Hey guys, it's John McTamon host running Vegas. We're talking local sports, business, real estate. If you guys like what we see, subscribe, follow us on Front of Vegas Podcast on Instagram. Today, we got an informative pod. We got a lot going on in the sports world. We got Unilead football for start, Las Vegas Raiders, uh, a little bit of Unileve basketball at the end. If you stick around, we're doing a little bit of real estate market update, been going some things going on with interest rates. Dig into that. But first, we're gonna be talking about the hot topic going on in Vegas right now. UNLV football. For no. So, is unfootball is it a good or bad start to the season? I think this is a very obvious answer to it, right? And I it DM, comment your thoughts of how you think Unilev football season is good. Love to hear you guys' thoughts. I'm gonna start off with the good, go a little bit into the bad, and then give them an answer at the end. I think you guys know what the answer is, but great start. We are 4-0. The good things have been going on with Unlov football. We'll start a quarterback. Uh Anthony Calandria, 940 passing yards, 229 yard rushing yards, 10 touchdowns, 72% passing for the year uh with the completion percentage. He's just he the offense has just been phenomenal to watch. The offensive coordinator, kudos to him. Uh, Corey Dennis has done a great job. Dan Mullen said he wants to uh more or less leverage off to the coordinators and be a head coach and a leader for the team. So the offense has been super explosive in the four games, 4-0 in the non-con. We're going into conference play in two weeks against Wyoming, one and a half weeks, excuse me. Um, so it's really exploded. Anthony's been a big part of that. If you guys remember in the beginning of the year, he was in competition with Orgy, who's not out of the season, but it was really clear off the start from game one. Calandria was the guy. He moves around. He he's a small, uh, I wouldn't say small, he's a smaller quarterback. He's not that typical 6'3, 250, 225-pound quarterback. He's about six foot, give or take. He moves very well. He really kind of reminds me, maybe like a uh Johnny Manzel type player. He's deceivingly very athletic, can make most of the throws. He's uh he uh very athletic, so he's been a lot of fun to watch. Uh next up, Jaden Thomas, 391 yards for the year, 8.7 average and five touchdowns. Jaden uh led the team in rushing and touchdowns last year as a freshman in his sophomore year. He has been so fun to watch. His contact balance is amazing. They're not overloading him. Uh, they've been playing a lot of Lee, and uh Lee's another running back and some other running backs in there mixing him. So I haven't overloaded him, but he does play. He clearly looks like the best running back on the field. Both Kalandria and Jane Thomas look like all Mount West team as of right now. And also the probably the surprise because there was about four to six wide receivers on the depth chart, and nobody kind of knew who that guy was gonna step into that, you know, that alpha receiver for the team. Uh this year it has been Jaden Bradley. 20 receptions, 355 yards, and two touchdowns. He's been explosive. He's made deep ball catches. So uh right now the Unilev football offense is tough, uh it's ranked third in offense. It's averaging 36.75 points a game, which is amazing. That's up from last year's offense. So five stars to the offense. It's been a it's been super fun to watch. Uh now going to defense. So the good or the defense. I'm gonna say Marcel McDuffie, 29 tackles three, one sack, two interceptions. He was a leader uh last year for us. Uh Woodyard was, but he came in from last year. He's really kicking over the Woodward uh Woodyard's uh spot, has excelled in that uh middle linebacker spot for the team. Um Marius Brown also looks like all Mountain West. Four interceptions, two touchdowns off of interceptions and 18 tackles, defensive back. He's been phenomenal. Now the defense, um, those are the pluses. On top of that, uh Lucas Conti is a sophomore, defensive tackle. PFF has him graded uh over 80 grade on pass rushing. So he he's a little bit younger. Um, he's been fun to watch as well. So we've seen some bright spots in the offense or defense, excuse me. But the big thing is offense, definitely the good, the bad now. Let's get into it. The defense, uh, besides those guys, um it seems it seems like it has taken a step back from Barry Odom's defense last year. Um, they're allowing about 28 points a game. Um, I believe they're ranked 10th in the Mountain West right now. Um, so we've seen a shift where the offense has improved a little and the defense has definitely taken about a step back. So it's interesting with uh I would say with Paul Gunther's style of defense, he's a former NFL coordinator, um, who I think is just he's used to more of an NFL style where and Dan Mullin has talked about it, is getting him to play more players, keep guys fresh. So we've I've definitely noticed though the defense has improved since week one to week four. Same with the offensive line. The first game against Idaho State, I was I was worried, guys. I mean, the offensive defensive line did not look good, uh, but we have definitely seen the offensive line from week one to week four, uh, at least in the interior, has really upgraded, has really played better as in there's more chemistry there, which has been good. Now, the biggest alarming thing about the four and all star is our opponents have actually gone one in 13 for the year. So the non-con schedule has been not very strong. So keep that in mind. Uh, the big win, uh, also