Tag: Las Vegas

Rough day denies Larson a three-peat in Vegas

The third time was not the charm for Kyle Larson at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Larson, who was going for his third consecutive win at the speedway, finished 11th on Sunday afternoon. The No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team salvaged the afternoon after …

The third time was not the charm for Kyle Larson at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Larson, who was going for his third consecutive win at the speedway, finished 11th on Sunday afternoon. The No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team salvaged the afternoon after having a third rough race to start a round in the postseason.

“It’s good to get out of here with something better than we’ve had to start the first two rounds,” Larson said. “It hasn’t been easy for us in these first races, but we did a good job fighting back to get to an 11th-place finish. So, I’m happy about that and, for the most part, keeping our heads in the game.

“It could have been a lot worse.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1423]

Las Vegas was the best finish to the start a round that Larson has had. He crashed out of the first race in the Round of 16 at Atlanta Motor Speedway and was classified 37th. A flat tire at Kansas Speedway to start the Round of 12 derailed his day, and he finished 26th.

There were a few issues that hindered Larson in Las Vegas. He was one of the quickest cars to start the afternoon and finished 10th in the first stage. It ended up being the only stage point he earned.

Larson had to come back down pit road a second time before the start of the second stage for the crew to patch the lower part of the left front grille. Later in the stage, he fell a lap down when having to make a second [pit stop under green flag conditions.

During the initial stop, the rear tire changer had to return to the right side to ensure the wheel was tight. In doing so, the left rear tire was never changed, but Larson left pit road without knowing. He finished 30th in the second stage.

A caution with 74 laps to go for Ty Gibbs, who Larson had been battling for the free pass position, put Larson back on the lead lap. He admitted the day was “extremely hard” when asked about his afternoon.

“We just kind of had a bad end of the first stage, and then we had to fix the damage that I guess we had,” Larson recapped. “Then I was like, okay, we’re going to have a good day here.

“I think I got to, like, eighth, maybe before the green flag cycle, and I was like, okay, I’m much better than all these guys, and we’ll cycle in front of them and probably finish the stage somewhere in third or fourth, and then we have the biggest mess of a pit stop that I think I’ve ever seen and that was just unfortunate.

“Thankfully, I didn’t go two laps down. Then, I had to fight, got a break with the lucky dog there, and got the most of what we had there at the end.”

Through it all, Larson increased his gap on the cutline. It was by two points, however. Larson is 35 points above the cutline with two races left in the Round of 8.

Blaney needs two perfect races to have a chance of retaining title

Ryan Blaney likely needs two perfect weeks to end the Round of 8 if he wants to defend his NASCAR Cup Series championship. Blaney is 47 points out of a transfer spot after a long Las Vegas weekend. It started with a crash in practice on his second …

Ryan Blaney likely needs two perfect weeks to end the Round of 8 if he wants to defend his NASCAR Cup Series championship.

Blaney is 47 points out of a transfer spot after a long Las Vegas weekend. It started with a crash in practice on his second lap on the track, because of a tire puncture. On Sunday, in a backup car, Blaney finished 32nd after being collected in an early crash that damaged his Team Penske Ford Mustang.

“I felt great,” Blaney said about the start of the day. “I got halfway there; I think I got to like 15th, and I was ready to restack. I was like, all right, we’ll start Stage 2 in 15th, halfway there, and felt pretty good about it. We were at least trying to contend, and I feel like we were going to get better in cleaner air, too.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1423]

“So, yeah, I felt great about our pace. It was just a matter of getting there, and I just didn’t even get to rerack and go from there.”

Despite starting in the rear because of needing to go to the backup car, Blaney was making decent headway early in the afternoon. Blaney cracked the top 20 by lap 27 and led some laps during the first round of green flag pit stops by staying out longer on the cycle. He finished the first stage in 17th place.

The incident that changed Blaney’s afternoon occurred on lap 89. Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott, and Brad Keselowski were involved in a crash coming off Turn 4 that started from a three-wide collision. Keselowski clipped Blaney as his car slid back up the frontstretch, which knocked Blaney into the outside wall and damaged the right side of his car. He fell multiple laps down as the team repaired the car.

“Honestly, I couldn’t even see Brad in my A-post,” Blaney said. “The A-post is so freakin’ big; I couldn’t see where he was in the grass. Timmy [Fedewa] said, ‘coming up,’ and I saw him at the last second, and it was too late for me to get left. I thought I could squeeze on the outside and just got clipped and bent both the rear toe links. It was no good after that. So, yeah, a long weekend.

“It’s one of those crappy weekends, man. You feel like you can’t do anything right and nothing is going your way, but hopefully, we can go and contend the next couple of weeks. All we can do is try to win the race.”

