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19 MAR 04: OVER THE CLIFF

Instant Message to Auburn University Interim President Ed Richardson: Are you watching "The Apprentice" too much? You seem to be firing one staff member every day....

Ed Richardson's latest firing came Thursday morning, as Auburn men's basketball coach Cliff Ellis was dismissed. The "Birmingham News" broke the news of a possible firing Wednesday night - but a morning meeting made the story a real
Cliff-hanger.

(Hopefully he'll leave some advice for his successor -- maybe in the form of Cliff Notes.)

One reporter went to Cliff Ellis's home for a comment about his firing by Auburn. She reportedly was greeted at the door by a crying neighbor. So it's just as the sportscasters say - a case of "the hoop and the harm."

Cliff Ellis also broke down later, during a short news conference. He walked out after praising journalists for being "fair" to him over the last ten years. When a sports coach likes the reporters more than the managers above him, it's a sure sign of job trouble.

Cliff Ellis coached Auburn to two "Sweet 16" appearances in the NCAA tournament. But this season the Tigers were 14-14, with NO post-season appearance. Who would have guessed the National Invitational Tournament would be so NIT-picky.

Yes, I'm aware only last week [12 Mar] I declared Cliff Ellis IN and not out as Auburn basketball coach. But keep in mind, I based that answer on Athletic Director David Housel not shooting himself in the foot again. I didn't expect Ed Richardson to pull out his own gun and take matters into his own hands.

Cliff Ellis's ouster came one day after Interim President Ed Richardson fired Auburn University's Vice President of Academic Affairs, Betty Dement. So if Mr. Richardson is being even-handed, he'll fire a student sometime today.

Former Auburn assistant and current Columbus State coach Herbert Greene said he will NOT apply for the head coaching job at A.U. This leaves an unanswered question - does Greene have an agent, who will apply for him?

Meanwhile, Alabama's basketball team had a narrow escape on Thursday's opening day of the NCAA tournament. The Tide edged Southern Illinois 65-64 -- so to borrow from CBS's score box, their season record is not SO IL'ed.

The CBS shorthand for college names has puzzled me at times. Southern Illinois was shortened to "SO IL" Thursday - and Texas Tech appeared in the corner of the screen as "TEX T." I think Cingular Wireless suggested that one, so people would send more TEX T messages.

WRBL continued a strange Columbus tradition again this year, by cancelling its late news after the tournament games. Apparently when basketball games last until after midnight, "on my side" means sleeping.

E-MAIL UPDATE: Speaking of roundball, we were quite surprised to get this message about Columbus State University's playoff appearance [15 Mar]:

Richard,

Thanks for the mention. I've read your "Blog" for several months now and I always enjoy it. It's very entertaining.

By the way when I mentioned CSU was a team that couldn't get a break, I wasn't talking about officiating. I simply meant that this was a team that had to make it through the ordeal of Jed Bedford's death in December. Not only did they lose a good friend and team Captain, the practical effect of losing a player who led the nation in 3 pt. shooting was huge. Yet these guys fought back to win enough games to make it to the NCAA tournament. After winning the regional quarterfinal game in dramatic fashion on Saturday night, they "caught a bad break" for the Kennesaw game. Brown who made the winning shot and scored 31 points couldn't play and Deshawn Bowman, the best point guard in the league twisted his ankle in the game and wasn't close to being full speed. However, that's the way it goes in sports sometimes.

There's no question that I put a great deal of emotion into my broadcasts and yes I do worry about everything! I can convince you that CSU couldn't beat Midland Middle School on a good day!! Why do you think I have very little hair left? That's just my style. Hopefully some people have enjoyed it over the years.

Again, I enjoy your writings and thanks for listening to the games.

Scott Miller

Thanks for the nice comments, Scott. You're right, the Cougars DID fight back hard this season.-- and if necessary, you would have taken the floor and fought for them.

(Wow, Midland Middle School could challenge the C.S.U. basketball team?! This could change the planning of a lot of N.B.A. scouts....)

BLOG UPDATE: Theft charges against Columbus patrol officer Larry Lightning were dropped Thursday, two days after they were filed. The charges came and went with the speed of - well, Lightning.

A Recorder's Court judge threw out the theft charges against Larry Lightning after two former Spectrum store clerks testified they gave the officer items as a courtesy. OK, so when does that constitute bribe-taking?

(Giving a police officer bottled water as a "courtesy" is understandable. But Larry Lightning also was accused of taking beer from the Fort Benning Road convenience store. If more stores did this, the police officer shortage might end in a
hurry.)

Attorney Mark Shelnutt told WRBL it wasn't Officer Larry Lightning's fault if store workers let him have a "line of credit," which he repaid over time. We can't wait to be first in our block to have a Spectrum credit card, with a $100 limit.

It's surprising to hear Larry Lightning's theft charges were dropped, because someone is spreading rumors around Columbus that several police officers are involved in a shoplifting ring. I don't know if those rumors are true - but shouldn't
officers go about this differently? For instance, take the items "downtown for fingerprinting."

BLOGGER'S NOTE: Daily blogging may diminish over the next couple of weeks, due to our annual spring clean-up....

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© 2003-04 Richard Burkard, All Rights Reserved.