Comics Review: Supergirl-Being Super

Supergirl: Being Super did it.  I can’t take new comics anymore.  Here we have a comic trade paperback with a character I like, beautifully rendered, featuring a somewhat reasonable origin story, and it was awful.  I had resisted it the first time I saw it at Barnes & Noble, because I’ve been burned so frequently in my new comic purchases, but I couldn’t resist it a second time. 

By Page 2 when I started reading it, I realized I’d made yet another mistake.  Kara introduced her weight-challenged, indeterminately ethic best girlfriend as a “Bad ass dyke.”  Later, there was a pointless confrontation between her and young straight white male.  This was, of course, meant to emphasize who the real villains are: guys who didn’t give the women working on this comic the time of day in high school.

Given that there’s a promotional blurb on the cover from The Mary Sue, I really should have guessed what the inside content was going to be like.  While having a pure Agenda character in the story, who no doubt resembles somebody on the comics’ production staff if not perhaps an outright author insertion of herself, this was a mild disappointment compared to the rest of the issue.  This Agenda promulgation of “alternative lifestyles” is de rigueur, but no excuse for the poor storytelling that followed.

Essentially, a super-powered, but ignorant of her origins, Kara Danvers grows up in a small town on a farm with two earnest, good-hearted foster parents.  We know this setting can work for a comic, because it worked for ten years on the show Smallville.  Unlike the show, while Supergirl is not in tights and there is a “freak of the week” villain, she does know how to fly.  Unlike the show, Kara is able to instantly and suddenly use all of her superpowers competently when needed.  Superman does actually show up at the end of this, so this story is not part of the Replacement Agenda; it’s just unoriginal.  That’s no sin in writing however, especially in comic books.  It only becomes a problem when it’s badly done.

This trade only covers four issues, but is surprisingly thick.  The story, however, is surprisingly light.  It’s your typical decompressed/storyboard Bendis’ Marvel comic.  It’s maybe a little more dense than that, but not by much.  More than that, so little happens compared to the page count.  Comics are meant to be fast-paced, regardless of the subject matter.  European and Japanese comics will even bear this out.  Quite simply, this was boring.  Nothing happened as Kara moped for page after page.  We’re not even talking existential angst; she was just disinterested or sad most of the time.     

The story here was two issues at the most.  The rest was whiny padding.  It’s not carefully establishing the characters, allowing for reflection on events, or some other excuse.  It’s just lazy, uninteresting, and wallowing in self-indulgence.  She’s not so much confused about her origins as apathetic.  The most is egregious crime was that that was exactly how Kara came off to the reader. 

She’s a confused victim for most of the story, but invulnerable and super-powered.  It’s not a good sympathetic combination.  On Smallville, Clark’s powers were hindering his pursuit of the girls he wanted to be with.  That’s at least somewhat sympathetic.  Thankfully, Kara has a strong moral streak that keeps her from abusing her powers to seek revenge, and instead uses them to save others.  At least they got that much right about her.  

The artwork being so great sort of made it worse.  Perhaps this is why I’m so irritated by this.  I wouldn’t have wasted my money, if it didn’t look so good.  It was so enticing to look at and then disappointing to sit down and read.  It’s almost pure wasted potential of quality material.  Even Kara popping a zit looks artistic.

Given her appeal, one really has to question why Kara wasn’t the object of desire for all her male classmates.  Hey, that would have been an interesting angle to explore in the story.  She had probably been told to stay away from boys by her foster parents because of her powers.  You’d think maybe she would have made her looks more plain so as not to attract attention, but this wasn’t the case.  She didn’t seem to have an unpleasant personality either.  Certainly she fell for the first Krytonian boy she met.  Maybe earth boys don’t do it for her, but they’d certainly want her.  You’d think she’d have a male friend or two, but this was noticeably absent from the story.  (And what does that say about the author?)  This was definitely an unexplored avenue. 

 

All the elements of a classic are here: great character, great art, great setting (albeit stolen), and a great story (derivative and bungled in execution).  There were too many clichéd moments and gaps in story logic which were the product of lazy writing.  I’d detail some of the breakdown, but just to be fair, there are some minor twists in the story that I don’t want to spoil.  This really just needed some editing.  Somebody in charge should have sent this story back and said, “Nice idea.  Needs work.”  Actually, I didn’t even see an editor listed in the credits.  Was it in some really small print or hidden?  Or perhaps there really wasn’t one, which would explain a lot.

 

Ultimately all of my criticisms could probably be snarkly dismissed by saying, “Well (in a haughty voice), this wasn’t written for you (said accusingly)!”  And it’s true.  There’s a cottage industry on Youtube of reviewers, guys pretty much like me, who pick apart stuff like this and then refrain, “Why do today’s comic books have to suck?” 

This Supergirl comic and nearly every other new comic are written for . . . let us charitably say . . . people not like me.  (I’m trying to avoid using the labels I’m thinking of.)  This Supergirl is aimed squarely at young millennial girls.  There’s still a bit of innocence and a soft touch to the story to where it might be relatable for that audience without being overly heavy-handed in peddling the Agenda, which would likely be a turnoff for them.  You might consider this a primer for more hard core Agenda comics for when those girls get older.  There’s no reason why this book couldn’t have had a broader appeal with, frankly, a mature, experienced adult editing the material, but that wasn’t DC’s goal for this version of Supergirl.   

In any case, it’s not for me.  The Youtube Reviewers decry, “Why are you comic book companies chasing off so much of your audience who wants to buy your product?”  These companies have spent decades orienting their product to a certain audience and are abandoning them, in some cases, with extreme prejudice.  It’s hard not to feel betrayed.  I’m not going to get into the deeper motivations or the business decision-making here.  I’m just throwing up my hands and walking away.  If the major comic book companies want me back, they’re going to have to come to me; I got no reason to go to them.  If nothing else, I’m writing this to remind myself in the future when I see the next pretty version of Supergirl in the comics.      

Perhaps I’m even angrier because this isn’t the first reboot attempt at the character I’ve read lately.  Last time, I was again drawn in by the fabulous artwork.  (See what I did there?)  The story featured Supergirl as a rebellious “bad girl,” trying smoking and getting a Kryptonite tattoo.  (Shouldn’t that tattoo have killed her?  If I got a plutonium tattoo, I’m pretty sure it would be the last thing I did.  That’s basically the equivalent.)  She mostly fought other heroes for no reason and herself (literally, she was split into two).  I skipped over the next itineration where I think she was an outright psychopath, and not as attractively drawn.

One small sidebar, this book did finally allow me to draw a connection.  Kara grew up in Midvale.  I finally remembered that’s where Josie and the Pussycats are from.  It’s like a suburb of Riverdale, like Greendale where Sabrina is from.  In a high school flashback TV episode of Supergirl (don’t get me started on that show), one of her classmates was named Josie. 

Unfortunately for me, I bought and read this trade over my last vacation.  I also bought a used season of Alias, which I’d never really watched when it was aired, but had wanted to when it was on.  Now that I’ve watched four miserable logic-defying episodes, I don’t think I can make it through the rest.  I don’t know why JJ Abrams was given the Star Trek and Star Wars franchises based on this work.  Between these two bad experiences, I really felt the need to unload, when I might have otherwise let them pass individually without comment.  Sorry for that.  This review was so much trouble to write (and I hope it doesn’t show), it was almost like being traumatized again by the material.

Contrary to what I just wrote, I will post a couple more reviews of some recent comics I did like, but even then, some actually reinforced my points of disillusionment.    

NM State Aggies vs Seattle U Redhawks Volleyball 9-27-18

Savannah looks good with her hair down, though she only plays with it braided.

With two weeks of vacation left this year, it was suggested to me that I take off five of those days as single days.  Since it’s easier to cover (or not bother doing anything) for me for a day, it works out better for them.  It also works out for me, since I could take off days like today to watch some weekday volleyball and basketball later.  This wasn’t good timing at work to have taken the day off, but is it ever?

Brushing aside some guilt and trepidation about quarter end processing tomorrow, I was looking forward to the match today.  God knows my day lacked entertainment.  I tried to avoid most of the theatrics of a show trial in Washington that dominated all media.  I finished writing a comic review that I had been trying to finish for the last four days.  And I ironed about 20 shirts and three pairs of pants.  Thrills.  Without the volleyball, this would have been a wasted day off that I would have rather have been at work for. 

I did have a good lunch, since I had a free Chik-fil-a sandwich coupon and got one of their “Ice Dream” cones.  I was happy like a little kid licking that cone on the way home.  They serve some pretty good ice cream there.  Regrettably, this made my meal at the Pan-Am before the match pale by comparison. 

There was a line at the concessions, which was a good sign for attendance (which was pretty good tonight), especially since it included some kids and their parents.  On that note, I got the kid’s meal with the hot dog and popcorn.  It was the cheapest meal option and I wasn’t that hungry.  I forgot why I never order this; it comes a small drink.  The raspberry tea is the only worthwhile item on the concession menu.  You need a big tasty drink to wash down the bad food.  The hot dog bun wasn’t stale, but the dog wasn’t more than lukewarm and tasteless at best.  Grrr . . .  I’m sick of bitching about the concessions.  They’re nice people running it, but I want better food.  Since I’m already overpaying for bad food, I’m not worried about the price going up if the options are better.

I juggled my meal and a new Pan-Am anniversary poster and a volleyball signature card and only spilled the popcorn once.  I saw Danny at his usual spot and decided I wanted some company this evening more than my usual seat behind the bench.  I ran into Adam Young, who was doing the TV coverage, as I was carrying my load down.  He said the team really needed a win tonight after losing two five-set matches to start conference play. 

I got to congratulate Adam for his interview with new Aggie starting quarterback (and let’s hope I don’t have to use that phrase again for the rest of the season), Josh Adkins.  Adam had asked him about playing big time high school football in Texas.  From his experience, I doubt any size crowd at Aggie Memorial is going to make him nervous.  Like Larry Rose III, we have his mom to thank for him signing with NMSU.  She liked Las Cruces.

In between bites of regret of my hot dog, I looked over the team warming up.  My heart sank as I saw Lia Mosher back on crutches and in a boot.  This might explain the team’s loss to Bakersfield last week if she dropped out during or before the match.  She looked okay in the Cal Baptist match (9-20-18), so she must have re-aggravated the injury.  With Brielle Sterns also out, it’s lucky that the Aggies are deep at middle blocker.  I’d also noticed in that match that Brittany Welch wasn’t there.  She wasn’t here either.  I wasn’t expecting her to play this season, but not seeing her at all is a real bad sign.  I think I saw some talent there in the Scrimmage (8-18-18).  She’s still listed on the roster at least.

Danny added a little opposition gossip.  Apparently, Arizona Wildcat fans were calling for their longtime coach to be fired for their loss here (9-8-18).  No wonder they played so hard in the rematch (9-14-18).  The girls might have been playing for his job.  I got to add that he’s the brother of Aggie Assistant Coach Keith Rubio.  They don’t look anything alike (Half-brothers? Adopted?), so you wouldn’t have guessed from seeing them.

Captain Tatyana Battle was awarded a gameball for her 1000-th point, before the introduction.  The lights went down for the intro video and weirdly stayed down while the Aggie players were introduced.  Jordan Pleasants was in at libero.  Julianna Salanoa was also starting.  Several of us there collectively held our breath, but the lights came back up for the game.  Whew.  I doubt anyone who was there (or listening in my case) can forget that lights out game last year.     

Set 1

Seattle looked good right off the bat.  After going down 5-0, Coach Jordan called a timeout.  The Aggies’ first point didn’t come until 8-1 on a Savannah Davison tip.  Oops, I’m out of raspberry tea because of my small cup.  I’ll just have to tough it out for the rest of the match.  Damn.  9-2 Redhawks was an epic point that Juli got a touch kill on.  This would spark an Aggie comeback for the set.

With Megan Hart on serve, the Aggies pulled to within 11-12 Redhawks.  Encouragingly, it wasn’t just one player doing it; they were all contributing.  Taty got an overpass kill to tie it at 13.  I’m not going to mention the opposition much here, but #4 Mahra McLeod came in at this point.  You couldn’t miss her as her hip was bandaged up like she’d escaped from an emergency room after a car accident.  Wow, this girl really wants to play.  Also, normally sure-tongued PA Ed was having trouble announcing the Serbian girls’ names on the team.  He was doing okay with the tough Hawaiian ones.  Nobody said announcing was easy.   

18-17 the Aggies took the lead briefly.  20-19 Seattle, timeout Aggies.  Danny’s friends from last time were sitting behind us.  Another fellow sat with them and started talking about the politics of the day.  Not only was trying to escape politics by being here, I didn’t agree with him and had to bite my lip, because I wasn’t missing any of the game to discuss it. 

Megan Hart served up an ace to make it 21-20 Aggies.  At this point, the game pace quickened and I couldn’t keep up any detail in my notes.  The Aggies got to set point first, but Taty netted the serve.  The Aggies got two more set points, but couldn’t finish it.  Seattle then got two set points, but they couldn’t finish either.  29-28 Aggies, well into extra points, Taty got the kill, though Seattle made the save of match on the point.  The Aggies went through two more set points.  By this point, everyone was getting tired from standing up for these set points, but we were way more disappointed when Seattle converted on their third set point to take it 33-31.  33-31! 

