Tuesday, April 21, 1998 | 8:38 a.m.
Despite the fact he served as a consultant on the design of the TPC at The Canyons golf course when it was developed two years ago, Raymond Floyd is skipping this week's Las Vegas Senior Classic that will be held at The Canyons and at the TPC at Summerlin.
Although he played well over the weekend and finished 15th at the Seniors' Championship in Florida, the 55-year-old Floyd has not won a tournament since 1996 and admits to a declining interest in the sport.
"I don't have the time to do what it takes for me to be at the top of my game," he said recently. "Nor do I have the desire."
Floyd tied for fifth in last year's Las Vegas Senior Classic.
Another prominent Senior Tour player, Lee Trevino, is here but he also cited a lack of desire as a partial explanation for his up-and-down play, although he did win the Southwestern Bell Dominion three weeks ago. "I'm not motivated," Trevino said. "I don't have any goals." ... Fans going out to either TPC layout this week may do a double take when they come across Chi Chi Rodriguez. The popular Senior Tour player has traded in his Panama hat for a beret. ...Also sporting a new look of sorts within the last week is PGA Tour pro Robert Gamez of Las Vegas. Unhappy with his putting, Gamez has gone to a long-shafted putter and he used it during the MCI Classic at Hilton Head, S.C., although he missed the cut. ... Cable network A&E has a one-hour show on the history of professional wrestling that's scheduled for Sunday evening. ... Las Vegas product Greg Martinez was up with the Milwaukee Brewers for three games before being returned to triple-A Louisville last week. Martinez, an outfielder, wasn't on the Brewers' 40-man roster during the winter yet he showed enough in spring training that Milwaukee summoned him after briefly losing Darrin Jackson to injury. ... It hasn't been officially announced yet, but the MGM Grand Garden will host two NHL exhibition games next season. The Los Angeles Kings and Colorado Avalanche will play both Sept. 19 and 20. ... TV ratings for NHL games on the Fox network are down from last year's 2.1 percent to 1.7 percent. The goofy illuminated puck that Fox used but then wisely discarded doesn't explain the ratings' tailspin, so maybe it's simply a matter of people getting tired of the NHL's incessant fighting.
UNLV product J.R. Rider capped his tumultuous season with the Portland Trailblazers by flashing the home crowd an obscene gesture after he was booed leaving the court at halftime Sunday. ... It's said the Cincinnati Bengals have the toughest NFL schedule next season. ... First-week NFL lines are already up at the Imperial Palace. One interesting number: Defending Super Bowl champion Denver minus 9 over New England in the season's first Monday night game. ... For the first time since the NFL draft began in 1936, Ohio State University did not have a player selected. ... If the Las Vegas Thunder signed and tried to keep Petr Nedved eligible simply for publicity reasons, it worked. A good deal was written and said about the holdout NHL star during his brief stay here, although the International Hockey League cut short his visit when it rightfully claimed the Thunder signed him too late to participate in the playoffs. ... Ex-Thunder star Radek Bonk continues to struggle in the NHL. This season with the resurgent Ottawa Senators, Bonk contributed only seven goals and nine assists in 66 games. His plus-minus rating was also a poor minus-13. ... Frustrated by their inability to secure their own county-run field, the 150-member Las Vegas Senior Softball Association -- made up of players over the age of 50 -- say they've "given up" trying. They had been lobbying for a field or two somewhere on the outskirts of town, such as in Floyd Lamb State Park.
The NCAA is expected this week to decide in favor of a proposal that would allow scholarship athletes to earn up to $2,000 annually. The plan would take effect Aug. 1 and would apply to student-athletes who have reached at least their sophomore year. ... Only one player has played every season in what is now called the NFL Europe League: Victor Muhammad, a running back currently with the London Monarchs. The league -- known as the World League of American Football for much of its existence -- was started in 1991. ... Physical therapist Keith Kleven of Las Vegas has added another high-profile client: pro golfer Tiger Woods. ... Chicago Bulls forward Dennis Rodman kept his nose clean all season and it paid off with some salary incentives that kicked in Sunday. Rodman, who won the NBA rebounding title for the seventh time, was guaranteed $4.5 million for the season but picked up another $5.6 million for not only winning the rebounding title but playing a minimum of 80 games. ... The San Diego Padres are off to an excellent 14-3 start and manager Bruce Bochy obviously is safe, yet team owner John Moores has already indicated if a problem develops he'll cash in Bochy for Davey Lopes. Moores called Lopes, a Padres coach, "the most qualified person who is not currently a major-league manager." ... Golf fans looking to position themselves at the spot where Senior Tour players figure to have the most trouble this week should head for the 17th hole at the TPC at Summerlin. That par-3 hole was the fifth toughest on the PGA Tour last year, posting a 3.294 scoring average.
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