Judge ruled in landmark sports cases

The usual questions about abortion and previous statements certainly will come up when the Senate Judiciary Committee queries Sonia Sotomayor this summer as part of the nominating process for a seat on the Supreme Court.

Sports questions might not be asked, but they probably should be because Sotomayor has had a profound impact on Major League Baseball and the NFL.

In baseball, she sided with the players in 1995, ending the owners-imposed lockout that canceled the previous season's World Series.

ESPN's Peter Gammons noted the judge "saved the owners from themselves."

"The people who tried to rig the system with collusion, pay-for-performance and the artificial attempt to implement their own labor system were, as usual, ill-advised and leaderless," Gammons wrote. "When Sotomayor forced the game to resume and charged that they bargain in real faith, baseball under (commissioner Bud) Selig went from a $1.3 billion to $7.5 billion business."

Sotomayor, though, showed she won't automatically rule in favor of labor. As part of a three-judge panel, she took management's side in siding with the majority in 2004 to keep in place the NFL's eligibility rules.

Running back Maurice Clarett played one season at Ohio State and, after being declared ineligible for his sophomore season, went to court to change the rule requiring players to wait at least three years after high school before turning pro.

But in her decision, Sotomayor made a point of saying the NFL Players Association had agreed to the rule, commenting, "Those 1,500 players want to protect themselves. That's what unions do; they protect people in the union from people not in the union."

• COVER THE KIDS' EYES! -- Considering Las Vegas' risque reputation, it's surprising the city isn't part of the World Naked Bike Ride in June in 70 cities and 20 countries.

For that, we should be thankful. Those who have been to Miami's South Beach know clothing optional isn't always a good thing.

And it's not like Las Vegas doesn't offer enough places with, ahem, exposure.

Still, if you must watch or participate, there are plenty of host cities -- provided you can navigate the group's user-unfriendly Web site.

• HOW MANY AIDES DOES HE HAVE? -- Maybe Gov. Jim Gibbons figures his chances of carrying the Las Vegas Valley next year were almost nil anyway. How else to explain his recent shot at UNLV's football team, oddly claiming it has 28 assistant coaches?

"I am not a football coach, but when I played in high school, we had two (coaches) and probably the same number of kids on the football team," Gibbons said, according to the Reno Gazette-Journal.

For the record, the Rebels have nine full-time assistants and two graduate assistants, which is in line with the rest of major college football.

It's easy information to find. Just go to UNLV's Web site.

The governor, no doubt, was resorting to hyperbole, but why at the expense of UNLV football?

COMPILED BY MARK ANDERSON LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL