Case Keefer
Verified- Associate Sports Editor, Las Vegas Sun
- Assistant Sports Editor and Writer, Las Vegas Weekly
Las Vegas
Probably watching and sweating a game on mute while listening to music. Assistant Sports Editor & Writer @lasvegassun @lasvegasweekly
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Articles by Case Keefer
College football by the odds: Vegas picks and preview of every Week 8 game
By some measures, Week 7 of the current season wound up the craziest slate in the history of college football's regular season. Saturday marked the first time ever that five of the top seven teams in the Associated Press’ top 25 poll lost in the same day. It was also the first time in 30 years that Georgia (at the time ranked No. 1), Alabama (No. 6) and Texas (No. 7) all lost in the same day.
Raiders fall to Buffalo for third straight loss after committing game's only turnover
Eric Stokes leaned his head back in apparent disbelief while fellow Raiders cornerback Taron Johnson lifted his arms up and shrugged as if to express incredulity. Las Vegas’ defense had just done almost everything right to stymie another Buffalo Bills third-and-long situation and force the visitors’ fourth field goal attempt of the day at Allegiant Stadium. Bills quarterback Josh Allen just found a way to get his team into the end zone anyway.
Gameday: Crosby must lead charge to repair Raiders’ defense against Allen’s Bills
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen has grown to the point where he’s widely considered the best player in the NFL. The Raiders could attest. In two meetings since the franchise moved to Las Vegas, the Allen-led Bills have beaten the Raiders by a total of 38 points. Buffalo clobbered visiting Las Vegas 38-10 in Week 2 of the 2023 season behind Allen’s 274 passing yards and three touchdowns.
Raiders still pointing upward despite two-game losing streak
Through the first three and a half games of the season, the Raiders were arguably the most impressive team in the NFL, or at least the most unexpected success story. Out of nowhere, Las Vegas won each of its first three games by more than a touchdown and then led the league’s best team of the decade, the Kansas City Chiefs, at halftime of Week 4. The reinvigorated Raiders under first-year coach Klint Kubiak had an NFL-best nine takeaways and +5 turnover margin. Then a 180 occurred.
Vegas pick'em: NFL Week 6 winners against the spread
The long-running speculation is that the next time the NFL undergoes expansion or franchise relocation, London will get the team. The long-running predicted effect of that scenario is that the league’s first international team would have the biggest home-field advantage in the sport, given the travel demands on visiting opponents. Overlooked is the fact that there’s already somewhat of a trial of that hypothesis in action.
College football by the odds: Vegas picks and preview of every Week 7 game
Skepticism surrounded Indiana for the last two years as the losingest program in college football history climbed to the top of the sport. It’s a victory that could have come a lot easier if only Indiana had an answer for Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith, who racked up eight catches for 144 receiving yards in the game. Indiana’s struggles with the 6-foot-4, 222-pound superstar are a forgivable offense though. No one knows what to do with Smith including local bookmakers and bettors.
Raiders flop in blowout loss at Patriots to lead to Mendoza's late-game debut
Raiders coach Klint Kubiak started his tenure in silver and back four-for-four as far as having his team ready to play on gameday. The perfect mark imploded Sunday morning in Foxborough, Mass. Las Vegas lost its second straight with a 45-17 defeat to the New England Patriots, falling to 3-2 on the year. But this loss hardly resembled the Raiders’ Week 5 setback to the Chiefs, where they led the majority of the game and were in it until the final seconds.
Gameday: Raiders aim to get back on track at Patriots
Resilience is one of the staples first-year Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak wants at the center of his team’s culture in Las Vegas. In training camp, he set a standard expecting players to immediately bounce back from a mistake with one of their best reps on the next snap or two. Kubiak’s Raiders (3-1) get to try to put the lesson to practice for the first time for real at 10 a.m. today when their Week 5 game at the New England Patriots (2-2) kicks off at Gillette Stadium.
Jack Eichel off to another unstoppable start as Golden Knights improve to 4-1
Part of the surprise around Mitch Marner’s willing exit from his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs to join the Vegas Golden Knights via sign-and-trade last summer was how much talent he left behind. Many believed the Leafs had a championship core around Marner with feared forwards like Auston Mathews, William Nylander and John Tavares.
