Good To Be Home

The UNLV Hustlin Rebels baseball team snapped a six game loosing streak last night as they defeated Cal State Northridge 10-3.

This was the Rebels first game at home in two weeks and they showed the home crowd that they were glad to be back. This is the final home stand of the 2008 season for the Rebels concluding with senior day on Sunday May 11th against the league leading New Mexico Lobos.

The Rebels beat Cal State behind starting pitcher Matt Hutchinson who threw five good innings allowing only tow runs in the first inning. Steve Rinsudo and Patrick Darrow combined to throw the final four innings giving up just one run on four hits.

All the bats came alive for the Rebels with first base man Xavier Scruggs leading the way with a two run home run in a 14 hit sixth inning. Scruggs finished the game with a three runs scored, a walk and a hit by pitch.

The Rebels play again today May 7th at 1 O’clock at Earl E. Wilson Stadium against Cal State Northridge.

MWC Tournament Preview

The Mountain West Conference baseball tournament is rapidly approaching and the UNLV Hustlin Rebels look ready. With four more series to go until the tournament the Rebels see them selves in fourth place with a record of 8-10 in conference play.

Leading the way for the Rebels is first baseman Xavier Scruggs and his league leading .429 batting average to go along with his league leading 16 homeruns and 54 RBI. Catcher Braden Walker will provide some good protection for Scruggs with his five homeruns and 30 RBI to complement his .336 batting average. Look for outfielders Jesse Wright and J.J Sferra to produce well down the stretch and step up big in the tournament with key hits.

Pitcher Corey Hales will also try to lead his team to a few more victories and better his 4-2 record and 35 strikeouts. The same goes for Adam Moser who has an ERA of 3.65 and a record of six wins and four losses.

The three teams standing in the way of the Rebels are the San Diego State Aztecs, the Texas Christian University Horned frogs, and the league leading New Mexico Lobos. However, of these teams the only one with the higher team batting average are the Lobos who are hitting a combined .314 compared to the Rebels .312. The thing that is going to hold the Rebels back is their pitching. The team ERA for the Rebels is a whopping 7.08, whereas TCU, SDSU, and NMU have team ERAs of 3.55, 5.25 and 5.32 respectfully. These three teams have also held their opponents to under a batting average of .300 as opposed to a .328 batting average given up by the Rebels pitchers.

The keys to success for the Rebels are going to be to cut down on the errors and try and avoid “the big inning”. The Rebels have 61 total errors on the season, 12 of which are from infielder Anthony Morel. The innings of self destruction for the Rebels are the third and the seventh in which they have given up 52 runs a piece thus far in the season. The fourth inning has not been easy either allowing a total of 48 runs.

The tournament action starts on May 20^th in Fort Worth, Texas and will continue to May 24^th. To keep track of Hustlin Rebels log onto unlvrebels.com for the tournament schedule, game previews, and post game reports.

 

UNLV Gets A Big Man

The Wait is over for UNLV Runnin Rebel basketball fans. The 6-foot 10-inch 255-pound forward/center, Brice Massamba has given the Men’s basketball team a signed national letter of intent for next season. The Sweden native has been playing the last two seasons at the Henderson International School in Henderson, Nevada and helped lead his team to a 32-1 record this past season. Massamba averaged 6.4 points per game and 5.2 rebounds per game and shot 65.9 percent from the field.

Massamba will join three others to add to this very impressive scouting class. Those three are 6-foot 2-inch Oscar Bellfield from Westchester high school in Los Angles, 6-foot 5-inch Deshawn Mitchell from Monmouth Academy in New Jersey, and 6-foot 8-inch Darris Santee from Midland college in Texas. Also joining these three will be Beas Hamga and his 7-foot 225 pound frame who red shirted last year and will be a freshman for the upcoming season and 6-foot 4-inch guard Tre’Von Willis who transferred from Memphis last year and red shirted for the Runnin Rebels and will be a sophomore in 2008-2009.

These five players will pay nice complement to returners Wink Adams and Joe Darger. Another Sweet 16 appearance is now more obtainable and the Rebels will look to make sure they do everything possible for another trip to the NCAA tournament.

