(Update: You have to check out the post and, more importantly, the comments at deadspin.com. Scroll down and read the feedback and I dare you not to laugh.)

Sorry for the delay. I was on the phone with Kunta Kinta. He will not be asked to testify in WVU v. Rodriguez. A few basketball notes before we jump into the Feedback with both feet.

> Point guard Joe Mazzulla won’t be playing football for WVU. “I’ve got a new role on the team coming up next year and I don’t want any distractions as I prepare for it. It’s a great compliment, though,” he said. Mazzulla has never put on shoulder pads before, let alone play the sport, but that didn’t keep Bill Stewart from dreaming. 

> Cam Thoroughman had his oft-dislocated left kneecap surgically repaired earlier this week and he was told there’s a 90-percent chance it’ll never pop out again. If you’re not high on Cam, remember you never really saw him at his best. He couldn’t string together the amount of practices he needed to really get in a groove and gain confidence in his abilities, to say nothing of his knee. He’ll rehab most of the summer and should be good to go well before the start of preseason practice.

> Recruit Kevin Jones is on PARADE magazine’s All-America team. The Mount Vernon, N.Y., native made the fourth team.

>  Devin Ebanks, a touted small forward prospect who is in recruiting limbo after all that’s happened at Indiana, will visit WVU next weekend. Let’s talk hypothetically, shall we? WVU has one scholarship left and wants and maybe even needs a post presence. Quite clearly, the scholarship is to be used to fill a void. If you’ve watched him play, you’ll agree Ebanks is less Jamie Smalligan and more — uh oh — Joe Alexander. Then again, the one-remaining-scholarship fact exists under the assumption the nine underclassmen on scholarship all come back next year. Stay tuned…

Onto the show. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, some of you could be rock stars.

Bill said:

If RR wins this case, then over 2 centuries of tested contract law are moot and void.

Where else can we begin? I’m telling you, the motions hearing was damned entertaining yesterday, though through all the laughs and gasps and at times difficult attempts to see and consider both sides, I just cannot shake the feeling Rodriguez has no chance and that he’s in it to earn a discount. His argument is just very thin when stacked next to thick legal books. Just for the heck of it, I wonder if he might throw out an offer — $3 million … on a Beilein-like payment plan? — to see what WVU says. Might WVU accept? You never know. Then again, I also don’t believe WVU is trembling in the face of Team Rodriguez’s threatening tone about the truth being known once President Mike Garrison tells his side of the story. I thought what was most telling was WVU’s “who cares?” attitude when it “lost” the motion to dismiss Rodriguez’s counterclaim. In fact, WVU lawyer Tom Flaherty mentioned the interest continues to grow the longer this  continues.

jontex said:

I think the NAACP, the ACLU, and ESPN should blast that attorney for the slavery reference.

There is a world of difference between a highly paid football coach and someone who was captured in their homeland, transported to another nation, and then sold into slavery.

That these two situations would even be mentioned in the same breath tips us off just how desperate Team Rodriguez really is.

I fully expect that when they lose they’ll make all kinds of press releases, sort of like a childish tantrum in the media, and believe that they will at that point win the court of public approval. But by then even the people in Michigan will probably become sick at the fact that their football coach is a grandstanding selfish caricature of a man . . . certainly not a Michigan Man.

I think when Robon made the slavery comment the pink elephant in the corner of the room shook his head. No offense, jontex, but you forgot one social watchdog: Black Coaches and Administrators. See the irony here?

thacker said:

WVU can’t look any worse than its former football coach.

WVU football is already looking a whole lot better. The opportunity is there, too, for the entire administration to take advantage of what has been learned to date and make adjustments. [Insert Jerry West Here]

Sshhhh…

UofM Fan said:

I think the title of this article should be “Odor in this BLOG”. Get over it.

Good one. When’s recess over?

Spartan said:

You’ve got to understand, Mountaineer fans, that Michigan fans think that paying the better part of a million dollars to four basketball players is OK, so naturally they’re going to tell you to “get over it.”

Leaders and best, indeed.

This is an equal opportunity blog. Had to have a Michigan State comment if I had a Michigan comment.

Homer said:

Terms like family values and edge read like coded language. Do we really mean the way in which Rodriguez is a public embarrassment, fuming and yelping on the sidelines, the Yosemite Dickie of so many South Florida meltdowns of yore? Arrividerci to that flimsy spaghetti western attitude. And good luck to Boren.

