Columnist Ron Kantowski: Out-of-towners rescue MWC tournament

Ron Kantowski's notes column appears Tuesday. Reach him at ron@ lasvegassun.com or 259-4088.

Any concerns Mountain West Conference officials had about their postseason basketball tournament being a success in Las Vegas without the presence of the hometown Rebels were alleviated by 3 p.m. Friday at Moose McGillycuddy's, a popular watering hole situated a 3-point jump shot away from the UNLV campus on Maryland Parkway.

It was three hours before tipoff, and Wyoming fans already had taken over the bar. So many glasses were hoisted to the tune of "Cowboy Joe," Wyoming's rousing fight song, that I had memorized the words by 4:45.

Thousands of enthusiastic Cowboy fans -- and almost as many representing New Mexico, Utah and Brigham Young -- turned this year's tourney into the biggest one yet. The four men's sessions averaged more than 10,000 per game, with Friday's semifinals topping 14,000 and Saturday's title game between BYU and upstart New Mexico attracting 13,000 and change.

Leave it to the out-of-towners to show the fickle UNLV faithful what being a college basketball fan is all about. Larry Johnson could be going 1-on-1 with Stacey Augmon down at Sunset Park and the majority of Rebel fans wouldn't get off their living room sofas to watch.

UNLV's home court advantage aside, MWC commissioner Craig Thompson should take Denver's multi-year offer to host the event and politely slam dunk it into the nearest trash receptacle.

Upon further review, this is where the tourney belongs. And this is where it should stay when the current contract between the MWC and Las Vegas expires after next year's event.

FLUTIE IN THE HOUSE: Wyoming may have had the most zealous fans in the house this past weekend, but New Mexico had the most famous one.

At 5-foot-9, Doug Flutie was blending into the big crowd nicely until he motioned Swoop, Utah's featherly mascot on stilts, to go deep during a halftime routine. Flutie rifled a football pass from halfway up the lower deck into the Big Bird's breadbasket.

The veteran NFL quarterback, who had signed a new contract with the San Diego Chargers earlier on Friday, was wearing a Lobos cap and golf shirt. He was back for Saturday's championship wearing similar gear.

According to the New Mexico sports information department, Flutie tries to catch the Lobos at least once a year -- often here. His cousin, Jack Harney, is a former UNM associate athletic director.

CONFERENCE USA? -- OH MY! One more sign that I'm getting as old as Indiana's retro red-and-white striped warm-up pants: Hall-of-fame announcer Dick Enberg drew the short straw for Saturday's Conference USA championship game between Cincinnati and Charlotte.

No offense to the Bearcats or 49ers, but it used to be Enberg wouldn't set foot in the arena unless Duke, North Carolina or UCLA was playing.

* AROUND THE HORN: According to insiders, Wyoming coach Steve McClain is politicking behind the scenes to have his name included in the UNLV basketball coaching derby. If I were McClain, who returns virtually his entire team next season, I'd wait a season and then bypass an intermediate stop like UNLV altogether. ... I haven't seen a player take over a game in the manner BYU's Mekeli Wesley (30 pts., 11-of-12 from the floor) did against New Mexico in Saturday night's Mountain West championship game since Bill Walton sank 21 of 22 against Memphis State in the 1973 NCAA title game. ... One more reason college basketball has it all over the NBA: making friends with fans from other schools on the concourse between games at tournament sites. ... Coolest thing I saw at the MWC tourney: San Diego State's Marcelo Correa, making a special effort after SDSU's season -ending loss to Wyoming to slap palms with the two solitary Aztecs fans who made the trip from San Diego. ...

And finally ... did anybody catch that dated photo of former UNLV/Las Vegas Posse coach Ron Meyer that the morning newspaper ran before the Chicago-Las Vegas XFL game? With that turtleneck sweater and shaggy mod hairdo, it made Meyer look like an extra for the next Austin Powers movie.

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