Harper takes hacks at softball

With the Washington Nationals off Monday, the Las Vegan no one can stop talking about wandered into a softball game on the D.C. Mall.

"You guys want a pinch hitter?" Bryce Harper asked, according to The Washington Post.

Harper swung and missed on one pitch, took two and hit a high fly to right field.

"That caught me off guard when he whiffed," Steven Marcus, who tossed the pitches, told the Post.

Video can be found on the Post's website and elsewhere.

"It was just great to see him out at the mall, and to be able to toss a couple pitches into him was certainly a personal highlight of my softball career," Marcus said. "It's been the talk of the office this morning."

■ WISHFUL THINKING? - A strong belief still exists in the Mountain West Conference that Boise State and San Diego State will reconsider going to the Big East Conference, even though both schools have issued fierce denials.

But either way, the Mountain West is moving forward to add San Jose State and Utah State in 2013, and, contrary to a report on CBSSports.com, invitations are expected to go out in the coming days.

The Mountain West is prepared to be either a nine- or 11-team conference (10 or 12 in football).

Boise State and San Diego State still insist they will leave for the Big East in 2013, and it has been termed that any second thoughts are a matter of "wishful thinking" by the MWC.

Maybe, but not necessarily. The Mountain West doesn't read anything into the denials by both schools.

The Big East has promised a substantial increase in TV money, but with several more defections from that conference still possible, if not likely, nothing guarantees the dollars will be significantly better.

Another Big East selling point is the additional revenue in being a Bowl Championship Series conference in 2013, but automatic BCS status is going away the following year.

The belief - or hope - in the Mountain West is Boise State will be the first to become uneasy, especially considering it might not have a home for its nonfootball sports should the Western Athletic Conference collapse.

A Boise State reversal could put pressure on San Diego State.

Boise State president Bob Kustra once remarked the Mountain West the Broncos expected to join isn't the one they entered. The same could be said of the Big East.

As ESPN.com's Andrea Adelson wrote, "... the shifting BCS system may end up really hurting the Big East. No more AQ status. Potentially unequal revenue distribution. No tie-in to a BCS site. Those already are three strikes."

■ FEMALE JOURNALISTS WEEP - St. Louis TV reporter Julie Tristan met up with Cardinals World Series hero David Freese last week at a roller-coaster ride for a light-hearted story.

Except that Tristan, who for some reason brought along a female friend, spent the segment hitting on a clearly uncomfortable Freese. She asked questions such as, "Do you think we're pretty?" and whether he preferred blondes or brunettes.

Somewhere, Barbara Walters and Andrea Mitchell were cringing.

COMPILED BY MARK ANDERSON LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL