The Golden Knights have assembled a roster for their inaugural season.
Are we looking at a potential playoff team?
Meanwhile, UNLV just released a new logo, which is something it hopes sports fans rally around.
But already, there are some dissenters.
And the Raiders' stadium is going to be tall, and close to the airport. Is that going to be a problem?
With us, as always to break down the latest sports news is Mitch Moss.
He hosts a daily program on the Vegas Sports and Information Network.
Discussion Highlights
The U.S. Supreme Court is deciding a case that could end up allowing states to legalize sports betting. Is this going to hurt or help Nevada?
The way I've thought about it for years is this: I think it will hurt us a little bit. Here's why: when you think about all of the big-time sports weekends we have during the calendar year -- the ones that come to mind are Super Bowl and March Madness -- there's not another spot in the country I would rather be, right? It's the best. So many people flock here to bet on sports. But as we continue to progress in the city -- and hotel rooms are always going up and drinks are getting more expensive and flights to come out here and restaurants, etc. -- when you combine all that, you're looking at probably a bill of, if you're going to be betting on games, conservatively, a couple thousand dollars minimum for every person who comes out here.
But if you have made Las Vegas an annual trip for those weekends or other big sports weekends and you're from any other pocket in the country where legalized sports betting may take place, are you really going to continue to come out here just so you can bet on sports? Or are you going to walk down the block in the neighborhood that you live in and bet right next to your house?
The Raiders may be doing their training camp in Reno. Is that a good idea?
If they do this -- they've done training camp in Napa for a long time -- but if they move it over to Reno, right now, in the short term, it would be close to Oakland where they're at. But if it would be a permanent thing, I understand. It's going to be cooler in Reno during the months of July and August when they get ready to start the season, obviously than it is in Las Vegas.
And I think it's one way to get as much interest as you possibly can in this state. After all, we have only a couple of decent sized to big cities – if you want to call Las Vegas a big city or a major market – in this state. So why not try to incorporate as many people as you possibly can to get interested and involved.
This new UNLV logo has received a lot of comments and some criticism. What do you think?
Well, judging by my social media accounts, I'm in the minority! I borderline love it. I think it is really well done. It caught my eye right away. I understood what it was. I picked up on some of the unique traits that were in the logo. But my notifications on Twitter blew up. I can't remember the last time they blew up like this when I was tweeting about it.
People hate the logo. And I don't understand why.
Golden Knights finished their expansion draft. How did they do?
They added a couple of nice parts in the expansion draft. I would think that James Neal is a good get. He's 29 years old, comes over from Nashville. He has scored at least 20 goals in 10 of his 11 seasons. Jonathan Marchessault is another one they added from Florida.
This isn't going to be an ongoing thing though, because of the players they added, who knows. Every time you turn around you see another report about 'don't expect this roster to be the same as it is right now, or even perhaps close to what it is on opening night when this team is going to be skating on the road.' Right now, as we speak, I would say those are two of the better players on the team along with Marc-Andre Fleury -- that is, again, if they're going to be on the roster coming up in October.
What happened in the [NHL] draft?
They got a lot of young players. When you go back to the expansion draft, you notice they were acquiring a lot of picks for the draft and they did that. You're going down the roster now and it's 17 years old, 18 years old -- that's what they did. And that's what's going to happen, when you're in the draft and you're taking players that young. It's going be, are they going to hang on to all these guys? Are they going to put them in their system? How many guys are actually going to make the team? So there still could be a lot of player movement between now and the beginning of the season.
What did the Golden Knights get right in choosing their team?
It depends on who you listen to. I don't pretend to be a hockey expert but you can see stuff on Deadspin right away after the draft. They had a big story up with a headline that said "Wow, The Golden Knights Are Going To Be Bad." They don't think they did pretty much anything right. Their whole theory was they didn't take the approach that they want to win right out of the gates in year one by getting the best players available, and basically spending the most money on guys that were available in that draft.
But I've also listened to interviews with some of the Canadian hockey experts and they absolutely love the approach that GM George McPhee took. For the people who love it, it's more of, 'be patient, hold on for a little while, things are going to work out,' as opposed to the people who think they're going to win right away. I think winning right away is completely unrealistic. After all, they are an expansion team.
UNLV football will be leaving Sam Boyd Stadium once the Raiders' stadium is built. What do you think should be done with it?
Definitely save it. I know some people want to bulldoze it down and implode it because it is such a dump. I disagree with that. I think it absolutely should be saved. Soccer sure -- I'm on board with that, [and] monster truck, the bike stuff that they do out there. I would also say this, and I know this is a rarity, but I guess I would kind of like to save it to see boxing matches return to an outside venue in Las Vegas.
It has been so long, and that is part of the charm -- obviously when I was younger and watching some boxing matches outside in Las Vegas. I always loved that idea. It was so unique. It was different than anything else.
I'm not talking about the Mayweather/McGregor fights of the world, but you could be the B level or C level boxing matches, and maybe even UFC. I would say they could renovate it a little bit just so it's more trendy and up-to-date, and put events like that out at Sam Boyd Stadium. I think they would play very well out there.
Mitch Moss, VSIN
