Columnist Ron Kantowski: Coach quits, but there’s no conspiracy

Thursday, Jan. 27, 2000 | 9:48 a.m.

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

Having seen one too many Oliver Stone movies (and "Any Given Sunday" isn't one of them), I figured there might be more to the story when Staci Hendershott announced in a statement last week she was resigning as UNLV women's soccer coach.

Like a corner kick from Thor, this was a strike out of the blue. In just two years, Hendershott took a figment of athletic director Charlie Cavagnaro's imagination and molded it into a competitive program that went 15-21-1.

The Rebels were 8-10 in their baptism under Hendershott, and were rated the nation's No. 3 new program by "Soccer Buzz" magazine.

If you're lucky, you might find "Soccer Buzz" next to "Bicuspid Annual" at the Borders Books magazine rack. Still, 8-10 is nothing to sneeze at right out of the box.

So when Hendershott said she was quitting to pursue "other opportunities" and then did not return phone calls to reveal what those opportunities might be, you had to wonder if her reason for leaving wasn't more complex.

On Tuesday, she finally did return a phone call to the Sun. She wasn't any more forthcoming about her plans but said there were no ulterior motives behind her reasons for leaving, other than the stated ones.

"I've been thinking about it for a long time, doing some soul-searching, trying to figure out what I want to do with my life," Hendershott said. "What it came down to was a professional decision as far as me deciding that head coaching wasn't for me. I didn't think I could be involved in that anymore, not being able to give 100 percent because the girls need 100 percent.

"The players wanted me to stay and there was no pressure from my administration whatsoever."

Hendershott said at some point -- but not now -- she might consider returning to soccer as an assistant coach, the post she held at Michigan State before coming to Las Vegas. But she said her successor should be able to pick up where she left off.

"This program is on its way," she said.

Thanks to her.

* THIS DOESN'T WASH: Next to golf, which doesn't have one, the shortest off-season in sports belongs to auto racing. Apparently, it's not short enough.

The big news emanating from Las Vegas Motor Speedway Wednesday was that showers would be added to the camping area for the CarsDirect.com 400 Winston Cup weekend March 2-5.

Two 18-wheel trailers equipped with full-service showers and sinks -- a luxury not available at most tracks -- will be set up in the RV area at LVMS.

But based on the personal hygiene habits of infield crowds at most NASCAR events, LVMS shouldn't have to worry about a high water bill.

* KORACH GOING TUBULAR? According to the San Francisco Chronicle and most of his friends in the industry, UNLV basketball play-by-play man Ken Korach is the heir apparent to the Oakland A's TV job, now that the A's flagship station has let play-by-play man Greg Papa go. Korach has spent his last two summers calling games for the A's radio network.

Korach said the attention is flattering but there's one pretty key detail that has yet to be worked out: He hasn't yet heard from the TV guys.

Regardless, his future with the A's is firm through at least 2002 as Korach recently agreed to a two-year extension of his radio contract.

* TEETH OF THE DEFENSE: Indiana basketball player Dane Fife bites -- and I mean that literally.

During a game against Iowa last week, the Hoosiers' shooting guard got tangled up with one of the Hawkeyes in an off-the-ball scrap which ended when Fife bit the stunned Iowa player on the biceps.

Later that evening, the SportsCenter anchors joked about the incident.

Had it been Mike Tyson wearing the Hoosier uniform -- now there's a scary thought, Mike Tyson playing for Bob Knight -- the NCAA probably would have revoked his scholarship.

* FEDERAL OFFENSE: Good to see the feds are well on their way to cleaning up the fight game. Joseph A. Hayden, the court-appointed monitor for the beleaguered International Boxing Federation, this week resigned after less than two weeks on the job, saying his marriage to a U.S. District Judge might be construed as a conflict of interest.

The judge's maiden name isn't King or Arum. But you know both of those guys had to laugh even louder than usual when they read about this one.

* AROUND THE HORN: Well, you can scratch North Carolina from the list of quality opponents UNLV has played this year, leaving just Cincinnati and Oklahoma State. The Tar Heels can't beat anybody these days and have slipped to 11-8. ... Former Clark High standout Kevin Gaines is having a nice year as a true freshman at Michigan but you couldn't tell it from the Wolverines' humbling 85-50 loss at Indiana Tuesday night. The Hoosiers' defense proved to a bit tougher than Durango High's as Gaines went 1-for-13 from the field. ... When he wears his black T-shirt under his sports jacket, Las Vegas City Councilman Michael McDonald bears more than a passing resemblance to Cincinnati basketball coach Bob Huggins. But it's hard to say which one runs the cleaner program.