5 Biggest Las Vegas Sports Stories (Jan 2 – 8)

#5 Rheem signs on to sponsor Kyle Busch and Christopher Bell through 2022

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tiIFhP2fIA

Kyle Busch made headlines recently after the Mars candy company announced that they would no longer be sponsoring the Las Vegas native beyond the 2022 season. This is a huge blow for the two-time champion.

All is not lost, however, as manufacturing company Rheem has decided to sponsor both Kyle Busch and Christopher Bell throughout the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season. While a number wasn’t given for how many races the company will sponsor this year, it is worth noting that this is their 15th year with NASCAR.

“We are honored to be able to help celebrate Rheem’s 15th consecutive season as a sponsor in NASCAR’s top three national series,” team owner Joe Gibbs said in a statement. “Rheem continues to serve as a tremendous example of an extremely successful program in our sport and we’re proud to be able to support their efforts on and off the track.”

#4 75% of Las Vegas Raiders fans believe in the team’s direction after win against Colts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGgKtqe9lAs

The Las Vegas Raiders season has been brutal, but Raider Nation is starting to get behind their home team. In fact, a recent poll found that 75% of fans believe that the Raiders are heading in the right direction after their victory over the Indianapolis Colts last week, marking another uptick in support. No matter what happens going forward, this has to be a good feeling for a team that’s been kicked around for the better part of the season.

The Raiders survived the Henry Ruggs III incident, the resignation of coach Jon Gruden, and a plethora of other controversies that have turned the team into a bit of a sideshow.

#3 Desean Jackson claims NFL wouldn t allow him to wear John Madden Commemorative cleats

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8z6qJ66Daic

The sports world was saddened to learn of John Madden s passing in late December 2021, leading to many moving tributes for the former coach and broadcaster. For those that might not be familiar with his history, Madden served as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders for a ten-year span and touted a record of 103-32-7 during his tenure. He is also the man that made the Madden football franchise what it is today and made a whole new generation of fans fall in love with Football.

Desean Jackson wanted to pay tribute to the longtime broadcaster and innovator of the Madden football franchise by wearing commemorative cleats during the Raiders game against the Indianapolis Colts. Unfortunately for Jackson, he was told by NFL officials that the cleats aren’t allowed and that an exception wouldn’t be made. It is worth noting that the NFL allows players to wear custom cleats during their “my cleats my cause campaign” but does not usually allow them to do so outside of that promotion.

“NFL hated on me and said if I didn t take cleats off they were gonna remove me from the game, Jackson said in an Instagram story. I had these made for the legendary John Madden.

#2 Rich Bissacia still in consideration for Las Vegas Raiders coaching job

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RsYiVPbRKw

It s no secret that Rich Bisaccia deserves a lot of credit for piloting the Las Vegas Raiders during the Jon Gruden controversy. But is he the guy going forward? That is the question being mulled by Raiders management, and it s not going to be an easy decision to make. Interestingly enough though, it seems he is still in the mix for the role. Of course, that depends on whether he led his team to the postseason or not, but there would be a good reason to keep him if he did.

Another rumored candidate is Jim Harbaugh, who would have to give up his multi-year stint at the University of Michigan to take the new role. 

#1 Max Pacioretty has surgery for wrist injury and is out indefinitely for the Las Vegas Golden Knights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gc4gLsPpb8I

Max Pacioretty might be one of the best players the Las Vegas Golden Knights have out on the ice, but they seem to keep losing him to injury. This all started during the first part of the 2021 season when Pacioretty was put on the injured list due to lower back pains. He returned later on and put up impressive numbers, which helped put the Golden Knights back on track. 

Unfortunately for Pacioretty and his teammates, a recent wrist injury has sidelined the player for the foreseeable future and he even had to have surgery in December to correct the problem. No word on how long he will be out and who will be responsible for replicating his spark on offense, but this is a huge loss for a team that is just starting to do their best work.