It's about time sports had someone to hold up as a shining example of sportsmanship.

In a time where Villanova athletes steal hundreds of dollars worth of long distance phone calls, Georgia pulls out of post season play because three players received grades they did not deserve and St. Bonaventure admits a player who does not meet the minimum score requirements, thank goodness for Bobby Knight.

Yes, I said Bobby Knight-the same guy as famous for throwing chairs at referees as he is for three National Championships at Indiana.

Yet when his team did not meet his expectations, Knight did not throw blame in other directions, he stepped up and took the blame ... $250,000 worth of blame to be exact, which happens to be his base pay from Texas Tech.

"I just feel like I had a product, and it broke," Knight said during his press conference March 11.

"You shouldn't have to pay for it," he told University officials.

Knight still receives $150,000 in deferred annual income and $500,000 in guaranteed outside income through May 2006.

Still, this makes the second year he has refused his salary.

Last year Knight said he was so grateful to be hired by Texas Tech that he took only the $15,000 dollars needed to qualify for benefits.

Now I'm not saying that Bobby Knight should be held up as the poster boy for anger management, but his action is still a far cry from the current state of sports where no one takes responsibility for anything that goes wrong.

Maybe more coaches and leaders should take financial hits for falling short of their goals. Maybe guys like Dave Campo and Jerry Narron should have paid the Cowboys and the Rangers back their wasted salaries.

Either way, Knight has done something out of the ordinary. It's about time we get to talk about a positive off-the-court action from anyone, on any level, in any sport.

It still feels wrong, though, to say hooray Bobby Knight.