The Unsporting Milieu of Sports

The last several days have been interesting in the sports world.

Bobby Knight quit his job without being asked.

Indiana University, an erstwhile power in college basketball, is about to fire yet another coach.

The U.S. Congress wasted their time and our money in a hearing about Roger Clemens' use of steroids.

Senator Arlen Specter wants to have another congressional hearing about the New England Patriots' cheating.



INDIANA UNIVERSITY (IU) SHOULD REHIRE BOBBY KNIGHT

Now that Kelvin Sampson, the IU basketball coach has come under fire and may be fired, we know why Bobby Knight suddenly quit his job at Texas. Bobby Knight and the Bob Knight Worshippers (BKW) have been working on getting him back to IU since the minute he was kicked out. I know what I'm talking about because I live in Indiana and I'm an IU alum. I'm not sure if the BKW are in the majority here, or if they are just more visible and vocal than those of us who were happy to see Knight's back. In any case, I have no doubt that the BKW are somehow involved in the mess currently brewing for Sampson. They either set him up, or they knew, that with the impossible pressure Sampson is under to win immediately, that he would be forced to break the NCAA rules. I find it significant that someone in Sampson's office reported his infractions. I would be really surprised if that person is not a BKW.

So long as Knight is breathing, the BKW will want him back at IU, so bring him back. Don't let some other unsuspecting guy take the coaching job and be undermined the way the last two coaches have been. Mike Davis, the guy who immediately succeeded Knight, won more than 60% of his games, but that wasn't good enough because he wasn't Knight. So Davis had to leave. In his second year Sampson has the Hurryin' Hoosiers ranked in the top 25 nationally, but that won't do. He's not Knight. So let's resolve this issue once and for all. Bring Knight back!

Let Knight and the BKW have their heart's desire. When the gods want to punish us, they give us our heart's desire.


ROGER CLEMENS

I'm not a fan of baseball. The only reason it was ever the national pastime is because back in the day, there wasn't much else to do. With the advent of television, football has become the national pastime. You don't see rows and rows of empty seats at football games. And we all know that basketball and hockey are a lot more entertaining than baseball. I don't care how much nostalgia wants to say otherwise.

It's precisely because baseball is boring that everybody (players, owners, fans, the commissioner, the league) looked the other way when steroids became a part of the game. The astounding feats of the players made baseball exciting and increased ticket sales. There's no point in feigning shock about the source of this sudden inflation of the baseball prowess of guys in their mid to late 30s. Even I know that athletes don't peak near the end of their careers. According to this baseball logic, Shaquille O'Neal should be about to hit his stride!

So accept it for what it is, people, and please, Congress, do not waste any more time stirring these muddy waters.


NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS' SPYING

The Patriots admitted they spied and they've been punished. All along they said their perfect season would mean nothing if they did not win the Super Bowl.

The did not win the Super Bowl.

The undefeated season merely made them big enough for a really hard fall.

Let it go, Senator Specter.

Nasty people who do good things

This is in response to the W. Kamau Bell Curve blog re Bob Knight, Ike Turner, Miles Davis, and others who have transcendent skills/creativity but who also lose control.

Yes, I still listen to Miles Davis, despite his violence with women. And grudgingly I have to give Bobby Knight his props as a basketball coach, etc. for the others.

I haven't always been so generous, but the older I get, and the more self-examination I do, the more I understand that each of us humans has many demons to deal with. Some of us manage to keep our demons under wraps, while others let them out, albeit very, very carefully.

One thing all of these brilliant, nasty guys have in common is that they do not pick on people whose power is equivalent to their own. I never once saw Bobby Knight attempt to choke another coach, or a referee--only the players whose playing time (and scholarships) Bobby Knight controlled. Nor did Ike ever slap around the male musicians in his band. In other words, these nasty guys were bullies only with people they perceived as weaker than them.

Imagine the agony they must live (have lived) with on a daily basis having to stifle their ever present anger, which is always an expression of fear, whenever there was no weaker person around for them to hit.

So, I have come to pity rather than scorn these cowardly folk.

Of course, that's certainly easier for me than for the people who have been on the receiving end of one of their explosions.