Sports fodder for a Friday morning .... Are you ready for some football, Wolf Pack fans? Yes, it's OK to take a break from studying your NCAA Tournament bracket for just a moment and allow yourself to think football. It is going to be a very interesting fall at Mackay Stadium if only to see how Chris Ault distributes the carries between running backs Luke Lippincott and Vai Taua and quarterback Colin Kaepernick. All three of them already have a 1,000-yard rushing season on their resume, giving this offense endless and mind-blowing video game possibilities. The USC Trojans of 2005, arguably the most balanced and productive offense in college football history, had two 1,000-yard rushers (Reggie Bush, LenDale White), a 1,000-yard receiver (Dwayne Jarrett) and a 3,000-yard (passing) quarterback in Matt Leinart. This Wolf Pack offense certainly has the talent to do the same thing. OK, now go back to fretting over your NCAA Tournament bracket.
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Lippincott, who red-shirted in 2004 and missed two seasons (2005 and 2008) with injuries, will be in his sixth season at Nevada this year. To put Lippincott's Pack career in perspective, six years is longer than the tenures than just four (Jim Aiken, Dick Trachok, Jerry Scattini and Chris Ault) of the 24 Wolf Pack head coaches in history. When Lippincott came to Reno in 2004, the Pistol offense had yet to be invented, Jeff Rowe was the quarterback, Chance Kretschmer was the top running back, Mark Fox had yet to win a game as the basketball head coach and the football team hadn't been to a bowl game in eight years or beaten UNLV in five.
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It is time for the Wolf Pack baseball team to make its move. Utah Valley, a team the Pack has beaten nine times in a row, comes to Peccole Park this weekend starting tonight for four games. The Wolverines, from Orem, Utah, couldn't have come at a better time for this struggling (8-13) Pack team. It's not often that a four-game series in March against Utah Valley could be deemed important. But that's where this Pack team is right now. With the opening of the Western Athletic Conference season just a week away (at Louisiana Tech), the Pack needs to start feeling good about itself.
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It's time the United States starts to take the World Baseball Classic seriously. OK, stop laughing. The U.S. is never going to take the WBC seriously. Taking it seriously means that the roster needs to be finalized in the middle of January and practices need to start Feb. 1. That's just never going to happen. And that is why the WBC will always have about as much credibility as a newspaper that only prints good news.
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Shawn Estes made the right decision by going to the minor leagues with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Douglas High graduate just needs to get his arm back in shape after battling injuries the last four years. The 36-year-old Estes, who was once one of the best left-handers in the game (remember 1997, Giants fans?), could pitch until he's 45 as a lefty specialist out of the bullpen. When Estes is right, nobody has a nastier breaking ball from the left side.
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Is Curt Schilling a Hall of Famer? No question. The guy won 211 games and is one of the best postseason pitchers in history. But if Schilling gets in, then the voters better also induct Tommy John, Jim Kaat and Bert Blyleven.
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Who is Josh McDaniels and why is he arguing with Jay Cutler? The Denver Broncos are quickly turning into the Oakland Raiders. Why get rid of Mike Shanahan? Why make Cutler feel like he is Brian Griese? Every team in the AFC West is now a complete mess. Yes, folks, the Raiders are right in the thick of the playoff race.
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The Reno Bighorns didn't exactly take northern Nevada by storm this season, huh? Well, what did you expect from a minor league basketball team? Sell-outs every night? Northern Nevada is a tough sports market. Our sports graveyard is filled with teams from our past. The problem is that we don't throw our sports money around to just anybody. That $50 you were going to spend on parking, a ticket, a hot dog, nachos and two beers can always be better spent on the Lakers or Celtics, giving the points. We do, however, expect the Reno Aces to hit the ground running starting next month. This has always been a better baseball town than a basketball town. The ballpark is an attraction by itself and it will be very interesting to see dozens of future major leaguers come to town. Expect the Triple-A baseball honeymoon to last at least five years.
