Officials at the Mountain West conference are still investigating the bench-clearing brawl that followed UNLV's victory over University of Nevada, Reno this weekend.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the conference is looking at video of the incident to determine if anyone should be penalized.
Mitch Moss is the host of “Follow The Money” on the Vegas Stats and Information Network. He said he doesn't blame UNLV players for their reaction to what observers have called a "sucker punch."
"I would always ask people to put yourself in their shoes for a minute because if that happened to you - how would you react?" he said, "Are you going to just sit there and take it after you've played an adrenal-filled 3-hour football game against a team that is supposed to be your bitter rival? Of course, you're not going to get punched in the face and say, 'Oops! Sorry, I'm not going to retaliate here."
He said when someone gets punched in the face like that they're going to go after the person who punched them.
Moss also called out past bad behavior by Wolf Pack fans, pointing to an incident in the early 2000s when a picture was snapped of a UNR fan leaning over the railing at Sam Boyd Stadium and using a rude gesture in the direction of then-head coach John Robinson.
He also noted that Wolf Pack fans have thrown batteries at UNLV players on the field.
"You can't do that as fans. You're complete idiots if you do that and morons," he said, "I don't care what city we're talking about here. That should never be the norm or accepted anywhere."
Before the fight broke out, UNLV was celebrating a rare win. It was announced days before the Battle for Nevada game that head coach Tony Sanchez would be out at the end of the season.
The question for many Rebel fans is: Who will they get to replace him and will the school pay the money for a top coach.
"It would be refreshing if they actually opened up the pocketbooks from time to time and actually paid for a coach that maybe has been established," Moss said.
Moss pointed to former UCLA head coach Jim Mora as a candidate for the job. Although, he did note that Mora was a "mixed bag" at UCLA. The coach started out strong and recruited some excellent players but as time went by his winning ways waned.
Moss believes the new Allegiant Stadium, which will be home to the Raiders and the UNLV Rebels, will help in the efforts to recruit a top name coach for the program that has struggled for years.
VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS
After a rough November, the Knights started December stronger with a 4 to 1 win over the New York Rangers.
Moss believes the current VGK roster is better than the 7th place they're at in the Western Conference. The team recently acquired Chandler Stephenson from the Washington Capitols but Moss notes that Stephenson isn't "going to move the needle much."
"I think its a really good roster," Moss said, "They still need some help on the defensive side obviously."
Moss believes the team needs to make a few more moves to beef up their defense before the trade deadline, which is February 24.
The Knights are at New Jersey Tuesday. Game time is 4 p.m. Pacific Time.
Mitch Moss, Vegas Stats and Information Network
