Tuesday, Aug. 31, 1999 | 11:06 a.m.
Ron Kantowski's notes column appears Tuesday and Thursday. Reach him at [email protected] or 259-4088.
If you walk into the public relations department at the Hard Rock hotel-casino this week, don't be surprised if the receptionist bears a resemblance to TV fright meister Rod Serling.
Because the last couple of weeks over at the Rock have been an abject public-relations nightmare.
First there was the bogus 3-on-3 celebrity basketball tournament in which Arnold Schwarzenegger and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were supposed to share top billing. They didn't show, and fans who paid $25 per ticket had to settle for Kurt Rambis and assorted Baldwin brothers.
Then, hundreds of extra tickets were printed for a Tom Petty concert, turning The Joint into the biggest fire hazard since Claude Griswold put up his holiday lights in "Christmas Vacation."
On Saturday, when it made its first foray into boxing, the Hard Rock only was guilty of hosting a lame fight between trash talkers David Reid and Keith Mullings.
But on Monday night, the hotel-casino was party to yet another faux paux. It made a fight featuring popular Las Vegas resident Wayne McCullough an undercard offering to a Blondie concert, then made both events "by invitation only."
That meant if you wanted to see Wayne or Debbie (Harry, the Blondie lead singer), you had to have a credential to the MAGIC apparel show.
Talk about a Heart of Glass. If the Hard Rock cares at all about its local constituency, it sure has a funny way of showing it.
Unfortunately, it only is perpetuating a practice begun by Mandalay Bay.
The general public never really had a chance to purchase tickets for the upcoming Felix Trinidad-Oscar De La Hoya showdown because host property Mandalay kept most of the tickets for itself and sold what was left to other Strip resorts.
And a Sun reader was distressed to discover that when the ticket window opened for the Sept. 11 Floyd Mayweather-Carlos Gerena bout, he couldn't purchase the ringside seats he wanted. Not only was he the first person in line, he was the only person in line. But again, Mandalay apparently withheld putting any of the premium seats on sale.
I'm not a lawyer, so legally I couldn't tell you if the Hard Rock and Mandalay Bay have any obligation to the general public. And I'm not a politician, so I don't know if they are leaving themselves open to future legislation.
All I know is that when it comes to fight tickets, what the Hard Rock and Mandalay Bay are doing ... well, it ain't right.
* WARREN'S PIECE: The Las Vegas Silver Bandits of the fledgling International Basketball League will be minus at least one former Rebel if/when its inaugural season gets under way, as Warren Rosegreen has decided to play for ... drumroll, please ... the Naray Bluebirds.
The Bluebirds are affiliated with Korea's professional basketball league and Rosegreen says he will make $80,000 playing hoops as a Seoul brother this year. That's twice as much as the Bandits' best offer.
And Rosegreen told the Sun that as much as he'd like to play professionally in Las Vegas, the Korean offer -- and league -- sounded much more legit.
* POLLING PLACE: I could almost live with letting the Bowl Championship Series determine college football's national champion -- provided it didn't start ranking the teams until October.
The Associated Press poll is the major criteria (33 percent) used to determined the complex BCS ratings. The trouble with that is the poll largely is based on last year.
Which means a team such as Purdue, ranked No. 22 to begin the season, virtually would have to go undefeated and hope for each of the teams ranked ahead of it to lose at least once. Just call the Boilers Purdon't, 'cuz they don't have a chance.
By waiting until October, when most teams have at least four games under their belts, the pollsters would have a better chance of getting the teams ranked in their proper places.
It would only enhance the BCS' credibility.
* CRASH AND BURNED UP: Saw a guy driving around town Monday in a balloon truck painted like Terry Labonte's Winston Cup stock car. All the decals were in their places but if he wanted it to look truly authentic, he should have painted a black smudge on the tailgate.
If NASCAR chief Mike Helton and Dale Earnhardt weren't such good fishing buddies, or had any other car other than the black No. 3 punted Labonte into the wall on the last lap at Bristol Saturday night, its driver would have been penalized. Journeyman Jerry Nadeau was earlier Saturday night, when he was docked two laps for smacking into points leader Dale Jarrett.
Earnhardt fans might argue their man has earned preferential treatment. Sort of like Greg Maddux getting a called strike for painting the black or Michael Jordan a pair of free throws any time somebody (other than Magic Johnson or Larry Bird) breathed on him.
But at least you couldn't hear their cheers over the boos that rained down on Earnhardt, normally a fan favorite, as he climbed out of his car following the race.
* AROUND THE HORN: Eighty percent of college athletes are subject to some sort of hazing, according to a study released by Alfred University. The other 20 percent go to Aunt Harriet State. On a serious note, while some hazing -- such as being made to sing your college fight song in front of the veterans, as per NFL training camp tradition -- is done in the name of fun, it often gets out of hand. The reason Alfred commissioned the study is that criminal charges were filed against several Alfred football players following a party in which freshman were tied together and forced to drink booze or water until they vomited. ... Two Cuban-born American cousins have formed the Hispanic Racing Team, designed to introduce Spanish-speaking fans and sponsors to NASCAR. The team will start slowly, fielding a Busch car for the Nov. 13 race at Homestead, Fla., with David Green as driver. No word whether he will be listed as "David Verde" on the official entry form. ... And finally, Japanese table tennis sensation Katsumi Asaba recently played a match in the Dead Sea. Not at it, in it. The legendary natural lake that is fed by the River Jordan rests at the lowest point on earth, and is so mineral rich that swimmers find it like a Shaquille O'Neal free throw -- impossible to sink.
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