McCain backs off bet ban

Republican presidential nominee John McCain -- the gambler -- knows when to fold 'em.

The Arizona senator is backing off legislation he had proposed to ban wagering on college sports through legal sports books in Nevada.

"That legislation isn't going to pass, so let's do everything we can to make sure these young athletes are aware of the temptations that are out there," McCain said in an interview that will air at 6 a.m. today on ESPN's "SportsCenter" (Cable 30).

"But I also think that we have seen from time to time this temptation overcoming some young athletes. So we need to watch very carefully."

Host Bob Ley asked McCain -- a one-time boxer -- about the state of the fight game.

"I don't think it's as good as it could be. I think pay per view has had unintended consequences as well as intended, and it has narrowed the viewing audience. You see this ultimate fighting filling in a bit of a vacuum there.

"I'm a proud conservative, I still think (boxing) needs a union because these are the people with the shortest spans of participation. They need to have retirement benefits, and they need it as badly or worse than any professional sport."

• WIN, LOSE; LOSE, WIN -- The Milwaukee Brewers dropped a doubleheader at Philadelphia on Sunday and fell into a tie with the Phillies for the National League wild-card spot. So Monday the Brewers fired manager Ned Yost.

New Orleans coach Sean Payton, whose Saints lost to Washington on Sunday, was rewarded with a contract extension through 2012.

Lane Kiffin led the Oakland Raiders to victory on the same day at Kansas City, but the NFL's youngest coach (33) expects to be fired any day.

The quick hook isn't new for owner Al Davis. In 1989 he fired Mike Shanahan four games into the season. The Raiders' next coach will be their eighth since the franchise returned to Oakland in 1995.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Nancy Gay wrote: "Kiffin is finished in Oakland; it's now a matter of when. ...

"What NFL franchise would dump the head coach with a 1-1 record two weeks into a 17-week season? This one."

• POOR TRAVELER -- Animal rights activists should be alerted to the potential abuse of Traveler VIII, the white horse that gallops around the field with the USC Trojan warrior aboard every time the team scores.

This year, Traveler might need backup based on the whippin' the Trojans put on Ohio State on Saturday. It was as if the Trojans thought they were members of the Southeastern Conference.

USC's 35-3 victory was like a replay of the Buckeyes' past two Bowl Championship Series title game losses to Florida (41-14) and Louisiana State (38-24), both SEC teams.

Not even the most faithful Ohio State fan can argue with Los Angeles Times columnist Stephen Dilbeck's conclusion the Trojans "were completely dominant. Best team on the field, and certainly for now, in the country. New guys, same impressive results."

But he also warned, "The USC faithful, of course, will now officially enter their obnoxious mode. When the Trojans look earmarked for greatness, their fans go from haughty to unbearable. Trojan Nation will now swell like a blow fish."

COMPILED BY JEFF WOLF REVIEW-JOURNAL