He Wouldn’t Be Just Another Joe

Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette suggests that Bob Knight would be a perfect fit as basketball coach at Penn State, teaming him with football Coach Joe Paterno.

“By going to Penn State, Knight could add to his Big Ten legacy. More than that, he could torture Indiana for years. . . . He could recruit the type of player Penn State has never been able to get. Your kid might not want to play for a madman, but a lot of terrific players do.

“There’s no question Knight could do for basketball what Paterno has done for football. He could become a god all over again. . . . Unlike a lot of coaching legends, Paterno and Knight could co-exist. They are close friends with great respect for one another.”

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More Cook on Knight: “Penn State is definitely big enough for these two giants, even if it is located in a hick town.

“That’s how Knight once referred to State College. He even threatened to show up for a game there in overalls and a straw hat. Paterno, wisely, talked him out of it.”

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Trivia time: Three kickers hold the NFL record for field goals in a game with seven. Who set the record?

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Olympic nostalgia: Babe Didrikson qualified for five individual Olympic events for the 1932 Games in Los Angeles, but the rules at the time stated she could compete in only three.

She told reporters she could win all five, but chose the javelin, 80-meter hurdles and the high jump. She won her first two events and though she and teammate Jean Shiley both cleared a world-record height of 5 feet 5 3/4 inches in the high jump, Didrikson was awarded the silver medal because judges declared her jumping style illegal.

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Comfort zone: From Jay Leno: “Darryl Strawberry collected his 3,000th arrest, for reckless driving and leaving the scene of an accident. He was sentenced to two years house arrest. He asked if he could serve it at Whitney Houston’s house.”

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Fair question: Joe Posnanski in the Kansas City Star: “Why do they still call it the modern pentathlon? Is there someone out there who still gets it confused with the ancient pentathlon?”

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Trivia answer: Jim Bakken of the St. Louis Cardinals against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 24, 1967. Rich Karlis and Chris Boniol also have done it.

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And finally: Bernie Lincicome in the Rocky Mountain News: “My most memorable Olympic event came in Calgary after the men’s figure skating event won by Brian Boitano.

“Boitano is dressed in his bellhop costume, waiting to receive his gold medal. The national anthem begins to play. Tears begin to fill Boitano’s left eye. And someone in the press box, overcome with American pride, blurts out. ‘Please, don’t let him cry. It will ruin his makeup.’

“I’ve been told it was me.”