The latest Oscar nominations are out. With the expanded Best Picture category, that leaves more room for movie fans and critics to approve/yell about which films have been nominated this year. A few everyone can agree on — Hugo, The Help, Tree of Life — but others have been roundly criticized — War Horse, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

And the arguing doesn’t stop there. In the Best Supporting Actress category, some are up in arms about the nomination of Melissa McCarthy for her over-the-top role in Bridesmaids. Oh, and did we mention Billy Crystal is the host … again? (Thank the film gods it’s not James Franco … again.)

This week, assuming you care, we’re wondering what you think were this year’s most undeserving Oscar nominations.

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Some election news this morning: After certifying the results, Iowa says Rick Santorum is ahead by 34 votes, instead of Mitt Romney’s win by 8 votes that was reported a few weeks ago. Iowa won’t say Santorum won, because votes from a few precincts remain uncounted or missing or something. Not that it matters, right? Everyone is too busy looking at South Carolina right now. Iowa is so two weeks ago.

In other news, it’s expected that Rick Perry will announce that he’s dropping out of the race today. Now that Michele Bachmann and Jon Huntsman are out, Perry has no one to tie with for last place. Besides, a Texas governor becoming president is so 2001.

Arkansas’ primary isn’t until May 22, and who knows what scandals will emerge in that time. But just for funsies here’s a very preliminary primary poll. Are you ready?

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In the wake of the Cotton Bowl, Hog fever has gone epidemic. And although the Red Wolves tripped in their bowl game, ASU should bounce back with a vengeance with new coach Gus Malzahn and (possibly) recent Auburn transfer Michael Dyer on board. ASU’s ascension will surely spark new rounds of the Great Debate concerning whether UA should break its long-standing policy of not playing in-state competition.
Still, it’s UA-ASU is a hypothetical clash unlikely to happen any time soon.
So, in this week’s column, Sync’s Evin Demirel focuses on another possible in-state match-up which is a lot closer to reality. The women of UALR and UCA already compete in volleyball and soccer.
Should basketball be next?

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For those of you living under a rock, the Cotton Bowl at 7 p.m. Friday. The University of Arkansas will compete against the Kansas State Wildcats in Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. We know you’ve already made plans to watch (or bury your head back under that rock).

This week, we’re hoping you’ll share those plans with us.

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It's The Big Show.

On Tuesday, at Verizon Arena, it’s time for the first smackdown of the year! Or at least the first World Wrestling Entertainment SmackDown, coming to Verizon Arena. So who’s coming to the party? “Apex Predator” Randy Orton vs. Mark Henry vs. Big Show. That’s right — all three in a special, triple-threat match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship belt with special referee Booker T. The undercard includes appearances by “Captain Charisma” Christian, the “Celtic Warrior” Sheamus, Wade Barrett, “Dashing” Cody Rhodes, Ted DiBiase Jr., Ezekiel Jackson, 2011 Royal Rumble winner Daniel Bryan, Justin Gabriel, Natalya, Alicia Fox and more.

But despite the line-up of impressive names, we’re wondering how appropriate you think such a show might be for children. Would you take your own? That’s the subject of this week’s poll.

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Recently, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended that cell phone use in cars be made illegal. That included talking on the phone, texting and hands-free uses. The board believes that phones are too distracting in any capacity.

The recommendations were made following a deadly highway accident caused by a teenager who had sent or received 11 text messages in the 11 minutes befor the wreck.

The board made an exception for emergency situations, but even still, plenty of people felt the recommendations were too far-reaching. The Wall Street Journal reported that Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood would not lend support to the proposal. The NTSB could not actually make the proposal intoa law, but the recommendation still had the nation talking.

But the talk did not stop at cell phones. Drivers admit that distracted driving is not the only dangerous thing you can do in a car, and things like eating, putting on make-up, taming wild children, and reading are not exactly illegal, but also have a tendency to distract a driver.

This week, let us in on your worst driving habit…. what is it? C’mon. We won’t tell anyone.

