Drop all of you plans for the next couple days, because I expect to see you out at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Revving up their engines on Wednesday & Thursday, the NASCAR Freightliner trucks will Kick Off 2012 with the Run Smart Hauler Challenge.
What is this competition, you ask? This event pits the NASCAR hauler drivers against one another in a fun, and highly competitive set of events.
The Las Vegas competition serves as the first round of the Challenge, which is open to all full-time Nationwide® and Sprint Cup Series™ NASCAR hauler drivers.
This timed competition takes place on a specially designed course, which will challenge each drivers skill level. Each Freightliner truck driver will be asked to navigate through tight turns, backing drills, and other obstacles, each more difficult than the one prior.
These drivers better be at the top of their games, as one is eliminated after each round leading up to the finals.
The winner gets a whopping $30,000 bucks.
One other part that I found to be innovative and fun, is that you can take part in this event. It’s called “Save Your Hauler”. All you have to do is go to the Freightliner trucks FACEBOOK pagehttp://www.facebook.com/freightliner and vote for one of the eliminated drivers. Whomever gets the most votes is allowed back in the competition.
This event gets started at 9am on Wednesday and Thursday. The best part, it is absolutely free to the public. All you have to do is get to the track and enjoy yourself.
This is a great way to kick off what will be an epic season at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
One thing that sucks about Las Vegas, is the lack of celebrities, and beautiful women. Come on, get off the floor, I am obviously kidding.
Vegas is known for for those two things, among others. It’s when you mix the two together, the party starts.
What am I talking about? Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover girl Kate Upton, was joined by several other lovely ladies, who were in the desert promoting advanced physics, and inter-planetary co-habitation. Hahaha..
Chrissy Teigen,
Izabel Goulart,
Crystal Renn
Nina Agdal
They, along with Upton, were at the Planet Hollywood to promote the magazine, and well, more importantly, their pictures in said magazine.
These lovely ladies also cemented their handprints celebrating this achievement.
In a town that used to be Mafia run, I don’t think cementing anything is appropriate, but better to cement their hands then wear cement galoshes.
For those of you that think I wrote this just so I could post pictures of beautiful women, you are 100% right.
Following Muhammad Ali’s career, I still can’t believe the man is turning 70. He may not be the the guy we all remember, but he will always be “The Greatest”.
This weekend in Las Vegas a party is planned in the Champ’s honor. It’s the “Power of Love Gala”, that is truly a star-studded gala event. It all kicks off Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena
Check out the names that’ll be attending this celebration:
Stevie Wonder, Samuel L. Jackson, David Beckham, Larry King, Ken Jeong, Snoop Dogg, LL Cool J, Common, Lenny Kravitz, Sean Combs, Anthony Hopkins, John Legend, Chris Cornell, Cee Lo Green, Joe Perry, Slash, Terrence Howard, David Copperfield, Siegfried & Roy, Andre Agassi, Stefanie Graf, Jim Brown, Randy Couture, Brad Garrett, Kelly Rowland, Dave Koz, Robin Leach, James Gandolfini, Steve Schirripa, Chazz Palminteri, and Sammy Hagar. Boxing icons scheduled to attend the celebration include Sugar Ray Leonard, Evander Holyfield, Ken Norton, Earnie Shavers, Leon Spinks, Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini and Tommy “Hitman” Hearns. Even more big names from the entertainment and sports worlds will be added to the lineup as the event nears.
Unfortunately, the event is completely sold out, but you can catch all the excitement of “Ali 70th From Las Vegas” on ABC on Saturday, Feb. 25, at 4 p.m. ET.
I know most are focusing on the celebration, but funds raised from this event will help support the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health and the Muhammad Ali Center.
In other Vegas Sports Gab news:
The USA Sevens Rugby was a scrumbling (my word) success.
