Tuesday, November 6, 2018

Sports Journal November 2-4, 2018

11-2-18
Okay, no more baseball until my Hot Stove special, which is coming whenever the major wheeling-and-dealing finish for the offseason.  (Actually, I really wonder about keeping a daily log of baseball games next year.)  But, we still have plenty of sports, including Aggie Volleyball.  The girls were on the road playing the Seattle U Redhawks on the WAC Digital Network.

I basically missed the first two sets, since I was at work.  The Aggies took them 25-23 and 25-19.  The third set I got to watch during my dinner.  The Aggies trailed for a good deal of the set and fought off a set point, before coming back and winning 26-24 and 3-0

Beautiful Megan Hart was our star of the game as she led with 16 kills.  Savannah Davison had a good bounce back game with 9 kills.  Julianna Salanoa had 8.  Captain Tatyana Battle had a quiet game with 7.  The Aggies had fewer blocks, though on one point in the third set, they had three blocks.  Where the team shined was on service with 9 aces.  I noticed Brigette Lowe was in for much of the match.  I didn’t realize at the time that it was because Cat Kelly was out with an injury.  The Aggies took care of business here, but Cat is a bad loss.    

11-3-18


Today was Aggie Football’s final home game of the season.  They’ve been eliminated from bowl eligibility this season.  But, it was a beautiful fall day here in Las Cruces and they were playing an FCS school in Alcorn State.  They’re a very good team at 7-2 and competing for a conference championship.  They were even resting some of their defensive players, as this game didn’t mean anything to their season.  So, this was certainly a winnable game against a lower level school. 

I wanted to go, but didn’t have anyone to go with me today.  While I went to the South Alabama game (12-2-17) by myself, I didn’t want to do that again, unless there was a good reason.  The game was on TV, so I was able to watch.  There was also not much in the way of distractions this afternoon, thus it had my, mostly, undivided attention. 

The crowd on the fan side wasn’t bad for Senior Day, but the student side was nearly deserted.  Hell, if the Volleyball team had been in town, you might have doubled student attendance.  (Other student-athletes comprise much of Aggie sports student attendance.)  There might have been about the same number of visiting fans for the Braves.  I realize the students get into the games for free and might not be a big contributor to the bottom line, but they are imperative to your very important attendance figures, which can cost you your FBS status (as UTEP has recently gotten worried about too).    

You can only tap so many local businesses and individuals for “Stuffing” and “Packing.”  The student population can save your program.  This is an under-marketed group.  I don’t know how to bring them in from the tailgate (which the students attend) to the stadium, even if just to be counted and then leave at halftime, but you’ve got to figure it out.  (Extra credit, maybe?  Probably some sort of violation there.  I don’t know.)       

The Aggies started off the game very well.  13 seconds in, Jason Huntley ran back the kickoff for an immediate touchdown.  The Aggies scored on their next possession thanks to a Christian Gibson 34-yard run, a four-and-one conversion inside the Brave five-yard line, and a touchdown pass to Royce Caldwell.  14-0 Aggies in short order.  Alcorn State rushed their next possession downfield for an answering touchdown, 14-7.  The Aggie defense just cannot stop a good running attack. 

In the second quarter, Peyton Theisler used his rugby-style kick to pin the Braves inside their own 5, but the defense couldn’t keep them down.  Luckily, they fumbled on their own 45, which led to Josh Adkins hitting Jonathan Boone for a TD, 21-7.  Up to that point, Adkins may have passed for 50 yards sideways.  This was his first pass downfield.  A couple more great passes on their next possession, led to a rushing TD by Huntley and a 28-7 lead.

The offensive looked really sharp on their next drive, mixing runs and passes.  Boone caught another touchdown.  He was so wide open at the goal line, he nearly fell down before breaking the plane.  35-7 Aggies.  Inside of two minutes in the half, the defense gave up a bomb play, which resulted in a touchdown, 35-14.  Dylan Brown missed a 52-yard field goal to end the half.

