Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Who is Robert Montgomery Knight?

Who is Robert Montgomery Knight? The basketball world knows him as Bobby Knight. he is a retired American basketball coach. Nicknamed "The General", Knight won 902 NCAA Division I men's college basketball games, most all-time at the time of his retirement and currently third all-time behind his former player, Mike Krzyzewski and Coach Jim Boeheim of Syracuse. He is most well known as the head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers from 1971–2000. He also coached at Texas Tech (2001–2008) and at Army (1965–1971).[1]
While at Indiana, Knight led his teams to three NCAA championships, one National Invitation Tournament (NIT) championship, and 11 Big Ten Conference championships. He received the National Coach of the Year honor four times and the Big Ten Coach of the Year honor eight times. In 1984, he coached the USA men's Olympic team to a gold medal, becoming one of only three basketball coaches to win an NCAA title, NIT title, and an Olympic gold medal.[2]
Knight was one of college basketball's most successful and innovative coaches, having perfected and popularized the motion offense. He has also been praised for running clean programs (none of his teams were ever sanctioned by the NCAA for recruiting violations) and graduating most of his players. However, Knight has also attracted controversy; he famously threw a chair across the court during a game, was once arrested for assault, and regularly displayed a combative nature during encounters with members of the press.[3] Knight remains "the object of near fanatical devotion" from his former players and Indiana fans.[4]
In 2008, Knight joined ESPN as a men's college basketball studio analyst during Championship Week and for coverage of the NCAA Tournament.[5] For the 2008–09 season, he joined ESPN as a part-time color commentator as well as continuing his studio analyst duties.

Playing career

Knight was born in Massillon, Ohio ,October 25, 1940 and grew up in Orrville, Ohio.[6] Knight began his career as a player at Orrville High School. He continued under Basketball Hall of Fame coach Fred Taylor at Ohio State in 1958. Despite being a star player in high school, he played a reserve role as a forward on the 1960 Ohio State Buckeyes team that won the NCAA Championship and featured future Hall of Fame players John Havlicek and Jerry Lucas. The Buckeyes lost to the Cincinnati Bearcats in each of the next two
NCAA Championship games, of which Knight was also a part.
Due in part to the star power of those Ohio State teams, playing time was usually scarce for Knight, but that did not prevent him from making an impact; in the 1961 NCAA Championship game, Knight came off the bench with 1:41 on the clock and Cincinnati leading Ohio State, 61-59. In the words of then-Ohio State Frank Truitt,
assistant coach
To which Truitt replied, "Sit down, you hot dog. You're lucky you're even on the floor."[7]
In addition to lettering in basketball at Ohio State, it has been claimed that Knight also lettered in football and baseball;[8] however, the official list of Ohio State football letter earners does not include Knight.[9] Knight graduated with a degree in history and government in 1962.

Army Black Knights

After graduation in 1962, Knight coached junior varsity basketball at Cuyahoga Falls High School in Ohio for one year.[10] Knight then enlisted in the U.S. Army and accepted an assistant coaching position with the Army Black Knights in 1963, where, two years later, he was named the head coach at the relatively young age of 24. In six seasons at West Point, Knight won 102 games, with his first as a head coach coming against Worcester Polytechnic Institute. One of his players was Mike Krzyzewski, who would later serve as his assistant before becoming a Hall of Fame head coach at Duke.

Indiana University Hoosiers

In 1971 the Indiana University Hoosiers hired Knight as head coach. Because of his time spent coaching at Army and his disciplinarian nature, Knight earned the nickname "The General." During his 29 years as head coach at Indiana, the Hoosiers won 662 games, including 22 seasons of 20 or more wins, while losing but 239, a remarkable .735 winning percentage. In 24 NCAA tournament appearances at Indiana, Hoosier teams under Bob Knight won 42 of 63 games (.667), winning titles in 1975-76, 1980-81, and 1986-87, while losing in the semi-finals in 1973 and 1992.

1970s

In 1972–73, Knight's second year as coach, Indiana won the Big Ten championship and reached the Final Four, but lost to UCLA. The following season, 1973–74, Indiana once again captured a Big Ten title. In the 1974-75 and 1975-76, Knight's teams were undefeated in the regular season and won 37-consecutive Big Ten games on their way to their fourth conference title in a row. The 1974-75 Hoosiers swept the entire Big Ten by an average of 22.8 points per game. However, in a 83-82 win against Purdue they lost consensus All-American forward Scott May to a broken left arm. With May playing just 7 mins,[11] the No. 1 Hoosiers lost to Kentucky 92-90 in the Midwest Regional. The following season, 1975–76, the Hoosiers went the entire season and 1976 NCAA tournament without a single loss, beating Michigan 86–68 in the title game. Immediately after the game, Knight lamented that "it should have been two." The 1976 Hoosiers remains the last undefeated NCAA Division I men's basketball team.[12][13] Indiana won the 1979 NIT championship.
two following seasons,

1980s

The 1979-80 Hoosiers won the Big Ten championship and advanced to the 1980 Sweet Sixteen. The following season, in 1980-81, star-guard Isiah Thomas and Knight's Hoosiers once again won a conference title and won the 1981 NCAA tournament, Knight's second national title. In 1982–1983, Knight's No. 1 ranked Hoosiers were favorites to win another national championship. However with an injury to All-American Ted Kitchel mid-season, the Hoosiers prospects were grim. Knight asked for fan support to rally around the team, which ultimately won the Big Ten championship. Nevertheless in the tournament Kitchel's absence was felt and the team lost to Kentucky in the 1983 Sweet Sixteen.Knight and his 1985-86 team were profiled in a best-selling book A Season on the Brink. To write it Knight granted author John Feinstein almost unprecedented access to the Indiana basketball program, as well as insights into Knight's private life. Feinstein depicts a coach who is quick with a violent temper, but also one who never cheats and strictly follows all of the NCAA's rules. The following season, in 1986-87, Knight won a share of the Big Ten title and his third national championship against Syracuse in the 1987 NCAA tournament.[14] In the 1988–1989 season the Hoosiers again won a Big Ten championship.

1990s

From 1990-91 through 1992-93, the Hoosiers posted 87 victories, the most by any Big Ten team in a three-year span, breaking the mark of 86 set by Coach Knight's Indiana teams of 1974-76. Teams from these three seasons spent all but two of the 53 poll weeks in the top 10, and 38 of them in the top 5. They captured two Big Ten crowns in 1990-91 and 1992–93, and during the 1991-92 season reached the Final Four. During the 1992-93 season, the 31-4 Hoosiers finished the season at the top of the AP Poll, but were Kansas in the Elite Eight.
defeated by
Throughout the mid and late 1990s Knight continued to experience success with continual NCAA tournament appearances and a minimum of 19 wins each season. However, 1993 would be Knight's last conference championship and 1994 would be his last trip to the Sweet Sixteen. Moreover, his portrayal in the media often brought as much controversy to the school as success.

Dismissal

On March 14, 2000, just before Indiana was to begin play in the NCAA tournament, the CNN/SI network ran a piece on Knight in which former player Neil Reed claimed he had been choked by Knight in a 1997 practice.[15] Knight denied the claims in the story. However, less than a month later, CNN Sports Illustrated aired a tape of an IU practice from 1997 that appeared to show Knight placing his hand on the neck of Neil Reed.[16]
"When my time on Earth is gone, and my activities here are past, I want they bury me upside down, and my critics can kiss my ass."
Bob Knight, March 1994[17]
In response, Indiana University president Myles Brand announced that spring he had adopted a "zero tolerance" policy with regard to Bob Knight's behavior.[18] Later in the year, in September 2000, Indiana freshman Kent Harvey reportedly said, "Hey, Knight, what's up?" to Knight. According to Harvey, Knight then grabbed him by the arm and lectured him for not showing proper respect, insisting that Harvey address him as either "Mr. Knight" or "Coach Knight" instead of simply "Knight."[16] Brand stated that this incident was only one of numerous complaints that occurred after the zero-tolerance policy had been [16]
placed on Knight. He asked Knight to resign on September 10. When Knight refused, Brand relieved him of his coaching duties effective immediately. Later that evening, a crowd of thousands of students swarmed Bloomington in protest, burning Brand in effigy.
Harvey was supported by some and vilified by many who claim he had intentionally set up Knight. Kent Harvey's stepfather, Mark Shaw, was a former Bloomington-area radio talk show host and Knight critic.[19] On September 13, Knight said goodbye to a crowd of some 6,000 supporters in Dunn Meadow at Indiana University. He asked that they not hold a grudge against Harvey and that they continue to support the basketball team.[20] Knight's firing made national headlines, including the cover of Sports Illustrated and around the clock coverage on ESPN. It was also covered heavily on major news programs such as CBS News and CNN.

International coaching

In 1979 Knight guided the United States Pan American team to a gold medal in Puerto Rico. In 1984 Knight led the U.S. national team to a gold medal in the Olympic Games as coach of the 1984 basketball team (coaches do not receive medals in the Olympics). Players on the team included Michael Jordan and Knight's Indiana player and protege Steve Alford.

Texas Tech Red Raiders

After taking a season off following his dismissal from Indiana, all the while on the lookout for vacancies, Knight accepted the head coaching job at Texas Tech, though his hiring was opposed by a group of faculty led by Walter Schaller.[21] At the press conference introducing him, Knight quipped, "This is without question the most comfortable red sweater I've had on in six years."[22]
Knight quickly improved the program, which had not been to an NCAA tournament since 1996. He led the Red Raiders to postseason appearances in each of his first four years at the school (three NCAA Boston College in the first round. The best performance by the Red Raiders under Knight came in 2005 when they advanced as far as the Sweet Sixteen. In both 2006 and 2007 under Knight, Texas Tech defeated two Top 10-ranked teams in consecutive weeks. During Knight's first six years at Texas Tech, the Red Raiders won 126 games, an average of 21 wins per season.
Championship tournaments and one NIT). After a rough 2006 season, the team improved in 2007, finishing 21–13 and again making it to the NCAA Championship tournament, where it lost to
On February 4, 2008, Bob Knight retired as head coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders. His son Pat Knight, the head coach designate since 2005, was immediately named as his successor. The younger Knight stated that, after many years of coaching, his father was exhausted and ready to retire.[23] Just after achieving his 900th win, Knight handed the job over to Pat in the mid-season in part to allow him to get acquainted with coaching the team earlier, instead of having him wait until October, the start of the next season.[24] Following retirement Knight continued living in Lubbock.[25]

Life After Coaching

In 2008, Knight was hired as a studio analyst and occasional color commentator by ESPN.[26] In November 2012, he called an Indiana Men's Basketball game for the first time, something he had previously refused to do. Current Indiana Hoosiers Men's basketball coach Tom Crean has reached out to Knight in an attempt to get him to visit the school again. Knight has thus far rebuffed all attempts to bring him back to [27]
Bloomington.

Coaching philosophy

Bob Knight was an innovator of the motion offense, which he perfected and popularized.[28] The system emphasizes post players setting screens and perimeter players passing the ball until a teammate becomes open for an uncontested jump shot or lay-up. This required players to be unselfish, disciplined, and effective in setting and using screens to get open. Knight's Army background and his focus on fundamentals, strict discipline, and precision earned him the nickname "General".
Knight's motion offense didn't take shape until his time at Indiana. Prior to that, at Army, he ran a "reverse action" that involved reversing the ball from one side of the floor to the other and screening along with it.[28] According to Knight, it was a "West Coast offense" that Pete Newell used exclusively during his coaching career. After being exposed to the Princeton offense, Knight instilled more cutting with the offense he employed, which evolved into the motion offense that he ran for most of his career.[28] Knight continued to develop the offense, instituting different cuts over the years and putting his players in different scenarios.
Knight was well known for the extreme preparation he put into each game and practice. He was often quoted as saying, "Most people have the will to win, few have the will to prepare to win."[29] Often during practice, Knight would instruct his players to a certain spot on the floor and give them options of what to do based on how the defense might react.[28] In contrast to set plays, Knight's offense was designed to react according to the defense.
The 3-point shot was adopted nationally in the NCAA in 1986, mid-way through Knight's coaching career. Although he opposed the rule change throughout his life, it did compliment his offense well by improving the spacing on the floor.[28] Knight's offense also emphasized a two-count.[28] Players in the post are expected to try and post in the paint for two seconds and if they don't receive the ball they go set a screen. Players with the ball are expected to hold the ball for two seconds to see where they are going to take it. Screens are supposed to be held for two seconds, as well.
On defense Knight was known for emphasizing tenacious "man-to-man" defense where defenders contest every pass and every shot, and to help teammates when needed. However, Knight has also incorporated a zone defense periodically after eschewing that defense for the first two decades of his coaching career.[30]
Knight's coaching also included a firm emphasis on academics. All but four of his four-year players completed degrees, a ratio of nearly 98 percent. Nearly 80 percent of his players graduated compared to the national average of 42 percent for Division I schools.[31]

Legacy

Accomplishments

Bob Knight's all time coaching record is 902-371. His 902 wins in NCAA Division I men's college basketball games is third all-time to Jim Boeheim, and his former player, Mike Krzyzewski. Knight achieved his 880th career win on January 1, 2007 and passed retired North Carolina coach Dean Smith for most career victories, a title he held until his win total was surpassed by Krzyzewski on November 15, 2011.
Knight is the youngest coach to reach 200 (age 35), 300 (age 40) and 400 (age 44) wins. He was also among the youngest to reach other milestones of 500 (age 48) and 600 (age 52) wins.
Texas Tech's participation in the 2007 NCAA Tournament gave Knight more NCAA Tournaments appearances than any other coach.[32] He is the only coach to win the NCAA, the NIT, an Olympic Gold medal, and a Pan American Games Gold medal.[32] Knight is also one of only three people, along with Dean Smith and Joe B. Hall, who had both played on and coached a winning NCAA championship basketball team.

Recognition

Knight received a number of personal honors during and after his coaching career. He was named the National Coach of the Year four times (1975, 1976, 1987, 1989) and Big Ten Coach of the Year eight times (1973, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1989, 1992, 1993). In 1975 he was a unanimous selection as National Coach of the Year, an honor he was accorded again in 1976 by Associated Press, United Press International, and Basketball Weekly. In 1987 he was the first person to be honored with the Naismith Coach of the Year Award. In 1989 he garnered National Coach of the Year honors by the AP, UPI, and the United States Basketball Writers Association. Knight was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991.
On November 17, 2006, Knight was recognized for his impact on college basketball as a member of the founding class of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. The following year he was the recipient of the Naismith Award for Men's Outstanding Contribution to Basketball.[33] Knight was also inducted into the Army Sports Hall of Fame (Class of 2008) and the Indiana Hoosiers athletics Hall of Fame (Class of 2009). In August 2003, he was honored as the first inductee in The Vince Lombardi Titletown Legends.

Coaching tree

A number of assistant coaches, players, and managers of Knight have gone on to be coaches. Among them are Hall of Fame Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, UCLA coach Steve Alford and NBA coaches Randy Wittman, Mike Woodson, Keith Smart, and Lawrence Frank.

In the media

Books about Knight

In 1986 author John Feinstein published A Season on the Brink, which detailed the 1985-86 season of the Indiana Hoosiers. Granted almost unprecedented access to the Indiana basketball program, as well as insights into Knight's private life, the book quickly became a major best-seller and spawned a new genre, as a legion of imitators wrote works covering a single year of a sports franchise. In the book Feinstein depicts a coach who is quick with a violent temper, but also one who never cheats and strictly follows all of the NCAA's rules.
Two years later author Joan Mellen penned the book Bob Knight: His Own Man (ISBN 0-380-70809-4), A Season on the Brink. Mellen deals with seemingly all the causes celebres in Knight's career and presents the view that he is more sinned against than sinning.
in part to rebut Feinstein's
A number of close associates and friends of Knight have also written books about him. Former player and current UCLA head basketball coach Steve Alford wrote Playing for Knight: My Six Seasons with Bobby Knight, published in 1990.
Knight's autobiography, written with longtime friend and sports journalist Bob Hammel, was titled Knight: My Story and published in 2003. Three years later Steve Delsohn and Mark Heisler wrote Bob Knight: An Unauthorized Biography.

Film and television

Knight has appeared or been featured in numerous films and television productions. In 1994 a feature film titled Blue Chips was about Pete Bell, a volatile but honest college basketball coach under pressure to win who decides to blatantly violate NCAA rules to field a competitive team after a sub-par season. It starred Nick Nolte as Bell and NBA star Shaquille O'Neal as Neon Bodeaux, a once-in-a-lifetime player Bell woos to his school with gifts and other perks. The coach's temper and wardrobe were modeled after Knight's, though at no time has Knight been known to illegally recruit. Knight himself appears in the movie and coaches against Nolte in the film's climactic game.
ESPN's first feature-length film was A Season on the Brink, a 2002 TV adaptation from John Feinstein's book. In the movie Knight is played by veteran character actor Brian Dennehy. ESPN also featured Knight in a reality show titled Knight School, which followed a handful of Texas Tech students as they competed for the right to join the basketball team as a non-scholarship player.
Knight made a cameo appearance as himself in the 2003 film Anger Management. In 2008, Knight appeared in a commercial as part of Volkswagen's Das Auto series where Max, a 1964 black Beetle interviews famous people. When Knight talked about Volkswagen winning the best resale value award in 2008, Max replied, "At least one of us is winning a title this year." This prompted Knight to throw his chair [34]
off the stage and walk out saying, "I may not be retired."
Knight also made an appearance in a TV commercial for Guitar Hero: Metallica with fellow coaches Mike Krzyzewski, Rick Pitino, and Roy Williams, in a parody of Tom Cruise in Risky Business.[35]
In 2009, Knight produced 3 instructional coaching DVD libraries—on motion offense, man-to-man defense, and instilling mental toughness—with Championship Productions.

Family and charity

Knight married Nancy Lou on April 17, 1963 and the two divorced in 1985. Together they had two sons, Tim and Pat. Pat played at Indiana from 1991–95 and is now head coach at Lamar. In 1988 Knight married Karen Vieth Edgar, a former Oklahoma high school basketball coach.
Knight has a high regard for education and has made generous donations to the schools he has been a part of, particularly libraries. At Indiana University Knight endowed two chairs, one in history and one in law. He
also raised nearly $5 million for the Indiana University library system by championing a library fund to support the library's activities. The fund was ultimately named in his honor.
When Knight came to Texas Tech in 2001, he gave $10,000 to the library, the first gift to the Coach Knight Library Fund which has now collected over $300,000.[36] On November 29, 2007, the Texas Tech library honored this with A Legacy of Giving: The Bob Knight Exhibit.

Criticism and controversy

1970s

  • It was reported (although years after the incident) that Knight choked and punched IU's longtime sports information director, Kit Klingelhoffer, in the 1970s, over a news release that upset the coach.[6]
  • On December 7, 1974, Indiana and Kentucky met in the regular season in Bloomington with a 98-74 Indiana win. Near the end of the game, Bob Knight went to the Kentucky bench where the official was standing to complain about a call. Before he left, Knight hit Kentucky coach Joe B. Hall in the back of the head.[37] UK's assistant coach Lynn Nance, a former FBI agent who was about 6 feet 5 inches, had to be restrained by Hall from hitting Knight. Hall later said, "It publicly humiliated me."[38] Knight said the slap to the head was something he has done, "affectionately" to his own players for years. "But maybe someone would not like that," he said. "If Joe didn't like it, I offer an apology. I don't apologize for the intent." ... "Hall and I have been friends for a long time," Knight said. "If he wants to dissolve the friendship, that's up to him."[39] Knight blamed the furor on Hall, noting in his inimitable style, "If it was meant to be malicious, I'd have blasted the fucker into the seats."[40]
  • During the 1979 Pan American Games in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Knight was accused of assaulting a police officer while coaching the US Basketball team before a practice session. He was later convicted in absentia to a six-month jail sentence, but extradition efforts by the Puerto Rican government were not successful.[41]

1980s

  • In a game at Bloomington on January 31, 1981 between Indiana and Purdue, Hoosier star Isiah Thomas allegedly hit Purdue guard Roosevelt Barnes in what some critics described as a "sucker punch".[42] Video replay shown by Knight later showed Barnes had mistakenly thrown the first punch, and that Thomas was merely reacting to this. When the two schools played their second game of the season at Purdue on February 7, 1981, Knight claimed a number of derisive chants were directed at him, his wife, and Indiana University. In response Knight invited Purdue athletic director George King on his weekly television show to discuss the matter, but King declined. Therefore, in place of King, Knight brought onto the show a "jackass" (male donkey) wearing a Purdue hat as a representative of Purdue.[43][44] The 1980–81 Hoosiers would go on to win the 1981 NCAA National Championship, the school's fourth national title.
  • On February 23, 1985 in game at Bloomington between Purdue and Indiana, with just five minutes into the game, a scramble for a loose ball resulted in a foul call on Indiana's Daryl Thomas. Knight, irate, insisted the call should have been for a jump ball and ultimately received a technical foul. Purdue's Steve Reid stepped to the free throw line to shoot the resulting free throws, but before he could Knight grabbed a red plastic chair from Indiana's bench and threw it across the floor toward the basket in front of Reid. Knight was ejected from the game. He apologized for his actions the next day and was given a one-game suspension and two years' probation from the Big Ten. Since the incident, Knight has occasionally joked about throwing the chair by saying that he saw an old lady standing on the opposite sideline and threw her the chair so she could sit down.[45][46]
  • Women's groups nationwide were outraged by Knight's comments during an April 1988 interview with Connie Chung in which he said, "I think that if rape is inevitable, relax and enjoy it."[47] Knight's comment was in reference to an Indiana basketball game in which he felt the referees were making poor calls against the Hoosiers.

