NM State Women’s Basketball 12-21-17

The Aggies were in the consolation game for the Long Beach invitational today and playing the home town Long Beach State 49’ers.  Their team’s star player, Shanaijah Davison, had actually committed to NMSU before Coach Trakh left for USC.  Adam Young described the attendance at the Walter Pyramid as “Slim,” which is terrible given that it was a home game.  He thought that Aggie fans might have been equal to the Long Beach fans there.  In the pregame, Coach Atkinson was totally okay with Brooke Salas’ last shot yesterday and would call for it again.  I agree.  Sometimes the rim just doesn’t care who’s shooting at it.      

The 49’ers came out in gold uniforms and gold shoes with black socks.  No comment.  It wasn’t that quiet during the game, but I could clearly hear Coach Atkinson on sidelines at times.  In the first quarter, Adam was impressed with Davison’s ball-handling moves while driving the lane.  The Aggies also had trouble defending 6’5” Emma Meriwether.   Too bad Aissatou Fall isn’t ready for prime time, because she’s the only one on the Aggies that could really match up with her. 

Gia Pack got a great finger roll shot off an assist by Zaire Williams and drew a foul for a free throw.  Gia came on late to spark a 10-0 Aggie run.  It was 18-12 Aggies after 10 minutes, with Gia putting up 13 of those points.  Brooke was having some trouble guarding Meriwether, as she was giving up 6 inches on her.  In the second quarter, Brooke still found a way by getting a steal off her by yanking the ball from her under the basket.  Meriwether came off with an injury from falling.  Brooke started heating up in the meantime with the shooting and defense.  Meriwether did come back in and started dominating again.  It was 33-26 Aggies at the half.

Adam came back from a break at halftime with something like the official Long Beach State rap going in the background.  Yeah, don’t get rid of your actual fight song just yet guys.  To start the third quarter, Brooke fell down in the lane and still made the shot and got a free throw.  She can’t help scoring at times.  She had 9 points halfway through the quarter and got the Aggie lead to 16.  Gia also came up firing to push it to a 24-point lead.  Monique picked up her fourth foul on a last second shot by Long Beach, which cut the lead to 60-43 Aggies. 

Scary moment in the fourth, Gia had a hard landing, but she stayed in.  I had to take a phone call at this point.  When I started listening again, the lead was down to 13 about halfway through.  The Aggies were shooting well.  Adam was amazed that they were 14 of their last 17 attempts.  Suddenly, Brooke fouled out of the game.  This came as a surprise to me.  Maybe she picked up a couple while I was on the phone.  If she was guarding Meriwether the whole game, I could see where she could have gotten into trouble.  The crowd sensed this was a turning point and got louder. 

The Aggies were committing lots of turnovers in this quarter, 13 in all.  Their lead went down to 7 after a 49’er three-pointer.  I could definitely hear the crowd cheering them on now.  With two minutes left, Gia was tripped bringing the ball up court under pressure.  She hurt her wrist falling to the floor.   Now Gia and Brooke were both out.  This was getting too frightening.  There was some confusion on the call on the play.  Adam was once again questioning the officiating.  The Coach even questioned the score on the scoreboard shortly afterward.  The Aggie lead was only 6 with one minute to play.  Gia came back on with her wrist taped up.  Unfortunately for Long Beach, their shots stopped falling in and they had to start fouling, which only increased the Aggie lead.  72-63 Aggies was our final.

In the postgame, the coach was a bit angry over that fourth quarter collapse along with the Aggies’ 24 turnovers in the game.  Gia Pack lead the way with 27 points and a purple heart (along with some purple bruises).  Brooke Salas had 23.  Zaire Williams only had 6 along with 9 turnovers.  At least the team was +8 in rebounds.  For the 49’ers, Emma Meriwether had a breakout game with 23.  She usually scores 7.  Long Beach is 2-10, but as advertised, they were a better team than their record.

I called Gia Pack the Aggies’ team leader.  Brooke has stepped up in the meantime, but I still kind of stand by what I said.  This team would probably work better if Gia did the majority of the scoring, Brooke got the rebounds, and Zaire distributed the ball (along with both of them scoring).  If anyone else on the team could step up in rebounds and assists to free them up to shoot more, that’d be great.  Brooke getting most of the points is causing that gap in rebounding (at least on the offensive end).  But, if Brooke is hitting the buckets, you gotta keep giving her the ball.  I think today sort of shows that my ideal would work, but it’s hard to trust putting the girls in certain roles when they go through those long dry spells of shooting.  The team is still trying to find its footing.  

NM State Basketball December 16-20, 2017

NM State Men’s Basketball

12-16-17

The Aggie Men got a taste of the big time tonight playing in the United Center in Chicago versus Illinois.  This was the Lou Henson Classic, which is a tribute game to the coach that holds the wins record for both universities.  Lou’s actually in the hospital right now, but was said to be watching the game. 

The Aggies came into this game expecting it to be physical.  They went down 8-2 early, but flipped that around with a 9-point run for a 13-8 lead.  Halfway through the first half, the Aggies were up 20-10 with Zach Lofton coming up big.  They had a 15-ponit lead at one point.  It was 38-26 Aggies at the half.  Then the roller coaster went over the hill.  In the first minute of the second half, the Aggies racked up five fouls, putting themselves in the instant foul trouble.  Guess they got a bit too physical.  Illinois then reeled off 10 straight points to tie the game.  They went on to take a 7-point lead at about the 10-minute mark.  Jack Nixon, calling the game, was disgusted. 

The Aggies weren’t done yet.  Thanks to some stiff defense and three-point shooting, the Aggies caught up and took the lead with five minutes left.  From here, the lead went back and forth, with neither team able to pull away.  With 23 seconds left, after a Jemerrio Jones’ steal, AJ Harris got a basket and a foul shot for a three-point lead.  Eli Chua then converted on both shots of a one-and-one to ice the game.  74-69 Aggies.  Who would have thought that this team could win off of some clutch free throw shooting?  Zach Lofton finished with 23 points to lead the team.  The key stat for the Aggies was getting 21 points off of turnovers.  The small Aggie contingent on hand in Chicago was elated.  Jack thought this was one of the best Aggie wins he’d seen.  Maybe he’s forgotten some games or was just caught up in the moment, but that’s still very high praise from the long-time Aggie broadcaster.        

NM State and UTEP Women’s Basketball

12-17-17

Forgive me for talking about UTEP again, but I keep running into them on the radio and they’ve had some interesting games this season.  The Miner Women were playing the ECU Pirates in Myrtle Beach at an invitational.  (I’m assuming ECU is Eastern Carolina University.  I never heard it specified.)  I couldn’t believe this game was on, given that they were preempting NFL coverage on a Sunday.  Duke Keith was there solo, but very enthusiastic to be there.  It didn’t sound like there was much of a crowd there, but the girls on both teams were making a lot of noise to make up for it. 

I joined the game in progress with the Miners up by 12 at the half.  ECU managed to cut it to 3 in the third, but UTEP drew 17 foul shots to get the lead back up to 8.  Okay, I must have zoned out for a moment, because suddenly the Pirates were leading in the fourth quarter.  The Miner girls must have zoned out too.  (Actually, they ran into foul trouble on their big inside players.)  Katarina Zec, the hot-shooting, hot blonde on the Miners, did what she does best and buried a three late.  (She wasn’t in for most of the game leading Duke to speculate that she was injured.)  UTEP retook the lead on that, but ECU came back and tied it to force overtime.

The station came back from commercial real late.  They missed a couple of baskets that Duke had to quickly recap.  UTEP retook the lead again.  Their big woman (that sounds terrible, I need to come up with a better euphemism), Tamara Seda, fouled out late.  Amazingly, she was the only one, since I think at least two other girls had four fouls.  The Miners pulled away for the final time for a 93-79 win.  The Miners set a team record with 42 free throw attempts in the game.  (Keep in mind that there’s no one-and-one’s in the Women’s game this season.  They’re all two-shot fouls.)

