Nevada lucky to have Bowman, Scobee

I shudder to think what kind of baseball season Nevada would have had without Dayton's Matt Bowman and Shawn Scobee.

In a year where the Pack have struggled offensively, Bowman and Scobee have shined. Both were hitting over .350 entering the final series of the regular season against New Mexico State.

Bowman is a huge crowd favorite at Peccole, not only because of his natural ability but because of his hustle. Bowman knows only one way to play the game - all-out.

I'm sure that Bowman's size 5-9 and 175 probably kept some college recruiters away, but that's their loss. Recruiters can't measure heart and desire, and believe me, Bopwman has plenty of both. No doubt there are plenty of schools, especially on the West Coast, that could have used Bowman.

• Rumors are flying that Willie Bowman, the cousin of Matt Bowman, will leave UNLV after two sub-par seasons and possibly end up at Nevada in the fall. Stranger things have happened. I certainly know there will be plenty of new faces on the Pack roster next year, as I'm sure coach Gary Powers will send some of this year's freshmen packing.

• Enough already. Am I the only one that thinks the NBA playoffs are just way too long? I will honestly admit that I have not watched one regular-season or playoff game this year. The only time I see the NBA is when SportsCenter shows highlights. Give me college basketball any time. One of the things that bothers me about the NBA playoffs is that everything is based on TV coverage. In one of the series, the teams have three days off before they play again. Ludicrous. All these guys need is one day off between games. No more and no less.

• I see where our very own Carson Sharks won an NSA age-group tournament over the weekend. One of Carson's varsity players, Loretta Cagle, is a member of the squad. Congratulations to the Sharks. I would like to see the under-14 Sharks play in some 16-year-old tournaments before the season ends, because I'm a firm believer in that you improve by playing tougher competition.

• While we're on the subject of softball, Carson coach Scott Vickrey said that he plans on keeping his young CHS team together to play a few ASA tournaments. That's a great move. This is a team with some potential, and the more they play together the better I think they will become.

• Inter-league play started yesterday in Major League Baseball. I'm totally for the idea, because as a true baseball fan, I want the opportunity to see in person players from the opposing leagues when they play the Giants and A's in the Bay Area. While I still think the best rivalries are ones between teams in the same division, I love to watch the Giants and A's play in the regular season.

• And speaking of the A's, wouldn't that be a good team for Barry Bonds to end his career with? I think if Bonds is going to break Hank Aaron's record, he's going to have to go to an American League team next year to do it. The reason? His aching knees of course. Bonds needs to be able to become a designated hitter as soon as possible to relieve the day-to-day wear and tear on his knees. Bonds isn't going to break that record this year, so he should start looking for a new home. In Oakland, he would still be a good draw, though I'm not sure that the A's want to pay him anywhere near what he's making now.

• Mark Fox has scheduled a neutral-court game with Gonzaga for this December. I applaud the move, but if I'm Fox, I would agree to a neutral-court game to lure the Zags here. I would have liked the Pack to consider playing the Zags at Arco Arena if the arena was available. Granted you would lose some fans because of the distance, but you might gain some fans in general from the Sacramento area that like college basketball. It was nice to see that the Cal Bears agreed to come here in a couple of years. One thing I will say about playing Gonzaga is that the plane ride to Seattle is short enough that I would expect to see plenty of Nevada fans support the team just like they did in Anaheim when the Pack played in the Wooden Classic.

•As of now, the Pack have Gonzaga, Akron, Eastern Illinois, Louisiana Lafayette, Saint Mary's and Santa Clara on its nonconference schedule. The Pack will be looking to play four more nonconference games, preferably all at home, before conference play starts in late December or early January. With the strides Nevada has made, I'm surprised that the Maui Classic or Great Alaska Shootout hasn't shown interest in the Pack.

•The latest controversy in the NFL is whether Reggie Bush will be allowed to wear No. 5 which he wore at USC. I'm with ESPN analyst Sean Salisbury. The NFL has bigger fish to fry than to worry about who wears what number. Currently, the NFL has a rule where single-digit numbers are restricted to only quarterbacks and kickers. Any skill position player (qauarterback , running back, wide receiver) should be able to wear a single digit jersey if he so desires.