UNC fan fallout takes new turn
Before North Carolina basketball coach Roy Williams starts that witch hunt among Tar Heel fans, he might want to reconsider.
An enraged Williams twice called out North Carolina fans this week, accusing a booster of selling tickets to UNLV fans who sat behind the UNC bench last Saturday at the Orleans Arena.
The result, said Williams, was having a "negative, negative, negative" UNLV fan make life miserable for an assistant coach's wife on Friday and Saturday.
Williams hinted there would be hell to pay. "I'm trying to find out who it was," he said.
Timeout, says UNLV fan Zach Lerner, who attended the game and may have witnessed a scenario that exonerates North Carolina fans.
Lerner, a 2010 UNLV graduate, and two current UNLV students had all-day tickets for Saturday's action at the Las Vegas Invitational.
After showing up at 11:30 a.m., Lerner and a friend, Kenny, camped out in seats three rows behind the Southern California bench to watch the Southern California-South Carolina game, the prelim for UNLV and UNC.
Before the prelim started, the family of the South Carolina coach claimed the seats where Lerner, his friend and a third member of their party were sitting.
"Once the game started, they realized the South Carolina bench was on the other side," Lerner said.
Once the South Carolina fans left, Lerner and his friends moved back into the primo seats, which would put them behind the UNLV bench for the championship game.
After the preliminary game ended, Lerner noticed that the South Carolina fans who moved to the other side had left their seats and didn't return. Some UNLV fans "moved down into those seats," he said.
"They were selling those tickets for the day, not for individual games," he said. "They would have had those seats for all four games.''
That means Williams "should be blaming South Carolina, not us," Lerner said.
Or Carolina's true-blue fans.
OPENING NIGHT
Jackie Jackson, Tito Jackson and Marlon Jackson will be attending opening night of Cirque du Soleil's "Michael Jackson: The Immortal Tour" on Saturday at Mandalay Bay. They will be among a red carpet parade that includes commitments from John Landis, who directed Jackson's "Thriller" music video, MoTown Records founder Berry Gordy, James Gandolfini of "The Sopranos," Allison Janney of "West Wing," actress Anne Heche, and Kristen Cavallari of "Dancing With the Stars."
THE SCENE AND HEARD
Readers who requested a mailing address for former Channel 3 meteorologist John Fredericks can reach him at 2251 N. Rampart Blvd., Box 132, Las Vegas, NV 89128.
Former NFL wide receiver Mike Pritchard, in his sixth season as color analyst for the UNLV football program, has been getting the itch to test his wings at another level. The former University of Colorado standout brought it up during his weekly Wednesday segment with Paulie Howard and Seat Williams of "Afternoon Gridlock" on ESPN Radio affiliate KWWN-AM 1100/ 98.9 FM. Returning to the field, possibly as an assistant coach, has piqued his interest, as well as moving up the broadcasting ladder. "Down the line I could see myself doing something like that," he told me. "Everybody I've worked with has been great."
SIGHTINGS
Sheriff Doug Gillespie, cooling his heels in "jail" at Opportunity Village on Tuesday for the bail-out-the-sheriff fundraiser for the Magical Forest.
THE PUNCH LINE
"A new photo from one of Saturn's moons shows it may have all the elements necessary for life. Isn't that cool? Isn't that great? Yeah, the three elements found there were nitrogen, methane and Red Bull." -- Conan O'Brien
Norm Clarke can be reached at 702-383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find additional sightings and more online at www.normclarke.com. Follow Norm on Twitter @Norm_Clarke.
