Starters Courtney Fortson (pictured) and Stefan Welsh are out indefinitely. Also suspended were Marcus Britt, Glenn Bryant and Nick Mason, each of whom attended a frat party in August where a freshman claimed she had been raped by three unnamed basketball players. (No charges were filed.) Let us now recall the Twittery words of Fortson, shortly after news of the rape investigation broke:

Im gettin it at workouts like a dude who doesnt understand the word no from a drunk girl lol

Today, he sounds chastened, like a man who's learned the hard way that rape is no LOLing matter.

There's always hardships u go through wit life but as long as u have control of yourself I'm sure u will find a way. C fortson

U will, Courtney. U will.

Arkansas will be down a man, or five [Searching for Billy Edelin]
Pelphrey suspends five players [ESPN]

* * * * *

Thanks for your continued support of Deadspin. Barry Petchesky will be around tonight to print some more lies.

The case itself is plenty cringe-worthy. It had already "raised the specter" of the Duke lacrosse episode, in the overcooked words of the Associated Press, and meanwhile the Arkansas Times was reminded of the infamous "dorm incident" in 1991 under Nolan Richardson. Here's the Times' account:

A freshman had been at the fraternity and drinking at a party. About 1 a.m., she went to a bedroom with about 20 people, three of whom were UA basketball players.

She said she didn't remember a lot. She said she had been drinking and players forced her to perform oral sex.

UA police interviewed suspects, who gave voluntary statements. Accordng to [deputy prosecutor Dustin Roberts], "they did not contest the fact that sexual acts had occurred." Two said they were provided oral sex and masturbation. A fraternity member confirmed ths, Roberts said.

The fraternity member opened the door, which had been locked, and saw the woman bent over. Two basketball players were on a couch. "She was giving oral sex to one and masturbating the other," Roberts said. "A third one was behind her dancing." (The police investigative report quotes a witness as saying the third male was "rubbing against her buttocks with his pelvis".) After seeing that, the fraternity member asked for all four to leave.

According to Roberts, the woman "gave a statement to the fraternity member to the effect that 'we didn't do anything wrong.'"

After that everyone left. Police interviewed a number of witnesses who said the woman had been drinking, but was coherent.

Word of the investigation broke yesterday, and within hours a prosecutor, John Threet, had announced he wouldn't press any charges against the players. Maybe the accusations were indeed groundless, but I'm having a hard time following prosecutors' reasoning here:

But Threet said witness interviews and statements from the woman didn't show that she was unaware a sex act occurred or that she was unable to say no - circumstances that could lead to sexual assault charges.

And here's what his deputy said:

To prove rape in this case, [Dustin Roberts] said, the prosecution would have to show the woman was intoxicated to the "point that she was incapacitated and could not give consent." Or, he added, "was passed out." He said, "We're talking someone falling down drunk, not someone coherent and there were statements that she was coherent."

That's an awfully narrow definition of rape and seems to ignore the possibility of "forcible compulsion," in the words of Arkansas Code 5-14-103. In any event, prosecutors initially seemed ready to proceed with the case. Roberts told television station KHOG that charges could be filed as early as Wednesday afternoon, but Threet later walked back his deputy's comments, saying, "I'm going to assume somebody got something confused or something." And it was left to Roberts to wrap everything up with a tidy little moral: "When college students and alcohol are involved, it's a bad combination for everybody."

Nevertheless, at least one Razorback found some humor in the episode and chose to share it with the Twitterverse. Cfortson4 is apparently sophomore guard Courtney Fortson, and here, via Tweleted, is what Cfortson4 had to say on Monday:

Im gettin it at workouts like a dude who doesnt understand the word no from a drunk girl lol

Woo pig sooie!

No charges in UA rape complaint [Arkansas Times]
Prosecutor: No charges in alleged Ark. rape case [AP]

At issue was Doyel's Thursday column in which he called for Mississippi coach Houston Nutt to "run up the score" on his old team, Arkansas.

They're still there, you know. The crazies. The wackos. The lunatic fringe of Razorback Nation. They're still there, lurking in their small towns and conniving on their message boards, and they deserve to be punished.

Doyel then appreared on The Sports Animals that afternoon to discuss the column, but first, he couldn't resist a swipe at ... Tony La Russa? Doyel was calling from Philadelphia, where he was covering the World Series.

"I like Joe Maddon," Doyel said. "I like that guy because he doesn't sit back there like Tony La Russa and act like everything out of his mouth is brilliant."

