On July 4 2001, I wrote that Bob Knight should retire. That rant “got lost” when the website converted to the current format, but I had saved the original document and have reposted it for reference. In the past 48 hours, Bob Knight did in fact retire after a time at Texas Tech where he turned a moribund basketball program into one that won 20 games in five consecutive seasons. That had never happened there before; it is not a mortal lock that it will ever happen again.
In 2001, I thought Bob Knight should retire because he was out of step with the sensitive and politically correct nature of the times and that he would be a constant target of those people who bought into those sentiments. He was indeed out of step; he is still out of step; he was the target of many people’s scorn; he will now be a much less available target for same.
In forty years of coaching college basketball, Bob Knight only held three jobs – Army, Indiana and Texas Tech. In forty years of coaching college basketball, the NCAA never had to put any of those programs on probation or suspension or anything of the sort. In forty years of coaching college basketball, Bob Knight’s teams averaged 22.5 wins per season. One reason Bob Knight had 40 years in his profession is that he began is Division 1 coaching career at age 24; no other person has done that. He retires with a record 902 wins to his credit.
If you read anyone in the next few days who demeans those accomplishments on the basis that Bob Knight was also a hard-ass who was difficult to get along with, then that person has his/her own agenda going on. It is not difficult to dislike Bob Knight for some of his anti-social actions. At this moment however, it is important to step back and to recognize the enormity of his accomplishments within his chosen profession.
I stand by what I said back in 2001. Had either or both of my sons had the ability to play college basketball – they did not – I would have gladly sent them to play for Bob Knight if he would have had them. He is a man of principle, integrity and brutal candor. He is a man of the 1970s and 1980s. He has earned his retirement and everyone should wish him well in that phase of his life.
Thinking about Bob Knight leads me to the intersection of basketball and integrity. And that leads me to another topic that could become scandalous for the professional version of the sport one of these days. Think about the recent ruling by the NBA that the final 52 seconds of an Atlanta/Miami game needs to be replayed because of a scoring error. Shaq was disqualified from the game at that point, because of what was recorded as his sixth foul when in fact it was only his fifth. There is every reason to believe this was a simple clerical error and the league moved to “right the wrong”. However, in the post-Tim Donaghy world, is that the end of the story?
Does the league do any kind of background checking on the scorers and timers for its games? As of about three years ago, I know that the home teams hired the timers/shot clock operators; if any kind of background check were done, it probably ascertained with 99% confidence that the person was not a “felon at large” and wanted in several states. But the clock operator can affect “gambling outcomes” of games – - either acting alone or in concert with one of the referees. Do not tell me it cannot happen…
If “the wise guys” are betting OVER in a game, how many extra seconds could a clock operator blend into a game by being extra quick to stop the clock when the ball goes out of bounds and being extra slow to start the clock every time that is necessary. More time in a game means more opportunity to score … If you took the tape of an NBA game where the clock operator was scrupulously honest and went to the laboratory to reconstruct the timing down to milliseconds, you would see that it would be a miracle if there were actually 48 minutes of playing time in a game. Now, suppose that the clock operator really did want there to be 49 minutes in that game or even 50… Who would ever notice?
Please note that in my example, it is the “wise guys” who have bet the OVER in one of the NBA games. Suppose the clock operator himself is the person placing the wager using a cut-out [a “beard”] to make the actual wagers and collections? Can you imagine the crow that David Stern would have to eat when it is not clear that Tim Donaghy was not a “rogue individual” and that the NBA’s crack security staff missed another one?
Back on July 26, 2005, I wrote that the NHL had the opportunity to lead the way for pro sports. The league had canceled its All-Star Game that year because the Winter Olympics had already wrought havoc with the schedule and I hoped that all the other sports might follow suit and cancel their All-Star Games permanently. Sadly, that has not been the case. But now I read a report in the Ottawa Sun that gives me new hope.
The NHL may be taking this “All-Star Game cancellation concept” to a higher plane. In 2010, they will not have an All-Star Game because of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. In addition, according to a “league source”, the NHL All-Star Game may take “a permanent hiatus”. Let’s not quibble here that “permanent hiatus” is a contradiction in terms; the important word is “permanent”. Such a situation would leave room for other sports to skip an All-Star game or two without seeming to be following the lead of the NHL. Each league could come up with its own PR-speak to explain why they are going to try a season or two without this nonsense and how that is best for the fans.
Every once in a while, you read something attributed to someone and you just know there is a strange story behind the utterance. Consider the sentence, “…I can live a good life without toes.” Well, Dwight Perry in the Seattle Times provided the background/context here about two weeks ago:
“This month’s Black Knight (“It’s Just A Flesh Wound”) Award goes to Andrew Wells, who will likely have two toes amputated after running nearly 17 hours in sub-zero temperatures on the Ice Age Trail to win last weekend’s 64-mile Frozen Otter Ultra Trek in Wisconsin.
“As Wells, 27, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel from his hospital bed: ‘There’s nothing I can do about it now. I can live a good life without toes.’
“For his efforts, the Davenport, Iowa, resident won a gift package that included energy drinks, gel flasks, Moosejaw adventure gear and a subscription to Trail Runner magazine.
I know that I can live a good life with my toes and without that gift pack of energy drinks, adventure gear and a subscription to Trail Runner magazine. But that’s just me…
Finally, here is another Dwight Perry item:
“Portland Winter Hawks goaltender Jordan White stopped the first 66 shots he saw in a 4-0 Western Hockey League loss to the Seattle Thunderbirds on Saturday night.
“The Memorial Coliseum record for saves, by the way, was reportedly set in 1992 by Billy Graham.”
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports…