Plus Money Sports

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 01:11:00 +0000

1942-2009:

Bob Stupak, builder of Stratosphere and Vegas World, dies at 67

By Ed Koch, Mary Manning
LAS VEGAS SUN
Published Friday, Sept. 25, 2009

Bob Stupak, a Las Vegas legend who developed the Stratosphere and called himself the Polish Maverick, died today at Desert Springs Hospital after a long battle with leukemia.

He was 67.

The Stratosphere released a statement Friday afternoon saying Stupak will be remembered for his contributions to Las Vegas.

“Bob Stupak was a true visionary and he will be sorely missed. He was instrumental in developing the Stratosphere Casino Hotel and Tower – an icon in Las Vegas, as Mr. Stupak was himself. He will be remembered for his many community initiatives and his many innovative projects within the gaming industry," the statement said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.”

After an unconventional boyhood in Pittsburgh he came to Las Vegas, where he survived a motorcycle crash and sparred with gaming regulators. He eventually built the tallest hotel-casino in Las Vegas.

In his early days, Stupak delved into pop music and motorcycle drag racing before he began selling coupon books. His father, Chester Stupak, was a major player in Pittsburgh gambling rackets from before World War II until his death in 1991.

After Bob Stupak dropped out of school following the eighth grade, he bought a Harley-Davidson and began an odyssey that would lead to Las Vegas.

Stupak's interest in gambling drew him to Las Vegas in 1964. He then took a detour to Australia for seven years, where he continued selling coupon books and got married twice. Stupak stayed in Las Vegas for good in 1971.

In 1973, Stupak opened the Million Dollar Historic Gambling Museum & Casino, which burned down under mysterious circumstances. Rising from those ashes, Stupak built Vegas World in 1974, an outer space-themed casino with a display of cash Stupak had won in some of his most notorious gambling bouts, including poker games and big Super Bowl bets.

Media from around the world came to the April 29, 1996, opening of the 1,149-foot-tall Stratosphere. A bronze statue of Stupak was displayed at the resort north of Sahara Avenue on Las Vegas Boulevard.

Stupak had envisioned an 1,800-foot tower, but the Federal Aviation Administration intervened and prevented him from going that high. Less than three months after the Stratosphere opened, Stupak, a 14 percent owner, resigned as chairman and the bronze statue disappeared. Stupak said later he had never authorized it.

On March 31, 1995, Stupak was nearly killed when the Harley-Davidson motorcycle he was driving collided with a vehicle on Rancho Road, leaving him in a coma for five weeks.

Stupak had attempted to enter the political arena by running for mayor of Las Vegas. He also helped his daughter, Nicole, with a failed bid for a City Council seat in 1991.

"It seems like he was always playing it right to the edge -- good, bad or indifferent," said former United Press International Bureau Chief Myram Borders, who covered Stupak during the years of his greatest contributions to Las Vegas history. "He had a good sense of humor. He was a funny man. Bob seemed to enjoy life very much."

In 1989, Stupak won the World Series of Poker $5,000 buy-in no-limit deuce-to-7 world championship at Binion's Horseshoe, earning a purse of $139,500. He had placed third in that same event in 1984 and would go on to place fourth in that game at the 1991 and 1993 World Series of Poker.

Famed Las Vegas oddsmaker Lem Banker called his longtime friend "a visionary."

"Bob was a decathlon gambler -- sports bets, propositions, poker -- everything at once," Banker said. "He had a lot of heart and a lot of brains."

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 23:58:00 +0000

Bob Stupak dies at 67

kvbc.com

Casino entrepreneur Bob Stupak died today at 67. Stupak, suffered from leukemia.

Stupak came to Las Vegas in 1971 and opened a small casino. In 1979 Stupak opened Vegas World, a casino which grossed hundreds of millions in the 1980s. In the 1990s, Stupak opened the Stratosphere which was later sold.

Stupak was also involved with the GSN High Stakes Poker series and in 2006 filed to run as a Democrat for Lieutenant Governor of Nevada.

