This Challenge Is Nothing Rinky-Dink

People thought Rich Rose was crazy when he decided to stage a hockey game in a parking lot in Las Vegas.

“The toughest part was getting people to believe that we were serious and wanted to do it,” said Rose, director of sports for Caesars Palace. “A lot of people said, ‘Hey, come on, you can’t do that.’ ”

But Rose persisted, and his idea will become a reality when the Kings play the New York Rangers on Sept. 27.

Building an outdoor ice rink in 90-degree temperatures is a challenge.

Some 300 tons of refrigeration equipment, three times the amount needed for an indoor rink, will be used, along with 25,000 gallons of water.

Good thing there is no drought in Nevada.

Trivia time: With whom did New York Giant Coach Ray Handley share an office when he was an assistant coach at Stanford?

Bo knows tickets: The Sarasota (Fla.) White Sox, who have already set an attendance record this season, received an unexpected boost when the parent White Sox announced that Bo Jackson would come to Sarasota this weekend on rehabilitation assignment.

Fans started lining up at the box office at 6:30 a.m. Thursday to guarantee themselves an opportunity to see Jackson. Averaging 1,163 a game, Sarasota sold out its 7,500-seat stadium, plus 500 standing room only tickets for each game.

“I noticed a lot of working-class people in line, so a lot of them must be playing hooky,” Sarasota General Manager John Browne said.

If Jackson does well in Class-A Sarasota, he will move on to double-A Birmingham, near his hometown of Bessemer, Ala.

For what it’s worth: Colorado, the defending co-national champion, wasn’t listed in Sports Illustrated’s preseason top 20 college football teams.

Going in style: Demoted to the minors recently, New York Yankee pitcher Pascual Perez arrived in style for his first start.

Perez showed up at the park in a limousine at 5:15 p.m. for a 6 p.m. start and wasn’t on the field until 6, causing a 20-minute delay in play.

At least he made it to the stadium. When Perez was with the Atlanta Braves, he once missed a start when he got lost on the freeway.

Bad prediction: Don’t invite Raider rookie defensive end Nolan Harrison and draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. to the same party.

After Kiper had predicted that Harrison would be selected in the first or second round of the NFL draft, Harrison invited some friends over to watch the draft.

“We had a big draft-day party,” Harrison said. “We all thought I was going to get drafted first or second round. It was totally unrealistic, but you know, someone (Kiper) said it. What a jerk, I’ll tell you what. He’s on (TV) saying, ‘Oh, I can’t believe they picked him over him.’ We said, ‘Shut up, we don’t care what you think anymore. I’m not picked yet, leave me alone.’ ”

Harrison was eventually selected in the sixth round.

Trivia answer: George Seifert, now the coach of the San Francisco 49ers.

Quotebook: Matt Millen on former teammate Lyle Alzado: “His mood swings were unbelievable. . . . We’d get out there for practice and someone would say, ‘Hey (which one of Alzado’s personalities) are you lined up with today?’ It was incredible.”