Columnist Ron Kantowski: Basketball rivals need a real prize

Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2004 | 9:45 a.m.

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

There are enough Little Brown Jugs (Minnesota vs. Michigan), Old Oaken Buckets (Purdue vs. Indiana), Beehive Boots (Utah vs. BYU), Paul Bunyon's Axes (Minnesota vs. Wisconsin), Old Brass Spittoons (Indiana vs. Michigan State) and Floyd of Rosedales (Iowa vs. Minnesota) to fill up a dozen college football trophy cases.

But the custom of old rivals playing for a traditional curio hasn't caught on in college basketball for whatever reason -- probably because roundball rivals generally meet more than once per season, thereby diminishing the guarantee of keeping a trophy in one's case for an entire year.

If there were basketball trophies that continually changed hands, somebody would have to dust them, although that does sound like a pretty good school job for some of those guys Bob Huggins has recruited to Cincinnati.

But in that UNLV and UNR meet only once a year on the basketball court, what's to prevent them from sweetening the spoils of victory by playing for a trophy or keepsake?

The football game between the Silver State rivals generates plenty of interest, with the Fremont Cannon having become a cherished possession from which to hang bragging rights. Perhaps playing for a similar memento would held create a little more friction between the Rebels and the Wolf Pack -- and more important, fans of the schools -- on the hardwood.

Even though the UNR program has improved to where its bandwagon jumpers believe it is on par with that of UNLV's (silly Wolf Pack fans), their meeting on the basketball court usually comes and goes with little fanfare.

So if the game doesn't generate interest on its own, perhaps it's time to manufacture some. Maybe UNLV and UNR could play for Tark's Towel. Or Trent's Oar, the one which former coach Trent Johnson used to bail out of his Reno contract on his way back to Stanford.

While watching Colorado State beat Wyoming Friday in their long-standing football Border War for the Bronze Boot that Capt. Dan Romero, once of the CSU faculty, wore in Vietnam, it dawned that we could do something similar here.

Why not honor the memory of the Nevadans who have been killed during the war in Iraq by putting their names on a trophy that would be awarded to the winning side in the UNLV-UNR basketball rivalry?

These men paid the ultimate price while honoring both state and country. By putting their names on a trophy, the memory of their sacrifice would not only be preserved, but honored each and every year by Nevadans.

The gloomy, wet weather that prevented UNLV from hanging onto the football at Utah Saturday also was responsible for a tragedy that claimed the life of a Utes fan.

A 38-year-old woman attempting to catch a train bound for Rice-Eccles Stadium for the UNLV-Utah game was killed when she slipped on the platform and was dragged under one of the train's cars.

In the context of that sobering news, UNLV's six turnovers in a 63-28 defeat suddenly don't seem like such a such a dire occurrence.

Ross Porter, who spent almost three decades as Vin Scully's sidekick on Dodgers broadcasts and once served as play-by-play voice for UNLV football, has been let go by the National League club.

"It has been an honor for me to broadcast games for the Dodgers for the past 28 years," Porter said in a statement. "Now the organization has decided to go in another direction and it was their decision. There are no plans to retire. I love what I do."

For a man of his stature, Porter was a friendly and genuine guy, and I speak from experience. I remember standing around a baggage carousel on one of my first road trips covering the UNLV football team when Porter sidled up, introduced himself and asked if I needed a ride to the hotel.

The Dodgers have not named a replacement for Porter, other than to say a new play-by-play announcer would be joining Scully and analyst Rick Monday in the booth next year.

Forget Tiger Woods. Or even Happy Gilmore. Mary Thomas and her 8-year-old grandson Bryce of Las Vegas have a new favorite golfer and his name is Robert Allenby.

In a letter to the Sun, Thomas said her grandson was watching the recent Michelin Championship PGA tour stop at TPC Summerlin through a fence when the youngster wished Allenby, who had just finished putting, good luck.

"Mr. Allenby looked up, walked to the fence and handed a ball through. Bryce was so excited he told his grandpa it was the best day of his life," Thomas wrote.

"What a gentleman Mr. Allenby was, to take the time for this boy. He is first class in our eyes."

Mine, too, after hearing that story.

I caught a lot of grief last spring when I suggested the Mountain West shouldn't have been in such a hurry to add TCU to its ranks on the basis of its football team.

Well, the Horned Frogs, who were once talking of an undefeated season, are a middling 4-3 this year and sport the worst pass defense in Division I-A.

I guess I shouldn't be too critical of a 4-3 record. In the Mountain West, that would put TCU in line for a bowl berth.

Nothing has changed on that front because if the season ended today, the MWC would still not be able to fulfill its three-team bowl requirement. Only Utah (7-0) and upstart Wyoming (4-3), smarting from a loss to rival Colorado State, are currently bowl eligible.

Last week in this space I criticized the Indy Racing League for copying the driver-in-the-grandstands introductions that the rival Champ Car series used in its debut at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last month.

Actually, it was Texas Motor Speedway general manager Eddie Gossage who came up with the idea that was first instituted at an IRL race in Texas in 2002.

To the IRL officials who respectfully pointed that out in e-mails last week, thanks for setting me straight and being professional.

But to those who suggested that I should be strapped to the nose cone of Ed Carpenter's car (for NASCAR fans, he's the equivalent of Jimmy Spencer, which is to say he crashes a lot) for questioning series founder Tony George's so-called vision, I'll stand by my statement that were it not for raiding Champ Car of its best drivers, teams and engine manufacturers, the IRL would be little more than a bug on Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s windshield.

Around the horn

It was a good weekend for Colombia with an "O" as both shortstops in the World Series (Orlando Cabrera of the Red Sox and Edgar Renteria of the Cardinals) hail from the South America country and another native son, former Indy 500 and Champ Car series champion Juan Montoya, won the season-ending Formula One race in Brazil. ... With his team ahead of Kansas 35-10 with 35 seconds remaining in the game, Sooners quarterback Jason White disdained taking a knee and threw a 35-touchdown pass instead. Thanks, BCS. "I don't blame Oklahoma at all," said Jayhawks coach Mark Mangino, a former OU assistant. "With the quest of having just one national champion, there's going to be some casualties along the way." ... At least Utah wasn't quite so bully-like against the Rebels on Saturday when it elected to run out of the clock perched on UNLV's 1. I guess Utes coach Urba n Meyer figured if 63-28 wasn't going to impress the pollsters, 70-28 wouldn't have made much of an impact, either. ... Let's hope they don't get SportsCenter in Fallujah. I'd hate to see the insurgents get any bright ideas after watching Yankees and Red Sox fans act like idiots last week.