Bob Knight

WHEN MY husband was coaching my daughter and her little friends in the Flying Ponytail Division of the Daddy's Little Girl Basketball League, he would light a fire under their defense with this exhortation: "OK, ladies. Let's be trees, not mushrooms." On the other end of the coaching spectrum is Indiana basketball coach Bob Knight, who reportedly shoved soiled toilet paper at his players to illustrate what he thought of their play. Sports fans are appalled at the mild slap on the wrist Knight received from the administration at Indiana for choking one of his players, the latest in a career of distempers.

He has lost his team Teddy Greenstein Chicago Tribune How could he? The school already acknowledged that Gillespie exceeded practice-time limits. Now his leading scorer says he does not want to play for him. From a distance, Gillispie seems to be everything wrong with college sports. If it's true that he held an eight-hour practice and forced a player with a stress fracture in both legs to practice, the NCAA should ban him. If the allegations are not true, Billy Clyde, then speak up. I've read the statements from those who defend you, and they are not convincing.

Dean Smith keeps an office at one of the nation's largest on-campus arenas, a building that bears his name. Bob Knight got fired from the university he took to three NCAA men's basketball titles. BUCKNELL@TEXAS TECH Today, 4:30 p.m., ESPN2

Pat Knight seems to have coached himself out of an identity crisis. Knight acknowledged he had a difficult time adjusting in his first full season at Texas Tech last year. Players said he may have tried to please too many people - his bosses, fans, his team. Maybe even his famous father, Bob Knight . Pat Knight, who took over after nine years as an assistant to his dad at Texas Tech and Indiana, said he was unsure how to act at first. Should he be subdued, the antithesis of his father?

In the end, the zero-tolerance policy Indiana University placed on basketball coach Bob Knight to stop his confrontational behavior had zero impact. Knight, 59, was fired yesterday by university President Myles Brand, ending Knight's controversial 29-year career in Bloomington, Ind., which included winning three national championships. The decision came less than a week after Knight made "inappropriate physical contact" with an Indiana freshman. Knight allegedly grabbed Kent Harvey outside Assembly Hall on campus after Harvey had called Knight by his last name.

Good morning --Bob Knight -- Next coach to 880 wins gets a sweater -- oh, you already have plenty?

By the numbers 700 Division I wins for Temple's John Chaney after 76-57 victory over St. Bonaventure on Tuesday night. He said it "They made a terrific play. But I'm at fault for not calling a timeout." Bob Knight, Texas Tech coach, after Texas' Brandon Mouton hit a three-pointer to force overtime in a game won by the Longhorns, 62-61.

ATLANTA - March Madness - the men's college basketball tournament starting today - is one of the sports world's most exciting events. The tournament's pressure-packed lose-and-you're-out format, the oversized personalities of the coaches and the unpredictable last-second successes and failures of superb athletes make for great theater. And like any great drama or comedy - no real tragedies here - it has a language all its own. For basketball lovers who like nothing more than to spend hours on the couch watching games, the lingo makes sense.

Knight stood for more than just wins, losses Bob Knight's firing as Indiana University basketball coach leaves the world of college athletics a sadder place for those of us who still cling to that old-fashioned notion that kids should be students first and athletes second. I won't say I'm terribly surprised. Today's society just doesn't understand a man who stands for something more than getting the best athletes around and keeping them eligible for at least a year or two so they can maybe get your team to the Final Four.

Pat Knight seems to have coached himself out of an identity crisis. Knight acknowledged he had a difficult time adjusting in his first full season at Texas Tech last year. Players said he may have tried to please too many people - his bosses, fans, his team. Maybe even his famous father, Bob Knight . Pat Knight, who took over after nine years as an assistant to his dad at Texas Tech and Indiana, said he was unsure how to act at first. Should he be subdued, the antithesis of his father?

When hearing the news that Bob Knight had resigned from Texas Tech, essentially ending his coaching career, the first thought that crossed my mind was exactly what Knight had said earlier: He was doing this to give his son, Pat, a chance to become a head coach. The second thought was this: My career will end without being kicked, punched or hit by a chair thrown by Bob Knight. Not that I didn't give him the opportunity. In covering college basketball for more than 30 years, I found myself many times in the line of fire with the combustible basketball legend who became the winningest coach in men's Division I history.

Good morning --Bob Knight -- Next coach to 880 wins gets a sweater -- oh, you already have plenty?

Dean Smith keeps an office at one of the nation's largest on-campus arenas, a building that bears his name. Bob Knight got fired from the university he took to three NCAA men's basketball titles. BUCKNELL@TEXAS TECH Today, 4:30 p.m., ESPN2

CAROLINA KUMBAYA, PART III In 1993-94, North Carolina added Jeff McInnis, Jerry Stackhouse and Rasheed Wallace to four starters from an NCAA championship team, but dissension kept it from getting to the Sweet 16. In 2002-03, the Tar Heels brought in a freshman class of Raymond Felton, Sean May and Rashad McCants, but Matt Doherty couldn't get them to make nice and got fired after their sophomore season. Now North Carolina has Tyler Hansbrough (above) and most of the pieces back from one of the nation's surprise teams, plus a six-man freshman class, headed by point guard Ty Lawson, that is the recruiting fruit of their 2005 NCAA title.

By the numbers 700 Division I wins for Temple's John Chaney after 76-57 victory over St. Bonaventure on Tuesday night. He said it "They made a terrific play. But I'm at fault for not calling a timeout." Bob Knight, Texas Tech coach, after Texas' Brandon Mouton hit a three-pointer to force overtime in a game won by the Longhorns, 62-61.

ATLANTA - March Madness - the men's college basketball tournament starting today - is one of the sports world's most exciting events. The tournament's pressure-packed lose-and-you're-out format, the oversized personalities of the coaches and the unpredictable last-second successes and failures of superb athletes make for great theater. And like any great drama or comedy - no real tragedies here - it has a language all its own. For basketball lovers who like nothing more than to spend hours on the couch watching games, the lingo makes sense.