Sports fodder for a Friday morning . . .
The entire season for the Nevada Wolf Pack football team might hinge on what happens Saturday at Mackay Stadium against UNLV. Yes, it's just a non-league game. And, yes, the entire Western Athletic Conference season will remain on the schedule after Saturday. But we're talking perception, confidence and momentum. And if the Pack loses to UNLV, well, all of northern Nevada will start wondering when basketball season is going to start.
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Wolf Pack fans have already sent a clear message to the athletic department. Less than 19,000 fans showed up last Friday night to see the Wolf Pack play Missouri. We understand that the game was on ESPN but the weather was great, it was against a nationally-ranked opponent and it was the home opener. All of the empty seats served as a clear message that Pack fans aren't happy right now. If the Pack loses to UNLV, how many fans do you think will show up at Mackay Stadium the rest of the home season? After UNLV, the rest of the home schedule isn't all that attractive with Louisiana Tech (Oct. 9), Idaho (Oct. 24), Hawaii (Oct. 31) and Fresno State (Nov. 14). Perception, confidence, momentum? Let's just say that the Fremont Cannon better be painted blue for those last four home games.
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Everything, however, points to a Wolf Pack party on Saturday. The Wolf Pack hasn't lost to UNLV since 2004, UNLV coach Mike Sanford has never beaten the Pack in four tries and the Rebels have won just two of 23 games under Sanford on the road. UNLV's defense hasn't stopped anybody since the Harvey Hyde days and the Rebels still have nightmares of chasing Pack quarterback Colin Kaepernick from last year's game (240 yards rushing, 3 touchdowns). Expect something along the lines of Pack 35, UNLV 30. Welcome back perception, confidence and momentum.
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The best story surrounding the Nevada Wolf Pack took place in Detroit on Wednesday night. That's when former Pack pitcher Eddie Bonine (2003 Pack) went five innings to beat the Minnesota Twins, 7-2. The performance by Bonine, the son of Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association executive director Eddie Sr., just might have been the biggest in a major league pennant race ever by a former Pack pitcher. Bonine was just 5-6 with a 5.84 earned run average for the 2003 Wolf Pack and his career is a testament to hard work, grit, character and toughness.
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New Mexico football coach Mike Locksley, in his first year as head coach, was hit with a sexual harassment complaint last spring and a couple weeks ago he punched one of his assistant coaches in the face. And, to top it off, the Lobos are 0-4. Locksley still has a job -- for now. An Oregon player punches a Boise State player and he gets kicked off the team. Locksley punches one of his assistants and he doesn't get fired. The difference is that Locksley's punch wasn't on national TV. If that punch was getting a million hits in YouTube right now, Locksley would be looking for a job.
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Poor Terrell Owens is being badgered by the media. Those notepad, pen and pencil, camera, tape recorder carrying nerds actually had the audacity to ask Terrell questions after a game. How dare they? Those geeks never played the game. What do they know about football anyway? No mere mortal can understand the pressures that a superhero like Terrell has to deal with on a daily basis.
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This might be the most competitive football season ever in the Northern 4A. There are legitimately 10 teams that have a right to believe they can win a region title next month. The Carson-Douglas game Oct. 29 at Carson is no longer just a game with local interest. The entire state can't wait to see what happens that night. The same is true for about a half-dozen other games over the next five weekends. Yes, parity has taken over Northern 4A football. Who needs realignment?
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Say what you want about Brett Favre. The guy can still play. Just ask the San Francisco 49ers. Favre is still in the top dozen or so NFL quarterbacks. That's not too bad for a guy who should be hunting and fishing in his Wranglers. There are about a dozen teams in the NFL right now who have no clue who should be playing quarterback for them from one day to the next. Love him or hate him, Favre is still a big reason why we watch the NFL and he'll be the reason why we won't dream of missing Monday night's Green Bay-Minnesota game.
