The money talks

SPORTING GOODS

We obviously haven't seen the last of the Edsall repercussions:

A major donor to the University of Connecticut football program is demanding the return of $3 million in donations and the removal of his name from a campus building over disagreements with the athletic director.

... Robert Burton, chief executive of Greenwich-based Burton Capital Management LLC, outlined his demands in a letter this month to UConn Athletic Director Jeff Hathaway.In the letter, Burton expressed his displeasure over Hathaway's management style and complained about not being consulted during the search for a new football coach.

Now, this is obviously a story without a hero: Hathaway is an obvious buffoon and Burton is an oh-too-typical billionaire bully, but, at the very least, this is going to raise questions about UConn's already teetering football program.

I'm sure that Jeff Jacobs and his cretinous ilk will circle the wagons and denigrate Burton ad nauseam, but the fact remains that Pasqualoni's signing was half-fast and that Hathaway hardly seemed to know what was going on much of the time once Edsall resigned.

It just goes to show that UConn's football program should continue to struggle with no end in sight until the team's current coach and the school's current AD are gone.

Meanwhile, the SCOTUS Sphinx has taken care of his money problems—he didn't understand the directions, says the erstwhile Anita Hill abuser—but Common Cause isn't buying it.

"Justice Thomas sits on the highest court of the land, is called upon daily to understand and interpret the most complicated legal issues of our day and makes decisions that affect millions," said Common Cause President Bob Edgar. "It is hard to see how he could have misunderstood the simple directions of a federal disclosure form. We find his excuse is implausible."

I've gotta give the SS a pass on this one: I have no trouble believing that he couldn't understand the directions on the form involved.

UPDATE — As expected, Jeff Jacobs displays his bias.