So perhaps when he gave a speech in Nashville, Indiana, he made a larger point about life and cell phones by disrespectfully taking a call mid-speech to recommend basketball coach Dan Hipsher for a job, or something. Candid thoughts about Rick Majerus ensued:

It's unrelated, but interesting information: Bob Knight is notorious for buying excellent cell phones, then overusing them for four years to the point where they are no longer functional.

Your Friday Bob Knight Moment [The Meaningful Collateral]

We've been surprised how much we've enjoyed Knight on the network's studio analyst crew, but he's all calm and reasonable and stuff. This will not do. Antwonomous suggests an expletive-ridden rant on Rece Davis, but we'd prefer a sudden chokehold on Digger Phelps. It's only a matter of time, really.

Hey, Rece: Don't call him "Hey, Knight." Though it'd be cool if you did.

Bobby Knight: The Calm Before The Storm [Antwonomous]

Remember Bob Knight's infamous furious speech in which he gets his Berman on? Well, it turns out, it might have been recorded by Frank.

Lawrence Frank is a prime suspect. The New Jersey Nets coach couldn't be reached, but he was a basketball manager at IU then and was in the room. "Lawrence Frank definitely could have done something like this," Leary said. "There was never a manager that was more full of (it) than he was. He would take us to fraternity parties on campus and just walk us all in — and it wasn't even his fraternity. He was just as full of (it) as they came."

Seriously, just to kick off your day right:

They threatened to kick him out of the game and, ultimately, arrest; he finally just took the thing off, which is scary enough, actually. Our favorite part about this is the shirt itself; he clearly put a ton of time and effort into it. Have to respect that.

No Bring Back Bobby T-Shirt For You [Inside The Hall]

We've quoted this before, but it bears repeating. In his book "To Hate Like This Is To Be Happy Forever" - which is about hating Duke - author Will Blythe quotes from a work by 19th-century essayist William Hazlitt called "On The Pleasure Of Hating."

Nature seems made of antipathies. Without something to hate, we should lose the very spring of thought and action. ... Pure good soon grows insipid, wants variety and spirit. Pain is a bittersweet, which never surfeits. Love turns, with a little indulgence, to indifference or disgust: Hatred alone is immortal.

Any growing young sports fan needs someone to hate. The Red Sox have Jeter and A-Rod. Eagles fans have Terrell Owens. North Carolina has Coach K. And we, growing up, had Bob Knight. To us, Bob Knight wasn't just an angry man coaching our rival basketball school; he was the personification of fire-breathing rage, the uncontrollable monster who, some day, we all suspected, would finally flip out, attack a referee and destroy everything he had built.

Yet you still were both in awe of him, and you respected him. For a 10-year-old kid, this red-faced, floor-stomping, snorting wildebeest almost served as a father figure, the nightmare authoritarian figure always waiting for you, if you deigned to screw up. (It didn't help that, when our dad would get mad at us, he'd have the the similar red-faced nostril flare that Knight did. This was not something that would have been wise to mention to our father at the age of 10.) Bob Knight was that little self-flagellating part of you that was ready to pounce if you made a mistake; he was an authoritarian who was constantly in our heads. We can't imagine what it must have been like to actually play for him; we were terrified of him, and we displaced our terror with the more acceptable fan hatred.

In the later stages, at the end of the Texas Tech run, it was actually kind of sad to see Knight so sedate; age finally got to him. That's probably for the best; we're pleased he retired before finally attacking that ref after all.

Bob Knight was one of those grand figures that only sports can give us. In the real world, his antics would never be tolerated; in sports, as long as he won, he could stomp and curse all he wants. College basketball seems a little emptier already without him in it. Also: A little safer.

Oh, and yes: We did finally stand up and ask Coach Knight a question, at a postgame press conference after the Hoosiers had beaten the Illini. We don't remember what we asked, but Knight looked us up and down, paused for a moment and went quiet. Then he exhaled and, calmly, answered the question. We don't know if that made us a real sports journalist or not, but we will say this: We were relieved he was not mad at us. Even as a senior in college, we were terrified of him. We kind of still are. We'll probably miss that.

Return to the Scheyer. Duke's hobbit-like swingman potted 16 points in the first half and 21 in the game, as No. 7 Duke rolled over Florida State 70-57. OK, Scheyer's skinny frame and crazy facial expressions probably make the whole Lord of the Rings comp a bit of a stretch. But we'll use any excuse to link to cheesecake shots of Rosie Cotton. As for Scheyer, he's emerged as one of the best sixth men/M.O.T.s in the country, after starting last year as a freshman. He's also the author of a famous high school performance, in which he scored 21 points in a span of 75 seconds. Plus Scheyer's creative shot-making last night was almost enough to make you forget about the horrendous charging fouls called on FSU in the first half, the flops by Nolan Smith and Taylor King being the most egregious since...the last time Duke played. (Ed. Note: More on this later today.)

