Yesterday afternoon, the sports blogomemesphere was alight with a story of college basketball media woe: Bob Knight and Billy Packer, grumpy curmudgeons both, are going to be broadcasting the NCAA Tournament from the Wynn Hotel sports book in Las Vegas. No, that is not the premise of an off-broadway play. That is really happening:

Packer says he wanted the shows to be part of the experience of watching games in Las Vegas, which he says ranks second to watching games from courtside. The programs are expected to begin March 15 and air on Fox Sports Net.

From what I've heard (and I wouldn't know, at least not yet), Packer's opinion is right: Watching NCAA Tournament games from the comfort of a multi-televisioned sports book, betting tickets spread in front of you, beer in hand, oblivious to the time of day -- it sounds tremendous. I recommend it to everyone, and I haven't even done it yet. (Of course, it could be argued that watching the tournament at home, laptop spread in front of you, beer in hand, oblivious to the time of day is even better than watching courtside, but I digress.)

No, what's curious about this whole thing is the Bob Knight-Billy Packer partnership, and its relation to gambling in college sports.

You couldn't find two men more aligned with old-world basketball principles than Knight and Packer; Knight is the legendary coach saying his favorite basketball move is the "head fake," while Packer was the CBS broadcaster who, if made Tourney King for a day, would have abolished every mid-major school in the country. The notion that these two guys would be broadcasting from inside a casino -- the absolute antithesis of the "student-athlete" myth -- is baffling.

What's worse, as Charles Rich points out, Knight formerly supported a bill that would have banned betting on all high school, college, and Olympic sports. That bill is long dead, but Knight's name is still attached to it. So, what? Is betting on college sports cool now? Has Knight's moral disagreement faded? Has the sweet, sweet lure of FOX cash clouded his previously uncloudable ethical compass?

Will Billy Packer and Bob Knight once crack a smile between them? When they sit in the same room, do the lights flicker on and off? Is this all a giant Ocean's 11-esque plan to rob the Wynn? I have so very, very many questions.

Related: College Basketball Media