NM State Aggies vs UMass Minutemen Football 11-27-21 Part 1

It was a battle between two 1-10 teams, but they had something to play for.  Were the Aggies or the Minutemen going to be the worst Division I FBS Football team this season?  That was how they were selling the game on the radio pregame.  It was going to be between two teams trying desperately not to lose. 

 

The other way they were selling the game was free tickets to Aggie Men’s Basketball.  For a $10 football ticket, they’d give you two tickets to the New Year’s Day game.*  (* The game will be against Chicago State and likely be uncompetitive.  Also, they will be the cheap seats in the upper bowl.)  All that said, what a deal!  During the last basketball game radio broadcast, they promoted the heck out of this offer. 

 

I told Ron about the football game.  I wasn’t sure if he was recovered from his cold enough to go, so I was mostly asking if he’d be interested in the basketball game later.  Ron wanted to go, though.  I was also concerned about the weather as the forecast was for rain.  Ron dismissed this as well.  He said the rain would happen at night and it would be sunny during the day.  Ron was right there.  It was a beautiful, cloudless day.  For late November, it was even warm out in the sun with only a slight cool breeze.

 

We drove by the Pan-Am Center first.  The Aggie Pride Band was performing by the side of the building to a gathered crowd.  There were several groups tailgating in the football parking lot and quite a few parked there, however, we ended up parking right near the stadium.  This felt like a bad sign for attendance.  Indeed, even Ron was a bit shocked when we got inside the sparsely occupied stadium. 

 

A lot of the students were still on Thanksgiving break.  Given the team’s record, it wasn’t surprising that the fans weren’t in attendance.  (They were probably watching the Michigan/Ohio State game, as I would have been if it had been raining here.)  Club 27 on the east side of the stadium only had a handful of fans.  (It was so nice out, most were sitting outside on the balcony.)  It could have been worse.  The Visitor’s section was empty.  Athletic Director Mario Moccia surveyed the crowd from the sidelines in obvious displeasure. 

 

Ron and I found some “ambiguity” on our tickets.  We might have misinterpreted the seat numbers slightly.  We found “our” seats on the fifty yard line in the lower bowl.  I thought these were much more expensive seats.  Unfortunately, there weren’t any ushers there to help direct us.  (The students being Thanksgiving break probably accounted for the absence.)  In any case, there were plenty of open seats in the area.  Nobody cared.  I probably should have bought some kettle corn at least to make up for it, but I was still recovering from my Thanksgiving food coma.  I did not need extra food in my life.

 

I guess to set up the game, I’ll recap a little.  The Aggies’ last two games were against Alabama and Kentucky.  They were brutal beatings.  I did think that the Aggies showed some grit against the Wildcats, as they picked up four turnovers in the game and held on a goal line stand for four downs.  The full program for this game was a PDF online and listed the Minutemen’s schedule.  (Only a two-sided sheet with the roster was available at the game.)  Though having the same record, their losses were even worse than ours.  The Aggies were favored in the game by six.  Unfortunately from looking at the roster, my neighbor who had transferred here for football, never made it on to the team.    

 

 

First Quarter

UMass won the toss and deferred.  The Aggies took the opening kick and drove downfield for a touchdown.  The main play was a 40-yard bomb from QB Jonah Johnson to Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda.  Running back, Juwaun Price took it in from about four yards out for the score.  7-0 Aggies.  Also during the drive, the t-shirt Gatling cannon fired into the crowd (nowhere near us). 

 

Wave, the new Wonder Dog, got his first work getting the tee after the Aggie kick.  He’d be getting a workout today.  Maybe it was a good thing that Striking had retired.  UMass took a sack deep in their end and had to punt from their endzone.  The Aggies got the ball at around midfield, but the drive went backward.  Coach Martin changed a play from the sidelines a couple of times, which ended up as a delay of game, and then Johnson took a sack.

 

There were two groups of Cheerleaders working on both ends of the field, instead of just one end.  They must have a bunch of Cheerleaders this year.  Regrettably, they weren’t working midfield where we were.  Ron was particularly disappointed.  On UMass’ next possession, they had a fourth and one on their own 35 and went for it.  Risky, but they made it.  There was a glare on the scoreboard making it unreadable for looking at the downs; I was relying on the radio call.  Ron was also disappointed that he’d forgotten his radio.  The crowd got good and loud on the next third down.  There wasn’t a huge crowd, but they were the diehards. 

 

The Minutemen would have to punt, but the Aggies ended up starting on their own five.  No problem.  Johnson tagged Andre Bodison in stride down the middle of the field for 45 yards.  Later, Terrell Warner made a couple of yards on a catch, but did it one-handed.  Impressive.  (I also found out that there are two #7’s listed on the Aggie roster.  Terrell plays on offense; DJ McCullough plays on defense.)  The First Quarter expired during the drive.             

 

Second Quarter

There was the fan hamburger-making contest in the end zone during the break with the fans dressed as buns.  It always ends amusingly.  The Aggies kept their drive going with a 20-yard pass to Bodison.  Johnson found him again right down the middle.  The Aggies were inside the ten and went for it on a fourth and one.  The radio call said the teams weren’t leaving anything on the table today.  Price took the handoff on a sweep around the end and danced into the end zone.  14-0 Aggies.

 

I was probably overdressed for the weather with my heavy coat, but I was concerned the cold wind might pickup.  I might have thought more about putting on some sunblock.  I was getting toasty on the right side of my face from the sun.  Garrett Dzuro (the “D” is silent), the UMass main quarterback, ran for 30 yards on their next possession.  Jared Chisari finished the drive with a 20-yard run for a touchdown.  (There are also two #29’s on their roster and on different sides of the ball.  Actually after looking more closely, there were a bunch of players on both teams with duplicate numbers.)  The PAT was missed, so the score was now 14-6 Aggies.  The Pride Band, who were on the Minutemen’s side of field, took to taunting them after the score.

 

The Men’s Tennis team was honored on field for winning a share of the WAC championship during the break.  UMass was offsides on their kickoff and had to re-kick.  The return ended up at the same place, the 17 yard line, but the returner took a harder hit.  A pass interference call gave the Aggies 15 yards.  A deep ball to the end zone missed.  The defender tripped on some signage running out of end zone.  The Aggies were in a fourth and four on their own 36 and went for it.  (Why not?)  Johnson made a scrambling basketball-like shot to Warner to make it.  The drive finished with Johnson finding Jared Wyatt alone in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown.  21-6 Aggies.

 

Whoa!  Who is that on the sidelines?  Is it?  Is it?  Yes, it was my favorite Sports Marketing intern, Emerson.  Maybe.  I think so.  She’s let her hair grow out and looked glamorous.  In any case, a very attractive young woman escorted Wave out on the field.  The dog was recognized by PA Ed Carnathan.  Wave jumped up and down.  He knew what was going on and hammed it up. 

 

A late hit on the sidelines and an offsides call got the ball past midfield for UMass, but then they got backed up by a false start.  Once again, there was another fourth and one on their own end of the field.  It was a good day for gambling.  They made it.  During a long delay while the officials reviewed the play, the Cheerleaders took to the field to cheer.  The Band was leaving the stands at the time, so the Cheerleaders had to work without the usual music.  Back to the action, the Minutemen’s drive was capped by an Ellis Merriweather 15-yard run for a touchdown.  21-13 Aggies.

 

There was about a minute and a half left in the half when the Aggies got the ball.  Justice Powers was open for a 33-yard reception.  Johnson found Bodison down the middle for 20 yards.  Price then scampered into the end zone from 15 yards out.  That was three plays in about 30 seconds for the score.  “Why weren’t they doing that earlier?” asked Ron.  The PAT was blocked, so the score was 27-13 Aggies.  The defense would hold on UMass’ possession, so that would be the halftime score. 

 

Continued in Part 2

Calendar Paintings and Photographs

I get a bunch of calendars in the mail from various charities.  I liked the paintings in this particular one.  I think it was from Boys Town.   

These two are photographs.  I don't remember where the calendar came from. 

Sketch Dump: The Asia Notebook 20: Various

This last post is a bit of a grab bag.  On the left is Mexican news broadcaster, Lucero Alvarez.  She is absolutely one of the most vivacious women I've ever seen.  My drawing isn't even close.  The pencil sketch is of  Minerva Borjas.  She hosted a baby care show on a Spanish language PBS show.  Oh, I loved that show, though I doubt I picked up a single child care tip.  That sketch actually looks like her.     

There's a pirate girl from an Imagine FX painting on the left.  I ruined it in the inking.  There's Twitch singer and DJ, Hana, on the right.  I also ruined that one in the inking.  One might wonder why I keep trying to ink.  Actually, I think it's helped my penciling a bit.  

