Djokovic dogged about pet

To quote tennis Hall of Famer John McEnroe, "You cannot be serious!"

Apparently, Novak Djokovic is serious, dead serious, about his demand that his dog be allowed access to the All England Tennis Club and watch his master compete at Wimbledon. Djokovic, the No. 2 seed, is upset that Pierre, his pet poodle, has been barred from the grounds.

Djokovic was able to bring his dog with him while he competed on the European clay court circuit last month. But it's a far different story at the staid and stoic All England.

"He is upset he can't bring Pierre to Wimbledon and he is pleading with the authorities to let the dog in," a source in the Djokovic camp told the Daily Mail. "Whenever he can, he takes the dog with him. He is genuinely upset. For him, this is a very serious issue."

The dog has a Twitter account and had more than 900 followers as of Tuesday. Perhaps Djokovic, who is in today's quarterfinals, would be better served concerning himself with handling Roger Federer's passing shots or Rafael Nadal's great defense.

■ WICKED FIRST PITCH -- Every major league team has a ceremonial first pitch before each game. But there probably hasn't been one like the toss Monday at PETCO Park.

The San Diego Padres hosted Cirque du Soleil performers before a game with Kansas City, and one of the Cirque members, Gabryel Nogueira da Silva, had the honor of throwing the first pitch. He didn't just throw the ball, he leaped into the air, made a 360-degree spin and proceeded to throw a strike.

John Wall should be doubly embarrassed. Wall, the Washington Wizards' star guard, dribbled a first pitch to the plate at a recent Washington Nationals' game.

■ NO RETURN -- Even before Dave Rice was named UNLV basketball's coach, rumors had spread that Tim Grgurich was coming home to work as a member of Rice's staff. And even after Rice hired Stacey Augmon, Justin Hutson and Heath Schroyer, the Grgurich-return-to-UNLV rumors persisted.

With the NBA headed for a lockout Friday, Grgurich, who spent 12 years as Jerry Tarkanian's top assistant and was an assistant with the Dallas Mavericks this past season, might not have anyone to coach.

But Rice and Warren LeGarie, Grgurich's agent, said nothing is going to happen.

"Coach Grgurich has been a mentor for myself and Stacey as players," Rice said. "He will continue to be a mentor for us as coaches. Anytime he wants to come to practice, he's welcome. But there are no plans to have him work with us."

LeGarie said NBA rules prohibit Grgurich from helping Rice even if he wanted to and he was waiting to see if the lockout would occur before deciding what Grgurich's next moved would be.

"We're all in a holding pattern right now," LeGarie said. "We don't know what's going to happen. But Tim will be coaching somewhere."

Too bad it won't be with Rice and the Rebels. The young players could certainly learn from Grgurich's wisdom. The coaches, too.

COMPILED BY STEVE CARP
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL