending Library. But you can't check it out and you have to sign a special form to thumb through it. The first thing I wanted to know was just why the heck there are dogs in heaven? They smell. They're always sniffing each other's rumps and they roll around on the virtual- reality dead squirrels provided for their amusement.     I found out, but I can't say why. Only that you'd be shocked.     RODHAM FACTOR: One of the fascinating insights I've learned came from a recent voyeuristic peek inside the intimate financial details of the Clinton family. No one had made the connection, but I've discovered the family fortunes rose and fell with Hillary's messin' with her name.     Way back in '77 (two years after their marriage), Bill and Hillary scraped by on $41,731. Hillary was going by her maiden name back then. By 1979 life had improved ($158,495), but right-thinking Arkansans were getting fed up with her odious feminist pretensions. Bill lost his job ("Hi! I'm Frank White!") and family income plunged.     The little woman finally wised up and changed her name. Bill got elected again, and their fortunes increased through the end of the '80s (1990 = $290,458). When Hillary foolishly insisted on reinserting Rodham back in 1991, the money fell off. Fortunately Bill was able to swing the current gig, which pays well and has some swell fringe benefits. Hope Miss Hillary has learned her lesson.     CORRECTION: Alert readers reminded me that it was 10 years ago (April 1984, not 1981 as reported) when the Arkansas Times honored me as "Worst Columnist" in the state. I knew that. That was the year the Times tagged Bob Kerr of the Texarkana Gazette as best. To split hairs, the Gazette was in Texas. Still is.     Until next time, Kalaka reminds you that "avauntular" is the feminine of "avuncular."     Otus the Head Cat's column of humor and/or fabrication appears every Saturday. E-mail his Owner at: michael_storey@adg.ardemgaz.com     This article was published on Saturday, March 4, 2000

Gifts for governors old custom in state MICHAEL ROWETT ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative, gregarious or aloof, Arkansas governors attract gifts.     Clothing, fishing gear and golf clubs are among the goodies governors receive from friends, political chums, staff members and supporters.     The range of gifts runs from doughnuts and flowers to porcelain and silver.     The presents come in addition to a taxpayer-financed salary, expense reimbursement, transportation, free housing and food at the Governor's Mansion and round-the-clock security.     Amendment 70 to the Arkansas Constitution, passed by voters in November 1992, raised the annual gubernatorial paycheck from $35,000 to $60,000, with cost-of-living increases also provided. The salary is $68,448 this year, going to $69,920 July 1.     The salaries of the other constitutional officers also were increased significantly under the amendment, which set more strict requirements for state officials' expense accounts after former Attorney General Steve Clark's conviction for abuse of his state-issued credit card.     Arkansas has had 44 governors in 164 years of statehood, but only the latest three -- Bill Clinton, Jim Guy Tucker and Mike Huckabee -- have been required by law to report each gift valued at more than $100 that they or their spouse accepted from benefactors. Governors also must report all gifts valued at more than $250 received by their dependent children.     These disclosures were required by an initiated ethics act approved by voters in November 1988. Earlier governors, including even Clinton during his first three terms, did not have to reveal gifts they accepted.     Once disclosure of the gifts became a requirement, disclosure of the value wasn't required until Act 553 of 1999 by Sen. Bill Gwatney, D-Jacksonville.     Until Gwatney's law, the description was the only clue to the possible value.     The past three governors provided as little or as much information as they chose in disclosing each present or benefit. Sometimes they gave details, a practice more common with Tucker than the other two. Clinton and Huckabee tended toward nondetailed descriptions.     Scott Trotter of Little Rock, a lawyer, member of the board of directors for Common Cause-Arkansas and one of the authors of the 1988 initiated ethics act, says it's disingenuous to report items by category instead of by specific item.     WHAT'S REQUIRED?     The disclosures must be made annually on a Statement of Financial Interest. Instructions on the form tell public officials to "list the source, date, reasonable fair market value and description" of each gift. It doesn't say how specific the description needs to be.     Graham Sloan of Little Rock, executive director of the Arkansas Ethics Commission, said the commission hasn't specifically addressed the issue of how much description is required.     To get the commission to address the issue, someone would have to request an advisory opinion from the commission on the issue, Sloan said.     Arkansas law provides a maximum penalty of $1,000 a violation and/or imprisonment for up to a year for anyone who "knowingly or willfully fails to comply" with disclosure laws, according to the Statement of Financial Interest.     But enforcement of the law is generally limited to situations raised by complaints, since the commission doesn't routinely review every financial disclosure statement filed by the 4,000 public servants required to do so.     Past efforts to judge the quality of information disclosed by public servants on another kind of report proved unpopular among public officials. Former Ethics Commission Director Jack Kearney of Little Rock infuriated lawmakers when he sent them "report cards" after the 1992 elections showing mistakes they made in their campaign disclosure reports.     Kearney was fired by the commission in 1993 for violating a commission policy against publicly discussing pending litigation. He was appointed to the commission in 1998 by then-Attorney General Winston Bryant.     "There's nothing at this point to provide a check on how much information is provided," Trotter said. "People not doing it properly is not to be unexpected. There's been a history of that."     HOW MUCH INFORMATION?     A gift is defined in Arkansas Code Annotated as "any payment, entertainment, advance, services or anything of value unless consideration of equal or greater value has been given therefor." A number of items given to governors aren't considered gifts:     Items valued at $100 or less     Informational material     Food, lodging or travel which bears a relationship to the public servant's office and when he is appearing in an official capacity     Gifts not used and returned to the donor within 30 days     Gifts from a family member, unless the giver is acting as an agent or intermediary for any person not covered under the exemptions     Campaign contributions     Any inheritance     Wedding presents     Clinton served as governor from 1979-81 and from 1983-92. He supported passage of the 1988 initiated ethics act, which voters adopted by a nearly 3-1 margin.     Generally, Clinton specified the types of gifts he received, but he didn't always include all the required information. For example, in 1992, the year in which he ran for president, Clinton reported receiving 43 gifts, but he didn't list the dates any of the gifts were received. That makes it impossible to tell whether a gift was given before he was elected president or afterward.     First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton reported accepting more than 50 free plane rides when her husband was governor, but in most cases the destination wasn't listed, so it's impossible to determine the value of the free transportation.     Tucker was lieutenant governor in 1991-1992, then ascended to the governorship with Clinton's election to the presidency. Tucker remained governor until July 15, 1996, when he resigned after his conviction on federal felony mail fraud and conspiracy charges.     In general, Tucker provided the most detailed information, usually listing the specific day, month and year a gift was received and describing each gift in detail.     Huckabee was lieutenant governor from July 1993 to July 1996, when he became governor upon Tucker's resignation. His descriptions of gifts has ranged from detailed -- "the use of three chairs, one desk and one credenza" from January to December 1994, for example -- to less so.     