Columnist Jeff German: Tark brings back old times to the Thomas & Mack Center

Tuesday, Feb. 18, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

EVEN IN DEFEAT as the opposing coach, Jerry Tarkanian has lifted UNLV's basketball program to greater heights.

It probably was fitting that Tarkanian, the man who turned UNLV into a national powerhouse and NCAA champion, would be the one to give UNLV an extra push in its drive to regain its stature in the basketball world.

To many, it seemed like old times at the Thomas & Mack Center.

The Rebels were playing to a boisterous crowd of more than 18,000. A national television audience was watching. Steve and Elaine Wynn were sitting courtside in Gucci Row. Tarkanian got his usual roaring applause. And UNLV won the game.

The big difference?

Tarkanian was on the visitors bench as coach of the Fresno State Bulldogs.

Before the game started, it seemed like a surreal experience soaking up the festive atmosphere.

One minute, the Bulldogs were being booed. The next minute, Tarkanian was receiving a standing ovation.

As the Rebels received their customary glitzy introduction, Tarkanian kept his team on the floor. His son, Danny Tarkanian, a former UNLV basketball star and now assistant coach at Fresno State, gave his dad a comforting pat on the back as the UNLV players were introduced.

Then, UNLV Coach Bill Bayno, who stepped out of Tarkanian's shadow Monday night, got his own roar of approval from the crowd. Bayno is earning himself a reputation as one of the nation's bright young coaches.

The fans, meanwhile, longing for a return to glory days, couldn't have handled things any better.

They gave Tarkanian the respect he deserved, and they rooted hard for the home team.

When it came time to play, the inspired Rebels, looking for postseason play for the first time since Tarkanian left in 1992, turned in maybe their best performance of the year.

It was just like old times at the Thomas & Mack. Thanks, Jerry.

* President Clinton's appointments to the federal gaming commission may be delayed at least another week.

The Washington Post reported today that the Democratic fund-raising controversy on Capitol Hill is holding up the president's choices.

The White House is said to be concerned about a perception being created that the casino industry has been influencing his decision.

According to the Post, State Gaming Control Board Chairman Bill Bible, the man the industry desperately wants on the panel, is still considered an "all-but-certain selection."

The White House is being blamed for bringing this predicament upon itself. The president's picks are four months overdue.

* Gov. Bob Miller may be feeling a bit uncomfortable on the sidelines during the 1998 race to find his successor.

A matchup between Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa, a fellow Democrat, and Republican Kenny Guinn, his good friend, would indeed put Miller in a tight spot.

Which side is a governor to take?

Guinn has been a big-time Miller supporter in past campaigns. But some Democrats regard Del Papa as Miller's political heir.

Making things more difficult, Miller's top political adviser, Billy Vassiliadis, already is committed to Guinn's campaign. So are the governor's leading campaign fund-raisers, Dr. Elias Ghanem, Frank Schreck and Mike Sloan.

On the other side, Miller's former chief of staff, Scott Craigie, who now works for Vassiliadis, is lining up behind Del Papa. So is former nuclear industry bad boy Kent Oram, a close Miller adviser.

Miller also might figure he owes Del Papa after a legal opinion she rendered in 1994 that paved the way for him to run for a second four-year term.

Del Papa found that Miller could seek another full term on top of the two years of former Gov. Richard Bryan's term that he completed. Bryan left early to run for the U.S. Senate.

The best, it seems, the Guinn campaign can hope for in a race with Del Papa is for Miller to stay neutral and not endorse anyone.

Without Miller's public support, Del Papa would have a much tougher time knocking off Guinn.

* Regent Shelley Berkley holds her first Las Vegas fund-raiser for Congress April 2 at the Drink nightclub.

Before that, she'll be in Miami raising money.

She also plans campaign events in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York in the coming weeks.

Berkley is running for the 1st Congressional District seat now held by Rep. John Ensign, R-Nev.

Many believe Ensign will abandon the seat in 1998 to challenge Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.

Berkley acknowledges she'll have an easier time if Ensign, who has heavy casino industry support, isn't in the race.

But she also believes she can prevail in a head-to-head battle with Ensign. Others have thought that and lost.