Patrick Knight, who took the reins of the Texas Tech men’s basketball team when his famous father quit midseason in 2008, was cut loose today. Knight, son of three-time national championship coach Bob Knight, and his staff will remain intact through Texas Tech’s run in the Big XII tournament this week.

“We’ve lost seven games in the last minute,” he said, according to the Associated Press. “This program is competitive. But that’s not for me. I mean, honestly, I’m going to be coaching here, I’m going to be coaching somewhere else. I’ve proven I can coach. I run a clean program, I don’t cheat, my players graduate and we have discipline. So if you don’t want me here there’s going to be someone else that wants me.”

Patrick Knight obviously knows nothing about college basketball, because none of those things he listed are “win lots of games” and “compete for Final Four appearances.” In three full seasons, Knight amassed a 16–42 conference record and only made the NIT once. But he never physically assaulted any of his players, either. It’s tough to keep a job without occasionally choking your subordinates. Especially in Texas.

While most of the country was undoubtedly celebrating UCF’s victory over Memphis to capture the CUSA East title, Oklahoma State was playing to move one step closer to the school’s first-ever Big 12 championship. Unfortunately, the Cowboys had to get through Oklahoma first and that didn’t work out well in the end. The Sooners won a 47-41 slugfest, as both teams traded late touchdowns for an exciting finish, but the Cowboys’ title hopes are dashed as the Sooners moved to No. 9 in the BCS rankings and will play No. 13 Nebraska for the conference title on Saturday.

OK St. played valiantly, but ultimately a loss is a loss is a loss, so they don’t have much to be happy about, except for what will possibly be remembered as the play of the year in FBS college football this season. With 5:26 left in the second quarter and his Cowboys trailing by 11, Brodrick Brown fooled the cameras when he tipped an overthrown pass by Oklahoma QB Landry Jones into the waiting hands of Shaun Lewis for the interception. Enjoy Brown’s perfect form and execution now before this play is ruined by 30,000 frat boys trying to pull off similar plays in intramural flag football games next year.

After the jump you can relive Brown’s awesome interception, as well as a collection of almost-as-impressive interceptions (feel free to remind me which famous interceptions that I egregiously omitted)…

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The Big 12 has saved itself from the threat of extinction, and Big East Commissioner John Marinatto could not be happier. He who has assembled the greatest football conference in history, was so moved by Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe’s wheeling and dealing, that he decided to send Beebe the gayest gift he could possibly think of:

If the Big 12 had folded, the Big East may have soon followed in a domino effect of teams leaving for superconferences that would have changed the college landscape forever. A college landscape that may not have included the Big East.

So on Tuesday, Marinatto showed his appreciation with a small gesture. His office sent 10 red and 10 white roses to Beebe and the Big 12 conference with a card that simply read “Unity.”

“The color combination signifies unity and 10 — rather than a dozen — represented their new membership number,” Marinatto told FanHouse Wednesday. –FanHouse

10 white roses, you say? That’s some pretty poetic symbolism, John. Soon, you’ll be able to get into some complex ideas, like how things that are white are good, and black things are evil. Just like the LAPD would have you believe.

As an undergrad of a Big East school, I would love nothing more than to see the football conference fold. Have you ever watched a Big East football game? It’s terrible. So terrible, that Duke Basketball superstar flop artist Greg Paulus started for Syracuse last season. I’d love to make a joke about it, but that’s just so infuriating I’m about to have an aneurysm. Marinatto was the working for the conference when they let all of their best football teams leave for the ACC, so you know he’s business savvy. Tony Hayward and the BP boys could have at least convinced Boston College to stay. More Greg Paulus highlights after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

Apparently, reports of the death of the Big 12 have been greatly exaggerated. The conference will continue– and keep its current name–after locking down its ten remaining teams, thanks in large part to a large bag of TV money, of which a mighty share will fall toward Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma.

According to sources, Texas, Oklahoma and Texas A&M will be guaranteed $20 million per year, while the seven remaining schools will collect between $14 million and $17 million in TV revenue in combined deals with ABC/ESPN and Fox.

Both networks stepped forward and averted what could have been complete chaos in college realignment by putting forth a combined package that will push the Big 12 from a $78 million take in annual TV revenue to just less than $200 million, sources say. –Chip Brown/Orangebloods, who have owned this story from Day One.

The other seven schools will see their TV revenues double after the deal goes into effect. Unfortunately for Colorado, they’ll have to pay somewhere in the neighborhood of $7 million to buy their way out of the Big 12. The Pac-10 conference, with their invasion of Texas thwarted, will look to add Utah as a 12th school.

Some people are now saying that Colorado and Nebraska scurried out of the conference in panic, which might be the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. Think about it; this deal–this ransom that Dan Beebe paid out to save his conference and his job–was made in the face of an apocalypse that was created by the departure of those teams. It’s quite stupid to say that Nebraska panicked because Nebraska panicked. But one has to wonder why this deal couldn’t have been put together sooner.

Oh, and this is just a courtesy message to everyone out there: we know that the Big 12 now has ten teams and that the Big Ten has 12 teams. You are not being clever in pointing this out, and if I hear it again, I will slap the white off your teeth. There’s nothing clever about that observation. At all. Thank you. I feel a lot better now.