Viva Las Vegas!

The Yard moved our world headquarters to the Las Vegas Valley in December 2009.  It was the first time the Yard had lived outside of the Los Angeles area, and it was one of our better decisions.  Several other organizations have left California for the same reason; affordable housing and no state income tax. When we started our missives from the desert, LV was a sports town without any professional sports.  Since the Yard relocated, T-Mobile Arena was built and in 2017 became home to the Vegas Golden Knights hockey team.  The Henderson Silver Knights AHL team came in 2020. $2 billion Allegiant Stadium rose from a blighted industrial zone. The Raiders left Oakland and played their first game in LV with the 2020 season.  The Tropicana has been imploded to make way for the Oakland Athletics playing Vegas baseball in 2028.  In 2018, the Las Vegas Aces relocated from San Antonio to play their WNBA games.  The Las Vegas Aviators were purchased by the Howard Hughes corporation and crowned with their splendid new minor league park in Summerlin.   They are the A’s affiliate, and they outdraw them in attendance nightly. The Desert Dogs became one of the founding franchises for semi-pro lacrosse in 2021.  Is it just a coincidence that these franchises saw the way and the light after The Yard led the way.  We think not! 

 

The tremendous growth that the Yard has experienced since moving out east is dwarfed by the success of these teams.  Ok, maybe not so much the Raiders, oh boy.  The Vegas Golden Knights made it to Lord Stanley’s final in their inaugural season.  VGK came back in 2023 and won the Stanley Cup.  It was the first professional title for the state of Nevada and a proud moment for Las Vegas.  The Vegas Aces won consecutive WNBA titles in 2022-23.  Caitlin Clark has helped the WNBA, but the Aces were selling out their home games before she showed up.  The city of Las Vegas is now home to three professional championships. San Diego may find out one day what a professional championship feels like with the parade and all the trimmings, but probably not any time soon. The Padres are the last major professional sports franchise in San Diego.  They are also MLB’s oldest team that has never won the WS.  They have won 1 WS game in nine tries so there is that.  Charger Bobby Beathard built the only San Diego Super Bowl team in 1994.  Bobby Ross guided them to a Super Bowl slaughter by the 49er dynasty. Owner Dean Spanos guided them back to the grit of LA in 2017 after 56 years with the winsome winless fans.

 

The expansion of professional sports in Sin City has stoked the fires at UNLV.  The 1992 Running Rebels were world famous and played in back-to-back NCAA finals.  It would have been legend if they beat Duke both times, but it was not in the Baileys. Rebel football has had few highlights in their history.  Randall Cunningham was a shining star.  Johnny Robinson coaching UNLV after USC in 1999 was another.  There just have not been enough over the years. UNLV stepped up, paid the freight and moved into Allegiant Stadium when it opened. They are more entertaining than the Raiders and the tickets are priced for families. The Stations group Fertitta’s kickstarted a major fundraising effort.  With this backing, UNLV built the best training facilities in the Mountain West. Barry Odom arrived as head football coach in 2022.  He inherited a 5-7 unfocused wandering tribe of a football program. The former Missouri linebacker kicked in the doors and raised the bar.  He put Boise State on his dartboard. The Rebels went 9-5 in 2023 and 10-3 this year.  This week, they won their first bowl game since John Robinson was at the controls.  Odom did not stick around for the game and tripled his pay taking over the 1-11 Purdue Boilermakers.  He might need to slam a few of those in the stout Big Ten. Rebel fan is upset he left but he put the whole program on his back and took it up a few rungs.  He did not beat BSU, but he got their attention.  He raised the profile of the job. UNLV would never have been able to get Dan Mullen if Barry hadn’t built the road to that door.  Las Vegas high school basketball and football are exceptional.  Bishop Gorman is third among all HS for players currently in the NFL. If the Rebels can keep some of the talent, they will catch Boise and pass them.