1990s

  • At a practice leading up to an Indiana-Purdue game in West Lafayette in 1991, Bob Knight unleashed a torrent of expletives and threats designed to motivate his Indiana team. In one portion he exclaims he is "f**king tired of losing to Purdue." Unknown to most, someone was secretly taping the speech. The
    speech has since gone viral and has over 1.84 million views on YouTube alone.[48] Although the source of who taped the speech remains unknown, many former players suspect it was former manager and current NBA coach Lawrence Frank.[49]
  • In March 1992 prior to the NCAA regional finals, controversy erupted after Knight playfully mock whipped Indiana players Calbert Cheaney and Pat Graham during practice. The bullwhip had been given to Knight as a gift from his team. Several black leaders complained at the racial connotations of the act (Cheaney is black.)[50]
  • In January 1993, Knight mentioned the arrival of Ivan Renko to his team, as a trap to expose unreputable basketball recruiting experts. Even though Renko was completely fictitious, several recruiting services started listing him as a prospect.
  • Knight was shown berating an NCAA volunteer at a March 1995 post-game press conference following a 65–60 loss to Missouri in the first round of the NCAA tournament held in Boise, Idaho. The volunteer, Rance Pugmire, informed the press that Knight would not be attending the press conference, when in reality, Knight was running a few minutes late and had planned on attending per NCAA rules. Knight was shown saying: "You've only got two people that are going to tell you I'm not going to be here. One is our SID [Sports Information Director], and the other is me. Who the hell told you I wasn't going to be here? I'd like to know. Do you have any idea who it was?...Who?...They were from Indiana, right?...No, they weren't from Indiana, and you didn't get it from anybody from Indiana, did you?...No, I—I'll handle this the way I want to handle it now that I'm here. You (EXPLETIVE) it up to begin with. Now just sit there or leave. I don't give (EXPLETIVE) what you do. Now back to the game."[51]
  • Former IU player Neil Reed alleged that Knight had grabbed him by the neck in a choking manner during a 1997 practice. A videotape of the incident was shown on CNN.[6]

2000s

  • On February 19, 2000, Clarence Doninger, Knight's boss, alleged to have been physically threatened by the coach during a confrontation after a game.[6]
  • An IU investigation inquired about an allegation in which Knight berated and physically intimidated a university secretary, once throwing a potted plant in anger, showering her with glass and debris. The University later asked the coach to issue an apology to the secretary.[6]
  • It was alleged that Knight attacked assistant coach Ron Felling, throwing him out of a chair after overhearing him criticizing the basketball program in a phone conversation.[6]
  • On September 8, 2000, IU freshman Kent Harvey told campus police Knight grabbed him roughly by the arm and berated him for speaking to the coach disrespectfully. Knight admitted putting his hand on the student's arm and lecturing him on civility, but denied that he was rough or raised his voice. The coach was fired from IU two days later.[6]
  • Two days after Knight was fired from Indiana University, Jeremy Schaap of ESPN interviewed him and discussed his time at Indiana. Towards the end of the interview, Knight talked about his son, Patrick, who had also been dismissed by the university, wanting an opportunity to be a head coach. Schaap, thinking that Knight was finished, attempted to move on to another subject, but Knight insisted on continuing about his son. Schaap repeatedly tried to ask another question when Knight shifted the conversation to Schaap's style of interviewing, notably chastising him about interruptions. Knight then commented (referring to Schaap's father, Dick Schaap), "You've got a long way to go to be as good as your dad!"[52]
  • In March 2006, a student's heckling at Baylor University resulted in Knight having to be restrained by a police officer. The incident was not severe enough to warrant any action from the Big 12 Conference.[53]
  • On November 13, 2006, Knight was shown allegedly hitting player Michael Prince under the chin to
    get him to make eye contact. Although Knight didn't comment on the incident afterwards and has not yet done so, Prince, his parents, and Texas Tech Athletic Director Gerald Myers insisted that Knight did nothing wrong and that he merely lifted Prince's chin and told him, "Hold your head up and don't worry about mistakes. Just play the game." Prince commented, "He was trying to teach me and I had my head down so he raised my chin up. He was telling me to go out there and don't be afraid to make mistakes. He said I was being too hard on myself."[54]
  • On October 21, 2007, James Simpson of Lubbock, Texas, accused Knight of firing a shotgun in his direction after he yelled at Knight and another man for hunting too close to his home.[55] Knight denied the allegations. An argument between the two men was recorded via camera phone and aired later on television.[56]
  • On December 17, 2009, Knight insulted longtime rival Kentucky and its coach John Calipari, saying, "We've gotten into this situation where integrity is really lacking and that's why I'm glad I'm not coaching. You see we've got a coach at Kentucky, who put two schools [UMass and Memphis] on probation and he's still coaching. I really don't understand that."

2010s

  • On April 18, 2011, video surfaced showing Knight responding to a question concerning John Calipari and the University of Kentucky men's basketball team by stating that in the previous season, Kentucky made an Elite Eight appearance with "five players who had not attended a single class that semester." These claims were later disproven by the University and the players in question, including Patrick Patterson, who graduated in three years, and John Wall, who finished the semester in question with a 3.5 GPA.[57] Knight later apologized for his comments stating, "My overall point is that 'one-and-dones' are not healthy for college basketball. I should not have made it personal to Kentucky and its players and I apologize."[58]

Head coaching record

Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Army Black Knights (Independent) (1965–1971)
1965–1966 Army 18–8

