Arkansas Blog

Max-
Why areyou hiding the fact that Beebe is blocking our candidate form the ballot?

Sincerely,
A pissed off Green Party member

Jim Lendall in '06

This guy makes some fair points. Nutt is getting a better deal than any coach before him ever got, and it's not clear why. I wish things with Nolan had gone better. I wish he and Frank had been able to work out what ailed them both. Sadly, too much pride and too much money kept that from happening. They both became charactertures of the times that shaped them. I wish we, as a state, could have moved past that by now.

C'mon, now don't you think if Nutt started popping off and saying things like: "If they pay me my money, they can have my job" he'd be history faster than you can say "Jack Crowe"?

I liked Nolan back in the day as much as the next Hawg Ball fan. But I'm afraid most of his damage is self-inflicted and not from Frank Broyles and is certainly not because he's black.

I am sure you will all be shocked to know that Alan Grant is black.

Seems to me that he likes to play the race card as much as Nolan.

He failed to mention infamous quote when Nolan said they can pay me my money and take my job.

C'mon, now don't you think if Nutt started popping off and saying things like: "If they pay me my money, they can have my job" he'd be history faster than you can say "Jack Crowe"?

I liked Nolan back in the day as much as the next Hawg Ball fan. But I'm afraid most of his damage is self-inflicted and not from Frank Broyles and is certainly not because he's black.

C'mon, now don't you think if Nutt started popping off and saying things like: "If they pay me my money, they can have my job" he'd be history faster than you can say "Jack Crowe"?

I liked Nolan back in the day as much as the next Hawg Ball fan. But I'm afraid most of his damage is self-inflicted and not from Frank Broyles and is certainly not because he's black.

I wouldn't condone Nolan's rather stupid comments, but they should be considered in context. He made those comments because he was already under fire and facing speculation of an impending firing. It's not as if he just popped up one day and said "if the pay me my money, they can have the job." He was already under scrutiny because of his team's struggles, and one could certainly argue that his success over the years should have bought him a little more leniency for having a couple of bad years.

As for Houston Nutt being held to a lesser standard than Nolan, that's obviously true. Nutt's 57-40 record is pretty lackluster, but it becomes much worse if you consider his conference record alone, which cannot be much better than .500 or so (I don't feel like tracking down the information). Plus, his record without Danny Ford's players (from the 2000 season onward) is an even more lackluster 40-32. Nutt is also 2-4 in bowl games, which is hardly impressive.

On top of the fact that Nutt's performance has been less than sparkling, he has openly flirted with several job openings while at Arkansas, which is essentially a statement that "if someone else pays me my money, they can have my job." He's a mediocre coach of a mediocre program, and he's not really been held accountable in any sense.

If Nolan loved basketball he'd have a new job by now. Instead he's wanting to continue getting paid by the UA where a new job would cause him to forfeit his pay from us.

I normally would think Nolan asked for it and thus had in coming, until I read this in Wally Hall's column this morning:

"Like it is : Hurricane's destruction won't keep Biloxi blue
Wally Hall

SANDESTIN, Fla. - Minutes before turning into this resort area for the 2006 SEC spring meetings, a pickup turned left.
It had Florida plates, but a big Razorback was painted on the back.
Sometimes it is easy to forget how widespread Hogmania can be.
While checking into the hotel, Stan Heath was spotted speeding across the lobby, and it was still an hour before the first scheduled meetings."

Here we have it, straight from Wally: a pickup is attending the coaches' meeting, obviously having been hired by one of the members, and 2) Stan Heath, black like Nolan, was required to check into the hotel "while speeding across the lobby." I'll bet none of the other coaches were required to check into the hotel in this very inconvenient way.

It's all so very easy to forget that J. Frank Broyles went against convention and hired a passionate black coach --- the first in the old SWC.
Richardson got fired because he invited it in many ways. I'm an alum and a fan, and I was very turned off by what Richardson said and how he acted in public when he was representing my university.

Nolan was fired because he said things that were damaging to the program, school, community and state. They were also true but that's beside the point.