 

Extra Frames: The NBA is determined to have an NBA team in Las Vegas.  The NBA summer league has consolidated its two-week summer league in Las Vegas.  It is one of the only places with enough hotel rooms and hard courts to accommodate the players. The nascent NBA Cup finals have matriculated to Las Vegas.  Lebron says he wants to part of the investor group that brings a team here.  The plans are being drawn for a major casino, hotel, basketball arena between the Sahara Hotel and Fremont Street.  Commissioner Silver has been coy while trying to keep Seattle in the conversation. The Seattle Supersonics becoming the Oklahoma City Thunder was not an NBA shining moment.  No San Diego, you lost the Clippers and didn’t know Sterling had moved them to LA. It is unheard for a city to lose to professional franchises to the same city! Except Oakland but that makes sense.

 

Final Thoughts: The Yard was looking for the Laker bandwagon.  It must be in for repair because no one rides that anymore.  Dodgers took back the town this year and from the looks of things, they are not giving it up any time soon.

 

The Yankees have one bad fifth inning in the WS and now are frenzied in the free agent market. They lost Soto to the Mets but signed gave Max Fried the largest contract ever for a left handed pitcher.  They took on Cody Bellinger contract and reupped Gerrit Cole. Cody is married to Chase Carter, a smoking 27-year-old Bahamian model in 2023. They started dating in 2020 after Chase broke up with New York Yankee Giancarlo Stanton.  She and Belli have two children.  There could be a few awkward moments.  We can only hope.

Whimsy and other nonsense.

Russia and North Korea have engaged in several strategic alliances for soldiers and weapons in recent months.  This week they jointly announced entering a strategic economic alliance.  These two fiscal powerhouses have the world economies shuddering with the market power they might wield.  Russia is the 11^th largest economy in the world at times. Fluctuations in the Ruble and frozen oligarch wealth plays like three card Monte with world valuations.  North Korea is somewhere around $23 billion give or take a few NPK’s.  Kim’s economic powerhouse is just ahead of Mozambique and trailing Haiti.  Haiti is in the news a lot but not for their thriving economy.  Vlade and Rocket man are having a bromance.  Sort of like DJT and his rocket man Elon.

 

Formula One returns to Las Vegas on Saturday night.  It is a frenzied time on the strip. During the day, tourists and traffic at night open wheeled racing at high speeds.  The hotel town cars, Ubers and family vans are replaced by McLarens and Ferraris barreling down the boulevard through the night.  The main event is Saturday night at 10:00 PM.  Jo and I are so excited.  We have our DVR queued up to record it. Mama in her kerchief and I in my cap and the winter’s nap scenario will override the necessity to watch it live. 10:00 PM on Saturday nights are a photo finish at the Yard.  Don’t worry about hiding the results from us on Sunday.  We love the spectacle more than the outcome.

 

Notre Dame and Army square off on Saturday night at Yankee Stadium. In the 111 years that the Fighting Irish and the Black Knights have been facing off, 24 of those games were played at Yankee Stadium.  Army has won five of those games but trails the history 39-8-4.  They have lost the last fifteen in a row.  Army is ranked 18^th and undefeated.  Notre Dame is 9-1 and ranked sixth. There have been some strange goings on in centerfield at Yankee Stadium.  Too many dropped balls to bet this one but go Army!

 

Ohtani winning the MVP was predicted in the sushi rolls.  In a flash he tied Frank Robinson as the only player to win the award in both leagues.  He simultaneously equaled Barry Bonds record winning back-to-back MVPs with two different teams.  Shohei won his third MLB MVP to go with his 2016 honor in Japan.  It has been common that players who sign large contracts can struggle to prove their worth.  Ohtani ignored the distractions and blistered the competition.  He struggled in the playoffs but contributed to the title.  He will be contributing for the next decade.  The Dodgers have become a global product with Ohtani and Yamamoto.  Game 5 versus the Padres was watched by more people in Japan than the US with Yamamoto vs. Darvish.  The Dodgers are opening the 2025 season in Japan versus the Cubs.  Yard in terns are trying to confirm but we think they sold a few jerseys also.