News 3 received the following press release regarding Stupak's death:

BOB STUPAK, LONG-TIME LAS VEGAN, DEVELOPER OF THE STRATOSPHERE, PASSES AWAY AT 67

LAS VEGAS - Bob Stupak, who is best known for revolutionizing the Las Vegas Strip with the development of The Stratosphere, passed away today at the age of 67.

Stupak was with close family at the Desert Springs Hospital this afternoon when medical maladies, including leukemia, took his life at 1:15 p.m. Per Stupak's request, he will be cremated and there will not be a funeral.

Stupak was born in Pittsburgh, Penn. in 1942. Stupak made his final move to Las Vegas in 1971, and in 1974 he opened "Bob Stupak's World Famous Historic Gambling Museum" at the north corner of Sahara Avenue at Las Vegas Boulevard South.

In 1979, Stupak opened Vegas World, where he innovated the industry with new twists on promotions and games that would be modeled for years to come. In 1989, Stupak won a widely publicized million dollar wager on Super Bowl XXIII, and later that year he won the Deuce to Seven Lowball Championship Bracelet at the World Series of Poker.

In 1995, Stupak suffered a motorcycle accident that broke every bone in his face and caused him to go into a coma. Although the initial prognosis was that he would not survive, Stupak made a full recovery. He went on to open The Stratosphere in 1996, and sold it to Carl Icahn in 1998. Stupak continued to work in hotel-casino development and as a professional poker player.

Stupak was an integral part of the Las Vegas community, and made substantial contributions to The City of Las Vegas Chester Stupak Family Park, named for his father, the Stupak Community Center, and more.

Stupak is survived by two sisters, Linda Phillips and Nancy O'Conner, both reside in Pittsburgh, Penn., as well as two daughters, Nicole in Sydney, Australia, and Summer in Las Vegas, and his son, Nevada, who also resides in Las Vegas. He is also survived by two ex-wives, Sandra Blumen of Las Vegas, and Annette Hatton of Sydney, Australia.

CFL Friday

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 23:03:00 +0000

472 Hamilton +4 -110

NCAAFB Thursday 09/24

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 23:15:00 +0000

302 South Carolina +4.5 E

MLB MONDAY PLAYS 10/21

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 22:21:00 +0000

952 Pittsburgh Pirates +107
D. McCutchen
961 Baltimore Orioles +128
C. Tillman
964 Chicago White Sox +119
D.Hudson
967 New York Yankees +100
A. Pettitte
966 Kansas City Royals +148
L. Dinardo

NFL 2ND HALF

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 02:13:00 +0000

233 New York Giants +4.5-105

CFL SUNDAY

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 19:25:00 +0000

477 Edmonton Eskimos +4-105

MLB Sunday 9/20

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 16:50:00 +0000

901 Florida Marlins -111
S. West
908 Pittsburgh Pirates -104
P. Maholm

NFL SUNDAY WEEK 2

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 16:44:00 +0000

209 New England Patriots -3-110

217 Carolina Panthers +6.5-115

adding:

225 Tampa Bay Buccaneers +4-110

224 San Francisco 49ers -1-110

233 New York Giants +3-110

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 02:14:00 +0000

3-1 in MLB PLAYS TODAY for +2.00 and +35.83 so far for the Year

NCAAF 2ND HALF PLAY

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 01:33:00 +0000

177 Georgia +3-110

MLB SATURDAY 10/19

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 19:53:00 +0000

968 Oakland Athletics -108
G. Gonzalez
963 Florida Marlins +105
R. Nolasco
971 Kansas City Royals +175
D HUGHES
978 Texas Rangers -101
S. Feldman

