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Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Bob Knight compares steroids to Gatorade on ESPN

Knight is a close personal friend of St. Louis Cardinals coach Tony La Russa and a somewhat entertaining human being, but other than that, I can’t imagine why he’s being given a mouthpiece to discuss baseball.

Yesterday, the “Baseball Tonight” gang had Knight on to talk about Mark McGwire’s steroid confession.

As you might expect from a close friend of Tony La Russa, ol’ Bob wasn’t too quick to impugn the slugger.

“I have a different approach to performance-enhancing drugs than a lot of people do,” Knight said. “My question is: Who decides what can be used and what can’t be used?”

Fair enough question, but then Knight really lost it.

“Gatorade is a performance-enhancing substance. It replaces electrolytes in the human body that are used up during extreme exercise, so I’ve always had a real skeptical approach to all of this performance-enhancing stuff.”

DRINK THE GATORADE!

Gamingboy Posted: January 12, 2010 at 02:17 PM | 38 comment(s) | Login to Bookmark
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1. RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) Posted: January 12, 2010 at 03:27 PM (#3435305)

Who decides what can be used and what can’t be used?”

Why even have laws? Who decides that I have to wear pants in public?

2. Mike Emeigh

Posted: January 12, 2010 at 03:32 PM (#3435311)

Who decides what can be used and what can’t be used?

Ideally, the individual player would decide whether to use something or not; the ruling body of the sport wouldn't care. Practically, the ruling body (or bodies) of the sport.

-- MWE

3. David Nieporent (now, with children) Posted: January 12, 2010 at 03:35 PM (#3435316)

Who decides that I have to wear pants in public?

BBTF posters. We all did. That one was unanimous.

4. SoSH U at work Posted: January 12, 2010 at 03:35 PM (#3435317)

Who decides that I have to wear pants in public?

I know it wasn't Smitty.

5. SoSH U at work Posted: January 12, 2010 at 03:37 PM (#3435323)

Ideally, the individual player would decide whether to use something or not; the ruling body of the sport wouldn't care. Practically, the ruling body (or bodies) of the sport.

I'd say, ideally the participants would collectively decide what can be used. I agree that the ruling body shouldn't care.

6. zonk Posted: January 12, 2010 at 03:39 PM (#3435328)

Who decides that I have to wear pants in public?

BBTF posters. We all did. That one was unanimous.

If you're saying the wearing of pants is Groupthink Approved™, then I think it's a sad day for all of us.

7. Pasta-diving Jeter (jmac66) Posted: January 12, 2010 at 03:44 PM (#3435344)

wait a minute--you guys wear PANTS!!???

8. SoSH U at work Posted: January 12, 2010 at 03:49 PM (#3435352)

This conversation is really getting off track. The pants-wearing edict only applies to AG#1F.

9. David Nieporent (now, with children) Posted: January 12, 2010 at 03:49 PM (#3435356)

If you're saying the wearing of pants is Groupthink Approved™, then I think it's a sad day for all of us.

I'm saying that AG#1F wearing pants is Groupthink Approved™.

EDIT: Half a coke to SoSH U.

10. Moneyball can't buy you love (Joey B.) Posted: January 12, 2010 at 04:25 PM (#3435418)

Knight sure sounds like he'd fit in perfectly here in this place. I am a bit surprised though that he's an enabler. Maybe all coaches are by nature.

11. Designated Sitter (GGC) Posted: January 12, 2010 at 04:30 PM (#3435425)

This is totally irresponsible to suggest this, but maybe Steve Alford was juicing at Bloomington.

12. JPWF13

Posted: January 12, 2010 at 04:38 PM (#3435433)

I am a bit surprised though that he's an enabler.

That was kind of my thought, the biggest Bobby Knight fans tend to be law and order type personalities (which is kind of funny actually), and hence tend to be strongly anti-ped, so my immediate reaction was that Bobby Knight backers were either going to be flummoxed or really pissed off...

13. SoSH U at work Posted: January 12, 2010 at 04:40 PM (#3435437)

That was kind of my thought, the biggest Bobby Knight fans tend to be law and order type personalities (which is kind of funny actually), and hence tend to be strongly anti-ped, so my immediate reaction was that Bobby Knight backers were either going to be flummoxed or really pissed off...

I think the author has it right. His friendship with LaRussa is trumping everything else in this case. Thick as thieves, those two.

14. TomH Posted: January 12, 2010 at 04:45 PM (#3435438)

Who decides whether a coach can throw violent tantrums, demeaning players, refs, generally everyone, be the world's most obnoxious person, break many things, commit assault, and somehow still be loved my millions of people who hate others for simply holding ostensibly-evil thoughts in their heads?

15. zonk Posted: January 12, 2010 at 04:45 PM (#3435439)

That was kind of my thought, the biggest Bobby Knight fans tend to be law and order type personalities (which is kind of funny actually), and hence tend to be strongly anti-ped, so my immediate reaction was that Bobby Knight backers were either going to be flummoxed or really pissed off...

Forget Knight fans - I can recall, back when he was at IU - Knight himself would regularly lecture students at rallies on the evils of drug use.

16. Harveys Wallbangers

Posted: January 12, 2010 at 04:48 PM (#3435450)

This is based on friendship. Knight has been advocating widespread drug testing for years.

17. Gonfalon Bubble Posted: January 12, 2010 at 04:55 PM (#3435457)

Pantsless:
Fred Flintstone
Donald Duck
Nathan Johnson in "The Jerk"

Pants wearing:
Pol Pot
Osama bin Laden
Jon Gosselin

When the revolution comes, I know which side I'm choosing.

18. Repoz

Posted: January 12, 2010 at 04:55 PM (#3435458)

Uwe Blab should have been munchin' Munich's finest...because he stunk stink.

19. Gamingboy Posted: January 12, 2010 at 05:02 PM (#3435464)

Pantsless:
Fred Flintstone
Donald Duck
Nathan Johnson in "The Jerk"

Pants wearing:
Pol Pot
Osama bin Laden
Jon Gosselin

When the revolution comes, I know which side I'm choosing.

But George Washington also wore pants!

20. Vaux, A.B.D. Posted: January 12, 2010 at 05:07 PM (#3435467)

No he didn't, he wore knickers.

21. Foghorn Leghorn Posted: January 12, 2010 at 05:07 PM (#3435469)

It is Navin R. Johnson.

22. Designated Sitter (GGC) Posted: January 12, 2010 at 05:09 PM (#3435472)

Ziggy is also pantsless; despite the best efforts of Stefan Pastis.

23. SoSH U at work Posted: January 12, 2010 at 05:11 PM (#3435475)

It is Navin R. Johnson.

You'd think GB would know that. It's right there in the new phone book.

24. Pasta-diving Jeter (jmac66) Posted: January 12, 2010 at 05:12 PM (#3435476)

Didn't wear pants:
Harriet Nelson
Donna Reed
June Cleaver
Samantha Stevens

Did wear pants (sometimes)
Lucy Ricardo
Laura Petrie
Ward Cleaver

25. Quiet Flows the Don Taussig Avenger (Edmundo)

Posted: January 12, 2010 at 05:15 PM (#3435477)

Did wear pants

Emma Peel

26. Yeaarrgghhhh Posted: January 12, 2010 at 05:15 PM (#3435479)

Pants wearing:
Osama bin Laden

Are you sure? Doesn't he wear a caftan-type thing?

27. ess eff Posted: January 12, 2010 at 05:18 PM (#3435483)

Who decides that I have to wear pants in public?

No one.

28. jwb Posted: January 12, 2010 at 05:37 PM (#3435515)

There was another article like that which I saw yesterday about the train from Seattle to SEATAC, ess eff.

29. phredbird

Posted: January 12, 2010 at 05:45 PM (#3435523)

anyone who walks around s.f. without pants on deserves the chilblains they are going to get.

30. Pasta-diving Jeter (jmac66) Posted: January 12, 2010 at 05:55 PM (#3435535)

"...was the summer I spent in San Francisco sans-culottes"

31. Biff isn't really an apt handle anymore Posted: January 12, 2010 at 05:59 PM (#3435540)

It's got electrolytes!

32. JPWF13

Posted: January 12, 2010 at 06:49 PM (#3435605)

Knight has been advocating widespread drug testing for years.

what type of drugs?
Peds or coke/pot?

33. Never Give an Inge (Dave) Posted: January 12, 2010 at 06:53 PM (#3435612)

Hmm....Knight did display a lot of rage over the years...

34. Dewey, Steven Wright Wannabe and Soupuss Posted: January 12, 2010 at 06:54 PM (#3435615)

Knight is a close personal friend of St. Louis Cardinals coach Tony La Russa

Why doesn't this surprise me in the least?

35. RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) Posted: January 12, 2010 at 07:01 PM (#3435625)

It's got electrolytes!

Its got what plants crave.

36. smileyy Posted: January 12, 2010 at 07:37 PM (#3435687)

I'd say, ideally the participants would collectively decide what can be used. I agree that the ruling body shouldn't care.

The people funding the professional sports should decide.

If they think that PED use makes for a better product, more revenue and damn the consequences (see, baseball recently, the NFL currently), they'll ignore or even encourage PED use.

If they decide that the public will be aghast at PED use and stop spending money on the product, they'll prohibit PED use.

MLB, the NFL, the NBA, the IOC -- they're all commercial enterprises. The folks spending the money to make the money logically have a lot to say about the product put on the field/court/luge-course

37. Big Train Posted: January 12, 2010 at 08:03 PM (#3435736)

Knight could have used a much better example than gatorade.

Laser Eye Surgery.

38. ess eff Posted: January 12, 2010 at 08:15 PM (#3435760)

Or better yet cortisone, a steroid hormone commonly administered to athletes.

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Bob Knight compares steroids to Gatorade on ESPN

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