Was that 10 set points?  I may have lost count.  What a heartbreaker!  Neither team wanted to lose that set by the end.  It was sheer determination on both sides that kept it going that long.  I was impressed by how well the Redhawks were digging and blocking.  Equally, the Aggies really showed some resolve after going down big early.  If the crowd was deflated, the girls weren’t.  After six five-set matches this season, going down a set wasn’t going to faze them.   

Set 2: Redhawks 1, Aggies 0

Taty put in a couple of aces at the beginning of the set.  She can serve well.  Ashley Anselmo was also coming up big early with some kills that seemed to spark the Aggies.  At 8-4 Aggies, Seattle called a timeout.  11-4 Jordan had an “excuse me” accidental hit over the net for a kill.  That got some smiles from the team. 

14-10 Aggies, Savannah netted a serve.  Coach Jordan on the sideline had his face buried in his hands.  Sav had played hard on the previous point and seemed out of breath at the serving line.  Maybe a little more conditioning would help to cut down on her errors.  15-12 Aggies, Seattle went on a run and the Aggies called a timeout.  They got the momentum right back.  At 20-14, Seattle called their other timeout, but the Aggies would close it out, 25-17.

Halftime 

More like half-a-halftime.  I was just about sprinting to make it to the bathroom and back before play resumed.  I missed the rolled taco giveaway.  I think 200 were given out.  One of the ladies behind me got one.  I don’t think I missed anything.  (I don’t like rolled tacos.  Too greasy.)  The loudest cheer from the crowd tonight came when the tacos were brought out.  Kayla Green and Victoria Castro from the softball team were doing the serving.  (Are they being punished?  What did they do that they have to keep working for the volleyball team?  They’re seniors.) 

I’ll also mention here a couple of promos for other Aggie events.  The Aggies are holding another Downtown Rally tomorrow in the evening.  I admit to some thoughts of sneaking out of my nearby workplace to attend, but I don’t think that would work out well for me.  Maybe I’ll get to go to this event someday.  The next home football game is next week.  Free Aggie hats are being given out for reserved seats.  That’s a pretty good promotion.

Set 3: Aggies 1, Redhawks 1

Point #1 of the set was epic.  Both teams wanted to set a tone early.  (I wished I’d written down who won the point.  I think it was Seattle.)  3-1 Aggies, Briana Ainsworth got a dump kill.  I love that shot from her; it’s so sneaky, though it’s only going to work a couple of times in a match.  Ed announced the Raising Canes straight-set win promotion here.  It was a little late for that unfortunately.  He seemed a bit half-hearted doing it. 

The Aggies continued to stay in the lead.  Sav was really having some real problems in this set.  After about five bad digs and a net serve, she was keeping the Redhawks in the set.  She’s out there on about every point for a reason though, as she generally makes up for it with her kills.

17-10 Aggies, and Seattle called a timeout, but it didn’t help.  20-11, Seattle won the point, but props to Bri for keeping the point going twice, as she dove into a sideline table and then slipped on the floor making two saves.  22-13, a Redhawk player made a kick dig.  Any part of the body is legal for hitting the ball.  25-13 Aggies was the Set 3 final.  Jordan finished it out with two aces in a row.

Set 4: Aggies 2, Redhawks 1

Another hard-fought opening point.  (Still forgot to write down who won it.)  The Aggies again got out to a lead.  7-4 Aggies, the Redhawks won this point on an overrule by a net judge.  The back judge, who was standing right in front of the ball, ruled Savannah’s shot good.  It certainly looked that way from the stands.  This was probably the only contentious point of the match for the fans against the refs. 

I noticed Julianna was running a decoy on several shots.  It actually worked a couple of times.  This was entirely because she had been making some shots in the match.  12-7 Aggies, timeout Seattle.  Right after, Megan served an ace right on the back line.  Ooh, shivers in the crowd.  Seattle began a run and closed it to 14-12.  Timeout Aggies. 

I finally noticed AD Mario Moccia sitting across the court at the scorer’s table.  He seemed really unhappy watching for some reason, but he did put on a smile to take a selfie with his marketing department.  17-14 Aggies, after two great saves, Taty killed it.  Afterward, her and Sav netted their serves.  Coach Jordan was clearly dying watching. 

21-16 Aggies, Bridgette Lowe, who’d played several of the extra points in the first set, came back in and combined with Julianna on a block.  Timeout Seattle.  24-17 Bri served up an ace.  Juli then put it away on the next point to win the set 25-17 and the match 3-1.