CFL 2nd Half Play

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 01:05:00 +0000

472 Hamilton Tigercats +1

MLB FRIDAY PLAYS 9/18

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 20:44:00 +0000

903 Florida Marlins +110
R. VandenHurk
923 Detroit Tigers +131
R. Porcello
925 Kansas City Royals +200
L. Hochevar

NCAA 2ND HALF PLAY

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 01:07:00 +0000

102 Miami Florida Under 26.5 -110

G Tech/Miami INFO

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 21:30:00 +0000

GEORGIA TECH Injuries

FB
Richard Watson
hamstring
"?"
*
7:54am
is "?" Thursday vs Miami Florida.
09/10
RB
Preston Lyons
shoulder
"?"
*
4:58pm
missed last game, is "?" Thursday vs Miami.
Players listed as OUT
09/17
LB
Kyle Jackson
foot
OUT
*
8:49am
missed last game, is downgraded to OUT Thursday vs Miami Florida.
08/29
WR
Tyler Melton
knee
OUT
*
2:31pm
is OUT up to 4 weeks.
08/17
QB
Jaybo Shaw
collarbone
OUT
*
7:41am
is OUT Thursday vs Miami Florida.

MIAMI FLORIDA Injuries

DB
Ryan Hill
shoulder
Probable
*
8:53am
missed last game, is upgraded to probable Thursday vs Georgia Tech.
09/13
S
Vaughn Telemaque
shoulder
Probable
*
4:19am
missed last game, is upgraded to probable Thursday vs Georgia Tech.
09/13
DE
Eric Moncur
groin
Probable
*
4:16am
missed last game, is upgraded to probable Thursday vs Georgia Tech.
Players listed as "?"
09/13
WR
Aldarius Johnson
groin
"?"
*
4:18am
is "?" Thursday vs Georgia Tech.
Players listed as Doubtful
09/17
DB
Damien Berry
flu
Doubtful
*
8:00am
is doubtful Thursday vs Georgia Tech.
09/17
OL
Ben Jones
flu
Doubtful
*
8:00am
is doubtful Thursday vs Georgia Tech.
Players listed as OUT
09/16
OL
Cory White
leg
OUT
*
2:39am
is OUT Thursday vs Georgia Tech.
09/15
DB
Joseph Nicolas
illness
OUT
*
3:38pm
is downgraded to OUT Thursday vs Georgia Tech.
09/14
DB
DeMarcus Van Dyke
undisclosed
OUT
*
2:47am
is downgraded to OUT Thursday vs Georgia Tech.
09/07
LB
Levi Paalua
shoulder
OUT
*
7:18pm
is downgraded to OUT Thursday vs Georgia Tech.
08/28
DE
Adewale Ojomo
jaw
OUT
*
9:34am
is out indefinitely.

THURSDAY MLB PLAYS 9/17

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:18:00 +0000

951 Milwaukee Brewers +148
D. Bush
962 Seattle Mariners +117
B. Morrow

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:09:00 +0000

Race-Fix Allegation Rattles Formula 1

By JOHN F. BURNS
NY TIMES

LONDON — Say it ain’t so.

For the last month, Formula One auto racing has been shaken by allegations from a back-of-the field driver that a crash arranged by his Renault racing team in last September’s Singapore Grand Prix enabled Renault’s lead driver to leap from a midfield position to an upset victory.

Many in the sport fear that if the allegation is proven it could be the equivalent of the 1919 Black Sox World Series for Formula One: a scandal that tops all previous upheavals and one that rocks the sport’s already shaky finances, threatening billions of dollars of investment by some of the world’s largest auto companies and corporate sponsors.

Those fears appeared to be confirmed Wednesday when the British-based Renault racing team — financed at a cost of perhaps $300 million a year by the Paris-based automaker Renault — announced it would not contest the allegations when Formula One’s governing body, the International Automobile Federation, also known as FIA, convenes a tribunal to hear the charges in Paris on Monday. The tribunal’s powers include banning Renault from the sport.

“The Renault Formula One team will not dispute the recent allegations made by the FIA concerning the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix,” the team said in a statement.

The statement said the two men who allegedly set up the crash, both veterans of past championships, have left the team. Flavio Briatore, a 58-year-old Italian, was the team’s managing director, and Pat Symonds, a 55-year-old Englishman, was the engineering director.

The Renault team did not return telephone calls.

The day’s developments represented the greatest crisis in the history of a series that has cast itself as the pinnacle of international motor sport, and as a showcase for aerospace-style, groundbreaking technologies that Formula One insiders believe give their series an edge over the more tightly restricted, cost-conscious engineering formulas of Nascar and the Indy Car series that dominate American racing. Formula One claims a worldwide television audience of several hundred million.

