The last time they met, Jermain Taylor and Bernard Hopkins made it tough on the judges before Taylor took a 12-round split decision to win the undisputed world middleweight championship.
LAWRENCE, Kansas - The only fault coach Mark Fox really found with his team was the way it played in the second half when Kansas went to a zone defense.
LAWRENCE, Kansas - Eight losses at home in the past 11 years. Suffice to say, beating Kansas at home is no easy task.
Rob Streeter picked up his first win as the Douglas boys coach at the Buchanan-Clovis West Tournament in Fresno, Calif. Douglas rebounded after a 76-33 loss to Memorial of Fresno, ranked No. 19 in the nation. "We'll take an ugly win," Streeter said.
The Galena High girls basketball team last won the NIAA 4A State title in 2000. While it's still early, the Grizzlies made a huge statement that they're ready to contend for the crown again.
LAWRENCE, Kan. - When I pulled into the Allen Fieldhouse parking lot Wednesday night, I admit I was bit taken aback.
It would appear for once that college football's Bowl Championship Series poll will actually work! Fans of college will get lucky as long as undefeated favorites Texas and USC win by just one point tomorrow, because those teams would deservedly meet in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 4, for the BCS national title.
MINDEN - Aided by two late pins and some last-minute lineup maneuvering, the Douglas High wrestling team rallied for a 36-31 Sierra League dual meet victory against Carson in an early season showdown on Wednesday night.
T.W. Cunningham won in his debut as coach of the Dayton boys basketball team at the Sutro Tournament on Thursday in Dayton.
The Douglas High boys basketball team ran into one of the best teams in the country in a 76-33 loss to Memorial of Fresno, Calif., in the Buchanan-Clovis West Tournament on Thursday in Fresno.
LAWRENCE, Kansas - It's been one year and one day since Kansas spanked Nevada by a whopping 33 points in front of a national television audience and 16,300 adoring fans.
Based on its performance at the Damonte Ranch Duals, the Carson High wrestling team had been the team to beat.
RENO - Nevada coach Chris Ault made it perfectly clear Tuesday afternoon. The only bowls he's interested in attending are Las Vegas and Hawaii.
Annie Brinson, Nick Schlager and Gloria Sosa of the Sierra Flyers youth running club all punched their tickets to nationals thanks to top-five performances in their respective age group races at the Junior Olympic Region 14 Cross Country Championships held on Sunday in Fresno, Calif.
RENO - All things considered, the final outcome probably shouldn't come as any big surprise.
The Yerington boys basketball team, coming off a season in which it advanced to the NIAA 3A State semifinals, got off to an impressive start on Tuesday with a 58-50 win over 2A power Rite of Passage.
RENO - Two former Major League pitchers - Les Lancaster and Mike Hartley - have been named manager and pitching coach, respectively, by the fledgling Reno Silver Sox.
RENO - Nevada's bowl status is on hold for another several days, according to Western Athletic Conference commissioner Karl Benson.
RENO - Nevada reaped the benefits of the program's biggest football win since becoming a Division I-A school in the early '90s.
Big Brother - whose black mustachio'd face adorned the poster across the street - seemed to stare in contempt at Winston Smith as he darted through the glass doors out from the chill of the icy November night into the Victory Mansions.
RENO - It was a great weekend if you're a Wolf Pack fan.
RENO - The Wolf Pack found a way to muzzle the Bulldogs Saturday in a highly charged Western Athletic Conference football game at Mackay Stadium before an announced attendance of 17,765.
RENO - The University of Hawai'i proved once again they are among the elite in college volleyball.
The Carson High boys wrestling team made an impressive statement to begin the season by winning the Damonte Ranch duals on Saturday.
LAS VEGAS - Mental toughness is one ingredient of a good road basketball team.
LAS VEGAS - The speech barely lasted 30 seconds. The fans at Thomas & Mack Center didn't care.
Nevada's 38-35 win Saturday over Fresno State may have opened another door for a bowl game.
A return trip to the National Championships wasn't to be for the Carson Senator Pee Wee Pop Warner football team as it lost to Hollister, Calif., 23-0 on Saturday in the regional finals in Santa Clara, Calif.
Well, another NASCAR racing season is in the history books, and it was a mixed bag. First, I want to add my congratulations to Tony Stewart, who is, to my mind, one of the most talented and versatile drivers not only of this era, but of all time.
RENO - The University of Nevada volleyball team had two chances to force a fifth game and possibly upset the eighth best team in the country.
LAS VEGAS - Nevada puts two different streaks on the line tonight when it visits arch-rival UNLV (2-0).
RENO - Facing a 29-24 deficit in the second game, the University of Nevada volleyball team fought back to win the game and match in the first round of the Western Athletic Conference tournament.
It's a big game for Nevada's football program, probably one of the biggest in school history.
RENO - Championship games at Mackay Stadium in November have been few and far between for the Nevada football program since it went to Division I-A status back in 1992.
