Columnist Ron Kantowski: Boosters need to step back, relax

Thursday, Jan. 18, 2001 | 10:32 a.m.

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

While it's becoming increasingly difficult to remain one, most sports writers are sports fans, too. My favorite teams are the Cubs, Bears, Blackhawks, Indiana (Hoosiers, not Pacers) and Rahal (on the CART champ car auto racing circuit).

However, I was never tempted to call a radio talk show to discuss Mike Ditka's conservative play-calling or the way Jim Riggleman used his pitching rotation.

I didn't kick my dog or yell at my wife when Leon Durham let that dribbler leak through his legs in the '84 NLCS.

I don't yearn to go on a fantasy cruise with Stan Mikita; never made a sizable contribution to the IU athletic department.

And I never, ever refer to my favorite team as "we."

Come to think of it, I'm really not that interested in the ESPN fleece pullover. I guess that makes me no better (or worse) than a casual fan. And given my tax bracket, I'd be a terrible booster.

Maybe that's why I don't get it.

What is it that causes grown men, in many cases wealthy grown men, to fawn over college athletes and college athletic programs?

I only ask this, because were it not for overzealous boosters, Bill Bayno -- heck, make that Jerry Tarkanian -- would be getting the Rebels ready to play New Mexico on ESPN Big Monday.

But it's because of boosters that UNLV athletic director Charlie Cavagnaro is traipsing across the country like some 21st century Fuller Brush Man, trying to sell Rick Pitino on the idea that Las Vegas is the perfect place to clean that tangled Celtics mess from his resume.

And encroachment by boosters explains why interim Rebels coach Max Good feels about as wanted as Baltic Avenue in a game of Monopoly, and why his players won't be passing go or collecting $200 (at least not legally) during the upcoming Mountain West and NCAA postseason tournaments.

OK, I will also admit this much: Were it not for the boosters who got the ball rolling, or maybe even punted it as far as Cavagnaro's doorstep, it might have been up to the Rebels' A.D. to sign UNLV football coach and savior John Robinson all by his lonesome.

But isn't that what Cavagnaro gets paid for?

Boosters are a lot like cholesterol. There are good kinds and bad kinds. Nobody is suggesting that community leaders such as Steve Wynn and Tom Wiesner were trying to clog anybody's arteries when they made an end run around Cavagnaro and UNLV president Carol Harter in an attempt to woo Pitino.

(For the record, both men have denied their involvement in the negotiations although Wynn was all but winking when he suggested local reporters check their sources.)

On the other hand, David Chapman, a local dentist and Rebel bad boy Kaspars Kambala's occasional dinner date, forced UNLV into quadruple bypass mode with the NCAA when he admitted to giving one-time Rebel recruit Lamar Odom the keys to his car and some money for the jukebox.

But will somebody explain why it's OK for Steve Wynn (or somebody like him) to pay Rick Pitino $40,000 per speaking engagement but practically a mortal sin for David Chapman to buy Kas Kambala a pizza?

Other than the size of their wallets, I really don't see the difference.