The 3 day event broke all Vegas rugby attendance records. The three-day tally of 64,551 rugby fans was a significant increase in attendance from the 2011 USA Sevens. A crowd of 30,323 on Saturday, Feb. 11 was the largest crowd to ever attend a live rugby match in the United States. Attendance was 10,611 on Friday, Feb. 10 and 23,617 for the semifinals and finals matches on Sunday, Feb. 12.
I can tell you it was an absolute blast. Not just the games, which were exciting, and quick, but the fans, which were fun, and from what I saw, well behaved. I think the LVMPD would say something different, especially Saturday night on the strip.
Anyhow, congratulations to Rugby Sevens. See you next year.
February 12th, 2012 Bill Mahoney Posted in Baseball
Time to get your tickets to Big League Weekend. Yes, you can start buying your duckets to the Texas Rangers-Chicago Cubs game on Monday, February 13th.
This 2 game series takes place on March 17-18 at Cashman field.
Tickets can also be purchased through Ticketmaster (1-800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com). Ticketmaster outlets are located at selected Smith’s Food & Drug. The Cashman Field box office, beginning on February 13, will be open Monday-Friday from noon – 4:30 p.m.
These games sell out pretty quickly so I would wait to buy them.
Some of MLB’s biggest stars are sure to invade Vegas. Names like Michael Young, Ian Kinsler, Adrian Beltre, Starlin Castro, Ryan Dempster, & Geovany Soto could be playing baseball at Cashman Field.
I wonder if the Rangers will bring Josh Hamilton? I hope they do, because I’d love to see him launch some shots out at Cashman.
Once again, tickets can also be purchased through Ticketmaster (1-800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com). Ticketmaster outlets are located at selected Smith’s Food & Drug. The Cashman Field box office, beginning on February 13, will be open Monday-Friday from noon – 4:30 p.m.
Over my lifetime I have seen the Harlem Globetrotters about 15 times. I think the shows are a blast, and their entertaining skills are unmatched.
I found myself in a fortunate position to interview one of the guys when I was informed that a Globetrotter is from Las Vegas. Let me introduce you to “Scooter.” Scooter is even more impressive in person, than he is on the court.
We met up at the 24 Hour Fitness, and got right to work. Correction, Scooter got to work, I just shot the video with a stupid smile on my face.
Scooter, if you don’t know, is in the Guinness Book of World Records. He holds the record for longest time spinning a basketball on one’s head and one’s nose.
Along with his amazing basketball skills, what impressed me was how Scooter got his start with the Globetrotters.
He was a video co-ordinator with the Phoenix Suns and he used to practice with Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion. On one of those days, a scout for the Globetrotters was in attendance and asked about Scooter. He was surprised to find out that he was just the V-C. Anyhow, Scooter was invited out to Globetrotters tryout camp, and 7 years later he is still on the team. It goes to show that you never know when your time is gonna come.
Another thing I found surprising was, as a kid, Scooter never saw the Globetrotters in person. He always knew he’d be a basketball player, but he never thought it’d be as a Globetrotter. He said that being a Globetrotter has allowed him to visit over 60 countries, something most NBA players haven’t done.
I know the ‘Trotters have incredible basketball skills, but it’s what they do off the court that makes them so well known and loved.
Scooter relayed a story to me about how he visited a sick boy in the hospital. As part of the Globetrotters “Smile Patrol,” Scooter performed a few tricks and signed a series of autographs. Looking up at the boy he saw something no one had seen in over 3 months—-a smile. The hospital explained to Scooter that no one had any luck getting the boy to smile. All it took was one appearance by the ‘Trotters to put a smile on the face of this kid.
Scooter loves everything basketball, but I got the sense that he loves the fans even more. He talked about how much fun it is to sign autographs, take pictures, or slap a high-five with all the fans after performances. He also made it clear that all of those aforementioned things are done FREE OF CHARGE.
Scooter played basketball at the University of Montana. I asked him with so many players coming from different colleges and different backgrounds, how do they look so smooth on the court?
Being a movie buff, he compared the ‘Trotters to the movie “Remember the Titans.” The gist of that movie is people from all different backgrounds coming together. In the end they not only win a football title, but find a common bond with each other.
