Mavericks ownership said no to the relocation rumor.

There was a report out of nowhere that the National Basketball Association’s Dallas Mavericks franchise was moving to Las Vegas. The Mavericks general manager told employees the team has “no plans” to move to Las Vegas. The franchise is owned by Dr. Miriam Adelson who is based in Las Vegas. Then there was another statement put out by the franchise. “The Adelson and Dumont families have already started and are committed to investing and building in Dallas Fort Worth. The families have absolutely no plans to move the team out of North Texas.” In 2023, Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands company acquired a 108-acre parcel in Irving, near the stadiums that house the National Football League’s Dallas Cowboys and Major League Baseball’s Texas Rangers in Arlington. There is some speculation that land could be used for a casino and a Mavericks’ arena. The Las Vegas Sands lobbyists have been attempting to get Texas lawmakers to legalize casino gambling.

Las Vegas and Nevada business and political leaders have in the past decade shed the image of a gambling town that was unsuitable for major league sports franchises. The National Hockey League granted an expansion franchise to Bill Foley in 2016 and Foley got the Vegas Golden Knights franchise onto the ice in 2017. Mark Davis moved his National Football League franchise from Oakland to Las Vegas in 2020 after Nevada officials gave Davis one of the largest stadium subsidies ever although that has now been surpassed in western New York and in Nashville as funding for new facilities. Major League Baseball’s John Fisher is attempting to move to Las Vegas. Fisher has not been able to get private funding for the proposed Las Vegas baseball stadium. The National Basketball Association Commissioner Adam Silver has said that the league is looking at expanding and that Las Vegas is a leading candidate for an expansion franchise.

Evan Weiner’s books are available at iTunes – https://books.apple.com/us/author/evan-weiner/id595575191

Evan can be reached at evan_weiner@hotmail.com

RANT SPORTS

FOX and Tubi come together for Super Bowl 59

On Super Bowl Sunday, FOX broadcasts five-and-a-half hours of pregame coverage beginning at 1:00 PM ET with FOX SUPER BOWL LIX PREGAME live from three locations, including the FOX Sports set on New Orleans’ iconic Bourbon Street.

ROAD TO THE SUPER BOWL, an NFL Films award-winning series featuring NFL Films’ classic slow-motion footage and the best of more than 100 players and coaches wired for sound, kicks off FOX Super Bowl Sunday programming at 11:00 AM ET on FOX.

Tubi is free streaming the game in a first for FOX

In addition to the pregame show, there will also be a Tubi-exclusive red carpet show prior to the game for those sports lite fans who may be more interested in the celebrity sightings, halftime show and commercials.

FOX owns the free streaming service Tubi will be the home of the Super Bowl for the first time. FOX unlike CBS has Paramount+, NBC has Peacock and ABC has ESPN does not have a dedicated streaming service. This is a big win for both streaming video fans as well as Tubi. The streaming service hopes that the Super Bowl will give fans see some of the very entertaining programming you can find on Tubi

The Madden Cruiser: A Bayou Adventure With Bill Belichick – Noon

The one-hour special features eight-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick hopping aboard Hall of Fame legend John Madden’s iconic “Madden Cruiser” bus for an unforgettable road trip. Their ultimate destination: New Orleans. Special guests include Tom Brady, Michael Strahan and Curt Menefee, Pro Football Hall of Famers Ed Reed and Ty Law, New Orleans legends Archie Manning and Tyrann Mathieu and Emmy© Award-winning media personality Rocsi Diaz.

The Game pregame 1 p.m.

The casts of FOX NFL SUNDAY, America’s most-watched NFL pregame studio show since its inception, and NFL KICKOFF combine for one mega broadcast showcasing five-and-a-half hours of live pregame coverage, beginning at 1:00 PM ET on FOX live from Bourbon Street. Curt Menefee hosts the special edition alongside Terry Bradshaw with analysis from Howie Long, Michael Strahan, Jimmy Johnson and Rob Gronkowski. Jay Glazer offers exclusive news from around the league heading into the big game.

