Yard sale: April 18, Rebel Park

Jerry Tarkanian's old teeth-marked white towels aren't for sale, and neither is the football helmet that former UNLV safety Quincy Sanders threw at UNR coach Chris Ault.

But UNLV has plenty of other stuff to unload in a clearance sale April 18 at Rebel Park.

Because the Rebels have switched exclusively to Nike apparel, old coaches' golf shirts and athletes' practice shorts must go.

"We either had to throw it away or sell it," athletic director Mike Hamrick said.

Prices will range from $1 to $50.

Also on the block:

Beas Hamga's five-star recruiting rating.

Internet chatter about Lon Kruger's next coaching job.

Rumors about when Reggie Theus will take over the Rebels.

The 2000 football season, the last time UNLV fielded a winning team.

Dust from the Sam Boyd Stadium parking lot.

• HARD TIMES -- UNLV needs money for athletics, a fact that the clearance sale isn't likely to change.

The athletic department will learn from the state in the coming weeks how deeply its budget will be cut. Hamrick has avoided layoffs and hopes to save jobs again, meaning pay cuts are a more likely option.

Other cost-cutting measures could be made.

The football team might fly on commercial airlines for two or three games, and its annual training camp in Ely could be axed.

Minor sacrifices compared to what so many others have made.

• LEAVE IT TO THE PROFESSIONALS -- College basketball season is finally over, thanks to perhaps the most boring NCAA Tournament ever.

Now we can go back to watching the NBA, where the players are much better and the season -- yes, it's too long -- is more meaningful.

The Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic are fighting for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, and every game counts. No big deal? Tell that to the team that has to play Game 7 on the road.

"You do not really love college basketball," Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel columnist Mike Bianchi wrote. "You love all that surrounds college basketball. But the actual game itself is too often painful to watch. The NBA is poetry in motion; college basketball is frequently drudgery in motion."

• BAD PRESS -- Athletes who don't like what's written about them sometimes yell at the reporter or refuse to grant interviews to the person.

They don't usually go to the lengths that some Hillsdale (Mich.) College baseball players might have after a negative editorial in the school newspaper. John Krudy, who is on the editorial board, discovered carcasses of dead animals on his porch and lawn and a copy of the paper under a dead goat.

Some baseball players live across the street.

The school is investigating, and the paper apologized for an editorial that appeared to be too personal and was based on hearsay.

COMPILED BY MARK ANDERSON LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL