Columnist Ron Kantowski: Las Vegas race bumps draft Tiger on TV

Tuesday, March 4, 2003 | 10:06 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.

One of the clubs Tiger Woods was carrying in his bag during Sunday's Accenture Match Play Championship apparently wasn't a tire iron.

For the second consecutive year, the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway set event records for attendance and TV viewers. And this year, although it didn't get up and down anywhere near as quickly as Woods, it beat him in the ratings.

NASCAR on Fox generated a 6.3 overnight rating and a 13 share, a slight increase over last year's 6.2. It was the highest-rated sports program of the weekend. ABC's Match Play coverage, featuring Woods' one-on-one battle with David Toms, pulled a 5.5 in direct competition with the race.

In Las Vegas, the race exceeded the national average with a 9.6 and 19 share.

Nothing against those Buicks Tiger drives on those TV commercials, but they apparently can't compete against a Winston Cup Chevy, Ford, Dodge or Pontiac.

Motorsportstv.com, an Internet website, called Kenseth's postrace performance "one of the classic moments ever in Victory Lane."

As Kenseth climbed out of his car, he noticed that someone had lined up three bottles of blue Powerade on the roof of his No. 17 Ford. He immediately took the three bottles and tossed them inside the car and took a swig of red Gatorade -- one of his associate sponsors -- instead.

Powerade, incidentally, is bottled by Coca-Cola. Las Vegas Motor Speedway is a Coca-Cola track, which explains what the Powerade was doing in Victory Lane in the first place.

As Stewart walked across the LVMS tri-oval on his way to driver introductions Sunday, he stopped in his tracks to count the photographers who had assembled to take his picture.

The Sun's R. Marsh Starks was No. 1. Stewart pointed at each shutterbug and counted to 16 before he -- and they -- broke into laughter.

The first weekend in March in Las Vegas has always been reserved for NASCAR and about 140,000 of its closest friends, but that didn't stop Don King from scheduling the Roy Jones vs. John Ruiz heavyweight title fight on Race Day Eve.

Or the Las Vegas Gladiators from kicking off their Arena Football game against the San Jose SabreCats at about the same time Matt Kenseth was taking the checkered flag out at the track on Sunday

Reports had only 7,000 tickets being sold for the fight, although King's wallpaper job brought attendance over the 15,000 mark. But after drawing more than 12,000 fans to the Thomas & Mack for their season opener, only 8,276 were on hand to watch the Gladiators Sunday.

The fight, had it been scheduled this weekend, would have made a perfect sports sandwich between NASCAR and the Mountain West Conference men's and women's basketball tournaments March 12-15.

The Gladiators, based on their dismal showing in a wacky 72-37 loss to San Jose, may have to settle for being the bean dip on the local sports calendar.

At least until baseball season begins.

Apparently, not enough.

CCSN folded its men's and women's basketball teams Monday due to lack of support, funds and, if some observers of the men's basketball team are to be believed, discipline.

The men's basketball program would have been better off to follow CCSN baseball coach Tim Chambers' blueprint, and stock the roster with local talent instead of players with questionable backgrounds, such as those named Artest.

The Coyotes were coached by George Tarkanian, Jerry's son, who like his father is extremely affable, trustworthy to a fault and returns phone calls. But the fate of the CCSN program gives further credence to the notion that the expiration date on all things associated with Tark being successful around here has passed.

We'll keep and eye and ear on this one. But in that Familiar Figure is said to be the only investor at the moment, we'll give it a "3" on the 1-10 credibility scale.