Unlimited Night and Weekend Minutes-The Kelvin Sampson Calling Plan

Indiana and coach Kelvin Sampson are the newest targets of the NCAA governing bodies. And of all the possible violations that can lead a program and their fanbase to have their hearts skip beats with fear, this is about exceeding the number of calls allowed to recruits.

Let me first begin by saying anyone who believes Sampson and Indiana are the only persons violating this rule, are the same ignorant people believing Reggie Bush is the only college football player to receive illegal benefits, the New England Patriots are the only NFL team to steal defensive signals, and steroid use in baseball is exclusive to Barry Bonds. The link between the aforementioned is not that they stand alone, but that they all got caught. But being one of many doesn’t make an infraction lesser or petty, since the NCAA does have this “calling rule” set in stone, and anyone in violation will gain an unfair advantage over those in compliance.

Fewer dropped calls than any other network

In case you’re wondering how a simple phone call can make a difference, you have to remember that we’re talking about the egos of high school kids. These are celebrities on campus, in their hometowns, and in many cases nationwide. Nothing strokes the ego more than feeling wanted by a college basketball power program. Coaches and recruiters set out to create a relationship between themselves and their possible future stars, which eventually includes a campus visit and a trip to the player’s home. But it’s the personal phone conversation that may keep them dangling on the hook, feeling that the head man of a big program is taking the time to call.

Eventually you reach your limit, and phone recruiting comes to an end. But what happens when another coach ignores the limitations, and continues to call? As a recruit, you feel the others have lost interest or the lone caller is the one caring the most, giving your ego the greatest stroke. He cares so much that he’s bending the rules, just to punch your digits.Exceeding the limit doesn't automatically give one program a player's ink on a letter of intent, seeing that the majority of the nation’s top recruits aren’t exactly flocking to Indiana or Oklahoma. But i may keep those schools on a player's short list, which is better than not being on their list at all. Maybe Mike Krzyzewski, Roy Williams, and Ben Howland have better reception than Sampson. Who knows?

Usage Charges

Kelvin Sampson is a repeat offender. The alleged wrongdoing in Indiana was factual in Oklahoma. This speed dialer has already sacrificed a $500,000 raise in pay and one scholarship, simply because he couldn’t stay off the damn phone. And with this infraction, the Hoosiers themselves may be facing possible postseason bans, loss of scholarships, etc, etc. And for what? A phone call? You’ve gotta be kidding me!

This resembles a parent withholding a child’s allowance for excessive texting that ran the bill sky high. It looks like a parent grounding a child because they continually go over their monthly cell phone minutes, and you’re trying to teach them responsibility. But at least those are examples of fairness. If the NCAA comes down hard on Indiana over phone calls by a coach, let’s just categorize this under “cruel and unusual punishment”. The punishment should fit the crime, and anything harsh from the NCAA would not.

Go directly to the source. Impose a coaching ban on Sampson for a season. Force him to sit out or find work in South America. Habla espanol, Kelvin? You can even extend the punishment to the individuals that did the hiring, already knowing the man’s past. But to punish the University and it’s basketball program over phone usage is laughable, and would make the NCAA the joke of the sporting world.

Free upgrade

I’ll end this by saying the rule itself is ridiculous. Why is there a limit on phone calls made to recruits? Who has an overall advantage in this? If there’s a school out there that would drop out of the recruiting race because they ran out of change for the pay phone, they were never really in the hunt to begin with.After being bombarded by calls about the Dish Network, local paper subscriptions, auto and home refinancing, and winning those supposedly free vacations, I doubt a parent would complain about someone calling everyday to offer their child a free education. And I hardly doubt you would get complaints from the egotistic recruit, who happily walks his high school campus saying, “Georgetown called again last night. They’re all up on my sac right now”.

Is Kelvin Sampson a violator? Yes. Is the rule necessary? No. Well, unless there's someone out there that can tell me why we need this rule in place.

A Knights Tale-What the media should be saying, but won't

The biggest story of the college hoops year has been the resignation of Texas Tech coach Bobby Knight. The media covered the story heavily, but still gave no apparent reason for Knight stepping down. If you listen to the words of the now former Tech coach, it doesn’t even sound like something permanent, leaving the door open for coaching positions in the future. But unlike your national news services, I’m not going to celebrate his “retirement” by focusing on his 902 victories, most winning coach in men’s basketball, and blah blah blah. I’m just going to say it as it is. Bobby Knight is an a$$hole.

The sudden retirement marks another chapter in the life of the most overgrown kid in sports. Outside of the wins and his 3 national titles, his actions on and off the court have been childlike. As a parent, your child is punished for the temper tantrums and unnecessary outbursts. But as a coach, the NCAA allowed it to continue for years, if your name is “Bobby Knight”.

Temple’s John Chaney was slammed by the media in ‘94, for his postgame explosion and threats to kill former UMass coach John Calipari. The NCAA and Temple University demanded and received an apology. Put that man in a red sweater, with either an “IU” or “TT” embroidered on the front, and suddenly there is no pressure for apologies. If the man’s name is Bobby Knight, suddenly it’s not a terrible act, but the terrible twos or terrible 52’s, etc.

