Carson Little League 11s and 12s deserve better fate

BY DARRELL MOODY

- The announcement that Carson National and Carson American wouldn't field 11-12 all-star teams in the District 1 Little League tournament was a surprise. Little League president Bryan Bibee said he couldn't find coaches willing to commit to the four weeks of practice leading up to the tournament.

There is a lot of blame to go around for this one. I blame the District, first and foremost. If there weren't Hooligan and Renegade postseason teams, the real District 1 tournament could start much sooner. It might make for a longer break between the district and state tournaments if one of the Carson or Carson Valley teams qualified, but I don't think that's a huge deal. Why do teams need four weeks to get ready for a tournament? Ludicrous.

I also point the finger at the coaches in both leagues. I realize it's a long season, but somebody should want to do this. It's an honor. My sneaking suspicion is that people involved with travel ball don't want to coach all-stars because it would interfere with their travel ball schedule. In the long run, it's the kids that are getting screwed over here. Sure the best 11-12's will probably play Hooligans, but it's not the same.

- Dan Gustin, who has served as the voice of the Wolf Pack for the past 33 years, will remain involved in Pack broadcasts during the upcoming season. Gustin will handle the play-by-play for all football broadcasts on the University of Nevada Sports Network. In addition, he will host halftime shows on the network's football, men's basketball and women's basketball television broadcasts.

The University of Nevada and Wolf Pack Sports Properties will televise at least 12 Nevada games " men's basketball, women's basketball and football. Football and men's basketball will appear on KAME (Channel 21). The school's slate of televised games and the broadcast team will be announced later on in the summer when the basketball schedules have been finalized.

- Former Nevada basketball star Nick Fazekas, who averaged four points and three rebounds in his stint with the Los Angeles Clippers at the tail end of the season, has a confirmed spot on the Clippers' roster for the annual Las Vegas Summer League. Fazekas, who was released by the Dallas Mavericks after the Jason Kidd trade, went through two 10-day contracts with the Clippers. He was signed after completing the second 10-day contract.

- Talented Reds rookie Jay Bruce has certainly has lived up to all the hype surrounding him. The 21-year-old Bruce, who bats left-handed, is 16-for-29 with three homers and seven RBI. He is hitting .552. He got off to such a great start that Corey Patterson was demoted to Triple-A.

- The four finalists for the 2016 Summer Olympics were announced Wednesday, and Chicago is the only United States entry being considered. The frontrunners would appear to be Tokyo and Madrid. I just think that there are plenty of places better than Chicago that could have been considered. I would have rather seen the Olympics come back to Los Angeles, or better yet, San Francisco.

I think the Bay Area, with the BART system and commuter trains, would have been a viable solution. There are several good college arenas (at California, Stanford, Santa Clara, the University of San Francisco and San Jose State) and professional arenas (Oakland, Sacramento and San Jose) that could have been used for the basketball, volleyball and boxing events.

- Contact Darrell Moody at dmoody@nevadaappeal.com, or by calling (775) 881-1281