Utah Valley Wolverines vs UMass-Lowell River Hawks Softball 2-7-26

In contrast to yesterday, it was overcast and cool, but fairly nice anyway.    As I walked up to the stadium, another cheer went up.    I could get used to this.    Actually, it was the conclusion of the morning game between two visiting teams: UMass-Lowell and St. Thomas.    UML won, 10-7.    They’d be playing Utah Valley next, which was the game I’d come for.

I guess I need to explain the picture at the top.    That’s Basia Query, my favorite visiting player.    She played for Utah Valley a few years ago and I mentioned her many times.    It started here in 2017 and finished in 2022, but she is still fondly remembered.    I also sort of wanted to support UV, as their university became famous last year for the worst reason possible.   

The lights were on at the stadium.    Being LED, I think they’ll turn them on whenever it’s slightly dark.    Baseball was practicing next door and playing a game.    Their old-style stadium lights were off.    As the previous game just finished, I was a half hour early for the next game.    I noticed a ball was still caught in the outfield netting from where a player tossed it early yesterday.    The grounds crew worked on the field with the Lil’ Pete robot, which painted the lines.    It started sprinkling for a moment.    I had come prepared for that possibility, but it never started raining.

On the new video board, they ran a promo for the next Aggie Women’s Baseketball game . . . which was scheduled for right now!    Crap!    I saw cars at the Pan-Am Center when I came in.    There was a time change on the game.    If I’d known, I would gone to it.    The original time conflicted with the upcoming Aggie Softball game.    I should have looked that up yesterday.    Sorry, Emma.

It was a sparse crowd, even less than the visitors’ game yesterday.    I remember UV traveling better than this.    The teams were introduced with the theme to the A-Team.    That worked pretty well.    The UML players fist bumped the umps as they were introduced.    I see teams doing this in other sports, too.

Britney Moreno began the game with a leadoff home run that snuck over the left field fence.    1-0 Wolverines.    That was just the beginning of UML’s problems for this game.    After a pair of singles and an out, Avery Spinello-Branch at short laid out and stopped a roller and flipped it to second, who dropped the ball.   

This loaded the bases for Emma Haygood, who looked like a slugger.    She just missed on a couple pitches and slammed them foul out of the stadium.    A little girl was cleaning up on giveaway lollipops from running down the foul balls and bringing them back to the pressbox.    Haygood eventually zeroed in and hit a laser grand slam to right field by the pole.    5-0 Wolverines before the River Hawks even got to bat.   

The PA announced it was 55-degrees in Utah, 23-degrees in Massachusetts, and 60-degrees here.    Moreno made a nice play at short off a deflection off the pitcher in the bottom of the first.    In the top of the second, Thyanais Santiago made a nice play at the wall in centerfield.   

The next batter hit the pitcher, Olivia DeCitise, on a hard liner. Elizabeth Neeld at second made the play on the deflection.    Olivia lets out a squeal when trainer came out to work on her.    She wiped away some tears and stayed in.    (I keep finding more and more exceptions to the so-called “No crying in baseball” rule.)    Olivia then gave up a double and was taken out.    Relief gave up a run-scoring double and then a 2-run homer to left center.    It was 8-0 Wolverines and we were already in run rule territory.

I checked the score at Women’s Basketball.    The Aggies were down, 38-23, to LA Tech at the half.    I felt a little better about missing the game, though this game was even less competitive.    In the top of the third, the St. Thomas team came in to watch the game, but they had to leave after a half inning.   

In the top of the fourth with two on, the UML pitcher made a bad decision on a comebacker and everyone was safe.  The runners kept running and a run scored, though there was also an out at the plate on the play.    It was 9-0 Wolverines on the new scoreboard, except it was actually 10-0.    They put the run on the board next inning. 

In the top of the fifth, a short popup to the outfield was dropped, but the right fielder, Emily Baume, ended up throwing out the runner at second.    There was no song played for the Stretch, which was disappointing.    Marketing Director Nicole Sack came by and I congratulated her on her promotion.    “I’m happy to still be here,” she said in relief, referring to the purge of several of her other co-workers.   

Okay, the game ended, 10-0 Wolverines.    I’ll single out Bailey Marvin for going 3 for 3 with 3 RBI’s and Emma Haygood for going 2 for 2 with 4 RBI’s from a grand slam.    Payge Armendariz and Cam Davis worked 5 scoreless innings for Utah Valley.

LA Tech beat the Aggies in Women’s Basketball, 77-58, so didn’t miss much there.    Let’s hope the ***next Softball game*** with the Aggies is better.

