Daily Archives: August 20, 2021

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Skies are bright and the temperature is cooling in Las Vegas.

By the time Saint Louis and three-time national champion Bishop Gorman take Fertitta Field tonight, it will have been nearly two years since the Crusaders played an official football game.

The weather has surprised me the most. I thought it was going to be super hot, but it doesnt feel too bad, senior defensive back Kona Moore said on Thursday.

True enough, temperatures dipped into the 70s overnight on Thursday, but are expected back in the mid-90s by game time. Smoke from California wildfires was visible in Las Vegas during the week, but Bishop Gormans campus is 13 miles south-southwest of the Strip. It has been clear skies so far.

Im just glad. Im happy weve got a game going. Im happy weve got the ILH schedule, so its really, really positive for the kids, having a season and its a go, Saint Louis coach Ron Lee said. Gormans solid, always one of the top teams in the country. Were anxious to see how we play. Weve got some really good players, too.

The Gaels are loaded with talent since losing to rival Liberty in the 2019 Nevada state final. That same year, Saint Louis defeated Bishop Gorman 31-19 at Aloha Stadium. This fall the Gaels are ranked No. 12 by MaxPreps.

Saint Louis is unranked but stoked by its most experienced position group, the offensive line.

I feel great as always. Legendary, to be exact, offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea said.

That could be a reference to the late Matt Faga, who coached linemen across Oahu year-round. Fagas motto was, Why be great when you can be legendary?

Im blessed for the opportunity to play in front of fans and with my brothers. Were not only representing Saint Louis. Were repping the whole state of Hawaii as well, Savaiinaea said.

Laakea Kapoi, a commit to San Diego State; center Ethan Spencer (Hawaii); and Savaiinaea (Arizona) are the trench men with the most experience on a formidable offensive line. The group was bolstered by recent additions, including junior Iapani Poncho Laloulu, a 6-foot-3, 350-pound transfer from Farrington.

Quarterback AJ Bianco, like Lee, is playing the waiting game with a low-key approach.

It was good today. We feel good. Confident, the senior said Wednesday night after practice.

AJs been with us three years. Now its his turn, Lee said of the 6-foot-4, 220-pound senior. AJs doing a good job. Im anxious to see all of these guys play. Receivers, new running backs. We lost almost all our starters.

Spectators will be admitted to Fertitta Field and the game will be streamed on the NFHS website, subscription required.

It should be pretty good-sized, said Bianco, whose parents are among those who made the trip.

Bianco has an unproven corps of pass catchers to work with. The Bishop Gorman secondary boasts four of the top five defensive backs in Las Vegas Valley, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Theyre really good. A lot of talent, a lot of speed. Theyre ranked high for a reason. Theyre going to give us a good battle, Bianco said. We havent played in a couple of years. The seniors didnt have their junior year, the juniors didnt have their sophomore year. Were obviously grateful that were even playing a game. Were blessed to have this opportunity.

Lee became head coach for the 2020-21 season when his brother, Cal, stepped down. While Cal Lee remains the defensive coordinator, Ron has steered the program through a global pandemic. He finally gets a game tonight.

Well find out who our players are when the lights go on. Thats what these games are for, to see. The big thing is theyre getting to play after waiting so long. Most of them are from the JV, Lee said. Weve had some really good practices against each other, but we havent had a game since 2019.

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Saint Louis thrilled to be in Las Vegas for a football game - Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Its no secret that many people feel like the NFL hates and actively works against the Las Vegas Raiders. Whether its blown calls by the officials on the field, botched replay reviews (Im not going to say it...) or just some of the decisions the league makes, sometimes it feels like Pete Rozelle and Al Davis are still fighting with each other.

Well, Raider Nations conspiracy theorists just got more fuel to the fire...

Todd Dewey of the Las Vegas Review-Journal wrote an article yesterday evaluating the difficulty of every NFL teams schedule this season, using odds from Las Vegas sportsbooks. The Pittsburgh Steelers drew the toughest schedule as their opponents combine for 156 projected wins, per line makers. Just behind the Steelers is their long-time AFC rivals, with 155.5 projected wins for the Raiders adversaries.

Now, Las Vegas does play in a tough division as the win totals for every team in the AFC West are as follows:

So, the Raiders schedule would be tough regardless if Rozelles ghost is still haunting the Davis family.

Heres what Westgate vice president of risk Ed Salmons had to say about the AFC West and the Silver and Blacks difficult schedule:

That division is tough. Denver and the Chargers are rated really high even though they disappointed last year. Theres not one easy game in that division. It kind of feels like the same thing every year for the Raiders where they have a hard schedule. At some point, they need to make a jump forward and win some more games.

At the end of the day, the games are still played on the field and all that really matters is the last sentence of Salmons quote. Its time for the Raiders to win some games and prove everyone wrong!

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Raiders News: Las Vegas to play 2nd-toughest schedule in 2021 - Silver And Black Pride

When a show opens with the tune If Youre Happy and You Know It blasting through the speakers, theres a certain silliness and enjoyment that takes overand this silliness and enjoyment is a high that lasts throughout The Mac King Comedy Magic Show.

After spending more than two decades delighting audiencesboth kids and adultsat Harrahs, King recently made the move to Excalibur, where he continues his schedule of two shows an afternoon. Blending comedy and magic is not something that is the norm, King explains; usually a magician has an air of mystery and remains stoic throughout a performance. But for King, a man that came from a family of self-proclaimed comedians, the dinner table was the premiere pulpit to see who could be the funniest. Comedy was ingrainedand so was magic. Both his grandfathers dabbled in it; one of his grandfathers taught King his first trick involving a rope. Audience members are introduced to this trick, and while it requires nothing more than a rope and a pair of scissors, theyll be pleasantly surprised and quite taken aback by its power to confound the mind.

