Why do area teams get stuck with short week?

I've lived in Nevada for six years, and I'm still trying to figure out why football games are scheduled for Thursday night instead of Friday or Saturday on the last week season.

When I asked around the education community about it, I was told that's just the way it's always been.

Jay Beesemyer, assistant director of the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association, said it was the schools that decided not to play on Friday or Saturday.

"Washoe County used to have a rule prohibiting teams from playing on Nevada Day, but they have since relaxed that," Beesemyer said. "We (the NIAA) don't prohibit schools from playing on Friday.

"There's no other reason than the holiday. People get to take advantage of the last week (of fall) before winter is upon them."

Beesemyer's response didn't really surprise me. This seems like it's totally driven by school administrators and teachers. Would it kill school administrators to have to proctor a couple of events on Friday or Saturday?

I think a football game on Nevada Day, especially in the afternoon, might draw more fans than usual whether school is in session or not. Call me stupid, but I think playing on a holiday when people don't have to take off early from work or take a vacation day to go to a game, would be a good thing.

I can remember for many years when the football championship in San Francisco was played on Thanksgiving Day at Kezar Stadium, and that game routinely drew 10,000 fans. And let's face it, Thanksgiving is a much bigger holiday than Nevada Day.

I know that Mike Rippee of Douglas and Blair Roman of Carson would have liked another day to prep for last Thursday's game, especially given what was at stake.

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If you like to see birdies than you would have liked the annual PGA Stage I qualifier at Dayton Valley Golf & Country Club that was held last week. Scores were low most of the week, as the wind stayed away for the bulk of the 72-hole tournament. The course proved to be absolutely defenseless against the young pros. The winner, Ted Oh, averaged 67 per round.

Rick Vaughan, the head golf pro at Dayton Valley, said that the weather was the best he had seen since 2003. The pros especially raved about the greens. Many of them called Dayton's greens the best they've ever putted on.

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Hats off to Cliff Lee, who blanked the Yankees in Game 1 of the World Series on Wednesday night. To shut down a lineup with the likes of Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada, Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano takes some great pitching.

I admit I don't hate the Yankees as much as I used to. The main reason is that George Steinbrenner isn't shooting his mouth off every other day like he used to when Joe Torre was his manager.

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This has been an exciting season for high school sports. The Sierra League football season went down to the final week before a champion was crowned, the boys soccer race for fourth place also wasn't decided until the last night of the season and girls volleyball also went down to the wire.

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I'd love to see the high school soccer officials get a little more thick skinned. Carson's Nate Brigham received two yellow cards against South Tahoe last week and missed the Senators' playoff loss to Hug on Friday.

The first yellow came in the first half and not once did Brigham yell an expletive at the official. I wasn't nearby when the second yellow was issued, but I've sat on the Carson bench all year and never once have I heard Brigham swear at an official.

I know the official in question (from the Tahoe game) and I have the utmost respect for him. However, I thought he was a little too quick when he issued the yellow card approximately 10 minutes into the game. Unless a coach swears or gets personal, an official has to show some restraint. Brigham never even got a warning before his first card.

I've umpired baseball and softball at the college and high school level. In high school softball, umpires can restrict coaches to the bench. That's what we're asked to do whenever possible. I also believe that if a coach swears at you then a red should be issued now no matter what.

I'm not trying to lay all the blame on officials, but there are some real inconsistencies in how games are called, and that's when the coaches get frustrated. I'd love to see four officials per game.