Can No One Rid Us Of This Meddlesome Columnist?

Of all the stuff surrounding Bob Knight's smack at Kentucky basketball (we should say latest smack), the funniest part is this:  Gregg Doyel judging anyone else for taking "potshots."

You could search through his archives and find plenty of examples (not to mention his mailbag), but for just the most recent, remember his broadside against Gary Williams?  May we refresh your memory?

“Well, he has influence, and not because people think Gary Williams is so brilliant and trustworthy that if he tells me something, dadgummit, it must be true.  I don’t think he has that much influence. I don’t want to give that little tiny little petty human being that much credit. And by the way, I e-mailed Gary’s PR director yesterday back and forth three times, saying I want to talk to Gary very specifically about his influence on the N.C. State coaching search. They’ve not gotten back to me after I made it clear exactly what I want, so it’s very possible he’s gonna duck me, that coward.

“But in the meantime, the reason he’s had an impact is this: if you’re a good coach at a good school…it’s hard to pull the trigger and say I’m winning here at Arizona or Texas, or I’m winning here at VCU, wherever it is that I’m winning at, and I want to go to N.C. State, where they haven’t won the last couple years. It requires a whole lot of confidence. And if you get one person — and that person’s Gary Williams — to say the AD’s not easy to work for, that will allow someone to justify their own [feelings]….Basically, Gary Williams is giving coaches an excuse to do the easy thing, which is stay where they are……Are we done talking about Gary Williams? I want to make this very clear, that if Gary Williams does not return my call, he’s scared of me. And so he can act all big and bad, and he can stand there on his coaching bench and turn around and yell at his assistant coaches, who’ve done nothing wrong. And when a guy on the court travels, he can turn around and yell at the 12th man on his bench, because he’s a little bit tiny coward runt of a man. He can do all that.

“But here I am on your radio show, and in an e-mail to his PR guy three times, begging him to talk to me about what he’s been saying behind Debbie Yow’s back and hurting the N.C. State head coaching search. And if he doesn’t call me back, then all that means to me is he’s a little bitty tiny coward of a man. Gary Williams, you call me back, or you’re a spineless little…man.”

So let's get this straight: Bob Knight, who had a long coaching career and much experience with Kentucky basketball and coaches named Calipari and otherwise, isn't supposed to do this: "But what you can't do -- what ESPN commentator Bob Knight did do the other day -- is ignore the pile of facts at your disposal and make up your own. And come up with your own half-truth or even your own outright lie, and use that to attack John Calipari."

Well what the heck did Doyel do just a few weeks ago?  Who's the worst offender here?  Who's the real idiot?

There are many differences between Doyel and Knight, but here's one that jumps out:  Doyel isn't scared to pose with a hammer; Knight isn't scared to actually use one.

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