UMass-Lowell River Hawks vs UT-Arlington Mavericks Softball 2-6-26

Opening Day for Aggie Softball today at the NM State Invitational. Unfortunately, I didn’t take the day off for it. I decided to just watch the noon game between two visiting teams, UMass-Lowell and UT-Arlington, before work. It was a wonderful clear, sunny day for a game.

A cheer went up from the stadium as I came to the gate. I appreciated the fanfare. (One of teams might have been celebrating something else, but I’ll take it.) The new posters for Softball and Baseball were available up front. I’d forgotten to bring a rubber band for them. I checked my pockets and actually had one anyway. If I was getting wishes granted today, I should have chosen more wisely.

The outfield was nice and green. You wonder why it’s so hard to do this for Baseball that they had to put in a turf field. They installed a safety bag at first next to the actual base. It was colored brown and I couldn’t see it in action from where I was sitting, so I’m not sure how well it worked.

The new video board looked nice, though they didn’t use it for much during the game other than the score and a Whataburger commercial. Maybe when there’s a full camera crew there, they’ll show replays. At least I can finally get the scoring with the hits and the errors and not have to guess. It didn’t look that expensive. Why can’t they get one for Baseball, which really needs a scoreboard that works in the daylight?

There was a lively little crowd present for the two visiting teams with lots of chatter. I wasn’t sure who dominated the crowd, since both teams had about the same colors. UML had nice white and blue uniforms like the Mariners’ throwbacks. By late in the game though, most of their uniforms were covered in dirt.

I spilled orange juice on these scorecards for breakfast. I dried them out and used them anyway. I guess these are okay for the scorekeeping. Since, it was two visiting teams and the first game of the season, I didn’t really care. Both pitchers were in the batting lineup, along with the DP, so there was a “flex” player in the field, but not batting. (What’s with all of the “Mc’s” in the Mav’s lineup? They had three. That’s an odd recruiting strategy.)

The game started with some good defense for both teams in a scoreless first. The PA announced the temperatures in the home cities of the teams. It was 26-degrees in Massachusetts, 75-degrees in Arlington, and 62-degrees here in Las Cruces.

In the bottom of the second, the PA played Wild One after a wild pitch. That inning began with two walks for UTA. Their dugout was chanting, “Basehit! Ball Four!” Cameron Cooper made an impressive bunt single to load the bases. Pitcher Madi McDonnell helped her own cause by bringing in a run on a fielder’s choice. Likely the smallest player in the game, Marley Neises, jacked a 3-run homer into the new scoreboard to make it, 4-0. I rang my cowbell on runs for both teams. Why not?

Top third, a UML runner, Elizabeth Neeld, was thrown out at home. It looked like maybe seemed like she stepped over the tag and touched home plate. She danced around for a moment before being tagged out. A nearby fan commented on me keeping score and called it a “lost art.” Yep, it’s just the official scorer, the broadcasters, baseball-loving grandmothers, and me doing it. By the bottom of the third, I was getting warm. Marketing Director Nicole Sack was walking around handing out fans. I finally took off my sweatshirt and was still hot.

In the top of the fourth, an RBI double by Julia Rowley for UML made it, 4-1 UTA. Baseball was warming up next door and playing a scrimmage. Some of the guys came over beyond the outfield wall and started taking swings at a large old tire. Thump, thump, thump. I don’t know what that exercise was for.

In the bottom of the fourth, there was a dropped popup on infield that would have been the third out that resulted in a run scoring to make it, 5-1 UTA. In fairness, it was a tough sun out. I looked up a look of times on foul balls into the stands and got blinded, even in sunglasses. The hitter, Dee McClarity, got pegged on the ankle on a pickoff throw by the catcher. She stayed in.

In the bottom of the fifth, we had the scoring anomaly of one flyball going to each outfielder. In the top of the sixth, UML made a nice double play, though there was then a deflected ball at third that the shortstop took a tough error on, as her throw pulled the first baseman off of the bag. A caught stealing ended the inning anyway.

In the bottom of the sixth, a liner hit the fence. The centerfielder caught it off the rebound, but that doesn’t count and a run scored, 6-1 UTA. Hailey Lynn Sralik had a shaky seventh and started getting wild, but finished the game by starting a double play. UTA wins it, 6-1. I’ll pick Marley Neises as our player of the game for her 3-run homer in the second.

Admittedly, I didn’t care about the outcome, but it was so pleasant and I was happy to be out watching a ball game.

Bonus Coverage: NM State Aggies vs UML and UTA

I went to work early afterward and partook of their Superbowl pot luck. I overindulged. There was pizza, mini-corndogs, mini-BBQ weenies, croissants with mini-weenies, and buttery rolls with tomato sauce, melted mozzarella cheese, and pepperoni in the middle. I think I also had a donut and something like chocolate pudding. (I’m getting indigested just thinking about it.)

