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Las Vegas Lights FC not looking for business partner, owner says

By
Las Vegas Review-Journal

Things one could buy in Las Vegas this past week on Craigslist: auto parts, bicycle parts, boat parts, motorcycle parts, computer parts … and part of a pro sports league for $200,000.

“I am selling roughly 3.5 percent ownership of a midsized professional sports league that has been in existence for seven years,” it says in the listing.

The accompanying photo shows silhouettes of fans cheering in a soccer stadium.

The United Soccer League, which many have called a midsized professional sports league, was formed in 2011 — seven years ago.

So inquiring minds, and those who scan Craigslist for spare parts, jumped to the conclusion that perhaps it was a small part of a midsized Las Vegas pro sports franchise and not an entire league that was for sale.

Brett Lashbrook, the Lights FC owner who admits to losing a lot of capital on start-up and ballpark conversion costs, said he understands why people might think he’s seeking a business partner.

He also said it’s not true.

“The fact it’s a soccer stadium in the picture makes it look like us,” Lashbrook wrote in a text message after seeing the listing. “But I promise you 1,000 percent it has nothing at all to do with Lights FC. Zero connection at all, directly or indirectly.”

Acquiring minority ownership of a pro sports league for $200,000 via the online classifieds might seem a good deal. But it’s nowhere near as screamin’ as the guy at Nellis and Carey who was advertising high-pressure garden hoses for a buck apiece.

Son of beach volleyball

It’s 290 miles from Las Vegas to Redondo Beach in California and 2,531 miles from Las Vegas to Miami Beach in Florida and a lot of miles from Las Vegas to a lot of other beaches.

It won’t preclude beach volleyball from returning to town next month.

Kerri Walsh Jennings, the sport’s biggest name and greatest player who is married to Clark High School graduate Casey Jennings, has split from the AVP Tour and is bringing an Olympic-style beach volleyball event to Las Vegas Festival Grounds from Oct. 17 to 21. Players in the Las Vegas Open will accrue qualifying points for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

A beach court will be built from 3,600 pounds of imported beach volleyball sand, and it is expected that the scent of coconut suntan oil will be prevalent and possibly overpowering.

A Tiger tale

Las Vegan Tim Dahlberg’s career as an Associated Press sports columnist virtually parallels that of Tiger Woods as an indomitable force in professional golf. So perhaps it was no coincidence the two would share career highlights during the past week.

Dahlberg will be inducted into the Nevada Newspaper Hall of Fame on Saturday night. Woods won the Tour Championship, his first PGA triumph in five seasons.

It was Woods’ 80th tour victory, and Dahlberg recalled being on hand for the first: the 1996 Las Vegas Open at TPC Summerlin.

“I remember Davis Love (who lost to Woods in a playoff ) being interviewed in the press room, and when I came out, there’s Tiger sitting in my chair and he’s looking at my (laptop) screen,” said the longtime golf and boxing writer who has reported on most of Woods’ 14 victories in pro golf majors.

Dahlberg asked Woods if he saw anything he liked, and Tiger pointed to where the sports writer had mentioned the first-place prize of $297,000.

“He said, ‘I like that.’ ”

Merchant signs off

Larry Merchant, an HBO boxing analyst for 35 years, issued a statement after the network announced it would be leaving the fight game after 2018:

“Once upon a time we were a promising kid. Then a challenger. Then a champion. A great champion. A longtime champion. And then a has-been who finally retired.

“So long, champ.”

Merchant did not double down on wishing he was 50 years younger so he could kick Floyd Mayweather’s behind.

Contact Ron Kantowski at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow @ronkantowski on Twitter.

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