LJWorld.com

The more sports violence you hear about, the nuttier it gets. Like that jockey who head-butted his horse. Jay Leno asked if that entitles the horse to a free kick, you know where. A noted soccer star recently butted an opponent in perhaps the most aggressive move by a Frenchman since Napoleon. Seems he felt insulted.

The worst basketball flareup I've seen was that blindside ambush and battering of Lawrence teenager Coulter Vestal by a Wichita hatchetman in a Newton tournament earlier this year. Kansas cager Clyde Lovellette created a unique scene in December of 1951 when he put his foot on the belly of Missouri's Win Wilfong to help him step over the prostrate Tiger. Nothing major, but it sure got a Kansas City crowd seething. It took deft Sparky Stalcup diplomacy to quiet the mob, loaded with snarling MU fans.

Wilfong had been mugging Clyde throughout the Christmas tournament title game and fell to the floor after smashing into Clyde from behind. The oft-battered Lovellette lost his cool a second and heated the auditorium substantially.

Yet in all the rehashes of sports muckerism, there has been precious little mention of one of the most disgusting incidents in college basketball annals. In 1972, Ohio State was leading Minnesota, 50-44, with 36 seconds left. OSU's Luke Witte was blasted driving for a layup. Minnesota's Corky Taylor punched the dazed Witte in the head and kneed him in the groin. Gopher reserve Ron Behagen then stomped Witte on the neck and head. Get this: As Witte was hauled off on a stretcher, he was booed by Gopher fans.

That '72 Minnesota team won the first Big 10 title in school history; two players, Jim Brewer and Behagen, were high NBA draft choices. Dave Winfield was also drafted, but low, because he clearly was heading for a hall of fame baseball career.

Kansas once had a male yell-leader who rushed out and jostled Colorado's Mike Frink in a game here. KU's Charlie Black turned around from the bench at a game in Manhattan and broke the nose of a Kansas State fan who had been slapping the back of his head in the close confines of old Nichols Gym. Kansas had apples showered on it at Nebraska back in Fred Pralle's day; KU and Mizzou players have traded blows periodically.

But I think the Vestal beating and the Minnesota-Ohio State melee rate atop my chart.

l Kansas's Kirk Hinrich has a way of making his fans look good, in this case me.

Before the 2003 NBA draft, I dared to opine that Captain Kirk should go higher than Texas's touted T.J. Ford. I noted that Hinrich was taller (6-foot-3 against 5-10), a much better defender, stronger, a better shooter and could be used to outsize the likes of Ford.

Boy, did the Longhorn doo-doo hit the e-mail fan! Even some Kansas faithful were incensed.

Kirk did go ahead of Ford, and his record as a Chicago Bull far outshines that of Ford in Milwaukee (Ford's since been traded). Granted, T.J. has been hampered by injuries, but Hinrich, too, has had to overcome countless physical setbacks to become a top-notch star, a man the Bulls are building around. Durability is something else the pros demand.

Now Hinrich, despite an ailing hamstring, looms as a key performer for Mike Krzyzewski's national team going on tour to prepare for the next Olympics. Barring some major pitfall, Coach K will keep the fierce and able Hinrich around for the full ride.