MY MORNING COFFEE

Man! Is this thing on? I haven't gotten a comment in weeks, it seems.

Dude, The Root Down ain't going away. Recognize, folks. Few questions for you this morning. I'm just trying to understand the world around me.

Why won't people stay off Bob Knight's case?

Really.

The dude slaps a kid on the chin because he's laying into him and the kid doesn't even look him in the eye. When ol' boy lowers his head, Knight gives him a quick "tap" (as it's been called) to get his attention. Then the whole nation goes up. Really, it's part of coaching. It is. And it's part of Bob Knight's coaching style. Choking I have a problem with. Trying to get some kid's attention by smacking him on the chin, I don't. And that punk went back to the bench holding his chin like it hurt. If you're playing on Knight's team, you better be tough as nails.

My alma mater came out last night and obliterated Arkansas-Little Rock in Lubbock, 93-59. Seems like it's working. Seven more wins and Bobby's the winningest coach in college basketball history.

Why would the Sox drop $52,000,000 on pitching?

I don't get it. This dude, at best, will probably give us 17 wins on the season which, in the AL East is pretty damn good, however, at approximately $4500 a pitch I gotta think we could've picked up two decent pitchers in the states at a quarter less the price tag that would've gotten us those 17 wins. I know, it's so the Spanks don't get 'em.

Right when you thought we were moving past that.

Why would you ever buy anything at Wal-Mart?

I heard they officially changed their holiday message to "Merry Christmas" as opposed to "Happy Holidays"--it's a decision based solely on the pursuit of more of a market share. Don't believe for one minute this is a deeply religious moment for Wal-Mart. This is all about sales. This was not an announcement that they made behind closed doors and planned on keeping out of the public eye. They want everyone to know that they're taking a stand, they're moving forward with "Merry Christmas" and anyone who doesn't agree can go to the competition knowing full and well they're going to gain more support than lose shoppers. Using religion as a marketing ploy. Congrats, Wal-Mart. Stooping to new levels of corporate sleaze.

No time to discuss because my 1.7-mile morning walk awaits me. Wind chill is sitting steady at about 10 degrees this morning. Hooray for me.