OK.  Now Chad is shoving journalists and going down the wrong path.  I remember listening to Jim Rome last week after Chad said he was thinking about sitting out the season.  Romey said that Chad could choose two paths - chill out and keep his mouth shut or keep talking and further alienate himself.  Well, it seems as if he's chosen the latter. 

I have been a staunch Chad supporter and have loved his celebrations, pepto-bismol sending, and definitely his touchdowns, but not any longer.  I'll drive him to Miami, Oakland, or where ever else he wants to go.  I've had enough, and if you haven't - why the heck not?  For the good of this franchise, we've got to let him go.  Yes, his talent will be missed, but to be honest, aren't wide receivers a dime a dozen in the NFL?  Shoot, if Wes Welker can have the season he had, can't Glen Holt do the same? 

 Another question that I have is the fact that the Bengals are refusing to say anything.  Yeah, I know they are usually tight-lipped about everything, but for their most well-known player to publicly say he wants to play elsewhere is just another reason to be the butt of more jokes.  Of course, it's probably for the best because we would just hear Marvin's nervous laugh over and over again anyway.

 I do know the salary cap hit would be huge, and I understand that it doesn't make any sense to move Chad in any way, but something has to change.  Fines, benchings, gag orders, muzzles, something has to be done.  To sit around and do nothing is more embarassing than what has already happened.

I can’t recall a bigger recent non-story that has received as much attention as Bob Knight’s resignation at Texas Tech. After all, it’s not like the volatile coach announced his permanent retirement, since even he has stated he’s not ready for that. No, there’s a strong likelihood Knight will receive job offers and choose a spot in time for the 2008-09 season. And what about Knight’s reason for stepping down, that he just couldn’t coach at Texas Tech anymore and wouldn’t serve his team well in continuing? Isn’t that pretty disingenuous when there's a good chance he left the Red Raiders in midstream to insure that son Pat would succeed him?

But to listen to the commentators and read the newspapers and Internet, you’d think someone like Mike Krzyzewski was suddenly walking away from Duke. Coach K, a Knight disciple who played for him at Army and worked for him at Indiana, has had as distinguished a career as his mentor, and unless something intervenes, is on pace to eclipse Knight’s all-time victory mark sometime in the future. Had he suddenly walked out on his team the screaming headlines and wall-to-wall coverage the Knight story has gotten would be merited.

So why all the hullabaloo about Knight’s move? Chalk it up to the fascination the media and the public have had over the years with the Peck’s Bad Boy of sports.

Is there a basketball fan who hasn’t seen the video of Knight flinging a chair across the court at Indiana’s Assembly Hall? Who isn’t aware that he once choked a player at a team practice, or of his multiple post game outbursts, his confrontations with the media or his insulting actions in Puerto Rico as a representative of the U.S. at an international sports competition? Knight’s bullying and boorish behavior is legendary; it cost him his job at Indiana, despite the fact he was once enjoyed deity-like status in the Hoosier state.

Yet there has always been the other side to Knight. The consummate teacher who molded young men into solid citizens, who made his players go to class, who insisted that they graduate. Knight has done lots of acts of kindness and charity, and has a legion of defenders made up of former players, assistant coaches, coaching colleagues and members of the media. Probably the quintessential assessment of Knight is offered by those who say, “I don’t agree with a lot of things he’s done, but I’d gladly send my son to play for him.”

But there are other very successful college basketball coaches who have the same positive attributes that Knight does but don’t have his dark side. We’ve already mentioned Coach K. How about Dean Smith, the man whose victory record Knight broke? Or John Wooden, the greatest of them all? Dig deep, and you’ll likely find quirky behavior and even actions these men regret, but all have exhibited a public demeanor that is above reproach.

No, the fascination with Knight is similar to that of waiting for a train wreck to happen. The train might be a sleek, powerful object moving effortlessly and beautifully down the track, but in a predictable way, an observer knows it will derail. The Bob Knight train has left the Lubbock station; left behind college athletes and a community that assumed he’d be in their corner at least through the end of the season. The train is now searching for another destination, one where it will be welcomed with open arms, at least until it goes off the track, yet again.

Driving home yesterday, I passed several different cars (with OH-Hamilton County plates) with stickers and flags for non-local sports teams. Okay, yes, this is America. It's their right, but we are so fortunate to live in an area that has two professional squads (if you count the Bengals as professional) and have fantastic local college teams. We don't need to go outside of our area to find someone to root for. So, when I see cars with Tennessee Volunteer stickers on it, or Florida Gators or Michigan Wolverines, I just don't understand. If you went to those schools, I understand, but it's my experience that this area has a lot of fans of these programs in our area. Which I don't get. If you're born and raised here and didn't go to a college outside of this area, why are you a Volunteer fan? Why the Gators? Why do you have custom plates supporting a team that's 500 miles away? Why can't you support UC or Miami or Xavier or even Ohio State or Kentucky. But to me, there's no reason to pull for a non-local team. It's the same as all those Chicago Cub fans this area has. Why? Chicago isn't remotely close and it's not like the Reds are a new franchise or that the Cubs are even a successful, bandwagon team. Local Cub fans might be the most bewildering to me. Which brings me to my last point. The local Steeler fans. Is there a more odious group of human scourge than people who live here but are Steeler fans? This makes no sense other than it's easy to cheer for a team that's successful. While I don't like the Browns, I get the history of Ohio and Cleveland Browns football. Since the Bengals are the newest pro football team in Ohio, I can at least understand why there would be generations of Browns fans down here. But Steelers? Really? I don't get it and frankly, I have no kind words to describe you.

If any of these people don't appreciate the sports scene we have here including the Bearcats, Musketeers, Bengals, Reds and Redhawks, then why not just move to Knoxville or Chicago or Pittsburgh or Gainesville. What are your thoughts, other than I'm idiot?