 

USC vs UCLA this weekend as well.  College football has been tough to follow through dodgy NIL deals and athletes escaping through the transfer portal with their outgoing coach.  USC head coach Lincoln Riley shoved Caleb Williams through the portal to depart Norman.  Williams won the Heisman and the top pick in the NFL draft.   Riley can be an offensive genius we are told, defense not so much.  Both schools got major money to move to the Big Ten with middling results on the field in year one. Go Bruins!

Hail Flutie: On this day in 1984, Doug Flutie dialed up the OG Hail Mary to Gerald Phelan.  #10 ranked Boston College was trailing #12 defending national champion Miami Hurricanes 45-41 with six seconds left. Jimmy Johnson was the Canes HC and Bernie Kosar was the starting QB. Before the bankruptcies, he was a great player.  The Hurricane defensive backs did not think the 5’10” Flutie could throw the ball that far, so they covered the up receivers.  Phelan snuck behind them and cradled the pigskin for the victory.  Jimmy would leave for the Cowboy job.  Flutie would win the Heisman. Bernie would go to Cleveland and suffer another ignominious defeat during John Elway’s The Drive in the 1986 AFC Championship game.

 

Creepmeter:  Lamar Odom has always lamented that he blew up his marriage to Khloe Kardashian. His NBA career was winding down while his drug use was ratcheting up. Keeping up with the Kardash clan was not the therapy Odom needed.  Khloe did race with local news teams to Las Vegas.  She was at his bedside after he ended up in a coma from a weekend of hookers and blow.  She has always been supportive of his mental health struggles.  Odom announced this week he has purchased a life size replica doll of Khloe that helps with that struggle.  He lives blissfully with his Khloe doll. That is flattering, right?

The End of the Beginning

Whew!  That was exhausting. The election cycle was pitiless. There is not a media outlet that provides relief from the rhetoric. We were enjoying UCLA’s upset win over Nebraska on Saturday on the Big Ten network, and they found me. Text messages, emails and phone calls pervaded each day long into the night.  It is estimated that there was almost $16 billion spent on the 2024 election.  In 1758, George Washington ran his and the country’s first presidential race in Virginia.  He spent his entire budget, the equivalent of 50 British pounds to purchase 160 gallons of alcohol. He distributed this largess to 390 voters who carried the election. With the massive spending in this election, it would be noble if the candidates could siphon off 1-2% and maybe send pizzas and Pinot Noir to all of us survivors.  Regardless, if you feel this is the apocalypse or MAGA 2.0, a little postgame nosh would be well received by all.  Here, here to GW the OG!

 

2024 had all the trappings of another Dodger postseason distress. The upstart Diamondbacks blitzed the Azul last year.  The Padres did the same disservice to them in 2022.  The truncated 2020 title seemed hollow with a 60-game season and a World Series in the bubble without a parade. Kershaw has been a great cheerleader, but he was not going to pitch in the postseason.  Freewheeling Tyler Glasnow flamed out early and had to be shut down.  Walker Buehler had been ineffective since returning from his second Tommy John surgery. Yamamoto had been brilliantly unpredictable. The Yankees gave Gerrit Cole $324 million to win important playoff games over nine years.  The Dodgers pay several pitchers well to be that person and many were useless this fall.  Occupational hazard in the pitching industry.

 

We now know what was not certain previously.  Dave Roberts knows what he is doing.  It has not always seemed that way in years past. His managerial skills were questioned perpetually and with good reason based on results. He became the unquestioned leader the team trusted.  He flipped the narrative. Each series was a chess match of burning arms to saving arms for another game. He outfoxed Mike Shildt in the NLDS. The Padres were at the precipice of history before they succumbed to it and fell into the hole. That series was the best series of the playoffs. New rivals to the south, fading rivals to the north and vanquished rivals to the east. Winter is coming to Westros.

 

Andrew Friedman joined the Dodgers in 2015. His first hire was Dave Roberts, and they started the long grind through the lofty expectations.  Friedman’s genius was already anointed by the agency of his years in Tampa Bay.  In 2005, he took over as GM of the Rays. He was just 28 years old.  By 2008, the Rays were playing for a WS Title.  Friedman was patient in the 2023 free agent market lying in wait for the Ohtani prize. Every move he made at the trading deadline was exaggerated in the playoffs.  Tommy Edman, Jack Flaherty, and Michael Kopech all were on other teams in July but helped the Dodger win the title in October.  

 

In 1988, Kirk Gibson hit the miracle 2-run homerun to upset the favored A’s and propel the Dodgers to the title.  Freddie hit his historic grand slam this year reminiscent of Gibbie. Orel Hershiser won game 2 CG shutout 6-0.  The Bulldog came out of the bullpen to save deciding game 5 in that series.  Walker Buehler would conjure his inner Orel to save deciding game 5 in 2024.  Ferris would wear the same number 55 jersey at the championship celebration last Friday.

 

For Giants, the beginning of the end was 2015.  San Francisco had won three WS titles in five years and had a young, talented everyday lineup. The pitching was aging.  Lincecum was the freak who had pitched two 130+ pitch no-hitters but lost that gear along the way. Bumgarner was now the star, but the Giants run of homegrown talent evaporated. Posey broke a leg, adopted twins and retired early.  They jumped the shark when they gave Jeff Samardzija $90 million for five years on December 5, 2015.  The Yankees beginning of the end might have been Giancarlo Stanton running like a pizza delivery person trying not to drop pizza in WS game 3. With the Yankees down 3-0, Bigfoot was waved home, and he didn’t ride it well, washing up on the beach three feet short.  The 5^th inning in Game 5 will live infamously in Dodger Yankee lore. It is still surreal that if Gerrit Cole covers first the score is 5-0 Yankees bottom of the fifth.  It was otherwise.  Aaron Boone reupped so there may be a rematch.

 

This is the end of the beginning for this Dodger edition.  With two titles in this decade and all the major pieces under contract, they are locked and loaded for more.  Ohtani will pitch next year.  Yamamoto has broken through and ready for what comes next.  Glasnow will be back with his eclectic stuff. The Dodgers have never won consecutive titles or three if five or something cool like that. It all will be laid plain in the coming years. They will have the pitching to win titles.  Dave Roberts joined Tommy Lasorda and Walter Alston in Dodger lore. The Dodgers won their record 24^th NL pennant and tied the Giants with 8 overall titles.  Odds are the Dodgers break that tie.

 

Juan Soto is now a free agent and hoping to cash in with Ohtani kind of money.  Soto had a dazzling season and playoffs.  His agent Scott Boras will press for every Benjamin for his client.  Ohtani and Soto have similar stats albeit Shohei will be MVP, Soto not.  Ohtani will pitch for the Dodgers when he can and could win a CY Young, Soto never.  Soto is a $30-40 million a year everyday player.  Ohtani is a $30-40 million a year everyday player.  He is also a $30-40 million a year starting pitcher.  He is the unicorn. Unicorns get $70 million a year.

 

UCLA plays Iowa tonight for the first time since the 1986 Rose Bowl.  The Yard was at the game.  There was a sea of Hawkeye yellow that made the pilgrimage to Pasadena in the winter.  Heavily favored Iowa had an explosive offense featuring Ronnie Harmon and Chuck Long.  Harmon fumbled on his first carry of the Rose Bowl.  He would go on to fumble four more times and drop a wide-open pass to round out the futility.  UCLA would romp 45-28 behind Eric Bell’s Rose Bowl record four rushing TD’s.  We will be rooting for UCLA tonight in the first rematch between these schools since that game.  UCLA is a 6-point dog.  Love to see them win, need them to cover.