It was a big week in the world of sports.
The NBA and NHL finals came to a close.
The Vegas Golden Knights are in the midst of picking their initial team through the NHL expansion draft.
And, there's a big fight on the cards this August in Las Vegas.
With us to break it all down, as always, is Mitch Moss.
He hosts a daily sports program on the Vegas Stats and Information Network, or VSIN.
DISCUSSION HIGHLIGHTS:
Were the NBA finals boring?
I would stand by that. The finals -- I found it entertaining, although it was only five games. You had the two teams everybody wanted to be involved. I would say, going back to mid-April, from start to finish, overall I stand by that. I think the playoffs were exceedingly boring to be honest because there was very little to zero drama whatsoever.
So even though the finals weren't that interesting, the handle at the sports books was still pretty good?
The handle was through the roof -- absolutely, because these two teams are two exceedingly popular teams. The threepeat [between Golden State and Cleveland] we have going back to 2015: LeBron [James] is probably the best player in the NBA, [Kevin] Durant is probably the second best and [Stephen] Curry is probably the third best. Both rosters were completely loaded with great story lines. The handle was off the charts.
Is it bad for the league to have two teams that are that good?
I think that it is. I think I might be in the minority for that, because people point to the ratings we had in the finals over the last two weeks. But you're not playing an entire nine months, or however long the season is, for a two-week stretch. If these two teams only get better, then what does that mean for the other 28 teams in the league from the start of the season at the end of October until April? I don't how it's good for regional TV contracts. I don't know how it's good for teams that are outside of those two markets that might be fringe teams or .500. Why would fans in those NBA markets get excited about the season?
Will the competitiveness of the NHL playoffs help get Las Vegans excited about hockey here?
I think a lot of people made it a point to watch the playoffs and the Stanley Cup finals to gear themselves up and kind of get a taste of what it could possibly be like here in Las Vegas. It is going to be a while before the Golden Knights are going to be in Stanley Cup contention.
Sportsbooks are already putting out odds for the Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup. Is it worth the bet?
I don't want to be a Debbie Downer here. It's the first professional franchise ever, [the first] major league team ever for Las Vegas. So, there is nothing wrong with going out and putting a $10 bet on them just to have in your back pocket. And at the end of the season, you're still going to have that ticket that you can keep and have as a souvenir. Just to have some fun, why not?
Do the number of unknowns that surround the Raiders move worry you?
No. Not at this point. The biggest thing that worried me… was actually passing the tourism tax. First of all, I was not for that… but once that passed that was big deal number one. And then beyond that was guys like Jerry Jones having to win over the owners. Once they had that vote back in March and they passed it for the team to come here, that to me was the last of the worries. Beyond that, it's going to happen and whatever the stadium is going to cost, the potential benefits down the road to me, I'm not worried about it. I think the team is going to be here in a couple of years and that's that.
On the Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor fight:
I can't believe we've gotten to this point that the fight is actually going to take place. Floyd Mayweather is the best defensive fighter of our lifetime. He is one of the best boxers of all time and he is fighting a guy that has never boxed, professionally. Mayweather has been a bigger favorite in some of his recent fights than he's going to be against McGregor. I love McGregor as a guy in the MMA [mixed martial arts] and UFC world. Against Mayweather, if this [betting line] continues to come down, in my opinion, this is going to be the best bet of my lifetime.
Mayweather will dance around him for as long as he wants. And McGregor will be lucky to land more than two, three, four punches the entire fight. He has no chance to win this fight. None.
Why are people so interested in this fight?
I don't think anybody in their right mind thinks a decent fight is going to spawn from this match up. There is only one reason why people are going to watch this. It's known as FOMO -- fear of missing out -- just in case something crazy happens. Maybe the one in 5 million chance of McGregor actually connecting and landing a shot on Mayweather's chin that might do some damage, or the possibility that something crazy could happen where there could be a disqualification. I think that's why people are interested.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission should be ashamed of themselves for passing this and letting it be a fight. I know why they did -- obviously because of the money. But what's going to be worth our time and our investment in this event is going to be the press conferences leading up to the fight, because Mayweather talks trash and nobody as good at doing that as Conor McGregor. So, the back and forth verbally between these two guys will be the true spectacle. I would pay for that.
Mitch Moss, VSIN
