Josh Newman, aka Newbs, is a current undergrad at the University of Nevada, Reno, studying in Community Health Sciences. He has a deep passion for his very own Nevada Wolf Pack and follows them closely. His knowledge of the football program is much more than one would think, as he is a student equipment manager for the team, being at every practice and game and knowing a lot of the behind the scenes happenings that people on the outside do not know about. On top of his work with the Nevada football program, he is also an assistant clubhouse manager for the Triple A Reno Aces baseball team that feeds the Arizona Diamondbacks. He has been a very active member in the RotoKingdom community with his participation in various fantasy leagues among members, This Week in Sports, Wolf Pack chat and constant participation throughout the RK forums. On top of his love for the Wolf Pack, he closely follows his other favorite sports teams: the San Francisco 49ers, San Francisco Giants, Orlando Magic and San Jose Sharks. Last but not least, and probably the most important thing, is his commitment to growing the RK community from what it is now, to something bigger and better in the future.

This Week In Sports

 by Josh Newman (aka Newbs) - RotoKingdom Staff Writer

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Article Written:
January, 29, 2010

Nevada men's basketball hasn't been a topic of water cooler conversation since a guy named Nick Fazekas left town. The crowds at Lawlor Events Center have been the smallest they have been in quite awhile. Nevada averages 5,428 fans a game and the last time that number was under 6,000 for an entire season was 1999-00. Nevada averaged about 8,300 fans a night during Fazekas' tenure. That means there are about 3,000 fans a game that decide to stay home these days. Well, it is time to come back. Just five home games remain. The WAC tournament at Lawlor is just 41 days away.

The shrinking attendance is not the fans' fault. They should be commended for sending a message to the athletic department. That message is that we never want to see a home schedule littered with the likes of Montana State, Fresno Pacific, South Dakota State, Eastern Washington, Wagner and Portland. A total of 10,526 showed up to watch the Pack lose to North Carolina last season. That was just 1,074 less than the Fresno Pacific, South Dakota State and Wagner games drew this year combined. Going to the who-cares College Basketball Invitational (CBI) tournament the last two years also did not help.

When is Nevada going to retire another men's basketball number? Edgar Jones' 32 is the only one off limits for players now. Number 22, that of Fazekas', would be a good place to start. There's a good chance more than 5,428 fans would show up the night No. 22 was lifted to the rafters.

It does not matter when they play the NFL Pro Bowl. They can play it before the Super Bowl, after the Super Bowl, at halftime of the Super Bowl. Watching a football All-Star game is about as exciting as watching Fresno Pacific and South Dakota State play basketball. The NFL needs to take a page out of the all-star baseball, hockey, and basketball books and have a skills contest. How about a 40-yard dash between Chris Johnson and DeAngelo Hall? What about a drill where Darrelle Revis covers Randy Moss for 10 consecutive pass plays? Or a halftime speech contest between Mike Singletary and Rex Ryan?

Did you ever think you'd see the day when the New York Yankees would pick up a player from the San Francisco Giants' scrap heap? The Giants never had any intention of bringing back Randy Winn. He was one of the worst starting offensive players last year. The Giants will be just fine in the outfield this year without him with some combination of Aaron Rowand, Fred Lewis, Nate Schierholtz, Eugenio Velez and Mark DeRosa. OK, that is not exactly Willie Mays, Felipe Alou and Willie McCovey, but at least Giant fans will not have to watch Winn ground out to second on 3-1 pitches anymore.

This might be painful for Nevada fans, but imagine Ohio State with both Evan Turner and Luke Babbitt. Babbitt, who verbally committed to Ohio State, might have been headed to the Final Four this season. Turner and Babbitt would have given OSU one of the best forward combinations in the nation.

ESPN reported that the WAC will receive $7.8 million because of the Boise State football team's trip to a BCS bowl. That's all well and good, but all of that money would have gone to another conference had Nevada beaten Boise State. There's just something horribly wrong about all of that. How about splitting all of the money derived from all of the bowl games evenly among all of the FBS schools? That would take money out of the equation entirely and not force conference commissioners and presidents to secretly root for the school that will earn them the most money down the road. Yeah, like that's going to happen.

What are the Oakland A's thinking by signing Ben Sheets for $10 million for one year? He gets that $10 million just for breathing. If he actually stays healthy this season, he'll get another $2 million just for working 195 or more innings. Given Sheets' injury history, that will probably come to about $1 million per start. The A's are going to finish last in the AL West with or without Sheets. Why not save the $10-$12 million and give it to their favorite charity? The best thing the A's can hope for out of all this is that Sheets stays healthy into July and August so they can deal him for three prospects.

- Josh Newman - RotoKingdom Staff Writer