This is the fourth in a series of quizzes to test your knowledge of the Silver State. This time, the category is sports. Good luck!
1. The Oakland Athletics have been the Triple-A affiliate for the Las Vegas Aviators since 2019. Which team was not a previous affiliate?
a. Los Angeles Dodgers
b. Seattle Mariners
c. San Diego Padres
d. Toronto Blue Jays
2. The Battle for Nevada is an annual rivalry game between the University of Nevada, Reno and UNLV football teams. What is the name of the trophy awarded to the victor?
a. Nevada Cup
b. Harry Reid Trophy
c. Fremont Cannon
d. Golden Sagebrush
3. Which NFL quarterback played for the UNLV Rebels?
a. Troy Aikman
b. Tom Brady
c. Eli Manning
d. Randall Cunningham
4. Which popular sports media personality was a five-time Nevada Sportscaster of the Year winner?
a. Colin Cowherd
b. Matthew Berry
c. Michelle Beadle
d. Jay Glazer
5. Before Las Vegas became enamored with professional hockey, the city was crazy for which sport?
a. College Football
b. Minor League Baseball
c. Golf
d. College Basketball
6. Which Cy Young Award-winning MLB pitcher was born in Las Vegas?
a. Tim Lincecum
b. Greg Maddux
c. Barry Zito
d. Jake Arrieta
e. B and C
7. The Vegas Golden Knights’ mascot, Chance, in not a dinosaur or a gekko. So, what is he?
a. Komodo dragon
b. Albino Alligator
c. Gila monster
d. Copperhead snake
8. True or False: The Vegas Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season.
9. Las Vegas will soon have an NFL team: The Las Vegas Raiders. They’ll be playing in the snazzy new Allegiant Stadium. What is the stadium’s capacity?
a. 65,000
b. 100,000
c. 72,000
d. A and C
10. True or False: Before he became a San Francisco 49er, Colin Kaepernick was a star quarterback for the University of Nevada, Reno.
ANSWERS:
1. B. The Las Vegas Aviators, formerly known as the Las Vegas Stars and Las Vegas 51s, had four affiliates between 1983 and 2019: Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays.
2. C. The trophy is a replica of the howitzer cannon John C. Fremont ditched in a snowdrift in the Sierra Nevada Mountains during an 1843 expedition. The cannon cost $10,000 to build and weighs nearly 550 pounds. UNLV was the last team to take home the trophy in 2019, but since the rivalry began in 1969, UNR has won the majority of the meetings 27-18.
3. D. Randall Cunningham played quarterback for UNLV from 1982 to 1984. He was also an all-conference punter with an average punt of 45.2 yards. One more bit of trivia: Cunningham holds the record for longest punt in Philadelphia Eagles history—91 yards!
4. A. Colin Cowherd got his start in Vegas calling games for Triple-A baseball’s Las Vegas Stars, and soon after became sports director at KVBC (now known as KSNV). He now hosts The Herd on Fox Sports Radio.
5. D. UNLV’s Runnin’ Rebels basketball team were a powerhouse in the NCAA between 1977-1992, and it’s safe to say they were the hottest ticket in town. Led by Coach Jerry Tarkanian, the team reached the final four in ’77, ’87, ’90 and ’91, and won the NCAA Championship in 1990.
6. C. This is sort of a trick question. Greg Maddux spent a good portion of his life in Vegas, graduating from Valley High School in 1984, but Barry Zito is the only pitcher on this list who was actually Vegas born. However, Zito’s family—his father, Joe Zito, was once a conductor and arranger for Nat King Cole’s band—didn’t stay in Vegas for long after Zito’s birth, eventually moving to San Diego. Zito won the Cy Young Award in 2002 when he was a pitcher for the Oakland Athletics.
7. C. Why isn’t the Golden Knights’ mascot a knight, you ask? Apparently, the team didn’t think a Knight seemed child-friendly, so they opted for a venomous lizard. But, actually, it works better than you might think. Desert is the ideal climate for gila monsters, and they can be found in the Mojave desert. Think about it now and it works way better than a knight.
8. False. While the team advanced to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season in 2018, the team lost in five games to the Washington Capitals. It was the Capitals’ first Stanley Cup win.
9. D. Another trick question. The stadium seats 65,000, but its expandable to 72,000. To put it in other terms, and this is a bold prediction, it will seat 65,000 when the Raiders play, but will hold 72,000 when Beyoncé eventually comes to town on a stadium tour.
10. True. When Kaepernick played for UNR, he ended his college career having thrown 10,098 yards with 82 passing touchdowns, and rushing for 4,112 yards with 59 rushing touchdowns. But he wasn’t just a gifted athlete—he also maintained a 4.0 grade point average while in school.
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