I missed part of the Aggie Women’s pregame show, since the Miner game ran late.  They were in Malibu playing the Pepperdine Waves.  Adam Young described the campus as picturesque.  (I seem to recall that The Battle of the Network Stars used to film there.)  Their venue only seats 3,000+ and is more like a high school gym.  There were only a few hundred in attendance, which Adam chocked up to the many distractions in the seaside community.  One of fans in attendance was none other than Coach Mark Trakh.  Not only was he the former Aggie Women’s coach, but he also coached Pepperdine (and was quite successful there).  Coach Trakh sat behind the Aggie bench, showing some clear partisanship.  Brooke Salas on the Aggies was also reported to have family and friends present as she’s from the area. 

The first quarter featured some great defense by Monique Mills and the Aggies.  (Mo was all over it this game.)  The score was 9-0 Aggies before the Waves finally scored five minutes in on a free throw.  The quarter finished 17-13 Aggies.  Pepperdine’s three-point shooting was keeping them in it.  Brooke was lighting up the scoreboard like a Christmas tree with 10 points in 10 minutes.  The Aggies really poured it on the second, going up by 20 at one point.  Pepperdine’s coach got frustrated enough to draw a technical.  It was 47-33 Aggies at the half.  Brooke had 17 points, Gia Pack had 14, and Zaire Williams had 11 assists.

Coach Trakh came over and chatted with Adam during halftime.  He just sounded happy and enthusiastic, which was great.  He said he’d watched all the Aggies’ game this season.  I wouldn’t be shocked if he’s still giving some of his girls some coaching advice throughout this season.  Where does he get the time, given that he’s coaching USC at the moment?  How was he even there watching the game?  Perhaps coaches take an afternoon off every so often.  While he loved his stint at Pepperdine, where celebrities would occasionally come by to practice with them, Trakh wanted the Aggies to win by 40 today.  This is like the best ex-coach ever.  (Suck it, Weir!)                         

In the third, Brooke was still decking the halls with a pair of three’s to start the quarter.  It was 69-50 after 15 minutes.  Again, the Waves’ three-point shooting was the only thing keeping this from getting embarrassing.  In the fourth, Brooke wrapped the presents for a new career high in scoring at 32, including 5 of 7 three’s.  (Stop it!  I’m sorry I was listening to ESPN Radio this morning.  It must have rubbed off on me.)  She picked up her third foul about five minutes in and was taken out.  She may have played the whole game to that point.  Zaire got a double-double with 13 points and 16 assists.  The Aggie bench was cheering her on late as she was within one of the school record in assists, but she was taken out late.  Sara Lopez came in briefly.  I never heard Dominique Mills’ name called, so she may be injured, since she usually comes off the bench several times in a game.

Our final was Aggies 86, Waves 64.  This was a great bounce back win after that debacle against Arizona.  The team got its first road win of the season.  Coach Atkinson got her first road win as a head coach as well.  This game was complete domination, but a couple of stats stood out.  The team made 14 of 23 three-point attempts.  They were also finally positive in rebounds at +7, which made the coach happy.  I have to think that having Coach Trakh there in the stands got the best of out the girls.  Maybe they could put a cardboard cutout of him behind the bench at all of their remaining games.  I don’t think Brooke needed the extra motivation, but maybe she wanted to put on a good show for him.  I can’t say they’d beat anybody, but if Brooke, Gia, and Zaire can all score in the double digits, this team will be hard to beat.    

NM State Women’s Basketball

12-20-17

The Aggies continued their West Coast swing in Long Beach.  Tonight, they were playing the Northeastern Huskies as part of an invitational.  The Huskies from Boston and Illinois State, who played Long Beach before this game, both took in the sights after they arrived in town.  The Aggies stayed in California after their game with Pepperdine and took a trip to the Santa Monica Pier on their off day.  This game started about 20 minutes late due to the length of the previous game.  The game was at the Walter Pyramid.  It’s a true pyramid.  It only seats 5000, but is huge and can fit three basketball courts or five volleyball courts inside.

     

The first quarter started well with Monique Mills hitting a pair of three’s.  Her sister Dominique Mills was also back playing in this game.  The Huskies, known for their three-point shooting, were also knocking down three’s.  It was 19-19 after ten furious, fast-paced minutes.  Play slowed down in the second.  The Aggies went cold, missing 11-12 field goal attempts in a five-minute scoring drought.  Mo and Brooke Salas both sat out a good deal of the quarter with foul trouble.  The Huskies were up by as much as 7 and finished with a 30-25 lead.  A last second three-point shot by Gia Pack was waved off.

Brooke had 13 friends and family in attendance.  Just at the start of the third, she shared a laugh with her mom sitting on the sidelines.  Zaire Williams hit a couple of three’s to tie the score early.  Mo got a steal and wide open layup and then a couple of three’s.  The Aggies went up by 8, but the Huskies re-tied it late.  Brooke scored at the end of the quarter to give the Aggies a 50-49 lead.

In the fourth, Adam Young, calling the game, started getting on the officials over questionable and missed calls.  The game couldn’t have been tighter at this point.  The Aggies went cold shooting for three minutes, but the Huskies only had a one-point lead with one minute left.  The Aggies took a one-point lead with 45 seconds left on a Brooke finger roll shot.  The officials had to stop to confirm a possession at 30 seconds.  The Huskies missed an open shot.  Again, the officials had to stop and figure out possession after a rebound.  Mo converted on a free throw with 17 seconds left for a two-point Aggie lead.  The Huskies hit a three for a one-point lead with 6 seconds left.  The Aggies drew up a play for the last shot.  Brooke took the ball inside for another finger roll that just swirled out.  65-64 Huskies in a heartbreaker.

Adam was almost choked up in disbelief.  So was I.  Brooke is so stoic, I have no idea how what she was feeling at the end.  At least she had plenty of family support there for her.  It’s probably a good thing that they’d be playing tomorrow and not have any extended time to dwell on this game.  The scoring was great with Monique Mills with 18, Brooke Salas with 17, and Gia Pack with 15.  They were also good on turnovers with 19, but were -21 in rebounds.  So far, the team doesn’t seem to have a consistent answer for the rebound issue.  Honestly, this game depressed me for the rest of the evening.  I hope the girls got over it quicker, since they’d be back in action tomorrow afternoon.  

Star Wars: The Last Review

So during the closing credits, Ron’s first comment about Star Wars: Last Jedi was, “Why are they listing Carrie Fisher?  She wasn’t in the movie.”  I had to think about that for a moment, “Ron, they finished shooting her scenes before she died.”  He had a quick burst of insight after that and acknowledged it.  I pressed further, “Did you think she was CGI for the whole film?”  Ron must have been damn impressed with the computer graphic’s animated acting.  I almost hated to spoil it for him. 

If you’ve somehow been immune to the marketing, your kids, or the forced march of nostalgia making you go to this movie, I have no qualms about spoiling it for you.  It’s a bunch of scenes from the previous Star Wars movies put in a blender.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t come out as a delicious smoothie, more like chunky vomit, where you can still identify the last meal in question in a pool of foul miasma.  I knew this movie was in trouble when my friends Ron and Mike, who like just about everything, were somewhat apathetic after having seen it.  People in my audience were heckling it.  I wasn’t mad at them; I was half-tempted to join in.  I can’t understand it.  Every review of this movie, professional and fan, loved this movie before it was released.  Hmmm.    

I’m not even angry.  (If I’d paid for the tickets, this might be a different story.)  I’m more appalled and saddened by the pure waste of this movie’s existence.  It wasted the time and money of everyone in the theater.  It wasted the Star Wars mythos worse than bad Internet fan-fiction.  It wasted the immense effort of everyone involved in the production.  Finally, while it’s going to make money, the studio wasted a whole lot of money to make what they going to consider to be a paltry profit on the movie itself.  They could have likely slashed the budget and made the same amount on it just because the movie has the words “Star Wars” in the title.  Now the merchandising and tie-ins and such, that’s the real money.  I can discern no creative impetus that mandated this movie be made apart from that.               

Unlike my review of The Force Awakens, there’s not going to be an accompanying piece where I explain how this could have been a better movie.  The only way this movie could have been better would have been if everyone in the charge of the production was fired and it was handed over to Marvel, who at least know how to make an entertaining movie.  I can see it now, a fleet of Star Destroyers and yet another Death Star fight Galactus.  (If Marvel does actually own the rights to him.)   And then the Guardians of Galaxy show up to save the day!  (Rocket: “You losers take a back seat.  The real heroes are here now!”)

