Pack basketball has much needed home opener

No doubt Nevada basketball coach Mark Fox is breathing easier these days after filling out his home schedule with a game against Alaska-Anchorage on Nov. 10.

Had Fox not been able to get a game, and he admitted that it had been a huge struggle, the Pack would have a 7-day gap between the exhibition game with Chico State and their road opener at Oregon State on Nov. 15.

The Pack home schedule isn't great at the outset with Alaska-Anchorage and Arkansas Pine-Bluff. However, the games against UNLV, UOP, Saint Mary's College and UC Irvine should be good. SMC knocked off Nevada a year ago in Moraga.

• All the talk about Reggie Bush is driving me nuts. You hear so many different things that you don't know who or what to believe.

I wouldn't strip USC of the title even if the accusations are true. I might, however, strip it of scholarships for a set amount of time. If you strip a school of say 10 scholarships for a few years, that's going to hurt any team, even one as powerful as USC.

I have to laugh when people start pointing the finger at school officials, including head coach Pete Carroll. Every school that I know of talks to its student-athletes about the NCAA rules; what's allowed and what isn't allowed.

The coach can't be everywhere. He can't be with these guys 24 hours a day. Many schools have banned agents from campus, but that doesn't mean some of these guys don't find ways to talk to these student-athletes after a game or on the telephone. Boosters are also a problem. I think that if they are caught doing something illegal, the school should sever ties with that booster or boosters.

I've been a big proponent of paying student-athletes on scholarship a stipend, maybe an extra $50 a month, so they can go have a nice meal or go to a couple of movies. The university makes millions of dollars off their football and basketball players. Why not give a little bit of it back?

• The Harris Poll, which I'm fortunate enough to be a voter in, makes its debut this week. The poll helps determine the BCS participants.

I think it's a great idea to wait and see a team play three or four games before voting begins. You learn more by watching a team on television than you do by reading some magazine that comes out several months before the season starts. Simply put, you don't have any preconceived notions about a team.

I found it difficult voting for the top 10. I firmly believe that there are no dominant teams in college football. Sorry about that Ohio State fans.

The only thing I'll say is that I love Auburn's defense, Ohio State's balance and Michigan's defense. I'm not counting Texas out, either. I may be in the minority, but I don't believe there will be any more than two unbeaten teams, if that, in college football this year.

Showdown Saturday or Separation Saturday as ESPN and CBS billed last weekend's games was exciting to say the least. Michigan's win over Notre Dame was impressive, and Auburn's 7-3 win over LSU was an exciting ballgame despite the lack of points.

• I don't know how the American League is going to end up, but it would be absolutely awesome if Carson City's Darrell Rasner made the Yankees' post-season roster. It would be even more exciting if the Yankees came to Oakland, so local fans would have an opportunity to watch him in person.

If nothing else, Rasner is showing the Yankees that he deserves to be on their Opening Day roster next season.

• And, let's not forget the soccer showdowns at Carson High today. The Senators' boys and girls teams meet perennial powerhouse South Tahoe.

The boys game kicks off at 1 p.m. and the girls' game starts at 3.

The girls' game is a showdown for first place. Carson and South Tahoe are both 3-0-1 entering the game. Carson swept the season series last year.

Carson and Reno are tied for the lead in boys soccer with South Tahoe a game back.

It's been a good rivalry over the years, and no doubt today's games will be exciting as the past battles.

• The burning question for me as high school basketball nears, is where will Galena's Luke Babbitt end up?

The Appeal carried a story about two weeks ago, saying that Babbitt had cut his list to 10 schools, and that Nevada was one of those. Babbitt has some heavyweights interested to be sure, and it's my guess that he'll stay somewhere out West, which could include Nevada, Stanford, Gonzaga, UCLA, Arizona and Washington.

He can't go wrong with any of those schools, as all are perennial NCAA Tournament teams. He also is scheduled to visit Duke when Galena High's team goes to South Carolina for a tournament later this year. Babbitt visited Texas two weeks ago, and was lucky enough to watch the Texas-Ohio State football game.

Stay tuned. There could be some high drama here.