The Olympics opening ceremony gets a little Vegas-y. Celine Dion, former Caesar’s Palace headliner, is slated to perform in Cirque du Soleil style extravaganza. Two-minutes of the show with Chinese children on stilts were choreographed by Jesus Villa who performed in Zumanity at the New York New York. Some Vegas locals are also competing: Dara Torres, who is the first five-time qualifying swimmer, and Brentina, a horse. Yes, a horse. There’s an equestrian event in the Olympics. That’s a stunt horse race if you don’t know…but now you do!

Posted by Eric Johnson at 4:00 PM. To submit tips or feedback, contact us at news@rawvegas.com.

Seems like there is a boxing match every weekend in Vegas now. This time, Joshua Clottey won via a technical knockout against Zab Judah in the ninth round. Fighting at the Palms, officials called off the match after Clottey connected on Judah’s eye, creating lots of blood, and preventing him from seeing. The Ghana-born Clottey wins the IBF welterweight title. Now, Clottey has one six straight since breaking his hands, and Judah winless for three years. Looks like these guys’ careers are going in the opposite direction. 

2008 Olympics here we come! The USA Men’s Basketball team flexed their athletic muscles Friday night at the Thomas and Mack Center and trounced our neighbor to the north, Canada, 120 to 65, ten points shy of a doubling…which would have been way awesomer. Kobe Bryant, Michael Redd, and Dwayne Wade each scored 20 points on their way to American glory! Then they all partied Vegas style, hardly winded from their victory. Maybe we should pick on someone more talented…like Angola. 

Posted by Maxim Lardent at 4:45 PM. To submit tips or feedback, contact us at news@rawvegas.com.

The NBA and its summer league is gone from our fair city, but not before giving Las Vegas a taste of the big time. Portland Trailblazer Jerryd Bayless received the league MVP award for averaging 30 points a game. The University of Arizona guard was drafted 11^th overall by the Indiana Pacers before being traded mid-draft. His performance in Vega also earned him a spot in the USA Men’s Select Team that trains with the Beijing Olympic team. They are currently getting ready in Las Vegas, and will play an exhibition game against Canada on Friday. Though not as easy an opponent as Trinidad & Tobago, there will still be a thrashing.

Posted by Maxim Lardent at 6:00 PM. To submit tips or feedback, contact us at news@rawvegas.com.

Could we be prepared to experience the greatest boxing match ever? No, not a Oscar de la Hoya and Floyd Mayweather rematch or a magical, imaginary Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson titanic clash. However, there is huge buzz that Manny Pacquiao will be Oscar de la Hoya’s final fight. De la Hoya confirmed that we would love to fight him, and promoters are not ruling it out. Pundits can see a December fight looming, and Las Vegas should be the place to do it. They might have to outlaw fishnets, though.

Posted by Eric Johnson at 4:25 PM. To submit tips or feedback, contact us at news@rawvegas.com.

Las Vegas is still without an NBA team, and we’re pissed Oklahoma City got one before us, but at least we get the Summer League. The NBA’s off-season mini-league that showcases none of the stars and all the younger draft picks and garbage-time players starts today at the Thomas & Mack Center. 21 of the 30 professional teams will be in town until the 20^th, playing at least 4 games a day, starting with the 76ers versus the Warriors.  Why, that’s just as good as having a team in your city! Who needs a team when you have the Summer League!

Posted by Eric Johnson at 5:10 PM. To submit tips or feedback, contact us at news@rawvegas.com.

Javon Walker is getting justice, after justice was served to him. A second arrest was made in the football player’s robbery and beating, DeShawn Thomas was taken into custody for kidnapping, robbery and conspiracy charges. This is two weeks after the first arrest, Arfat Fadal, on similar charges. Walker was found unconscious on a Las Vegas street on June 16, missing money and jewelry. He needs to not carry around copious amounts of money and jewelry, then he won’t get beaten up and robbed. 

Posted by Eric Johnson at 4:20 PM. To submit tips or feedback, contact us at news@rawvegas.com.