Here's an Instagram model a co-worker had downloaded a picture of.  I couldn't resist taking a shot at drawing her.

Here's a model from a clothing ad.  She's absolutely stunning in the photo.  The sketch is sort of okay.

Lastly, that's former co-worker on the left. and actress, Emily Van Camp, on the right.  It's probably not quite anatomically right, but looks nice.

That's it for this sketchbook.  It's up and down in quality.  On some level, that's an improvement.  I'm still drawing and will post some more when I'm finished with my current sketchbook.

Sketch Dump: The Asia Notebook 19: Singers

J-Pop singer on the left from an old Japanese Newtype.  On the right is a pretty girl I randomly found on the Internet.  That's one of my better hand drawings.

  

I dig the K-Pop band, Blackpink.  Lisa is my favorite.

There's another of Lisa on the left.  On the right is Addie from the Twitch band, Halocene.  This is one of the few drawings I've done showing teeth and a tongue.  It turned out reasonably well, but I'm still not comfortable doing it.

Another of Lisa, and that's pencil sketch of actress, Lacey Chabert.  I'm not sure why I didn't go ahead and ink and color it.

I ran into the folk band, The Accidentals, from watching a couple of late night PBS specials.  This is Sav.  She's pretty cute and very talented.

NASCAR Championship 2021

 

I mentally wrote this in the shower a couple of days after the race.  I can only hope it turns out as well on the page, as it did in my head.  (And if only I’d started writing this then, instead of a week later.) 

 

This is not going to be coverage of the race in Phoenix.  There was some drama and strategy, but it was four guys racing each other in heavy traffic.  It wasn’t a real NASCAR race.  It was a contrived TV event involving NASCAR that was less legitimate than the two exhibition races held during the season.  At least all of the participants in those races were trying to win. 

 

Don’t get me wrong.  The four guys racing for the championship were really racing each other.  This wasn’t pro-wrestling or the NFL.  There was no predetermined outcome.  Lest you think I’m just bitter about the outcome, far from it.  Myself and, from what I heard, many other fans were going to seriously question any champion being crowned other than Kyle Larson.  He had more wins than the other Chase drivers combined.  Chase Elliot is my driver.  I wouldn’t have been unhappy if he had won, but I’m pretty sure Chase would have admitted it was Kyle’s season.  Everyone else was just watching him win.

 

There was even some delightful glee in watching Larson win.  He was so grateful and overwhelmed by the moment.  By contrast, if Denny Hamlin had won, he would have thrown down his helmet and grabbed the trophy saying, “Gimme that!  I totally deserve this!” and then grabbed the microphone and would have proceeded to harangue the fans, “You all suck!”  I can somewhat understand Denny going after the fans who were booing him right after he’d been crashed out of the Martinsville race, but continuing to do it in a press conference afterward was just stupid.

 

Back to Larson, here’s the guy who lost his ride last year because he forgot that, while he’s ethnic, he’s not black.  The incident even stripped him of his minority status.  (So much for having grandparents that got sent to a Japanese internment camp.)  Meanwhile, the guy that he had to personally apologize to and beg his forgiveness before starting a cross-country groveling tour, Bubba “Noose” Wallace, was the first car that crashed out of the Phoenix race.

 

Heh, heh, heh.  Ahem.  Pardon me.    

 

That Toyota commercial with Noose always makes me snicker, too.  There he is inspiring a young black girl to be a racer.  Then she finds out about his white girlfriend and suddenly hates him and loses all of her self-esteem (probably becomes a lesbian).  Noose wasn’t even the first black driver to win a NASCAR race.  That was Wendell Scott in 1963.  You think he might have been able to tell Bubba the difference between a noose and a door pull?  (I’d read about Scott a while back, but had shamefully forgotten about him.  Leave it to an F1 broadcast mentioning him last month to remind me.)  

 

Cheapshots aside, what I’m getting around to here is yet another criticism of the Chase format.  Sigh.  I’m getting exhausted on this topic.  I’ve written on this subject a few times.  It’s not even worth linking to them.  Nonetheless, even though the Chase did reach the correct result this year, I’m still going to complain about it because it could have just as easily gotten it wrong given the format. 

 

I’ll more-or-less summarize.  Other sports have playoffs.  Racing series don’t, except for NASCAR.  In the other sports, teams that aren’t in the playoffs, stop playing.  In the NASCAR Chase, all of the teams are still racing.  Imagine during the day of the Superbowl there were 15 other NFL games going on.  (I wish I hadn’t wrote that.  They might try it now.  Given that most NFL fans are degenerate gamblers, they’d love that arrangement.) 

