Columnist Ron Kantowski: Maui’s tiny gym generates sloppy play

Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2000 | 10:26 a.m.

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

It's considered one of the top early season college basketball tournaments every year but here's a way to make the Maui Invitational even better.

Knock down the walls and raise the roof.

Maybe it's just an optical illusion. But when you put 10 offensive tackles in short pants (which is what today's beefed up college hoopsters most resemble) in a gymnasium that's hardly big enough for a senior prom, a sloppy, disjointed game inevitably is the result.

Monday's Rebels-Illinois game was a perfect example. At times, it looked like Roger Ebert trying to fall asleep in a bunk bed. The teams combined for a whopping 47 turnovers and 47 fouls. There were 29 turnovers in the first half alone.

Perhaps the bump-and-grind style of play favored by everybody except Bill Carmody's teams at Princeton and now Northwestern was more responsible than the cozy fieldhouse for turning the game into a Rugby scrum.

But regardless of how competitive the Rebels played in a five-point loss to a supposedly superior opponent, it was not that much fun to watch.

Around the horn

LV Bowl officials really have no choice but to wait to see if UNLV can knock off San Diego State this week and Hawaii next week to clinch a 7-5 season and retain its bowl eligibility card. But that only will determine who gets the Mountain West slot in the game, UNLV or Air Force.

But if I wore a blazer with a LV Bowl patch over the breast pocket, I'd sign Texas-El Paso for the at-large slot today. Sure, the Miners got blown out by TCU over the weekend. But it has been a while since UTEP has gone bowling and Miners fans are more loyal than a cocker spaniel. They'll travel well here.

But here's what the LV Bowl really needs to do to assure its long-term survival: Petition the NCAA to waive the winning record requirement and match UNLV against the Powerhouse Program That Has A Down Year on an annual basis.

This year's pairing of the Rebels vs. Penn State would be an guaranteed sellout.

But the TV spots dominated by Venus Williams and sister Serena were never pulled or adjusted. Promoters said there wasn't enough time to redo them.

Naturally, the Sun heard from several fans who were upset the Williams sisters would not be playing but said they would use their tickets regardless. But one irate fan, calling from Los Angeles, said the only reason she bought tickets was to watch the Williams sisters make a racquet.

She said that when she demanded her money back, Mandalay Bay was less than enthusiastic about refunding it.