OK, we've set the tone. Forecast is for bitchy, with a chance of meowwww.

In explaining his column, Doyel trashed the Arkansas fans as lunatics, called several of their players knuckleheads, and said that former Razorbacks quarterback Mitch Mustain "allowed himself to become a prostitute. Gus Malzahn was the pimp and Houston Nutt was the john in this recruiting tryst."

From Arkansas Business.com:

Also, Doyel says he should have added the line that while he hopes Houston Nutt runs the score up this week, he also hopes he goes 4-8 "because you're an idiot too." Doyel hints to needing an editor, such as one of the radio hosts. He needs someone — fact-checker would be a good start.

At one point Hall asks Doyel if he had actually spent any time in Arkansas in preparation for his column, and Doyel cut him off, yelling "Shut up! Shut up! Let me talk!"

Then, at the end, this:

"The whole goal was to have me on and embarrass me so you could have the message boards say how great you are," Doyel said to Arnell, "and I'm sorry I didn't play along, but it was fun nonetheless."

Then as Arnell tries to ask him another question, Doyel hangs up on him.

Arnell, on the whole experience: "The guy needs some medication." Hall: "There are idiots among us ..."

Anyway, if Doyel wants to be the next Jay Mariotti — clearly what he's shooting for, as far as I can tell — he's going to have to make some fundamental changes. First, invest in some collared shirts, man. Second, the Rayhawk has to go. And third, you've got to get meaner. Prostitutes? Pimps? You can do better than that. Mustain is a socialist who hangs around with terrorists and wants to redistribute your hard-earned paycheck. Try that.

He Said What?: CBS Columnist Gregg Doyel Implodes On Arkansas Radio [ArkansasSports360.com]

INDIANA HOOSIERS

1. Dan Dakich is a savvy fellow. The Hoosiers' interim head coach is part of a new trend for interim coaches: Being vastly overqualified. (Kevin O'Neill at Arizona also qualifies here.) Dakich was formerly the coach at Bowling Green before serving as West Virginia coach for one week. He left because he got spooked about potential recruiting violations that could hinder his time there, and ultimately came back to Indiana, because Indiana would never, ever be involved in recruiting violations. Within four months of his arrival, Kelvin Sampson was gone and Dakich was the temp coach.

2. F— Eric Gordon? The Hoosiers' overtime victory over Illinois in Champaign was a personal highlight for our family. Hearing the "fuck Eric Gordon" chants on television, we called our father and asked if he heard the people yelling the chants. "Heard 'em? I'm one of 'em!" Illinois athletic director Ron Guenther apologizes for the Illini fans, but we're not sure why that's necessary. If you're actively taunting a guy's family, then yes: You're an asshole. But is there really something wrong with screaming, "Fuck Eric Gordon!" at the top of your lungs? Isn't that one of the rewards of being a sports fan, something that comes with the price of the ticket? Gordon might not deserve the jeers, but shouldn't the fans have the right? We say yes.

3. Enjoy this while you can. As exciting a player as Gordon is, Indiana pretty much needs to win a national championship to make his recruitment worth the trouble. To get Gordon, Indiana had to bring in Sampson, who brought with him shady recruitment techniques that are going to cost the school with the NCAA in the next few months, and over the next few years. Gordon, however, will be long gone by that point, sure to be one of the top 10 picks in the NBA draft next season. But his aftereffects will be around for years. So they better win it all now. Otherwise ... heck, one might end up being better off with Demetri McCamey. — Will Leitch

ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS

1. Record Breaker. New coach John Pelphrey set the record for most wins by a first year head coach at Arkansas with 20 when the Hogs beat Auburn at home to finish the regular season. That isn't a minor feat when you realize two of the best coaches in history coached at Arkansas, Eddie Sutton and Nolan Richardson. They had 17 and 12 wins in their first seasons, respectively. The record was held by Eugene Lambert who led his first team to a 19-7 record during the 1942-43 season. Pelphrey also broke the 100-win barrier with that victory.

2. Road Woes. The Razorbacks squad can't seem to find their groove away from Fayetteville this season. They are 4-9 when playing outside of Fayetteville. But when at Bud Walton Arena the team is 16-1. These stats include a loss in Little Rock to Appalachian St. at Alltel Arena.

