Here's the big rumor

According to the 3/12 ESPN Mag... Alford's out.

If he's gone, then great. There's a negative cloud over the program that needs to be lifted. It wasn't here when Dr. Tom was around, and it won't leave until Alford's gone. I don't resort to calling Alford names--if you know what they are, then you don't need me to repeat them, and if you don't then that's great--but it's simply clear this isn't the right school for him. It's awfully hard to argue against that.

This notion that Iowa's picking Altman without picking anyone else is--let's face it--silly. There's no way that the Hawks are picking him up without conducting any other interviews. No way. I hope they give a look to Kevin Stallings down at Vandy, or maybe even (as TMQ would say, the tastefully named) Gregg Marshall. Winthrop rocks. Those kids can BALL. They're making the tourney this year, and Iowa's not. They'd make it without a tourney championship, and Iowa wouldn't. Why not offer him 200% or 300% of what he makes already? It's not as if Iowa's ever stingy with their money-making coaches. Bowlsby and Barta know where the money comes from.

I'm glad a change might come. I'm not changing my blog name over it. Nothing about the Iowa program is as funny as Steve Alford's hair, and if they bring in a decent coach, that won't change. If there's a Purdue sports blog that was named Gene Keady's Combover 3 years ago, it's not as if they'd change it to fit the new coach. Although wait, naming it Matt Painter's Steve Alford Hair Gel would be incredible. Okay, bad example.

Bottom line is, wait until it's official, because Andy Katz likes making rumors public in order to persuade their subjects to make them true. We don't know Alford's gone. But--admit it--it would be awfully sweet if he was.