Jarvis Has Reason Not to Emulate This Knight

You never thought for a moment that doing the Bobby Knight thing -- no, not throwing chairs, but giving back his base salary this season -- would catch on and become a full-fledged trend among the nation’s basketball coaches.

The issue came up after St. John’s, coached by Mike Jarvis, beat Alabama Birmingham, 79-71, in the NIT on Thursday. Columnist Johnette Howard of Newsday wrote: “When asked about that, Jarvis joked that he’d actually thought about it, talked it over with his wife, and reconsidered right about the time ‘she said she’d divorce me.’ ”

Trivia time: The New York Yankees and the Chicago Cubs will face off in interleague play this season. When did the Yankees last play at Wrigley Field?

Opening bell: From the Caught on the Fly column in the Sporting News: “In the time it takes you to read this introductory sentence, Ron Artest will be whistled for another flagrant foul.”

No pedigree: Fred Willard revealed the secret of his success in a hilarious turn as a commentator in a prestigious, over-the-top dog show in the movie “Best in Show.” “In ‘Best in Show,’ Christopher [Guest] sent me a tape of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show and he said, ‘Now listen to Joe Garagiola and you’ll notice he’s taken no effort to learn anything about dogs,’ ” Willard told GQ magazine.

Money for nothing: Damion Easley achieved a dubious distinction Friday and could become the answer to a trivia question someday. He became the most expensive player released in baseball history when the Tigers let him go with $14.3 million still owed on his contract.

The previous record didn’t even stand a week. It had been set the previous Saturday after the Devil Rays cut Greg Vaughn, who is guaranteed $9.25 million.

Georgia-gate: Not that newly retired Georgia coach Jim Harrick and Enron are one and the same, but ethics expert and UCLA graduate Dov Seidman sees common ground in some of the recent ethical lapses in sports and business.

“What makes a great athlete a great athlete is they practice so much it makes it easier in games,” said Seidman, CEO of LRN, a Los Angeles-based company that provides ethics training. “I think ethics is no different. Ethical people have been flexing their ethical muscle their whole lifetime.”

Perhaps Harrick and former assistant Jim Harrick Jr. should have spent a little more time in the ethical weight room.

Looking back: On this day in 1981, sophomore guard Isiah Thomas scored 23 points to lead Indiana to a 63-50 victory over North Carolina to win the NCAA basketball title.

Looking back again: On the same day in 1986, Texas won the women’s NCAA basketball title with a 97-81 victory over USC.

Trivia answer: The 1938 World Series, when the Yankees swept the Cubs in four games.

And finally: Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle on the Yankees’ David Wells and Jorge Posada: “Jorge Posada announced that he will drink whiskey heavily the night before every game he catches Wells. That way you’ll have the pitcher in the hops and the catcher in the rye. “