Since we were on movies, I deftly moved to television and asked him about the “Amazing Race.” Teammates “Flight Time” and “Big Easy” were on two seasons of the Race. I asked Scooter why he wasn’t on the show. He said the Globetrotters are “All for one, and one for all.” The Musketeers couldn’t have said it better.
Being a Vegas guy, he has no nerves playing in front of friends and family. Even though he hasn’t played in Vegas in 3 years, he said it’ll be nice to see everyone and put on a show.
You can catch the Globetrotters show this Wednesday when they battle the Generals at the Orleans Arena. This is their only game in town, so get grab your family and friends and get there. I guarantee you will have a great time.
It is Tax season—again, and we all know what that means? It means we’ll be seeing a whole bunch of Statue of Liberty’s spinning signs on the side of the road. For the most part, I don’t give the spinners a second look. Maybe I should start paying attention, because one day that spinner may be considered the best in the world.
What do I mean? I mean that the World Championship of Sign Spinning is taking place on Fremont Street. Yes, you read correctly, WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP OF SIGN SPINNING! Who knew?
More than 70 sign spinners gathered to compete, the winner pocketing $1000 . Not enough to retire on, but not bad for spinning a sign.
To be honest with ya, some of these people can seriously spin. How much you wanna bet that within the next 5 years, there will be a spinner show right here in Las Vegas?
I made my way through the contestants and came upon Raphael Angeles. Raphael’s story starts innocently enough. He was spinning a sign as part of a job, when he was recruited to be “professional” spinner. He is good at what he does, finishing 24th two years ago, and 15th last year.
Raphael is a good guy, but I touched a nerve when I compared him to a sign holder. With a steely glare, Raphael made it clear that there is a clear line between a “Sign Holder” and “Sign Spinner”. He does not want to be typecast as as a sign holder.
Raphael also explained to me the signs. These aren’t your average signs, they have a standard size and the edges are smoothed. There’s no need to see people bleed out spinning a sign.
Raphael takes his spinning seriously, taking videos of each contestant so he can incorporate different moves into his routine.
You can tell Raphael really loves his chosen occupation. Anything he gets in his hands, he spins.
Because Raphael was scheduled toward the end of 1st round, I checked out some of his competition. There is not a chance in hell I could spin one of these signs. These guys make it look easy.
Finally, it was Raphael’s time to shine, and that’s what he did, wowing the crowd.
The only problem with the whole day was the DJ. Maybe it was technical difficulties, but the music came and went. The event had to stop at least 3 times so they could get things fixed. This is Las Vegas, the one place in the entire world where your last problem should be in the DJ booth. I can only hope they fixed the problem for today’s 2nd round and finals.
You should go out to Fremont Street and check this out. Looks to be a beautiful day, so why not get out and watch some impressive spinners?
I have never played Rugby, so maybe that’s why I haven’t gained a foothold on that sport. I have a friend that’s part of the TV coverage, so that has piqued my interest of late. Going out to watch the Rugby Sevens games tonight at Sam Boyd got me all fired up. Watching and meeting with the fans closed the deal.
With fans from 19 nations enjoying the action, I thought it would be fun to use my media pass to get some field angle shots and video.
How soon I forgot that when there are numerous big-time networks televising the game, I can’t shoot it. Well I can, but trouble will be lurking right around the corner in the form of “Remove this video, or we’ll sue you for unauthorized use of said video” e-mails.
With that door closed, I figured I should talk to, and take pictures of, some of Rugby’s finest. Fans, that is. These fans have descended on Vegas from around the world to cheer on their favorite team, or more precisely, their Nation. Some even dressed the part.
The crowd was jacked up at Sam Boyd, so it wasn’t tough to find a few people willing to talk. I ran into 3 passionate fans by the name of Bobby Garcia, Mercedes Davis and Alicia Billy.
