Ron Kantowski

Sports Columnist

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Story Archive

The pros teach Driver’s Edge: Young people learn to address road dangers with guys named Andretti and Luyendyk; Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009; One of my New Year’s resolutions is to write more often about the positive side of sports. That partly explains this column about the Driver’s Edge course founded by Las Vegas resident Jeff Payne.
Without a playoff, what's the point?: Monday, Jan. 5, 2009; When I logged on to the official Mountain West Conference Web site Saturday morning there were a grand total of five paragraphs dedicated to Utah’s stunning 31-17 victory against mighty Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.
Oh, the memories: A look back at the people, places and things that made this columnist’s world of sports a little wider in 2008; Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008; I have a friend who insists there were at least a dozen movies made in the 1960s starring Elvis Presley as a race car driver named Rick.
Putting the Vegas in city’s bowl game: Group of local fans makes a tradition of attending a contest whose success depends mostly on out-of-town visitors; Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2008; Got milk? Or is that a Las Vegas Bowl mustache you’re sporting?
Low-tech sports toys memorable, laughable: Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2008; I am on the far side of 50 now, which means I am old enough to remember Burl Ives in the guise of a singing snowman and “The Andy Williams Special.” And old enough to get socks at Christmas — and appreciate the thought.
The Las Vegas Bowl from A to Z: About our classic, in which Arizona will play BYU and David Hasselhoff will sing the national anthem; Saturday, Dec. 20, 2008; Two things you can count on at this time of the year in Las Vegas are somebody ringing the bell for the Salvation Army outside of Albertsons and BYU coming to town for a football game.
A few gems buried in mountain of bowl games: Thursday, Dec. 18, 2008; Not even Hank Jr. is ready for this much football.
Nothing personal, just business: TCU finished ahead of BYU in the same conference and beat the Cougars by 25 points, but that's secondary when it comes to picking teams for bowl games; Thursday, Dec. 18, 2008; Tina Kunzer-Murphy, the hardest working woman in the bowl business, can relate to Oscar De La Hoya and Keanu Reeves. She says she has been getting “beaten up” since announcing the matchup for Las Vegas Bowl XVII.
Amid body slams, amor: World of Mexican wrestling is a tender one: Families bond, children cheer and performers return the love; Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2008; It was going on 45 minutes since his match had ended via disqualification and Rey Misterio was still signing autographs and posing for photographs at the east end of the Star of the Desert Arena in Primm late Saturday night.
The Elevator: Up and down the Vegas sports scene: Saturday, Dec. 13, 2008; Who’s headed toward the penthouse on the local sports scene — and who’s getting the shaft.
An extraordinary bond: Cowboys and horses share joy, pain of rodeo life; Saturday, Dec. 13, 2008; The bond between a man and his dog is so strong that Thomas Mann, the German Nobel laureate, wrote a novella about it.
Much ado about meetings: When big-league baseball writers, players, agents, managers and fans gather in December, there's plenty to talk about; Thursday, Dec. 11, 2008; While trying to make sense of the better part of a Tuesday spent at the Baseball Winter Meetings at the Bellagio, David Letterman’s voice kept popping into my head. “Is this anything, Paul?” I mean, it sure looks like something. But once upon a time, Sports Illustrated put Clint Hurdle on the cover — when he was playing baseball, not managing it. That looked like something, too.
Greg Maddux says goodbye with reticence and modesty: Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2008; And so it became official on Monday, which must have pained Greg Maddux -- first, because Monday is a day on which you can play golf; and second, because he hates talking about himself.
The Elevator: NFR edition: Saturday, Dec. 6, 2008; A special National Finals Rodeo version of who’s going to the penthouse in local sports — and who’s getting the shaft.
Nothing quite like buildup to a fight: Hype before a slugfest spurs an emotional excitement unmatched by other spectacles; Friday, Dec. 5, 2008; In the pantheon of sporting events that come with a buildup, nothing quite matches a boxing megafight. True, it’s not often the fight itself lives up to the weeks and months of hype that precede it.
For fans, it’s the most wonderful time of the year: Vegas sports world getting a whole lot wider during an incredible two weeks; Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2008; Las Vegas has had its share of big sports weeks over the years but it’s hard to remember a two-week period as busy as this one. This just may be the perfect storm.
