NORM.VEGAS WEB SITE JOINING BRENT MUSBERGER’S LAS VEGAS-BASED SPORTS BETTING NETWORK

Norm.Vegas, my month-old celebrity website, is heading for a new home: Brent Musburger’s soon-to-launch sports betting network. The announcement was made Wednesday on the heels of Musburger’s plans to end his storied sports broadcasting career on Jan. 31 when he calls the Kentucky-Georgia game for ESPN at Rupp Arena.

His sports betting network, Vegas Sports Information Network (VSIN) will be housed in a glass-enclosed studio in the South Point sports book. The launch of VSIN will be Monday, the start of Super Bowl week.

Musburger’s brother, Todd, a prominent sports agent, is among the main investors in the venture.

After growing up in Billings, Mont., Brent parlayed his Chicago sports column into a 22-year association with CBS, beginning in 1968 after the Mexico City Summer Olympics.

He rose to fame while working for CBS from 1973 to 1990, including 15 years as the host of “The NFL Today” from 1975 to 1989. In 1980, Musburger was the target of a punch thrown by his studio partner and former Las Vegas oddsmaker Jimmy the Greek Snyder outside a New York City bar. Snyder had become increasingly aggravated that co-host Phyllis George was getting more air time.

The last game Musberger called for CBS was the UNLV-Duke Final Four blowout in Denver, a day after CBS ended the long relationship. He spent the rest of his career with ABC and ESPN.

Among other major events, he was the play-by-play announcer for the Little League World Series for 15 years, starting in 1991. It was an assignment dear to his heart: his father, Cec, had founded the Little League program in Billings.

As sports editor of the Billings Gazette from 1968 to 1972, I had many conversations with Cec before my move to The Associated Press in Cincinnati in 1973.

I am proud to be a part of this bold startup venture. My thanks to the Musburgers for the opportunity.