NIT Semifinals
1966–1967 Army 13–8


1967–1968 Army 20–5

NIT First Round
1968–1969 Army 18–10

NIT Semifinals
1969–1970 Army 22–6

NIT Semifinals
1970–1971 Army 11–13


Army: 102–50 (.671) N/A
Indiana Hoosiers (Big Ten Conference) (1971–2000)
1971–1972 Indiana 17–8 9–5 T-3rd NIT First Round
1972–1973 Indiana 22–6 11–3 1st NCAA Final Four
1973–1974 Indiana 23–5 12–2 T-1st CCAT Champions
1974–1975 Indiana 31–1 18–0 1st NCAA Elite Eight
1975–1976 Indiana 32–0 18–0 1st NCAA Champions
1976–1977 Indiana 16–11 11–7 5th
1977–1978 Indiana 21–8 12–6 2nd NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1978–1979 Indiana 22–12 10–8 5th NIT Champions
1979–1980 Indiana 21–8 13–5 1st NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1980–1981 Indiana 26–9 14–4 1st NCAA Champions
1981–1982 Indiana 19–10 12–6 T-2nd NCAA Second Round
1982–1983 Indiana 24–6 13–5 1st NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1983–1984 Indiana 22–9 13–5 3rd NCAA Elite Eight
1984–1985 Indiana 19–14 7–11 7th NIT Finals
1985–1986 Indiana 21–8 13–5 2nd NCAA First Round
1986–1987 Indiana 30–4 15–3 T-1st NCAA Champions
1987–1988 Indiana 19–10 11–7 5th NCAA First Round
1988–1989 Indiana 27–8 15–3 1st NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1989–1990 Indiana 18–11 8–10 7th NCAA First Round
1990–1991 Indiana 29–5 15–3 T-1st NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1991–1992 Indiana 27–7 14–4 2nd NCAA Final Four
1992–1993 Indiana 31–4 17–1 1st NCAA Elite Eight
1993–1994 Indiana 21–9 12–6 3rd NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1994–1995 Indiana 19–12 11–7 T-3rd NCAA First Round
1995–1996 Indiana 19–12 12–6 T-2nd NCAA First Round
1996–1997 Indiana 22–11 9–9 T-6th NCAA First Round
1997–1998 Indiana 20–12 9–7 T-5th NCAA Second Round
1998–1999 Indiana 23–11 9–7 T-3rd NCAA Second Round
1999–2000 Indiana 20–9 10–6 5th NCAA First Round
Indiana: 662–239 (.735) 353–151 (.700)
Texas Tech Red Raiders (Big 12 Conference) (2001–2008)
2001–2002 Texas Tech 23–9 10–6 T–3rd NCAA First Round
2002–2003 Texas Tech 22–13 6–10 T–7th NIT Semifinals
2003–2004 Texas Tech 23–11 9–7 T–5th NCAA Second Round
2004–2005 Texas Tech 22–11 10–6 4th NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2005–2006 Texas Tech 15–17 6–10 T–7th
2006–2007 Texas Tech 21–13 9–7 5th NCAA First Round
2007–2008 Texas Tech 12–8* 3–3* T–6th*
Texas Tech: 138–82 (.627) 53–49 (.520) (*) Indicates record/standing at time
of resignation from Texas Tech.
Total: 902–371 (.709)
      National champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference tournament champion
      Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference division champion
Source:[59][60]
Source:[61]

 

To see more of Who Is click here

Who is James Arthur Boeheim?

Who is James Arthur Boeheim? The college basketball world knows him as Jim Boeheim, Boeheim is the head coach of the men's basketball team at Syracuse University.[1][2][3] Boeheim has guided the Orange to nine Big East regular season championships, five Big East Tournament championships, and 28 NCAA Tournament appearances, including three appearances in the national title game. In those games, the Orange lost to Indiana in 1987 and Kentucky in 1996 before defeating Kansas in 2003.
Boeheim is currently second on the wins list of Men's NCAA Division I coaches. Only Mike Krzyzewski of Duke University has more wins, with a career record of 948 wins, achieved at two different schools, Army (73) and Duke (869). Boeheim earned his 880th win on February 8, 2012, surpassing Dean Smith's 879 wins at North Carolina, for the most career wins as head coach at a single school. With a win over Rutgers on January 2, 2013, Boeheim passed Bobby Knight for second on the all-time wins list, with 903 career victories.
Boeheim has served as an assistant coach for the United States men's national basketball team at the 1990 FIBA World Championship, the 2006 FIBA World Championship, the 2008 Summer Olympics, the 2010 FIBA World Championship, and the 2012 Summer Olympics.[4][5][6][7][8] In these outings, Team USA finished with two bronze medals and three gold medals, respectively. In addition, Boeheim currently serves as the chairman of the USA Basketball 2009–12 Men's Junior National Committee, has served as the 2007–08 President of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), and currently sits on its Board of Directors.[9][10][11] For his accomplishments, Boeheim was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in September 2005.[12]
Off the court, he battled prostate cancer in 2001, and has subsequently become a major fund-raiser for Coaches vs. Cancer, a non-profit collaboration between the NABC and the American Cancer Society, through which he has helped raise more than $4.5 million for ACS's Central New York chapter since 2000.[13][14][15] In 2009, Boeheim and his wife, Juli, founded the Jim and Juli Boeheim Foundation, to expand their charitable mission to organizations around Central New York concerned with child welfare, as well as cancer treatment and prevention.[16]

Career

Playing

Boeheim was born in Lyons, New York on November 17, 1944. He graduated from Lyons Central High School. Boeheim enrolled in Syracuse University as a student in 1962 and graduated with a bachelor's degree in social science.[1] During his freshman year, Boeheim was a walk-on with the men's basketball Dave Bing, his freshman roommate. The pair led the Orange to a 22–6 overall win-loss record that earned the team's second-ever NCAA tournament berth. After graduating from Syracuse, Boeheim played professional basketball with the Scranton Miners of the American Basketball League during which he won two championships[2] and was a second-team all-star (SU Athletics). While at Syracuse University he joined the Delta Upsilon fraternity.
team. By his senior year he was the team captain and a teammate of All-American

Coaching

In 1969, Boeheim decided to coach basketball and was hired as a graduate assistant at Syracuse under Roy Danforth. Soon thereafter he was promoted to a full-time assistant coach and was a member of the coaching staff that helped guide the Orange to its first Final Four appearance in 1975.
In 1976, Danforth left to become head basketball coach and athletic director at Tulane University. A coaching search then led to naught, and Boeheim was promoted to be the head coach of his alma mater. Apart from his brief stint in the pros, Boeheim has spent his entire adult life at Syracuse as a player, assistant coach or head coach, a rarity in modern-day major collegiate athletics. In 1986 Boeheim was offered the head coaching job at Ohio State, but turned it down to stay at Syracuse.[17]
In 34 years as head coach at Syracuse, Boeheim has guided the Orange to postseason berths, either in the NCAA or NIT tournaments, in every year in which the Orange have been eligible. The only time the Orange missed the postseason was 1993, when NCAA sanctions barred them from postseason play despite a 20–9 record. During his tenure, the Orange have never had a losing season, have appeared in three NCAA national championship games (1987, 1996, and 2003) and have won the national title in 2003.
Boeheim has been named Big East coach of the year four times, and has been named as District II Coach of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches ten times. In 2004, Boeheim received two additional awards. The first was during the spring when he was awarded the Claire Bee Award in recognition of his contributions to the sport of basketball. During the fall of the same year Boeheim was presented with Syracuse University's Arents Award, the University's highest alumni honor.
Boeheim's coaching style at Syracuse is unusual in that, whereas many of the more successful coaches prefer the man-to-man defense, he demonstrates an overwhelming preference for the 2–3 zone defense.[2][18]
In an exhibition game on November 7, 2005 against Division II school Saint Rose from Albany, New York, Boeheim was ejected for the first time in his career after arguing a call late in the first half in the Orange's 86–73 victory.
Boeheim has also been a coach for the USA national team. In 2001, during his seventh year as a USA basketball coach, Boeheim helped lead the Young Men's Team to a gold medal at the World Championship in Japan. During the fall of that year he was named USA Basketball 2001 National Coach of the Year. He was an assistant coach under Mike Krzyzewski for the US national team in the 1990 FIBA World Championship and 2006 FIBA World Championship, winning the bronze medal both times.[4][5] He returned as an assistant coach under Mike Krzyzewski for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, and again at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England, where the United States won the gold medal both times.

