Columnist Ron Kantowski: Piazza acts like one cool dude

Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2000 | 10:18 a.m.

Ron Kantowski's notes column appears Tuesday. Reach him at ron@ lasvegassun.com or 259-4088. Regular sports columnist Dean Juipe is on vacation.

Until Sunday, I would have viewed Mike Piazza only as a heck of hitter with a weird mustache.

Now, I consider him a pledge to the Fraternal Order of Good Guys, for keeping his cool after Roger Clemens sawed off his bat with a nasty slider and flung the barrel end back in the direction of the Mets' slugger during Game 2 of the World Series.

That's why a half-hour later, on a KFC run, it was so distressing to hear sports talk host Chet Coppock blast Piazza for not charging the mound and touching off "Death Wish XII," or however many of those New York vigilante movies Charles Bronson made.

Coppock's reasoning was that a brawl in the middle of the field would have gotten the Mets fired up.

But if you can't get the juices flowing for Game 2 of the Fall Classic, they could have held Ali-Frazier IV at second base and it wouldn't have mattered.

While it is difficult -- if not impossible -- to justify Clemens' actions, Piazza should be applauded for turning the other cheek and striking a blow for sportsmanship.

Around the horn

Former Dodgers manager Tom Lasorda on Sunday told a gathering at the Bishop's Dinner for Catholic Education in Sioux City, Neb., that he carries a photo of his seventh-grade teacher -- a Roman Catholic nun -- in his wallet.

"She guided me. She helped me. That's why I carry her picture," Lasorda said.

Well, Lasorda must carry a photo of Morganna, The Kissing Bandit in his other pocket. That might explain why he was spotted in Cheetah's, a Las Vegas topless joint, Saturday after making a Cashman Field appearance in conjunction with the World Series.

The biceps of the competitors weren't the only inflated items at this weekend's Mr. Universe pageant -- er, contest -- at Mandalay Bay. Tickets ranged from $75 to a whopping $200.

At those prices, you'd almost need a wallet on steroids.

It used to be that having your leg amputated below the knee was a grim reality of war or what happened in a worst-case scenario when a prep school kid attempted to use a power tool. It is not supposed to be a result of returning kicks in a college football game.

Neil Parry, a 20-year-old sophomore at San Jose State, sustained a compound leg fracture when he was tackled on a kickoff return during the Spartans' Oct. 14 game against UTEP. An infection developed after surgery and Parry had his right foot and ankle amputated.

Sort of makes Jason Thomas' bum ankle look like a hangnail, doesn't it?

Without knowing the details, it seems incredible that Rebel fans were able to watch last Saturday's home game against Wyoming on local TV but will have to listen to this Saturday's away game at Mississippi on the radio.

Blame it on the TV contracts. The one the Southeast Conference has with CBS precludes other SEC schools from televising against the SEC game of the week (this week, Florida vs. Georgia).

Were Ole Miss to switch Saturday's game against UNLV to an evening kickoff, then the Rebels most likely would have had the option to pick up the local TV feed.

That, of course, isn't going to happen.

On the subject of UNLV football and TV, where's the logic in UNLV scheduling a game opposite the World Series, as it did Saturday against Wyoming when kickoff preceded the first pitch by just an hour?

If the NFL isn't willing to go head-to-head with the Series (there was no Sunday night ESPN game this week) then why should UNLV?

Between the home TV coverage and scheduling against the baseball game, it's almost as if the athletic department didn't want a big home crowd this past weekend.

Dave Krieger of the Denver Rocky Mountain News last weekend wrote a column that said when compared to wife- and child-beater Terry Sawchuk, the late goalie whose career victory record Patrick Roy broke last week, the Colorado Avalanche netminder seems like a pretty nice guy who has his life and priorities in order.

The very next day, Roy was arrested for investigation of misdemeanor criminal mischief and domestic violence counts for admittedly pulling two bedroom doors off the hinges during an argument with his wife.

No further comment necessary.