It was interesting to watch Mark May politely put a shiv into the kidney of N.C. State athletic director Lee Fowler tonight on ESPN. Apparently Fowler had gone ballistic earlier in the year when May had made comments about then-coach Chuck 'The Chest" Amato's job security or lack thereof. Apparently Fowler had gone so far as to call May to yell at him and to reassure him that Chuck was his guy, he wasn't going anywhere, blah blah blah.
Oops.
You could see May positively vibrating when his co-host tossed him a hanging curveball of a question about coaching changes, one that he could knock out of the park and into Fowler's metaphorical lap. To his credit, the former Hog did not actually get up on his desk and dance while shouting "Neener neener neener, Lee Fowler is a weiner", but you could tell - he really wanted to. Instead, he settled for warning new N.C. State coach Tom O'Brien to watch his back, and, between the lines, warning Fowler to watch his ass. One suspects that Mr. May didn't take kindly to being embarassed in front of his bosses earlier this year, and now that he's been vindicated, he's going to be on Fowler's case like David Morse's cop character on Dr. Gregory House.
Let's face it, nobody's ever accused Lee Fowler of excess grace or intellect - the ham-fisted handling of the men's basketball coaching search springs to mind - but actively antagonizing a component of the media that's got a huge national audience and a solid reputation? Not smart, Lee. Not smart at all.
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