Records and accomplishments

Head coaching record

Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Syracuse (NCAA Division I Independent) (1976–1979)
1976–77 Syracuse 26–4

NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1977–78 Syracuse 22–6

NCAA First round
1978–79 Syracuse 26–4

NCAA Sweet Sixteen
Syracuse (Big East Conference) (1979–present)
1979–80 Syracuse 26–4 5–1 T–1st NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1980–81 Syracuse 22–12 6–8 6th NIT Runner-up
1981–82 Syracuse 16–13 7–7 T–5th NIT Second round
1982–83 Syracuse 21–10 9–7 5th NCAA Second round
1983–84 Syracuse 23–9 12–4 T–2nd NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1984–85 Syracuse 22–9 9–7 T–3rd NCAA Second round
1985–86 Syracuse 26–6 14–2 T–1st NCAA Second round
1986–87 Syracuse 31–7 12–4 T–1st NCAA Runner-up
1987–88 Syracuse 26–9 11–5 2nd NCAA Second round
1988–89 Syracuse 30–8 10–6 3rd NCAA Elite Eight
1989–90 Syracuse 26–7 12–4 T–1st NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1990–91 Syracuse 26–6 12–4 1st NCAA First round
1991–92 Syracuse 22–10 10–8 T–5th NCAA Second round
1992–93 Syracuse 20–9 10–8 3rd None (NCAA Violations)
1993–94 Syracuse 23–7 13–5 2nd NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1994–95 Syracuse 20–10 12–6 3rd NCAA Second round
1995–96 Syracuse 29–9 12–6 2nd (BE 7) NCAA Runner-up
1996–97 Syracuse 19–13 9–9 T–4th (BE 7) NIT First round
1997–98 Syracuse 26–9 12–6 1st (BE 7) NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1998–99 Syracuse 21–12 10–8 T–4th NCAA First round
1999–00 Syracuse 26–6 13–3 T–1st NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2000–01 Syracuse 25–9 10–6 T–2nd (West) NCAA Second round
2001–02 Syracuse 23–13 9–7 T–3rd (West) NIT Semifinals
2002–03 Syracuse 30–5 13–3 T–1st (West) NCAA Champions
2003–04 Syracuse 23–8 11–5 T–3rd NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2004–05 Syracuse 27–7 11–5 T–3rd NCAA First round
2005–06 Syracuse 23–12 7–9 T–9th NCAA First round
2006–07 Syracuse 24–11 10–6 5th NIT Quarterfinals
2007–08 Syracuse 21–14 9–9 T–8th NIT Quarterfinals
2008–09 Syracuse 28–10 11–7 6th NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2009–10 Syracuse 30–5 15–3 1st NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2010–11 Syracuse 27–8 12–6 T–3rd NCAA Round of 32
2011–12 Syracuse 34–3 17–1 1st NCAA Elite Eight
2012–13 Syracuse 30-9 11-7 5th NCAA Final Four
Syracuse: 920–313 (.746) 362–191 (.655)
Total: 920–313 (.746)
      National champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference tournament champion
      Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference division champion

Accomplishments

Some of Boeheim's notable accomplishments current as of March 23, 2013:
  • Led Syracuse University to the 2003 NCAA national championship
  • Led Syracuse University to three national championship game appearances
(1987, 1996, 2003)
  • Led Syracuse University to four Final Four appearances
(1987, 1996, 2003, 2013)
  • Led Syracuse University to six Elite Eight appearances
(1987, 1989, 1996, 2003, 2012, 2013)
  • Led Syracuse University to 17 Sweet Sixteen appearances
(1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013)
  • Led Syracuse University to 30 NCAA Tournament appearances
(1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013)
  • Led Syracuse University to nine Big East regular season championships
(1980, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 2000, 2003, 2010, 2012)
  • Led Syracuse University to five Big East tournament championships
(1981, 1988, 1992, 2005, 2006)
  • Currently ranks second among active coaches in career wins (916)[19]
  • Currently ranks second all-time in Division I wins with 916.[20]
  • Leads all Big East coaches (past and present) in wins. (366)
  • Ranks sixth among active Division I coaches (min. 10 years) in winning percentage (.746)[19]
  • In 36 seasons at Syracuse, has compiled 34 20-win seasons, good for most on the all-time list[19]
  • Became only the 14th coach ever to reach 750 wins (2007)[19]
  • Four-time Big East Coach of the Year (1984, 1991, 2000, 2010)
  • USA Basketball's National Coach of the Year (2001)
  • Under Boeheim, the Orange have only missed the NCAA Tournament two years in a row twice
  • In recognition of Boeheim's numerous accomplishments as SU's head coach, the University named the Carrier Dome court "Jim Boeheim Court" on February 24, 2002.[21][22]
  • Basketball Hall of Fame (2005) as a coach[23]
  • Joined Mike Krzyzewski and Jim Calhoun as the third active coach with 800 wins.[24]
  • Coached the Orange to a six overtime win against the UConn Huskies, 127–117, the longest game in the history of Big East Conference play.[25]
  • Named 2010 Naismith Coach of the Year (along with the same honor from the AP, Sporting News and many others) after leading Syracuse to an unexpected 30–5 record.
  • On December 17, 2012 Boehiem became the third coach in NCAA men's basketball history to reach 900 wins, along with Bob Knight and Mike Krzyzewski.[26]

Personal life

According to an interview conducted by The Post-Standard in 2005, Boeheim enjoys watching television. He cites ER and CSI: Miami as two of his favorite TV shows, and also watches Desperate Housewives and NYPD Blue. Boeheim appeared in the movie Blue Chips, with Nick Nolte and Shaquille O'Neal, Spike Lee movie He Got Game, again playing himself. Boeheim has appeared in numerous commercials throughout Central New York, and also had a spot in a nationwide Nike Jordan ad featuring former Syracuse great Carmelo Anthony. Boeheim likes to listen to the music of Bruce Springsteen. In the interview, he states that he has no interest in pursuing any other career after he retires from coaching basketball otherLittle League. Boeheim fought a personal battle with cancer, which has led to his devotion to the "Coaches vs. Cancer" tournament that raises awareness of cancer.[1] Boeheim and his wife, Juli,[1] have three children: James, and twins Jack and Jamie. He also has a daughter, Elizabeth, from a previous marriage.[1]
than coaching


Thursday, March 14, 2013

Who is James Thomas Fallon, Jr.?

Who is James Thomas Fallon, Jr.? The entertainment and acting world knows him as Jimmy Fallon, he is an American actor, comedian, singer, musician and television host. He currently hosts Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, a late-night talk show that airs on NBC. Prior to that he appeared in several films, and was best known as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1998 to 2004.