part of the good is there's a big win UCLA at home. Um, and UCLA, I believe, is 0-3 right now. So uh I'm gonna give it a thumbs up. It's a very good start to the year. Um, and uh we'll see how now that we're going to conference play, um, we'll see how that uh transitions. Uh the good news is they have uh a two-week time period between now or uh between their last game and at Wyoming. Originally, when I was looking at the home schedule, the home schedule didn't look we had UCLA and we didn't get like the the Boise's or San Diego States at home, but it's actually shaping up pretty good now because there's New Mexico who's looking better, and Utah State that is looking better uh than previously thought in the beginning of the year. So there's been a little bit of shakeup. San Jose State doesn't look as good as we thought they were gonna look. Um, so big games on the schedule coming up at Boise State. This is probably the most important game of the year. So wherever you are, Union V football fan, watch this game. At Boise State October 18th. Uh, their offense is still looking very good. It looks like they have taken a step back on their defense. Um, so I'm expecting a shootout in that game. Hopefully, the rebels can come through. That's gonna be a big one for us. And then fun home games. We got New Mexico at home and Utah State at home on November 1st and November uh 15th. Also, um, there is news that we have a home and away with James Madison, who's an upcoming program, so that's good. Uh uh, and then also future schedule for you guys at home. Unal V's got Cal in 2026, fun game at USC in 2027, might be going in that one. Uh Houston 2028, at Washington 2028, Arizona State in 2027, and at Iowa State in 2030. So the schedule is shaping up pretty good in the future schedule. So uh good start to Unileve football, and now we're gonna be talking Las Vegas Raiders. All right, so do we have a good or bad start to the season? Remember, DM comment, let me know your thoughts on the Raiders. Interesting start. The Raiders are one and two. So let's go into the good. The good is it seems like they have uh decent weapons. Trek Tucker really went off last week. He he has 20 catches, 228 yards for the year, and four touchdowns. So he um kind of came a little, he played a lot last year, but he kind of came out uh he had a breakout game last week. We'll see if that continues. But I do like the trio of him, Mayers, and Bowers. So uh they have a good three-wide receiver trio going on. Um also Colt Miller that they re-signed at left tackle, still playing at elite level. So that has been good. The offseason, also with Max Crosby, he's been playing solid as well on defense. Um, he's got two sacks for the year. Um defense, there's there's some reserve guys that I've I've liked. Um the uh cornerback Darien Porter. Uh, we got him in the third round this past year. Um, he looks really good. He's been grading out um, I believe around 76 on PFF. Also, defensive tackle, interior defenseman, uh John O Lalu. I don't know if I'm pronouncing that right. He's got three sacks of the year. So we're seeing the reserves. So let's get into the bad. And also, I would say I'll give a uh not a good bad grade for Geno Smith. Um, he's been uh passing about 277 yards a game, four touchdowns, four interceptions. He has looked solid. Um, also yards after contact in uh Ashing Genty, 145 yards after contact has looked good in that terms, not overall. Here's the biggest line issue. One of the strengths coming into this year was the offensive line. Besides Miller, the line has just absolutely looked atrocious. Um, it's it's right now I believe on PFF it's ranked 29 out of 32 teams. So the they have not been able to establish a run game. Uh, clearly, their starting running back has more yards after contact than before. So that that shows something here, but that has been brutal to the entire offense. Um, also, uh, so it's it's a it's a bottom third tier uh offense in the league in the bottom 10. Also, defense in the bottom 10, too. Um it it I would say both sides have improved a little bit from last year. Overall, the team looks a little bit last year, so there's a little hope there. We have a new, a completely new coaching staff. I'm not as concerned about the defense. I feel like long term with Pete Carroll, defense is gonna be fine. Um, they'll be able to build that over the years. The biggest issue, I think, is the offensive line. Uh, so we'll see. And I'm not sure about Chip Kelly's offense. I was super excited for him to come in. He's had fun, exciting offenses in the past um in the NFL, especially in college. You know, he didn't really work as a head coach in the NFL. He put up a lot of yards, a lot of points, fast pace. He's kind of changed. He he started running the ball more when he started coaching at uh Ohio State. So I thought, okay, this will be interesting. I liked the hire because all he has to focus on is offense. He doesn't have to be a head coach, he doesn't have to recruit. We'll see how he does. And I'm just not sure if this style really works for the pros. And I think it's more of like a hash marks kind of thing. It's the hash marks are uh closer together in the NFL versus in the in the college, they're spread wider, so you can actually create more space for these plays that he does. It just hasn't worked yet. Ross only three games in, so I'm not in super panic mode about the Raiders. It's early. They overall, I would say this is a bad start to the year. Uh, but I have seen improvement, um, especially with the quarterback, the weapons a little bit. So there are some things to kind of hang your hat on, especially