 

Theoretically, any of the NASCAR teams could win a Chase race, even those outside of the Chase (right, Noose?).  Since winning races is nearly integral to advancing and winning the championship, this is something of a problem (right, Denny?).  This leads to what we’re now getting at the championship race.  I’m sure NASCAR doesn’t officially tell the non-Chase drivers, “Thou shalt not pass.”  I’m sure the Chase drivers don’t threaten revenge on anyone interfering with their race.  Oops, that pretty much happened (ahem, Denny).  Yeah, on the other hand, what do they say about baseball and the “unwritten rules?”  We don’t have to tell you to pull over; we think you can figure that out for yourselves . . . Or else.

 

So, NASCAR functionally holds 35 points-paying races, and a championship race where four drivers race and the rest of the field run homage laps to them.  Just from a fan entertainment standpoint, this years’ race was agonizing to watch.  The commentators breathlessly commented exclusively on the four Chase drivers, while nervously wringing their hands about the other drivers possibly getting in their way.  This is nothing new of course for a championship race, but if the other drivers are only a distraction, why are they there? 

 

It really has gotten worse.  Last year, I was thrilled when Chase Elliot won the championship race.  He did, however, start in the rear and easily caught up to the other Chase drivers, who were all conveniently up front.  They also finished that way, with a retiring Jimmie Johnson finishing right behind them.  What were the odds?  This came close to happening again this year with only Chase falling out of the top four. 

 

I’m not accusing NASCAR of fixing races or the championship.  (They’re hardly the NFL.)  The four Chase drivers are legitimately trying to beat each other, and NASCAR is not interfering with them.  What NASCAR is doing is setting up this sham format for a championship and making the race something of a joke.  Everyone watching at this point knows this. 

 

This Chase has been going on long enough that fans just accept it as tradition now (sort of).  I’m not a historian, but let’s examine this tradition.  At the near high of NASCAR’s newfound popularity as a national sport in 2003, Matt Kenseth won the championship having only won one race that year.  By contrast, Ryan Newman won eight races that season and did not come close to winning the championship.  (In fairness, he also had seven DNF’s.) 

 

Kenseth didn’t not win races and still win a championship by accident.  It was a calculated strategy.  He gamed the system in place well.  Benny Parsons won the championship in 1973 with one race win, so it had been done before, but was hardly a trend.  There was some luck involved in those runs, obviously, but NASCAR was terrified at the thought of their top drivers all just points racing with the same strategy.  Something had to be done.  Thus the Chase was born: win and you’re in. 

 

In 2014 the Chase format changed to the final four.  The top four drivers in the Chase would race each other in the final race and the highest finisher would win the championship.  Ryan Newman was ironically in the first final four with zero wins in the first year of the format change.  I was really rooting him on.  It would have been too perfect: the system designed to reward winning producing a winless championship.

 

The main problem with the Chase, as far as most fans were concerned, was that Jimmie Johnson kept winning them.  (Not me, I like Jimmie.)  In response, they kept screwing with the format by adding drivers and changing the points system over and over again.  This eventually led to Stage Racing.  G**d***it!  At this point, I had no f***ing idea how NASCAR’s “playoff” worked and neither did anyone else.  Win and you’re in and advance in the Chase based on points accumulation according to NASCAR’s quadratic equation. 

 

Kevin Harvick won nine races last season, by far more than any other driver.  He was not even part of the final four.  (He certainly turned out to be a complete d*ck this season.  Screw him.)  “Well, you have win when it counts,” said the network commentators.  “That makes nothing but sense,” said Denny Hamlin, who proceeded to not win during the regular season this year and nearly won the regular season championship.  He won twice during the Chase and made it to the final four. 

 

Hamlin’s approach was a calculated strategy and a repeatable one.  If he’d won the championship over Larson, I’m willing to bet NASCAR would have made swift changes to the Chase again.  Maybe I shouldn’t have been rooting against him.  I’m sure whatever changes they made would have had additional unforeseen consequences.  There’s no “perfecting” this gimmick system as long as it ends with the final four race. 

