Dana White Becoming ESPN Regular As UFC Prez Hypes Fight Show Programming
By Alan Snel
LVSportsBiz.com
Every time I click on ESPN there’s that Las Vegas man — Dana White.
Today the UFC president was on the set of ESPN chat show, Highly Questionable, hosted by Miami sports guy Dan LeBatard, with LeBatard’s dad, Papi, serving as the wingman.
The father-son LeBatard combo also had ESPN personality Sarah Spain joining White, who pretty much told the show’s hosts he was not into baseball every time a baseball topic was thrown out there on the show.
With UFC and ESPN reaching a multi-year broadcast, digital and social media deal that began in January, White has been making appearances on ESPN’s SportsCenter and a morning ESPN program called, “Get Up!”
White is UFC’s ringmaster, the public face of an MMA fight show organizations that sold for more than $4 billion in mid-2016 to WME-IMG, now Endeavor. The former boxing trainer talked about his love for the New England Patriots during the LeBatard show and chatted near the end of the show about more ESPN programming on UFC fights.
White is appearing so much on ESPN that the sports network should chip in and help pay White’s salary. He’s on the network hyping UFC’s fight shows and UFC programming on ESPN+.
Papi faked out White with his patented fake handshake move and the show ended with laughs, goofy shenanigans and White cracking a smile.
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Another Las Vegas Aviators game Friday night, another big sellout crowd at the Summerlin ballpark where the Triple A affiliate for the Oakland Athletics plays. Every Aviators home game this season has been a sellout. Friday’s attendance was 10,231 and that’s ten consecutive sellouts to start the home schedule at the new luxurious venue.
El Paso defeated the Aviators, 8-6, Friday and the Las Vegas team is now 15-7.
Only one night earlier on $2 beer night Thursday, the Aviators bballpark went through 250 cases of Modelo and Corona, selling 6,000 cans of beer in a mere two hours from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. That’s $12,000 of beer sales — not counting all the normal beer sales around the concession stands in the venue. Multiple lines kept the $2 beer sales going Thursday.
Fireworks entertained fans Friday, and Saturday is a Star Wars celebration while there’s yoga on the field at 10:30 a.m. Sunday for the day game. Saturday’s game is also a sellout.
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The San Jose Sharks, which defeated the Golden Knights in seven games in Round 1, defeated the Colorado Avalanche in Round 2’s game 1. During the game, the Sharks Twitter account posted an item that was quite the social media shot against the Golden Knights. Take a look.
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The Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders will make their fourth and fifth round draft pick announcements at the Raiders stadium construction site Saturday at around 9 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
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From Friday’s press release files: “Last night was VG-KAOS as the Vegas Golden Knights took over KAOS Nightclub inside Palms Casino Resort to celebrate the end of the season. Prior to hitting KAOS, the entire team enjoyed a customized three-course meal at the resort’s Scotch 80 restaurant.” Photos attached courtesy of Palms Casino Resort
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I will be selling and signing my book — Long Road Back to Las Vegas –– Saturday from 12 noon to 3 pm at Las Vegas Cyclery on Town Center Drive at the 215 beltway exit in Summerlin. Swing by and pick up a book. It costs only $12.
