Ed Graney is a sports columnist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, covering a variety of topics and the Las Vegas sports scene.
egraney@reviewjournal.com … @edgraney on Twitter. 702-383-4618
Beyond what you might know about UNLV’s freshman basketball star Brandon McCoy exists a side unknown to most who cheer his every dunk. The 19-year old, who plays five instruments, embraces a love for music and its power to inspire far beyond a court and rim.
For long stretches, particularly in the second half, the Rebels didn’t play well at all in an 89-82 win Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
The Rebels and Arizona certainly didn’t disappoint Saturday night in delivering the type of tenor most hoped for, an overtime thriller won by the Wildcats 91-88 before 14,579.
While it’s impossible to directly connect Arizona being linked to arguably one of the biggest scandals in NCAA history with what has been surprisingly inconsistent results thus far, it’s hardly a stretch to suggest the two storylines share a common alliance.
Tony Sanchez concluded his third season as coach Saturday, when the Rebels lost to a historically bad UNR side 23-16 and with it a chance to become bowl eligible and reclaim ownership of the Fremont Cannon.
The third year under coach Tony Sanchez is now in the books as a 5-7 record with no bowl game, no return of the Fremont Cannon and enough legitimate questions about his staff that demand to be answered.
Champions of the MGM Resorts Main Event, UNLV in an 85-58 win over Utah showed those at T-Mobile Arena and an ESPN2 audience how different things are from last year’s 11-win nightmare.
Hughes might have one college football game remaining, or he might get two, but as much as he wants the latter to be his final act, he already pulled off a leading role.
He wasn’t a guy who made headlines. He might have eaten at McDonald’s, but never wore an All-American jersey with a patch of the golden arches on it. He never played a second of varsity ball in high school.
The Rebels, who opened their season with a 108-66 rout of Florida A&M, are longer, deeper, more athletic, more savvy, far better suited to compete on a nightly basis this season.
BYU is now 9-0 against UNLV in Las Vegas after its 31-21 victory, which might explain why so much late money was bet on the Cougars on Friday.
There’s every chance Rogers will continue to see time at quarterback Friday against Brigham Young and beyond as this season winds to a close, but it’s never a bad thing for someone so young and talented to be reminded of football’s cruel realities.
It’s either coaching or players or both for the Rebels, and yet perhaps all of the defensive nonsense has over time created a sort of systematic culture that breeds an expectation of failure.
It’s a slow and steady and incredibly frustrating climb when it comes to the Rebels trying to match and compete with the Aztecs, a two-time defending Mountain West champion that is ranked 19th in the nation.
UNLV began practice Saturday, and coach Marvin Menzies talked about the FBI investigation into college basketball, a scandal that involves colleagues Tony Bland and Rick Pitino.