Of the $112,366 in gifts Huckabee reported receiving in 1999, more than $46,000 worth was described only in general terms. He reported accepting nine gifts of "clothing" from philanthropist and businessman Jennings Osborne with a total listed value of more than $23,000. A $23,000 gift to first lady Janet Huckabee from the governor's 1999 Inaugural Committee was described only as the "inaugural wardrobe."     Rick Caldwell of Bryant, a land developer and co-chairman of Huckabee's 1999 Inaugural Committee, said in an interview Thursday that to the "best of my recollection," the first lady's wardrobe included four outfits and "no jewelry."     Caldwell said he didn't think the Inaugural Committee would owe any federal gift tax on the wardrobe, because, as he recalled, none of the individual outfits cost more than $10,000. That's the dollar trigger for paying gift taxes.     The inaugural wardrobe that Janet Huckabee listed as one gift may not have been only one. "I don't think this was one gift," Caldwell said. "I think it was several gifts, none of which exceeded $10,000." He said the most expensive outfit, the evening gown, was donated to the Old State House Museum in Little Rock, following the tradition of previous Arkansas first ladies.     The rules, however, allow gifts from a single source to be reported as one entry on the Statement of Financial Interest.     Caldwell, a longtime friend of the governor and the treasurer of Huckabee's Conservative Leadership for Arkansas Political Action Committee, asserted that Huckabee has received unfair criticism on the gift issue.     "Gov. Huckabee is meticulous about making sure every detailed gift is reported, which is probably the reason why we're receiving so much heat," Caldwell said.     He referred questions seeking further details on Mrs. Huckabee's inaugural wardrobe to the Republican Party of Arkansas, which raised and collected money used to pay for the wardrobe. GOP Executive Director Chris Carnahan of Benton declined to provide any details.     Carnahan wouldn't disclose the names of the donors who paid for the wardrobe, how many items of clothing were included in the wardrobe or how much each item cost.     "We don't release that information," Carnahan said. When asked why, Carnahan said it was the party's policy, on instructions from party Chairman Lloyd Stone of Conway.     Stone was out of the office and couldn't be reached for comment Friday.     WHO GETS THE GIFTS?     Huckabee asserts that a new rule interpreting the original 1988 gift-giving statute goes too far in restricting the circumstances under which public servants can accept gifts. The governor contends that his opposition is based not on a desire for gifts for himself but out of a concern for the effect of the rule on nonelected employees and appointees to public boards and commissions.     Huckabee is still considering a legal challenge to the rules, his private lawyer said last week.     Based on a review of reports filed over the last five years by members of several influential state commissions and top-level department heads, governors and other elected officials are much more likely to receive gifts than appointees.     Lt. Gov. Win Rockefeller reported accepting no gifts in 1996, 1997 or 1998, and one gift, a jacket, last year. The other state constitutional officers reported accepting an average of half a dozen gifts per year, usually including season football tickets, racing passes to Oaklawn Park, movie theater passes and an occasional hunting trip.     Members of the state Highway Commission, Public Service Commission and Ethics Commission reported receiving no gifts over the last five years.     This article was published on Sunday, March 5, 2000

Rejoicing in Danny Nutt's recovery, resilience WALLY HALL ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE This afternoon there will be a news conference to announce a special evening for Danny Nutt.     It is going to be a celebration of a guy and his family for beating tough times, and a chance for Razorbacks fans to say, "Thanks."     Obviously, the message is that Danny is recovering -- and that message is true.     Here's the way it was explained: There is no more blood leaking, but it takes weeks for the blood that did leak to seep out.     So now Danny is having to contend with the blood moving around, causing a lot of discomfort.     Yet, no one could be tougher about it than he is.     Which certainly didn't surprise his two college football coaches.     Last week at the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame reception, Ken Hatfield and Harold Horton both said they would have been surprised if Danny had complained.     Both said they knew just how tough he was.     Hatfield recalled a game against the University of Houston when Danny, not known for his speed, set up the winning touchdown with a run.     "It was the longest run from scrimmage that season," Hatfield said. "He must have run 300 yards on that one play. He went left, ducked under some tacklers, went back to his right, ducked under some tacklers, and it went on and on like that for about 67 yards.     "He must have made the same guys miss him two or three times.     "He got every yard by sheer determination and guts."     Horton, who coached Danny at UCA before he transferred to Arkansas, recalled a game against archrival Arkansas Tech.     "We were running a little option, but it was obvious Brooks [Hollingsworth, then a Tech coach] had told his defense not to worry about our quarterback," Horton said. "We were trailing 6-0 and time was running out when Danny drove us down the field, pitching and passing.     "We got to the 10-yard line and ran the option right. On that play the Tech defense didn't worry about Danny, and he went the 10 yards for the touchdown, and we won 7-6."     There are dozens of those types of stories about Danny Nutt.     A fierce competitor who refused to lose.     Which is part of the reason he has been so successful in recovering from brain surgery.     And it may be part of the reason he had a setback.     Danny pushes himself hard.     Just days before the setback he started jogging again, trying to shed 20 pounds and get back down to his college playing weight of 180.     He also was lifting weights and playing a little basketball.     The doctors aren't sure if any of that caused the tiny leak this time, but they are pretty sure they don't want him doing those things again.     Danny will accept that this time because it means he can get back to coaching.     "The doctors have said there is no reason they can see why I won't be coaching again," he said. "I haven't had any bleeding for more than two weeks. The latest CAT scan [last Friday] showed everything was fine."     Except that the blood is still there and is taking its time in seeping out.     Danny should coach again. If not this spring, definitely in the fall.     So the celebration that Jennings Osborne and Steve Smith are organizing will be a time of rejoicing.     Any proceeds from the event is going to a trust for Danny's daughters, but you can bet on two things: There will be more than enough food because Jennings always overfeeds at these events, and it will be organized because that's something Smith will guarantee.     ------------------------------------------------------------------------     On a personal note, had a great birthday that started with a surprise birthday breakfast, compliments of the group of boys from church I've met with weekly for five years.     Great kids who give great confidence to a 50-year-old that the future is great.     Thanks to them and the hundreds who called or e-mailed their greetings, especially Jill Krupsaw, Jeff's better half, who baked me a delicious chocolate cake.     This article was published on Wednesday, March 8, 2000

