It’s Runnin’ Battle for Football at UNLV

There’s no doubt that Nevada Las Vegas is known as a hoops school, but that didn’t stop Las Vegas Sun columnist Ron Kantowski from wondering about the school’s football past.

“It’s curious that UNLV fawns over its basketball tradition, even though very few of its past stars have shown interest in supporting the program with their presence,” Kantowski wrote. “But when past Rebel football stars show up to hang out on the sideline on their own accord, they are all but ignored.”

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More Rebels: “The greatest Rebel footballer of them all, Randall Cunningham, was spotted in the UNLV dressing room following [the Oct. 16] 24-20 defeat by New Mexico at Sam Boyd Stadium, while Larry Croom, the star of last year’s team who made the Arizona Cardinals’ roster, despite not being drafted, made the rounds in the press box. Why neither man was introduced to the crowd is an oversight that should be corrected before Ickey Woods shuffles back to town.”

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Trivia time: Which franchise won more titles before moving to Los Angeles -- the Minneapolis Lakers or Brooklyn Dodgers?

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Looking back: On this date in 1972, the Dodgers’ Jackie Robinson died in Stamford, Conn., at 53.

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Big E, as in Error? Still wondering how ESPN’s Chris Berman got away with his flub to open the American League division series at Angel Stadium between the Angels and Boston Red Sox when he welcomed the viewing audience to “the Big E, Edison International Field.”

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Wanna bet? Howard Cole of baseballsavvy.com believes that baseball already has a plan for dealing with Barry Bonds’ alleged steroid use.

“Look for the sport to take a cue from the NBA, which had Michael Jordan ‘retire’ in the wake of illegal gambling stories,” Cole wrote. “Bonds will retire after passing Ruth, but not Aaron, with no positive tests made public, no asterisks, no admission of anything, and the Hall open for him in five years. He gets one record, not the other.”

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Aloha means hello: The Galaxy and D.C. United will play an exhibition match at Honolulu’s Aloha Stadium in February, but a better draw would have been the San Jose Earthquakes with Haleiwa-born forward Brian Ching, the first Hawaiian to play in MLS.

Reported the Honolulu Advertiser: “Organizers said it couldn’t be worked out.”

That might have something to do with Anschutz Entertainment Group’s holding on to the Galaxy and D.C. United while attempting to sell off the Quakes.

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Looking back II: On this date in 1998, Texas’ Ricky Williams became the leading scorer in NCAA Division I football history with 428 points after scoring two touchdowns in a win over Baylor.

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Trivia answer: The Lakers, who won NBA titles in 1949, ‘50, ‘52, ’53 and ’54. The Dodgers won the World Series in 1955, their only title in Brooklyn.

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And finally: Channel 9’s Alan Massengale: “His lawyer says Ricky Williams retired from football because he disagreed with a positive marijuana test. Now that Williams wants to play again, I guess you could say, ‘The smoke has cleared.’ ”