Get Ready To Welcome Digger; College GameDay Coming to Purdue in January

As first reported over at H&R, the basketball version of College Gameday is coming to Purdue on January 22, 2011. Purdue hosts Michigan State that evening.

All I can say about this is.... it's about fricking time.

Of course, it would be a hard one to ignore, since that game will almost certainly be a matchup of top 5 teams and could fairly easily be a matchup of #1 versus #2.

We're Just Going To Go Ahead and Dislike Both These Guys

By now you've likely heard that Bob Knight made some negative remarks in the direction of Coach Cal over at Kentucky. To quote Knight:

“We’ve gotten into this situation where integrity is really lacking and that’s why I’m glad I’m not coaching. You see, we’ve got a coach at Kentucky who put two schools on probation and he’s still coaching. I really don’t understand that.”

Wow. Please don't make us sound like we're defending slimy Coach Calipari please, Bob.

Yes, the last two places Calipari coached both wound up on NCAA probation right after he left and had to vacate wins and Final Four appearances. But Calipari was not found guilty of any wrongdoing. No, the good old days were not so much more virtuous, Sir Knight, as RTC points out.

However, we tend to believe in the principle that often times, where there's smoke there's fire. Calipari leaves smoke wherever he goes, so whether or not he was directly responsible or not is probably splitting hairs. Slick guys know how to avoid getting pinched. Non-slick guys give hoochies their personal cell number and then wind up with their wives attacking them with a golf club.

So, yes, Bob Knight might have a point about Coach Cal being slippery. However, when you've choked players, accosted students, attacked an assistant coach, choked a sports information director, wiped your ass and shown it to your players, thrown chairs at officials and players, and told the world to kiss your ass, well...you don't get to act like you're a pillar of class.

Bob Knight Is Still An A-Hole

You know how we were all getting to like Bob Knight a little too much for our own comfort level? Well, he reminded us all that he's still a jerk by -- get this -- getting bitchy about being asked about throwing the infamous chair. You Been Blinded has the story.

Sure, I agree it's been a long time and the guy has done far more noteworthy things. We're willing to give him that. But when you continue to cash in on that obnoxious (and dangerous) act for decades, including as recently as a commercial run during the Final Four... well, then shut up.

If you don't want to click through to You Been Blinded's story, here's the video... and Bob gets ranty at about the 2:30 mark:



Classy, Bob, classy. Still dropping f-bombs to try to intimidate people.

Prepare to See Coaching Elite In Boxers

We already had the gay undertones of wife-cheater (Kobe), steroid-user (A-Rod), drunk driving bong-hitter (Michael Phelps) and general all-around stoner (Tony Hawk -- sorry, couldn't find anything really bad about him) doing a gay-undertones guitar hero commercial. But now we've got a cadre of college coaches doing it, too -- and hunchback Bob Knight referring to it as "Gee-tar Hee-row."

Avert your eyes.



I actually like the way they all kind of shake their heads at Knight's patented "throw something" maneuver. As an aside, though, has anyone ever gotten more mileage out of a single act of ass-hole-ry?

But Their Fundamentals Are So... Fundamental

Do you think one Top 25 team should be able to beat another Top 25 by 53 points? No, we don't think so.

Is a college sport legit when this sort of thing happens with some measure of regularity? No, we don't think so.

You can pretend that Geno Auriemma is a terrific coach and that Pat Summit's 1,000+ wins are just as meaningful as Bob Knight's 902. But you'd be wrong.

As a co-editor of mine once said, it's not a "golden age of women's basketball," it's a golden age of a few teams.

Barnburning Boilers

You like that headline? See, you come here, you get quality. We're not just gorgeous window dressing -- we've got the smrts, too. I mean, S-M-A-R-T.

Last night, as you no doubt are aware if you're reading this, our Boilers played a rather complete game in the Barn up in Minny, defeating the Gophers 70-62.

There's still plenty to work on, as anyone who watched with a critical eye can admit. But let's talk about the good first.

Team defense. The Boilers hustled out there and, despite some ticky-tack foul calls by the horsesh-t officiating crew (on both sides), the Boilers defense was stout. Chris Kramer led the charge as usual, playing smothering defense and hustling to loose balls in a way that reminds me very much of Brian Cardinal but in a far more controlled way. I don't watch the game thinking Kramer is going to break his own neck, in other words. You know you've won the battle when you get a quote from the other team like this:

"Their defense really took a toll on us," [Al] Nolen said. "We couldn't get the ball in the basket to save our lives."