There had been no allegations of race fixing in what is now known as Formula One since the 1933 Tripoli Grand Prix.

But Formula One’s stability was shaken before the recent race-fixing scandal by other events, including the imposition of a $100 million fine on Britain’s McLaren-Mercedes racing team two years ago after it was found to have obtained secret technical documents from Italy’s Ferrari team.

Briatore announced last week that he had launched a lawsuit in France. It says the crash allegations were part of an attempt by the 24-year-old driver Nelson Piquet Jr. of Brazil and his father to “blackmail” the team into keeping the younger Piquet as one of its two drivers.

The senior Piquet was a three-time Formula One world champion in the 1980s.

The younger Piquet was fired midway through this year’s 17-race schedule of races in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and South America. The 2008 Singapore race came near the end of his first season in Formula One. At the time he was under heavy pressure after a series of lackluster performances and an inability to match the speed of his teammate, Fernando Alonso, the winner of two Formula One championships with Renault.

Soon after his last race with Renault, Piquet and his father approached the federation with their allegations, details of which have been leaked to reporters covering Formula One, along with transcripts of the governing body’s interviews with those involved. The Piquets said that the younger Piquet was told at a Singapore meeting with Briatore and Symonds that they wanted him to crash at a narrow spot on the track shortly after an unusually early refueling stop by Alonso. The plan, the Piquets said, was for debris from the crash to slow the field behind the safety car, allowing Alonso to seize the lead as the early front-runners made their own refueling stops.

Piquet crashed on the 14th lap of the race, after Alonso’s refueling stop on the 12th lap, bringing out the safety car. Alonso went on to win.

Nothing in the leaked documents showed Alonso was aware of the plans for the crash. He has declined to comment, pending the Paris tribunal.

According to the leaked documents, the younger Piquet said he was “in a very fragile and emotional state of mind” when he was asked to crash, because Briatore had refused to say whether his contract would be renewed for 2009. Symonds was quoted in the documents as saying it was the younger Piquet who raised the possibility of a crash.

For Formula One, the potential impact runs beyond the risk that Renault will be forced out of the series or quit it. The tribunal will hear claims that the Renault team managers organized the crash to snatch an upset victory that would persuade Renault bosses in Paris, looking for cost savings in the midst of a worldwide slump in car sales, not to pull out of Formula One.

If Renault left Formula One, it would be the third major motor manufacturer to quit in the past nine months, after Honda and BMW. With only teams financed by Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and Fiat, the owner of Ferrari, left to draw on the resources of major car manufacturers, Formula One could be forced back to an era when starting grids were composed mainly of small independent teams, without the finances to develop the high-technology engines and aerodynamics that are at the sport’s core.
Reply With Quote

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:08:00 +0000

CBS Sports will stream entire SEC football schedule online

by Andrea Adelson on Sep 16, 2009 9:15:00 PM
orlando sports blog

CBS Sports will stream its entire 2009 SEC college football schedule live on CBSSports.com and CBS Sports Mobile, starting with Saturday’s game between No. 1 UF and Tennessee.

The games will be available on CBSSports.com for free and allow viewers the ability to access a scoreboard feature with in-game statistics as well as track college football scores and standings from around the country.

CBS Sports Mobile will offer an application for the iPhone and iPod touch called the CBS Sports: College application, which will provide users in-game box scores and player stats, a college football scoreboard, polls, headlines and standings. CBS Sports: College application is now available for $9.99 from Apple's App Store on iPhone and iPod touch.

A total of 15 SEC games will be streamed live on CBSSports.com and CBS Sports Mobile, including the SEC championship game. Additionally, The Army-Navy game, the Gator Bowl and Sun Bowl will be streamed live on CBSSports.com and CBS Sports Mobile.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 02:11:00 +0000

915 Colorado Rockies +115
J. De La Rosa

UCLA suspends 4 for Kansas State game

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 01:09:00 +0000

LOS ANGELES (AP)—UCLA has suspended four football players for violating team rules, sidelining them for Saturday’s home game against Kansas State.