with NFL. Every week can be different, especially with injuries and the division. I mean, the Raiders are in a very tough division. Chargers look great at 3-0 this year. Chiefs have clearly taken a step back. Um, with their offensive line, they're having issues. Their defense still looks good, and then the Broncos have looked like they've kind of taken a step back this year, too. So the Raiders are not out of it at all. Let's see if they can prove going into they play the commanders this week and then going into October. Um, but either way, overall, I am going to uh say bad start to the year. What I would like to see is improvement on the offensive line. They drafted Genty as the sixth overall pick, and one thing I noticed too is they are not using him in the passing game. And apparently it's because his pass protection is not good, um, which is not untypical for college running backs coming to the league not to have good pass protection. We're seeing some other players that haven't been playing on that were highly drafted as well because of pass protection. That takes a little time. So I would be trying to ramp up Genty as quickly because the glimpses of when he does have space, he is able to break tackles. Um, I don't know if Genty isn't a necessary elite player and warranted that six overall pick, but I I kind of don't mind it because I do think he's a very good running back. And he he has shown at Boise State that he can he can have the rock for 20-25 touches a game. So there's a lot of positive things I would I would really hope to see the run get more established. Also, um Thornton has been the um the other starting receiver. Big kid. I think he's like 205 pounds, 6'4, 6'5. He runs like a 4'3. I have just I believe he got drafted in the fourth round. I have just not been impressed with him. Apparently, in the practice field uh practices in the training camp, he lit it up. I'm gonna be honest with you. What I have seen out there, he's not really separating, he's not catching the ball well. I really think they should be playing Jack Besh. They drafted him in the second round. He's more of a possession guy, but Trey Tucker kind of uh elevating. I'm not gonna be surprised if he because I understand what they're trying to accomplish. They want a guy that can run a nine, run a vertical, that can keep can get deep to uh open up the defense so they can run the ball. Born has not been the answer. He hasn't made any big plays, he hasn't really separated, he hasn't been able to uh catch tough balls. I think you just play your best players at this point. You run uh we have seen Trey Tucker make some big deep plays in the past. It's not ideal. The man is 5'8, I think a buck 185. Uh, but I think those trio would definitely be uh a better uh wide receiver set. And just play your best players and get and run the ball. Let's establish and run. Let's go. And maybe we've got to mix that offensive lineup a little bit, but that really needs to be figured out because it's gonna be it's gonna be a long season. I don't care if you're the best quarterback in the league, the best running back in the lead. If you do not have an offensive line, you're in trouble, man. So overall, off to the start of the season. I'm gonna get a thumbs down. Bad start to the season. I am excited about October, and so we can see some improvement. Number next, UNLV basketball. So, does Unil V have a good or bad schedule for for uh for going into this year? And I'm not gonna dive deep into Unil V. Um, I actually had an awesome Unilev basketball, men's basketball preview about two weeks ago with Austin Starr. So if you wanna get in depth about Unil V basketball going into um this year, I go check that uh video out with Austin Star, former running rebel. Um and today we're gonna talk about we the the conference schedule hasn't been really released. It's I I was looking up this week because it's weird because there are schools in the Mountain West that have released their Mountain West conference schedule, and then there's some schools that haven't. So I don't really understand that. Uh, but I do have some looking at other schools, I can tell you uh what our conference schedule looks like. So let's get into it. Also, they just had a media day, I believe it was yesterday, and got some good notes from Josh Passner here. So um the schedule opens up um with it's gonna be uh the first and second week of uh uh what is it here? Uh November, excuse me. We got Utah uh Martin, Chattanooga, and Montana, and then they got two exhibition games. So just give you guys a heads up on that. So those those will be in the beginning of November. So they're gonna have about five non-con games uh to start um before this schedule really ramps up. Then it's at Memphis, St. Joseph. Uh they're playing in a Las Vegas tournament with uh Alabama, Maryland, and then they got at Stanford. So really good conference schedule. I'm not gonna break that down. We did that in the last one. Uh, but with conference, it's interesting. So, what I was able to figure out so far is we got two games against GCO, GCU, Grand Canyon, who has newly uh joined the Mountain West that dominated the WAC. So I'm super excited to see them at the Thomas Mac. That's gonna be a fun future rival for UNLV. Uh two against Reno, which is great. That's our rival. And then most importantly, uh San Diego State and Boise, we got two games with them. New Mexico only got one. Uh Colorado State and Utah State. I don't know. They've their runners released as well. But I would say overall, the conference schedule is looks like it's gonna be competitive too. Um, because San Diego State and Boise