We have to say it again, “The Aggies are tough to beat on their home court.”  With a good-sized crowd and playing in an arena, I’m sure it’s a bit intimidating for opponents.  Seattle U really came out determined in that first set, but I think that extra point victory just sapped all their energy.  For whatever problems the Aggies have, they have a lot of weapons to make up for it.

They’re still not putting the player totals up on the scoreboard this season, so I can’t tell you exactly who was doing well with the kills.  (Maybe I could try tracking it on the program, but I think I’d lose my mind doing that, taking notes, and watching the match.)  I can guess that Tatyana Battle and Savannah Davison were on top with the kills, but this really did feel like a team effort. 

I’m going to single out Megan Hart, but for her serving, more than her great blocking and hitting in the middle.  She’s a weapon at the net and the back line.  Ashley Anselmo I think also really set the tone in the second set for Aggie domination for the rest of the match.  Lastly, Briana Ainsworth, in addition to her hustle was another potent server.  Jordan Pleasants’ also had two important aces.  Is it a bit ironic that I’m praising the team’s serving when the Coach may have been ready to throttle a couple of the girls for it?  When you’re trying to get in a really good serve instead of a safe one, bad things can happen. 

Ice cream is for winners!  Except I got really cold in the Pan-Am tonight for some reason.  I was wearing two t-shirts and two pairs of socks (because my boots are a bit too big for my feet).  I was sweating in the sunny heat on the way over, but chilled inside once the sun went down.  I waved off going somewhere for ice cream, but instead waited until I’d warmed up at home before scooping out a dish from my freezer.  Another good win with some grit thrown in.  I’m looking forward to the weekend match.  

El Paso Chihuahuas Season Recap 2018

By the time I realized how long this recap would take, I’d already fired off a bunch of time doing it.  However, I enjoyed this trip down Memory Lane anyway.  It was a great season for the Chihuahuas.  From looking at my latest issue of Baseball America, the Padres still have some great players at the lower levels waiting to come up.  Don’t be surprised if the playoff streak continues next year.  (It won’t help the Padres until they get some decent veteran pitching.) 

3-26-18 The season-opening exhibition game between the Chihuahuas and the Padres.  It was a great event for the fans.  Former Aggie, Joe Galindo, was there with the team. Before the game, there was a question about the Padres moving the franchise to San Antonio, who will host Triple-A baseball starting next year.  Cue ominous music.

4-14-18 Down 7-0 early, the pups had huge comeback win 11-7.

4-18-18 It was 30 degrees and raining in Reno for a dramatic 3-2 win.

4-25-18 Eight wins in a row.  The team was on a roll on the road.

5-6-18 Franmil Reyes hit 8 homers in 5 games.  Little wonder he got promoted shortly thereafter.

5-22-18 The fire alarm game in Tacoma.  Tim Hagerty will be bringing this game up in broadcasts for years to come.  The alarm went off by accident and the stadium was cleared.  Tim was skeptical and was nearly forced out of the booth by firemen, before the alarm finally stopped. 

5-30-18 Hunter Pence was in town with the Rivercats.  Much of the Giants’ roster would show up on rehab over the course of the season.

6-2-18 The Chihuahuas lost again at home.  “The Chihuahuas can’t win at home!” I exclaimed in my post. 

6-3-18 Tim played an interesting interview with Jayson Werth, who was a visiting player, during a weather delay.

6-11-18 A double header in Des Moines started at 8:30am my time.  The pups split the DH.  An interesting stat came up; the Chihuahuas had twice as many road wins as home wins this season.

6-15-18 The Chihuahuas lost in extras to Nashville on leadoff two-run homer (what?), thanks to the new automatic runner rule in extra innings.

6-19-18 The quote of the year came from an out-of-town visitor at my work place listening to the broadcast, “Why are they talking about ‘Chihuahuas?’”

6-22-18 The Chihuahuas got to .500.

6-23-18 Johnny Cueto made a rehab start for the Rivercats in Sacramento against the Chihuahuas.

6-27-18 Chihuahuas win 8 in a row.

6-28-18 The streak is broken.  I wrote a haiku about it.

7-4-18 Happy Independence Day!  I missed the city fireworks show because the pups and the Bees went into extra innings fighting for first place.  The Chihuahuas won in an epic battle.

7-8-18 The Chihuahuas swept out the second place Bees in a FIVE-GAME SERIES!  How unlikely was that?  At the break they were on a 16 of 19 winning streak.  They did not leave first place from here.

7-15-18 Right after the break, the Chihuahuas lost four to the Aces.  Constant rain canceled and delayed games in El Paso.  The pups inability to win at home peaked here.

