Columnist Ron Kantowski: Rebels unveil some ‘classy’ scheduling

Wednesday, June 29, 2005 | 9:45 a.m.

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

Goodbye, Big Monday. Hello, Little Wednesday.

UNLV has officially released its attractive 2005-06 men's basketball schedule, which features six opponents that played in last year's NCAA tournament as well as something old and something new in the way of a conference slate.

That is partly due to the presence of TCU, which was part of the old 16-team WAC that included UNLV and will officially become the ninth member of the Mountain West when school starts in fall. The Horned Frogs' inclusion, combined with the coaches' dissatisfaction with tipping off after curfew on Monday night at ESPN's behest, will result in a dramatically revised conference schedule.

For starters, there will be two more games. And instead of the traditional Saturday-Monday docket, the Mountain West will play mostly on Wednesday and Saturday this year.

While playing on hump day may not seem like the ideal situation, especially when it comes to drawing a live crowd, at least the games will start before a true freshman's bedtime.

No matter how you slice it, playing at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday is a whole lot better than playing at 10 p.m. Monday.

UNLV coach Lon Kruger said the extra day between games also will help with preparation and should reduce fatigue. The new format also may boost the Rebels' grade-point average, as six of their eight conference road games will be played on Saturday night, which should result in fewer missed classes.

As for the drawbacks, well, if you thought they rolled up the sidewalks in Fort Collins and Laramie early on Saturday night, try to find something to eat after a game on Wednesday.

The eyes of the college baseball world are once again on Texas after the Longhorns beat Florida for their third NCAA baseball title since 1978, but perhaps UNLV deserves at least a sideways glance.

Coach Buddy Gouldsmith's Rebels got hooked in a three-game series against the 'Horns in Austin this year but two of the contests were decided by one run. UNLV allowed two unearned runs in a 4-3 defeat on Feb. 11 and blew a 6-3 lead in the bottom of the ninth the following day, as Texas rallied for a 7-6 victory.

The Longhorns won the third game, 12-3.

Charlie Baron, director of the Las Vegas Invitational PGA golf tournament, had mixed emotions as he watched the U.S. Grand Prix at Indianapolis degenerate into a slot car race when the teams running Michelin tires were advised to pull out due to safety concerns following blowouts in practice.

Baron, who was watching from his suite in turn 2 (of the Indy 500 oval), said it was like watching a balloon lose air after tens of thousands of race fans began streaming for the exits when only six cars, those on Bridgestone tires, took the green flag.

A dyed-in-Nomex race fan, Baron was disappointed he wasn't able to watch the world's most exotic racing machines put on a show on American soil.

But in that he tire company is also the title sponsor of the LVI, Baron's mind began to race in another direction.

"You know, we have a relationship with Michelin and I thought, 'God, what does this mean?' " Baron said.

It may not mean anything, in that the only equipment Michelin is expected to bring to the golf tournament is its sponsorship dollars, which last year helped rescue the LVI from a possible demise.

On Monday I received not one, but two press releases from Las Vegas Motor Speedway informing that NASCAR tickets in the Dale Earnhardt Terrace and new Richard Petty Terrace are available.

Both press releases boasted that the terrace views were the best in motorsports. No argument there. But as usual, neither missive stated how much that view will cost.

For those reluctant to do the detective work, the terrace tickets will cost $249, which does not include a Paul McCartney concert.

I bought Saturday's pay-per-view boxing telecast hoping to see a game-but-overmatched Arturo Gatti put at a $44.95 beating on Floyd Mayweather before succumbing to his loud-mouthed opponent's superior speed and talent.

While I didn't expect the iron-willed Gatti would win, I didn't expect Mayweather would turn him into a pinata for the six rounds the fight lasted.

Stick and move. Stick and move. Stick and move. They should have put a blindfold on Mayweather, to make it fair.

His checkered past and domestic problems notwithstanding, I'm convinced that at 28, it's not too late for Mayweather, now a three-time world champion, to become the next Ray Leonard, if that's what he chooses.

Behaving like a gentleman during the postfight hubbub and graciously praising an opponent he had verbally abused during the prefight hype was a good start in Mayweather's transition from Pretty Boy Floyd to Pay-Per-View Floyd.

It has been a breakout year for women's sports, what with Annika Sorenstam continuing to redefine golf excellence, Michelle Wie and her teenage pals taking center stage at this past weekend's Women's U.S. Open and Danica Patrick running around in some pretty fast circles at the Indianapolis 500.

But then along comes ESPN The Magazine to drop a big pile of cheesecake on everything.

Its June 20 cover features tennis sensation Maria Sharapova and five words: "How Hot Is Too Hot?"

This is how the story begins:

It is 9 in the morning and already sweltering when 17-year-old Maria Sharapova lifts her arms to get her midriff rubbed. She is at Key Biscayne's Crandon Park Tennis Center shooting a Canon commercial, and the sun is high and her skin is fair and thus she must be protected. Sharapova stands at the net smoothing her long, golden hair while her makeup artist hoists her top and folds it neatly at the bustline. She slathers Sharapova's lean torso with sunscreen as an entire production crew becomes dubiously engrossed in the contents of their coffee cups.

"Damn," says one assistant, shaking his head as he sneaks a peek ...

I think I'll cancel my subscription to True Detective.

I think it was three pages into the story before the writer said Sharapova also was a pretty good tennis player.

"Unfortunately, we live in a society that still puts tremendous emphasis on a woman's looks," said Julie Foudy, the recently retired captain of the celebrated women's U.S. National Soccer Team who is bringing her soccer camp for girls to Summerlin July 11-12.

Foudy said it would "take two days" to have a meaningful discourse on the way women athletes are portrayed in the media.

Even though the women's soccer team was applauded mostly for its performance on the field and not the way the players looked in evening gowns or bathing suits, Foudy said virtually every photo shoot she agreed to do included the same question.

"I told them no, I am not posing in a sports bra," she said.