August 1999

International barbecue Osbornes give guests meal to remember Date: 8/1/99 Category: Features Page: D3 Phyllis D.Brandon With trays of barbecue served by Mitzi and Jennings Osborne on a sultry July 22, international conference visitors and their Arkansas hosts dined in the first-ever tent on the grounds of Arkansas' Capitol. Entertainment included the N-2 Blue Band, Gerald Thompson, Afrodesia, the Taiwanese Youth, Mariachi Guadalaiara, the Arkansas Community Choir, Patches the Clown and magician Scott Davis. Hand fans were popular at the casual evening that included a short Parade of Nations up Capitol Avenue. Fireworks over the Capitol building provided a spectacular close to the evening. Cutlines: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/PHYLLIS D. BRANDON The Parade of Nations--The Philippines Philippe Velten of La Petite Pierre, France, Beth Nyhus of Washington, Lottie Shackelford and David Miller of Little Rock.

Razorbacks Report: QB Brashears getting back in the swing Date: 8/22/99 Category: Sports Page: C12 Bob Holt The longer the Arkansas Razorbacks practice, the more muddled their backup quarterback position seems to get. Instead of having someone emerge as a clear-cut backup to senior Clint Stoerner after two weeks of practice, redshirt freshman Robby Hampton, freshman Gary Brashears and sophomore Grant Sumner are still in the mix. This figured to be the week Hampton separated himself from the group, especially with Brashears missing practices Thursday and Friday after suffering a concussion in Wednesday night's scrimmage. But Hampton didn't have a particularly strong week. In Saturday night's scrimmage, he was 2 of 5 for 70 yards with 1 touchdown. "Robby has done some good things, but he kind of tailed off this week," Arkansas Coach Houston Nutt said. "Really, Grant Sumner has done just as good as anyone. "But I still think Gary Brashears has everything. He just needs some time." Brashears played in one series Saturday night and completed 2 of 2 passes for 61 yards. On his first snap he had a 42-yard completion to freshman Sparky Hamilton, but the play probably wouldn't have come off if the defense had been allowed to hit Brashears. Freshman linebacker Corey Warren had a bead on Brashears but slowed as the whistle blew just as Brashears threw. Brashears' other completion came when he scrambled and hit walkon freshman George Wilson for a 1 9-yard gain. "It felt good being back out there," Brashears said. "I knew they weren't going to hit me, but I still think I did pretty well." Brashears said he believes he still can win the backup job, a competition that likely will be determined next week in practice. "We'll just see how this plays out here," Nutt said. "We're not going to get in a big hurry. We'll really watch the film and look at things and see how this next week goes." Returning to form The offense threw at sophomore cornerback Orlando Green four times early. Green broke up two passes intended for Michael Williams and Emanuel Smith. Green had Anthony Lucas and Hubert Loudermilk covered the other two times, resulting in incompletions. It was a solid performance considering Green, a starter last season, did not start practicing until Wednesday. "The instincts came back to him, you could tell," Coach Houston Nutt said. "He was rusty all week, and he was frustrated a little bit. He's out of shape. Then all of a sudden he covers two of our best guys." Ackee gets a shot Andre Ackee, a redshirt freshman tailback from Little Rock McClellan, showed his speed, quickness and toughness in Saturday night's scrimmage, rushing 11 times for 52 yards. "I think Andre's really a good back, a breakaway threat, but he's been hurt a lot," Coach Houston Nutt said. "I wanted to see his toughness, and I think he showed he's pretty tough because he played with a sore shoulder." Nally sharp at deep snapper Chuck Nally, a walk-on freshman from Little Rock McClellan, handled all five field-goal snaps Saturday night and split the punt snaps with Brian Wiley, a junior transfer from Conway. Wiley has been working as first-team deep snapper, but Coach Houston Nutt said there are questions regarding his eligibility that recently have come to light. Wiley is eligible to practice, but if his academic situation isn't cleared up by the Sept. 4 opener at SMU, then Nally will have to be the deep snapper and the coaches want to make sure he's ready. All of Nally's snaps were on the mark Saturday night. New dad Cooper returns Arkansas senior defensive tackle D.J. Cooper took part in Saturday night's scrimmage after missing practice Thursday and Friday. Cooper had a good reason for being absent. Instead of being at practice, he was with his wife, Stacey, who gave birth to a baby girl Thursday afternoon. "I don't like to miss practice, and I hope no one had any hard feelings about it," Cooper said. "But I feel I've paid my dues." The Coopers named their daughter Dallas Justin. The "Justin" is in memory of the late Justin Brown, a teammate and close friend of D.J. Cooper's who died last year from a heart ailment. Cooper, who on the first snap Saturday night forced a hurried incompletion by Grant Sumner, said Dallas Justin kept her parents up much of Friday night. "But I came out with fresh legs," he said. "I was ready to play." Sidelines The fight continues at right guard where fifth-year senior Jeremiah Washburn worked with the first unit Saturday and John Geitner, who had been working first team this week, blocked with the backups.... Little Rock businessman Jennings Osborne provided a barbecue meal for the team and families afterward, and he gave the players T-shirts that read "Do It the Burl's Way" in reference to the late Brandon Burlsworth. Reebok printed similar T-shirts a few weeks ago. Saturday's injury report . Senior tailback Mike Jenkins suffered a slightly sprained shoulder in Saturday night's scrimmage but will be ready to practice next week.... The Razorbacks will have a light walkthrough practice today. Two-a-days are over with the beginning of classes Monday. Saturday's injury report Player Pos. Injury Status Gary Brashears QB Minor concussion Returned to practice J. Strain sore wrist Did not practice Quentin Caver LB sore back Did not practice Tim Craig TE Broken finger Returned to practice Eric Parks K Tendinitis knee Did not practice Keith Turner DE Hairline fracture forearm Did not practice Isolating on ... DERRICK JOHNSON POSITION bandit HT-WT 6-1, 203 CLASS sophomore HOMETOWN Duncan, Okla. MAJOR Undecided His primary position is bandit, but he also has worked at free safety during two-a-days and can be a valuable backup at either position. He played his high school senior year in the same Oklahoma town as former Arkansas All-SWC quarterback Quinn Grovey. As a senior at Duncan, Johnson was a running back and rushed for 1,498 yards and 21 touchdowns. The previous year he played at Putnam City (Okla.) North and rushed for 1,300 yards. He also played basketball and ran track in high school. Photo: Derrick Johnson Slug Line: holtreport22

Suite lease holders Date: 8/22/99 Category: News Page: A1 1 Here are the private suite lease holders for Alltel Arena: Platinum -- $1 million: Entergy Corp., One Bank, Stephens Inc., Alltel Gold--$500,000: TCBY Enterprises Inc., RegionsBank, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Bank of America Corp. Silver -- $350,000: Mercantile Bank, Jennings Osborne, Beach Enterprises, Construction Management Group Bronze -- $175,000: First Arkansas Bankshares Inc., Southwestern Bell, Pulaski Bank & Trust, Hydco, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Coca-Cola, RiverBlades Ice Hockey, J&M Products, CDI Contractors Inc./Metropolitan National Bank, Arkla Inc.

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