Vegas pick'em: NFL Week 4 winners against the spread
The capper of the NFL’s Week 5 schedule is the headliner of the slate, if not the whole regular season so far. The upcoming edition of "Monday Night Football" is a sneak peek of the matchup local sportsbooks have considered the likeliest Super Bowl matchup ever since the start of the offseason through the first four weeks. An exacta wager calling for the Los Angeles Rams to beat the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl 61 scheduled for Feb.
College football by the odds: Vegas picks and preview of every Week 6 game
The virtual co-favorite to win the College Football Playoff is a swelling underdog against the future markets’ eighth choice in the headlining game of Week 6. From a macro perspective, that speaks to the shortening, if not nonexistent, gap between the sport’s elite teams in this era. On a smaller level, it shows the market still holds some reservations about a Georgia side leading the nation with a +190 point differential.
Raiders battered on the ground by Chiefs in first loss of the season
The Raiders got the type of game they wanted Sunday against the archrival Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium. They almost got the desired result too. Alas, Kansas City was able to prevail for the sixth time in its seven trips to Las Vegas to take on the Raiders with a 30-27 victory in a physical affair that came down to a couple big plays. The Chiefs, as they’ve done so often under quarterback Patrick Mahomes and coach Andy Reid, made those big plays.
Chiefs out-tough Raiders at Allegiant Stadium to take AFC West lead
The Raiders got the type of game they wanted Sunday against the archrival Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium. They almost got the result too. Alas, Kansas City was able to prevail for the sixth time in its seven trips to Las Vegas to take on the Raiders with a 30-27 victory in a physical affair that came down to a couple big plays. The Chiefs, as they’ve done so often under quarterback Patrick Mahomes and coach Andy Reid, made those big plays.
Gameday: Raiders host Chiefs in undefeated clash
The Raiders have never led the AFC West later than Week 3 of an NFL season since moving to Las Vegas in 2020. That can change starting at 1:25 p.m. PT this afternoon when Las Vegas looks to defend its home field at Allegiant Stadium and knock off the Kansas City Chiefs in a game airing on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.
Vegas pick'em: NFL Week 4 winners against the spread
The “first coach fired” NFL futures market isn’t available in Nevada per state gaming regulations, but the always-popular betting option saw major movement offshore and out of state after Week 3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles is now the odds-on favorite at as high as -150 (i.e. risking $150 to win $100) after his team fell to 0-3 straight-up with a 23-16 loss to the Minnesota Vikings as 1-point underdogs.
Golden Knights in familiar position with NHL season underway: in front of the pack
William Karlsson’s place as an unequivocal Las Vegas sports legend is secure no matter how the rest of his career goes as he approaches a decade with the Golden Knights. Truth be told, he never would have thought that was possible. At the start of this season’s training camp, Karlsson shared a first reaction he felt upon learning the Columbus Blue Jackets had maneuvered to ensure he would be taken by the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2017 expansion draft.
Accessories to the stars: Keep an eye on these four Golden Knights to emerge this season as pivotal players
Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner will generate the largest share of the Golden Knights’ offense. Mark Stone and William Karlsson will chip in their share of contributions too, providing particularly strong two-way play and leadership. The roles at the top of Vegas’ defensemen group are just as defined. Shea Theodore will drive the most offense while Brayden McNabb is tasked with being the lockdown stopper.
Dream debut: Trevor Connelly comes up big in Knights' season-opening win
The only concern Golden Knights general manger Kelly McCrimmon expressed about rookie Trevor Connelly breaking into the team’s lineup immediately during his preseason news conference was the 20-year-old’s size. The 2024 first-round draft pick and top organizational prospect packed on weight this offseason but still measured at a relatively scrawny 6-foot-1, 177 pounds at the start of training camp.
College football by the odds: Vegas picks and preview of every Week 5 game
The betting market currently gives Miami just short of an 87% chance to prevail in a road game at Clemson this weekend — and it just might be the Hurricanes’ toughest test remaining in conference play. Miami was priced as one of the biggest power conference favorites ever, certainly in this decade, in the futures odds coming into the season.
Bowers proves missing piece, puts Raiders' offense over the top in win at Saints
The Raiders' new offense impressed in leading the team to victories over the opening two weeks of the season despite not being fully powered. Fans of the silver and black finally got a taste of the Raiders' capabilities with a complete menu of options available to coach/playcaller Klint Kubiak Sunday at the Caesars Superdome, and it was a savory one.