It was a big fight weekend over the holiday here in Vegas with both a boxing and an MMA fight. Forrest Griffin, the first Ultimate Fighter winner, won a unanimous decision against Quinton Rampage Jackson to earn the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. Other RawVegas.tv featured fighters with wins included Joe Daddy Stevenson earning a submission against Gleison Tibau, and Tyson Griffin winning by unanimous decision versus Marcus Aurelio. 

In other fighting news, boxer Kendall Holt was knocked down twice within the first minute against Ricardo Torres, but managed to get the knockout 61 seconds into the match.  Talk about your quick finishes…

Watch the Forrest Griffin post-fight interview.

Posted by Maxim Lardent at 5:30 PM. To submit tips or feedback, contact us at news@rawvegas.com.

It’s nearly Independence Day, so either we’ll be attacked by aliens or Vegas events are starting to heat up.

The Las Vegas 51s baseball team will be adding fireworks to the end of their game tonight.  On top of that, it’s still Dollar Beer Night Thursdays.  So there are cheap drinks and you get fireworks.  How awesome is that?

Meanwhile, the 7^th Annual Las Vegas Darts Classicis taking place at the Mandalay Bay trough the weekend.  Check out the best in darts…only in Vegas.

So until next time, here’s how hot it is at Tao Beach.

Posted by Maxim Lardent at 11:00 AM. To submit tips or feedback, contact us at news@rawvegas.com.

Boxing continues to draw crowds, especially when you have the top-ranked boxer fighting. Occupying the spot Floyd Mayweather held until his retirement, Manny Pacquiao currently has a Las Vegas winning streak going. The Filipno fighter was fought in Las Vegas three times in 8 months, and has been victorious over Barrera, Marquez, and this weekend David Diaz, while maintaining the super featherweight title, and earning the World Boxing Council lightweight title. Hmmm, seems the new best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, also called the Mexican Killer, seems to have something against Mexicans. Or is it just a coincidence he keeps getting matched up with Mexicans? We think not.

Posted by Eric Johnson at 7:30 PM. To submit tips or feedback, contact us at news@rawvegas.com.

For not having a professional team, a lot of basketball events happen here. The USA Olympic Men’s Basketball team was announced yesterday, and begin training with a two-day Las Vegas mini-camp this Saturday. 12 NBA players join the team that includes Kobe Bryant, Jason Kidd, Dwayne Wade, and LeBron James. The team will also return July 21^st for a full camp as well as an exhibition against the Canadian team. There is no better way to prepare for taking on the world than beating Canada first.

Posted by Maxim Lardent at 5:00 PM. To submit tips or feedback, contact us at news@rawvegas.com.

Athletes with questionable morals and cities with questionable morals don’t mix. So, we can’t say we’re totally surprised to hear Javon Walker was beaten and robbed near the Hard Rock Hotel early Monday morning. A wide receiver that signed with the Oakland Raiders over the summer spent six hours at Body English nightclub where he sprayed the crowd with champagne. We was found in the driveway of Summer Bay Resort on Flamingo and Koval with a fractured eye socket, and taken to the hospital. Large amounts of cash and jewelry were taken from the first round draft pick. He should be released from the hospital after 24 hours. We’d say this would cause personality issues with his team, but it’s the Raiders. This is the team that picked up Randy Moss the season after he fake-mooned Green Bay.

Posted by Maxim Lardent at 5:30 PM. To submit tips or feedback, contact us at news@rawvegas.com.

Now before you say anything, yes Vegas has sports. They’re not very big because of everything else that goes on here, but we still like what we have.

With that, the LA Dodgers affiliated Las Vegas 51s are our recently renamed baseball team. In an effort to pack Thursday games at Cashman Field, they have instituted Dollar Beer Night. Every Thursday home game, you can get $1 Budweisers and enjoy professional baseball.

As a special treat, Dodgers star Nomar Garciaparra is on rehab assignment and will be playing with the 51s for the rest of the week.

The Olympics are coming to Las Vegas. Well, not the big show, but the American wrestling and judo trials are taking place at the Thomas and Mack Center this weekend. The event runs Friday through Sunday which will determine which hopeful American wrestlers and martial artists will enter the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Each country can send a total of 18 wrestlers and 14 judoers, one for each weight class. Judoer isn’t a word is it? What do you call someone that does judo? Judoist? Judostein? That’s our third grade science teacher.

