The Elevator: College GameDay edition

By Ron Kantowski (contact)

Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009 | 2 a.m.

GOING UP

Decent exposure

“I think ‘College GameDay,’ to pay us the compliment of coming to Provo, Utah, to be part of that game is a big deal,” said Gary Patterson, whose TCU team today will battle BYU after Lee Corso dons either a toad head or a cougar head on the popular pregame show that, unlike The Mtn., is seen in about a bazillion homes. “A lot of times we don’t get a chance to be a part of that because our (TV) package is not with ESPN.” No Kool-Aid for him.

Puck-a-roo banzai

While the crowds at last week’s PGA golf tournament at TPC Summerlin and the UNLV vs. Utah homecoming football game were pretty lame according to observers (at least half of the 26,315 on hand at Sam Boyd Stadium reportedly were with the Utes), the turnout for the Wranglers’ hockey home opener against Ontario was a more-than-respectable 6,383 — way more than the break-even mark for any ECHL franchise. And no, Mini Gene Simmons was not credited with an assist on the Wranglers’ first goal.

You can call him Al

And a boxing Hall of Famer, too. Congrats to longtime Las Vegan and fight commentator Al Bernstein, who will be inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in Los Angeles tonight. If there are two things I’ll always remember about 1980, they were Debbie Harry singing about hearts of glass and Al Bernstein telling Sal Marchiano he has Freddie Roach ahead on points during the fledgling days of ESPN. Oh yeah, and rodeo from Mesquite, Texas.

Merlin Olsen’s Big Shoe

Eldorado beat Chaparral 33-7 in the annual “Cleat Game,” the granddaddy of all the cleat games. The Cleat is a bronzed football shoe once worn by Merlin Olsen, the famous flower pitchman and Los Angeles Rams Hall of Fame defensive tackle. In a related note, Andy Granatelli Vocational edged St. Rita Moreno 21-17 in the annual Deacon Jones Mouthpiece game.

Lotta bull

The Pro Bull Riders tour has announced the finalists for 2009 bucking bull of the year. The nominees include Apollo, Big Tex, Black Pearl, Bones, Chicken on a Chain, Code Blue, Crosswired, I’m A Gangster (aka Uncle Buck), Major Payne, Troubadour, Voodoo Child and Will Perdue. Actually, Will Perdue was only my write-in candidate, although I do recall watching Oliver Miller of the Phoenix Suns ride him for eight seconds during the 1992-93 NBA Finals.

GOING DOWN

Todd Christensen’s hair

If I had as much hair as the former BYU and Oakland Raiders tight end, and current football analyst for The Mtn., I would not cultivate a hairstyle that calls to mind the Pro Bowlers Tour. When I started my DVR after the UNLV-Utah game I thought I had recorded the 1983 Firestone Tournament of Champions on ESPN Classic by mistake.