Jack Sheehan tells how he and the youngsters in his charge were entertained at a basketball game in the Thomas & Mack that exceeded his expectations

Sunday, Aug. 5, 2007 | 1:16 a.m.

We were about three weeks into our 110-degree, no-wind, no-rain, asphalt-smoking, dashboard-scorching July purgatory when I slithered out of my home office and drove my kids and my Florida-based nephew, Dusty, over to the Thomas & Mack Center.

The occasion was a full-on scrimmage between contending members of the U.S. Olympic basketball team, and for once I had wisely acquired my tickets the first day they became available , more than a month before. We weren't front row, but we weren't in Bob Uecker's seats either. From our center-court location we were close enough to spit and hit the court, and all three kids let me know I'd done good.

We don't go to shows on the Strip much anymore - not because I don't appreciate the entertainment, but because we like to keep the troops at close quarters, and my youngsters are at least a decade away from comprehending the message of Zumanity (or even the more tasteful nudity presented in shows like La Femme ). Bare butts on billboards we can live with; boobs are going to have to wait.

Being it's the off-season for basketball, I figured the hoop contest would offer some high-flying dunks, but also a lot of off-season sloppy passing and matador defense, where players raise the cape and let the ball handler through without much resistance. But hey, Kobe was there and so was LeBron, playing on opposing sides, and unlike during the NBA All-Star Game fiasco last winter which raised the hackles of Strip executives, I didn't figure I'd need a sidearm for protection even though I had three kids under 13 on my watch.

This crowd was, after all, not a group of off-duty NFL thugs or big-city rappers and homeboys hoping to enhance their street cred, but a local crowd consisting mainly of UNLV Rebel s fans.

Thus when the injured but supportive former Rebel star Shawn Marion, who is a proud member of the U.S. team, was introduced before the game, the crowd went bananas. Conversely, a chorus of boos erupted when head coach Mike Krzyzewski from Duke was introduced. UNLV fans have long memories, dating to the 1991 season when a Blue Devils team under Coach K upset the heavily favored Rebels in the Final Four.

Editorials appeared in newspapers across the country after that game, suggesting that the predominantly white Dukies, with their impressive SAT scores, had nobly staved off the inner-city-bred and less disciplined Rebels team and thereby restored some integrity to college basketball. (It was almost forgotten that UNLV had thrashed Duke by 30 points in the championship game the year before.)

The racial undertones of much of the commentary after that '91 game didn't play well with the Vegas faithful, or anyone for that matter who felt that decades after Adolph Rupp's all-white Kentucky team was upset for the college championship by an all-black starting five from Texas Western, there was no need to emphasize the color of players on a basketball court. There was no question that 16 years after that Duke-UNLV game, the hooting that went up at Krzyzewski's introduction reflected some of the bitterness that still lingers from that memory.

As we took our seats, I noticed two familiar faces seated in the row behind us. They were none other than Sonny Charles and Sweet Louie, the heart and soul of that legendary Las Vegas lounge act The Checkmates. Ask anyone who was around here in the ' 60s and ' 70s, and they'll tell you there were no more popular after-hours rockers than those guys. Members of the Rat Pack would regularly convene at 2 and 3 in the morning at whichever Strip lounge the 'Mates were playing.

The first time I visited Las Vegas, in 1973, I caught their act at the Flamingo lounge. That night Liza Minelli and her posse were at the table next to ours, and the sight of the Oscar-winning star of "Cabaret" dancing on her table with everyone else in the room on their feet rockin' to the music was one of the images that stuck in my mind and inspired me to move here two years later.

I was glad to hear from Sweet Louie and Sonny that they're both in good health and still performing whenever their hearts desire. They have some upcoming gigs in Laughlin and are going to rock the boat on some cruise ships in the fall.

My 8-year-old, Lily, was extremely excited when she spotted Lil' Romeo seated close by. She had to explain to her ancient old man who he was, but it quickly became obvious from the stream of autograph seekers that found their way to him that Mr. Romeo is a pretty big deal. I discovered from subsequent research that in addition to being a talented actor and rapper, Romeo was a highly recruited point guard who signed to play his freshman year for USC this fall. It was refreshing to read about a young celebrity who spends his off-hours in a gym rather than in nightclubs.

One of the highlights of the game was the performance of 18-year-old Kevin Durant, the college player of the year from Texas who recently signed with the Seattle Super Sonics and had a Brinks truck full of cash dumped at his doorstep. With his smooth movement, his ability to find the open man and pure outside shooting touch, Durant reminded me of a young Julius Erving. He scored 22 points, had a handful of assists and rebounds, and electrified the crowd with a couple of thunder dunks.

I've read that some Texas Longhorns fans are upset that Durant "used" their school for his one year there to showcase his talents for the NBA. Well, if that's the case, good for Kevin. Major university athletic programs have been "using" undercompensated college players for years to fill their coffers with TV revenues. So touche.

I was most intrigued with the matchup between Kobe and LeBron, which had significance far beyond the game at hand. It was as though Kobe felt the need to prove that he was still The Man, and when he hit the winning bucket over the guard of LeBron in the closing seconds, and forced his younger rival to take an off-balance shot at the buzzer, it was clear that Bryant - at least for another day - was still the Alpha Dog of his sport.

It's necessary to pay close attention, and pick your spots carefully, but there are still dozens of ways to survive our summer inferno in Las Vegas and keep a spring in your step. And the kids and I had found a perfect one on a lazy July afternoon.