Aces stay focused while dominating rest of league
While the Las Vegas Aces are atop the WNBA with a 10-1 record, they've focused on not becoming complacent with a second- straight championship being the goal.
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1. Aces stay focused while dominating rest of league
While the Las Vegas Aces are atop the WNBA with a 10-1 record, they've focused on not becoming complacent with a second- straight championship being the goal, writes The Sporting Tribune’s W.G. Ramirez.
As Vegas Golden Knights forward William Karlsson stammered on the microphone during Saturday's celebration rally at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas Aces fans could've easily been reminded of All-Star MVP Kelsey Plum's speech at their championship parade, proclaiming it was just the beginning.
"We just getting started," Plum said back in September, among other things that included a couple of choice expletives.
Apparently so, as the WNBA has made its turn at the quarter-pole, and to no surprise, the star-studded Aces lead the pack with a lineup that appears unbeatable.
The Aces improved to 10-1 on the year as four players scored in double digits in Sunday's 93-62 win over the Minnesota Lynx.
2. Maloofs helped bring Golden Knights to Vegas
The Maloof family helped bring an NHL expansion franchise to Las Vegas and are still minority partners in the Vegas Golden Knights, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Norm Clarke.
It was a long time coming for the Maloof family.
“It’s only been about 45 years for us,” said Gavin Maloof, who was in tears after the Vegas Golden Knights’ Stanley Cup-winning celebration on Saturday night.
The long journey wasn’t just frustrating, it was painful. Real pain.
“My dad, George, purchased the Houston Rockets in 1979 and died in 1980. I was 24 years old. I was the youngest owner in major league sports.”
3. Nuggets fly to Las Vegas to celebrate title after parade
The Denver Nuggets flew to Las Vegas to celebrate their championship Thursday night at Hakkasan after their parade.
The NBA champion Denver Nuggets headed to Hakkasan at MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas for a victory celebration Thursday night after their championship parade and rally in Denver.
NBA Finals MVP Nikola Jokic and his teammates had dinner at Hakkasan, dining on signature dishes such as the Mongolian Wagyu Flat Iron, before making their way to Hakkasan Nightclub where they entered to cheers from the packed crowd at the stroke of midnight.
Players, including Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., Bruce Brown, Aaron Gordon, DeAndre Jordan, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Jeff Green, and others took over VIP tables on the stage and joined DJs Pauly D and Justin Credible in the booth and toasted their win with a 3-liter bottle of Perrier Jouet Brut Champagne.
4. Sparks fall below .500 after 83-74 loss to the Sun
Sparks head coach Curt Miller lost in his first game against his former team, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Rey Moralde.
The Sparks grinded it out and kept it close. But once again, the game got away again as the Connecticut Sun defeated them, 83-74.
This was Coach Curt Miller's first game against his former team. Jasmine Thomas was also playing her former team as well.
It started out pretty ugly as it took two minutes and change before Dearica Hamby made the first field goal for either team. She would end with 6 early points. The Sparks boosted the lead as Chiney Ogwumike was able to get the board and putback before the first quarter buzzer. Sparks led Connecticut, 19-15 after one.
5. Padres collapse, lose to Giants 7-4
The Padres have a late-inning collapse and lose 7-4 after a Mike Yastrzemski walk-off homer, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Isaiah Zuravel.
Padres fans were outraged after the loss after manager Bob Melvin decided to put in Luis Garcia in the 9th inning over the very hot reliever Tim Hill who looked great in his 2 innings of work tonight. Postgame Bob Melvin said by the Giant's pinch-hitting Austin Slater he opted to go with the righty Luis Garcia. He did this even tho 2 of the 3 next hitters would be lefty which if Hill was in he could have probably got out. Keep in mind that Tim Hill also only had 19 pitches thrown. It seems as Josh Hader was unavailable for tonight's games after pitching the last 2 nights. This game was on par for the Padres season so far.
6. Golden Knights’ win is Las Vegas’ shining moment
The Stanley Cup championship win by the Golden Knights will be remembered by many as Las Vegas' biggest sports moment ever, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Steve Carp.
As the Golden Knights rolled up the score in the third period in Game 5 against the Florida Panthers Tuesday night en route to capturing the Stanley Cup at T-Mobile Arena, I was asked if this was going to be the greatest moment in Las Vegas sports history?
Not individual moments like a boxing match, an MMA contest, a golf tournament or an auto race. Strictly a team sports accomplishment.
I had covered UNLV’s run to the NCAA men’s basketball championship in 1990 so I definitely had some perspective for what had been the No. 1 moment this city had seen.
But it’s hard to define what the Golden Knights did in comparison to what the Runnin’ Rebels accomplished. For starters, we’re talking about a major league professional sports franchise vs. a college program. It’s hockey vs. basketball. The community was vastly different then compared to now.
7. Odds and Ends presented by Circa Sports
Here are some odds at Circa Sports if you’re thinking about placing a wager today:
8. Ticket Time presented by TickPick
Here are the “get in” prices for tickets if you’re thinking about going to a game today.
7:00 p.m. – Dodgers at Angels – $52
7:00 p.m. – Lynx at Sparks – $4
9. On the Air presented by The D Las Vegas
Here are the game times and television channels for professional teams in the region today.
7:00 p.m. – Dodgers at Angels – SportsNet LA, Bally Sports West
7:00 p.m. – Lynx at Sparks – CBS Sports Network, Spectrum SportsNet
10. The Arash Markazi Show presented by The Sporting Tribune
The Sporting Tribune’s Arash Markazi is joined by Armani Buckets and Brandon Deutsch to talk about Draymond Green opting out of his contract with the Golden State Warriors and rumors that he wants to team-up with fellow Klutch Sports clients LeBron James and Anthony Davis on the Lakers.
Listen to The Arash Markazi Show presented by The Sporting Tribune on The Mightier 1090 ESPN Radio in Southern California, 98.5 The Bet in Las Vegas and the Hawaii Sports Radio Network 95.1 FM and 760 AM in Hawaii. You can also listen to the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Stitcher.
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