The two Aggie games were on the radio, which I listened to while working. The Aggies played UML first. Devin Elam hit a 3-run homer in the third and had 5 RBI’s overall in a quick, 8-0, run rule win. Taryn Bennett was in the winner with 4 scoreless innings and Zantelle Rodriguez had 1 inning in relief. That was a good start.

The Aggies next played UTA. They went down 5-0 with 4 of those runs unearned. (There was an error with 2 outs.) The Aggies came back in the second with 3 runs, 2 unearned. (I’m seeing a pattern here that will repeat all weekend.) UTA added 1 in the third, but pitcher Faith Aragon and Lauren Garcia both solo-homered to make it, 6-5 UTA. UTA added 2 in the fourth thanks to another error and a steal of home. Aragon was chased from the circle after giving up 8 runs, 3 earned, but not out of the lineup as a hitter.

In the bottom of the fourth, Faith brought in a run on a fielder’s choice. Her cousin, Johnna Aragon, doubled her with another run in the bottom. Reliever Jaileen Mancha, also in the lineup, doubled her in. Finally, Devin homered and the Aggies had an 11-8 lead after a 5-run inning. The seventh was pretty shaky, but Jaileen got out of it with the win, 11-9. There were 5 brutal errors in the game for the Aggies. Still, this was a good start for Aggie Softball.

We’ll be on to Day 2 of the NM State Invitational on ***Saturday.***

NM State Aggies vs MO State Lady Bears Women's Basketball 1-17-26

 

Honestly, I didn’t really want to go to this game.    It’s their annual, celebration of “Poor Lifestyle Choices” Game.    It’s a wee bit on the nose that only Aggie Women’s Basketball does this.    Regardless, I really didn’t have anything better to do and I wanted to support the team.    I’m not sure if I’ll be going to any of their other games left this season with Softball and Baseball starting next month.    Whatever other plans I was considering, I accidentally overslept.    Going to the game was the only thing to do after I got up.

After seeing today’s program, I wasn’t expecting much.    The Missouri State Lady Bears were 12-5 and 4-0 in conference.    The 6-11 Aggies, 2-3 in conference, didn’t look like much of a challenge.    There didn’t even look like much of a crowd, even with the game starting well before today’s NFL playoff games.    This was deceiving.    Attendance was 959.    The east side of the stands, including the Booster section, was sparse, but the west side had most of the fans.    Even several of the suites had occupants.    There was a knot of MO St. fans behind their bench.    They blended in, since they were wearing crimson, too.

The full Roadrunner Revue band was present, along with two sets of Cheerleaders (including a new little one that was really cute) and the Sundancers (and Pistol Pete, of course).    MO St. was practicing when I came in.    They ran off during the Anthem and came back to practice more afterward.    There was a group of girls and their chaperones sitting where I usually sit.    Some other people I’m usually with also got bumped.    I don’t know what the group’s affiliation was with each other.    There was a group of teen boys below all wearing jerseys with the name “Family” on the back.    Also, there was another group of teen girls in the rafters.    We’d see more of them later.

 

First Quarter

Admittedly, I missed several baskets on the scorecard.    I don’t know how that happened.    I was listening to an Aggie Men’s Basketball game against the Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens.    I almost forgot about it, even though I’d brought a radio to listen to the game.    Really, that game wasn’t much of a distraction.    It would turn out to be a blowout, while the ladies’ game would be much more interesting.

Emma Christiano began the scoring for the Aggies with a quick jumper.    The Band missed mocking the opponents during their introductions, but they were into it to start the game with their cheering.    Morane Dossou came out with a pair of rebounds and a steal off a block.    She then added a layup.    Morane was hustling, which made it all the more surprising that Coach Adams nearly charged the court yelling at her on the next possession.    She took Morane out and gave her a short lecture on the sidelines.   

Imani Warren and Lucia Yenes put in their first baskets.    Marta Guilera, who’d come in for Morane, accidently tripped a Bear and Morane was back in.    Lucia found Imani on a fast break and it was 10-6 Aggies with 4’ left in the quarter.   

Out of a break, Maiesha Washington spotted Kendal Bruggen under the Bear basket for a backdoor layup.    It was pretty.    Imani answered with a jumper and a layup.    She already had 8 points.    I wondered if Imani was sick during the previous game, but she was fine now.    Keira Hudson was in and put in a 3.    The next time she touched the ball was a little more comical.    She lost the ball three times on her dribble, but got it back with a tie up.    Morane added a layup and she was at 6 points.    It was 21-10 Aggies after 10 minutes.    So far, so good.