Early life

James Thomas Fallon, Jr., was born September 19, 1974 in Brooklyn, New York. Jimmy is the son of Gloria and James Fallon, Sr.,[1] who is a Vietnam War veteran.[2] His family settled in Saugerties, New York, while his father worked at IBM in nearby Kingston, New York. He is of Irish descent.[3] As a child, he and his older sister, Gloria, would reenact the “clean parts” of Saturday Night Live that his parents had taped for him.[4] Fallon was such a fan of Saturday Night Live that he made a weekly event of watching it in his dormitory during college. In his teens, he impressed his parents with different impersonations, the first being of James Cagney.[5][6] He was also musically inclined, and started playing guitar at age 13. He would go on to perform comedy and music in contests and shows.[6]

Education

Fallon attended The College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York. He was a Computer Science major, but switched to Communication in his senior year, dropping out a semester shy of a degree.[7][8] "I was a Computer Science major. I got out once it got really hard. I made it up to C++. Then I couldn't do the math – it got really confusing. I switched to Communications, which is a ridiculous major – let's be honest," he recalls.[9] On May 9, 2009, Fallon received a B.A. in Communication and an honorary doctorate degree from The College of Saint Rose after presenting college officials with his portfolio which satisfied all requisites for his degree.[7] In addition to receiving a BA, Fallon spoke at the school's 86th commencement. That night, on Saturday Night Live, he held up his diploma during the closing of the show.

Career

Stand-up

Fallon gives credit to troll dolls for his big break. He was given a troll doll with a graduation cap in his senior year of high school. His mother heard about an impression contest at Bananas Comedy Club in Poughkeepsie, NY. Fallon came up with a stand-up routine that was a commercial for troll dolls. He would impersonate various celebrities auditioning to be the spokesperson. He won the contest and after college he began to do stand-up tours across the country. When he was in Los Angeles, he took improv classes with The Groundlings.[5]

Early work

Fallon appeared in the feature film The Scheme (originally entitled The Entrepreneurs). His one line in Father's Day was cut but he can still be seen in the background. In 1998 Fallon appeared briefly on the show Spin City in the second season as a man selling photographs. By late 1998, Fallon was studying at the Groundlings Theater in Los Angeles, making $7.50 a set at The Improv Theater, when he was summoned to New York to audition for the long-running late night sketch comedy show, Saturday Night Live. Fallon did his impersonations of Jerry Seinfeld,[10] French Stewart, Pat O'Brien, Chris Rock, Hilary Swank, Gilbert Gottfried, Enrique Iglesias, Adam Sandler, Jeff Foxworthy, Eddie Murphy, Larry the Cable Guy. Fallon also did musical impersonations of Bono of U2, Adam Duritz of Counting Crows, Alanis Morissette, and Robert Smith of The Cure.[4]

Saturday Night Live

Fallon's impersonations helped land him on Saturday Night Live as a featured player in the 1998–1999 season,[11] and he was promoted to full cast member in the summer of 1999.[4] Among his signature bits were his song parodies, which he performed when Colin Quinn was doing Update and continued to showcase on special occasions after he had replaced him. He became co-anchor of Weekend Update with Tina Fey with the October 7, 2000 season premiere.[12] Fallon left SNL in 2004 and began pursuing a film career.
Fallon returned to SNL, hosting the December 17, 2011 episode, having made several cameos in episodes in the years since his departure.[13] His performance hosting SNL earned him a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.

Recurring characters

  • Dave, a young man in the Will Ferrell/Rachel Dratch recurring sketch, "The Lovers", often used as a pawn in Roger and Virginia's matchmaking.
  • Jarret (from Jarret's Room), a stoner who hosts his own Internet webcam show.
  • Jeffrey's clerk, one of the clerks (the other being a male host for the show) of an upscale department store.
  • Joey Mack, an obnoxious radio DJ who mocks his celebrity guests.
  • Kip Bloder, brother to Chris Parnell's Wade Bloder.
  • The Leather Man, an intense man who owns a shop filled with leather clothes.
  • Nick Burns, a sarcastic tech support representative who helps office workers with computer problems (and is almost always exposed as not knowing as much as he should by one of the workers). He frequently used the catchphrase "Moooooove!" when ousting people from their desk so he could fix the problem.
  • Pat Sullivan, nicknamed "Sully", one of the Boston Teens, boyfriend of Rachel Dratch's Denise character.
  • Patrick Fitzwilliam, a surly Irishman who hosts a show called Top O' The Morning with his friend, William Fitzpatrick (played by Seth Meyers)
  • Randy Goldman, from "Wake Up Wakefield", Megan's (Maya Rudolph) crush who does not know she exists.
  • Rodney "The Zipper" Calzoun, the MC at the Rialto Grande
  • Señor Guadalupe Ramirez, one of the guitar players on the recurring sketch, "The 'How Do You Say, Ah, Yes' Show"
  • Wade, one of the members of the boy band 7 Degrees Celsius
  • Barry Gibb, in the skit called "The Barry Gibb Talk Show", he hosts along with his brother Robin Gibb (played by Justin Timberlake).
  • Carson Daly, whom he impersonated with the catch phrase "I am a massive tool."[14]
  • Pat O'Brien, who "doesn't breathe through his nose ever!"

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

Fallon succeeded fellow Saturday Night Live alumnus Conan O'Brien as the host of NBC's Late Night after O'Brien left the show to prepare to take over The Tonight Show from Jay Leno in 2009.[15] The deal for the long-expected succession was confirmed April 24, 2008, with an official announcement[16] made on May 12, 2008 at NBC's upfront presentation.[17][18] The official press conference was released on Hulu.com.[19]
The show, titled Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, first aired on March 2, 2009 with guests Robert De Niro, Justin Timberlake, Nick Carter, and musical guest Van Morrison. Guests on the show's first week included Tina Fey, Jon Bon Jovi, Cameron Diaz, Donald Trump, and Drew Barrymore.
"Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" sometimes features parodies by Fallon impersonating various musicians, and he has been praised for his ability to pull off spot-on impressions. Fallon often changes the lyrics to honor a recent event in popular culture and videos of these performances tend to go viral. In one segment, on May 26, 2011, Fallon impersonated Neil Young, singing along with guests Graham Nash and David Crosby, of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Recent parodies include Fallon impersonating Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam performing "Jeremy (Lin)" in light of the hysteria surrounding New York Knicks shocking standout Jeremy Lin, the Doors singing the theme song to the PBS children's show "Reading Rainbow", Neil Young's version of the "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" theme song, and David Bowie's "Space Oddity" with inspiration by Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow. First appearing in January 2012, and dubbing himself as "Tebowie", Fallon's impersonation of the famously-religious quarterback went viral. Due to overwhelmingly positive acclaim from the public, Fallon revived the act on March 20, 2012 after the Denver Broncos acquired superstar and future hall of fame quarterback Peyton Manning, and revealed their intentions to trade Tebow. Fallon continues to do impersonations, particularly ones of famous singers, in some of the show's comedy segments.
To celebrate the second anniversary on March 2, 2011, Ben & Jerry's launched a personalized "Late Night Snack" ice cream. This was immediately parodied on The Colbert Report the next day and the two show hosts engaged in a brief ice cream personality war. Colbert used numerous "fecal matter" jokes to describe the flavor of the ice cream named after Jimmy Fallon.[20]
On November 21, 2011, U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann, who was active in the Republican Presidential Primaries at the time, appeared as a guest on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. As she walked onto the stage, the band played a funk song titled "Lyin' Ass Bitch," without any lyrics. Hours earlier, the band's drummer Questlove had sent a tweet about the song choice: “late night walkon song devotees: you love it when we snark: this next one takes the cake. ask around cause i aint tweeting title.” After a prominent Democratic Congress woman complained, Fallon made a general apology by tweet.[21] Fallon began his tweet with the words: "I'm honored that @michelebachmann was on our show yesterday and I'm so sorry about the intro mess."[22] Fallon also used his Twitter account to tease his Roots bandleader Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson that he was "grounded".[22]
According to Tyra Banks from her appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on August 21, 2012, Jimmy has an 'M' shaped forehead, measuring 7 inches across, 3 inches in height from the middle of his eyebrows, and 4 inches in height from the middle of either eyebrow, thus qualifying him for the forehead crew.

