THE STORY EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT
IU Gets Their Day in Court, For Good or for Ill

Perhaps a little too far with the hyperbole, no?

The long-awaited trial is finally coming. For months, we witnessed the gathering of evidence, heard public statements from shady characters in the saga, questioned the competency of the prosecution, and wondered if the right verdict and punishment would be handed down. Yes, for months we watched a noxious stew of sports and justice with a tinge of racism.

But today is the day the trial of O.J. Simpson will finally start.

Wait, wait … damn Google News, why do you display stories that are 14 years old? Unlike Billy Clyde, we’re not interested in things born in 1994.

[adjusts tie] Ahem. Let’s start over.

All that stuff in the first paragraph? Still true. The only changes: the trial is before the NCAA Committee on Infractions, with Indiana University and Kelvin Sampson playing the role of the Juice. And don’t try to tell anyone in Bloomington that the stakes are lower. For Hoosier fans, this trial – considering all that has already happened and punishment likely to be levied – is about the murder of IU basketball.

Mark Alesia of The Indianapolis Star has an excellent summary of the charges against IU and the procedure for the hearing. His colleague Bob Klapisch does his best Daniel Day Lewis, predicting there will be blood in the Athletic Department in the fallout from the trial. And our friends at Inside the Hall will have open thread coverage of the hearing all day.

There is a silver lining to this – no Court TV, and no Nancy Grace. At least we hope not, since she doesn’t exactly have the best record on cases involves college athletics.

Three more headlines, including some mid-major love for the weekend, after the jump.

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You’ll see. You’ll all see.

THE STORY EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT
Caution: Genius Recruiting at Work

Little of the news coming out of Lexington this offseason has made a lick of sense. We’ve already done some serious noggin’ scratching when Billy Gillispie inked a kid who hasn’t even started high school yet, but ol’ Billy Clyde may have one upped himself with his latest switcheroo:

First, UK loses its third player to transfer in six months, as guard Derrick Jasper confirmed his intent to transfer to a school that will let him play closer to his natural homes on the West Coast and at the point. UK now has to hope that incoming frosh DeAndre Liggins can qualify academically – he’s only been trying all year – or they kinda sorta don’t have a point guard for next year.

But don’t you fret, brave UK fan – Billy Clyde has a diabolical plan. Didn’t get all the way from El Paso to bluegrass in less than four years without cyborg-level genius that goes way beyond your level. And that genius tells him to sign up a transfer who couldn’t crack the starting lineup in the MEAC:

[Matt] Pilgrim is currently in Lexington on a visit. He is a talent, but was suspended this past season and one source close to the situation said Pilgrim is a “cancer”. Pilgrim started less than half of the 26 games he played and saw his numbers fall to 7.7 points and 5.2 rebounds.

“He was the most talented player in the league,” one source said. “But he’s a giant head case. I’m shocked Kentucky would take him.”

Oh, Mr. Anonymous Badmouth, of course you are shocked. How could you possibly comprehend the brilliant machinations of Billy Clyde? When the revolution comes and UK is the last left standing because of his moves, it will be he that has the last laugh – but true genius never boasts, friends, and that is why Billy sits in his office alone, plotting his next move while applying more Brylcreem than the entire cast of West Side Story.

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35S: Uplifting and Informative.

THE STORY EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT
And Sometimes You Get Lucky

After yesterday’s legal-heavy day, we thought we would take the roundup into the weekend with the happier stories from this week. Odd though it may be, the happiest story broke last night, as incoming Louisville center Clarence Holloway found out he would never suit up for the Cardinals.

UK fans likely would this was good news on its face – hardy har har Rick Pitino sux har har – but in this case, Holloway’s basketball career was brought to an end by a series of medical problems, including a leak in his aortic valve and a rare muscle condition known as Marfan Syndrome:

“God works in mysterious ways,” said U of L Coach Rick Pitino. “Clarence developed a stress fracture his senior year [of high school], which kept him sidelined and probably saved his life. Detecting his heart condition and the subsequent surgery when he arrived at U of L was also a life-saving measure. Now, after this special testing, we know that the condition he has will make him unable to play basketball for the rest of his life. He will now begin a new journey, which will hopefully lead him to gaining a very strong education here at U of L and to prosper in a different walk of life. We’re behind him 100 percent.”

(HT: Fanhouse.) Obviously rough news for young Clarence, but obviously good news that they caught both conditions early so treatment and monitoring can begin before something terrible happens. Good on you, Mr. Holloway, and best wishes as you begin a non-basketball life.

And now, some requisite rock to get pumped for the remainder of the roundup.

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As we close out our last week in academia for at least good long while, we take a few minutes to peer around the other campuses of this fine nation.

Today’s them music is less music and more battery, for the enjoyment of the Japanese reality viewer:

Top billing properly goes to Charles at Fanhouse, who plucked a gem off YouTube of Bobby Knight giving hiring advice to Florida Atlantic’s AD. Click on over to check it out (we believe in spreading the love). Best line by far: “Rick Majerus has a lot of bullshit.” And shit made of many other substances, because Rick Majerus, you see, is very fat.

Loathe as we are to give any credit to men in orange, we respect genius where we see it. A plan to reorganize the Big East to prepare for Memphis’ totally-not-happening entry – one division for the old Big East, one for all the “East” teams added under Mike Tranghese’s leadership – qualifies. The boys at Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician are awarded point, and not just for having a blog named after a mediocre quarterback from six years ago.

We haven’t started to prep for the NBA draft yet, mostly because we don’t buy into tWWL’s system of “two months hype + two minutes actual content = profit”, but Rakes of Mallow makes an interesting observation – the early declare list for the draft is oddly bereft of Big East players. Outside of addition-by-subtraction Derrick Caracter, no Big East player has declared and hired an agent. This trend is made easier when the conference only has enough talent to beat Duke, but not enough to beat Siena and Davidson. (Not that we’re bitter.)

Oddly silent are the Kansas blogs, in the wake of reports that center Darrell Arthur needed good ol’ fashioned cheatin’ improper academic assistance to keep from failing high school. RTC notes that the allegations probably won’t affect KU, but still – you’d think they’d chime in on this, right? What happened to blogs being about speed and cruelty?

We’re off for the weekend, per usual – but we’ll be back on Monday, with this site being 100% more lawyerly.