Staying in Oxford: Ole Miss football coach Houston Nutt says he “appreciates the interest Kansas showed in our staff” but he will not pursue the Jayhawks’ coaching vacancy. Nutt and Rebels Athletic Director Pete Boone issued statements this morning after media reports that Nutt was interested in the Kansas job. Nutt is 17-8 in two seasons and has guided Ole Miss (8-4) to consecutive eight-win seasons for the first time since 1989-90. The Rebels play No. 21 Oklahoma State in the Jan. 2 Cotton Bowl. Kansas Coach Mark Mangino resigned last week in the midst of an investigation into his treatment of players.
Second ouster in as many weeks: General Motors Co. is close to replacing its chief financial officer after finding a candidate to take his job, its CEO said in a Web chat with reporters today. The candidate was not identified during the chat with GM’s Chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre Jr. but it was the first time the automaker has publicly acknowledged that the board plans to replace current CFO Ray Young. An announcement is likely in two to three weeks. Young is the second top executive to be replaced by Whitacre and the new government-appointed board, which took over control of the troubled automaker as it emerged from bankruptcy protection in July. Fritz Henderson, the former CEO, left last week.
As the network turns: CBS canceled As the World Turns today, putting the company that coined the phrase “soap operas” out of the business of making daytime dramas for the first time in 76 years. As the World Turns has been on the air since 1956 and televised its 13,661st episode Tuesday. Its last episode will be next September, the network said. It’s the second daytime drama CBS has canceled in a year, after Guiding Light. Both shows were produced by a subsidiary of Procter & Gamble, the company for which the term “soap operas” was created because it used the shows to hawk products like Ivory soap and Duz laundry detergent. The cancellation will leave CBS with only two daytime dramas: The Young and the Restless and The Bold and Beautiful.
