The Wiz of Odds

It Appears Leach Would Be Right at Home in Gitmo

Another chapter was added Monday to the bizarro world of Texas Tech football when university officials suspended Mike Leach indefinitely after completing an initial investigation into the coach's alleged mistreatment of receiver Adam James.

James is the son of Craig James, the ESPN analyst who was scheduled to work Saturday's Alamo Bowl telecast involving the Red Raiders and Michigan State. ESPN announced late Monday that James would no longer work the game.

The receiver and his parents complained to Tech officials about how their son was mistreated after he suffered a concussion during a Dec. 16 practice.

The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal reported that Leach ordered James to stand in a dark shed at the team's practice facility on Dec. 17 because he thought the player was faking the injury. Leach had a sentry at the door, and when James sat down, the coach ordered all items be removed from the shed so the player could not sit.

On Dec. 19, Leach forced James to stand in a dark room for three hours.

The newspaper reported that Leach did not dispute the facts, but did not believe he had done anything wrong. The coach told officials that James was a slacker and that his father was always calling and acting like a Little League dad.

Ted Liggett, who is Leach's attorney, said he will try and get his client reinstated before Saturday's game.

Hitting a Wall

Here is the violent collision between Oklahoma State quarterback Zac Robinson and Texas Tech cornerback Jamar Wall. There was no penalty on the play, even though it was a helmet-to-helmet hit.

Robinson is expected to play Thursday night against Colorado.

Leach Being Leach

Texas Tech's Mike Leach filmed this scene for DirecTV's "Friday Night Lights" on Sept. 18 in Austin, the night before his team played Texas in a nationally televised game.

While Leach is always worth a laugh or two, it's truly amazing what he gets away with. Few universities would allow their coach to run off and try to start a career in Hollywood on the eve of a big game. Too bad the same rules don't apply to his players. They can't even use Twitter.

Thanks to Dr Saturday.

The Big Hurt

Texas Tech's Jamar Wall puts a sledgehammer hit on Kansas' Jake Sharp.

Now Leach Is Picking on 'Fat, Little Girlfriends'

Texas Tech coach Mike Leach went off on his team Saturday night after a 52-30 loss to Texas A&M. The Red Raiders, coming off victories against Kansas State (66-10) and Nebraska (31-10), were 22-point favorites over the Aggies, who had lost the previous week to the Wildcats, 62-14.

"We talked about not listening to our fat, little girlfriends," he said. "We said we're not going to compare [Kansas State] scores. Well, ha, ha, ha. Hee, hee, hee. I'd like to have a dollar for every time somebody said how many points we’re going to score. It's all a bunch of crap. We got what we deserved. … If it was easy, I'd be coaching the Swedish bikini team."

Leach was still steamed on Monday.

"As coaches, we failed to make our coaching points more compelling than [the players'] fat little girlfriends," he said. "Fat little girlfriends have some obvious advantages. For one thing, their fat little girlfriends are telling them what they want to hear, which is how great you are and how easy it's going to be."

The Bizarro World of Texas Tech Football

Mike Leach's decision to indefinitely suspend Brandon Carter and strip the popular offensive lineman of his captaincy is being roundly booed by Texas Tech fans, and it's becoming increasingly clear there is a deep level of discontent between the coach and his players.

The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal's story of Carter's suspension received close to 10 times the page views of most stories the newspaper publishes on its website.

Carter was actually the first to break the news, announcing it Sunday on his Twitter page: "I am not a captain anymore and will not be playing this week. Good luck red raiders ill still be cheering on my family from the stands!!:)"

Hours later, linebacker Marlon Williams, the team's leading tackler, wrote on his Twitter page, "Wondering why I'm still in this meeting room when the head coach can't even be on time to his on (sic) meeting."

Leach was asked Monday about Williams' comment. "Anybody that's a malcontent doesn't stay around here very long, because we've got a pretty good line of recruits that are fully willing to replace him. Interestingly enough, he doesn't have a Twitter page anymore."

That's because hours earlier, Leach banned his players from using the popular social networking site.