#5 Liz Cambage signs new deal with Las Vegas Aces.
Liz Cambage signed a new deal with the Las Vegas Aces this week, and while no details of the agreement were released, the announcement shows just how much the star center means to the organization. Whether she can have a successful season after taking a year-long break due to COVID-19 remains to be seen, but she has the potential to be the missing link for this team.
Think about it! You’ve gotta, A’Ja Wilson, Dearica Hamby, Chelsea Gray, Riquana Williams, and Liz Cambage all in rotation. You also have a few upcoming stars that are taking on points as well. In the end, though, Camabge will definitely help add points to the final scoreboard and could serve as a sort of anchor for the team on defense.
“I love playing with her,” Cambage said of teammate Aja Wilson. “Watching her last year pushing through, leading the team (while) so young … all I’ve got for that girl is nothing but love and respect.”
#4 Golden Knights fans could have to get vaccinated to attend games
The Las Vegas Golden Knights announced just last week that they would be able to have up to 20% capacity at the T-Mobile, but it appears that it might come with a caveat. Unfortunately for fans of the franchise, team president Kerry Bubolz claimed in an interview that he was considering requiring a vaccine to attend games in person. While the move seems well-intentioned enough, especially with wanting to maintain safety there will likely be a group of fans that disagree with this idea.
#3 Robin Lehner breaks silence about absence after rumors spread
Las Vegas Golden Knight goalie, Robin Lehner has been absent from the ice for the past 17 games, leading fans to wonder if he was dealing with some kind of substance abuse issue. They also questioned whether his mental health was playing a factor again. Where was the other half of the Las Vegas Aces dynamic goalie duo? Would he return in time to help his team make it to the playoffs?
Lehner finally broke his silence on Wednesday, claiming he was suffering from a concussion and didn’t feel it was safe to return yet. He also claimed that he didn’t understand why his absence was such a big deal to the sports world.
“I did hear it,” Lehner said Wednesday, referring to the speculation. “That’s … the only reason why I’m telling you guys that I had a concussion right now. It’s the nature of society … the stigma around mental health is insane. Everyone deals with it, I don’t care what anyone says… If I (had) those issues again, which are not happening, I would be honest about it. It’s unfortunate because a mental health problem is no different than a knee problem, or a shoulder problem, or something like that. It’s treatable, except the stigma makes it harder for people that struggle with mental health stuff.”
#2 Kenyan Drake to sign two year deal with the Raiders
The Raiders signed Kenyan Drake to a 14 million dollar contract. While the move seems a little strange, especially with the team already having Joshua Jacobs as a running back, Drake is being touted as a jack of all trades. Whether that role is a running back, a wide receiver or even a tight end is up to the Raiders, but it’s nice to see them try to weaponize the offense.
#1 Marcus Mariota told to accept pay cut or leave
According to a source, Marcus Mariota was told in no uncertain terms this week that he could be traded, accept a seven million dollar pay cut, or be released by the Raiders organization. How that all pans out remains to be seen, but a lot of teams were originally interested in Mariota, which could carry over to free agency.
Possible teams at this point include the Washington Football, The Indianapolis Colts, The Carolina Panthers, and some roles as a backup with other organizations. Again, it’s all a matter of how much a team wants to invest in someone who served as a backup for a year, but that kind of puts Mariota at a disadvantage. If the Raiders want to cut his salary by seven million dollars, how much faith do they really have in the player going forward? What does that decrease mean for his value in free agency?
