"It's Just Phone Calls"

It was a rare Sunday night. Dean was out of town and I was hosting the Blitz. I got a phone call that our live interview with Kelvin Sampson wasn't going to happen. He was upset with me and if I had a problem with it I could give him a call. So I did, and for the next 30-40 minutes he proceeded to read me the riot act for mentioning the pending NCAA investigation in one of my recent sportscasts.

I remember that one-sided conversation vividly because I had never seen or heard that side of Kelvin before. I had spent a fair amount of time around the coach, hosted a few of his coaches shows...he had always been friendly and complimentary. But that night he was rattled. He kept saying over and over that "it's just phone calls" it "wasn't a big deal" and "it wouldn't be newsworthy if people like you (me) wouldn't keep bringing it up." He must have said the phrase "it's just phone calls" 20 times during that conversation.

Ironic now isn't it. He rode the "it's just phone calls" mantra all the way to Indiana, and then right over the cliff. I like Kelvin. I think he's a good coach and a pretty good guy. But he's got a massive ego and a fatal flaw.

"It's just phone calls" became 'it's just an NCAA violation' and now 'it's just unemployment.'