Usually by Thanksgiving, NFL fans aren't still talking about there being any undefeated teams. But this year's Indianapolis Colts have earned themselves a chance at surpassing the 1972 Miami Dolphins' perfect record of 17-0.
It's to be expected that the Carson High girls basketball team should go through some growing pains at the beginning of the season under first-year coach Ric Garcia.
Carson High freshmen Blake Moreland and Adam Updegrove have been named to the Nevada State Olympic Development Program soccer team.
RENO - The Nevada volleyball team can only hope its "new" home will be just as comforting as its old.
RENO - Salaia Salave'a is probably one of the best volleyball players to grace the floors of the Virginia Street Gym.
RENO - Saturday is a huge day for the Nevada football program.
Four games in 10 days, and to make it worse all of them are on the road.
With snow guns poised to fire, Sierra Nevada mountain resorts are gearing up for another season.
RENO - It's been widely speculated for the past two weeks that Nevada's football team was headed to the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl on Dec. 24.
Carson High can boast of not just one, but two preseason All-Americans heading into the 2006 baseball season.
The atmosphere was electric, and Fresno State came within an eyelash of pulling off an upset of mammoth proportions on Saturday night.
RENO - Ramon Sessions was conspicuous by his absence late in the game Saturday night in Nevada's 82-74 season-opening win over Sacramento State.
RENO - Nick Fazekas makes no bones about it. He's comfortable in the spotlight.
RENO - It was cold and Bob Shaffer was soaked, but the Truckee High School football coach didn't mind in the least after being doused by his Wolverines at the end of their 37-23 victory against Virgin Valley in the NIAA 3A State Championship game, presented by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, on Saturday night at Mackay Stadium.
The Carson Senator Pee Wee Pop Warner football team moved one step closer to returning to the National Championships with a 14-8 win over the San Marin Ponies in the regional semifinals on Saturday in Santa Clara, Calif.
There are two topics I wish I didn't have to write about this week, but I don't see how I can avoid them.
RENO - During the 1990s, Sacramento State was the proverbial laughingstock of college basketball.
It is an excellent time of year to be a college football fan, as the regular season approaches its climax with huge rivalry games.
It's been a long time since a Nevada football team won seven games in a season - eight years to be exact.
Those words are addressed to the baseball fraternity for its recent decision to have tougher penalties on drug use. These penalties have teeth.
Not much has changed for the Carson High boys basketball team over the years. The Senators again will be an athletic team with relatively little size who will be going up against mostly bigger squads.
RENO - Emotions ran crazy, but then the University of Nevada volleyball team focused and took care of business.
Don't be misled by his soft voice and easy-going demeanor because on any soccer field, Paul Aigbogun is a dedicated man who has a passion he wants to pass on to others.
Galena High graduate Rod Scurry is among six players the University of Nevada baseball team who has signed during the fall signing period.
In just a week or so mountain area resorts are expected to open. But don't count on it.
RENO - B.J. Mitchell's fifth 100-yard game of the season earned him the Western Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors.
For the second straight week, Fresno State finds itself in a huge game with important bowl implications.
Holly Burton, Abby Niehoff and Tallon Rauch captured high-point trophies in their respective age groups for the Carson Tigersharks during their own Sextathlon Invitational multi-event swim meet over the weekend at the Carson Aquatic Facility.
RENO - Carson High's quest for a perfect 20-0 season came to a disappointing end Saturday night.
The Carson Senators Pee Wee football team is one game away from returning to the Pop Warner National Championships.
RENO - The Pack played without sophomore guard Ramon Sessions, who re-aggravated a hip injury during the afternoon shootaround prior to Saturday's 78-72 win over Humboldt State.
RENO - Marcelus Kemp is back, and that's bad news for opponents on the Nevada basketball schedule.
The Dayton High football team looked like it was well on its to another huge offensive day, but then Virgin Valley was able to control the ball.
RENO - Four players scored in double figures to lead the Nevada women's basketball team to an 81-55 exhibition win over Sonoma State Saturday afternoon before 1,047 fans at Lawlor Events Center.
RENO - The University of Nevada volleyball team avenged a five-game loss last month in Fresno by knocking off the Bulldogs 30-13, 30-14 and 30-26 Saturday afternoon before 368 fans at the Virginia Street Gym.
NASCAR has dropped the other shoe on topic of limiting team size. Thursday, NASCAR announced the new policy, which will limit an owner to a maximum of four teams.
Volleyball
They can be called aggressive. They can be called opportunistic. And now, the Elko Indians can be called finalists in the NIAA 4A State Boys Soccer Tournament, presented by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The Galena High volleyball team is one match away from defending its NIAA 4A state title.
RENO - Another basketball season is here, and nothing has changed for Kyle Shiloh. He's in another tough fight to get significant playing time for the Nevada Wolf Pack.
19-0. Carson High girls soccer coach Randy Roser maintained perspective as his team goes for the perfect season.
RENO - The night started out on a promising note for Galena when Jake Hess blocked a McQueen punt and the Grizzlies drove the length of the field for an early score.
