I noticed on Friday’s SportsCenter that ESPN has swapped out reporters for the Duke lacrosse scandal, replacing some black guy whose name I never learned with SN fave Rachel Nichols. Suddenly I feel the need to start hanging out behind the Bryan Center… nothing against the other reporter (who may or may not be named George Smith; Google is no use), just that he was so non-descript I am pretty sure I walked right past him yesterday without really being sure it was him.

I’m waiting to go on-air for a CNN interview that should air on their “On The Story” program over the weekend… assuming the birthday party over at my neighbors’ isn’t so loud they kick me off the program. In the meantime, more minor tidbits:

• The News & Observer reports that players’ lawyers are annoyed by the police attempting to interview players without their attorneys present and carries a story on the traffic on the Trinity Park email lists; they also report that the father of attorney Joe Cheshire passed away today at the age of 88.
• A leaflet on my car says that Sunday at 3:30 pm, there will be a “Prayer Rally for Healing Righteousness & Justice” at the 610 N. Buchanan house. Not sure how all three will happen at once, but stranger things have happened I suppose… According to Google the phone number on the leaflet belongs to the Church of the Apostolic Revival on East Main in Durham.

In lieu of content, have some free bullet points:

• In today’s Chronicle op-ed columnist Boston Cote goes after English and African-American Studies prof Houston Baker again; it’s really a sight to behold. Good thing for her that, unlike some places, the faculty at Duke don’t get to vote on granting degrees…
• I have no independent link to this, but MSNBC’s Dan Abrams apparently has a copy of the defense photos from the house timestamped between 12:00 and 12:41 on the night of the party; they are consistent with what the defense has said about them in the past.
• An athlete (not a lacrosse player) in one of my classes today indicated, apparently on the authority of the campus grapevine, that at least part of the reason why the players were angry at the female dancers is that they were not expecting two minority women to be sent by the escort service. This doesn’t square with other accounts that an escort service would only send minorities by special request, although I guess it’s possible that the low-end services they made use of don’t represent any white performers.
• Elsewhere in the blogosphere, Tom Maguire wasn’t much of a lacrosse fan to begin with, while TalkLeft notes the (apparent) new searches Thursday evening and SSquirrel tries on a conspiracy theory for size, although I expect you could probably find Democratic ties to some of the players’ parents too if you tried hard enough; nor does that really explain why CNN and MSNBC would be hitting the case as hard as Fox. (Incidentally, I disagree with the last poster’s choice to reveal the names of players who, as of this point, have not been accused of a crime.)

From the AP:

Police attempted to search the dorm rooms of Duke University lacrosse players amid an investigation into the alleged rape of an exotic dancer at a team party, the school’s president said Friday.

President Richard Brodhead said he was just learning about the Thursday night search attempts and didn’t have many details, including whether investigators had search warrants and if they actually entered any rooms.

“I am aware that police attempted to enter those rooms, and I am now about to leave this news conference to learn the whole story,” Brodhead said.

There were no warrants for any dorm rooms at Duke among those returned to the Durham County magistrate’s office Friday morning, although police have 48 hours after executing a warrant to return it. The court clerk’s office was closed for the Good Friday holiday. Police said they would not release any information Friday.

Defense attorney Joe Cheshire, who represents one of the team’s captains, said he didn’t know anything about the searches, but called them a waste of time.

“Now, whether there are other issues as to it relates to issues like drinking and partying and those things, I’ve got no clue,” Cheshire said. “But if it relates to sexual assault, they can search ‘til the cows come home.”

WRAL further indicates that “police were trying to question some players Thursday, but that there was no warrant for a search of players’ rooms” according to defense attorneys.

At present, it is unclear what police were looking for, although one could speculate that they are trying to find copies of the photos the defense has claimed are exculpatory (but has not shown or released to the public); presumably any incriminating evidence would have been removed or destroyed in the month since the party.

It may also be another dimension of what some have believed is an effort to intimidate the lacrosse team members; Thursday’s edition of The Abrams Report on MSNBC reported that an email was sent to about half of the lacrosse team that appeared to be from one of the other players who claimed he was going to police. The email was believed to be a forgery because it was dated April 14th (today) and the player in question was apparently in class at the time it was sent, according to his attorney.

Finally, if you thought the Tawana Bradley comparisons were premature, the news that a key figure in that case may be paying Durham a visit might change your views somewhat:

The Rev. Al Sharpton, the New York City-based civil-rights activist, may visit Durham in the next few days to speak out on allegations that a black woman was raped last month by members of Duke University’s lacrosse team.

As of Thursday afternoon, Sharpton hadn’t scheduled a visit. But he had been invited to make the trip by “local community members and pastors,” said Rachel Noerdlinger, the minister’s spokeswoman.

Noerdlinger said Sharpton’s travel plans “are just being shaped” and that the proposed trip to Durham was “under strong consideration.”

Update: John in Carolina is none too thrilled that Sharpton may be headed to the Bull City.