Nick Saban headed to Texas? (Well, yes)

The hard-hitting news business gets a little softer every day.

Remember that parlor game of telephone? Someone whispers a phrase into someone’s ear and it gets whispered down a line and comes out completely different at the end?

Well, that’s not supposed to happen at places such as Sports Illustrated, which got duped on a joke about Nick Saban reportedly leaving Alabama for Texas.

The headline on the “SI Wire” site read “Report: Nick Saban to visit Texas.”

That was followed by copy suggesting Saban might be a replacement for embattled Texas Coach Mack Brown.

It is true that Saban is visiting Texas this weekend. The No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide is playing at Texas A&M.;

The story got “legs” when ESPN radio host Paul Finebaum tweeted out a joke after Texas lost to Brigham Young on Saturday.

@PaulFinebaum tweeted: “Perhaps, it’s early to pile on Mack Brown, but a reliable source tells me Nick Saban will be visiting in Texas by as early as this Friday.”

Friday is probably when the Alabama team plane arrives.

The site “Roll Bama Roll” picked up on the joke and added: “BREAKING: SABAN HEADED TO TEXAS?”

Yes. He. Is.

This should end the rumors for a while but brace yourself for another juicy headline in a few weeks:”BREAKING: NICK SABAN TO VISIT KENTUCKY.”

That one will be “true” too. Alabama plays at Kentucky on Oct. 12.

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