Bobby Knight

-
Bobby Knight was a throwback coach. 

His style certainly wouldn’t work in this day and age, but there was a time when a coach like Knight was definitely in charge.

Knight threw a chair across the court, choked a player as he came off the floor, berated reporters, fans and his own school administrators.

I knew a player who went to one of his coaching camps and she was deathly afraid of him - after the camp!

Rosemary was an all-star division one player, and she told me about the camp coached by Knight.

“He’s a scary man,” she said.

Now, I played under some coaches who definitely yelled. My favorite coach ever once told me that if I threw the overhead pass one more time:

“I’m going to stuff the Spaulding up your ass!”

I laughed.

He threw me out of practice.

That coach got the most out of our team. Yeah, he yelled to make his point, but we all knew that he cared about us as players and he wanted to win.

We would’ve run through a wall for him.

I’ve also had plenty of bosses who were screamers. The insults would fly and if we showed any weakness it got worse.

When I heard that Knight died I instantly thought of an interview question where he absolutely obliterated a reporter who asked him how they lost.

“They scored 70. We scored 68. The team that scores more wins. What kind of question is that? You’re a moron.”

The sports world was horrified by his response.

I think he was the first celebrity who had to go away for anger management.

He was fired after he choked the kid on the court, and he remained defiant to the end.

“Won’t ever be a coach allowed to treat his players like that again,” Jake said.

Jake obviously didn’t see Knight coach, but he read the stories.

“Maybe that’s a good thing,” I said.

“Was he a good coach?” Jake asked.

“I guess, but he’s going to be remembered for being mean. That isn’t the best way to be immortalized.”

Either way.

Another legend of my youth is gone.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Suits

-
Like a lot of other people we got pulled into the series, ‘Suits’ on Netflix. I’ve never had much fun hanging around lawyers who have questioned me as a construction safety officer. I once testified in a case where the opposing lawyer started questioning me by going through my educational background. “So,” he said, racing to a crescendo, “You graduated from college with a degree in Communications-Journalism and suddenly, 30 years later, you’re a ‘safety expert.’” He actually made the quotation marks with his fingers. I just looked at him. “How does that happen?” He bellowed, sure that he was going to discredit me. “Well,” I said. “I knew I was overqualified to become a lawyer.” The courtroom erupted in laughter. Even the judge chuckled. The rest of his questions landed flat. So, I wasn’t all that keen on a show about lawyers, but ‘Suits’ is great. Meghan Markle became a princess because of the show, and she is very good in it (and a beautiful woman). Yet, there is so much more. The wri
Read more

My Buddy, Dave

-
Way back in 1997, I started working with a steel erection company out of Syracuse. I was coming straight from a long stint with a steel erector here in Buffalo so I knew my stuff when it came to steel erection safety rules. On day one, I met with the safety director and he was just getting started as a safety guy, but man, he certainly cared about the guys he worked with. Dave was a good man from the start. He’d say things like: “You’re so full of beans.” Just a down to earth, hardworking guy who became a fast friend. We drove all around New York State setting up jobs. I always let Dave drive so that I could rest. One fine day, way up North of Syracuse, we passed a state trooper.  I glanced at the speedometer. “You’re screwed,” I said, and seconds later, the lights came on. Dave was beside himself.  The cop stopped by the window, grabbed the license and registration and headed back to his vehicle. “Here’s the thing,” I said. “You’re pissed, but you’re such a good guy that I bet you tha
Read more

Mom & Ollie

-
Image
 Ollie Stadium is a mess. The heavy rains rendered the backyard a mud pit and even though we threw in the side yard, the Big O was looking for more, and we were both covered in mud. I had to take some steam out of him somehow so I suggested we go visit Grandma. Ollie hates the car, but he laid quietly as we made the trip. We even brought the football because there is plenty of room to play at Grandma’s. Mom opened the door and started laughing. I thought about the love she had for every single dog we ever had. Oliver was quick to give my Mom a kiss, and then he stood beside her. The love between Mom and Dogs is a mutual bond. Through the years, Mom would make breakfast for the dogs.  Fried eggs, toast, bacon… She would wrap Christmas gifts for them. “To Jeter, Love Santa,” she would write on the cards. They played with the big chicken that made a lot of noise. Mom tossed the football and Ollie brought it back to her. As the visit drew to a close I headed for the door.  “C’mon, Oliver,”
Read more