Friends plan benefit for Nutt ROBERT TURBEVILLE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE Danny Nutt's friends are pretty sure the Arkansas football assistant will be OK, that he'll overcome the brain problems he's had and coach not only the upcoming season but for many seasons to come.     But being pretty sure and being positive are two different things, and Nutt's friends are taking no chances.     "He may outlive us all. He may outwork us all. But you don't know," David Bazzel, a former Razorbacks teammate of Nutt's, said Wednesday. "He's going to continue to have medical costs. He's going to continue to have the possibility of not being able to go to work."     Bazzel and a group of Nutt's friends from central Arkansas recently got together to organize a benefit event to help offset medical costs and to ensure a financially stable future for Nutt and his family.     The result, announced Wednesday at War Memorial Stadium, is a Jennings Osborne-sized picnic.     Little Rock philanthropist Osborne, an Arkansas alumnus and friend of the Nutts, will donate a barbecue spread big enough to feed at least 6,000 people, then put on a fireworks display for "An Evening for Danny," a benefit event for Nutt, who has had problems with bleeding from the brain stem.     The event will be held Thursday, March 30, from 5:30-9 p.m. on the east parking lot of War Memorial Stadium. It is set up to be a family picnic, complete with barbecue, a pop band and fireworks. Proceeds from the event go to the Danny Nutt Family Trust, benefiting Nutt, his wife Karla and daughters Brenna, Ashley, Caylan and Dallas.     "I usually shy away from fund-raisers," Osborne said. "I like to give my food away. But this is such a good cause ..."     Nutt, 38, the younger brother of Arkansas Coach Houston Nutt, had an operation to fix bleeding from his brain stem last year. He recently suffered bleeding from the brain again and is recovering at his parents' home in Little Rock. He was not physically able to attend Wednesday's announcement.     Osborne is cooking and donating food trays that include a whole chicken, beef ribs, pork tenderloin, a turkey leg, a barbecue sandwich, sausage, brisket, cole slaw, potato salad, potato chips, candy cane, Coca-Cola and water.     Each tray will feed a family of four and are priced at $50 each. Tickets can be purchased at any participating member of the Pulaski County Automobile Dealers Association or at War Memorial Stadium.     Special guest servers will include Gov. Mike Huckabee and his wife Janet and Houston Nutt. Door prizes will be awarded.     Bazzel said he's hoping for at least 2,000 people, but Osborne will cook to feed 6,000. They are taking no chances with the amount of food or with Danny Nutt's future.     "The main thing we want to do is have a special event for their family and show them that we love them and support them," Bazzel said.     This article was published on Thursday, March 9, 2000

Otus the Head Cat: Head Cat Fete and Festival just gets bigger and bigger I hate to admit it, but I think the Museum of Discovery and the River Market might have gone too far with this Head Cat Fete and Festival on April 1. Maybe I'm wrong.     So far we've got a marching band, parade, a ribbon cutting, speeches by the mayor and beloved KARN radio legend Pat Lynch, Jennings Osborne barbecue, T-shirts and ballcaps, an Otus look-a-like cat show, and now a humongous statue.     As flattering as it is to have a statue of yourself commissioned, a 24-foot tall effigy is rather overwhelming. The thing is huge!     The objet d'art, comprised of 40 tons of Carroll County limestone and carved by renowned Eureka Springs sculptor Brant LaQuatronne, sits just east of the River Market and east of the I-30 bridge.     The graven image fronts Markham Street, the future Clinton Avenue.     The sculpture's half-acre triangle of land will serve as the landscaped entrance to the President William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Lending Library.     Workmen finished installing the massive base last weekend and a giant crane attached the unfinished head (see photo) Thursday morning before a small crowd of city directors, River Market patrons, a school bus full of kids from Paron and the ever-ebullient Secretary of State Sharon Priest.     The head's tricky installation was televised live on KATV, Channel 7's, popular new morning show, Good Morning Arkansas, which has its studio in the River Market District.     Co-hosts Joan Early and Steve Powell interviewed Priest, asking her about the significance of the impressive megalith to Little Rock and the state.     "Es nuestro futuro," Priest proclaimed, sweeping her arm toward the statue. "Es para los ninos."     Powell seemed taken aback at Priest's use of Spanish, but the multi-lingual, University of Missouri-educated Early pressed on without batting an eyelash. Speaking flawless Spanish, the comely Iowa native asked Priest to elaborate. Priest was pleased to oblige.     "Todas las personas que viven en los Estados Unidos el 1 de abril del 2000 deben ser contadas en el censo," she said. "No complete el cuestionario en ingles que recibira por correo."     Priest, who was on her way to speak to the growing Hispanic community in Maumelle, had one final thought as she glanced toward the crane lowering the massive feline head.     "Las instalaciones de servicios publicos subterraneas estan en todas partes," she noted, her voice turning uncharacteristically serious. "Incluso en su propio patio. Usted puede causar tremendos danos y hasta perder su vida si no sabe donde excavar con seguridad."     Early nodded agreement and turned to Marci Bynum and Mary Wagoner, co-chairmen of the Special Phenomena Committee for the Museum of Discovery. Bynum started to speak French, but Early cut her off.     Wagoner noted that the museum had commissioned the statue with the full cooperation of the city board of directors.     "Last fall, we spoke to the city board's Millennium 2000 Aromatherapy Retreat and Planning Weekend at Eden Isle," she said. "We voiced our concern that Little Rock had no easily recognizable symbol in the River Market District that would look really good on postcards.     "I mean, St. Louis has the Arch, Minneapolis has that giant ball of twine, and Memphis has the Pyramid. Little Rock had nothing.     "We pointed out that with the forthcoming 20th anniversary celebration of such a state treasure and internationally known humorist as Otus, a statue would be the perfect thing for the open space next to the interstate. Driv ers will be able to see it from the bridge and we believe it'll be a major attraction for the convention business."     Wagoner said the cost of the giant creation would be paid solely with the use of private funds and that there would be a "wishing well in the shape of a litter box" near the base to contribute coins to maintenance of the grounds.     LaQuatronne said he still had some finishing touches to complete on his creation, but that all would be ready come April 1.     "I'm very pleased with the way it's turned out," the 38-year-old sculptor said. "I believe I captured the whimsical essence and sardonic undertones of the Head Cat, himself. This is a monument all of Arkansas will be pleased with."     Those wishing to view LaQuatronne at work during the next two weeks are reminded that Mark ham east of Commerce has been blocked off to handle the construction. The best place to park is on East Second Street and walk back under the overpass.     Until next time, Kalaka reminds you: Enterese antes de excavar.     Otus the Head Cat's column of humor and/or fabrication appears every Saturday. E-mail his Owner at: michael_storey@adg.ardemgaz.com     This article was published on Saturday, March 18, 2000

Chitchat from Chappaqua MEREDITH OAKLEY Since Hillary! moved to the peaceful hamlet of Chappaqua, N.Y., two uncommon things have occurred, our man on the scene reports.     First, the community experienced its first-ever demonstration. Then a proposed library expansion with a price tag of $8.5 million was rejected by voters.     The two were unrelated, but were not without a common element other than locale, that being Hillary!     In the matter of the demonstration, reports K.E., agent in charge of the Voices Chappaqua Bureau, about 25 members of an ultra-orthodox Jewish group picketed outside the Clintons' lavish $1.7 million home on an otherwise quiet Sunday.     The Clintons were not in residence at the time, "but the neighborhood was inconvenienced, to put it mildly--police barricades, helicopters flying LOW overhead, and the New Castle Police Department (all 35 of them) out in full SWAT regalia (vests, visors, helmets, batons, bullhorns). This is the bucolic suburbs, for Pete's sake. What a zoo."     Not to worry. It takes some getting used to, but it's tolerable after a time. Just be thankful Jennings Osborne hasn't agreed to decorate the Clinton manse for Christmas.     According to K.E., the group was protesting Mrs. Clinton's recent statements on Israel "and the nascent penultimate peace process."     "They rightly don't trust Hillary, but if Hill loses significant Jewish votes, she's toast--er, matzo--in the [U.S. Senate] election.     "You really can't believe the level of incompetence in her campaign. They have no feel for what it takes to be elected. They thought she would be anointed. Ain't gonna happen."     As for the library vote, the first lady of Washington and Westchester County, who obtained her very own library card just the week before, showed up to cast her ballot after having announced that she was for the expansion project.     "Surprise, surprise," K.E. reports, "It lost. First time in years any budget has been skunked by the voters. It occurs to me that possibly folks in Chappaqua thought they were voting for the Clinton library."     Which is more than can ever be said for folks in Little Rock, where we commit huge sums of money by fiat.     K.E., who has demonstrated a budding pundit's skeptical nature, isn't buying the proponents' claim that the issue failed because leaders in the Episcopal Church next door to the library organized against the expansion on the ground that it would disturb the environment.     "My spin is that this is an anti-Hillary vote, the first of many. Guess she doesn't have the coattails. The only reason I hope she stays in the race is that I don't think she'll carry the town. I'd love to see her lose her adopted hometown. We could send her back to Illinois for good."     That's always a possibility, says S.F., our correspondent in Quincy, Ill., who, it just so happens, grew up in Chappaqua and still has many contacts there.     According to S.F., "New Yorkers are too smart to be taken in by this woman. I hope." If that proves to be the case, S.F. suggests, "she may move to Illinois."     (Note to S.F.: Please include in your next dispatch a summary of what other Illinoisans are saying about this prospect.)     As for the first lady's chronically errant spouse, S.F. advises that "New York golfers prefer those who don't take mulligans."     I have referred this observation to K.E. for elucidation, since he still lives there and knows something about golf and golfers.     S.F. says that when she lived in Chappaqua, it was mostly Republican and all-white. Now, she says, it's mostly Democratic and all-white.     It's also home to a number of other celebrities, among them former Miss America Vanessa Williams, New York Knicks Coach Jeff Van Gundy and boxing commentator-cum-historian Burt Sugar.     By the way, K.E. was heartened to learn that his dispatches are being met with enthusiasm down here, where we don't hear much about the first lady's unprecedented campaign for public office.     Color is the key, K.E. You provide tidbits that can be found nowhere else, thus providing me and my readers a welcome change of pace. Plus, you give Washington newspapers something to "borrow" when they need one more blurb to flesh out their Clinton coverage.     Keep 'em coming.         Associate Editor Meredith Oakley's column appears every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.     This article was published on Monday, March 20, 200

Some of these letters overstate things just a bit WALLY HALL ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE Lately the mail bag to the Democrat-Gazette has been overflowing with comments about the Arkansas basketball situation as well as the columnists who write about it.     One thing that no one can claim is this paper isn't fair.     Letters have been published that were critical of everyone, yes even your correspondent, without even a hint of censorship.     A letter in Monday's paper even revealed how the Razorbacks won the SEC Tournament championship.     "Starting three freshmen, two sophomores and one senior who originally was a walk-on, the Hogs won the toughest basketball tournament in the country and are going to the big dance."     Now all we need to know is how the Hogs got to start six players and no one noticed.     ------------------------------------------------------------------------     Tonight's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Metro Classic games are a great opportunity to see some of this season's best local talent.     Also a fund-raiser for P.A.R.K., this was Charles Ripley's idea and, along with the help of our man Tim Cooper, is going to be a great basketball event.     Two games, one each of boys and girls, with all proceeds going to Keith Jackson's P.A.R.K program, starts tonight at 6 p.m.     Parkview's Mike Jones, who signed early with Arkansas, and Kim Adams, who played for the undefeated Little Rock Fair War Eagles and signed early with Arkansas State, are just two of the headliners.     Come early, the game is at Parkview High School, and seating will be on a first-come, first-serve basis.     Jennings Osborne treated the players to pizza last night.     ------------------------------------------------------------------------     Going into this week's NCAA Sweet 16, there is no doubt the craziest regional is the wild, wild West.     It is the only regional where the combined records of all four teams does not equal 100 victories.     With seed Nos. 4, 6, 8 and 10, it has more Cinderellas than a Hollywood Halloween.     It has the coach who receives less praise and respect than probably any of the successful coaches, Gene Keady.     It has one of only three teams in the Sweet 16 that wouldn't have had 20 victories without making it this far (North Carolina and UCLA being the others).     It has a team known as the Zags, and it is not pronounced "Zahgs."     And it has LSU, which has the best freshman point guard no one has heard of.     Plus it is being played in The Pit, which is famous for the 1983 North Carolina State victory over Houston, the best college team not to win a national championship.     ------------------------------------------------------------------------     There was a collective sigh that swept most of the country last Friday after Indiana was thumped by Pepperdine 77-57.     It was from the sportswriters who cover the Tournament.     ------------------------------------------------------------------------     Here's a tip for anyone who intends to attend the SEC Tournament next year in Nashville:     There are three hotels within walking distance of the arena (there are four, but the SEC has totally booked the Renaissance).     The Sheridan, Club House and a Hilton that's under construction.     All are within walking distance of the restaurants and watering holes that were made famous by Grand Ole Opry stars.     Jack's Bar-b-que is great.     ------------------------------------------------------------------------     Back on the NCAA Tournament, it is possible that Eddie Sutton and Oklahoma State could face Bill Self and Tulsa in the first round of the Final Four.     Self, whose name is hotter than an Internet stock, played at OSU and was an assistant under Sutton.     It also is still possible that Sutton could face another former assistant, Gene Keady of Purdue, and that would be for the national championship.     ------------------------------------------------------------------------     Entries for this summer's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Triple Crown of softball are coming in at a record rate.     Teams that want to play and do not have an entry form should contact Anthony McPeace at (501) 378-3411 or 1-800-272-4650 as soon as possible.     This article was published on Tuesday, March 21, 2000

