Welcome to the Silver and Black

In today’s Vegas sports news:

— The Scripps Sports family is growing, with a new Las Vegas sports team airing on Vegas 34!— New Las Vegas Raiders free agents spoke on their excitement to join a historic franchise.— Two players we’ve been missing return to the VGK lineup against Columbus. — Catch up with one driver ahead of this weekend’s NASCAR races.

Scripps Sports

Home of champions

Big news for Las Vegas Aces fans!

You can now catch all the action on the court on Vegas 34, the NEW official broadcast partner of the Las Vegas Aces.

Vegas 34 will bring you closer to the court, ensuring you always get your fill of the two-time WNBA champions.

More details on this development here:

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Meet the new guys

The Raiders had a flurry of free agent signings on Thursday and we got to meet some of them at an introductory press conference.

Two safeties — Jeremy Chinn and Lonnie Johnson Jr. — plus cornerback Erik Stokes and linebacker Landon Roberts joined the ranks of the Silver and Black. And they all mentioned one common denominator in their decision…

“Man, the call I got from Pete [Carroll] was amazing, man. He’s known for working with bigger DBs, too,” Johnson said. “He’s known for working with guys with my physical attributes, my physical traits. [Jeremy] Chinn’s physical traits, guys like us. So, we’re excited to see what can he do to develop us and help us become better players. Obviously, he’s a gold jacket coach in waiting, like I tell everybody, but what can he do to develop us and put us in the right place.”

“Man, one thing about Pete, I think he has a big personality — not just as a football coach, but as a person,” Roberts said. “And it was exciting meeting him. It was exciting talking to him when I was able to talk to him Wednesday. But just meeting him, feeling his energy and feeling his personality, you know that it’s genuine. And you’re never going to hear anything negative about Pete Carroll and stuff like that.”

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Look who’s back…

Game two of a four-game road trip for the Vegas Golden Knights was a 4-0 shutout in Columbus — Adin Hill’s second in four starts.

Brett Howden and Ivan Barbashev also returned to the lineup tonight — and Karlsson is expected to return soon.

Jack Eichel broke a franchise record, recording his 79th point of the season and surpassing William Karlsson for most points scored in a single season.

Next, the VGK head to Buffalo to take on the Sabres on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. You can watch the game on Vegas 34.

NASCAR takeover

NASCAR Weekend is back in Las Vegas — with one professional driver trading his race car for the rink ahead of competition.

“It [hockey] is probably my number one passion,” said Tablo driver Ryan Ellis. “I play every week; it’s the opposite of racing. In racing, everything is about patience, but hockey was always where I can take my anger out, throw some hits and not have to think about things — so it just came a little more natural to me.”

Ellis is set to take the track this Saturday at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. On Thursday, he spent time at City National Arena skating with local youth.

While Ellis is a native of Northern Virginia, his wife, Allison, is from Las Vegas. He represented her hometown team, the Vegas Golden Knights, while on the ice and said he’s always been inspired by the VGK’s original misfit mentality.

“We’re really lucky to have Tablo on board supporting us, and without them, I wouldn’t be behind the wheel of the racecar,” Ellis said. “It’s that same attitude the Knights players had when they first came here, not being accepted by anybody else. I didn’t come from family money. There are so many people in this sport who grew up as millionaires, and parents were able to write checks and put them behind the wheel of a racecar. I have never been able to do that, so it’s just that attitude of you’re going to prove something.”

We’ll have coverage of NASCAR Weekend on Channel 13 on Saturday and Sunday.

One last thing…

UNLV’s men’s basketball team is playing its second game of the Mountain West Conference tournament Thursday night.

The Runnin’ Rebels will face the Utah State Aggies at 8:30 p.m. inside the Thomas & Mack Center. If you can’t see the game, we’ll let you know what happens.