Everyone questions the plot logic of this movie.  Surely this flaw was apparent from just reading the script.  The Prequel Trilogy actually had a better plot!  Why didn’t somebody in charge, who presumably had to okay this, throw it back at the writers and tell them to go back to the keyboard and come back with a decent story?  (It’s probably too late to get actual worthwhile characters for this series.)  There must have been some powerful forces at work that pushed this turd out.  Time itself might have been the biggest motivator.  These films are on a tight schedule and there’s only so much time for the writing.  Again, since there’s clearly no creative spark in this trilogy’s storytelling, the writers are just hitting plot points, tossing in some personal agenda, and introducing new toys for merchandising.  After big budget battles and effects are shot, there’s not much changing them.  (Not to mention, a main character actually passed away in real life.)  I suspect socio-political forces were at work too and some people in charge were not allowed to say “No,” to certain people making the movie. 

Was there really a “rebellion” going on in this movie?  They started off with four or five ships in the beginning and ended up with just enough people with make it a little crowded on the Millennium Falcon.  I’ve seen bigger protests with a bunch of snowflakes over a Milo Yiannopoulos speech.  The rebellion in the Original Trilogy was an actual credible threat.  The Empire should just be laughing at this rebellion and telling them to do their worst.  Their poor use of military resources to put down this minor uprising is actually a strike against them being allowed to run the galaxy.  (Meh.  It’s not like any of the other big governments of this series have done any better in that department.)

Why was Leia mad at Poe for wiping out their bomber force (all five or six of them)?  They basically had nothing to fight with anyway, may as well go out in a blaze of glory.  (And those bombers were so slow and big, they may as well have had bulls-eyes painted on them.  Even Imperial pilots could shoot them down.  And were they really “dropping” bombs in zero-g outer space?)  Poe seemed to be getting schooled a lot in this film, but I didn’t see anybody else in leadership displaying much in the way of brains or courage.  (They did have heart, so a trip to see the Wizard wasn’t necessary.)    

I kind of appreciate the limited scale of the space conflict.  The Prequels went way overboard in their fight scenes.  You couldn’t really follow what was going on.  The Original Trilogy probably had the right balance of action and scale.  Of course, this one went too far in the minimalism.  (Hey, maybe they actually did cut corners in production to save money.)  There’s that great scene in Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers when the company of elves shows up to help defend Helms Deep.  Peter Jackson’s commentary said they’d done too good a job in showing how hopeless the defense was.  He had to put in the elves to make the fight scene more believable.  If the producers of The Last Jedi were trying to make a point with this absurdly puny level of resistance, I don’t know what it was.  Maybe the next film will pay this off (or give us Ewoks and another Death Star).           

 Mike summed up his review with, “Its Empire meets Battlestar Galactica.”  This was cinema’s slowest chase scene with a handful of ships being chased by an enemy fleet over the course of two hours.  This led to one of the dumbest, logic-jumping schemes ever: “Let’s take out their tracker so we can escape. But first, we have to go to Space Monte Carlo to pass judgment on the rich Disney executives partying there . . . err I mean evil weapon dealers.  Then we need to have a morally grey philosophical discussion with a mercenary.  Finally, we’ll sneak aboard the giant Imperial ship and get caught.  Any questions?  Yes, Poe.”  “Should I mutiny in the meantime to support this hair-brained plan?”  “You bet.  Yes, Laura Dern.”  “Should I blow up our last ship and myself to atone my equally stupid plan that I didn’t tell anybody about, thus leading to this scheme.”  “Sounds like a winner.   Don’t worry, we’ll somehow make it off the exploding Imperial ship to rejoin what’s left of this rebellion.  Okay, good meeting everyone.” 

My biggest complaint: Rey should have said “Yes” to Kylo.  Realistically, she could have had way more positive influence over the Kylo’s new empire, than continuing with this “rebellion.”  Also, it would have been so romantic.  Why did he want her anyway?  She looked even worse in this film than the last.  He’s no prize either.  During the temptation scene, I swear he looked just like Ross from Friends.  (Then an irate Rachel shows up, “This is what you call ‘Being on a break?’ offering your empire to this unattractive space hussy!”)  And could Poe now be interested in her too?  Amazing, it only took nearly two whole films for these two main characters to finally meet.  That’s some great storytelling there.  And her parents were “nobodies.”  Mystery solved.  I hope nobody lost any sleep trying to figure that one out.  Further, is it really necessary for every other person in the film to have an English accent?  It’s like Space Downton Abbey.  (Ooh, that’s good.  I’ll start banging out that script right after this.)         

Was there anything I liked in this movie?  Puppet Yoda.  Thank goodness the real Yoda finally showed up.  (Granted he was a bit demented.  I don’t think I’d want to seek wisdom from him at this point.)  Cranky, bad-ass old man Luke was fun.  His “Three Lessons” were the only real tension in the movie as they were rolled out.  The preachy fat Asian girl did kind of redeem herself in the end when she made her move on Finn.  Some of the little one-liners in the movie were pretty good.  They were just badly delivered and out-of-place.  The Original Trilogy always had a bit of a wink and nod to it.  The other movies have been too serious.  Oddly, Rogue One is the only other Star Wars movie that had some sense of humor thanks to that sarcastic robot.    

At least there was more Poe Dameron in this movie, more or less acknowledging he should have been a main character in the first film.  Him and Kylo seemed to be the only characters with any real free agency and growth in this series.  These two characters make hard decisions and have to live with the consequences and learn from them, like what nut-bar Yoda said.  Of course all of the rebels take a backseat to the real hero of the story, BB-8, who was constantly saving their butts when they screwed up.

Much like the writers of this movie would apparently like to burn all religious books (great idea, let’s start with the Koran, let me know how that works out), I’d like burn all the copies of this film and pretend it never happened and spare anyone else from seeing it.  I know it’s probably too late to do anything about the next film.  The rails have already been laid.  I really hope Disney stops after that before we all get burned out on bad Star Wars.  It’s okay to commit to another trilogy after this, but don’t do it until you’ve put somebody in charge who has a real story that they’re desperate to tell.  No more fanboy caretakers of the franchise with good resumes.  The story of the making of Star Wars began one borderline obsessed individual with a vision.  Go back to that.     

How the X-Men will enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe

With Disney buying most of Fox’s properties, Marvel has reacquired the rights to the X-Men.  I’ve seen a half dozen theories on how they’ll integrate them into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  They’re all wrong.  Marvel is going to re-concept them, albeit using the same characters.  I don’t know exactly how they’re going to re-do them, but I do know why.  The core concept is that mutants are the next step in human evolution.  Evil mutants are trying to enslave humanity and the X-Men are standing against them and protecting unaligned mutants, while humanity is discriminating against all of them.  This is going to prove too edgy for Disney, not to mention that mutants are used as allegories for several different groups.  The X-Men are too strongly identified with causes now, rather than being outlaw heroes in a superhero soap opera, which is what actually made them popular.  Further, the failed Inhumans TV show and concept blurred the line somewhat with mutants, as Inhumans are basically mutants with a common specific origin. 

As coherent as the Marvel Universe has tried to be outside of the comic books, mutants are an aberration.  All the other superheroes and villains have an explanation for their powers.  Mutants just have a hand-wavy excuse.  Born with random useful superpowers?  The Inhumans already made this look a little silly, which is why it’s been relegated to just the TV side.  Their powers were activated by a combination of genetics and world-wide dispersion of a special mist which triggered the change.  (Or something like that.  I don’t really care about the Inhumans.*  Nobody does.)  Originally, the X-Men were called “The children of the atom.”  Mutants came about because of the use of nuclear power and weapons, which mutated human children in the womb into a new species.  Later, mutants were retconned into being present in all of human history.  The Inhumans and mutants are two concepts that are a bit too close to each other.  If Marvel had known they’d be getting the rights to the X-Men back this quick, they’d never have introduced the Inhumans, certainly not as some sort of replacement for mutants.  (Maybe they wouldn’t have run the X-Men comic book into the ground as well.)   

