Maddux brother Mike remembers Greg’s beginnings in Little League

How good was Greg Maddux as a kid?

Texas Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux is best known as the brother of the future Hall of Fame pitcher, who announced his retirement Monday at the Bellagio during baseball's winter meetings. Mike had his own 15-year big league career, but it's clear he's an even bigger fan of his brother's success.

Mike remembered a time when Greg was 12 and got a chance to pitch in Little League.

"He started the game, struck out 17 of the 18, and the coach wouldn't let him play anymore," Mike recalled. "He said, 'It's no fun. Nobody gets to play when you pitch.' So he never let him pitch again. That's when I said, 'Wow. That's pretty good right there.' That's pretty dominant, what he did."

WINTER MEETINGS: Landing Major League Baseball's winter meetings at Bellagio was a real coup for Las Vegas and about as close as Southern Nevada is likely to get to having its own big league franchise for a few years. It's a sign that we are at least a legitimate convention city.

It's also a testament to the respect baseball's owners have for Las Vegas 51s General Manager Don Logan, who knows everyone who is anyone in the game and in years past offered to help package a deal to make Las Vegas a spring training site.

If the opportunity comes again, we should go for it.

RURAL SCHOOLS: Southern Nevada's rural public schools, such as those found in Searchlight, Goodsprings, and Sandy Valley, could close under a Clark County School District cost-cutting plan under consideration.

Those schools in remote areas save students as young as kindergarten bus rides of up to 50 miles.

FRANK'S PLACE: At the recent Las Vegas Valley Book Festival, I stood in the courtyard at the historic Fifth Street School and heard poets reading their work.

Nearby, locals of more than 60 years told stories of the old Las Vegas.

They were pieces of living history and just the kind of people to whom the late Frank Wright couldn't resist speaking.

The late Las Vegas historian's memory was honored Thursday night at the Fifth Street School. The area was renamed the Frank Wright Memorial Courtyard.

RINGSIDE HEAVYWEIGHTS: Welterweights in the ring, heavyweights at ringside.

It was impossible to miss Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid a couple rows back sitting next to his longtime friend and Republican adviser Sig Rogich at Saturday night's Pacquiao-De La Hoya fight at the MGM Grand Garden.

Wonder what they talked about. Perhaps they compared the beating De La Hoya took to the one Rogich's main man John McCain absorbed in the November election. Maybe Reid waxed nostalgic about his days as a fighter, comparing himself to the lightning-quick Pacquiao, or at least noticed that the rhetorical welts he gave President Bush seemed a lot like those rising from De La Hoya's face.

UMC DONATION: UnitedHealthCare is donating $500,000 to University Medical Center in honor of Sierra Health founder and former UMC physician Dr. Tony Marlon. UnitedHealthCare has purchased Sierra Health and Marlon is retiring.

MASKED MEN: In Lucha Libre wrestling, the men are masked any time they might be seen in public.

The Mexican professional wrestling phenomenon comes to the Star of the Desert Arena at Terrible's Primm Valley Casino Resorts at 8 p.m. Saturday with a card highlighted by the legendary father-son team of Rey Misterio. (Not to be confused with their relatives, who wrestle under the name Rey Mysterio.) They will take on Cobarde Jr. and Sr., another family team.

'RED ARMY': In an extremely tough economy, the Great Las Vegas Santa Run to benefit Opportunity Village attracted 6,119 red-suited revelers and about 1,000 canine Clauses.

I joined the red army and came away with a few observations.

While I'd argue that the cute kids and canine Clauses stole the show, the African-American Santa Elvis guy was right up there. Not to mention the Santa's hot little helpers in their skimpy outfits and stripper shoes.

When about 6,000 Santas walk by the Showgirl Video adult shop, some are bound to take a Polaroid or two. And there were the Jesus Saves guys who were busy trying to convert the Clauses of every denomination.

Only in Vegas.

Have an item for the Bard of the Boulevard? E-mail comments and contributions to Smith@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0295. He also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/smith/