Kubiak looks to lift Raiders' offense again at former coaching stop
Klint Kubiak returns today to New Orleans with the Raiders seeking a 3-0 start against the Saints, the team with which he first emerged as an NFL head coaching candidate. The 39-year-old, first-year Raiders head coach had already been on the sidelines for 14 years when he took the job as New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator ahead of the 2024 season.
NFL Week 3 winners against the spread
The odds on Raiders at Saints being one of the most significant games of the NFL Week 3 slate would have been astronomical less than a month ago. The betting market priced New Orleans and Las Vegas as two of the six worst teams in the NFL going into the year, setting up a dull interconference affair unlikely to carry any real stakes. That's flipped in a hurry. The matchup now stands out as one of the biggest on Sunday's schedule.
Wilson puts herself in best position to lead Aces on another playoff run
Through no fault of her own, A'ja Wilson became the subject of criticism as the summer wound down. The soon-to-be five-time WNBA Most Valuable Player opted to sit out of the FIBA Women's World Basketball Cup in Germany to rest and recover from minor lingering injuries. Not everyone agreed with her choice to pass on the event as the WNBA paused for three weeks expressly to give players like Wilson the chance to represent their countries.
Vegas picks and preview of every Week 4 game
Few if any sports awards in recent years have lent themselves better to long shots prevailing than the Heisman Trophy. The past two winners of college football's most prestigious honor - Indiana's Fernando Mendoza in 2025 and Colorado's Travis Hunter in 2024 - were both available at 50-to-1 or higher going into their respective banner seasons. Two more victors out of the past seven - LSU's Joe Burrow in 2019 and Alabama's DeVonta Smith in 2020 - also fit that criteria.
College football by the odds: Vegas picks and preview of every Week 4 game
1 hour ago A Mississippi grand jury found no evidence of criminal conduct in the death of 18-year-old Nolan Wells, concluding that the college football player’s body was found under circumstances "consistent with drowning" after his disappearance during a Fourth of July boating trip. The 23-member Jackson …
Anything now possible for upstart Raiders after beating Chargers to start 2-0
The 2026-2027 Raiders' season was supposed to be about progress and setting a foundation for long-term franchise success. Forget about all that after two games. The bar has now been raised and expectations should be heightened after Las Vegas secured its first 2-0 start to the season in five years Sunday afternoon at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. First-year coach Klint Kubiak complemented a victory in his home debut last week with an even bigger triumph in his AFC West premiere.
Can Raiders finally convert 'homefield advantage' in LA into win against Chargers?
The running joke is that, since moving to Las Vegas, the Raiders have a better homefield advantage at Los Angeles' SoFi Stadium than Allegiant Stadium locally. It might not be much of a joke at all and more rooted in truth as it pertains to the SoFi crowd split for the Raiders' annual trip to take on the AFC West rival Chargers. Fans in silver and black typically outnumber and drown out those in blue and gold. It just hasn't resulted in much success for the Raiders.
Vegas pick'em: NFL Week 2 winners against the spread
Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson made a statement so audacious last month that it created ripples across the NFL landscape, including the betting market. The offensive guru declared that he wanted his team to set the NFL’s single-season scoring record in his second year at the helm. The goal at minimum assisted in dropping the Bears’ future odds to be the top scoring team in the league from as high as 15-to-1 over the summer to as low as 9-to-1 before the season kicked off.
Four pressing questions as Golden Knights open training camp ahead of Year 10
The Vegas Golden Knights are coming off a run to the Stanley Cup Final and celebrating the start of the franchise’s 10th season as training camp opened Wednesday at City National Arena. That doesn’t mean it’s all positive vibes and smooth sailing into the season opener September 29 at T-Mobile Arena against the Chicago Blackhawks. There are several things they need to address over the next couple weeks to be fully prepared for the season. How will they score enough?
College football by the odds: Vegas picks and preview of every Week 3 game
Las Vegas sportsbooks wound up firmly among the hostages Lane Kiffin captured in his rampage for attention of the whole college football world that began more than nine months ago. In an unprecedented move, the first set of betting lines released on the current 2026-2027 college football season weren’t for the national championship. They weren’t for the Heisman Trophy, which typically follows shortly after or posts concurrently to the championship futures, either.