 

The original NASCAR points system rewarded consistency.  Winning really didn’t matter as much as just making sure you didn’t finish badly.  Accumulate the most points by the end of the season and you win.  The Chase format rewards regular season race winners with a ticket to the playoffs.  This lets drivers with fluke wins into the championship and doesn’t really reward drivers with more than one win.  In the Chase, your accumulated points from Stage wins and playoff wins and points can add up to get you into the final four.  There, you have to finish ahead of the other three Chasers to win the championship.  It’s too damn complicated.  That’s all there is to it. 

 

What would I do?  Discard the Chase.  Make winning a race worth twice as many points as coming in second.  Award no points for finishing below twentieth.  This should keep things interesting, but no guarantees.  It depends on how much you want wins to count towards a championship.  NASCAR wanted drivers to take winning more seriously with the Chase format, but didn’t really go all the way with it.  They’re not properly rewarding winning or consistency with their current system.

 

Realistically, they’re going to keep the Chase no matter what.  They think they’re competing with the NFL with it.  How would I fix it?  I can’t.  At best, I’d get rid of the “win and you’re in” ethos and make entry into the Chase point-based.  Then, you could do elimination stages with wins giving drivers an automatic advance.  Lastly, since the final race is a gimmick anyway, it should be at a more interesting venue like Talladega or Daytona (which might kill the announcers given the hysteria they reached calling the race at a sedate track like Phoenix), or Bristol on dirt, or a road course (there I go pimping for Chase Elliot, but given the number of road courses NASCAR added to the schedule, they seem to be too).

 

Okay, we’re done here.  I expect none of this to be implemented, no matter how much it needs to be.

Late Season and Postseason Aggie Volleyball Part 2

Continued from Part One.

 

[I apologize.  The length of this post forced an awkward break.  We continue with the Aggies vs. the Chicago State Cougars.]

 

During the volleyball halftime, I switched back to Aggie Football and caught the end.  It was a 59-3 nailbiter as the Crimson Tide squeaked out a win.  Alabama had their fourth-string quarterback playing when it ended.  At least the Aggies could console themselves with their $1.9M payout. 

 

The Aggies put it together well in Set 3 with had a six-point run.  Darian Markham made a great save on a point and Cat Kelly got her second solo block.  She was blocking players taller than herself.  She also served up an ace and swatted away a dump shot attempt.  Carly Aigner-Swesey had an ace to get it to set point, which the Aggies closed out, 25-19.  The team almost lost Adam Young on  the radio on a point.  He flinched as a shot by Yanlis Feliz on Chicago State came at him on the sidelines.

 

In addition to the refs arriving late, Adam was really questioning some of their decisions.  They weren’t signaling some of the calls and were calling several tacky double touches and net violations.  The Aggies ran away with the final set, 25-15.  The Chicago State coach had called both of his timeouts early trying to stem the tide.  Late in the match, the Cougars couldn’t stop play or the bleeding.  Cat took the shot for the match, 3-1, and the championship.  I saw that coming. 

 

Katie Birtcil led the way with 19 kills.  Cat Kelly had 15, Shaney Lipscomb 13, and Lia Mosher 10.  Yanlis Feliz led everyone with 21 kills.  Given the quick turnaround to change the court over to basketball, the hour delay, and the Senior Day ceremony, the postgame was a complete rush.  I was kind of glad I wasn’t there for the UTEP game, as that would have been very disappointing.  With the delay, this game would have been long to sit through, but would have had a happy ending. 

 

I was really sorry that I didn’t get to see the ceremony for Cat and Shaney.  The coach was probably going to be full of praise for them.  I’ve heard a couple of interviews with Shaney, so I know she speaks well.  I was really curious to hear Cat address the crowd, as she always feels like the quiet one, but she’s extremely dedicated.  I know she’s a really nice girl from talking to her a couple of times.  One of the coaches said he thought she bled crimson (I’m sure that’s literally true) and would do anything for the team.  I know both of these girls have really set an example. 

 

I didn’t find out anything about the Women’s Basketball game that night.  It wasn’t on the radio or on TV.  (They have been on local over-the-air TV before.)  When I turned on the radio, our old friend from the El Paso Chihuahuas, Tim Hagerty, was doing the Men’s Basketball game, since Jack was coming back from Alabama and Adam was doing the TV side of the game (which wasn’t on over-the-air either).  He said this was his third time filling in.  The first two had been wins, so he was hoping to continue the streak. 

 

I forgot this was an early season rivalry game with UTEP.  It sounded like a good crowd there.  I’m not going to recap the game.  The Aggies mostly had the Miners under control.  They ran up a good lead late, but then slacked off and let it finish with a 77-71 victory.  Perhaps it could have been more dominating, but we’ll take it.   