While King possesses the air of an unassuming magician, looking more like a 1970s salesman with his plaid suit and briefcase full of tricks, the man truly sets the stage afire with his impressive skills. Whether its the bit where he goes fishing and conjures up a real goldfish at the end of his fishing pole or guesses the correct audience members playing card and pulls it out of a sealed cereal box, Kings parade of illusions constantly leave the audience stunnedand laughing.

During one trick, King calls up two audience members, giving them each a pile of playing cards. He puts on a cloak of invisibility and proclaims to everyone that he will transfer three cards out of one volunteers pocket into the other volunteers pocket using only magic. The laughs come in when King is doing the transferring, one card at a time, and asks one volunteer in a disembodied voice: Did you feel No. 2 land in your pants?

Excalibur, 702.597.7600

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Mac King combines comedy and illusions on the Las Vegas Strip - Lasvegasmagazine

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23-year-old Las Vegas man dies from COVID-19; family pleads for public to protect others - FOX5 Las Vegas

For the Raiders to make the playoffs in 2021, a lot of things have to go right. First and foremost, Derek Carr needs to stay healthy and the offensive line needs to protect him. The offense needs to continue to be among the best in football and they need to be better in the red zone.

But the truth is, the 2021 season for the Las Vegas Raiders likely will come down to their defense. Can some of the big-name additions the team made this offseason, such as signing Yannick Ngakoue and Casey Hayward Jr., be enough to make this defense passable?

In a recent article by Michael Renner of Pro Football Focus, he wrote about every teams fatal flaw entering the 2021 season. For the Raiders, Renner believes that a lack of defensive playmakers will eventually be their downfall. Here is what he had to say about their defense entering the year:

Ever since the Khalil Mack trade, the Raiders have decidedly been missing that guy on the defensive side of the ball. Since then, they havent had a defender even in a part-time role earn higher than a 77.9 overall grade. That has to change to compete in the AFC West.

Going into the season, the Raiders are really hoping players like Maxx Crosby, Clelin Ferrell, Trayvon Mullen and Johnathan Abram can break out as they enter the third year of their careers. Because if not, Renners assessment of this team and their fatal flaw is likely correct.

The Raiders are hopeful that their defense will be improved this season, but time will tell just how good Gus Bradleys unit can be this year. Until then, expect a lack of proven playmakers to ultimately be the biggest weakness of this team.

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What is the potentially fatal flaw for the 2021 Las Vegas Raiders? - Raiders Wire

Chitose Suzuki / AP

In this March 6, 2007 file photo, Topps baseball cards are seen inBoston.

By Michelle Chapman, Associated Press

Friday, Aug. 20, 2021 | 7:59 a.m.

Major League Baseball is ending a 70-year relationship with trading card company Topps after signing a new partnership with a rival company.

The loss of the MLB partnership immediately scuttled a deal announced earlier this year that would have made Topps a publicly traded company.

The special-purpose acquisition company Mudrick Capital Acquisition Corporation II said Friday that its agreement to merge with Topps to take the company public was terminated by mutual agreement after it found out that MLB and the league's players union would not be renewing their respective agreements with The Topps Co. when they come up for renewal at the end of 2025 and 2022, respectively.

ESPN reported on Thursday that it obtained a memo from the Major League Baseball Players Association that a company created by the sports merchandise company Fanatics that has yet to be named will be the exclusive licensee for baseball cards once its current licensing agreements expire at the end of next year. The Fanatics deal also includes the players' unions for the National Basketball League and the National Football League, ESPN reported.

Fanatics did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Theproposed dealwith Mudrick would've made Topps a public company. Topps, which was bought in 2007 by former Disney CEO Michael Eisner through his firm, The Tornante Co., said in a prepared statement on Friday that it will now remain private.

Topps said that it expects to be able to make substantially all its current licensed baseball products through 2025.

The company, created in 1938, is best known for baseball cards. But Topps also makes products for Major League Soccer, UEFA Champions League, Bundesliga, National Hockey League, Formula 1, Star Wars and WWE and Garbage Pail Kids. Its confections division has brands including Ring Pop, Push Pop and Bazooka bubble gum.

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MLB to end 70-year partnership with Topps trading cards - Las Vegas Sun

Two boys were arrested after police said they fatally shot a man on a pedestrian bridge over the Las Vegas Wash on Tuesday evening.

Officers were called at about 5:30 p.m. to Douglas A. Selby Park near East Owens Avenue and North Sandhill Road after a report of a man shot on the bridge, which connects to the park, police said.

Investigators determined that a group of boys got into a fight with the man, whom police described as homeless. When the man turned to run away, one of the boys chased after him, then opened fire, police said.

The wounded man was taken to University Medical Center, where he died. He was in his 20s, Metropolitan Police Department homicide Lt. Ray Spencer said.

After the shooting, the people involved in the fight then drove off in two separate cars, Spencer said. One of the cars, a Chevrolet Monte Carlo, was later stopped by Las Vegas city marshals and two boys were arrested on murder charges.

A resident of a nearby apartment complex said about 10 children, some as young as 5, witnessed the shooting. They later watched as first responders loaded the wounded man onto a gurney while the side of his head bled, the resident said.

About two hours after the shooting, a group of little boys and girls wandered the street near the yellow crime scene tape. An officer chatted with them, handing the children police badge stickers as they watched detectives work behind the tape.

The Clark County coroners office will name the man who died once relatives have been notified.

Anyone with information about the shooting may may contact Metro at 702-828-3521 or, to remain anonymous, Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555.

Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter. Review-Journal staff writer Alexis Ford contributed to this report.

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2 boys accused of fatally shooting homeless man near Las Vegas Wash - Las Vegas Review-Journal