Morning Walk-thru - Coming back to you, Omaha

Danagate hits home...Matt Perrault, an Omaha radio host whose blog I quite enjoy and link to in my "blogroll" (what an awful word), has had quite the go of it with the Altman departure/return.

First, he had a reliable source tell him that Dana was not going to Iowa, only to "flip" when Perrault said the same on the air. Then, he quoted an ESPN.com report that said Creighton AD Bruce Rasmussen could follow Altman to Arkansas and eventually replace the lame duck Frank Broyles.

Following an interview with Rasmussen, posted on Perrault's blog, the AD himself e-mailed Matt to express displeasure with his opinion of the situation. Next, Omaha City Weekly Media Watch jumped on the story, and the comments accusing Perrault's of irresponsible journalism followed, both on that site and Perrault's own.

Personally, I'm shocked that Rasmussen took such offense to Perrault's take. Isn't that what radio hosts are supposed to do? Have a take? I haven't heard a second of the radio broadcasts that covered this topic in depth, simply looked at the blogtrail (another awful word), but I have a hard time saying this was totally mishandled. Maybe it wasn't perfect, but it was far from irresponsible...in my opinion.

For what it's worth, Perrault doused the coals as best he could in a follow-up post by admitting that he was "wrong."

Is baseball over already?...Second day of the MLB season and, after a day full of games on Monday, there wasn't a single one on the tube last night. No Sox, not even the Braves. But the women's national title game got the Full Circle treatment on the "ESPN family of networks." Great.

With few other options, I was left to witness the oddest hour of television that I've seen in at least a year. It was part of the Sundance Channel's "Iconoclast" series which puts two celebrities together and gives them the opportunity to mutually fluff one another.

Pretty ho-hum concept, but the episode last night featured Quentin Tarantino and Fiona Apple which was an interesting pairing because Apple is, for all intents and purposes, a reclusive misanthrope while Tarantino is a 6-year-old boy. Tarantino continually compared filmmaking to male arousal and Apple giggled uncomfortably...for an entire hour.

Honestly, it was fascinating. If you have 44 minutes or so, you can find the whole series in five parts here. Or you can just watch the the final segment, where Fiona reveals her unhealthy amusement with bats.

The best thing I can say about K-State...For whatever reason (partially the above reason), I've found myself watching two Kansas State home baseball games over the past four days and there's something strange going on in Manhattan.

As a Nebraska fan, I have a lot of reasons to hate KSU--their hideous purple and black baseball hats, the ridiculous "powercat" logo, Josh Freeman--but I will give them credit for one thing: being the first school I've ever seen use George Jones' music at an athletic event.

In both of the games I've seen, KSU has used Jones' "A Picture of Me Without You" to herald an opposing team's pitching change, which is odd for a couple of reasons.

1) It's a painful, slow, 100% whiny country song (also known as "great" to me), that seems entirely out of place at an athletic event.

2) It doesn't seem particularly effective as a taunt, which is all to customary in baseball stadiums throughout the country. I suppose that you could consider KSU to be the "me" in the song and the unsuccessful pitcher to be the "you" since he's now leaving. Additionally, because he was yanked, it remains feasible that the Wildcats could want, nay yearn, for him to remain in the game but now we're stretching. Why wouldn't they just use "Hit the Road Jack" or "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" like everyone else?

Because they're K-State that's why and, for once, I'm okay with that. Long live even the misappropriated Possum!

(And if I may make one more music related note, the song "Knocked Up" off the new Kings of Leon album, released yesterday, is phenomenal, as is the first single "On Call", which you can watch below.)

Good to see ya...again...Dana

Yesterday, Dana Altman broke up with me (and Creighton).

Today, he called and said he wanted to get back together according to FOXSports.com in a story that just broke. I guess the difference between relationship analogies and college coaching is that former lovers never do this so forgive me if I'm not quite sure how to respond.

I had actually become excited about finding a new coach. As much as I respected Altman, the chance that Creighton might experience a little bump from some new blood was enough for me to allow for the growing pains that were sure to follow.

But the fact that Altman is back doesn't necessarily mean that that won't be the case. It would be foolish to assume that he would just come back as if nothing ever happened. On a day that saw the opening of the baseball season and Florida win their second straight national title, this Altman story held its own. Creighton (via Altman) was a national story.

And they are again today. Make no mistake, Dana dogged the Hawgs. Returning to CU after doing the whole press conference/break it to the players bit, won't be easy and it's going to bring some heightened expectations. Will 20 wins and a tournament berth still be good enough in Omaha? Probably.

But by returning after the whole rigmarole yesterday there's an implied vote of confidence in the program from the man who built it. Throw in the proven track record and the likelihood that Altman will be there for a loooooong time (i.e. the rest of his career, whether he likes it or not) and, just like yesterday, we have a pivotal moment in the history of CU hoops.

Is that good or bad? Will Creighton grow or wilt? Nobody knows, but I'm expecting a renewed vigor on behalf of Altman.

His pride is on the line.