The Elevator: Up and down the Vegas sports scene: Saturday, Nov. 29, 2008; Who’s headed toward the penthouse on the local sports scene — and who’s getting the shaft.
An item for every taste, all for good cause: Friday, Nov. 28, 2008; If you see a big guy in a red suit coming down your chimney unannounced on Christmas Eve you could ...
A baseball eulogy for a hoops legend: Pete Newell strode dugouts, too, and local man recalls coach’s fire; Friday, Nov. 28, 2008; It’s a good thing giant shadows cast by coaching icons can’t shoot or play defense or the UNLV basketball team might have found a heap of trouble this week.
Stay on, Coach, and earn it first: Why UNLV should ignore Mike Sanford’s overtures to extend his contract; Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2008; Did you catch Mike Sanford on the Channel 8 news Monday night, talking about a contract extension in a tone that bordered on defiance? Sanford supposedly will meet with Athletic Director Mike Hamrick after Thanksgiving to discuss a contract extension. An extension is the wrong topic for Sanford and Hamrick’s conversation.
Rodeo bucks a stereotype: Cowboys and girls aren’t all white, and sometimes they compete to music that isn’t country; Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2008; I am not a sociologist, have never played one on TV and did not stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, but I believe that each person is shaped by his environment.
The Elevator: Saturday, Nov. 22, 2008; Who’s headed toward the penthouse on the local sports scene — and who’s getting the shaft.
Believe it or not, BCS is about the money: In the twisted world of college football’s BCS, it actually behooves BYU to lose a game to its chief rival; Friday, Nov. 21, 2008; If the BYU football team knows what’s good for it, it will take a dive against Utah on Saturday.
J-Mac night at the UNLV-Northern Arizona game: Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008; I’ve got a bone to pick with J-Mac. You remember him, that autistic kid who scored 20 points in four minutes after coming off the bench as a student manager in a high school basketball game in upstate New York a couple of years ago.
No. 3: NFR is Thomas & Mack's cash cow: Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008; To say that the National Finals Rodeo has become the Thomas & Mack Center's cash cow is putting it literally, not mildly. There's nothing mild about the NFR.
Ordinary Joe gives something extra: Monday, Nov. 17, 2008; This was going to be the season that Joe Darger’s role changed, where he would get to pick on guys his own size — instead of ones built like grain silos — when UNLV coach Lon Kruger divvied up the defensive matchups.
The Elevator: Saturday, Nov. 15, 2008; Who’s headed toward the penthouse on the local sports scene — and who’s getting the shaft.
Kantowski: UNLV’s hoops season in predictions: Friday, Nov. 14, 2008; Twenty-seven and eight predictions for the 2008-09 UNLV basketball season: I’m going to miss Curtis Terry, at least early in the season. So is Lon Kruger.
No. 8: Tark bids farewell to UNLV faithful: Friday, Nov. 14, 2008; The night of March 3, 1992 produced a strange confluence of emotions. A capacity crowd was on hand to say goodbye to Tark after 19 legendary years on the job. But it was Dr. Bob Maxson, the university president, who most in the packed house wanted to bid farewell -- and a not so fond one at that.
Dear thieves: A few things you ought to know about the stolen pickup truck: Thursday, Nov. 13, 2008; To the thief or thieves who stole my truck out of the Sun parking lot Monday, I have only one thing to say: I hope you’re not planning on going very far.
No. 9: Thunder shakes the Mack: Minor league hockey franchise upstages UNLV in its own building; Thursday, Nov. 13, 2008; It's hard to believe the UNLV basketball team once was upstaged by a minor league hockey franchise in it's own building, but it's true.
Swim, cycle, push, inspire: Paraplegic athlete guts out triathlon finish in Henderson amid punishing conditions, looks to public speaking; Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2008; They call him Oz because of his name -- Oscar Sanchez. But it could almost be because of the traits and resources he has acquired along life’s yellow brick road.
Hope for Gibbons administration: Monday, Nov. 10, 2008; My guess is that the capital reporting corps could not believe their ears when Gov. Jim Gibbons said it Friday
Lon Kruger: Why boring is better than bold: Monday, Nov. 10, 2008; Lon Kruger is an outstanding basketball coach. He’s also kind of boring.
