College basketball isn’t the same without Bob Knight growling at referees, tormenting his players and browbeating hapless reporters.

At the age of 68, he would be an anachronism in a sport ruled by slick recruiter/motivators like Florida’s Billy Donovan. But Bob is still fun to have around – which is why his interest in the Georgia opening is encouraging.

There are a lot of Cracker Barrels on the SEC circuit, so this could be a pretty good fit.

“He doesn’t want it to look as if he’s pursuing the job,” a source close to Knight told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “He’d like to be offered it, and if offered, he’d take it.

“He doesn’t want it to look as if he’s looking for work, but I can assure you that he’d like to have the job. It’s the idea of coaching a team in the Southeastern Conference that appeals to him. There are just so many things he could do for Georgia basketball. This would be his last stop, and he likes that.”

Meanwhile at Texas Tech, Pat Knight is doing his best to carry the family torch. His recent on-court implosion had to make daddy proud:

MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE

Questions to ponder while wondering if Chris Mason is now the Blues’ No. 1 goaltender:

• When Manny Ramirez will jump at the Dodgers’ offer of $25 million for the 2009 season?
• Does he realize that Albert Pujols isn’t general manager of the Cardinals?
• Speaking of inflated salaries, what, exactly, did Bud Selig do to earn $18.35 million in 2007?
• How many home runs did he hit that year?

A HORRIBLY WRONG PREDICTION

No, the Cardinals did not win the Super Bowl. This guy is really disappointed.

QUIPS ‘R US

Here is what some of America’s leading sports pundits have been writing:

Greg Cote, Miami Herald: “It has occurred to me over the years that the one celebrity who is at every Super Bowl and seemingly at every party and everywhere is Snoop Dogg. I ordered room service last night. It was delivered by Snoop Dogg. I thanked him. ‘Foshizzle,’ he said.”

Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel: “Pittsburgh is the Steel Curtain. Arizona is the Lace Drapes. The Steelers are named after beer-drinking, blue-collar millworkers. The Cardinals are named after a sangria-colored songbird. Pittsburgh has the Immaculate Reception. Arizona has the Incompetent Perception. Pittsburgh’s greatest quarterback is Terry Bradshaw, who won four Super Bowls. Arizona’s greatest quarterback is Joe Namath, who was drafted No. 1 but opted instead to sign with the New York Jets of the rival AFL. Pittsburgh is nicknamed the ‘Iron City’ and has a beer by the same name. Phoenix is the ‘Valley of the Sun’ and has the wimpy umbrella drinks to match. Pittsburgh’s history includes the Terrible Towels. Arizona’s history is just plain terrible.”

Bill Simmons, ESPN.com: “In other news, congrats to Hulu for landing a Super Bowl ad. My baby’s all growns up! My baby’s all growns up! I love Hulu. Any video channel that streams complete ‘White Shadow’ and ‘Miami Vice’ episodes is good by me. I also loved NBC’s commercial for its Monday night lineup in which the chick from ‘Medium’ dances happily to ‘Feeling All Right’ by Joe Cocker. Isn’t ‘Medium’ a depressing show about contacting dead people? I’m feeling all right! Oh-ho! I just contacted a 6-year-old dead girl trapped in purgatory! Oh-ho!”

PUTTING THE “TOUCH” IN TOUCHDOWN

Perhaps you saw this report on the Internets:

“The Arizona Daily Star has received multiple reports that with a less than three minutes left in SuperBowl XLIII the local Comcast broadcast to viewers who live in Pima County switched to what appeared to be a pornographic movie for about 30 seconds before returning to the game.”

It did happen. Unsuspecting viewers were “treated” to a Club Jenna clip. Comcast feels very badly about this and is offering $10 credits to victims.

THE CURSE OF POLICE CAR CAMERAS

Remember when Mississippi coach Andy Kennedy got busted after skirmishing with a Cincinnati cab driver? Now we have the authentic footage from his arrest.

ADMONISHING MICHAEL PHELPS

ESPN.com’s Pat Forde is one of the many ripping the Olympic hero for his Bong Show:

“Most of the pot-smoking athletic population have had the good sense or good fortune not to get caught. And a good many prominent athletes have done far worse than getting high.But normal 23-year-olds don’t own a jillion gold medals and world records and massive endorsement contracts that are in no small part tied to Phelps’ marketability with wide-eyed children yearning to wear Speedo swim suits. Sponsors like the picture of smiling Michael with eight gold medals around his neck a whole lot more than the picture of Michael earnestly working the pot pipe.”

MEGAPHONE

“If they played this game in the regular season, it would be a [regional] game, and no one would watch.”

NBC analyst Tiki Barber, dismissing the classic Super Bowl showdown.

ELSEWHERE ON STLTODAY

My live chat generated lots of fan interest in Manny Ramirez – about 1,000 times more interest than John Mozeliak has in the poorly groomed, tantrum-prone slugger. Also, I praised the Blues power play in my Hockey Guy blog after the Blues earned a hard-fought point in Motown.