These 3 scrummers (Not a word) are from New Mexico, and specifically came to Vegas to catch the Rugby Sevens tournament.
Bobby has been playing Rugby for 6 years, and said succinctly, “Rugby is the shit”. He also told me that he played football growing up, but he found rugby to be more to his liking. And his main reason for liking rugby? He likes to hit people. I know he gets to do a lot of that.
Mercedes and Alicia are also die hard fans of this growing sport. Mercedes has been playing for 6 months, while Alicia has 2 years under her belt. The team they play for, The Atomic Sisters finished 4th in the nation, and 2nd in the nation 2 years ago. These girls kick butt, and ball. Alicia is on the left, while Mercedes is on the right.
Bobby chipped in seconds later, speaking about the significance of rugby..
Making my way through the stadium, I couldn’t resist gabbing with Nicole Gayer and Erin Gaughan. Nicole, dressed as the Statue of Liberty, is a teacher from Portland, Oregon.
I found her getup to be perfect for Rugby and Halloween. And wouldn’t you know it, she wore this costume back in October. Her and Erin both enjoy the camaraderie of Rugby, and the social aspects of the game. Nicole added that she likes that it appeals to all skill levels. You don’t have to be an all-star athlete to play the game.
They also like making noise with their thunder sticks. And no, I didn’t walk up and ask them to bang them together. OK, I did.
If you are at the stadium tomorrow, you can catch Nicole and Erin with the lovely USA Las Vegas Rugby 7s Bunnies. They will be sitting somewhere in the front row. You should go say Hi.
And because I never sass a teacher (haha), I must mention that these ladies are part of the Portland Pigs, a rugby team from…….if I have to tell you, than we got a problem. Check them out at www.portlandrugby.org
I continued to walk in and out of the stadium looking for interesting shots, when I saw this. How in the world can rugby charge the flag for a ticket! Betsy Ross is, no doubt, turning over in her grave. I wonder if he earned those stripes? Bad pun, I know.
Finally, I took some time to chat with these ladies, Ilissa Mayrose (Blonde) and Ashley Roose (Brunette). These gals had to work, but they raved about how much they LOVE rugby. Both enjoy the aggressive nature of the game, plus the physical contact that makes every match fun. I asked them if they played. Each answered with a resounding NO, but they love to watch.
These ladies work for the International Casino Entertainment, which means you have to spin the prize wheel. The best thing about that is that every spin in a winner. So no matter how much of a loser you may think you are–when it comes to contests, come on now—you are guaranteed to win something.
You are also guaranteed to have a great time Sam Boyd Stadium. You still have two more full days to catch the Rugby Sevens matches. The energy in the stadium is palpable. The best thing is the friendliness between the people, everyone laughing and having fun together.
If you are confused about Rugby, like I was, I shared a link that helps explain some of the more rudimentary aspects of Rugby
My first thought upon arriving at the Las Vegas Sports Park was, “Does Coach Lee ever rest”? The man just finished a hectic season as head coach of the LFL’s Las Vegas Sin, and now, with no break, is back to coaching the Las Vegas Showgirlz. Unlike the Sin, the Showgirlz are an outdoor football team, 1 of 2 in Las Vegas.
Coach Lee has been the head man for the Showgirlz since their inception 7 years ago. There have been some tough times and some great times for Lee, who envisions this team as one that will contend for a title.
He’s expecting roughly 55 girls to be on his team this season, including many of his former Sin players. Coach Lee is excited to introduce the outdoor game to many of the girls that have played indoor, or not at all. If he accomplishes nothing else, he wants to teach the girls the fundamentals of football. He knows when they understand what they are doing, the game will open up for them, in essence, becoming more fun.
I think he called it the “Ah, ha” moment. That’s when he realizes a girl understands a certain play, or situation. Teaching, and then seeing that moment, is the part of the game that Coach Lee most enjoys.
FYI: ladies outdoor football uses the same rules as the NFL, except the ball is smaller.
