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Texas Tech wasn't pleased when former coach Mike Leach's legal team requested information from the Frenship Independent School District. In doing so, Leach's team hoped to uncover information about new coach Tommy Tuberville, and whether or not he looked into enrolling his children before Leach was fired.

Now, the move looks like it has backfired.

Frenship says they pored over 17,000 pages of records and the bill for doing so came to a hefty $9,800. Leach's lawyer, Ted Liggett, also said his office received about 200 pages of documents, and they aren't pleased about that, either. Really, all Liggett wanted was a one-word answer to the reason they filed the subpoena in the first place.

“I’ve never seen a non-party (not directly involved in the lawsuit) ask for costs in this manner,” Liggett told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. “They were contacted before Mike was fired, or they weren’t. That’s all we want to know.”

Also being contested are records that contain sensitive information protected by federal privacy laws, but clearly Liggett has little interest in those. So I imagine he's pretty frustrated with the situation.

But the real comedy in the case comes later. Tuberville's arrival (or, really, that of any football coach in any college town) was big news. So was Leach leaving. And people did what people do: They talked. But teachers and administrators in the district did it by e-mail, and those e-mails make up a bulk of the 17,000 pages the district had to review.

“There are apparently many employees who are Texas Tech fans,” said David Backus, the attorney for the school district.

Those e-mails under review included any time an employee forwarded or was forwarded an article from anywhere about Tuberville, as well as releases from the university to fans on listservs.

Now, I can't blame Leach's team for trying to subpoena those records to begin with. Too intrusive or not, the move made sense, and if they uncover what they want, I imagine it would help their case quite a bit.

But I can't imagine they envisioned the move blowing up in their faces the way it did.

Former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach is never far away from the citizens of Lubbock -- even after his controversial firing by the school last month.

Leach is pictured in the center of the 2010 copy of the Lubbock Yellow Pages that starting being distributed this month, surrounded by a bunch of Boy Scouts.

Making the irony for Leach even more delicious, Leach's attorney Ted Liggett is pictured on the back cover. Liggett is described in the ad from a firm of "aggressive personal injury lawyers" and pictured below a picture of a bellowing image of King Kong.

Something tells me that at least in the homes of Tech chancellor Kent Hance and Tech athletic director Gerald Myers, the phone book is going coverless this year.

After the Mike Leach mess played out Wednesday, it was refreshing to see some football later in the evening.

Nebraska continued its trend of playing well in big games under Bo Pelini.

Here are some stories from across the conference about those subjects and others in some lunch links to get us ready for another busy day involving Big 12 teams in bowl games.

• Nebraska’s blowout victory over Arizona in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl could be an omen for the Cornhuskers catapulting back among national title contenders, the Omaha World-Herald’s Tom Shatel writes.
• The Lincoln Journal Star’s Steve Sipple opines that the offseason suddenly got a lot more pleasant for Nebraska offensive coordinator Shawn Watson after last night’s Holiday Bowl victory.
• Mike Leach's attorney, Ted Liggett, disputes many of the contentions made in Texas Tech’s statement after firing his client on Wednesday, the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal’s Adam Zuvanich reports.
• The Kansas City Star’s Jason Whitlock writes that Leach’s extreme arrogance helped keep him from making a rational decision in dealing with Tech officials.
• Missouri could be headed for a finish in the Top 25 if it can beat Navy today in the Texas Bowl, the Kansas City Star’s Mike DeArmond reports.
• Texas Tech athletic director Gerald Myers tells the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal’s Don Williams how he plans to replace Leach.
• The Houston Chronicle’s Joseph Duarte pegs Baylor’s Art Briles as the leading candidate to replace Leach.
• Leach needs to address the charges against him, Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News writes.
• A healthy Alexander Robinson should boost Iowa State’s chances of claiming an upset over Minnesota in the Insight Bowl, the Ames Tribune’s Bobby La Gesse reports.
• The Oklahoman’s Berry Tramel analyzes Landry Jones’ rocky first season as Oklahoma’s quarterback.