Hail to the chief executive JOHN BRUMMETT I was looking around to see if any of our state institutions performed appropriately in the rip-off by the Nick Wilson Racket that unfolds in federal court.     It seems that only the executive branch, manned by Gov. Mike Huckabee, can lay claim even to minimal resistance.     The rest of us should be inducted into a Hall of Shame. Let me recount the many failings. Then I'll cite the lone branch with a leg to stand on.     LEGISLATURE     The Joint Budget Committee and its more powerful special language subcommittee sat idly by while Wilson, the patently nefarious senior member of the Senate, casually amended an appropriation bill during the regular session of 1997. The effect was to grease the skids for release of millions of dollars for lawyers for children in custody disputes. We know now that Wilson and his cronies intended to take that money for themselves.     True, his actions seemed innocuous enough at the time, but only if one made a concerted effort to ignore instinct and history and accept Wilson's actions at face value.     In 1987 they found out six months after a session ended that Nick had slipped in a rider raising workers compensation insurance premiums to pay for a new Workers Compensation Commission building that his pals were lining up to design and erect.     Yet in 1997 certain Senate Democrats who had successfully stripped Wilson of power decided to go along with him as best they could to present a united front against the upstart Republican governor whose talents as a retail politician were worrisome.     It was much worse in the House of Representatives than in Wilson's own Senate. He resourcefully ingratiated himself in the pliable lower chamber after senators rose up against him through the late '80s and into the mid-'90s. House Speaker Bob Johnson became a Wilson protZ&Mac255;gZ&Mac255;. To strip Wilson of his own staff in 1995, the Senate had been forced to contend with the resistance of his stooges in the House.     JUDICIARY     The money that the Wilson Racket nearly looted was under the auspices of the administrative offices of the Arkansas Supreme Court, which perhaps will explain in time how it managed to approve expeditiously a bevy of oddly identical grant applications from legislative insiders for hundreds of thousands of public dollars without a procedure for competitive bids     to ensure the best available advocacy for children.     True, chancery judges in Pulaski County blew the whistle when newly enriched political insiders began showing up presuming to be kids' lawyers.     But the public has a right to expect something other than wholesale incompetence, cowering ineptitude, legislative footsie-playing or simple sleep-walking from its Supreme Court.     PRESS     Veteran political reporter David Broder laments in his new book that while many vanguard issues have been addressed at the state government level in the last couple of decades, newspapers around the country have trimmed back their Capitol bureaus during that time.     That has happened here only because we lost a whole newspaper. Otherwise, the state Capitol remains adequately manned by acceptably vigilant members of the Fourth Estate.     The problem in 1997 wasn't numbers. It was that we let Wilson maneuver right under our noses, charmed by the good copy he was providing by leading Democratic legislators in wresting control of the construction budget from the governor.     Here I must cite myself especially. I'm the guy who's been going out to the Capitol about as long as anybody currently on the beat; I'm the guy who'd written two years before that Wilson bore watching lest it turn out six months later that he'd run off with the vault; I'm the guy who tries to stagger into Joint Budget meetings two or three times a week; I'm the guy whose columns late in that session were devoted to supporting the effort to give control of construction dollars to legislators.     True, the press recouped when the Arkansas Times broke the story on the grant rip-off and the Democrat-Gazette ran with it like the wind.     But readers had a right to expect a little more press vigilance on the Wilson Watch than took place during the legislative session in 1997.     BUREAUCRACY     Bureaucrats throughout state government were intimidated by Wilson, believing there was no safety in resisting him.     Here I must praise a whistle-blower who in 1991 dared to alert me to Wilson's improper, self-serving influence over the agency where she was second in charge, State Building Services.     Her name was Helen Herr. She lost her job.     There is reason to suspect that J.D. Gingerich, head of the Supreme Court's administrative office, was intimidated by Wilson, especially when his new chief justice, W.H. "Dub" Arnold, gave him no cover.     According to evidence in the federal trial, a woman running the licensing agency for collection agencies, upon finding Wilson holding up her budget, asked a House member to intercede. All he did was find out what she needed to do for Wilson-- merely a personal business favor, a license without a test for his secretary.     GOVERNOR     Mike Huckabee line-item vetoed Wilson's special language giving priority funding to the Supreme Court's administrative office. He got over-ridden.     Please understand that Huckabee had no idea of the scandal he would stop by the veto. He merely thought it bad fiscal policy to install the Supreme Court's administrative office as a top-priority revenue recipient, even ahead of the public schools, especially after his budget advisers informed him that Wilson was the one ordering the priority.     Jennings Osborne should size up Huckabee for a white hat.     John Brummett's column appears every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.     This article was published on Tuesday, March 21, 2000

Local briefs TRUST FUND ESTABLISHED FOR HOGS ASSISTANT NUTT     A trust fund has been established in the name of Arkansas Razorbacks assistant football coach Danny Nutt, his wife Karla and their daughters Brenna, Ashley, Caylan and Dallas.     Anyone wishing to make a contribution to the Danny Nutt Family Trust can do so at any Bank of America branch in Arkansas.     An Evening for Danny also will be held from 5:30-9 p.m. Thursday on the east parking lot of War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.     Jennings Osborne is donating and cooking barbecue for the event. The oversized trays, which serve a family of four, will include a whole chicken, beef ribs, pork tenderloin, a turkey leg, a barbecue sandwich, sausage, brisket, cole slaw, potato salad, potato chips, a candy cane, soft drinks and water.     Special guest servers will include Gov. Mike Huckabee, first lady Janet Huckabee and Arkansas Coach Houston Nutt.     There will be a live band, door prizes and a large fireworks display also provided by Osborne.     Tickets are $50 per tray, with 100 percent of the proceeds given to the Danny Nutt Family Trust. Tickets may be purchased at War Memorial Stadium or at participating Pulaski County automobile dealers.     For more information, contact David Bazzel or visit www.jenningsosbornefamily.com     FOOTBALL ASU WORKING ON DEFENSE     Arkansas State is concentrating on defense this spring.     Kevin Woods has been moved from receiver to defensive back and James Morman has been moved from outside linebacker to defensive end. In addition, several linebackers switched places in hopes of establishing a quicker and more sound defense.     "Although it's still very early, all of the moves so far on the defense are working out well for us," defensive coordinator Leon Burnett said. "I think that Kevin Woods has got a really good chance at corner. He's got great quickness over there.     "I think Morman will contribute much more for us as a down lineman than he would as an outside backer. The guys we have at outside linebacker right now are very quick, while James is very strong. That's where we needed the help."     The Indians will practice in pads for the first time today and practice again Saturday before taking off the next two days.     SOFTBALL ARKANSAS STOPPED BY PERFECT GAME     Tulsa sophomore right-hander Angela Wedlake pitched a perfect game against Arkansas and the Lady Razorbacks' second game was washed out Thursday at the Border Wars in Tulsa.     Jennifer Bottoms allowed only three hits for Arkansas (18-17) but received no offensive support from her teammates in the 3-0 loss.     Ann Mesman gave Tulsa all the runs it needed with a two-run home run in the second inning. Tulsa added another run in the third.     The Lady Razorbacks were scheduled to face No. 18 Oklahoma State in the second game, but it was called because of rain after 11/2 innings.     The Lady Razorbacks return to SEC play Saturday when they play host to the No. 24 Florida Gators in doubleheader that begins at 5 p.m. at Lady'Back Yard.     BASEBALL UAPB SPLITS WITH JACKSON STATE     The Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions scored three runs in the top of the ninth and then held on for a 9-8 victory in the first game of a doubleheader with Jackson State on Thursday in Jackson, Miss.     With the game tied 6-6 after eight innings, UAPB scored three runs to go ahead 9-6 and then survived a two-run Jackson State rally.     In the nightcap, Jackson State (9-12) held off a seventh-inning, two-run rally to capture a 6-5 victory over UAPB (10-18).     