Columnist Dean Juipe: CFL looms as option for Thomas

Dean Juipe

Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2002 | 9:44 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4084.

Notes today, leading off with one courtesy of Jason Thomas' father.

Charles Thomas called to say his son, the senior UNLV quarterback, might not be so quick to switch to another position simply to enhance his chances of playing in the NFL, as Rebels head coach John Robinson has suggested could happen. The alternative: Jason goes to the Canadian Football League and attempts to retrace a path followed by Warren Moon and Jeff Garcia, among others, who honed their quarterbacking skills up north before becoming stars in the NFL. ... We honestly don't know the answer to this question: Does the American Basketball Association, which had a team in Las Vegas last season, still exist? Best guess: probably not, given that the league's website is down. But isn't it strange that the ABA may have succumbed without so much as a death notice appearing in print?

The best suggestion for eliminating rowdy fans running onto college football fields following a game is for the NCAA to penalize the home team a future home game. Peer pressure would come into play and prevent the lunatics from attempting to take over the asylum. ... For all of his talk of loyalty and how badly he wanted to remain with the Cleveland Indians after spending his entire 12-year career there, slugging first baseman Jim Thome added his name to those who are more influenced by greed than sentiment. He took $87 million (over six years) from the Phillies when the Indians offered a "paltry" $60 million (over five). ... My Heisman Trophy ballot is in the mail and it went in this order: Ken Dorsey (Miami), Carson Palmer (Southern Cal) and Maurice Clarett (Ohio State).

Obviously, the Cheyenne High School boys basketball team will be well worth watching this season, but I question the logic of the six players that transferred there this year. Joining a strong team with three returning starters is nice, but many of those six might have been better served staying where they were -- to say nothing of the comparative loss of playing time almost all of them will experience. ... Did you see the stilted story in Sunday's paper on Caesars Palace getting back into boxing? Well, here's what was left out: Caesars in Las Vegas does not have a single fight scheduled on its property as of today. ... Despite a nine-year scoring average of 16 points per game, former UNLV bad boy J.R. Rider has played himself out of the NBA.

The NFL is considering a change in policy pertaining to games that go into overtime, although I think most fans prefer the status quo. The new options: have it like college, with each team getting the ball at the other's 25 for a four-down possession; or, assure a team that has been scored on in overtime of at least one possession; or, keep the overtime rules the same except the first team to six points wins. ... I guess Tonya Harding didn't see my column after she beat up Paula Jones in one of those celebrity boxing events last summer. In it, I said I'd manage her professional boxing career and all but guaranteed the fallen figure skater a return to stardom. Well, she's going to turn pro Feb. 22 in Memphis on a Mike Tyson card and the perky bombshell made the decision without my input or expertise. I still predict she's tough enough to make a small fortune.