Steve Alford talks to the old New Mexico coach, but it's not what you think

From the "newspaper desperately reaching for a story" department... the Des Moines Register reports that Alford and outoging UNM coach Ritchie McKay are awfully buddy-buddy:

"I talk with Ritchie all the time," [Alford] wrote.

"We are very close friends, and we are on the NABC (National Association of Basketball Coaches) ministry team together. We have not spoken about the New Mexico job. We have spoken recently about the Final Four and the activities that we are in charge of in regard to the ministry team."

There is, of course, the problem of the fact that New Mexico still hasn't even asked to talk to Alford. Or that McKay also said that they didn't talk about the job, just McKay's career. But McKay did say something awfully strange in his side of the story that doesn't quite contradict Alford's statement:

"We talk all the time," McKay told the Journal. "I'm not saying he's a candidate, I'm not saying he isn't. I don't think I'm the place to go to ask about the job. If he asks me, I'll give my opinion. But our conversation was about my career and my direction."

If you're confused, you're not alone. They talked about McKay's career, but not the job at New Mexico? How artful must that verbal ballet have been! Maybe they just stuck to Pig Latin or Ubby-Dubby when they discussed McKay's tenure in Albubbaquerbaquebby.

There's obviously something to the New M--excuse me, Ew-nay Exico-may rumors. Barta's probably spending about twenty hours a day hunkered down next to the telephone, waiting for the Lobos to ask permission to talk to Alford. And should Barta ever leave the office for whatever reason (food, toilet, murder), I can only imagine a Mike Peters-esque trainwreck of phone messages left for the UNM athletic director.

Please, unnamed UNM athletic director. End the madness. Let Gary Barta sleep again. Hire Steve Alford.