Second Quarter

The crowd seemed to still be coming in, which was another reason why I thought the game was poorly attended at first.    Meanwhile in snowy Delaware, the Aggie Men were up 26-14 about 10’ into the half.    The guys were hitting their 3’s.    Keira was doing the same and hit two 3’s.    27-24 Aggies, 6’ left in the half.    She also pulled down a rebound, while being the shortest player on the court (with Emma off).   

There was Bad Lifestyle Choice propaganda in every other break.    It was annoying.    Lucia Lara was getting some playing time from the end of the last quarter into this one.    The Coach was doing a lot of subbing to keep the players fresh.    She was also chewing out the players on the bench.    Coach Adams wanted this one.    So did Keira.    She sank a couple of the free throws to make it, 31-16 Aggies with 4’ left.    She came out of the game with 8 points in the quarter, 11 total.

Marta was back in and found Anna Csenyi for a layup and a free throw.    36-20 Aggies with 2’ left.    Maycee James stole the ball from Emma and went for a layup.    Emma managed to steal it back under the basket.    However, she was called for a foul and the crowd did not approve.    (It looked clean.)    Imani hit Deavion Wilson for a last second layup.    The Aggies were up, 38-25.       

Halftime

The Aggie Men were up, 49-30, at the half of their game.    They were shooting 60% for the half.    The trivia question was interesting.    The Aggies had the largest comeback before scoring in NCAA history.    They started off their 1977 game with Bradley down 28-0, but came back and won.    The teen girls from the rafters (with a couple of guys) came down to the court.    They were a hip hop dance troop.    They were pretty good.    Jacqueline Corcoran and Mia Fox from Aggie Volleyball walked by in aisle.    I saw them again after the game.    I was too intimidated by their good looks to say anything, but I kinda wanted to ask if the team had any spring games scheduled.         

Third Quarter

Morane pulled down her sixth rebound to start the second half, but the Aggies came up empty on three shots on the possession.    Morane also had an interception on a pass.    Kaemyn Bekemeier hit a Bear 3 and the Aggies called a timeout with the score, 38-30 Aggies with 7’ left.    In Delaware, the Blue Hens had narrowed the score to 51-40 Aggies.       

Keira got called for a foul for getting too vigorous on a tie up with a taller player.    Anna got the first Aggie points of the quarter taking out the trash on a miss at the rim.    40-32 Aggies 5’ left.    Imani then floated one in.    Morane got in a vigorous tie up of her own and ended up on the court with the other player.    The Coach took her out again for another lecture.    Marta was in for Morane and got an assist to Lucia on a layup.    44-32 Aggies with 4’ left.

Right before a timeout, there was a scuffle over the ball on the sideline.    No foul.    While the referee was there, he had a chat with some fans at the table wearing Emma t-shirts.    The refs are human, even during the game.    A couple of adorable little kids came up on Bongo Cam.

Back to play, Emma made an amazing steal of a ball being held in both hands by the defender.    Absolute thievery.    On the bench, the Coach was still talking to Morane before she finally put her back in.    Imani had a block and then made a dunk pass to Morane down low for a layup.    50-37 Aggies after three quarters.   

Fourth Quarter

A family sat down in front of me after the game started.    At one point, the kids started what I can only call a “Selfie fight,” by shooting each other with their smartphones.    Mom took a family picture.    They left before the end of the game.    Maybe they wanted to get home for the NFL playoffs this afternoon.   

Keira started the fourth quarter with a jumper.    She was on fire with 15 points.    Back at the bench, the Coach was still lecturing the players.    The team probably wishes she was still sick and subdued like she was last month (12-29-25).  Emma was pushed down on a turnover.    No foul.    The Coach took the opportunity to yell at the referee in the break.    On camera, a little girl was waving a Bad Lifestyle Choice flag.    This infuriated me for the rest of the afternoon, but I kept rooting for my team.

Emma gave the team a talk on court before play started.    The Coach chipped in something additionally.    In the crowd, a chant of “Christiano!” would ring out whenever Emma brought the ball up court.    After a couple of the layups by Lainie Douglas, the Bears closed the gap to 54-46 with 5’ left in the game.    Emma took the ball away on a tie up.    She also elbowed James, who was guarding her, down to the court.    The ref apparently took it as a flop and no foul.   

The Aggie Men were firmly in control of their game, 84-58, though an Aggie had fouled out.    Douglas made another layup and it became uncomfortably close, 56-51 Aggies with 2’ left.    Keira was back in and forced a turnover, but Bekemeier had a layup and it was a 2-point game with less than a minute left.    Timeout Aggies.

