Sept. 19, 2006

Five years ago yesterday, Marquette extended the contract of then-men’s basketball coach Tom Crean’s through 2017.

This is memorable for a lot of reasons, but mostly because of the press release related and seeing some of the ill-advised words thrown around by then-school president the Rev. Robert A. Wild.

Wild stressed that Crean “has been and always will be about commitment and relationships,” and that the agreement “provides a great hope for the future.”

Commitment? Future? This is retrospective comedy at its finest.

Remember, this is Tom Crean we’re talking about here. The guy who, barely a year removed from signing this albatross contact, left Marquette and slithered his snakelike self to Indiana.

Wild also noted that Crean had “earned the respect of everyone with whom he has worked.”

Well, it’s five years later, can all the people who respect Crean raise their hands?

Anyone? No?

That’s expected. So here’s to Wild, Crean, Marquette and the giant blunder of 2006 we all wish didn’t happen.