The left-for-dead Rebels won the WAC regular-season title and conference tourney. They faced UC Irvine in the NCAA Tournament.
UNLV
The grave had been dug and the coffin prepared, but Rich Ryerson held one final hope that might preserve life. There probably wasn’t enough money in the budget for a headstone.
The Rebels beat No. 7 Colorado State, the first time UNLV has beaten a Top 10 team. The victory moves them into second place in the Mountain West and puts them on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament.
Lori Harrigan-Mack, former UNLV softball star and three-time Olympic gold medalist, gets back into shape on “The Biggest Loser: Glory Days.” And former Eldorado lineman Howard “Woody” Carter also takes the challenge.
The Rebels are picked to finish second in the WAC preseason poll. And thanks to benefactors, they have improved facilities — even if the parking lot isn’t finished.
Simon Keith, the former UNLV soccer star, is a survivor of a life-and-death situation. In 1986, when he was 21, he underwent heart transplant surgery. Only he didn’t tell anybody, other than his coaches and a few others who had a need to know.
Chris Riley plays golf a few times a week. It helps him stay sharp. He and his wife coach their two daughters on a 10-and-under softball all-star team. It helps him stay happy.
On Friday, in a rainy town of not 55,000 souls along the Willamette River in central western Oregon, UC Irvine returns to the college baseball postseason when it meets UNLV in a regional game at Oregon State.
A depressing era is ending. It spanned eight years, years of mostly mediocre and sometimes really bad baseball. Tim Chambers finally has put an end to it.
The Rebels open play against Fresno State at 7 p.m. Thursday at Wilson Stadium as the No. 1 seed in the Mountain West Tournament, a co-conference champion whose roster includes 15 players from the Las Vegas valley.
The news hit John Richy like a fastball that missed its spot. Square in the heart. “There were no words, nothing you could really say,” Richy recalled. “It was so tough to hear. Devastating. Tragic.”
There is a time and place for contract discussions, and this isn’t it, not for a coach whose side has an opportunity to make the sort of history UNLV’s athletic department rarely enjoys from one of its leading sports.
UNLV is tied for second in the Mountain West, four games back of New Mexico in the loss column, and what felt like a certainty a few weeks ago when it came to NCAA at-large chances for the Rebels isn’t all that assured now. Which in no way has their head coach worried.
When I bumped into Tim Chambers Saturday morning on the UNLV campus, the wind had not yet started to blow. The Rebels baseball coach was driving a golf cart, showing supporters around. He appeared happy, happy and hairy.
The Rebels, coming off a series win over San Diego State, are ranked No. 25 this week by Perfect Game, whatever that is.
