Craig James -- Multitasking in the ESPN Booth

by srr50 on Jan 27, 2026 9:55 AM CST in Texas Longhorns and Other Football

Mike Leach's legal wranglings with Texas Tech, Craig James, ESPN et al may be at a standstill right now, but his high profile lawyer is busy making sure it stays in the public eye.

Leach attorney Steve Heninger was on Paul Finebaum's radio show this week and said that James, while working Texas Tech games as a broadcaster, "was calling (Texas Tech) coaches from the booth during games and telling them to put Adam in and let him play."

In 2009 James worked three Tech games -- Houston, Nebraska and Oklahoma State. Here are the highlights of Heninger's radio appearance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2pC7LCvPpA&feature;=player_embedded

Leach and his legal team are awaiting a decision from the Texas Supreme Court on the legality of his suit against Texas Tech. The lower courts ruled that Leach could not sue his former employer because they are protected under sovereign immunity.

Once that decision is handed down, Leach's lawyers will move forward with the defamation suit against James, ESPN and Spaeth Communications.

Heninger said he plans to re-depose Craig James, Adam James, ESPN reporter Joe Schad and other ESPN officials as soon as there is a resolution on the sovereign immunity issue.

That should make for some fun reading.

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Read More: big 12, college football, craig james and the mistakes of youth, texas tech red raiders, Mike Leach (LS - ARI)

Comments

is the pirate trying to look less piratey? should have made Adam James walk the plank…

by Longhorn Josh on Jan 27, 2026 10:03 AM CST reply actions

How long before we find out he has some sort of crazy sexual scandal a la Spitzer or Edwards? James is a shitbag.

by t1climb1 on Jan 27, 2026 10:48 AM CST reply actions

well, you know, I did hear that James killed five hookers while at SMU…

by dlonghorns on Jan 27, 2026 11:19 AM CST reply actions

dlonghorns,

that is a mythological fact…

by Longhorn Josh on Jan 27, 2026 11:25 AM CST reply actions

Honest question. Who - in their right mind - could see James being even remotely successful as a Senate candidate? Granted, Rick Perry somehow kept winning but I just don’t see how James could have possibly come even remotely close to challenging considering half the State hates him already.

by Ty on Jan 27, 2026 11:59 AM CST reply actions

In the words of Bart Scott… “CAN’T WAIT!”

by TexanNick on Jan 27, 2026 12:00 PM CST reply actions

I just don’t see how James could have possibly come even remotely close to challenging considering half the State hates him already.

hmmm… that phrase somehow implies that half the state does NOT hate him already. Are there really that many people who don’t know him???

by The Bobs on Jan 27, 2026 12:18 PM CST reply actions

He is still currently employed at ESPN how exactly?

by Scipio Tex on Jan 27, 2026 12:24 PM CST reply actions

Heninger said he plans to re-depose Craig James, Adam James, ESPN reporter Joe Schad and other ESPN officials as soon as there is a resolution on the sovereign immunity issue.

There is something about this sentence that gets to the heart of who we are as a people.

by parlin on Jan 27, 2026 12:47 PM CST reply actions

Scip, because… to reply with and excerpt from your Feldman post “the adults are not in-charge right now”.

by Magnitude on Jan 27, 2026 12:48 PM CST reply actions

Isn’t there enough data available to make a successful defamation case against Spaeth, Schad, and James without the sovereign immunity issue being sorted out? I know that it makes Heninger’s job that much easier if the Supreme court rules in their favor, but does he REALLY need it in order to sue James? Seems to me that now would be the most advantageous time to sue James for defamation. Potentially ruining his political career would be icing on the cake…

by Magnitude on Jan 27, 2026 12:53 PM CST reply actions

I can’t wait until Wazzu gets a chance to ruin USC’s perfect season during a prime time telecast…the pirate ship should be up and running by 2014 or so.

by uthookem on Jan 27, 2026 2:15 PM CST reply actions

Scip, he had to quit ESPN when he went into the Senate race.

by Bob in Houston on Jan 27, 2026 4:14 PM CST reply actions

Check this out. It’s Deleachous:

http://www.thepostgame.com/commentary/201201/craig-james-most-hated-man-west-texas

by Jake Lonergan on Jan 27, 2026 5:01 PM CST reply actions

What a story and it gets better all the time.

by sedonajim on Jan 27, 2026 5:35 PM CST reply actions

Re: why they would wait to sue… It’s a lot less complicated to sue one party at a time. The school is more likely to roll over if they lose the sovereign immunity portion of the case, so if thy can get a nice settlement from them, it could be easier to get settlement from the other two parties.

by IP guy on Jan 27, 2026 10:43 PM CST reply actions