3. A Tumultuous Year. In the span of 12 months the University of Arkansas pretty much turned over the entire leadership of the Athletic Department. Frank Broyles, Athletic Director retired after 50 years in Fayetteville. He was replaced with former Pittsburgh AD Jeff Long. Broyles fired Basketball Coach Stan Heath in March of last year and hired John Pelphrey. Then in December, football coach Houston Nutt left and Long replaced him with Bobby Petrino. — Hawg Blog

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2. Road Woes. The Razorbacks squad can't seem to find their groove away from Fayetteville this season. They are 4-9 when playing outside of Fayetteville. But when at Bud Walton Arena the team is 16-1. These stats include a loss in Little Rock to Appalachian St. at Alltel Arena.

3. A Tumultuous Year. In the span of 12 months the University of Arkansas pretty much turned over the entire leadership of the Athletic Department. Frank Broyles, Athletic Director retired after 50 years in Fayetteville. He was replaced with former Pittsburgh AD Jeff Long. Broyles fired Basketball Coach Stan Heath in March of last year and hired John Pelphrey. Then in December, football coach Houston Nutt left and Long replaced him with Bobby Petrino. — Hawg Blog

Before this season, we heard the mother Mini Muhammad sorta deny that she ever said McFadden would declare for the NFL draft early. This weekend, his father jumped into the fun, refuting an ESPN.com report that he already filed the NFL draft papers:

Graylon McFadden would not confirm either report Saturday evening when contacted by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

"Well, I've been told to tell everybody 'no comment' and to get on the back shelf,"he said. "So, no comment."

McFadden's dad denies filing NFL draft papers [Democrat-Gazette]
Darren McFadden's NFL Draft Status Downgraded From "Yes" To "Probably Yes" [Some Stupid Website]

(Aside: How parents named Graylon and Mini settle on a normal boy's name of Darren is beyond me.)

Nothing major: Just another bar fight.

The fight involved one of the bar bouncers. Authorities say that one of McFadden's relatives was being escorted out of Ernie Biggs when McFadden and the people he was with got involved in a fight with Brant Hankins, the bouncer.

The argument went into the streets of the Rivermarket where the Little Rock Police Department put D-Mac in handcuffs for "agitated and provoking aggressive behavior." Once he calmed down the handcuffs were removed.

We will confess that upon first read of this story, we were confused who this "Ernie Biggs" was. It turns out, that's the name of the bar, and it's Little Rock's premier rock and roll dueling piano bar. Boy, and check out their stylin' piano players. Seems exactly like the type of place you'd find Darren McFadden after midnight, absolutely.

Darren McFadden In Fight At Little Rock Bar [Fox16]
Ernie Biggs [Official Site]

It appears someone has reported Darren McFadden's Cadillac — a Cadillac? Nice! — and now he could be in danger of missing the Cotton Bowl.

If D-Mac received the car as a payment for future services, he is then a professional and no longer eligible for college football. That would mean no Cotton Bowl. If he simply went in and bought the car, got a loan like any other shopper, with a delayed payment plan, he is still within NCAA guidelines and would be eligible for the bowl game. Razorback fans have to be hoping it's the latter case. Sports Information Director Kevin Trainor told us that the University is aware of the situation and that their compliance director is investigating.

Something tells us that if the unlikely happens, and McFadden misses the game, he'll sigh deeply, enter the NFL Draft and then take a big bath in a pile of money. He'll be devastated, we're sure.

Darren McFadden Could Have Ended College Career With Car Purchase [Sports By Brooks]

• LSU Loses! BCS Mayhem! Doesn't anyone want to play in the BCS title game? LSU is d-o-n-e, and the Missouri-Kansas winner still has to get past Oklahoma. West Virginia seems to be on deck, but still has to win twice. Ohio State suddenly might not have to back their way in. Les Miles Watch: I'd say this loss means he's as good as gone to Michigan (since he won't have a national title to play for). LSU fans are left wondering if their team was either distracted - or just plain caught looking ahead. Neither is good. [Dan Shanoff]

• Did We Have A Game Today? My family is in town for the Thanksgiving holiday, and my dad and I watched the game in my parents' hotel room. During the waning minutes of the ultra-tense fourth quarter, the hotel fire alarm went off, further agitating our already fried nerves. Thankfully, the room is on the first floor and has a sliding glass backdoor opening up to a courtyard; we decided that if it became apparent that we were truly in danger, we could get out easily enough. It wasn't anything close to a reckless decision, but the memory of watching those crazy final moments of regulation with that insistent, ear-shredding buzzer sound will stay with me forever. [Razorback Expats]