Holmes at the Next Level

Former UNLV Lady Rebel and basketball phenom Sequoia Holmes is currently trying to earn a spot with the Houston Comets professional Women’s Basketball team. She recently participated in a pair of scrimmage games against the Detroit Shock and the Sacramento Monarchs in Las Vegas on April 28th. Holmes has been with the Comets since the beginning of training camp and is starting to make a name for herself at the professional level.

Holmes had a breakout senior year with the Lady Rebels and was the Mountain West Conference leading scorer this past season. She was also one of the best defensive players at UNLV earning defensive player of the year in her junior season and she was also a three time all-conference player.

Is Kruger worth it?

With this being only his fourth year as the head basketball coach for the UNLV Runnin Rebels, Lon Kruger has taken an already decent basketball program and turned it into an outstanding basketball program and a team that is now a force to be reckoned with. Kruger’s tenure at UNLV began in 2004 when he took over a dismal program that had seen nine different head coaches in the previous 13 seasons. However, winning basketball games comes at a high price.  

Along with this years 27-8 record which included a second straight trip to the NCAA tournament, Kruger received roughly $25,000 for each tournament victory as pay incentives to go along with his $165,000 base salary, his $300,000 in TV and radio appearances and roughly an extra $280,000 for public appearances. All in all Kruger brings home close to $825,000 at the end of the year before taxes.

With college coaches getting paid so much money now days, the question on where the money comes from arises. “Most of the money comes from ticket sales, TV and radio duties, and public appearances,” said Nevada Board of Regents member Mark Alden. This money is all known as supplemental or “soft” money. Alden said this about Kruger’s contract, “$165,000 is the base of Coach Kruger’s salary and that comes from the state. He also receives a bonus for every NCAA tournament game that the team wins.”

“The smaller amount of Kruger’s contract is paid for by the taxpayers because he is an employee of the state of Nevada,” said Senior Vice President for finance and business Gerry Bomotti.

“If he is an employee of the state and he keeps winning then its ok. I really don’t care where the money comes from,” said UNLV student and biology major John Welch.

If the Universities basketball coach is an employee of the state then shouldn’t the taxpayers have a say in who the selection board appoints to lead their team?

“I think we should have a say, but as long as the team wins then I don’t mind,” said basketball fan and student Brittany Brown.

“Most citizens just go to watch the game and have something to do. They dont really pay attention to who is coaching,” said student Dallas Erickson.

With all these numbers being thrown around, what makes Kruger worth all this money?

“He is a great value on and off the court,” said Bomotti. “His contract looks like a great value to me compared to other coach’s contracts around the Nation.”

“I think he is a good deal, I mean he has taken us to the tournament two years in a row including the sweet 16,” said Erickson.

USAtoday.com reports that Kentucky’s Tubby Smith earned 2.1 million dollars this season and that Marquette’s Tom Crean was the highest paid employee at the school in 2004-2005. Both of these coaches make more money in one basketball season than I could ever wish to have in a lifetime and it has gotten their teams no where in the NCAA tournament. That just goes to show that money can’t buy everything. Most people could argue that Kruger is underpaid, but the people who we give all our tax money to have at least made one good purchase. With an overall record of 91-42 as the Rebels head coach, Kruger has proven that he belongs here in Las Vegas and that his $825,000 a year is clearly a sign of his humbleness.

The days of ex-Rebel coach and basketball genius Jerry Tarkanian biting down on his towel have come and gone, but the Kruger era is just beginning and at a bargain price.

“Lon Kruger has the basketball world talking about the Runnin Rebels again and we look forward to him leading our program for a long time,” said UNLV athletics director Mike Hamrick as posted on unlvrebels.com.

Xavier Scruggs

Corner infielder for the UNLV Hustlin rebels is number 16 Xavier Scruggs. The soft spoken Scruggs is the ideal power hitter at 6-1, 215 pounds and his big smile makes him a fan favorite.

This year Scruggs is leading the team in virtually every category as he did last year. This is a good sign for the Rebels because Scruggs gets better and better every year. In is first year as a Rebel back in 2006 he only hit five homeruns, then last year as a sophomore he lead the team with nine homeruns and 36 RBIs. He has already doubled his numbers from his freshman season and bypassed his numbers from his sophomore season hitting 11 homeruns and driving in 40 runs in 36 games in 2008. Another impressive statistic is that he has also doubled his batting average from last year going from .289 to .424.

“I am really excited about my junior season so far,” said Scruggs.

