We Already Know How His Knightmare Ends

It will take an impeachment to take down Bob Knight, and it has already begun--the gathering of evidence and the testimony of those who hate and fear him.

He’s a virtual Supreme Court justice of basketball, tenure provided by Indiana’s passion for textbook hoops and a code of honor, worthy of being defended because of all that he himself defends.

When Knight rails against the modern sleazing of college basketball, he is fighting for something just, and it probably is lonely.

But when he descends into physical and verbal intimidation, when his self-pity overwhelms all other moods, he is defending nothing but his exaggerated ego.

Most dictators eventually outlive their time, and when they start flailing only to maintain their position, it’s all but over.

* The cover-up at Indiana is what will get him: The lies and distortions and the savaging of reputations are all carried out in the belief that anything done to protect Knight serves a higher purpose.

But add the video of his grabbing Neil Reed to the evasions by school staffers to former player Butch Carter’s charges that Knight once directed racial slurs at an African-American player . . .

And what higher purpose are they serving?

* I see it so clearly now: Jack Nicholson will play him in the movie, and the climax will be cinematic magic.

The investigator: “Did you choke Neil Reed, use racial epithets and approve cover-ups of all of the above? Did you? I want the truth!”

And the Knight character, convinced he is an abandoned general in an unrecognized crusade, will scream:

“I eat breakfast 30 yards from drug-runners and scam artists who want nothing more than to ruin college basketball. Someone has to stand in their way. You want me on that wall. You need me on that wall.

“You want the truth? You can’t handle the truth! Yes, I did all of those things. I did my job. And I’d do it again.”

Then it will be over. And we will all be relieved, maybe even him.

THE BIG PICTURE

It only took 5 1/2 hours to finish the NFL draft’s first round, which is exactly how long it takes for Chris Berman to chortle praise for every player, coach and executive connected to the NFL now and forever.

You know that nobody can judge anything about these things until three or four years have elapsed (news flash: Chargers, you messed up that Ryan Leaf pick!), but there were enough random eyebrow-

raisers and thorny issues to hold us for now . . .

* I have no idea who the Buccaneers drafted, and don’t care: Tampa Bay ended up with Keyshawn Johnson, which means the Bucs had the best draft in the league.

* No Jimmy Johnson, Bobby Beathard is fading away and Bill Walsh has nothing to trade: Boring, trade-free first round. I’d have traded anything to see these guys make more big deals. They would’ve too. Dan Marino for Steve Young, just for old times’ sake?

* Say it now, and forget it later: Running back Shaun Alexander, taken by Seattle, will have the biggest impact over the long run.

* In the spirit of Mark Chmura, Ray Lewis, Rae Carruth and many others: Add a new category of evaluation to the list of speed, strength, work ethic and sign-ability--plead-ability.

* War-room eavesdropping: “He’s got good upside--should serve as a third-down receiver for two years, play every down for another four, then serve seven-to-10 after that.”

WEEKEND TALKING POINTS

1. Cal Ripken Jr., milestone man: Compared with his other magic numbers, it was a muted march to 3,000 hits. Just wait till celebrations for 4,000 and 5,000.

2. Rickey Henderson: He’s next up for 3,000. Hits, not years old.

3. Charles Barkley, final game: He’s coming back for goodbye triple-double--in points, rebounds and retirement announcements.

4. Dallas Mavericks, closing with a rush: Too bad they didn’t do this earlier, but they’re favored to win the NIT.

5. Who says Lakers and Clippers aren’t alike? Lakers have NBA’s two longest win streaks (19, 16). Clippers have NBA’s two longest losing streaks (16 and counting, 13).

6. Who says Dodgers and Angels aren’t alike? Let’s see, they hold their breaths every time a pitcher not named Brown or Bottenfield takes the mound, they hit lots of home runs and they’re both about two players away from the big time.

7. Jim Edmonds, hitting close to .500, on pace for 60-plus home runs: It’s an early-season illusion. Can’t see him finishing higher than .350 with 50 homers.

8. Kings, down 2-0: ESPN’s Bill Clement said it, and it sounds right to me--Kings had the window wide open to beat Detroit in the third period Saturday. It might be closed now.

9. Serena Williams, joins South Carolina confederate flag boycott: Does gutsiness in everyday life translate into victories on the court? For Ali, it did.

10. Jerome Moiso, JaRon Rush: Steve Lavin argues that if they leave UCLA early they won’t realize the ultimate level of inconsistency that only he can bring out.

LEADING QUESTIONS

Even if he gets hit an awful lot and has gone two consecutive fights without a knockout, don’t you have to appreciate the force and honest effort of Fernando Vargas?

How do you measure his victory over Ike Quartey on Saturday against Oscar De La Hoya’s more than a year earlier?

Do you give the nod to De La Hoya, who knocked Quartey down twice and was spectacular at the end?

Or do you prefer Vargas’ slug-it-out determination and the knowledge that Vargas never, ever would pull the dance-routine finish that De La Hoya tried in his loss to Felix Trinidad?

But can’t you see that Vargas probably doesn’t care about our answers, as long as he cuts in front of De La Hoya for the shot at Trinidad?