I listened to halftime on the radio.  They reported that Aggie Volleyball lost in five sets at Utah Valley.  They’d won the first two sets, but there was a comment about injuries, which was not detailed and could explain a three-set collapse.  Without any further information, I can only be very concerned.  I’d also heard the radio pregame.  Jack Nixon interviewed Women’s Basketball Coach Brooke Atkinson.  She’s brought in some junior college transfers and a grad student.  It may be a different-looking team from last year, except for Brooke Salas and Gia Pack.  I’m curious, in a good sort way, to see the team play.    

The Braves dominated the third quarter with a very long drive for a touchdown to make it 35-21.  Adkins fumbled and ended one drive.  The Aggies would mount another long drive that would end with a Dylan Brown field goal, 38-21.

The fourth quarter got interesting, way too interesting.  The Aggies were pinned inside their own 5 on a punt and couldn’t advance the ball.  Theisler punted from the endzone to about the 50.  A broken tackle on a swing pass gave Alcorn State another touchdown, 38-28. 

Next was almost the pivotal play of the game.  Adkins was hit as he was throwing the ball.  After a very lengthy review, the referees incorrectly called it a fumble.  It sure didn’t look like it, but, hey, it’s football.  What is a fumble?  What is a catch?  Every time the ref’s overly insert themselves into the game, I am reminded of why I’m not a big football fan, and I am reminded frequently.  The Braves scored to make it 38-35.  I seem to recall the score was 35-7 in the first half. 

Time to put the hammer down, namely Jason Huntley.  With him doing most of the catching and rushing in the next series, he put up a rushing TD, 45-35.  Next series, he had a 60-yard catch-and-run play to make it 52-35.  Alcorn St tacked on another touchdown with under a minute left, but the final was 52-42 Aggies

The fans certainly got an exciting and high-scoring game today.  Perhaps a little too exciting, and we’re back to being concerned about the defense for their last two games, but it’s all good today.  (Alcorn St had 650 yards of offense, 100 more than the Aggies.)  Let’s hear it for Jason Huntley and his four touchdowns, rushing and receiving.  The rest of the offense had a good day too.  I think I saw Kelsey Horton and the Softball team walking behind Coach Martin during his on-field interview.  There was your student section.  We’ll hope for more turnout next year.

Late Saturday night, I suddenly remembered that co-worker Mike and his boxing-loving girlfriend were going to bout in El Paso tonight.  I flipped around to see if it was on a Mexican station and came right on it during the fighter introductions.  Timing is everything. 

Unfortunately, I was watching Space:1999 on another channel at the time.  I would have skipped it, but it was literally the only episode I ever remembered seeing as a kid and I couldn’t stop watching.  I took no notes on the fight (didn’t even write down the fighters’ names), since I wasn’t giving it much of my attention.  I did see Mike in the crowd in a good seat by the ring, but I question his fashion choices, as he was wearing a gold luchadore mask.  Wait, I think that’s him.  It’s hard to tell with mask.  I’ll ask him later.  (Actually, the fight ended at 12:30am.  I didn’t dare call him afterward in case the bout was on an hour delay.)

This was a championship fight in a lightweight division.  It was on ESPN Internet and not Showtime, but it was a big deal.  I’d heard an interview with long-time promoter Bob Arum on El Paso Sportstalk on Friday.  He talked about the fight for about two minutes and spent the rest of the hour talking about politics in the 60’s for some reason.   The bout featured two Mexican fighters.  The defending champion, Miguel Berchelt, was the favorite, but the challenger, Mickey Roman, from nearby Juarez was the crowd favorite.  Mickey had said before the match that he was prepared to “die” in the ring if necessary.  There were 5,400 fans at the Don Haskins Center to watch.

Roman nearly didn’t make it out of the third round.  He was clearly dazed and ready to drop, but he held on.  I didn’t think he’d last much longer, but Mickey kept fighting, and even made a comeback in later rounds.  By the ninth, Berchelt finally worn him out.  Roman was getting pummeled, but stayed on his feet.  Finally, Berchelt got him against the ropes and started using Mickey’s head as a speed bag, before the ref finally jumped between them and called it.  That was a pretty good fight and actually had a definitive winner.  What a refreshing change-of-pace in a boxing match. 

