Hard core UNLV sports fans who aren’t quite hard core enough to make the long four hour drive north to Ely for Saturday morning’s big football scrimmage have another excellent option for some entertainment that afternoon.

Popular Runnin’ Rebels head basketball coach Lon Kruger will be at Findlay Toyota at 7733 Eastgate Road in the Valley Auto Mall in Henderson to talk with fans and also sign copies of his hot-selling book, “The Xs and Os of Success: A Playbook for Leaders in Business and Life” that he co-authored with D.J. Allen.

Kruger is scheduled to be at Findlay Toyota from 1 to 3 p.m. If you’re lucky, you may also bump into former UCLA All-American and 1995 Final Four MVP Ed O’Bannon who is the sales and marketing manager for Findlay Toyota.

Not a bad doubleheader for autograph hounds. And you won’t find too nicer or classier guys in sports than these two.

I remember covering O’Bannon’s press conference announcing his college choice of UNLV (over UCLA and USC among others) back in 1990 at Artesia High while working for the old National Sports Daily. Hard to believe that was almost 20 years ago. Ed, who later switched to the Bruins when the NCAA came snooping on Jerry Tarkanian’s program, still looks like he could suit up and dominate for the Bruins. Me? Well, three kids and too many bowls of ice cream have definitely taken their toll.:)

Squash any rumors about UNLV head basketball coach Lon Kruger moving on to Arizona as Lute Olson’s eventual replacement.

That was a hot topic among columnists and reporters at UNLV’s 79-64 win over the Wildcats at the Thomas & Mack Center on Saturday. Was Arizona AD Jim Livengood, who also happens to be a good friend of UNLV AD Mike Hamrick, there taking notes on Kruger as Olson’s replacement?

On the surface it seems like a good potential match. Kruger and wife Barb are fond of warm weather and the desert and Lon also has been known to spend his few spare moments on the golf course. And Arizona would have to rank as one of the top 10 jobs in the nation.

But Kruger put the Arizona rumors to rest in a phone interview with Steve Rivera of the Tucson Citizen.

“Barb (his wife) and I love it in Las Vegas,” Kruger said. “We love the situation here, and the people are great. . . . We love what we’re doing in Vegas.”

Kruger also praised interim Wildcats head coach Russ Pennell.

“Russ has done a very good job,” he said. “He’s done as good a job as you can do. Any time you look for a coach, you are looking for someone who can get the most out of your players, getting them to play with intensity. The Wildcats are doing that.

“I’d hope he’d be the front-runner.”