Tigers seeking coaches

According to sources, the hiring of a new boys basketball coach at Douglas should happen sometime this month.

A panel has been formed, and it already is screening applicants. There is one area coach that has thrown his hat in the ring, but I'm not sure whether he will get the job despite some good credentials.

Douglas has a physical education job to offer for a potential coach, and that should bring the applicants running. Getting a basketball coach with a PE background is much easier than getting a basketball coach with an academic background.

Personally, while I think the area coach is more than qualified, why would he want the headaches that come with coaching at Douglas? The parents are, and most likely will continue to be, hard to deal with. Maybe it's better to have somebody that has no knowledge of the past or the area to come in and get the job.

No matter who gets the job, hopefully he will get better support from the administration than Keith Lewis did.

MARQUESS ROLLS ALONG

Mark Marquess, Stanford's successful head baseball coach, has been down on The Farm for 29 seasons. Yet don't expect him to give up coaching anytime soon.

"I think my wife would work me harder if I was home," Marquess joked after Stanford's 13-0 win over Nevada last week. "As long as I enjoy it, I'll keep doing it. I still like it."

And, Marquess has been good for the game and the university. He guided the Cardinal to back-to-back national titles in 1987 and 1988. One of his pitchers on those teams was Lee Plemel, a planner for Carson City.

Stanford has made 13 College World Series appearances and won 20 conference titles. A total of 121 players have been selected in the draft in the last 20 years. Not a bad thing to have on your resume.

"He's got great resources," Nevada's Gary Powers said, alluding to Stanford's ability to recruit from all over the country. "He's a real competitive guy."

SOFTBALL COACH NEEDED

And, speaking of Douglas High, I was sorry to see that Jim Puzey had resigned his position following an altercation at practice earlier this week.

Like him or not, Puzey knows the game of softball and can coach the game of softball. He has helped hundreds of kids become better players over the years.

Without having been there and without knowing exactly what happened, all I can assume is that the outburst crossed the line from what DHS athletic director Steve Wilcox would tolerate as acceptable behavior.

According to several sources in Washoe County and our area, Puzey is expected to help Jim Pace with the Reno High softball program next season.

HE'S GOT A POINT

I read with interest David Ortiz's comments regarding baseball's drug problems. In a nutshell, Ortiz said he expected that Latin-born players would most likely violate the policies because they might not understand or can't read English well.

Ortiz said all the meetings and materials are in English, and that it would be helpful if there had been somebody there to translate. You know what, he has a point. You would think a well-oiled machine like Major League Baseball would be smart enough to dot all of its I's and cross all of its Ts.

One talk-show host even said that a good idea would have somebody from Major League baseball set up a meeting, with a translator, in the Dominican Republic, Mexico or Venezuela. One central meeting place for all the Latin-born players. Darn good idea.

Bud Selig step up to the plate and do the right thing.

Darrell Moody can be reached at dmoody@nevadaappeal.com, or by calling (775) 881-1281