Columnist Ron Kantowski: Keep courts, sports separate

Thursday, Sept. 28, 2000 | 10:18 a.m.

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

If the Supreme Court didn't get involved when Curt Flood challenged baseball's reserve clause 30 years ago, today's ballplayers probably would be tooling around in Chevy Blazers instead of turbocharged Lamborghinis.

Which is just another reason that when it comes to sports, the legal system should just buy a seat in the bleachers rather than establish the ground rules.

Thankfully, the guys (and Sandra Day O'Connor) in the black robes usually don't concern themselves with such trivial pursuits as sports. I mean, as enticing a matchup as Florida State vs. Florida is, it's not exactly Roe vs. Wade now is it?

But then some goon goes nuts with a hockey stick, and the ESPN SportsCenter turns into "Judd for the Defense."

Marty McSorley is the goon in the court system's penalty box this week. McSorley is facing criminal assault charges in Canada for cracking fellow enforcer Donald Brashear of the Vancouver Canucks upside the head with his hockey stick.

In hockey parlance it was a "two-hander" -- a vicious swing with both hands, usually aimed at an opponent's ankle or shins, most often in retaliation for the victim having roughed up the other side's star player. Or having insulted The Queen.

But McSorley got carried away and nearly chopped Brashear's head off. That said, had McSorley's stick contacted Brashear's helmet rather than the exposed part of his noggin, he wouldn't be in court this week, acting like a choirboy.

He probably would have received a game misconduct, a hefty fine and suspension, and a thorough butt-kicking the next time the teams played. Thirty days in the hole pales in comparison to a 45-second shift when you're a marked man.

But because the blow briefly rendered Brashear unconscious, McSorley finds himself facing a judge and a jury rather than the commissioner and a checking line of colorful individuals that answer to "Big Serge," "Battleship" and "The Hammer."

It takes an extreme incident such as this one before the feds feel the need to interfere -- er, cede. But if this trend continues, attorneys soon will dominate sports to an even greater degree than they already do. Only they will be trial lawyers instead of agents.

To wit: If a bunch of guys get into a bar fight, they often are brought up on assault or disorderly conduct charges. If the same thing happens on the diamond, everybody laughs and they show the lowlights on SportsCenter.

But what if sports becomes as litigious as a guy with a neck brace and strong bumpers? Let's say that when George Teague blindsides Terrell Owens for disgracing the Cowboys' logo, he snaps Teague's anterior cruciate ligament into tiny, little pieces. Can Owens sue Teague for everything he owns, including his Alabama letterman's sweater?

Granted, sports is overrun with trash-talkers and cheap-shot artists and idiots hopped up on steroids who think "sportsmanship" refers to Bill Dance's fishing boat.

But a few more brushback pitches, late hits and hard body checks when combined with 60-game suspensions sure would save a bunch on court costs.