The Wiz of Odds

Is Texas Tech Ready to Run Leach?

Texas Tech's Board of Regents has called a special teleconference Friday afternoon amid growing speculation that the school is preparing to part ways with coach Mike Leach.

Leach had been given a deadline of 5 p.m. Tuesday to sign a five year, $12.7 million contract extension. His current deal runs through the 2010 season and Leach earlier told about 40 supporters gathered for a rally outside the Tech football facility that he plans to honor his contract.

"I want to thank everybody for showing up," said Leach, who returned Monday night to Lubbock after attending a rugby match in Wales on Saturday and the Daytona 500 on Sunday.

"Shoot, heard about it last night. I came in on a plane kind of late. I appreciate y'all showing up. We're going to have a great team this year. We're excited about spring football and we're excited about the players here, the coaches and just looking forward to a great season."

Reporters Notebooks

Steve Wieberg, USA Today: NCAA president Myles Brand says he's fighting advanced pancreatic cancer "as hard as I can" with aggressive chemotherapy that has left him fatigued. Doctors have not given him a timetable. "It depends upon your individual biology," he said. "It could be short. It could be long. But I have signed up for aggressive treatment. I'm going to fight it as hard as I can."

Paul Zeise, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Former Pittsburgh and Stanford coach Walt Harris was hired as quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator at Akron.

Gentry Estes, Mobile Press-Register: Former South Carolina quarterback Chris Smelley has spoken with Alabama's Nick Saban about possibly using his final season of eligibility as a member of the Crimson Tide's 2010 team.

Robbi Pickeral, Raleigh News & Observer: Are assistants who are leaving North Carolina climbing the professional ladder, or were the Tar Heels unable to match financial packages offered by other teams?

Neill Woelk, Boulder Daily Camera: Colorado athletic director Mike Bohn said the school's athletic budget ranks 10th in the Big 12 and 56th out of 66 Bowl Championship Series teams.

Howard Burns, Sports Couch Potato: Ken Armstrong and Nick Perry of the Seattle Times have won the George Polk Award for Sports Reporting for their four-part series "Victory and Ruins," which chronicled what the newspaper called "a disturbing level of criminal conduct and hooliganism" by members of the Washington team that won the 2001 Rose Bowl.

Reporters Notebooks

Brandon George, Dallas Morning News: Mike Leach is taking his case to the people. The Texas Tech coach has hired a media relations consultant to help repair public perception caused by his derailed contract extension negotiations. Kim Davis of Lubbock-based Nomiss Communication has helped organize a rally for Leach on Tuesday and she expects several hundred people to assemble between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. in front of Tech's athletic offices.

Angelique S. Chengelis, Detroit News: Quarterback Steven Threet, who started eight games for Michigan last fall, is leaving the program. "I do not yet know where I will continue my collegiate career and will have no further comment until that decision is made," he said. Threet began his college career at Georgia Tech before transferring to Michigan.

Rachel Gallegos, Iowa City Press-Citizen: The daughter of former Iowa State coach and current Florida assistant Dan McCarney was arrested late Saturday after allegedly assaulting a police officer.

Gentry Estes, Mobile Press-Register: Did Alabama's Nick Saban violate NCAA rules in speaking with Memphis receiver prospect Keiwone Malone, who became the first player to commit to the Crimson Tide's class of 2010? Malone's high school coach says Saban didn't violate the "bump" rule. Link to Memphis Commercial Appeal story on Malone's commitment and column detailing possible violation (second item).

Andy Staples, SI.com: Re-ranking the top 10 classes of 2006 based on on-field production and potential for further production in the next two seasons. Missouri, Oklahoma State, Mississippi and Texas Tech were vastly underrated.

Scout Offers $5-Plus Million to Settle Lawsuit

While recruiting sites were racking up big traffic numbers on signing day, attorneys for Scout were readying a $5.274 million proposal to settle a class action lawsuit brought against the Fox-owned property.

In 2007, a group of publishers and former publishers, led by Scout sites that covered Ohio State, Texas and Stanford — some of the more heavily trafficked sites in the Scout network — filed the action claiming that Scout accounted for revenue in ways not consistent with prevailing contracts. The group further alleged that Scout had endeavored through inadequate disclosure of information and accounting methods to hide its transgressions.

It has been a downhill ride for Scout since Fox bought the company for $50 million in 2005. Ben Koo of Koo's Corner writes that "it's pretty clear the publishers had a strong case if an already negative cash flow Scout was willing to part with $5 million in this bad economy. This combined with the fact that publishers across the country took place in the lawsuit all harping on the same issues leads me to believe the boys up in Seattle weren’t acting in good faith."

The Running of a Football Coach

The ongoing divorce proceedings between Texas Tech's Mike Leach and athletic director Gerald Myers picked up considerable steam last week. A series of revelations and accusations deepened the split and resulted with a university-imposed deadline of Tuesday on a contract extension offered to the coach.

Leach has his guns up and is ready to walk from the five-year, $12.7 million extension, which would be tagged to the two years he has left on his current deal. Sign by Tuesday or the extension is pulled.

Leach and his representation — International Marketing Group — are objecting to several clauses put in the extension. Longtime Houston attorney Tom Kirkendall breaks it down while asking, "What are Leach and IMG thinking?"

But this spat goes beyond dollars and sense. As we noted in December, Myers and Leach don't get along. The athletic director puts up with the coach because he wins and graduates his players.

Reporters Notebooks

John Blanchette, Spokesman-Review: Washington has contacted Eastern Washington about recruiting two receivers off the team. Eastern was put on three years' probation last week, and NCAA rules allow players in programs that have been hit with a postseason ban to transfer and be immediately eligible.

Bud Withers, Seattle Times: How much responsibility does Washington State's Paul Wulff need to take for the NCAA infractions at Eastern Washington, his former employer? Eastern had 15 "countable coaches" during the 2004 and 2006 seasons, exceeding the NCAA limit of 11.

Bob Asmussen, Champaign News-Gazette: News and notes from around the country, leading with Missouri playing two games at neutral sites this fall. Perhaps the Tigers should consider a home-and-home series against Illinois instead of playing the Fighting Illini in St. Louis.

Richard Oviatt, Ohio State Lantern: Former Washington Post executive editor and Ohio State alumnus Leonard Downie Jr. revealed a dirty little secret about Woody Hayes. "If the team lost or tied, he would conduct an interview in the nude. He was an ugly guy so it would clear the locker room out pretty fast," he said.