 

 

WAC Tournament Quarterfinal vs. Utah Valley Wolverines 11-18-21

Coach Jordan was furious about the tournament seeding on the Aggie Coaches Show.  He thought the teams would paired up against opposing divisions.  Instead, the Aggies would be facing Utah Valley, whom they’ve already played twice.  The good news was that they’d beaten them both times.  The bad news was that it’s real hard to beat the same team three times in a season.  Coach Jordan was effusive in his praise of their star player, Kazna Tanuvasa.  “She’s been a thorn in our side for years.”  He’d also tried to recruit her, but she wanted to stay near family.  (He was very impressed with Yanlis Feliz on Chicago State.) 

 

The coach had expected to play Abilene Christian.  Host, Adam Young, had mentioned that seven of the eight teams had a good chance of winning.  I’m guessing AC was the team he didn’t give a chance to.  Coach Jordan was already mad enough over having the WAC move the tournament last year.  (That was mostly our governor’s fault.)  If he’s frustrated with the WAC, I’m sure their indifference will look like tender loving care compared to Conference-USA’s attitude in a couple of years.  Shoot, some conferences also put a postseason ban on new members for a couple of years.  The coach is probably trying not to think about any of this.   

 

Later on the show, Athletic Director Mario Moccia made a Freudian slip mentioning going to the Sunbelt Conference by accident.  I’m sure he wishes the football team was still with them.  This current conference move was strictly to find the football team a home.  It was not out of desire.  Even though a couple of teams in C-USA changed their minds and stayed in, I’m sure them and UTEP are still looking to move.  El Paso Sports Talk host, Steve Kaplowitz, was excited about NMSU and UTEP being together, along with John Tischer, voice of the Miners.  I think the fans are for it, too.  I just have a feeling that things are going to come apart before or shortly after it happens.         

 

Since I was off quarantine, I could have gone to the tournament.  I was already slotted to take those days off.  However, when I got back to work the day before the tournament, I came back to a big mess to clean up there after being off for ten days unexpectedly.  For a variety of reasons, I waived off going back on vacation.  I hate to make excuses, but it just didn’t feel right to go.         

 

As for the quarterfinal game on Thursday, I could only follow along with the live scoring.  It’s a way too nerve wracking way to follow any game.  Just to pull the band aid off, the Aggies lost 2-3 in five sets, 25-22, 17-25, 26-24, 21-25, 12-15.  Not having seen the game or listened to it, all I can do is look at the stats for the story.  Unfortunately, they’re not telling the story.  The Aggies and the Wolverines were pretty close, as the set scores indicate.  The biggest disparity I noted was on serve.  Utah Valley had 8 aces to 3 service errors.  The Aggies had 7 aces, but 8 service errors.  The Aggies led in kills, but trailed in blocks 10 to 14.

 

Individually, the Aggies did a good job of containing Kazna.  She finished with 11 kills, but she was in single digits until the fifth set.  However, Tori Dorius picked up the slack for UV with 14 kills.  For the Aggies, Katie Birtcil was unstoppable with 24 kills.  (So much for having a sore shoulder.)  Shaney Lipscomb had 14.  Unfortunately, everybody else was in single digits.  It looked bad on the stats that the setter, Carly Aigner-Swesey, had 4 kills.  That meant they were desperate for points.  I can only guess that the Wolverines did what UTEP did and just focused on containing Lia Mosher.  I’m also going to suspect that Cat Kelly’s great performance on Saturday came at the cost of exacerbating her nagging injuries.           

 

The team’s bug-a-boo this season may have been serving and receiving, but what they lacked was the ability to put teams away.  They were continuously getting forced into five-setters against nearly every tough team.  The Aggies had a short bench lacking options.  When a good team made an adjustment on them, Coach Jordan didn’t have any levers to pull to counteract them.  I hate to put this on one player, but Victoria Barrett not playing up to her spring season form and then getting booted from the team blew a hole in the Aggies that other teams kept exploiting.  It was bad foreshadowing that the newspaper ran a picture featuring Shaney and Victoria the first day of the tournament. 

