‘Between the Madness’ examines Tarkanian

Wednesday, Nov. 18, 1998 | 10:50 a.m.

Tim Graham's media notebook appears Wednesday. His page 1 column appears Thursday. Reach him at tim@lasvegassun.com or 259-4078.

It will be an opportunity for people to sit back on the sofa after gobbling up turkey and trimmings, count their blessings and be thankful they aren't Jerry Tarkanian.

On Thanksgiving night, Fox Sports Net will air "Between the Madness," an in-depth documentary on the internal affairs of last season's Fresno State basketball program. The two-hour special will air locally on Fox Sports West at 8 p.m.

"Between the Madness" tracks Tarkanian's Bulldogs from Midnight Madness to their elimination from the National Invitational Tournament, analyzing their problems on and off the court.

"It's pretty fair," Tarkanian said from Fresno Tuesday night. "Our guys made some mistakes, but (the documentary crew) had a job to do and ran with it. There were some things we wished didn't happen, but they did.

"We could have had a great team, but we screwed up so much off the court."

The documentary -- concentrating on the inclusive season and no other problems related to the former UNLV coach -- offers intimate glimpses rarely seen by outsiders.

"We gave them total access," Tarkanian said.

The production crew captures closed-door meetings, locker-room speeches and personal looks at most players. Even the team's female tutor, who seems to have more than an academic interest in the players, is profiled.

"Jerry Tarkanian is as controversial as he is successful," the narrator says at the start. "His reputation of building winning teams with second-chance kids draws comparisons ranging from Father Flanagan to a snake oil salesman."

The 1997-98 Bulldogs were picked by most experts to advance well into the NCAA Tournament. Instead, they foundered in a season rife with suspensions, infractions and allegations.

Before the season was over there were 11 player suspensions. Star guard Chris Herren was in and out of drug rehab. Willie Farley quit the team. Avondre Jones and recruit Kenny Brunner were arrested for robbery and assault with deadly weapons.

"The ice is so thick," Fresno Bee beat writer Andy Katz says, "and it's cracking all the time underneath everyone."

The documentary does not get into Tarkanian's travails at UNLV. In fact, the program Tarkanian made famous -- and infamous -- is not mentioned until it records Fresno State's arrival in Las Vegas for the Western Athletic Conference tournament.

UNLV erased Fresno State's NCAA tourney hopes, posting a 76-67 victory.

One of the more candid moments of the documentary shows Tarkanian pleading with his players early in the season to be careful off the court.

"We can't afford anymore problems with this basketball team," Tarkanian says in a closed meeting.

"Conduct yourself as a gentleman at all times. You know, it isn't hard to do that. You could be a good person. You could have the respect of your classmates. You could have the respect of your community. Or you can be an (expletive)."

Another poignant moment is Herren's emotional dependency admission and the subsequent insults he hears from opposing fans.

The camera rolls when assistant coach Johnny Brown catches Rafer Alston and Larry Abney with four women hiding in their hotel-room closet.

The documentary also offers a behind-the-scenes look at Tarkanian's problems with Mike Wallace. The "60 Minutes" reporter anchored a highly negative account of the program, even after telling Tarkanian "You won't be disappointed (with the story)."

Viewers will watch Wallace try to weasel his way back into Tarkanian's good graces near the end.

Overall, "Between the Madness" is not a hard-hitting documentary. It's effectiveness, instead, comes from its bare-bones approach. It appears to be filmed by a student from the high school audio-visual department, but the poor quality is surpassed by the candor.

Heidi ho Tuesday marked the 30th anniversary of NBC's infamous Heidi game. The network switched over to the children's movie with 65 seconds left in the New York Jets-Oakland Raiders game. The Jets were leading 32-29 with 65 seconds left when executives ordered the switch.

East Coast television viewers never saw the Raiders score two touchdowns in a nine-second span to win 43-32. Because ESPN had yet to be conceived, most of America didn't know about the comeback until reading the newspaper the next morning.

As a result, football telecasts were changed forever. All ensuing NFL TV contracts state a game must be shown in its entirely in the visiting team's market.

Static ESPN Classic airs what it is billing as the college football "Game of the Century" Nov. 27 at 6 p.m., with a replay of the 1971 Nebraska-Oklahoma showdown. The teams entered the game undefeated and were playing for the right to play unbeaten Alabama in the Orange Bowl. Nebraska won 35-31. ... Starting Monday, Peter Liakopoulos and John Collins co-host "Outdoor Adventures/The Hawk's View" on KLAV 1230-AM. The outdoors show will air weekdays from 8-9 a.m.