The impact of two crashes in one weekend took its toll on Blaney. As he worked to salvage his afternoon, Blaney reported to his team that he was “struggling” and needing some Advil or something to help with a headache.

“My head was killing me,” Blaney said. “When we broke the right rear toe link, flopping all around in there trying to get back to pit road – you just get to freakin’ basketball back and forth, back and forth, on the headrest. I was fine until the end, and then my head started to kill me again. It helped me a little bit, but it was a long day.”

Asked if he was concerned about any lingering issues, Blaney said, “We’ll find out. I’ll be in Miami next week, though. I’ll tell you that.”

Notre Dame reportedly to take part in 2026 Maui Invitational

The Irish are gonna get some sun before they get some turkey in a couple of years.

Imagine being a college basketball fan and knowing part of your team’s schedule two years in advance. It’s not college football when you often know who your team is playing a decade or more in advance. Both sports are just different.

According to CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein, Notre Dame is among seven teams that will take part in the 2026 Maui Invitational during Thanksgiving week. Also participating are Ole Miss, Maryland, Providence, BYU, VCU and Arizona. The eighth team that will round out the field is not yet known.

This will be the Irish’s fifth appearance in the tournament, in which they have an all-time record of 8-5. They last competed in 2021 when COVID-19 forced the tournament to be relocated from Hawaii to Las Vegas. They won this tournament in 2017 with [autotag]Matt Farrell[/autotag] receiving tournament MVP honors.

So if you love Notre Dame hoops and want to do something during Thanksgiving week two years from now, might we suggest making the trip to Hawaii to watch these games?

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on X: @gfclark89

Could the Pittsburgh Steelers trade Russell Wilson for Davante Adams?

With the Pittsburgh Steelers apparent interest in trading for superstar wide receiver Davante Adams, could the trade package to do so involve Russell Wilson?

The trade market has never been hotter for the 2024 NFL season. Davante Adams has been the marquee name in recent days, with teams seeking to acquire the current Raider for a compensation package that meets the Las Vegas team’s demands.

It was reported that the Las Vegas Raiders would seek a second-round pick, as well as ‘additional compensation.’ Could the Steelers be one of the few teams capable of meeting these requirements, and does this involve sending Russell Wilson to Vegas?

Justin Fields should secure the starting quarterback position moving forward. Although the Steelers would appreciate the depth Wilson offers, he holds more value as trade compensation than sitting behind Fields for the rest of the season.

Wilson, along with a conditional third-round pick, should be more than enough to acquire the 31-year-old Adams.  The Raiders also have quarterback issues of their own, which Wilson could alleviate.

Pittsburgh has been down this road before with the Brandon Aiyuk drama earlier this season. If the Steelers went all in on Aiyuk, why not send your backup quarterback in a move for possibly the best wide receiver of the past decade, Davante Adams?

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

 

 

A’ja Wilson revealed the reason she’s been wearing plain white t-shirts to Aces games

Here’s the reason why one of the WNBA’s best-dressed players is suddenly wearing plain white tees.

A’ja Wilson‘s MVP campaign is still alive and well, and she may have unlocked the secret to her recent ridiculous surge: a plain white tee.

It’s no secret that the Aces are struggling. They don’t look like a championship team, and their once-lethal starting five isn’t scaring anyone most nights. That leaves a lot of pressure on Las Vegas to win another championship and an even heavier load on its centerpiece, A’ja Wilson.

As you might suspect, Wilson has made major adjustments. Since August 23, she’s arrived at game days dressed down. Her signature glammed-up looks have been traded in for a plain white T-shirt and various colors of sweatpants and shorts.

Why is A’ja Wilson, one of the best-dressed players in the WNBA, no longer serving looks? The answer is pretty simple.

Per Callie Lawsone-Freeman of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, here’s A’ja’s reasoning:

“I have to want to put on clothes. Right now, where I am, I don’t feel like I deserve to put on clothes…Right now, my main focus is just getting wins.”

“So if we start getting a couple [of] wins under our belt, I might pop out and show a little something. Right now, I am digging in the bottom of my T-shirt drawer, and I’m putting on a shirt and I’m getting out.”

The plain white tee seems to be working.

As of the time of this post, the Aces are 3-2. Wilson’s averaged 30.6 points and 12.8 rebounds during that five-game stretch, including a monster 41-point and 17-rebound night against the Phoenix Mercury.

Hoops fans are totally in on A’ja’s plain white tees and are here for the movement. Here’s what they’re saying:

https://twitter.com/crediblehulk24/status/1830320710402871503

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 tag=117952]

Raiders Pierce to sleep on decision for QB1 after Cowboys Match

#Raiders QBs Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell both went out last night against the Cowboys to make their bids for the starting spot, Antonio Pierce must decide between the two and says decision is on the way.

