GOING UP
Chopper and Pals
Sounds like an old Saturday
morning cartoon, doesnÕt it?
When Steve ÒChopperÓ Jones and
freshmen Anthony Marshall and
Justin Hawkins checked into the
game in the second half against
Nevada-Reno on Wednesday
night, UNLV trailed by 12 points.
When they went back to the end
of the bench, the Rebels led by
seven. Heavens to Murgatroyd ,
Snagglepuss!
There arenÕt a lot of coaches
willing to yank three starters from
a game that was in danger of
getting away — a game against a
bitter in-state rival, by the way —
and replace them with a walk-on
and two freshman substitutes to
prove a point and/or shake things
up. There isnÕt a button Kruger
isnÕt willing to push, and thatÕs
one of the things that makes him
such a good coach. Another is he
doesnÕt make excuses or throw
his players under the Greyhound
when they donÕt guard the perimeter
or arenÕt hitting their 3Õs.
On the day after he was fi red,
the UNLV football coach minced
no words in pointing out what
was wrong with the UNLV football
program off the fi eld, item
by lack - of - commitment item.
Whereas his superiors will be giving
him a lovely parting gift — a
nice buyout and his usual spot
on the sidelines in the season
fi nale against San Diego State
— Sanford basically told them
to take the home version of the
game of ÒConcentrationÓ and put
it where the Sun Bowl doesnÕt
shine.
GOING DOWN
Mike Sanford
If he had only pointed out
what was wrong with the UNLV
football program item by lack - of -
commitment item before he was
fi red, it wouldnÕt have come off
as bunches and bunches of sour
grapes. HereÕs a little whine for
my 4-7 cheese.
This yearÕs Fight of the Century
If you paid the $54.99 ransom
for the Pacquiao-Cotto fi ght, you
probably now think spending the
night tied up in the trunk of a car
was the better option. But give
Cotto credit. He almost went the
distance against a great fi ghter
and he didnÕt drink his own urine
on HBOÕs 24-7, which is more
than you can say for Juan Manuel
Marquez before his fi rst against
Press agents who mean well
A news release that called
Green ValleyÕs Chad Hermansen
a Òretired MLB superstarÓ was
partly right, as the inability to hit
a curveball has forced the former
Pittsburgh PiratesÕ fi rst-round
draft pick into early retirement.
But to refer to a guy who hit
.195 over parts of six big league
seasons a superstar is a bit of a
stretch, even if he is one of ours.
Anyway, heÕs still a much better
player than this elevator operator
ever was, and heÕll be speaking
about college recruiting at Palo
Verde High School at 1:30 p.m.
Tuesday.
Ron Kantowski can be reached at 259-4088 or at ron@lasvegassun.com. Read his blog, ÒNow and Then,Ó at lasvegassun.com/nowandthen.
Copyright 2009 Las Vegas Sun
