Hokies, you done us wrong. In the reality show that has produced more plot lines, jilted alliances and Benedict Arnolds than any episode of "Survivor," who would have thought just a few weeks ago, that Virginia Tech, who signed with "unwavering" support for the Big East Conference as it filed suit against the Atlantic Coast Conference, would turn out to be the Judas Iscariot of this whole sleazy conference-raiding scheme?
I can almost see Mike Tranghese grabbing Frank Beamer at the next Big East coaches luncheon, planting a big wet one on his cheek and saying, "I knew it was you Frank. You broke my heart!" Or, to paraphrase another Roman who was stabbed in the back, "Et tu, Hokie?"
At any rate, Virginia Tech supporters, your Hokies find themselves in good company.
10. Sammy the Bull.
Underboss of the Gambino crime syndicate, Gravano broke the Omerta, sang like a canary and finally helped prosecutors get something to stick to the Teflon Don, John Gotti. Honorable mentions to Henry Hill and of course, Fredo.
9. Rick Pitino.
He did make an unsuccessful stop as head coach of the Boston Celtics before landing in Louisville, Ky., so technically he didn't jump straight from the Kentucky basketball equivalent of the Crips to the Bloods, but see how much that matters to Ashley Judd or any other Wildcats fan.
8. Dennis Franchione.
College football has plenty of defections every year in the coaching ranks, but Franchione's jump from Alabama to Texas A&M was greasier than most. Why? After NCAA violations put the team behind the postseason eight ball, he begged his seniors and juniors to stay. They did. He didn't. Add to that, he was responsible for setting in motion the chain of events that led to the Mike Price debacle. Thanks, coach.
7. Roger Clemens.
It was bad enough when he bolted from the Red Sox to American League East Division rival Toronto, but for the Rocket to wear a Yankees cap was unthinkable. The Boston Sports Guy Bill Simmons summed it up best a few years ago: "Even the staunchest Clemens sympathizers in New England couldn't defend him anymore. He had crossed over to the dark side. He was Darth Vader with a Texas accent. He was the enemy." Imagine how they'll feel when he wears that Yankees cap to Cooperstown.
6. Roy Keane.
The stellar soccer star refused to play for Mother Ireland in the most recent World Cup and was branded a treasonous traitor by his countrymen. At the very least, he should have had his Guinness privileges revoked.
5. Hanoi Jane.
She eventually apologized in 1988 for letting her self-righteous and stupid self be used as North Vietnamese propaganda, and denouncing American POW's as hypocrites. Too little, too late.
4. Modell & Irsay. Cleveland and Baltimore have teams today (and actually Baltimore has Cleveland's team, but I digress) so all's well that ends well, but not before Dumb & Dumber left their follow-the-money mercenary mark on pro football. To this day, Baltimorons can't look at a Mayflower moving van without getting a knot in their stomach, and Clevelanders remember the Browns-are-leaving announcement like it was the Kennedy assassination -- they know exactly where they were, who they were with, and what they were doing when they heard.
3. Walter O'Malley.
Long before the previous two bozos broke the hearts of their working-class fan bases, O'Malley was the original C. Montgomery Burns of sports owners. Not only did he move the Dodgers out of Brooklyn, but helped seal the deal for the Giants to pull up stakes from the Polo Grounds and move to the land of Rice-A-Roni. You can't spell "Walter" without "rat."
2. The American Taliban.
Would like to have seen John Walker Lindh's letters to home: "Dear Mom and Dad, I'm here in Pakistan training in a fanatical religious/paramilitary sect, hoping to overthrow the United States government. My new friend Osama said that I am a child of an evil Zionist plot, and that I must jihad against the Satanic American values that you taught me. Say hi to gramma. Send money. Yours, John."
1. Aldrich Ames.
The most damaging mole in CIA history, Ames sold his soul to the KGB for $2.7 million, and unraveled 100 covert operations and betrayed at least 30 agents, 10 of whom were later executed by the Soviets. His reason? "Personal, banal, and amounted really to a kind of greed and folly," he told CNN. Rot in peace, Aldrich.
Tokyo Rose ... names@post-gazette.com
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