Ashton Jeanty helps Raiders squash Dolphins to start Klint Kubiak era
Three weeks after trainers were forced to help him off the practice field while his teammates prayed for his wellbeing, Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty showed why he elicited such a response. The former first-round pick running back had one of the best games of his career to start his second professional season, helping the Raiders to stifle the Dolphins 27-13 at Allegiant Stadium Sunday afternoon.
Raiders must manage without Brock Bowers to beat Dolphins
Less than an hour before the start of his team's first full Week 1 practice Wednesday, Raiders coach Klint Kubiak was asked about star tight end Brock Bowers three times and indicated he expected Bowers to be ready to face the Miami Dolphins. But Bowers was conspicuously missing from the practice field, with reports surfacing later that he had undergone a meniscus trim and would miss at least a game or two.
New coach, personnel motivate Raiders' defense to make impact
One of the first times Raiders superstar edge rusher Maxx Crosby lined up and looked back at new free-agent linebacker Quay Walker this summer, he started laughing. The 6-foot-4, 240-pound Walker was taken aback. "What are you laughing at, bro?" Crosby remembers Walker asking. The 6-foot-5, 255-pound Crosby responded, "I've never seen a linebacker that big.
Raiders banking on draft class being special, beyond just first overall pick
The No. 1 overall draft pick might not have been the Raiders' most impressive rookie of training camp and the preseason. Las Vegas is taking it as a positive sign that quarterback Fernando Mendoza got some real competition for the honor from a trio of draft classmates-second-round safety Treydan Stukes, fourth-round running back Mike Washington Jr. and sixth-round receiver Malik Benson.
Raiders season preview: Fernando Mendoza won’t start at QB but his time will come
The high point of Fernando Mendoza’s first four months with the Las Vegas Raiders came in the 22-year-old’s first preseason game. The top overall NFL Draft pick threw for 97 yards on five drives, including a highlight 19-yard completion to rookie classmate Malik Benson, and a touchdown, just barely missing a second score on a possible mistake by receiver Deven Thompkins.
Vegas pick'em: NFL Week 1 winners against the spread
SoFi Stadium was the last site, and only second ever, to see a home tenant lift the Lombardi Trophy on its own field in the Super Bowl. That was five seasons ago. The brief drought will end again this season when SoFi hosts Super Bowl 61 on Feb. 14, 2027. That’s not all that strong of a proclamation, considering the Los Angeles Rams come into the regular season as runaway championship favorites.
College football by the odds: Vegas picks and preview of every Week 2 game
Michigan got one second tacked on the clock and as many as nine points added to the betting line for its next game at the end of Saturday’s season-opener against Western Michigan. Week 2 brings time to see if the latter ends up as impactful as in local sportsbooks. Michigan reopened as high as a 6.5-point underdog to Oklahoma in one of two headlining Big Ten vs. SEC games — along with Ohio State at Texas.
Handicapping the four biggest NFL awards for the upcoming season in Las Vegas sportsbooks
Long gone are the days when preseason NFL futures betting in Las Vegas sportsbooks concentrated solely on teams. Player performance is just as popular, if not more. It's been gaining steam each and every year, particularly now, headed into the upcoming 2026-2027 season. Hundreds of bets are available on virtually every big-name skill player challenging gamblers to forecast their statistics.
Kirk Cousins officially anointed Raiders' starting quarterback
Klint Kubiak confirmed the Las Vegas Raiders' worst-kept secret Wednesday at team headquarters: Kirk Cousins will go into the season as the starting quarterback. Cousins caused some momentary concern earlier in the morning when he was not on the field for the first posttraining camp practice, but the Raiders' coach said, "that was by design for a rest day, a vet day." All the focus is now on getting Cousins as prepared as possible for the Raiders' Week 1 game against the Miami Dolphins on Sept.
Kirk Cousins officially anointed Raiders' starting quarterback
Klint Kubiak confirmed the Raiders' worst-kept secret Wednesday at team headquarters: Kirk Cousins will go into the season as the starting quarterback. Cousins caused some momentary concern earlier in the morning when he was not on the field for the first posttraining camp practice, but the Raiders' coach said, "that was by design for a rest day, a vet day." All the focus is now on getting Cousins as prepared as possible for the Raiders' Week 1 game against the Miami Dolphins on Sept.
