Last Week in Las Vegas Sports (Oct 9 - 15)

Last Week in Las Vegas Sports (Oct 9 - 15)

Warning- this is one of the craziest weeks we've seen in a while. Top Las Vegas Raiders star goes down with an injury, Kyle Larson punches his ticket to the championship four, and the Aces taste defeat. Let's talk last week in Las Vegas sports (Oct 9 - 15).  #6 Las Vegas Raiders might be shopping Hunter Renfrow around [caption id="attachment_39838" align="alignnone" > Source YouTube[/caption]

According to Dianna Russini of The Athletic, the Las Vegas Raiders might be looking at trading Hunter Renfrow ahead of the October 30 deadline. Renfrow has only caught six of nine targets for 59 yards this season and does not appear to be a primary receiver for Jimmy Garoppolo.

In fact, the Raiders are seemingly relying on Jacobi Meyers,  Davantae Adams, Austin Hooper, and Josh Jacobs as targets. This has reduced Renfrow's impact on the game and might be a sign that he's on the trading block. At this time, however, there are no details of which teams are interested in the receiver. #5 Las Vegas Golden Knights go 3-0 after defeating the Anaheim Ducks [caption id="attachment_39837" align="alignnone" > Source.Facebook[/caption]

The Las Vegas Golden Knights look absolutely untouchable after going 3-0 in the opening games of the 2023 season. Not only is their offense consistently white-hot so far this season, but the goalie rotation has also been doing its job.

The Knights started the season with a 4-1 victory over the Seattle Kraken in a crucial divisional matchup. They followed that up with another 4-1 win over the San Jose Sharks in a great showing. Las Vegas then moved on to the Anaheim Ducks, where they proceeded to mop the floor with them.

Chandler Stephenson, Jack Eichel, Shea Theodore, and Jonas Rondbjerg all contributed goals to help secure the victory. Adin Hill tended the net for the Golden Knights and only allowed 1 out of 23 shots past him the entire game. The team now sits atop the Pacific Division with six points, 12 goals scored, and three goals allowed by opponents. #4 Interesting update on Josh McDaniels' job status  [caption id="attachment_39836" align="alignnone" > Source. YouTube[/caption]

The Las Vegas Raiders are one of the worst teams in the league this season, and things don’t seem to be getting much better. They only have two wins in five games, and fans are starting to get angry about the team's direction. One thing that continues to be a point of contention among Raiders fans is whether Josh McDaniels should be fired.

Some even thought McDaniels would be out after his first season, but Mark Davis made it clear that he would return for the 2023 season. According to The Athletic, however, McDaniels' job could be on the line if he doesn't change things around this year. That will be a pretty tall task for a 2-3 team in a tough AFC West division. #3 Las Vegas Aces fall to New York Liberty in game three of WNBA Finals [caption id="attachment_39835" align="alignnone" > Source. Facebook[/caption]

The New York Liberty defeated the Las Vegas Aces 87-73 Sunday afternoon in game three of the 2023 WNBA Finals. Things started with both teams matching each other shot for shot, but the game changed in the third quarter. This is where the Liberty outscored the Aces by eight points to extend their lead to 11

While the Aces fought hard to close the game in the final quarter, they just made too many mistakes. They didn’t do a good job guarding and even let the Liberty extend the lead at one point. That firmly puts momentum with the Liberty heading into game four on Wednesday night.

Kelsey Plum led the Aces with 29 points, two rebounds, and two assists. A’ja Wilson contributed  16 points, two assists, and 11 rebounds in a pretty solid effort. Besides those two, however, there weren’t many contributions to scoring or trying to create extra opportunities for the ball.

Chelsea Grey was held to 11 points in the loss, and Jackie Young only amassed eight. Consistency is vital in winning championships, and that's what was the difference in this matchup. If the Aces want to avoid The Liberty forcing a game five, Wilson and Plum will need some help in the scoring department.

Related: 5 scariest Las Vegas Raiders stats so far in 2023 #2 Kyle Larson punches ticket to final four with a win at Las Vegas [caption id="attachment_39834" align="alignnone" > Source. Facebook[/caption]

Kyle Larson has punched his ticket to Championship Four at ISM Speedway by winning the South Point 400 of Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The victory didn’t come easy as he and Christopher Bell battled in the final laps. Bell tried a last-second dive at the line to beat Larson but could not capitalize.

The loss had to feel like a major disappointment for Bell, who sat on the pole and led for most of the afternoon. As for Larson, this marks the third final-four appearance of his career and his latest chance at a second title. He will have to contend with whoever makes it out of the round of eight next.

The four drivers below the cutline face an uphill struggle. Bell is only two points below the cut point due to his second-place finish, but others aren’t as lucky. Tyler Reddick sits sixth and is 16 points below the line. He is followed by Ryan Blaney and Chris Buescher, who sit at 17 and 23 points out of the final spot. #1 The Las Vegas Raiders beat the New England Patriots in a wild game [caption id="attachment_39833" align="alignnone" > Source. Facebook[/caption]

The Las Vegas Raiders are now on a two-game winning streak thanks to a close win against the New England Patriots. The final score was 21-17 in a battle that looked like it could go either way at times. Fortunately for the Raiders, a touchdown throw by Jimmy Garropolo to Jacobi Meyers put them up by ten in the first half.

The offense slowed down in the second half and was forced to settle for field goals on two separate drives.  Bonus: Jimmy Garoppolo goes down [caption id="attachment_38574" align="alignnone" > Source. YouTube.[/caption]

The victory is bittersweet due to Jimmy Garoppolo suffering a back injury in the second half. His injury was bad enough to rule him out for the rest of the game. Garoppolo was even taken to a hospital for further evaluation, making his status for next week questionable. Brian Hoyer filled in for the rest of the game and did a great job in his place.

Garoppolo went 14 of 22 for 162 yards, one touchdown, and one interception before his injury. Hoyer completed six of ten for 102 yards, zero touchdowns, and zero interceptions. What’s interesting, however, is that the Raiders decided against giving Aidan O’Connell. That's a stark departure from the last time Garoppolo was out.

The running game never got going, and the Raiders only totaled 84 yards in 33 attempts. Jacobs led the effort with 77 yards in 25 carries in what had to feel like a bad game for the former rushing leader. This put a lot of stress on Garoppolo to make things happen in the air, and he did to some extent.

It's safe to say the Raiders' defense stole the show after totaling one interception and four sacks on Mac Jones. The team now faces the Green Bay Packers next Sunday at 1 p.m. at Soldier Field.

Next: Why Becky Hammon should have won Coach of the year