Other work

Fallon appeared in Taxi, Anything Else, Almost Famous, Fever Pitch, Band of Brothers, Doogal, Factory Girl and Whip It. He occasionally does stand up comedy in New York City and has also performed at the House of Blues in Boston, Massachusetts on occasions.
In 2002, Fallon released the comedy album The Bathroom Wall. In a mixed review, Rolling Stone praised the album's songs, calling the album the "second-best Prince parody ever, after Beck's 'Debra'." However the magazine panned the album's comedy routines, ultimately giving it two-out-of-five stars.[23] The album was nominated for a Grammy in 2003 for Best Spoken Comedy Album. Fallon co-hosted the 2001 MTV Movie Awards with Kirsten Dunst on June 7, 2001.[24] Fallon has played Neo in Sex and the Matrix, a comedic two-in-one parody of Sex and the City and The Matrix.[25] He hosted the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards alone that year.[26] His opening number included parodies of videos by Eminem, Avril Lavigne, Nelly, The White Stripes, Dave Matthews and Enrique Iglesias.
Also in 2002, Fallon appeared in The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch as the son of Melvin Hall, and constantly pesters his father, often stealing his mike, claiming that the film is "his documentary."[27]
Fallon also hosted the 2005 MTV Movie Awards and played Anakin Skywalker in comedic parody of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith's Mustafar scene, in which Anakin and Padme have their last conversation. Fallon was named one of People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in 2002, an honor Fallon found embarrassing.[28]
Following the Boston Red Sox's World Series clinching game over the St. Louis Cardinals in 2004, Fallon ran onto the field at Busch Stadium with Drew Barrymore to film a scene for their movie Fever Pitch.
In 2006, Fallon starred in "Spontaneous Combustion", a Traktor-directed Pepsi television commercial with actress Parker Posey. In the ad, Fallon and Posey can be seen dancing and jumping around to the song Streamline by Newton. In October of that year, Fallon appeared on stage in The Secret Policeman's Ball, a charity gig filmed to raise awareness of Amnesty International at the Royal Albert Hall. Fallon made three appearances during the show, the first in a sketch in which he performed impressions of people such as David Bowie, Jerry Seinfeld and David Blaine in order to get past a doorman (Shaun Williamson) who claims Fallon is not on the list. The doorman finally recognizes him for his role in Taxi, but still will not let him in. He later masqueraded as Russell Brand before being led off by Williamson, and made one final appearance in a cameo role as the front of a pantomime horse in the Al Murray "pub landlord" routine. He also provided the voice of Dylan in Doogal.
In 2007, Fallon wrote the song "Car Wash for Peace" and donated all proceeds to charity. He performed the song on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The View and dedicated a MySpace page to the cause. Around the same time, a video circulated on various Internet sites called lonelyfallon32, in which Fallon parodied YouTube celebrity Jessica Rose (a.k.a. lonelygirl15) and later performed the song.
Fallon, along with his sister Gloria, wrote I Hate This Place: The Pessimist's Guide to Life for TV Books in 1999. A second book is anticipated but has not yet been released, to be titled "I Hate This Place 2: Tokyo Drift."[4] Fallon has also written a children's book, illustrated by Adam Stower, entitled Snowball Fight.
Fallon also appeared on Diggnation's 185th show.[29]
On May 4, 2010, NBC announced that Fallon would host the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards.[30] With Fallon as host, viewership of the 2010 Emmy Awards increased by over 200,000 viewers from the year before.[31]
On April 24, 2012, Jimmy Fallon filmed his live show in Chapel Hill, NC on the campus of the University of North Carolina. His guest was President Barack Obama, who spoke primarily about Congress potentially doubling the interest rates of student loans. His musical guest was Dave Matthews.
On June 9, 2012, he guest-hosted American Top 40 with Ryan Seacrest.
On June 12, 2012, Fallon released his second comedy album, Blow Your Pants Off. Most of the songs comes from his Late Night impersonations, such as Tebowie and Neil Young. The album is also notable for its guest appearances, which include Stephen Colbert, Eddie Vedder, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Justin Timberlake, Dave Matthews, Big & Rich, and newscaster Brian Williams. The album won a Grammy in 2013 for Best Comedy Album. In an interview with American Songwriter, Fallon stated that “Any comedy album that has Justin Timberlake, Paul McCartney, Eddie Vedder, Dave Matthews, Bruce Springsteen – that’s pretty crazy. If I was 15-year-old me, I would be like, ‘Oh my God, this is awesome!’ Though I’d probably be like, ‘Who’s Dave Matthews?’ because he doesn’t exist yet.”[32]
Fallon is the creator and one of the executive producers of Guys with Kids, part of NBC's 2012–13 television schedule.

Personal life

Fallon married Nancy Juvonen on December 22, 2007.[33] Juvonen and Drew Barrymore own the production company Flower Films. He has also dated Tara Subkoff and Winona Ryder in the past. Fallon has a dog named Gary Frick, who often appears on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
On February 22, 2011, Fallon was on The Dr. Oz Show. He had a mole removed from his left hand in front of a live studio audience by visiting cosmetic surgeon Arthur Perry.[34][35][36]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2000 Almost Famous Dennis Hope
2002 The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch Reporter
2003 Anything Else Bob
2003 The Entrepreneurs Ray filmed in 1998 but released in 2003
2004 Taxi Andrew 'Andy' Washburn
2005 Fever Pitch Ben
2006 Doogal Dylan Voice Role
2006 Night of Too Many Stars: An Overbooked Event for Autism Education Barry Gibb TV Movie
2006 Arthur and the Invisibles Betameche Voice Role
2006 Factory Girl Chuck Wein
2008 The Year of Getting to Know Us Christopher Rocket
2009 Whip It Johnny Rocket
2009 Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard Prince Betameche Voice Role
2012 Arthur 3: The War of the Two Worlds Prince Betameche Voice Role

Television

Discography

Albums

Singles

  • "Idiot Boyfriend" (2002)
  • "Car Wash for Peace" (2008)
  • "Drunk On Christmas (feat. John Rich)" (2010)















To see more of Who Is click here

Who is Luigi "Geno" Auriemma?

W ho is  Luigi   " Geno "   Auriemma? The college basketball world recognizes him as the most successfull division 1  college bas...