Ropes, reins, joy, pain: Bull rider Paulo Crimber awaits medical approval to return to the dangerous, lucrative sport he loves; Saturday, Nov. 8, 2008; Paulo Crimber sat on a bull. Paulo Crimber had a big spill. Actually he had a lot of big spills — four in a nine-month period on the Built Ford Tough Professional Bull Riders circuit. He may never ride again.
No. 16: Big George wins bloody battle: Foreman survives Alex Stewart in first boxing match at the Mack; Thursday, Nov. 6, 2008; Over the past 15 years, the Thomas & Mack Center has held some of boxing's most memorable and lucrative prizefights. The very first one it hosted was neither.
No. 17: The Boss makes 'em scream: Springsteen one of many musical acts to play 25-year-old arena; Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2008; That was the battle cry at the Thomas & Mack Center on Aug. 18, 2002 when Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, one of the most prolific touring acts of all time, hit town to promote "The Rising" CD.
Incredible action, in 8-second bites: Professional Bull Riders world finals; Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2008; In a recent blog on the Huffington Post, professional bull riding was described as a combination of NASCAR (for its heartland appeal), the X Games (for its inherent danger) and mixed martial arts (for its colorful personalities).
What Canada is to hockey ...: Think of a sport, then a place. If the sport is drag racing, the place has to be California; Monday, Nov. 3, 2008; With the advent of Television and then its little brothers, Cable and Satellite, it was inevitable that sports would become national in scope and the interest they generate.
No. 20: ‘Trotting’ in family entertainment: Globetrotters helped shape Thomas & Mack as a family-friendly events center; Sunday, Nov. 2, 2008; On Jan. 25, 1984, a tall man, wearing the most colorful basketball uniform since the old ABA folded, chased another tall man all around the basketball court at the Thomas & Mack Center.
The Elevator: Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008; A special trick-or-treat edition of who’s going to the penthouse in local sports — and who’s getting the shaft.
Sea change on TV screens: Friday, Oct. 31, 2008; When the Sun evolved from a traditional beat-oriented newspaper into one that analyzes trends and issues, long trips to Laramie in the dead of winter — i.e., early October — to chronicle the missteps of the UNLV football team were no longer required.
No. 23: Fade pattern: Two failed franchises, poorly attended title games leave penalty flags for indoor football in Las Vegas; Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008; It was the first time the ArenaBowl was held at a neutral site. The game was less than a success, as a modest crowd of 10,822 -- the smallest in ArenaBowl history -- turned out to watch the Colorado Crush edge the Georgia Force, 51-48.
Olson kept local ally in dark: Arizona coach’s sudden retirement was news to many; Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2008; Robert Luther “Lute” Olson is an intensely private man who guards his thoughts and emotions as if they were trying to take him to the hoop in a one-point game.
Memories plentiful for Mack and me: Sun columnist shares sentiments of storied arena; Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2008; When people ask what makes the Thomas & Mack Center special, I tell them to enjoy their stay at Imperial Palace. And don't forget to tip.
Among this group, Vegas looks pretty good: Mountain West names contenders for site of conference hoops tourneys; Monday, Oct. 27, 2008; They announced the five finalists for the 2011-13 Mountain West Conference Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships last week.
The Elevator: Up and down the Vegas sports scene: Saturday, Oct. 25, 2008; Who’s going to the penthouse in local sports -- and who’s getting the shaft.
Eight seconds to glory: UNLV product and reigning bull riding champ walking away from sport; Saturday, Oct. 25, 2008; It was almost 2 p.m. Tuesday, and the exotic fish and marine life — I think I even spotted a couple of old Devil Rays no longer needed in Tampa/St. Pete because the baseball team there dropped the “Devil” part before spring training — were swimming laps in the giant aquarium at the Mermaid Restaurant and Lounge just beyond the main entrance at the Silverton.
Free spirit stuck in BYU doghouse: Thursday, Oct. 23, 2008; Lyle Lovett and Julia Roberts.
Fruit Loops and chocolate syrup.
A plaid shirt with a striped tie.
Jim McMahon and Brigham Young University.
For Gondo, no place like home: Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2008; When I knocked on Glen Gondrezick’s door Saturday night, it had a giant Happy Halloween banner covering it. When he answered it, he was wearing a red T-shirt that said “LEAGUE OFFICIAL” on the front, and black workout pants. Whew!