Further, there’s a racial supremacy angle to the mutants that strangely both evil mutants and the X-Men acknowledge.  Both groups think they are the future and normal humans are the past.  The X-Men want to protect humanity against evil mutants, because they see themselves as superior and protectors of the lesser species.  Simultaneously, normal humans discriminate against and oppress mutants.  So, mutants are both Nazi’s and Jews at the same time.  It’s not entirely easy to empathize with superpowered beings against normal people who are just fearful of them, as opposed fighting normal Hydra soldiers and people like that.  Then there’s that angst-y dichotomy that some mutants wish they were normal humans (especially those with a non-human appearance), but some relish having superpowers and being different than normal humans.  There are evil mutants and X-Men that have both of those feelings.  This is all a difficult, multi-facetted concept for a superhero comic book, much less a movie.      

Fox’s The Gifted show has done a good job of showing mutants being oppressed.  What it hasn’t shown (or at least I haven’t seen it) is why they’re being oppressed.  A bunch of people born with superpowers would be celebrities, recruited by companies, the military, and government agencies in our world.  They’d be followed like royalty . . . unless there was a good reason to think they were all just dangerous.  This seems to go back to whatever incident has made the X-Men and the Brotherhood disappear, which has been referenced, but not explained, on the show.  They’ve also referenced at least one other act of unintentional mutant power use, which caused major damage.  However, the bias against mutants probably goes back further than that. 

Supergirl, with a similar angle on illegal “space” aliens on earth, has at times at least acknowledged why people are justifiably suspicious of aliens, since they’re not all nice like Kara and Clark.  (Of course, humans are usually portrayed as the real monsters.)  The Gifted has just shown one side of the argument, with those against the mutants just fulfilling personal vendettas or seeking creepy experiments on them.  They’ve also shown the mutant issue as being fairly common and wide-spread.  Logically, given how powerful and uncontrolled some mutants are, I can’t imagine this not resulting in some kind of horrific race war.  Unless mutants are very rare and basically in the shadows, it’s hard to imagine society not being consumed with the issue.       

So, this concept could work, but it’s going to make mainstream audiences a bit uncomfortable.  I think Disney execs are going to ask Marvel to go back to the drawing board with a more palatable presentation of the X-Men.  Otherwise, the mutant concept would take over the whole Marvel Universe.  It’s too big and would be used as a sociological tool in the hands of an activist.  (That’s already happened by the way in the Fox movies and TV show.)  That’s not what Disney is into, certainly not blatantly, because it won’t make them money or enhance their properties.  The X-Men have represented many different things during their existence to different people, fans and creators alike.  Satisfying all of them wasn’t going to happen anyway. 

Underground, outlaw heroes will be a good place to start, as the X-Men have always been more iconoclasts than superheroes.  Expect that.  They’ll work with other Marvel heroes, but won’t be trusted.  Villains may even court them.  (An intriguing moment in Secret Wars actually had Professor X contemplating the X-Men deserting the heroes and joining Magneto.)  Magneto and the Brotherhood will be a big enough threat to merit a crossover with the Avengers eventually.  I think there will be a true origin to explain why certain people have certain powers, to make it less random.  The change in the X-Men’s concept will be sold as how they could integrate them into the Marvel Universe without retconning anything or doing a goofy multi-universe.  Everything else is going to be up for grabs.  I’m not going to try to figure out how to re-do the X-Men and mutants in general, but I’ve at least warned you that you’re going to get something very different than you expect (but Wolverine will still be there).          

And what about the Fantastic Four?  Apparently, Fox didn’t actually own the rights to the characters!  Fox, and now Disney, owns the rights to distribute Fantastic Four movies, but not the actual characters.  Some film studio that I’d never heard of has the rights.  This might not be a big deal except this probably includes the rest of the Fantastic Four mythos like Galactus, the Skrulls, and the Silver Surfer.  Disney needs to work out a deal with these people or just buy them out altogether.  Certainly they can point to the previous Fantastic Four movies as a reason why this studio should let Marvel make the movies.  I want to see the Silver Surfer hanging out with the Guardians of the Galaxy!  I want my Fantastic Four/X-Men/Avengers/Guardians versus Galactus movie!  (Whoever makes that movie will die of a heart attack trying to coordinate it.) 

    

*I have to make one little sidebar to make about the Inhumans.  Medusa is thoroughly a comic book character.  She’s a chick with super-strong living hair.  Hair.  Without a serious change in concept (like psychokinetic force tendrils taking the form of head snakes), Medusa sounds more like something out of a shampoo commercial.  (“Do you want superhuman hair?  Try Inhuman Essence Blue.”)  And there’s the other thing.  You’d imagine a hot model doing that commercial.  In the comic books, Medusa’s also always been portrayed as glamorously gorgeous.  I don’t know how to say this more tactfully: the actress playing the part doesn’t quite live up to that.  She didn’t even have good hair. 

So, you’ve got this somewhat unappealing woman with a weird superpower.   What’s the first thing they did with her?  They shaved her head.  This made her even more unappealing and now useless.  And she’s one of the main characters.  Oh, and one of your other main character doesn’t speak.  And they live on the moon.  Was anyone surprised this didn’t work out?  After this actually somewhat faithful comic book recreation, I’m real sure Disney is going to have some adults in the room to make sure that the X-Men are not canonical to the point of looking ridiculous.     

NM State Basketball December 6-14, 2017

NM State Men’s Basketball

12-6-17

The Aggie Men played the San Diego Toreros.  I hadn’t heard of them either, but they apparently came well-regarded.  The first half was pretty low scoring with lots of defense.  Johnny McCants added a couple of more highlights to his reel.  Overall, the Aggies had a good interior defense and passing assists.  It was 29-29 at the half.  In the second, the Toreros came out hot, scoring on 8 of 9 shots for an 8-point lead.  The Aggie defense came on with four minutes left.  It was a one point difference with 19 seconds left.  The Aggies fouled and went down by 3.  The Aggies then missed a couple of free throws on their end, which they needed, and lost 65-60.  Maybe Brooke Salas or Tamera William could come to practice and teach these guys how to shoot free throws.  This was the first time their poor free throw shooting came back to hurt them.  More on this game in a minute.

NM State Men’s Basketball

12-9-17

Here was the guys’ big rematch versus the Lobos in Albuquerque.  The Aggies’ big win last month (11-17-17) had UNM fans looking for revenge.  Voice of the Aggies, Jack Nixon talked to Athletic Director Mario Moccia before the game.  Mario mentioned saying, “Hi,” to “Snake.”  This guy is apparently an obnoxious fixture at Lobo games, like the Old Man here.   Jack grudgingly acknowledged him.  It was a tight game.  The Aggies took a small lead into the half, but went down by 9 in the second with 10 minutes left.  Zack Lofton led a furious Aggie comeback.  (He’d finish with 22 points.)  The Aggies took a slim lead with one minute left.  The Lobos missed a last second three to tie it, giving the Aggies a hard 65-62 win.   Johnny McCants finished 8 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 blocks, perhaps his best game.  Jack and Coach Jans were impressed with him.

NM State Basketball

12-10-17

Mario Moccia issued an angry tweet after the Men’s Basketball loss on Wednesday.  He pointed out that the team had trouble practicing with a concert being set up.  Right after that, the Men’s and Women’s teams had to practice at a high school as the Pan-Am and the practice court were being used for graduation.  The paper printed a long article about it.  Mario felt this was one of the reasons why they lost Paul Weir as a coach: a lack of dedicated facilities for the teams that sometimes conflicted with other entertainment events.  We’ll see where this goes. 

The paper had another recent article praising NMSU athletics, especially compared to UTEP and UNM.  Those programs have twice the budget and much larger populations in their communities, but the Aggies have outplayed them this year.  All of these athletics departments have had to deal with some big coaching turnover, but the Aggies have weathered it.  Not to mention, UNM’s program has also been embroiled in some scandal.  A little pat on the back is actually warranted. 

Meanwhile, I also found out this week that Jacob, who I went to a Men’s game with a couple of weeks ago (12-3-17), had coached Joe Garza and Johnny McCants in youth league basketball.  Now I’m really disappointed we didn’t wait around for autographs. 

