Holiday Classic Field not finalized

New Nevada basketball coach Mark Fox said he is still finalizing the field for this year's Dodge Holiday Classic.

Fox said Monday that Idaho State and Florida Atlantic have accepted invitations to play in the two-day event scheduled for mid-December. He still has one slot to fill.

Originally, former coach Trent Johnson had extended invites to Stanford and Idaho State. Johnson, now the head man at Stanford, has yet to send back a signed contract for the tournament.

"We've contacted some people," Fox said. "None of them have the credentials that Stanford does."

It certainly would be great if Stanford does come. Local fans would get a chance to see one of the top teams on the West Coast, and welcome back Johnson, who led the Pack to a school-record 25 wins last year.

Fox said that recently drafted Kirk Snyder plans to live in Reno during the off-season.

Snyder was a popular player, and really came into his own his last two years at Nevada.

Kevin O'Connor, Utah Jazz general manager, is really high on the 6-foot-6 225-pound Snyder, who is more of a shooting guard, but could play point guard or small forward if needed.

"Oh, you know what, anyone that's watched him play, I think he's going be a better pro than he was a college player," O'Connor said in an interview on the Jazz web site. "He's got size, he's got strength, he's gives us, again, something we didn't have. He's able to really take the ball to the basket.

"If you look at his shooting percentage from three, they've gone up. We think he's got a chance to be a big-time player. Obviously we wouldn't have taken him otherwise. He gives us exactly what we needed, a compliment to be able to put the ball on the floor when the clock is running down and be able to get to the basket and he's a very good passer."

And, while we're on the subject of Nevada sports, congratulations to senior-to-be Ryan Tanoue, who recently won the USA 10-meter air rifle title.

He edged Matt Rawlings 1286.1-1284.5. Tanoue, who grew up in Hawaii, just barely missed qualifying for the Olympic team earlier this year.

Volunteers are still needed for the upcoming American Century Celebrity Golf Championship July 13-18 at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Club.

Course marshals, security, front gate/admissions, program sales, scoring, standard bearer, leader board and hole reporter positions are currently open. All volunteers will have to purchase a uniform ($55) and go through a 30-minute training session prior to the tournament.

Among the celebrities entered are Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning, Rams running back Marshall Faulk, Oakland wide receiver Jerry Rice, soap opera star Jack Wagner, formerly of General Hospital and Melrose Place, comedians Jimmy Kimmel, Carson Daly and Kevin Nealon, and ex-NBA stars Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley. Mark McGwire and John Elway also are in the field.

For more information, call 788-4591.

The recent Sertoma football game not only was a mismatch, but turned out to be a grudge match between players from Reno and Douglas.

On more than one occasion, a Reno player put a late hit on Douglas quarterback Luke Rippee, and when Rippee complained early in the game, he was hit with a penalty.

The Silver coaches spent much of the game telling their players to protect themselves and not retaliate against the Blue squad. The Silver squad showed more poise and class throughout the game.

I like the new format of the game where you draft schools and not use geographical lines to decide the teams. Hopefully the game organizers will stay with the present format.

Contact Darrell Moody at dmoody@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1281.