7-19-18 The Padres traded Brad Hand for Francisco Mejia.  It would be several days before he started playing for the Chihuahuas, but this was a huge move for the team later, as he was as good as his number one prospect status said he was.  For today’s day game, the pups lost 16-1.  My dad complained that it was the worst game ever.  I thought it got pretty funny by the end with position player Brett Nicholas pitching.

7-20-18 Evan Longoria was in rehabbing in El Paso for today’s game with the Rivercats.

7-24-18 Mejia’s first start finally, but in an inauspicious 13-1 drubbing by the Skysox.

7-27-18 A cat delay interrupted the game in Oklahoma City.  Only in baseball.  The pups won 10-2 and Brett Kennedy went to 10-0 in his starts.

8-5-18 A three-run walkoff by Dusty Coleman and the Chihuahuas got their fifth home win in a row.

8-7-18 Another comeback walkoff, and a four-game sweep of the Express in El Paso.

8-9-18 Ty France debuted with the pups.  He homered.

8-12-18 The pups split what had to be the closest series of the regular season with the Rivercats in Sacramento.

8-17-18 Surprise, the voice of Aggie Baseball, Adam Young, called a Chihuahuas’ game.

8-19-18 Ty France doubled in the winning run in the ninth.  The home winning streak continued.

8-21-18 14 in a row at home.  Even a lengthy rain delay couldn’t stop them.  Matt Holiday played for the Isotopes tonight.

8-25-18 The Chihuahuas lost in Tacoma, but over the course of a two-minute commercial break, the Bees were walked off and the pups clinched the division.  Tim was completely stunned.

8-31-18 More Carter Capps/umpire drama and two players were ejected.  It was 6-1 Rainiers after 7 innings.  Ty France hit a two-run homer in the eighth and the game-winning hit in the ninth for a 7-6 win. 

9-1-18 The Chihuahuas’ home winning streak ended at 18 (18!) with a one-run loss.  They even had the bases loaded in the ninth.

9-3-18 I finally got to see a game in person for their last regular season game.  It was hot and the Chihuahuas lost, but I had a great time anyway.

9-5-18 The playoffs started versus the Grizzlies, but minus Rowan Wick, Luis Urias, and Francisco Mejia, some key pieces of the team, and apparently the fans in El Paso, who didn’t show because of the rainy weather.  Game 1 was incredibly tense and tight, but the Grizzlies took it 8-7

9-6-18 Weather again scared off the fans.  The pups made a heroic comeback late, but lost 7-5.

9-7-18 The Chihuahuas won in Sacramento 2-0, in one of the most dramatic games of the season.  I basically missed the whole thing going out to see Aggie Volleyball.  I’m still torn as to whether I should feel regretful or not. 

9-8-18 The Chihuahuas won another close game, 4-2.  We went to a fifth and decisive game.

9-9-18 A 10-1 Grizzlies blowout that ends the season.  We’re sad about the outcome, but it was a great season to follow the Chihuahuas.

Artifacts: Tintin and Space Witch

Ron was cleaning out some old books from his parents' house and let me have my pick of them.  [And this was supposed to be the first post, except I accidentally posted the Disney one first.]  I found a some interesting books that I'll post excerpts from here.  First up is this Children's Digest magazine.  I was excited by the cover, but the Peanuts content only consisted of two reprinted strips and some rhetorical questions about them.

The real find here was a Tintin story in the issue.  The artwork on these is magnificent.

This was another kid's book that caught my eye.  Admittedly, it's not great literature, but I love the artwork.

Sports Journal September 22-23, 2018

9-22-18

It was a simultaneous double header this morning.  The FOX game was the Cardinals and the Giants.  The game on Televisa was the other Fox game, the Braves versus the Phillies.  Both games were meaningful with the Cardinals trying to stay in the playoffs and the Braves trying to win their division.

I stuck with the Cards and Giants, probably mostly to hear AJ Pierzynski’s color commentary.  He does a really good job.  Unfortunately, I felt like I kept missing most of his comments and stories while I was getting my lunch.  I was in sort of a rooting quandary.  I like both teams, but the Cardinals losing would help the Rockies.  But, it’s hard to root against the Cardinals at home.  But, I really like the Giants.  I was truly divided. 

The Giants have the highest payroll in the NL and second in all of the MLB, but are currently a mess.  They’ve lost Jeff Samardzija, Johnny Cueto, and Buster Posey to injury.  They traded Andrew McCutchen.  They put Joe Panik at first, his first time ever playing first.  I didn’t recognize a bunch of their players.  They did run out Dereck Rodriguez to pitch, who I’ve seen before.  He’s been their best starter this season and the guys in the booth were impressed with him.