The Men won their game going away, 97-68.    It was their first road win of the season.    In Las Cruces, it was clutch time.    Give it to your star.    Imani kissed a shot off the glass for a basket and the foul and the free throw.    The Bears made a quick jumper, but Morane came back with a layup.    Emma was intentionally fouled and iced it with 2 foul shots.    Aggies win, 63-56!    To add to it, PA Ed announced that this was Coach Adams’ 250-th win.    Congratulations.

Let me give you the stats for the Aggie Men first.    Five Aggies were in double digits scoring with Jemel Jones leading with 19 points.    Juice Mims had 13 points and 10 rebounds.    The team shot an astonishing 57%, 50% on 3’s, and (get this) 100% on free throws (11 for 11).    Damn.    After their heartbreaking loss on Thursday, I hope this one gets their confidence back.

Lainie Douglas led the Lady Bears with 17 points.    Kaemyn Bekemeier had 11.    Faith Lee and Maiesha Washington both had 10.    Imani Warren paced the Aggies with 17 points.    Keira Hudson had a tremendous game off the bench with 15 points and 3 3’s.    Morane Dossou had 10 points and 13 rebounds.    All those lectures from the Coach paid off with Morane today.

The Aggies shot 48%, 33% on 3’s, and 83% on free throws.    Missouri State shot 35%.    I’m not sure I can tell you why the Aggies won, but I can tell you why the Lady Bears lost.    They were 1 for 9 on shooting 3’s.    Coach Adams did a good job of subbing players and keeping them fresh certainly.    The real question is: how do you get this Aggie team to show up for the rest of the season?   

I went over to dad’s apartment to watch an NFL playoff game myself afterward.    Pizza Hut was running a $10 special on their Big New Yorker pizza.    (I was hungry, but that wasn’t the greatest pizza.    $10 was about right.)    For the future, I kind of hope I can go to at least one more Aggie Women’s Basketball game this season.    The team has certainly been mostly entertaining, win or lose.

NM State Aggies Sports and Basketball Recap January 2026

We’ve had some more Basketball games and some Aggie Sports news, since the last game I was at.

Thursday, Russ Langer was back announcing for the Aggie Men’s Basketball game against Western Kentucky.    I didn’t find out what happened to him, but I did miss most of the pregame show.    An alley oop from Elijah Elliot to Juice Mims started the game on the way to a 13-0 start and a 28-point lead at one point.    It was 46-28 Aggies at the half after some sloppy play at the end.   

It was down to a 9-point lead, when the WKU coach got a technical for arguing an offensive foul.    Jayland Randall hit a 3 right after.    An Elliot 3 plus a free throw made it a 20-point lead with about 10 minutes left, 70-50.    The Aggies won it, 80-64.    Four Aggie players were in double digits lead by Jemel Jones with 24 points.    (WKU only had one player in double digits.)    Juice Mims had 15 rebounds.    The Aggies were shooting 39% and 43% on 3’s.    WKU did have 30 points in the paint.    That was 10 more than the Aggies.

Coach Hooten got a Gatorade bath from his players afterward.    The broadcasters didn’t know it, but this was his 300-th win.    The Coach was happy about that, but not so pleased that it was the smallest crowd of season at 2,600.    Interesting that he had stats on attendance during the game.   

The Aggie Women’s Basketball team won over WKU on the same day, 70-67.    Lucia Yenes had a great game with 26 points.    Imani Warren had 18.    Emma Christiano had 4 offensive rebounds.    The ladies were 51% shooting and had 40 points in the paint, which is awesome, except WKU had about the same stats.    This game could have gone either way.

There was a newspaper article about the Aggie 2026 Hall of Fame inductees and I’ve seen several of them play.    Have I really been watching Aggie Sports that long?    Sasha Weber scored 20 at my first Aggie Women’s Basketball game **(1-23-16).***    She led the team to back-to-back NCAA appearances and was the WAC Tournament MVP in 2016.

For Baseball, Kyle Bradish set a single season strikeout record in 2018 among other honors, and was the first Aggie to reach the MLB postseason.    Joey Ortiz hit .422 in 2019 and set a single season record for hits.    Nick Gonzales had a .399 career batting average, hit 37 home runs, and drove in 152 RBI’s.    In 2019, Nick won the NCAA batting title by hitting .432.    He was a first round draft pick in 2020.

Finally, Kelsey Horton was the back-to-back WAC Softball Player of the Year in 2017 and 2018 and the WAC Tournament MVP in 2018.    She’s the program’s all-time leader in batting average at .378, in home runs at 72 (with a record 25 in 2018), and in RBI’s, 210.    Kelsey hit a grand slam to win WAC regular season in 2018 (4-28-18).    A local newscaster reported it by starting, “How do you win a regular season championship like a boss?”    When I say that a hush came over the crowd when Kelsey came to bat, I’m not kidding.   