NM State Men’s Basketball

12-12-17

The Men were playing the Eastern NM Greyhounds on Tuesday.  It was Star Wars night since the new movie is coming out this week.  Characters were out on court for introductions.  Football player Ron LaForce was one of the players honored tonight.  “May the LaForce be with you,” quipped Jack Nixon.  As for the game, the Aggies were resting three injured starters.  It was close halfway through the first half, but the Aggies built up a 10-point lead with 5 minutes left.  It was 39-27 Aggies at half.  There was a light saber battle with Darth Vader for halftime.  I would have liked to have seen that.  One of my co-workers, who’s a big fan and going to the first showing of the Last Jedi, should have gone.  In the second half, the domination continued.  84-62 Aggies final.  Jemerrio Jones finished with a rare Aggie triple double.

NM State Women’s Basketball

12-14-17

Today’s matinee featured the Aggie Women versus Arizona Wildcats.  Adam Young impressed with the arena in Tucson and with the large crowd of kids in attendance, numbered at over 7,500.  He was definitely enthusiastic about the game.  I think he was enjoying the large crowd and the possibility of a win over a PAC-12 school.  Arizona was on a six-game losing streak with a worse record than the Aggies, who coming off a big win over UTEP.  The Wildcats also had a “short” bench with only 10 players. 

I had to go to work early today, so I wasn’t able to just sit and listen as I was getting ready for work.  For this game, I figured the main thing the Aggies needed not to do was go down big early.  That is exactly what happened.  The kids got into it and were loud enough at times that I could barely hear Adam calling the game.  It started bad to begin with as Brooke Salas got called for two travelling calls on consecutive possessions.  When I got out of the shower, they were down by 12.  Brooke got over her shaky start with 10 points and was the only reason the Aggies weren’t getting blanked.  “Where would the Aggies be without Brooke,” exclaimed an amazed Adam Young. 

In the second quarter, Monique Mills hit a three with about 4 minutes left.  It was the first field goal for the Aggies by anyone not named Brooke.    On the other side, JaLea Bennett was pouring it in with 17 points.  I didn’t find out until later that Gia Pack had gotten into early foul trouble was sitting out the first half.  This might be one case where I’d say, the coach might have been better off letting her play.  I’d take my chances with Gia fouling out in the third quarter with the game close than let it get out of hand this early.  It was 43-23 Wildcats at the half when I went to work.

When I got there, I was actually sitting in a meeting with an earplug in listening to the rest of the game.  Things didn’t go any better in the second half as the game got further away from the Aggies.  Adam even seemed to be getting worn out by the crowd, probably unable to hear himself.  In the fourth, Gia hit a three for her first field goal of the game.  JaLea Bennett was out for most of the half, but because of the short bench, she had to come back in.  Both teams emptied their benches and everyone ended up playing.  Adam mentioned that freshman Pam Wilmore had be a high school teammate of one of the Wildcats.  Aissatou Fall came in and converted on a free throw.  Sara Lopez wasn’t on the Aggie roster today.  I don’t know where she is.

The final was 83-44 Wildcats.  Brooke Salas finished with 20 points.  I think she shot about 50%.  JaLea Bennett finished with 26.  Afterward, Coach Atkinson sounded more disappointed than angry.  She said they weren’t taking care of the ball.  The Aggies did have a lot of turnovers, along with being -13 in rebounds and the short Wildcat bench had 27 more points.  Not to make excuses, but I think I heard Adam say that they took a bus there.  That’s not a short trip and that might have made the team a bit flat on arrival.  Also, I hesitate to say that a bunch of kids might have intimidated the team, but this was the largest crowd they’ve played in front of this year and they were loud.  Let’s forget this game happened.  I guess one good thing is that Brooke has definitely got her shooting touch going.       

I'm off next week and the Aggie teams are out of town.  

NM State Aggies vs UTEP Miners Women’s Basketball 12-10-17

I’m still not over that last game versus the Lobos.  I can’t believe what I saw for a shooting performance out of both teams.  On the Aggie Coaches Show, Assistant Coach Ryan McAdams said it wasn’t a defensive issue with 194 total points scored in the game; both teams were just shooting that well and playing up tempo.  He also admitted that, even in a loss, it was a great game to watch.  Looking at the stats from the Aggies’ previous games, there were over 5,000 people for their game in Albuquerque versus the Lobos.  Little wonder there were so many Lobos here last Saturday for their team.  UNM might be nationally ranked at this point.  

For this game, Ron was joining me.  I told him I was sorry he wasn’t with me last weekend.  He was unavailable, out shopping with his wife.  He got a kick out of Coach Martin’s speech when I repeated it to him.  We hadn’t seen each other in a while, so we caught up over lunch at Schlotzsky’s beforehand.  It was a really light crowd to begin with at the Pan-Am Center, but it filled in reasonably by tipoff.  The Roadrunner Review band and the Sundancers weren’t there, but the Cheerleaders were.  The students were on break after finals.  There was a small section of orange-clad Miner fans behind their bench.      

There was no radio call for this game.  In fact, it was on over-the-air TV.  I could have watched this for free, instead of paying $8 a ticket (that’s an extra $2 for a rivalry fee like the Lobo game).  The Miners were broadcasting the game on KROD.  I didn’t think I’d be able to get reception on my portable AM radio in the arena on a non-local station.  I’m not sure who they had there, maybe Duke Keith.  Him and his color commentator seemed to be having a good time calling the game.  If Steve Kaplowitz had been there, I might have wanted to say “Hello.”  He mentioned recently that he liked the old-timey feel of the Pan-Am Center and thought it produced a better game atmosphere than the Don Haskins Center.

The UTEP players held a loud rally in the entrance tunnel before coming out on court.  While the program showed 12 players, they only brought 9.  I felt somewhat insulted that they didn’t bring their whole team.  Perhaps they had some injuries.  (Perhaps the TV or radio call would have helped.)  Tamara Seda was a very impressive-looking 6’4” from Mozambique and solidly built.  Katarina Zec was an extremely eye-catching Serbian blonde on the team.  They never mention important things like that on radio or TV broadcasts.  We’d be watching Katarina for reasons beyond her looks during the game. 

The Aggies didn’t come out of the tunnel with the same level of swagger frankly.  (It wasn’t the same without the band.)  I was a bit concerned about this game myself.  Since I’d been listening to the Miners this season, I could tell you that they were a good team, and the Aggies were stumbling so far this season.  Brooke Salas seemed to have worse body language than usual.  Argh!  She drives me crazy.  Brooke is so talented, but just doesn’t have the right attitude to go with it.  UTEP’s enthusiasm continued with their player introductions.  They formed another rally circle on the middle of the court.  They were loud enough that it delayed the Aggie player introductions.  

First Quarter

My note taking and scorecard keeping started off in a shaky manner.  I was making corrections and hoping for the best on the scorecard.  My only note was about a UTEP fan.  There was a lady behind their bench that stood for the whole game.  She was the most vocal of the group.  After a call didn’t go the Miners’ way, she yelled out, “Go back to your day job!”  Everybody heard that.  Well, she was passionate.  Her and the Old Man could get together and trade cheering tips.  At least both teams came out shooting well.  UTEP was shooting three’s well late in the first, but the Aggies stayed right with them.  It was 20-14 Aggies after 10 minutes.

Second Quarter

Or not.  After a review, the last Aggie three was called a two.  Unfortunately, I didn’t note who shot it, though I corrected it on the scorecard.  19-14 Aggies.  Tamera William, from last season’s team, came down the stairs with, I’m guessing, a boyfriend.  She was wearing a slinky dress which really showed off her curves.  I’d mentioned to Ron about meeting her a couple of weeks ago.  “This is why I was excited about meeting her,” I told him.   

Back at the game, a couple of Aggie turnovers tightened up the game.  The Aggies went pretty cold shooting at the end, but still kept it close.  34-33 Miners at the half.  The Miners had the lead and also the lowlight of the game as Roeshonda Patterson actually fell trying to shoot a free throw and caused a lane violation.

Halftime

I went to the bathroom for halftime.  When I came back, I saw the end of a musical chairs competition with a bunch of kids, who had to shoot a layup when the music stopped.  Ron had a good time watching it.  The halftime stats were pretty even between the teams.  They were both shooting over 40% from the field. 

