Columnist Ron Kantowski: Local pro athletes honored as heroes by magazine

Tuesday, Oct. 6, 1998 | 1:12 a.m.

Ron Kantowski is the Las Vegas Sun sports editor. His notes column appears Tuesdays

As David Bowie said, we all can be heroes, if just for one day.

Or we can sustain the fellowship and goodwill over a period of time, as Andre Agassi and Jimmy Vasser have.

Agassi, a Las Vegas native, and Vasser, who has called our city home since 1996, are two of the athletes featured in the "Heroes: Special Report" that appears in the November issue of Sport magazine.

Agassi is cited for his many charitable contributions to Las Vegas, including his 20,000-square foot Boys & Girls Club, his donations to Child Haven, the Andre Agassi $6 million endowment fund and his annual Grand Slam for Children benefit at the MGM Grand.

Vasser, the 1996 Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) national driving champion, and Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Alex Zanardi are lauded for their work with the St. Jude's Children Research Hospital in Memphis, which specializes in the treatment of cancer patients.

It didn't take much prodding for Vasser, 32, to become involved with the young cancer patients. Four years ago, Vasser received a scare far more frightening than negotiating lapped traffic at 230 mph when he developed a potentially cancerous skin lesion.

"You're waiting for the biopsy results, and you can't sleep at nights," Vasser said, recalling his anxiousness. "By the time five days rolls around, I've given myself six months to live."

The November issue of Sport might as well be called Las Vegas Sport. Besides the Agassi and Vasser tributes, there's an in-depth interview with Valley native Greg Maddux and a perspective piece on college basketball's recruiting ills, centering in part on Las Vegas' Big Time Tournament for high school players.

And if you flip past the inside cover, you'll encounter the smiling countenance of ESPN SportsCenter anchor Kenny Mayne, the former UNLV backup quarterback, and a youngster displaying a little attitude and Mayne's mantra on his t-shirt.

"I am amused by the simplicity of this game. Bring me your finest meats and cheeses."

Well, it's not exactly "Where's the Beef." But not bad for a guy who completed 29 of 59 passes for 452 yards and three touchdowns for the Rebels in 1981.

Mayne will be the first to tell you that the finest meats and cheeses that year were reserved for Sam King, the Green Valley insurance agent and former UNLV broadcast analyst, who passed for 3,778 yards and 18 TDs.

Black Saturday

Nothing against UNLV's new black football jerseys -- in fact, they look pretty cool. But isn't it about time the Rebels forget about gimmicks and get back to the basics -- like blocking and tackling and finding a quarterback who can complete a pass -- during the practice week leading up to the Nevada-Reno game?

Think about it: When was the last time Nebraska or Michigan or Penn State changed its uniforms?

Slugging it out

Perhaps what the Rebels need is a unique new nickname. But they won't be able to use Banana Slugs, as it's already taken.

The UC Santa Cruz student body adopted that unofficial monicker 17 years ago but it didn't receive the administration's official blessing until last week, when "Sammy the Slug," a costumed mascot, was introduced.

Robert Sinsheimer, the school's former chancellor, must have squirmed like ... well, one of the gastropods that are found in the hills near the university when he learned of the news.

"As a symbol of our athletic ambitions, consider that the banana slug is spineless, yellow, sluggish and slimy," Sinsheimer wrote in 1986.

That said, what the students should have done is added "deceptive" to the chancellor's definition and called themselves the "Don Kings."

Bottom liners

According to a University of North Carolina study, nearly half of the catastrophic sports injuries -- those leading to death or paralysis -- suffered by female athletes in high school and college are to cheerleaders. ... Tragic addendum: Nevada-Reno cheerleader Melissa Link was killed in an automobile accident south of Fallon on her way to Saturday's UNR-UNLV football game at Sam Boyd Stadium. ... In case you missed it, Bethune Cookman defeated Virginia State 63-57 in the longest football game in NCAA Division I history -- it went eight overtimes. The game, which was tied 33-33 at the end of regulation, lasted 4 hours and 50 minutes. ... Early nomination for college football play of the year: Arizona QB Ortege Jenkins' incredible game-winning (and ending) dive and flip into the end zone against Washington Saturday night. ... With many major league catchers -- including Las Vegan Tyler Houston of the Chicago Cubs -- adopting the type of masks worn by hockey goalies, can the snazzy mask paint jobs favored by the netminders be far behind? ... Money for nothing, Czechs for free: The Thunder claims it "signed" Pittsburgh Penguins holdout Petr Nedved although Nedved told a Pittsburgh sports writer he was "playing for free" here. A subsequent report listed Nedved's Las Vegas salary as a paltry $38,000, which, given his $20 million salary demand, must be like playing for nothing. ... If the Pens don't trade Nedved for an established defenseman, former Thunder Jeff Serowik could find himself on the Pittsburgh blue line for the start of the NHL season. ...

Bad timing: During the week of her death, track star Florence Griffith Joyner appeared in one of those "Got Milk" ads in ESPN The Magazine. ... Bad timing, part II: A firm called Heli USA is advertising helicopter shuttles to and from McCarran Airport for fans hoping to beat the traffic to and from Sunday's Indy Racing League race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. But after Sunday's crash at LVMS involving a chopper, many fans may consider a more traditional means of transportation. Besides, our sources indicate that so few tickets for Sunday's race have been sold that the crowd may arrive in the same taxi. ... Dart me up: Two Clark County residents will represent the U.S. against England in an international darts tournament Thanksgiving weekend. Henderson's Al Dorn will play for the U.S. national men's team while Las Vegan Stacy Bromberg, the reigning World Cup ladies champion, will lead the American women in Great Britain. ... The fledgling International Basketball League, which recently announced it would put a franchise in Las Vegas and seven other cities in fall, 1999, continues to perpetuate the notion that it is serious about getting off the ground. The IBL announced -- on official stationery, no less -- that former Holy Cross and Seton Hall head coach George Blaney has been appointed vice president of basketball operations for the new league, which plans to be "fully operational" (whatever that means) by December. ... G.I. Joe with the Wishbone Grip: A new line of G.I. Joe action figures features Joe in the football uniforms of Army and Navy. And here we thought the 12-inch dynamo had used up his eligibility in the 1960s.