Officials hope sluggish ticket sales will pick up

Steve Guiremand

Monday, Dec. 18, 2000 | 10:15 a.m.

Las Vegas Bowl officials are keeping their fingers crossed that ticket sales will pick up dramatically in the next couple of days.

Bowl director Tina Kunzer-Murphy said about 15,500 tickets had been sold to the game as of Sunday afternoon, including only about 3,500 by Arkansas.

Both UNLV and Arkansas are required to purchase 12,500 tickets as part of their deal for accepting a bid to the Las Vegas Bowl. But Kunzer-Murphy and the rest of Las Vegas Bowl committee would actually like to see those 12,500 tickets accompanied by fannies in those seats.

Two things may have contributed to the slow sales so far.

One is the fact Arkansas was invited just 18 days before the game, not allowing Razorback fans much time to make inexpensive flight arrangements to Las Vegas.

And the bowl game received little attention last week because the firing of UNLV head basketball coach Bill Bayno dominated most local newspaper and TV sports coverage.

* INJURY UPDATES: Starting cornerback Kevin Thomas spent the last part of Sunday afternoon's practice at Rebel Park with an ice bag wrapped around a sore right ankle.

Thomas didn't appear too concerned, however.

"I'll be ready by Thursday," he said.

Meanwhile, starting quarterback Jason Thomas was limping after practice but will play. And starting center Pete Tramontanas (right knee) took part in a few drills for the first time since the Dec. 2 win at Hawaii wearing a knee brace.

"I'm starting to get a little worried about him," UNLV coach John Robinson said.

Robinson said redshirt freshman Dominic Furio would move over from guard to start if Tramontanas can't go.

* SEEING MORE RED: The Razorbacks went as a team on Sunday night to the MGM Grand to watch comedian Carrot Top's show.

* SEEING LESS RED: Arkansas has agreed to let UNLV out of its 2003 game in Fayetteville, according to Rebel senior associate athletic director Jerry Koloskie.

"We'll be looking to bring another home game here that year," Koloskie said. "We would have had seven road games that year if we didn't make this change. (Arkansas) has been really good about it. We postponed the game and we'll renegotiate to play it at a later date."

The Rebels and Hogs will still play their game next season on Sept. 1 at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.