RENO - Five-game matches seem unavoidable for the University of Nevada volleyball team.
Unlike every other major team sport, Division I college football has failed to produce any kind of playoff to determine who wins its championship. Instead, the heads of the six major conferences have schemed together to create the highly controversial Bowl Championship Series Poll.
Dayton High's football team has made road trips before, but never as long and as important as the one they will embark on Friday morning.
WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko announced his retirement in a press release Wednesday.
At the end of the game, Humboldt State players and their small enotourage of fans celebrated like they had won a national championship.
RENO - Nevada linebacker Jason DeMars has been anxiously awaiting a chance for some serious playing time, and that time appears to be now.
After losing seven key players from last year's NIAA 4A State championship team, the Galena High volleyball team could have been considered somewhat of a long shot to defend its crown.
Carson High's Nicole Scott could be called a Renaissance woman. She has kept a busy schedule which has included playing three sports in high school, not to mention club basketball, and maintaining a job.
The toughest job Nevada football coach Chris Ault might face is not preparing to beat New Mexico State, but making sure his team doesn't overlook the winless Aggies today when they meet at Aggie Memorial Stadium.
Four years ago local racer Mackena Bell, then barely 11 years old, took to the track in a Box Stock Outlaw Kart, a scaled-down dirt sprint car powered by a glorified lawnmower engine.
When 23 players suited up for the Carson High football team on Sept. 30 for a game at Hug, it could be viewed as a microcosm of what's happening in prep sports at many athletic programs.
No doubt, the expression on Norv Turner's face said it all after the Oakland Raiders lost to the Kansas City Chiefs, 27-23, on Larry Johnson's touchdown plunge as time expired on Sunday.
While today is the first day of the fall signing period for high school athletes to sign with four-year colleges, it really just begins a recruiting journey that will last until the spring and even beyond.
RENO - The University of Nevada men's basketball team is expected to sign at least three players to national letters of intent today, including McQueen High's Matt LaGrone.
My fight coverage of Saturday's Showtime-televised card was devoid of quotes and some other things you ought to know. Here they are:
The eyes of Western Athletic Conference coaches and fans, and much of the nation, will be on Thursday night's Fresno State-Boise State game which will likely decide the conference championship.
RENO - Barring a major meltdown in the last three weeks, a bowl game is a good possibility for Nevada's football team.
RENO - Thanks to eight free throws in the final minute, the Nevada women's basketball team was able to ice an 87-83 exhibition win against Bay Area Pro-Am on Sunday afternoon before 314 fans at Lawlor Events Center.
RENO - The symbolism of the Carson High boys cross country team's effort could been at the top of their heads.
There's an old military saying, "God is on the side with the biggest battalions." Jack Roush of the NASCAR Nextel Cup wars would certainly agree with that sentiment.
Being down by one goal late in the first half on Saturday was no problem as far as the Carson High girls soccer team was concerned.
Midway through the second game, holding a 17-13 lead and having already stole away the first game with five unanswered points to close it out, the Douglas volleyball team appeared to be well on its way toward reversing the outcome of the 2004 regional and state finals.
STATELINE - IBF super middleweight king Jeff "Left Hook" Lacy turned in perhaps his most impressive victory as a professional, knocking down Scott "The Sandman" Pemberton with a vicious right hand at 2 minutes, 59 seconds of the second round.
RENO - Nevada coach Chris Ault admitted he was concerned about his young team's resiliency following a blowout loss at Boise State last weekend.
RENO - Nevada wide receiver Caleb Spencer spent most of the week trying to scrounge tickets from his teammates for approximately 40 friends and family members coming over from Hawai'i to watch him play the Rainbow Warriors.
Western Nevada Community College's Dominique Gloude was named to the all-Scenic West Conference first team in women's soccer.
This time, there were no late fireworks show to light up the sky when the Carson and Elko high school boys soccer teams collided in the Northern 4A Regional Tournament.
RENO - Defense and rebounding.
Coaches: Nevada coach Chris Ault is 172-73-1 in his 21st season; Hawai'i coach June Jones is 43-30 in his 7th season
RENO - Dennis Ikovlev's debut in a Nevada basketball uniform was a big hit.
The Carson Junior Pee Wee Silver youth football team defeated the Reno Cardinals 27-0 last Friday in the first round of the playoffs.
Qualifying for the state meet has been a season-long goal for both the Carson High School girls and boys cross country teams. Now that the Senators have accomplished their missions, coach Dennis Brinson has laid down one more goal.
Instituting a dress code for employees would be no big deal for most every business or sport. In the National Basketball Association, however, it was the story of the preseason.
Douglas' football team must travel to Reno tonight to take on the McQueen Lancers, ranked first in the Sierra Nevada Sports Media Poll all season, in the opening round of the playoffs.
Notes: Both teams rely on punishing ground games for the bulk of their yards. The Huskies are led by Brennan Locker, who has gained 804 yards on 136 carries.
RENO - The weather was more fitting for Eskimos, but it didn't seem to faze the Carson Senators girls' soccer team.
