Columnist Ron Kantowski: 51s take a bath with Big League Weekend washout

Tuesday, April 6, 2004 | 9:47 a.m.

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

Don Logan was speaking on his cell phone Monday as he pulled into the Dodgers Stadium parking lot and noticed that scalpers were out in force with Opening Day against the Padres just two hours away.

I joked with Logan, asking if he would consider scalping his ticket to help offset the loss of this year's Big League Weekend, which was to feature games between the Rangers and Rockies on Friday and Saturday.

The games were canceled after steady rain soaked Cashman Field on Friday and early Saturday, making the field unplayable.

"We had insurance to cover expenses so we shouldn't get killed," Logan said. "The insurance prevented us from getting murdered."

But there were other costs the insurance didn't cover, such as the teams' transportation and a TV agreeement. Fans who purchased tickets for the major league games can redeem them for a future Las Vegas 51s game, another cost the Triple-A club will absorb. Plus, the 51s missed out on the peanuts and popcorn concessions.

Logan said the 51s' business office was still tallying up the losses and he wouldn't even offer an, ahem, ballpark figure on how much money the rainouts would cost the club.

Although the weather was pleasant Sunday, there wasn't an option to play. The Rockies were scheduled to play their final exhibition game in Sacramento on Sunday while the Rangers were headed to Oakland where they lost to the A's Monday night.

The weather should be more conducive to baseball on Thursday when the 51s open the season against Portland at Cashman. Thursday is $1 beer night, Friday's game will feature fireworks, at least afterward, and Saturday, the 51s will wear throwback Brooklyn Dodgers uniforms, which are a vast improvement over their normal ones.

Logan said as per an agreement with Major League Baseball, nobody would wear No. 42. He said he wasn't sure if anybody would wear No. 4, but if somebody does, rest assure he'll have supreme confidence in his ability.

The Brooklyn jerseys will be auctioned off to fans immediately after the game, with the money raised going to charity.

Improving nonconference schedules almost certainly will be part of the conservation but the Lady Rebels already are ahead on that count, beginning with next year's season opener.

UNLV will play national semifinalist Minnesota in the WBCT/BTI Classic in Seattle on Nov. 12, just one of several postseason teams on next year's schedule.

North Carolina and Villanova will be on hand for UNLV's Thanksgiving tournament, while Texas Tech, which was ranked No. 1 in January, and Iowa State, which beat three Top 25 teams (but not UNLV), will visit for a Christmas tournament. UNLV is negotiating with another national power, Penn State, to fill the fourth slot in the second tournament.

In fact, Davis was identified as the player who could have taken the Lady Rebels to the next level, following their excellent 26-8 season which ended last week with a loss at Creighton in the Women's National Invitation Tournament championship game.

UNLV coach Regina Miller said if the Lady Rebels can't find another point guard, there's a possibility Kameca Simmons may be given an opportunity out front.

As a freshman, Simmons was first off the bench for this year's team but played most of her minutes at small forward.