Thursday, Dec. 9, 1999 | 1:21 a.m.
Ron Kantowski's notes column appears Tuesday and Thursday. Reach him at [email protected] or 259-4088.
Alot of jocks talk about "giving something back" to their sport, perhaps because they feel guilty taking so much from it in the first place. And even then, they are usually compensated. Even an autograph comes with a price these days.
That's why what Drew Bledsoe and Peyton Manning did recently to benefit a former UNLV assistant football coach is so noteworthy.
Bledsoe and Manning committed their time to help create a video for the NFL Coaches Association, a fledgling organization headed by Larry Kennan, a former Patriots assistant who was Ron Meyer's offensive coordinator with the Rebels during the mid-1970s.
Actually, NFL Assistant Coaches Association would be a better name for the group. It was established to ensure that NFL assistants, who have virtually no say in their futures (and don't make major bucks to begin with), will receive a little something in addition to a handshake when the head man goes 3-13 and they are told to follow him out the door.
"I appreciate all the extra time my coaches have put in to help guys like me have success," Bledsoe told the Boston Globe. "They really are at the low end of the food chain when it comes to benefits, so it was nice to help them in a small way. They put in unbelievable hours and then their success is determined by a bunch of guys on the field when a lot of things are out of their control."
Bledsoe empathized with Kennan when the latter was blamed for the Pats' lack of success a couple of years ago. "Larry is a guy I always liked and respected ... I told him I'd support him if he ever needed some help," said the Patriot triggerman, who likewise isn't having the best of seasons.
Kennan said there's nothing wrong with the NFL's financial package for assistant coaches -- once they turn 65, that is. Of the 475 assistant coaches currently employed by the league, only five are eligible for the benefits.
Kennan told the Globe his goal is make the stipend available at an earlier age.
"Most guys lose their jobs in their middle 50s ... (and) it's pretty difficult at 55 or 58 to start a new career you're completely unprepared for," he said.
"It's age discrimination pure and simple. The fact is they (the NFL) have a great benefit for us but noboby gets it."
* HE'S A HOMEY: A tip of the hat -- or in his case, the batting helmet he prefers over a cap -- to John Olerud. Baseball's Big O this week turned down a better offer from the New York Mets to sign with his hometown Seattle Mariners.
Based on the way he treated this reporter when Olerud came to Las Vegas with the Blue Jays a few years back when the Oakland A's opened the regular season here, that doesn't come as a surprise.
When I asked Olerud if he had a minute to talk about the temptation of swinging for the fences at hitter-friendly Cashman Field, he said I could have all the time I needed, and offered me a seat in the Jays' dugout.
Classic swing, classy guy.
* PLAY MISTY FOR 3: As good as Misty Thomas was during her Lady Rebels basketball career, she would not have had another 1,000 points, as her coach Jim Bolla was quoted in the morning paper this week, had the 3-point line been in effect when she played.
Thomas had 810 career field goals at UNLV. While math was one of my worst subjects, even if every one of her baskets came from beyond the arc, Thomas would have only an additional 810 points.
The point that Bolla probably was trying to make is that Thomas was a heck of a shooter. Anybody who saw her play will agree to that.
* MARGIN FOR ERROR: Earlier this week, the morning newspaper did a nice feature on UNLV football booster extraordinaire and local restaurateur Tom Wiesner, chronicling all the wonderful things he has done (no argument here) to merit inclusion into the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame next June.
But two days earlier, Wiesner was left off the morning paper's list of most influential local sports figures of the century. That list ran 47 deep, yet Wiesner didn't receive a single vote. In fact, the panel comprised only of R-J sportswriters voted three of their own ahead of Wiesner.
That's why compiling lists is so risky. Somebody invariably gets left off.
* WHO WANTS TO BE A GUEST SPEAKER? Several years ago, then Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz served as guest speaker at UNLV's football banquet. I thought that was weird, kind of like having Joe Torre hand out the trophies at the Chicago Cubs' awards dinner.
But it also prompts the question who utters the words of wisdom after the chicken is served at the Notre Dame banquet?
This year, it was none other than Regis Philbin. Talk about weird.
Rege didn't ask the Notre Dame players "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" But he might have opened his remarks with "Who wants to go to the Micron PC Bowl?"
With its 5-7 record, Notre Dame wasn't eligible for any bowl this season.
* CLEAN SLATE: Popular radio talk show host Jim Rome told his audience that he and former UNLV basketball stalwart Shawn Marion are all even as of Rome's Wednesday show.
Rome, who said he felt bad (and seemed sincere) after Marion and he engaged in an interview this past summer that -- no other word to describe it -- embarrassed the ex-Rebel, had declared a moratorium on Marion bashing.
He stood by it, too. Rome totally ignored Marion dribbling the wrong way and nearly dunking in the wrong basket during an NBA game last week until one of his "clones" (callers) mentioned the faux pas Wednesday.
Rome said that was his way of making things right with Marion.
He said the Suns forward is now fair game for criticism, but added that Marion can really "ball." In other words, he got game -- er, can play basketball really well.
* BROKEN BONEY: It probably was nothing more than a poor choice of words. During an interview on the "Clubhouse" local radio talk show this week, former UNLV basketball star Dexter Boney said any player who signs a contract with the International Basketball League is "stuck" in the fledgling league for the entire season.
That makes the IBL sound more like a sentence than an opportunity, but what Boney says is true. NBA teams must pay their IBL counterparts a hefty $50,000 fee for plucking players during the middle of the season, which means NBA clubs will almost certainly turn to the IBL rival CBA for short-time help.
* ALABAMA PANACEA: Winning fixes most everything at the Division I level -- and at Alabama, that apparently includes alleged misconduct between a head football coach and a female employee.
Earlier this season, Mike DuBose was on the verge of unseating Latrell Sprewell as Alabama's most notorious sports figure. Dubose's winning percentage wasn't washing with Tide faithful and when the details of his relationship with an athletic department employee became public, his contract was shortened by two years.
But now that Alabama is 10-2 and headed for an Orange Bowl date with Michigan, the two years have been tacked back onto his contract -- despite the fact he is no less guilty when it comes to the female employee.
It would appear those crooked Southern judges as they are portrayed in the movies are taking their cue from the athletic directors down there.
* (NOT SO) HE-MEN: Some of the cowboys competing at the National Finals Rodeo here this week are starting to resemble race car drivers or hockey goalies. That they are now sporting sponsor patches on their Wranglers is a sign of the times and that many have taken to wearing flak jackets and other protective gear indicates that discretion is finally riding side-by-side with valor.
That said, I'll bet there are some old and grizzled Skoal Brothers still limping around who would be appalled by these recent developments.
* AROUND THE HORN: A couple of items involving local athletes that you (and we) most likely missed in the fine print earlier this week: Former Basic standout Chris Latham, an outfielder with the Twins, was traded by Minnesota to Colorado for somebody you never heard of (pitcher Scott Randall). And linebacker Ron Merkerson, formerly of Clark High, was released from the New England Patriots' practice squad. Merkerson's father, Alton, trains boxing superstar Roy Jones. ... The residual effect of the U.S. Women's Soccer Team World Cup victory still is being felt. A huge crowd of 14,410 watched North Carolina beat Notre Dame 2-0 for the NCAA title last Sunday at the remote neutral site of San Jose, Calif. ... Mike Tyson might be a weasel, but the news outlets who are making such a big deal out of a pet succumbing on his property should first ferret out some det ails before siccing Marlon Perkins on him.
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