Yordenis Ugas, the WBA welterweight champion, nearly quit the sport he loves so deeply a few years after a dangerous defection from his native Cuba.
Sam Gordon
Reporter
Email: sgordon@reviewjournal.com
Twitter: @BySamGordon
Sam Gordon was born and raised in Minneapolis and is back for his second stint with the Review-Journal. He’s covered the NFL, NBA, the Big Ten, the Mountain West and prep sports for various publications during his professional tenure. Gordon, a University of Minnesota graduate, is a basketball junkie who coached high school basketball for three seasons.
The Rebels are hiring former Southern Methodist assistant John Cooper, sources told the Review-Journal. Tim Buckley is leaving to be an assistant at South Carolina.
Derek Carr’s extension with the Raiders is for three years and as much as $121 million and includes a no-trade clause.
Sebastian Fundora (19-0-1, 13 knockouts) pummeled fellow 154-pound contender Erickson Lubin (24-2, 17 KOs) at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, to secure the WBC’s interim title.
Bubba Bolden, the 22-year-old native Las Vegan, is among the draft’s top safety prospects and is ready for the NFL after seminal experiences in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Miami.
Sebastian Fundora, an unbeaten 6-foot-6-inch super welterweight, is fighting Erickson Lubin on Saturday at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.
Charles Williams left UNLV’s football program last fall as its all-time leading rusher. But carrying the football isn’t the only thing he believes he can do for an NFL team.
Devin Haney, the WBC lightweight champion and 23-year-old Las Vegan, will fight WBA, WBO and IBF lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr. for the undisputed 135-pound title June 5.
Spring football practice begin Tuesday at UNLV, and Doug Brumfield, Cameron Friel and Harrison Bailey have 14 more practices to win coach Marcus Arroyo’s trust and earn the respect of the rest of the Rebels.
Quarterback Harrison Bailey and wide receiver Ricky White III helped lead Marietta High School to Georgia’s big-school state football title and now are teammates at UNLV.
The Chargers beefed up during free agency. As did the Broncos and Raiders, prompting Adams to call the AFC West, home of the perennially tough Chiefs, “the best division in football.”
Julian Strawther played sparingly last season for Gonzaga as a freshman. But this season, he’s a starter for the Bulldogs, who are the NCAA Tournament’s top seed.
The Wildcats, seeded No. 2 nationally, pair the tournament title with their regular-season conference crown — ensuring a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
UNLV’s women’s basketball team is NCAA Tournament bound for the first time since 2002, courtesy of three wins in three days during the conference tournament at Thomas Mack Center.
Air Force could not keep Desi-Rae Young, the UNLV sophomore standout, away from the basket or free-throw line during their Mountain West tournament matchup.
