Barajahaha, They're Not Laughing In Orlando

So Billy Donovan wants to go back to the University of Florida—good for him. Nothing like screwing with three different fanbases in the same year (it's called the "Clemens"). First, it was the University of Kentucky, the Absolutely Oh My God Could This Be Any Better Perfect Job for him, but he turned that one down, because it would be too obvious. Then he left UF in limbo, and eventually left UF, to make the oft-repeated mistake of trying his hand at the pro ranks in Orlando. Now he wants back into Gainesville, but is at the mercy of Magic officials, who would need to release him from his contract.

(You know, the contract they never should have signed him to in the first place. Memo to the Magic front office: nobody cares where your coach comes from if the team is winning. The local-boy-does-good angle is an insult.)

But seriously, when are college coaches going to learn that they won't have it better in the NBA, or the NFL for that matter? Even in the trickiest situations, like rebuilding a championship team from scratch, as Donovan will have to do, can't hold a candle to dealing with Rasheed Wallace or Ron Artest for 10 minutes. Then imagine a whole season of that. The smartest college coaches (Coach K, Roy Williams, Lute Olsen, etc.) are wise enough to leverage their near-constant NBA offers into better pay packages; Donovan was on his way with the Orlando contract until he signed the stupid thing. Hey, he's still a superior college coach, so good for UF and I guess, good for him. Definitely good for Magic fans. Donovan will live this down soon enough, but it won't change the fact that it happened. Say what you want about Rod Barajas, but he would never do that.

Good luck with the three-peat. Does the NIT count?

Billy Donovan's Barajas number is 3. He was and will soon be the head coach at the University of Florida, whose mascot is Albert the Alligator, who attended prep school with the Phillie Phanatic, the Philadelphia Phillies' official mascot. Barajas and the Phanatic are on speaking terms for the 2007 season after a dustup in Spring Training.