In the Red Zone: Casinos OK with NCAA, if advertising

BOB HOLT
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

The NCAA is very preachy about the evils of gambling. It puts out ads with athletes telling people "Don't bet on it," and at times has tried to coerce newspapers into not printing point spreads.
So, it seemed odd to see logos for the MGM Grand and Golden Nugget casinos on the field for the Las Vegas Bowl, which is in its ninth year as an NCAA-sanctioned event.
The MGM Grand and Golden Nugget were afforded advertising space for the game, which was nationally televised by ESPN2, because they are major sponsors of the bowls.
The MGM Grand provided complementary rooms for UNLV and the Golden Nugget for Arkansas.
Arkansas Chancellor John White said he doesn't see having the casinos sponsoring a bowl game as a conflict of interest for the NCAA or college football.
"We don't try to prevent our folks from going down to Hot Springs or other places [where gambling is legal]," White said. "We certainly haven't had any issues here [with the team in Las Vegas]. I think that our players know what the rules are. ... We are here to play football and represent the university well.
"This is an NCAA-sanctioned bowl, and we were invited, and we're delighted to be here."
Maybe the NCAA can get around a double-standard issue by noting the MGM Grand and Golden Nugget are hotels that just happen to also have casinos as part of their decor.

SNOUTING OFF
NO SPITTING ZONE
UNLV sophomore quarterback Jason Thomas was called for unsportsmanlike conduct in the second quarter when television replays showed that he spit in the face of Arkansas offensive lineman Kenny Sandlin after they bumped into each other on the sideline.
Thomas ran for a 27-yard gain before going out of bounds, where Sandlin gave him a shove as they made contact. Thomas then spit at Sandlin before running back to the huddle.

SEE YA NEXT YEAR IN THE ROCK
After meeting for the first time in the Las Vegas Bowl, Arkansas and UNLV won't have to wait long to see each other again.
The Razorbacks and Rebels open the 2001 season against each other Sept. 1 in Little Rock.
Arkansas started 16 underclassmen Thursday night, while UNLV started 14.
Scheduling the Rebels, who were 0-11 in 1998, may have looked like a good idea a couple of years ago. But the way UNLV played Thursday night, they looked like another SEC team the Razorbacks will have to contend with next year.

RECORD CROWD
After initially slow ticket sales, the game drew a Las Vegas Bowl-record crowd of 25,868, and it was a pretty noisy group.
Tickets sold were 29,113, including an allotment of 12,500 purchased by each school.
It appeared about 4,000 to 5,000 Arkansas fans were in attendance.

GET THAT GUY A SCHOLARSHIP
There was a halftime contest in which fans got to attempt a 35-yard field goal for $10,000.
One guy made it and looked a lot better than Arkansas freshman Brennan O'Donohoe, who missed a 29-yard attempt in the third quarter, and UNLV freshman Dillon Pieffer, who missed a 41-yard attempt in the second quarter.
Pieffer made a 25-yarder in the third quarter.

UNLV BACKUP SUSPENDED
Senior Jason Vaughan, UNLV's second-team quarterback, was suspended for the Las Vegas Bowl for breaking an unspecified team rule, Coach John Robinson announced before the game.
Vaughan played in six games this season, including starts against Wyoming and Utah when Jason Thomas was injured.

RED BRITCHES
Arkansas wore red pants in a road game for the third time this season.
Previously, the Razorbacks were 1-1 when wearing red, losing at South Carolina and winning at Mississippi State.
The Razorbacks wore red pants in more road games than they wore white this season. They wore white twice -- at Auburn and Tennessee.

FIRST OF NINE
Arkansas was the first of nine SEC teams to play in a bowl game this season.
The rest of the SEC's lineup includes Florida vs. Miami in the Orange Bowl, Tennessee vs. Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl, Auburn vs. Michigan in the Citrus Bowl, South Carolina vs. Ohio State in the Outback Bowl, LSU vs. Georgia Tech in the Peach Bowl, Ole Miss vs. West Virginia in the Music City Bowl, Mississippi State vs. Texas A&M in the Independence Bowl and Georgia vs. Virginia in the Oahu Bowl.
"We've never had nine bowl-eligible teams, much less nine play in a bowl game," said SEC associate commissioner Mark Womack, who attended the Las Vegas Bowl. "It was two weeks of constant communication on the telephone with all the bowl people, but we're glad we got all nine of our teams placed in bowls.
"I think it says a lot about the tradition of the SEC and respect for our teams around the country."
Arkansas is the first SEC team to play in the Las Vegas Bowl in the game's nine-year history.

DALY IN THE HOUSE
John Daly, the PGA and British Open champion from Dardanelle, attended his first Razorbacks game of the season.
Daly said scheduling conflicts had prevented him from attending earlier games, but he was able to fly to Las Vegas on Wednesday, play a round of golf at Shadow Creek on Thursday, and watch the game from the Arkansas sideline before catching a 1 a.m. red-eye.

PAC-10 CREW
With an SEC team playing a Mountain West team, there was a neutral crew of officials from the Pacific-10 Conference calling the game.

KARATE REBEL
Pat Morita, the veteran actor best known for his roles on the Happy Days television series and in the Karate Kid movies, attended Thursday night's game. He lives in Las Vegas and is a Rebels fan.
Morita said he has lived in Las Vegas for seven years.
"I like the people and the climate," he said. "It's not as congested as Los Angeles."

IT'S AR-KAN-SAW MA'AM
A worker at Sam Boyd Stadium was overheard saying in a New York accent that "two Arkansawyer coaches" needed to locate their booth in the press box.

REAL GRASS
The Sam Boyd Stadium field may have looked worn, but at least it's real.
The stadium had an artificial surface since it opened in 1971, but a grass field was put in last season.

THIS AND THAT
Arkansas senior fullback Rod Stinson made the first touchdown catch of his career on a 7-yard pass from Robby Hampton to give Arkansas a 7-0 lead. ... UNLV ended Arkansas' streak of not giving up a defensive touchdown at 10 quarters when the Rebels scored in the second quarter. It was the first touchdown allowed by Arkansas' defense since the third quarter at Tennessee on Nov. 11 ... Arkansas is 10-18-3 in bowl games.

THE GOOD
RECEIVERS Nate Turner of UNLV and Boo Williams of Arkansas, both seniors, put on a show for NFL scouts. Turner had 8 catches for 126 yards and 2 touchdowns. Williams had 7 catches for 97 yards and 1 touchdown.

THE BAD
DEFENSE Arkansas, which had looked so good defensively against Mississippi State and LSU, couldn't stop the Rebels.

This article was published on Friday, December 22, 2000

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