Wednesday, April 30, 2003 | 10:04 a.m.
Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at [email protected] or (702) 259-4084.
Notes today, leading off with one pertaining to UNLV softball coach Shan McDonald that could be interpreted as either a vote of confidence or, conversely, as a warning.
McDonald is in her 17th season running the UNLV softball program and her overall record is pretty good: 510-463. Yet, despite the recruiting benefit of moving into a new stadium a year ago, she has not had a winning season since 1996 and her current team -- which doesn't have a single senior -- is 4-10 in the Mountain West and 20-33 overall.
When asked Tuesday if he was concerned about the program's losing ways, UNLV athletic director John Robinson admitted he was.
"Yeah, I am," he responded. "There's no question we need to improve. At the end of the season we'll sit down with the coaches and evaluate where we're at and what we need to do."
Ominous? Perhaps. But Robinson sounds willing to let McDonald have at least one more season at the controls.
"She's got a very young team," he said. "And success (as a result of the impact of the stadium) tends to trail the physical environment by a couple of years."
If Robinson is disappointed (if forgiving) toward his softball coach, he has the luxury of knowing his baseball program is in good hands. Second-year coach Jim Schlossnagle and his nationally ranked team were profiled in a USA Today center spread Tuesday, and he has the Rebels atop the Mountain West and 35-12 overall.
"An emerging program needs all the hype it can get," Robinson said. "All of the things written lately about them have been positive, and that certainly helps recruiting. We make sure our recruits see the stories."
Schlossnagle has done such a good job not only on the field but in public relations that Coors of Las Vegas, which withdrew as a financial supporter of the program after Rod Soesbe was let go as coach in 2001, has returned as a sponsor. ... Soesbe, incidentally, is working for Coors as a salesman. ... Brian Dallimore, the son of another former UNLV baseball coach, Fred Dallimore, is playing with Fresno in the Pacific Coast League. ... Treasure Island's announcement that it would remodel its casino and drop its family theme in favor of something more sexy seems to signal the end of a city-wide experiment that lasted about 10 years and cost local golfers at least one wonderful course. The MGM bulldozed the Tropicana Country Club to make way for a theme park it has since abandoned as Las Vegas returns to its rightful emphasis on entertaining adults.
Of course every business that relies on kids is subject to fluctuations: Disney Corp. has both Disneyland and its Anaheim Mighty Ducks of the NHL up for sale. ... But kids -- or at least 18- and 19-year olds, are a good fit in the National Basketball Association and the league should reconsider implementing a ban on anyone under 20, as it is threatening to install next year. Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and Tracy McGrady came into the league as teens and have developed into huge, huge stars. Besides, blocking a teen from earning a living might be a restraint of trade. ... And finally, a useless if thought-provoking stat: The number of golfers in the United States -- 26 million -- is the same as the number of people in Afghanistan.
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