Pro sports betting, too, a real game of inches

In a 1988 installment of the CBS News program “48 Hours” that explored the Las Vegas scene, Dan Rather interviewed Michael “Roxy” Roxborough, the influential sports oddsmaker.

Rather asked Roxy about the old-time stereotypical sports gambler — you know, the character with a fur coat, a big cigar and a Cadillac.

Amused, Roxy assured Rather that those guys do still come to Las Vegas. Thing is, they usually last about a week before the town chews them up and spits them out.

De La Hoya's Vegas 10-count

Oscar De La Hoya announced his retirement from boxing at an emotional news conference Tuesday in Los Angeles, but reverberations were felt in Las Vegas, where De La Hoya competed in some of his most memorable fights.

“People loved Oscar and they loved to watch him fight,” said Richard Sturm, MGM Mirage Sports and Entertainment president. “He was very much like a rock star in his own right as well as a fantastic fighter. People loved to watch him in the ring.

“It didn’t matter who Oscar was fighting. No matter who he was fighting, the arenas would be full. You can’t say that about very many boxers. He was truly one of a kind. He will be missed.”

Manny Pacquiao: A good guy and a 'bad' man

Freddie Roach was right. Manny Pacquiao hurt him, and Manny Pacquiao finished him ...

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — To watch Manny Pacquiao interact with his fans is to witness something special.

Sure, some want an autograph or a conventional handshake.

Others, though, prefer to touch Pacquiao’s arm or rub their fingers against his sleeve, as if he were a religious figure or a living, breathing statue of a saint.

Game-by-game approach could be more profitable for Michigan State

The broad story line of today’s NCAA Tournament championship game has North Carolina — the juggernaut, the powerhouse, the team that was “supposed” to make the title game — facing upstart Michigan State, the underdog trying to pull off a nearly impossible mission.

The betting odds do back up that assertion in the most general sense. But to what degree?

Prop focuses on tall order for Spartans

When Michigan State coach Tom Izzo addressed members of the media this week, a sizable portion of the discussion centered on how he plans to handle Connecticut’s 7-foot-3 center, Hasheem Thabeet, when the teams meet Saturday in the Final Four of the NCAA basketball tournament.

Pacquiao vs. Hatton: Stars align in Hollywood for major match

HOLLYWOOD — Twilight on Hollywood Boulevard, and Bob Arum was in rare form.

Arum, well into his fifth decade of promoting boxing matches, clambered onto a makeshift outdoor stage in front of the Roosevelt Hotel, which hosted the first Academy Awards in 1929 but tonight was honoring a couple of matinee idols named Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton.