Front Page News

In Tucson, where a sizeable percentage of local billboards and television spots feature long-time University of Arizona men's basketball coach Lute Olson, the news that he was taking a leave of absence from the team this fall was huge. Yesterday's news that he was going to extend that leave for the whole 2007-2008 season was even bigger. And now, on the heels of that development, the announcement that he has filed for divorce from his second wife -- a fundraiser for the Republican Party, incidentally -- without making a statement to clarify what has been going on has taken the story to the level of a local soap opera. The Wildcats were already the most important entertainment in town before all this started. Now they and their possibly-ex coach are making front-page headlines for matters that touch upon basketball as much as Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid's family troubles touch on football.