Indeed, the Gophers shot a putrid 28% from the floor, including 16% from three-land. Hey, as a fan of a school that has gone through awful 3-pt shooting spells in the past, I can lend some advice here: When you're shooting under 20% but the game is still within reach, maybe you try to work for some easier buckets. Goodness.

Shooting. Simple as it sounds, the Boilers are shooting well again. Sure, in a lot of cases, you're either a good shooter (Hummel) or you're not (cough, Calasan). But we have all seen this team go inexplicably cold and had that sinking feeling... We're not coming back. Well, last night was not one of those nights. The Boilermakers took controlled, smart shots for the most part. The passing was crisp (even getting Coach Knight to say "This is a good passing basketball team") and generally smart. At the half, the Boilers were shooting 54% from the field and wound up shooting 47% for the game (including 55% from three-land). Solid.

Adjustments. Minny adjusted to a zone defense partway through the first half and for a couple minutes it definitely slowed the Boilers down. The passing was still good, but it just rotated around the perimeter. However, before long, the Boilers adjusted and starting driving and cutting to create shots and open looks. Very well done. And at the start of the second half, the Gophers got on a bit of a run to open things up and, while they didn't catch up, they definitely got the momentum going their way a bit. But like a good team, Purdue managed to withstand it and hold off the Gopher attack.

Rebounding. I continue to be impressed with the Purdue rebounding, even though I know that this, too, has been hit or miss at times. There are still improvements to be made (Calasan having them tipped away at times, etc.) but overall I thought the Boilers rebounded very well. JJ led the team with 8 but Robbie was right there with him, despite a balky back that was clearly bothering him at times. Just imagine if this squad was fully healthy. (Minnesota's leading rebounder was Ralph Sampson III, by the way. And in case you forgot he was the THIRD, you just need only look at his jersey to see "SAMPSON III" on the back. Well, someone needs to tell young Ralph that he looks like a bozo. His last name is Sampson, not Sampson III.)

As for what I'd like to see us work on a bit more....

Chris Kramer's Fear of Shooting. Maybe we can get Chris into a support group or something. I realize he's not the best shooter on the team, but he's only got 57 field goal attempts on the entire season. He's averaging just over 3 FGA per game. Maybe we could inch it up to 5-6 per game? Kramer had wide open looks a few times as the result of sloppy zone play or double teams and yet still chose to look for the pass. I like pass-first guys as much as the next person, but there are definitely times when you need to shoot the rock.

Calasan Decision-Making. Maybe it's not "decision" making so much as he just does whatever his body feels like doing. He had at least two dumb traveling calls and he continues to think he's Larry Bird from the top of the 3-point arc. I know he sank a big one and we had a significant lead and so that's fine... but he's not out there to shoot long shots like that. Rebound and work on not shuffling your feet, there, Darko.

LewJack. I still love the kid and the energy he brings and the positives far outweigh the negatives right now, but he still needs to continue working on his control. He had a few turnovers that were very avoidable and sometimes he still seems out of control. I realize he's amped and he's just a freshman, but if we can continue shaving off the silly mistakes as we get deeper into conference play, that would be huge. This guy is going to be fantastic in subsequent years.

Miscellaneous Thoughts.

JJ had another awesome emphatic dunk. It seems like sometimes he just decides enough is enough and rams one home over everyone. Do this more often, JJ!

It pains me to admit this, but Bob Knight was really good as an analyst. He didn't annoy me at all -- and I hate this guy! His insights were solid and he truly sounded like a coach. I think this is good for him to have America see a smiling, laughing, joking version of Bob Knights, and one who also sounds like he's coaching the players and showing all of us what made him successful. If he could just control his anger and how he treats people, I might actually like him. (Though it was hilarious that he took off his headset to shout at the officials during the game -- they deserve it.)

MattyWatch. It almost seemed like Brent Musburger was aware of it, because I didn't hear a "Matty" for much of the night. Then at the end, during postgame handshakes, Brent just couldn't contain himself and out it came.... Matty Painter.

As Dowd said, this was just one of four big ones. Thanks to Northwestern, our Boilers are just a game back of Michigan State and still has the chance to control how things play out. That's really all you can ask for.

Keaton Grant can't help but laugh at Minnesota's 27% shooting.

