Jeff Long

A panel of 12 mostly respected voices (I mean, the real Dan Beebe was a voter) compiled this list of the top 25 most influential people in college sports. Among the names behind Long? Nick Saban, Phil Knight, and tied with Jimmy Sexton. Voter comment: "Long has ascended to a high profile role that no one could have seen coming only a few years ago. Though accompanied by more than a dozen colleagues (on the CFP Selection Committee), Long will again be this year's man on the hot seat. And coming from the most coveted football conference adds both pleasure and pressure to the role. For sure, however, his voice is more clearly seen in the leadership position of the game and the business as a result."

I mean, after seeing what happened to Jeff Long's mentions this year, does anybody else really want to do it? Either way, congratulations to Long, and we look forward to seeing him on TV all the time during Razorback games and on Tuesday nights next season.

This is a new feature on Bielema from Sports on Earth's Lars Anderson. I thought it was worth sharing. I would probably argue Anderson overrated the fan base's enthusiasm for Bielema at this point. That might have been true this time a year ago, but I think there's a lot more nervous excitement now.

Here's my #HOTSPORTSTAKE on the Jimmy Dykes hire. Basically, I don't know if he'll win, but when you understand just how far down the women's basketball program has been, generating buzz does make sense. It almost literally can't get worse no matter how much he might lose. And besides, he might win. But he'll almost definitely help the program make a little more money immediately, and that's not insignificant.