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Tag: Las Vegas gambling

  • Las Vegas Raiders Closing In on Klint Kubiak As New Coach

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    Posted on: February 1, 2026, 03:26h. 

    Last updated on: February 1, 2026, 03:29h.

    • Kubiak is the current offensive coordinator of the Super Bowl Bowl-bound Seattle
    • Kubiak reportedly wants the Raiders head coaching job
    • Raiders finished 3-14, last in the NFL

    According to ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter, the Las Vegas Raiders are close to hiring Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak as the team’s new head coach.

    Offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak of the Seattle Seahawks looks on against the Houston Texans at Lumen Field in Seattle last October. The Las Vegas Raiders are expected to name Kubiak as their new head coach. (Image: Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

    “Source: After meeting Saturday with Las Vegas and Arizona, Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak intends to try to work out a deal to become the next head coach of the Raiders,” Schefter wrote earlier today on his X account.

    Seahawks Among NFL Leaders in Offence

    No deal can be finalized until after the Super Bowl, but Klint Kubiak wants to coach the Raiders, and they want him to be their head coach. Now it’s only a matter of time before the two sides can formalize a deal.”

    Considering Schefter’s reputation as one of the most credible insiders who covers the NFL, you can take the X post to the bank.

    The Raiders, under coach Pete Carroll, finished last in the NFL, with a record of 3-14. Carroll was fired a few days after the regular season ended. The team owns the first overall pick in this spring’s NFL draft, and are expected to select Heisman Trophy winner QB Fernando Mendoza. At DraftKings, Mendoza is -8000 to go first overall, followed by Trinidad Chambliss at +3500.

    Las Vegas Gambling: Super Bowl LX Betting Favourites

    Seahawks’ QB Sam Darnold, after basically being run out of Minnesota by the Vikings last season, has had a turnaround season with Kubiak as offensive coordinator. Darnold was the fifth most prolific quarterback in the NFL this past regular season, with 4,048 yards in passing, in 17 games, and 25 TDs, good for ninth in the league.

    The Seahawks, current betting favourites for Super Bowl LX against the New England Patriots Feb. 8, ranked among the NFL leaders in several offensive categories. In offensive yards per game, the Seahawks were eighth in the NFL, at 351.4. Seattle was eighth in offensive yards, at 5,973, eighth in yards per game for passing (228.1), and third in point per game on offence, at 28.4.

    The Raiders currently have close to $88 million in cap space, with internet chatter that star defensive end Maxx Crosby might be traded. Crosby makes $30 million per season.

    QB Geno Smith, brought in last season in a trade with Seattle as the supposed answer at the position, makes $26.5 million per season. Smith was a disappointment as quarterback for the Raiders, leading the NFL in interceptions with 17.

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    Mark Keast

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  • Sean O’Malley Eyes Redemption at UFC 324

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    Posted on: January 23, 2026, 04:31h. 

    Last updated on: January 23, 2026, 04:32h.

    • Paddy Pimblett betting favourite for tomorrow night’s lightweight interim title bout at UFC 324
    • Sean O’Malley looking for a road back to a title shot, needs to beat Song Yadong first
    • O’Malley betting favourite at BetMGM

    The UFC gets out of the gate for 2026 with a bang tomorrow night, with UFC 324 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, headlined by a lightweight interim title bout between No. 4 Justin Gaethje versus No. 5 Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett.

    Sean O’Malley is seen on stage during the UFC 324 press conference at T-Mobile Arena yesterday in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Image: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

    The winner of this one, said UFC CEO and President Dana White, will likely square off with lightweight title holder Ilia Topuria, who has stepped away from UFC to deal with a family matter. There’s no point in getting into the specifics of that, with plenty of rumours flying around social media. There’s been no indication that Topuria is done with MMA. He just needs to clear up this personal issue.

    Pimblett Betting Favourite

    A Topuria comeback versus Pimblett would line up as one of the biggest fights in UFC history. Topuria issued a statement recently that he intends to defend his title in the next six months, against either Pimblett or Gaethje, he said.

    White was thrown a curveball a week back when Kayla Harrison, the women’s bantamweight champion, had to pull out of her scheduled fight with Amanda Nunes due to neck surgery. White said yesterday as soon as she is well that fight will be rescheduled.

    For tomorrow night, White moved up No. 3 Sean O’Malley versus No. 5 Song Yadong in a men’s bantamweight bout. O’Malley was a UFC superstar in the making, with highlight reel knockouts, but went off the radar after losing two fights in a row, both to Merab Dvalishvili – by submission at UFC 316 last June and by unanimous decision at UFC 306 in September 2024.

    O’Malley used to headline pay-per-view fights. Then he got moved down to undercard.

    O’Malley Looks to Make a Statement

    “I’m not even the co-main, dude. I am falling off hard,” said O’Malley back in December when the UFC 324 card was announced.

    “What’s next? Prelims? F—, early prelims? God dammit, it’s not going good for the Suga show. The stock of the Suga show is down bad right now, it’s not good, it’s not looking good,”

    Now he’s on a co-main fight card for tomorrow night’s card. A grand opportunity for him to make a statement against Yadong, known for a crisp boxing-heavy, explosive style.