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Gus Malzahn received the 2010 Broyles Awards, for being a top NCAA Division 1A assistant football coach. He now replaces Hugh Freeze as the head coach at ASU.

Tuesday night, the Internet just about melted when surprise news broke that football coach Gus Malzahn will return to his home state to coach the Arkansas State Red Wolves. Malzahn helped coach Auburn to last year’s national championship, more than fours years after he last coached in Arkansas as the Razorbacks’ offensive coordinator.
Malzahn assumes the ASU job at a time when the Red Wolves program is one of the nation’s hottest. Departed head coach Hugh Freeze led the Red Wolves to a 10-2 record and GoDaddy.com bowl berth this season.
In his 14 seasons as an Arkansas high school coach, Malzahn developed an extensive network of friends and disciples. The 46-year-old will likely hire some of them as assistants in Jonesboro. His most successful season in Arkansas came in 2005, at the head of Springdale High School, a juggernaut of a team many consider as the best in this state’s history.
For fun, Sync’s Sports Seer asked what would happen if that Springdale team played this season’s Pulaski Academy, which boasts even more dominant offensive statistics. P.A.’s coach shared some of his insight here.
Also for fun, Sync wonders if Malzahn will not only keep up ASU’s current level of success but raise the program’s status to far higher heights. He’ll surely be able to recruit the state’s top football players (who don’t sign with the Hogs) and he should attract new fans to the program, but how many? It needs to be a lot, as some estimates have Malzahn’s pay at roughly $600,000 more than Freeze’s.

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** potentially crazy stuff, y’all

It’s been a mix of the old and new in Razorbacks land this week.
The Hogs were selected to play in their 12th all-time Cotton Bowl, but this will be the first Arkansas plays away from Dallas. Arlington’s snazzy Cowboys Stadium is now the home of the Cotton Bowl, and a board of directors with a near-shocking number of members.

The Jan. 6 bowl also marks the beginning  of a new era for the Razorbacks. In the past week, the team’s offensive, defense and special teams coordinators left. Only the offensive coordinator has so far been replaced – by a face quite familiar to Hog fans. Bobby Petrino’s brother Paul Petrino returned to Fayetteville to accept the position, which he had held in 2008 and 2009 before leaving for Illinois. Arkansas is also looking for someone to replace coordinator John L. Smith, who accepted a head coaching job at Weber State after overseeing one of the nation’s top kicking games this season.

But by the far the brightest spotlight shines on the search for the man who will replace Willy Robinson, the fiery defensive coordinator who never could seem to help Arkansas turn the corner to become one of the SEC’s better defenses. Robinson resigned after a regular season in which Arkansas defense ranked #51 in the nation, 15 spots below the previous season’s ranking.

His replacement’s short-term charge is twofold: help Arkansas beat Kansas State to provide a strong base for spring practice and recruit the living daylights out of the football-rich Dallas-Fort Worth area.  Indeed, recruiting prowess is one reason Randy Shannon, a former Miami defensive coordinator with strong ties to equally football-rich Florida, has been rumored as a top candidate for the position.
So who do you want to see as the Hogs’ D.C.?

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Want to see some of the highlights from Sync’s sports columnist’s recent VIP tour of Cowboys Stadium?
Click here.

Canada geese roam freely at Burns Park.

The goose problem in North Little Rock’s Burns Park has gotten out of hand, and the city would like to take a group of hunters in for a controlled goose hunt around Dec. 20. The hunting party has been randomly selected among all of the applicants.

But the outcry on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook still goes on. The group of protesters have also circulated a petition, according to this Arkansas Democrat-Gazette story.

This week, we’re wondering where you stand on the goose hunt issue.

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This week’s Digital Manners podcast at Slate.com tackles the issue of conducting your business while ‘conducting your business,” i.e. is it rude to talk on the phone while you’re in the bathroom.

This is an issue that we’ve all run into. You’re having a normal conversation with someone and then you hear the toilet flush. What do you do? Maybe you cringe? Maybe you laugh it off? This week we’re wondering if you’re one of those people. Don’t be shy. It’s ok to admit it. We won’t tell anyone.

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