   

On Saturday, Aggie Men’s Basketball played Middle Tennessee at home for a nationally broadcast game.    Unfortunately, they only got a slightly larger crowd.    A new Henson Fund was announced for athletic fundraising.    We’ll see how this works out.

The Aggies come out firing with a 19-4 lead early.    It was up to a 16-point lead, before the Aggies went cold and the Blue Raiders came back.    They tied it with 4’ left in the half and it was tied at the half at 29.   

The Aggies fall behind early in second half by 13 with 10 minutes left.    Jayland Randall hit a 3 with 2 minutes left and the Aggies were only down, 58-54.    Broadcaster Anita Skipper couldn’t watch the free throws.    The Aggies had the ball with 19 seconds left, down by 3, but couldn’t get closer.    MTSU wins, 59-55.    Jemel Jones led the Aggies with 16 points and Cyr Malonga had 10.    The Aggies were only 13 of 22 on free throws.    No wonder Anita couldn’t watch.    MTSU was up 40% to 34% in shooting.

Attendance at the Pan-Am Center was 2,800.    I mention this number because the Aggie Women lost on the road to MTSU, 88-51, in front of 3,600.    They love their basketball in Tennessee.    Lucia Yenes and Senoj Jones each had 11 points, but everyone else was held below double digits.    Possibly the only good thing was that I think everyone got playing time.    (Nikki Stanic hit a 3.)    That Aggies only shot 32%, while the Blue Raiders shot 52% and 52% on 3’s, and had 20 points off turnovers.    In the official recap, Emma Christiano’s postgame comments were so eloquent.    I’m calling it; she’s future coach material.     

I listened to a couple of Aggie podcasts during the day.    Major changes are under way at Presley Askew Field.    Artificial turf is being installed for the entire field and the mound.    I heard something about a berm was being added to the outfield, but I’ll believe when I see it.    They’ve figured out what was going wrong with the canopy and will be fixing it in the future.    They’ll have a temporary solution in place for this season.    Little wonder, they’re starting the season on the road with all this construction.   

There have been other changes in Aggie Sports.    AD Joe Fields started the New Year by firing three of his assistant directors, including the woman that was the interim AD before he was hired.    (It only took one season without a full time AD to take down all of Aggie Sports.)    Only Chet Savage is left from the previous administration.    Fields said he’d be bringing in his own people, which he did quickly.    They’re about what I expected.    Chet and Marketing Director Nicole Sack did get promoted.

 

On the other hand, Fields offhandedly mentioned they were open to changing conferences.    I’m not sure anybody’s knocking on the door with an offer, but with UTEP leaving, Las Cruces will be the sole travel-burdensome western outpost of C-USA.    Since NMSU is no longer competitive, its membership doesn’t enhance the conference.    Going to the Mountain West would be helpful, but they’re going to have to get more desperate for members for that to happen.    Taking UTEP was a pretty desperate act to begin with, and I don’t understand why the Mountain West and whatever is left of the “PAC-12” didn’t just merge.       

On the Aggie Coaches Show, Adam Young asked Coach Adams about Emma Christiano.    Adams admitted she took a chance on her and was skeptical given her height (or lack thereof).    The Coach praised Emma and her effort.    Her only problem was with Emma’s family and fans.    They were sitting behind the bench and were too enthusiastic.    The Coach got them to move to the other side of the court.   

The Aggie Men would play at Liberty later in the week.    I got to listen to most of this game at work.    LU is unbeaten in conference and very hard to beat at home, winning over 90% of their home games.    The pregame show built up the opponent pretty well.    I wasn’t expecting much from an Aggie team that hasn’t won on the road all season, in fact, since last March.   

The Aggies came out firing with a couple of 3’s and a Juice Mims’ alley oop.    LU came back with 10-point run and then an 8-point run.    It was a 17-point LU lead, 46-29, going into halftime.    This was about what I expected.

In the second half, the Aggies locked it down and started hitting their shots.    An Anthony Wrzeszcz 3 shaved it to a 6-point lead, 50-42.    Another W 3 made it a 5-point lead and the crowd got quiet.    After his third 3, it was 52-48 LU with 13 minutes left.    W missed a 3, but Chris Terrell cleaned it up with a 3 on the rebound. Jemel Jones added a 3, but the Aggies were still down 4 with 10 minutes left.

The Aggies hustled on the offensive boards and got three bites of the apple on a possession.    Jae’Coby Osborne eventually made a layup to get the Aggies within 2.    The next Aggie shot bounced on rim several times without going in.    Russ Langer called it, “The ball was hanging there so long, you could have forwarded your mail there.”   

