Championship hopes end for the Aces, the Las Vegas Raiders receive another bad blow, and Davante Adams wants out! Let’s talk last week in Las Vegas sports (Sept 30 – Oct 6).
#5 Davante Adams demands trade from the Las Vegas Raiders
Davante Adams reportedly blindsided the Las Vegas Raiders after requesting a trade last week. The request comes as Adams is dealing with a hamstring injury that has him sidelined for two weeks and might be contributing to the situation.
“They think everything is fine,” explained Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer. “On Monday, [Adams] reaches out to Antonio Pierce, says, ‘I want to come up and meet with you.’ He thinks it’s about his hamstring. Comes up there and says, ‘I want out. I’m done. I want to finish my career like this.’ He completely blindsided them.”
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the leading destinations for Adams are the Jets and Saints. Both possibilities reunite Adams with quarterbacks he has played for before and has developed chemistry with.
#4 Adin Hill and backup struggle during preseason play
The Las Vegas Golden Knights reportedly want Ilya Samsonov as Adin Hill’s backup but might want to rethink that. Why? His lackluster performance during preseason. One example is when Samsonov kept letting pucks pass in a 3-1 loss to the Avalanche last week. Samsonov finished with two goals allowed, creating a lot of doubt around him.
Samsonov is now 0-2 as a starter and has allowed four goals so far this preseason. Compare that to the 1-0 start of Akira Schmid, who the Avalanche only got one goal past, and you see a big difference. Schmid’s efforts at least contributed to a 6-1 victory.
Adin Hill also took a beating during a recent loss to the San Jose Sharks on Sunday. The reported starter for the Golden Knights allowed six of 29 shots to get past him.
#3 Richard Childress comments on Kyle Busch’s struggles
Let’s be honest. Kyle Busch is having the worst season of his NASCAR career. Richard Childress, the Las Vegas native’s car owner, even chimed in about it.
“Kyle, he’s been involved in several crashes. I talked to him this morning, he said, ‘Maybe I should’ve been a little bit more patient,’ Childress said on Happy Hour. “But you know, when you’ve got someone breathing down your back, you’re leading the race with 20, 25 to go, you just make the move that you think is right. I told him, ‘Man, don’t worry, we’re going to win some races.’ It’s been a tough year, but everybody has fought hard.”
Busch has five top-fives, ten top-tens, five DNFs, and no wins in 2024. He also missed the playoffs for the first time in almost a decade.
#2 Las Vegas Aces lose semi-final series to the New York Liberty
It’s all over the for the Las Vegas Aces following a 76-62 thrashing in game four of the semi-finals. This eliminates the Aces from the WNBA playoffs and marks the first time Becky Hammon has not won a championship since coming to the league in 2022. League MVP A’ja Wilson put up 19 points, one assist, and 10 rebounds in the loss on Sunday and had this to say after the game.
“Just doing it, it’s hard,” said A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas’ three-time MVP, on the three-peat quest. “Every team looks different. Your team looks different. Nothing’s the same. Everybody wants to beat you. You’re everybody’s Super Bowl. That’s hard to come into.”
Kelsey Plum managed 17 points, one assist, and two rebounds against the Liberty. None of this was enough to stop the Liberty’s Breanna Stewart, who knocked in 19 points, five assists, and 14 rebounds, or Sabrina Ionescu, who scored 22 points, two assists, and seven rebounds.
“You don’t have it every year. It’s not the way this works. You don’t get to flip a switch,” Hammon said. “It’s the beautiful thing about sports, actually. The work and the commitment and the buy-in, and the play-hard and the want-to and the will will always show up in the end. And New York’s had really great will and determination this whole year. We talked a lot of smack last year. I’m sure they heard it, and they got to smack us this year.”
#1 Las Vegas Raiders get rocked by the Broncos
Raider Nation is now reeling after a 34-18 loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday. The loss is their ugliest of the season and features an absolute shutdown of the Raiders on both sides of the ball. Gardner Minshew did connect with Brock Bowers early in the game for a 57-yard touchdown reception, but this is one of their only highlights.
The Broncos turned the tide in the second quarter when Gardner Minshew threw a pick-six to Pat Surtain II. The Broncos player rushed 100 yards to score the touchdown and tie up the game. Denver also chipped in two field goals during this period to give them a 13-10 lead over the Raiders by halftime.
Unfortunately for the Las Vegas Raiders, Denver struck again in the third when Bo Nix connected with Jaleel McLaughlin for a four-yard touchdown. This extended the lead 20-10 lead and put the Raiders against the wall. So much so that they put in Aidan O’Connell, who went 10 of 20 for 91 yards with a pick of his own. This didn’t work because Nix threw a second touchdown and rushed for another in the fourth quarter. This was the final nail in the coffin for the Raiders, and the Broncos ultimately prevailed 34-18.
O’Connell’s performance wasn’t enough to turn the tide for the Raiders, but it might have impressed Antonio Pierce. At the very least, it forced Antonio Pierce to claim in an after-game press conference that he was unsure who would be starting next week.
The Numbers
Gardner Minshew finished the game going 12 of 17 for 137 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. Alexander Mattison led the rushing effort with 15 carries for 38 yards and 2.8 yards a carry. For those wondering, this is worse than Zamir White’s numbers and isn’t a promising sign for the ground game.
And once again, the defense turned in a laughable performance, allowing 13 unanswered points in the second quarter. The Raiders’ defense never had an answer for Bo Nix, and it showed every play.
The Raiders are now 2-3 after the loss and fall to last in their division. They have also now scored a total of 96 points and given up 131 points. That’s the fifth most points allowed in the league while only landing 23rd in points scored.
The Raiders now have a 2-3 record, a QB with turnover issues, and no running game.