11-4-18
Hey, did you know there was a time-change this weekend?  I sure didn’t.  Oops.  I was wondering why the TV schedule was off.  I was irritated that my sports ASMR/Women’s College Soccer match wasn’t on at the right time, but did come on an hour later.  It was the Patriot League championship between the Boston U Terriers (I’ve seen their Softball team 2-18-18) versus the Lehigh Mountain Hawks (who I’d seen previously on 10-17-18).  

Another thing that was irritating me was that I’d committed to going to the Renaissance Faire today.  I hate the Ren Faire.  I’ve gone several times.  I was even a volunteer for a couple of years and went in costume once.  The last time, last year, it was a $7 admission and they were announcing that they had no change at the ticket stall.  I didn’t have exactly $7 and I wasn’t giving them $10, so I left and swore I’d never be back.  So much for that.  No problem with change this year; admission was now $10.

This relates to the soccer in that I knew I wasn’t going to be able watch the whole match.  From here, it gets more aggravating.  I got a call right before the match from Ron (who did want to go) saying he would be by at the top of the hour.  I turned off the TV, mad.  If only the match had come on at the scheduled time, I could have at least watched half of it, I thought, not yet knowing it was Daylight Savings Time.  An hour of waiting by the window later, I finally called Ron.  My mood could best be described as “precious.”  He said he was on his way, this time for sure.

Well, if he was just leaving, it was going to take him at least 20 minutes.  I decided to turn the TV back on and watch.  The score was a surprising nil-nil at the half.  BU was undefeated in conference this year and hadn’t lost at home in conference in like 49 matches.  Lehigh was 8-11 in conference and snuck into the tournament.  And I just missed Morgan Uber and her halftime report, darn it.

I got to watch over 30 minutes of the second half.  BU was winning in the shots on goal category and had lots of chances.  Finally in the 73’, Anna Heilferty converted on a chance in front of the Lehigh goal to give BU a 1-0 lead.  Lehigh stepped up their attack.  Amanda Fay in goal for the Terriers was pretty cute and a bit of an actress, as she flopped on contact in the box. 

At this point, Ron arrived.  I was tempted to ask him to come in and wait about 15 minutes, so I could watch the end (and see Morgan Uber present the trophy).  However, there was a decent possibility of this going to overtime and even penalty kicks, which might have been interesting, but would have taken a while.  Also, I thought we were only a half hour away from a play starting at the Ren Faire, which was the only reason I had consented to go.  

Ron paid the admission for both of us, so my opinion of the Faire improved dramatically.  (After viewing the crowd, he had the epiphany later that the high admission was to keep out the riff-raff, namely gang members and other such malcontents.)  A bit later, I was able to look up the game score and the final was 1-0 Boston U.  What I saw of the match was pretty intense even with the low score.  I’m sorry I wasn’t able to see the whole thing.  In looking up the score on Ron’s phone, I finally found out what time it actually was.  I felt so smart. 

We were there in plenty of time for the musical play The Wives of Henry VIII on the outdoor stage.  It was a funny historical romp.  Somehow Aggie quarterback Josh Adkins got worked into one of the songs (which therefore makes this a sports story).  I hope that gets back to him.  Ron really enjoyed the play and thanked me for recommending it. 

We passed by Anne Boleyn afterward.  I tipped my hat and said, “Nice job, Anne.”  For a beautiful young woman, who was singing, dancing, acting, and playing the flute on stage, she was so unbelievably shy, it was endearing.  Okay, I admit, I had a good time at this Ren Faire.  I got a great bag of kettle corn and a vanilla cream soda.  The only bad thing (other than not buying some art for myself or some kind of a Christmas gift) was that I saw the attractive blonde NMSU ticket girl that I’d asked out earlier in the year there.  I could have gone over and said, “Hi,” but figured she probably didn’t want to see me, so I ducked her.  I’ll probably run into her at the university at some point anyway.


Some quick very late movie reviews.  I saw a couple of Marvel movies this weekend.  Thor: Ragnork was really fun and funny.  The whole purpose of the movie was to show Thor fighting over Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song, which was a completely great idea.  Avengers: Infinity War was a masterpiece of the genre.  It was just unbelievable how well the story juggled so many strong characters.  The scenes with Thor and the Guardians were priceless.  This was the movie I’d asked the ticket girl out to.  I felt a bit sad not having been able to see such as great film with her.    

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