Purdue vs. Minny Tonight -- The Return of Matty Painter

Tonight the #18 Boilermakers head into the Barn to take on the #20 Gophers. Being in the Central Time Zone, this game will come on at 6 PM for me and I will just be leaving the office most likely. So I am DVR-ing the game so I can watch it later in about 45 minutes. Less, if we're getting blown out or something. Judging by recent games, you only need to watch about 15 minutes of the Boilermakers... it's just which 15 minutes will they play like they're capable of playing? The first 15? The last? Who knows?

I'm not sure whether to be pleased or annoyed that Bob Knight and Brent Musburger are doing the game. At least we'll get to hear Coach Painter referred to as "Matty," again, something the Boiled Sports family loves.

They're even calling it "Thursday Knight Basketball." How fricking clever. Much as it pains me to admit it, though, Knight is improving as an analyst and seems far less angry than usual. Maybe this is the right place for him, rather than on the sidelines. Take a look at the preview he did with Musburger. Sure, it's still meandering and kind of general (and references UK vs. IU ten years ago -- like, who cares, dude?), but it's also interesting and Knight, as I said, seems relaxed and less obnoxious. Although there was this exchange:

Brent: Is it going to be hard for you to say nice things about Purdue?

Knight: Nah, Matt Painter is a good kid.

Yes, that's very respectful. Heh.

Obviously, it's important for the Boilers to come out of the gate strong. I think they're the better team here but this is a road game against a team that's constantly improving under Tubby. Sure, they lost to Northwestern but so did Michigan State -- and the Boilers truly should have lost that game, too. But you don't come here for my analysis and obvious observations.

The Boilermakers can move to within one game of first in the Big Ten with a win tonight. One step at a time, boys.

Boiler Up!

Handsome Lad Says Knight Should Coach Northwestern

The strikingly handsome and debonair gentleman you see pictured here isn't just a sexy piece of eye candy, ladies... that's right, he can write, too! More than just a hat rack, chickies!

Mike Hutsell of the news and tribune says that Bob Knight isn't done coaching and that Northwestern would be the perfect place for him. I can't argue this phenominal logic -- what struggling program wouldn't want an over-the-hill dinosaur who is a constant PR nightmare and a generally all-around embarrassing blowhard? And from Knight's point of view, of course it's a match made in heaven! An 0-10 (in Big Ten play) school... no where to go but up!

Let's also take a look at some of Mike Hutsell's points, as he paints us a picture with his words and makes it clear that Bob Knight would be purrrrr-fect in Evanston.

I don’t think Bob Knight is done, not even close.

Whoops, poor punctuation there, Mike, right out of the gate. But I hear you barkin', big dog! Now tell me why.

I can’t buy the fact that Knight’s career would end the way it did. As a footnote to the Super Bowl while spending the twilight of his career playing in a half-empty arena at a football school in Texas.

Hmm, well, where to begin here... first, does Mike have an editor? Because this is nonsense. First of all, Bob Knight retiring isn't a "footnote to the Super Bowl." If Rodney Harrison went out and had a stripper inject some HGH into his ass, THAT would be a "footnote to the Super Bowl." Also, Bob Knight hasn't "played" any basketball for Texas Tech. Oh, and Texas Tech is a "football school"? Really? That's funny, because, well... no, it isn't.

That’s not Bob Knight’s style. No way, not even close.

Yes, we covered that you don't think he's done.

Whatever the reason for Bob Knight’s oddly-timed step-aside from a Texas Tech program he crafted into a consistent, if unspectacular winner, it just doesn’t make any sense for him to leave now.

Yes, again... we covered that you don't think he's done. Also? Since I'm in a mood to be a bitchy, nit-picker, what the f-ck is an "oddly-timed step-aside"? Sounds like someone trying to line dance and doing it wrong. And also, the comma should go after "unspectacular," not after "winner."

Anyway... three sentences later:

There’s no way Knight’s done.

Um, really? That's amazing because I haven't heard you the FIRST THREE TIMES YOU SAID IT!

There’s a perfect fit out there — if it ever comes open.

Oh, so calling a job that isn't open "perfect" IS a bit of a stretch, yes?

It would be an opening in the Big Ten, it would be a job that would allow Knight to recruit the type of players he thrives on coaching,

Untalented white guys?

and it would be a job in a hot spot filled with some of his most ardent supporters who would flock to his arena every tipoff of every night.

Every tipoff of every night. Brilliant prose. What does it mean, though? When DOES the night "tipoff"? We may never know.

Change is always a possibility at a school that has lost every conference game it has played by at least 10 points, and tell me turning “The General” wouldn’t be a shot in the arm for the a program that has defined the doldrums of college hoops throughout its feeble existence.