Poor Rich – that’s the inevitable nickname, right? — can’t stay out of the news. He’s sued. He’s suing. He’s winning and losing in recruiting. He’s blasted for winning and losing in recruiting. He’s losing quarterbacks. He’s losing offensive linemen. He’s subtly mocked by The Sweater Vest.

Jeff said:

Between the Sugar Bowl of ‘06 and the Fiesta Bowl of ‘08, how successful has Rodriguez really been? What marquis victories have we had? Who did we lose to? How strong was the Big East in ‘07? For goodness sakes we trailed Marshall at halftime! Rich was good but the fact is that the last two years were very mediocre under him.

This is the great Rodriguez debate and the greatest evidence of just how polarizing a figure he is and was to WVU fans. In his earlier years he won games he shouldn’t have won and in his later years he lost games he shouldn’t have lost. He did lose as a favorite in his final seasons, but only because his teams were typically favored. He set himself, his teams and his fans up for disappointment, but really because they all experienced such success. Again, it’s a great debate, but I can’t pile on here. It almost seems excessive at this point.

oklahoma mountaineer said:

There’s a time and place to kick a guy in the @#$$%! and a time to praise him. Praise in public, criticize in private…. RichRod has to put his stamp on his new program and some will not be able to handle it… Goes without saying; here’s something to ponder. Do you think that he would be wearing an “M” or “WV” on his hat if he knew that: 1) T. Pryor would be a Buckeye, 2) that he would be basically be seen as a country bumpkin by his new “home” press corps, and 3) that Ed P. would be retiring sooner than later.

He may have still been in the running for Governor in WV after all…..

Another great debate. Obviously, No. 3 is the largest issue and might we one day look back on EP’s legacy and include the day he deposited a multi-million dollar check?

glibglub said:

I read that Chuck Norris is booked to deliver Liberty’s commencement address this year. I’m totally serious. I couldn’t make that up if I tried. If I come across the link again, I’ll post it. I just know his speech will consist solely of him sort of singing the theme to “Walker, Texas Ranger.”

I thought this was a joke — the comment was posted April 1 and, well, I have a great interest in Chuck Norris — but it’s true. This is probably the greatest time in the history of Liberty…and maybe in the history of liberty. Sign a one-game contract with WVU and earn $365,000. Sign Chuck Norris to speak at graduation. I have a feeling Liberty wins the NCAA Tournament Monday. I know, the Final Four is set, but it was not set by Chuck Norris.

Shannon said:

Who do the Teletubbies root for in this match-up?  

Classic. Give them WVU or give them death.

JP said:

Lets hope he doesn’t fall down after the initial contact like Slaton did last year.

He being Mark Rodgers who, rumor has it, WVU coaches were tickled to discover had yet to sign or commit anywhere and were downright giddy when they learned Rodgers wouldn’t at all mind coming from the West Coast to West Virginia. I’m still getting to know the guy, but I sense that if Doc Holliday likes you, you’re pretty good.

Sam A. said:

One more year for Alexander under Huggins with the same kind of progress made this year and he’s a lottery pick. He has to come back.

Agree 100 percent. I think Joe could get drafted this year, but I don’t think he will be in the draft. I’ve not talked to him since the Xavier game so I really don’t know anything. But I do know his background and that he’s only really beginning to make the breakthrough. He needs constant attention and opportunities to continue to develop toward his inestimable potential. As hard as he’s worked to become who he is, he owes himself the opportunity to maximize who he can be in the future. If he went pro this year, he’d be an observer and wouldn’t get the attention and the opportunities he needs. He might get lost and his growth would be stunted. One more year with Huggins and watch the hell out.

thacker said:

I hope you are right about Alexander. This sentiment is not about the value Alexander has on the ball club but about him, personally. Huggins appears to have taught him much and he learned well. Another year, he will learn even more. In my view, such things will have value to Alexander that transcend the sport. That is the basis in the purpose and fun of collegiate athletics.

I wish someone could have shown that to Slaton.

Joe’s very conscientious and I suspect he’s aware of the Slaton thing. Of course, there are differences, and Slaton had to confront the possibility he might not be the star his senior season, whereas Joe will be the top option. One has more to gain by staying in school, the other had more to lose. That’s significant. Maybe this is, too: Alexander has been working non-stop since he got back on campus. He’s playing pickup games in the student rec center – he apparently broke a rim the other day — and hasn’t exactly been surrounding himself with qualified opponents. Just friends and informal foes. Not that that’s reckless behavior, but does a guy who plans on entering the NBA Draft in a few weeks run with chuckers at the rec? I have a feeling we’ll know soon…

Enjoy the weekend!