AUTO RACING MODIFIEDS INVADE BATESVILLE     Nearly 100 modified drivers from around the country are expected for this weekend's fourth annual Mid-America Modified Championship at Batesville Speedway.     Saturday night's feature will pay $10,000 to the winner and $1,000 to start.     Bald Knob veteran Wayne Brooks, already a winner this season at Royse City, Texas, and Bulls Gap, Tenn., won last year's event. Other previous winners are Randy Zimmerman of Fort Scott, Kan., in 1998, Klint Pursley of Locust Grove, Okla., in 1997 and Kelly Shryock of Story City, Iowa, in 1996.     Time trials were held Thursday night. Tonight, there will be heat races, and Saturday's card will include last chance qualifiers and the main event.     Adult grandstand admission is $10 tonight and Saturday night, $3 for children 6-11 and children 5 and younger get in free. Gates open at 5:30 p.m., and racing starts at 8 p.m.     Batesville Speedway is at Locust Grove at the junction of Arkansas 14 and 25.     FISHING KILBY IN NINTH AT MEGABUCKS     Robert Kilby of Hot Springs brought in five fish weighing 15 pounds, 9 ounces to move into the top 10 after three days of competition at the BASS Masters Kmart MegaBucks tournament in Columbia, S.C.     Kilby's three-day total of 39-4 was enough to place him ninth out of the almost 150 professional anglers competing on Lake Murray. Tony Couch of Buckhead, Ga., leads the field with 53-14. After taking today off, the top 10 anglers will advance to a two-day competition.     Mike Wurm of Hot Springs weighed in 4 pounds, 2 ounces Wednesday, slipping to 22nd place after finishing Wednesday's round in second. Wurm's total is 36-6.     Patrick Carraher of Columbia, Mo., took first place in the amateur division with 20-14.     The 10 pro finalists will start from zero Saturday. Each angler will be given 50 minutes to fish an area before rotating to a new spot.     Daily weigh-ins Saturday and Sunday will be held at the State Fairgrounds. The winner will receive $100,000 and a $25,000 Ranger/Mercury boat.     SOCCER BEARCATS WIN CHAMPIONSHIP     The Horace Mann Middle School Bearcats completed an undefeated season Monday with a 2-0 shootout victory over the Pulaski Heights Panthers.     Horace Mann goalie Charles Wise held the Panthers scoreless, while John Spivey and Scott Wickliffe scored.     ODDS & ENDS KKYK PICKS UP CARDINALS GAMES     KKYK-TV Channel 22 begins St. Louis Cardinals coverage April 8, when the Cardinals play host to the Milwaukee Brewers. Games are scheduled almost every weekend through Oct. 1. A complete broadcast schedule is available at www.kkyk.com.     Doug Krile, corporate director of public relations for Equity Broadcasting Corporation, also said the most current Oaklawn Report program is available on the KKYK Web site. The Oaklawn Report is produced and hosted by Gary Weir and airs at 10:30 p.m. every Wednesday through Sunday.     -- Democrat-Gazette Press Services     This article was published on Friday, March 24, 2000

Fund-raiser nets $350,000 for Bush on 1-day LR stop MICHAEL ROWETT ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE Texas Gov. George W. Bush on Friday brought to Little Rock his campaign message of tax cuts and a less-intrusive federal government, raising $350,000 for his political war chest and promoting himself as an agent of reform.     "I'm proud to stand before you as the [presidential] nominee of the Republican Party," Bush told a cheering crowd of 350 who paid $1,000 each to hear him speak at a fund-raising luncheon. "I can't wait to carry the banner of our party and to articulate my philosophy of compassionate conservatism."     During his luncheon remarks and later at a send-off rally in a general aviation hangar at Little Rock National Airport, Adams Field, Bush painted an optimistic vision of America's promise.     The two-term governor said he's seeking the office his father held from 1989-93 so that "no one will be left out of a chance to be touched by the American dream." He pledged not to be "the federal superintendent of schools" and said one of the primary goals of a Bush administration would be strengthening the nation's military and "restoring the morale of our men and women in uniform."     Bush asserted that his plan to cut taxes by $2 trillion over the next decade would ease the financial burden borne by "overtaxed" working families. He took several shots at Vice President Gore, calling the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee "the voice of the status quo" for claiming that Bush's tax cut plan would risk the nation's economic prosperity.     "Al Gore thinks the [federal budget] surplus is the government's money," Bush said. "We think the surplus is the people's money and that they ought to share in it. What's risky in America is leaving unspent money in Washington, D.C."     Bush said his tax plan would use $2 trillion of the projected $4 trillion surplus over the next decade to ensure the solvency of Social Security and pay down the national debt. Bush said Gore ought to support proposals to allow private investment of Social Security benefits. Bush promises to work as president with both Republicans and Democrats to shore up the retirement program for the baby-boomer generation.     In a press release issued Friday, Gore's campaign asserted that Bush's "reckless tax cuts" and "risky privatization efforts" would jeopardize the long-term solvency of the Social Security Trust Fund.     U.S. Sen. Tim Hutchinson, R-Ark., state chairman of Bush's campaign, praised Bush at the fund-raiser as "the kind of person who will restore dignity to the White House," which elicited some of the loudest cheers of the afternoon.     Bush also criticized Gore and President Clinton as entrenched partisans whose administration has been marked by scandal, truth-twisting and poll-driven policies.     "I can't wait to take a leadership attitude to Washington, D.C., and say, 'Haven't we had enough of partisan bickering and finger-pointing and name-calling and lost e-mails and Buddhist temples?' " Bush said. Questions have been raised about Gore's involvement in fund raising at a Buddhist temple and the disappearance of e-mail at the White House.     Later, about 200 people attended the send-off rally. Bush shared the stage with fellow Republicans Gov. Mike Huckabee and first lady Janet Huckabee, U.S. Sen. Tim Hutchinson of Bentonville, U.S. Reps. Asa Hutchinson of Fort Smith and Jay Dickey of Pine Bluff and former Gov. Frank White of Little Rock.     As a going-away present, Gov. Huckabee presented Bush with a replica of a knife used by Jim Bowie, one of the fighters for Texas independence. Bowie was killed in an assault by Mexican troops on the Alamo in San Antonio in 1836, the year Arkansas became a state.     One of Bowie's knives was crafted by James Black, an Arkansas bladesmith during the 1830s, according to the Arkansas Territorial Restoration. The replica was crafted by Roger Massey, a master bladesmith for the Arkansas Territorial Restoration, and will be displayed at the Alamo, Huckabee said.     Bush ended his day in Little Rock much as he began it -- by positioning himself as a reformer who wouldn't "rely on polls and focus groups" to determine political beliefs. "I don't care what the polls say," he said. "It matters what I believe. The best way to reform Washington, D.C., is to end the Clinton-Gore administration."     A who's who of current and past Arkansas GOP office holders turned out for the fund-raiser at the Embassy Suites hotel in west Little Rock, including the Huckabees, White, Dickey, the Hutchinson brothers and former U.S. Reps. John Paul Hammerschmidt of Harrison and Tommy Robinson of Brinkley.     Others in attendance included philanthropist and businessman Jennings Osborne of Little Rock; 1990 and 1994 GOP gubernatorial nominee Sheffield Nelson of Little Rock; state Ethics Commission Chairman Rita Looney of Little Rock; and Jim von Gremp of Little Rock, chairman of the state Public Service Commission.     This article was published on Saturday, March 25, 2000

