Columnist Ron Kantowski: Adopting playoff format is not as simple as ABC

Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2000 | 10:47 a.m.

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

With the once-revered tradition of the Big Four New Year's Day bowl games having been dissolved like a couple of Alka-Seltzers at John Daly's place in order to appease the TV folks, now might be as good a time as any to dump the current bowl system in favor of a full-blown playoff.

But don't hold your breath. In fact, better get one of those oxygen tanks used by Lloyd Bridges in "Seahunt."

According to a Bloomberg News report, ABC is trying to quash any talk of a playoff before it can even get started. It supposedly will offer the poorly named Bowl Championship Series (since when does a best-of-one format constitute a series?) a $400 million extension to its current contract, which, if accepted, means no playoff until at least 2007. ABC's current pact with the BCS expires after the 2002 season.

BCS guru Roy Kramer hasn't commented publicly on the negotiations although Pac-10 commissioner and BCS director Tom Hansen said the offering was nothing to sneeze at. "I would expect we'd have an answer from ABC soon," Hansen said.

The new arrangement would increase the payouts at each of the BCS bowls (Rose, Orange, Sugar and Fiesta) from about $19 million to roughly $25.5 million per game, which sounds like too good a deal to pass up -- until you consider that CBS has agreed to pay $6 billion for the rights to cover the men's basketball tournament for the next 11 years.

The ABC offer, which represents less than 20 percent of the CBS basketball deal, comes on the heels of a $3 billion proposal for a 16-team playoff from a Swiss marketing firm known as ISL. But insiders say it'll probably take twice that -- posthaste -- for the BCS not to take ABC up on its new offer.

* HOKIE-DOKEY: Las Vegas Motor Speedway publicity chief Jeff Motley was flattered to be included on the list of Virginia Tech luminaries in this space a few weeks back. But he says there are others with slightly more impressive resumes who may have more than a passing interest in tonight's Sugar Bowl game.

For instance, did you know that Chris Craft, who founded NASA, is a Virginia Tech grad?

Others who have worn the maroon-and-orange gear that were not mentioned in the previous column include former Dolphins quarterback Don Strock, NFL Hall of Fame pass receiver Carroll Dale, Milwaukee Bucks guard Dell Curry, ex-LA Dodger Franklin Stubbs, Texas Rangers manager Johnny Oates, Georgia Pacific CEO T. Marshall Hahn and USA Today motorsports writer Skip Wood.

* SUCH A DEAL: According to ads that ran in Monday's sports section, you can still get season tickets for the 24 remaining Las Vegas Silver Bandits minor league basketball games for $232.

Or you can spend $54.50 and receive a ticket to the Big League Challenge major league baseball home run derby featuring the game's biggest boppers, a ticket to the Rockies-A's Big League Weekend game, seats to nine Las Vegas Stars weekend games, four free gifts (Stars baseball, bat, cap and poster) and two Stars postgame fireworks extravaganzas, including the big July 3 spectacular.

In the rhetorical question of the century, I ask you what's the better deal?

The bigger question is why the Stars didn't round off the baseball ticket package to $55. I don't think the extra fifty cents would be a deal-killer.

* IT DOESN'T AD UP: I was critical of the Silver Bandits for using a photo of what appeared to be two guys playing one-on-one at Sunset Park during its season ticket campaign. But after seeing the team's new TV ticket spot, maybe the nondescript playground approach was the right one.

The new ad features stock footage of a recent Bandits game. But there are so few fans in the stands that the cursory reminder that "good seats are still available" is completely redundant.

It would be like the NCAA promoting college football by panning the crowd at a Rice-San Jose State game.

* TATTOO YOU: Sunday's UNLV-Cincinnati game was such a mismatch that within five minutes of tipoff the camera crew began focusing on tattoos. There were close-ups of ink-stained Bearcat biceps tributes to mothers and uncles and a tattoo (temporary, I hope) on the bare midriff of a Cincy fan that read "Fletch Lives." That was in deference to Ryan Fletcher, who got out of Bob Huggins' doghouse to hoop it up at the Rebels' expense.

And that's not to mention all those "Wilson" tattoos on the foreheads of the UNLV players.

It would be hard to recall a more impressive shot-blocking exhibition than the one Cincinnati put on the Rebels. The Bearcats folded, spindled and mutilated 12 UNLV shots. The last time there were that many rejections was when the Beastie Boys signed up for weekend reserve duty.

Take it from this white guy who can't jump: There is no more humbling experience than having your shot blocked. It's bad enough when it happens on the playground. So you can just imagine how demoralizing it is to have your shot batted into the 13th row on the ESPN SportsCenter.

* AROUND THE HORN: If Florida State beats Virginia Tech tonight, it will become the first team to run the table as college football's No. 1 team from the start of the season to the end in 28 years. The last to do it was Southern Cal in 1972. ... Potentially, shooting guard Trevor Diggs brings a lot to the Rebels' table. But if he doesn't start hitting his jump shot, perhaps he should be excused from it, at least until he finds his stroke. Everybody thought Diggs played well in the debacle against Cincinnati, yet he made just 6-of-20 from the floor and committed a whopping eight turnovers. His shooting percentage heading into tonight's High Point game is just .335 (.287 from 3-point distance). And that's against some pretty meek competition.

I've always thought that Acapulco cliff diving was the quintessential sport in ABC's Wild World of them, which is only is confirmed by tonight's Classic Wide World of Sports offering on the dish. The lineup includes barrel jumping, cliff ly is confirmed by tonight's Classic Wide World of Sports offering on the dish. The lineup includes barrel jumping, cliff diving and the Joie Chitwood Thrill Show. ... The new Race Rock auto racing-themed cafe downtown offers supercharged atmosphere, reasonably priced food and an impressive array of famous racing cars and other motorsports memorabilia. But what's the driving suit of Dr. Jack Miller, better known as "The Racing Dentist," doing under the same roof as one that belonged to the great Ayrton Senna?