Morning Walk-thru - Marathons aren't won in the first three steps

Let another summer of eternal torment begin!!! By my estimation, the Cubs 2007 season was 12 minutes old before I was totally pissed off. They were a great 12 minutes: Soriano swung mightily at the first pitch of the season, Thunder Matt was silenced, Derrek Lee was caught stealing and Hagwilt kicked things off with a lead-off walk. Just what I had expected.

But then Carlos gave up a two-run shot to Adam freakin' Dunn. He of the .238 batting average who either hits a home run or doesn't hit at all. (And he did it again in his second plate appearance too.) That I didn't count on, but perhaps I should've. Hagwilt became only the third Cubs pitcher this century to start three consecutive opening day games, but he hasn't won a single one of them despite the fact that Chicago has won their last four season openers.

So maybe this is a good sign. The Cubs didn't win on Opening Day. Just let me have that one. April is for optimism.

Speaking of Opening Day...there is a flurry of coverage from all the team-specific writers over at Bugs & Cranks concerning baseball's launch. Yes, this is a shameless plug for a site that I write for on occasion, but I really believe that by offering one talented writer for every team in the league the site is giving something you can't get anywhere else

Arkansas loves Nebraskan coaches...I touched on the Dana Altman departure at length last night, but another interesting note courtesy of the Yun' Ball Coach: this is the third time Arkansas has absconded with a college coach from the Cornhusker State. (How's that for alliteration? It is National Poetry Month.)

First Eddie Sutton traded bluejay wings for cloven hooves, then Dave Van Horn left Nebraska to take over as the head coach of the Arkansas baseball team, and now Altman.

I guess the good thing about this pipeline is that it didn't run both ways when the Cornhuskers came a'callin on Houston Nutt.

Florida wins the National Title. The rest of us lose...If you consider yourself a college football or basketball fan and you're not a Gator, you lost last night. I've never rooted for The Ohio State University in anything, but I was the biggest Buckeye ever last night.

College sports are built on bragging rights. They're what allow us to get through the lean times, and Florida has them ALL right now. Football and back-to-back basketball titles. An unprecedented run. All I can say, Florida fans, is enjoy it. This will be the best year of your life and the pendulum will eventually swing the other way. It doesn't feel that way now, but it will. As a Nebraska football fan, I never felt like 2004 could happen either. 5-6? No bowl game? Unranked? Right.

But it did, and you know what got me through those tough times? You should, they both involve your school. 1) Terrell Taylor's game winning three over you boys in 2002 for Creighton, and 2) the ultimate ass-kicking in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl. 62-24.

Does this sound pathetic? It does now. You're the undisputed champions of everything. But it won't. It won't somewhere down the line.

So Long, Dana

Altman to Arkansas...The deal is done and Creighton's most successful basketball coach ever is joining the Hawgs.

First off, congratulations to Dana for turning the Bluejays--that other Nebraska school--into a perennial tournament team and being one of the major reasons mid-majors are so en vogue these days. Can't deny the guy his reward (or chance at major conference retribution, see: Kansas State). I think the thing Creighton will miss most is Altman's utter domination of Arch Madness and, of course, his honest, Wilbur-bred demeanor. We like that in the Good Life.

That said, I don't feel nearly as bad about this as I thought I would a week ago. Aside from the initial sinking of my gut when I saw an email entitled simply "Dana Altman" from the Yun' Ball Coach, I think I've handled it pretty well.

Two months ago, with the Jays in a funk, I questioned if the program had reached it's apex. Winning 20-games a year is still an achievement for any team in any conference, but with each year it became more alarming that the Jays still seemed grounded in terms of recruiting and tournament success. Maybe a new coach with new ideas can help give the program a nudge over the hump. It seems feasible, the hated Salukis have gone through three coaches and remained as the class of the MVC, why not Creighton?

I'm not trying to discount what Altman has built in North Omaha. Rather, because of his success, I think the expectations for his successor will be on improving the Jays standing. Creighton has been getting top-25 attendance figures for the past two years, now it's time for them to become a top-25 team.

And exactly who that successor will be is one of two questions that I think are vitally important for the future of Creighton basketball. Who the Jays are able to lure to Omaha will be a good barometer of their current standing in the basketball pecking order. Andy Katz lists Scott Sutton of ORU, son of Eddie Sutton, who, ironically, left Creighton for Arkansas in the 70s, as one of the leading candidates. Fine by me. It's an odd symmetry but I like it nonetheless. Otherwise, the Omaha World Herald lists some intriguing candidates, particularly John Groce of Ohio State. He's young and he's experienced success with Thad Motta which could prove to be the perfect mix.

The other big question is, what happens to Creighton's current crop of recruits? The Bluejays have reportedly reeled in some quality players for 07-08, now the trick is getting them to stay even though Altman is gone. Who knows how important his presence was in their verbal commitments.

Is it a great day to be a Jay? Not entirely. Is it a great day to be Dana Altman? Undoubtedly, and I think he deserves that.