and Utah State have kind of really been probably the best teams in in the Mountain West. But I don't know about Utah State yet if it's one or two. But overall, it's looking very strong. I would say good to conference schedule. This is probably uh I am very excited for Josh Passner. Uh to see the schedule that he's developing and the way he talks. We'll see. This could be completely coach speak, but the biggest things I got out of uh the media availability listening to Coach Passner yesterday was he wants to run, running, running rebels, right? He wants to be aggressive, win every possession, play defense. Love hearing that. All about effort. And even he said, we got to work on our cardio, we gotta run. And he's really developed a roster where they could potentially do that. I mean, literally, this reminds me a lot of Dave Rice when the Rebels were actually good for their for a couple his first two seasons, where they brought in a lot of talent, they had a tough schedule, they uh they're play, they were uh running the ball. So it's adding up, and in reality, guys, we don't really know until the season starts. You know, we've heard it from um past coaches, even Kruger from the past, that they want to run the ball, and it just hasn't happened. So, and a big part of that too is you need the talent and you need the depth to be able to do that because you're gonna you're gonna if you don't, you're gonna run your guys dry. I mean and Passner has really set up a potential great roster on paper. Again, dive into the Austin Starter YouTube. It was a really good one. We dived into that roster, but I'm excited to go in the year. I hope Passner the I built I really believe with his energy though, he's a man that he believes that. So we'll see. There's a couple injuries going on, and that's a big part of it too, guys. Like, as of right now, it looks good on paper, but you get two, three injuries, and then you gotta play that half court game. You guys know how it is, we've seen it in past teams. So I'm excited for Unal V. Give a thumbs up to the conference schedule. It's gonna be a really fun game. Hoping to see you guys at Thomas and Mac this year, or the uh uh player eras. Uh, it's gonna be at MGM. So check it out. And now we're out of sports. We are going into a real estate market update. So last week, big news that the Fed actually made uh their first uh excuse me, they made a rate cut last week, so that was big news. Interest rates have come down considerably since May. At the high, they were at 7.52 mortgage rates, excuse me. And now they are at, as of this morning, they got as low as 6.1 through. Then right now they're setting about 6.39. So we're still in the low sixes, which is great. The last time the market was in the low sixes, things were still moving. We was a healthy market, so it was really positive signs. Initially, the Fed came out and said most likely they're gonna have two more um cuts before the end of the year. We'll see on that one. Uh, yesterday they actually started uh or two days ago, they started a backtrack on that a little bit, uh, just with the inflation, then job growth numbers coming in. Either way, I would say overall uh the market is in way better position, real estate market is way better position now than it was back in um in May. So we've seen a pickup. Um, also to add our inventory is a little bit on the higher side. We have almost 11,000 total properties on the market. I would say right now it is a buyer's market. So if you're a buyer out there, very good time to buy, especially with the rates coming down. A lot tougher when they were in the sevens and eights. Now they're in the low sixes. Top of that, though, think about it, guys. If you're a seller out there and you're having your home on the market, you're probably motivated, right? So um we're seeing buyers either getting seller concessions, um, even with new construction. New construction for years, there was no negotiating that has changed uh since the spring. Um, they have been uh negotiating pricing. Uh they offer buy downs on interest rates. So there's a lot of good options for folks that may not have a ton of money to get into this type of market. Um, so it's a really interesting market. Hopefully, we're gonna continue to see a uh pick up. Um, we had a very low amount of sales last year, I believe the lowest since 1993. And then we are expecting 12% less sales this year. So it's been a really interesting market. I will say this though: the silver lining in this market, though, because I've been selling here now for I believe 18 years. I came in during the Great Recession, is last time it was this way, prices were dropping 3% a month. Prices have just kind of been flat. The median sales price has wavered between 480 and 485 for the last three months. So that is the good news. Um, the market is not crashing here. Um, it's just it's been kind of flat and slow. And now that we're seeing it's it's taking four to five months to sell a property versus two minutes. So very different market. If you guys want to learn more about the real estate market, feel free to call or DM us here in the future. We always want to be a great resource to you guys. Um, as you know, I I reach out to most of you guys quarterly through video or voicemail, and you guys get our emails. But feel free if you have questions, we just want to doesn't mean you have to buy or sell real estate, we just want to continue being a great resource. So, guys, I hope you guys enjoyed our uh podcast today. Very informative, a lot of information I threw you guys. Feel free to DM, connect with us, and guys, run Vegas, take care of yourself today.