 

I have to single out some seniors.  I’m guessing the coach didn’t really plan on using Cat Kelly as a starter this season with her chronic injuries, but she really stepped up and gave everything she had.  Shaney Lipscomb was an upper classman transfer.  She probably didn’t want to step on any toes, but finally took over team leadership this season.  It really sucks that I was never able to get that souvenir ball she threw me at the beginning of the season signed by her.  Lastly, since Lia Mosher is coming back next season, she needs to take over that mantle and improve her game.  She’s got a great hitting percentage, but not enough kills.     

 

I guess I’ll go ahead and post my sketches of alternate setter, Alana Embry, since the occasion never came up during the season.  She is very photogenic.  Since Carly is coming back, I’d think Alana would still be on bench mostly next season.  Coach Jordan kept mentioning Alana in encouraging tones in interviews.  He must like her and is hoping to groom her for the starting role later. 

 

Well, this all frees up my Saturday night.  I’d planned on going to the championship game if the Aggies were in it.  I should be more upset.  That 10-day layoff really took the enthusiasm for everything out of me.  I’m sorry I couldn’t have been there more.

Late Season and Postseason Aggie Volleyball Part 1

To follow up from last time, the good news was that I didn’t get sick.  The bad news was that I had to go into quarantine anyway.  Aggie Volleyball’s last two games of the season were on the radio, so I at least got to listen to them.  I made a few notes during the games, but these aren’t comprehensive at all.

 

11-10-21 vs UTEP Miners

I had scheduled to take the day of this mid-week game off from work anyway.  The pregame interview with Coach Jordan was enlightening.  As I thought, he would have preferred to have rested some of his hurting regulars.  However, this being a rivalry game, he was sort of obligated to put out his best possible team, but only as long as the game was close.  In about any other year against UTEP, that would have meant when the Aggies were up big. 

 

However, former Aggie assistant coach and current UTEP coach, Ben Wallis, has really gotten their program up to a very competitive level.  Coach Jordan called them, “Probably their best volleyball team in program history.”  They are one of the top ten offenses in the country.  This was not going to be a game the Aggies would be able to just coast through.

 

Coach Jordan did start putting in subs immediately in this match, as opposed to just playing seven the last game.  Freshman Sydney McIntosh, whom I haven’t seen play, came in for the first set and got a kill right away.  The Aggies went down six late in Set 1 and fended off three set points, but managed to come back and win with a five-point run, 26-24.

 

The Aggies took Set 2 handily, 25-19.  The coach got into the action when he was hit by an opposing player’s kill.  Sydney and Cat Kelly collided on one point.  Syd still managed to get a tip kill on it.  The girls shared a giggle afterward.  Set 3 was close.  UTEP took it 23-25.  There was a double touch called on Syd during a free ball bump.  The coach and the crowd were furious at the questionable call.  Adam Young on the radio call was incredulous.  There was a girl’s voice that I didn’t recognize doing the PA duties.  During this set, she made the announcement about NM State joining Conference-USA and that the Aggies and Miners would become conference opponents.

 

UTEP jumped out to a seven-point lead early in Set 4 and never looked back, winning 19-25.  The Aggies were hitting well, but having lots of service errors.  The Miners kept the momentum into Set 5.  They went up by four and closed it out 13-15 and took the match 2-3.  Coach Jordan was fairly salty in the postgame interview.  He concurred with what Adam was saying during the match, that Lia Mosher was constantly double-teamed.  The coach then blamed setter, Carly Aigner-Swesey, for not distributing the ball better.  I hope she takes that constructively and not personally.

 

I can’t blame the coach entirely for being angry.  Adam pinned the loss on a questionable call in the third set.  The Aggies were so close to finishing it in three sets.  Now all the coach has to show for the game is another home loss and additional wear and tear and his players.  It didn’t help that the UTEP players were celebrating behind the coach the whole time.  “I guess this is going to happen every time an opponent wins here,” he reflected.  At least some of the Aggie players had good games.  Katie Birtcil led with 25 kills.  Cat Kelly had 12, Shaney Lipscomb 10, and Sydney McIntosh had 6.  Syd had some freshman moments, but did well considering.

 

 

11-13-21 vs Chicago State Cougars

This game wasn’t on the radio when I tuned in on time.  I didn’t know what to make of it, since there was a triple-header scheduled at the Pan-Am Center today: one volleyball game, one Women’s basketball game, and one Men’s basketball game.  My dad had reminded me during a phone call that the Aggie Football team was playing Alabama this morning.  I tuned over to that.

