Last Week in Las Vegas Sports (April 1 - 7)
The A's find a temporary home, the Las Vegas Aces sell out tickets fast, and a crazy rumor about Derek Carr's time in Sin City circulates. Let's talk about last week in Las Vegas sports (April 1 - 7).
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Source. Oakland Athletics[/caption]
The Athletics revealed that they'll play in Sacramento as soon as next season. The deal runs through 2027 and is expected to bridge the gap until the new Las Vegas stadium. They will now play their next three seasons at Sutter Health Park, with an option to extend to 2028.
“We look forward to making Sutter Health Park our home through our move to Las Vegas," A's owner and managing partner John Fisher said in a statement. "We extend our appreciation to the Kings and the City of West Sacramento for hosting the A's while we work to complete our new ballpark in Las Vegas."
While the Athletics still have a long way to go before they reach the city of lights, this move does spell the end of their history in Oakland.
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Source. Arizona Coyotes[/caption]
Just when the Las Vegas Golden Knights were soaring back to championship heights, they were sent back to earth. The Arizona Coyotes destroyed the Golden Knights in a 7-4 butt-kicking on Friday. The game started really well for the Golden Knights, who finished the second period with four goals.
William Karlsson, Chandler Stephenson, Jack Eichel, and Anthoney Mantha knocked in goals for the Golden Knights to give them a 4-1 lead. Unfortunately for Las Vegas, the Coyotes responded with six goals of their own in the third period. Logan Thompson allowed six of these goals, while Adin Hill allowed one.
The loss snaps a three-game winning streak for the Golden Knights that includes victories over the Jets, the Wild, and the Canucks. This streak helped Las Vegas climb to third in the Pacific division with 92 points scored. They haven’t secured a playoff spot at the time of this writing.
Derek Carr is one of those names that will forever live in infamy. He was the quarterback of the Las Vegas Raiders for three years, staying with the team after they moved from Oakland. However, he never managed to get them past a wildcard appearance. He also had an interception problem that would cost Las Vegas key opportunities to score, and he was eventually benched before leaving the team in 2022.
Now former Raiders GM Mike Mayocock is discussing why Carr never panned out. He even shed some light on whether they considered trading him. Mayock claims Carr was developing nicely under Gruden until the head coach resigned.
“The reality is that there’s always going to be X number of franchise quarterbacks. … One group below that is another five or six guys that I think you can win with. … I felt strongly that each year with Jon [Gruden], Derek got better and by the end of the ’21 season, whether you were a Derek Carr guy or not, I think you’d have to say he was a top 12 or 13 quarterback," said Mayock.
More 5 things you'll only see in Las Vegas sports
The Las Vegas Aces have officially sold out of tickets for five upcoming games on their 2024 regular season schedule. This includes their season opener against the Phoenix Mercury, the Indiana Fever, the New York Liberty, and the Washington Mystics. The June 2nd game against the Washington Mystics has been moved to the T-Mobile arena to accommodate demand.
Las Vegas also recently made news for selling out of season tickets, becoming the first WNBA team to do so. This uptick in demand seems to indicate that people are invested in whether the Aces get the three-peat. The team has star power like A’ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum, and Jackie Young.
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source. The 33rd Team[/caption]
According to Sports Illustrated, the Las Vegas Raiders will meet with Bo Nix this Friday to evaluate the young star ahead of the 2024 draft. The news comes as the Raiders are expected to draft a first-round quarterback around whom they can build their future.
Nix finished his final season at Oregon with 4508 yards, 45 touchdowns, and three interceptions. These stats look very promising, but they don't tell the whole story, as Nix is a bit of a mixed bag.
As a thrower, Nix's velocity wavers outside the numbers. He can drive it over the middle, but maintaining good speed and arc to the outside is a struggle at times.
The starting job will most likely go to Gardner Minshew or Aidan O’Connell, the only quarterbacks signed to the current roster. There is a chance that whoever Las Vegas chooses gets a chance to start at some point, but they could also decide to build on the progress made with O’Connell.
Next: 5 Unpopular opinions about Las Vegas sports
#5 A's work out a deal to play in Sacramento
[caption id="attachment_49617" align="alignnone" width="819"]
Source. Oakland Athletics[/caption]The Athletics revealed that they'll play in Sacramento as soon as next season. The deal runs through 2027 and is expected to bridge the gap until the new Las Vegas stadium. They will now play their next three seasons at Sutter Health Park, with an option to extend to 2028.
“We look forward to making Sutter Health Park our home through our move to Las Vegas," A's owner and managing partner John Fisher said in a statement. "We extend our appreciation to the Kings and the City of West Sacramento for hosting the A's while we work to complete our new ballpark in Las Vegas."
While the Athletics still have a long way to go before they reach the city of lights, this move does spell the end of their history in Oakland.
#4 Arizona Coyotes snap Las Vegas’ three-game winning streak
[caption id="attachment_49616" align="alignnone" width="819"]
Source. Arizona Coyotes[/caption]Just when the Las Vegas Golden Knights were soaring back to championship heights, they were sent back to earth. The Arizona Coyotes destroyed the Golden Knights in a 7-4 butt-kicking on Friday. The game started really well for the Golden Knights, who finished the second period with four goals.
William Karlsson, Chandler Stephenson, Jack Eichel, and Anthoney Mantha knocked in goals for the Golden Knights to give them a 4-1 lead. Unfortunately for Las Vegas, the Coyotes responded with six goals of their own in the third period. Logan Thompson allowed six of these goals, while Adin Hill allowed one.
The loss snaps a three-game winning streak for the Golden Knights that includes victories over the Jets, the Wild, and the Canucks. This streak helped Las Vegas climb to third in the Pacific division with 92 points scored. They haven’t secured a playoff spot at the time of this writing.
#3 Possible reason why Derek Carr didn’t work out in Las Vegas revealed
Derek Carr is one of those names that will forever live in infamy. He was the quarterback of the Las Vegas Raiders for three years, staying with the team after they moved from Oakland. However, he never managed to get them past a wildcard appearance. He also had an interception problem that would cost Las Vegas key opportunities to score, and he was eventually benched before leaving the team in 2022.
Now former Raiders GM Mike Mayocock is discussing why Carr never panned out. He even shed some light on whether they considered trading him. Mayock claims Carr was developing nicely under Gruden until the head coach resigned.
“The reality is that there’s always going to be X number of franchise quarterbacks. … One group below that is another five or six guys that I think you can win with. … I felt strongly that each year with Jon [Gruden], Derek got better and by the end of the ’21 season, whether you were a Derek Carr guy or not, I think you’d have to say he was a top 12 or 13 quarterback," said Mayock.
More 5 things you'll only see in Las Vegas sports
#2 Las Vegas Aces sell out tickets to five 2024 season games
The Las Vegas Aces have officially sold out of tickets for five upcoming games on their 2024 regular season schedule. This includes their season opener against the Phoenix Mercury, the Indiana Fever, the New York Liberty, and the Washington Mystics. The June 2nd game against the Washington Mystics has been moved to the T-Mobile arena to accommodate demand.
Las Vegas also recently made news for selling out of season tickets, becoming the first WNBA team to do so. This uptick in demand seems to indicate that people are invested in whether the Aces get the three-peat. The team has star power like A’ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum, and Jackie Young.
#1 Las Vegas Raiders set to meet with Bo Nix ahead of draft
[caption id="attachment_49613" align="alignnone" width="1024"]
source. The 33rd Team[/caption]According to Sports Illustrated, the Las Vegas Raiders will meet with Bo Nix this Friday to evaluate the young star ahead of the 2024 draft. The news comes as the Raiders are expected to draft a first-round quarterback around whom they can build their future.
Nix finished his final season at Oregon with 4508 yards, 45 touchdowns, and three interceptions. These stats look very promising, but they don't tell the whole story, as Nix is a bit of a mixed bag.
As a thrower, Nix's velocity wavers outside the numbers. He can drive it over the middle, but maintaining good speed and arc to the outside is a struggle at times.
The starting job will most likely go to Gardner Minshew or Aidan O’Connell, the only quarterbacks signed to the current roster. There is a chance that whoever Las Vegas chooses gets a chance to start at some point, but they could also decide to build on the progress made with O’Connell.
Next: 5 Unpopular opinions about Las Vegas sports