Ron Kantowski is a Las Vegas Sun sports writer. Reach him at [email protected] or (702) 259-4088.
Don't say I didn't warn, er, tell you.
One of the most popular and venerable sports in Japan is headed for Las Vegas, and I'm not referring to the one Ichiro plays.
The Japan Sumo Association, the supreme governing body for the sport, announced Monday it will hold its Grand Sumo Tournament at Mandalay Bay from Oct. 7-9.
Sumo wrestling is an honorable Far Eastern sport featuring very, very, very large men dressed in very, very, very small uniforms -- think William "The Refrigerator" Perry in a diaper.
A news release trumpeting the event said that "as 2005 is the 100th anniversary of the city of Las Vegas, it seemed only appropriate that the tournament be held there."
Which, of course, is just what I was thinking.
Glenn Medas, vice president of entertainment for Mandalay Resort Group, had a slightly different perspective.
"I wish to express our excitement and enthusiasm for the upcoming Grand Sumo Tournament at the Mandalay Bay Events Center," he said in a statement before adding "this event is truly unique, even for Las Vegas."
Heading the field will be the appropriately named Asashoryu, the current Yokuzuna, or Grand Champion of Sumo. One of his biggest challenges is expected to come from Sean May, the Grand Champion of North Carolina, who is looking for somebody new to bump bellies with after knocking James Augustine and Illinois out of the "dohyo" (Sumo ring) at the Edward Jones Dome on Monday night.
The National Weather Service forecast for the Colorado Springs area, where the 51s are scheduled to open the Pacific Coast League season Thursday:
A strong spring storm will bring blizzard conditions to a portion of the Pikes Peak region. High winds will produce blowing and drifting snow that will make travel very hazardous. North winds will increase rapidly ... with speeds of 35-45 mph at times and wind gusts of 50-60 mph. These conditions will quickly produce life threatening weather conditions ... "
Play ball!
Note to PCL schedule maker: Thursday's forecast for Las Vegas is 86 degrees with mostly sunny skies and slight winds.
By Thursday, the temperature is expected to be back to semi-normal in Colorado. So if the snowblowers haven't blown a gasket by then, the 51s and Sky Sox might be able to sneak in a game or two before Security Service Field freezes over again.
Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman told the Seattle Times last week that he has a financing plan in place to build a ballpark without costing taxpayers a dime. He did not, however, say what it was.
Maybe the financing plan that is already in place is that the owners of the team that would move to Las Vegas would be responsible for building the ballpark.
Which might also explain why the mayor is still sitting in his office, waiting for the phone to ring.
If you are planning on attending a Red Sox game this year, you had better bring along your MasterCard, as those "priceless" TV commercials suggest, as well as a debit card from Zurich Savings & Loan.
The price of an average ticket at Fenway Park is $44.56, easily the highest in Major League Baseball.
Meanwhile, you could almost purchase a seat in the bleachers at Tropicana Field or Kaufmann Stadium with the change you find under your sofa cushions. The average ticket at Tampa Bay costs a MLB low $13.70; it'll cost a penny more, on the average, to watch the Royals lose another one in Kansas City.
Despite playing in only 35 games before he was banished from the ECHL on March 18, Billy Tibbetts still leads the league in penalty minutes with 320.
Tibbetts briefly wreaked havoc in Las Vegas with the Wranglers before the club determined that installing barbed wire in the penalty box and building an exercise yard at the Orleans Arena would be cost prohibitive and released him.
According to a published report in the Rebel Yell, the UNLV student newspaper, the Rebels' basketball team will challenge the 1990 UNLV national championship squad in an exhibition game at the Thomas & Mack Center next season.
"I figure all the guys from BYU are around the age of the guys from the 1990 team," Rebels coach Lon Kruger was quoted in the report. "And Air Force moves about as fast as a bunch of guys who are pushing 40, so what could it hurt?"
The story appeared in last Friday's Rebel Yell. The April 1 edition.
Take this for what it's worth but Jerome Johnson, a 6-foot-9 center who recently gave UNLV a verbal commitment, chose the Rebels over Georgetown, Penn State, Oregon, St. John's and Providence.
Meanwhile, a story in the paper the same day revealed that quarterback Jarrod Jackson, the best bet to become former Utah offensive coordinator and new UNLV coach Mike Sanford's reasonable facsimile of Alex Smith next fall, chose the Rebels over Utah State, Buffalo, Idaho State and Weber State.
That sounds more like Andy Hannan (transferred to UNLV from Binghamton) with shoulder pads.
Wyoming football coach Joe Glenn, who guided the Cowboys to a rousing 24-21 victory against disinterested UCLA in December's Las Vegas Bowl, received a one-year contract extension through 2009 last week, and he and his assistants also were given a bonus. I guess it took a while for the score to be reported in Laramie.
The personable Glenn, who dresses like the Marlboro Man, did not indicate whether he would spend his bonus on a new sport jacket to replace the suede one with fringe he wore to last year's LV Bowl news conference.
A month ago, according to a story in USA Today, the NCAA was "rethinking" its relationship with alcohol, with the inference being it might explore banning beer sales on campus.
Rebels football fans immediately broke into a cold sweat, as UNLV and San Diego State are the only two Mountain West members that sell alcohol at football and basketball games.
Not to worry. This one has been nipped in the Budweiser.
Speaking during the Final Four last week, NCAA president Myles Brand said he personally opposes the sale of alcoholic beverages at college sporting events, but that the NCAA has no authority to prevent it.
More than a quarter of Division I-A schools responding to a survey indicated they sell alcohol at games. And almost a third of the responding schools said they allowed alcohol ads in stadium and arena signage as well as game programs.
That might be the real reason the NCAA has no authority to prevent it, or whatever story Dr. Brand has come up with and is sticking to.
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