Sports
Bob Knight, Indiana’s Combustible Coaching Giant, Dies At Age 83
BLOOMFIELD, Ind. – Bob Knight, the brilliant and volatile coach who won three NCAA championships at Indiana and was the scowling face of collegiate basketball for many years, has died. He was 83.
On Wednesday night, Knight’s family made the revelation on social media. He was hospitalized in April due to an illness and had been in poor health for several years.
“It is with heavy hearts that we share that Coach Bob Knight passed away at his home in Bloomington surrounded by his family,” the statement said. “We are grateful for all the thoughts and prayers and appreciate the continued respect for our privacy as Coach requested a private family gathering, which is being honored.”
Knight was one of the sport’s most successful and divisive coaches, concluding his career with 902 victories in 42 seasons at Army, Indiana, and Texas Tech while training some of America’s top coaches. He also coached the United States Olympic team to gold in 1984.
The Hall of Famer didn’t care what others thought of him and chose Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” to celebrate his 880th win in 2007, which was then a Division I men’s basketball record.
He was dubbed “The General,” and his fiery temper cost him his job in Indiana in 2000. He was accused of hitting a police officer in Puerto Rico, throwing a chair across the court, and wrapping his hands around a player’s neck.
His actions were widely condemned, but his supporters were numerous. There was another side to Knight: he was proud of his players’ great graduation rates, and even during a rule-breaking era, he was never accused of a serious NCAA violation.
He insisted at Indiana that his base wage not be higher than that of other academics. He used to give up his salary at Texas Tech because he didn’t believe he deserved it.
Bob Knight, Indiana’s Combustible Coaching Giant, Dies At Age 83
On and off the court, Knight expected his players to outperform their peers. He followed NCAA standards even when he disagreed with them, never backed down from a fight, and swore to take his old-school values to the grave.
While many of his players adored him, his demeanor and antics occasionally masked his tremendous record, tactical understanding, invention, and passion for the game, leaving behind a one-of-a-kind resume.
“He changed basketball in this state, the way you compete, the way you win,” said Steve Alford, the coach of Knight’s final national championship squad in 1987. “It started in Indiana, but he changed college basketball forever.” Look at the motion offense; it was employed everywhere.”
Long admired his approach and frequently questioned his methods. Knight delighted in building his best teams with overachievers. He adhered to iron beliefs as a difficult-to-please motivator, and at 6-foot-5, he was an imposing figure for anyone who dared to cross him.
Knight retired in 2008 with four national championships (one as a player at Ohio State) and the Division I men’s win record. From Mike Krzyzewski to Isiah Thomas to Michael Jordan, he coached them all. Among others in his coaching tree wered Krzyzewski, who shattered Knight’s win record; Alford; Lawrence Frank, Keith Smart, Randy Wittman, and Mike Woodson, Indiana’s current coach.
Bob Knight, Indiana’s Combustible Coaching Giant, Dies At Age 83
“We lost one of the greatest coaches in the history of basketball today,” Krzyzewski said in a statement. “He was clearly one of a kind. He hired me, coached me, mentored me, and had a significant impact on my career and life. This is a huge loss for our sport, and our family is devastated.”
Robert Montgomery Knight was born in Massillon, Ohio, on October 25, 1940. His mother was a schoolteacher, and his father worked for the railway, which Knight cited as his early influence.
Hazel Knight appeared to grasp her son’s personality. When Indiana was scheduled to play Kentucky on television, two of Knight’s high school classmates approached her in a grocery store and inquired if she was enthusiastic about the game, according to his memoir, “Knight: My Story.”
“I just hope he behaves,” said his mother.
He attended Ohio State and was a reserve on three Final Four teams (1960-62). He was a member of the 1960 championship team that included future Hall of Famers Jerry Lucas and John Havlicek.
Knight joined the Tates Locke staff at West Point after a year as a high school assistant. At 24, he took over as head coach in 1965. His teams won 102 games in six seasons, coaching the likes of Krzyzewski and Mike Silliman, and he was off to Indiana in 1971.
Knight swiftly revived the Hoosiers’ basketball tradition with a novel offense and a defense that was almost entirely man-to-man. Most opponents struggled against his early Indiana teams, which went 125-20 and won four Big Ten Conference championships in his first five seasons.
Bob Knight, Indiana’s Combustible Coaching Giant, Dies At Age 83
Indiana won their first national championship in 23 years at the end of the run. That 32-0 club in 1975-76 ended a two-year streak in which the Hoosiers were 63-1 and won back-to-back Big Ten championships with 18-0 records. It is still the last time a major collegiate men’s team finished undefeated. In 2013, the US Basketball Writers Association named that team the greatest in college basketball history.
