Columnist Ron Kantowski: It’s time to get Marcus, Tasha on SI list

Tuesday, July 22, 2003 | 9:05 a.m.

Ron Kantowski is a Las Vegas Sun sports writer. Reach him at ron@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4088.

Sports polls are like DVD players and sports utility vehicles -- everybody has one.

Four years ago, Sports Illustrated published perhaps the most ambitious one ever, ranking each state's top 50 athletes in order of significance, impact they had on their sports or their level of achievement.

Though well-meaning, the SI polls still left a lot of room for interpretation and debate. So in conjunction with its 50th anniversary, the magazine is allowing its readers to make things right, or at least to amend the top 50 polls by casting revisionary votes on line at sportsillustrated.cnn.com.

In case you don't have the Dec. 27, 1999, issue tucked away in a handsome binder or in a better place, such as within reach of your favorite chair in the bathroom library, here is how SI's original list looked, with the athlete's hometown and sport listed in parentheses:

1, Greg Maddux (Las Vegas, baseball); 2, Andre Agassi (Las Vegas, tennis); 3, Matt Williams (Carson City, baseball); 4, Don Johnson (Las Vegas, bowling); 5, David Humm (Las Vegas, football); 6, Lionel Hollins (Las Vegas, basketball); 7, Lee White (Las Vegas, football); 8, Marion Jones Farquhar (Gold Hill, tennis); 9, Mike Morgan (Las Vegas, baseball); 10, Marty Barrett (Las Vegas, baseball).

11, Gerald Riggs (Las Vegas, football); 12, Greg Anthony (Las Vegas, baseball); 13, Michael Roxborough (Las Vegas, oddsmaking); 14, Sheila Tarr-Smith (Las Vegas, track and field); 15, Mills Lane (Reno, boxing); 16, Shawn Estes (Minden, baseball); 17, Frank Hawkins (Las Vegas, football); 18, Richard Steele (Las Vegas, boxing); 19, Bison Dele (Las Vegas, basketball); 20, Robert Gamez (Las Vegas, golf).

21, Chris Ault (Reno, football); 22, Donovan Osborne (Carson City, baseball); 23, Nick Bell (Las Vegas, football); 24, Marty Cordova (Las Vegas, baseball); 25, Bob Martin (Las Vegas, oddsmaking); 26, Freddie Banks (Las Vegas, basketball); 27, Tyler Houston (Las Vegas, baseball); 28, Glenn Carano (Reno, football); 29, Abby Miller (Henderson, cross country); 30, Pam Buckner (Reno, bowling).

31, Don Logan (Tonopah, baseball); 32, Stacy Bromberg (Las Vegas, darts); 33, Mike Maddux (Las Vegas, baseball); 34, Michael Johnson (Las Vegas, basketball); 35, LaVerne Carter (Las Vegas, bowling); 36, Ginger Ernest (Las Vegas, volleyball); 37, Rodger Fairless (Las Vegas, baseball); 38, John Klares (Las Vegas, bowling); 39, Angelo Collis (McGill, football); 40, Danny Tarkanian (Las Vegas, basketball).

41, Prince Fowler (Las Vegas, basketball); 42, Jon Denton (Henderson, football); 43, Tony Mendes (Reno, rodeo); 44, Rob MacCachren (Las Vegas, auto racing); 45, Julie Dunn (Las Vegas, golf); 46. Kurt Busch (Las Vegas, auto racing); 47, Bill "Wildcat" Morris (Las Vegas, football); 48, Marc Ratner (Las Vegas, boxing); 49, Craig Barlow (Henderson, golf); 50, H Waldman (Las Vegas, basketball).

Obviously, some of the college athletes who were still fairly current in 1999, such as Fowler, Denton and Waldman, would probably fall off a new list, to be replaced by names such as Marcus Banks and Ryan Ludwick. Others would drop or climb in the rankings, based on what has happened since then.

For instance, when the first list came out, Kurt Busch had yet to win a race on the NASCAR circuit. Now, as one of stock car racing's young lions, his face -- or least his car number 97 -- is plastered all over TV and magazines such as TV Guide. So he's solid in my top 10.

And if you're looking for a newcomer to the list, how about Tasha Schwikert, the world-class gymnast from Las Vegas?

Anyway, there's a few ideas to get you started. So put down your Swimsuit Edition and go to work.

Montaldan made a few remarks at the race team's North Las Vegas shop, saying until Saturday, he didn't know it was possible to service a Porsche in North Las Vegas, much less one with such an impressive pedigree.

To which an audience member replied, "But you sure can get one stolen here."

Ouch!

Well, I'm not sure if its was the original Love Bug, because it wasn't split in two. But it was white with a big No. 53 painted on it, and the blue and red racing stripes were in their proper places.

Plus, when I yelled "Herbie!" it beeped.

Actually, it was just the driver who honked the horn although come to think of it, he did look an awfully lot like Dean Jones.

In the grand scheme of things that are wrong at UNLV, the sign is probably no big deal. But I'll bet the one at LaVell Edwards Stadium up in Provo gets a fresh coat of paint every season.

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