Danny Nutt benefit tonight A fundraising picnic to benefit Arkansas assistant Coach Danny Nutt will be held tonight at War Memorial Stadium.     The event, which will feature barbeque by Jennings Osborne, live music and a fireworks display, will begin at 5:30 p.m. A $50 donation to the Danny Nutt Family Trust is required to received a tray of barbeque, which will feed a family of four. The fireworks display will begin at 9 p.m.     Honorary food servers include Gov. Mike Huckabee, Little Rock Mayor Jim Dailey, Miss Arkansas Brandy Rhodes, Coach Houston Nutt, John Daly and Sidney Moncrief.     Tickets for the trays of barbeque can be purchased throughout the evening at the main east gates of War Memorial. The live music and fireworks display is free to the public.     This article was published on Thursday, March 30, 2000

Local briefs ASU'S FLETCHER NAMED TO GLOBETROTTERS TEAM     Chico Fletcher, Arkansas State's all-time steals and assists leader, has been selected to play on the Harlem Globetrotters competitive basketball team as it takes on the NABC All-Stars on Saturday at Indianapolis.     Fletcher was cut from the NABC All-Star team, but he made a good enough impression to get a call from the Globetrotters after a player canceled out on the game. Fletcher was immediately called as a replacement.     "It's a wonderful opportunity for Chico to be chosen for a game like this, where more than 10,000 people will get to see you play," ASU Coach Dickey Nutt said. "It is a well-deserved chance for Chico to showcase his talents and skills.     "I'm very happy for Chico. This is a very prestigious event, one that a lot of pro scouts will be watching. He is really looking forward to playing well in this game to represent himself and ASU basketball."     The game, scheduled for noon, is part of the Final Four events scheduled during the championship run in NCAA Tournament.     VOLLEYBALL ASU'S BARNEY PLANS TO TRANSFER     Arkansas State setter Jessica Barney, who was the Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year, has indicated she will leave school at the end of the semester and has intentions of transferring to Oklahoma, ASU Coach Craig Cummings said.     Barney, 5-8, from New Braunfels, Texas, started in every game in her first season, helping the Lady Indians to a 28-7 record and a SBC regular-season co-championship, SBC Tournament title and an NCAA Tournament berth.     Barney led the SBC in assists, tallying 1,457, including a 72-assist match against Louisiana Tech. She also had 0.48 blocks per game and 1.85 digs per game.     GOLF UALR PAIR TOPS FOR WEEK     UALR's Maria Jose Hurtado and Laurie Vescovo were co-Sun Belt Conference golfers of the week after leading UALR to victory at the Oral Robert Women's Invitational in Broken Arrow, Okla.     Hurtado and Vescovo tied for medalist honors at 9-over-par 153 in leading the Trojans to a 32-stroke victory.     TRACK AND FIELD UA'S YODER, HARTER HONORED     Arkansas junior Amy Yoder and head track and field Coach Lance Harter were honored on Wednesday afternoon as the SEC's indoor track Athlete and Coach of the Year as voted on by the league's coaches.     Yoder, a 12-time all-American and NCAA Champion at 5,000 meters, edged teammate Tracy Robertson for the award. It is the first time Yoder has been named indoor track athlete of the year, but the fourth time she has been tabbed as the conference athlete of the year. She finished her cross country career with three consecutive SEC Cross Country Athlete of the Year awards.     Harter's award is the second time he has received the honor for indoor track and field/ He shared his first honor with LSU Coach Pat Henry in 1998 when he led the Lady Razorbacks to a second place finish at the SEC Indoor meet. Coach Harter has also won the SEC Coach of the Year Award seven times for cross country.     BASEBALL ISAACSON DEFINITELY OUT FOR THE SEASON     Although the news was not unexpected, Arkansas pitcher Charlie Isaacson said he will definitely miss the remainder of the season to rest his injured shoulder.     Isaacson made his final decision after he sought further tests Wednesday from a doctor in Kansas City, Mo., near his hometown in Overland Park, Kan. Orthopedic surgeon T.J. Rasmussen, a family friend who worked for the Kansas City Royals, advised Isaacson to take the rest of the season off.     "The X-rays showed that I had a strained muscle and still a little tendinitis in my shoulder," Isaacson said. "[Dr. Rasmussen] said the best thing to do right now is to rest. I'm not going to do anything for a few weeks. Then I'll start lifting weights to regain my [arm] strength, and I'll probably start throwing again in mid-May."     Isaacson (1-1, 5.40 ERA) pitched only six innings this season after finishing 9-0 last year as a freshman. He missed almost four weeks with tendinitis, then attempted a comeback against Oklahoma State on March 21. Isaacson pitched only one inning against OSU before his shoulder stiffened and he removed himself from the game.     The Arkansas coaching staff will petition the NCAA to count the 2000 season as a medical redshirt for Isaacson and grant him an extra year of eligibility.     -- Rick Fires     SOFTBALL ARKANSAS SPLITS DOUBLEHEADER WITH KANSAS     First the skies split open and pelted Lady Back Yard with hail and rain Wednesday afternoon, then Arkansas and Kansas split a doubleheader.     Freshmen Erin Stokey and Kim Eiben had three hits each to help Arkansas bounce back from a 4-2, eight-inning loss in the first game with a 5-2 victory in the second game.     Eiben doubled and scored in the fourth inning to give Arkansas a 2-0 lead, and Stokey drove in the first run in a three-run fifth with a triple as the Lady Razorbacks (21-18) blew open the game. Danica Howlett and Tiffany Woolley also knocked in a run each in the fifth.     Arkansas sophomore Rachel Talley picked up her first victory since March 5. She allowed 5 hits and 2 walks over 52/3 innings.     Kansas won the first game with two runs in its first extra at-bat. Playing under international rules, Kansas started with a runner at second base, Christi Musser, who moved to third on a single by Shannon Stanwix and scored on a throwing error by Arkansas catcher Jen Cirigliano.     Amy Hulse added an RBI single for the Jayhawks, and Sarah Clopton worked around a one-out walk in the bottom of the inning for the complete-game victory.     Eiben drove in Arkansas' only two runs of the game with a double in the fourth to tie the score at 2-2. Arkansas managed only three hits and committed three errors that led to three unearned runs.     -- Rob Keys     TENNIS UA WOMEN KNOCK OFF LSU     The Arkansas Lady Razorbacks tennis team won its second consecutive SEC match, knocking off LSU 5-4 at the Indoor Track and Tennis Complex on Wednesday.     LSU (10-7, 2-6 SEC) picked up victories in the No. 1 and No. 2 positions, as 11th-ranked Bruna Colosio defeated 19th-ranked Chin Bee Khoo 6-4, 7-5, and Ana Paula Mores downed senior Andrea Ho 6-0, 6-0. The Lady Razorbacks (5-9, 3-6) picked up three-set victories by Adriana Lopez and Youlia Boyadjieva, as Lopez defeated Fernanda Tsucamoto 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (3), and Boyadjieva downed Mandy Rice 6-3, 1-6, 7-5. The teams traded two 6-2, 6-2 victories, one by LSU's Lauren Haddix over Tara Reid, and one by Arkansas' Brenda Vlasak over Tami Botts.The Lady Razorbacks took two of three in doubles to clinch the victory.     ASU WOMEN WIN     The Arkansas State women (10-3) beat Southeast Missouri State 6-0, losing only a total of three games.     Gija Geme defeated Mel Thomas 6-1, 6-1 in a matchup of top seeds; Magui Cibils downed Thias Olive 6-1, 6-0; Siobahn Byrne defeated Adrienne Bland 6-0, 6-0; Caroline Szafranski beat Adriana Olive 6-0, 6-0; Belinda Guthrie beat Andrea Aldano 6-0, 6-0 and Megan McCoy beat Lara Golke 6-0, 6-0. Doubles action was canceled.     FOOTBALL DANNY NUTT BENEFIT TONIGHT     A fundraising picnic to benefit Arkansas assistant Coach Danny Nutt will be held tonight at War Memorial Stadium.     The event, which will feature barbeque by Jennings Osborne, live music and a fireworks display, will begin at 5:30 p.m. A $50 donation to the Danny Nutt Family Trust is required to received a tray of barbeque, which will feed a family of four. The fireworks display will begin at 9 p.m.     Honorary food servers include Gov. Mike Huckabee, Little Rock Mayor Jim Dailey, Miss Arkansas Brandy Rhodes, Coach Houston Nutt, John Daly and Sidney Moncrief.     Tickets for the trays of barbeque can be purchased throughout the evening at the main east gates of War Memorial. The live music and fireworks display is free to the public.     ASU SCHEDULE FINALIZED     An 8 p.m. Central kickoff has been decided on Arkansas State's Oct. 14 game against Idaho. The game, to be played in Pullman, Wash., completes the ASU schedule.     DATE OPP. TIME     Sept. 2 at North Carolina State 6 p.m.     Sept. 9 at Oklahoma 6:30 p.m.     Sept. 16 Memphis 6 p.m.     Sept. 23 at TCU 6:05 p.m.     Sept. 30 Richmond 6 p.m.     Oct. 7 at Mississippi 1 p.m.     Oct. 14 at Idaho* 8 p.m.     Oct. 21 New Mexico State* 4 p.m.     Oct. 28 at Utah State* 4:05 p.m.     Nov. 4 Boise State* 4 p.m.     Nov. 11 North Texas* 4 p.m.     * Big West Conference Game All times Central     -- Democrat-Gazette Staff and Press Services     This article was published on Thursday, March 30, 2000

