Columnist Ron Kantowski: Holy Toledo! UCLA fires its coach

Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2002 | 9:50 a.m.

Ron Kantowski's insider notes column appears Tuesday and his Page One column appears Thursday. He can be reached at ron@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4088.

With its recent streak of attractive matchups and chamber of commerce weather, I've said more than once that the Las Vegas Bowl must be living right.

But somebody on the committee must have been hanging out with Dennis Rodman this weekend.

Less than 24 hours after nailing down an attractive opponent like UCLA to oppose New Mexico in the Christmas Day affair at Sam Boyd Stadium, the committee learned that Bruins athletic director Dan "House Cleaner" Guerrero had yanked the yule log out of its fireplace by firing coach Bob Toledo despite a 7-5 record.

I'm not sure what that says about the Las Vegas Bowl's status in comparison to its postseason brethren. All I know is that most coaches who lead their teams to a bowl game usually are welcome to coach in it.

Local bowl officials were counting on a large drive-up Bruins contingent from Los Angeles to bolster attendance, much in the manner of last year when Southern Cal faithful turned I-15 into red and gold caravan and helped the Las Vegas Bowl set an all-time attendance record.

But how many UCLA fans do you think will pass up Christmas Goose for Lame Duck, now that Toledo has received the ax?

Top 10 National Finals Rodeo cowboys or animated characters:

1. Joe Beaver; 2. Joe Camel; 3. Speed Williams; 4. Speedy Gonzalez; 5. Cash Myers; 6. Quick Draw McGraw; 7. Steve Dollarhide; 8. Foghorn Leghorn; 9. Blue Stone; 10. Green Lantern.

(For those who don't wear a big hat, the cowboys are Beaver, Speed, Cash, Dollarhide and Blue.)

As reported in the Sun last week, if UNLV's Jason Thomas has his heart set on playing quarterback as a professional, several Canadian Football League teams may be willing to accommodate him.

According to a UNLV source, the CFL's venerable Toronto franchise has been in contact with the school.

Headline writers have their fingers crossed. "Jason and the Argonauts" is simply too good to pass up.

What a week it has been for Green Valley resident Napoleon McCallum, who tonight will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame during a ceremony at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City.

McCallum will tell you that's nice and all, but not nearly as sweet as watching his Navy Midshipmen drop anchor on Army 58-12 at Giants Stadium on Saturday.

Around the horn: One more reason to like Las Vegas 51s manager Brad Mills is that he recently turned down a major league job with the Cleveland Indians (minor league field coordinator) to return to the 51s -- even though a successful stint in triple-A isn't the best springboard for an aspiring major league skipper these days. Only one of the 10 Big League manager jobs that has changed hands since the 2002 season went to a triple-A guy. ... Given the way both teams run the ball and move the chains, the inaugural San Francisco Bowl pitting Air Force against Virginia Tech probably won't last as long as a New Year's hangover. ... Team you don't want to play in a game of H-O-R-S-E: Air Force, which made a school record 18 3-point baskets in a victory over Texas Pan-American last Thursday and 9-of-13 treys in the first half en route to beating Georgia Sou thern Sunday.