Posted by Maxim Lardent at 5:35 PM. To submit tips or feedback, contact us at news@rawvegas.com.

Floyd Mayweather has actually retired…again. The pound-for-pound champion of the world has battled retirement rumors to call it quits from the boxing world. But this is the third time he’s said bye-bye to boxing on Friday. This promptly cancels the sought after Oscar de la Hoya rematch to take place this September. He ends his career with 39 wins, zero losses, 25 knockouts, an Olympic bronze medal, and at least 50 million dollars. This exit leaves a vacancy at the top of the sport that was using Pretty Boy has their poster child. Who cares, it’s just boxing, right? That’s what they said about hockey and look how that’s doing…

Posted by Maxim Lardent at 6:30 PM. To submit tips or feedback, contact us at news@rawvegas.com.

It’s June now, so that means the World Series of Poker is in full swing. And on day one, they are already breaking records. The second event, $1,500 dollar no limit Texas Hold’em, has shattered last years record for largest non-main event in WSOP history. The 1A group numbered 2,046, while 1B had only 250 open seats by midnight, meaning a field of almost 4,000. The record was previously held by last year’s Event #49, also a 1,500 no limit Hold’em game with 3,151. Event the most frugal players want to play in the big game. They probably aren’t good enough to play the satellites. 

Posted by Maxim Lardent at 6:30 PM. To submit tips or feedback, contact us at news@rawvegas.com.

If we could control time, we would make work go faster and playtime slower, so we do more of these great activities…

Friday, Frankie Delgado of The Hills on MTV will celebrate his birthday at LAX Nightclub at the Luxor. He’s here so often he should buy a place and stop announcing his parties. Tao Beach at the Venetian will celebrate the launch of Wildonsincity.com with model Sarah Lynn. Is this more competition? Finally, Steven Wright will bring his original one-liner material to the Orleans the whole weekend.

Saturday, Sugar Shane Mosley will fight Zab Judah on pay per view and then celebrate win or lose at Jet Nightclub at the Mirage. That’s how he rolls. Meanwhile, Christina Aguilera will be hosting her own party at LAX Nightclub at the Luxor. See what gifts child birth have given her. Lastly, Mario Lopez hosts the Hot Bodies competition at the Venetian’s Tao Beach. He’s got dimples!

Sunday, Bare Pool Lounge at the Mirage is holding a Release the Twins party which we are in full support of (ironic that they will no longer have support, tee hee). Model Joanna Krupa is hosting the annual JCK jewelry party with her hotness. It’ll help, we swear. We close out the weekend with John O’Hurley from Spamalot hosting a dog show at the Orleans . Yeah, we thought that was weird, too.

Until next weekend, here’s the latest MMA Fight Night.

Posted by Maxim Lardent at 1:30 PM. To submit tips or feedback, contact us at news@rawvegas.com.

Pacman Jones should stop coming to Las Vegas. Even after his little strip club shooting incident, the NFL cornerback accumulated $20,000 in gambling debts at the Caesar’s Palace. A criminal complaint was filed late last week and the DA was seeking an arrest warrant for the man-about-town. Within 24 hours the unluckiest man alive paid the debt he incurred last September. He is once again a free man, so everyone needs to practice their Emergency Pacman Jones Party Evacuation Drills. Remember, cover the eyes, and the neck just like the ones for nuclear war in grade school.

Posted by Maxim Lardent at 5:00 PM. To submit tips or feedback, contact us at news@rawvegas.com.

Is Floyd Mayweather retiring? That’s what celebrity blogger Robin Leach claims the boxing champ personally told him while at his foundation dinner at the Wynn recently. Pretty Boy is now referring to himself as an ex-fighter and will be taking on the proverbial financial ring instead. He has tons of money, wants to make even more money, and then give away to the kids through the Floyd Mayweather Foundation. The Las Vegas fighter is also suing a supposed Mayweather fan site illegally using his image and fight footage. Much like how he uses the idea of helping children to support his desire to be super-rich. Nice disguise, Money.

Posted by Eric Johnson at 5:00 PM. To submit tips or feedback, contact us at news@rawvegas.com.