The Elevator: Ichiro rolls in, Busch can’t get started

By Ron Kantowski

Saturday, April 4, 2009 | 2 a.m.

Who’s going to the penthouse in local sports and who’s getting the shaft.

GOING UP

Eyes on Ichiro: Las Vegas 51s officials are expecting a crowd of about 6,000 for the second installment of Big League Weekend, which isn’t bad considering the Seattle Mariners will be playing the Colorado Rockies — and not the standing-room-only Cubs — this afternoon. So if you plan to keep score, make sure you bring a fine-point pen or you’ll never fit “Tulowitzki” in the little box.

Nielsen’s ratings: The former UNLV All-American outfielder was named to the Mountain West Conference’s 10th anniversary baseball team this week, the only Rebel on the 13-man honor squad. A Silverado High product, Eric Nielsen batted .356, .365 and .402 in his three UNLV seasons before becoming a 12th-round pick of the Toronto Blue Jays.

GOING DOWN

Nielsen’s ratings: After hitting .268 in 78 games for the Blue Jays’ Double-A affiliate in New Hampshire and only .190 in 19 games at Triple-A Syracuse, Nielsen’s big league aspirations have been preempted. He is expected to begin the season back in New Hampshire instead of with his hometown Las Vegas 51s.

Burning Busch: A week after referring to his pit crew as “ladies” and instructing it to “man up” after making a mistake that cost him a victory in a Nationwide Series race, Las Vegas lead foot Kyle Busch was penalized for a “commitment line” violation that cost him second place in a NASCAR truck series race in Virginia. But no one in his crew called him a lady or told him to man up (at least not to his face).

Playoff hockey: OK, qualifying for the playoffs, which the Las Vegas Wranglers did this week, is still a good thing. But when eight of nine teams in the conference make the postseason, it’s really not that tough.

Argentina futbol: Maybe Argentina’s all-time worst defeat in World Cup qualifying, 6-1 to the Bolivians at high altitude, isn’t exactly a local story. But take my word for it: Somewhere in Las Vegas there is a former left back or central midfielder from Buenos Aires or Rosario who is corner kicking himself over this development.