“One of the things he said to our 1976 team, which I was fortunate enough to be a part of, was that you may never see another team like this again,” said Quinn Buckner, chair of the Indiana Board of Trustees. “Well, I don’t know that we will ever see another coach like him again.”
Knight won his second championship in 1981, defeating Dean Smith’s North Carolina team after NCAA officials opted to play the game hours after President Ronald Reagan was shot and injured earlier that day. Smart won his third title at Indiana in 1987, when he beat Syracuse with a baseline jumper in the last seconds, one of the most iconic shots in tournament history.
Knight also appeared in Adam Sandler’s 2003 film “Anger Management” as a cameo. In 2006, he appeared on ESPN’s “Knight School,” a reality show where 16 Texas Tech students competed to walk on to his squad the following season.
Knight, who frequently yelled at reporters, joined ESPN as a guest studio commentator during the 2008 NCAA Tournament a month after leaving Tech. He expanded his job as a color commentator the following season. Knight left the network in 2015.
He returned to public prominence in 2016, campaigning for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, and maintained a fairly low profile until returning to the school where he became a household name and the state where his death was revealed in retail stores Wednesday night.
“I was standing there, and he was coach Knight,” Wittman recalled Knight’s pregame speech in February 2020. “It was as if he had never left that locker room.” His comments to the players before they stepped out on the pitch were fantastic.”
Karen, his wife, and their sons Tim and Pat are survivors.
SOURCE – (AP)
The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics promises to be unlike any other.
In a novelty for the Games, the show will be held on Paris’ famed River Seine rather than in a stadium.
Here is everything you need know about the ceremony…
What to expect from the spectacular opening ceremony.
The eye-catching celebration will take place over a 6km stretch of the Seine. It will start at Austerlitz Bridge and culminate among the gardens, fountains, and palaces in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower at Trocadero.
Almost 100 boats will carry over 10,000 athletes and dignitaries as they cruise past Paris’ prominent monuments such as Notre Dame Cathedral and Pont Neuf.
The boats will transport the parade’s participants as well as the artistic portion of the celebration, which will highlight Paris and France’s history and culture.
The performers’ identities, however, have been kept a mystery.
Thousands of people are still expected to line the river and streets, with millions more watching on television all over the world.
“I’d like to show France in all its diversity,” said Thomas Jolly, the French actor and theatre director appointed as the ceremony’s creative director, a post previously played by Danny Boyle in London 2012.
“Illustrate the richness and plurality shaped by its history, which has been influenced and inspired by the diverse cultures that have passed through it, while itself serving as a source of inspiration.”
The ceremony will also involve the ceremonial opening of the Games, led by French President Emmanuel Macron, as well as the lighting of the Olympic cauldron.
Many of the finer elements have been maintained as a surprise.
What is the date and time of the opening ceremony?
The ceremony will commence at 19:30 local time (18:30 BST) on Friday, July 26.
It is scheduled to take little under four hours, with the last parts taking place as the sun sets over the French city.
Fortunately, the Paris weather forecast for Friday evening is positive.
In what sequence will the nations be introduced?
In accordance with tradition, Greece will be the first nation introduced during the ceremony.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, an NBA star, is one of their flagbearers for the games.
Greece will be followed by the Refugee Olympic Team, with hosts France being the last to be unveiled.
Because of their countries’ involvement in the Ukrainian conflict, Russian and Belarussian athletes participating as individuals will not participate.
How to follow the opening ceremony on BBC.
The opening ceremony will begin live at 17:45 BST on BBC One, BBC iPlayer, and the BBC Sport website and app.
BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds will provide radio coverage beginning at 19:00 BST.
There will also be live text coverage on the BBC Sport website and app, bringing you all the action from Paris.
Source: BBC
Sports
Coco Gauff To Be Female Flag Bearer For US Team At Olympic Opening Ceremony, Joining LeBron James
PARIS — Coco Gauff, a tennis player, will join LeBron James as a flag bearer for the United States Olympic team at Friday’s opening ceremony.
Coco, the reigning US Open winner, is ready to make her Olympic debut at the Paris Games, becoming the first tennis player to carry the American flag. Team USA athletes selected her and James.
“I believe the Olympics are the priority. It’s equal to the Grand Slams. I wouldn’t put it above or below because I’d never played before. “This is my first time,” Gauff explained earlier this year. “I always want to do well and get a medal.”
Coco Gauff | AP News Image
Coco Gauff To Be Female Flag Bearer For US Team At Olympic Opening Ceremony, Joining LeBron James
Coco and James, the 39-year-old NBA’s all-time top scorer, engage in sports outside the traditional Olympic realm and receive media attention year-round rather than every four years.
