Print edition for January 26, 2007

LOOKING IN ON:UNLV GOLF: By Brian Hilderbrand; Should the UNLV men's golf team be fortunate enough to advance to the NCAA West Regional in May, head coach Dwaine Knight will have done everything in his power to make sure his team is prepared.

Letter: A plan to provide health care for everyone: It's time to eliminate the hodgepodge of special interest health plans and options. Just think about all of the overhead involved, ranging from IRS tax subsidies to Medicare, Medicaid, the VA, military families, health savings accounts, private insurers, COBRA, state plans, local government plans, charities, etc. - a whole lot of administrative jobs that are of little benefit to the general public. This current approach is simply a bad implementation of the trickle-down theory.

Letter: Attorney general's silence speaks loudly: The first paragraph is very scary. He writes: "There's something happening here, and what it is seems completely clear: The Bush administration is trying to protect itself by purging independent prosecutors."

Ron Kantowski catches up with Fred Dallimore, who coached the Rebels for 23 years before retiring to the river: By Ron Kantowski; Literally watch the river flow.

Jeff Haney on this year's Super Bowl betting orgy, which includes an opening point spread of the 'key number' 7: When oddsmakers posted the point spread on Super Bowl XLI shortly after the Indianapolis Colts sealed their victory in the AFC title game Sunday night, it looked as if the betting line on the big game would settle on a nice round football number.

Jon Ralston is astonished and appalled at our new governor's ineptitude on display since his State of the State address: I know I was defying history and a mountain of evidence when I suggested Gov. Jim Gibbons be given the benefit of the doubt before his State of the State speech. But when I said he deserved a chance and set a fairly low bar, I never thought he would manage to get under it.

Editorial: How does this make sense?: After dropping a bombshell on state educators in his State of the State address on Monday by calling for $60 million for 100 "empowerment" schools, he and his staff inexcusably could not provide specifics to questions about his plan.

Letter: Bush's plan to win in Iraq is unrealistic: The man is still dealing in fantasies. Unfortunately, the mess in the Middle East should have never involved the United States. Did anyone ask for our assistance? I don't remember hearing anything about this.

John Katsilometes takes in a news conference for Miss America, which is totally different than Miss USA: By John Katsilometes; The Miss America president and chief executive also said the pageant is pleased with its relationship with cable outfit CMT, which took over as the pageant's TV home after Miss America and ABC parted ways after the 2005 pageant. As CMT Executive Producer Sarah Brock noted, 35 million viewers watched last year's pageant.

FLASHPOINT for Jan 26, 2007: He talks fast, has a ton of questions and occasionally talks over his guests. No, not yours truly. I am referring to Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC's "Hardball," which is taping in Las Vegas this week. Sen. Harry Reid and your friendly Flashpointer were quizzed by Matthews on Thursday about the Nevada presidential caucus and the state's strong union presence. Today, Gov. Jim Gibbons and Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman are scheduled to be on the program, which airs at 2 p.m., 4 p.m. and midnight here. Now those two interviews should be worth watching with the always-uncomfortable governor and ...

Editorial: Setting birth control standards: The Associated Press reported Tuesday the FDA has noted that the birth control pills of the 1960s allowed less than one pregnancy in 100 women who took the pill for a year, while some of the newer drugs allow two pregnancies - or more - per 100 women in a year's time. One reason may be that drug companies have lowered the dosages of hormones that prevent pregnancies.

'Real ID' program will increase wait time at DMV: CARSON CITY - Rep. Jim Gibbons cast a vote that is going to haunt Gov. Jim Gibbons to the tune of $30 million for a new anti-terrorism program that will make it more difficult to get or renew driver's licenses.

Granny's golf cart grounded: By Mike Trask; Sheila Fava plans to take on City Hall - at 8 mph.

Police probe puts some UMC contracts at risk: Clark County commissioners are expected to be asked to consider canceling several University Medical Center contracts targeted by a police investigation.

Nevada's goal for health sciences: Unity: By Christina Littlefield; By trying to create a statewide health science system, Nevada's universities and colleges are going against the grain.

Editorial: What's this about coal?: Instead, he applauded past legislative initiatives to provide incentives for renewable industries in our state but offered nothing that would build on them.