Scruggs says what helps him most is sticking to the same routine before a game. “Usually I listen to my iPod and go over strategy and scouting reports with my roommate Hutch (UNLV pitcher Matt Hutchinson)”

Scruggs feels that he is a pretty good all around player, but the one flaw in his game is his footwork. “I need to work on having quicker feet on defense,” said Scruggs.

The statistics show that Scruggs is a pretty good all around player, but he can help the Rebels out in more ways than with just his bat, he can also pitch in a need to situation.

In his freshman year, Scruggs pitched relief in 15 games with a record of 1-0 with an earned run average of 5.71 and 11 strikeouts in 17.1 innings. He has not pitched since then, but he would be more than willing to step up on the mound if his team needed him.

Scruggs is the kind of player that every coach dreams of having. He is a big kid that can hit the ball into another area code and still stay humble, he can make the plays on defense and he’ll do whatever else is asked of him to better the team. The only flaw in his personality is that he is a San Diego Padres fan, but hey we can’t all be perfect.

UNLV falls to UNR

            On Tuesday night the second meeting between the UNLV Hustlin Rebels and the UNR Wolf Pack took place up north at Peccole Park. Judging by the final score most would think it was a grown men’s softball game with the final being 23-1 in favor of the Wolf Pack.

            The Wolf Pack took an early one run lead in the bottom of the first, but exploded for five runs in the bottom of the second. The only two innings they didn’t score at all were in their halves of the third and fifth innings. The fourth inning saw the Wolf Pack put up a seven spot then in the sixth they put up six more runs on the score board.

            The Rebels only run came in the top of the fourth when Jarred Frierson hit a two out double. He would then score on a single by Bryan Resnick. The Rebels would later load the bases in the top of the fifth, but would fail to get another run across the plate.

            The Rebels starter, Steve Rinaudo, Pitched 1.1 innings giving up four runs on one hit and four walks. Unfortunately for the Rebels their bullpen didn’t do much better. Stephen Singer threw 2.1 innings giving up six runs on five hits, walking two and Justin and Marc Baca combined for 2.2 innings giving up four runs on five hits. Jon Birds, Troy Watson, and Patrick Darrow also throw in the loss but feared the same fate.

            The loss moves the Rebels to 12-13 overall. The Rebels return home for a three game series this weekend against conference rival the BYU Cougars.

Could You Live of $1.08 a Day?

     Often people take a lot of things in life for granted. One of which being the simple fact that we can buy whatever we want to eat whenever we want to eat it. We don’t have to worry to much about how much it costs or how long it will last, but what about those not so fortunate.

     In the state of Nevada people who are use food stamps get an average of 91 dollars a month to live off of. That breaks down to $22.75 a week, $3.25 a day, and only $1.08 per meal. How can someone possibly live off of so little.

     Well the next time you’re at the grocery store pay attention to the things that are cheap, but still provide a lot of the essential vitamins needed to stay healthy. A lot of the cheaper things are the non brand name foods, but they often taste the exact same. Take a stroll down the frozen foods section. Some of the things that are under one dollar are TV dinners, frozen breakfast sandwiches and big bags of stir fry to name just a few. There is also cup of noodles and top ram-en.

     Someone with a little more money via food-stamps could try going places where they sell things in bulk so that it lasts longer. Don’t forget the use of stamps either or the dollar menu at McDonald’s. Just remember that there is always less fortunate people who could use donations. Even though they find ways to get by, every one needs some help.

Steroids Not Just In Sports

     In a previous blog post I brought up the argument that steroids in baseball are not really that bad. However, I did not counter in the fact that all these men are idles to millions of little boys and girls all over the world. I simply pointed out that steroids have not changed the game of baseball, but they have changed the world and not for the better.

     Studies done by scientists show that more and more high school students are using anabolic steroids to try and get the extra edge over their opponents and stand out more in the eyes of the talent scouts. In an article on steroidlaw.com written by Rick Collins the number of high school seniors using steroids in 2007 was 2.2 percent. This number has decreased dramatically from 2002 where the percentage of steroid using seniors was at an all time high of 4.0. 

     “Teens are typically less inclined to admit their steroid use to disapproving physicians, leading to an increased risk of health consequences for failing to monitor liver and cardiovascular health markers,” said Collins.

