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.