No pun intended by the title, but if you follow college basketball or have watched ESPN at all this week, you’re aware of the “incident” this week involving Bob Knight and one of his players. I saw an online poll a couple of days ago (probably on ESPN.com, but I can’t recall) in which the question asked went something like this: if this had been any other coach, would it have been as big of a story? The poll results at the time had 79% saying no, it would not have made as much news as it has this week had it not been Bob Knight.

As usual, the media can’t/won’t let it go. The kid is okay with it, and so are the kid’s parents. So why won’t they move on? Knight, of course, says he didn’t do anything wrong. The following night, during Texas Tech’s next game, Knight was giving players “good job”-type taps all night long - on the back the head, on the butt, etc. He’s pretty good at poking back at the media and it’s usually humorous when he does.

In this case, I would agree with Knight. I don’t see what he did as being anything newsworthy, no matter how often it is reported. I’m sure coaches all over the country do similar things, although perhaps not during a televised game. However, when you’re Bob Knight and have the history he does, practically anything you do is going to be closely scrutinized. If you do anything that gives the slightest appearance of being inappropriate, it will be a national story. So, at the least, you would think he might be more a little more conscious of what he’s doing at all times.

But I don’t think that’s a major concern of his. He’s unlikely to change at this point. He once said this during a public address:

When my days on earth are finished
And my activities here have past
I want that they bury me upside down
So my critics can kiss my ass.

That’s who Bob Knight is - he doesn’t care in the least what others think, and while that gets him into trouble from time to time, it’s probably one of the things that has made him so successful over the years.

As I mentioned last Friday, I’ve always liked Knight - despite his obvious faults - and I always will. And I want to see him break the record for all-time wins. Hopefully, he can avoid doing anything else that might get him fired long enough to actually get it done.

Football picks

Okay, of last weeks picks - my first time all year - I only missed one game. Few people, I would think, saw Georgia beating Auburn (especially in the fashion they did.) So, I’ll try again with seven more picks this week.

• Arkansas at Mississippi State - The most important game of the weekend for us here in Arkansas. Any SEC is a potential loss, even when it doesn’t appear that it would be, and a lot of people are concerned about potential letdown after two big wins in a row. But I believe the Hogs will be focused and will take care of business. Arkansas by 17.
• Rutgers at Cincinnati - This is a game many are saying could fell the Scarlet Knights before they even get to West Virginia. I don’t know anything about Cincinnati, but I’m going on faith in Rutgers that they won’t lose before WVU. Rutgers by 7.
• Auburn at Alabama - This used to be a big game nationally. It’s not anymore. Alabama has lost four in a row to Auburn. Both teams are coming off of a loss. I’ve said multiple times this year I thought Alabama would win this game. Despite the loss to Mississippi State, I still believe they will (although my faith in them is a little weaker.) I’m going to stick with the Tide by 3.
• Ole Miss at LSU - This shouldn’t even be close. If it’s still a game at halftime I’ll be surprised. But I’ve been surprised a lot in the SEC this year. Nevertheless, LSU by 24.
• Tennessee at Vanderbilt - Vandy won in Knoxville last year, and you have to think the Vols want revenge. Coming off of a close home loss to LSU followed by getting hammered in Fayetteville, I think TN will want to finish on a high note instead of losing three straight. Tennessee by 10.
• California at USC - California is coming off of a loss, some say because they were looking ahead to this game. Well, now they don’t have to look ahead, and coming off of the loss, I think they’ll have a little extra motivation. I’m going with Cal by 7.
• Michigan at Ohio State - Okay, the big one. I was prepared to pick Ohio State, primarily because I think they are probably the better team and also because they’re playing at home. However, with the news today of Bo Schembechler’s unexpected death just one day before the game, Michigan may very well be motivated to pull this out after all. I suppose they could react just the opposite, and the letdown could be detrimental to their chances. However, I’m going with the upset. Michigan by 4.

That’s it. Go Hogs.