Starting cornerback Courtney Viney was suspended by coach Rick Neuheisel along with running back Milton Knox and receivers Morrell Presley and Randall Carroll. The school didn’t specify the nature of the rule violations.

The players will be allowed to practice during the suspension.

UCLA (2-0) didn’t specify the punishment’s length.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 21:54:00 +0000

Chargers ponder injury course
Hardwick is likely to miss home opener
By Kevin Acee
Union-Tribune Staff Writer

6:39 p.m. September 15, 2009

SAN DIEGO – The injury-free version of the Chargers lasted a little more than 30 minutes of the 2009 season, and now they'll hope that depth they're always bragging on keeps coming through.

“There's all kinds of things going through my mind,” General Manager A.J. Smith said. “That was a tough, physical game We got whooped upside down physically. We're just trying to make our way through some of these things for the big picture.”

Center Nick Hardwick's ankle and right guard Louis Vasquez's knee will keep the players from practicing at least one day this week, and Hardwick appears the most likely among the wounded to miss Sunday's home opener against the Baltimore Ravens.

“I'm doing better than I expected today, actually,” Hardwick told host Darren Smith during his weekly appearance on XX Sports Radio.

But Hardwick left Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on crutches after Monday night's 24-20 victory, and he remained in a protective boot Tuesday.

Scott Mruczkowski, who initially replaced Vasquez, moved over to deliver his first snaps in a real game at center after Hardwick went down and played well. And Brandyn Dombrowski, playing in his first NFL game, filled in adequately at guard after Mruczkowski slid to center.

Whether the Chargers are able to find some help for the interior of their offensive line or hope and pray Hardwick and/or Vasquez get better quickly or attempt to use some bailing wire and hay and go with the Replacement-owskis remains to be seen.

A.J. Smith and his circle of decision-makers met Tuesday to determine, as the GM put it, “What can we do to be comfortable, what can we do to put us in position to help us, short-term and long-term.”

On the defensive line, Jamal Williams and Luis Castillo suffered elbow injuries and are expected to miss practice time and possibly more.

And then there is the man whose injuries are an almost constant topic of late.

LaDainian Tomlinson could well miss Sunday's home opener after suffering a sprained ankle.

While head coach Norv Turner said it is premature to speculate on Tomlinson's availability, he acknowledged that there is a “backup plan” in place with Michael Bennett having been retained for just such a circumstance.

“We don't have to play him like we did a year ago when his toe was bothering him,” Turner said of Tomlinson. “That's why Michael is here.”

Tomlinson rolled his ankle on a play near the end of the first quarter wherein he took a shovel pass and then fumbled after a 1-yard gain, his first fumble in 987 regular-season touches.

Tomlinson carried 10 times after that, including runs for 11 and 13 yards in the third quarter. But his ankle was “tight” enough late in the fourth quarter that he was not on the field for the Chargers' winning drive.

When the topic of his recent injury history was broached, Tomlinson said, “You play the game. That's all you can do.”

For now, the Chargers will cling to the fact that they have a few days to let people heal and make decisions on their direction. And they will continue to believe in some promising young players.

“It is a concern,” Turner said of the injuries. “But the exciting thing to me is I can't say enough about what Mooch did at center, what Brandyn Dombrowski did at right guard. To go in and do the things he did, that's tough. And we played a lot of guys in the defensive line. We played guys – a couple guys, I should say – that got their first NFL action ever because of our situation.

“We are fortunate to have depth. Some of it is very, very young depth, and they're going to learn as they go through it.”

Wednesday MLB PLAYS

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 19:45:00 +0000

919 Kansas City Royals +164
L. Dinardo
926 Boston Red Sox +110
P. Byrd

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 04:00:00 +0000

3-1 for +3.36 in MLB Tuesday all Dogs

Tuesday MLB PLAYS 9/15

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 22:48:00 +0000

970 New York Yankees +113
S. MITRE
967 Kansas City Royals +156
R. Tejeda
975 Oakland Athletics +165
ED. Gonzalez
974 Boston Red Sox +115
D. Matsuzaka