The Las Vegas Raiders have completed two exhibitions this preseason and head coach Antonio Pierce has more snaps to review in his choice of who will start under center this season after the recent 27-12 loss versus the Dallas Cowboys.

Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell both went out last night to make their bids for the spot. Minshew is notable for having taken over for an injured Nick Foles playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars his rookie year and carrying the team while their starting QB was out. O’Connell is returning to the Raiders for his second year, after being pushed up to the starting slot midseason as a rookie, and Minshew was likely added this season to provide Las Vegas an alternative to the young but talented QB.

In last night’s tilt against the Cowboys, Minshew went out first and had a tough time but managed to gain some yards. After the switch out in the second quarter, O’Connell had a fairly similar performance. Both QBs made a couple of highlight plays but found difficulty scoring on drives.

After the Cowboys match, Pierce stated in the press conference, “Yeah, we’ve seen enough reps. Two games, like we talked about. Our guys are not playing in the third preseason game, our starters, so we’ll sleep on it and make a decision in the next couple days.”

Questionable status for Cowboys Mazi Smith ahead of match v. Raiders

The Cowboys have officially stated Smith experienced an allergic reaction while at training camp and was treated rather than making the journey for Saturday night’s preseason matchup.

Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Mazi Smith could not travel with the team hitting the road to challenge the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Cowboys have officially stated Smith experienced an allergic reaction while at training camp and was treated rather than making the journey for Saturday night’s preseason matchup.

His status will be reevaluated in the morning and Smith is still expected to play against the Raiders unless not cleared to go out.

Mike Garafolo shared the team’s statement regarding Mazi Smith’s health scare.

Smith did not get a lot of playtime in his rookie season with the Cowboys last year so he needs all the preseason experience he can get while developing into his role as a starter for Dallas’ defense. If Smith is unavailable to play versus the Raiders, the Cowboys will be forced to use rookies Justin Rogers and Denzel Daxon in place of their first-string defensive tackle.

Fans get Jackie Young’s autograph after failing ‘last couple games’

Persistence pays off.

Former Notre Dame guard [autotag]Jackie Young[/autotag] is playing the best basketball of her life with the Las Vegas Aces. That means people want a piece of her, particularly her autograph. In fact, that means so many people that not everyone succeeds at it on a given night.

That finally changed for one persistent family during the Aces’ Fourth of July victory over the Washington Mystics. Mike Dixon of Vegas Sports Today captured the moment Young signed the autographs and briefly asked them about it afterwards:

A quick look at the Aces’ schedule indicates that a week-and-a-half passed recently between home games, so this family had to wait quite a bit after their initial failures. But things always have a way of working out, don’t they?

Young is averaging career highs of 18.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 5.9 assists a game. She will compete for the U.S. in the Paris Olympics alongside fellow former Irish standout [autotag]Jewell Loyd[/autotag].

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

The Golden Tee World Championships are going on in Las Vegas — and the purse is significant

The stakes are high for the Golden Tee World Championship being held at The Palms Casino Resort.

Who among us hasn’t thrown a few quarters in a Golden Tee machine while trying to impress friends with our knowledge of world courses, right?

Well, the stakes are a little higher than the next round of pints this weekend in Las Vegas as the Golden Tee World Championship is being held at The Palms Casino Resort.

The 5-course arcade qualifier begins at 2 p.m. ET and is being streamed live on the Golden Tee YouTube page.

The prize pool for this year’s event is $160,000. A total of 96 arcade players will compete for today’s cash prize of $35,000, with nine open qualifying spots available for last-minute hopefuls.

“We expect this to be a landmark year for the Golden Tee World Championships,” Kevin Lindsay, head of amusement marketing Incredible Technologies told RePlay Magazine. “On top of a record prize pool, our team has put a lot of thought into this year’s event, and we know this will set the bar for what players can expect in years to come. Both the game and brand of Golden Tee have a lot of momentum to build upon.”

Last year’s champion, Paul Tayloe, is among those on hand for the festivities.

Notre Dame no longer will participate in Rady Children’s Invitational

Make your plans for Vegas instead of San Diego.

When it was announced that Notre Dame would compete in a NIL-type tournament in Las Vegas this season, one thing might have been forgotten. Before the start of the past season, the Irish agreed to take part in the 2024 Rady Children’s Invitational in San Diego. But that won’t be the case any longer.

With the events conflicting with each other and the money involved with the Players Era Festival, the San Diego tournament officially will not feature the Irish. They, along with Arkansas, reportedly have opted out of their obligation, which involved a $200,000 buyout provision. They have been replaced by Ole Miss and Irish ACC rival NC State. Purdue and BYU will remain part of the invitational.

The writing for this was on the wall the moment the Players Era Festival was announced. No team in the NIL era is going to turn down an opportunity to financially benefit its players. Such is the new reality of college sports.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89