The Elevator

By Ron Kantowski

Saturday, April 19, 2008 | 2 a.m.

Who’s headed toward the penthouse on the local sports scene — and who’s getting the shaft.

Going Up

Ashley Gayle

John Philip Sousa loved a parade and the Texas women’s basketball team loves a Parade All-American. It has hooked another one in Bishop Gorman’s Ashley Gayle, a 6-foot-4 center who this week was named to the Parade All-America high school girls fourth team. Gayle’s nickname, “Big Bird,” has nothing to do with her wing span. That’s what her teammates started calling her when they learned she was afraid of pigeons.

Sequoia Holmes

The former UNLV and Mojave High basketball standout has signed a free-agent (read: tryout) contract with the WNBA’s Houston Comets. I hope for her sake that’s not the team Bill Laimbeer coaches.

Chloe Nelson

The Silverado High product’s 76.67 average — the second-best in school history — has helped the Eastern Washington women’s golf team post a 27-3 record this year. Eastern Washington plays in the Big Sky Conference and is nicknamed the Eagles. But I’ll bet if you ask, Nelson will settle for birdies in next week’s conference championships in Phoenix.

Going Down

Parade Magazine

If Ashley Gayle wants to see her name on the Parade All-America team she’s going to have to download it instead of read it in Sunday’s paper. Only the first three teams are listed in the magazine. The fourth team is listed on Parade.com. The NutriSystem ad, with the “before” picture of Tony Orlando — “Singing legend lost 103 lbs!” — appears in full.

The Mtn.

Let’s see, on the same day that 23-strikeouts-in-one-game kid from San Diego State was scheduled to pitch against the UNLV baseball team, the Mountain West TV network showed Colorado State vs. UNLV in softball. Both games of the doubleheader. Remember when Bruce Springsteen broke away from the E Street Band and wrote a song called “57 Channels (And Nothin’ On)”? Well, he might have missed one.

Championship ring job

Some guy is asking $5,500 on eBay for a “200-percent authentic” 1990 UNLV national championship ring. Unless the Rebels had a guy coming off the bench I forgot named “Ymar” — that’s the name Photoshopped on the picture — I’m 200 percent positive the ring’s original owner didn’t play against Duke.