W tied it by going inside.    LU scored with 7 minutes left, 62-60, and brought the crowd back into it.    The Aggies came up empty on four trips, which included open shots and a missed alley oop.    It was 66-60, but Terrell hit a 3 coming out of a timeout.    W had another trey with a 1’ left and the Aggies were down by 1.   

LU made a couple of free throws.    Jemel made a steal and Osborne made a layup with less than a minute left to put it back to a 1-point LU lead.    The Aggies forced a shot clock violation on LU’s possession with 8 seconds left.    Jemel was open for a final shot off an inbounds, but it missed.    LU put in a final free throw to finish it, 73-71.    Fudge.   

The Aggies had four players in double digits.    Anthony Wrzeszcz led with 16 points.    Jae’Coby Osborne had 10 points and 12 rebounds.    Shooting was 54% to 47% for LU, along with 77% to 50% in free throws.    They were about equal in 3’s.    That was a heartbreaker that might have turned the Aggies’ season around.   

Meanwhile, the Aggie Women lost at home to FIU, 83-74.    Lucia Yenes led the Aggies with 19 points.    Shockingly, Emma Christiano was second with 10 points and 4 steals.    The girl can step up and shoot when needed.    Keira Hudson had 10.    Notably, Morane Dossou fouled out and Imani Warren only had 4 points.    I wonder they were sick.    FIU had two players with 20+ points.    The Aggies out-shot the Panthers, 49% to 45%, but were out-rebounded 40 to 30.    Attendance was good, at least, at 825.

I meant for this to be a little recap before this weekend’s game, but this has gone long.    We’ll recap the game in the next post.

Comics Review: Oz, Blondie, and Nekron

I made a couple of trips to Zia Comics over the holidays.    Before Christmas, I went over while buying some gifts at the Downtown Mall.    On Christmas Eve, I was there again, since I’d gone to work early.    The Wednesday Farmer’s Market was set up, and I picked up a $13 1 lb. bag of pistachios.    (That was likely my best Christmas purchase.)    Frankly, there wasn’t much at the comics store, but I wanted to give them some business.    I picked up an eclectic collection.   

Oz: Heart of Magic

Zenescope publishes comics with salacious-looking covers, but honestly the stories inside are pretty conventional heroic fantasy fare.    It flirts with being naughty, but doesn’t cross the line.    The men are handsome and the women are beautiful and there’s plenty of action, so it’s a lot like an Old School comic.   

Actually, I could probably recommend this to young teen girls.    Our heroine, Dorothy, is every bit the heroine without being a “girl-boss.”    She’s not the best warrior or wizard.    Her journey is one of gathering friends and inspiring them.    She sacrifices herself at one point and her friends sacrifice of themselves to bring her back.    It’s not even guilty of “the girl who’s the key to everything” trope.    She gets a lot of pivotal help.   

Unlike the last time I reviewed a Zenescope comic (11-20), I’ll recap the story a bit.    (That was a low-effort review.    My apologies.    I even got the name wrong calling it, “Zenoscope.”)    This is loosely based on the Wizard of Oz.    I assume some of the characters and places are from the Oz novels, since there are a few silly-sounding names.    (I did like the villain name, “Ann Soforth.”)   

This is a complete story arc from an ongoing series.    Dorothy has become queen of the Emerald City, but has been usurped by a wizard, who has taken on her appearance.    He then changed her into a (rather appealing) blue-skinned girl and Dorothy has had to flee the city with a few loyal retainers.    She’s off on a quest to find the good witch, Glinda, who looks dangerously thin and really needs to eat a steak or something.    Oh wait, that’s Wicked, not this book.   

On the way, Dorothy needs to find allies, who are often in the form of foes that are attacking her.    Finding Glinda and rallying her troops, they march on the Emerald City, which is being looted of its magic by the evil wizard.    In defeat, the wizard tells Dorothy that a worse threat is coming.

The artwork is good all the way through.    It is not in the decompressed style, so this isn’t a quick read.    The story is okay.    It’s fairly straight forward, which you might find appealing or not.    I did not like that they followed Stan Lee’s dictum a little too closely, “Every comic is somebody’s first comic.”    It felt like the collected issues wasted too much space introducing the characters and their situation with each issue.    A text page before the story would have sufficed.   

Overall, this was on sale for $10, as opposed to the $20 cover price.    So, it was okay, but nothing special.    It’s not written for kids, maybe a teen audience, but not so much for me or older readers.    I can see trying some more at some point, definitely in a collected trade format.                           

