CLPack

Greetings from Reno. Thought I'd share a local sportswriter's pick with you (I don't think it's on their web site). IMO, Sneddon is the best sportswriter in the Reno area, and his picks are unbiased and often right on.Steve Sneddon (Reno Gazette-Journal) After last year's game, I'm inclined to think that Akron doesn't match up well with Nevada, but I fully admit I'm biased and nowhere near as knowledgable as Sneddon. My pick: Nevada 72 Akron 66. BTW, I think "Zips" is a very cool mascot. Good luck this year (after tonight); hopefully we'll get to see Akron on TV again come Bracket Buster time.

Hmmm...could it be?

Nevada has been playing an 8-man rotation lately, although Bell sometimes doesn't play as much against smaller lineups.A few things that may not be obvious from stats: *6-9 JC-transfer Demarshay Johnson is just starting to get comfortable and play a bigger role; he's been contributing a lot of inside offense lately.*PG Ramon (pronounced Ruh mawn) Sessions was bothered by a hip injury earlier in the year; he's now healthy and back to last year's form as a true FR, although his shooting touch still hasn't returned.*FR G Lyndale Burleson turned in his best game to date in Monday's game against LaTech; he may get more PT than normal.*The Wolf Pack plays very good perimeter defense, and G Kyle Shiloh is generally regarded as the team's best defender; and went from last year's least consistent shooter, to this year's most consistent 3-pt threat.*SG/SF Marcellus Kemp is the team's best shooter, but is streaky (not unusual, I know); he has the ability to take over a game, but also has a knack for forcing shots.*SF Mo Charlo is the team's best slasher, and the most likely to make the highlight reel; he slumped mid-season, but appears to be coming around.*PF Nick Fazekas is deceiving; you'll think, "he can't run...he can't jump...he's slow...what's all the hype about?".....and then he'll procede to hang up 20+ pts and ~10 boards.*7-0 C Chad Bell is a monster; officials typically don't know how to call him, and he commonly gets in foul trouble on mysterious calls; doesn't contribute much offense, but will occasionally come up with a jaw-dropping offensive move.Weather watch: Today's weather is sunny and brisk (forecast high of 38 deg). Winter storm watch in effect for tomorrow afternoon...stormy weather sometimes keeps a lot of Nevada fans at home, so stay tuned.

Arghh! I can't tell you how many times I've encountered this. Almost every time, it's because you're dealing with someone that doesn't know and doesn't care. Sometimes, giving them the information they need helps. Often, there's a single person that knows what's going on...you may have to ask who that person is, and when they work.ESPNU is now on both DirecTV (channel 609) and Dish TV (channel 148). For both, you need programming that includes the Sports Pack.If the place you're dealing with shows a lot of sports, including games on Fox Sports, then they already get ESPNU. If they only show stuff on major outlets (CBS, ESPN, etc.), then they probably don't have the Sports Pack. For a popular game, they can make enough money in one day to pay their Sports Pack bill for years, so there's no excuse not to pick up the phone and order it...it only takes a couple minutes.The best way to get response is to have a handful of different people contact them. If they think they're dealing with one squeaky wheel, they'll probably blow you off. But if they get calls from three people (or better yet, more than three), they'll begin to think it's worth their while.Good luck.

Nevada fan here. I'm also a bit disappointed, and surprised, that the game is on ESPNU. But it isn't all that bad.1) As others have mentioned, Fri. night is a better time slot, because many of the games on Sat. will be competing against 2, or even 3, other games. I seriously doubt Nevada refused to play on Sat., because they've been planning on that all year long. That's the date printed on tickets, and some people will inevitably miss the game because they didn't realize the date was changed. But who knows for sure? Coach Fox was quoted as saying, "It's terrific we're playing on a Friday. Our game at Idaho (on Monday, Feb. 20) was moved to 2 p.m. (Friday) is a better day for us to play." In any case, playing on Fri. gives Akron an extra day to rest up and prepare for the stretch run in conference. The Wed. game @Miami is pretty key, right? Isn't an extra day to prepare for it a good thing?2) A Nevada fan called and was told the game will NOT be on ESPN Fullcourt. Ruthless marketing, I guess. I noticed games during the football season that made it look like they were being used as a hook to get people to sign up for ESPNU (which usually meant getting a satellite dish). BTW, in case you're not aware, you need the Sports Pack to get ESPNU on either Directv or Dish TV (not part of basic programming).Anyway, I'm jazzed about playing Akron, and am really looking forward to a week from Sat....er, I mean, Fri.