Columnist Ron Kantowski: Halpern made the right call by not halting brawl

Tuesday, Feb. 16, 1999 | 11:07 a.m.

Ron Kantowski's notes column appears Tuesday. Reach him at ron@ lasvegassun.com or 259-4088.

The Budweiser people should line up Mitch Halpern for one of those public service spots about drinking responsibly.

Because as he proved in the 12th round of Saturday's Oscar De La Hoya-Ike Quartey welterweight title fight at the Thomas & Mack Center, the up-and-coming Las Vegas boxing referee knows when to say when.

Or more accurately, when not to say when.

After De La Hoya knocked Quartey down to begin the final round and launched a bombing raid on the stunned African in Quartey's corner, nobody would have blamed Halpern for stepping between the fighters and sparing Quartey additional punishment. In fact, with such an emphasis placed on a fighter's safety these days, it might even have been the politically correct thing to do.

At least twice, Halpern seemed on the verge of stopping the fight. But then Quartey would muster the energy to fight back, and Halpern would step back.

It was the right call and, as it turned out, added to the fight's drama.

De La Hoya had punched himself out, and did not throw a single blow in the final 1:30. He couldn't even summon the strength to put his arms up in a defensive posture until the final few seconds. Had Quartey had anything but fumes left in his tank, he could have knocked the defenseless De La Hoya out.

But had Halpern interceded, that final test of will and spirit never would have played itself out.

In retrospect, it was a great month for Las Vegas referees, as Richard Steele (Halpern's mentor) and Joe Cortez did remarkable jobs of taking charge and maintaining order in the Mike Tyson-Frans Botha and Andrew Golota-Jesse Ferguson heavyweight rumbles, respectively.

Not only does Las Vegas have the best boxing judges in the world, as the Sun's Dean Juipe pointed out in his Monday column, but now that Mills Lane has retired to get it on as a TV judge, we also can lay claim to having the best referees in the business.

* SPORTING GESTURE: Here's an early nomination for Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year: Arsene Wenger, soccer coach of Arsenal in the English Premier League.

Arsenal this past weekend beat Sheffield United 2-1 on a controversial goal involving a sportsmanlike gesture that has become widespread in recent seasons -- one team voluntarily returning possession of the ball to the other side, after the other side has kicked the ball out of play so that an injured player can be treated.

The game was tied 1-1 when Sheffield's Lee Morris fell to the ground. Alan Kelly, the Sheffield goalie, immediately put the ball out of play. When the game was restarted, Arsenal's Ray Palour tried to be a good sport and return the ball to Sheffield.

But Arsenal striker Nwankwo Kanu intercepted and crossed to Marc Overmars, who put the ball into the net for the winning goal.

According to the rules, the goal was good. But afterward, England's Football Association accepted Wenger's magnanimous offer to play the game over in its entirely.

That would never happen in the NFL.

For starters, there's absolutely no chance that John Elway would hurl the ball over Shannon Sharpe's head, just so an injured Eugene Robinson (or even a defensive back who is a decent family man) could be treated for a pulled hamstring.

And let's say Elway puts the ball between Sharpe's numbers. You think Mike Shanahan would offer to replay the game in its entirely?

Didn't think so.

* AROUND THE HORN: Did you catch the way Oscar De La Hoya circled Ike Quartey at the start of Saturday night's fight, with both arms raised above his head in a cautious, defensive stance? He looked like Errol Flynn in "Gentleman Jim," the old movie about turn-of-the century heavyweight champion Jim Corbett. ... According to a report out of Africa, Ghana fight fans have turned on Quartey, despite his valiant effort against De La Hoya. Apparently, fans took to the streets to express their displeasure with Quartey following Saturday's bout. "Ike is not a disciplined boxer, and moreover, since he became champion, he treats us ... even some of his own family members, with scorn. So there is no need to support him," said a fight fan known as Amarkai, who lives in the town of Accra, where Quartey was born. ...

There's no debating that the Daytona 500 has surpassed the Indianapolis 500 as the nation's biggest auto race. Jeff Gordon's victory in Sunday's race had a 7.9 overnight rating. Since Indy-car racing split into two series in 1995, the last three Indy 500s have averaged a 5.7 rating. ...

Bad-ass football Hall-of-Famer Jim Brown and former Kansas City Chiefs middle linebacker Willie Lanier are talking about forming a NASCAR Winston Cup team that would debut next year. Perhaps Brown should drive the car himself and put Dale Earnhardt in his place once and for all. "There are races now in Las Vegas, Texas and California," said Brown, whose ultimate goal is to develop an African-American driver and race team. "Auto racing has become a nationwide sport now. It's not just (in the South)." ...

There's a team called the Nevada Hot Dice that will begin play in the World Skating League, a made-for-TV (TNN) reincarnation of roller derby that debuts later this month. But the Hot Dice, along with the other three teams in the "league," are based in Orlando, Fla., where filming of the Rollerjam TV series will originate. According to a shameless press release, "The Nevada Hot Dice gamble on risky moves that place a premium on results over sportsmanship. Their friendly, welcoming facade belies their signature nasty streak ... and they're deadly serious when it comes to cashing in their chips." Exposing their chips is more like it. The female members of the Hot Dice sport skin-tight jerseys that would make Raquel Welch's uniform in "Kansas City Bomber" look like a Girl Scout outfit.