Memo to Mayer:

1. Sherron Collins may be in limbo.

2. The investigation in South Dallas apparently isn't over, so the 2008 NCAA Champs banner may be in limbo.

3. Bill Self's contract is STILL in principle last I read, so he may be in limbo.

4. The Morris twins aren't here yet, so they may be in limbo.

Question: are the Morris twins waiting to see how all this "may be in limbo" shakes out?

I like your work ethic, jaybate. Never too early to do something you love, even if it's flaming.

Are the Morris twins going to do to us what they did to their last college suitor? Don't we investigate their academic standing closer to see these seemingly obvious pitfalls? Or do we just worry about such things after the fact. I don't like the way this is going.

Is this article about Paul Pierce, Bill Russell, Clyde Lovellette, Mario Chalmers, or Sherron Collins? I'm lost.

To be honest, Jaybate's comments are usually the most accurate and fair provided on these listings. As always note his cautious, "may be."

To be honest, the NCAA cleared DA to play so there is virtually no chance KU's title would be vacated based on a (ex-) teacher's allegation of grade fraud no matter how much Jaybate might wish it.

didn't jordan win ncaa champ, olympic, and nba?

Memo to jaybate:

1) Collins has merely had a default judgment entered against him. As the LJW mentioned in its article on the subject yesterday, the judgment will almost surely be retracted so that the suit can proceed on the merits. Collins will likely settle this privately, but for much less than the $75,000 requested. Based on the facts as we know them, it seems very unlikely that a 10-second incident involving exposure and touching would cause such emotional suffering that would justify $75,000 in damages. Collins has the leverage of taking it all the way to trial, where he has to know that a Douglas County jury (again, on the facts as we know them) is unlikely to find against him, or at least for such large damages.

2) There's a reason the Arthur/South Oak Cliff story has vanished: it's a non-issue as far as KU is concerned. As far as we, the public, knows, Arthur and his former coach will both sue the teacher, and this will go away. In any event, as it's been said a million times on LJW boards and elsewhere, the NCAA does not want to open the can of worms that is vetting every high school in the country before accepting those schools' transcripts. It's just not possible.

3) Your comment about Self being "in limbo" reeks of your underlying intentions to rip KU. Yes, he may not have signed a contract, but even if he had, he, like many coaches in this day and age, could breach it and go elsewhere for a variety of reasons. Contracts cannot force people to work anywhere; they merely set the terms of the employment agreement and the penalties for breach. Any suggestions that Self has one foot out the door is therefore either disingenuous or vindictive, or both.

4) Your Morris twins comment is your most reasonable one, but even it is undercut by the LJW's most recent report on the subject. Again, from what we know, it appears that they will be in Lawrence in a matter of weeks. I'm surprised you didn't drop a line suggesting that perhaps they're attempts at becoming eligible were probably "suspect" a la your allegations against Arthur. And besides, even if the Twins didn't qualify, it's not KU wouldn't have a front court next year. Aldrich, Thomas, and a role player to take up minutes (remember Moody?) would be sufficient to shore up a respectable team, both in conference play and on the national stage. Self recruits players with grit and potential, and I have no doubt that Thomas would rise to the occasion if he had to.
Your comment about the Morris twins' delay being attributable to them waiting to see how your other "in limbo" factors play out is ludicrous and totally baseless. What evidence do you have to back up your claim? My guess is that you wrote it just to stir up some fire, which, I suppose, you succeeded in doing, as I've now wasted 15 minutes of my day in responding to your post.

NH-JHawk...

Youre so vain. I bet you think this piece is about you. Dont you? Dont you?

yates33333: Disagree

jross1972 -

When I read this piece it was early and there were still some clouds in my coffee. Never been to Nova Scotia or Saratoga and I don't own a Lear Jet either. Going back to the 70s (I could've just as easily gone with the handle jhawk1971 here) I prefer Dust in the Wind personally.

Just a comment on coaches contracts. Do any of you old guys (like me) remember when George Halas sued to prevent assistant coach, George Allen from leaving the Chicago Bears to take the head coaching job at the Los Angeles Rams (I think). As I recall, George Halas won the suit and then released George Allen, saying that he only wanted to prove that the contract was binding on both parties.

Mayer invokes Jo Jo White in this piece. In the NBA Championship post game celebration I spotted 3 former Jayhawks: Paul Pierce, Scott Pollard, and the incomparable Jo Jo White (who you all know was a part of that team who lost to Texas Western).

I dont know much about Jo Jo, but he was assisting Dan Patrick in the recall of a game on ESPN Classic, and I remember just liking the guy from listening to him speak. Yeah, yeah. I show my prejudices. I like him because he's a former Jayhawk. But I also like him because he's a class act. Same with Gayle Sayers, John Riggins, and many others right down to the role players (Christian Moody, anyone?).

I dont know if Sherron did those things or not. I hope he didnt. As it is the right thing to do, I make no accusations or defenses while the scenario plays out in the legal system. But athletes nowadays are always mired in controversy and scandal and, unfortunately for Collins, many people may perhaps assume he's guilty due to the climate of sports right now concerning athletes' behavior (reference one of my favorite athletes of all time, Roger Clemens). Again, Im not casting stones at anyone, but wouldnt it be nice if our sports stars were actually role models? Wouldnt it be great if you didnt have to turn on the television and hear stories about athletes in trouble? Even if we all experience relief of Collins' "acquittal" (whether that be in public opinion if some have judged too soon or in court if this case moves to trial), I would long for a world in which we dont have athletes--and especially KANSAS athletes--even suspected of such acts. Kansas has always been about class, and Id like to see that continue.

jross,

No disrespect intended, but how could one of your favorite athletes of all time be Clemens? I used to respect the guy, too, but after throwing at Piazza's head and then throwing Piazza's broken bat at him, and then lying about it, I lost all respect for him, and his latest actions (lying to Congress, etc.) totally secures my opinion of him as a liar and a cheat. In my opinion, he's not in the same ballpark as Pierce or White.

Be careful about using "class act" and John Riggins in the same sentence. He showed up to a state dinner drunk, lived in a storage shelter (after being the SB MVP) and is notorious for outrageous behavior everywhere he has been. Not that his extraordinary personality (see the mohawk when playing for the Jets) is not entertaining or even discouraged. Class? On the field yes, but probably not so much off.

touche...

good point!

touche...

good point!

Jayhawk Purist... maybe a bit too serious in rubuttal of Jaybate's not-so-serious post. He's not ill-intentioned. He dedicates many hours posting in favor of KU and it's players and coaches... (sometimes on 1 post!!!)... he's not looking to rip on KU.

I think his comment is more directed towards the article.. not on the specific circumstances he mentioned.

I could be wrong about that.

Mayer wrapped up the scattered article by saying "we" cannot focus on basketball until the current drama is resolved. Whoever "we" is, I think that's silly. I'm excited about watching this team play, with or without any guard. We have about 35 of them I'd like to see play! If he were out, I'd be just as excited to see someone else.... Sherron's missed parts of both years here, so what would be new about that?

Lebowski,
Fair enough re jaybate . . . I remember him monopolizing a post board during the season. No lack of respect for him here...my post wasn't personal, strictly business.

Wow this article gets off to a horrible start..Paul Pierce was drafted in 1998, not 1999. I didn't even read anything after that first sentence.

KURUSH...Give him a break, he's getting old. You should read the rest, I thought it was a good article. He has a nice way of linking past to present.

Getting old??? He passed senility a decade ago!