Coco, 20, joined the American team for the Tokyo Olympics as a youngster three years ago but had to withdraw because she tested positive for COVID-19 just before flying to Japan.
Coco, who now lives in Florida, has won Grand Slam titles in both singles and doubles. She earned her first major triumph in New York in September, defeating Aryna Sabalenka in the singles final of the U.S. Open, and then won her first Grand Slam doubles title at the French Open in June with Czech Republic’s Katerina Siniakova.
The Paris Olympics will be played on the same clay courts at Roland Garros used for the French Open. The bracket draw will take place on Thursday, and play will begin on Saturday.
Coco is seeded second in singles, matching her current WTA ranking behind Poland’s No. 1 Iga Swiatek, and will be one of the medal favorites.
Coco Gauff | AP news Image
Coco Gauff To Be Female Flag Bearer For US Team At Olympic Opening Ceremony, Joining LeBron James
She and her normal doubles partner, Jessica Pegula, are seeded first in the women’s doubles. Gauff may also compete in mixed doubles; however, those pairs have yet to be determined.
“I’m not putting too much pressure on it, because I want to fully enjoy the experience,” Gauff said of her Olympic debut. “Hopefully I can have the experience multiple times in my lifetime, (but) I’ll treat it as a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
SOURCE | AP
When LeBron James was chosen for his first Olympics in 2004, he was unsure what the opening ceremony entailed.
This time, he’ll be a star of the show.
His fellow American Olympians chose James to be the male flagbearer for the United States at the opening ceremony of the Paris Games on Friday night. He is the third basketball player — and the first men’s player — to carry the United States flag at the start of an Olympics, following Dawn Staley in 2004 and Sue Bird in 2021.
“It’s an incredible honor to represent the United States on this global stage, especially in a moment that can bring the whole world together,” James told reporters. “As a kid from Akron, this responsibility means everything to not only me, but to my family, all the kids in my community, my teammates, other Olympians, and so many more people throughout the country with huge dreams. Sports have the capacity to unite us all, and I’m honored to be a part of this historic occasion.”
The 39-year-old James learned of the distinction Monday in London, just hours before the United States men’s team was supposed to play its final pre-Olympics exhibition game against World Cup champion Germany.
“We understand how much of an honor it is to be in that position and I think Bron’s entire career, on and off the court, speaks for itself as him being worthy of that honor,” Curry said on the video announcing his nomination.
“He has represented what it means to be excellent both on and off the court in his commitment to service and to uplifting the community in all ways that he knows how has been a lifelong passion,” Curry pointed out. “And the work speaks for itself.”
LeBron James Selected As Team USA Male Flagbearer For Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony
The female U.S. flagbearer is anticipated to be revealed on Tuesday. In 2020, the International Olympic Committee announced that country delegations would have two flagbearers at the Olympics’ opening ceremony, one male and one female, to encourage gender equality. The United States is set to send around 600 competitors to the Paris Games, with approximately 53% women.
“Being chosen by your teammates to carry the flag is a tremendous honor—and a testament to LeBron’s passion for Team USA and dedication to his sport,” U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee CEO Sarah Hirshland said.
James, a global icon, four-time NBA champion, and the league’s all-time leading scorer about to begin his record-tying 22nd NBA season, is set to compete in the Olympics for the fourth time, having previously won bronze in 2004, gold in Beijing in 2008, and gold again in London in 2012. He participated in the opening ceremony at his previous three Olympics.
This will be an unprecedented Olympic opening ceremony, with thousands of participants sailing along the River Seine at nightfall toward the Eiffel Tower. According to Olympic officials, the route is a 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) one, with some 320,000 spectators expected to watch from the river bank and an estimated 1 billion more watching on televisions around the world.
LeBron James Selected As Team USA Male Flagbearer For Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony
Not all Olympic athletes attend the opening ceremony; many miss it for logistical reasons, such as having to compete the next day. James and the four-time defending gold champion U.S. men shall begin Olympic competition on Sunday, when they face Serbia in Lille, France.
James and the American Olympians will have to wait longer than virtually any other nation for their voyage on the Seine. According to IOC protocol, Greece will lead the march, with NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo serving as one of its two flagbearers. The Refugee Olympic Team and over 200 more national delegations will follow. The United States is slated to be next-to-last in the procession because Los Angeles will host the next Summer Olympics in 2028.
As the host, France will be the last nation to participate in the opening ceremony procession. Its men’s basketball team, which includes reigning NBA rookie of the year Victor Wembanyama, begins Olympic competition on Saturday and is not scheduled to attend the opening ceremony.
SOURCE | AP
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