Nolan's tenure at the U of A was grand...many, many trips to the tourney, several trips to the Final Four, a couple to the Championship game with one victory...but let's not forget in the last few years of his career he was so pissed off that his coaching and recruiting were adversely affected. He rarely visited recruits at their homes and his attitude toward the fans and the administration was sour. Don't get me wrong...I was in school at the U of A at the pinnacle, and it was something I cherish. I will always be thankful to Coach Richardson for the National Champioship, but it was time for everyone to move on.

That said, Coach Nutt never should have gotten that ridiculous contract. He has not produced for squat. Scribblerus, I think you are right about Nutt's conference record...except it may be below .500!

This is a letter I wrote when Nolan lost at the district court level. My thoughts haven't changed any.
------
LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

I will admit up front that I have no particular standing to write this letter other than being a native Arkansan and a graduate of the University of Arkansas and the University of Arkansas School of Law, something I share with many. However, I have carefully read Judge Billy Roy Wilson's Memorandum and Order in the Nolan Richardson case and a few things come to mind:

1. Judge Wilson is an excellent jurist and an even better judge of people. I have long respected Judge Wilson's lawyerly skills; his application of the law to the facts of Coach Richardson's case was well reasoned and appeal-proof. But his evaluation of the testimony was even better, and illustrates that you can learn a lot more about people on a Scott County mule farm than in law school. Whether the public realizes it or not, a single judge - as opposed to a twelve member jury -- sitting as trier of fact in an obviously difficult case like this one has an extraordinary and daunting obligation. Judge Wilson clearly understood and performed accordingly.

2. In my opinion, Frank Broyles has been the finest athletic director the U of A and the NCAA has ever seen, and Razorback fans cannot ever thank him enough. But it is also my opinion that the time has arrived that he should retire.

3. I was an ardent supporter of Nolan Richardson up until the time he called me a "redneck SOB." I applauded Coach Broyles for hiring him. Coach Richardson brought an exciting brand of basketball to Arkansas and accomplished so very much. Like Judge Wilson, I cannot place myself in Coach Richardson's shoes, or imagine the injustices that he has suffered in his life. However, I believe that most of us respected him, that he was paid well, and that he was treated fairly. Was his treatment perfect? No. But from the sound of the testimony, it was the best treatment he ever received.

4. Coach Richardson rightfully leaves a considerable basketball legacy. And while I do not believe he was a victim of racial discrimination, the testimony in this trial was, as Judge Wilson observed, "troubling." Hopefully, at the very least, Coach Richardson identified real problems in the conduct and sensitivity of U of A leaders than can - and should - be corrected. If so, that may prove to be a satisfying legacy for Nolan as well.

I kept waiting for the tanks to appear in the streets....................

i would say that the testimony was a little more than "troubling". it was full on indictment of what a poorly run organization the athletic department actually is. fundraising isn't everything!

fire nutt in '06

I don't think it matters if Alan Grant is black, red, purple or plaid. It's a good article. It's also a lot easier for him to be objective since he was never called a redneck, only saw the meltdown from a distance and can be a dispassionate observer. I certainly can't say that for myself. As much as I agreed that Nutt was treated FAR better than Nolan for disastrous results, Nolan made it hard to be on his side. But I've never lived through much of what he has, so I feel that I have to give him the benefit of the doubt. I'm not sure anyone came out of that situation better than when they went in (**although Nutt came out a LOT richer).

Bryoles is a good ol' boy racist pure and simple. He's typical of many in this state. I'll be glad when he and the other racists die off. Please hurry up.

Y'all forget Arkansas is a third rate state university. The talent pool it attracts, whether in sports or academics, are essentially from the leftovers after places like Duke and North Carolina have skimmed the cream of the South's brains and jock talent.

Relax. Have low expectations. Just go to games, cheer, have a few beers and go home happy to have lived in a state that got rid of Hillary Clinton and her man-boy, pussy chasing old man.

Look for a column on this very subject to appear on Jim Harris's blog in a few hours.

No Surprise,

This is from the article:

"Richardson also said that the school could buy out his contract if it wanted.
Arkansas athletic director Frank Broyles did just that and fired Richardson. (Under terms of the buyout, Richardson is paid $500,000 per year through 2008.)"