The first scoring came when I flipped over to the other game.  In the second, Freddie Freeman drove in two runs as part of a four-run inning for the Braves.  The young players he drove in were fired up as they crossed the plate.  In the second in St. Louis, Card’s pitcher, Adam Wainwright, drove in a run to make it 1-0 Cardinals.

In the third, Evan Longoria made a great pick at third base to start a double play.  The guy can still play the field.  In the fifth, Wainwright cranked one out . . . to just short of the warning track.  Everyone watching thought it was going out, but the ball just died in the 66 degree, overcast air.  Another Cardinal hitter did the same thing later, so it wasn’t just him.

In the seventh, the Giants went up 4-2.  Twice, they got an RBI hit and the Cardinals committed an error right after.  In the bottom, the sun came out and presumably it warmed up a bit.  Yadier Molina took advantage of that to the tune of a two-run homer to tie it at 4.  He came out for a curtain call. 

Back in Atlanta, the Phillies made a comeback in the eighth and closed the score to 4-3.  I decided to stick with this game.  In the bottom, Kurt Suzuki drove in Ender Inciarte to make it 5-3.  The crowd was waving pink tomahawks during the rally.  They went on to win and win the NL East.  They even brought out a new division banner on field for the celebration.

The Cardinals and Giants went to the tenth.  Interesting trivia came up.  Yadi is now the Molina brother with the most home runs.  He just passed his brother, Bengie Molina, who calls Cardinal games in Spanish.  In the top of the tenth, Matt Carpenter made two errors on the same play.  The Giants loaded the bases, but didn’t score.  In the bottom, Tyler O’Neil hit a walkoff homer to end it, 5-4 Cardinals.  He then got the “Shred,” as his uniform top was torn off by his teammates.  Wow, the kid is really built.  With four errors today, the Cardinals won this one in spite of themselves.  The Rockies won their game against the Diamondbacks tonight, 5-1, to keep pace.  I got to hear the end of it after the football game.  Antonio Senzatela went seven innings and only gave up one run.        

Later in the evening, the NM State Football team took on the UTEP Miners in El Paso.  While we were at Soccer on Thursday, I told Ron that there weren’t any Aggie sports this weekend except for the winless Aggies taking on the winless Miners.  In fact, I found out this was the only FBS-level matchup this weekend that involved two winless teams.  Somebody’s gotta win tonight, because this isn’t soccer or the NFL. 

The first thing I have to mention was that during the whole first half they were playing some annoying bumper music over the announcers coming back from every commercial.  I think they fixed that by the second half thankfully, though I actually had the radio on in the background while I was watching TV by that time.  The Sun Bowl crowd for the game was described as small, but vocal.  From what I saw on TV on the nightly news, it didn’t look too bad.  Hey, there’s the Aggie Softball girls in the visitors section!  Hi, girls. 

In the First Quarter, on the Miners first series, they had to punt twice because of a penalty.  The Aggies blocked that second try and ran it in for a touchdown, 7-0.  The Aggies have done a pretty good job of at least getting off to a good start in their games this season.  The Miners are rushing team and that’s what they did on their second possession, which resulted in a tying touchdown, 7-7.  The Aggies could run the ball too, and did that to get downfield on their next possession.  They put up a field goal to make it 10-7.  Listening to an El Paso Sportstalk show this morning (and a tailgating fan on the news), they gloomily predicted a 10-7 final score, given the ineptness of both teams’ offenses, so anything after this is gravy.

For the Second Quarter, the Miners got a field goal to tie it at 10.  The drive did feature a long pass play.  On another drive, the Miners got inside the Aggie 10, but fumbled it away.  A couple of plays later, Aggie quarterback, Josh Adkins, was blindsided on a hit and fumbled it back to them with under a minute left.  The very next play, the Aggie defense forced a fumble from the UTEP QB, Kai Locksley.  Malik Demby recovered the ball and ran it back for a touchdown!  17-10 Aggies at the half.

Crushing news at halftime, though.  Aggie Volleyball lost in five sets again today to CSU-Bakersfield.  That’s their sixth five-setter this season.  I hope the coach is still cycling in lots of players, because you’re going to need to keep the girls fresh with these kind of workouts. 