• No. 1 No More: Les Miles' Bag of Lucky Charms Finally Comes Up Empty. Incredible game. INCREDIBLE. Especially with so much on the line for both teams. But Arkansas came up the victor. LSU's title hopes are dead. And maybe Houston Nutt will coach again in Fayetteville. I've contended at times this year that Les Miles has been lucky rather than good, or more specifically, his talent has carried him when his coaching acumen has not. Today, he finally ran out of extra chances. LSU fans will now likely send Miles to Michigan with their compliments. [The FanHouse]

• LSU Just Lost And Armageddon At Arrowhead Just Got Bigger. Basically, LSU's second loss in 3 OT just made the biggest Kansas-Misery game in the history of the world even bigger; the biggest game of the season even bigger. The winner will become the #1 team in the country, and nobody will really complain. If the winner goes on to win in San Antonio, they will be the favorite to win the National Championship game. [Rock Chalk Talk]

• So You're Telling Me There's Still A Chance... Did Michigan do the Bucks the world's greatest favor by distracting Miles and the Tigers? At any rate, we welcome Leslie to Michigan next year. The more I see of him in action, the more reckless and out of control he appears coaching. He's just been blessed with incredible talent and insane luck. Until today. [Eleven Warriors]

• GIGGITY-GIGGITY-GIGGITY! David Lee, offensive coordinator: "Houston, man. I was thinking toss right with Jones."

Houston Nutt, head coach, Arkansas: "GIGGITY GIGGITY GIGGITY!!! WWOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! BLOTUNK BARFARKUS WOONDANGITY GIGGITY HOOOO!!!"

David Lee: "Hey, seriously. We're burning clock here. I got toss right to Jones for the win, Coach."

Nutt:"GOOD GREAT DANCING BOOGITY OOGITY! RAZORBACK FOOTBALL OHHH MAMIEEE SHANKY BACKRATTACKUS FLIRTIN' WITH DISASTERATOOOIIIEEE GIGGITY BULLFROG!!!!"

David Lee: "Toss right to Jones, then."

(They convert.)

Nutt:"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO AHM GONNA BIDRIDINKUS COACH FOOTBAW JAGGETY BAGGITY BILBO BAGGINS TAINTSLAP DOOGITY DINKEE HOOOAAAAAAAOOOOOOOO!!!" [EDSBS]

Muhammad cleared up her conversation with Forde, asserting she never said McFadden will necessarily declare for the draft. Mini Muhammad (I picture her being seven inches tall) merely said that McFadden would be done playing football this season in December.

She didn't mean to imply that he would stop playing college football altogether after December. So, rather than break draft news before the advent of the 2007 college football season, she was merely refreshing Pat Forde's mind about the college football schedule which was set in stone many months ago. Or maybe Muhammad was insinuating that there's no way Arkansas will make a New Year's Day bowl. Look out, Music City Bowl!

THIS JUST IN: ESPN is reporting that Bowling Green's football season will begin September 1 against Minnesota, according to wide receiver Corey Partridge's second cousin, and will likely continue for 11 more games after that. Personally, I call shenanigans.

McFadden's Mom: Not So Fast, My Friend! [FanHouse]
Darren McFadden's Mother Has the Chops to Be White House Press Secretary [Foul Balls]

"He wore dresses to school," says McFadden's favorite high school teacher, Leecie Henson.

Say again?

Yes, dresses. And not just on Halloween.

At times, McFadden would raid his grandmother's closet, and who knows where else, and wear the most hideous looking outfits he could find to school. "He has the ugliest legs ever," Henson says. "He would wear these dresses with tennis shoes, and after a while the teachers would get used to it. He just loves to make people laugh."

If he promises to wear a dress to the Downtown Athletic Club, I'll start my own "McFadden For Heisman" campaign right now.

Arkansas RB McFadden is one pig that can fly [USA Today]
McFadden Likes Dressing in Drag [Hawg Blawg]

Meet Malcolm Sheppard, defensive tackle for the Arkansas Razorbacks. According to Loser with Socks, that's Malcolm one year ago, and Malcolm today.

There have been instances in the past where fans of a rival team will photoshop a picture to make it look like a guy is 'roiding. Or maybe Malcolm just spends hours and hours every day in the weight room. I don't know. It could be perfectly natural. But damn.

