Wednesday Links (6/2)

The cable at the hotel here doesn't get the History Channel or ESPN News, so my usual viewing options have been limited. So when I happened to come across "Hoosiers" last night, I was pleased to say the least.

I'd definitely consider "Hoosiers" to be on the sports movie Mount Rushmore, and it was obviously a bit bittersweet to enjoy Dennis Hopper's performance in light of his recent death. But watching the movie for what must have been the 957th time in my life, I noticed something that is now going to bother me forever that I had never noticed before.

(And no, it wasn't that, when the movie came out in 1986, Barbara Hershey was only three years younger than Naveen Andrews is now... but that did cross my mind.)

What bothered me was this: So Norman Dale comes to the small Indiana town as a complete unknown whom all the locals are wary of, not believing his crazy methods will work for their beloved high school basketball team. Then, midway through the movie, Barbara Hershey does some research and learns that Dale is, in fact, the former national championship-winning coach of the Ithaca Warriors, who was banned by the NCAA for life after hitting one of his players.

Big plot twist, right? And it serves to set up the moment during the town meeting to oust Dale when Hershey's character chooses not to reveal the information she knows, instead recommending the town keep their new coach.

But here's the problem: Even in the 1950s in a small town, there's no way that no one knows who Dale is if he won a national championship then was fired under controversial circumstances. I mean, I know they didn't have the Intergoogles back then, but they did have newspapers. And if this little town is as basketball crazed as it's portrayed, then how could they not have heard about this story? It'd be like them not knowing who was running for president.

So... am I missing something here? Is it just me being nitpicky because I work in the media and these are the types of ridiculous things I think about? Or wouldn't it have been more believable to simply have made Dale a successful coach, but not a national-title winning coach?

OK, aren't you glad you wasted 90 seconds of your morning reading that? How about some links?

-- In my story for today's Telegraph, I'm not sure if Mark Richt's comments were meant as an indirect response to the "hot seat" talk, but he was definitely pretty adamant that, while much has changed in Athens this offseason, he's still the same guy he's always been.

-- Clint Boling had some minor offseason surgery on his ankle, but Richt says his senior offensive lineman will be fine for the start of fall camp.

-- Fox Sports South has a lengthy interview with Mark Richt from Tuesday's SEC meetings.

-- Chris Low asks. Damon Evans answers.

-- The Grit Tree wonders just how serious Mark Richt is when he says he's as excited as he's ever been about a team this year.

-- So Urban Meyer's heart problems were actually an esophageal issue. I'm not trying to make light of any health issues, but wouldn't you think he would have wanted to be sure about all of this before announcing he was quitting back in December?

-- I'm linking to it a day late, but Bernie spent some time celebrating Washaun Ealey's birthday yesterday.

-- I'm looking forward to seeing how this list develops: Macon Dawg counts down the top 25 things he's looking forward to in the SEC this year, starting with Nos. 25-21. Bacon on a donut? I'm intrigued.

-- Fletcher Page has a good story on the role hoops recruit Donte Williams could play for the Dawgs this year.

-- Russell Henley is three shots off the lead at the NCAA Golf Championships.

-- I don't need Jack McKeon telling me who not to hate.

-- The creepiest kids cereals of all time.

-- Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Conan O'Brien in a dance-off. Awesome. (*And side note: 12 more days 'til I get to see Conan live at the Fox Theater in Atlanta! Can't wait!)

-- New York Magazine looks at how the producers of "Lost" worked to prepare fans for disappointment.

-- And finally, a follow-up on my note on the lobby music in the Hilton from yesterday: In the past 15 minutes, I've heard "Karma Chameleon," a Richard Marx tune, and "From a Distance" by Bette Midler. It's macaroni Midler!