Big doings are taking place in a Lubbock courtroom as I write this.

But other news is percolating across the Big 12 today -- like a big football game in San Diego tonight.

Here are some of the stories that people are following across the conference.

• Mike Leach’s attorney, Ted Liggett, takes KCBD sports director Pete Dickey on a tour of the infamous “shed” where Adam James was confined.
• Double-T Nation wonders about the direction of the Texas Tech athletic department in the wake of Leach's hearing on Wednesday.
• College Football News’ Pete Fiutak breaks down the Arizona-Nebraska game in tonight’s Pacific Life Holiday Bowl.
• Mike Gundy discusses Urban Meyer’s resignation, his team’s blowout Bedlam loss and the loss of Dez Bryant in a wide-ranging interview with the Tulsa World’s Bill Haisten.
• Coaching in the new millennium requires a careful balance, the Oklahoman’s Berry Tramel reports.
• Bo Pelini isn’t allowing any team strife as the Cornhuskers prepare for tonight’s Holiday Bowl against Arizona, the Lincoln Journal Star’s Brian Christopherson reports.
• The Topeka Capital-Journal’s Kevin Haskin wonders whether Mike Leach hasn’t traditionally been too flippant about player injuries in his dealings with the media.
• Coaching is a strong family tradition for both Jim Harbaugh and Bob Stoops, the Tulsa World’s John E. Hoover reports.
• Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman has endured back-to-back losing seasons -- the first for the Aggies since 1972 and 1973, the San Antonio Express-News’ Brent Zwerneman reports.
• The Tulsa World’s Dave Sittler wonders whether the Big 12 can hit the reset button on December.
• The Lincoln Journal Star's Steve Sipple writes that a victory in tonight's Holiday Bowl would provide an ample boost in Nebraska's national perception as a program on the rise.

Mike Leach's reluctance to apologize to Adam James and his family led to his school-mandated suspension for the Valero Alamo Bowl.

The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal reported Tuesday that the Tech coach did not dispute the facts after ESPN analyst Craig James had complained to school officials about Leach's treatment of his son, Adam, after he suffered a mild concussion last month.

The Avalanche-Journal reported that the school completed an initial investigation before suspending Leach. Leach did not dispute the facts, but also did not believe he had done anything wrong. The Tech coach also told officials that Adam James was "a slacker" and that Craig James was too involved in his son's football career.

Leach had until Monday to write a letter of apology to James and his family. When he didn't, Tech officials took action.

It led to Leach's suspension, with pay, from his job as head coach.

Leach's attorney, Ted Liggett, told the Avalanche-Journal that he hasn't given up hope that Leach will coach the Red Raiders in Saturday night's Valero Alamo Bowl against Michigan State in San Antonio. Liggett said he could consider legal action to get him back on the sideline.

"We're going to do everything we can to see that our client is duly served justice and that he's reunited with his boys as soon as possible,'' Liggett said.

When asked how he planned to go about it, Liggett said, "Through the court system, don't ya?''

If Leach can't coach, it will lead to a unique coaching situation for the Red Raiders in the bowl game. Defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill will serve as Tech's interim coach.

McNeill told reporters Monday in San Antonio it will be the first time he has served as a head coach since he coached a high school team in Lumberton, N.C., in the mid-1980s.

Wide receivers coach Lincoln Riley will take over Leach's play-calling duties for Saturday's game, with staff assistant Sonny Cumbie signaling plays from the sideline.

The Alamo Bowl already had been marked by who wasn't going to be at the Alamodome. Michigan State suspended 11 players and dismissed two others in connection with a Nov. 22 dorm fight. Among the players who will be missing are wide receivers B.J. Cunningham and Mark Dell and starting cornerback Chris L. Rucker, who have all been charged with misdemeanors in connection with the incident.