Columnist Ron Kantowski: Real estate ad misleads Cunningham fans

Tuesday, March 23, 1999 | 10:18 a.m.

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

Next time you see "Minnesota Vikings" and "Las Vegas" used in the same sentence, do yourself a favor and ignore it.

Last summer, there was a bogus claim perpetuated by the morning newspaper that Las Vegan Shruti Misra was interested in purchasing the Minnesota Vikings. But research into her financial records disclosed that she and husband Anil Gupta didn't have enough money to purchase Minnesota Vikings' season tickets.

Then last Thursday, an ad was taken out in local newspapers trumpeting an "extraordinary two-day grand estate auction" at the residence of former UNLV and current Vikings quarterback Randall Cunningham.

Turns out it was the former home of Cunningham and his wife.

There were European and decorative oil paintings, French porcelains and crystals, fine handmade silk and wool Eastern carpets, Italian and English 19th and 20th century furniture and European bronzes.

None of it belonged to Cunningham.

That had to be a disappointment to many of the fans who showed up wearing Vikings T-shirts. They wanted to bid on one of Cunningham's old jerseys or some of his other personal effects, maybe even a can of that fog repellent Cunningham used to find Harold Carmichael on a crossing pattern during that playoff game in Soldier Field many seasons ago.

They weren't interested in any stinking armoires.

Turns out the ad was a smoke screen. By using Cunningham as a decoy, the real estate brokers figured some rich guy or gal would show up and buy the house itself, not the stuff that was inside of it.

It would have served them right had a busload of rowdy fans from the Blue Ox shown up wearing those horned Vikings helmets and taken a few chunks out of the furniture.

* BOLLA WEDS: Former UNLV women's basketball coach Jim Bolla married Dallas Boycheck, the women's basketball coach at Long Beach State, over the weekend. It was Bolla's second marriage. He was formerly married to the former Sheila Strike, who played women's basketball for the Canadian Olympic team. Bolla and Strike-Bolla then coached the Lady Rebels for several seasons.

Bolla currently is in charge of UNLV's athletic development department, the university's chief fund-raising arm for sports.

It remains to be seen where Bolla and his new bride plan will make their home. But it's hard to raise funds for UNLV from the West Coast. And unless you have the keys to Craig Breedlove's land speed car, that 4 1/2-hour commute to the practice gym would be a killer.

* AROUND THE HORN: Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director Marc Ratner has some insight why open scoring in boxing probably wouldn't work, with perhaps his most perceptive comment being that a corner would not feel compelled to stop an accidental head butt cut from bleeding, in the event its man was ahead on the judges' scorecards. But if his comment that judges would be swayed by the booing of the crowd is to be believed, umpires or referees would never rule against the home team. ... That said, in basketball when the home team is on a 12-0 run and the crowd is going crazy, and a player on the home team drives to the basket and there's contact ... well, nine times out of 10, it's going to be a block, not a charge. ... I used to think I was doing OK and then I find out the former student-manager for the UNLV basketball team drives a T-bird. Put it this way: If Kaspars Kambala had no choice but to borrow my '88 Isuzu pickup (which has more miles on it than Liz Taylor), he would have walked instead. ... But if Weber State's high-scoring Harold Arceneaux (who indicated Monday he would transfer schools) wants to resume his career at UNLV, he can use my truck whenever he wants to. Not that I have a vested interest in the UNLV program. I just like watching Arceneaux play. ... Jubilant Ohio State fan on the Buckeyes' first Final Four appearance since 1968: "This is almost better than a football win over Michigan." ... From Bob Kravitz, sports columnist at the Rocky Mountain News in Denver: "This just in. Judge Eugenia Williams has ruled the Duke-Tulsa game a draw."