California voters will wait 16 months before weighing in on a tribal-backed ballot referendum that asks them to legalize sports betting. Whatever occurs, it won’t change the opinion of gaming observers. Though there is apprehension from a few Nevada sportsbook operators about potential competition from the largest feeder market to casinos in Las Vegas and Reno, analysts and sports betting experts don’t believe sportsbooks in California — the nation’s leading Indian gaming state — will slice into Nevada’s multi-billion-dollar business.
North Carolina State, Texas, Tennessee and Arizona locked up spots in the College World Series on Sunday, with the Wolfpack knocking out No. 1 national seed Arkansas. Two days after losing its NCAA super regional opener by 19 runs, Jose Torres hit a tiebreaking home run in the top of the ninth inning off SEC pitcher of the year Kevin Kopps and NC State beat the Razorbacks 3-2 in the deciding Game 3. Tennessee defeated LSU 15-6 and Texas beat South Florida 12-4 to complete two-game sweeps, and Arizona won a three-game series with a 16-3 victory over Mississippi.
The Athlon Sports Preseason All-Mountain West Teams came out and Nevada boasted a conference-best 15 selections and six players earning seven first-team nods. The Pack, which went 7-2 a season ago and captured the 2020 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl title with a convincing 38-27 victory over Tulane, paced the conference in first-team selections, with six players earning seven selections. Quarterback Carson Strong, the reigning Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year, headlined the First Team offense alongside the conference’s leading receiver in 2020, Romeo Doubs, its top tight end, Cole Turner, and offensive lineman Aaron Frost.
Floppy sun hats, beach umbrellas and color-coded tee-shirts add up to one thing – Lovelock Elementary School track and field day. It went off without a hitch on Wednesday, June 2.
Following a historic 2021 campaign, the Nevada baseball team placed a league-high seven players on the 2021 All-Mountain West team, led by senior Dillan Shrum earning Tony Gwynn Player of the Year honors and T.J. Bruce being named the league's Coach of the Year. This is the second Coach of the Year honor for Bruce after he also earned the award in 2018.
That they were there at all was something of a miracle. On June 2, PCHS athletics honored their baseball, softball and track teams. The athletes gathered on the stage of the PCHS Auditorium. Russell Fecht, Jonathan Reynolds, Mike Brooks and Tom Donaldson pulled rabbits out of their hats to make sure Pershing County got to play this year. The coaches and athletes stepped up. They had to. The players had eight weeks to learn everything they usually learn in twelve. They succeeded. On sports awards night, everyone looked like a champ.
Nevada head coach Steve Alford announced the signing of guard Kenan Blackshear (Orlando, Fla./FAU) to the Wolf Pack program. Blackshear, a 6-foot-6, 215-pound guard, will have three seasons of eligibility remaining, and will be immediately available to play for Nevada ahead of the 2021-22 campaign. Over two seasons at FAU, Blackshear appeared in 53 games, with 30 starts, averaging 5.9 points and 3.4 rebounds while shooting 41.2 percent from the floor.
College athletes would have the right to organize and collectively bargain with schools and conferences under a bill introduced Thursday by Democrats in the House and Senate. Sen. Chris Murphy (Conn.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.) announced the College Athletes Right to Organize Act. “Big-time college sports haven’t been ‘amateur’ for a long time, and the NCAA has long denied its players economic and bargaining rights while treating them like commodities,” Murphy said in a statement. This NCAA said the bill would “directly undercut the purpose of college: earning a degree.” It added that “turning student-athletes into union employees is not the answer.”
The Nevada High School Rodeo Association held its junior high and high school state finals this past weekend at the Winnemucca Event Center. The top-15 finals was held on Monday, with competitors vying for spots in the National Finals Rodeo at both the junior high and high school level as well as the Silver State International Rodeo slated for Winnemucca at the end of June and the beginning of July.
Nevada Football will have five contests (three home, two road) broadcast on CBS Sports Network in 2021, as the Mountain West announced the CBS and CBS Sports Network selections Wednesday. Nevada’s CBS Sports Network slate will begin with two-straight games at Mackay Stadium. The Pack will host New Mexico State Saturday, Oct. 9, for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff, followed by another 7:30 p.m. kick the following Saturday, Oct. 16, against Hawai’i.
One of Lovelock’s favorite summer activities is about to start its fourth season. According to Jared Jensen, “The Lovelock Softball Association has seen some shift of teams, so we will have different names for a lot of them.” They’ll have to come up with some good ones. How do you beat Thick N Wild, the Sandlot Junkies, Thunder Ducks, Brew Crew, Swamp Donkeys, Outkast, Weekend Warriors and the Swingers? It will be tough but stay tuned.
It was almost like old times. Athletes from Incline, Yerington, Battle Mountain and Silver Springs met at Pershing County High School on Friday and Saturday. They competed for the Northern 2A Regional Softball Championship.
Last Friday and Saturday, baseball players from Incline, Yerington, Silver Springs, West Wendover and Battle Mountain met in Lovelock. They all wanted a shot at the Northern 2A Regional Baseball Championship, hosted by the Mustangs. The weather was unseasonably cold and wintry with sporadic rain, especially on Friday. Spectators huddled under blankets.
Between events, the athletes bundled up as the wind blew and the day turned downright wintery. The NIAA Northern 2A Region Championships took place at Eleanor Lemaire Junior High School in Battle Mountain on Saturday, May 22. Pershing County sent 11 athletes to the competition.