What in the Hell are They Feeding the Hogs? [Loser with Socks]
#96 Malcolm Sheppard [Hogwired]

OK, so maybe all Arkansas Razorbacks fans are crazy people, but sometimes, that fan mania can present itself in more productive, uplifting ways. Or at least less, you know, tracking a coach's cell phone calls.

The above picture is from the Det 1 Co -C 1-111th Air Ambulance (Razorback Medevac) in Tallil, Iraq, and it's kind of amazing. (Those helicopters are plenty big on their own, to give you an idea of that scale.) You can see a lot more pictures at the link. Woo pig sooie!

The World's Largest Razorback Is In Iraq [Hogville]
Seriously, Arkansas Fans Are Insane [Deadspin]

(As always with the Web, there are debates about the authenticity of the photo. We're really bad and figuring out PhotoShop trickery, but looks clean to us.)

The most notorious example, of course, is the Houston Nutt cell-phone FOIA, but now one fan is actually suing the university president and chancellor for fraud, claiming they mishandled the Mitch Mustain situation.

He claims Sugg and White knew of the shady circumstances surrounding the e-mail, and failed to launch an extensive, independent (keyword there) investigation of the matter. Among the actions White did take were sending Miss Beckwith Campbell e-mails suggesting her son just ignore threatening e-mails calling for his transfer. Terry's lawsuit alleges that Nutt's contract should be terminated because he has failed to comply with NCAA regulations regarding coaches.

Arkansas blogger The Hog Blogger wonders if this isn't fostering the, uh, most flattering image of Razorbacks fans, but without getting into the particulars of matters, we find it rather thrilling to watch a fan base rally itself — using only the organizing principles of the Internet and some good old-fashioned lawyerin' — and empower up against what they see as a corrupt regime. And by "corrupt," we mean "not recruiting well enough."

Here We Go Again [The Hog Blogger]
Ever Wonder Who Houston Nutt Talks To? [Deadspin]

So you know the crazed Razorbacks message board fan who went through the impressive measure of FOIAing coach Houston Nutt's cellphone records, discovering that he had been text-messaging a local female reporter? Well, his quest to rid Arkansas of Nutt is not over; as you can see in this video, he's now accosting Nutt at practice. We are so glad we're not Houston Nutt right now.

Ever Wonder Whom Houston Nutt Talks To? Today's Your Lucky Day [Deadspin]

(UPDATE: We've been informed that the guy in this video is not the same guy who FOIA'd all the records. We bet they're friends, though.)

The "haters" North of us have their armies busy 24-7, attacking us and constantly blindsiding us every chance they can. It doesn't take much to generate the "mob mentality" these days. At this point, I have lost track of the false allegations against Houston and the number of resignation/firing deadlines that have come and gone. I know that anyone with any intelligence can see through all of this every time a new story rolls around. And NO, Houston has not had an affair with Donna Bragg! ... Everyone that knows me, knows I'm not nearly as nice as my husband. I tell it like I see it and don't add much sugarcoating.

We're not gonna get into the complexities of Arkansas football because, frankly, we don't care, but we'd like to note that a program that has fans who file Freedom Of Information Act requests on their coaches to find out who they're calling on their cellphones, inspiring their wives to fire off spirited defenses of their family lives ... well, jeez, what the heck is going on down there?

By the way, if we're a coach at a public university, and we're using the company cellphone ... we're probably a little terrified right now.

Diana Nutt Strikes Back [The Hogs, The Hill And The SEC]
Ever Wonder Whom Houston Nutt Talks To? Today's Your Lucky Day [Deadspin]

The full report is right here. (Warning: PDF.) We're not as well-versed in the land of Houston Nutt-dom as perhaps we should be, but Loser With Socks breaks it down, detailing text messages Nutt sent to a booster who wasn't big fans of Mitch Mustain and some suspicious contact Nutt had with a female sportscaster. Because Nutt is a public employee, this all technically public information, which is making pretty much every public head coach in America lightly urinate themselves a bit today.

We can't quite make heads or tails of all this, but we certainly hope no one ever subpoenas our phone records. Call to mom ... downloading "On A Plain" ringtone ... call to mom ... 976-FURRY ... Yeah, not good.

Quick, Hide The Records [Arkansas Blog]
The Frank Broyles Legacy Continued [Loser With Socks]
Houston Nutt Documents [PDF]

(UPDATE: Every Day Should Be Saturday is all over this as well, with much gusto.)