My holidays were going just swimmingly until last weekend, when I caught a nasty little cold that knocked me flat on my ass for a day or so. My halting recovery didn't get much help when I forced myself to sit through that thoroughly miserable Cotton Bowl. Add in a return to work - with the attendant mountain of e-mails and voice messages that had piled up during the break - and I've definitely been fighting a case of the post-holiday blahs.
Unfortunately, I'm not sure the basketball team will be providing help anytime soon.
Until the last year or so of the Nolan Richardson era, few things were more anti-blah for me than Razorback basketball. And after John Pelphrey took control of the program last spring, I couldn't help but believe that the Hog hoopsters, seemingly so talented, would immediately start providing liberal amounts of feel-good therapy once again.
I remain very confident about the future of the program under Pelphrey. But the team's performance so far makes me worry that the 2007-08 season will be yet another ho-hum (or worse) year. The trademarks of the Stan Heath Razorbacks - the turnovers, the boneheaded late-game decisions, the constant heaving of bricks - are still on display, and I'm afraid they will continue to be until Pelphrey's highly-rated first recruiting class arrives next year.
The season is still somewhat young, and several moons ago, I cautioned against making too much of the early part of the schedule. However ... the season is not that young anymore. Thirteen games of largely uninspiring play is legitimate reason to scale back one's optimism; perhaps this current crop of Razorbacks just isn't that good.
The conference season is almost upon us, and the accompanying increase in regionally and nationally televised games will make it easier for me to follow the team. And watch I will, hoping for that big win or two that might finally get this team on track. But I will tune in with adjusted expectations, with the realization that it likely won't be until next year that Razorback basketball is once again a steady source of good times.