Jamie Mottram's Sports Blog - www.misterirrelevant.com

The General popped his player on the chin yesterday, predictably prompting the sports media to catch a fire.

What's interesting here is that, while folks such as my brother and ESPN's Doug Gottlieb find Knight's actions to be unacceptable, most prognosticators are saying the incident is "harmless" and/or "old school." Of course, as Gottleib said on Mike & Mike in the Morning, most of these people are "over-35."

What's hilarious here is this picture from 1979...

This particular Knight incident (or any Knight incident, really) reminds me of the day in March '01 when I paraded the General around Manhattan on behalf of Sandbox.com's PR department, which consisted of me. He was out of coaching at the time and serving as the spokesmen for our March Madness bracket game, and, like most people who have met him will tell you, he was big and complex and poorly dressed.

My favorite moment from that bizarre day was when we walked into Chelsea Piers basketball complex and the pickup games came to an immediate halt. Balls stopped bouncing and sneakers stopped squeaking as Knight strode the court towards his spot for the promotional appearance. I think one guy yelled, "Hey, coach!" while the rest were too speechless to speak.

My second favorite moment was when I gave him a Sandbox.com polo shirt to wear and he asked if I'd provide one for his wife as well. When I replied in the affirmative, he took it upon himself to say, "Now, son, if you don't get me that shirt, castration is in your future."

So yeah, five years on and I still have my balls, and I also don't see how this guy continues to be the leader of young men.

Update: In case you don't have a TV at work (loser), here's the video of the push/slap/punch heard 'round the world...

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• #1 Comment from monponsett 
  11/14/06 11:51 PM | Permalink

  He'd have beaten me about the face in 5 minutes if I were showing him around, and I'd now own Texas Tech.
  
  What the f*ck is Sandbox.com? Was that your resume builder? I always assumed Ted knew your Dad or something.