College football by the odds: Vegas picks and preview of every Week 1 game
Hawaii quarterback Micah Alejado had already brought his team back from a larger deficit once in the fourth quarter of its season opener Saturday night at Stanford. The former Bishop Gorman High standout got a chance to do it again with a game-winning drive opportunity after Stanford scored to go up 30-27. Instead, on the fourth play of the two-minute drill, Cardinal defender Zach Rowell stripped Alejado and jarred the ball loose.
Fernando Mendoza, offense underwhelms in Raiders' preseason finale
Jalen Nailor was able to salvage the first of two straight off-target throws to start rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza's night in the Raiders' final exhibition game Thursday night at Allegiant Stadium. The veteran receiver couldn't haul in the second. Mendoza and the Raiders paid dearly as the high pass deflected off the leaping Nailor's hands and led to an interception by San Francisco 49ers linebacker Tatum Bethune.
Mike Washington debe demostrar que los Raiders pueden confiar en él en el último partido de pretemporada
El jugador más destacado -aparte de Fernando Mendoza- a quien hay que seguir en el último partido de pretemporada de los Raiders esta noche es el mismo que ya se destacaba antes de que comenzara la pretemporada. El corredor novato Mike Washington ha cumplido con todas las expectativas generadas hasta ahora, logrando la jugada más larga de los Raiders desde la línea de scrimmage tanto en la derrota por 27-14 como anfitriones ante los Cardinals como en la victoria por 22-20 en casa de los Texans.
Mike Washington needs to show Raiders can rely on him in final preseason game
Washington sliced the Arizona offense for a 53-yard carry in the second quarter two weeks ago before bullying his way through traffic for a 33-yard first-quarter pickup in Houston. But now there's more pressure than ever before for the 23-year-old out of the University of Arkansas to prove he's ready to make an immediate impact in the NFL. "I think he's had a good camp," Kubiak said of Washington on Tuesday.
Bowl pick'em Part 2
The first round of the new 12-team College Football Playoff left fans underwhelmed a year ago. All four favorites of the inaugural opening weekend covered, going on to win by an average of 21.75 points per game. The outlook for competitive games isn't much stronger this year, mostly a consequence of two Group of Five conference champions earning automatic bids in No. 11 seed Tulane and No. 12 seed James Madison. Tulane travels to Oxford, Miss., to face Ole Miss as a 17.5-point underdog.
Bowl pick'em Part 3
Forget the College Football Playoff. I might be alone in this, but the traditional bowl games have been much more enjoyable than the teams squaring off for a chance to win the national championship this year. And, yes, it all comes down to the bowl games so far having been a more profitable endeavor. Then the CFP had to go and ruin it.
NFL wild-card weekend winners against the spread
Only three AFC playoff teams rank above average in both offense and defense according to the DVOA ratings - the No. 1 seed Denver Broncos, No. 3 seed Jacksonville Jaguars and the No. 5 seed Houston Texans. The Texans' path to their first-ever Super Bowl appearance is perilous considering they would most likely have to win three straight road games. Both the aforementioned units have also been too volatile throughout the season to fully trust.
NFL divisional round winners against the spread
Seattle's divisional-round opponent came down to the final seconds of the three NFC wild-card games. If the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles would have finished off a 10-play, 44-yard drive inside the two-minute warning against the 49ers, the Seahawks would have faced the Rams. They would have only opened around a 1.5-point favorite in that matchup. Instead, the 49ers held on to beat the Eagles 23-19 and book their own second trip to Seattle this season.
NFL Week 18 winners against the spread
The NFL pick'em column has put together a strong regular season and, as far as teams that have contributed the most, the San Francisco 49ers deserve a spot toward the top of the list. At least over the second half of the year, no team has come through with point-spread victories to boost the bottom line more frequently than San Francisco.
Vegas picks and preview of the East Region
The transfer of power from Mike Krzyzewski to Jon Scheyer four years ago in the Duke basketball program couldn't have gone much more smoothly. Scheyer immediately maintained, if not surpassed, his mentor's ability to draw top talent to Durham, N.C., and has won at an even higher rate with an .834 winning percentage. Selection Sunday saw Scheyer achieve something Krzyzewski never did with the Blue Devils, earning the NCAA Tournament's overall No. 1 seed in back-to-back years.
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