Also offering interviews, analysis and reports throughout FOX’s pregame show are Charissa Thompson, Charles Woodson, Julian Edelman, Michael Vick, Peter Schrager, Kristina Pink and Cooper Manning with “The Manning Hour.

RANT SPORTS MUST-READS

RANT SPORTS

Super Bowl Records Set to be Broken?

Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce and Philadelphia wide receiver DeVonta Smith could both add their names to the Super Bowl record books after Sunday’s 59th edition of the game.

Kelce has 31 Super Bowl receptions, which is currently second to Jerry Rice’s 33. So three receptions, Sunday, and he’s the all-time leader. 

While that might seem like a lock, Kelce had just two receptions in the AFC Championship Game win against Buffalo. That was his lowest total in any playoff game in which he’s played.

Kelce, with 350, is fifth on the all-time Super Bowl receiving yards list. Rice is the leader with 589, but Kelce needs just 15 yards to move past Lynn Swann and Rob Gronkowski, who are tied with 364. 

As far as overall playoff records go, Kelce is already the leader in receptions with 174. He’s second in yards, with 2,039 to Rice’s 2,245. He’s also second in touchdowns with 20, but needs just two to tie Rice (22) for the all-time lead.

Smith, the Eagles first-round draft pick in 2021, can add his name to a special list of players to have won a Heisman Trophy, a National Title in college and a Super Bowl.

That current list stands at four players: Tony Dorsett (Pitt/Cowboys), Marcus Allen (Southern Cal/Raiders), Charles Woodson (Michigan/Packers) and Reggie Bush (Southern Cal/Saints). 

Who’s Still Here?

Kansas City and Philadelphia met in the Super Bowl just two years ago. The teams that take the field Sunday won’t look the same as that one from 2023.

The Chiefs have 32 new players on their roster from the Super Bowl 57 win, while the Eagles have 35 new players from their Super Bowl 57 loss.

Kansas City has almost an entirely new group of wide receivers with rookie Xavier Worthy and veterans Hollywood Brown and DeAndre Hopkins.

Five of Philadelphia’s key defensive players — defensive tackle Jalen Carter, rookie defensive backs Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, linebacker Zach Braun and edge rusher Nolan Smith were not around two years ago.

Rematches 

This is the ninth Super Bowl rematch. Of the first eight the team that won the first one is 6-2 in the second one. 

That’s bad news for Eagles fans. 

The good news for Eagles fans is one of the two teams to lose the first game and win the second one was the Eagles when they beat New England in Super Bowl 52 (they lost 39). 

Washington is the other team to win a rematch when it beat Miami  in Super Bowl 17 and losing to the undefeated Dolphins in Super Bowl 7.

More Rematches 

This is the fifth time there is a rematch between head coaches in a Super Bowl as Andy Reid faces Nick Sirianni. In the first four the winner of the first also won the second.

Reid beat San Francisco’s Kyle Shanahan twice.

New York’s Tom Coughlin beat New England’s Bill Belichick twice.

Dallas’ Jimmy Johnson beat Buffalo’s Marv Levy twice. 

Pittsburgh’s Chuck Noll beat Dallas’ Tom Landry twice. 

No Picks Allowed 

Both quarterbacks KC’s Patrick Mahomes and Philly’s Jalen Hurts have been very protective of the football through the playoffs and at the end of the regular season.

Mahomes has thrown 288 passes without an interception, while Hurts has gone 209 passes without a pick. 

Head or Tails?

How important in winning the coin toss? Not very.

The team that wins the toss is 26-32 all-time in Super Bowls, although the Chiefs, who will call the toss as the visitors, are 2-for-2 the past two years.

What is important is scoring first. The team that scores first is 37-21 all-time in the Super Bowl. 

3-Peats

Kansas City is trying to become the first team to win three consecutive Super Bowls and the first team to win three consecutive NFL Championships since the 1965-67 Green Bay Packers.

The last team in any of the four major sports to win three straight titles are the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers (1999-02). The last time it happened in Major League Baseball it was the Yankees (1998-00) and the last NHL team was the New York Islanders (1981-83).