By Harry King
LITTLE ROCK — Without warning they happen, those memorable moments crafted by a David Tyree or a Rocco Mediate, and they make the year in sports.
In 2009, somebody will do something as stunning as Tyree pinning Eli Manning’s pass against his helmet during the New York Giants’ game-winning drive in the Super Bowl or Mediate making three straight birdies on the back nine to catch Tiger Woods in the playoff for the U.S. Open.
It is the blandness of their careers that made the accomplishments of Tyree and Mediate so compelling. Tyree caught four passes during the 2007 regular season; Mediate has not won on the PGA Tour since 2002.
New England’s Rodney Harrison, one of those defending Tyree, put it this way: “You can have that situation 10,000 more times and he’ll never do it again.”
Identifying the perpetrators of equally heroic accomplishments in advance is impossible, but there are happenings in sports in Arkansas that are almost certain to occur.
For starters, Courtney Fortson or Rotnei Clarke will hit a shot in the final seconds to make the difference in an Arkansas victory over a reputable opponent.
Although both are freshmen, they are talented and unafraid to be on the spot. And, they will have some opportunities because the Razorbacks will be competitive against most everybody in the Southeastern Conference.
During the spring, Michigan transfer Ryan Mallett will throw a pass with such velocity that old-timers will dredge up stories about the arm strength of former Arkansas quarterbacks Joe Ferguson and Brad Taylor.
There were claims that Ferguson had to take something off some of his throws, that his fastball was too much for some receivers. Taylor once threw a pass 100 yards. That goal-line to goal-line toss was at the encouragement of Steve Korte, a very big offensive lineman, who had told his teammates that Taylor could do it and then told the quarterback he had better not fail. Lou Holtz was furious when he found out.
Former Razorback Cliff Lee will be something less than 10-2 in early June and there will be speculation that the Cy Young Award winner has lost a little something or that there is a hitch in his windup. The truth is, his 2008 was so stupendous that it will be unapproachable.
Lee, who grew up in Saline County, finished 22-3 with Cleveland and the Indians scored five or more in 16 of those victories. Lee can pitch as well as he did in ‘08 and his W-L record will suffer unless the Indians produce runs at the right time.
Former middleweight champion Jermain Taylor will fight two, maybe three times. If the schedule calls for three, the first will be in the spring vs. Roy Jones Jr., Winky Wright or Carl Froch.
For sure, the fight will have a catch-phrase attached, like “All or Nothing,” for the Jeff Lacy bout last year.
The epitome of a late bloomer, Ken Duke will play in his first Masters at the age of 40.
Born in Hope, Duke played at Henderson State University and was a golfing nomad for years. He never made a splash until 2007 when he won $1.9 million. This year, he finished 28th on the PGA Tour money list with more than $2.2 million.
Words of wisdom from legendary teacher Bob Toski turned things, Duke has said.
Few outside of Arkansas will notice Duke’s showing at Augusta unless he threatens to become the first since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979 to win the green jacket on his initial try. Besides, Woods is supposed to be there, playing his first major since knee surgery.
Those are just the givens. There will be some surprises.
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Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media’s Arkansas News Bureau. His e-mail address is hking@arkansasnews.com.