Third Quarter

The Aggies came out playing a very tight, full-court defense.  It worked.  Zaire Williams grabbed a rebound and took it in for a layup to give the Aggies a 10-point lead.  Timeout Miners.  Brooke Salas, who’d gotten two fouls in the first and sat out the second, came out on fire.  She hit an NBA three-pointer, got a great assist to feed Zaire on a break, and stepped in front of a pass for a steal and a layup.  She finished with 10 points for the quarter.  UTEP started playing nervous, as they made a couple of turnovers on bad passes.  58-47 Aggies after three quarters.

  

Fourth Quarter

Gia Pack, who was having a steady game, had an awesome play taking it to the rim by herself, surrounded by three defenders.  It was worrying afterward that there was a timeout immediately and she came out.  The camera showed her in pain on the bench.  I thought her wrist may have gotten injured as a trainer looked at her.  Gia played okay when she came back in, so maybe it was a cramp or she took a shot to the ribs.

Brooke was still on fire shooting and pouring it on.  The Miners went on a run late when the Aggies went cold again.  Here I will again mention Katarina Zec.  Her awesome three-point shooting probably kept the Miners in the game.  The Miner section was going crazy, but the rest of the arena joined in.  The final blow to UTEP came near the end as Jasmine Cooper stood in the lane and bravely took a charge from Tamara Seda, which waved off a basket.  Coop came up smiling, as the Miners were out of fouls to give for the quarter.  Our final: Aggies 76, Miners 68.    

With 29 points, Brooke Salas is our player of the game.  She fouled too often during the game, but really blew it out in the second half with 6 three-pointers and contributed all over the court.  Gia Pack and Zaire Williams also had great games.  For the Miners, Katarina Zec put on a clinic with 7 three-pointers and 22 points.  Whoever was producing the video broadcast and the camera operators made sure to give her a close up whenever possible, which I appreciated.  Whew!  Nice. 

The PA announced that the Women’s Basketball booster club was meeting at the Barbara Hubbard Room for a get-together after the game.  I wanted to crash it, since my goal is now to get back into the Hub as often as possible, but we left.  Ron was happy.  He started the humming the Aggie fight song afterward as a sure sign of that.  I’m sure Coach Brooke Atkinson was happy to see four quarters of defensive effort out of her team.  I liked what I saw with the girls shooting well and defending well.  It was great to see Brooke go off and Gia and Zaire shooting well.  All three of these girls scoring in double figures every game is a key to the teams’ future success.  Both coaches (Atkinson and Kevin Baker) are in their first year with their programs.  The Miners have started out well.  I think the Aggies have taken longer to find their footing.  The Miners are a good team and this was a great win for the Aggie girls.

NM State Aggies vs Prairie View A&M Panthers Men’s Basketball 12-3-17

I was still buzzing about yesterday’s Women’s Basketball and the football game.  Today’s Men’s Basketball game would be a nice way to indulge in some extra Aggie Love.  I’d listened to the guys’ last game, which was in El Paso versus UTEP.  The Miners’ coach had very suddenly quit earlier in the week from health concerns, so the team was a bit down and in transition.  The Aggies won 80-60.  Johnny McCants had another highlight reel jam in the game.  They had a great crowd of over 7,000 there for a Thursday night and up against a Cowboys’ game.  This was also the back end of a double header at the Don Haskins Center, where the Women played the UNM Lobos.  I wish NMSU had scheduled their basketball this weekend like that, instead of pairing the Aggie Women up with the football game.

                                         

I’d planned on trying to go to a couple Men’s games this season, since they’d scheduled some weekend afternoon games.  Embarrassingly, I also wanted an excuse to wear my new shirt that I’d picked up on sale at the University bookstore.  I’d gotten free tickets for this game from work.  Along with those tickets were passes to the Hub, the hospitality suite.  (That’s my nickname for it anyway.)  Since I had two tickets, I asked my co-worker, Jacob, to come with me.  I know he’s a big basketball fan.  We met at the Pan-Am Center an hour early.  I got there first.  Jacob arrived a bit after and hitched a ride across the parking lot on golf cart with a staff member he just met.  That should give you an idea of his charming personality.

The Barbara Hubbard Hospitality Suite

I didn’t even know this place was here.  It was added to the building well after it was built.  The suite is upstairs and overlooks the court.  Its window shades are usually drawn, so I’d never noticed it.  The walls of the room are covered in memorabilia from all the acts that had been there since the Pan-Am Center’s opening in 1968.  I should have wandered around and looked at them more.  I noticed a large plaque from a Reba McEntire concert and a poster from a production of Grease.  Jacob, who’d been there before, pointed out a mounted article, maybe from the 70’s, with Bill Cosby and “Mother Hubbard,” the lady who books the Pan-Am shows.  Jacob thought they should take it down because of his scandals.  I said, “I wonder how far he got with her.”

It was an intimate dining room and maybe about 20 people were inside.  I don’t know what you have to buy into to get in here.  There was a buffet serving fajitas.  Jacob said they were hot, but I must have missed the chili peppers, since I thought they were pretty good and I have little tolerance for spicy food.  They served beer and some other alcohol and water and some bad tea (which was what I had).  Some soft drinks would have been a good option.

Shortly after we got there, Athletic Director Mario Moccia and Football Coach Doug Martin came in.  I was sort of expecting Mario to come in and make a bowl game announcement at some point.  Seeing the coach was a bonus.  Certainly today, these guys are the heroes of Aggieland.  They immediately received a standing ovation. 

Mario addressed the group first.  He was wearing a t-shirt under his business jacket, promoting the Aggies’ bowl game.  “I’m going with a Don Johnson/Miami Vice look today.”  I knew he was scheduled to make a press announcement earlier in the afternoon, and indeed Mario confirmed that the Aggies had been invited to the Arizona Bowl at the end of the month.  By a strange twist, they’d be playing Utah State, the same team they’d played at their last bowl game in 1960. 

Mario also talked about the Aggies’ win last night was the lead story on ESPN college football and other national outlets.  It occurred to me just then that I should have watched the news and Stadium’s Rally show last night.  I did find Scott Van Pelt’s ESPN clip talking about the game later on Youtube.  He said that they were watching the end of the game intently to see if the Aggies could pull it off.  “Unless you were rooting for South Alabama or have no heart, how could you not be cheering for the Aggies?”  Scott’s congratulatory commentary was very heartfelt, especially given that they’d admittedly been ragging on the program for so long.  As little as I think of ESPN, Van Pelt said exactly the right things here and, I have to admit, this praise from this source really does validate the win for me. 

Assistant Basketball Coach David Anwar was introduced and gave a scouting report on today’s opponent, the Prairie View A&M Panthers.  Wow, talk about insider information for a game.  He emphasized that while they weren’t a well-known team, they were a good one.  They’d played a hard schedule to this point.  He pointed out a couple players that were their stars, who did play well during the game.  Coach Anwar even opened up the floor to questions.  I wasn’t sure I heard this right at the time, but someone asked for a comment on UNM losing to UTEP last night in Men’s Basketball.  (And they did shockingly lose.  More mocking laughter directed at traitorous ex-Aggie Coach Paul Weir.)

Coach Martin was asked twice to speak and finally relented.  He mentioned he got a lot of play call second-guessing from his assistant coach after the game, and then pointed at his wife, who was with him.  It’s good to see a couple share the same interests.  The Coach finished up his talk, just like you’d expect a good coach to, with an inspirational message.  “This university has been haunted by Old Man Can’t for too long.  We can’t win the games.  We can’t win the big games.  We can’t go to a bowl game.  Well let me tell you, we buried Old Man Can’t out on that field Saturday night.  And we did it with that shovel we won when we beat UTEP this year!”  Needless to say, another round of applause followed.

I had a chance to talk to Mario and could have asked if he’d noticed that the crowd for the Women’s game yesterday was half Lobo fans.  (I cannot get over that.)  But, he was on a high and had had a really busy two days.  It felt like an inappropriate moment.  Maybe I’ll run into him again in the near future.  Jacob and I left and ran into Chuck and his wife in the concourse.  Chuck’s the one who got me the tickets, so I got a chance to thank him again.       

