It was great to visit with UALR Coach Steve Shields for a few minutes today in Hot Springs.
Shields represented the Sun Belt Conference at Hot Springs Rotary's weekly luncheon at the Arlington Hotel in Hot Springs. He talked about how thankful he was for the way Hot Springs has welcomed the Sun Belt Tournament in the past and his hopes that Hot Springs will make this year's tournament the best yet.
Side note: Yes, the Sun Belt Conference really didn't send anyone for this speaking engagement. They asked Shields to go in their place. It would have been a lot more uncomfortable situation if they had waited to announce the move of the Sun Belt Tournament to Hot Springs in 2014. Fortunately, they sent out their press release yesterday.
I asked about the status of Taggart Lockhart, who received a concussion when his head hit teammate Will Neighbour's knee in Saturday's game vs. South Alabama. He said Lockhart still hasn't been cleared to return to practice.Sounds as though it's unlikely he'll play on Thursday at Louisiana-Monroe.
Shields was interviewed by the Sentinel Record in Hot Springs while there. Watch for that story in their newspaper tomorrow morning.