    The use of steroids can prevent a teens body from growing. Steroids may close the growth of the long bones, thus preventing the teen from growing to their full potential height said Collins. Collins also mentions that teenagers who start using before building a natural foundation first may get big fast, but shrink as soon as their cycle has run out. So with this shrink factor the users are less likely to ever come off of steroids. As if this wasn’t bad enough steroid use can also cut off the natural testosterone production said Collins.

     However, don’t be fooled into thinking that males are the only ones that are using these dangerous drugs. Associated Press reporter Linda A. Johnson wrote an article in April of 2005 that said a daunting number of girls are using steroids, some as young as nine years old. AP sports columnist Tim Dahlberg and Baltimore Sun reporter Milton Kent both have written separate articles that support Johnson and her findings. When an anonymous Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) questionnaire was given by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) its findings where that 7.3 percent of girls have admitted to using steroids.

     Teenage girls use steroids to help develop faster or to tone up for bikini season. Despite these numbers there are always sceptics such as Dr. Harrison Pope a Harvard psychiatrist claims that steroid use among females is extremely rare. “You have to allow that many of the responses may be false positives. A girl may say, oh, the dermatologist gave me steroids to treat poison ivy, where she is confusing corticosteroids with anabolic steroids.” 

     Today’s teenagers base their lives off of instant gratification and steroids provides that. Impatient, lack of responsibility and the yearning for fast results are deteriorating the bodies of young people everywhere. If parents do not become more in tune with their children’s lives then Americas future looks very bleak.

All articles where found on steroidlaw.com which was created by New York lawyer and the nations leading legal expert on anabolic steroids and muscle building dietary supplements Rick Collins.

By The Numbers

“This group[07-08 team] maintained and solidified what we’re after and put next year’s group in position to make progress. That doesn’t mean more wins necessarily, because next year is a big trap. As you know, the expectations are going to go up and it’s always hard to win 27 games. Next year’s team could make progress and win fewer games, for sure,” said University of Nevada, Las Vegas head basketball coach Lon Kruger.

This season was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the UNLV Runinn’ Rebels and they where not only able to win the Mountain West Conference tournament for the second year in a row, but they also made it to the NCAA tournament for the second year in a row. The last time the Rebels made consecutive NCAA appearances was in the 1990 and 1991 seasons. The Rebels did all this with only one returning starter.

After losing to the No.1 seeded Kansas Jay-Hawks by a score of 75-56, the team still has remained optimistic about next season, as it should. The number of players being scouted by the Rebels for next season is currently at 16 with four already committing to come and play for the Runnin’ Rebels next season, including 6-10 center Brice Massamba. Last season only two players committed to UNLV and only three players in 2006. As this team gets better and begins to establish its self as a legitimate contender, look for more and more players becoming interested in UNLV. The Rebels already have 12 players on the scouting list for after next season with two of them already committing.

“For the future, I see nothing but great things,” said senior guard Curtis Terry. “I’m kind of disappointed that I won’t be able to have a role in it like I had in the past four years, but I’m definitely going to be their biggest fan. They’re going to keep on going farther and farther every year.”

In comparing the 2006/2007 and the 2007/2008 teams there really is not that big of a difference. Lets start by looking at the overall records, last years team finished the season 30-7 compared to this years record of 27-8. Both teams however went 12-4 in conference play and both teams went on to win the MWC tournament.

Offensively the 06/07 squad was higher in every category but free throw percentage where this years team had a percentage of .747 compared to last years .716. Last years team also averaged more points per game at 74.9 as opposed to this years team of 69.7. But Last years team averaged 66.8 points allowed to their opponents, whereas this years team was able to hold the opposition to an average of 62.3 points per game. This stat alone is an indication to the increased defensive presence of the Runnin’ Rebels.

The two statistics that remained the same were rebounds per game and assist per game. Both squads averaged 34 rebounds per game and 14 assist per game. This years team did have more turnovers, but when you play a fast and aggressive style of offense and defense that’s what you get. Fortunately the Rebels were able to bounce back from every miscue.

These two teams were fun to watch, but the feeling around the sports world is that the seasons to come will be even better. With 6-10, 225 pound Massamba and 7-footer Beas Hamga, who was a red-shirt due to NCAA transfer requirements, in the paint and Adams and forward Joe Darger draining three point baskets from beyond the arc, next years team is going to be good.