900. Congratulations to Bobby Knight for winning his 900th career game. The General turned the trick against No. 10 Texas A&M, the third straight time the Red Raiders knocked off an Aggies team ranked in the top 10. Knight's trademark man-to-man defense befuddled A&M, which shot a season-low 34 percent from the field and committed a season-high 20 turnovers. The real winners here? O'Reilly Auto Parts.

Peacock, in the dining room, with the candlestick. I was all set with the elaborate Clue references, but Zach Peacock ruined it by missing twice in the final seconds, as North Carolina hung on for an 83-82 win over Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets threw a huge scare into the Heels, though, despite 27 points and 11 rebounds from Tyler Hansbrough. Peacock in particular put in a great showing, putting up 14 and 11 in just 21 minutes. Oh what the heck, here's your Eileen Brennan fix.

Temple of Doom. Conjuring up the ghosts of Mark Macon, sub-.500 Temple smoked No. 20 Xavier 78-59. Dionte Christmas counted 19 of his 23 points in the second half, while Mark Tyndale added 22 for the Owls. That's the same Temple team that lost to the mighty Charleston Cougars. It's A-10 madness!

Predictions. I picked Florida to beat No. 18 Mississippi by four and UMass to score its own road upset over No. 14 Dayton by two. Not bad, all things considered. The Gators rang up 53 points in the second half, coming up just short in an 89-87 loss to Ole Miss. The Minutemen had better luck, as five players scored in double figures en route to a huge 82-71 win at Dayton. The question isn't whether the A-10 can get four teams into the NCAA tournament. The real question is, can St. Joseph's or another upstart make enough noise to make it five bids?

No. 6 Tennessee 82, No. 16 Vanderbilt 79. I am off-the-charts excited for this game. The two teams' combined 30-2 start and Vandy coming off its double-OT loss to Kentucky raise the stakes for what's always a fun intrastate match-up even when neither team is in the Top 15. I like Tennessee's pressure defense and loaded backcourt to be just enough to overcome Shan Foster and A.J. Ogilvy. Because this game's on ESPN2, we won't get a repeat of Gus Johnson's giddy Saturday performance, which is a damn shame. Billyball, HA-HA-HA!

Louisville 69, No. 13 Marquette 65. I love Marquette's three-headed backcourt so much that I made the Golden Eagles my token bizarro Final Four pick. Meanwhile, the Cardinals have been a different team lately with Derrick Caracter, David Padgett and Juan Palacios back. I don't trust a team with Edgar Sosa at the controls in March. But for mid-January, with Louisville at home, the Cardinals look good.

Record: 6-5
Results within five points: 1-10

Over the weekend, Knight didn't return to the floor after halftime of a Texas Tech loss to Centenary, ostensibly because he had the flu. But just before halftime, he had a rather spirited conversation with some Centenary students.

A Centenary student yelled, "Oh (expletive), he's got a gun," as Knight headed to the locker room with his team leading the Gentlemen 35-32.

Knight stopped, walked to the students and calmly explained the Red Raiders were, "Being nice by coming here," and that, "No other team in the (Big 12) conference would travel here."

The real question, though: Did he have a gun, or not?

Bobby Knight Doesn't Take Well To Heckling [The Sporting Blog]

It's compelling stuff, for several reasons.

1. The neighbor's accent is pretty brilliant. He don't want no pellets on his house.
2. Bob Knight actually lectures someone on "cussing" and not being polite.
3. It's odd hearing a legendary coach veering toward whining and petulance; he sounds like a little kid trying to blame something on another little kid.

We suppose it's comforting to know that Knight still has a nice strain of anger in him; we were afraid he was mellowing in his old age. But still: This is not how we like to see our coaching legends, even Bob Knight. It's just more proof: Bob Knight and guns don't mix. The more you know.

Bob Knight Confronted During Hunting Trip [Dallas Morning News]
Do Not Taunt Bob Knight When He Has A Gun [Deadspin]

Apparently, Knight, while "hunting," has come a little too close to some of his fellow humans.

One woman said she was hit in the foot by birdshot fired by the Texas Tech coach while he was hunting. However, Knight came over to the woman and apologized, saying it was an accident - and she believed his claim.

But another man said Knight intentionally shot at him the next day, when he yelled at the coach for hunting too close to his house. Neither day's shots caused any injuries, nor were any charges filed.

You know, honestly ... if you yell at Bob Knight while he's carrying a shotgun, you kind of have to just assume he's gonna shoot at you, right? Use your head, people.

Bobby Knight Accused Of Taking Shots At People While Hunting [Sports By Brooks]

Texas Tech coach Bob Knight and "Arliss" — sorry: "Arli$$" — star Robert Wuhl were guests of Cards manager Tony La Russa during last night's brutal, nasty, hideously played 14-inning Cardinals-Royals game. (The Cardinals won, but it was not something they should be proud of.)

We highly doubt Knight and Wuhl made it through all 14 innings; Knight surely napped out by the sixth out. We love the idea of these three guys hanging out after the game, though; we're sure Wuhl had to buy all the drinks, and we're sure La Russa didn't drive.

One More Dying Quail has some suggestions for motivational speeches that coaches can use to fire up their underdog teams in the tournament tomorrow. They bring up The Gene Hackman, The John Belushi (cocaine optional), The Dwight Schrute Podium Hammer and, our personal favorite, the infamous Bob Knight "I Will Destroy You" Method, memorialized above. That's your all-time winningest Division I-A coach, folks.

If They're Gonna Win This Thing, They're Gonna Need A Good Speech [One More Dying Quail]

(Video is some NSFW audio, but it's Bob Knight, so you knew that.)

Well, we know college basketball season is officially upon us: Bob Knight is being accused of brutalizing a player again. This time, it was Texas Tech sophomore forward Michael Prince, who made the mistake of not making eye contact with Knight while being lectured after a timeout. Knight bopped Prince under the chin, and Prince, being a trained athlete and not, say, an infant, did not break his jaw or burst into tears.

Prince says it's not a big deal at all, and, frankly, we tend to agree with him. (We still can't wait for the Mariotti column, though.) Still, just to be annoying Internet people, we thought we'd direct you to the famous Minute Maid commercial with Knight playing all lobotomized and Xanax-ed. We suspect most would say they prefer Knight to be like this, but we don't believe them: Otherwise, everyone would have to lead their broadcasts with that MNF game this morning, and nobody wants that.

Princes Say Knight's Actions Non-Issue [Lubbock Online]

It would seem that combining former Indiana coach Bob Knight and the frustration of the game of golf would be recipe for combustion.

Therefore, this '80s video, from We Are The Postmen, is a terrifying look into the mind of Knight off-camera, or, more specific, when the director has said cut. Profanity galore, with plenty of good-ole-boy "hey, the wife will leave you alone!" wisecracks, if you needed any proof that Bob Knight is insane, this should pretty much provide it.

Bob Knight Has Tourette's [We Are The Postmen]

This guy expected to hate the show, but ended up liking it, despite noting that the show is "very self-promoting." Not really a shock, considering that I don't think anyone at ESPN is even allowed to create anything that couldn't be described as "self-promoting."

Ultimately, I don't think the show will do much to help Bob Knight's image. Even if he acts on camera like a white Al Roker, his critics will still be able to say things like, "I'm sure they edited out the part where Knight threatened to kill all who refused to have "Myles Brand Sucks" branded on their right thigh." The real winners here? O'Reilly Auto Parts.

The first episode airs tonight at 10 p.m. on ESPN, and replays at 11 p.m. on ESPN2, for those of you enjoying the NBA All-Star Game festivities.

Knight School [ESPN.com]
'Knight School' actually better than expected [Gainesville.com]

"Some words ultimately will be bleeped," executive producer Rob Lundgren said. "There aren t that many." The series, set to begin filming in September, follows 33 walk-ons who will try to make the team at Texas Tech. May God have mercy on their souls.

For those who can't wait, here's a preview.*

And while we're at it, we have a previous Dick Cheney hunting trip.

Knight To Be "Bleeped" On PG-Rated Reality Series [MSNBC]

* = May not be actual reality show clip.

We're checking the Indiana Daily Student for more official news about this ... so stay tuned. Sources say an announcement could happen by the end of the week. But again: Just rumors. Yep.

Iowa Holds Off No. 24 Indiana 70-67 [Newsday]
Indiana Daily Student

(Speaking of Bobby, anybody else hear these rumors that he could end up at Mizzou next year?)

You know what's funny too? We'd put 2-to-1 odds that the "crazy" fan is, in fact, Pat Knight. Hell, Dad's got to keep him on the payroll for something.

GO RAIDERS!!! [WildRaiders.com] (VIDEO, via Georgia Sports Blog and Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer.)