Chip Shots: Viva Las Vegas? Not Pro Sports

Chip Shots
A Sports Blog

Meet the Staff

I'm Chip Ramsey a career broadcaster who has been a sports radio program director in Milwaukee and Nashville. I've covered everything from high school and college sports (including the SEC, Big Ten, MVC and OVC) to Major League Baseball, The NFL and the NHL. I have a few things to say, and when I want to say them, I say them here.

I mostly talk about my teams, which would be the White Sox, Bears, and Blackhawks, but I do talk about other things as well. Thanks for dropping by. I hope you will bookmark this site and visit often!

Chip's broadcast career

Chip Shots: Viva Las Vegas? Not Pro Sports

Viva Las Vegas? Not Pro Sports

There have been rumors for several months rumors that the NBA, which is facing lower levels of TV ratings every year, might try to spice things up by putting a team in Las Vegas.

Many people, including me, think it is a bad idea for a professional sports team, basketball or otherwise, to consider Vegas. The biggest of course is gambling. I'm not even talking about betting on games, I'm talking about 24/7/365 gambling available to NBA players. Can you imagine if Michael Jordan or Charles Barkley played in Vegas? And it's not just the gambling.

There are many temptations in Las Vegas, a city which is open all night and is primarily in the entertainment industry. There would most likely be a lot of incidents involving players. It just doesn't seem worth the gamble (be here all weeks folks, try the veal) to put any professional team, NBA or otherwise in Vegas.

One of the other things to consider about a Vegas franchise is who will support it. Sure, you might come to Vegas and take in a game, but why would you? Gambling, girls, shows, who the hell cares about the NBA? Or any sport for that matter. You don't go to Vegas to watch a basketball game, you go to get away. Would the locals honestly support a franchise in Vegas? I seriously doubt it.

I know that getting a Major League sports franchise is a big priority of Mayor Oscar Goodman, but the casinos even say an NBA franchise would be bad for business. And when the casinos talk, Goodman is going to have to listen.

Lightning Round:

The hitless wonders travel to the OC to meet the Angels. Let's see what kind of reception Darin Erstad gets. And, again, I keep hearing myself say that getting rid of Greg Walker will only make things worse.
The Cubs are starting to turn it around and so are the Yankees. The White Sox will be there soon.
In the chase for Lord Stanley's cup, the Ducks put the Canucks out of their misery in double OT last night. Roberto Luongo was stellar the entire series, but his offense never showed up. Next up on the docket, the surprising Rangers and the Sabres, who are about to get a swift kick from their coach. Saturday, it's the Wings and Sharks with the Sharks missing a key piece of their puzzle.
The NCAA may move the three point line back a foot or six feet if you are a non-BCS school.
Sammy Sosa got hit in the head with a pitch last night. A brain scan showed nothing.
Wally Schirra, one of the original Mercury astronauts, the commander of the second attempt at Apollo 7 and Walter Cronkite's sidekick on space broadcasts (the moon landing, Apollo 13, etc.) has splashed down at 84.
The judge in India who brought criminal charges against alleged actor Richard Gere has been sent to the Indian version of Siberia where he most likely will be hearing traffic cases.
The city of Green Bay is considering a plan where they will fine any business that knowingly hires illegal immigrants and/or Randy Moss. On a serious note, if you fine the people that hire illegals, may they'll think twice before they hire them again. And, I'm sorry. The ACLU can scream until they are blue in the face, but someone needs to step up to the plate and solve this issue. And fining their enablers is an excellent place to start.
I watched a few minutes of the Republican debate last night, but I didn't know half the candidates. To me, it seemed more like a Ronald Reagan love fest then it did a debate. I thought both Mit Romney and Jim Gilmore came off as presidential. The guy that could win the nomination hasn't announced yet, but you can read him on the web or just tune to your local NBC affiliate tonight at 10pm EDT.
In Florida, a couple were driving home when the wife's nagging became so intense the husband threw her out of the vehicle and made her go the rest of the way home with out motorized transportation. In this case, the vehicle was a boat.
Kindergarten kids in California have discovered something we've all thought for years.
Those large objects you may see falling from your local CBS tower may be executives flinging themselves off after first quarter profits slipped 6%. Just think of what it will be like without Imus, kids.
A bus driver at Shea Stadium was arrested in the parking lot while sitting in his bus, using a penis pump and trying to, um, put one on the board. Police have charged him with an unlawfully executed squeeze play. Mr. Met refused comment.