Jocks, journalists and politicians JOHN BRUMMETT All right, let's try this again. And let's try to do better than last time, when we fired a downward arrow for a coach who that very weekend, under extreme duress, transformed his youthful troops into champions.     In fact, let's start there, smack in the middle of those obsessions, passions and favorite pastimes of this tailgate party masquerading as a state. By that I mean sports teams that go oink and gossip about those who coach and write about them.     Nolan Richardson--It was too rich. Two of the state's most loathed antiques, Frank Broyles and John Robert Starr, were out to get him. Wally was nipping about his heels with some race-based innuendo. Over four days, he brought his team from the lower regions of mediocrity to the upper reaches of storybook revival.     Frank Broyles--Orville Henry said it best. Broyles is conflict-averse and uncomfortable with successful celebrity coaches. I would add this: After Frank gets that football stadium expanded, he should go.     Orville Henry--See preceding item.     John Robert Starr--People are reading and talking again, as they were during the great newspaper war. Never mind that what most people are saying is that he's egomaniacal and crazy. Last week, a long lost cousin said to me, "I didn't read yours today. But I read that John Robert Starr's. Boy, can you believe him?"     Me--See preceding item.     Wally Hall--Turned inside out by Nolan, patronized by Starr.     This newspaper--What a place. You have a former editor, now purely a columnist, writing disparagingly about the current editor's ethics and competence. You have John Robert and Wally cross-referencing. You have Paul Greenberg, unprovoked except perhaps for my ridicule of his son, calling me a shade tree. You have Gene Lyons, who can't stand any of us. We don't need news. We've got each other.     Middle-aged, music-loving local journalists--Several of us, freaks for Bruce Springsteen, implored locals to fork over $50 or $70 a ticket to see our hero in concert. Literally dozens responded. Remember that the next time somebody claims there's power in the pen. Memo to Kelley Bass of the Arkansas Times: We're old; we're passZ&Mac255;; not everyone sees the world as we do; we must get over it.     Tommy Smith--Conversely, the outlaw of Magic 105 is fully in touch with his massive audience. He griped because Springsteen didn't play his radio hits, suggesting that for $70, Bruce could put artist's integrity aside for a moment and play some gol-darned "Glory Days," for heaven's sake.     Spring--Big dogwood and azalea blossoms, March Madness, a California-like climate, at least for a few days, and no one is allowed to touch Cedric Cobbs in football practice. And they say Gary Brashears is throwing it around pretty well.     Now having dispensed with the important things, let us turn our attention to the distractions of politics--presidential, state and local.     Al Gore--He steps way out front on campaign finance reform, earning ridicule from Republicans who say he has no credibility on the issue. But if John McCain could be credible even with complicity in the Keating scandal, and even as further exposed in using his Senate Commerce Committee chairmanship to lean on federal regulators in behalf of corporate benefactors, then Gore should be credible, too.     George W. Bush--Our editorialists see him in person and up close, and decree that, gosh, he sure is neat and swell--so much neater and sweller than he looks on TV. Gosh, they wrote, his hair was trimmed so nice and he didn't have any bags under his eyes and he kept making funny asides. That is the kind of thing that happens when we let those editorial boys out of the Ivory Tower into the real world for a couple of hours.     Mike Huckabee--He's right on the tobacco settlement. He essentially won the lawsuit about spending for Velveeta and tacos from the mansion expense fund. The large dry-cleaning bill makes sense now that we understand that Jennings Osborne provides him suits and sports coat by the truckload. The Democrats not on trial don't have anyone except Mark Pryor, who may need more seasoning.     Jay Dickey--Now that I've seen the Democratic candidates in his 4th District. And that's a great dog, if you'll pardon the redundancy.     Dewayne Graham--Here are some other politicians I've called names: the current president of the United States and the current governor of Arkansas. But then there was "Bud the Stud" Cummins.     Highway 10--Looks like the city won't be happy until it's gridlocked with its vistas clear-cut.         John Brummett's column appears every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.     This article was published on Thursday, March 30, 2000

Thousands turn out to support Nutt RICKY HARVEY ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE It had the sights and sounds of an Arkansas Razorbacks pregame pep rally, complete with food, music and even a "Wooo Pig Sooie."     It even felt like a crisp November evening.     War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock was the perfect setting Thursday for "An Evening for Danny," as approximately 2,000 people paid tribute to Arkansas assistant coach Danny Nutt, who underwent brain surgery last year and recently suffered a relapse of bleeding from the brain stem.     Even though doctors orders kept Nutt from attending Thursday's event, his family was well-represented.     "Mom and Dad always taught us four boys that we live in the greatest state, and tonight I'm convinced," said Arkansas Coach Houston Nutt, Danny's brother. "It seems like when somebody needs something, [Arkansans] are always there to reach out.     "The first phone call I'm going to make when I get back to Fayetteville is to Danny and just try to describe the atmosphere, the turnout and support that is here tonight."     Nutt's parents, Houston Sr. and Emogene, were also there.     "What Danny has been going through has been pretty tough," said a teary-eyed Houston Sr. "We just love all these great people, and I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart for coming. I know Danny is going to be real proud of this. I just wish he was here."     Fans were treated to entertainment from the Bill Hinson USA Outback Band and a fireworks display donated by Jennings Osborne. Osborne also donated a barbecue spread, and attendees who gave a $50 donation received a plate of food big enough to feed at least four people. Event organizer David Bazzell said the total raised was between $35,000 and $50,000.     KMJX-FM, Magic 105, disc jockey Tommy Smith was the master of ceremonies and VIP servers included Gov. Mike Huckabee, Little Rock Mayor Jim Dailey, professional golfer John Daly and Miss Arkansas Brandy Rhodes.     "Danny is a good friend, and, of course, I love Houston and I love everything about Arkansas," said Daly, who was able to attend Thursday's event after taking a week off the PGA Tour before next week's Masters in Augusta, Ga. "It's a great cause and I wanted to help out. I wouldn't have missed it."     Other notable attendees included University of Arkansas Chancellor John White and Athletic Director Frank Broyles.     "I don't know if Danny will ever get out of debt from his terribly high hospital bills, but this tonight is a wonderful gesture," Broyles said. "And the gesture is what's important."     Huckabee agreed.     "I think this is just a wonderful expression of the people of Arkansas and their willingness to come out and show their love, support and friendship to a great guy like Danny Nutt and the whole Nutt family," Huckabee said. "Danny's made good progress but he still needs a lot of prayers, and hopefully this tonight will help him make the expenses that he's going to face medically."     This article was published on Friday, March 31, 2000

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