 

It was the expected close contest.  After the Aggies took a 3-0 lead, Alabama had taken a slim 49-3 lead into halftime.  On Stadium’s college football preview show, they said about this match up, “With apologies to our friends at New Mexico State, this is a glorified scrimmage.”  The Aggie halftime show at least told me that the volleyball game was in a delay.  Broadcaster, Jack Nixon’s, talk with Athletic Director Mario Moccia was interesting.  Parking at the stadium there in Tuscaloosa ranged between $30 to $60.  “If I tried to charge $2 for our dirt lot, I’d never hear the end of it,” Mario said.  He also thought that changes in the SEC might dry up these “money” games for NMSU.  SEC teams may start scheduling far cheaper FCS-level teams. 

 

I went back to the volleyball coverage, which was now on.  The reason for our delay: the officials weren’t there.  Why?  They had the time wrong.  This game had been rescheduled from 1:00pm to 11:00am at least a week ago.  Mario insisted it wasn’t their fault the referees didn’t know.  The conference apparently hadn’t told the officials about the time change.  Given that they had to come from El Paso, it was fortunate there was only an hour delay.  I’m sure the Pan-Am staff was nervous about the delay, given the upcoming scheduling.

 

This incident was nowhere near as surprising as Adam Young’s announcement before the game that this game between the Aggies and Chicago State Cougars was for the WAC West championship.  The winner takes it. 

 

Huh? 

 

I’d said multiple times that Chicago State was no joke this season with their new coach.  He’s recruited an international roster from seven countries.  CBU and GCU had been right there near the top of the standings with the Aggies.  Chicago State had delivered GCU their first home loss earlier this week and were now tied with the Aggies.  The Cougars are leaving the conference after this season in style with their best one. 

 

There was definitely something to play for today, but Coach Jordan was still considering sitting out Katie Birtcil for the tournament.  The Aggies weren’t playing for the top seed, maybe not even the second, but they were in.  In spite of her sore shoulder, Katie wanted in anyway.  Lindsay Blakey started for her, but I never heard her name called again after Katie came in.  Alana Embry came in several times as a server.  It was Senior Day.  Cat Kelly and Shaney Lipscomb would be leaving.  Seniors Carly Aigner-Swesey and Lia Mosher would be back. 

 

Chicago State did look good in Set 1.  They went on a nine-point run mid-way through, leading 10-16.  The Aggies came right back with a six-point run, but lost it 21-25.  Adam, and later the coach, were incredulous that the team had hit at a .340 clip, but still lost the set.  It was a combination of bad serving and receiving, the team’s bug-a-boo this season. 

 

One girl on Chicago State, Yanlis Feliz, was getting most of their kills.  Finally in the second set, the Aggies started double-teaming her.  The Aggie took the set, 25-17.  Katie’s shoulder showed no signs of fatigue.  Cat was playing inspired ball.  Lia, after being frustrated in the last game, was busting out here. 

 

Continued in Part Two

Sketch Dump: The Asia Notebook 18: Ilya, Imagine FX, and others

Here's some Ilya Kuvshinov sketches from Imagine FX.  These just kind of suck and the coloring is suspect.  I'd messed up the head on the one on the right and had to re-ink it, thus explaining the background shading to cover it.

There's one of Spider-Gwen on the left.  That's another Ilya sketch on the right.  It was a black and white sketch, and unfortunately I was left to my own devices on the coloring.  I don't know what I was thinking.

That's Twitch DJ Jessu on the left.  She's not cross-eyed in real life.  Argh!  That's an Imagine FX sketch to the right.  

These next two are some quick sketch pages.  The three to the left are of Snow White from Fables.  That's Minmei in the top right.  That's Nova Satori on the bottom center, and a model on the bottom right.

There's the Joker's new girlfriend, Punchline, on the bottom left.  That's Death on the top middle and streamer Avori on the bottom.  The top left and right are from Imagine FX, and that's a model on the bottom right.

Sketch Dump: The Asia Notebook 17: More Imagine FX

I'd downloaded several Stanley Lau images years before I found out his name.  Boy, his paintings are amazing.  These first two are of his Pepper character.  The arms aren't quite right on the first one, but it's still better than the second one with the googly-looking eyes.   

These next three are from that Imagine FX magazine I bought this year.  This one is screwed up, but still kind of cute.  

This is screwed up and not so cute.

This was a reimagined Power Puff Girls painting.  My interpretation is all messed up and out of proportion, however it was pretty ambitious for me.  I just did the middle one first and then decided to put in the others.  This also sort of explains why they don't match.