But something about the story never sat right with me, and as more details emerge I’m happy that I was initially skeptical. Turns out that the so-called “shed” is actually a large garage, complete with a ventilation system and even an ice maker. That “electrical closet?” “Large press-room with many big screen TV’s” would be more accurate. The “guards?” Try “certified athletic trainers.”

Here’s a video tour of both:

Putting a person with a concussion into a dark, quiet area? Since concussions carry with them a sensitivity to light, that’s pretty much what you’re supposed to do.

I don’t know what Texas Tech is trying to pull here, or if Adam James (or his father, ESPN sports analyst Craig James) are in on it, but I think I can call B.S. when I smell it. And this whole thing stinks to high heaven.

If I had to guess, I would say that Texas Tech didn’t want to pay Mike Leach the increased salary he was seeking. When it became clear he would be leaving Texas Tech, Tech sought to sabotage his career by scaring the bejeezus out of young recruits. College football is all about recruiting, and if a coach can’t attract top high-school talent (and their parents), he won’t be coaching for long.

Like a deranged and jilted lover, Texas Tech is jealously screaming, “If we can’t have you, Mike Leach, no one will!”

Updates

• Video: Coach Mike Leach speaks out: Says Adam James’ laziness and sense of entitlement is well-documented by players and coaches, and that his father, ESPN analyst Craig James, “required more [face-time and hand-holding] than all of the other parents, combined.”
• In a letter to Texas Tech Administrators, Offensive Coordinator Lincoln Riley calls Adam James “unusually lazy and entitled.”
• Leach lashes out at Craig James. Leach said that Craig James called the assistant coach Lincoln Riley so often to lobby for playing time that they had a meeting with Adam James. They played him two of the messages and asked, “How would you feel if we went in there to the meeting room and we stuck speakers up and we played these two messages for the team?”

  Leach added: “After that we didn’t get any more phone calls from Craig, but he did proceed to call administrators.”

• Emails from Players, Coaches Slam “Lazy”,”Entitled” Adam James
• Report: The Worldwide Leader in Sports had 2 emails supporting Leach’s account of events – one from a Texas Tech assistant coach, and another from a Texas Tech doctor – but sat on them until the New York Times (The Worldwide Leader in News) ran this story. As facts continue to emerge, it’s becoming clear that Adam James’ daddy Craig was a driving force behind Leach’s firing.