 

I took a solo trip up front.  I was looking for cinnamon roasted almonds, which are my favorite Aggie concession item, but not sold at every sporting event.  I wanted to look for them at the football game, but was carrying too much to travel around.  The nut people had their table set up, but only had pecans.  They were good, but not what I wanted, and I ended up giving them to Jacob.  The grill was open, but I was full.  I do intend on trying their burger sometime.  Aggie sponsor, Sports Accessories had a table set up selling a pile of commemorative football shirts, probably just made after a long night’s work.  I said I was done buying Aggie shirts, except if the Aggies went to a bowl game, so I picked up one. 

I made it back to my seat just before the Anthem.  A local guy did a great version out on court with a color guard.  The Aggie team intro video was also really well done.  The regular PA was off today after a long day yesterday doing basketball and football.  The younger PA that I like too was in.  I think I can identify him as DJ Downs, a marketing guy at the University.  He did a good job here.  The crowd was okay for a Sunday afternoon at about 3,000.  The Cheerleaders and Sundancers were back out performing after a long day yesterday.  The Sundancers seemed to do most of the on-court performing for the game.    

                                         

First Half

Owing to my late arrival, I was unprepared for any note taking for this half and didn’t recover for 20 minutes.  I even forgot I had my radio with me.  I’d wanted to hear the pre-game show to hear Jack Nixon’s comments about the football win yesterday.  Our seats were at midcourt in the section overlooking the east tunnel.  They were good ones with a commanding view of the court.  Coach Martin and his assistant coach/wife were briefly sitting right below us.

 

A lot of my entertainment for the game was watching the two hyperactive coaches working on the sidelines.  You could hear Aggie Coach Chris Jans barking at the players and officials pretty easily anywhere in the arena.  Jans is so soft-spoken whenever I hear him interviewed on the radio, it’s quite a contrast.  There were other extra circular attractions.  The cheerleaders threw t-shirts into the crowd anytime the Aggies made a three.  There was also mass toss of football t-shirts that the crowd went crazy for.  Several pizzas were given away (and were handed to winning fans, not thrown.)  And there was a contest with two guys attached at the back by a cable trying to make shots at opposite ends of the court.  The biggest event for the game was the football team coming out onto court during a break.  The crowd loved seeing them and roared.  I think the guys there really enjoyed the adulation and they certainly earned it.

As for the actual game action in the first half, like I said, I was ill prepared and scrambling.  I ended up just jotting down a few random things.  My apologies.  The Aggies went up early.  The Panthers went to a full court press after going down 13-4 to start the game.  The officials had problems with the game clock which caused a couple of short delays.  It wasn’t an equipment issue this time at least.  The     Panther’s bench got a technical called on them.  Unfortunately, I don’t know what it was about.  (Should have turned on the radio.)  The Aggies picked up a bunch of fouls in the half.  The Panthers fouls didn’t really hurt them as the Aggies weren’t very good at shooting free throws.  Jacob, who’s a basketball coach, kept cringing at every miss.  The Panthers had the most embarrassing play of the half when they fired a cross-court pass that went straight into the crowd.

Local player, Joe Garza came in.  The crowd went into an uproar when Garza took a charge and ended up getting called for a foul.  From listening to other radio broadcasts, Jack Nixon, doesn’t seem to approve of the two local recruits, or at least doesn’t approve of the Las Cruces fans wanting locals on the team.  In Johnny McCants' case, I think he may be a future star in the making, so there shouldn’t be any bias against him.  The program probably could have recruited someone better than Garza, but his story of going from high school star to being on the Women’s practice squad to walking on to the Men’s team, earned him a profile in Sports Illustrated’s March Madness coverage last year.  That kind of good publicity for the University is priceless.   

The Aggies continued to lead, but their shooting went cold late, allowing the Panthers to catch up.  It was 32-28 Aggies at the half.  Seems like the scouting was correct, Prairie View was tough.

Halftime

Our halftime contest featured a guy playing for a car.  He had to make a layup, a free throw, a three-pointer, and a half court shot in 20 seconds, which didn’t happen.  A guy in the NBA might have trouble doing all that, especially having retrieve his own ball.  Next up was a troop of little girls from a local dance studio.  They did a good job and were cute.  The Sundancers came out to watch them from the sidelines.  The intermission finished with an extended fan Dance Cam.  The halftime stats had the Aggies shooting 52% from the field, with the Panthers shooting 40%.  The big difference for the Aggies was 9 assists to 0 for the Panthers.  The Aggies did a really good job dishing off to teammates to finish plays and finding the open man for a shot.

  

Second Half

I made a better attempt at noting the action for this half.  I think I like the Women’s format better with four quarters.  The action is a bit more intense and focused, though this format does make the game more of an endurance contest.  The Panthers certainly got a second wind from the rest and kept the score close.  Three minutes in, they’d closed the score to 35-33.  Still, it didn’t feel in doubt.  The Aggies started a run right after that.  With fifteen minutes left, Keyon Jones got a steal and a layup to make the score 42-33 Aggies. 

The Panthers took a timeout.  The contest on the court had a blindfolded guy crawling around on the court, trying to find a poster with the crowd directing him.  Something I took note of in this half was that the fans in the good seats are way more serious about the game than the rest of the crowd.  I was the only one there keeping a scorecard, but they were really paying attention and hanging on every play and calling out how they felt about those plays.  These fans have a real investment in the team, beyond just today’s ticket.

The Aggies started showing some good hustle.  Jermerrio Jones made a great out-of-bounds save with 14 minutes left.  Sidy N’Dir made a monster block on a shot, swatting the ball away.  Sidy has come back from an injury last season with a name pronunciation change.  Instead of “City Nadir,” it’s “City N-Dear.”  It doesn’t roll off the tongue as well, but is still fun to say.  12 minutes left and the Panthers went back to a full court press.  On their next possession, they missed an alley-oop jam.  Eli Chuha took off with the rebound for a layup. 

During a break, a Special Olympian volleyball player was honored on court.  A few members of the Aggie Volleyball team were with her.  I definitely saw Jordan George and Julianna Salanoa there.  I told Jacob about seeing Julianna palm a volleyball.  He was impressed.  In another break, a contestant had to putt from midcourt and try to hit a hole in a sign.   

10 minutes left in the game, and it was 49-40 Aggies.  The Panthers kept trying to take the ball inside during this half, but kept losing it when they drove the lane against the Aggies’ interior defense.  The Aggies busted out some of their best moves of the game.  Sidy got a steal and a slam to rev up the crowd.  Jemerrio took an inbound pass directly to the rim for a jam.  There was a great back door pass to a completely unguarded player right under the net for a layup.  (That one happened so fast, I didn’t the players’ names.)  Johnathon Wilkins had a great block on a fast break shot. 

With three minutes left and the Aggies comfortably up, some the crowd started deserting.  There was a promotion that if an opposing player missed two free throws in a row, everyone would get a free Chik-fil-a coupon.  In the last minute, a Panther missed his first free throw attempt and the crowd got all over him on the second shot, trying to get that free sandwich.  (He made it.)  I was surprised that Prairie View didn’t start fouling in the last couple of minutes, given that it was still close and the Aggies weren’t very good at free throws.  The last few minutes played out pretty quickly.  Our final: Aggies 69, Panthers 57.  Gary Blackson for PV A&M was the high scorer with 19 points.  Jermerrio Jones was our Aggie player of the game with 18 points.  AJ Harris also came up big with 17 points.  (Without the radio call, I don’t have any other stats to report.)

Right after the game, Jacob had to leave.  I think had night yard work to do.  (He’s a very hardworking man.)  I knew there was going to be a player autograph session after the game.  I kind of wanted to stay, but thought I should leave with Jacob.  Yes, I know.  By not getting their autographs, I’ve just ensured that one of these guys is going to be a future NBA star.  You’re welcome.  Though I was never there for a formal autograph session for baseball, I’m still regretting not getting a Daniel Johnson autograph a couple of years ago.  Maybe I’ll get another chance sometime to tell Joe Garza he’s my hero and call Johnny McCants, “Highlight Reel.” 

What-a-burger coupons were handed out at the door for the win.  I decided to go to Schlotzsky’s with a different coupon for takeout.  A couple of Aggie fans came in behind me, using a coupon on the back of their tickets.  These promotions are working out well for everyone.       

