THE OPENING LINE

Monday, Nov. 19, 2007 | 7:07 a.m.

A week ago, when he was searching his files for a shot of UNLV football player Beau Bell for use with a story on the Rebels' linebacker extraordinaire, Mark Damon, the Sun's (relatively) new photo editor, wanted to know what jersey number he wore.

"No. 2," he was told.

A couple of days ago, he asked the same thing about Emmanuel Adeife, who was recently kicked off the Rebel basketball team.

"No. 2," he was told again.

"Does everybody at UNLV wear No. 2?" Damon asked, a rhetorical question that would make a pretty good title for a Chicago song.

Furthermore, does anybody really care?

No, but as I was walking down the street one day, it occurred to me that a lot of marquee talent at UNLV has worn jersey No. 2.

Kevin Kruger, the catalyst of the basketball team's drive to the Sweet 16 last year, wore No. 2.

Jason Thomas, the quarterback who led UNLV to a stunning victory over Arkansas in the Las Vegas Bowl, wore No. 2.

Once upon a time, Jerry Tarkanian, the legendary former basketball coach, wore No. 2. That's the number they hoisted to the rafters of the Thomas & Mack Center in his honor, before they took it down and gave it to Kruger last season.

Quincy Sanders, the defensive back who threw his football helmet at Nevada-Reno football coach Chris Ault, touching off a postgame brawl, wore No. 2.

And two of the guys who washed my car at Terrible Herbst the other day wore No. 2, because that's the number Thomas and Bell wore and wear, and the one UNLV puts on most of its replica football jerseys.

Actually, Bell has worn No. 2 only during the final two years of his UNLV career. The first two, he wore No. 47.

"He thought No. 2 made him look faster," said Mark Wallington of the UNLV sports information office.

Wallington said there's no good reason why so many prominent Rebels have worn No. 2, no nod to tradition or circumstance or the Avis car rental agency.

"Strictly coincidence," he said. "You sure don't want to play like No. 2."

Although it sure beats playing like No. 117 during football season.

THIS WEEK'S BEST BET

Louisville at UNLV, 6 p.m. Wednesday, Thomas & Mack Center.

You knew that leaving Joanne Pitino stranded on the curb at McCarran Airport was going to come back to haunt the Rebels at some point.

TICKETS: $16, $34

ON THE WEB: www.unlvtickets.com

ALSO WORTH A LOOK

Findlay Toyota Las Vegas Invitational, Friday-Saturday, Orleans Arena

Top-rated North Carolina and Louisville are this year's hoopfest headliners. BYU could make some noise. Old Dominion, Hartford, Iona, Jackson State and South Carolina State most likely will remain silent.

TICKETS: $94-up (two-day packages only)

ON THE WEB: www.orleansarena.com