As The Hog Turns

The Arkansas athletic department continues to wallow in slop (pun intended).

A quick summary of recent events:

Athletic director Frank Broyles was forced to retire, but was allowed to stay until the end of the year.

Men's basketball coach Stan Heath was fired after taking his team to the last two NCAA tournaments. The Razorbacks were arguably the last team selected for the tournament, and were promptly pounded by USC.

In their search for a new coach, the Hogs zeroed in on Texas A&M coach Billy Gillispie, who wouldn't return the Hogs' calls. The Razorbacks were forced to look in another direction.

Arkansas then hired Creighton coach Dana Altman to fill the position. On Monday afternoon, he was introduced at a press conference, but then had a change of heart. Apparently, he learned of academic issues and positive drug tests. So, Altman was on a plane that evening for Omaha, and returned to his position at Creighton. The Hogs, meanwhile find themselves looking again for a basketball coach.

On the football side, coach Houston Nutt, hated by many sections of the Razorback Nation, finds himself the target of this report. An Arkansas fan/booster, Thomas McAfee, made a Freedom of Information Act request for Nutt's email and cell phone records. The results are found here: The Nutt House.

Among the charges in the document are of Nutt's alleged affair with a Fayetteville TV news anchor, and his list of text messages to her. My question is (among others): why is he using the school-issued cell phone to text message his lady friend? He surely knows there are people out to get him, and that cell phone records are the type of thing that can be traced. Many of these messages happen to be during the weekend in which Nutt was with his wife, as they were burying her mother in Oklahoma.

Also included in the report is a copy of the infamous email from physical therapist Teresa Prewett to quarterback Mitch Mustain.

This is a circus that would make Barnum & Bailey proud. Razorback Nation is peeved, for good reason.

There is a great Arkansas message board (registration required) at www.hogville.net. Those guys pull no punches.