THE ELEVATOR

Wednesday, June 27, 2007 | 7:23 a.m.

Who's headed toward the penthouse on the local sports scene - and who's getting the shaft.

GOING UP

Ricky Hatton

On the list of all good things English, I'd put the affable 140-pound boxer right up there with muffins and Leather. But can he beat Floyd Mayweather Jr.? Nope. Will it be fun to watch him try? Absolutely. Forget a percentage of the pay-per-view. Mayweather should just demand a nickel for every pint of beer drawn in Manchester during Hatton's training camp.

Under - 12 Neusport FC 95 Green

No, that's not the working title to the "Soylent Green" sequel but the name of Nevada's first girls' U.S. Youth Soccer Region IV championship team. Under-12 Neusport FC 95 Green - pity the guy who had to fill out the bracket - moves on to the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships from July 24 to 29 at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas .

Josh Fisher

The Wranglers' director of media relations and broadcasting has received the ECHL's American Conference Media Relations Award for the 2006-07 season. Before coming to Las Vegas, Fisher was the play-by-play voice for the ECHL's Lexington Men O' War in 2003. That year he came up short by a nose.

Herk-a-lees! Herk-a-lees! Herk-a-lees!

That's how Eddie Murphy's mom in "The Nutty Professor" might have reacted when Las Vegas native Herculez Gomez was selected to play for the U.S. National Soccer Team in the 42nd Copa America, South America's most prominent international tournament, in Venezuela. "That's a big stage," the Colorado Rapids' forward told the Sun's Rob Miech.

GOING DOWN

Jose Luis Castillo

Remember Lee Harvey Oswald's grimace when Jack Ruby shoved a gun in his ribs? That's sort of what Castillo looked like after Ricky Hatton landed that wicked body shot Saturday night. To use an analogy to which Castillo, being from Mexico, could relate, Hatton's left hook was more breathtaking than Salma Hayek in a two-piece bathing suit.

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