With UT president William Powers announcing yesterday that he will step down in 2015, the folks at Texas Monthly have put up a story about the deal early. Skip Hollandsworth wrote the story for the August issue, which won’t be available till July 24. It focuses on Powers’ biggest enemy, UT regent Wallace Hall, who has been fighting to expose shenanigans at the university. You should read the whole thing. But one section in particular caught my eye. Hall, of course, lives in Dallas, just four doors down from Dan Branch. The two were once friends, but this mess has driven them apart. Even though they used to play roller hockey together, they no longer even speak. I know someone who was familiar with the play of that particular roller hockey team. Here’s how that person described it:
Hall and Branch both played defense. Same line. Same gritted teeth. The league did not allow checking, which abbreviated Hall and Branch’s time in the penalty box. Hall did the better job staying put. Branch followed the puck like a 6-year-old. Invariably, he ended up at the other end of the rink, trying to stuff a rebound into the net. “Branch,” we’d yell, “get your ass back down there.”
If you think that my having that description in any way suggests that we were ever entertaining writing a super-awesome profile of Hall in the context of this fight — then you’re deeply mistaken. Horribly, painfully, hopelessly mistaken. Good job on the story, Skip. Big jerk.
