Friday, May 6, 2005 | 10:01 a.m.
Ron Kantowski is a Las Vegas Sun sports writer. Reach him at [email protected] or (702) 259-4088.
It's a good thing that Mister Ed, the talking horse, wasn't a coach in the Mountain West Conference. Because even if he had something to say, the MWC wouldn't have let him.
Official reprimands and suspensions due to violations of the conference's censorship -- er, sportsmanship -- code are significantly up this year. In the past 10 days alone, three more MWC coaches have been disciplined for airing their laundry in the press.
Last weekend, future baseball hall-of-famer and current San Diego State coach Tony Gwynn sat out a one-game suspension against UNLV after questioning the MWC's decision to waive its procedure for making up postponed games, thus shortening the Aztecs' six-game series against Air Force to four games.
"You want to know why this conference gets no respect in baseball? It's because of stuff like this," Gwynn told reporters. "It's hard to get credibility when they do stuff like this. We've got people around the country laughing at what's going on in the Mountain West Conference."
They weren't laughing at MWC headquarters in Colorado Springs.
There was wrist-slapping all around the diamond last week, as BYU coach Vance Law, who isn't a future hall-of-famer although he did have a few decent seasons with the White Sox, Expos and Cubs, was reprimanded for complaining that an umpire was hesitant in ruling whether a ball had been trapped or caught on the fly in a Cougars loss to rival Utah.
"I have a real problem when an umpire doesn't do one of the basics," Law told the Salt Lake Deseret News. "There has to be some kind of indication. When I don't know what the call is, I have to assume the worst."
That's not exactly Earl Weaver kick-dirt-on-the-pants stuff, but it still got Law on the MWC's hit list.
Earlier this week, Colorado State volleyball coach Tom Hilbert received a tongue-lashing for questioning whether adding TCU to the MWC membership beginning this football season was prudent.
Hilbert told the Fort Collins Coloradoan that adding the Horned Frogs as the MWC's ninth team would wreak havoc with scheduling and result in more travel and additional expense.
"I think that's an irresponsible decision on the part of the conference," Hilbert said. "You're increasing cost, and it's going to increase class days missed."
The MWC didn't appreciate the logic, but at least give Hilbert credit for finding a way to get a volleyball coach's name in the paper.
At first glance it might appear that Craig Thompson should just starting wearing a monocle and change his title from commissioner to commandant, especially after tersely worded news releases that state the MWC "will have no further comment" regarding these cases.
But it turns out that Thompson is just carrying out orders from his superiors -- the MWC Joint Council.
During its annual meeting last summer, the Joint Council, comprised of the athletic director, senior women's administrator and faculty representative of each MWC school, recommended the conference make sportsmanship a priority.
"They encouraged us to be stronger," said MWC spokesman Javan Hadlund, confirming that reprimands, suspensions and other disiplinary actions are significantly up this year. "There have been more, but that's because the Joint Council wanted the conference to take stronger action.
"The league office only does what its membership wants it to do."
It should also be noted that the Mountain West isn't the only conference sanctioning coaches who question a referee's qualifications for calling traveling. Hadland said he believes the MWC's policies regarding sportsmanship are consistent with those of most major conferences.
And it's not as if a coach has to wire headquarters on a homemade transmitter disguised as a coffee pot, like LeBeau in Hogan's Heroes, to have his voice heard when it comes to such matters.
"The MWC is interested in hearing all points of view," Thompson said in a statement. "However, that input must take the proper form and follow the existing guidelines."
Those guidelines allow coaches to make their concerns/complaints known by telephone and/or by writing the league office. While I'm sure that's more effective in effecting change, I'm not sure it produces the same satisfaction as blowing off stream to reporters after the final whistle.
All I know is under the current guidelines, it's a good thing outspoken Billy Tubbs is no longer the TCU basketball coach, what with the Horned Frogs getting ready to join the MWC's disgruntled family.
He probably wouldn't have made it out of media day before being suspended.
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