Columnist Dean Juipe: Illness didn’t derail author

Dean Juipe

Tuesday, Aug. 11, 1998 | 10:55 a.m.

His self-published novel is out and it was 15 years in the making. And whether The Fabulous Las Vegas Nightfighters sells 10 or 10,000 copies, Paul Blanton is elated to see it in print.

He also deserves to take a bow for his perseverance, given his lifelong battle with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

"There've been times I was pretty desperately ill," he said Monday. "Working on this book has kept me going, kept me plugging along.

"Seeing the book come out is something I've dreamed about for a long time."

Blanton, 48, ordered 1,000 copies of The Fabulous Las Vegas Nightfighters for its first printing. It can be purchased at the Gamblers Book Shop (Charleston and 11th) or by mail order for $12 (via Blanton at box 19177, Las Vegas, 89132).

He also intends to set up a table and sell it at local boxing events.

The 100-page fictitious novel offers the backdrop of Las Vegas and its boxing scene, along with a featured character intent on secretly completing good deeds. Former professional boxer Jeff Franklin of Las Vegas assisted on the project.

"I was operating on a shoestring budget but got it done," Blanton said. "I had a good time doing it and I met a lot of friends. Now I just want to get the book out there and have it be seen."

Blanton, a Las Vegan since 1974, is a handyman by trade who has also worked as an actor. He hopes to have an Internet site soon and he said a representative of a major publishing house is reviewing the book. It also has TV-series potential.

"It's a relief to see the book come out," Blanton said. "I'm improving from my illness, but there were times when it really was a struggle. The dream kept me going."

And writing the novel was therapeutic for its author.

Another longtime Las Vegan turned 40 Monday and he, too, is hopeful of something good coming his way in the near future. Michael Dokes, who fought Riddick Bowe for the heavyweight boxing championship in 1993, is back in training and eying a career as a professional wrestler. ... There are nine players in the Women's National Basketball Association who are mothers. One of the nine, Cleveland's Suzie McConnell Serio, has four children. ... When the Florida Marlins won the World Series last year their player payroll was $54 million. After taking the championship the team held a fire sale of sorts and dropped its payroll to $31 million to open the 1998 season. Now it's down to $14 million and Florida has the worst record in baseball. ... The Arizona Diamondbacks are considering a promotion for the dog days of August in which multi-talented Andy Fox will play all nine positions. Fox, essentially a middle infielder and spare outfielder, would join Bert Campaneris and Cesar Tovar as the only players in baseball history to play every position in a single game. ... PGA Senior Tour player Bruce Summerhays has an agreeable goal. "I want to be the nicest guy on the tour," he said. ... The new Rhodes Ranch golf course has its pleasant traits but the greens need some serious work or the typical player will put it in the once-a-year file. Everything else about the course is fine.

The San Francisco Giants sent Las Vegan Doug Mirabelli back to the minors last week but they seem to hold him in high regard, if his uniform number is indicative. The Giants assigned him No. 1, an oddity for a catcher. ... When UNLV hired Jim Weaver as athletic director in 1992, little did it know he would bring many of his old University of Florida buddies with him. Now Weaver, who left UNLV in '95, has just been hired at Virginia Tech and he's surrounding himself with familiar faces there, importing aides like Tom Gabbard and David Chambers from UNLV. ... Here's how hard it is to make it in the NFL without having played college football first: Only two players in the league -- tight end Marcus Pollard of Indianapolis and defensive lineman Eric Swann of Arizona -- have no collegiate experience. ... In the last three seasons, these NFL quarterbacks have been sacked the most: Mark Brunell of Jacksonville, 122; Jim Harbaugh of Indianapolis, 113; and Jeff George of Oakland, 112. ... In the NFL last season, 111 of the 240 games (or 46 percent) were decided by seven or fewer points, while 67 of the 240 (or 28 percent) were decided by three or fewer points. Surprisingly, New Orleans (4-0) had the best record in the latter category, while Oakland and Indianapolis (each 1-5) had the worst.

If the Atlanta Braves reach the World Series they have a built-in edge when it comes to the games played in their home park, where the designated hitter would not be in use. Atlanta's primary starting pitchers are hitting extremely well, as Tom Glavine is at .292, Greg Maddux is at .291 and John Smoltz is at .258. ... If Minnesota's Todd Walker and Colorado's Larry Walker each win their league's batting title, it would be the first time players with the same surname won the AL and NL championships in the same year. ... While names like McGwire, Sosa and Griffey are getting most of the attention, it's Chicago White Sox outfielder Albert Belle who has the most home runs since the All-Star break. As it is, he shares the all-time record with 36 post-break homers in 1995, the same number Hank Greenberg hit in 1935. ... Best turnaround in the history of college football: Montana State went 1-10-1 in 1983 but one year later was 12-2. ... Something to consider while evaluating those NFL season-opener point spreads: Dallas (28-9-1) has the best first-game record in the history of the league, with New Orleans (7-24) in the cellar. Also, Miami has won its last six openers, while Arizona has lost its last six.