Fire and Ice: Nekron

Fire and Ice is an early 80’s animated fantasy movie.    It’s got some impressive names attached to it. It was directed by iconoclastic maverick animator, Ralph Bakshi, with character designs by the master fantasy artist, Frank Frazetta.    A couple of famous artists did the backgrounds.    Peter Chung, creator of the iconic Aeon Flux cartoon, worked on the movie. The story was written by noted comic book writers Gerry Conway and Roy Thomas.    The film extensively uses rotoscoped animation of live action actors to give it a realistic look, even with the fantastic environment.   

My only experience with the film is that I started watching it on Youtube once and I maybe only watched a few minutes.    That probably tells you what you what I thought of it.    I just wasn’t engaged by it.    I shamefully only finally watched the whole movie just to write this review.    Okay, plot and plot logic-wise, this film is terrible, which is surprising given the writers.    Animation and character-wise, wow!    This movie is spellbinding.    It’s like a cool Frazetta fantasy painting come to life . . . which is exactly what it is actually.    The characters are interesting, too.    It just needed more of a story.                 

As far as this comic book goes, the name, “Frazetta,” at the top was enough to get my attention, along with the striking cover.  However, the “Frazetta” in question is Sara Franzetta, his daughter, and she’s the writer.  This comic provides a backstory for Juliana, who is the mother of Nekron, the wizard villain.    It explains her and her sons’ hatred for the Fire People.    Unfortunately, even with the movie’s rather sparse plot, the comic doesn’t really match up with it.    Moreover, it creates an additional plot hole.    Nekron had brother in the comic, more beloved by their mother.    What happened to him?    (It might match up better with the other Dynamite Fire and Ice comics.)     

The art is good, if a bit ugly.    In that, it fits this kind of unpleasant story.    It’s dark fantasy.    For a prologue, this is good and complete, but it leaves you wanting more and more of a resolution.    Good thing there’s a whole movie you can watch afterward.    Honestly, you read this and keep waiting for Conan to show up.    That’s a criticism and also compliment of sorts.    There is no hero in this story, but it sets the stage for one.    I’d recommend this to a fantasy fan who has actually seen Fire and Ice beforehand.      

After watching the movie, I suddenly remembered that I’d seen another Fire and Ice comic.    This one was based on Teegra, the heroine of the movie, and I think it came out in 2024.    I don’t have it, so I don’t know anything about it.    If I’d seen it on the rack, I probably would have gotten it just for the cover (and just for that rack, ahem).       

  

Now here’s the guy we really want a series about.    This guy, Darkwolf, is a total badass in the movie.    Online speculation is that he’s Nekron’s father.    I’m not sure that fits.    I might have thought he was Nekron’s lost brother from the comics, but that apparently doesn’t fit with other Fire and Ice comics that Dynamite has produced.    Darkwolf just is what he is: cool.                              

Blondie: Against the Odds

I’m a Blondie fan definitely.    I snapped up this trade paperback immediately when I saw it.    The thought of reading the backstory of the group in comic book form was irresistible.    I should have read the back cover more carefully, which does sort of warn you that that’s not the whole contents.    (Zia Comics sells all of their comics and trades sealed, so you have to buy it to find out what’s inside.)

I have my favorite bands and artists, but I don’t really care about their history.    (If fact knowing too much about them would likely cause me to hate them, like Taylor Swift, who I used to be a fan of.)    It’s more about the music than the personalities for me.    The only band I ever became an online fan of was the Corrs, a 2000’s pop group from Ireland.    Even then, I can’t tell you anything about them, except their names.   

The first part of the book features a highly abstract origin story for Debbie Harry and Chris Stein.    It’s a drug trip, but well-illustrated and functional.    It doesn’t really tell you about the band or making their songs or being famous or the breakup.    This is not an illustrated MTV: Behind the Music.    Even three text pages in the back about the band, doesn’t really tell you anything.   

Most of the book features little vignettes “inspired” (very loosely) by the songs of Blondie and some nice portraits.    I’d say the little stories are hit-and-miss, but they’re all miss, except for the artwork on some of them.   

This wasn’t a great purchase.    If you’re a Blondie fan, I don’t know what you’re going to get out of this, other than some nice pinups.    It was a missed opportunity to tell the story of a New Wave Punk band from humble beginnings becoming stars and then fading out.    You could have used the same artists telling different parts of their story in different styles.    A trippy, abstract style in the art and writing would have worked perfectly.   

Let’s write this off as a prototype and come back and do an illustrated history of the legendary club that Blondie started in, CBGB’s.    It can be a bunch of stories about the various bands that performed there, along with stories about how it started and how it was run (ultimately into the ground).   

I did see the movie, CBGB, starring Alan Rickman as owner, Hilly Kristal.    It was tremendously entertaining and kind of scary given the very unhygienic and dangerous conditions there.    I loved the part at the end with actual real life footage of bands getting inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame thanking Hilly.    This is calling out for a comic book adaptation.