Tell you "turning the General"... what? And just look at the rest of that sentence... "wouldn't be a shot in the arm for the a program..." What the hell IS this gobbeldy-gook? I'll ask again... don't you have an editor, Mike??

Then a couple paragraphs later, he hits us with this fragment, standing all alone like it's a sentence or something profound:

And in Chicagoland, where the Indiana alumni base who already turn Welsh-Ryan Arena into Assembly Hall North anytime the Hoosiers visit campus.

What? That's not even a sentence.

I also love that this is a "two-page" article and you have to click to keep going and then this is everything on the second page... bring it home, Mike!

Oh yeah, there’s that whole Indiana thing, too.

Northwestern has played Charlie Brown to the Hoosiers’ Lucy for years and at no point in the history of the program have the Wildcats gone into Bloomington and become a winner on Branch McCracken Court.

Tell me Knight wouldn’t live to be the guy who becomes the first to make that happen.

I don't think Bob Knight could make that happen... nor do I think he cares to make it happen. In addition, Mike Hutsell, you are a true pioneer of sportswriting and space should be made on the set of the Sports Reporters every Sunday morning for you.

Seriously, this article looks like a report a fifth-grader from Bloomington would write.

Coach; Educator; Marksman

You know, we definitely dislike Bob Knight around here but he's no longer the coach of our most hated rival, IU, and instead toils away at his craft in the outpost of Lubbock, Texas. Plus we have plenty of hating to do on Kelvin Sanctions, Fat Charlie, etc.

But, still, I had to comment on this story from SI that Bob Knight is still out there firing wayward shotgun blasts.

Apparently, last month Bob Knight "accidentally" shot a woman in the foot while hunting for birds. That seems a bit off-target to me -- aren't birds more often airborne than at foot level? Regardless, he then allegedly hit another guy who had yelled at him and his buddy for hunting too close to his property. The guy in question only yelled at them after, according to him, their birdshot had rained down on his backyard three times. Then he was cleaning his pool and was hit in the back by more birdshot pellets.

"Lubbock police said they do not plan to seek charges against the coach."

Of course not. Why would they? This is a man who has now shot three people since October 1999. He was fined a total of $582 for the original incident and, yeah, sure, that's probably enough.

The two people he hit last month both estimated he hit them from 250 feet. Imagine if he were closer to them or, say, using a rifle with actual bullets instead of birdshot? Or if the shot had hit the woman's eye instead of her foot? No, I suppose there's no need to look into any of this or revoke his right to carry a weapon. He's totally balanced and should be allowed to carry firearms.

So glad I'm moving to Texas.

More Reasons to Dislike ESPN and Digger Phelps

Just in case you needed more reasons to dislike ESPN, take a look at their Bracketology nonesense.

Last time I looked at it, Purdue was in the tourney field at 17-9 as an 11 seed. I look at it yesterday and now Purdue is not only out of the field but they're not even listed in the "Last Four Out." No, they're featured in the "Next Four Out" column as well as the "Off The Board" column. Wait, what the eff?

Purdue is now 18-10 with two winnable home games remaining and then the Big Ten Tourney. So with the chance to easily have 20-22 wins this season in the Big Ten (plus an over-.500 record in conference play), that won't be enough to get in? I mean, we're so sure of that that Purdue is "off the board"?

To compare, Indiana University is listed as a 10-seed. They are one half-game better than Purdue, record-wise, this year (at 18-9) and one game better in the conference. Yet they're in? I don't follow.

An even better one is Texas Tech projected as a 9-seed, despite being 18-11 overall and 7-7 in the Big Twelve...and an ugly five game losing streak two weeks ago. But hey, it's Bobby Knight, right?

Oh, and why is Digger featured here? Because he's easy to hate. He went on last night about how the Big East could get eight teams in the Tourney but that the Big Ten shouldn't get more than five. He said that it's likely no Big Ten team will advance to the Sweet 16 since the conference isn't "tough" enough and the good teams in the Big Ten aren't really "challenged" the way teams in other conferences (he cited Duke and UNC) are challenged throughout the season. Never mind that the top two teams in America played on Sunday and were both from the Big Ten. I guess they don't count. He actually even pointed to that game and said it was 49-48 and kind of made a face about how that doesn't bode well for those teams when they face stiffer competition.

Why, Digger? Do you think they couldn't score more than that because they were shooting at the wrong baskets all game or something?

Rece Davis, to his credit, then said, "Maybe they play good defense."

You, Mr. Davis, get a pass.