Furniture Flies on TV in a Decade of Knightmares

It doesn’t seem that long ago, but next Thursday is the 10th anniversary of what is now called The Chair incident in Indiana.

Television replays have kept the image alive--Hoosier Coach Bob Knight throwing a chair across the Assembly Hall floor when he became incensed by the officiating in a game against Purdue.

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Add Knight: He recalled the incident in a television interview: “It’s kind of an unusual thing, throwing a chair, but in the context in which it was thrown--not breaking anyone’s leg, not fracturing anyone’s skull, everyone coming out completely unscathed--in the whole panorama of coaching, (there have been) a lot of other things very similar to it.”

Undoubtedly, but Knight is still the ultimate “Chairman.”

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Trivia time: Who holds the NBA record for most assists in a game?

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Garden dungeon: Kevin McHale, former standout player with the Boston Celtics and now assistant general manager of the Minnesota Timberwolves, after seeing the visitors’ locker room in Boston Garden for the first time:

“Boy, what a dump. I was impressed the year we went 40-1 here. Now I see why.”

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Growing minority: Sandra McKee in the Baltimore Sun: “Remember the phrase, ‘You’ve come a long way, baby?’ These days it can be applied to American-born players in the NHL.

“When the league first began keeping statistics on such things in 1967-68, only 2% of the players in the game were born in the USA. This season, the percentage has grown to 17.9, which translates to 117 of 652 players.”

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About time: Jud Heathcote, Michigan State basketball coach, on his retirement at the end of the season:

“I say this will enable me to finish my book. And people say, ‘I didn’t know you were writing a book.’ I’m not. I’m reading one.”

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FYI: According to the PGA, the average male who uses a pull-cart while playing golf is 51.7 years old, plays 32.1 rounds and spends $1,367 a year on golf.

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Lube job: Bernie Lincicome in the Chicago Tribune: “Q: Is Oil Can Boyd a typical replacement player? A: Oil Can Boyd is a typical oil can.”

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Training device: Tony Dumas, Dallas Maverick guard, missed all three of his shots during a brief appearance in the NBA All-Star dunk contest.

His teammates had a present waiting for him when he returned to practice--a three-foot basket sitting in the middle of the floor.

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Trivia answer: Scott Skiles of Orlando, with 30 against Denver on Dec. 30, 1990.

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Quotebook: Don Meredith, former Dallas Cowboy quarterback, on Coach Tom Landry: “He’s such a perfectionist that if he were married to Dolly Parton he’d expect her to cook.”