Raiders’ Tom Flores only the latest of sport’s great Icemen

By
Las Vegas Review-Journal
Former Oakland Raiders head coach Tom Flores waves during a ceremony honoring the 1983 Los Ange ...

According to the Coors beer commercial that honors him, Tom Flores was “The Iceman,” cool under pressure, with a stone cold demeanor that could freeze opposing defensive backs.

But being known as an Iceman doesn’t make the original Raiders quarterback, their coach for two Super Bowl victories and a freshly minted member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, unique.

In fact, a cursory scan of the internet revealed no fewer than 32 athletic types who have answered to that moniker.

This list was hardly comprehensive, as Flores wasn’t included. But he’s not the only Las Vegas Iceman, or at least an iceman with Las Vegas ties.

That distinction belongs to former Las Vegas Posse kicker Carlos Huerta, and it has nothing to do with him performing on frozen tundra during the team’s one-and-done Canadian Football League season in 1994. Huerta earned the frosty nickname by virtue of late-game heroics while playing for the Miami Hurricanes.

Combat sports have produced at least five icemen, although the 38-11 record of former light heavyweight Iceman John Scully suggests an occasional meltdown, too.

There’s a frozen four of racing comprised IndyCar champion Scott Dixon, NASCAR titlist Terry Labonte, 2007 Formula One champ Kiki Raikkonen and cyclist Scott Moniger.

Raikkonen is from Finland. There never has been a sports Iceman from Iceland, but there is one representing the field of arts and entertainment: singer-songwriter and former CBS “Rock Star: Supernova” contestant Guomunder Magni Asgeirsson. (And now you know why they call him Iceman.)

But the most famous Iceman of all was born not a frigid fjord but in the mean streets of the Rust Belt.

Detroit native George “Iceman” Gervin skipped out on Jerry Tarkanian after just one semester at Long Beach State, but that didn’t preclude him from finger-rolling his way to 26,595 NBA points and averaging 25.1 points for his career.

That’s a lot of ice, ice baby.

Around the horn

— Despite being limited to two catches for 10 yards by fellow Hall of Famer Herb Adderley and the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl II, Fred Biletnikoff was more than happy to talk about it during a recent telephone chat. He also shared an anecdote about the Raiders’ 32-14 victory over the Vikings in Super Bowl XI, during which he caught four passes — three setting up touchdowns — en route to being named the game’s MVP and being presented a car.

“A Ford Thunderbird — I only got to use it for a year, and I had to carry my own insurance on it,” the glue-fingered catcher of passes said with a dubious chuckle about how the big game has changed since he last played in it.

— Here’s one more Las Vegas tie to the Super Bowl: The grandfather of the Lady Rebels’ Bailey and Jade Thomas is Emmitt Thomas, the Hall of Fame defensive back who intercepted a pass in Kansas City’s 23-7 victory over Minnesota in Super Bowl IV and is still the Chiefs’ career interception leader with 58. The three-time Super Bowl champion and five-time All-Pro was Kansas City’s secondary coach for nine years before retiring in 2019 at age 75.

— Unlike the UNLV football team, which signed only one local player of the 39 who announced their college football destinations this past week, College of Southern Nevada baseball coach (and former Rebels field-goal kicker) Nick Garritano believes in building a program with homegrown talent.

Of the 30 players listed on the Coyotes’ roster, 19 hail from Southern Nevada.

CSN, which started the season ranked No. 1 in multiple junior college polls, began 2021 by going 3-1 against Salt Lake Community College and the College of Southern Idaho at Morse Field in Henderson last weekend.

0:01

Former Raiders defensive end and notorious party animal John Matuszak, when asked why he had stayed out so late after advising teammates against it before Super Bowl XV in New Orleans:

“That’s why I was out in the streets. To make sure no one else was.”

Contact Ron Kantowski at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow @ronkantowski on Twitter.

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