    UFC is kicking off its new $7.7 billion broadcasting partnership with Paramount+, so having a brand like O’Malley, who’s an American to boot, fighting in one of UFC’s meccas, Las Vegas, is a pretty good consolation prize after Harrison’s injury.

    Yadong’s Crisp Boxing Style

    “Song’s hungry, experienced, explosive,” O’Malley said at the pre-fight news conference. “He hits hard. He’s dangerous … one of the best strikers I fought.”

    O’Malley later told Sportsnet the three rounds for tomorrow’s fight gives him an advantage. O’Malley hasn’t fought a three-round fight since 2022. “I have been enjoying the three-round training camp. Still putting in the work, training camp’s are never easy, or fun. It’s a good push, but three rounds sounds nice. It will change the pace, three rounds to five rounds.”

    At BetMGM today, Pimblett is the betting favourite, at -235, with Gaethje +190. Pimblett has been getting 35% of bets, 49% of handle. Like White has said, oddsmakers have been too quick to dismiss Gaethje. DraftKings has it Pimblett -230, Gaethje +190.

    O’Malley is the clear betting favourite in his fight, at -210 (Yadong is +170). Yadong has seen 54% of bets, 52% of handle at BetMGM. At DraftKings O’Malley is -205, Yadong +170.

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    Mark Keast

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  • Raiders’ Gamble Backfires: What’s Next for the Luckless Silver and Black?

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    Posted on: January 3, 2026, 02:31h. 

    Last updated on: January 3, 2026, 02:33h.

    • Raiders look to finish last and lock down the No. 1 draft pick
    • RB Jeanty finishing season strong
    • Rumours swirling about head coach Carroll’s future, more Brady involvement in team decisions

    What’s next for the 2-14 Las Vegas Raiders, as another NFL regular season ends? Stories about a trade of Pro Bowl DE Maxx Crosby. League-wide chatter about head coach Pete Carroll being fired at the end of this season. Reports about minority owner (and Fox NFL broadcaster) Tom Brady about to take an even more active role in Raiders’ off-field decisions.

    Ashton Jeanty of the Las Vegas Raiders rushes for yards during the second quarter of the game against Andru Phillips of the New York Giants at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas in December. (Image: Steve Marcus/Getty Images)

    For Raiders fans, and bettors, the focus today is more on finishing last in the NFL, locking up the No. 1 selection in this spring’s draft, and the next steps in what’s clearly going to need to be a rebuild. That rebuild will start at the quarterback position. So that starts with Indiana Hoosiers’ QB Fernando Mendoza (Heisman Trophy winner and AP College Football Player of the Year), who DraftKings has as -450 to go No. 1 (then QB Dante Moore, +450 at No. 2).

    Mendoza just led his team to a dominant Rose Bowl win. A question is whether the Raiders move on from QB Geno Smith, who leads the NFL in interceptions (17), and will sit out tomorrow’s Chiefs’ game with an ankle injury.

    Chatter About Trading Crosby

    This morning’s ESPN Index has the Raiders at 88.5% to choose No. 1, the New York Giants at 11.5%. If the Raiders beat the Chiefs tomorrow and the Giants lose to the Cowboys then New York gets the pick. The Cowboys are -190 moneyline favourites at FanDuel, the Giants are at +160.  The Chiefs are -255 ML favourites at FanDuel, the Raiders +210.

    Now, online chatter is just that. As Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson told reporters a few days ago, after he was asked about media chatter that he wanted out of Baltimore: “There’s always noise in the National Football League.” This morning’s chatter is about Crosby, the star edge rusher, who is looking at knee surgery (and reportedly was not happy about the organization’s decision to pull him from last weekend’s pivotal game against the Giants, pivotal from the perspective of needing to lose that game, to stand a better chance of grabbing that No. 1 pick?). Stories are that he is likely a trade candidate out of Las Vegas.

    Positioning for Mendoza

    This from Carroll yesterday, when asked about coaching:

    I love coaching. I really love being on the field. I love the strategy part of it, all the planning and all that. There’s been a lot of games, a lot of preparations. That still draws me in, the curiosity of how you can make the next right call or the right move with personnel, or the right decision. Those are still really intriguing to me. And, I’m basically pretty curious. I keep looking for something better in all ways we’re doing things, and that really generates the feeling of why I love this game.”

    If the Raiders fire Carroll, and Brady indeed takes on a more direct role in team decisions, the Raiders at least know they have a building block in running back Ashton Jeanty. The rookie from Boise State was mentioned in the same sentence as Saquon Barkley when the Raiders chose him in the draft last year, and while he hasn’t dominated, he still has 1,227 total receiving and rushing yards, and 10 total touchdowns, this season.

    More Brady Involvement

    NFL Network journalists Ian Rapoport and Tom Peliserro said this about Brady:

    “Legendary quarterback Tom Brady and his business partner Egon Durban have wielded significant influence since becoming Raiders minority owners last year. Brady is close with former Michigan teammate and current GM John Spytek, with both serving as the sounding board for one another. While Spytek was Brady’s GM target last year, Brady’s prime target for head coach was Ben Johnson, who took the Bears job instead. Expect Brady — who has spent little time in the Raiders building as he balances his broadcasting duties on Fox and other business interests — to increase his presence as the decision closes in.”

     

     

     

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    Mark Keast

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