Groth made the right call

The cancellation of Nevada's game tonight against Utah State was the right call by Nevada athletic director Cary Groth.

The only thing I would have liked to seen happen was to keep Monday open for a game if weather reports were favorable. After all, it's less than a two-hour flight from Salt Lake to Reno.

It could, and probably will, put both teams in a position of having to play three games in one week at some point, and that's not a good thing.

Nevada plays at Idaho on Feb. 16, and then is off until the 23rd for the BracketBuster. Utah State, however, plays on Feb. 16th and then again on the 18th.

Personally what I think may happen is that the teams will play a Monday night game in Reno at some point during the season. It makes for a tough turnaround to play Saturday and then Monday, but the schedule is so condensed that there really aren't many other choices.

I hope it's earlier rather than later. You certainly wouldn't want to play the game the same week as the WAC Tournament in March. That wouldn't be fair to either squad.

• This has been the year of the scandal in the sports world. From the Duke lacrosse to the baseball steroids issue to an NBA official allegedly affecting outcomes of games.

There is another bad mess a little closer to home, at least if you follow the Western Athletic Conference.

It involves New Mexico State's basketball program, and it's not pretty. The program has been embroiled in turmoil ever since Reggie Theus left after two seasons at the helm to coach the Sacramento Kings.

It started with Jahmar Young and Herb Pope Jr., two of the Aggies' top recruits not being allowed to practice or play because they hadn't passed the NCAA Clearinghouse.

Young has since been cleared, and has played in the Aggies last three games. Pope Jr., according to reports in the Las Cruces newspapers, also has been cleared to play. However, he has yet to see any action, and he compounded his own problems by being charged with a DUI on Dec. 28 back in Pennsylvania.

According to a story in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Dec. 30, Pope Jr. was found unresponsive in his car on Business Route 60. He was charged with reckless endangerment, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, underage drinking and a traffic offense.

According to police reports, officers repeatedly tried to wake up Pope, who finally did wake up. As he did, his car lurched forward into a police cruiser. Pope refused to admit to blood or urine samples. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 8.

Pope was shot four times back in his hometown of Aliquippa last March while attending a party.

And, if that wasn't enough, Hatila Passos and Paris Carter were suspended indefinitely by first-year coach Marvin Menzies back on Dec. 30 for violating team rules.

When you throw in Tyrone Nelson, who was kicked off the team after pleading no contest to a crime that was committed before last basketball season, you can see there seems to be a trend going on in Las Cruces.

What kind of athletes is New Mexico State recruiting these days? If the coaches aren't going to do it, maybe the administration really needs to take a closer look at the student-athletes that are being brought in. Maybe they need to start doing background checks.

Nevada had a few bad apples on its football team a few years ago, but those guys were dealt with by coach Chris Ault, and the football team appears to be pretty good in terms of character.

I don't believe Pope deserves a second chance if the latest charges (the DUI) are accurate. He should know better, and should know that he needed to keep his nose clean while he was awaiting the NCAA Clearinghouse results.

Going to college is a privilege not a given, but there are student-athletes out there that don't seem to understand that. They think that because they are star athletes that they don't have to go to class all the time, or that local police will cover up indiscretions. It makes me sick.

It's not hard to maintain a 2.0 GPA which is all student-athletes have to do under NCAA rules. It takes minimal effort and going to class. Heck, most of the schools, if not all of them, have tutors for these guys.