The third quarter didn’t start well for the Aggies with back-to-back three-and-outs.  Meanwhile, the Miners got a touchdown on a 76-yard pass play to tie the game at 17.  They also drove deep on their next drive, but missed a field goal attempt.  Time for another big play.  How about a 53-yard pass to Royce Caldwell for a TD and a 24-17 lead. 

UTEP put up another field goal in the fourth quarter to make it 24-20.  Another bomb from Adkins found Johnathan Boone.  The Aggies had a first-and-goal on the Miner 1, but failed to get it in.  They settled for another Dylan Brown field goal to make it 27-20.  However, UTEP had a couple of minutes left.  The Aggie defense really stood up here.  The Miners were forced into a fourth-and-long and gave the ball back on an interception.  Two victory formations later, the Aggies won 27-20.

Whew.  At least the Aggies won’t go winless this year.  Given the competition, it’s hard to gauge whether the team has really improved.  Josh Adkins definitely stepped up and made some big plays.  The defense really made some big plays, too.  Special teams were an asset tonight.  The Aggies got a lot of fouls in the first half, but cleaned that up in the second.  This was a good, total team effort. 

Sorry UTEP, your FBS-worst losing streak continues.  UTEP’s offense dominated the time of possession (and just about every other stat), but didn’t convert on enough on their long drives and didn’t stop the Aggies from moving downfield in quick strikes.  The Miner fans on the radio weren’t too sure they were going to get a better chance at a win this year.  I’m kind of sorry I wasn’t there, frankly.  I’ve been to the Sun Bowl.  It’s kind of cool.         

I wrote this last week, so I’ll post it here.  Dad said that the coach and the team got “Lucky” last year.  I really have to disagree.  New Mexico State was fortunate to recruit some really good players, who I think would have been successful anywhere.  Coach Martin did a good job of getting the whole team to peak at the same time around those stars, which led to their bowl game victory. 

NM State Football may unfortunately be analogous to a low-payroll MLB franchise.  The program is not going to be able to maintain a high-level of play from year-to-year.  They’re going to have droughts after any success and will have to slowly build up to be competitive each time.  Unlike the MLB however, the Aggies can’t trade anyone or get a higher draft position after a bad season to improve their team.  At least the program has finally proven that it can win.

9-23-18

So much for baseball today, as the Rangers’ game was canceled on my local affiliate for FOX Sports Radio Red Zone coverage.  Eric Nadel better not retire right after this season, because I‘m going to be pissed if I don’t get to hear his last game because of stuff like this.  Likewise, Stadium did not broadcast the scheduled college Women’s Volleyball event, but did put on a Women’s Soccer match.  Those really aren’t the same things, but as long as I had the TV on and wanted to relax for a little while, why not watch? 

If I was going to watch soccer today, I would have preferred the Aggies versus the Miners in the El Paso this evening.  I would get to see the Aggies, though.  In this case, it would be the Utah State Aggies playing the Nevada Wolfpack.  They were in Logan, Utah.  It was windy and cool with scenic mountains and trees in the background.  I’ve seen this field before (10-27-17).  I still don’t know what that pyramid is for behind one of the goals.

Much of the crowd at Chuck and Gloria Ball Field (I didn’t name it, just repeating what I heard) was seated on the field or on the berm behind the goal with the pyramid and the scoreboard.  I got a view of the grandstand, which featured a large, brick pressbox.  I get the impression this was maybe a high school football field at some point.

I’ve seen this Nevada team, too (10-1-17).  One of their girls was again doing flip throw-in’s, Angel Meriwether, but the announcers today weren’t going crazy about it.  The Wolfpack has a much better record than these Aggies, so this wasn’t a good-looking game on paper.  Utah State did get one of their better players back from a two-game suspension this afternoon.  I wonder what she did to get that. 

Nevada was on the attack for most of the first half, but the score would be nil-nil after 45 minutes.  Yeah, this really isn’t volleyball.  During halftime, there was a Mountain West conference commercial, which featured some highlights.  Hey, NM State Soccer was in a couple of the clips, giving up goals, of course. 

It was a complete turnaround in domination in the second half as Utah State continuously peppered Nevada goalie Kendal Stovall.  She was really getting a workout and a beating from players crashing into her.  And it was still nil-nil.  I was really fearing overtime, but in the last minute (89’) Imelda Williams was fouled in the Nevada box.  Ashley Cardozo, the Aggies’ playmaker (and pretty cute with her hair up), took the PK and won it 1-0 for Utah State.  That was a really sad result for Kendal Stovall, who’d played so well in goal.  Okay, that wasn’t as good as volleyball and not a great soccer match either, but kind of entertaining, I guess.