Nice Try, but She Probably Doesn’t Hunt With Him

Karen Knight, wife of tempestuous Indiana basketball Coach Bob Knight, presents another side of her husband in an interview with William Gildea of the Washington Post:

“I know some people don’t like his profanity. But he has so many good qualities. I see all of the very good things in the man. I see a lot of people who don’ t use profanity who aren’t nearly as good a person as he is.

” . . . He’s intense, he’s loyal, he’s honest. What’s there not to like about those characteristics? . . . I heard [someone] describe him as a man of substance in an age of style. I think that’s true.”

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More on Knight: Karen said he has stood in frigid water for 40 hours over a period of days to catch a single fish.

Knight: “My wife has four signs up around the house: ‘The horse is dead, get off.’ But I ride the horse until he’s dead twice.”

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Trivia time: Other than UCLA, which Pacific 10 Conference school has won the most men’s NCAA tournament basketball games?

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Just shut up: Boston Celtic Coach Rick Pitino is fed up with trash-talking in the NBA--and his own team has two of the worst offenders, Antoine Walker and Paul Pierce.

“Young people today, not only with the referees but with each other, give me an Excedrin headache,” he told Sam Smith of the Chicago Tribune. “All they do is talk, talk, talk. They don’t play anymore. They’d rather talk. I’m from the old school, where you do your talking with your game on the court.

” . . . If you can lower the self-esteem of a person today, you’re doing great. That’s the mind-set of young people today.”

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Classy outfit: Comedy writer Earl Hochman: “How can you believe pro wrestling king Vince McMahon when he says his new professional football league will be completely legit when he’s considering either Hulk Hogan or the Undertaker as the league commissioner?”

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FYI: Baseball Hall of Famer Yogi Berra will receive the Normandy Medal from the French government on Feb. 14. Berra served in the U.S. Navy and took part in the Normandy landings in France in June 1944.

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Bigbody: As the logical winner of “most misleading name for a recruit signed by the Pac-10,” conference public relations director Jim Muldoon nominates football player Sam Lightbody, a 6-foot-9, 300-pound lineman from Huntington Beach signed by Washington State.

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Never happen: Ron Rapoport in the Chicago Sun-Times: “I just love how every college and university in the country had such a great recruiting year.

“Just once, I’d like to hear a coach stand up on signing day and say, ‘The guys we signed are all slow, small and majoring in remedial eligibility. They look great at the training table, though.’ ”

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It figures: Aptly named Nathan Leeper won the high jump at the recent San Diego indoor meet with a mark of 7 feet 5 1/4 inches. He will compete in the 40th annual L.A. Invitational on Feb. 19 at the Sports Arena.

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Trivia answer: Arizona, with a 26-17 record.

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And finally: NBA poll on the Internet:

Question: Why is Dennis Rodman a Maverick right now?

* 15.9%: Mavs need rebounding.

* 41.2%: Mavs need boost in attendance.

* 42.9%: Mavs are nuts.