4 Biggest Stories in Vegas Sports Sept 21 - 27

1. Kyle Busch cracking under playoff pressure

It s 2020 and Kyle Busch hasn t won a Cup Series race yet this season. As if that wasn t bad enough, Busch is currently in danger of being eliminated from the playoffs unless he is able to turn some of his luck around. Busch isn t coming into this round of the playoffs with much confidence- he preemptively predicted his own elimination.

No, seriously, Busch was asked about what he thought his chances were of advancing to the round of 8 and he outright stated that he would be eliminated in the next round. Keep in mind that this is the same Kyle Busch that won a Cup Series title with two broken legs.

Look. With tracks like the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the Talladega Superspeedway, and the Charlotte Roval on the schedule, he has a good chance of making it to the next round.

2. Marc Andre Fleury wants to stay in Las Vegas

Rumors have been circulating about whether Marc -Andre Fleury, who was the franchise s star goalie, would be returning to Las Vegas next season and it looks like we finally have an answer. Of course, it is only Fleury s answer to the situation, and we will still have to wait and see what the Las Vegas Golden Knights want to do, but at least we know that Fleury is willing to stay.

According to an interview with The Atlantic, Fleury has enjoyed his time in Las Vegas and wants to stay there if possible.  Unfortunately for the all-star goalie, however, the Golden Knights are supposedly planning to sign their other goalie, Robin Lehner, to a long-term contract, which might mean they have to get rid of Fleury.

Lehner was acquired earlier in the season by trade and was a big part of why the Golden Knights made it to the playoffs.

3. Injury list for Patriots versus Raiders

The Las Vegas Raiders are set to take on Cam Newton and the Patriots in week three of the NFL season and it will be a huge test for both teams. It might be a bit more of a test for the Raiders, however, who will be without Henry Ruggs III and could end up missing quite a few other stars as well.  In fact, The Raiders might have most of their superstar cast on the sideline if things don t change soon.

For example, Joshua Jacobs, Bryan Edwards, Darren Wallner, Sam Young, and Denzelle Good are all listed as questionable for Sunday Night s game against the Patriots, which leaves them with absolutely nothing in the way of weapons. It also takes away a few key defensive players who could have really helped slow down Cam Newton.

In the end, it seems like Derek Carr is going to have to find other players to rely on and the running game is going to have to step up without Jacobs.

4. Raiders now worth 3.1 billion

Forbes released their annual list of most valuable franchises in the NFL and believe it or not, The Las Vegas Raiders are now worth 3 billion dollars after their move to Nevada. The Raiders actually ranked 12th for the second year in a row and their net worth blossomed from 1.4 billion in 2015 to 3.1 billion dollars this year.

The Raiders are probably, in terms of the NFL, one of the handful of teams that are national brands, Michael Ozanian, who serves as Forbes executive editor, said. They re getting demand from a lot of people outside of Vegas. I think it s going to be very successful Their season ticket and PSL demand has been even stronger than in Los Angeles.

With that being said, it s nice to know that The Raiders are starting to bump up in value, which is sure to make prospects want to sign with the team. Of course, the team has a good cast of characters now and might have what it takes to go all the way but continuing to make The Raiders a brand could end up helping them in a variety of ways in the future.