The fact the two don't like each other is an old story. The fact Tennessee unsuccessfully worked to expose Auriemma's program for recruiting violations isn't new either. What is new is Summitt calling out Connecticut by name.
I had called Summitt a coward for not doing exactly this in 2007, when she canceled the greatest team rivalry in women's sports. Summitt not only wouldn't say why she was killing the series, she refused to say she was the one behind it.
A year later, the 11 accusations surfaced after a Freedom of Information request by ESPN. Ten were rejected by the NCAA. The one that stuck in the 34-page document was a secondary violation. UConn made reservations for Maya Moore to take a tour of ESPN. A tour, by the way, that's open to the public. Summitt came off incredibly petty.
That should have been the end of it. But, no, Summitt went off Thursday. And when she was finished, she was no longer a coward or petty. She came off as a bitter … OK, Dave Solomon of the New Haven Register beat me to the word 'shrew.'
Petty, bitter, and shrew. Ouch. But if the orange pantsuit fits ...