The reason the ball is smaller, is due to the fact that the ladies hands aren’t as big as guys (duh). I think it would be rather scary if the ladies on Lee’s squad had mitts the size of Rob Gronkowski or Adrian Peterson. That would be a story within itself.
Coach Lee also has a stable of coaches. Defensive coordinator Victor Jarvis joins him from the Sin. He also has Cory Medina as his running backs/linebacker coach. Coach Soon will be the WR/DB coach.
This year there be a new addition, as former Showgirl Jennifer Agao will join Lee’s staff an assistant WR/Special Teams coach. Agao played 5 years with the Showgirlz, so Coach Lee is excited to have her lend her on-field expertise to his ladies.
Yes, I said stable of coaches. If you don’t know, Coach Lee had just 1 other coach (Jarvis), along with himself, toward the end of the Sin season. It must be nice for the guy to look over and see so many assistants.
Some of the Sin players you may recognize. QB Nikki Johnson, who had a fine season as the Sin signal caller, will compete for the starting position with the Showgirlz.
Yvette Tanner is back too! She looked like a seasoned veteran at practice last night. Good for her.
Jennifer Cowan will play an integral part as well.
I spoke with a couple of former Sin girls, who are now Showgirlz. One of them was Mia Chambers. The last time I saw Chambers, she was being tackled by a fan during the half-time show of the Sin-Chill game. I asked her about that, and she cleared one thing up. She got no blocking, so the boozer who tackled her had an open shot. She was laughing while saying this so don’t anyone get upset. It was fun to watch though…don’t ya think?
Back to the Showgirlz. Chambers is part of the team because she loves playing for Coach Lee. She said he makes learning football fun, and is understanding when they make mistakes.
Chambers loves football, but never played. Coming here from Arizona to play for the Sin after graduating from ASU, she wasn’t sure what to expect, but she has throughly enjoyed being part of Lee’s team. She said his background, whether it be as a player, or coach, has helped him gain the girls respect.
She is excited to learn about the outdoor game, and can’t wait to get on the field, where she will be able to stretch defenses more than when she was with the Sin, in the indoor arena.
I also caught up with Ms. Everything, Carrie Walters. I say that with pride, because Walters has done everything with the Showgirlz, and Sin for that matter.
Walters has been part of the Showgirlz from day 2 back in 2006. Coach Lee made it clear that Walters is next to indispensable, not just as a player, but as a person.
One thing I got from Walters was her passion for the game. Heck, this is a gal that became the first Las Vegan female to play in a little league all-star game when she was kid. Her excitement for the Showgirlz, and the game of football, is infectious.
I asked Walters what position she expects to fill with the Showgirlz. She said whereever they play her is fine, she just wants to be on the field. She explained that she has played every position, except center and…ahh…errr…I forgot the other one (Sorry Carrie).
I asked her about Coach Lee, and she gave me a perfect response, “She is buying whatever he is selling.” She really enjoys the way he coaches, and the compassion he shows toward each and every girl. Plus, he makes playing, and learning the game of football enjoyable. “He makes the game fun, while driving you to love the game,” Walters said.
I think the thing that surprised me the most was Walters’ age. She says she is 38, but I need to see a birth certificate as she looks to be in her mid-twenties, and plays like she is a teenager.
For more on Walters historical Showgirlz career, you should check out the Showgirlz record book www.lvshowgirlz.com. Walters owns many career records, including all-time catches, yards and TD’s. Walters also owns the all-time sacks & interception record for the Showgirlz.
Do they retire #’s in the WFA?
I asked how much longer she expects to play. She said she’ll play as long as her body allows. She knows she can’t play forever, but that doesn’t worry Coach Lee, who knows Walters will be an excellent head coach in the future, one that he doesn’t want to come anytime soon.
It looks like it’s going to be an exciting time for women’s football here in Las Vegas. You should make plans to catch a game, or two, or three.
For more information on the Showgirlz, check out their website www.lvshowgirlz.com
March 6th, 2012 
Bill Mahoney 
Posted in 