The Indiana Hoosiers finally had enough of Knight and sent him packing in 2000. But seriously, how much of his $h!t did they put up with, and for how long? This is a person designated to assist young boys in becoming men, yet he’s never showed any signs of being a man himself. In fact, the sniveling baby showed more signs of needing a pacifier than anything else.

This is the man you want assisting in your child’s steps to adulthood:




I’ll admit the man has done more with less talent than Dean Smith, John Wooden, Joe B. Hall, and some others. But the overachievement of his teams can’t make me ignore the wild man that paces the sidelines. How far did Woody Hayes get at Ohio State? Did anyone cut him some slack, because he was fielding a winner on the football field?

Here are some of the news worthy events in the life of Bobby Knight:

- In 1979, Knight was arrested for assaulting a police officer during the Pan American Games in Puerto Rico. Knight was angry that a practice gymnasium was not opened to his team, which went on to a 9-0 record in the tournament. Knight was later convicted in absentia in a Puerto Rican court. However, the charges were later dropped when Indiana Governor Otis R. Bowen refused to cooperate in extraditing Knight to the island commonwealth.

-In 1985, Knight threw a chair across the court to protest a referee's call during a game against the rival Purdue Boilermakers. Knight was suspended for one game and received two years' probation from the Big Ten Conference.

-Women's groups nationwide were outraged by Knight's comments during an April, 1988 interview with Connie Chung in which he said, "I think that if rape is inevitable, relax and enjoy it." Knight's comment was in reference to an Indiana basketball game in which he felt the referees were making poor calls against the Hoosiers.

-Knight allegedly kicked his own son, Patrick Knight, during a 1993 game (Knight claims he actually kicked a chair).-Knight was shown berating an NCAA volunteer at a 1995 post-game press conference following a 65-60 loss to Missouri in the first round of the NCAA tournament held in Boise, Idaho. The volunteer, Rance Pugmire, informed the press that Knight would not be attending the press conference, when in reality, Knight was running a few minutes late and had planned on attending per NCAA rules. Knight was shown saying: "You've only got two people that are going to tell you I'm not going to be here. One is our SID (sports information director), and the other is me. Who the hell told you I wasn't going to be here? I'd like to know. Do you have any idea who it was?...Who?...They were from Indiana, right?...No, they weren't from Indiana, and you didn't get it from anybody from Indiana, did you?...No, I—I'll handle this the way I want to handle it now that I'm here. You (EXPLETIVE) it up to begin with. Now just sit there or leave. I don't give (EXPLETIVE) what you do. Now back to the game."

-On March 14, 2000, just before Indiana was to begin play in the NCAA tournament, the CNN/SI network ran a piece on Knight in which former player Neil Reed claimed he was choked by Knight in a 1997 practice. Knight denied the claims in the story.

-On April 11, 2000 CNN/SI aired a tape of an IU practice from 1997 that showed Knight with his hand around the neck of Neil Reed.

-In February 2004, Knight made national headlines when he had an argument with then Texas Tech University Chancellor David Smith at a Lubbock supermarket.-In March 2006, a student's heckling at Baylor University resulted in Knight having to be restrained by a police officer. The incident was not severe enough to warrant any action from the Big 12 Conference.

-On November 13, 2006, Knight was shown allegedly hitting player Michael Prince under the chin to get him to make eye contact. Although Knight didn't comment on the incident afterwards and as of yet hasn't done so, Prince, his parents, and Texas Tech Athletic Director Gerald Myers insisted that Knight did nothing wrong and that he merely lifted Prince's chin and told him "Hold your head up and don't worry about mistakes. Just play the game." Prince commented, "He was trying to teach me and I had my head down so he raised my chin up. He was telling me to go out there and don't be afraid to make mistakes. He said I was being too hard on myself."

-On October 21, 2007, James Simpson of Lubbock, Texas, accused Knight of firing a shotgun in his direction after he yelled at Knight and another man for hunting too close to his home. Knight denied the allegations. An argument between the two men was recorded via camera phone and aired later on television.

*source: Wikpedia

Now Bobby has temporarily retired from coaching college basketball, and his son takes over at Texas Tech. Go ahead ESPN, Fox, and whoever else, and celebrate the achievements of this “great” man. Go ahead and celebrate that he just quit on his team. The same media outlets that threw Bobby Petrino under the bus for quitting on the Atlanta Falcons won’t even take a stab at this Bobby in Texas. Sure, Petrino left a group a guys to go coach another group, but does it make it any worse than what Knight has done?

Unlike the professional level, college players are not drafted. They choose the programs and coach they want to be with for the next 4 years of their life. If Petrino is a snake for running away from multimillionaires that were mostly there before him, and didn’t make Petrino’s hire a deciding factor to play for the Falcons, why is Knight’s stepping down so gracious? He QUIT on all those recruits, and in the middle of the season. He can walk away, but they are locked in for 4 years or will have to sacrifice a year of eligibility to transfer.




One thing Knight mentions in this clip of ESPN’s “top 10 Bobby Knight soundbites” is that when he dies all his critics can kiss his ass. Well, he didn’t have to die, but just retire, because all I’m seeing from the media is a lot of a$$ kissing. But as for myself, I won’t pucker my lips. I’ll just righteously put my foot in his a$$, as it still seems the proper thing to do.

Resignation does not delete files and erase the past. It’s supposed to put an entire career in perspective, but some of us have chosen to skip over the negatives.