Well, that’s it.  It’s over.  I’ve been ruined.  This experience with the hospitality suite and these half court seats has spoiled any future experiences in the Pan-Am Center for me.  Actually, I lucked out in being at the Hub on such a momentous day.  I’m thinking that it’s not usually so noteworthy to be there for a pre-game meal.  Still, that was a very cool.   

NM State Aggies vs South Alabama Jaguars Football 12-2-17 Part 2

Continued from Part One.

Halftime

The team left the field and waved to the crowd as they went.  You could tell they were very pleased with the support.  Pistol Pete came by the section and was mobbed by a bunch of kids.  The Aggie Pride Band performed with the Sundancers, the Cheerleaders, and the flag corps.  At one point, the Band set down their instruments and line danced.  These groups also said goodbye to their seniors.  Meanwhile, the Jaguar Cheerleaders came back from the concessions with Frito pies.  Some little girls waved to them as they went down the stairs to the field.  Looking at the scoreboard stats, the Aggies had a bunch of penalty yards (I’ve seen conflicting amounts in a couple of sources, I don’t know what’s right), but they were great on third down conversions.  Even more interesting, after finishing off my large Dr. Pepper, I watched the halftime show and didn’t need to go to the bathroom until after the game.

Third Quarter

The Aggies got the ball to start the second half.  They worked a good drive downfield.  Most of the yards went through the air, including another great catch by Jaleel Scott (and he took a hard shot making it).  I think there was only one rush in the series.  But being pass-happy has its drawbacks, in this case, an interception in the endzone.  No problem.  DeMarcus Owens intercepted it right back a couple of plays later.

During a break, again at the endzone in front of me, a golfer was brought out for a contest.  He had to pitch tennis balls with an oversized wedge through the uprights from the 15 yard line.  He got three of four.  That was pretty good.  The team didn’t do as well, as there was a sack and a pair of dropped passes.  Then my radio went out with no power.  Ha, I had prepared for that and busted out my backup. 

During the change of the possession, the cheerleaders went by with a box of t-shirts to throw into the Student Section.  On their way back, the people in the cheap seats wanted a cut too, but one of the guys showed that the box was empty.  One kid at the rail still wanted the box and waved for it.  The guy almost gave it to him, but pulled it back.  Jaguar mascot Southpaw returned to the field after a break and the kids waved to him.  Pete would come back too in the quarter.  Also, there was this guy in a good suit and tie wandering around during the game.  He walked past me once, and I should have asked if he was looking for the Prom. 

Punter, Peyton Theisler, took a cheap shot after a kick, which backed up the Jaguars.  The Aggie defense held.  On the change of possession, Tyler Rogers found Jason Huntley on a deep ball down the sidelines to get into Jaguar territory.  Two pairs of rambunctious little boys started annoying the hell out of me at this point, as they played around me.  I would have moved if there’d been somewhere else to go.  And Tyler got sacked to end the quarter.

Fourth Quarter

Southpaw started dancing with some little Aggie fans.  This guy was a good mascot.  Hey, I just noticed that the Aggie Women’s Basketball team was sitting in the Visitor’s Section.  There was Tamera William again.  Unfortunately, she left early (big mistake on her part, along with anybody else who left early).  Down at the rail next to the field, I could see Gia Pack, high scorer from the game today.  I think another one of last season’s squad was with her, Moriah Mack.  I think it was her.  This girl was all smiles and standing and cheering the whole time.  Mo never did any of that when I saw her playing.  I almost feel cheated.  She has a great smile.                  

The fourth quarter started off with a 39 yard Dylan Brown field goal to give the Aggies a 16-7 lead.  After two blocked field goals last week, special teams really came together for this game.  The Jaguars came right back with a long drive that ended and a touchdown, 16-14 Aggies.  Moriah was upset.  She was really into the game.  The wave started in the crowd, but that died as everyone got angry over an uncalled pass interference penalty on the Aggies’ next possession.  The drive continued, though there was another uncalled pass interference.  The Aggies got into the Jaguars’ red zone anyway.  The crowd was really getting into it by this point.  Moriah was dancing.  (She was in front of me.  It was hard to miss seeing her.)  Southpaw was done for the night here.  He waved goodbye to the kids, who ran to the rail to see him off.

It was fourth and four on the Jaguars’ 17 yard line.  The Aggies went for it with a pass to the endzone to Jaleel.  The ball came out as he landed out-of-bounds.  Turnover on downs.  Yeah, this was a questionable play call.  Really questionable.  It became even more questionable as the Jaguars moved the ball right downfield.  A bomb to a wide open receiver, who then broke a couple of tackles, put them inside the Aggie 10.  The defense held here and Jaguars had to settle for a field goal.  17-16 Jaguars with five and a half minutes to play.  Athletic Director Mario Moccia probably started thumbing through his rolodex at this point, looking for available coaches.  

The kids that were bugging me left with their parents at this point.  Thank goodness.  However, pretty much everyone else committed to staying for the end.  The Aggies moved the ball downfield in clutch fashion.  They converted on three third downs, including a third and ten reception by Johnathan Boone and Rogers on a keeper on a third and one.  With a ball inside the Jaguars’ 20, the players started waving their arms to quiet the crowd, who were all standing by this point.  The fans and the players were now working as a unit.  We were all in this together. 

Larry Rose III took a rush to inside the 10.  During a timeout, the cheap seats started chanting, “Let’s go Aggies!”  Rose then converted on a third and one by half a ball length.  Sure, they were in easy field goal range, but a touchdown would force the Jaguars to go the length of the field, so going for it here was appropriate.  Tyler scrambled and rolled out.  He fired a shot into the endzone to a diving Connor Cramer.  Touchdown Aggies!  There it was!  The Winning Play right in front of me!  Let’s hear it for endzone seats! 

The two-point conversion failed.  After such a long drive, the Aggie defense only had to hold for 30 agonizing seconds, but hold they did.  Our final: Aggies 22, Jaguars 17.  The team charged the field.  The Student Section spilled out on to the field and met them in the middle.  Maybe it wasn’t a Chicago Cubs level victory, but this was the biggest football win for Las Cruces in nearly 60 years.  The crowd briefly tried to tear down the goal posts, but thankfully thought the better of it.  (The last time that happened, somebody lost a finger.)  Mario was probably out there screaming, “Don’t do it!  We can’t afford it!” 

I decided to stay up in the stands and watch.  It felt like the players’ and students’ moment, as well as the long-time fans.  Right in front of my section, one of the Jaguars’ players was on the field getting a talk from what I presumed was his parents.  I’m not sure if it was a lecture or they were consoling him.  Their coach was retiring after this game, so I’m sure there was some emotion on their side to send him off with a win.  At least, they didn’t lose to a team and fans that didn’t really care about the outcome.

Suddenly, Brooke Salas and Zaire Williams from the Women’s Basketball team walked past me, coming up from the field.  Apparently there were no hard feelings about Brooke nearly accidentally beaning Zaire during the game.  I would have liked to have congratulated them on having a good game, even in a loss, but never got eye contact, so I decided I shouldn’t bother them.  Then the guy behind me called out to them and congratulated them.  I give up.

The color commentator on the radio and former player, Cory Lucas, had to leave the air for a moment from tearing up.  The voice of Aggie sports, Jack Nixon, who’s never called an Aggie football team going to a bowl game in his very long career, said “It seemed like this day would never come.”  An official from the Arizona Bowl was on with Jack during the halftime show.  It’s not guaranteed, but they wanted us if we won. 

“Making History” was the motto for the day, as Tyler Rogers more-or-less told the team right before the winning drive.  I’m sure I speak for everybody in saying it was great to be there for this win.  I really hope this helps the program, especially next year when they’re unaffiliated with a conference.  They’ve suffered for so long, a little light at the end of tunnel seems in order.  I hope the city can finally feel a little pride in their football program.  It’s been so easy to get down on NMSU athletics, even programs that have done well, because the football team was bad.  Maybe everyone will finally start raising their expectations and cheering for the team wholeheartedly knowing that good things can happen.     

I’m keeping this ticket and not redeeming the coupon on the back.