Posts tagged BobKnight at FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

While giving a speech in April, former Indiana and Texas Tech coach Bob Knight's phone rang. So he answered it and had a profane conversation (with Knight, is there any other kind?) in front of everyone in attendance:

That video, which I first saw when FanHouse's Chas Rich posted it last month, has been getting a lot of attention in the blogosphere lately, at places like Meaningful Collateral and Deadspin. But I'm surprised no one has drawn the obvious political parallel.

There was a brief kerfuffle early in the presidential campaign when Rudy Giuliani answered his cell phone while giving a speech to the NRA. The Giuliani campaign tried to spin it as evidence that he's a dedicated family man -- the call was from his wife -- but it was painted by many as a sign that Giuliani is arrogant, aloof and much more concerned about his own time than the time of those around him.

I'll leave it to the political pundits to determine whether that's true of Giuliani, but I'd certainly say that describes Knight.

This is fantastic. Bob Knight is at a speaking engagement in Nashville, Tennessee and gets a call on his cell phone. In front of the crowd he starts to have a conversation with Craig Angelos, the Athletic Director at Florida Atlantic University. Knight recommended the hiring of Bob Hipsher -- presently an assistant at South Florida -- as the guy to fill FAU's head coach vacancy.

Obligatory warning, it's Bob Knight speaking off-the-cuff so the language is a touch colorful.

Apparently Knight's advice wasn't taken, as it is being widely rumored that Mike Jarvis will get the job.

This might be the worst fundraising idea ever. The only saving grace is that it's for a great cause, although the Dick Vitale Gala for Cancer Research organizers should consider taking out extra personal-injury insurance in case the way-too-obvious eventuality is realized:

As part of his yearly fundraiser for cancer research, Lakewood Ranch resident Dick Vitale is offering the opportunity for a round of golf with Bob Knight and John Havlicek on May 16 at the Lakewood Ranch Golf & Country Club.

Bids for two threesomes will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. Saturday for nine holes with each basketball legend.

Bids start at $10,000 and include 18 holes of golf in the morning, a pre-gala party and the third annual Dick Vitale Gala for Cancer Research that evening at the Ritz-Carlton in Sarasota.

I suppose nine holes is in everyone's best interest; if nothing else, it'll minimize the chances Knight wraps a putter around some guys head for a seemingly innocuous comment about chairs or something. To be fair, Knight has mellowed since retiring, although, as FanHouse's Chad Rich suggests (via Knight's cat, via MJD), that may have more to do with the mind-numbingly awful Digger Phelps and his highlighter.

So here's to hoping Doug Gottlieb is the high bidder. Not only would the money go to a worthy cause, but there's a better than 50 percent chance that Knight maims Gottlieb before the third hole. That's a win for cancer research and college basketball.

UPDATE: FanHouse reader Johnny leaves moving-pictures proof of what Gottlieb can expect. Which makes me think pay-per-view is the way to go.

Hat tip: Larry Brown Sports

Former coach and current ESPN analyst Bob Knight is nothing if not a shill for any company that will pay him to endorse its product, and his latest is this Volkswagen commercial:

I have to say, it sucks, and it's a little embarrassing to watch Knight making a fool of himself like that. Awful Announcing says, "I'm all for people making as much money anyway they can, but this is a little ridiculous." And Sporting Blog says, "this new VW commercial featuring Knight is just not good. Like, at all." I agree. C'mon, Knight. You're better than that.

Bob Knight has been great on ESPN. Not because he's lost his cool at any point on the ESPN set. (darn). No, he's been great because he has been refreshingly candid about things. On the day of the NCAA Tournament Championship, the rumors of Oklahoma State pursuing Bill Self were everywhere. The discussion turned to how it should be handled.

Bob Knight compared it to the situation in the 1996 Superbowl with Bill Parcells, the New England Patriots and the New York Jets job. He had the simple and effective suggestion. Lie about it. (Plus, I just get a kick out of Knight calling the Patriots, "Pay-tree-aughts.")



There is no good way to handle it. If he admitted he would listen, it would just be a mess in Lawrence. If he turned Oklahoma State down, cold; he loses bargaining leverage with Kansas on his raise. Plus, no one knows just how interested he is in the job or not.

If you watched Bob Knight's debut on ESPN last night, you probably wondered who gave him horse tranquilizers or whether the ESPN folks rigged a special IV that pumped him full of serotonin the moment he appeared ready to really say something approaching critical or even interesting.

There is another possibility. The still missed from Fanhouse, MJD, was able to get Knight's cat to explain.

Back to Phelps. Digger, if you're reading this, I'd like you to consider killing yourself before you head back to the Bristol studios tonight. People are complaining that Coach Robert Montgomery Knight was uninspiring and perhaps a little bland last night, but that's your fault, Phelps. You and Coach Robert Montgomery Knight go way back, and he's afraid to embarrass you, so he felt like he had to limit his brilliance.

A game ends, Phelps, and you'll say something like, "Well, this team won because this one guy played really well." Really, Phelps? If I understand what you're saying correctly, that's (bleep)damn brilliant. That may be Tony-winning analysis, Digger.

Best option to get Knight to cut loose. Pair him with Doug Gottlieb. I have full faith that Gottlieb would say something that would set Knight off in the way we all want and expect.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski was on ESPN's Pardon the Interruption today, and he had some interesting thoughts about his mentor, Bob Knight, who resigned -- but didn't retire -- this season:

"I still don't think he's through with coaching," Krzyzewski said. "I think he'll come back -- not that he's told me that, but he loves the game so much."

I think he'll return to coaching, too, but it's odd to think of Knight as someone who "loves the game so much," just because he never seems happy when he's in the process of coaching.

Krzyzewski also said he hopes Knight, in his work as an ESPN analyst during March Madness, spends time actually teaching the viewers about the game and its history. I'd love to see that, but I'd love it even more if Knight would answer legitimate questions from his co-workers.

I suspect there are a lot of ESPN employees who don't like the fact that Bob Knight, the college basketball coach who spent more than three decades treating the media with contempt, is now working at ESPN. But most of them will keep quiet about it. Mike Lupica, on the other hand, welcomed Knight to the Worldwide Leader today on The Sports Reporters:

Lupica said, "I want Knight to know that we're going to be a lot more tolerant of him than he's always been of us, now that he's officially become one of us. Of course, having been one of them for so long before becoming one of us, there's a chance that the transition from a profession he loved to one he routinely ridiculed, might be a little more difficult for Knight than it's been for other out-of-work coaches."

Lupica makes a crack about Knight wearing makeup on TV and advises Knight not to swear on television, not to strangle Dick Vitale, Digger Phelps or John Saunders, and not to throw any chairs.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski recorded his 800th career victory Saturday, and after the game he took time out to praise his own college coach, and the only coach who leads him by more than 100 career wins, Bob Knight:

"I'd particularly like to thank coach Knight," Krzyzewski said. "As a point guard for him for three years, he taught me the game, sometimes in a manner in which I didn't want to be taught. But I learned it, and he's been my friend and teacher and mentor ever since. And it's allowed me to become who I am."

I'm not a Knight fan, but it should be pointed out that the majority of his former players are Knight fans. Krzyzewski played for Knight at Army and has often credited Knight for teaching him the game. Somehow, Krzyzewski managed to end up with all of Knight's Xs and Os knowledge but none of his self-control issues, which is why Krzyzewski is the coach who will almost certainly break Knight's all-time wins record.