Rebels chosen to finish 2nd in Mountain Division

Given the "Who cares?" attitude that seems to be prevalent throughout the Western Athletic Conference, the news Utah was picked to win the conference title and UNLV was tabbed second to Texas Christian in the Mountain Division brought a predictable response.

"I don't know and I don't care," Rebels coach Bill Bayno said when told of his team's second-place prediction from WAC media. "I wish they would have picked us last."

Utah's Rick Majerus was nearly just as indifferent.

"I don't agree with it," he said of the accolades given the Utes, who went all the way to the national championship game last March. "We're not the team we've been. We're going to start freshmen and jucos."

Utah received 228 points and 23 first-place votes to top the Pacific Division. New Mexico was next with 208 points and five first-place votes, followed by Fresno State with 174.

TCU and UNLV virtually were neck-and-neck with the Horned Frogs receiving 211 points and 14 first-place votes to the Rebels' 209 points and 13 firsts. Tulsa was next at 170.

Fresno State's Jerry Tarkanian said Tulsa is being taken too lightly by the media.

"I think Tulsa's going to have a tremendous ballclub," he said. "You guys didn't vote them high enough."

Lost in Vegas

Tarkanian no longer lives in Las Vegas full time, and it shows. He had no idea the McCarran International Airport expansion had taken place, and when his flight from Fresno Tuesday landed at the new D Gates, he was confused.

"I had no idea where I was," he said. "I thought we landed in the wrong place. I had my car parked in valet and it took me forever to get there. I thought I was on a two-day road trip."

When told the D Gates have been operational since June, Tarkanian said, "Really? There's always something new here."

While lost at McCarran, Tarkanian ran into one of his former players, Larry Anderson, who works in the D terminal. Anderson pointed him in the right direction.

Bitter? Who's bitter?

One of the hot topics this week is the breakup of the WAC. When asked for his thoughts, Hawaii's Riley Wallace said: "Happy days are here again. You can have all that thin air, snow and cold weather you want."

And when he was asked about losing some of the rivalries the Rainbows had built over the years, Wallace said, "We'll develop new rivalries. I can learn to hate Billy (Tubbs of TCU) as much as I hate BYU."

Down to two

The search for a commissioner for the league encompassing the eight breakaway WAC schools is down to two -- Sun Belt commissioner Craig Thompson and Alabama sports marketing head Wyatt Waters.

Keith Tribble, the former UNLV associate athletic director who was a third finalist, withdrew his name from consideration.

Both candidates interviewed last Sunday at Denver International Airport. A decision could come by early next week.

As for the name for the new league, there isn't unanimous support for the "Mountain West Conference." San Diego State is not in favor of it and there's a chance the presidents may decide to go back to the drawing board, rather than accept a name not everyone is comfortable with.

* FOR GUINN: Utah coach Rick Majerus doesn't live in Nevada, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have an opinion on the upcoming gubernatorial election. Majerus was sporting a Kenny Guinn button on his shirt during Wednesday's media day. Majerus said he's a big fan of the former UNLV interim president and Republican candidate who is running against Las Vegas mayor Jan Jones. "I like what he stands for and the kind of guy he is," Majerus said. "I also sent him a check, so I'm putting my money where my mouth is." Majerus wouldn't say how much he contributed to Guinn's campaign.

* WOMEN'S POLL: The way the WAC's women's coaches see it, Colorado State and Hawaii are the teams to beat. CSU garnered 120 points to top the Mountain Division and Hawaii 115 to lead the Pacific in the coaches' poll released Wednesday. UNLV is picked seventh in the Mountain with 47 points, ahead of only Air Force. The Rams are tabbed to win the championship, getting 13 of the 16 votes.

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